CODE OF CONDUCT IN GENERAL

• CODE OF CONDUCT, IN GENERAL
• Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune. (CNS: 11.1).
• He is a true friend who does not forsake us in time of need, misfortune, famine, or war, in a king's court, or at the crematorium (smasana). (CNS: 1.12).
• Even from poison extract nectar, wash and take back gold if it has fallen in filth, receive the highest knowledge from a low born person; so also a girl possessing virtuous qualities (stri-ratna) even if she be born in a disreputable family. (CNS: 1.16).
• Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of poison with milk on top. (CNS: 2.5). Do not put your trust in a bad companion nor even trust an ordinary friend, for if he should get angry with you, he may bring all your secrets to light. (CNS:2.6)
• Separation from the wife, disgrace from one's own people, an enemy saved in battle, service to a wicked king, poverty, and a mismanaged assembly: these six kinds of evils, if afflicting a person, burn him even without fire. (CNS: 2.14).
• He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined. (CNS: 2.19).
• Friendship between equals flourishes, service under a king is respectable, it is good to be business-minded in public dealings, and a handsome lady is safe in her own home. (CNS: 2.20).
• In this world, whose family is there without blemish? Who is free from sickness and grief? Who is forever happy? (CNS: 3.1).(Obviously ,none).
• A man's descent may be discerned by his conduct, his country by his pronunciation of language, his friendship by his warmth and glow, and his capacity to eat by his body. (CNS: 3.2).
• What is too heavy for the strong and what place is too distant for those who put forth effort? What country is foreign to a man of true learning? Who can be inimical to one who speaks pleasingly? (CNS: 3.13). (Obviously, none).
• Residing in a small village devoid of proper living facilities, serving a person born of a low family, unwholesome food, a frowning wife, a foolish son, and a widowed daughter burn the body without fire. (CNS 4.8).
• The house of a childless person is a void, all directions are void to one who has no relatives, the heart of a fool is also void, but to a poverty stricken man all is void. (CNS: 4.14).
• Scriptural lessons not put into practice are poison; a meal is poison to him who suffers from indigestion; a social gathering is poison to a poverty stricken person; and a young wife is poison to an aged man. (CNS: 4.15).
• That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection. (CNS: 4.16).
• Constant travel brings old age upon a man; a horse becomes old by being constantly tied up; lack of sexual contact with her husband brings old age upon a woman. (CNS: 4.17).
• Consider again and again the following: the right time, the right friends, the right place, the right means of income, the right ways of spending, and (right person) from whom you derive your power. (CNS: 4.18).
• Agni is the worshipable person for the twice-born; the brahmana for the other castes; the husband for the wife; and the guest who comes for food at the midday meal for all. (CNS: 5.1).
• As gold is tested in four ways by rubbing, cutting, heating and beating -- so a man should be tested by these four things: his renunciation, his conduct, his qualities and his actions. (CNS: 5.2).
• A thing may be dreaded as long as it has not overtaken you, but once it has come upon you, try to get rid of it without hesitation. (CNS: 5.3).
• He whose hands are clean does not like to hold an office; he who desires nothing cares not for bodily decorations; he who is only partially educated cannot speak agreeably; and he who speaks out plainly cannot be a deceiver. (CNS: 5.5).
• Charity puts an end to poverty; righteous conduct to misery; discretion to ignorance; and scrutiny to fear. (CNS: 5.11).
• There is no disease (so destructive) as lust; no enemy like infatuation; no fire like wrath; and no happiness like spiritual knowledge. (CNS: 5.12).
• Rain which falls upon the sea is useless; so is food for one who is satiated; in vain is a gift for one who is wealthy; and a burning lamp during the daytime is useless. (CNS: 5.16).
• Time perfects all living beings as well as kills them; it alone is awake when all others are asleep. Time is insurmountable. (CNS: 6.7).
• A man who encounters the following three is unfortunate; the death of his wife in his old age, the entrusting of money into the hands of relatives, and depending upon others for food. (CNS: 8.9).
• He who neither rouses fear by his anger, nor confers a favour when he is pleased can neither control nor protect. What can he do? (CNS: 9.9).(Obviously, nothing).
• The serpent may, without being poisonous, raise high its hood, but the show of terror is enough to frighten people -- whether he be venomous or not. (CNS: 9.10).
• Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities. (CNS: 11.1).
