Shaunaka’s discourse
When Yudhishthira was thus despaired for not being able to provide for the Brahmins who follow him because he had lost all his wealth, a learned Brahmana, Shaunaka by name, versed in self-knowledge and skilled in the Sankhya system of yoga, addressed the king, saying:
“Day after day, causes of grief by thousands and causes of fear by hundreds overwhelm the ignorant, but not the wise. Surely, sensible men like you never suffer themselves to be deluded by acts that are opposed to true knowledge, fraught with every kind of evil, and destructive of salvation. O king! In you dwells that understanding, which is said to be capable of providing against all evils and which results from a study of the Shruti and scriptures! Men like you are never stupefied, on the accession of poverty or an affliction overtaking their friends, through bodily or mental uneasiness! Listen, I shall tell the verses which were chanted of old by the illustrious Janaka on the subject of controlling the self!
This world is afflicted with both bodily and mental suffering. Listen now to the means of allaying it. Disease, contact with painful things, toil and want of objects desired – these are the four causes that induce bodily suffering. Disease may be allayed by the application of medicine, while mental ailments are cured by seeking to forget them through yoga and meditation. For this reason, sensible physicians first seek to allay the mental sufferings of their patients by agreeable converse and the offer of desirable objects. As a hot iron bar thrust into a jar makes the water therein hot, so does mental grief bring on bodily agony. As water quenches fire, so does true knowledge allay mental disquietude. The mind attaining ease, the body finds ease also.
It seems that attachment is the root of all mental sorrow. It is attachment that makes every creature miserable and brings on every kind of woe. Verily attachment is the root of all misery and of all fear, of joy and grief of every kind of pain. From attachment spring all purposes, and it is from attachment that spring the love of worldly goods! Both of these are sources of evil, though the first is worse than the second.
As fire thrust into the hollow of a tree consumes the tree itself to its roots, attachment, even a little of it, destroys both virtue and profit. He cannot be regarded to have renounced the world who has merely withdrawn from worldly possessions. However, the one who, though in actual contact with the world, regards its faults may be said to have truly renounced the world. Freed from every evil passion, the person with a soul dependent on nothing has truly renounced the world. Therefore, no one should seek to place his attachment on either friends or the wealth he has earned. So should attachment for one's own person be extinguished by knowledge. Like the lotus-leaf that is never drenched by water, the souls of men capable of distinguishing between the ephemeral and the everlasting, of men devoted to the pursuit of the eternal, conversant with the scriptures and purified by knowledge, can never be moved by attachment. The man that is influenced by attachment is tortured by desire; and from the desire that springs up in his heart his thirst for worldly possessions increases.
Verily, this thirst is sinful and is regarded as the source of all anxieties. It is this terrible thirst, fraught with sin that leads unto unrighteous acts. Those who can renounce this thirst find happiness, which can never be renounced by the wicked, which does not decay with the decay of the body, and which is truly a fatal disease! It has neither beginning nor end. Dwelling within the heart, it destroys creatures, like a fire of incorporeal origin. As a faggot of wood is consumed by the fire that is fed by itself, a person of impure soul finds destruction from the covetousness born of his heart. As creatures endued with life dread death, so men of wealth are in constant apprehension of the king and the thief, of water and fire and even of their relatives. As a morsel of meat, if in air, may be devoured by birds; if on ground by beasts of prey; and if in water by the fish; so is a wealthy man exposed to dangers wherever he may be. To many, the wealth they own is their bane, and the one who finds happiness in wealth becomes wedded to it, knows not true happiness. Hence accession of wealth is viewed as that which increases covetousness and folly. Wealth alone is the root of niggardliness and boastfulness, pride and fear and anxiety!
These are the miseries of men that the wise see in riches! Men undergo infinite miseries in the acquisition and retention of wealth. Its expenditure also is fraught with grief. Nay, sometimes, life itself is lost for the sake of wealth! The abandonment of wealth produces misery, and even those who are cherished by one's wealth become enemies for the sake of that wealth! When, therefore, the possession of wealth is fraught with such misery, one should not mind its loss.
It is the ignorant alone who are discontented. The wise, however, are always content. The thirst of wealth can never be assuaged. Contentment is the highest happiness; therefore, the wise regard contentment as the highest object of pursuit. The wise, knowing the instability of youth and beauty, of life and treasure-hoards, of prosperity and the company of the loved ones, never covet them. Therefore, one should refrain from the acquisition of wealth, bearing the pain incident to it. None that is rich is free from trouble, and it is for this that the virtuous applaud those who are free from the desire of wealth. As regards those that pursue wealth for purposes of virtue, it is better for them to refrain altogether from such pursuit, for, surely, it is better not to touch mire at all than to wash it off after having been besmeared with it. O Yudhishthira! It beholds you not to covet anything! If you would have virtue, emancipate yourself from desire of worldly possessions!”
