CHAPTER VIII.
Virtues and Vices in Relation to Superiors.
LOVE which is unselfishness prompts us to make sacrifices for others, and to restrain ourselves for the common good ; therefore such love is the root of virtues, of the qualities that promote union.
So also HATE prompts us to take from others, to grasp at all desirable things for our own separate enjoyment to the injury of others ; therefore hate is the root of vices, of the qualities that promote separateness.
Moreover, when we make a sacrifice for one we love, we feel happiness in making it, and we thus learn that the deepest happiness, real BLISS , lies in giving, which is the joy of the Jivatma [LEADER/ CINC/ जीवनमुक्त शिक्षक ] , and not in taking, which is the joy of the BODIES (ठग, गुरुगिरि करनेवाले बाबा लोग। ).
Let us see how love impels a man to act in relation to his superiors, to those to whom he looks up. A man's superiors are : God, Sovereign, Parents, Teachers, and the Aged. Love to God shows itself as Reverence, Devotion, Worship and Submission to His Will. We find all lovers of God show these virtues. See how Bhishma reverences and worships Shri Krishna, the Avatara of Vishnu : at the Rajasuya sacrifice of Yudhishthira Bhishma bids thein offer the first arghya to Him, and Narada declares that " He who approveth not the worship offered unto Krishna, the oldest One in the universe, deserveth neither soft words nor consideration. Those men that will not worship Krishna, with eyes like lotus -petals, should be regarded as dead though moving. " *(* Mahdbharatam, Sabha Parva, xxxviii/ महाभारत सभापर्व ) And so also, when Bhishma lay dying, he was thinking "of Krishna in mind, word and act, " and his one thought was to receive His blessing ; he closed the great exhortation with the recital of " the thousand names of Vasudeva," and his last words, ere bidding all farewell, asked Shri Krishna's permission to depart.*(Shanti Parva)
In Parhlada, the son of the Daitya King Hiranyakashipu, we have one of the most famous examples of devotion. Despite all his teachers could say, he steadily prayed to and praised Hari. In vain did his father threaten him and seek to kill him ; the wild elephant who should have trampled on him failed to injure ; the rocks that should have crushed him lay light as down on his bosom ; the sword that should have struck off his head fell blunted from his neck; the poison that should have carried death along his veins proved harmless as water ; and at last Narasimha, the Avatara, burst from the granite pillar, and delivered Hari's servant from the tyrant who sought to slay. * (bhagvat )
Dhruva, leaving his father's palace to flee from the unkindness of his step-mother, shows such fervour of devotion and such courage and steadfastness in worship, that Hari appears to him, and gives him as throne the pole-star, on the boundary of the Triloki, whereon he lives and reigns.
Nothing, perhaps, is more marked in the perfect human character of Ramchandra, than His unwavering submission to the Divine Will. Over and over again during the whirl that followed His sudden exclusion from the throne, He calms those around Him by reminding them that all that happens is by the good law, and He Himself is utterly unshaken by the storm, knowing the Real amid all changing unrealities.
On the other hand, we read constantly of the overthrow of those who do not honour the Supreme Lord. Mighty rulers like Ravana, who was monarch in Lanka, fell because they thought themselves rivals of Ishvara, and set themselves against His loving will for the worlds.* Jarasandha, the King of Magadha, refusing, though bidden by Shri Krishna, to set free the Kings he had captured was slain by Bhima ; **Shishupala fell before the discus of the Lord he denied ; f .Duryodhana perished, with his friends and followers, for his persistent rejection of Shri Krishna's counsels ; the list might be extended for many pages. Out of all these shines out the warning that those who show hate to Ishvara must perish.
Loyalty to the Head of the State is equally insisted on in the Shastras, not only by direct command but by example. When Yudhishthira is King in Indraprastha, and his four brothers go out to war, they bring to his feet all the wealth they gained ; they fought for their King, not for themselves. So when Yudhishthira was exiled after the gambling-match, and the people came out to follow him, leaving their allegiance to Dhritarashtra, the loyal prince bade them return to Hastinapura and obey their proper ruler, since only thus could they secure the general prosperity.
