On Vedic Lore , Saintly Men and Spiritual Merit

ON VEDIC LORE And ON SAINTLY MEN AND SPIRITUAL MERIT

• VEDIC LORE
• Do not stay for a single day where there are not these five persons: a wealthy man, a brahmana well-versed in Vedic lore, a king, a river and a physician. (CNS:1.9)
• Let not a single day pass without your learning a verse, half a verse, or a fourth of it, or even one letter of it; nor without attending to charity, study and other pious activity. (CNS 2.13).
• Those who blaspheme Vedic wisdom, who ridicule the life style recommended in the sastras (scriptures), and who deride men of peaceful temperament, come to grief unnecessarily. CNS: 5.10).
• Chanting of the Vedas without making ritualistic sacrifices to the Supreme Lord through the medium of Agni, and sacrifices not followed by bountiful gifts are futile. Perfection can be achieved only through devotion, for devotion is the basis of all success. (CNS: 8.10).
  Of those who have studied the Vedas for material rewards…what potency have they? They are just like serpents without fangs. ( CNS: 9.8)
• The house in which the lotus feet of brahmanas are not washed, in which Vedic mantras are not loudly recited, and in which the holy rites of svaha (sacrificial offerings to the Supreme Lord) is like a crematorium.( CNS: 2.10).
• One may know the four Vedas and the Dharma-sastras, yet if he has no realisation of his own spiritual self, he can be said to be like the ladle which stirs all kinds of foods but knows not the taste of any (CNS:5.12).
• We don’t find anything amiss here, except that the very few among us care to imbibe these ethical values relating to Vedas and many don’t care to learn even a half Vedic verse or even one letter of it, not to speak of daily, but probably for longer period. Thus, the study of Vedas in the present times is a neglected area. Probably, there is need for further reinforcement by the learned people in this niche area.
  
