SA NATAN A DHA RMA

A N ELEM EN T ARY T EXT -BO OK

HINDU RELIGION AND ETHICS

PUBLISH ED BY T HE BO A RD O F TRU STEESCEN TRAL H IN DU COLLEGE

BEN ARES

[T HE RIGHT OF TRA N S L A TION A N D REPRODUCTION [S nzsxnvso j

Pr ice A m . 12 , boa r ds . Re. 1 , cloth. Pottaga 1; A nna

PRl N T ED BY PA N DYA GULA B S HA N KER A T T H E

TA RA PR l N T l N G WORKS,B EN A RES .

FOREWORD.

HE Boar d of T r ustees of the Centr al HinduCollege has laid down the following principles on which religious and moral teaching

is to be given in al l institutions under its control .The Object of the Central Hindu College being

to combine Hindu religious and ethical trainingwith the western education suited to the needs ofthe time

,it is necessary that this religious and

ethical training shall be of a wide,libera l and nu

sectarian character,while at the same time it shallbe definitely and distinctively Hindu . It must beinclusive enough to unite the most divergent formsof Hindu thought, but exclusive enough to leaveoutside it

,forms of thought which ar e non -Hindu .

It must avoid al l doctrines which ar e the subject ofcontroversy between schools recognised as orthodox it must not enter into any of the social andpolitical questions of the day ; but it must lay a

solid foundation of religion and ethics on which thes tudent may build , in his manhood

,the more spe

cial ised principles suited to his intellectual and

emotional temperament. It must be directed to the

building up of a character— pious,dutiful

,strong

,

self-reliant,upright

,righteous

,gentle and well

balanced—a character which will be that of a goodman and a good citizen the fundamental principlesof rel igion

,governing the general view of life and

of life’s obligations,ar e al one sufficient to form

such a character . That which unites Hindus in acommon faith must be clearly and s imply taughtal l that divides them must be ignored . Lastly,care must be taken to cul tivate a wide spirit oftolerance , which not onl y respects the diff erencesof thought and practice among Hindus , but whichalso respects the diff erences of religion among nonH indus , regarding al l faiths with reverence, as

roads whereby men approach the Supreme.

Therefore1 . The religious and ethical instruction must

be such as al l Hindus can accept.2 . It must include the special teachings

which mark out Hinduism fr om otherreligions .

3 . It must not include the distinctive viewsof any special school or sect.

This elementary Text-Book,written in accord

ance with this scheme, is intended for the use of

V I!

Hindu boys in the middle an d upper sections ofthe High Schools of India

,and is designed to give

them a general but correct idea of their nationalreligion

,such as may be filled in by fuller study in

College and in later life, but will not need to bechanged in any essential respect .It contains the fundamental ideas and doctr ines

which ar e general ly received as orthodox, but doesnot enter into the details as to which sectariandivisions have arisen . It is believed that whil e a

sectarian parent or teacher will probably makeadd itions to it

,he will not find in it anything

which he wil l wish positively to repudiate .While the book may be placed in the hands of

the boys for their own study,it is intended to be

simplified by the oral explanations of the teacher,

and each chapter serves as an outline on whichone or more lessons may be based .

The shlokas given at the end of the chaptersshould be committed to memory by the boys .They will thus acquire a useful store of sacredauthorities on their religion .

The name of this series, S ancitana pharma,

was chosen after full discussion,as best represent

ing the idea of the fundamental truths presented.

It has become somewhat of a sectarian name insome parts of India, but it is here taken only as

meaning the eternal religion .

That this book may prove useful in laying a

firm foundation of right thinking in the minds ofHindu youths

,and may hel p in shaping them into

pious,moral

,loyal and useful citizens of

Hother land and of the Empire, is the prayer withwhich its compilers send it forth to the world .

CONTENTS .

PART I.

IN T RODUCT IOR

BA S IC H IN DU RELIGIOUS IDEA S .

CH A PT ER I .

— The One ExistenceCHAPTER I I .— '

I‘he Many

CHAPTER [IL— Rebir th

CHAPTER IV .

— Karma

CHAPT ER V .— S acr ifice

CH A PT ER V I .

— TheWor lds— Visible and In v isiblePART II .

GEN ERAL H IN DU REL IGIOU SCU STOMS A N D R ITES .

CHA PTER I .—The Samaskaras

CH APTER II .

— Shraddha

CH A PTER III .

—Shaucham

CHAPTER IV .—'

I‘be five Daily S acr ifices

CHA PTER V .—Wor ship

CHA PTER V I. -The Four A shr amas

CH A PT ER VII .

—The F our Castes

PART I I I .ETH ICAL TEACH IN GS .

CHA PTER I .

-Ethical Science, what it isCHAPTER I I. -The Foundation of Ethics as given by

Rel ig ion

CHA PTER III — Right andWrongCHAPTER IV .

-T be Standar d of EthicsCHAPTER V .

— V ir tues and their f oundationCHA PTER V I — B liss and Emotions

CHA PTER VII — Sel f -r egar dingCHAPTER V l I I.— Vir tues and V ices in r elation to S uper ior s m

CHA PTER IX —V i r tues and V ices in r elation to Equal sCHA PT ER X .

-V irtnes and Vices in r elation to In f erior s

CHA PTER XI .

— T be l i e-action of V irtues and V ices on eachOther 000

W3”

wind a'

i lg a?{Hawaii

xiné fimg az a ta a’r l

tiné i353“

vii when?11

IN T RODUCT ION .

A N A T A N A DHA RMA means the EternalReligion

,the A ncient Law , and it is based on

the Vedas , sacr ed books given to men many longages ago. This Religion has also been called theAryan Religion , because it is the Religion that wasgiven to the first nation of the Aryan race

,Arya

means noble , and the name was given to a greatrace

,much finer in character and appearance than

the races which went before it in the world’s history .

The first families of these people settled in thenorthern part of the land now called India, andthat part in which they first settled was namedA ryavarta, because these Aryans lived m it . “

(Theland) from the eastern ocean to the western ocean ,between the twomountains (Himavan and Vindhya)the wise cal l A ryavar ta.

”

2

In later days the Religion was called the HinduReligion

,and this is the name by which it is now

usually known . It is the oldest of living Religions,

and no other Religion has produced so many greatmen— great teachers , great writers , great sages , greatsaints

,great kings

,great warriors

,great. statesmen

,

great benefactors , great patriots . The more youknow of it, the more you will honour and love it

,

and the more thankful you will be that you wereborn into it . But unless you grow up worthy of it

,

this great and holy Religion will do you no good .

T HE BA S IS OF S A N AT A N A DH A RM A .

The A ncient Religion is based on one strongfoundation on which ar e erected the walls of itsstructure .

The foundation is called gal : Shr utih“that

which has been heard the walls ar e called qfitSmr tih,

“ that which has been remembered .

The Shruti has been given through ver y wisemen

, who heard it and received it from Devas ;these sacred teachings were not written down til lcomparatively modern times

,but were learnt by

heart,and constantly repeated .

The teacher sang them to his pupils,and the

pupils sang them after him,a few words at a time ,

3

over and over again , till they knew them thoroughly.

Boys still learn the Shruti in the same way as

their forefathers learnt it in very ancient days, and

you may hear them chanting it in any Vaidika

Pathashal aat the present time .

The Shruti consists of the a g‘

éa‘

r : Chatur vedah,the Four Vedas . Veda means knowledge, thatwhich is known and the know ledge which is thefoundation of Religion is given to man in the FourVedas . They ar e named 55333 : Rigvedah m 2?S ftmaveda li 213 313 : Yajur vedah and star-ifs};A thar vavedah.

Each Veda is divided into three parts1 . m : Mantr ah or 6?a Samhita

,collection .

2 . m a Br fihmanam.

3 . M a Upanishat.

The Mantra portion consists of Mantras,or

sentences in which the order of sounds has a particul ar power

,produces certain effects . These ar e in

the form of hymns to the Devas—whose relationsto men we shal l study presently— and when theyar e properly chanted by properly instructed persons

,

certain results follow . These ar e used in religiousceremonies

,and the value of the ceremony depends

chiefly upon their proper repetition .

The Brahmana portion of the Vedas consists ofdirections about ritual and explains how to performthe ceremonies in which were used the Mantrasgiven in the first part and further

,stories connec

ted with them .

The Upanishat portion consists of deep philosophical teachings on the nature of Brahman

,on

the supreme and the separated Self, on man and

the universe,on bondage and liberation . It is the

foundation of al l philosophy,and when you ar e

men,you may study it and delight in it. Only

highly educated men can study it ; it is too difficultfor others .There was a fourth part of the Veda in the

ancient days,sometimes called the a tri a?Upavedah,

or aa qT antr am this consiste d of science,and of

practical instructions based on the science butvery little of the true ancient Tantra remains , as

the R ishis took them away as unsuitable for timesin which people were less spir itual . Some Tantrikaform s of ritual ar e

,however

,used in worship

,along

with,or instead of

,the current Vaidika forms . The

books now extant under the name of Tantras ar e

generally not regarded as part of the Veda.

That which 18 found l n the Shruti 18 of supremeauthority and 1s accepted by every faithful follower

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6

being s . A s there ar e two Manus for each Man

vantara,that shows that we ar e in the fourthMan

vantar a, under the ruleof the seventhMann, who is ,the next shloka tel ls us

,the son of Vi vasvat . Some

of his laws ar e handed down in the Mann S mr tih.

The Yafi iava lkya Smr tihfollows the same gener al line as the Manu 87717 35121 and is next in importance to it . The other two ar e. not now muchstudied or referred to

,except in some parts of

Southern India.

Whil e the Shruti and the Smriti ar e the. founda

tion and the walls of the S anz’itana Dharma, there

ar e two other important supports like buttressestheW ,

Puranani,Puranas

,and the {Erma

Itihasah, History .

The Puranas consist of histories and stories and

allegories,composed for the use of the less learned

part of the nation , especially for those who couldnot study the Vedas . They ar e very interestingto read

,and ar e full of information of al l kinds .

Some of the allegories ar e diffi cult to understand,

and require the help of a teacher.The Itihasa comprises two great poems

1 . The (mm Rémdg/anam,the history of

S hri Ramachandra,the son of KingDashar atha, and

( 7 )

of His wife S ite, and of His brothers , a most interesting and delightful story

,as you al l know .

2 . The RETWREI, Mahdbhdr atam,the history

of the Kurus,a royal family of Northern India

,

which split into two parties,the Kurus and the

Pandavas,between whom a great war broke out.

It contains an immense number of beautiful stories,

noble moral teachings,and useful lessons of al l kinds .

These two books,the Rdmduana and the

Mahabhar ata , tell us most of what we know aboutancient India

,about her people and customs

,and

her ways of living,and her arts

,and he r manu

factures . If you read these, you will learn how

great India once was,and you will also learn how

you must behave to make her great once more .*

T HE S CIEN CE A N D PH ILOS OPHY OF

S A N AT A N A DHA RM A .

While the Shruti and the Smriti, the Puranasand the Itihasa make the edifice of Hindu Religion

,

we find that the Rel igion itself has given rise toa splendid literature of Science and Philosophy .

The Science was divided into thew ShadaI

‘

igani, the Six A ngas, literal ly Limbs ; and these‘Summar ies of these have been given as lectur es at the C. H . Col lege,

by Annie Besant, and ar e publ ished as The S tor y of the Gr eatWa r , andShr f Ramachaad r a .

8

six Limbs,or Branches

,comprised what would now

be called secular knowledge . In the old days religions and secular knowledge were not divided .

They included Grammar,Philology, A strology,

Poetr y,together with sixty-four sciences and arts ,

and the method by which study should be carriedon

,so that any one who mastered the six angas

was a man of varied and deep learning .

The Philosophy also had s ix divisions , theW I?! Shaddar shanani, the Six Dar shanas , orways of seeing things

,usually called the Six Sys

tems . They al l have one object : the putting an

end to pain by enabling the separated human selvesto r e-unite with the supreme Self ; and they al l haveone method— the development of m h e

‘

mam,

Wisdom . The ways employed ar e diff er ent, tosuit the different mental constitutions of

.

men,so

that they ar e l ike'

six different roads,al l leading to

one town .

A s to what is contained in the Six Systems of

philosophy, it will be enough for boys to know thisThe Nyaya and the Vaisheshika arrange al l the

things o f the world into a certain number of kindsthen point out that a man knows al l things bymeans of his senses

,or by inference and analogy ,

or by testimony of other (wise and experienced )

9

men ; and then they explain how' God has made

al l.

this material world out of atoms and moleculesfinally they show how the highest and most usefulknowledge is the knowledge of God , who is alsothe inmost Spirit of man

,and how this knowledge

is obtained in various ways .

The Sankhya explains in more detail and innew ways the nature of gas : Pur ushah, Spirit, andof afifin Pr akr itih, Matter

,and relation of each to

the other .

The Yoga says that as there ar e now generallyknown five senses and five organs of action , so therear e other subtler senses and organs ; and explainsmore fully how they may be developed by men whoar e seeking to know God

,who is their own true

inmost Spirit.The Mimansa explains what karma is

,i. e.

,act

ion , both rel igious and worldly, and what ar e itsconsequences , causes and effects , and how it bindsman to this world or to another.

The Vedanta finally tells fully what is the exactand true nature of God

,or Atma

,and shows that

Jiva of man is in essence the same as thi s inmostGod

,and explains how man may live so that karma

shall not bind him ; and final ly,by understanding

( 10 )

what the Maya Shakti of God is,by which al l this

world comes forth and appears and disappear s, howhe may (after practice of Yoga) merge himsel f intoand become one with God and so gain Moksha .

CH APT ER I.

T HE ON E EX ISTENCE .

HERE is one Infinite Eternal, ChangelessExistence

,the A LL .

From THAT al l comes forth ; to THA T al l

returns .One only

,Without a second .

”

THAT includes within Itself al l that ever hasbeen

,is,and can be . A s a wave rises in the ocean

,

a universe rises in the A LL . A s the wave sinks againinto the ocean

,a universe sinks again into the A LL .

A s the ocean is water, and the wave a form or

manifestation of the water, so is there one Existence

,and the universe is a form

,or manifestation

,

of the Existence . A l l this verily (is) Brahman ] ?This is the primary tr uth of Religion . Men

have given to the A LL many different names .The name in the S anatana Dharma is BRAHM AN.

Englis h-speaking people use the name GOD,add

ing, to make the meaning clear,God , in His own

V I,i i— I .

TIbid , l l I , xiv— i ,“ Thi s” is the technical name for a univer se.

( 1 2 )

N ature . Sometimes the Hindu speaks of the A LLa s N ir guna Brahman , the Brahman without attr ibutes

,or the unconditioned Brahman . This is to

distingu ish the unmanifested state of B rahman,

the A LL,from the manifested state

,in which

Brahman is called the Saguna Brahman,the B rah

man with attributes,or the conditioned Brahman

the Supreme ishvara with His universe .

These ar e called : “the two states of B r ahman ;

the subject is very difficult,and it is enough for a

boy to understand that the Saguna Brahman isBrahman revealed—not “

a second, but B r ahmanshining forth as T HE ON E, the Great Lord of Being,Thought and Bliss . He is the self-existent One,the Root and Cause of al l beings . He is also sometimes call ed Pu r usottama,

’ the Supreme Spirit ,T HE SELF . With Himself as Spirit He reveals theother side of the A LL

,which is named Mfilapra

kriti, the Root of Matter. Prakriti,Matter

,is

that which takes form , and so can give bodies ofal l sorts and shapes and kinds ; al l that we cantouch

,taste

,smell

,see

,and hear

,is Matter

,and a

great deal more besides,which our five senses ar e

not yet developed enough to perceive . The solids,

B n hadd r apyakop, II. ii i— l

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( 14 )

cannot think, or feel , or observe ; it is 3 3°

Jadam,

without consciousness. A nd it has also the tendency to be constantly dividing itse lf into manyforms and to become many . So that Spirit andMatter ar e said to be the opposites one of theother ; Spirit is called the knower, the one thatknows

,while Matter is called the object of know

ledge,that which is known .

Students should try to understand these differences , and must never confuse Spirit and Matter ;they ar e opposites

,the fir st pair of opposites

,

”out

of which a universe is built up .

Just as Spirithas three qualities, Erafi Qfl

'

fi T-iSat Chit A nandam—Being

,ThoughtoPower and

Bliss , so has Matter thr ee qualities an : ( a : mTamah, Rajah, Sattvam—Inertia, Mobility , Rhythm.

Inertia gives resistance and stabil ity to MatterMobility keeps Matter active

,moving about

Rhythm makes the movements regular . You maysay

“ A stone does not move of itself.” B ut

science tells you that every particle in that stoneparticles too small for you to see—is moving rapidly and regularly to and fro

,is vibrating, to use the

scientific term.

( 15 )

The Shaktih, or the D ivine Power of l shvara

,whichmakes Matter begin to take form

,is

calledmm Maya,and sometimes 33m : Daivi

prakrtib, the Divine Prakr ti. Shri Kr shna speaksof “ My Divine P

'

r akr ti”

as“ My other Prakr ti,

the higher,the life-element

,by which the universe

is upheld .

“

The student may think of the great pair of

Opposites , Ishvara and Mfilapr akrti, standing, as itwer e

,face to face and the Divine Power of Ishvara

shining out on Mf rlapr akr ti and making the qualities, called gm: gunah, act on each other, sc lthatmany forms begin to appear. This D ivine poweris Maya

,and so Ishvara is called the Lord of Maya.

Even young students must try to rememberthese names

,and what they mean

,for they cannot

otherwise understand the teaching of the Bbdgavad Gitd

,which every Hindu boy must try to un

der stand . It may be well to say that the wordPr akr ti is generally used instead of Mfil apr akrti,the prefix Mula, Root, being usuall y left out.

i f: av er mama m a m a?! l

Sta ff! “ atm a «a swag-a rm ll

*Bhaga rad Gitt’

i , V i i— 5.

16

«as : gems «sis ters! fiver?! u

fi fizvgmmé Hfifi rm'

a i ff mq I

was?Hézzs éa fi zfui {N i f ty a n

afa r-em m in i a r se: a I

W afi ifi a ff air a an it

man a fi uwms a m ul l

qami 5 am aims; unfavg; a :

m an m aimemmzwtqu it I

m mi ammw'

tr?H ires Pari‘

s au n"

“ I will declare that which ought to be known ,that which being known imm ortality is enjoyedthe beginningless supreme Brahman

,called neither

Being nor Not -Being .

“ Everywhere TH A T has hands and feet, everywhere eyes

,heads and mouths ; al l hearing, He

dwelleth in the world,enveloping al l

a.

“ Shining with all sense-faculties , without any

s en se unattached,supporting everything ; and

free from qualities , enjoying qualities .

Without and within al l beings, immovableand also movable by a reason of his subtlety indis

mtinguishable at hand and far away is THAT.

*B lzagar ad Gigd, x ui, l 2

— 1 7 .

( 1 7

Not divided amid beings.

and yet seated distr ibutively. THAT is to be known as the supporterof beings He devours and He generates .THAT

,the Light of al l lights , is said to be beyond

darkness w isdom,the object of wisdom

,by wisdom

to be reached, seated in the hearts of al l .me lee afi

‘

vm anaamqi

N EWng cama G ala : 11

fi fiqhua laauflf l m aaffl fqashl ar]?g rits" : a rgtrsfia n

‘

rg q: ll

fi smam‘

tiiqama : g eranium qmaa : I

«Wa i rs fw uz 8 ma w ager ed“

: ll"

This was in the form of Dar knes s,unknown

,

without marks [or homogeneous] , unattainable byreasoning, unknowable, wholly , as it were , in sleep .

“ Then the self-Existent,the Lord

,unmanifest

,

(but) making manifest. This— the great elements .and the rest— appeared with m ighty power

,D ispel

ler of Darkness .“ He who can be grasped by that which is beyond

the senses,subtle unm inifes t

,ancient

,containing al l

beings , inconceivable, even He Himself shone forth .

m m: 53154111 asti g mati sm : I

“ E l fi n was a g amma ( a a I T

Manu S mr iti i— 5, 6, 7 . 1

‘

Bhdgavad Gigi , x— 20.

18 )

I,O Gudakesha, am the SELF , seated in the

hear t of al l beings [ am the beginning, the midd le

,and also the end of al l beings .

xii-s shgai t shitfi f fi

f

fi'

t we: a I

in : «Win ararfi an ti war s eas n

m mm : m fin rta:

airm arm'

évu Enn i s-w fiat : a

m a fi f fl'fil ffi'

fl nfi ttaf fi' fimw: I

n it

There ar e two Pur ushas in this world , the destr uctible and the indestructible the destructible isal l beings

,the unchanging is cal led the indestr uct

ible .

The highest Purusha is verily another,declar

ed as the Supreme SELF ; He who pervading al l,

sustaineth the three worlds,the indestructible

Ishvara.

Since I excel the destructible,and am more

ex cell ent also than the indestructible, in the world

and in the Veda I am proclaimed Pr ushottama.

M W film : Harem: I

I Ibid , xiv— 16.

Bhagamd Gigd , xv— 7 .

1 9 )

A portion of Mine own Self,transformed in

the world of life into an immortal Spirit,draweth

round itself the senses,of which the mind is the

sixth,veiled in matter .

mi 8 33m Fag-oil when : I

Faetwss fimrwi a : med?! 8 m fit n

flatWimwwfiwmflavw fi l

m m a fis ta it‘

m mw‘

a am ll

um s am ba: Wai‘

vair'

fiti ( fit: I

fi éfi r am afiesé nm fi mta u ’

r

“ Seated equally in al l beings, the supreme

Ishvara,unpe r ishing within the perishing he who

thus seeth,he seeth .

“ When he preceiveththe diversified ex sistence

of beings as rooted in ON E and spreading forthfrom It

,then he reacheth Brahman .

A s the one sun il l umineth the whole earthso the Lord of the field

,ill umineththe whole field

0 Bhar a’

ta .

w’

fi trti‘

rswa’

tavg : fit as?gfa'ia

“

a I

tram «hi it fir s tm’

fitsa r IIM afi a-sew Stef fi! Fait ir m i

Grim 31m vi i Emit“

! an t

Earth, Water,Fire

,A ir

,Other

,Mind and

1‘ Ibid xii i— 27 30

, 33. Bhaga rad-Gigt’

i, 1711 , 4-5.

( 20 )

Reason also and Egoism— these ar e the eight-fo lddivisions of my Pr akr ti.

This the inferior . Know my other Pr akr ti,the higher, the life-element

,O mighty -armed

,by

which the universe is upheld .

ma’

(m a {fi tgun: m an ner : l

fi swfia Hermi t it?“

affl uen t: a f

Sattva,Rajas

,Tamas

,these ar e the Gunas

,

born of Prakriti ; they bind fast in the body, 0great-armed one

,the indestructible dweller in the

body .

”

1 Ibid— x iv 5

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22

we may use the names Mahat-Buddhi,Pure Rea

son,and A hamkar a

,Egoism

,the principle o f sepa

ration,breaking up matter into tiny particles

,called

atoms . Then come the remaining five T attvas

Akasha,Ether ; Vayu , A ir ; A gni, Fire Apa,

Water ; Prithivi , Earth . This is cal led the creation of the $13!l Bhfitfidi, Elements , and out ofthese al l things ar e partly made There is more ofTamo-guna than of Rajo-guna and of Sattva-gunashowing itself in these elements

,and so the things

composed chiefly of them ar e dull and inert theinner li fe

,the Jiva

,cannot show its powers

,for the

coat of matter is so thick and heavy .

Next after the Elements,the ten Ind riyas ar e

created ; these were at first on ly ideas in the mindof Brahma

,and later were clothed in the Elements

they ar e the five centres of the senses smell,taste

,

sight,touch

,hearing

,the organs of whichar e the

nose,tongue

,eyes

,skin and ears and the five

centres of action,the organs of which ar e hands

,

feet,and those of speech

,generation and excretion .

There i s more of Rajo-guna than of Tamo-gunaand of Sattva-guna shewing itself in these Indr iyas ,so they ar e very active

,and the inner l ife

,the J iva

,

can show more of its powers in them.

A fter the Ind r iyas , Brahma created in His

23

m ind the Devas who ar e connected with thesenses , and also Manah, the mind, which is sometimes called the sixth Indr iya, when the first fivear e spoken of

,and the eleventh

,when the ten ar e

taken ; because it draws into itself and arrangesand thinks over all the sensations collected by theIndr iyas from the outer world . There is more of

Sattva-guna than of Tamo-guna and of Rajo-gunashowing itself in these Deities and Manah.

The student must remember that these gunas

ar e never separated , but one guna may be moredom inant than another in any particular being .

When Tamo-guna dominates,the being is called

tfimasik when Rajo-guna dominates,the being is

called rajasik when Sattva-guna dominates,the

being is called sattvik . A l l things may be dividedunder these three heads of sattvik

,rajasik , and

tamasikfi“

Brahmanext created in His mind the hosts ofDevas

,who carry out

,administer the laws of Ishvara

,

and see to the proper management of al l the worlds .Ishvara is the King

,the One Lord

,and the Devas

ar e His ministers,like the ministers and officials

of an earthly king . The students must neverconfuse the Devas with the supreme Ishvara

,with

S ee Bhiig tad-Gil d , x iv , xvi i and xvi i ] .

24

Brahman . They ar e His higher officials for the

Brahmanda,

as we men ar e His lower officials forthis one particular world .

The Devas,sometimes called Suras

,see that

each man gets what he has earned by his karma.

’

They give success and failure in worldly things,

according to what a man deserves they help men

in many ways , when men try to serve them,and

much of the bad weather and sickness and fam ineand other national troubles come from men entirelyneglecting the duties they owe to the Devas .The Devas ar e a vast multitude

,divided under

their five Rulers,Indra

,Vayu

,A gni

,Varuna and

Kubera. Indra has to do with the ether ; Vayu'

with the air ; A gni with the fire ; Varuna withthe water ; Kubera with the earth . The Devasunder each have different names , as we see in thePuranas and the Itihasa. The student may haveread

,for instance , how Bhima fought with the

Yakshas,who were the servants of Kubera .

In these Devas the Rajo-guna dominatesManu says that their nature is action .

The A suras,the enemies of the Devas , embody

the resistance , or inertia, of Matter, and in themTamo -guna is predominant .

Karma 15 explained i n Chapter IV .

25

Brahma then created in His mind minerals ,

plants, animals and men , thus completing the picture of the worlds wherein the unfolding of thepowers of the Jiva—what is now called Evolution—was to take place . In Sanskr it this world-evolution

,or world -process

,is called (wa rt : S amsar ah,

and it is compared to a wheel , constantly turning,on which al l Jivas ar e bound .

Thus Brahma. completed His share of the gr eattask of a universe, but the form s needed, to beclothed in physical matter

,to be made active be

ings ; this was the work of Vishnu;the A l l -per vaéder

,the Maintainer and Preserver of the worlds .

He breathed His Life into all these forms , and , as

a Parana says , became Pr fina in al l forms and gavethem consciousness . Then al l the Brahmanda“ became full of life and consciousness . But eventhis was not enough

,when man came upon the

scene . T wo A spects of Ishvara had given TheirLife

,but the third A spect remained

,the One who

d issolves forms and thus liberates the Jivas,calling

them to union and bliss . The life of Mahadevamust be poured out to complete the triple Jiva of

man,that he might be the perfect r eflex ion of the

triple Ishvara. This was done, and the humanJiva began his long evolution

,having al ready passed

26

through, evolved through, the mineral , vegetableand animal kingdoms in previous kalpas . A verybeautiful description of the evolution throughp lants and animals to men

,until in man Atma is

manifest,

”and by the mortal he desires the im

mortal,”may be read by elder students in the

A z’

gfar cydr azzyakaf and will be found in the A dvanced T ext-Book.

The special manifestations of Vishnu,called

A vatar as , must not be forgotten . The word meansOne who descends , from tr i passing over

,the pr efix

ava” giving the significance of descending . It

is applied to D ivine manifestations of a peculiarkind

,in which the Deity incarnates in some form

to bring about some special result. When thingsar e going badly with the world, and special help isneeded to keep the world on the road of rightevolution

,then Vishnu comes down in some appr o

pris te form,and puts things right .

Ten of His A vatar as ar e regarded as more impor tant than the others

,and ar e often spoken of

as“ the Ten A vatar as .

”

1 . MATSYA , the fish.— Vaivasvata Manu once

saw a little fish,gasping for water, and put it into

a bowl it grew, and He placed it in a larger potI f . i ii— 2 .

2 7

then again in a larger,and then in a tank

,a pond

,

a river,the sea, and ever the Fish grew and filled

its receptacle . Then the Mann knew that this Fishwas connected with His own life-work , and whenthe time came for Him to save the seeds of lifefrom a great flood

,He entered a ship with the

Rishis and the necessary lif e-seeds,the great Fish

appeared,and drew the vessel to the world where

lay the Mann’s work . With the coming of the Fish

began the great evolution of an imal life in theworld .

2 . KUEM A,the Tortoise — A s the tortoise

,

Vishnu , supported the whirling mountain , whichchurned the great sea of matter

,that it might give

forth the necessary forms . The Tortoise is thetype of the next great step in evolution .

3. VARAB A,the Boar . -The earth was sunk

below the waters,and V ishnu raised it up

,giving

,

in the Boar,the type of the great mammalian king

dom which was to flourish on the dry land .

Modern Science recognises these three greatstages of evolution

,each marked in Hinduism by

an A vatara.

4. NA RA S IMHA,the Man -Lion .

— Thi s was theA vatara that came to free the earth from the tyrannyof the Daityas . Into this race a child

,Prahlada

,

28

was born , who from earliest childhood was devotedto Vishnu, despite the threats and the cruelties ofhis Diatya father. Over and over again the fathertried to slay the son

,but ever Vishnu intervened

to save him at last He burst from a pil lar in theform of a Man-Lion

,and slew the Daitya King .

p

o . V A M A N A, the Dwarf .— A t last He came as

man, to aid the evolution of the human race

,and

gained from Bali the right to al l He could cover,in

three steps ; one step covered the earth, and thusHe won for man the field of his evolution .

6. PARAS HURAMA , Rama of the A xe — ThisA vatara came to punish such of the Kshttr iyasas were Oppressing the people, and to teach badr ulers the danger of using power to tyrannise

,

instead of to help .

7 . RAM A,usually called Ramachandra

, the

son of Dashar atha.— He

,with His three brothers

,

came as the ideal Kshattr iya, the model King, and

He serves as an example of a perfect human life .A n obedient and loving son , a tender husband

,an

affectionate brother, a gallant warrior, a wise ruler,

a diligent protector of His people , He is emphati

cally The Perfect Man . His splendid story is toldin Valmiki’s ‘Rc

’

imdyaqtam,and the lovely version

of Tulsi Das is known in every northern Indianhome .

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30

m aidWW ? en igma? fir m ll

swim : await a H mm

fi ssswaar sem i s! I

i tem?a ?fi r’

iflarfi a H5 ll

Within Thy Form,O God

,the I see ,

A l l grades of being with distinctive marksBr ahmathe Lord , upon His lotus -throneThe Rishis al l , and Serpents

,the Divine .

Rudras,V asus

, Sfidhyas and Adityas ,V ishvas , the A shvins

,Maruts

,U shmapas ,

Gandharvas,Yakshas

,Siddhas

,A suras

,

In wondering multitudes beholding Thee .

0 A 0

was s tem aga r stairs

afia mi nm’

iaaramgz l“ Indra

,Mitra

,Varuna

,A gni

,they callhim

,

and He is the radiant golden-feathered Gar utman ,Of Him who is one

,Sages speak as manifold ;

they call him A gni,Yama

,Mfitar ishvfi.

”

mesa Qatar : Hal :W WW I”

r

Bhagavad Gitfi , x 1 , , 15and 22 .

R ig r eda ,I , clxi v , 46. T M anmmr itt, xi i , 1 19 .

31

A l l the Gods (ar e) even the Self al l rests onthe Self.

mafi aam fiamgmi statutes l

{samba} mum?m W attH

“ Some call H im A gn i,others Manu, (others)

Pr ajéipati, some Indra, others Life -Breath, others .

the eternal Brahman .

”

W gfim rm qmr

W ill : qua-vs Hm : I

am ifafi ar: sil ls: war

g ames as $3 t urfia

m ai d m i?mt: H im a l

wargs'i’

rifirtm: trivi a?fi rs ts arfi‘tlf r II

m is" ass t w as ?"

