SECTION CCCXXX
"Bhishma said, 'After Vyasa had left the spot, Narada, traversing through
the sky, came to Suka employed in studying the scriptures. The celestial
Rishi came for the object of asking Suka the meaning of certain portions
of the Vedas. Beholding the celestial Rishi Narada arrived at his
retreat, Suka worshipped him by offering him the Arghya according to the
rites 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 highest
good!--Hearing these words of Narada, Suka, said unto him, O Bharata,
these words:--It behoveth thee to instruct me in respect of that which
may be beneficial to me:
'Narada said, In days of yore the illustrious Sanatkumara had said these
words unto certain Rishis of cleansed souls that had repaired to him for
enquiring after the truth. There is no eye like that of knowledge. There
is no penance like renunciation. Abstention from sinful acts, steady
practice of righteousness, good conduct, the due observance of all
religious duties,--these constitute the highest good. Having obtained the
status of humanity which is fraught with sorrow, he that becomes attached
to it, becomes stupefied: such a man never succeeds in emancipating
himself from sorrow. Attachment (to things of the world) is an indication
of sorrow. The understanding of person that is attached to worldly things
becomes more and more enmeshed in the net of stupefaction. The man who
becomes enmeshed in the net of stupefaction attains to sorrow, both here
and hereafter. One should, by every means in one's power, restrain both
desire and wrath if one seeks to achieve what is for one's good. Those
two (viz., desire and wrath) arise for only destroying one's good.[1756]
One should always protect one's penances from wrath, and one's prosperity
from pride. One should always protect one's knowledge from honour and
dishonour and, one's soul from error.[1757] Compassion is the highest
virtue. Forgiveness is the highest might. The knowledge of self is the
highest knowledge. There is nothing higher than truth. It is always
proper to speak the truth. It is better again to speak what is beneficial
than to speak what is true. I hold that that is truth which is fraught
with the greatest benefit in all creatures.[1758] That man is said to be
truly learned and truly possessed of wisdom who abandons every act, who
never indulges in hope, who is completely dissociated from all worldly
surroundings, and who has renounced everything that appertains to the
world. That person who, without being attached thereto, enjoys all
objects of sense with the aid of senses that are completely under his
control, who is possessed of a tranquil soul, who is never moved by joy
of sorrow, who is engaged in Yoga-meditation, who lives in companionship
with the deities presiding over his senses and dissociated also from
them, and who, though endued with a body, never regards himself as
identifiable with it, becomes emancipated and very soon attains to that
which is highest good. One who never sees others, never touches others,
never talks with others, soon, O ascetic, attains to what is for one's
highest good. One should not injure any creature. On the other hand, one
should conduct oneself in perfect friendliness towards all. Having
obtained the status of humanity, one should never behave inimically
towards any being. A complete disregards for all (worldly) things,
perfect contentments, abandonment of hope of every kind, and
patience,--these constitute the highest good of one that has subjugated
one's senses and acquired a knowledge of self. Casting off all
attachments, O child, do thou subjugate all thy senses, and by that means
attain to felicity both here and hereafter. They that are free from
cupidity have never to suffer any sorrow. One should, therefore, cast off
all cupidity from one's soul. By casting off cupidity, O amiable and
blessed one, thou shalt be able to free thyself from sorrow and pain. One
who wishes to conquer that which is unconquerable should live devoting
oneself to penances, to self-restraint, to taciturnity, to a subjugation
of the soul. Such a person should live in the midst of attachments
without being attached to them.[1759] That Brahmana who lives in the
midst of attachments without being attached to them and who always lives
in seclusion, very soon attains to the highest felicity. That man who
lives in happiness by himself in the midst of creatures who are seen to
take delight in leading lives of sexual union, should be known to be a
person whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge. It is well known that
that man whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge has never to indulge
in 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; while
by acts that are purely wicked, one helplessly falls down among the lower
animals. Always assailed by sorrow and decrepitude and death, a living
creature is being cooked in this world (in the cauldron of Time). Dost
thou not known it? Thou frequently regardest that to be beneficial which
is really injurious; that to be certain which is really uncertain; and
that to be desirable and good which is undesirable and not good. Alas,
why dost thou not awake to a correct apprehension of these? Like a
silkworm that ensconces itself in its own cocoon, thou art continually
ensconcing thyself in a cocoon made of thy own innumerable acts born of
stupefaction and error. Alas, why chest thou not awake to a correct
apprehension of thy situation? No need of attaching thyself to things of
this world. Attachment to worldly objects is productive of evil. The
silk-worm that weaves a cocoon round itself is at last destroyed by its
own act. Those persons that become attached to sons and spouses and
relatives meet with destruction at last, even as wild elephants sunk in
the mire of a lake are gradually weakened till overtaken by Death.