• The elephant has a huge body but is controlled by the ankusha (goad): yet, is the goad as large as the elephant? A lighted candle banishes darkness: is the candle as vast as the darkness? A mountain is broken even by a thunderbolt: is the thunderbolt therefore as big as the mountain? No, he whose power prevails is really mighty; what is there in bulk? (CNS: 11.3).
• The man who remains a fool even in advanced age is really a fool, just as the Indra-Varuna fruit does not become sweet no matter how ripe it might become. (CNS: 12.23).
• There are three gems upon this earth; food, water, and pleasing words -- fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems. (CNS: 13.21).
  v Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one's own sins. (CNS: 14.1).
• If a man should feel before, as he feels after, repentance -- then who would not attain perfection? (CNS: 14.6).
• We should always speak what would please the man of whom we expect a favour, like the hunter who sings sweetly when he desires to shoot a deer. (CNS: 14.9).
• He is a pandit (man of knowledge) who speaks what is suitable to the occasion, who renders loving service according to his ability, and who knows the limits of his anger. (CNS:14.14).
• A bad action committed by a great man is not censured (as there is none that can reproach him), and a good action performed by a low-class man comes to be condemned (because none respects him). Just see: the drinking of nectar is excellent, but it became the cause of Rahu's demise; and the drinking of poison is harmful, but when Lord Shiva (who is exalted) drank it, it became an ornament to his neck (nila-kanta). (CNS: 15.7).
• Love which is shown to others is true love not that which is cherished for one's own self. To abstain from sin is true wisdom. That is an act of charity which is performed without ostentation. (CNS: 15.8).
• For want of discernment the most precious jewels lie in the dust at the feet of men while bits of glass are worn on their heads. But we should not imagine that the gems have sunk in value, and the bits of glass have risen in importance. When a person of critical judgement shall appear, each will be given its right position. (CNS: 15.9).
• There are many ways of binding by which one can be dominated and controlled in this world, but the bond of affection is the strongest. For example, take the case of the humble bee which, although expert at piercing hardened wood, becomes caught in the embrace of its beloved flowers (as the petals close at dusk). (CNS: 15.17).
• Although sandalwood, when cut, does not forsake its natural quality of fragrance; so also the elephant does not give up sportiveness though he should grow old. The sugarcane does not cease to be sweet though squeezed in a mill; so the man of noble extraction does not lose his lofty qualities, no matter how pinched he is by poverty. (CNS: 15.18).
• A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because he sits on the top of a tall building. (CNS: 16.6).
• The man who is praised by others as great is regarded as worthy, though he may be really void of all merit. But the man who sings his own praises lowers himself in the estimation of others though he should be Indra (the possessor of all excellences). (CNS: 16.8).
• If good qualities should characterise a man of discrimination, the brilliance of his qualities will be recognised just as a gem which is essentially bright really shines when fixed in an ornament of gold. (CNS: 16.9).
• Even one who by his qualities appears to be all knowing suffers without patronage; the gem, though precious, requires a gold setting. (CNS: 16.10).
• All charities and sacrifices (performed for fruitive gain) bring only temporary results, but gifts made to deserving persons and protection offered to all creatures shall never perish. (CNS: 16.14).
• It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment's grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one's life. (CNS: 16.16).All the creatures are pleased by loving words; and therefore we should address words that are pleasing to all, for there is no lack of sweet words. (CNS: 16.17).
• O ketki flower! Serpents live in your midst, you bear no edible fruits, your leaves are covered with thorns, you are crooked in growth, you thrive in mud, and you are not easily accessible. Still for your exceptional fragrance you are as dear as a kinsmen to others. Hence, a single excellence overcomes a multitude of blemishes. (CNS:17.21).
• Oil on water, a secret communicated to a base man, a gift given to a worthy receiver, and scriptural instruction given to an intelligent man spread out by virtue of their nature. (CNS: 14.4).
  The importance of these verses incorporating many weighty gems of wit and wisdom is self-evident. For example, maxims like "A man is great by deeds, not by birth", "Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness," "Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous" are worth serious contemplation in the present Kaliyuga.

Ved Prakash

February 5,09

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