G M T asp-mw eir was I I

“ A s from a blazing fire sparks,al l similar to

each other,spring forth in thousands so from the

Indestructible,O beloved

,various types of being

ar e born,and they also return thither

“ From That ar e born Breath,Mind

,and al l the

Senses,Ether

,A ir

,Fire

,Water

,and Earth

, the

support ofj bul , 124 . 1 M undakop,

1 1, i , 1- 1 7 .

32

From that in various ways ar e born , the GodsS fidhyas , Men , Beast, Birds .

arena Hams e ra ( a s?i n: aa a l

smears?ané‘

t aaawaraaa a u

aé mafia a im tr aitmafia ( term :

m ama waitmafia amen: u“ From Sattva w isdom is born

,and al so greed

from Rajah negligence and delusion ar e of Tamah,and also unwisdom .

“ They rise upwards who ar e settled in Sat igva

the Rajasic dwell in the midmost place . TheTamasic go downwards

,enveloped in the vilest

qualities .

GET gaff Ham'

s ( a : amifis mta I

mamas : a as : am?m anager II

r at: was?ansfi a an : e ra( s eam ll

Hawks 3&5a WISHmama I

mawar aar lflfll § fag?a‘

ara‘

ga l l

am : nqfi rrm z 65:11!!t sear u

m fi arra m a raga: m ama u

m mfirsflsfi lfi awai

t the 11a a l

m i arta a rwaeqe gusasaa ll T“ Sattva attacheth to bliss

,Rajahto action , 0

*Bhdgaw d Gitd , x iv, I 7 . 18. TB luiga vad-Gijd, mv, 9— 13.

33

Bharata. Tamah, verily, having shrouded wisdom,

attachethon the contrary , to heedlessness .

(Now) Sattva prevaileth , having overpoweredRajah and Tamah, O Bharata (now ) Rajah(having overpowered) Tamas and Sattva

, (now)Tamas

, (having overpowered ) Rajah and Sattva.

“When the wisdom-light str eamethforth fromal l the gates of the body , then it may be knownthat Sattva is increasing .

Greed,outgoing energy, undertaking of se

tions,restlessness

,desire— these ar e born of the

increase of Rajah, 0 best of the t’

i ratas .

“ Darkness , stagnation and heedlessness,

and

also delusion— these ar e born of the increase of.Tamah, O joy of the Kurus .

”

eat star is mien mu'

a'

eiat'

a mta n

mgmmaafim aatemag a rn et: u

m’

i amrm H rgal faarma a‘

g‘a‘

am ll

afiaemvaruia Hzaar'

ficr 3h ll

“ When dharma decays,when adharma is exalt

ed then I Myself come forth ;For the protection of the good

,for the destruo

tion of evil-doers,for firml y establishing dharma,

I am born from age to age.

”

Bhéga r ad -Gztd, iv, 7 ,—8.

CHA PT ER III.

RE-B IRTH .

HE evolution spoken of in the last chapter iscarried on by the Jiva passing from body to

body, the bodies improving as his powers unfold ;this is called r e-birth , re incarnation , or transm igration . The word r e-in carnation means literall y taking flesh again

,coming again into a physical body .

The word transmig ration mean s passing from oneplace to another passing into a new body . Eitherword can be used equally well . Let us see what isthe process described by these words .The Jiva

,we have seen , is a portion of Brahman ,

“a portion of myself, a J iva,

” says Shri Krebna.

He contains the powers of Brahman , is Brahman .

“ Thou ar t That,” the Shruti teaches . But yet there

is a diff erence in Space and Time,as the seed is

different from the tree . The tree produces a seed,

giving it its own nature ; it drops the seed on the

ground , and the seed slowly grows , pu tting out

its.

hidden powers,until it becomes a tree like its

parent ; it can become nothing else, because its nature

is the same as that of the paren t . A nd so with theJiva ; like a seed he is dropped into matter byIshvara, he slowly grows , putting out his hidden

powers , until he becomes Ishvara ; he can become

35

nothing else,because his nature is the same as that

of his Parent, Ishvara.

Ishvara is said to be wise and powerful , J iva tobe unwise and powerless ;' but the Jiva grows intowisdom and power, and that growth is what iscalled Evolution .

We have seen that the Jiva begins in the m ineral '

kingdom his long pilgrimage through the physicalworld . A t that stage he is unconscious of theouter world . His attention is called to it

,its ex

istence is forced on him ,by v iolent shocks and

blows from outside earthquakes , volcanoes , landslips

,the rolling of the furious surf

,these and many

other violent agencies arouse the Jiva’s attentiontothe fact that he is not alone , that there is something outside him . If the student reads the aocounts of the very early periods of the ear th’shistory , he will be struck by the number of bigcatastrophies all these were necessary to awakenthe J ivas . A fter a very very long time

,the Jivas

wer e sufficiently awake to be fit for softer and

more flexible bodies than mineral s,and they went

on into plants,while others

,coming out later from

Ishvara, took their places in the m ineral kingdom.

The J ivas in the plants now became more conShvetashvatar op, 1— 9 .

36

scious of the outer world , feeling the warm sun , andthe gentle breezes

,and the life -g iving rain . A s they

grew older and more sensitive, they pas sed into thelonger-lived plants

,such as shrubs and trees

,and

in these more of their inner powers unfolded,till

they were ready to go on into the animal kingdom,

while the younger ones came on into the vegetablekingdom

,and others still younger into the m inerals .

A nd now in the animal kingdom the Jivas goton much faster , and by hunting for food , and fighting and outwitting each other, the senses and thesimple mental powers were brought out and stren~

gthened ; until at last the animal form s were nolonger good enough for them

,and they needed the

human in order that their evolution should not stop .

The student may ask What makes the formsevolve to suit the Jiva The J iva’s own efforts .He wants to look out through the wall of matterthat encloses him he tries to see

,and his out

war dgoing energy works on the wall, and slowly,

very very slowly , evolves an eye and so with al l

the senses and al l the organs . The senses ar epierced from within outwards

,we ar e taught.

The Jiva shapes them al l to suit himsel f,so that

he . can use his powers in the outer world,

and the Devas help him by giving him mat

er ial s that ar e suited to the organ he wants

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( 38 )

to a stone, til l hehas learned to use the human formbetter. Then he is like a man in prison

,shut out

f rom human society, and unable to use his humanpowers

,for want of freedom .

But the Jiva is not to be tied for ever to thewheel of births and deaths . The ropes that tiehim to this wheel ar e his desires . So long as hedesires objects that belong to this earth

,he must

come back to this earth in order to possess and en

joy these objects . But when he ceases to desirethese objects

,then the ropes ar e broken

,and he is

free . He need not be born any more ; he has reached liberation . He is then called aMukta, a free Jiva.

Often Muktas remain in this world to help itsprogress

,so that other J ivas may get free sooner

than they otherwise woul d . We read about suchMuktas in the Vedas and Puranas and the Itihasa ;sometimes they ar e great Rishis or Kings

,and

sometimes they ar e quite simple people . But whatever they may be in outside appearance

,they ar e

pure and unselfish and calm,and live on ly to help

others . They ar e content to labour for the good ofthe world

,and they know that they ar e one

with ishvara.

( 39 )

m ai n w E?firmi zfiafi am3 :1 ! t a ga ff?H

*

“ A s the dweller in the body exper ienceth, inthe body, childhood , youth and old age, so passethhe on to another body . The steadfast one grievethnot thereat.”

m am {itEar fitm ent: nfifimW W am qm a ma IIa mi fife sa ri ufi fi was am:s zfi fi a fimfirfi mé afia am fi n

a m a lu a u: qrW‘W‘

ant{anm'

éat at a 3131 : I

S tair firm: {marinam3 enterm rfi {l i ft ll

se lfi arfiré fired 1: W ars aw

méq gasrzqrvi fi s aram'

e i n

m ite: admit? um fires:a im?! m fir af rsqnfiu

’

l

am arfim’

ir Fag in sitar?wflnfir émfir amfa

"

as?IIis?fimnaszfiszi asmien mmm {ariaa atfifia gmffa ll"

“ These bodies of the embodied One who isBhfigaw d u —13

t’

iga cad Gi j f'

i , 1 1 , 18-22 and 30.

( 40 )

eternal,indestructible and boundless

,ar e known as

finite. Therefore fight,0 Bharata.

“ He who regardeth this as a slayer,and he

who thinketh he is slain,both of them ar e ignorant.

He slayeth not, nor is he slain .

“ He is not born,nor doth he die : nor

,having

been,ceaseth he any more to be ; unborn , petpe

tual,eternal and ancient

,he is not slain when the

body is slaughtered .

“Who knoweth him indestructible,perpetual

,

unborn,undiminishing ,

how can that man slay, O

'

Partha, or cause to be slain“ A s a man

,casting off worn-out garments

,

taketh new ones , so the dwell er in the body , casting off worn -out bodies , entereth into others thatar e new.

“ This dwell er in the body of every one is everinvulnerable

,O Bharata. Therefore thou shoul dst

not grieve for any creature .

”

m mam?(“Writmangqrmm aai m

mat mi alga maximum s?aren’

t fi zemfi ai'

«sala m i s amurai mi $ 63 u*

“ A s a goldsmith , having taken a piece of gold,maketh another form

,new and more beautiful

,so

B mhadci r a nyaknp, IV , 1v— 4.

( 4 1

verily the Atma, having cast ofi this body and

having put away A vidya, maketh another new and

more beautiful form .

”

m ar amifim(ii i wars" mitt?! a : I

em s a a ari a qsrqafirarmm II

5515171 new gas "%E§ftfifi tfi l

zfifim: anti g aifmEivi EHQWISWWll

gas: mitnei s mearmn’

ehmca‘

rfi fifg sf'

rqages: mummy as?! Gm

“

?Ps alm?tu‘

“ He who actethplacing al l actions in Brahman,

abandoning attachment,is unaffected by sin

,as a

lotus leaf by the waters .“ Yogis

,having abandoned attachment

,perform

action only by the body , by the m ind, by the reav

s on,

and even by the senses,for the purification

of the self .The harmonised man

,having abandoned the

fruit of action,

attainethto the eternal peace ; thenon -harmonised

,impelled by desire

,attached to

fruit,ar e bound .

Famfémzrmqsr award: at?! afa r? I

ufi’

t fitter saqfi a mi ter" : Hmf

iffl: II

fi ati

fifs’

ra : an“

?El s i emit find Ha : I

thi rs t”

?Gam m qaa rfir afim zu

B kdga cad— Gqfi, v , 10— 12 .

“ Sages look equal ly on a Brahmana ador nedwith learning and humi lity

,a cow, an elephant,

and even a dog and an outcaste .“ Even here on earth they have conquered the

universe whose mind remains balanced . Brahmanis incorruptible and balanced ; therefore they ar e

established in Brahman .

“ One should neither rejoice in obtaining whatis pleasant

,nor sorrow in obtaining what is unplea

sant ; with Reason firm,unperplexed

,the Brahman

knower (is) established in Brahman .

“ He whose self is unattached to external contacts , and findethjoy in the SELF , having the sel fharmonised with Brahman by yoga, enjoyethhappiness exempt fr om decay .

gmm m fi’rw a

1 m e,v . 18— 2 1 .

( 43 )

m i raf‘

agssmi tram?are-33am l

a far?! safa ri?use: seam mII*“ He who is happy within

,who rejoiceth within

and who is il luminated within,that yogi

,becoming

Brahman,goeth to the Nirvana of Brahman .

“

Rishis their sins destroyed, their dual ityremoved

,their selves controlled

,intent upon the

welfare of al l beings, obtain the Nirvana of Brah

The Nirvana of Brahman lies near to thosewho know themselves

,who ar e di sjoined from

desire andpassion , subdued ascetics,of contr olled

mind .

”

B ILdgamd-Gitfi, v . 24-26.

CHA PT ER lV

KARMA .

A RMA is a Sanskrit word which means action,

but it is generally used to mean a certaindefinite connection between what is being done

now and what will happen in the future . Thingsdo not happen by accident

,by chance

,in a disorder

ly way. They happen in regular succession ; theyfoll ow each other in a regular order .If a seed is planted in the ground

,it sends up

a little stem,and leaves grow on the stem and the

flowers come,and then fruits

,and in the fruits ar e

seeds again . A nd one of these seeds planted willproduce a stem

,and leaves

,and flowers and fruits

and seeds . The same sort of seed produces thesame kind of plan ts . Rice produces rice-plants ;barley produces barley ; wheat produces wheat ;thistle produces thistle ; cactus produces cactus . Ifa man sows thistles

,he must not expect a crop of

sweet grapes ; if he plants prickly cactus, he mustnot expect to gather juicy apples . This is karma

,

and a man,knowing it

,sows the seed of the thing he

wants to reap . This is the first thing to remember .

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( 46 )

thing s, we sow kindness like a seed , and it growsup into kindness to ourselves . Whatever we sow

by our actions comes back to us . This is karma.

But action has thought behind it. N ow

thought makes what is called our character,the

nature and kind of mind that we have. A s we

think about a thing a great deal , our mind becomeslike that thing . If we think kindly

,we become

kind ; i f we think cruelly, we become cruel ; if wethink deceitful ly, we become deceitful ; if we thinkhonestly

,we become honest . In thisway our character

ismade by our thoughts,and when we ar e born again

,

we shall be born with the character that is beingmadeby our thoughts now. A s we act according to ournature, or character— as a kind person acts kindly

,or

a cruel person acts cruel ly- it is easyto see thatactions in our next life will depend on the thoughtsof our present life . This i s karma.

But thought has des ire behind it. N ow des ir ebrings us the object we wish for. A s a magnet attracts soft iron , so does desire attract objects . If

we des ire money,we shall have the opportunity of

becoming rich in another life . If we des ire learning

,we shall have the Opportunity of becoming

learned in another life . If we desire love,we shall

( 47

have the opportunity of becoming loved . If wedesire power

,we shall have the opportuni ty of be

caming powerf ul . This is karma.

The student should think over this again and

again till he thoroughly understands it. Only '

when he understands this, can he go on to the '

more difficult problems of karma. Karma may be

summed up in a sentence A man reaps as he sows .

But the student may ask If my actions nowar e the outcome of my past thoughts, and if mypast thoughts ar e the outcome of my past desires ,am I not helplessly bound? I must act as I havethought. I must think as I have desired .

” That istrue

,but to a certain extent only ; for we ar e

changing constantly as we gain new experiences,

and the Jiva thus gains more knowledge,and by

the help of that changes his desires . In other words,

while we have actua l ly desired , thought and acted‘

in a certain way in the past, the possibility of

desiring,‘

of thinking other wisehas also been presentthr oughout that past and this possibility may beturned, at any time , into actuality , as soon as we

realise, by means of new experiences,the evil‘

consequences of acting as we have actually done inthe past .

( 48

Suppose a man finds that he has acted cruell yhe learns that his cruel action was caused by hicruel thoughts in the past

,and that those cruel

thoughts grew out of desire to get an object whichcould only beqbtain ed by cruelty . He sees that hiscruel actions make peo ple miserable

,that these

people hate and fearhim,and thus make him lonely

and unhappy . He thinks over al l this,and he r e

solves to change,but the pressure of his past thoughts

and desires is very difficult to resist. He goes to theroot of the trouble— the desire for the things that hecannot get without cruelty , and he— who is theJiva— says to himself “ I will not let myself desirethose things

,and whenever [ begin to wish for them

I will remember that the desire breeds misery .

” Heuses thought to check desire

,instead of letting desire

control thought . Then instead of desires carryinghim away

,as if they were runaway horses , he

gradually u ses thought as a bridle,and keeps his

desires in check . He will only allow them to runafter objects that bring happiness when they ar e

obtained .

Young J ivas let their desires run away withthem

,and so bring much unhappiness on them

selves ; older Jivas grow wiser, and when the des1r e

( 49

runs out to an object the possession of which would,as he has found in the past, cause unhappiness , heremembers that past unhappiness , and by histhought pulls the desire back.

The student,then

,who would make happiness

for others and for himself, mu st look well after hisdesires

,must find out by observation and study

w hich objects in the long run bring happiness,and

which bring unhappiness,and mu st then try

,with

al l his strength , to desire only those things the outcome of which is happiness .It is very important to realise that escape from '

the bonds of birth and death is not gained by any

special mode of life, but that , as Shri Kr shna saysHe who

,established in un ity

,worshippeth Me

,

abiding in al l beings,that yogi liveth in Me

,what

ever his mode of Janaka,the K shattr iya

King and T u ladhar a,the V aishyamerchant, equall y

reached liberation,and that

,not by fleeing to the '

forest,but by the absence of desire for worldly

things .Janaka was King in Mithilaover the V idehas

and , having attained to tr anquility of mind , he sangthis song : “ Unlimited is my weal th, and yet I have

Bhr’

iga r ad-Gitd, v1. -31 .

( 50 )

jnaught. If the whole of Mithila be burned upwith fire

,yet for me there will be nothing lost.” j‘

A nd so he told Mandavya, having repeated this,that whatever possessions a man might have werebut a source of trouble

,and that the gratification

of desire,here or in heaven , could not afford the

sixteenth part of the happiness which comes fr omthe disappearance of desire . A s the horns of a cow

grow with the cow,so does the desire for weal th

grow with its possession . Weal th should be usedfor the good that can be done with it, but desire issorrow . Looking on al l creatures as on himself

,a

wise man gains freedom from all anx ietyfi“ By the

teaching of the sage Jajnavalkya, King Janaka at

tained liberation , for it “ enabled him to attain tothat Brahman which is auspicious and immortal

,

and which transcends al l sor row.

”

T A nd havingthus learned

,he became in his turn a teacher

,to

whom even Vvasa sent his son , Shuka, to learn thereligion of emancipation ];Jajali made great tapas

,and became fi l led with

1' M a/uibha

'

r a tam. Shanti Par va, clxxn iM ahdbhdm tam, cccxxv u.

1' See the great d1ecour se of Yajnavalkya to n Janaka , Ibid .

FlhanmPar va, cccxi— cacxix .

IIb1d , cccxxvi—cccxxvn i .

( 51 )

pride ; and one day he thought within himself“ who in this wide sea and spacious earth is like tome Then cried a voice : “ Say not such words .Even T uladhar a, busy in buying and sell ing, shouldnot thus speak, and to him thou ar t not equal.Then Jajali wondered much that a mere merchantshould be put above himself, a Brahmana and an

ascetic, and he set forth to find T uladhara, and

thus solve the riddl e. Vexing himself, he reachedthe city of Varanasi , and ther e found T uladhara, amere shopkeeper , selling, to whomsoever came, al lkinds of good s . T uladhar a stood up , greeting the

Brahmana as was fitting and to him T uladhara r e

lated the story of the great penance that had inflatedhim with pride : “ A ngry

,thou hast come to me

,

O Brahmana; what service can I render theeMuch amazed was Jajali at such knowledgeo f his past shown by this humble trader , and eagerly he pressed for explanation . Then Tuladhar a

spoke to him of the ancient morality known toall— though practised by so few— of living in a

way which inflicted harm on none, or when harmc ould not be total ly avoided

,a m inimum of suclb

harm ; he himsel f asked no loan from any, nor withany quarrelled ; attraction and aversion he had con

( 52 )

quered ; equal his look on al l,without praising or

blaming any ;when a man is fearless and is fearedby none

,when he neither likes nor dislikes

,when

he does no wrong to any, then he reaches Brahman . Very beautifully did T uladhara discourseof the injuries inflicted on animals and on men bycruelty

,of the nature of sacrifice

,and of true pil

grimage,showing how liberation m ight be gained

by harmlessness . 9“

m m: ti aragm {fita U flrfi lfi l aafirm ast-a

m e me m aa am m m u“ Man verily is desire-formed ; as is his desire

so is his thought ; as (his) thought is , so he doesaction ; as he does action , so he attains .

”

fi a s wzaz fi iafi as war as feast-aw II I

So indeed the desirer goes by work to the

object in which his mind is immersed .

”

“ Now ver ily man is thought-formed ; as man in

this world thinks , so , having gone away hence , hebecomes .

M a /u’

ibhfi r atam,Shaun Par va, cclx1 cclx1.

f Bmha d r‘

ir a nyakop I ‘7 . 1 v— 5.

*Ib:d , 6.

I Chhdndogyop, III , x iv— l .

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( 54 )

Having abandoned attachment to the fr uit ofaction

,always content, nowhere seeking refuge he is

not doing anything, although doing actions .“ Hoping for naught

,his mind and self controlled

,

having abandoned al l greed,performing action by

the body alone,he doth not commit sin .

“ Of one with attachment dead,harmonious

,with

his thoughts established in wisdom,his works sacri

fices,al l action melts away .

”

m as aga ve mm inset: i f?Fwamm: weak en?w as as!W e II“

“When al l the desires hidden in the heart ar e

loosed,then the mortal becomes immortal

,then he

here enjoyethBrahman .

mama ( ma fi fe: xi ii mfia g I

3 am?! fi fe an : ques-era II

{fie-art

'

s smargfa'

maftfig “I? “anfifizaaa?g sr§firshrargfiafifim 11

m enswear; warmth-a new G an I

areafigmvaasa rfi germ {a m s : 11

mg Famaanaafeg ins new star 1

afifia an’

ar sauna «am {a w r it: IIm fiarammmm : w safa: I

a a magm as emf a rfim s a fe II T“ Know the Self

,the chariot-owner

,the body

,

Kat/101) , I I , vi— l 4 T Katha/7 , I , 11 1 , 3—7 .

( 55 )

the chariot ; know Reason the charioteer, and the

m ind as the reins ; they call the senses the horses,the sense-objects their province . The Self

,joined

‘

to the senses and mind, ( is) the enjoyer ; thus say'

the wise. Whoever is ignorant, always wi th mindl oose

,his senses (ar e) uncontrol led , like bad horses

of the charioteer. Whoever is wise,always with

m ind tightened,his senses (ar e) controlled , like good

homes of the charioteer. Whoever is indeed ignorant,

thoughtless,always impure

,he does not obtain that

g oal (but) comes again into Samsara.

”

CHA PT ER V .

SACRIFICE .

HE idea of “ offering sacrifices is very familiar inIndia

,but a student needs to understand the

pr inciple which underlies al l sacrifices,so that he

may realis e that every one should sacrifice himself tothe good of others , and that al l sacrifice of otherthings ar e meant , to teach a man how he ought

,at

last, to sacrifice himself.The first thing to grasp is that creation is sacri~

fice . Ishvara confines Himself, limits Himself, in.

mat ter in order that a universe may be made manifest. Shruti and Smriti alike proclaim this truth

,

as in the Purusha Sukta of the Rz

'

gveda or as in theallusion by Shri Kr ishna to the formal sacrifice thatcauses the birth of Immersion in matter is

,.

in spiritual language,called “ death

,

”and Ishvara

thu s sacrificed Himself in order that He mightbring into separate being portions of Himself

,the

J ivas who might develop al l His powers in matterin an infinite variety of forms . This is the primarysacrifice, and on this is based the Law . This alsogives us the meaning of sacrifice : it is the pouringoutof life for the benefit of others .

Bhfiga r ad Gitd , vm 3 .

( 57 )

The Law of Sacrifice is the Law of Life foral l Jivas . In the earlier stages of their growththey ar e forcibly sacrificed

,and so pr ogr ess involunta

rily,without their own consent or even knowledge

,

their forms being violently wrenched away fromthem

,and they propelled into new ones

,a little

more developed . Thus the Jives of the mineralkingdom ar e prepared to pass on into the vegetable,by the breaking up of their m ineral bodies for thesupport of plants . The Jivas of the vegetablek ingdom ar e prepared to pass on into the animals

,

by the breaking up of their vegetable bodies forthe support of animal life . The Jivas of theanimal kingdom ar e prepared to pass on into thehuman

,by the breaking up of their bodies for the

support of other animals,of savages

,and of certain

types of men . A nd even the Jivas of the humankingdom ar e prepared to rise into higher races bybreaking up of their human bodies for the supportof other human lives in cannibalism

,war

,etc .

In al l these cases the bodies are sacrificed forthe benefit of others , without the assent of theembodied consciousness ; Only after untold agesdoes the Jiva recognise

,in the body

,the univer

sal ity of the law ,and begin to sacrifice his own

upadhis deliberately , for the good of those around

( 58 )

him. This is called self-sacr ifice, and is the showing forth of the divinity of the Jiva, the proof thathe is of the nature of Ishvara.

A wonderful story of uttermost self-sacr ificeis told in the M ahdbhdr a lam.

Indr a, the King of the Devas , was sore besetby the A sura V r ittra, born of the wrath of a Rishi,whom Indra had offended by an unrighteous act.V r ittr a heading the Daityas , defeated Indra and

his arm ies in battle,drove him away fr om his

capital,A maravati and took away his sovereignty .

Long the Devas wandered with their King in exil e,

and repeatedly they made endeavour to regaintheir capital

,but were vanquished again and again .

~

Finall y they lear nt that the righteous wrath of aRishi could notbe allayed , except by the volumtary self-sacr ifice and pity of another Rishi ; andthat V r ittra could be slain by no other weaponthan the thunderbolt made with the self-givenbones of a holy one. A nd they went eagerly to

the Rishi Dadhichi and told their woeful tale tohim. A nd

' he was fill ed with a geat pity and said :“ I give to youmy body willingly to make what useof it you like.” A nd when their artificer V ishvakarma shrank from laying a rude and painful handupon that shining body of purity and tapas ,

59 )

Dadhichi smiled and said : “ Cover this body upwith salt ; bring here a herd of cows ; they shalll ick off the salt and flesh together ; and ye shal l takethe bones which only ye require ; and so naught ofthis body shall be wasted .

”A nd this was done

and V r ittr a fell before the might born of thatwondrous sacr ificefi"

The Jiva is led up to this point by the teachings of the Rishis , who bid him make sacrifices of

his pos sessions for a good that he does not receiveimmediately : they show him that when a man sacrifices to others

,his gifts return to him increased in

the future . A man is to sacrifice some of hisgoods

,which may be looked on as outlying pieces

of himself,and he is promised that this act of

self-denial shall bring him increased possessions .Next he was taught to make similar sacrifices and

to deny himsel f present enjoyments,in order that

he might lay up for himself increased happinesson the other side of death in Svarga. Thus thepractice of sacrificing was made habitual , and man

,

by sacrificing his possessions in the hope of reward,

prepared to learn that it was his duty to sacrificehimself in the service of others

,and to find in the

joy of that service his reward .

Lac. cat, Vana Pr ava, c.

( 60

A nother lesson taught in these sacrifices wasthe relation man bears to al l the beings roundhim; that he is not a solitary , isolated life, but thatal l lives ar e inter-dependent

,and can only prosper

permanently as they recognise this inter-dependence.

T he Rishis taughthim to sacrifice daily to the Devas,to Rishis , to ancestors

, to men and animals,and

showed him that as al l these made sacrifices toen rich his life, he had incurr ed to them a debt

, a

duty,which he must pay by sacrifice . A s he lives

on others , he must, in common honesty , live forothers . Sacrifice is right

,a thing that ought to be

done,that is owed .

Finally,as the Jiva recognises his parentage,

his identity in nature with Ishvara, sacrifice becomes happiness , a delight

,and the pouring out

of life for others is felt as a joyous exercise ofinnate divine powers . Instead of seeing how muchhe can take and how little he can give, he tries tosee how little he can take and how much he cangive. He begins to look very carefully into whathe takes for the support of his own upadhis , and

seeks to reduce to the lowest point the suff eringinflicted by the breaking up of lower forms forhis support. He abandons the foods and the

amusements which inflict pain on sentient beings

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( 62 )

WW : in :W u

a n: m it i t im i tem’

s w as !

w a rmthi t gas-m mat a : u

M etal s : ma?{re ar-

21 aéi'

finisfi :

ga‘

a a83 2i turn aG am m a ll

sierra; mafiaqan'

fiWimm uaz I

Wm fi flflaa‘

: fi rm s : ll

min im? (at? aanma gm l

m a ( thatas! fim'

as star'

s “ II"

Having in ancient times emanated mankindtogether with sacrifice

,Prajapati declared ‘By

this shall ye propagate ; be this to you theKamadhuk

“ With this nourish ye the Devas , and may theDevas nourish you ; thus nourishing one anotherye shall reap the supremest good .

“ For, nourished by sacrifice, the Devas , shal l

bestow on you the enjoyments you desire . A thiefverily is he who enjoyethwhat is given by themwithout returning them aught .

“ The righteous,who eat the remains of the

sacrifice,ar e freed from al l sin s but the impious,

who dress food for their own sakes,they verily eat

From food creatur es come forth from rain isBhaga rad - Gijd , i n, 10

— 15.

( 63

the production of food rain proceedeth from sac

r ifice sacrifice ariseth out of action .

“

,Know thou from Brahma (the Veda) action

groweth , and Brahma (the Veda) from the Imperishable

,cometh . Therefore Brahman

,the al l permeat

ing , is ever present in sacrifice .’

5mm ! fi lmWm {a i sm: I

Fasi Pg 31t m% fli rfi w a‘

ame nII"E

They who long after success in action on eartlh

sacrifice to the Devas for in brief space,verily

,

in this world of men , success is born of action .

”

0 o \ f \

5113 1W sew M m m afitfi m'

W{m finiaw’

: tfi un i am W II

mafia}m ust“

? f it: m inis aafiqgamr I T0 Kings , Indra, Varuna, to this our

'

sacrificeBe ye turned by offerings and homage

,

“ O Indra,Varuna

,plenteous wealth and food

and blessing give us . .

This my song may it reachIndra, Varuna,and by its force bring sons and off spring .

m afi fi m

mt2atwi afai si‘

rsfiaarsr: ll

TR igr eda , V I I , Lxxxiv, I , 4- 5,

Wa : gun : 3 3 31mm : ll“

Whoever works (sacrifices ), pouring libationsinto the shining of these [the seven flames previously mentioned] at the proper time, him theses un-rays lead where dwells the one Lord of theDevas . Saying to him Come

,come

,

’ these r esplendent libations carr y the sacr ificer by the sun-rays,WOl'Shipping him and saying the sweet words :This is your pure well-deserved Brahma-wor ld .

’

“ The eaters of the life-giving remains of sacrifice go to the eternal Brahman . This world is notfor the non-sacr ificer , much less the other, 0 bestof the Kurus .

nas tie rW m ari nas-33 8 :

m uta te : sift emit afasimfi II I“ From one with attachment dead, harmon ious,

with his thoughts established in wisdom, his workssacr ifices, all Karma melts away .

‘M mdakop, I , 11 5—6 Bhfiga cad- Gitr

‘

i,iv—31 . 1 12nd , 23.

( 65 )

zr eai‘

rfitm an’

s ang els} serfs as

w e 65mmag ate

:313mmII

m ew mew?mam a : I

Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou eatest,whatsoever thou offer est

,whatsoever thou givest

,

whatsoever thou doest of austerity, O Kaunteya, dothou that as an offering unto Me .

Thus shalt thou be liberated from the bondsof action , (yielding) good and evil fruits .

I l nd , 1x, 2 7—28.

CHA PT ER V l .

T HE WORLDS— VI S IBLE AND INVIS IBLE .

E al l know one world,the world around us

,

which we can see,and hear

,and touch

,and

taste, and smell . Science tel ls us of manyparts of this world

,which our senses ar e not keen

enough to perceive, things too small for our eyes tosee

,too subtle to affect any of our senses . These

_parts of our world, which we cannot perceive butabout which science tel ls us

,ar e stil l physical,

although invisible to us ; they ar e parts of ourworld . Physical matter includes solids , liquids ,gases

,and ethers , al l made up of atom s of the same

kind .

But we have heard of other worlds,which ar e

invisible and ar e not a part of this world,the

worlds into which people go when they pass awayfrom this earth by death . We read of the T r i loka

,

the three worlds,and every one shoul d know some .

thing about these, for in these three worlds the Jivais bound to the wheel of births and deaths

,and in

these his evolution proceeds . These three worldsar e made at the beginning of immense period calleda Day of Brahma, and perish at its ending. Fourother great lokas , or worlds

,complete the Bra

( 67 )

bwanda, but they last on through the life ofBrahma. We need not deal with them here . Therear e also some sub -divisions within the great lokas

,

to which the same name of loka is given,such as

,

‘

Pr etaloka and Pitr iloka in Bhi‘i var loka,and Indra

loka and Sfiryaloka in S var galoka.