This loyalty was fostered in the people by the devotion to duty imposed on the King, and by the high ideal of kingship insisted on. Utatthya, of the race of Angira, instructing the King Mandhta, son of Yuvanashva, said: " One becometh a King in order that he may uphold righteousness,and not that he may conduct himself capriciously. The King is the protector of the world, Mandhata ! If he act righteously, he attaineth to the honours of a veritable God upon earth. But if he act unrighteously he sinketh into hell. All crea- tures rest upon righteousness ; and righteousness, in turn, resteth upon the King. That King alone is a true King who upholdeth righteousness. If he fail to chastise unrighteousness, the Deva* desert his mansions, and he incurreth obloquy among men." *
Patriotism, the love of one's country, and Public Spirit, caring for the nation more than for oneself, are virtues that are so closely akin to loyalty that they should never be separated from it. " King and Country" are the object of true loyalty. No man should be without this love of country and the readiness to sacrifice himself for his native land ; for national greatness cannot exist without patriotism and public spirit, and national greatness means, in the long run, family and individual prosperity : the whole and the part cannot be separated. Public spirit makes a man feel the successes and the sufferings of his country as though they were his own as indeed they are. It makes him try to protect the weak from injustice, to resist wrong, to uphold the law, to stand for justice, to refuse to make unfair profit at the cost of the community or to cheat it by evading what is due to it from himself. The heroes of ancient India are constantly described as "intent on the welfare of others ;Shri Krishna bids Arjuna see " to the protection of the masses, " to "the maintenance of mankind." *The man who thinks only of himself and of his family is short-sighted, and is really undermining his and their future happiness.
To Parents is due ever the most complete Obedience, and this is one of the most often-repeated injunctions of the Sanatana Dharma. See how Ramachandra, the Great Example, obeys his father. When Dasharatha is inveigled into granting Rama's exile and the son is told by Kaikeyi that His father fears to speak his will : " Speak, honoured lady, the desire of the King," is His quick reply, "and 1 will carry it out. There is no service greater than service of the father, than carrying out his words." And to all arguments counselling resistance, He gives the steadfast answer : " There is no power in me to transgress my father's order I shall abide by my father's orders."* And later, when His father was dead, and Bharata, most unwilling regent, held His crown in trust, all His answer to Bharata's passionate pleadings that He should ascend the throne was that His father had sent Him to the forest, and had placed Bharata on the throne ; each must do his own task, according to the father's word : " What My father hath commanded must not be made untrue."
Again we read in the Mahdbharatam the story of the knower of Brahman, shrouded in the impure body of a fowler (बहेलिया, व्याध ), who led to his parents the Brahmana Kaushika, who came to learn wisdom at his feet. The fowler took the Brahma na to the beautiful rooms in which he had housed his aged parents, saying that his own happy state of knowledge and peace was due to his filial piety ; having bowed low at their feet he introduced his guest and then told him : " These my parents are the idols that I worship ; whatever is due to the Devas I do to them... To me they are like the three sacred fires mentioned by the learned ; and, Brahmana, they seem to me to be as good as sacrifices, or the four Veclas ..The two parents, the sacred fire, the soul, and the guru, these five, good Brahmana,are worthy of the highest reverence." He then told Kaushika that he had acted wrongly in leaving his parents in his anxiety to learn the Vedas, and that he should go back to them and console them : " Return to the side of thy father and mother, and be diligent in honouring thy parents, for I do not know if there be any virtue higher than this."
* Who does not know how Bhlshma won the boon, that Death should not touch him until he himself permitted it, by resigning throne and marriage to win for his father the bride for whom, in silence, the father's heart was yearning ? King Shantanu, of the lunar race of Kings, wished to marry the beautiful Satyavati, but struggled against himself for the sake of his son Bhlshma. A step-mother, he thought, might not be kind to his beloved son. The care born of the struggle showed on King Shantanu's face, and Bhishma made enquiry of the ministers and learned the cause. He went to the father of Satyavati and asked that she be married to the King. The father said : " The King is aged ; thou shalt shortly reign in his stead. I would rather marry my daughter to thee. " But Bhishma replied: " Say not such a thing. When my father has wished to marry her, she is my mother already ; give her to the King."