• ON SAINTLY MEN/SPIRITUAL MERIT
• There does not exist a ruby in every mountain, nor a pearl in the head of every elephant; neither are the sadhus to be found everywhere, nor sandal trees in every forest. (CNS: 2.9).
• One should save his money against hard times, save his wife at the sacrifice of his riches, but invariably one should save his soul even at the sacrifice of his wife and riches.
• CNS:1.6).
• He, who gives up what is imperishable for that which perishable, loses both, that which is imperishable and doubtlessly loses that which is perishable also. (CNS:1.13)
• To have ability for eating when dishes are ready at hand, to be robust and virile in the company of one's religiously wedded wife, and to have a mind for making charity when one is prosperous are the fruits of no ordinary austerities.NS:2.2).
• At the time of the pralaya (universal destruction) the oceans are to exceed their limits and seek to change, but a saintly man never changes. (CNS: 3.6).
• The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly person in his scholarship, and that of an ascetic in his forgiveness. (CNS: 3.9).
• There is no poverty for the industrious. Sin does not attach itself to the person practicing japa (chanting of the holy names of the Lord). Those who are absorbed in maunam (silent contemplation of the Lord) have no quarrel with others. They are fearless who remain always alert. (CNS: 3.11).
• He who has not acquired one of the following: religious merit (dharma), wealth (artha), satisfaction of desires (kama), or liberation (moksa) is repeatedly born to die. (CNS: 3.20).
  v Offspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord: yet those who follow him bring merit to their families through their devotion. (CNS:4.2)
• Fish, tortoises, and birds bring up their young by means of sight, attention and touch; so do saintly men afford protection to their associates by the same means. (CNS:4.3)
  v As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do? (CNS: 4.4).
• Religious austerities should be practised alone, study by two, and singing by three. A journey should be undertaken by four, agriculture by five, and war by many together (CNS: 4.12).
• For the twice-born the fire (Agni) is a representative of God. The Supreme Lord resides in the heart of His devotees. Those of average intelligence (alpa-buddhi or kanista-adhikari) see God only in His sri-murti, but those of broad vision see the Supreme Lord everywhere. (CNS: 4.19).
• A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode. (CNS: 5.13).
• Heaven is but a straw to him who knows spiritual life; so is life to a valiant man; a woman to him who has subdued his senses; and the universe to him who is without attachment for the world. (CNS: 5.14).
• The poor wish for wealth; animals for the faculty of speech; men wish for heaven; and godly persons for liberation. (CNS: 5.18).
• The earth is supported by the power of truth; it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow; indeed all things rest upon truth. (CNS: 5.19).
• The Goddess of wealth is unsteady (chanchala), and so is the life breath. The duration of life is uncertain, and the place of habitation is uncertain; but in all this inconsistent world religious merit alone is immovable. (CNS: 5.20).
• By means of hearing one understands dharma, malignity vanishes, knowledge is acquired, and liberation from material bondage is gained. (CNS: 6.1).
• Those born blind cannot see; similarly blind are those in the grip of lust. Proud men have no perception of evil; and those bent on acquiring riches see no sin in their actions. (CN 6.8). The spirit soul goes through his own course of karma and he himself suffers the good and bad results thereby accrued. By his own actions he entangles himself in samsara, and by his own efforts he extricates himself. (CNS: 6.9).
• The following four characteristics of the denizens of heaven may be seen in the residents of this earth planet; charity, sweet words, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and satisfying the needs of brahmanas. (CNS: 7.16).
• The following (five) qualities of the denizens of hell may characterise men on earth; extreme wrath, harsh speech, enmity with one's relations, the company with the base, and service to men of low extraction. (CNS:7.17).
• As you seek fragrance in a flower, oil in the sesamum seed, fire in wood, ghee in milk, and jaggery (guda) in sugarcane; so seek the spirit that is in the body by means of discrimination. (CNS: 7.21).
• My dear child, if you desire to be free from the cycle of birth and death, then abandon the objects of sense gratification as poison. Drink instead the nectar of forbearance, upright conduct, mercy, cleanliness and truth. (CNS: 9.1).
• We should speak only those words which have the sanction of the sastras; and do that act which we have carefully considered. (CNS: 10.2).
• He who desires sense gratification must give up all thoughts of acquiring knowledge; and he who seeks knowledge must not hope for sense gratification. How can he who seeks sense gratification acquire knowledge, and he who possesses knowledge enjoy mundane sense pleasure? (CNS:10.3)
• What good can the scriptures do to a man who has no sense of his own? Of what use is as mirror to a blind man? (CNS: 10.9).( Obviously, none).
• (Through the night) a great many kinds of birds perch on a tree but in the morning they fly in all the ten directions. Why should we lament for that? (Similarly, we should not grieve when we must inevitably part company from our dear ones). (CNS: 10.15).
• (It is said that a sadhu, when asked about his family, replied thus): truth is my mother, and my father is spiritual knowledge; righteous conduct is my brother, and mercy is my friend, inner peace is my wife, and forgiveness is my son: these six are my kinsmen. (CNS: 12.11).
• Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all permanent and death is always nearby. Therefore, we must immediately engage in acts of merit. (CNS: 12.12).
• He who regards another's wife as his mother, the wealth that does not belong to him as a lump of mud, and the pleasure and pain of all other living beings as his own -- truly sees things in the right perspective, and he is a true pandit (learned person). (CNS: 12.14).
• "Raghava, the love of virtue, pleasing speech, and an ardent desire for performing acts of charity, guileless dealings with friends, humility in the guru's presence, deep tranquility of mind, pure conduct, discernment of virtues, realised knowledge of the sastras, beauty of form and devotion to God, are all found in you." (The great sage Vasistha Muni, the spiritual preceptor of Lord Ramachandra said this at the time of His proposed coronation). (CNS: 12.15). "The desire tree is wood; the golden Mount Meru is motionless; the wish-fulfilling gem cintamani is just a stone; the sun is scorching; the moon is prone to wane; the boundless ocean is saline; the demigod of lust lost his body (due to Shiva's wrath); Bali Maharaja, the son of Diti, was born into a clan of demons; and Kamadhenu (the cow of heaven) is a mere beast. O Lord of the Raghu dynasty! I cannot compare you to any one of these (taking their merits into account)." (CNS: 12.16).
• A man may live but for a moment, but that moment should be spent in doing auspicious deeds. It is useless living even for a kalpa (4,320,000 *1000 years) and bringing only distress upon the two worlds (this world and the next). (CNS: 13.1).
• I consider him, who does not act religiously, as dead though living, but he who dies acting religiously unquestionably lives long though he is dead. (CNS: 13.9).
• He who has acquired neither virtue, wealth, satisfaction of desires nor salvation (dharma, artha, kama, moksa), lives an utterly useless life, like the "nipples" hanging from the neck of a goat. (CNS: 13.10).
• Excessive attachment to sense pleasures leads to bondage, and detachment from sense pleasures leads to liberation; therefore, it is the mind alone that is responsible for bondage or liberation.(CNS:13.12).
• He, who sheds bodily identification by means of knowledge of the indwelling Supreme Self (Paramatma), will always be absorbed in meditative trance (samadhi), wherever his mind leads him. (CNS: 13.13).
• As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him. (CNS: 13.15).
• Men reap the fruits of their deeds, and intellects bear the mark of deeds performed in previous lives; even so the wise act after due circumspection. (CNS: 13.18).
• At the end of the yuga, Mount Meru may be shaken; at the end of the kalpa, the waters of the seven oceans may be disturbed; but a sadhu will never swerve from the spiritual path. (CNS: 13.20).
• We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality, for the world is full of the rarest gems. (CNS: 14.7).
• He should be considered to be living, who is virtuous and pious, but the life of a man who is destitute of religion and virtues is void of any blessing. (CNS: 14.12).
• If you wish to gain control of the world by the performance of a single deed, then keep the following fifteen, which are prone to wander here and there, from getting the upper hand of you: the five sense objects (objects of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch); the five sense organs (ears, eyes, nose, tongue and skin) and the (five) organs of activity (hands, legs, mouth, genitals and anus). (CNS: 14.13).
• Sastric knowledge is unlimited, and the arts to be learned are many; the time we have is short, and our opportunities to learn are beset with obstacles. Therefore. select for learning that which is most important, just as the swan drinks only the milk in water. (CNS:15.10)
  v There are two nectarean fruits hanging from the tree of this world: one is the hearing of sweet words and the other, the society of saintly men. (CNS: 16.18).
• The good habits of charity, learning and austerity practised during many past lives continue to be cultivated in this birth by virtue of the link (yoga) of this present life to the previous ones. (CNS: 16.19).
• That thing which is distant, that thing which appears impossible, and that which is far beyond our reach, can be easily attained through tapasya (religious austerity), for nothing can surpass austerity. (CNS: 17.3).
• What vice could be worse than covetousness? What is more sinful than slander? For one who is truthful, what need is there for austerity? For one who has a clean heart, what is the need for pilgrimage? If one has a good disposition, what other virtue is needed? If a man has fame, what is the value of other ornamentation? What need is there for wealth for the man of practical knowledge? And if a man is dishonoured, what could there be worse in death? (CNS: 17.4).
• One gains nothing without having given in the past. (CNS: 17.5).
• When a man has no strength left in him he becomes a sadhu, one without wealth acts like a brahmacari, a sick man behaves like a devotee of the Lord, and when a woman grows old she becomes devoted to her husband. (CNS: 17.6).
• He who nurtures benevolence for all creatures within his heart overcomes all difficulties and will be the recipient of all types of riches at every step. (CNS: 17.15).
• Probably, all these are vedic ethical values, which learned Chanakya culled out of various sastras for us, are generally not being followed, resulting in degradation of moral values all around.

Ved Prakash

Feebruary 5, 2009

www.ethicalvaluesinvedas.blogspot.com