The three great lokas with which we ar e

concerned,the T r iloki, ar e : Bhfi r loka

,the physical

world,or the earth ; Bhuvar loka, the world of be

coming - intermediate between the , earth and

v arga; Svar galoka, the heaven world . Of thesethree

,Bhfir loka is partly visible and partly invisible

to us ; Bhfivar loka and S vargaloka ar e invisible..In Bhur loka the Prithvi Tattva is the basis of al l

forms : it ex ists in seven modifications— solid,

l iquid , gaseous, radiant, etheric, super ether ic and

atomic . These later four ar e spoken as“ the

ethers . In Bhuvar loka seven s imil ar modificationsexist, but the basis is the Apas Tattva . In Svargaloka there ar e also seven similar modifications

,but

the bas i s is the A gni Tattva.

The Jiva has three sheaths corresponding to-these worlds— the A nnamayakosha, the Pranamayaskosha, the Manomayakosha. The A nnamayakosha, or food -sheath— so called because it isbuilt up out of the food we eat— corresponds with

( 68 )

the visible part of the earth and is compos ed ofsolids

,liquids and gases . The Pr anamayakosha or

F rans -sheath,corresponds with the invisible part of

our earth and is composed of ethers . Prana is

the l ife-energy,

and includes all the forces thatscience calls magnetic and electrical

,but is much

more than these . Both these sheaths ar e connectedwith Bhi‘ir loka.

The Manomayakosha, m ind-sheath , has twoparts the denser part, in which the passions have :

their seat,is connected with Bhi‘i var loka the finer

part,in which play the emotions and thought

,is

connected with S vargaloka.

Other names ar e used for these sheaths,accord

ing to the object for which the classification ismade

,but the student need not become confused

by these,for as he advances

,he will find that his

increased knowledge makes them quite intell igible.“ r

e will only notice three names very commonlyused .

The sthfilashar ir a,or solid body

,is the same

as the A nnamayakosha, made of solids,l iquids and

gases . The S fikshmashar ir a,or subtle body

,in

el udes the Pranamayakosha and the Manomaya

kosha ; in addition to these , it includes anotherkosha, the V ijnanamayakosha, the knowledge

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70

ir ritation,and so on . The Jnanend r iyas have also

their centres in the S fikshmashar ir a,while their

or gans— eyes,ears

,tongue, nose and skin— ar e in

the Sthi‘

i lashar ira.

N ow let us see what happens at death . First,

the Sfikshmashar ir a is separated from the Sthfila

sharira,the Jiva drawing it away by means of the

Pranamayakosha. This leaves the S thi‘i l ashar ir aa mass of lifeless matter that is

,of matter

fr om which the life tlmt held it together is withdrawn there is plenty of life left in the cells ofthe body

,and they begin to break away from each

other,but the rul ing life is gone . The Jiva r e

main s in his Sfik shmashar ira. Very quickly he

shakes off his Pranamayakosha, and has then the

denser part of the Manomayakosha as his outermost garment . He is then called a Preta

,and is

an inhabitant of Pr etaloka . If he has been a very”r

good man on earth,he dreams away happily while

in this condition but if he has been a bad man,

he suffers while a Preta,craving for the earthly

pl easures which he is no longer able to obtain.A fter a shorter or longer time— according to the

Str ength of these cravings and the consequentlength of time needed for their exhaustion— thedensest part of the Manomayakosha falls away,

( 7 1 )

and he goes as a Pitri into Pitr iloka. Havingspent there sufficient time to purify the Manomaya

kosha from al l elements unfit for Svarga, the Jivain the purified Manomayakosha goes on into Svarga,and enjoys there the fruit he has stored up .

When this is exhausted,the time has come

for his returnto earth , and the purified Manomaya

kosha dissolves away , leaving.

the Jiva in theV ijnanamayakosha. He quickly puts f orth his

power to form new vehicles , and creates a newManomayakosha for his coming life in the lowerworlds . The Devas build for him a Pranamayako

sha and an A nnamayakosha, according tohis karma,and he is again born into Bhfir loka.

These ar e the recurring stages of the Jiva’spilgrimage life in the visible world

,death

,life

in the invisible worlds,r e-birth . This is repeated

time after time , time after time . A t last, the Jivagrows weary of these three worlds

,and longs for

higher, subtler experiences and more expanded life ;he turns away from al l these wor l ds can ofier him

,

and finds delight in meditation,in worship

,in the

compassionate helping of the weaker ; he no longeruses his vehicles to gain pleasur e for himself

,but

only to do service to others,and

,so used

,they ca

no longer imprison him . He dwell s in the higher

72 )

lokas,guiding his lower vehicles as his instruments

in the lower worlds,and becomes a cc -worker

with Ishvara,either retaining his vehicles for ser

v ice or throwing them away and entering intoBrah man .

an ai r ens simm ers : seas :W fi lt

Now verily there ar e three worlds— the worldof men , the world of the Pitris, the world of theDevas .”

am a ss r s fas s w s aw s l

m a fiafi s ii a sat firfsrgni

‘

fis II

m am W an?m

M IM I-1313 as 651 wfi’

iaar ui“ For certain is death for the hor n

,and cer tain

is birth for the dead therefore over the inevitablethou shoul dst not grieve .

Beings ar e unmanifest in their origin,man i

‘fest in their midmost state,0 Bharata

,ufimanifest

in their dissolution what room then for lamenta f

tio n

m adm an s emi! tag :

( IFS!m a tasfim fifi cm : H

If whada r anyakop. I . v— 16. T Bhagamd -Gzta , 11 ; 27- 28.

( 73 )

m ar : semi :W WW1

W 1TI! asfi'

u‘

aW e “ 11t

The people who know the Day of Brahma,

a thousand Yugas in duration, and the Night,a

thousand Yugas in ending , they knowd ay and

night .From the unmanifested al l the manifested

stream forth at the coming of Day at the comingof Night they dissolve

,even in that called the un

manifested .

”

it

§1%m at5m m: m m

M satire m eat I

agam maW its

mafiaW seam-1 11

shitgi n mi sts Pasha 1

namem m s afe 111L

The knowers of the three (Veda) , the Somadrinkers , the purified from sin

,worshipping Me

with sacrifice, pray of Me the way to Svarga; theyascending to the holy word of the Deva Indra,enjoy in heaven the divine feasts of the Devas .

Having enjoyed the spacious Svarga-world,Ibid vm ; 1 7— 18. 1

“

Bhdgaw d Gztd , ix , 20— 2 1 .

74 )

their holiness withered, they come back to thisworld of death . Following the virtues enjoined bythe three (Vedas), desiring desires, they undergothis passage to and f ro.

”

A t the end of many births the man full ofwisdom cometh unto me Vasudeva is al l ,

’ saithhe

,the Mahatma

,very difficult to find .

”

Ibid. vii , 1 9 .

SA N A T A N A DHA RMA .

PA R T I ] .

GENERAL HINDU RELIGIOUS CUSTOM S A N D BITES .

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78

Gestures and postures,for the most par t

,aff ect

the Pranas— the sub-divisions of the l ife-breath thatcirculate in the body ; some prevent the magnetism of the body from escaping into the surr ounding atmosphere

,and force its currents to move in

a way suitable for calm and quiet thought.Sounds are used for al l the three purposes

mentioned above . They give rise to vibrations,

and as these v ibrations ar e regular and even , theymake the vibrations of the Sfikshmashar ir a— whichis very sensitive and easily affected— regularand even also . When these vibrations of theS fikshmashar ir a ar e made regular

,the Jiva is

much helped in steadiness of thought and devotion . Sounds of a suitable kind attr act the attention of the Rishis and Devas to the per son uttering the sounds , and they help him. Further

,suit

able sounds ' drive away hostile l ntell igences and

bad magnetic influences , and so improve the surround ings of the speaker .Sounds thus used ar e called Mantras . A

mantra is a succession of sounds , a definite se

quence, the sounds being arranged in a certainorder if the sounds ar e changed the vibrations ar echanged

,and the results will be changed . That

is why a mantra cannot be translated . A tr ans

( 7 9 )

lated mantra is, like a sentence in which al l theletter s of the words ar e jumbled up , and so conveyno meaning .

There is another thing to remember aboutman tra if the man who utters a mantra is nottrying to lead a good life

,the vibrations of the

mantra will do him harm ,not good . For

,as they

work on his Sfikshmashar ir a, they bring to bear onit a force antagonistic to evil desires and evilthoughts

,and shake - it very violently and may

even wound and tear it,as his evil resolves make

it vibrate in one way and the v ibrations of the :

mantra force it into another. If his resolves ar e:

good then they work with the mantra and cause 1

no conflict however weak they may be , they aid ‘

and do not hinder .Mantras need not be spoken aloud

,and their

silent repetition is,indeed

,more powerful than

audible recitation . They aff ect the subtler kindsof matter more than the denser.

A mong the ceremonies in the life of a Hinduar e some important ones that mark the chief ‘

stages of his life in old days these were numerous,

ten standing out as the chief,but of these ten

,only

some ar e now practised . Seven of the Samskaras

r elate to infantile life and early childhood . Of

( 80

these seven , the sixth , A nnaprasanam,the first

f eeding with solid food,is universall y observed

and the seventh,Chudakar anam— the tonsure

,and

with it the piercing of the ears— is performedalmost universally . Then comes the importanteighth Samskara, the Upanayana, the leading ofthe boy to the Guru whog ives him the sacredthread, and teaches him the Gayatri , this initiationmaking him a DVi j a, twice -born .

The Upanayana is the beginn ing of the studentstage of life, during which Brahmacharya, entir ecelibacy

,is enjoined

,and the duty of the lad is to

study diligently . This stage is closed by theformal return home

,the Samavartanam,

afterwhich he i s ready to enter the second stage of life,that of the householder

,the Grihastha the tenth

Samskara,V ivaha

,marriage

,marking his entr y

into manhood and its responsibilities . In modernIndia these wholesome rules have fall en i nto disuse ,though the Upanayana and V ivaha .Samskar as ar e

maintained as ceremonies . Marriage i s incongruously thrust into the midst of the student lif e, and ,

the duties of manhood and boyhood ar e mixed upto the injury of both. May the ancient rule bespeedi ly revived .

m zw zw wafi s‘

fiwm g mafa lt

“ One sound,well-uttered

,becometh as the cow

of plenty in the Svarga-world .

xii i its : eatenadmitat{new 51335?a swims I

trim :W SW“ II TThe mantra defective in Svara ( inflectio n) or

Varna (letter or colour) is uttered falsely and declar eth not the true meaning . That lightning-wordslayeth the performer himself as (the word) ‘IndraS hatra ’ for fault of Svara ( s lew V r ittr a

,the per

former of the sacrifice,and the enemy of Indra ,

ins tead of slaying Indra,the enemy of Vi‘ittr a

,as

in tended) .

affi x: fi l'

fi : gfi fi n’

i r’

éamarqland : af rtétsart : mam: ffi

‘

d‘ £13 a 11 I

“With sacred V aidika rites should be performed the S amskar as of the body

,namely

,N isheka

and the rest, of the twice-born , which purify hereand hereafter .”

13 313151 aurfi’

éatri‘

i s a'

ieai ch: 1s ternum?easement fi rtfi fsfi éz 11

Pa ta f ya l f s M ahdbhdshya , V i , i— 84.

1' Pdnini-Shiksha 52 . I Mamm y

-1h, ii— 26.

A ng ir d quoted in Pa r dsha r a Gmhya-S fltr a , H am/mmbhdghya , p . 260. ( II . i.)

( 82 )

A s the outline of a picture is lighted up s lowly‘with (the filling in of ) many colours

,even so is

Brahmanya with scriptural Samskar as .

"ins istSHE“?{flai rmaxi a t

Vyfisa-S mmti quoted in Pci r r

‘

i sha r a ( r‘z ihya -S c

‘

ttr a , p . 269 .

CH A PT ER l l .

SHRADDHA .

HRADDHA is the name of the ceremoniesperform ed to help the J iva

,who has put off

his visible body in death,by those who r e

main in thi s world . The Jiva that has put Off hisvisible body is called a Preta, and the part of theShraddha performed to helphim at this stage iscalled the Preta-kr iya. The v isible body

,the A n

namayakosha, i s carried to the burning -gr ound thatit may be dissolved into its constituents as quicklyas poss ible the ashes ar e gathered together on

the third day, and ar e thrown into running water.preferably into a sacred stream . When the A nnamayakosha is destroyed , the Pr finamayakosha

r apidly disperses , and this dispersal is quickenedby some of the mantras u sed .at the cremation .

"Burning is the best way of destroy ing a dead body,

and this destruction is important both for the departed J im and for those left behind so long as itremains undissolved

,the Pranamayakos l ia hangs

round it,in consequence of the magnetic attraction

between them,and the Jiva is thus linked to the

earth,which is bad for him on the other hand

,a

s lowly decaying body in the ground,as in bur ial

,

( 84 )

sends out poisonous gases , and this is bad for thoser emaining behind .

The Shraddhas performed after the burninghelp in a r e-arrangement of the materials of theManomayakosha, partly by the magnetic influencesof the objects used, and partly by the vibrationsset up by the mantr as . A fter a certain time, the

Sapindikar ana ceremony is performed, which helpsthe Jiva to pass from Pr etaloka, to Pitr iloka, and

he is then enrolled among the Pitris,or the auces

tors living in the subtler regions of Bhuvar loka.

S even generations , one in Bhi‘

i r loka and six inBhuvar loka

,can affect each other. When the Jln

passes on into Svarga,he has no further need of

the helpfurnished by Shraddha .

fi fl a mi a m Fm'

aar a aa l

Pacifism fai n?! are magm as u“ Gifts to deserving Brahmanas for the sake of

benefit to the Pin is,in the proper times and places

and with faith,ar e known as Shraddha .

M tg : m arinara?“ a 1

W m facts : shaman . at“ Shraddha should be offered to the Pitris

,day

by day, with corn and water,or even roots and

B r ahmfindfi Pa rana . 1’

M dnutmr im, i ii— 203.

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86 )

The Jiva remains on the path i. e. ,the Preta

loka) for a year, 0 best of birds then he passeson into the Pitri -loka (and dwells) with the Pitris .

“ By the offering of the sixteen Shraddhas he ishelped to dwell in joy with the Pitris . Thereforeshould the son ever the Sapindikar anarites for the father .”

CHA PT ER III.

S HA UGHA M .

HA UCHA M ,or Shaucha, consists of the rul es

laid down for keeping bodil y purity,and

thus ensuring physical health and str ength .

Disease is a sign that some law of nature has beendisregarded

,and the Rishis— knowing that the laws

of nature ar e the laws of God , the expression ofHis being

,and that the Jiva is a portion of God

enveloped in matter— have treated obedience to thelaws of nature as a religious duty .

The visible body,with its invisible double

,the

Pranamayakosha, being made of physical materials,

it is necessary to use physical means to make thempure

,and to keep them pure

,and we need to

understand them in order to do this .The visible body, the A nnamayakosha, is com

posed of particles drawn from the food we eat,the

liquids we drink, the air we breathe,and from a

constant rain of minute particles,too tiny for us to

see, that falls upon us continually from the peopleand the things ar ound us . This last statementmay sound a li ttle strange

,but it is true . Our

bodies ar e not made of dead matter,for there is

( 88 )

no such thing as dead matter .‘ Matter is made oftiny living things cal led atoms

,and of other tiny

living things that ar e coll ections of atoms . A

grain of dust is a collection of myriads upon myriads of tiny living creatur es

,and there ar e grades

upon grades of these minute lives,till we come to

what ar e called microbes,that can be seen with the

help of m icroscopes . Now these microbes and theother smaller l ives ar e al l floating about in the air

,

and our bodies and all things ar e made up ofthese . Stones

,plants

,animals

,human beings and

al l the manufactured things round us , houses , furnitur e

,clothes ar e constantly giv ing off clouds of

these particles . Everything near us,and still

more,everything we touch

,gives us some of its

par ticles and we give it some of ours . If we ar eto be healthy

,we must only take into our bodies

pure particles and drive away impure ones . Therules of Shaucha ar e intended to show us how todo this .

The food we eatmust be pure . Now al l thingsar e becoming more alive

,or ar e getting nearer

death ar e being built up,or ar e being destroyed.

9 S ee p . 67 . for what i s meantby l i fel ess matter . A body , as a.

whole , 18 sa id to be “ dead" when the J i va has lef t it, al thoughthe

par ticl es of i t ar e al ive. A s this “ dead body decays , the l xn ng par

ticl es ar e set f r ee.

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( 90 >

death. So al so ar e drinks impure into which entersuchstupefying drugs as Indian hemp—the popularbut health destroying bhang.

Pure air is as necessary to health as pure foodand drink . A s we breathe

,we send out a gas ,

call ed carbon dioxide, which is stupefying, and ifwe shut ourselves into a confined space

,al l the air

in it becomes laden with this, and unfit to breathe.

Further the breath carries out with it waste particles from the interior of the body

,and unless the

fresh air blows these away,they ar e breathed in

again into our lungs and those of others,and ar e

poisonous in their effects .We must not only build up our bodies out of

cl ean materials,but we must keep the surface of

cthe body clean by f requent washing and bathing.

The whole body must be bathed , at least onceeveryday

,and well rubbed in bathing, so that al l

loose particles may be washed away, and the skinkept clean and fresh . A ny part of the body thatbecomes soiled, feet, hands , etc. , should be washedand washing before and after food must never beomitted . To eat with unwashed hands is to runthe risk of soil ing the food with dust and otherinjurious particles, and the washing after food isobviously imperative . Thef garments next the body

( 9 1

shoul d also be washed daily .

The Hindu , ever accustomed to look at théouter world as the symbol of the inner, has joinedto his outer ablutions the idea of inner purification.A she washes the outer body, he repeats mantrasfor the purifying of the inner bodies , and thusweaves his religion into the commonest incidents

Students will now see why the Rishis were so

particular about cleanliness . A person with a dirtybody

,or with dirty clothes , fills the air round him

with impure particles , and poisons the peopler ound him . We must be clean

,not only for our

own sakes, but for the sake of those around us .A dirty person

,dir ty clothes

,dirty houses

, ar e

centres of poison , public dangers .The purity of the Pranamayakosha depends on

the magnetic currents in it. It is quickly affectedby the magnetic properties of surrounding objects ,and we have therefor e to be careful on this pointalso. Thus some plant-products and plants, whileharmless to the A nnamayakosha, ar e very injuriousto the Pranamayakosha, such as onions and garlic.Their magnetism is worse than that of flesh . Thiskosha is al so mos t seriously affected by alcoholicemanations, and by the Prfinamayakoshas of others.

( 92

What is still more important is that it is aff ected byits own Manomayakosha and

,through it

,by those

of others . Hence the dangers of bad company.

N ow the purity of the Manomayakosha depends onthe pur ity of its owner’s thoughts and desires

,and

herein li es the most fertil e source of impurity in theA nnamaya and Pranamayakoshas . These two

physical koshas cannot be pure and heal thy if thethoughts and desires ar e impure. A man may

observe the rules of Shancha to the las t point ofstrictness

,but if he be proud

,passionate

,harsh,

vain,suspicious

,he is pouring impurity into these

koshas faster than any rules can wash it out. In

the eyes of the Rishis and the Devas such a one

is ever ashuchi.

m amasm vm ém I

M is fits-ata {newm i? u

Far from his dwelling lethim remove ex cr ement

,far the water used for washing his feet

,far

the leavings of food , and bath water .”

sum w eir mag i! fishG ulf “ : I

ni tehm awgmtfia w rists! utBeing purified by sipping water , he shall

al lways daily worship in the two twilights with a

Mam umr iti,vi—l 5l . 1

’ Ibbd , 11— 222.

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( 94 )

fi fi safe tr uism nm fia’

fimw fir

fi sh nfif a rsfi’fi a itwas: m m?a

“ Even if the most sinful worship Me withundivided heart

,he too must be accounted r ighte

ous,for he hath rightly resolved ;Speedily he becometh dutiful and goeth to

everlasting peace . Know thou, O Kaunteya, that

my devotee perisheth never.”

1bid,1x , 30— 31 .

C l’

l A PT ER IV .

T HE FIVE DA ILY SACRIFICES .

E have seen that there exists a law of

Yajna,of Sacrifice

,and that man’s glory

is to voluntarily work with it . We havenow to see how the Sanatana Dharma trained its

foll owers to this end .

We may pass over, for the present, the numerous sacrifices of various kinds laid down in thesacred books

,and concern ourselves only with the

“ Great sacrifices to be offered every day. These

The Sacrifice to Rishi or Vedas .The Sacrifice to Devas .The Sacrifice to Pitris .The Sacrifice to Men .

The Sacrifice to Bhfitas .

Each of these has an outer form and innermeaning

, and the latter leads the sacr ificer on to

the fu ll life of sacrifice . Let us try to understandboth .

The outer sacrifice to the Rishis, or Vedas , isstudy and teaching . Every day a man shouldstudy some sacred book

,and thus gradually acquire

96 )

the knowledge without which he cannot rightlyunderstand himself

,his position and his duties .

A nd he should ever be ready to share this knowledge wi th thosemore ignorant than himsel f henceManu

,in describing this sacrifice

,calls it teaching“ .

A boy should daily offer this sacrifice, reading and

careful ly thinking over some shlokas from theBhégavad-Gitd, the A nugitc

’

z‘

,Ha

'

msa Gite‘

t orother sacred work . The carefulness and closenessof the thought is more important than

i

the amountread. The inner meaning is that al l study shoul dbe a sacrifice

,learning in order that we may teach .

The outer sacrifice to the Devas is the Homa,

the recognition of al l we owe to the kindl y ministryand protection of this active Intell igences workingin nature

,and the repayment of it by giving for

their service a share of our possessions . The innermeaning is the realisation of our relations with thesuper-physical worlds

,and of the inter -dependence

of the worlds . We must learn to be in harmonywith nature

,in accord with al l that lives .

The outer sacrifice to the Pitris is the Tarpanor off ering of water, to the older generations of ourfamily , to our ancestors . The inner meaning is therecognition of the great debt we oWe to the pas t,

See M anna/mats,ii i— 70.

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( 98 )

harmonious relations on which the happiness and

prosperity of families and of nations depend. Theyturn the wheel of life in accord with the wil lof ishvara

,and so help on the evolution of the

worlds . ' They teach each individual that he isnot an isolated unit

,but a part of a great whole

,a

cell in ’

a vast body : and that his happinessand progress

,therefore

,can only be secure if they

s ubserve the general happin ess,

and conduce tothe general progress .

“ Teaching is the Brahma-sacr ifice,Tarpana is

the Pitri-sacr ifice, Homa (the offering into thefire) is the Deva-sacr ifice

,Bal i ( food ) is the

Bhfita-sacr ifice, hospitality to guests the, Manushya

sacrifice .”

En'em

‘

a film :“

a irs w ith:3?midis gas

“

: is fimafié sw am "1“ Let a man ever engage in Veda-study

,and in

the rites of the Devas engaged in the rites of theDevas he suppor teththe movable and immovablekingdoms .

”

*M anusmr ztt, i i i—470. 1

“ Ibut, i i i— 80, 81 .

fam e efi siarfi cran ial " ll“ The Rishis, the Pitris, the Devas , the Bhfitas

and guests expect (help) from the householdershence he who knoweth should give unto them.

“ Let him worship , according to the rule, the'

Itishis with Veda-study, the Devas with Homa,the

Pitris with Shraddha, men with food , and the Bhfitaswith Bali .

Ibtd 111— 75.

CH A PT ER V .

WORSHIP .

HE performance of the five daily sacrifices byman as an inter-dependent part of a universe

,

does not,however, completely satisfy the

l ongings of the truly religious man . He longs tocome into conscious relations with the Lord of . theUniverse

,with ishvara

,with the great Life of

which his own is a part . This need of man findsits satisfaction in worship . When Vyasa, masterof the final truth of Para-Brahma and ever workingfor the good of al l beings

,after he had written

even the M ahdbhdr aéam and the B r ahma-sain ts

for the instruction of men,still found not peace of

mind , Narada coun selled him to sing the praiseof ishvara and this he did in the Vishn u-Bkdga

vata , winning thereby the peace he did not gainbefor e f

Worship is the expression of love to the S u

preme, of reverence towards Him ,of aspiration

to reach Him in conscious communion , of longingto be united with him

,to feel the unity of the in

dividual self with the supreme S elf. It may takeV i shnu-Bhdgavata ,

I,iv— v.

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102

Forms and ishvara is One. The worshipper isworshipping ishvara , and i s thinking of Ishvara

,

under the Form which he loves best. He is notworshipping the Form, but the Lord in the Form—as a wife loves her husband

,not the clothes he

wears , though even those may be dear for the sakeof the wearer . The worshipper worships the Love

,

the Beauty , the Power of Ishvara, as revealed insome one of His Divine Forms . We can onlygrasp a little,

“ being small,but we

_grasp in our

worship parts of the one Lord .

This is why the quarrels of different religions,

and of different sects in the same religion, are so

f eolish and so ignorant . A l l ar e worshipping thesame ishvara

,and the differences ar e only d ifferen

ces of names,due to diff erences in the worshippers

,

not in the Object of worship .

Pfija is the general simple form of worship .

A picture or image is used , mantras ar e r ecited,

flowers ar e off ered, water is poured ,out

,and in

these ou ter forms the inner love finds expression ,and then rises beyond the forms to the Obj ect thusserved . The Form selected as representing theObject is sometimes the family Deva or Devi

,and

sometimes is the Ishtadeva, the Form chosen by the ,worshipper him self, or by his Guru for him.

103

Upasanais a term that includes many forms

of worship,including meditation

,and the daily

S andhya,which shoul d be performed by al l

f ollowers of the Sanétana Dharma. There ar e twof orms of Sandhya

,the V aidika and the Tantrika,

and a boy should perform the Sandhyaaccordingto his caste and family customs . He learns it from~

a properly qualified instructor,and should then

practise it daily . Meditation,in its definite stages

,

belongs to manhood rather than to boyhood .

M erm aids a 511 313165film r

grew: y zmw fim amrfi mfim m a ut

“ Even the highest and most stainless knowledge

,even perfect un selfishness in actions

,shine

not if uninspired by devotion to the Imperishable.How then shall acts (bring peace) which (aim at

fr uit and) ar e not pure, or even those that ar e performed without desire, if they ar e not offered up toishvarat hm mfi

‘

éam aéqéme é l

s atvgafi trifle «was tar: II

WSW IWW QW l

w as? F5nfirézér a f fi rm II

*Vz

’

shnu-Bhdgam ta , I , V— IZ.

( 104 )

it5a a‘

rfinw ith: nfi em am :

wai l-via shim ai f arms eater?u

M Gaza?WWW I

w as a fi traw i m afnaéaem a“ They who worship the Indestructible

,the In

effable, the Unman ifested ever working for the

welfare of al l creatures , these all come to me.

The difficulty of those whose minds ar e set onthe Unmanifested is greater ; for the path of theUnmanif ested is hard for the embodied to reach .

Those verily who,renouncing al l actions in

Me and intent on Me, worship , meditating on Me

with whole-hear ted Yoga,

Those I speedily lift up from the ocean of

death and ex istence,O Partha, their minds being

fixed on me.

”

fas t : «aim sins-

51a l firg r'

fr

m ar gin-start?m en

'

s mm H

ahamat7135 shuffle a rts

swarmed stuffs m istattes t?! Amman ll iThe Lord dwell eth in the hearts of all beings

,

O A rjuna,causing all beings to revolve by His

il lusive power,as though mounted ‘

on a wheel .Flee unto H im for shelter with al l thy being

,

0 Bharata ; by His grace thou shalt obtain

Bhdga r ad-Giga , x1i , 3-7 1‘

1 1nd , xviii , 61— 62.

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CHA PT ER V l .A

T HE FOUR A S HRAMAS .

A TIONS have characteristics,jus t as have in

dividual s,and among the characteristics of

the Hindu nation in old days were order andbalance . The Sanatana Dharma stamped thesecharacteristics on the people

,and thus shaped a

very dignified type of man , evenly developed and

well balanced . So much ar e these the char acter is

ti cs of the true follower of the Sanatana Dharma,that Shri Kr ishna said “ Equilibrium is cal led'

Yoga.

”

The large'

view of life taken in the Vedas is theroot of these characteristics . A l l things exist forthe sake of the Atma, the Self, and by his will.They exist merely to give him the experiences hedesires to pass through . He wills to unfold his

powers in the lower worlds, and to become the sel fconscious Ruler of the outer realms of densermatter

,as he is ever the Inner Rul er

,Immortal .

He is not in haste,being Eternal

,and knows it

best to take each experience in order, and thus tounfold symmetrically and harmoniously . This

Bhdgar ad -Gttd , ii—48.

'

107

order is imposed by ishvara, the Supreme Sel f, on‘

the lower kingdoms of our world the seed, theroot

,the stem

,the leaves , the flower, the fruit

succeed each other in due order, and each has itsplace and its beauty in its season so also He imposes the stages of human life—infancy, childhood;youth

,maturity

,old age this sequence man can

not escape from nor change but the unfoldingJivatma in man

,clouded by the matter he has not

yet mastered,pushes irregularly in various dirce

tions,led by Manahdominated by Kama, grasping

at the things of one stage while yet in another,and

so hindering his due evolution in each . The childwould be a youth

,the youth a maxi the old man

grasps backward at the joys of youth thus life isrobbed of its serenity and thereby of half its

In order to counteract this mistaken eagernessand lack of balanced order, the great Rishis markedout for the eldest-born fam ily of the Aryan racethe definite stages in the l ife of the individual from,

birth to death , and the definite stages in the lifeof the Jivatma in his long evolution through my

riads of births and deaths . In each case thesestages ar e four in the life between one birth and

one death they ar e called Ashramas , resting-places

( 108 )

dwellings : in the l ife passing through countless,

births and deaths they ar e cal led Var gas , colours , or

We ar e concern ed here with the Ashramas.A s said

,these stages ar e four : Br ahmacharya, the

stage of studentship ;Garhasthya, the stage of house‘holdership ; Vanaprastha, the stage of forest-dwelling, 5. e.

, seclusion ; Sannyasa, the stage of total r enunciation , z

'

. e.

,asceticism .

“E

In none of these stages must the man graspat the special duties of the other three ; the studentmust not be a householder

,a recluse

,or an ascetic

the householder must not be a celibate,a recluse

,

or an ascetic the recluse must not seek again thejoys of the household nor must the ascetic longaf ter the quiet attachments of the recluse . Eachstage has its own duties and its own pleasures.Discharged and enjoyed each in its own stage

,

they lead to the orderly unfolding of the Jivfitmawhen the Ashramas ar e disr egarded

,his evolution

is delayed .

Now in modern days the Ashr amas cannotbeex actly lived according to the detail s of the ancientrules

,the conditions having changed so much

but‘

if we get a clear idea of the fundamentalSee M anmmnti , vi—87 .

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( 1 10 )

after humility lifts him quickly,as al l ar e willing

to share what they have with the humble and

serviceableness in the narrow circle of the familyand the school builds up the nature that will serve

The student must be chaste in thought andact

,a celibate in mind and body . He must guar d

his thoughts,for the boy who does not think

impurity will not act impurity . He should notthink of sex

,nor yield to day-dr eam ing . Onl y the

pure in thought and in body can pass unstainedinto happy household life . The very name of thestudent is the B rahmachari

,which has come now

to mean almost exclusively the celibate . Premature age, weakness

,d isease

,race-decay, spring

from student-marriage,against the ancient law.

The household stage is entered atmarriage,when the youth has completed his school and

college career,and is ready to take up the duties

and responsibilities of household life . Of al l theA shr amas this is the most important

,for it sup

ports al l the others ."s The welfare al ike of thefamily and of the nation depends on the householder, and their happiness and prosperity ar e in

his hands . A good husband,a good father

,a

See M anum r ztz,in , 7 7 , and 89— 90.

good master,a good citizen

,is the noblest of

'

men .

The home is the school of unselfishness , compassion

,tenderness

,temperance

,purity

,helpfulness

,

prudence,industry

,right judgment

,charity . The

qualities that make the good householder,when

shown to his own circle in house and State,ar e

the qualities that make the Sage and the Saintwhen shown to all . The degradation of the idealof the householder has made modern life pettyand sordid

,and the hal f entrance into it and the

confusion of its duties with those of the student,

caused by the modern evil of student-marriagehas deprived the entry into it of its ancient solemnity and dignity . The plucking and eating of

unripe fruit deprives the eater of its sweetness .Certain well-born but thoughtless Br fihmana

youths abandoning their homes before due time,

went into the forests to lead a life of asceticism.

