Chanakya Neeti

[vadapav]

8. One indeed becomes blessed by having darshan of a devotee; for the
devotee has the ability to purify immediately, whereas the sacred tirtha
gives purity only after prolonged contact.

[vadapav]

9. A stranger asked a brahmana, "Tell me, who is great in this city?" The
brahmana replied, "The cluster of palmyra trees is great." Then the
traveller asked, "Who is the most charitable person?" The brahmana
answered, "The washerman who takes the clothes in the morning and
gives them back in the evening is the most charitable." He then asked,
"Who is the ablest man?" The brahmana answered, "Everyone is expert
in robbing others of their wives and wealth." The man then asked the
brahmana, "How do you manage to live in such a city?" The brahmana
replied, "As a worm survives while even in a filthy place so do I
survive here!"

[vadapav]

10. 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) and swadha
(offerings to the ancestors) are not performed, is like a crematorium.

[vadapav]

11. (It is said that a sadhu, when asked about his family, replied thusly):
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.

[vadapav]

12. Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all permanent and death is
always nearby. Therefore we must immediately engage in acts of merit.

[vadapav]

13. Arjuna says to Krishna. "Brahmanas find joy in going to feasts, cows
find joy in eating their tender grass, wives find joy in the company of
their husbands, and know, O Krishna, that in the same way I rejoice in
battle.

[vadapav]

14. 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.

[vadapav]

15. O 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 tranquillity 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 the dynasty of the sun, said
this to Lord Ramachandra at the time of His proposed coronation).

[vadapav]

16. 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).

[vadapav]

17. Realised learning (vidya) is our friend while travelling , the wife is a
friend at home, medicine is the friend of a sick man, and meritorious
deeds are the friends at death.

[vadapav]

18. Courtesy should be learned from princes, the art of conversation from
pandits, lying should be learned from gamblers and deceitful ways
should be learned from women.

[vadapav]

19. The unthinking spender, the homeless urchin (|e@p`|ob#), the quarrel
monger (x#[@o@]#), the man who neglects his wife and is heedless in
his actions -- all these will soon come to ruination.

[vadapav]

20. The wise man should not be anxious about his food; he should be
anxious to be engaged only in dharma (Krishna consciousness). the
food of each man is created for him at his birth.

[vadapav]

22. As centesimal droppings will fill a pot so also are knowledge, virtue
and wealth gradually obtained.

[vadapav]

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN