Chapter 208

Markandeya continued, “O Yudhishthira, the virtuous fowler, eminent inpity, then skilfully addressed himself again to that foremost ofBrahmanas, saying, ‘It is the dictum of the aged that the ways ofrighteousness are subtle, diverse and infinite. When life is at stake andin the matter of marriage, it is proper to tell an untruth. Untruthsometimes leads to the triumph of truth, and the latter dwindles intountruth. Whichever conduces most to the good of all creatures isconsidered to be truth. Virtue is thus perverted; mark thou its subtleways. O best of virtuous men, man’s actions are either good or bad, andhe undoubtedly reaps their fruits. The ignorant man having attained to anabject state, grossly abuses the gods, not knowing that it is theconsequence of his own evil karma. The foolish, the designing and thefickle, O good Brahmana, always attain the very reverse of happiness ormisery. Neither learning nor good morals, nor personal exertion can savethem. And if the fruits of our exertion were not dependent on anythingelse, people would attain the object of their desire, by simply strivingto attain it.

It is seen that able, intelligent and diligent persons are baffled intheir efforts, and do not attain the fruits of their actions. On theother hand, persons who are always active in injuring others and inpractising deception on the world, lead a happy life. There are some whoattain prosperity without any exertion. And there are others, who withthe utmost exertion, are unable to achieve their dues. Miserly personswith the object of having sons born to them worship the gods, andpractise severe austerities, and those sons having remained in the wombfor ten months at length turn out to be very infamous issue of theirrace; and others begotten under the same auspices, decently pass theirlives in luxury with heaps of riches and grain accumulated by theirancestors. The diseases from which man suffer, are undoubtedly the resultof their own karma. They then behave like small deer at the hands ofhunters, and they are racked with mental troubles. And, O Brahmana, ashunters intercept the flight of their game, the progress of thosediseases is checked by able and skilful physicians with their collectionsof drugs. And, the best of the cherishers of religion, thou hast observedthat those who have it in their power to enjoy (the good things of thisearth), are prevented from doing so from the fact of their suffering fromchronic bowel-complaints, and that many others that are strong andpowerful, suffer from misery, and are enabled with great difficulty toobtain a livelihood; and that every man is thus helpless, overcome bymisery and illusion, and again and again tossed and overpowered by thepowerful current of his own actions (karma). If there were absolutefreedom of action, no creature would die, none would be subject to decay,or await his evil doom, and everybody would attain the object of hisdesire. All persons desire to out distance their neighbours (in the raceof life), and they strive to do so to the utmost of their power; but theresult turns out otherwise. Many are the persons born under the influenceof the same star and the same auspices of good luck; but a greatdiversity is observable in the maturity of their actions. No person, Ogood Brahmana, can be the dispenser of his own lot. The actions done in aprevious existence are seen to fructify in our present life. It is theimmemorial tradition that the soul is eternal and everlasting, but thecorporeal frame of all creatures is subject to destruction here (below).When therefore life is extinguished, the body only is destroyed, but thespirit, wedded to its actions, travels elsewhere.’

“The Brahmana replied, ‘O best of those versed in the doctrine of karma,and in the delivery of discourses, I long to know accurately how the soulbecomes eternal.’ The fowler replied, ‘The spirit dies not, there beingsimply a change of tenement. They are mistaken, who foolishly say thatall creatures die. The soul betakes itself to another frame, and itschange of habitation is called its death. In the world of men, no manreaps the consequences of another man’s karma. Whatever one does, he issure to reap the consequences thereof; for the consequences of the karmathat is once done, can never be obviated. The virtuous become endowedwith great virtues, and sinful men become the perpetrators of wickeddeeds. Men’s actions follow them; and influenced by these, they are bornagain.’ The Brahmana enquired, ‘Why does the spirit take its birth, andwhy does its nativity become sinful or virtuous, and how, O good man,does it come to belong to a sinful or virtuous race?’ The fowler replied,This mystery seems to belong to the subject of procreation, but I shallbriefly describe to you, O good Brahmana, how the spirit is born againwith its accumulated load of karma, the righteous in a virtuous, and thewicked in a sinful nativity. By the performance of virtuous actions itattains to the state of the gods, and by a combination of good and evil,it acquires the human state; by indulgence in sensuality and similardemoralising practices it is born in the lower species of animals, and bysinful acts, it goes to the infernal regions. Afflicted with the miseriesof birth and dotage, man is fated to rot here below from the evilconsequences of his own actions. Passing through thousands of births asalso the infernal regions, our spirits wander about, secured by thefetters of their own karma. Animate beings become miserable in the nextworld on account of these actions done by themselves and from thereaction of those miseries, they assume lower births and then theyaccumulate a new series of actions, and they consequently suffer miseryover again, like sickly men partaking of unwholesome food; and althoughthey are thus afflicted, they consider themselves to be happy and at easeand consequently their fetters are not loosened and new karma arises; andsuffering from diverse miseries they turn about in this world like awheel. If casting off their fetters they purify themselves by theiractions and practise austerities and religious meditations, then, O bestof Brahmanas, they attain the Elysian regions by these numerous acts andby casting off their fetters and by the purification of karma, men attainthose blissful regions where misery is unknown to those who go there. Thesinful man who is addicted to vices, never comes to the end of his courseof iniquities. Therefore must we strive to do what is virtuous andforbear from doing what is unrighteous. Whoever with a heart full ofgratefulness and free from malice strives to do what is good, attainswealth, virtue, happiness and heaven (hereafter). Those who are purifiedof sins, wise, forbearing, constant in righteousness, and self-restrainedenjoy continuous felicity in this as well as in the next world. Man mustfollow the standard of virtue of the good and in his acts imitate theexample of the righteous. There are virtuous men, versed in holy writ andlearned in all departments of knowledge. Man’s proper duty consists infollowing his own proper avocation, and this being the case these latterdo not become confused and mixed up. The wise man delights in virtue andlives by righteousness. And, O good Brahmana, such a man with the wealthof righteousness which he hereby acquires, waters the root of the plantin which he finds most virtue. The virtuous man acts thus and his mind iscalmed. He is pleased with his friends in this world and he also attainshappiness hereafter. Virtuous people, O good man, acquire dominion overall and the pleasure of beauty, flavour, sound and touch according totheir desire. These are known to be the rewards of virtue. But the man ofenlightened vision, O great Brahmana, is not satisfied with reaping thefruits of righteousness. Not content with that, he with the light ofspiritual wisdom that is in him, becomes indifferent to pain and pleasureand the vice of the world influenceth him not. Of his own free will hebecometh indifferent to worldly pursuits but he forsaketh not virtue.Observing that everything worldly is evanescent, he trieth to renounceeverything and counting on more chance he deviseth means for theattainment of salvation. Thus doth he renounce the pursuits of the world,shuneth the ways of sin, becometh virtuous and at last attainethsalvation. Spiritual wisdom is the prime requisite of men for salvation,resignation and forbearance are its roots. By this means he attaineth allthe objects of this desire. But subduing the senses and by means oftruthfulness and forbearance, he attaineth, O good Brahmana, the supremeasylum of Brahma.’ The Brahmana again enquired, ‘O thou most eminent invirtue and constant in the performance of the religious obligations, youtalk of senses; what are they; how may they be subdued; and what is thegood of subduing them; and how doth a creature reap the fruits thereof? Opious man, I beg to acquaint myself with the truth of this matter.”