Indra pitied them,and

,assuming the form of a

golden bird , taught them :“ Follow the household

l ife 1 It is the field for the cultivation of virtues.It is sacred . Worship of the Devas

,study

,repay

ment of the debt to the pitr is by the rearn of

a family and helping on new lives as we have beenreared and helped— these ar e the austerest of penances . Bear the heavy burthen of the duties of *

1 12

‘ the household They that run away from their“

work fall into sin . To eat the r emnant of the" food left after helping the needy is to eat the trueremnant of sacrifice .”

When the householder sees his sons able tobear the full burden of his duties

,when‘ the sign s

of age appear,and his children’s chil dren ar e

round him,the time has come for him and his wife

to surrender the headship of the home,and to

retire from active life and worldly labour. A quietand somewhat secluded life

,given to study, to sel f

sacr ifice for the good of others,to the

-

counselling'

of the younger,such should be the third Ashrama

in our modern days .Finally in old age a man may rightly enter the

f ourth A shrama,that of the ascetic

,passing his

fast days in meditation and worship,til l he enter s

willingly the life beyond death,to reap the fruits

of a well spent earthly life,hereafter to return for

f urther evolution .

ag ain?m am a rasmfrmm l

wem m w zgamma : 1The student

,the householder

,the forest

dweller,the ascetic— these, the four separate or ders ,

spring from the householder .M ahfiblui r atam

, S imian Par va— x i .

’r M amamr itt, v1~37 .

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1 14

attainment of) heaven and merit,

and is disapproved by the world ; therefore let it be avoided} ?

swim trié a zia’

tmi tt ( H tfiam l

w fi fia m’

tfin flnfirai fiamwfi airé w a

‘

tfi a ae’

rfi rfim l

né aaearé a m

'

i are’

amqaa u

at : mfia Grim a ta :Warterst-r at 1

6mm (W i a‘

r firs t?! 3 3mm : 11

“ Directed or not directed by his teacher,let the

student ever engage in study, and in doing servicesto his preceptor.

Let the student refrain from wine,meat

, per

fumes,garlands

,tasty and savoury dishes

,women

,

acids,and injury to sentient creatures ;

“ From lust,anger and greed

,dancing

,singing

,

and playing on musical instruments,fr om dice

playing,gossip

,slander and from untruth ;

Let the student always sleep alone,and let

him not waste -his seed ; he who from lust w‘

astethhis seed

,destr oyeth his vow.

X anutmrm. in, 1 9 1 , 1 7 7— 180.

( 1 15 )

war erg H3 sfia fia was : I

amarmada?! am ( m m : it

«damn: éaai sqg r'

éfaam z l

m “ at“

: $19 : a Fe IIam a ffin e H 3 H3

“

: mfia Gifiufiflt 1

shareware: H‘e‘

tuse?! infia Hiiufiw. IIA s al l creatures live supported by the air , so

the other orders exist supported by the householder .

Of al l these (A shramas), by the declarationof the Veda-scripture , the householder is the highest ; he verily suppor teththe other three .

A s al l streams and rivers flow to rest in theocean , so al l the A shramas flow to rest in thehouseholder .m a m: with

-

é and anti emits?a : IG

’ 61e a zf‘

nfr a a rel-(flair a ttain : II T

He that performeth such action as in duty,

mdependently of the fruit of action,he is a

Sannyasi , he is a Yogi , not he that is without fireand without rites .

Jbzd , i i i , 7 7 , 89— 90 1“

B dgaw d-Gztd , vi— l .

CHA PT ER V l l .

T HE FOUR Cae s .

N the long pilgrimage of the Jivatma throughmyriads of births

,already referr ed to

,there ar e

four distinctly marked stages,called of old Va r

nas , or colours , and recognised in the social politylaid down by Manu as distinct social classes , orcastes .

These stages ar e universal,al l Jivfitmfispass ing

through them the peculiar ity of the SanfitanaDharma is that it has made them the frameworkof its social polity . In the early days the outercaste coincided with the stages Jivfitmfis at eachstage were born into bod ies belongmg to thatstage , and the whole of society was theref ore con

tented and progressive . But in these later days,

as A rjuna truly foresaw in his distress on Kurukshetr a, var nasankar a

,caste-confusion

,has come

on A ryfivar ta and her whole peninsula. Jivfitmfisat each stage ar e being born into bodies of otherstages , and hence

,as surely as content and pro

gress arose out of the harmony of elder days , dodisorder and stagnation arise out of the disharmonyof the present. How a better state of things

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( 1 18 )

ar e discontented and rebell ion s. Of cour se a real0ly advanced Jivatma is content in any body, butthemediocre J1vAtm$ s quite naturally and inevitablyfight against uncongenial surroundings, and

their restlessnes s is used by Ishvara to help onevolution and to bring about necessary changes .

The second stage cover s the first hal f of theJ ivfit

’s manhood

,when he is fit to gain weal th

,

to enjoy it and use it, to organise labour and dir ectit,to undertake great responsibilities, and adminis

ter well accumulated possessions . This includesthe commercial class , the great trader s , and the

or ganisers of industr y, the capitalists, bankers , the

managers of large industrial concerns . In the se

cial polity of the San s‘ttana Dharma, such Jivfitmfiswere born into the caste of Vaishyas, and wer em ined in it gr adually to see as aim the commongood and the general prosperity

,instead of mer e

The thir d stage makes the second half of the

J ivétma’

s manhood, when his responsibil ities and

powers widen out to include the nation

,and h

e

king s, judges , leg islators, ~warriors, al l who rule

1 1 9

and keep order in the State . In the social polityof the {Sanfttana Dharma, such mature Jivfitmfis.were born into the Kshattr iya caste, and bore theburden of kingship and of fighting for the national defence .

The fourth stage embraces the serene age of theJ ivfitma, when earthly things have lost their charm ,

and he becomes the counsellor and friend and

helper of al l his youngers . Thi s includes thepriests

,the counsellors

,the teachers of every kind

- authors,scientists

,poets

,philosophers . In the

social polity of the Santtana Dharma,such Jivfit

‘

mas were born into the caste of Brahmanas,the

advanced and unselfish ones who gave much and

needed little . Caste-confusion in India has struckthis caste most hardly

,as the degradation of the

higher is always worse than that of the lower.T he Shfidr a Jivfitma in the Brahmana body is thegreatest danger to the Sw fitam Dharma.

Much of the evil has grown from men of eachcaste grasping at the work of the othe r castes , and

from each thinkingmore of the rights his caste giveshim than of the duties it imposes . The Brahmanaand the Kshattr iya have claimed their privilegeardently , and have shrunk from the 'heavy bu

’rdensbelonging to their castes . N aturally

'

this attitude

1 20 3)

'has provoked opposition , and antagonisms haver eplaced mutual service and good-will . Hencecaste has become a source of social bitterness

,

instead of a framework maintaining al l in happyorder .

A t least this much every boy can do towardsbringing about a happier state of things he candiligently practise the virtues characteristic of hiscaste

,and avoid pride

,vanity

,and grasping at pri

vileges . Let the Shfidr a be remarkable for hisindustry , fidelity and serviceableness let the Vai-v

shya be remarkable for his diligence,discretion and

charity let the Kshattr iya be remarkable forhis courage

,generosity and vigour let the Br fih

mana be remarkable for his patience,purity

,learn

ing,truthfulness and self-sacr ifice. A nd it may

be that,if the castes thus practise their several

Dharmas caste-confusion may gradually pass away.

g rammes gs mefiqms tram : 53 :

n arci s s i sm armi ng?name 11

“ The Brahmana was His mouth the Rajanyawas made His two arms ; His two thighs theV aishya the Shudrawas born from His two feet.

”

Wmu j e fiw m fi s m fim

Rigveda , X ,110— 12.

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( 1 22 )

ma m a?sires gs :m mam rfi m ml 35!W t

“What is said as to the mar ks (pf conduct)indicative of a man’s caste, if these marks ar efound in another , let him be designated by thecaste of his marks (and not of his bath)

”

a zfifiwifi m lfi a gé a a e fi fi z l

m fif Pawn s ga in: 3 am "?“ N ot birth

,nor Samskaras

,nor study of the

V edas nor ancestr y,ar e the causes of being twice

born . Conduct al one is verily the cause thereof .”

estm m m m at" 511mI

“ Truth,charity , forgivenes s, good conduct,

gentleness,austerity, and mercy, Where these are

seen , 0 king of serpents, he is called a Brahmana.

“ If thesei

marks exist in a Shudra,and not in

one twice-born , the Shfidr a, is not a Shfidra, northeBréhmana a Brhahmana.

‘t gmB kdga r aga , V I I , ix- 35.

'

I'M ahéblui r ata

, Vana Par va, cccxiii— IOS .Il bz

'

d, Vans Par va, elm , 21 , 254- 26.

( 123 )

Where this conduct is shown, 0 serpent, he

is call ed a Brahmana ; wher e this is not, 0 serpent,

he should be regarded as a Shudr a.

“ The Vedas help not the man that hath not

righteous ways,even though they be studied to

gether with al l the angas . The Chhandas abandonhim at the supreme moment of death, even as fullfiedged birds their nest.

“ To the Brahmana that is void of righteousways

,the Vedas, even in their entirety, and with

all angas and al l sacrifices too,can bring no more

joy than a wife,lovely to see

,can bring unto a

Vasishtha-Smr iti , vi , 3—4.

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CHA PT ER I.

ET H ICA L SCIENCE , WHA T rr 1s .

GIEN CE is a definitely arranged body of knowledge

,of facts related to each other . A col lec

tion of facts does not make a science ; thefacts must be systematically arranged in their relations to each other, and the principles underlyingthese relations mustbe known , before the colleetion can be called a science . ET HICA L means thatwhich relates to conduct

, to the way in which r as

tional beings should behave towards each other aswell as towards other creatures . When

,therefor e

,

we speak of Ethical Science,we do not mean a

list of virtues and Vices,but we mean a definite ,

and systematicall y ar ranged series of facts of conduct in their proper relations to each other and of

'

the underlying principles of these relations .A nother word for Ethics is moral ity

,right“

conduct, and in order to know what is right wehave to under stand something about man and hissurroundings .

The object of morality is to secur e the welfare of al l beings

,and this is done by showing men

,“

through the science of Conduct, how to live m

( 128 )

harmony with each other and with their surroundings . i shvara i s Love

,and wills the happiness of His

universe,is gradually bringing about universal

happiness . This does not mean that a right thingalways is pleasant, ,and a wrong thing always nu‘

pleasant,for the time but it means that the con

duct which ' leads to lasting happiness,to the bliss

of union with i shvara,to Moksha in the end

,is

good.

“A s the wheels of the cart follow the ox

,

so misery follows sin,

”and so also happiness fol

lows righteousness . The ‘fruit of wrong-doingmay be sweet to the taste in the eating , but it

,

ispoison

,and brings about bitter pain afterwards,

and sometimes long-continued disease . The boywho does wrong because it giveshim a short pleasureis like the ignorant child who plucks and eats thesweet gaily coloured poison-berries that make himin the evening writhe in pain .

'It is the duty ofthe teacher of morality to mark ever y sin as

“ Poison .

”

mattr es s?a ir:m I87m {3 a

‘

éwrma rt : 31g aw fir II

fil ahfibhfir ata , A nushasana Par va, civ.

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( 130 )

For the well-being of al l beings was Dharma declared . That only.which bringeth such wellbeing is Dharma. This is sure .

“ Because it supportethand holdeth togetherit is call ed Dharma. By Dharma ar e the peopleupheld . That which upholdeth is alone Dharma.

This is sure .“ For the making harmless of beings was

Dharma declared . Thatwhich secur ethpreservation of beings is Dharma. This is sure .

He who is the fr iend of al l beings he who

(is intent on the welfare of al l with act and thoughtand speech— he only knoweth Dharma

, O J

aW témé‘i’ amarai 136133 : 1

W W m m “ H

afllfi i ts: trem‘

i ma fiam l

3161136 61 traitfirs: g am ma : IIHe who wishes to cross beyond this intense

darkness,let him not attach himself too much to

anything,for (such attachment) is the great fru

str ator of Dharma (religion , A rtha (wealth),Kama (pleasure) and Moksha (emancipation) .

“ Of these (four) too, Moksha is the trulyultimate end

,for the other three ar e ever haunted

"

by the fear of Death , the Ender .”

V's / mu Bhdgamta , LV ,xx 1i, 34—35.

( 131 )

mi 3 16361 am?a mam a?at I

fame: 5135m s : withifim tribe s : l l

fi ifi atntniEmmi m afi am F“=

“ The wise man, 0 best of speakers,that

knoweth the proper times, serveth Dharma, A rthaand K5ma, al l three evenly

,dividing his time

between them (on the Pr avr ilgti Marga, the path ofoutgoing) .

“ But, 0 King, al l beings desire happiness;and

Moksha (belonging to the N iv rtti Marga, the pathof retur n) is the highest good for them .

”

M ahdbhdr atam. Vana Par va, xxxm ,41—42 .

CHA PT ER II.

T HE FOUN DATION or ETHICS A S GIVENBY RELIGION .

E have already seen that the first proclamation of Religion is The Self is One."

There ar e indeed many selves in appearance

,but they ar e all portions or reflections of the

One. Their separateness is temporary,their unity

is eternal. Many pots may be dipped into a”

tank,but the water that fills each is the same water, ”

Many upadhis ar e dipped into the ocean of existence

,but the life that fills each is the same life.

This primary truth of religion is the foundationof Ethics .

We must,then

,in our Ethical Science recog

nise the unity of the Self. But this isnot enough,

for in unity there is neither I ” nor “ You,

”and

we have seen that our science deals with relationsbetween I and “ You .

” So we must also r e

cognise the “ diversity of the N ot-Self ;” that

means that there ar e many upadhis of matter, and

in each separate upadhi there is a part, or reflection,of the One Self. There ar e innumerable bod ies , innumerableminds

,and these bodies and minds come into

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( 1 34 )

each remember that he who injures another injureshimself . S ayethShri K l i shna :

“ I am the Self,O

Gudakesha, seated in the heart of al l beings I am

the beginning, the middle, and also the end of

One God hideth in al l beings . He per va‘deth al l . He is the inmost Self of al l beings . Hesupervisethal l actions . He is the resting-place of

al l beings . He is the Witness , the Consciousness ,the One above limitations and qualities .”

inseamW rm s ci (as at?“ my I I“ This one universal Inner Self of al l beings be

cometh one separate individual self for each form .

”

« 3 a air'

i r {arm mimrgq a 1

518131213 enemaaa‘

r a fiance e? 11

m m {am nfiaqfim az I

as 6131 1113 : 33: fire]; G a ng stas : ll§“ He who seeth al l beings in the Self

,and the

Self in al l beings,he shr inkethno more (from any,

in

Bhdgavad -Gitd x— 20. T Shcef ds/ma l a r upanmha l , v1 1— 2 .

I Kat/u rpamshat, v— l O. t opan rs lza l , 6— 7 .

1 35

He in whose consciousness,full of perfected

knowledge,al l beings have become the Self— in

him,thus beholding the unity

,there is no more

any delu sion nor any sorrow.

”

W ears 8 51Wmania l

i ris diam 612151 m aria: II“ The self

,harmomsed by yoga

,seeth the Self

abiding in al l beings,al l beings

,in the Self every

where he seeth the same .Bkdga ead v1— 29 .

CHA PT ER III.

RIGHT AND WRONG .

HESE two words , Right and Wrong, ar e in the

mouth of everybody,but it is not everybody

who can tell us exactly what he means byright and wrong .

-

Let us try to understand .

We have seen that we have specially to do withthree worlds

,the T r iloki

,and we know that the

T r iloki is created by Brahma, preserved by Vishnu ,and dissolved by Shiva. Let us think of a new

T r iloki .* It is a going forth ; many forms appear

,and grow and develop ; they become more

and more different ; they involve into separate individual s they grow by the experiences they meetthey develop their bodies and minds by taking allthey

,can from outside and working it up into

themselves . This is called the Pr avr itti Marga,

the path of going forth,on which the Jivatmfi is

building himself up into a separate individual , by"

taking al l he can from outside,and making a

strong intellect,a powerful “ I .” When this is

complete,the J ivatmahas to learn that he himsel f

is only a part or reflection of a much greater I,”

the Ishvara, and that al l his powers can only bring

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133

cr'

eases separateness and leads away from unity isWrong. But for animals

,savages

,and backward

,

undeveloped Jivatmas , whos e individuality is stillvery weak, separateness has still to be aimed at

,

and what is right or wrong for the more advancedis not yet right or wrong for them. Thi s is whatis meant by saying that mor al ity 'is relative . Itis related to our position in evolution

,to the path

we ar e on .

“ Subtle is morality,Bhishma said toYudhish

thira.

“ I instruct thee not by the letter of theVeda al one, but by the Veda as interpreted bywisdomand experience; None may accomplish hiscour se through the world aright with the help of amorality that is one-sided . The text of theScriptur e should be applied with careful exercise ofjudgment

,otherwise it faileth grievously . Ushan s

spake this truth in time of ol d,that Scriptures

ar e no Scriptures if they cannot stand the test ofreason . The presence of a knowledge that is fullof doubts is no better than its absen ce . A moralitythat is based on words, without regar d to special'

circumstances leads to error. In a time of longcontinued famine, the Rishi V ishvamitr a took forbidden meat from a chandala

,and compelled the

Devas to take their cu stomary share from that

1 39

same meat offered in sacrifice , and thus to justifyhis act. Forgiveness befits the Sannyasi it does

'

not always befit the King. The King may forgiveinjuries to himself . He may not overlook theslightest wrong done to the meanest of his sub

jects , if he wish himself and his country well.The sin that attaches to the killing of a personthat should not be killed is equal to the sin of nots laying one that deserves to be slain . The Kingshould ever exact with firmness , yea, severity, fromall his subjects their respective duties . If he doesnot

.do this

,then will they prowl about unchecked

,

like wolves,murdering the weaker and devouring

each other . It has been sung of old : She aloneis a wife that speaketh pleasantly . He alone is a

son that maketh his sire happy . He alone is afriend who may be safely trusted . That

,verily

,Is

the motherland wherein living is earned .

’

He

al one is a King who ruleth strictly without oppression , in whose territories the righteous haveno fear

,who cherisheth the poor and punisheth

the

The Ashramas and the Var nas were given inorder to shew people what kind of vi rtues theyshould aim at, in the particular place and time in

Il l ahdbhti r atam, Shanti Par va, cxxxix , and cxl i—cx l u .

1 40

whichthey find themselves,and thus -to help on

their orderly evolution . A s all men have not the.power nor the time to find out for themselves theWill of Ishvara

,the Shastras have been given to

tell us of that Wil l,and so to help us in distinguish

ing between Right and Wrong . But some generalrules have al so been laid down in the sacred books,by Vyfisa and by others

,for application in cases in

which the details ar e not clear or specific, and therefore the special rul es

,given in the Shastras , not

easy or necessary to apply. Such ar e

To give joy to another is righteousness to

g ive pain is sin .

Let not any man do unto another any act

that he wishethnot done to himself by others,knowing it to be pain ful to himself. A nd let himalso purpose for another al l that he wisheth for

himself.”

“ Let not any one do an act that injur etheu

other,nor any that he feelethshame to do .

”

“ Let him not do to another what is not goodfor himself.”

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1 42

6 111 161121116 3111 s imca‘

n'

a 131113661 11 11

f irst : H im sti ngs Pasta 1

airs (mil m e aiméa 11 11 11 1 1

m am nrfia’

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“ He from t om is the emanation of beings ,by Whom al l this is pervaded

,by worshipping Him

in his own karma,man winneth perfection .

‘Better is one’s own dharma,though desti

tute of merits,than the well -executed dharma of

another. He who doeth the karma laid down byhis own nature incur r ethnot sin .

Ishvara dwelleth in the hearts of all beings ,O A rjuna

,moving al l beings b his Maya

,as

though mounted on a wheel .“ Flee unto Him for shelter with all thy being

,

O Bharata by His grace thou shalt obtain supremepeace

,the everlasting dwelling place .

ai rs fiasir 21 111111 satanic aW I

m s cra m-11m m a 111

“ The whole of the Veda is the source ofdharma also the Smriti and the character of those

- that know the Veda also the conduct of the good*Bh¢igavad Gitti , xv ii—46, 47 , 61 , 62 . 1

‘ M anmmr agi , ii—6.

( 143 )

and the satisfaction of the Sel f .

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11111161111 : 31111111 111 11111 111 1113 1111 11

m afi fzéM ama: 5151 116151 : I

a swig 5611’

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[The tr anslations of these shlokas ar eon p .

M ahciblui r ata tm,Shanti 1

"

Ibzd , cxx1v— 67 .

Par va, cclx— 20, 2 1 , 23 . I I'

dyfiam l kya S mr ztr , 111—65.

CHA PT ER IV .

T HE S T A N DA RD or ETHICS .

E have seen that the general standard bywhich actions should be judged at the

present stage of evolution is Union, al

though many Jivas ar e not yet arrived at thisstage. For the majority we can test each actionby asking : Does it promote union ? Does itpromote separateness P If the answer to the firstquestion is “ Yes

,

” the action is Right if the an

swer to the second question is “ Yes,

” the actionis Wr ong. This is why it was said in Chapter I. )

that morality showed men “ how to live in har

mony with each other and with their surroundings . To live in harmony is to promote union .

So also when Shri Krishna speaks of D ivineand A sur ic properties

,we find that he classes as

Divine those which promote union,and as A sur ic

those which promote separateness . “ Fearlessness ,cleanness of life

,steadfastness in the yoga of

wisdom,alms-giving

,self-restraint and sacrifice

and the study of the Shastras,

austerity and

straightforwardness,harmlessness

,truthful ness,

absence of wrath,renunciation , peacefulnes s, absence

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( 1 46 )

a a'

mmfir émaz‘

ream awn'

i az 1

35mm?! am m1 : 11

was fi rm Gaff : e étmmmarw 1

9! ’l ‘

n : «5111313 a m 1 1

a M et: aarm’ffi tri an 11

"

Of al l these things , the knowledge of the‘Self is the highest. It is

-the' foremost of the

sciences,for immortality is attained thereby .

“ Let him with col lected mind see in the Selfboth the Real and the Unreal . Thus beholdingal l in the Self, he turneth not his mind towardsadharma.

The Self is al l the Devas al l resides in theSelf. He who thus seeth the Self in al l beings

,by

his own Self,he r eal iseththe equality of all and

attainethto the supreme state of Brahman .

”

M a / rusmr att, 10 1— 85, 1 18, 1 19 , 125.

CHA PT ERV .

V rar us s AND THEIR FOUNDATION .

E have already seen that mutual sacrifice,

another name for mutual service,is enjoined

by the Sanatana Dharma,and it is easy to see that

this is Right , since it promotes union . Thus thefive daily sacrifices promote union between thesacr ificer and Rishis

,Devas

,Pitris

,Men and

A nimals . A nother way in which the Sanz’itanaDharma teaches us to do right is by explaining tous the three debts that we owe ; the debt to theRishis , paid chiefly in the Br ahmacharya Ashrama,‘

by study and by service of the teacher the debtto the Pitr is , the A ncestors , paid chiefly in theGfirhasthya A shrama

,by rearing a famil y and by

charity the debt to the Devas , paid chiefly in theL

Vanapr astha Ashrama, by sacrifice and meditation .,

A debt is something we owe we have receivedand should repay . This payment of debt, of whatis due

,is called the d ischarge of duty , that which

we owe to others , which we ought to do. The discharge of a duty is called a virtue ; the non -dis,charge of a duty is called a vice . A virtuous man

recognises his duties,his obligations , and fulfils

148

them a vicious man does not recogn ise nor fulfilthem .

Virtues” have also been called by Bhishma

forms of Truth because Truth is that whichis Real

,is indeed

,as Bbi shma says

,

“ the eternalBrahman . 1

” Truth is the D ivine Nature,and we

see this in the reflection of Brahman thatWe callexternal Nature. Eor al l the laws of Nature ar e

expressions of Truth , and work with perfect accur acy and changelessness . N ow the greatest Truthof all is

,as said before, the unity of the Sel f

amidst the diversity of the Not-Self. A l l othertruths and laws ar e such only because they ar e

r eflections , copies , of this great unity in diversity .

A nd the form which this great Truth takes inEthical Science is that each one of us should feelfor other selves as for himself

,should feel himself

to be the same as , or at least similar to, other selvesand, so feeling, we must always tell the truth , because to tell a falsehood to another is to regard him‘with distrust

,to regard him as separ ate fr om

, or

even Opposed to oneself,to prevent him from

sharing with oneself in a common knowledge,which should be the same for al l when al l ar e as

M ahdblui r atam, Shanti Par va—clxu .

1 Ibi d , clxi i

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( 150 )

against the Kurus , thus breaking the spir it of the

epromise that they would remain thirteen years inexile

,Yudhishthir a

’

s answer was “ The sons ofPandu swerve not from the path of tr uth .

“ Evenwhen ’ loss follows

,the pledged word must be kept .

When Pr ahlada took the sovereignty of the threeworlds from Indra

,Indra disguised himself as a

.Brahmana and served him as his disciple . A tlast Pr ahlada was so pleased with him

,that he

off ered to give him anything he asked for .Indr a asked for Pr ahlfida

’s

“ Shila,character

,

’

manner , behaviour, and Pr ahlada gave it, thoughhe feared it meant his own ruin— as indeed itdid—because he had pledged his word sl

‘

A nd who can forget Bhishma’

s splendid answer,

“

when hi s step-mother Satyavati prayed him to

'

take the throne and marry,against his promise

-‘I would renounce the three worlds , the empire ofheaven or anything that may be still greater, buttruth never will I renounce. Earth may renoun ceits scent

,water may renounce its moisture , light

may renounce its power of showing forms , the airm ay renounce its susceptibility to touch, the sunm ay renounce his glory , fire his heat, the moon

1 lud ,V ans Par va— clxxx i.

H ahdbhdr atam, Shanti Par va—cxxiv.

( 151 )

his cool rays,space its capacity to generate sounds,

the slayer of V r i’

ttr a his prowess , the God of

justice his impartiality,but I renounce not

Karna,the man of fire

,the man of pride, the

man of headlong straightforwardness , was born,the ancient story says , with a natural armour thatno weapons could pierce through . The Devas,ever working that the cause of the Pandavas mightprevail

,were sorely anxious lest in the predestined

combat between Karna and A rjuna,the latter

should fail because of that strong armour . It wasKarna’s rule that he sat facing the east every day,studying the Vedas , till the sun turned the zenith ,and he had ,

vowed that during that per iod of hisVeda-study every day, whatsoever a Brahmanaasked of him that he had to give , he would give tohim unfailingly and one day Indra, the King ofthe Devas

,seeing no other way, took . on the sem

blance of an aged Brahmana and appear ed beforeKarna and said he had a boon to ask . A nd Kar nasaid that he would surely give it

,if it were at all

Within his power. Then Indra said “ Give methis armour that you wear by natu re on yourbody .

” Kar na replied “ I know thee now to be noartless Brahmana

,but the King of the Devas him

Ibid , Ad i Par va - cn i .

152

self,disgu ised to help the cause of the Pandavas .

But even the letter of my given word must berespected . Take what thou askest

,though in

giving thee thy wish I know I give my life, andwhat is even more than l ife to me, the onl y chanceof conquering my soldier-rival, A rjuna, in battle I

”

A nd Karna hewed off that living armour piece bypiece

'

with his own ' hand and sword,and gave it

al l to Indra,winning thereby a longer life and a

far nobler name than if he had defeated A rjuna.

’

King '

Dashar atha, of the Solar Race of Kings,

asked by the Devas for help against the A suras,

battled against the latter as a Kshattr iya should;His youngest wife

,Kaikeyi, drove his war -chariot,

and when the king sank into a swoon under hiswounds

,she skil qy bore him away on the chariot

to a place of safety and preserved his life . Forthat deed the grateful King promised her two

boons,which she put by for f uture need . Long

afterwards, when the King was in his old age and

wished to instal his eldest son , Rama, as the heir t

appar ent, she claimed the boons , and claimed themfearful ly Rama

,eldest born and bes t beloved of

the aged King, noblest of men , should wander forthinto the fores ts as an exile, and the crown be

‘Mahdbhc

‘

ir agam,Vana Pan s . ocon i

—cccix .

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154

truth, by the blessing of Vishnu , BaliWil l be the

next Indra, when the present Deva, whose propername is Pur andar a

,vacates that office ( for Indra

is the title Of the great office of the sovereign ofthe divine kingdom

,not a personal name) .

A s truth is Brahman,those who seek Brahman

must be tr uthful . A bove and al l else,

therefore,a boy shoul

’d strive for tr u ness .

smasharm % ffisri315fim m% ui 'a i’

sm

m (flaw : {manil a a ffirm : 11*

“ The Brahmana,being born , is born a debtor

with three debts tn the Devas by sacrifice,to the

A ncestors by progeny,to the Rishis by study .

"

sumrfi fl am e: sm?$116 Draw 1

m sfia‘

3W 1 aerate : 11

5121181 fi ifia'

fim gfi ifi m vi a

{31 a tufts-

sitfi fia‘

tfirs] fiesta 11 1“A fter having d ischarged the three debts let

him turn his mind to Moksha. He who desirethMoksha

,without having discharged them falleth

downwards.

“ Having studied the Vedas duly , having produced Offspring lawfully , having offered sacrifices

a:Ve da textquoted by Kul l fika m 11 1 3 commentar y on M amumr sga,

vi 36. 1’ M anmmr in, vi , 35 36.

155

to the best of his power, let him turn to Moksha.

m w'

t m ar-a : i n: m m 113R:

naidé i tal“

“WW71 : 1

warrgfi fi zrzrrtm‘

t6121mi a “ If?“

11*

“ Nourishing one another ye shall reap the

s upremest good .

“ He who on earth doth not follow the wheelthus revolving

,sinful of life and rejoicing in the

senses,he

, 0 Partha, liveth in vain .

”

e atmg Ganmi : aremi : m a : 1

«82113161 w e?“ treat?an “ m’é : 11

“

8 61i admi t6131 : {mi m « 16amemf as : at : sitar : G51 s eam "

it

flatm ama" fam i‘

aamft az’

ia a 1

We anar éa znfi a a énau

a fte r 5a n ew; 1mare-Rm 11 1

L

Truth is ever the (one) dharma of the good.Truth is the Sanatana Dharma. Bow onl y to the

Truth . Truth is the final wayf Truth is dharma,Bhdgavad-Gitd , i i i , 1 1 - 1 6.

T M ahabhar agam, An ushasana Par va c—Ix ii.

( 156 )

Truth is tapas . Truth is the eternal Brahman .

Truth is the highest sacrifice,for all is founded on

and upheld by Truth .

Truth is the name of That which is Unper ishing , Unchanging, Eternal . It is attained by the

Yoga-meditation that opposeth not anydharma.

Truthfulness,equality ( impartiality ) self-con

tr ol, absence of envious emulation,forgiveness ,

modesty , endurance, absence of jealousy,charity

,

thoughtfulness,d isinterested philanthropy

,self

posses sion,and unceasing and compassionate harm

lessness— these ar e the thirteen forms of Truth .

”

emanate?fiat: GWIW R (stem : 1

« sitar agar-aura Harri er} fiikm : 11 t

“ The four Vedas on the one side, well studiedtogether with al l their angas and rrpangas (ar e far

.

out-weighed by) Truth alone on the other .”

m a fi am m r m fir aa m l

m eg ream ere: urem ia 111“ Men place less trust in themselves than in

the true . Hence al l wish to secure the friendship.of the true .m rw m

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new1613 11 1?m : flai r anfiqfi 1

m a n: Ernie eras e 356fi g : 11“

The Devas know not a better being in the

universe,than him of whom the al l -knowing Wit

ness feelethno doubt when he speaketh .

m fiafi m‘

rtefi m triers camera 1

m atria-s iesta?aw fim fi fin 111

Thy business i s with the action only,never

With its fruits ; so let not the fruit of action be thymotive

,nor be thou to inaction attached .

sari ( l ei vi

: ai r 1 it

The supreme Brahman is the Right, is theTruth .

”

M amwmmti , V in- 96. 1’ Bhdyaxvad-Ghtfi , ii— 47 .

I Atr in mhottam tdprm -Upamshat, i —6.

CH A PT ER V l .

Bu ss AND EM OTIONS .

E have seen that Ishvara is Thought , Powerand Bliss

,and man

,as His child

,has also

these characteristics . When the Jivatmfibecomes wrapped in dense matter, the aspect of

his nature which is Bliss , is ever going outwardsin search of satisfaction , trying to realise itself byuniting itself with the outer world . The impulsesoutwards ar e called desires, and when they unitethe Jivatma to an object that gives him pleasure,so that he desires to be again united to such an

object,the resulting emotion is cal led love, or lik

ing .When , on the contrary, they unite the Jivatmato an Object that gives him pain , so that he desiresto avoid union with such an object again

,the r e

sul ting emotion is call ed hate, or dislike . Thefirst makes an attraction between the Jivatma and

the object the second makes a repulsion .

The J1vatma thinks over these likes and dislikes, and gradually tr ains himself to direct hisemotions rightly emotions thus guided by reasonin accordance with the will of Ishvar a develop in

to Virtues, and thus the culture of the emotions

1 60

f orms the ethical development of man . A s he

cultivates the emotion called love he unites himsel f to an ever-widening circle of beings, thefamily

,the community

,the nation

,the race

,loving

them as himself and thi s love becomes a continuallyincreasing expression of the Bliss aspect of hisnature

,which finds satisfaction in union .

We have seen that evolution is now leading ustowards union

,or

,in other words

,that the will of

Ishvara is guiding the separated selves towardsunion with each other and with Himsel f. In thisunion is Bliss therefore the Right and the Happyar e inseparable . Over and over again the Sanatana Dharma leads us to this one conclusion .

Brahman is bliss ” therefore the Jivfitma,being

of the nature of Brahman,is also bliss

,and unhap

piness onl y arises when he goes against evolution,against the great Will

,goes

,in a word

,wr ong.

fi rearm—« wri t?«an 1

”

A l l this is Brahman— Sachchidananda Sachchidananda is this all .”

m anque;m fi m u st-1 1 T

t .Vr inmhottam f t‘

ipmi Upanis kat, 7 . f Kathopa/nishat, iv— l .

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( 1623 )

Joy and consciousness,a limitless ocean of joy,

than which there 18 no greater happiness— such i s

A nanda.

mfi sfi gfi :m it tfi efiwir gfirgza gfi : 1‘“ The consciousness of pleasure is the cons

ciousness of an object desired ; the consciousnessof pain is the consciousness of an object undesired .

”

e erir'

irr g zw 11931 am? 11 1A l l beings revel i n pleasure ; al l shrink great

ly from pain .

{Warsaw arr—aim mm ! 1

em fi afiré e ii mrfia w 11 1By the delusion of the pair s Of opposites , O

Bharata,sprung from attraction and repulsion

,O

slayer of foes , all beings walk this world,wholly

deluded .

{fi r g etgas eregararzfiam gfi

was?HaremG rim m 11§

Desire,aversion

,pleasure

,pain

,the compound

(organism ) , in tel l igence, firmness,these

,briefly

described, constitute the Field and its changes .”

m m fi s m twams a‘

a’az 1 11

I Bhéyar ad -Gitd , Vi i— 27 . Ibid , xii i— 6. N 1 1nd , iii— 87 .

( 163 )

“ It is Kama (desire) and it is Kr odha (anger)ar ising out of Rajas .

{fa ce-31W m ar : m fiufir 1*

0

al ibi m m amtW 1 11

A ffection and aversion for.

the Objects of senseabide in the senses ; let none come under the domin ion of these two ; they ar e obstructors of thepath .

W arm fiw rfi rfigfifi ta 1’

r

a rmaafi'

éemem ae rznfi'

nw fi 11

But the disciplined self,moving among sense

objects “ with senses free from attraction and r epul

s ion,mastered by the self

,goeth to peace . ”

a : mafin c aria m em e : 1

a er firr'

taarfi rfa a g a’

a w ufi u nt

He who,having cast aside the ordinances Of

the Shastras , followeth the promptings of desire,attainethnot to perfection , nor happiness , nor thehighest goal . ”

( a?! 5111 «515mm

air mi aga r tr : art‘

rfi 1

Q

Bhdgavad-Gigd , i i i— 34 .

1“ Ibrd , 11— 64. I zbid ,

xvi— 23. §Katkopam§hat, v— l 2 .

164

The One Who contr ol lethal l,the inmost '

Sel f

of al l beings, Who maketh many forms of onef orm—they who see That One in the Self, only to

those ruler s of intelligence belongeth theHappiness, 11 none else .

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( 166 )

harmonious relations with others much more thanone who has them not .

Manu,the great law-

giver, lays much stress onthe necessity for this self-control

,and gives some

most valuable advice about it. He says that actionhas three forces behind it, and that each of thesemust be mastered.

"‘A ction is born of mind,

speech and body .

The mind— theManomayakosha, which includesthe emotions— must be conquered . This is thehardest task of al l . For the mind runs after theobjects of desire, swayed and controlled by thelongings to possess the objects which promise togive pleasure . The emotions ar e ever craving satisfaction

,and the mind seeks to gratify them

,be

coming their slave . The Jivatma must free themind from this slavery , and subdue it for his ownservice

,making it the master of the senses and the

sense-organs as Manu says In conquering this

(the m ind) the two sets of five become conquered .

”

T The “ two sets of five” ar e the ten Indr iyas ,that is

,the five Jnanend riyas and the five Kar

mendr iyas .

Let the student,then

,aim at rul in g his mind

Lea , czt n — 13 1“ Loc. cit., 11

— 9 2.

167

if it runs to evil things let him cal l it back lethim allow it to fix itself only on good things.This is the first

,the most difficult

,the most essen

tial part of self-control .The control of speech is the next step we

must think before we speak . Hasty'

speech leadsus into endless troubles . A rjuna was of ten veryhasty in his speech

,and so got himself into many

difficulties as in his hasty'

vow to slay himself ifhe did not kill Jayadr atha, the slayer of his son,before sun set

,thus necessitating the interference

of Shri Krishna,who shrouded the sun prema

tur ely to induce Jayad r atha to come out from hisshelter fig So again in his quarrel with Yudhish

thira,provoked by Yudhishthir a’s taunting

speech, j'

and on other occasions . N ay, his failureto keep a hasty vow l ed to his death on the GreatJourney : “ A rjuna said he would consum e al l ourfoes in a single day. Proud was he in his heroism ,

but he did not what he boasted . Hence has hefallen down .

”

1 He who has conquered his tongueis near to self-mastery .

Thirdly,the phys ical body must be controlled

,

and not be allowed to hurry us into sin , for its-ll a /zdbhfir dgam, Dr ona Par va. 1

' Ibed,Karna Par va. lxx— ixx .

I I bul , M ahapr asthan ika Par va.

168

gratification. Says Shri Krishna : “ Worship of'

the Devas, the twice-born, the gurus and the wise,purity, straightforwardness, chastity and harmlessness

,are called the austerity of the Youth

is the time for conquering the body, for it is thenmost easily subdued, and set in the right way. Forthe body is, a creature of habit and though at

fir st, it wil l Oppose the will of the Jivatma withgreat energy, a littl e perseverance makes it giveway, and then it goes as contentedly and readilyalong the new road as it did along the old .

A mong the sources of evil and of sorrow thatwe should strive to get rid of by this self-controlis selfish desire, for out of the insatiable desire formaterial wealth an d material pleasures grow manymiseries, and peace arises from the absence ofthese desires and not by their continued gr atification . Thus Manki found . For

,greedy of Weal th,

Manki had searched for it long, but ever heseemed doomed to disappointment . With the

last remnant of his property he bought a pair Ofcal ves to train up for the plough . But fate or dain f

ed that the cord with which the two wer e tiedshould get entangled with a passing camel, so thatboth were kill ed . This last mischance opened the

Bhdgac‘

ad-Gifd , xv fl— H .

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1 70

and labour no .more for the satisfaction of thywishes, O my foe . Casting off thee and all thytrain , I gain at once in stead tranquillity and selfrestraint, forgiveness and compas sion and deliverance .” Thus Manki lost a little

,and gained al l .‘

Hear also the story of King Yayfiti, who drivenmad by wild desire, took from his own son his fairand splendid youth to strive to fill therewith the“

ever-gaping maw of Des ire the insatiabl e . For thusthe story runs.

King .Yayati, son of N aba sha,of the Lunar

Dynasty of Kings,was over-fond of the pl easures

of sense and fell into sin , which brought upon himthe wrath of his father-in-law

,the great Rishi

Shukr a, the priest of the Titan-Kings . Becauseof that wrath, King Yayati was suddenly struckw ith shrivelled and tottering old age in the verymidst of his glorious prime of manhood . He

propitiated the Rishi, and Shukr a,taking pity

on him,decreed that he could exchange

,for a

thousand years,his age and feebleness for the

health and youth of any of his sons,who should

consent will ingly to the exchange . Yayati askedhis five sons in success ion the fifth and youngestPuru , for love and reverence of his father, gave

Shanti Par va—c lx xvn

171 i) .

him his own youth and took from him his age forthe period of a thousand years . For that long

period King Yayati assiduously pursued the

pleasures of the senses,endeavouring to exhaust

the luxuries o f the world of matter. But ever,

he'

found that his craving grew ,even when his senses

dulled with satiation . B e longed in vain that his:

longing for the world of sense should be exhaustedby fulfilment . A s one spoke of a wheel runningafter another spoke of it

,the chase was endless .

A t the last,as the thousand years approached their

close,a great vairagya arose in his mind

,and he

saw that desire ceases not with satisfaction butwith frustration . He called Puru to him

,took

back his own old age with gladness , and gave tohim his youth together with the kingdom

,and

retired into the forests chanting the verse that summed upal l his life-experience

“ Desire may not be quenched by enjoyment ofits objects it only increases manifold therewith,as fire with libations of butter .Let us pause a moment on the word “ harmless

ness,in the above quotation of Shri Krishna

’swords

,p . 141 . Harm les sness is the highest Dhar i

ma,Bhishma taught. We should injure nothing.

fil a lu’

ibhiir atam. A nushfisana Par Va, cxvi— 37 .

Our life should be a source of help , not of harm .

The control of. the body includes this abstention

f r om injuring others . A s said Brihaspati “ Thatman who practises the religion of universal compassion , achieves the highest shoul dnever do that to another which one regards asinjurious to one

’s own sel f. This,in brief

,is the

rul e of righteousness .People often harm others in more thoughtless

ness,and so bring about much troubl e . When

Yudhishthir a and Duryodhana and their brotherswer e boys and al l lived and studied together

,

Bhima,who was the strongest of them al l

,often

indul ged in practical jokes and rough horse-play,

exercising his great strength with boyish thoughtlessness upon the younger and weaker boys . When anumber of them climbed up into a tree to pluck thefruit

,he would take the trunk between his hand s

and shake the tr ee, till the little boys tumbled downlike ripe f ruits . Bhima thought it was great fun. and

laughed but some of the boys were hurt,hurt

in body,and what was wor se, hurt in mind . A gain

,

when they were out bathing and swimm ing in theriver that flowed beneaththe walls of Hastinapur a,Bhima would swim under neath the other boys , and,

l bid— cxiii.

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( 1 74 )

A nd he who studies the Great History carefull yknows wel l that thePandavas were not al l to praise

,

nor the Kauravas al l to blame .The triple control of mind , speech and body

results in righteousness,in right character express

ing itself in right conduct. The man who has thusput himself into right relations with the thingsnearest tohim

,

'

his own emotions,mind and body

,

and has thus partiall y acquired the virtues classifiedas self-regarding or egoistic in wes tern ethicalbooks

,is able to practise more eff ectively those

classified therein as“altruistic

,

” those which arisein relation to other living beings .We have now to study the virtues and vices

which arise in the relations between human beings .These ar e best classified under three heads

1 . The virtues and vices which arise in relationto superiors .

2 . The virtues and vices which arise in relationto equals .

3. The virtues and vices which arise in relationto inferiors .

In this way we shall obtain a clear and s impleclassification of the virtues which make our relations with al l around us harmonious

,and seeing

them distinctly,we can strive to attain them. A nd

1 75

we shall also see plainly the vices which .makedisharmony and can try to avoid them. A l l the

vir tues have their root in pure Love,and have Bliss

for their fr uit al l the vices have their root inper sonal Hate , and their fruit is Misery .

gramm e! anti nfirarizzmuaqarm

‘s" new?sm amawm m: II

9K 86 l »

flfi fi‘ m m“

mm am it s as g with“ II

it i ’l‘ 3?

N ew: mik es : fi m taha a I

afi efifimgfi fims‘

ifi e m II

M m g am :

m ush3 (am as : M a fimfi fil“ Karma

,that bringeth good or evil fruit,

ari seth in the mind , or in speech , or in the body,A nd thr eefold ar e the paths of men

,according to

their karma, high or low or middling .

=l =

This (Jiva) reapeth good or evil , mental witlithe mind

,vocal withspeech

,and bodily even with

the body .

1‘ t 1?

The danda of the speech,the danda of the

M anusmmti , x ii— 3 , 4, 8, 10, l l .

( 176 )

mind,the danda of the act —~he who has laid these

rods (of rule over his intell igence he is the

T ridandi

“ Having laid these rods (of control over hismind) with respect to al l beings

,and having con

quered lust and anger, (the Jiva) attainethper f ec

tion .

2mW QW N M I'

vastnasi mszi e fi fiwi‘

zé a fi l

W fi uw fim arw fi fl

m zm mtfiwata'

firam fi fim l

Worshipgiven to the Devas , to the tvvice-born ,to the teachers and to the wise

,purity

,straightfor

War dness,continence and harmlessness—ar e call ed

the austerity of the body .

Speech causing no annoyence, truthful andbeneficial, the practice of the study of the Scr iptures

,ar e called the austerity of Speech .

Mental happiness,equilibrium

,silence. sel f

control,purity of nature— this is called the austeri

ty of the mind .

”

Bhdga r ad -Gztfi , a — l 4, 15, 16.

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1 78

m hm attr

Fhvimfia: imam?m li‘

That which is the Eternal of . al l eternals,

That which is the Life of all lives,That which

being One in spir ethmany with des ir es— the wisethat behold that One seated within themselves

,to

them alone belongs the lasting peace,unto none

else.”

The kinsman is the congenital foe— such isthe view of those whose minds ar e blinded by thegreed of weal th . To him whose weal th is wisdom

,

the world,that is filled with his elders

,equal s and

younger s,is ( as a world of) parents , friends and

children .

”

W e a m am a stems lW WW fi rm : vfi s‘ifi ll

m an ila anti as sent f ra il-

er I

H tits} fi ihtimfi III“ He that

,without having conquered himself,

wishethto conquer his ministers , or that, without9 Kathopan ashad , 17— 13.

1’ Jl akdbhdr atam,

Udyoga Par va, 1i— l 7 . 1 1 l ud , cxxv1 11, ,29— 305

1 79

having conquered his ministers, wishethto conquerhis foes

,he faileth helplessly .

But he that conquer ethhimself first,as his

own foe, and thereafter conquers his ministers andhis foes , (his work) is not vain

”

W tacfi hmhhsfi‘m cfi mfi: I

arm QM {titmi : s wam u

m : gem chccc‘

rcqi m’

hcchI

smith cam m m ccfim l l

m hg awhichhi a c can I

ac t firi ng: c‘

ctfhcatGaza?i n : 11

act g iathc r a c car «tacti cc l

m’

hc c’

t area”aria git

-am en: II

m tficccém : mi ter : fhccni ar I

m’

hhmcqm a ffli cta gi c‘

i ac : tr““ N ot one but many ar e the branches of

dharma that have been declared by the wise,each

resting upon his own knowledge . But Dama ( selfcontrol) is the basis of them al l :

“ The elders , the seers of the sure, have declar ed that Dama leadeth to the Highest especiallyfor the Brahmana is Dama the whole of Sanatana Dharma.

.Vahdbhdr atam,Shanti Par va, s ix—6, 1 7 , 13

( 180 )

“ The man that is not self-control led meeteth'

suffering everywhere and many troubles hecauseth, ,al l arising out of his own defects .

“ For al l the four Ashramas,Damais the high

est vow. I shall declare to thee the marks thereof,

.

the characteris tics of whichDama is the source“ Forgiveness , self-possession , harml es sness

,

equability , tr uthf ulness , straightforwardness, theconquest of the senses , skil l, gentleness , modesty,r estf ulness, absence of scorn

,absence of excite

ment, sweet speech , harmlessness , and absence ofjealousy— of al l these is self-control the source .

c‘ifi m Gm imi ccaamc 11

“

“ Self-possession,patience

,self-control

,integrity,

purity, restraint, intelligence, learning, truthfulness ,absence of anger— these ten ar e the marks of

dharma.

”

3 ?t em it i ii'a fhl'

hcfi cz: I

«ae rcfihté chhighchsaciwa: lli“ Harml essnes s, truth-speaking, refraining from

theft,control of the senses— such is the essence

of the dharma that Manu declared for al l the fourcastes .

M anmmrm, vi— 92 . 1'

I bzd , x—63.

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CHA PT ER V l l l .

VIRT UES AND VICES IN RELA T ION TO Summons .

OVE which is unselfish prompts us to makesacrifices for others , and to restrain ourselvesfor the common good therefore such love is

the root of virtues , of the qualities that promoteunion . So also hate prompts us to take from others,to grasp at al l desirable things for our own separateenjoyment to the injury of others therefore hateis the root of vices , of the qualities that promoteseparateness . Moreover, when we make a sacrificefor one we love

,we feel happiness in making it

,

and we thus learn that the deepest happines s , realbliss

,lies in giving , which is the joy of the Jivatma

and not in taking , which is the joy of the bodies .Let us see how love impels a man to act in rela

tion to his superiors , to those to whom he looksup. A man’s superiors ar e God

,Sovereign

,

Parents,Teachers

,and the A ged .

Love to God shows itself as Rever ence,Devotion

,

Wor ship and S ubmission to His Will . We findal l lovers of God show these Virtues . See howBhishma reverences and worships Shr i Krishna ,the A vatfir a of Vishnu : at the Rfijasfiya sacrifi ce

( 183 )

of Yudhishthir a Bhishma bids them off er the firstar ghya to Him

,and Narada decl ares that He

who approveth not the worship offered untoKrishna, the oldest One in the universe, deservethneither soft words nor consideration . Those menthat will not worship Krishna

,with eyes like lotus

petals,shoul d be regarded as dead though mov

ing. A nd so also,when Bhishma lay dying, he

was thinking “ of Krishna in mind,word and act

,

and his one thought was to r ece1ve His blessing i"

he closed the great exhortation with the recitalof “ the thousand names of Vasudeva, and hislast words

,ere bidding al l farewell, asked Shri

Krishna’s permission to deparalIn Parhlada, the son of the Daitya King Hir

anyakashipu , we have one of the most famous examples of devotion . Despite all his teachers couldsay, he steadily prayed to and praised Har i . Invain did his father threaten him and seek to killhim the wild elephant who should have trampledon him failed to injure the rocks that should havecrushed him lay light as down on his bosom thesword that should have struck off his head fel lblunted from his neck the poison that should have

M ahdbluir atam,S abha Par va, xxx vm— B. i Ib

’

td , Shanti Par vaI IbuI , A nushfis ana Par va.

—cx l ix.

184

carried death along his veins proved harmless aswater and at last Narasimha

,the A vatar s , burst

from the gran ite pillar,and delivered Hari’s servant

from the tyrant who sought to slay .

Dhruva, leaving his father’s pal ace to flee from

the unkindness of his step-mother,shows such

f ervour of devotion and such courage and steadfastness in worship

,that Hari appears to him

,and

gives him as throne the pole-star,on the boundary

of the T r iloki, wher eon he lives and reigns . 1“

Nothing,perhaps

,is more marked in the per

f ect human character of Ramchandra, than Hisunwavering submission to the Div ineWill . Overand over again during the whir l that followed Hissudden exclusion from the throne

,He calms those

around Him by reminding them that al l that happens is by the good law

,and He Himself is utterly

unshaken by the storm,knowing the Real amid

al l changing unrealities .

On the other hand, we read constantly of the

overthrow of those who do not honour the SupremeLord . Mighty ru lers l ike Havana

,who was mon

arch in Lanka, fell because they thought themselves rivals of ishvara

,and set themselves against

Bee V i shnu Pa rana , I , xvx— xx .

1 S ee Ibtd , 1 , x i— xu , .

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( 186 )

devotion to duty imposed on the King,and by the

high ideal of kingship insisted on . Utatthya, of

the race of A ngira,instructing the King Mandhata,

son of Yuvanashva,said : One becometh a

King in order that he may uphold righteousness ,and not that he may conduct himsel f capriciously .

The King is the protector of the world,0 Man

dhata 1 If he act righteously, he attaineth to thehonours of a veritable God upon earth . But if heact unrighteously he sinketh into hel l . A ll creatures rest upon righteousness ; and righteousnes s ,in turn

,resteth upon the King. That King alone

is a true King who upholdeth righteousness . If

he fail to chastise unrighteousness,the Devas

desert hi s mansions,and he incur r eth obloquy

among men .

"i

Patr iotism,the love of one’s country, and Public

Spir it, caring for the nation more than for onesel f,ar e virtues that ar e so closely akin to loyal ty thatthey should never be separated from it . “ Kingand Country ar e the object of true loyalty . N o

man should be without this love of country and the

” r eadiness to sacrifice himself for his native land fornational greatness cannot exist without patriotismand public spirit, and national greatness means , in

M ahabhar ata /m,S nfinti Par va—xc.

187

the long run,family and individual prosperity the

“

whole and the part cannot be separated. Publicspirit makes a man feel the successes and thesufier ings of his country as though they were hisown— as indeed they ar e. It makes him try to

protect the weak from injustice,to resist wrong, to

uphold the law,to stand for justice, to refuse to

make unfair profit at the cost of the communityor to cheat it by evading what is due to it fromhimself. The heroes of ancient India ar e constantly descr ibed as

“ intent on the welfare of othersShri Krishna bids A rjuna see to the protection ofthe masses , ” to “ the maintenance of mankind .

”

The man who thinks only of himself and of hl sfamily is short-sighted

,and is really underm ining

his and their future happiness .To Parents is due ever the most complete

Obedie nce,

and this is one of the most oftenr epeated injunctions of the Sanatana Dharma. See

how Ramachandr a,the Great Example

,obeys his

father . When Dashar atha is inveigled into granting Rama

’s exile and the son is told by Kaikeyithat His father fears to speak his will “ Speak

,

O honoured lady, the desire of the King, is Hisquick reply , and I will carry it out. There is

Bhdgar ad-Gctd , 1i1 , 202— 5.

188

no service greater than service of the father,than

carrying out his words .” A nd to al l argumentscounselling resistance

,He gives the steadfast ah

swer Ther e is no power in me to tran sgress myfather’s order I shal l abide by my father

’sorders .” A nd later

,when His father was dead,

and Bharata,most unwil ling regent

,held His

crown in trust,al l His answer to Bharata’s passion

ate pleadings that He should ascend the thronewas that His father had sent Him to the forest

,and

had placed Bharata on the thr one each must dohis own task

,according to the father’s word

“ What My father hath commanded must not bemade untrue . 1“

A gain we read in the M akdbkdr aiam the storyof the knower of Brahman

,shrouded in the impure

body of a fowler,who led to his parents the Brah

mana Kaushika,who came to learn wisdom at his

feet . The fowler took the Brahmana to the beautifn l rooms in which he had housed his aged parents

,

saying that his own happy state of knowledgeand peace was due to his fil ial piety ; havingbowed low at their feet he introduced his guestand then told him These my parents ar e theidols that I worship whatever is due to the Devas .

Rdmdyana ,A yodhyakand am, xv—xxx . 1

“

Ibid , xc.

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( 1 90 )

cause . He went to the father of Satyavati and

asked that she be married to the King . The fathersaid The King is aged thou shalt shortly reignin his stead . I would rather marry my daughter tothee But Bhishma replied : “ S ay not such a

thing. When my father has wished to marry her,

she is my mother already give her to the King .

”

Then S atyavati’

s father said “ But I shall do soonly if her son succeeds the King in sovereignty .

”

Bhishma said at once “ I promise to forego mybirth-right . I shall place that younger brother ofm ine upon the throne . But Satyavati

’

s father saidagain “ We know thy word once given may notbe broken . But what shall bind thy sons fromdisputing their uncle’s right Then Bhishma said“ I promise never to marry at al l so there shall beno sons to me who may dispute their uncle

’s right .N ow do thou let my father have his wish .

”A nd

because of his fearful promises the Devas cried outwith a bodiless voice “ He has been known as

Devavr ata so long he shall now be known asBhishma— the Terrible” —terrible surely to himselfbut most loved and most dear to all true Hinduhearts . King Shantanu too

,when he heard that

the vows had been already made and could not nowbe helped

,took Satyavati to wife but in the

1 9 1

fulness of his father’s love bestowed on Bhishmathe gift of death at his own will alone . Men that ”

prevail over their pas sions thus,and can conserve

their manhood perfectly,may well prevail against

the might of death itself, long as they like .*

On the other hand,it was Duryodhana

’s stubc

born insolence and disobedience to his parents thatprecipitated the war which destroyed his housef l'

Over and over again his father pleaded with himto yield to the just demands of the Pandavas

,and

give them a share in their ancestral property , butDuryodhana scorned his prayers and persisted inhis own way. Even when his mother, Gandhari ,begged him in open sabha to obey his fatherand to regard his duty, he treated her harshly and'

disrespectfully,and so brought on his head the

doom of failure . N o son can succeed who grieveshis father or mother by disobedience or by disrespect .The Teacher is added to the Father and

Mother by the Sanfitana Dharma,as the third

great object of reverence and service,and we see

this virtue also in the ancient heroes who shouldserve as examples to al l Hindu boys . How deepis the love , how unfailing the reverence, shown by

Mahabhar atam, Ad i Par va— c. T I ln'

d, Udyoga Par va —cxxx.

1 9 2

the Pandavas to Bhishma, to Drona,even when

compelled to fight against them see them bowingat their teacher’s feet ere the battle joins on

Kur ukshetr a and when Dhr istadyumna seizedthe white locks of Drona, hear the agonised cry ofA rjuna “ Bring the teacher alive ! do not slayhim 1 he should not be slain I” and his heart-brokensob when the crime is complete I have sunkinto hell

,overcome with

The only valid reason for disobedience to the

Guru is held to lie,in the Sanatana Dharma

,in

previous promise or clear duty . Bhishma,the ex

ample of dharma,gives a striking il lustration of

this in his career . A fter the death of his fatherShantanu , Bhishma

,in accordance with his vow

,

placed his younger brother Chitrangada on thethrone

,and when Chitrangada was slain in battle,

then he placed the second brother V ichitr avirya on

the throne of Hastinfipura. Looking for suitablewives for V ichitr avirya, Bhishma heard that thethree daughters of the King of Kashi were aboutto hold a S vayamvar a, and were in al l respectsworthy of marriage with his brother . He went toKashi

,and by his sole might in battle carried them

-ll ahdbhci r atam Bhishma Par va— x l n i.

’r ”N d Drona , Par va cxciu— cxciv.

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( 1 94 )

serious wound but reviving again,they renewed

the fight,till on the twenty-eighth day, the aged

Parashurama acknowledged that he could do nomore and Bhishma won his cause . Yet becausehowever unwil lingly

,he had brought much sorrow

upon A mba,karma decreed that she should prove

the means of his death .

Rever ence to the A ged fitly closes the l ist ofvirtues which should flower when we come intor elation with our superiors

,and it was one of the

marke d characteristics of the ancient Hindu chameter . The wisdom which is the fruit of longexperience is the precious treasure in possession ofthe aged

,and they willingly pour this forth for the

benefit of the teachable,courteous

,respectful youth .

In the hurry of modern life,this respect for the

aged is apt to be trampled under foot, and it is themore necessary that care should be taken to cultivate it .

aw e : w e"m a ram nfi

mafitrwg i‘

m wf‘

wg’

s‘

sa a rena? 1

wfiwmgam’

tfi as "?a fi rs t": 11

Ga?swa m étfiéfi i l

s ame { emitte rs-ctr : m :

fi m ww fiarfifi

( 1 95 )

W u

mw m am I

W trait un it ti‘

mgm‘

r

ufawé a g nfi imrfi‘

f : u

w annasw im-ai

mfia “ 13 313 1137 !

atnew nnmfm asfi n*

There is no other path to the attainment ofBrahman

,so auspicious for yogis , as devotion to

wards the Lord who is the Atmaof al l .

With his mind full of wisdom,dispassion and

devotion,he seeth Prakriti losing its power and

Purusha as stainless .

Where the good gather,there ar e heard the

s tories that give knowledge of My Power, and ar e

as nectar to the ear and heart. Listening to them,

he turneth rapidly to the path of Moksha withfaith and joy and devotion .

Turning away with dispassion from sensuoussights and sounds because of devotion to Me

,he

dwelleth ever in thought on (the mysteries of ) Mycreation

,and thus

,restraining his mind, essayeth

the straight paths of yoga and attainethunion .

s nu-Bhfigavata ,I II xxv— I S , 19 , 25, 27 .

( 1 96 )

Giving up the service of the attributes of Prakr iti, his knowledge and yoga (realisation of Unity)blossoming with (the help of ) vairagya, and hisdevotion offered unto Me, he r eal i

'

sethMe as thePratyagatma (the Inmost Self) .i smsfi z sasurm fi rstamt-i stigma

-1s t: I

i s ti s s tint3 «hi : i ss’

s rrs i mm In

as'tssmtri s tti si ss i atisms?sc i s ism s

m'

i qa‘

is i m im ists : is ge m s: u

am mi sztma ems a ass ass rtsfi '

s ssm mm m

’

ixfi u‘i’

ss agsi mmfi fi sm art s

am m flm m s sfimis s m Fawnm u ffw e aves s a re : m s m

'

s atamists : u

sé r s i fi fiffissmmi ss s tse’

s fi si sgs r s s rfin

m d im s‘

rmi s i as sass in-cri s is "

i

i' f i sxts i‘M as ts"

im‘

tsas i s r fi i s rfitmm !

m m s issfirmfisms‘

Ws t i s gs s i s i s ts: u“

From its own nature , some Sages say, othersf r om time arising (came the universe) verily fromthe majesty of God revolves in this world theBrahma-wheel .

Shvetdshvatar opanishat, v i— l , 7 , 8, 9 , 12 , 13.

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1 98

M Wfi fi afi l

as

m : mtis warm s?i ns s s rfittare'

t l

m : 3 313 a nti ss é 1 5r'

i gés r: ll

ai ( ratm s w fisfi mn’

sss i 1

47mm" fi s ts: g i t sni i s fi lfi s i llarc

-g?Ft g s si sir gi m m es fs : l

s zfir'

i s ni ré i ri s s ass « s as s ll

For the protection of the whole worldcr eated the King

,when the Kingless people wer e

scatter ed through fear .“

(He created the King) out of immortal portionsktaen from Indra

,Vayu, Yama

,the S un

,th e Fire

,

Varuna, the Moon and the Lo rd of wealth .

fit i i

For him the Lord created His own son Dharma

,the Protector of al l beings

,as the Bands

(Sceptre, or Rod of power) clothed with theBrahma-radiance .

f t

The Danda gover neth al l the people, the“ c aus ing

-wt, w t, 3 , 4 . 14, IS , 26— 28.

1 9 9

Danda alone protecteth the Danda waketh whileothers sleep

,the wise know the Danda as Dharma.

9k it

They declare the wielder of Danda to be theKing

,that speaketh the truth

,actethafter deliber

ation,is wise

,and versed in Dharma

,Kama

'

and

A rtha.

“ Wielding it righteously,the King incr easeth

in all three but if he be given up to Kama,unjust

and mean,then he himself is slain by the Danda.

“ A great fire is the Danda,difficult to be borne

by those who have not achieved the Self its layeth

,together with his family

,the King that

str ayethfrom Dharma.

i s s fi'

re tss rzi stair s‘

tsits i tar-n I

( Rama star : «sk i s trs r'

i m i ll"

“ By the great-souled King was this worldmade full of Dharma and al l the people weregladdened hence is he call ed the King.

”

( rm s ars i gi s s fi'fi

m'

ti : flfirg'

rW i n

antiwarmamst 6a sfiams szgs s r s i sx n

si s s ei s s é‘

rgis l

‘M ahc’

ibhd r agam . santiPar va, Int— 145.

The King is the inmost heart of his people, .

he is their r ef uge, their honour, and their highesthappines s relying on him

,they conquer right

conely this world and the next.

“ The King also,having governed the earth

m self -control, with truth, and with the heart of

m assion , having sacrificed with many sacr ifices ,attaineth to fair fame and ever lasm

'

ng w t in

Svar ga.

”

w wmrmms ri m afimimi Fran

Ten Upadhyayas doth the Achwa exceed

and a hundred Acharyas the Father but

Mother exceedeth even a thousand Fathers in the

ight to be honored .