Then Satyavati's father said : " But I shall do so only if her son succeeds the King in sovereignty." Bhishma said at once : "I promise to forego my birth-right. I shall place that younger brother of mine upon the throne." But Satyavati's father said again : "We know thy word once given may not be broken. But what shall bind thy sons from disputing their uncle's right ?" Then Bhishma said : "I promise never to marry at all ; so there shall be no sons to me who may dispute their uncle's right.Now do thou let my father have his wish."
And because of his fearful promises the Devas cried out with a bodiless voice : "He has been known as Devavrata so long ; he shall now be known as Bhishma the Terrible" terrible surely to himself but most loved and most dear to all true Hindu hearts. King Shantanu too, when he heard that the vows had been already made and could not now be helped, took Satyavati to wife ; but in the fulness of his father's love bestowed on Bhishma the gift of death at his own will alone. Men that prevail over their passions thus, and can conserve their manhood perfectly, may well prevail against the might of death itself, long as they like.*
On the other hand, it was Duryodhana's stubborn insolence and disobedience to his parents that precipitated the war which destroyed his house. Over and over again his father pleaded with him to yield to the just demands of the Pandavas, and give them a share in their ancestral property, but Duryodhana scorned his prayers and persisted in his own way. Even when his mother, Gandhari, begged him in open sabha to obey his father and to regard his duty, he treated her harshly and disrespectfully, and so brought on his head the doom of failure. No son can succeed who grieves his father or mother by disobedience or by disrespect.
The Teacher is added to the Father and Mother by the Sanatana Dharma, as the third great object of reverence and service, and we see this virtue also in the ancient heroes who should serve as examples to all Hindu boys. How deep is the love, how unfailing the reverence, shown by the Pandavas to Bhishma, to Drona, even when compelled to fight against them ; see them bowing at their teacher's feet ere the battle joins on Kurukshetra ;* and when Dhristadyumna seized the white locks of Drona, hear the agonised cry of Arjuna : " Bring the teacher alive ! do not slay him ! he should not be slain ! " and his heart-broken sob when the crime is complete : " I have sunk into hell, overcome with shame."
The only valid reason for disobedience to the Guru is held to lie, in the Sanatana Dharma, in previous promise or clear duty. Bhishma, the ex- ample of dharma, gives a striking illustration of this in his career. After the death of his father Shantanu, Bhishma, in accordance with his vow, placed his younger brother Chitrangada on the throne, and when Chitrangada was slain in battle, then he placed the second brother Vichitravirya on the throne of Hastinapura. Looking for suitable wives for Vichitravirya, Bhishma heard that the three daughters of the King of Kashi were about to hold a Svayamvara, and were in all respects worthy of marriage with his brother. He went to Kashi, and by his sole might in battle carried them off from the midst of the assembled candidates for their hands. When he brought them to Hastinapura the younger two, Ambika and Ambalika, willingly consented to marry Vichitravirya ; but the eldest, Amba, said she wished to marry Shalva, King of another country, having chosen him for husband long before.* Bhishma sent her with all honour to King Shalva ; but he sent her back saying she had been won in battle from him and he could not take her back as a gift. Then Amba said to Bhishma : "If Shalva will not marry me, because you won me from him in battle, then you must marry me yourself."
Bhishma was greatly distressed for her sake, but in view of his vow of lifelong celibacy could not consent. Then Amba was very angry and went to Bhishma's Guru Parashurama ; and Parahurama sided with her and ordered Bhishma to marry Amba . But he declined, deeming the keeping of his vow a higher duty than obedience to his teacher in a wrongful order. And ultimately there was a great battle between Parashurama and Bhishma. For many days the single combat lasted, and many wounds were received by both ; and more than once they fainted with fatigue and loss of blood and shock of serious wound : but reviving again, they renewed the fight, till on the twentyeighth day, the aged Parashurama acknowledged that he could do no more ; and Bhishma won his cause. Yet because however unwillingly, he had brought much sorrow upon Amba, karma decreed that she should prove the means of his death.
