On being asked by Gopalanand Swami, Dharmamrut of Panchvartman of Sadhu as described by Shri Hari.
On being asked by Gopalanand Swami, Dharmamrut of Panchvartman of Sadhu as described by Shri Hari.
Suvrat said:-
‘O king, thus one day, after performing the daily rituals and bowing with respect to Sri Hari who was sitting comfortably on his seat, Gopalanand asked him, the ocean of generosity. 1.
Gopalanand asked:-
‘O master (swami), I wish to ask about the religion of the saints in detail, who have scarified everything and come to your shelter. 2.
Suvrat said:- ‘O king, thus when Gopalanand asked about the religion of saints, the Lord, being very pleased with him, began to tell - 3.
Sri Narayanmuni said:-
‘O sage, you have asked about the religion of saints who come to me; I tell you now about their religion according to their traditions, please listen. 4.
The utmost important religion of the ones who have sacrificed everything is to devote whole-heartedly to Lord Krishna. They should behave always as possessing full knowledge, knowing the greatness of Lord. 5.
In this devotion of oneness, there are the defects of nonreligious things like hypocrisy. Saints should overcome these defects by knowledge and detaching from greediness. 6.
Among them, there are five defects that should essentially be overcome. If these are won all others will surely be overcome. 7.
Greed, lust, enjoying taste, friendship and honor are those five defects. These are the inner enemies of a man and very difficult to conquer even by a learned man. 8.
All these defects should be won over by continuous striving, consciously and cautiously by those who wish to be emancipated. 9.
These five defects are connected to each other and are seen differently. How to overcome these defects using different means is essential to know. I’ll tell you separately about them. 10.
Nirlobhi Vartman.
There, the defects/faults of those related to greed are nonreligious. First I am going to tell you about them, and how to overcome them. 11.
The defects that are related to greed are great; they are the seat of sins and lead to sinful behavior. 12.
Greed generates anger, lust and vices. Greed leads to temptation and temptation to compassionate affection, honor and dependence. 13.
It is the greed which makes a man sell his own daughter and even sell their children. 14.
Greed leads to bluntness and arrogance and it also leads to destruction of religiousness. It increases worries and defames man. It creates envy and hatred. 15.
It increases disbelief and inefficiency. Greed leads to grab other man’s wife. 16.
Greed leads to pride and makes man to act thoughtlessly. The speed of adventure is more, the speed of death is sad and the speed of lust and wishes more unconquerable. 17.
The lust for taste is beyond control. All this is due to greed. So all the sins have their roots in greed is certain. 18.
It is an obstruction to emancipation from earthly pleasures even if a man is in the company of saints who have won over greed. So a man must get rid of greed. 19.
In the past, great kings like Janak, Yuvanasv and Vrisadarbhi attained extreme happiness by overcoming greed. 20.
Remedies to defeat Lobh (greed).
Even the people who have learned scriptures suffer badly by falling victims to greed. So it is prestigious to keep away from greed. 21-22.
The things of which a man has greed are perishable and the body for which a man feels greedy is also perishable and transient. 23.
In this way, the body and wealth are both not eternal but perishable and false. One who falls victim to greed also ends himself one day. 24.
So a man who does not overcome greed goes to hell and gets births of a dog or a swine again and again. 25.
One should not get attracted to slang gossips which sometimes appear good to ears. Fine smooth touch of silk, a luring touch of a woman or a very charming, delicate, lovely, chilly touch though enjoyable, should also be avoided. 26.
Looking at a woman richly-adorned with golden ornaments and beautiful clothes should be avoided Though it captures one’s attention. 27.
Tasty and delicious food items also lead to greed. A man should never be tempted even to look at them. 28.
Scented oil, flowers and sandalwood are the things to which a man’s smell is attracted. Such smell also leads to greed and it also must be avoided. 29.
All the things that attract the five sensory organs will result in greed. A man gets attracted to them and these create irritation in him. They must also be avoided. 30.
The sense organs get one attracted to various wishes which obstructs a man’s progress. They should be kept away from. 31.