”

mmsss fim i s smtm s qi a I

s ri‘

s rcs s s vaas r swim! fsirs a : n

it i t

a s s ms s’

tfitm ss s s srmmz l

a s s fi s s‘

r'

si rss s i rm s s’tw u

l bzd , lm ii , 59— 60. 1’ M an am a ,

xi— l tfi .

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CHA PT ER IX .

VIRTUES AND vms s IN RELA T ION TO EQUALS .

E have next to consider our relations withthe equals that surround us on every side

,

and to know what v1r tues should be developed

,what vices avoided

,in order to make our

home and our outer relations harmonious and

happy . Let us first think of those of the home,

for they ar e of primary importance pure and happy homes , in which f amily virtues ar e practised,make the foundation of prosperous States , of successful nations . We have seen the relations thatshould exist between parents and children

,and we

must now study those that shoul d be found betweenhusband and w ife

,between brothers and sisters .

The Hindu books ar e full of stories of the lovethat should bind a husband and wife together, orConjuga l Love.

“ Husband and wife ar e thesays Manu they ar e one

,not two love

makes the two into one— love protective,sheltering,

tender,on the side of the husband love yielding

,

sweet,devoted

,on the side of the wife. “ Let

( 204 )

mutual fidd ity continue until Rama

chandra and S itfi form an ideal husband and wifethey enjoy al l life’s happinesses together

,and suff er

together al l life’s sorrows ; they take counsel togetherin all perplexities

,and share together al l d ifficul

ties . We see them first 'in unclouded bliss,Pr ince

and Princess,happy as the day is long when the

coronation of Ramachandra approaches,we see

them fasting and praying together when the shockof the sentence of exile comes

,S its accepts it care

'Iessly at first caring only for her husband’s presence

,and she would go with him

,she whose

heart is wholl y thine, knowing not another,ever

cl inging to thee resolute to die if left by thee .

”

Thorns would touch her skin like soft linen,dust

would be as sandal -powder,grass would serve as

'blanket,roots and leaves as pleasant food

,so long

as she was by her husband’s side . O Rama,thy

company is heaven,thy absence hell .” Only

when he pleads with her to remain behind,does

her heart fail her. A nd when he bids her comeshe tosses gaily to her attendants al l her costlyrobes and priceless jewels

,stripping herself of al l

that women love,without a sigh , caring only for

the joyous fact that ex ile could not separate hus‘fl am mr iti , ix— l Ol .

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206

people worshipped her as a Devi,come to them

for their good deeds . When she came of age, herfather said to her “ Choose thou a fitting husband for thyself.” A nd she went forth asearch

,

with royal retinue. When she returned,after the

lapse of many months,the R ishi Narada was stay

ing with her father and in his presen ce she announced the choice that she had made . “ KingDyumatsena of the Shalva country

,old and blind

and driven from his country by his enemies,lives

in a forest,leading a hermit’s life His son

,Satya

van,have I chosen for my spouse . Then Narada

said “ A las I 0 King I innocent Savitri hathdoneill . Is he not fitting mate for Savitri theKing asked Narada.

“ Is he weak in mind or body,

wanting in forgiveness or in courage Naradasaid “ In nothing is he wanting of all this . Strongand radiant as the sun himself is Satyavfin , gener v

one like Rantideva, just like Shibi, magnificentlike Yayfiti, and beautiful like the moon . But al lthis wealth of virtues must pass away from theearth within a year . His span of life is veryshort.” .With sinking heart Savitri heard the Sage’swords

,yet said “ But once can a person say

give away.

’A nd I have said it once ‘I give mysel f

away to Satyavan .

’ I cannot choose again .

( 207 )

Narada said “Because . thy daughter wavers not,O King I give my bles sing to the marriagewent away .

Swift messengers went to Dyumatsena,and he

sent back word to A shvapati“ I once myself de

sired alliance with thee,but saw not how to ask

for it in my fal len state . Now that the blessedSavitri is coming to me of her own accord

,I know

for sure that Lak shmi’s self is coming back untoour ancient house.” So the marriage came topass . Joyously Savitri passed from her pal aces tothe herm it’s cottage. Eagerly she attended to theleast wants of her aged father-in -law and motherin -law

,rejoicing to perform the humbl est duties

of the household,

and by her tender ways andloving words enslaved the heart of her husband .

But ever undern eath all this,the fire of secret agony

lighted by the words of Narada burned within hersoul and ever she counted the days of the prescr ibed year. A t last the hour appointed for the deathof S atvavfin was only four days distant . Then sheresolved to seek the help of the Devas by fast and

prayer. A nd al l the three days she fasted,taking

not a drop of water . Early she rose on the morning of the fateful day, finished the morningrites , and touched the feet of her elders . A l l the

( 208 )

a scetics dwelling in that for est bles sed her on thatday, saying that she should never know thepangs of widowhood . A nd when the time camefor Satyavan to go forth with his ax e uponhis shoulder into the wood for work

,as usual

,she

made her heart strong and followed him . Heasked in wonder why but she said she wished to

go withhim that day and so they went,beholding

the beauties of the hills,the waters

,the woods

,and

the birds and beasts . Then Satyavan began hisdaily labours

,filled his wal let with f ruit and felled

dried branches for fuel . But suddenly '

a faintnesscameupon him and his head ached greatly

,and he

said this to Savitri and lay down . Then Savitr iplaced his head on her lapand sat

,with breaking

heart,awaiting she knew not what . A l l at once

she beheld a majestic and awe-striking form ,dark

yet shining,clad in r ed attire

,standing beside her

,

and gazing with fixed yet flashing eyes at Satyavan . Gently she placed her husband’s head onthe ground

,stood up and made obeisance . A nd

the form said The days of Satyavan ar e endedI am Yama

,Lord of Death and because he is so

virtuous,I have come to take him away myself,

r ather than send my emissaries as usual .” A nd

he drew the Sfikshma Shari ra of Satyavan

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( 2 10 )

is righteous company, 0 King of Death, and sweetis it to dwell with one like thee

.Not fruitless

may such fair abiding pr ove . “ Take then a

second boon as fruit, O peerless lady , but ask notfor thy husband’s soul

,said Yama . Give then

,

O King of mortal worlds,his kingdom to my

husband’s father, his kingdom rent from him byevil men .

“ He shall regain his throne,said

Yama,

“and reign thereon . A nd now go back

,

fair dame,nor follow further . But with sweet

words and honeyed praises,Savitri stil l followed

the Lord of Death,and won from him two other

boons,one hundred sons for her father

,and one

hundred for herself. When the fourth boon was

granted,Sfivitr i spoke in praise of righteous living

and of high discharge of duty, til l Yama, charmedby her eloquence and wisdom

,granted her yet

another boon,

and Sav itri quickly claimed herhu sband’s life

,since Yama had granted her a

hundred sons,

and righteousness would be infr inged if other were their father save her husband.

Thus did a faithful wife win back from Death herhu sband

,and brought to his family prosperity,

r iches,and length of days , since even Yama

,King

of Death,is weaker than a pure wife’s faithful love .“

Mahdbhr‘

i r atam. Van s Par va, ccxcn—ccxcvi ii.

( 2 1 1 )

Nor can the Hindu boy forget the story ofDamayanti , the wife of Nala. Nala

,son of Vira

sena,and King of the N ishadhas , loved Damayanti ,

daughter of Bhima,the King of the Vidarbhas

,

and Damayanti loved Nala, though they had notmet each other, but each had only heard the other

’s

praises as being incomparable upon earth . Now theS vayamvar a of the princess was proclaimed

,and

thereto went King Nala, and Damayanti chose himto be her husband

,al though the Devas

,Indra

,

A gn i,Varuna and Yama

,were among the suitors

for her hand and Nala and Damayanti lived together in great love for eleven happy years

,and two

children were born to them . In the twelfth yearcame Pushkar a, and chal langed King Nala to playhim at d ice

,and Nala played

,and lost again and

again , till at length he had lost to Pushkar a hiskingdom and al l his wealth

,even his garments

,and

went forth an exile,with only one cloth

,half cover

ing his body . Then Damayanti,his wife— having

sent her children to her father’s care when she saw

how the games were going— went forth after him,

clad also in a single cloth,and in the outskr its of

the city they wandered,hungry and athirst. To

complete their m isery , Nala lost his cloth in theattempt to catch therewith some birds for food

,

( 212 )

and hopeles s and desper ate, he wished Damayantito be spared the suff ering of hunger, and re

peatedly pointed out to her the road to her formerhome. But Damayanti

,clung to him

,weeping ,

sobbing that she would not leave him,that when

he was wear y she wou ld soothe him,for in every

sor row there was no such medicine as a loving and

faithful wife . Presently, wearied out, she lay sleeping on the bare ground , and Nala argued withhimself that it would be kinder to l eave her, so

that she might seek her relatives , than to keep herwandering in misery with him . Thus thinking,he cut in half , with a sword that was lying near,the cloth she wore, leaving one half around her ;and wrapping round himself the other half, he fledfrom her

,mad with grief . The hopeless Damayanti

awaking, found herself alone,and bitter was her

grief,more for Nala’s loneliness than for her own

l oss . She sought her husband eagerly,but found

him not— found instead a huge serpent,that wrap

ped her closely in his coils . How she escaped,

and what fresh perils befell her ere she found at

last shelter as companion to a princess of theChedis , is told at length in the N a lopd/chydna .

Meanwhile Nala had rescued a snake ring ed roundwith fire, and by the magic of the snake his f orm

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( 214 )

the morrow after thy.

arrival in A yodhya. Forshe knew that none save Nal a could sodrive as toreach her father’s palace from A yodhyawithin so

brief a space . A s she plann ed, so it happened ,

Bitupar na lbade Bahuka drive him swiftly to the

city of the V idarbhas,and Bahuka

,sore at heart

,

chose swif t steeds and drove them ,as only he

could drive,reaching the city of the Vidarbhas by '

that same evening,and there

,by Damayanti ’s

tender wiles,he was led to give signs that he was

indeed Nala,as she suspected

,for he wept over his

chil dren when he saw them,and he cooked as only

N ala could cook ; then she bade them bringBahuka into her presence, and husband and truewife recognised each other, and long thereafterlived they in wedded bliss , their kingdom regained ,and their children around them .

‘

Moreover, a Wife who tr ul y loves and servesher husband gains more of inner development andknow ledge than she can gain by long austeritiesand painful penances . For thus we read in thestory of the B rahmana’s wife who angered Kaushika. Now the Brahmana Kaushika made greattapas . One day he 'sat in meditation under a tree,when a crane sitting on a branch befouled his :

( i 215 )

person. He opened his eyes '

and looked up'

angrily atthe crane and,such was the psychic

power stored m Kaushika by his tapas , that thecrane was kill ed by that angry glance as if struck ‘

by lightning . Kau shika was sad at the death of

the crane , and glad also wi th the pride of testedpower . He went into the neighbouring town to bega s usual for his daily meal , and asked the firstgood housewife thathe came across for it. A s sheWas " fetching him some food her husband came 1n ,tired with his daily work

,covered with dust.

A sking Kaushika to stay a while,she began to

attend to her husband . Some time elapsed and

Kaushika’

s impatience grew.

' VVhen she came backtohim at last with the food he needed

,he looked

at her with angrier eyes than he had looked withat the crane, and asked her how she had neglectedthe Brahmanafor so long . She answered gently4 ‘My duty to my husband 18 more urgent than tothee . Restrain thy wrath and learn forgiveness

,

Brahmana . Look not at me w1thanger ; thatwil linjure thee . I am no crane . Kaushika was

thunderstruck and questioned her“ and she replied :

No penances haVe Iper formedwtog( r ather psychic

powers}; only servedmyhusband single iniii

dedly.

If thou wouldst lear n yet more about the virtues

of our simple household ,duties , go to

“the fowlerof d istant . Mithila.

”Kaushika

,went, . with a

humbled ,mind, to Mithila, and stood at the Erig geof the great crowd of customers around the fowler’s shop . The fowler saw Kaushika

,went up to

him,and, bowing low to the Brahmaha

, said Iknow why the faithful housewi fe sent thee to me

,

and shall resolve thy doubts and show thee whyI can do T hen the fowler took Kaushika tohis . home

,and showed him his aged par ents , as we

have already seen .

*

How brothers should show B r other ly Low we

read in the whole story of the Rdmdyana , and itis said that Lakshmana was like Rama’s life

,so

cl ear and close the bohd , nor would they sleepapart, nor apart engage in sport we see himfollow Ramachandra into the forest

,and stand

waking on watch whil e Rama slept we see him.

sharing in the search for Sita, ever wise in counseland loving in sympathy and when Lakshmanalies senseless , arrow-pierced , before Lanka, hearRama

’

8 piteous cry \Vhat have I to do with lifeand what with war , now Lakshmana lies woundedon the field of battle Why, forsaking me dostthou wander , 111 other worlds Without,

thee, lif eMahabharata?» Vans .Parvp, ocv.

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12 18 1 )

into ever-deepening gloom, Bak er and darker grewthe

,air

,gloomier and gloomier yet

’ the shadowyway. Foul thing s of nauseous smell and horrid shapecrowded round them as they went

,and.beneaththeir

feet the .

ground -was slippery -with bleed; and wass trewn with fragments of the corpses l

of 1the slain.

Sharp thorns and piercing leaves obs tr ucted it,and

burning sand, and ir on smnes white-hotzlA stounde

'

d,

the.

King . questioned his celestial guide,'who told

him that he had been bidden to lead'

him thither,

but uii he wer e fweary, he could return . S loivlyr

tdoubtful ly, {Yudhishthiraturned, sur e thathis .bro

ther s .could '

not dwell in 'region so fo ll i and 'evi lbutas !he tur ned 'Sad cr ies a‘rose on every}hand, andpiteous pr ayer slthat he would ls

'

tay a while .

“Whoa r e you P

”asked the wonder ing Kin

'

g, and answers,sobbed from every; side . I

'

am Karna.

” I amBhishma.

’

1

’I 1 am A rjuna ”

.

“ I ’

am Nakula.

” “ Iam Sahadeva. I am Dr aupadi.

” '

.A 11d so withothers

,dearly loved on earth .

‘f Go back, go backto S varga,

’

f. cried the King, wrought to anger byhis

'

brothers' wrong s go back to those who sent

you-here as -guide. .Not with themmy place,

’ buthere, my loved

' ones dWel l . Gothoubu ll -to Svarga

’

s barr en-joys ; better .with . these injpain than there in lonely bliss .” -A 1i d as he . spake

( 21 9

heaven’s fragrance breathed around, and ”al l'

was

bal rhy air and shining lightand.For stronger than hell is l lo‘

vefi and'

fidel ity: than

'

1 A mong the vir tues '

to’ be,'

shown' outside théfami ly

,Hospitals?stand

's'"1n the first rank;'

and howhighly it is to be valuedmay be seen'

of the hal f-golden mongoose thatgreat sacrifice of King Yudhishthir a, whereal l thearches and the stakes‘

a‘

nd sacrificial vessels were ofgold

,andwhereat al l men took as they "would ‘

of

gems and money,none ‘ forbidding‘them.

iYétcried

the mongoose, that the sacr ifice'

of the wealth theregatheredWas of less worth than“a smal l measure ofpowdered barley, given byapob

'

r Bifih'mana to his

guest. A nd thus he told the tale. Therewas aBrahamana who kept the unchha vow

,and daily

l ived on the '

g rains of corn he gathered , makingone frugal meal a day, he and his wif e, with son

and daughter -l n law. A nd a terrible famihe laidwaste the land and fewwere the grains left uponthe husking ground by threshers , and ever thinner and thinner grewheand his faimly, till they wer ebut as living skeletons . One day it happened that he

fi

‘Eahdbhc’ir atam,Mahaprasthamka Par va, hi , and S vargarohana

' H ‘ f ” 1 1 °

( 220

had gathered a l ittle bar ley, and, having 1powder edit,thewife divided it into .

four,that each mighthave

a scanty meal and joyfull y they sat‘ down to eat.

But ere yet they had touched the little heaps ofgrain , a guest . stood in the doorway, and quicklyrising, , the Brahmanabrought -him in , and gavehimwater and a seat

,and then setbefore him his .own

share of the scanty food . . The guest ate, but stil lwas hungry , and

,the

‘wife brought her share andplaced it in her husband’s hands that he might putit before the guest . Shaking artthou with weakness , mother of my son , he said

“ keep thou thefood and eat

,lest my home lose its sunshine.

” Butshe pressed on him . the food , that .the dharma ofhospitality might not be broken, and, with a sigh,he took and gave

,Yetstill the guest was fain for

more, and the son brought his meagre share, and

the hrahmana, aching for his son’s hunger and the

emaciation of his youthq body, laid that thir dportion before the guest ,

But,alas even then the

guest was stil l hungry, for .each little share was as

nothing for ahungr y lman, and the

,

young wife’ssharewas nowheldoutto the host

’s shaking hands,but he dr ew

’

them back with anguishathis heart“ N ot yours

,my littl e one, not yours, not yours .

”

“ Father of my son’s father

,she said

,with sweet

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a w

Espying a poor . she-pigeon lying '

on the ground,beaten down by the torrents of the rains and frozenwith the . cold he picked .

her up and mercil esslythr ust her into the 1 cage“ he carr ied . Wanderingon he -

'

shortly came to . a lordly tree that stpod’

in

the 'midst of the for est, and ex tended a‘ benevolent

shade and shelter to'

myriads . of the f eatheredtribe . -It seemed to have been placed there Son

purpose by the Creator for thegood of al l creatures ,like

.a g ood man

' for the . benefit of the wor ld .

The fowler took refuge -beneath the . spreadingboughs of the tre e . .

‘

By and by,the*

e louds dis

per sed, and the star s f shone outm ButEthezfoiwler

was too far away from his home and r esolved topass the night under the tree . A s he lay underthe tr ee he heard the he-pigeon lamenting : A las !thou hast not yet

'

r etur ned , dearvwi fe l

'What can

have 'happened ato n thee ? If that dear wife of

mine; with her bright rose-eyes, sweet'

coo,

‘

and

softest plumes , gcometh not back to my .nest, mylif e ‘

shal l no longer he .worth living . .The house isnot the home, in tr uth ; the wife is the home . She

eats when I eat, she bathes when I bathe she r ejoiceswhen I rejoice, and sorrows when I sorrow. Yet if I

am iangr y, she always speaks w ith sweetness only.

Life is empty _without such a spouse . Without

g( 223

palace is -.an empty wilderness. S ucha

'

on'

e is x'

al trusted companion and 'beloved associatein al l one’s acts of virtue, profit

‘

and pleasure .The wife is the‘ richest possessionof her‘lord . She

i s' his’ one unfailing associate in al l the concern s ofl ife. She is the" bes t of medicines for all the diseases‘of the mind . T her e is no fr 1end 'likeunto' thehvif e, no

'

r efuge' better than she.

Hearing the lament of her husband,

" the she'

pigeon caged by .the cruel fowler '

said to herself .

Unlim ited is my happiness even in the midst ofagony wthait my husband thinketh thus of me.

She is 'no wife with “whom'

her lord'

is not'content.Butwe must also think of this poor fowler, overtaken by the cruel storm and kept away fr omhome. He is now our guest

,having taken shelter

underneath' our abode . A nd she cried aloud toher husband, explaining the plight of the fowler.The pigeon too

,with instant sympathy

,forgetting

his own sorrows,add ressed “ Wel come

'to my house as honoured guest, and tell me what'

to

do. The . fowler said : am stiff with coldw’

arm ’me if thou canst The 'bird gathered togather a heap of dead and fallen leaves pickedup one : in his beak

,flew and very soon r eturned

w ith a tiny ember on it fr om some neighbouring

'

224

v illage. In a moment the fowler found hixnsel fwarmed by a gr atef ul l

'fir e,and . the bird asked

.him again for ser vice . . to be done. The fowlerasked f or . food .this .time . The bird thought c

“ I‘have no s tores fwher ewithto feed him ;

'

and yet a

hungry guest may not be left unfed .1A s he r e

flected deeply,a

'

n ew light ~arose within his mindand he cried to his guest “ I shall gratify thee lI have heard in former days fr om highv

'

sbul ed

Rishis , and the Devas and Pitris also that there isgreat merit in honoring a guest . 0 fr iend 5dorthou be kind to me and accept my humble -ser

vice 1” With this he ’

flew'

around the fir e'. thr ee

rtimes and then enter ed the flames,off er eing his

'body to his guest for food .

A t that awful actof uttermost guest-honouring,an unknown horror of his - own past lif e on sin

s eized on the mind of the fowler,tearing np his

ev il . nature by its deepest roots,and leaving him

al l shattered . Thou ar t my highest teacher,high-souled bird 1 Thou showest memy duty4F r om this day I expiate my sins , denying rosycomf ort to this sin fed body, evapor ating it witha ll its crimes by daily fast and tapas , '

es the sttong

trays of the summer sun -dry up a smal l -tend d irty

pool . Taught .by this . example I -shallpractise

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226

Dhr itarfishtr a craved Vidur e’s help touching theevil conduct of Duryodhana

,and Vidura l oo

'

unseIJ

l ed his brother wisely but firml y,

'praying him to

enforce on Duryodhana his duty'

of peace with hisPandava cousins

,and to mak e his supporters win

forgiveness from the wronged and exiled princes .A t this , Dhritarashtra became much incens ed

,

and hotly blamed his righteous br other, accusinghim of partiality

, ,and finally of foul . disloyalty

,

adding gross insul t to the charge and going fromhis brother ’s side in wrath . Then

'

Vidure sadlysought ' the Pandavas

,and told how he was

'

sent

away with. angry words,and counsell ed them with

wisdom,urging urbanity and gentle ways . A nd

after V idu rahad gone,King Dhritarashtr a repent

ed him of his harshness and injustice,and sent

after him to beg him to return,exclaiming : G0

,

0 Safi jaya, and see if my brother lives, he whom Ihave driven away in angry madness. Never hashe wr onged me

,nor committed any fault, while

I have grievously wr onged him . Seek him and

bring . him hither,Sanjays

,the wise .” So Sanjays

wen t,wondering whether Vidure , the calm and

strong,would pardon his .wmkwhOM

’s

'

changing moods , and become .again . the pillar. of histhrone . A nd going to the forest, he found Vidure,

227

highly honoured by the"

princes '

and by al l,ahd"

approaching him ,prayed 'him

'

to return : Then'

V idui‘a,w ithout hesitating even for a moment,

"

rose and took leave -of his royal nephews , and

hastened to his elder brother’s “ presence, t'

w'

hb"

prayed for giveness for the wrong ' comml ttedzl

Gently .V idur a spoke 0 King; I have fo'

rgiven'.Worthy ‘

of highest reverence ar tthou; my elder,’

my superior . Eagerly have I come,longing to see“

thy face. A nd if I seemed to favour the sons of"Pandu

,it was because a .man’s heart year neth over

those who ar e distressed , more' from emotion than '

from reason . Dear ar e thy sons tome as they, 0

King,but the sorrows of ' the latter. moved my

heart . Thus gently and‘

magnanimously ' spokethe younger brother, forgetting; as unimportant, theinsults he had received .!

U rbanity is a virtue very characteristic of,

the ‘

old Hindu life . We see the most exquisite polite-I

ness in language and in a ction , as we read how thegreat ones of the epic poems

,good and

'

bad

behaved towards guests and‘ friends '

and ' foesfil '

Ramachandra is gentle in speech, and prefaces his‘“speeches with a kindly smilesl

'

, Lakshmi theI l ahdbhd r atam,

Ashvamedha Par va, xcu . I ' n . m s

’

l‘Rd l lbéyana , A yodhyakz

'

inda , i . . .m" r

”

; l u'

in

2281:

of Prosperity, speaking of the Danavas enduedz

with'

sweet speech,with f riend liness and with for

giveness, declares that She dwelt : with thembecause of their virtues When they gave way towrath, and harshness , and unfair dealings , She left .

them, ;attendedby the Devis who abide with Her s—wHope, Faith , Intelligence, Gontentment, Victory ,A dvancement and Forgivenessfi

“ So N aradai issaid to be sweet-speeched

,large-hearted, str aight

f orward, free from wrath and greed,and therefore

everywhere regarded with respect and‘ lova '

i”

A gain , Bhishma iteaches that we should not disparage others by look , word or thought nor speakevil of any. that we should never injure any, norbehave with unfr iendlin ess that we shoul d pass:with indifference Opprobrious speeches

,and

,even

when another seeks to anger us,shoul d still speak

agreeably, and when slander ed,we should not

slander in r etur ni So . again Narada . described a

Nags,named Padma

,who was wal king on ‘the

threefold pathof acts , knowledge and devotion , andspoke‘ of him as ever hospitable

,practising forgive

ness , and abstaining f r om infiicting injuries . He was

5’ N ahdblia r atcim, Shi nti Par va, ccx viii.1'M abdbhar atam, Shanti Pm aa—ocxm

1 Mahl bhér am , Shana Per u , ccln viii,

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230

m am as cg sw im : u

anaemia ( we?! a r e an m : I

names; a visa-

3 em : firm : II

tria ls?! smi thas! film m l

a tit-1 193 afi rm editat“

: Eider u

em i tmt?!“

sentvi macaw 1

armm arsh ism m a

“fWomen must be honoured and adorned by

their fathers,brothers

,husbands and brother s iii

law who desire welf are .

‘Where women ar e honoured,there theDevas

ar e pleased but where they ar e not honoured,no

sacred rite is fr uitful .Where the female relatives live in grief, the

family soon perishes uttei'ly but that family in

which they ar e not unhappy prospe'

rs ever.The houses in which f emale

'

relatives,not

being duly'

honoured,pronoun ce a

,

curse,

. perishcompletely, as if

: destroyed

iér’

mzsirgsamhammi m.w _ll i

T his is the ex tento f the man his wife, shimself and his children ;~Brahmanas thus declare that

“

231

the husband and wife ar e known as the same .M anam a

“

?31m m : 1

rm mi : smear its : ssfig’

e i t: cit : ll

am fi eém ai u’

igm g mfifi n

Wmitr i r ai atWWWLet mutual fidelity continue until death this

'may be considered as the summar y of the highestlaw for husband and wife.

Let man and woman,united in marriage,

constantly exert themselves,that they be not dis

united nor violate their mutual fidelity .

”

muffswa s ans asa"

?s s tar l1126 1311 13“

Gai ifs ant-

E sr amari a ll46

m mhfin 9 11i Qatarqéhifam l

Emir m e E" em s am: 11

ahead aqfi m fim w mfi a l

an : m axi semi a rfirfaaism i ll iGrass

,room

,water and fourthly

,a kind word ;

' these ar e never wanting in the households of the'

1

. u A guest who is sent by the isun in the eveningmust not be driven . away 'by

'

a householderwhether he have come at a convenient or incon-f

1 1nd , 101— 102 . 1 Ibid . 1 11,— 106.

( 232 ;

venieht time;he must n ot stay in the : hou se :without entertaimnenti' i ‘1

“ Let him. (the anyxfood

which he doés ziiot offer te'

his guest; thehospitablereception or mmsmm rs eninhe zn

’

é,i ong l ife,

and heavenly bliss .

ii i a mgr?ag ree mi : li“

Let him speak the true, let him speak thepleasing

,lethiin not speak an unpleasing truth,

nor speak a pleasing falsehood ; this is the ancient18W.

” 3 H Fa

h

x x Q fiwe: w as?as B ungee a m ar la 5 m a l l

$587 : Ihin tWWI s taf fing“

Hewhose speechand mind ar e pure and:evercar efully guarded, he obtains al l the fruit .that i sObtained by means of the Vedanta.

r

“ Let him not,even though distressed, cut an .

other to the quick . (by his speech) nor meditateacts of hostility to others let him never utter ' themalignant word that disturbs the mind of the

M am/ swm ti , i ii—438 , 1' M anum r i f i, 11 160- 162.

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( 2 34 )

utter that. belonging w the

evil wor lfish’

wher eby'

snother is agitateden'

D r

man that ever wounds the Vitals (bf oth‘ers,

har sh, , and 1 sharp '

oi z epeech, ‘ ever piercing bthermen with the thorns of evil wor ds , he

“

is the iman

most abandoned i'

e f fi'

(diak shmi) ;forigsmaef and everbeareth , bound tosii is1

'

mouth, azn ev il rd emon .

“ They ar e ver ihyjar i‘e‘ws ; theseWfliwaor ds thatissue from themonth; he whois wounded by themsorroweth n ight and day, for they wqimd the Vitals .The wise man 1mloosethnotjsiieh(sha;f ts) atother s .

“ There ar e no riches ; in them t‘lds like

charity and sweet speech. F ” 1; s ;

“ Therefore ever ; speak gently and never harshly honour the worthy ; give, but aslfi pot.

353

WWI 55; “ W ai t 11a

W WW first}Wfisfi :

The man sfi sfi eésww .W%W ? 3Y

commitm y : sin , he may slay,even ,his elders , or

insult show : worthy of his reverence withharshc

‘' i tN i'

1

He may send himsel f to the abode,of Death.

( 235 )

Beholding these great faul ts in anger,have the

wise ones conquered itfi gqA

shadm z’

um'

gsw em 1 w

What one thing, 0 Brahmanadflndra asks ofbie r Preceptor uBr ihas

'

pati),l if a 'man shall practisewell

,shall he ‘beconie '

a standar d 'for al l beings ,'

and

attain to fame'widespread 1?r

“ Gentleness is ‘ the (w i thing, O Shakra,Whichif a man .will

'

r pr a'

ctiser unremittingly,

‘"he shall become ia standard f or “ al l r beings and attain

'

to'

fame"

1 .r ‘1 ii

one thing br ingeth joy to‘

all thewor lds ‘

;

practising it (towards al l being'

siithe i‘manbbecometh

(dear 1unt0 '

al l «3 113 1 t u n -bu s?)“

s crew-tw at} “ s t raw s“ 1 ' " TM"

“ He that su'

ppié’

sééththe’aiiéfi

that'

hathrisen within1 of truth declare to bethe true T ejasizi i"

=

CHA PTER'

x 1 . r

i bf'

oh'

t'

V 1 1 1 .

V i a'

r nes A N D y icss mm u l es i g ihrnnti'H '

1 F l.

S we go more and ~m ore into“

the Wor ld , wecome ;acr oss tmany .peOpleg—whoware‘ muchyounger than,

our sél izes ,“

peoplet iotpthe nextor of later generations, peOple aisocwho ar e les s,educated, or ,who arepoorer, or belowuus 1in 1

' socialrank .

. 1 with such people, inferior .’

to1 ourselves , insome special , point or. generally, we enter intbnr e

lations,and we need '

to know iwhat virtues weshould cultivate, .what vices we shiould avoid,

‘if ourrelationsWiththem ar e to rbe harmonious . h

“.Theifir st and mOSt1ObV10uS of these r elations is

that with our youngers,and the best exam ii le

'

sfiof

thejnecessaryhvir tues, are -s een in the . 1r elations of

parents to; their 1111111111111. T ender ness, flompd ssion,Gentleness , Kindness , how 1-strongiy 1thesezvirtues

shine out ingorving par ents, and howM py theymake thehasten -J amel”madam hi e theirchildren;sufiss ie ,

theivxsufievings iw e ighed ih‘their

pleasures, ,fesl ”symposthy .With1them1imever ything.

Thi§tfarms beautiful ly brought» 1 101111 1 in an

“

ancient story,the story of the sorrow of Surabhr

when her children suffer. In daysof yor e, Sar abhl ,

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238 9

princesand his nobles,’

when heprams 15marhis

'

sémas his siicceSSdr,to

‘

seat him on the throne.

Every sentenee‘

br eathes his loveand pride. A nd

when'Kaikey} has claimed her b00ns ,“ and demandsRama's4 exile tothe forest

,see Dasharatha fal ling

as her‘feet; declar ing that thoughthe Eworld mightlive WithOiit thd‘sun, without Rama fheicod l d notfive’: I laymy head at thy feet . “ IBs merciful to

Havepityon'

m'e,aged and ou the verge bi

death .

'

A nd 'so true was this,thaifiwhen Shri

Rama'lat 'last tore himself away f rom 'his father,

that father 'went home broken hearted, and ' diedf rofi

‘

gr ief for his exiled son .