Yudhishthira said:
“O Brahmana! This my desire of wealth is not for enjoying it when obtained. It is only for the support of the Brahmanas that I desire it and not because I am actuated by avarice! For what purpose does one like us lead a domestic life, if he cannot cherish and support those that follow him? All creatures are seen to divide the food amongst those that depend on them. So a person leading a domestic life should give a share of his food to Yatis and Brahmacharis who have renounced cooking for themselves. The houses of the good men can never be in want of grass for seat, space for rest, water to wash and assuage thirst, and fourthly, sweet words. To the weary a bed, to one fatigued with standing, a seat, to the thirsty, water, and to the hungry, food should ever be given. To a guest are due pleasant looks and a cheerful heart and sweet words. The host, rising up, should advance towards the guest, offer him a seat, and duly worship him. Even this is eternal morality. They that perform not the Agnihotra, not wait upon cattle, nor cherish their kinsmen and guests and friends and sons and wives and servants, are consumed with sin for such neglect. None should cook his food for himself alone and none should slay an animal without dedicating it to the Gods, the Pitris, and guests. Nor should one eat of that food which has not been duly dedicated to the gods and Pitris. By scattering food on the earth, morning and evening, for dogs and Chandalas and birds, should a person perform the Vaishvadeva sacrifice. He that eats the Vighasa, is regarded as eating Amrita. What remains in a sacrifice after dedication to the gods and the Pitris is regarded as Amrita; and what remains after feeding the guest is called Vighasa and is equivalent to Amrita itself. Feeding a guest is equivalent to a sacrifice, and the pleasant looks the host castes upon the guest, the attention he devotes to him, the sweet words in which he addresses him, the respect he pays by following him, and the food and drink with which he treats him, are the five Dakshinas in that sacrifice. He who gives without stint food to a fatigued wayfarer never seen before, obtains merit that is great, and he who leading a domestic life, follows such practices, acquires religious merit that is said to be very great. O Brahmana! What is your opinion on this?”
Shaunaka said:
“Alas! This world is full of contradictions! That which shames the good, gratifies the wicked! Moved by ignorance, passion and slaves of their own senses, even fools perform many acts to gratify their after-life appetites! With eyes open are these men led astray by their seducing senses, even as a charioteer, who has lost his senses, by restive and wicked steeds! When any of the six senses finds its particular object, the desire springs up in the heart to enjoy that particular object. Thus when one's heart proceeds to enjoy the objects of any particular sense, a wish is entertained which in turn gives birth to a resolve. Finally, like unto an insect falling into a flame from love of light, the man falls into the fire of temptation, pierced by the shafts of the object of enjoyment discharged by the desire constituting the seed of the resolve! Blinded by sensual pleasure which he seeks without stint, and steeped in dark ignorance and folly which he mistakes for a state of happiness, he does not know himself! Like unto a wheel that is incessantly rolling, every creature, from ignorance and deed and desire, falls into various states in this world, wandering from one birth to another, and ranges the entire circle of existences from a Brahma to the point of a blade of grass, now in water, now on land, and now against in the air!
This then is the career of those that are without knowledge. Listen now to the course of the wise who are intent on profitable virtue, and are desirous of emancipation! The Vedas enjoin act but renounce interest in action. Therefore, you should act, renouncing Abhimana. Performance of sacrifices, study of the Vedas, gifts, penance, truth in both speech and act, forgiveness, subduing the senses, and renunciation of desire – these have been declared to be the eight cardinal duties constituting the true path. Of these, the first four pave the way to the world of the Pitris. These should be practised without Abhimana. The four last are always observed by the pious, to attain the heaven of the Gods. The pure in spirit should ever follow these eight paths. Those who wish to subdue the world for purpose of salvation, should ever act fully renouncing motives, effectually subduing their senses, rigidly observing particular vows, devotedly serving their preceptors, austerely regulating their fare, diligently studying the Vedas, renouncing action as mean and restraining their hearts. By renouncing desire and aversion, the gods have attained prosperity. It is by virtue of their wealth of yoga that the Rudras, and the Sadhyas, and the Adityas and the Vasus, and the twin Ashvins, rule the creatures. Therefore, like unto them, entirely refraining from action with motive, you strive to attain success in yoga and by ascetic austerities. You have already achieved such success so far as your debts to your ancestors, and success derived from sacrifices. For serving the regenerate Brahmins you endeavour to attain success in penances. Those that are crowned with ascetic success, can, by virtue of that success, do whatever they list; therefore, you realize all your wishes by practising asceticism.”
