SECTION XLV
"Brahmana said, 'The wheel of life moves on. It has the understanding for
its strength; the mind for the pole (on which it rests); the group of
senses for its bonds, the (five) great elements for its nave, and home
for its circumference.[132] It is overwhelmed by decrepitude and grief,
and it has diseases and calamities for its progeny. That wheel relates in
time and place. It has toil and exercise for its noise. Day and Night are
the rotations of that wheel. It is encircled by heat and cold. Pleasure
and pain fire its joints, and hunger and thirst are the nails fixed into
it. Sun-shine and shade are the ruts (it causes). It is capable of being
agitated during even such a short space of time as is taken up by the
opening and the closing of the eyelid. It is enveloped in the terrible
waters of delusion. It is ever revolving and void of consciousness. It is
measured by months and half-months. It is not uniform (being
ever-changing), and moves through all the worlds. Penances and vows are
its mud. Passion's force is its mover. It is illuminated by the great
egoism, and is sustained by the qualities. Vexations (caused by the
non-acquisition of what is desired) are the fastenings that bind it
around. It revolves in the midst of grief and destruction. It is endued
with actions and the instruments of action. It is large and is extended
by attachments. It is rendered unsteady by cupidity and desire. It is
produced by variegated Ignorance. It is attended upon by fear and
delusion, and is the cause of the delusion of all beings. It moves
towards joy and pleasure, and has desire and wrath for its possession. It
is made up of entities beginning with Mahat and ending with the gross
elements. It is characterised by production and destruction going on
ceaselessly. Its speed is like that of the mind, and it has the mind for
its boundary.[133] This wheel of life that is associated with pairs of
opposites and devoid of consciousness, the universe with the very
immortals should cast away, abridge, and check. That man who always
understands accurately the motion and stoppage of this wheel of life, is
never seen to be deluded, among all creatures. Freed from all
impressions, divested of all pairs of opposites, released from all sins,
he attains to the highest goal. The householder, the Brahmacharin, the
forest recluse and the mendicant,--these four modes of life have all been
said to have the householder's mode for their foundation. Whatever system
of rules is prescribed in this world, their observance is beneficial.
Such observance has always been highly spoken of. He who has been first
cleansed by ceremonies, who has duly observed vows, who belongs in
respect of birth to a race possessed of high qualifications, and who
understands the Vedas, should return (from his preceptor's house).[134]
Always devoted to his wedded spouse, conducting himself after the manner
of the good, with his senses under subjugation, and full of faith, one
should in this world perform the five sacrifices. He who eats what
remains after feeding deities and guests, who is devoted to the
observance of Vedic rites, who duly performs according to his means
sacrifices and gifts, who is not unduly active with his hands and feet,
who is not unduly active with his eye, who is devoted to penances, who is
not unduly active with his speech and limits, comes under the category of
Sishta or the good. One should always bear the sacred thread, wear white
(clean) clothes, observe pure vows, and should always associate with good
men, making gifts and practising self-restraint. One should subjugate
one's lust and stomach, practise universal compassion, and be
characterised by behaviour that befits the good. One should bear a
bamboo-stick, and a water-pot filled with water. Having studied, one
should teach; likewise should also make sacrifices himself and officiate
at the sacrifices of others. One should also make gifts made to oneself.
Verily, one's conduct, should be characterised by these six acts. Know
that three of these acts should constitute the livelihood of the
Brahmanas, viz., teaching (pupils), officiating at the sacrifices of
others, and the acceptance of gifts from a person that is pure. As to the
other duties that remain, numbering three, viz., making of gifts, study,
and sacrifice, these are accompanied by merit.[135] Observant of
penances, self-restrained, practising universal compassion and
forgiveness, and looking upon all creatures with an equal eye, the man
that is conversant with duties should never be heedless with regard to
those three acts. The learned Brahmana of pure heart, who observes the
domestic mode of life and practises rigid vows, thus devoted and thus
discharging all duties to the best of his power, succeeds in conquering
Heaven.'"