“ A nd remember thepitiful

'scenebetwieen Ramach

'

andr a'

andmis motherKaushalya

‘ when he carr ies her the neWs 61 hisex ile.l He shall not go, she cr ies in her anguishWithout ?r hini she'will pine aWay and die. (Dr , if

he be''fixed in“wil l to‘ go, in loving?'obedience to

his» father’s order s then wil l she also tread thefovr ests ipatlrs : 1

“ Like unto a‘cow .following fi ts

’

youngJionw. shal l ' l 'af Ol lOW' thee, Q) .myi danling,

massevér'

thsu shalt go.

“ f

'.1ms w l

7seethewos '

of whenhasfiveiioblé

(1 9 39 1

was float. Khnti—ahr avest of‘

1 women? ahdl

'

of

mothers , who, when the'

hour '

of'

battle camef b'

ade

Shr i Krishila tell her sbns 'thatf

'

the timehad "some?for them for which'a Kshattr iya w

‘

oman'

borehson,

and that even l ife'

shou'

l d’

be 11111 (111211 11 forhohour’s '

sakew this Kuntiwailed,brokeril hear ted , andIcould jl

scarce force herself away‘from her sons

,coul d

scarceforbear to folIOW'them as they went'forth.

of A rjuna over the

top

, ; a s he rfrom the field

{lie feels unacturns

“

to Shri

“explan

question s his” ers,who fear to ans

with sadhehr t'

feels the pierei '

sh0 1 11

'

death and surely the youthmustas his

,

Ifoes closed

{

l n'

ar ound him]

,1 1 1 ! l l “ . 1 1

r escue me 0111 . th erce'

storm1

came not to;his 11I”

and heI

iel l,pierced

hundred wouiihds ve;"

been resentttois chil thelighht tliia';

h 11 "m

una to'

riiad[ e heroic soul/ j [

to protect the weaker much more thehero is f ather

,and the

M ahdbkc‘

in ttdm, S abhaPar va~ 1xx ix.

'

1"

Ibid , Drona Pam mxii.

240.

This duty of Pr otecting theWeak/ is incarnatedi n the,

r ighteous King, ,and it . is the ,f nlfil rnent

'

oi

this duty ,whichawakens the loyaltyo f hi s s ubfjects :

,

T o protect his subjects is the cream of k inglyduties ,

’

f* says Bhi shma.

,The ;King

'

should alwaysbear himsel f towards ,

his,

csubjeCt. as' a . mother

towards the child of her the mother,disregar ding those objects that ar e .most cherishedby her

,seeks the good of her, child alone, even so,

without doubt.

sho s conduS o

‘

str ixig’

ent 18 th KingSagara exiledh1s own eldest son

,A sama

naas,be

cause,

that prince , in reckless cruelty,

. drowned the

children of his subJects l n the river.1Many ar e the ston es of the ways in which good

pr oe

z

lower

.fromngs on

withlh‘ir

'

n the vast d

lodg’l

tr aif‘

él save theIndra has come downf romkings to Svarga, an

'dbidshid)

1bid , Shanti Par va— l vii i ..H f akdbhémtm sms Pm s mm "

m a da m , ”

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( 242 )

deg . says Indr a.

“ This is well known in al l the

wor lds that withthe dead is neither f r iendship

yetquar r el . . When my brother s and K r ishna fell

and died , no power was mine to br ing them back

to life ; hence I abandoned them. I did not aban

don them so long as they wer e living . This one

lives . ,T o ter r or ise the seeker for pr otection, to slay

a woman , to steal what belongethto a Brahmana,td injur e a f r iend , to eachof these cr imes, methinks ,is equal the sin of abandon ing one so devoted .

”

A nd then the dog van ished and Dharma, Deva of

r ighteousnes s , stood in celestial glor y wher e had

crouched the dog , and withhim and Indr a, hymnedby Devas

,prai sed by ‘ Sages, the r ighteous K ing

was car r ied'

to the heaven ly wor ld .

*

Hear yet another tale of ancient days .

King‘

Shibi,son of Ushinar a

,sat in his spacious

hall, in the midst of his (assembled court. A ll at

once, a'dove flew in

,and

,r ushing throughthe air

,

flung itself into the br oad : lapof the King , pantingbr eathless , fainting withfatigue and fear . A s the

King str oked and smoothed i ts nufiied feathers ina

wonder ing tender ness , soothing back its br eathand

lifewithhis car esses , an angr yhawk dashed into

fire ball al so, , and came to a sudden pause befor e the

( 243 )

K ing . In r eviving ter r or , the dove cr ied out in a

human voice“ Thou ar t the sover eign of -this land

wher ein I dwell . I have a r ight to thy protection

too. I come to thee for r efuge f rom my enemy .”

But the hawk said also withthe human voice

too r eside within thy sover eignty, 0 K ing , and this

is my appointed food by Pr ovidence itself'

. If thou;

deniest it to me, then sur ely thou r efusest me my

r ight.

”The K ing ponder ed a while and said :

“ Ye’bothar e r ight 1 Thou hast a r ight,

’ 0 dove, that I

protect thy innocent lif e f r omharm and thou,

'O'hawk, that I depr ive thee not of thy

'

just food'

! But

thus shall I r esolve this knot of dharma. Takethou other food f r om me

, O hawk , till thou art

full I” But thehawk said .

“ I musthave the doveitself , none other ; or if other , then fleshf r om thine '

own body , 0 King, i of the weight of this ver ydove The angr y minister s would have slain atonce the,

hawk that menaced thus the pr iceless ,lif e

of their belovedmaster , and cr ied out against thepetty thing ,

But King ,Shibi said “ I sither e as,

the sover eign; ‘

not for small or g reat, not for zdgvg

or hawk, but as living embodiment oi u l lhaqrna”as example . to [my 1151 fail .in the small ,I shall fail i n the great also people,

,shall

fail gr ievously , imitating me up a pair,Of I

(i 244

scales . Stricken witha great sor row, power less todisobey, setting their teethagainst the du

twel l ing

gr oans; the minister s brought up scales .-

‘

IWithone-gentle

'

hand,the King placed the dove into one

,

’

and withthe other stronghand hé hewed 'l a piece;of fleshf romihisbwn 'liinbs . Butthe’dovewas! tooheavyf i And 1the K ing

‘hewed ofl andthea‘ pieceand the dove 'vvas mu

’

chtoo heavy still . ‘

A nd.

the

wander ing EKing'

hewed off still another piece bf

flesh'f r om-his fbody. But the dove' '

gr‘ew

'

ever beavi

s r.. , A t the last, .the K ing threw his whole body

into the scale,“ A nd behold, the hawk

"

and the dove

disappeared , and“

in . their . place stood Indr a and ,

A gn i , and they ,cr iedtaloud “ Tr uly. ar t '

thou a

King , and. knowest well the sover eign’

s fir st duty

of -

protectiOnzI ,We have f ound thee mor e thad '

we

had Thy body is no longer mang led .

Live thou long within the hear ts of thy

It i s'

true that these stor ies ar e tol d of kings ,because they ar e r egarded as the type (if the Pr 0 *

tector'

of theweak ,but boys can also showprotec

tion,

‘

in a smal ler measure,to all whoar e weaker

than themselves. For these stor ies ar e t'

old m or der

that we‘ma

'

y'

take example by themarid copy m—r—r

— v

H ahdbhd r dtam,Varia Pan s , cm ic— xcvi and A nushi sana

lam axxxii . The st'

or y is told of di ffer entheroic kingsfL

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-246

soiled lips .

“ Dr ink,brother : the said kindl y

doubling the value of the gi ft withhis mild gra

ciousness . A nd . as the .outcaste dr ank, the lovinghear t of Raptideva bur st into pr ayer toHar i “ I do

not ask for the thus be s pake “ I

do not ask Nir vana. Only‘

l ask that may. per

vade al l beings , suf f er ing for them their miser ies,

that they. may live without sor row. . By givingthis water to save the life of this s uff er ing man,my hunger , thir st, languor , distr ess and rgiddinesshave al l passed away .

”A nd this pr ayer has ever r e

mained the most per fect ex pr ession ,of compas sion .

The danger whichis connected withthe shewingout of tender ness and pr otection to theWeaker thanour selves . is the vice '

of Pr ide. l t’

ar ises f r om

ahamkar a, that .g ives -the sense of separateness of“ I” and “

you ,’

and thinks mor e of the fact that

I am helping this weaker one,

”thahof shar ing

what is r eall y a common stor e withone tempor ar ily

shut out f r om it by his separ ate form . By lettingthe mind dwell on one

’

s own useful ness and power

to do good , pr ide . is awakened,and quickly

'

r uin s

the good wor k thathas been per formed . None thatwear s a separ ate body may escape the power of thissubtlest

'

and most danger ou s of foes , that is'

known

.247

as a'

hamkfira. 3 Even “ the . ver y highest fal l beneathits sway. in l ungua

'

r ded r moments and unavoidably

sufler 'the aconsequén'

ces,for

'

the Law of 'Karma i s

inflex ible, and equal for highand low alike. Many

a war n ing is'

ther efor e given'

in the Smr iti againstahamkar a and .pr ide , the gr eat and subtle foe of thewise and strong . Listen to some of these.

The ancient sage-Narayana spent ages in the

s ever est penance, on the peak known by the name

of Badar i of the Himalaya mountains . T o .testhis

f r eedom f r om the attr actions of sen se objects,Indr a

sent thous ands of heavenl y nymphs to play aboutin his T apovana, his grove of auster ity, and diverthis attention away f rom his au ster ities . They didas d ir ected . T he R ishi Narayana saw Withhisill umined eye the pur pose of their coming and

smiled w ith confidence. By his Yoga power hepr oduced as many thousands of s imilar ly shaped

form s,and sent them for thto offer hospitality to

Ind r a’s hosts . The latter wer e ashamed,and pr ay

ed to the Rishi to for give their ev il pu r pose. He

was pleased and did so,and fur ther off er ed them

a boon . A nd the boon 'they asked was thathe '

should be their husband and pr otector . Gr eat was

his per plex ity, buthaving said thathe would g ive,he could not say no. H e r epented ~sadly This

( 248 )

gr eat tr oubl e has ar isen out of my ahamkhra , with

out a doubt. .T he fir st cause of the f r ustr ation of

al l dharma is ahamkar a.

”Then he ' said to the

maidens It is againstmy vow to enter into the

household . l ife in’

this bir th. In another birth,as

K r ishna, whichI'

shal l have to take for other wor k

also, I shall r'

edeem my pr omise,i and ,bear the f ear

ful weight of this huge household, mar rying yeal lout of the highfamilies into whichyou also shal l

be bor n .l

V ishvamitr a,King of Gadhi

,belonging to a

line of Kshattr iya Kings founded by Kusha,who

came dir ect f rom B rahms,r etur ning tohi s kingdom

with his armies after a gr eat tour of conquest,

passed throughthe T apovana of the Sage Vashi

shtha. Leaving his armies at a distance, V ishva

mitr a went in rever ence to .the herm itage of the

Sage to make obeisance. . Vashi shtha r eceived himw ith al l honour and kindn ess . A s V ishvamitr a

r ose,

to depart,f ear ing lest his armies cause

distur bance in that place of peace,Vashishtha

off er ed hospitality to the K ing with al l his

for ces . V ishvfimitr a declined again an d again ,ver y unwill ing to bur den the ascetic

’

s scant r e

sour ces but Vashishtha insisted again and ag ain,

Dev! Bhagavata. IV , vi—vi i.

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( 250 1)

Br fihmana power ; and this he succeeded in doing,after» -ages of self -denial, and peace w as

made between him and Vashishtha, and Vashi

shtha r ecogn ised him as a Br ahmar shi.

T o be King of the Devas is to hold a position

that may easily fill the hear t withpr ide,and fr om

this'

cause . l ndr a s ever al times fell f r om hi s high

estate. Once, sur r ounded by his Devas,he sat on

the thr one cf the thr ee wor lds,and when Br ibes

pati,teacher (if al l the Devas

,came befor e him

,

Indra kepthis seat,not r ising up ,

to r eca1ve the

gr eat.

.pr eceptor . Then Br ihaspati tur ned and

wenthis ways,abandoning the Devas, -whom the

A sur as then assaulted with success,dr iving them

and their King f rom S varga. This led to .many

another tr ouble, and to the slaying of , a Brahmana

on two,sever al occasions by Indr a, so that he had

to per form much penance,

.er e he became pu r i~

fled .

"E

N ow,while Indr a was per forming

'

this longpenance, .

-the Devas,in or der that S var ga might

not suffer the '

evils of anar chy,elected King

N ahusha '

of the Lunar Dynasty of the'

earth’

s

kings , to hold the high office of the Ruler of

HeaVen . 5None other was found fit for it But,as

Bhdga/m ta Pur dfla; fi i vii viii .

c. 251

N ahusharul ed,and r uled with!gr eater

'

miglit'

than

Indr a'himsel f

,p r ide gr ew in his 'hear t f r om day to

day; and'

thOughts of sin'came into' his

rmind behind t

the thoughts of pr ide.

'

f A nd he said totheDevas tr

“ I hear the bur den s of India,I ‘musthavehis‘

r ights also.

‘ ’Let Sha’

chi,

‘

th’d’wif e of Ind ra,appear

befOr e ’me .

” 1 Then the Devas S poke‘

with' each

other in (;their distr ess; and

'

thought that N ahusha'

was no longer fi t to r ule in ih'

eaven ,’ -and . fel t t al ser

Sur e .that! thé 1 time f or Ind r a’

s‘

r etu r n was n igh.

But' who was strong enough to stand » befbr ei

N ahusha The might thathe had earn edr by past 1

good deeds coul d be' defeated only if he r oused thé

wr athof some gr eatRishi by some d ir e.

"off ence.

A nd so they spoke with‘ Shachi,and told Nahus

'

ha '

that Shachi'

woul d see himif he came toher'

homel

on the shoulder s of the Rishis . N ahusha ordered'

a conveyance bor ne by Rishis .

’

A nd the sageI

A gastya‘

and other s wer e‘asked

,by or der of the

King, to li ft the sedan chair .

'

A nd they co‘

nsented'

gently . But,as the pr ocess ion marched

,N ahusha;

in liis eager ness and '

bverfldwin‘

g pr ide,touchéd’

A gastya’

s head withhis foot and angr ily er der edl

him togo faster . ThenA gastya saw that N ahush'a stime was come

,aiid he pf Onounc

'

ed a'

h'

iir se'bnI

him, and N ahu sha '

fell f rom heaven into a huge

252

ser pent’s body on this ear th, and suff ered the pains

of a high soul confined to a low body for many, .

many agesf til l r eleased ther ef rom .by the wise

Words of his descendant, Yudhishthira, the .Kingthathad no

N ow -Bal i, son of V irochana, had dwelt long in

high pr osper ity , for the Devi Shri , or Lakshmi ,abode withhim as r ecompense for his good deeds .

Butpr ide in his own r ighteousness , and in the hap

piness it brought him ,enter ed into his hear t

,and

be 'began to think highly of himself and il l of

other s, ,

and wroughtevil to them instead of seeking'

their welfar e as befor e. Then was the Devi dis

pleased with Bal i and determined to leave .him,

and to go and dwell with his enemy Ind ra, the.

Deva King in Svarga. A nd vainly Bali lamented ‘

his folly,when he saw the Devi , who had long

blessed him,living .Withhis r ival . A nd this ,

”

said Utatthya to King Mandhata,“ is the r esult of

malice and pr ide. Be thou awakened , O Mam ,

dhata, so that the Devi of pr osper ity may not“

wrath deser t thee. The Shr utis decl ar e that Unr ighteousness begot a son named Pr ide on the

.

Dev! of Pr osper ity . This,Pr ide, 0 King, led

many among the Sur as and the A suras to r uin"

2“ Haledbhdmtani, Vana Para, olm i.’ 1 I

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254

of pleasur e 'br ing blessings to the son .

’

B ut the

mother ?'She ‘ is the giverf of

'the body, the pro

tector of ”the child . When 1the wish l oises his

mother,1the world for him is empty . Dikeher is

no'

shelter , no r efuge, nodefence none is so

'

dear

as

'

she.

” Thus 'mused Chir akar in,bewsil der ed by

conflicting claims . thought1 T he

husband has his names (Bhar tr i,Patif es the suppor ter and pr otector of the wife . If he cease to

support ‘and protect,how shall he remain the

husband ,-A nd my mother is

'

to me the object ofmy highest reve rence .

”N ow Gautama

,his m ind

calmed by meditation,was overwhelmed withthe

thought of the s in he had committed tu command

ing his sonto slayzhis wi fe, and hehastened home,

weeping, blaming his own car elessness for his'

wi fe’s

Offence, and hoping that h1s son had”not obeyed

him .

“ Rescue me , he cr ied,thinking of his son

,

“r escue me and thy mother, and the penances Ihave

‘

achieved,“ as also'

thine own sel f , *from gravesins .

“ So it befell that Chirakar in, by hi s patience

and car eful ‘consider ation, did his father’

s r eal will

though not his hasty or der,and thus saved his

father f r om a gr ievous sin,' inspir ed by

'

pr ide and

wrath.

‘

I l ahfibhd r atam,S ai nti Parva, ccx lvi .

mafia? ng'

tl'W swim Hfifi fi fim Ill?

Cr eated being must be instr ucted for theirwelfar e without . giving

'

them pain,a nd vsyveeta nd

gentle speeeh'mustbe u sed ~by

-

a ( super ior ) -:who

desir es (to fulfil) the sacr ed law .

w afiqm im mi a airs-tars I

m a mfia N IW U : at

By pr otecting those who live as A ryans , and

by r emoving thor ns , Kings , solely intent on guar d

ing their subjects, r eachheaven .

er est sfi mas s if 515mm : I

w ismmmmi a newaars n m'

éar u§The King has been cr eated to be the pr oteo

tor of the castes and ashr amas,who

,al l accor ding

to their r ank,dischar ge their sever al duties.

“

mfia’

r fi fiqim'

mi'

smé a w ith"

As the weeder plucks upthe weeds,

Bad pr eser ves the corn

,so let the King pr otecthis kingdom

and destr oy his foes .

”

WW: m itra f rfirfirM eant lW fi rm fi rm: fi rafi'fiw w a 11 TI

M ahabhar atam, Shanti Par va, ccxl vi. 1"

M anusmr ifi, 11 , 159 .

I M anusmn tz, i x , 253 1 1nd , vu , 85. II Ibrd , 1 10.

fll bsd , 1 11, 1 14

( 256 )

Lethim,without making distinctions, feed

newly-mar r ied women,young maidens, the sick

,

and pr egnant women , even befor e his guests .

”

ufimfiW fifimitmfimz fem : I

W “

a W e aim i s?m 1 use

Way shoul d be made for a man in’

a car r iage,for one who is above ninety year s old

,for a sick

per son , for one who car r ies a bur den , for a woman,

a Snataka,a King , and a br idegr oom.

ag i tate mgai a s !sfrfil new IIT

Compassion is the mark of the g r eatmer it of

saints compas s ion ever secur es the blessings (or

love) of the good .

a mi dst nfi n’

im m’

i gmmgfi'

a at I

surfs m sfiasri ss ram’

a:.

fivzm m : ll

I bid , ii , 138. 1' M ahabha

‘r atanc, An nshasana Par va, v— 28.

I V ishnu t’

igam ta , Ix ,xx i -12 , 13 . [For tr anslation , see P.

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258

these ar e shown to us . I f a man speaks angr ily tous

,and we feel inclined to answer angr ily , we

should check our selves and answer very gen

and this'

gentle answer wi ll soothe him,an

him feel less angr y . This is what is meant by

r etur ning good for evil,and only by acting

way can we r estor e harmony when it is,di

and pr eser ve it f or the.happiness of al l ,When rDraupadi ur ged K ing Yudhishthira to .

attack the Ku r us,after he had been so

'

cr uelly

cheated'

and r uined by them,the wise King pointed :

out to her that the r etur ning of evil for evil couldly r esul t in the continuance of miser y .

“ The

wise man who, thoughper secuted , suff er ethnothis s

wr athto be ar oused, joyeth in the other wor ldy

hav ing passed his per secutor over withindiff er ence .

For this r eason ithas been said that a wise man,

whether str ong or weak,

should ever for give his

per secutor , even when the latter is in

amongst men ther e were not some equal to the

ear th in . for g iveness , ther e would be no peace 4

among men,but continued str ife . bor n of wr ath.

If the injur ed wer e to r etur n their injur ies,if one

chastised .by his super ior wer e to chastise his su

per ior in r etur n,the con sequence would be the des

truction of ever y cr eatur e, and sin would pr evail .

( 259 )

If the man whoi hath, ill speeches fr om another

r etur neth '

those speeches if fthe r .injur ed .man

r etur nethhis injur ies ; if the chastised per son'

chas l

tises in retur n then would father s tsla‘y sons,and

sons father s ;‘

then would fhusbands s lays

'

wives;

and wives husbands ; then,‘

0 Krishna, how coul d

bir thtake place'

in a'

wor ld thus fi lled withanger PFor know thou that the birthof {creatur es is

'

dhe‘

to peace.

”

Hear how~Dashar atha, the King, tu r ri'ed away

,

by soft humil ity,the

'

anger of his wife. Kaushalyfi,’

mother of Ramachandr a, r ent by'

anguish for,

the

loss of that‘ unequalled son,ex iled for long -year s

«f r om her fond arms, spake for the fir st time angr y

word s to Dashar atha “ Thou hast mur der ed thysinless son 'withthine own hands , 0 King .

5Well 'hast thou tr odden the A ncient Path

,maintained

by thy ancestor s twithso muchtoil . The'

husband'

is the fir st r efuge of woman the'

son is the second

the kinsmen the thir d ther e is no fourth.

.

.Thoui

hast abandoned me ; Rama is gone I cannot leavethee her e to go to him. In '

every way thou hast.

destr oyed me,and destroyed the kingdom and the

people.

”The King 1 hear d ithe 'harshi '

and bent'

lower ounder thatgr eater bur denof sor rbw.

( 250 )

His mind was al l distr aught, and he 1lostconsci0fu'

s l

ness . Recover ing ,‘he sawKaushalyastill beside him.

In that moment ) the memor y of'

that past sin of

his,of 'which this “ misery was -

'

the s consequence,came back to himL Burning withthe double sor~

row of that s in and of the loss zof Rfima,tr embling

folding hands, and 'bending head ,'

spoke to h

For give-me, 1 0 K aushalyfi. I fol d 'myr hands to

thee. Ever wast thou tender -hear ted,even amto»

other s. Bear with: thy husband r t whether he be

good or ill. I am sobroken alr eady -by my'sor r owd

Speak nothar sh. wor ds to me,even in : thy an

guish.

’

She hear'

d that piteous speechnf the humbled K ing , and . tear s of pity r ushed for th 1 & om ~

her eyes like new r ain -water f rom the water falls .

Her anger-van ished

,yielding place '

to deep hu

mility and r emor se and . fear of sin -for those har sh

wor ds . She seized the hands of the King , and

put them on her head, and in gr eat agitation said

, Forg ive, forgive me, 0 King , I entr eat thee with.

my head upon thy feet. It is for me to ask thee

for for giveness , not f or thee to ask .of for so

great sin would come to me ..That, woman is not

honour ed . of the wi se in this -or in the other

wor lds , who compel s her husband to'propitiateher .

I know the dharma, and I know that thou,my

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(1 262

the, ex ile forced his thought atonce into theWay

of suspicion against B harata, and he came in

hasteu

toRama and asked him wrathf 11)l y , _to pre

par e for :battle, . as Bharata ,

‘

was coming to slay

themand so make sur e of his sovereignty . ”But

Rama’s . mind .wa31f ul l of love toBharata and not

anger. .IA nd 1tender l y lHe msaid f‘M istr ust than

not. -I. wil l say to'

him ; l'Give al l this kingdomfl

u'

nzto and -he wilLsay buttone “ wor dy.

‘Yes .

-T he wrathof Lakshmana vanished, giving ?

place ~to~shamen é A nd i Bharata came and begged

and ~prayed. of .Raman that he should go back to

A yedhya. But Rama would not br eak His father ’s

wor d in.letter , . or spir it. . A nd Bhar ata car r ied

away the wal king .sandals of Rama and placed ,

them on the thr one as symbol of the r ightf ul :Sover eign, and r uled A yodhya in His name ,

and

as his r egent . for the four teen years of Rama’

s

Over and over aga m1n the dar k days of their

exile, d id his wif e and' brother s , losing .hear tm and,

patience, blame Yudhishthir a for his loyal adher zdence to his compact with the Kaur avas , and . his“ .

patient endurance of wr ong . Over and over.again .

did that noble heart, pierced and tor tur edfiby the ,

Ramayana , A yodhyakandam—mv , ,

( 1 2633

fireproaches bf 1his loved 'ones,4 win f

lthem backeubyl

gentleness to the path:of tr uthand honour . 5Thus

Bhinm, givinglway to fier ce anger , bitter lyl upbraid 11

ed his : elder brother j zv fithl the.

tr ite mer it of

stickingxto e a'

promised?" made to'

gambler s vwho'

l’

had . over e r eached humlaid 1 the los s of , kingdom.

and s r iehes l athis door , r eproached him withoweak

ness, withd eserting the vir tues of ;hi s'

or der ,: with

making himself r idiculous . But'

Yudhishthira,"

summon ing al l 'his patience ( and r emaining; s ilent

for i aifewmoments,an swer ed gently that doubtlessal l Bhfma ls l wor dswe‘re-tr uezi “ I cannot r eproachthee ! for etor tur ing i ne

r’thus,pier cingmewiththyar rowy l wor ds (3;for , f r

om my own

'

fol ly alone'has1this calamity fallen upon you al l .

'

I '

°

should havecontrolled iny mind ,

Iand nothave al lowed it tobe

influenced by ar rogance, va‘nit‘y'

and pr ide: “ I "

can:

not 1then reproach: thee,*O Bhima

,l for thy winged

wor ds . i Yethave 'I ”given my pledge,”

and‘who

may breath his ' pledged . wor d -Deathis'

eas ier'

to

bear than the gaining tof a realm lby ia'lie.

’What"avail , then , to speak l td me thushar shly '? Myheart

,is

'

broken by'

the sight of the‘

suffer ings I"

.

have caused 'But I may ( not'

sbr eak 1‘rny lwdr d:Wait, O nrybrother , for the r eturn of better days,4

as the sower“

waits for the harvest. For know, 0

264;

Bhdma,thatmy, promisemay notbemade untameu

'

Virtue is ‘

lbetter than l life itself“

or athahtthefio‘ys of :

heaireni'gu l i ingdbm, sons; fame; weal th,"rall .thése

"

do-not come "

Up to‘

Onet'

sixteenth'

par tbi truth.

Thus patiently did the pr ince . bear ! his abrother’s

angr y ,taunts, and tever was he'readsy touneet

'har sh

blaine {w ithgentle lhu'

nf

nility,‘

aand to F'w‘in byl' lo

'

ve l al

yielding that hfi 'proudJM hehS XWOMd LM Ver JM Ve s

giyefi to wrathi"

“

lac-f f n 1 l'

amid gm"

ggntle‘

isymp’

athy c ar oil ses love, ysor does

thoughtless r idicule ar ousehatr edpandhatr edl in its

tur’

n, giges r isetomany;evils . ”The fameo f Eudhihhl i,

thinas pnead far , and'Wldegmd‘al l men; pr aised the

splendour of his Rajasfiya, sacr ifices N owthis pr aise,bestowed ion ,his hated r ival,n filled Swith)?jealousy

"

the : beant Dur yodhana, ‘and fthim ev il enibtion

was Render ed -bitter er ,afid mor e'agtivoby’the carér '

less disr egard ohhis f eelings shownlbymBhima‘and

by gathers . For one day , as Yudhishthirawas sittingon Jhisg olden ,

throne,‘Sur rouhded by his brothers, l

by ~many courtier s and Kings , Djm'

yédhmhand hi s

brother s entered the .assembly hall andS as he came"

he] washdeceived by theart of

who had built;Yudhishthiva’

s place withbskil l ‘ andtaking the cr ystal lake atswateuh

‘

e f drhw

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'

l c'

aaiseof a hasty doubt of his wife’

s m m} badehis sons

,

‘

one by'one

,

'

to‘slay her ; but none would

lif thand against the mother’s‘

sacr ed pei'

ts'

onu save

Rfimfi,

’theyoungest, who

' lsmote ofi’her headWithan” ax e. Being g r anted a lboon by his f ather , hecasked

'

thathis mother might be r estored tol ife jahdthen w‘ent

'

ou pilgr image'

ton eXpiate'

itHe cr ime of

matr icide. But not thus éouki the evilWr ought byJamadagni ’s enger l b'e exhausted .

J 'Whi le her 8011 s

were ahseia,

'

Reguka; thewi fe of Jamadagni,‘l ef taim ;had tooffer hospitality ‘a

'

A rjlma sea .of

Kr itavi rya and he intox icated

pr ide,

"

not r eception wor thy :hf his

gr eatness , car ried away forcibly the calf of the cow

whose "mil k supplied the 1 butter for the daily

sacr ifice.

“When Rama r etur ned,Jamadagni told him

whathad happeiied; and theplaintive lowing of the

cowfor her youhg one increased the anger arousied

by ‘the r ecital'; and so,losing self 'contrb‘l 111 pans

ion,he

'

ru'

shed off‘

end slew A rjuiia, mittihg ofi his

thousand ar ins after fiercefight. This act aroused ,'

in lfm,fier ceWr ath‘

of the kinsmen of A rjuna,and

,to returnevilwithevil , they r ushed totheher

mitagefl‘bf Jamadagm,

where he sat e ngaged in

med itation , and slew’hirn withar rows , defen'

celess

as he was, sitting immer sed -in contemplation.

’

N or

'

267

yet l“t

’

vas thetal e of slaughter'completed since for

‘giveness

— the only ishing that could cut the chain

of evil-J-was not in the hear t of Rama (i f the A xe(

andhe,having bewailedhis—father andhaving burn

ed hisbbdy withdue r ites , vowed by that f uner al”

pyl e ’the slaughter of the K shattr lya caste— for

thus the evil gr e‘w

,ever swelling to lar ger f lan

'd lar

gen proportions. Then,taking uphis axe, he at

tacked and slew the kinsmen of A r juna , and after

that ’

war r ed with‘all "K shattr iyas , eXteiininatin‘

g

well -n ighthat f" “ l WM

Even when we ar e tr eatedO

With“ injustice“hnd

u nkindness,it is best

"

to preser ve sweetness and

agreeableness of behaviour ; and thus win the”one

who so tr eats us,be ‘h

'

e superior,equal

'

or" infer i0r ,to show '

sweetness and'

agr eeablene'

s'

s‘

in return .

Once Durvasa visited Dur yodhana,and proved tobe

a very"

d ifficult guest to please.

IIn'vain did Durvodha’

na and his brother s,tr eathimwiththe gr eat

esthonour ,[waiting on him day and nights” Some

times Dar v'

a'

sawould say I em'hungr y ,’

0King

givemme r some f ood . A nd sometimeshelwould go out for abath, and

"

Duryodhanal would

lhave food pr epared for his and onl returnin'

gDurvfisa I shall not'éat anything 156

Mwhébkamtam; Vana Par va, cxv—cxv. 1.

1)

dayhas I have no appetite. 3 Coming sudden lyflhe

would say } ,Feed ,

me A nd another

~tim£3J ; r ising atmidnight, 1hew ould, call for ameal,and when it,wasbrought, wouldqcarpl at it and r e

'f use to touchit,” ,Thus Dnr vasa, tormented Dur

ymlhana, for awhile,“

hut when he found that Du r

yodhana never showed e ither anger or,impatience,

then he becamegr acious to him and said : I have

power to, g rarrt, thee _a boon . Choose ,what thou

Pleased ,as

,I am “

with thee, thou mayest

obtain f r om me anything .that is not opposed to

“ rel igion or mor als .

” e

Sometimes, indeed , a man is so har d -hearted

a that no kindness,

can melthim; and then Jhe ,goes

‘on uun

'

y'ieldingly . til ] , at last, he par ishes. Dur

yoclhanal gnay per ve as a'

str iking il lustration of

this . r obbedhis cousins of their kingdom

and riches and dr iven them into exile, Duryodhana

resol ved tQIfeast ,his eyes on their '

pOVGI‘tYJ aDd

shardshipsl n in 1the for est; “ advised .by the ’wily

$hakuni, ,t o , t d him thathe.

