55. No worldly good can allure the heart of the wise, who have tested the vanity of temporal things; and no earthly evil can obscure their souls, which are as bright as the clear sky which no cloud can darken.
56. No worldly pleasure can gladden the soul of the wise man, as the dance of monkeys can give no joy to the heart of Hara, that delights in the dancing of Gaurí.
57. No earthly delight can have its seat in the heart of the wise, as the sun-light is never reflected in a gem hidden under a bushel.
58. The material world appears as a solid rock to the stolid ignorant; but it seems as the evanescent wave to the wise. The ignorant take a great pleasure in the transitory enjoyments of the world; but the wise take them to no account, as the swan disdains to look upon the moss of the lake.
CHAPTER LVIII.
THE SONG OF KACHA.
Argument. The Pantheistic views of the soul as the one in all, is shown in the song of Kacha.
Vasishtha said:—On this subject I will tell you, Ráma! the holy song which was sung of old by Kacha, the son of Vrihaspati—the preceptor of the gods.
2. As this son of the divine tutor, resided in a grove in some part of the mount Meru (the Altain chain—the homestead of the gods); he found the tranquility of his spirit in the Supreme soul; by means of his holy devotion.
3. His mind being filled with the ambrosial draughts of divine knowledge, he derived no satisfaction at the sight of the visible world, composed of the five elemental bodies.
4. Being rapt in his mind with the vision of the Holy Spirit, he saw nothing else beside him, and then fervently uttered to himself in the following strain.