SECTION CCLXXVIII
"Yudhishthira said, 'Of what behaviour must a man be, of what acts, of
what kind of knowledge, and to what must he be devoted, for attaining to
Brahma's place which transcends Prakriti and which is unchangeable?'
"Bhishma said, 'One that is devoted to the religion of Emancipation,
frugal in fare, and the master of one's senses, attains to that high
place which transcends Prakriti and is unchangeable.[1331] Retiring from
one's home, regarding gain and loss in the same light, restraining the
senses, and disregarding all objects of desire even when they are ready
(for enjoyment), one should adopt a life of Renunciation.[1332] Neither
with eye, nor with word, nor in thought, should one disparage another.
Nor should one speak evil of any person either in or out of his hearing.
One should abstain from injuring any creature, and conduct oneself
observing the course of the Sun.[1333] Having come into this life, one
should not behave with unfriendliness towards any creature. One should
disregard opprobrious speeches, and never in arrogance deem oneself as
superior to another. When sought to be angered by another, one should
still utter agreeable speeches. Even when calumniated, one should not
calumniate in return. One should not behave in a friendly or an
unfriendly way in the midst of human beings. One should not go about
visiting many houses in one's round of mendicancy. Nor should one go to
any house having received a previous invitation (to dinner).[1334] Even
when bespattered with filth (by others), one should, resting firmly in
the observance of one's duties, refrain from addressing such bespatterers
in disagreeable speeches. One should be compassionate. One should abstain
from returning an injury. One should be fearless; one should refrain from
self-laudation. The man of restrained senses should seek his dole of
charity in a householder's abode when the smoke has ceased to rise from
it, when the sound of the husking rod is hushed, when the hearth-fire is
extinguished, when all the inmates have finished their meals, or when the
hour is over for setting the dishes.[1335] He should content himself with
only as much as is barely necessary for keeping body and soul together.
Even that much of food which produces gratification should not be coveted
by him. When he fails to obtain what he wants, he should not suffer
himself to cherish discontent. Success, again, in obtaining what he
wants, should not make him glad.[1336] He should never wish for such
things as are coveted by ordinary men. He should never eat at anybody's
house when respectfully invited thereto. One like him should reprobate
such gains as are obtained with honour.[1337] He should never find fault
(on account of staleness, etc.) with the food placed before him, nor
should he applaud its merits. He should covet a bed and a seat that are
removed from the haunts of men. The places he should seek are such as a
deserted house, the foot of a tree, a forest, or a cave. Without allowing
his practices to be known by others, or concealing their real nature by
appearing to adopt others (that are hateful or repulsive), he should
enter his own Self.[1338] By association with Yoga and dissociation from
company, he should be perfectly equable, steadily fixed, and uniform. He
should not earn either merit or demerit by means of acts.[1339] He should
be always gratified, well-contented, of cheerful face and cheerful
senses, fearless, always engaged in mental recitation of sacred mantras,
silent, and wedded to a life of Renunciation. Beholding the repeated
formation and dissolution of his own body with the senses that result
from and resolve into the elemental essences, and seeing also the advent
and departure of (other) creatures, he should become free from desire and
learn to cast equal eyes upon all, subsisting upon both cooked and
uncooked food. Frugal in respect of his fare, and subjugating his senses,
he achieves tranquillity of Self by Self.[1340] One should control the
(rising) impulses of words, of the mind, of wrath, of envy, of hunger,
and of lust. Devoted to penances for cleansing his heart, he should never
allow the censures (of others) to afflict his heart. One should live,
having assumed a status of neutrality with respect to all creatures, and
regard praise and blame as equal. This, indeed, is the holiest and the
highest path of the Sannyasa mode of life. Possessed of high soul, the
Sannyasin should restrain his senses from all things and keep himself
aloof from all attachments. He should never repair to the places visited
by him and the men known to him while leading the prior modes of life.
Agreeable to all creatures, and without a fixed home, he should be
devoted to the contemplation of Self. He should never mingle with
house-holders and forest-recluses. He should eat such food as he may
obtain without effort (and without having thought of it
beforehand).[1341] He should never suffer joy to possess his heart. To
those that are wise such a life of Renunciation is the means for the
attainment of Emancipation. To those, however, that are fools the
practice of these duties is exceedingly burthensome. The sage Harita
declared all this to be the path by which Emancipation is to be achieved.
He who sets forth from his home, having assured all creatures of his
perfect harmlessness, attains to many bright regions of felicity which
prove unending or eternal.'"