Reverence to the Aged fitly closes the list of virtues which should flower when we come into relation wdth our superiors, and it was one of the marked characteristics of the ancient Hindu character. The wisdom which is the fruit of long experience is the precious treasure in possession of the aged, and they willingly pour this forth for the benefit of the teachable, courteous, respectful youth. In the hurry of modern life, this respect for the aged is apt to be trampled under foot, and it is the more necessary that care should be taken to cultivate it.
न युज्यमानया भक्त्या भगवति अखिलात्मनि ।
सदृशोऽस्ति शिवः पन्था योगिनां ब्रह्मसिद्धये ॥ १९ ॥
ज्ञानवैराग्ययुक्तेन भक्तियुक्तेन चात्मना ।
परिपश्यति उदासीनं प्रकृतिं च हतौजसम् ॥ १८ ॥
सतां प्रसङ्गान् मम वीर्यसंविदो
भवन्ति हृत्कर्णरसायनाः कथाः ।
तज्जोषणादाश्वपवर्गवर्त्मनि
श्रद्धा रतिर्भक्तिरनुक्रमिष्यति ॥ २५ ॥
भक्त्या पुमान्जातविराग ऐन्द्रियाद्
दृष्टश्रुतान् मद्रचनानुचिन्तया ।
चित्तस्य यत्तो ग्रहणे योगयुक्तो
यतिष्यते ऋजुभिर्योगमार्गैः ॥ २६ ॥
असेवयायं प्रकृतेर्गुणानां
ज्ञानेन वैराग्यविजृम्भितेन ।
योगेन मय्यर्पितया च भक्त्या
मां प्रत्यगात्मानमिहावरुन्धे ॥ २७ ॥ ***(श्रीमद्भागवतपुराणम्/स्कन्धः ३/अध्यायः २५)
" There is no other path to the attainment of Brahman, so auspicious for yogis, as devotion to- wards the Lord who is the Atma of all.
" With his mind full of wisdom, dispassion and devotion, he seeth Prakriti losing its power and Purusha as stainless.
" Where the good gather, there are heard the stories that give knowledge of My Power, and are as nectar to the ear and heart. Listening to them, he turneth rapidly to the path of Moksha with faith and joy and devotion.
" Turning away with dispassion from sensuous sights and sounds because of devotion to Me, he dwelleth ever in thought on (the mysteries of) My creation, and thus, restraining his mind, essayeth the straight paths of yoga and attaineth union.
" Giving up the service of the attributes of Prakriti, his knowledge and yoga (realisation of Unity) blossoming with (the help of) vairagya, and his devotion offered unto Me, he realiseth Me as the Pratyagatma (the Inmost Self). "
स्वभावमेके कवयो वदन्ति कालं तथान्ये परिमुह्यमानाः।
देवस्यैष महिमा तु लोके येनेदं भ्राम्यते ब्रह्मचक्रम्॥ (श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषद् ६/१)
तमीश्वराणां परमं महेश्वरं तं देवतानां परमं च दैवतम्।
पतिं पतीनां परमं परस्ताद्विदाम देवं भुवनेशमीड्यम्॥ ("६/७ )
न तस्य कार्यं करणं च विद्यते न तत्समश्चाभ्यधिकश्च दृश्यते।
परास्य शक्तिर्विविधैव श्रूयते स्वाभाविकी ज्ञानबलक्रिया (६/८ )
न तस्य कश्चित्पतिरस्ति लोके न चेशिता नैव च तस्य लिङ्गम्।
स कारणं करणाधिपाधिपो न चास्य कश्चिज्जनिता न चाधिपः॥(६/ ९)
एको वशी निष्क्रियाणां बहूनामेकं बीजं बहुधा यः करोति।
तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीरास्तेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषाम्॥ (६/१२ )
नित्यो नित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानामेको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान्।
तत्कारणं सांख्ययोगाधिगम्यं ज्ञात्वा देवं मुच्यते सर्वपाशैः॥ (६/१३ )
" From its own nature, some Sages say, others from time arising (came the universe) ; verily from the majesty of God revolves in this world the Brahma-wheel.