Behold, all creatures that suffer themselves to be dragged by the net of
affection become subject to great grief even as fishes on land, dragged
thereto by means of large nets! Relatives, sons, spouses, the body
itself, and all one's possessions stored with care, are unsubstantial and
prove of no service in the next world. Only acts, good and bad, that one
does, follow one to the other world. When it is certain that thou shalt
have to go helplessly to the other world, leaving behind thee all these
things alas, why dost thou then suffer thyself to be attached to such
unsubstantial things of no value, without attending to that which
constitutes thy real and durable wealth? The path which thou shalt have
to travel through is without resting places of any kind (in which to take
rest). There is no support along that way which one may catch for
upholding oneself. The country through which it passes is unknown and
undiscovered. It is, again enveloped in thick darkness. Alas, how shalt
thou proceed along that way without equipping thyself with the necessary
expenses? When thou shalt go along that road, nobody will follow thee
behind. Only thy acts, good and bad, will follow behind thee when thou
shalt depart from this world for the next. One seeks one's object of
objects by means of learning, acts, purity (both external and internal),
and great knowledge. When that foremost of objects is attained, one
becomes freed (from rebirth). The desire that one feels for living in the
midst of human habitations is like a binding cord. They that are of good
acts succeed in tearing that bond and freeing themselves. Only risen of
wicked deeds do not succeed in breaking them. The river of life (or the
world) is terrible. Personal beauty or form constitutes its banks. The
mind is the speed of its current. Touch forms its island. Taste
constitutes its current. Scent is its mire. Sound is its waters. That
particular part of it which leads towards heaven is attended with great
difficulties. Body is the boat by which one must cross that river.
Forgiveness is the oar by which it is to be propelled. Truth is the
ballast that is to steady that boat. The practice of righteousness is the
string that is to be attached to the mast for dragging that boat along
difficult waters. Charity of gift constitutes the wind that urges the
sails of that boat. Endued with swift speed, it is with that boat that
one must cross the river of life. Cast off both virtue and vice, and
truth and falsehood. Having cast off truth and falsehood, do thou cast
off 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 all
desire. With the aid of the understanding, do thou cast off truth and
falsehood; and, at last, do thou cast off the understanding itself by
knowledge of the highest topic (viz., the supreme Soul). Do thou cast off
this body having bones for its pillars; sinews for its binding strings
and cords; flesh and blood for its outer plaster; the skin for its outer
case; full of urine and faeces and, therefore, emitting a foul smell;
exposed to the assaults of decrepitude and sorrow; forming the seat of
disease and weakened by pain; possessed of the attribute of Rajas in
predominance: not permanent or durable, and which serves as the
(temporary) habitation of the indwelling creature. This entire universe
of 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 action
of 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 the
name 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 the
well-known tale of four and twenty. When endued with these four and
twenty possessions, one comes to be called by the name of Jiva (or
Puman). He who knows the aggregate of three (viz., Religion, Wealth, and
Pleasure), as also happiness and sorrow and life and death, truly and in
all their details, is said to know growth and decay. Whatever objects
exist of knowledge, should be known gradually, one after another. All
objects that are apprehended by the senses are called Manifest. Whatever
objects transcend the senses and are apprehended by means only of their
indications are said to be Unmanifest. By restraining the senses, one
wins great gratification, even like a thirsty and parched traveller at a
delicious shower of rain. Having subjugated the senses one beholds one's
soul 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, who
always beholds all creatures in all conditions (in his own soul).[1760]
He who by the aid of knowledge, transcends all kinds of pain born of
error and stupefaction, never catches any evil by coming into contact
with all creatures.[1761] Such a man, his understanding being fully
displayed, never finds fault with the course of conduct that prevails in
the world. One conversant with Emancipation says that the Supreme Soul is
without 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, and
without form. Only that man who meets with grief in consequence of his
own misdeeds, slays numerous creatures for the purpose of warding off
that grief.[1762] In consequence of such sacrifices, the performers have
to attain to rebirths and have necessarily to perform innumerable acts on
every side. Such a man, blinded by error, and regarding that to be
felicity which is really a source of grief, is continually rendered
unhappy even like a sick person that eats food that is improper. Such a
man is pressed and grinded by his acts like any substance that is
churned. Bound by his acts, he obtains re-birth, the order of his life
being determined by the nature of his acts. Suffering many kinds of
torture, he travels in a repeated round of rebirths even like a wheel
that turns ceaselessly. Thou, however, hast cut through all thy bonds.
Thou, abstainest from all acts! Possessed of omniscience and the master
of all things, let success be thine, and do thou become freed from all
existent objects. Through subjugation of their senses and the power of
their penances, many persons (in days of yore), having destroyed the
bonds of action, attained to high success and uninterrupted felicity.'"
