[CHAPTER LXV.]
Ráma's Wonder at the Error of Men.
Argument.—Application of the mendicant's case to all men, who are equally mistaken in their choice.
VASISHTHA Continued:—As the mendicant saw this transient scene of error in his mind; so it is the case with all living beings, to look on their past lives and actions apart from themselves, and in the persons of other men.
2. The past lives, actions and demise of all reflective souls, are as fast imprinted in them, as any thought is preserved in the retentive mind and vacuous intellect.
3. Distant and separate things are mingled together, in the present sphere of one's soul; and all persons appear as distinct figures in the dream.
4. And the human soul, though it is a form of the divine, yet being enclosed in its frail and mortal body, is doomed to misery until its final liberation from birth and body. Thus I have related to you the fate of all living souls, in the state and tale of the mendicant Bhikshu.
5. Now know, O Ráma! that the souls of all of us like that of the mendicant, are vibrated and moved by the impulse of the supreme spirit; and are yet fallible in their nature, and falling from error to error every moment (as we find in our dreams).