" Him of Ishvaras the supreme and great ishvara, Him of Devas the supreme Divinity, of Lords the Lord, the greatest of the great, God, the adorable Ruler of the worlds, (Him) we know.
" He needeth no instrument nor hath aught to do, nor is there any found who is equal or superior to Him ; His supreme energy is self-dependent and manifold, Wisdom, Power and Activity. None in the world is His lord, nor his ruler, nor His cause ; He is the Cause, the Ruler of the rulers of the senses, of Him there is no source, no sovereign.
" The one Ruler of the many actionless, He maketh manifold the seed ; therefore the wise who perceive Him within themselves, for them is eternal joy, for more others.
"Eternal of Eternals, Intelligence of Intelli- gences, One among many, who f ulfilleth the wishes of all having known that Cause, attained by the Sankhya and the Yoga, (man) is freed from all bonds.
अराजके हि लोकेऽस्मिन् सर्वतो विद्रुतो भयात् ।
रक्षार्थमस्य सर्वस्य राजानमसृजत्प्रभुः ॥ मनुस्मृति ७.३॥
इन्द्रानिलयमार्काणामग्नेश्च वरुणस्य च ।
चन्द्रवित्तेशयोश्चैव मात्रा निर्हृत्य शाश्वतीः ॥ ७.४॥
तस्यार्थे सर्वभूतानां गोप्तारं धर्ममात्मजम् । तदर्थं
ब्रह्मतेजोमयं दण्डमसृजत्पूर्वमीश्वरः ॥ ७.१४॥
दण्डः शास्ति प्रजाः सर्वा दण्ड एवाभिरक्षति ।
दण्डः सुप्तेषु जागर्ति दण्डं धर्मं विदुर्बुधाः ॥ ७.१८॥
तस्याहुः सम्प्रणेतारं राजानं सत्यवादिनम् ।
समीक्ष्यकारिणं प्राज्ञं धर्मकामार्थकोविदम् ॥ ७.२६॥
दण्डो हि सुमहत्तेजो दुर्धरश्चाकृतात्मभिः ।
धर्माद्विचलितं हन्ति नृपमेव सबान्धवम् ॥ ७.२८॥
" For the protection of the whole world God created the King, when the Kingless people were scattered through fear. "(He created the King) out of immortal portions ktaen from Indra, Vayu, Yama, the San, the Fire, Varuna, the Moon and the Lord of wealth.
"For him the Lord created His own son Dharma, the Protector of all beings, as the Danda (Sceptre, or Rod of power) clothed with the Brahma-radiance.
"The Dinda governeth all the people, the Panda alone protecteth ; the Danda waketh while others sleep, the wise know the Danda as Dharma.
"They declare the wielder of Danda to be the King, that speaketh the truth, acteth after deliberation, is wise, and versed in Dharma, Kama and Artha.
"Wielding it righteously, the King increaseth in all three ; but if he be given up to Kama, unjust and mean, then he himself is slain by the Danda.
"A great fire is the Danda, difficult to be borne by those who have not achieved the Self ; it slayeth, together with his family, the King that strayeth from Dharma."
राजा का जन्म
सुकृतस्य क्षयाच्चैव स्वर्लोकादेत्य मेदिनीम् ।
पार्थिवो जायते तात दण्डनीतिविशारदः ॥१३३॥
तात ! पुण्य का क्षय होने पर मनुष्य स्वर्गलोक से पृथ्वी पर आता और दण्डनीति विशारद राजा के रूप में जन्म लेता है ।
देवताओं के द्वारा राजा के पद पर पृथु की स्थापना की गई, तथा दैवी गुणों से वह सम्पन्न था, उसकी आज्ञा का कोई उल्लंघन नहीं करता था । यह सारा जगत् उस एक व्यक्ति राजा के वश में रहता था।
राजा का यथार्थ स्वरूप:
तेन धर्मोत्तरश्चायं कृतो लोको महात्मना ।
रंजिताश्च प्रजाः सर्वास्तेन राजेति शब्दयते ॥
(महाभारत अनुशासन पर्व ५९-१२५)
"By the great- souled King was this world made full of Dharma and all the people were gladdened ; hence is he called the King."
