Chapter 330

“Bhishma said, ‘After Vyasa had left the spot, Narada, traversing throughthe sky, came to Suka employed in studying the scriptures. The celestialRishi came for the object of asking Suka the meaning of certain portionsof the Vedas. Beholding the celestial Rishi Narada arrived at hisretreat, Suka worshipped him by offering him the Arghya according to therites laid down in the Vedas. Pleased with the honours bestowed upon him,Narada addressed Suka, saying,–Tell me, O foremost of righteous persons,by what means, O dear child, may I accomplish what is for thy highestgood!–Hearing these words of Narada, Suka, said unto him, O Bharata,these words:–It behoveth thee to instruct me in respect of that whichmay be beneficial to me:

‘Narada said, In days of yore the illustrious Sanatkumara had said thesewords unto certain Rishis of cleansed souls that had repaired to him forenquiring after the truth. There is no eye like that of knowledge. Thereis no penance like renunciation. Abstention from sinful acts, steadypractice of righteousness, good conduct, the due observance of allreligious duties,–these constitute the highest good. Having obtained thestatus of humanity which is fraught with sorrow, he that becomes attachedto it, becomes stupefied: such a man never succeeds in emancipatinghimself from sorrow. Attachment (to things of the world) is an indicationof sorrow. The understanding of person that is attached to worldly thingsbecomes more and more enmeshed in the net of stupefaction. The man whobecomes enmeshed in the net of stupefaction attains to sorrow, both hereand hereafter. One should, by every means in one’s power, restrain bothdesire and wrath if one seeks to achieve what is for one’s good. Thosetwo (viz., desire and wrath) arise for only destroying one’s good.[1756]One should always protect one’s penances from wrath, and one’s prosperityfrom pride. One should always protect one’s knowledge from honour anddishonour and, one’s soul from error.[1757] Compassion is the highestvirtue. Forgiveness is the highest might. The knowledge of self is thehighest knowledge. There is nothing higher than truth. It is alwaysproper to speak the truth. It is better again to speak what is beneficialthan to speak what is true. I hold that that is truth which is fraughtwith the greatest benefit in all creatures.[1758] That man is said to betruly learned and truly possessed of wisdom who abandons every act, whonever indulges in hope, who is completely dissociated from all worldlysurroundings, and who has renounced everything that appertains to theworld. That person who, without being attached thereto, enjoys allobjects of sense with the aid of senses that are completely under hiscontrol, who is possessed of a tranquil soul, who is never moved by joyof sorrow, who is engaged in Yoga-meditation, who lives in companionshipwith the deities presiding over his senses and dissociated also fromthem, and who, though endued with a body, never regards himself asidentifiable with it, becomes emancipated and very soon attains to thatwhich is highest good. One who never sees others, never touches others,never talks with others, soon, O ascetic, attains to what is for one’shighest good. One should not injure any creature. On the other hand, oneshould conduct oneself in perfect friendliness towards all. Havingobtained the status of humanity, one should never behave inimicallytowards any being. A complete disregards for all (worldly) things,perfect contentments, abandonment of hope of every kind, andpatience,–these constitute the highest good of one that has subjugatedone’s senses and acquired a knowledge of self. Casting off allattachments, O child, do thou subjugate all thy senses, and by that meansattain to felicity both here and hereafter. They that are free fromcupidity have never to suffer any sorrow. One should, therefore, cast offall cupidity from one’s soul. By casting off cupidity, O amiable andblessed one, thou shalt be able to free thyself from sorrow and pain. Onewho wishes to conquer that which is unconquerable should live devotingoneself to penances, to self-restraint, to taciturnity, to a subjugationof the soul. Such a person should live in the midst of attachmentswithout being attached to them.[1759] That Brahmana who lives in themidst of attachments without being attached to them and who always livesin seclusion, very soon attains to the highest felicity. That man wholives in happiness by himself in the midst of creatures who are seen totake delight in leading lives of sexual union, should be known to be aperson whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge. It is well known thatthat man whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge has never to indulgein grief. One attains to the status of the deities by means of good acts;to the status of humanity by means of acts that are good and bad; whileby acts that are purely wicked, one helplessly falls down among the loweranimals. Always assailed by sorrow and decrepitude and death, a livingcreature is being cooked in this world (in the cauldron of Time). Dostthou not known it? Thou frequently regardest that to be beneficial whichis really injurious; that to be certain which is really uncertain; andthat to be desirable and good which is undesirable and not good. Alas,why dost thou not awake to a correct apprehension of these? Like asilkworm that ensconces itself in its own cocoon, thou art continuallyensconcing thyself in a cocoon made of thy own innumerable acts born ofstupefaction and error. Alas, why chest thou not awake to a correctapprehension of thy situation? No need of attaching thyself to things ofthis world. Attachment to worldly objects is productive of evil. Thesilk-worm that weaves a cocoon round itself is at last destroyed by itsown act. Those persons that become attached to sons and spouses andrelatives meet with destruction at last, even as wild elephants sunk inthe mire of a lake are gradually weakened till overtaken by Death.Behold, all creatures that suffer themselves to be dragged by the net ofaffection become subject to great grief even as fishes on land, draggedthereto by means of large nets! Relatives, sons, spouses, the bodyitself, and all one’s possessions stored with care, are unsubstantial andprove of no service in the next