Chapter 212

“Bhishma said, ‘Persons engaged in the practice of acts regard thepractice of acts highly. Similarly, those that are devoted to Knowledgedo not regard anything other than Knowledge. Persons fully conversantwith the Vedas and depending upon the utterances contained in them, arerare. They that are more intelligent desire the path of abstention fromacts as the better of the two, viz., heaven and emancipation.[727]Abstention from acts is observed by those that are possessed of greatwisdom. That conduct, therefore, is laudable. The intelligence whichurges to abstention from acts, is that by which one attains toEmancipation. Possessed of body, a person, through folly, and endued withwrath and cupidity and all the propensities born of Passion and Darkness,becomes attached to all earthly objects. One, therefore, who desires todestroy one’s connection with the body, should never indulge in anyimpure act. On the other hand, one should create by one’s acts a path forattaining to emancipation, without wishing for regions of felicity (inthe next world).[728] As gold, when united with iron, loses its purityand fails to shine, even so Knowledge, when existing with attachment toearthly objects and such other faults, fails to put forth itssplendour.[729] He who, influenced by cupidity and following the dictatesof desire and wrath, practises unrighteousness, transgressing the path ofrighteousness, meets with complete destruction.[730] One who is desirousof benefiting oneself should never follow, with excess of attachments,earthly possessions represented by the objects of the senses. If one doesit, wrath and joy–and sorrow arise from one another (and make onemiserable). When every one’s body is made up of the five originalelements as also of the three attributes of Goodness, Passion, andDarkness, whom shall one adore and whom shall one blame with what words?Only they that are fools become attached to the objects of the senses. Inconsequence of folly they do not know that their bodies are onlymodifications.[731]

As a house made of earth is plastered over with earth, even so this bodywhich is made of earth is kept from destruction by food which is only amodification of earth. Honey and oil and milk and butter and meat andsalt and treacle and grain of all kinds and fruit and roots are allmodifications of earth and water. Recluses living in the wilderness,giving up all longing (for rich and savoury food), take simple food, thatis again unsavoury, for only supporting the body. After the same manner,a person that dwells in the wilderness of the world, should be ready forlabour and should take food for passing through life, like a patienttaking medicine.[732] A person of noble soul, examining all things of anearthly nature that come upon him, by the aid of truth, purity, candour,a spirit of renunciation, enlightenment, courage, forgiveness, fortitude,intelligence, reflection, and austerities, and desirous of obtainingtranquillity, should restrain his senses. All creatures, stupefied, inconsequence of Ignorance, by the attributes of Goodness and Passion andDarkness, are continually revolving like a wheel. All faults, therefore,that are born of Ignorance, should be closely examined and the idea ofSelf which has its origin in Ignorance, and which is productive ofmisery, should be avoided. The fivefold elements, the senses, theattributes of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness, the three worlds with theSupreme Being himself, and acts, all rest on Self-consciousness.[733] AsTime, under its own laws, always displays the phenomena of the seasonsone after another, even so one should know that Consciousness in allcreatures is the inducer of acts.[734] Tamas (from which proceedsConsciousness) should be known as productive of delusions. It is likeDarkness and is born of Ignorance. To the three attributes of Goodness,Passion, and Darkness are attached all the joys and sorrows (ofcreatures). Listen now to those consequences that spring from theattributes of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness. Contentment, thesatisfaction that arises from joy, certainty, intelligence, andmemory,–these are the consequences born of the attribute of Goodness. Ishall now mention the consequences of Passion and Darkness. Desire,wrath, error, cupidity, stupefaction, fear, and fatigue, belong to theattribute of Passion. Cheerlessness, grief, discontent, vanity, pride,and wickedness, all belong to Darkness. Examining the gravity orlightness of these and other faults that dwell in the Soul, one shouldreflect upon each of them one after another (for ascertaining which ofthem exist, which have become strong or weak, which have been driven off,and which remain).’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘What faults are abandoned by persons desirous ofEmancipation? What are those that are weakened by them? What are thefaults that come repeatedly (and are, therefore, incapable of being gotrid of)? What, again, are regarded as weak, through stupefaction (and,therefore, as permissible)? What, indeed, are those faults upon whosestrength and weakness a wise man should reflect with the aid ofintelligence and of reasons? I have doubts upon these subjects. Discourseto me on these, O grandsire!’

“Bhishma said, ‘A person of pure Soul, by extracting all his faults bytheir roots, succeeds in obtaining Emancipation. As an axe made of steelcuts a steel chain (and accomplishing the act becomes broken itself),after the same manner, a person of cleansed Soul, destroying all thefaults that spring from Darkness and that are born with the Soul (when itis reborn), succeeds in dissolving his connection with the body (andattaining Emancipation).[735] The qualities having their origin inPassion, those that spring from Darkness, and those stainless onecharacterised by purity (viz., those included under the quality ofGoodness), constitute as it were the seed from which all embodiedcreatures have grown. Amongst these, the attribute of Goodness alone isthe cause through which persons of cleansed Souls succeed in attaining toEmancipation. A person of cleansed soul, therefore, should abandon allthe qualities born of Passion and Darkness. Then again, when the qualityof Goodness becomes freed from those of Passion and Darkness, it becomesmore resplendent still. Some say that sacrifices and other acts performedwith the aid of mantras, and which certainly contribute to thepurification of the Soul, are evil or cruel acts. (This view is notcorrect). On the other hand, those acts are the chief means fordissociating the Soul from all worldly attachments, and for theobservance of the religion of tranquillity. Through the influence of thequalities born of Passion, all unrighteous acts are performed, and allacts fraught with earthly purposes as also all such acts as spring fromdesire are accomplished. Through qualities born of Darkness, one does allacts fraught with cupidity and springing from wrath. In consequence ofthe attribute of Darkness, one embraces sleep and procrastination andbecomes addicted to all acts of cruelty and carnal pleasure. That person,however, who, possessed of faith and scriptural knowledge, is observantof the attribute of Goodness, attends only to all good things, andbecomes endued with (moral) beauty and soul free from every taint.’