All these attitudes lead to greed and temptation. These are the enemies of a man and man is troubled because of these. 32.
These enemies should be conquered with continuous efforts and with a balanced and stern mind by those who seek emancipation. 33.
A man desirous of emancipation can keep contact with those who have conquered their wishes and won over greed or achieve it by worshipping Shri Hariand keeping a sound mind. 34.
Things which are essential only to keep the body in action should be consumed. That much food, which is just essential for routine activities, should be consumed judiciously. 35.
All this should be observed with a firm, stern determination. Otherwise a man would go to hell. 36.
Description about the clothes to be kept by Sadhus.
Now I’ll tell about the clothing necessary for a devotee. One should ask for a quilt of rags and shreds which is used by a man for six months to protect from cold. 37.
A pair of loin-cloths, another pair of sheet-blanket to cover oneself, and one piece of cloth for filtering water should be enough. 38.
One cap which covers ears should be worn and it has to be newly stitched. These are the only necessary things in daily life. 39.
One woolen rug to cover the body is good enough— one to wear while cooking and eating meals and another to use for bath. These are the only necessary clothes that a man must have. 40 - 41
One should not gather a collection (of clothes) more than necessary. 42.
All those clothes made of cotton, white in color, of low price and without any border of valuable fibers should be worn. 43.
Even if anyone offers such colored clothes matching the abovementioned description, they should be strictly rejected. 44.
If a householder gives such clothes without our asking, they should be accepted. However, if you ask for worn-out clothes, it is more desirable. 45.
Such clothes obtained by asking or without asking should be dyed in red-saffron clay to wear and white clothes should be avoided. 46.
The utensils necessary in the worship of Shri Krishna should only be made of wood and not metal. 47.
Books of scriptures and the necessary writing materials should only be kept but not more than what is necessary. 48.
A person who has sacrificed everything should never make a collection of money. He should not collect money for himself or keep the same belonging to others. 49 - 50.
The things which lead to generation or storing money- the things like pots etc. should never be possessed by a renouncer. 51.
A renouncer should never stay in the company of thieves. He should also never engage himself in any theft or ask anyone to commit theft. 52.
Anything like fruits flowers or grains, if seen lying unclaimed, should not be taken without its master’s consent. 53.
He should also not work in anyone’s field and not tell anyone to work in other’s field or garden for getting remuneration. He should never make a collection of money or ornaments of others or take responsibility to protect other’s collection of money or ornaments. 54.
Method of expiation for regressing from vow.
If at all,, while following these rules strictly, anyone unknowingly commits a mistake, he should at once atone his misdeeds. 55.
He should first confess his misdeed in the presence of four religious people. He should then perform the ritual of atonement as per their advice, according to time and place. 56 -57.
He should first collect the robes that are essential and ask for new ones. He should refuse collection of robes with metal fibers and should wean white clothes. 58.
The sinner then should perform the ‘Padkruchra vrata’ to wipe off his sin. 59.
If he protects or collects his or others’ money, he should observe fast for number of days proportional to the amount of stored money. 60.
If he (the renouncer) commits any theft, he should confess it clearly in any great man’s presence and observe a fast. He should atone it by bowing down flat on the ground in Sashtanga posture. 61.
The renouncer who has broken rules and is not pure, but feels that he is guilty should be kept away by the relatives. 63.
He should perform the ritual of atonement in the presence of religious people. 64.
He, the offender, should perform ‘Satshanga’, with devotion to Vishnu Then he will be free from his misdeeds. 65.
So, thus, ‘O Rusi, I have told you about the disadvantages of greed, the defects that lead one to sinful acts or misdeeds and should be wiped off. I have also informed you about how one should free himself from such misdeeds. If at all anything remains (to be told), I shall narrate them to you afterwards. 66.
Thus ends the sixty-second chapter entitled ‘Narration of the defects occurring due to greed and prescriptions for overcoming it’ in the fourth Prakaran of Satsangijivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 62
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