world. Only acts, good and bad, that onedoes, follow one to the other world. When it is certain that thou shalthave to go helplessly to the other world, leaving behind thee all thesethings alas, why dost thou then suffer thyself to be attached to suchunsubstantial things of no value, without attending to that whichconstitutes thy real and durable wealth? The path which thou shalt haveto travel through is without resting places of any kind (in which to takerest). There is no support along that way which one may catch forupholding oneself. The country through which it passes is unknown andundiscovered. It is, again enveloped in thick darkness. Alas, how shaltthou proceed along that way without equipping thyself with the necessaryexpenses? When thou shalt go along that road, nobody will follow theebehind. Only thy acts, good and bad, will follow behind thee when thoushalt depart from this world for the next. One seeks one’s object ofobjects by means of learning, acts, purity (both external and internal),and great knowledge. When that foremost of objects is attained, onebecomes freed (from rebirth). The desire that one feels for living in themidst of human habitations is like a binding cord. They that are of goodacts succeed in tearing that bond and freeing themselves. Only risen ofwicked deeds do not succeed in breaking them. The river of life (or theworld) is terrible. Personal beauty or form constitutes its banks. Themind is the speed of its current. Touch forms its island. Tasteconstitutes its current. Scent is its mire. Sound is its waters. Thatparticular part of it which leads towards heaven is attended with greatdifficulties. Body is the boat by which one must cross that river.Forgiveness is the oar by which it is to be propelled. Truth is theballast that is to steady that boat. The practice of righteousness is thestring that is to be attached to the mast for dragging that boat alongdifficult waters. Charity of gift constitutes the wind that urges thesails of that boat. Endued with swift speed, it is with that boat thatone must cross the river of life. Cast off both virtue and vice, andtruth and falsehood. Having cast off truth and falsehood, do thou castoff that by which these are to be cast off. By casting off all purpose,do thou cast off virtue; do thou cast off sin also by casting off alldesire. With the aid of the understanding, do thou cast off truth andfalsehood; and, at last, do thou cast off the understanding itself byknowledge of the highest topic (viz., the supreme Soul). Do thou cast offthis body having bones for its pillars; sinews for its binding stringsand cords; flesh and blood for its outer plaster; the skin for its outercase; full of urine and faeces and, therefore, emitting a foul smell;exposed to the assaults of decrepitude and sorrow; forming the seat ofdisease and weakened by pain; possessed of the attribute of Rajas inpredominance: not permanent or durable, and which serves as the(temporary) habitation of the indwelling creature. This entire universeof matter, and that which is called Mahat or Buddhi, are made up of the(five), great elements. That which is called Mahat is due to the actionof the Supreme. The five senses, the three attributes of Tamas, Sattwa,and Rajas,–these (together with those which have been mentioned before)constitute a tale of seventeen. These seventeen, which are known by thename of the Unmanifest, with all those that are called Manifest, viz.,the five objects of the five senses, (that is to say, form, taste, sound,touch, and scent), with Consciousness and the Understanding, form thewell-known tale of four and twenty. When endued with these four andtwenty possessions, one comes to be called by the name of Jiva (orPuman). He who knows the aggregate of three (viz., Religion, Wealth, andPleasure), as also happiness and sorrow and life and death, truly and inall their details, is said to know growth and decay. Whatever objectsexist of knowledge, should be known gradually, one after another. Allobjects that are apprehended by the senses are called Manifest. Whateverobjects transcend the senses and are apprehended by means only of theirindications are said to be Unmanifest. By restraining the senses, onewins great gratification, even like a thirsty and parched traveller at adelicious shower of rain. Having subjugated the senses one beholds one’ssoul spread out for embracing all objects, and all objects in one’s soul.Having its roots in knowledge, the puissance is never lost of the man who(thus) beholds the Supreme in his soul,–of the man, that is to say, whoalways beholds all creatures in all conditions (in his own soul).[1760]He who by the aid of knowledge, transcends all kinds of pain born oferror and stupefaction, never catches any evil by coming into contactwith all creatures.[1761] Such a man, his understanding being fullydisplayed, never finds fault with the course of conduct that prevails inthe world. One conversant with Emancipation says that the Supreme Soul iswithout beginning and without end; that it takes birth as all creatures;that it resides (as a witness) in the Jiva-soul; that it is inactive, andwithout form. Only that man who meets with grief in consequence of hisown misdeeds, slays numerous creatures for the purpose of warding offthat grief.[1762] In consequence of such sacrifices, the performers haveto attain to rebirths and have necessarily to perform innumerable acts onevery side. Such a man, blinded by error, and regarding that to befelicity which is really a source of grief, is continually renderedunhappy even like a sick person that eats food that is improper. Such aman is pressed and grinded by his acts like any substance that ischurned. Bound by his acts, he obtains re-birth, the order of his lifebeing determined by the nature of his acts. Suffering many kinds oftorture, he travels in a repeated round of rebirths even like a wheelthat turns ceaselessly. Thou, however, hast cut through all thy bonds.Thou, abstainest from all acts! Possessed of omniscience and the masterof all things, let success be thine, and do thou become freed from allexistent objects. Through subjugation of their senses and the power oftheir penances, many persons (in days of yore), having destroyed thebonds of action, attained to high success and uninterrupted felicity.'”