-would, incr easehis

own joy..b§z2seeing themiser y of .his rivals ; .he took

;with him £hie 1brother s and hiends and the royal

; ladiesttbatthe Pfindavasmight suff er ehmne under

.thepontrast. . 1His cruel plot failed; in .consequence

, 1'Mahdbhdmtqm,Vana Par va, coin

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270

sham King promised.

to atsh,if Yudhishthiraso

‘wi

'

shed,af ter ' hear ing the"‘Whole ”story - l The

Pandava ' pr ince‘ listened s ilently to the'

acbount of

the mean Iand cruel'

outi'hge contemplated . by

Duryodhana,“ and

'

thanking and praising the Gal»set Du ryodhana and his companions

free: ( itWhen the Gandharvas Were‘

gone, Yudhishlthira! spoke lovingly

i '

to'

his cou sm 0 child,never

again Ido thou so r ash-ah a

'

ct,' fOr

‘

r as liness l ead s‘riever tohappiness, 0

”Bharata. 0$8611 : of the

lKhr u li‘ace,Jblessed Ibe

'

thountvithal l thy br other s.

Gd back lti) thy capital as thou Wiltg and be not

than‘

" sad or cheer less .” i ;Thus kind ly did the‘blameles s "King

"tr eat"his envenomed foe

,

‘

the‘ear thly autlior of his ’miser y but l DtIryodhana,flépaiiting , was only themor e fi lled Withg r ief and

anger ; the very kindness became a new offence,

and he 'sullenly r etu r ned to Hastinapur a, only

hating the mor e bitter ly thdse whomhad r eturned

his evil withkindly 1h l l'1

Fortunately : such doggedn ess in angr y f eeling

iS ‘cornpar atively rar e,for as the ts‘un sof tens ?butter

so d ees the ‘ Warmth oE'kindly feel idg sof ten the”

angr y mood .

all Even‘ 'When zinger Shown '

to us arouses id {isle

pgr r esponding feeling -of.ang ermwer may try to

check it, and 'may refuse to.give it ex pr ess ion in‘word , or look, or gestur e. § Such r ep ression ,

rgr a

dual lyu'

extinguishes the feel ingfi and j at l east fvve

have succeeded iu, not,casting fuel on the flame to

incr eas e its burning . A f ter ssome pr actice of this

k ind , we shall find that the ,anger of ahother u no

longer causes “ any feeling of anger in our selvesand we shall be able to use al l ou r strength111

sending kind f eeling -tom eet thehar shf eeling of

the other .”1

It is how easy for : us to see why badzcompanyshould be avoided -; if we ar e withp

e

ople who nar e

thinking unkind,or unclean

,or other evil thoughts ,

or who aredoiugwrong actions intemper

any , gl uttohous; acts—: their f eelings e ll .wor k on

us , and ; will pushus towar ds thinking and actingin a similar way; A ny evils of suchkind aS

'lmay

l ie hidden ;imtoursel ves;wil l start'

intomor e activel if e under suchinfluenees, and will become .

r strong

er artd mor e difficult to. fight_ Fortthese

[r easons aboy.who -wishes to lead a i11

dustr ious life at'

school',pr epar ing. himselhfor a.

noble and useful manhood, should;avoid badpany

,.as .muchas he possibly can . A nd if at any

time he is for ced into it, ao'

that he canhot'

ésficape,

ihe should keep'his mind very~busy‘with1pur e and

lhighv thoughts ,'and thus try to afiect‘those round

him,and to influence them for good, instead of

al l owing himself to be influenced by'them for evil.'In this my we may turn outK knowledge

'

to gooduse

,‘applying

‘it ‘to pr actice in

'

6111"owri lives,

I for

'thu'

s only “

can wemake our knowledge fruitful,'and

by 1 noble living helpto br ing gr eater happ iness to1the wor ld .

1 1 1 ‘l 1

11

11 .'t‘Let: uhim nottbe ang ry again withthe angr y

eman ;1

'

being har shly addr essed,

" lec im'

speak

softlyu’f

5‘Cr oss?beyond the "pas sesf difficult’lb ler oss'”beyond wr ath

'

by-forgiveness ,

1 beyond'

luntruthbyRI! i i

w u m rft a qrm am‘c‘

t waefim l ..N“ 5 1

“ M m e s a-am y“

11111 111 11

“36 He Whol lJS fiZOf ang rywiththe angry , he 1s

physl cl an‘xunto both. nHe

'

saveth himsel f as dualfa s thélother s from gr eat danger .

1! i i 361” d .A rm wr fimiw é r kd-parva, aw m m t

'1' 1

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(1

274

assailed , I always forgive . 3 1118 is the Met—11mmthat the elder s have ham-fed forgiveness”. and

tr uth, and candour,and g entleness . 11 1

A ddr essed har shly, lethim not reply har shly.

Thewrath of the wr athful assailant1 .consumeth1

himself , and takethaway al l his mer it. 11 111 ! I

He that addr essed; amughly, 1answeéeth'notroughly n

'

or evenjmild ly, he that beingf str unk'

xdon .

trol leth himself and returneth not the thlow, norwishethil l unto the assailant

,ver ilypthQFDevas

envy him .

A bused , insul ted, beats?“let1118?st1il forg

ive

(al l injur ies) f rom the lowxand vile, 1115£11

.

per ior s , f rom his equals so shal l he a {rer fec

tion .

”

W e ate : use61 white “m are

"

m'

agrut 1613 133 11316 1 : 11 v“ He indeed IS the . Wise and good manwhoi l

conquer eth his w r ath,and, showeth for giveness

even when insulted , oppr essed , and anger ed by, a

51191511151Whamm r ea: 1

we: 161 11931 113 111111 1151 : Eifira i 1131: IIM ahabhar atam, Vans. Par va, xx 1x—25 18

275

W a n da am 1m m? Farina : 11

fi gfi max: 3 q351111111111: am fl exKW w itanti : aahswim a

m em a 1% a‘

u m a 1au€t ll

[S ee p .

Ram 3 1111111 6131 ugnqrm g 1

HQ:WW mi : mist $ 1 3as a i r as a ft a t

s exi er was mean a”

May al l cross beyond the places har d to cross

may al l behold good things may al l attain to

happiness ;‘

may al l r ejoice ever ywher e .

A um I Tell the T r uth. A ct the Right.

T ruthalone pr evaileth,not Untr uth. A um l ”

PEA CE T O A LL BEIN GS .

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A shramas ( l it r esting places ), 1 0 7- 1 08, 1 39 , the four , 1 06 fi

'

,

must notbe m ixed up, 1 08, names of the four , 1 08.

A shuchi, 9 2 .

A sur a , 2 4 .

A tharva Veda , 3 .

A tmai, 1 3 .

A toms , 88.

A ttraction and repu ls ion , 159 .

A vatar as (special man i festations of Vishnu), the ten , 2 6 11 .

Bad company , 9 2 ,2 7 1 .

Bali , 153- 154 , 2 52 , the next Ind ra , 154 .

Bathing , 9 0 .

Bhang , 9 0 .

Bharata, 1 88 , car r ies away the sandals of Rama , 2 62 .

Bhima , 1 7 2 , d is rega1d s Duryodhana’

s fee l ing s 2 64—2 65,thoughtlessnes s of , 1 73 .

Bhishma, 1 48, and A mba , 1 9 2 fl“

, and his father , 1 89- 1 9 0 ,

and S atyavati 150- 151 and Yudhishthir a , 1 38, asks Shr iKr ishna’

s perm is s ion to depart, 1 83 , d isobeys his Guru ,

1 9 2 ff , dy ing , 1 83 , on the duties of Kings , 2 40 , on gentleness , 2 2 8, 011 harmlessnes s , 1 7 1 , reverences $br i Kr ishna ,1 82 - 1 83 , the vow of , 1 9 0 .

Bhur loka ( the phys ical wor ld ), 67 .

Bhutadi (Elements) , creation of , 2 2 .

Bhuvar loka (the wor ld of becoming ) , 67Bliss , 159 real , is in gi ving , 1 82

, union 15, 160,

Bod ies . (or Koshas), J ivatma tr ies to master the , 1 65, (see alsoKoshas) .

Body , a creature of habit, 1 68.

Brahma (the Creator ), 2 1 , day of 66,fin ishes his task of the

univer se , 25.

(M

)

B r ahmacharya (complete ce l ibacy), 80B rahman

,1 1

,is bl is s , 160 , N irguna, 1 2 , Sag una, 1 2 , Sa.guna ,

an object of wor ship , 1 0 1 .

B rahmana , and caste confus ion 1 1 9 , story of the poor , 2 1 9 ,

v i r tues of the , 1 1 9 .

B rahmana, (a por tionof the Vedas ), 4B rahmanda (the eg g of B rahma) , 2 1 .

Br ihaspati , 1 7 2 , 2"

0

Buddha, 9 thA vatara , 2 9 .

Burning the dead body contrasted w ithburying , 83-84 .

Caste s , the four, 1 1 6 Ff .

Caste-confus ion , r easons for , 1 1 9 .

Celibacy,.of m ind and body, 1 1 0 , (see al so B rahmacharya) ,Ceremonies , 77 til , gestures used in, 78, objects used in, 77 ,postures used in , 78, sounds used in , 78, used of , 7 7 , (see

also S amskaras ) .

Child ren , and parents , 2 36 fi'

.

Chir akarin , 2 53 ff .

Chivalry , true, 1 73.

Chudak arana , 7thSamskara, 80 .

Compas s ion, 2 36, 2 45, the most per fect expression of , 2 46.

Conduct, foundation of right 1 33. r ight, 1 37 , sc ience of , 1 2 7 .

Control , of body , 1 67- 1 68, of body includes harmles sness , 1 7 2 ,of m ind , 1 66-1 67 , the tr iple, 1 74 .

Creation , of Elements , 2 2 , of Indr iyas 2 2 , a sacr ifice , 56.

Dadhichi, 58-59 .

Daiviprakr iti, 15.

Damayanti , and Nala, 2 1 1 if .Dasharatha , and Kaikeyi, 152

- 153 , and Kaushaiya, 259 -2 60 ,humi lity and patience of , 2 6 1 , love of for Rama, 2 37-2 38.

Death, King of , weaker than wi fe’

s love,'

2 1 0 , spi r itual , 56,whathappens at, 70 fl

'

.

Debt, payment of , 1 47 , to the Devas , 1 47 . P itr is , 1 47 , to the

Rishis , 1 47 .

Debts , the three , 1 47 .

Des ire , 45 if , control , 49 , the rope to bind the Jivatma, 38

selfish, 1 68.

Devas , creation of the hosts of , 2 3 , creation of.

these connected

w ith the senses , 2 3 , d iff erent f rom the Supreme Ishvara,

2 3 , d istr ibuting karma , 2 4 , the F ive Ruler s of the , 2 4

K ing of the , 2 50 , min ister s of I shvara, 2 3Dev i s , who ab id e w ithLakshm i , 2 2 8.

Devotion , ,1 82 .

Dharma , S anatana , 1 fi’

.

Dhruva , 1 84 .

D ir ty person , a publ ic d anger , 9 1 .

D is integ r ation , 89 .

D isobed ience , to the Gur u , a val id reason for , 1 9 2 .

D iv ine , and A suric properties , 1 44 , prope rties , l istof . -1 44- 1 45.

D raupad i and Yudhishthir a , 2 58-2 59 .

Dur vasa and Duryodhana, 2 67-2 68 .

Duryodhana , 2 68 if ,'

d isobeys his parents ,DV 1Ja (tw ice-bor n), 80 .

Emotions , 159 6, culture of , 159- 1 60 , develop into vi r tues ,

159 , ens lave the m ind ; 1 66.

Equals , relations w ith, 2 03 fi .

‘

Equ i l ibr ium , 1 06.

Ethics , 1 2 7 , 1 65, foundation of , 1 3 2 , standard of, 144 fi'

, ( see

also Moral ity) 1

Evil ,’

rewrned for evil , 2 65‘

fi?.

Evolution , 2 6, higher , of people, 137 , read at 137 .

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Human l ife , stages of , 1 0 7 .

Husband and w ife, a re one not two,2 03 .

Impur ity , pour ing into the Koshas , 9 2 .

Ind ividual , is not isolated , 9 8Indra , and V r ittra, 58, and the youths 1 1 1 , connected w iththe other ,

'

2 4 , fal l of, 250.

Indraloka , 67 .

Ind r iya (organ of sense), the eleventh, 2 3 , the s i xth, 2 3 .

Indriyas , ten centres of the senses and of airtion , 2 2 ,“two

sets of five,”

1 66.

Infer ior , people , 2 36.

Inner Ru ler , the , 1 06.

Integ r ation , the higher , 89 .

Ishtadeva , the , 1 0 2 .

Ishvara, 1 2 , conscious relations w ith, 1 00 , co-worker

7 2 , the K ing , 2 3 , r ivals of , 1 84 , third aspect of , 2 5, those

who hate towards , 1 85, the three A spects of , 2 1, the

Umver sal Parent, 6 1 , theWi l l of , 1 37 , wor shipped under

many forms , 1 0 1 .

Itihasa (H istory), 6.

Jajal i , 50 fl“

.

Jamadagni, son of Bhrigu, 2 65if .

Janaka, 49 fl“

.

Jarasandha, 1 85.

Jayad ratha , 1 67 .

J iva (theSoul), 1 3,in the animal k ingdom , 36, in the miner a lk ingdom, 35, in the vegetable k ingdom , 35-36, is Brahman , 34 , the tr iple, 2 5.

J ivatma (the separated Sel f ), the Bl iss aspect of his

nature, 159 , d i rects the emotions , 159 , the joy of, 159 - 1 60 ,

must f ree the m ind , 160 , related to al l,1 65, unfold ing ,

1 0 7 , the young , 165.

Jnanend r iyas (organs of knowledge) the centres of the, 70 .

Jou r ney, the g reat, of the Pandavas ,Kalk i , 1 othA vatara , 2 9 .

Karma , 44 PE, in one sentence , 4 7 , man nothopeless ly boundby , 4 7 , the tw isted cord of , 45.

Karmend r iyas (organs of action ), the tr ue , 69 .

Kama and Ind ra , 151- 152.

Kauravas , not al l to blame , 1 74 .

Kaushalya , 2 38 .

Kaushika , and the Brahmana’

s w ife , 2 1 4 H.

Kindness , 2 36, to lower creatu r es is a sacr ifice , 9 7 .

K ing ,devotion to duty imposed on the , 1 86 , the r ighteous , 2 4o.

Kings , the Great, 38.

King ship , the highideal of , 1 86.

Koshas (Sheaths), 1 3 . compa rative table of the , 69 , of the J ivain the three wor lds , 67 .

Kr ishna, 8thA vatar a , 2 9 , ( see also Shr i Kr ishna).Kshattr iyas , the v irtues of the , 1 18- 1 1 9 .

Kubera , connected w iththe Ear th, 2 4.

Kunti , 2 38-2 39 .

Kurma (the Tor toise), 2 nd A vatara, 2 7 .

Lakshmana , 2 16.

Lakshm i Dev i , 2 2 73 2 2 8.

Li fe , the Lawof , 57 , v iew of , in the Vedas , l oo.

Liquids , 89 .

Lokas (the Wor lds) , the four other g reat 66,'

subd ivis ionsi

of

the three , 7 , the thr ee , 66 Pf .

Long ing s , of a truly rel ig ious man , 1 00 .

Love , brother ly, 2 16 f f , conjugal , 2 0 3 it, of country , 1 86, !of

God , 1 82 ff , stronger than Hell , 2 1 9 , unse lfish; 1 1 82 . . of

Loyalty , 1 85, the object of true , 1 86, of subjects aw ake

ned , 2 40 .

Magnetic cur rents , afi'

ect the Pranamaya Kosha , 9 1 .

Mahabharata , 7 , 2 1 7 .

Mahadeva , pour ing outhis l ife , 25.

Mahar loka, 69 .

Mahat-budclhi (Pure Reason), 2 2 .

M an , his relations to those around , 9 7 , in relation to other s

round him,60

, the tr uly re l igious , 10 0 . a v icious , 1 48, a

v i r tuous , 1 47 .

Manas (the Mind), creation of , 2 3 .

Manava Dharma Shastra , see“

M anusmr iti.

Mandhata , K ing , 1 86.

Mank i , 1 68, song of ; 1 69 .

M anomayakosha (Mind-sheath), 68.

Mantra, 3 , defined , 78 , effects of , 78, si lent repetition of, 79,why cannot be trans lated , 78 7 9 .

M ann , 5, 1 66.

Manus , other , 5.

Manusm riti, 5.

Manvantara, 5.

Mar r iag e , thrust into student l i fe , 80 .

Mater ial , wea lthand pleasures , 1 68.

Matsya (the F ish), 1 st A vatar a , 2 6- 2 7 .

Matter (see Pr akr iti ), 1 3 , dead , does not exist,Maya , 1 3 , Lord of , 15.

Meditation , 1 03 ,

M en , creation of , 2 5, noblestof , 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 .

Mi lk , 89 .

M imamsas , system of phi losophy , 9 .

Mind , made master of Indr iyas , 1 66, mustbe conquered , 11 66,

swayed by des i res , 1 66.

Minerals , cr eation of , 2 5.

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Perseverence , 1 68.

Pi lg r image of the J iva , 35if , recur r ing stages in, 7 1

P itr i . 7 1 .

Pitr iloka, 67 , 7 1 .

Plants , creation of , 2 5.

Pole-star , 184 .

Prahlada, 183-1 84 , and Ind r a , 150 .

Prakr iti , 1 2 .

Prana, ( l ife-energy), 6Pranamaya

-kosha, 68,

8

d isper sal of , 83 , of others , 9 1Pr avr itti marga (pathof going for th) , 1 36Preta , 70.

Pretakr iya , 83.

Pretaloka, 67 , 70 .

Pr ide, 2 46, son of U n r ighteousness and Prosper ity ,Pr ithivi (the Earth) , 2 2 .

Publ ic spigit, 1 87 , ak in to loyalty ,'

1 86.

Puja, 1 0 2 .

Puranas , 6.

Puru, son of Yayati, 1 70 .

Purusha Sukta , 56.

Purushottama, 1 2 .

QuotationsAng i ra, 8 1 .

Bhag avad-Gita, 39 .

( i i 1 8 - 2 2 ) 39 .

(i i . 2 7-2 8) 7 2 .

39

158.

fii 48) 1 o6.

(i i 64) 163 .

J

( i i i . 1 0 6 1 -62 .

( i i i . 1 1 ) 155.

( i i i . 1 6)( i i i . 34) 1 63 .

( i i i .34 ) 1 62 .

(iv 7 -8) 33

(iv 1 1 ) 1 05.

( iv 1 2 ) 63 .

(iv-1 4 4 5) 53

(iv- l 9 -2 3 ) 53

(iv. 2 6) 64 .

(iv .3 1 )

(hf -38) 9 3

(v . 1 0 - 1 2 ) 4

(v. 1 8-2 1 ) 4 1 -4 2 .

(v 2 4-26) 4 2 -43

(vi. 1 l 1 1 5.

(vi. 2 9 ) 1 35.

(vi 49

(v1 35-s6)x77

(vii.4 -

5) 1 9 .

(vii.5) 15.

(V 11 1 9 l 74

(vii. 2 1 ) 1 05.

(vu 2 7 ) 1 62 .

(vi i i . 1 7- 1 8) 7 2 -73.

(ix . 2 o-2 1 ) 73 .

( ix 2 7 -2 8) 65.

(ix-3o-3 1 ) 9 3

(x . 2 o ) 1 7 , 1 1 34 .

(xi . 15) 30 .

(xi . 2 2 ) 30

(x i 1.3-7 ) 1 03- 1 04 .

(x i ii . 1 0 ) 1 77 .

(xi ii. 1 2 - 1 7 ) 15- 16.

(xii i. 2 7) 1 9 .

(x iii. 3o)

(x i ii. 33 ) I 9(x iv.5) -2 0 .

(x iv . 9- 1 3 ) 3 2 .

(xiv. 1 7 - 1 8) 3 2 .

( xv 7 ) 1 8 .

( xv 1 6

(xv i . 1 -3 ) 1 45.

(x vi.4) 1 45.

(x vi. 2 3) 163 .

(xv11. 1 4) 1 68, 1 76.

(xvi i . 15- 16) 1 76.

(xv i i i 46-217 ) 1 4 1 - 14 2 .

(~xvni.6 1 104 , 1 4 2 .

aBrahmanda Purana, 84 .

Brihadaranyakopanishad ,

(I.v . 16 1

1 2 .

( IV ivr5-6) 52 .

“ChhandogyOpanishad ,

52 .

(V 1 11 1 ) 1 1 .

16 1 .

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( x iv )

1 9 9-2 00 .

( lxxxiv . 2 -

4 ) 2 35.

(lxxxv i i i 1 2 9 .

(xc 1 86.

(civ. 1 2 9 .

(cxx iv 67 ) 1 47 .

(clx .6-7 ) 1 7 9 .

(clx 1 3- 16) 1 7 9 .

(clxxi i i. 50 .

(ccxxx l . 2 7) 1 4 1 .

(ccxxx l . 2 2 7 ) 1 62 .

(ccxcv i . 255.

(cclx . 2 o-2 1 ) 1 43 .

(cclx . 2 3 ) 1 43 .

(ccc. 1 0 ) 2 73 .

(ccc. 1 2 ) 2 73 .

(ccc. 1 6- 1 8) 2 73 .

Udyoga Parva, 1 78.

(cxxv i i i . 2 9 -3o) 1 78.

(xx ix .4) 2 34 .

(xxrx .6) 2 34 .

(xxix .9 ) 2 7 2

(xx ix . 1 3-25) 258-259 , 2 74.-2 75.

(xxix 1 7 ) 2 35.

(xxi x . 2 74 .

(“ ht-73 ) 2 73

(xxxi ii .4 1 ) 1 3 1 .

(lxii i . 156.

(clx xx. 2 1 ) 1 2 2 .

(clxxx;25-2 6) 1 2 2.

(ccx i ii. 1 88-1 89 .

Manu Smr iti ,

0 0 0

(ccxv . 1 89 .

(ccxci . 156-157 .

(cccx 111 1 08) 1 2 2 .

(Ls-7) I 7

(1 87-9 1 )

(i. 1 08- 1 1 0 ) 1 2 9 .

(i i .6) 1 4 2 .

(11 2 6) 8 1 .

(11 53) 9 31 66.

- 1 2 1 ) 2 0 1 .

(i i 1 38) 256.

GL1 45) 2 00 .

0L 159 2 55.

(11. 1 60) 2 3 2 .

2 3 2 .

(i i . 1 63) 2 33 .

( i i . 1 7 7- 1 80) 1 1 4.

1 1 4 .

9 2 .

2 00 .

2 00 .

(i i . 2 30) 2 00 .

2 0 1 .

(i i i . 2 ) 1 1 3 .

-

58) 2 30 .

( i i i . 1 0 1 ) 2 3 1 .

(i i i 1 05) 2 3 1 .

(i i i . 1 06) 2 3 1 .

(i i i . 1 1 4) 2 55.

(i i i . 2 03) 84 .

(iv . 1 38)

( iv. 151 ) 9 3 .

(m os) 9 3

(V -I O 9 ) 9 3

(vi. 2 ) 1 1 3 .

(vi-33) “ 3

(V i335-36)

(v i .37 )'

1 1 3 .

(vi-43) 2 7 2 1

(vi.9 2 ) 1 80 .

(vi. 151 ) 9 2 .

(vii-34 ) I 9 7 4 1 98

1 9 7

(vn . 18) 1 9 7- 1 9 8.

(vn 2 6-2 8) 1 9 7-1 1 98.

(w l -35) 2 55

(V 11 1 1 0) 2 55.

(vi i i .9 6) 1 58.

( i x .45) 2 03 , 2 30 .

(ix . 1 0 1 )

(ix . 1 0 1 - 102 ) 2 3 1 .

(bf -253) 45

(x .63) 1 801.

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( Xviii i)

Veda text (quoted by Kul luka), 154 1”V ishnu Bhagavata ,

(III.xxv. 1 8-1 9 ) 1 9 4- 1 95.

( l Il .xxv. 25) 1 9 4-1 95.

(Il l .xxv. 2 7) 1 9 4- 1 95.

(IV.xxi i. 34-35) 1 30 .

1 2 2 .

(IX.XX 1 1 2'

1 3) 2 56.

Vyasa Smr iti, 82 .

Yajnavalkya Smr iti ,(i ii .65) 1 43 .

( i i i ,66) 1 8 1 .

Rajasik , defined , 2 3 1

Rama, [or Ramachandra], 7thA vatara, 28. r-,V

Ramachandra , 1 84 , 1 87 , and S ita, 2 04-2 05, awakens trust

towards Bharata , 2 6 1 - 2 62 , gentle in speech, 2 2 7 , memoryof , for injur ies , 2 2 5.

Rama, of the A xe, 265if , [see also Parashurama]. ii .11 I

Ramayana 6, 2 1 6, of Tuls i D98 , 2 8, of Valmiki , 2 8.

Rantideva , K ing , 2 45ff , prayer of , to Har i , 2 46. 1 1

Ravana, 1 84 , 2 04. . 1

Reb irth, 34 .

Refer ences ,A d vanced Text Book of H indu Relig ion and Ethics ,2 6

A itareya A ranyaka, 2 6.

Bhagavat-Gita,III ,

VI I I , 3 . .i

.

X IV , 2 3 (footnote)

XV I,

U‘"0 m .W“

XVI I I , 2 3 (footnote).Bhag avata Purana, VI , 250 l

VI I , z5é.

VI I I , 250IX , 2 46

X , 2 65.

Devi Bhagavata ,

Mahabharata,A di Parva , 151 , 1 9 1 .

A shvamedhai‘Par va, 2 2 7 .

Bhishma Parva, 1 49 , 1 9 2 .

Drona Par va, 1 49 , 1 67 , 1 9 2 , 2 39 .

Kama Parva , 1 67 .

Mahaprasthanika Parva, 2 17 ,'

Sabha Parva, '

1 85, 2 39 .

y "k Shanti Parva, 50 1 52 1 ”18; 150 1 11 70 1 1 83 1

1 1 Udyoga Parva, 1 9 1 ,

Vana Parva, 152 ,

2 44 1 252 1 253 1 2 64 1 267 1 2681 2 70 °

Manu Smr iti , I I I , 96, 1 1 0 .

VI , 1 08.

Ramayana, 2 03-2 04 .

l

A yodhyakanda, 153, 1 88, 2 25, 2 2 7 , 237 , 261 , 2 62 .

Yuddhakanda, 185.

Shvetashvataropanishad, 35.

Vi shnu Bhag avata ,1 00 , 153

Vishnu Purana , 1 84 .

Re-incarnation , see Reb ir th.

Rel igion, fi rst proclamation of , 1 3 2 .

Rel igious , quarrels of the , 1 0 2 .

Renuka, w ife of Jamadag ni, 2 66.

Reverence, 1 82 .

Return , of the J iva to Ear th, 7 1 .

Rich, the, are the stewards of the poor , 9 7 .

Rid icule , arouses hate , 2 64 .

Righta nd wrong , 1 36 If , another defin ition, 1 37-1 38,

r defined ,1 37 , some general rules of , 1 40 , test of , 1 44 .

Righteousnes s , 1 7 2 .

Rig -Veda, 3 .

Rishis , the , 38 .

Sacr ifice , 56 fl”

, becomes a delight, 60 , g rowth of c the pr acticeof habitual , 59 , has outer form and inner meaning , 9 4 ,

Law of , 57 , 9 4, meaning of , 56, mutua l . 1 47 , the pr imary ,56, to Bhutas , inner 9 7 , to Bhutas , outer , 9 7 , to Devas ,inner , 9 6, to Devas, oute r , 9 6, to I shvara every action ,6 1 , to men, inne r , 9 7 , to men outer , 9 7 , to the P itr is ,inner , 9 6, to the Pitr is , outer , 96, to Rishis , and Vedas ,inner , 9 6, to Rishis and Vedas, outer , 9 41, true remnants

of , 1 1 2 .

Sacr ifices , the daily , 60 , the five dai ly, 9 4 8 , the five dai ly ,promote union , 1 47 , the G reat, ” 9 4.

Sagara, and A samanjasa , 2 40 .

S amavartanam (retu rning home), 9 thSamskara , 80 .

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A rjuna, 187 .

Shruti , 2 .

Shudra, duties of the , 1 1 7 .

Shuka, son'

of Vyase ,'

50 .

Shukr a, Rishi , 1 70 .

S in, is poison, 1 2 8.

Smr iti , 2 , 3 , 5, (see also Dharma-Shastra).Speech, control of, 1 67 , hasty, 1 67 .

Sp ir it, the 1 3 , (see also A tma).S thula-shar ira (solid body), 68, 69 .

Strength, thoughtless exer ci'

se'

of ,

Submiss ion, to God's w i ll , 182 .

S ukshma-shar ira (subtle body),I

68, 78.

Super ior s , man’

s , 1 82 .

Sura, 2 4 , (see Devas al so).S urabhi, 2 36fi

'

.

S uryaloka, 67 .

S vargaloka (the Heaven wor ld), 67 .

Sweetness , of behaviour , 2 67.

T amasik , defined , 2 3 .

Tantra, 4 , (see also Upaveda),Tarpana, 9 6.

T attvas (the Elements), the seven , 2 1 .

T ea, etc.

,89 .

Teacher , third greatobject of reverence , 1 9 1 fi'

.

Teaching , a sacr ifice , 9 6.

Tenderness , 2 36.

Test, of eachaction, 1 4Thought, 45-46, use 0 in check ing des ire , 48.

Tboughtles sness , causes harm, 1 7 2 .

T itan n s , 1 70 .

T riloka (the thr ee wor lds), 66 f f .T riloki, 1 36.

1Truth, 1 48, the g reat, in ethical science; 148, the greatest, 1 48,is B rahman , 1 54.

Truthfu lness , in H indu literature, 1 49 , promotes union; 1 49 .

Tyranny, 1 73 .

Un ion , the path,

that leadt o; 1 37 , promoting , 1 44.

Upadhi, 1 32

Upanayana, or second bi rth, the 8thS ams lr ara, 80 , 109 .

Upan ishad , 4.

Upasana, 1 03.

Upaveda, 4 .

U rbanity , 2 2 7 f f. -r 1

Utatthya, 1 86.

Vaisheshika system of Philosophy, 8.

V aishya, vi rtues of the, 1 1 8.

V amana (the Dwar f ), sthA vatara, 2 8 , 153 .

Varaba (the Boar ), 3rd A vatar a,V amas (colours or 1 16, 1 39 , compared to the

A shramas , 1 07-108.1 1

V arnasankara (caste-confus ion), 1 16.

Varuna, connected withwater , 2 4 .

V asishtha, and vishvamitra, 2 48 f f.

Vasudeva, the thousand names of , 183.1 1

Vayu, Deva, connected w ithair , 1 2 4 , the element A ir ;Vedanta system of Philosophy, 9 .

Vedas , the four , 3 , parts of , 3:

( fi’xiV )

V ice, f ruitof, 1 75, produces vice , 257 , root-of 2275,

Vidur e , 2 25f f .V ijnanamayakosha (knowledge-sheath), 68.

Virtues , 1 47 f f , altruistic, 1 74 , and vices definecht1 and vices in relation to f f , .and viees in

relation to infer ior s , 2 36 f f. , and vices i n relation to super ior s , 1 82 f f , and vices and their ' reactierr

’

on each other ,

257 f f , character istic of each caste, 1 2 0 , Egoistic (orself-regard ing ), 1 74 f f , family, 2 03 ff ,

“ forms of Truth

1 48, fruitof , 1 75, in relations w ithother s , , e las sification ,

1 74 , of a student, 1 0 9 , produce virtues, 257 , rootof , 175,

self-regarding , see egoistic v irtues , sel f-regard ing defined ,

V ishnu, 2 1 , work of , 2 5.

V ishvamitra, K ing of Gadhi , 2 48 f f . , Rishi and the Cbanda la ,

188, (see also V asishtha).

V ivaha (Mar r iage), 1 0thSamskara. 80 .

Vyasa, 1 00 .

Washing , the hands etc. , 9 0 .

Water , 89 .

Weak , protecting the , 2 40 .

Wife, the, who truly loves , 2 114 . I.

Wisdom, the treasure of the aged ,~19 4 .

Wor ld , the outer,is a symbol of the inner , 9 1 , the prwent

pos ition of , in evolution, 1 37 .

Wor ship, 1 00 f f . 1 82 , attr ibuted needed

1 00 , forms of , 1 0 1 . 1 I“ 1

Wrath, next step afte r Ahamkara , 2 49 .

Yajnavalkya, 50. S inf lfi i 5-6

Yajur-veda , 3 .

Vavati , 1 o ff , sum of the life exper iences of 1 7 1 ;

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