August 6, 2026
sarva evā ‘niśaṁ śreyo dhāvanti prāṇino balāt
parinimnaṁ payāṁsīva tadvicārya samāśrayet (22)
VASIṢṬHA continued:
There are wise people here and there, who are wise in terms of the knowledge of the scriptures as also in terms of their conduct. One should seek their company. There may be many who talk a lot about the scriptures, but he among them who promotes the joy and delight of all and whose conduct is unimpeachable is the best among them. All people at all times seek their own good as if under compulsion just as water flows downwards. One should understand this and resort to the company of the wise.
RĀMA asked:
This world rests like a creeper on the tree of the supreme being. In it who are the ones who see the ultimate truth after having duly investigated the past and the future?
VASIṢṬHA replied:
In every community there are a number of wise men by whose light (or grace) there is light in this world. All the people run up and down like dry blades of grass floating on this ocean of saṁsāra. Forgetful of the self the dwellers in heaven are burnt in the fire of pleasure. The deluded demons are destroyed by their enemies, the gods, and hurled into a pit (hell) by Nārāyaṇa. The celestial artistes (gandharvas) do not even inhale a bit of the scent (gandha) of wisdom. They are lost in the enjoyment of their own music, etc. The celestials known as vidyādharas do not respect sages; being the supporters (ādhāra) of learning (vidyā) they are full of vanity. The demi-gods known as yakṣas consider themselves immortals and they display their dexterity before aged and infirm people. The demons known as rākṣasas live in delusion. The ghosts (piśācas) are forever interested in harassing people. The dwellers of the nether world known as the nāgas are inert and unintelligent. The demons known as asuras are more like worms which dwell in holes in the ground. How can they acquire any wisdom at all?
Even human beings are narrow-minded and petty minded, interested in the trivia of life. They spend most of their time in the pursuit of evil desires. They do not come into contact with anything that is good or wise at all. They are tempted away from the path of order and wisdom by their own vanities and desires. The class of people known as yoginī (NOTE: the practitioners of “black” arts) are fallen into the pit of drinking and eating like uncultured people.
But there are some liberated beings among the gods (Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Rudra, etc.), among the leaders (like Kaśyapa, Nārada, Sanatkumāra), among demons (Hiraṇyākṣa, Bali, Prahlāda, etc.), among rākṣasas (like Vibhīṣaṇa, Prahasta, Indrajit), among nāgas (Takṣaka, etc.), and other liberated ones in other planes. Even among human beings there are liberated ones, but they are extremely rare. There are millions of beings; but a liberated one is rare.