उस महात्मा ने सम्पूर्ण जगत् में धर्म की प्रधानता स्थापित कर दी थी । उन्होंने समस्त प्रजाओं को प्रसन्न (रंजित) किया था, इसलिए वे राजा कहलाये, उनका राजा नाम सार्थक था ।
सच्चे क्षत्रिय
ब्राह्मणानां क्षतत्राणात् ततः क्षत्रिय उच्यते ।
प्रथिता धर्मतश्चेयं पृथिवी बहुभिः स्मृता ॥१२६॥
ब्राह्मणादि को क्षति से बचाने के कारण वे क्षत्रिय कहे जाने लगे । उन्होंने धर्म के द्वारा इस भूमि को प्रथित (विस्तृत) किया और इसकी ख्याति बढ़ाई, इसलिए बहुसंख्य्क मनुष्यों द्वारा पृथ्वी कहलाई ।
राजा प्रजानां हृदयं गरीयो
गतिः प्रतिष्ठा सुखमुत्तमं च।
समाश्रिता लोकमिमं परं च
जयन्ति सम्यक्पुरुषा नरेन्द्र।।
नराधिपश्चाप्यनुशिष्य मेदिनीं
दमेन सत्येन च सौहृदेन।
महद्भिरिष्ट्वा क्रतुभिर्महायशा
स्त्रिविष्टपे स्थानमुपैति शाश्वतम्।।
(महाभारतम्-12-शांतिपर्व-067)
"The King is the inmost heart of his people, lie is their refuge, their honour, and their highest happiness ; relying on him, they conquer righteously this world and the next.
"The King also, having governed the earth with selfcontrol, with truth, and with the heart of compassion, having sacrificed with many sacrifices, attaineth to fair fame and everlasting seat in Svarga."
उपाध्यायान् दशाचार्य आचार्याणां शतं पिता ।
सहस्रं तु पितॄन् माता गौरवेणातिरिच्यते ॥ मनु २.१४५॥
"Ten Upadhyayas doth the Acharya exceed A and a hundred Acharyas the Father ; but the Mother exceedeth even a thousand Fathers in the right to be honored."
(पिता -माता -गुरु -अतितिथियो जिनि माथार मणि !)
आचार्यश्च पिता चैव माता भ्राता च पूर्वजः ।
नार्तेनाप्यवमन्तव्या ब्राह्मणेन विशेषतः ॥ मनु २.२२५॥
तेषां त्रयाणां शुश्रूषा परमं तप उच्यते ।
न तैरनभ्यनुज्ञातो धर्ममन्यं समाचरेत् ॥ २.२२९॥
त एव हि त्रयो लोकास्त एव त्रय आश्रमाः ।
त एव हि त्रयो वेदास्त एवौक्तास्त्रयोऽग्नयः ॥ २.२३०॥
सर्वे तस्यादृता धर्मा यस्यैते त्रय आदृताः ।
अनादृतास्तु यस्यैते सर्वास्तस्याफलाः क्रियाः ॥ मनु २.२३४॥
"The Teacher, the Father, the Mother, and "an elder Brother" [C-IN-C' Navani Da ] must not be treated with disrespect, especially by a Brahmana, though one be grievously offended (by them).
"The service of these three is declared to bethe best austerity.
"For they are declared to be the three worlds, the three orders, the three Vedas, they the three sacred fires
"All duties have been fulfilled by him who honours these three ; but to him who honours them not, all rites remain fruitless."
ऊर्ध्वं प्राणा ह्युत्क्रमन्ति यूनः स्थविर आयति ।
प्रत्युत्थानाभिवादाभ्यां पुनस्तान् प्रतिपद्यते ॥ मनु २.१२०॥
अभिवादनशीलस्य नित्यं वृद्धोपसेविनः ।
चत्वारि तस्य वर्धन्ते आयुर्धर्मो यशो बलम् ॥ मनु २.१२१॥
"The vital airs of a young man mount upwards to leave his body when an elder approaches ; but by rising to meet him and saluting, he recovers them.
"He, who habitually salutes and constantly pays reverence to the aged, obtains an increase of four things : length of life, knowledge, fame and strength.
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