| Philosophy and Religion / Sacred Laws of the Âryas |
The Sacred Laws of the Âryas: Vasishtha - Chapter X
1. Let an ascetic depart from his house, giving a promise of safety from injury to all animated beings.1
2. Now they quote also (the following verses): 'That ascetic who wanders about at peace with all creatures, forsooth, has nothing to fear from any living being,'2
3. 'But he who becomes an ascetic and does not promise safety from injury to all beings, destroys the born and the unborn; and (so does an ascetic) who accepts presents.'3
4. Let him discontinue the performance of all religious ceremonies, but let him never discontinue the recitation of the Veda. By neglecting the Veda he becomes a Sûdra; therefore he shall not neglect it.'4
5 '(To pronounce) the one syllable (Om) is the best (mode of reciting the) Veda, to suppress the breath is the highest (form of) austerity; (to subsist on) alms is better than fasting; compassion is preferable to liberality.'5
6. (Let the ascetic) shave (his head); let him have no property and no home.6
7. Let him beg food at seven houses which he has not selected (beforehand),7
8. (At the time) when the smoke (of the kitchen-fire) has ceased and the pestle lies motionless.8
9. Let him wear a single garment,9
10. Or cover his body with a skin or with grass that has been nibbled at by a cow.
11. Let him sleep on the bare ground.
12. Let him frequently change his residence,10
13. (Dwelling) at the extremity of the village, in a temple, or in an empty house, or at the root of a tree.
14. Let him (constantly) seek in his heart the knowledge (of the universal soul).11
15. (An ascetic) who lives constantly in the forest,
16. Shall not wander about within sight of the village-cattle.
17. 'Freedom from future births is certain for him who constantly dwells in the forest, who has subdued his organs of sensation and action, who has renounced all sensual gratification, whose mind is fixed in meditation on the Supreme Spirit, and who is (wholly) indifferent (to pleasure and pain).'
18. (Let him) not (wear) any visible mark (of his order), nor (follow) any visible rule of conduct.
19. Let him, though not mad, appear like one out of his mind.
20. Now they quote also (the following verses): 'There is no salvation for him who is addicted to12 the pursuit of the science of words, nor for him who rejoices in captivating men, nor for him who is fond of (good) eating and (fine) clothing, nor for him who loves a pleasant dwelling.'
21. 'Neither by (explaining) prodigies and omens, nor by skill in astrology and palmistry, nor by casuistry and expositions (of the Sâstras), let him ever seek to obtain alms.'13
22. 'Let him not be dejected when he obtains nothing, nor glad when he receives something. Let him only seek as much as will sustain life, without caring for household property.'14
23. 'But he, forsooth, knows (the' road to) salvation who cares neither for a hut, nor for water, nor for clothes, nor for the three Pushkaras' (holy tanks), nor for a house, nor for a seat, nor for food.'15
24. In the morning and in the evening he may eat as much (food) as he obtains in the house of one Brâhmana, excepting honey and meat,16
25. And he shall not (eat so much that he is quite) satiated.17
26. At his option (an ascetic) may (also) dwell in a village.
27. Let him not be crooked (in his ways); (let him) not (observe the rules of) impurity on account18 of deaths (or births); let him not have a house; let him be of concentrated mind.
28. Let him not enjoy any object of sensual gratification.
29. Let him be (utterly) indifferent, avoiding to do injury or to show kindness to any living being.
30. To avoid backbiting, jealousy, pride, self-consciousness, unbelief, dishonesty, self-praise, blaming others, deceit, covetousness, delusion, anger, and envy is considered to be the duty of (men of) all orders.19
31. A Brâhmana who wears the sacred thread, who holds in his hand a gourd filled with water, who is pure and avoids the food of Sûdras will not fail (to gain) the world of Brahman.20
Footnotes
1. Manu VI, 39; Yâgñavalkya III, 61.
2. Manu VI, 40.
3. 'The born and the unborn,' i.e. his ancestors who lose heaven, and his descendants who lose their caste.
4. Manu VI, 39.
5. Manu II, 83.
6. Gautama III, 11, 22. The term parigraha, 'home,' includes the wife, the family, attendants, and a house.
7. Vishnu XCVI, 3.
8. Vishnu XCVI, 6; Manu VI, 56.
9. Vishnu XCVI, 13. It is very probable that the single garment mentioned in the Sûtra is, as Krishnapandita thinks, a small strip of cloth to cover the ascetic's nakedness.
10. Vishnu XCVI, 10-12.
11. Manu VI, 43, 65.
12. I read 'ramyâvasathapriyasya,' with the majority of the MSS.
13. Identical with Manu VI, 50.
14. Vishnu XCVI, 4. Identical with Manu VI, 57.
15. There are three Tîrthas called Pushkara; see Professor Jolly's note on Vishnu LXXXV, I.
16. Krishnapandita thinks that this rule is a concession to those ascetics who are unable to subsist on one meal a day, as Manu VI, 55 prescribes.
17. Manu VI, 59. 26. Manu VI, 94-95.
18. The text is here probably corrupt. But I follow Krishnapandita. Several MSS. read asatho, 'he shall not be a rogue,' for asavo, 'he shall not observe the rules of impurity.'
19. Vishnu II, 16-17.
20. Krishnapandita believes that this Sûtra again refers to ascetics. But that is hardly possible, as ascetics are not allowed to wear a sacrificial thread (see above. Sûtra 18). I think that it is meant to emphatically assert that a Brâhmana who is free from the shortcomings enumerated in the preceding Sûtra, and who follows the rule of conduct, will obtain salvation, whether he passes through the order of Samnyâsins or not.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
