Shree Hari advices saints to be careful while traveling to different villages.
Shree Hari advices saints to be careful while traveling to different villages.
Suvrat spoke:-
Shri Hari, desirous of sending the sages to different lands to help the spiritual seekers to attain self-realization, instructed them well. Men of wicked tendencies were propagating everywhere on the earth. 1.
The Lord said: ‘O sages, O promoters of Krishna-devotion, go in delegations and tread different regions to teach the men of this world. 2.
Teach them devotion to Krishna who comes gleefully unto those that aspire for liberation. 3.
Firm adherence to one’s religious duties, not causing harm to others, chanting of Krishna’s name all the time and other such principles and restraints have to be taught. 4.
For women, these instructions are to be imparted through their near relative men folk, never by you, O sages! 5.
You have to dread womenfolk as children do demons, and contact with them should be avoided. With them, the eight sorts of relationship - touching in particular - are never to be thought of. 6.
Being firm in one’s religious duties, devotion to Krishna has to be practiced by listening to His glories and making others follow suit. Other such rules are also to be observed as stipulated. 7.
Bad men intoxicated by the demoniacal qualities are aplenty in this world. There are some treacherous and deceptive devotees too. 8.
Those stupid folk are driven by passion to hold sensual things as the most coveted. For them there is neither Krishna nor religion, nor do they fear sinful deeds. 9.
All their doings are perverted indeed, O sinless sages. Nursing hatred in all, they are generally very cruel and tend to torture you. 10.
Knowing your endeavor and that I am your mentor, those old foes who are jealous of our puissance will turn out to be hostile to us. 11
The antagonism of these wicked people has to be withstood by us; we are not to let loose our anger. 12.
Though the power to retaliate lies in you, their rudeness has to be countered by your forbearance, for this is the true character of saintly men. 13.
The merits earned through acute austerities are forfeited when anger is given vent; hence saints or pious men endure commotion caused by others. 14.
Many saintly persons have been known to be the ocean of forgiveness till no word of abuse is uttered against them. Rare are the saintly men endowed with matchless might whose minds never tend towards wretchedness to counter the incessant commotions and derisions by the crooked. 15.
You are the saints who have taken my refuge; you have a natural tendency of always helping others and your heart is filled with mercy and compassion. For you, forgiveness is the true ornament. 16.
Rishabhadev and his son Bharat shed ego and toured the earth. 17.
Know that the man who has endured vilifications of others shall win everything in the three worlds by virtue of his tolerance (Without wielding any weapon). 18.
He who overcomes wrath that often rises in the heart, by the power of patience and forbearance, akin to a snake ridding of its old withered skin, is said to be a sage. 19.
Between the one who performs the best of sacrifices every month continuously for over one hundred years and the one who keeps himself benign without ire towards anybody, the latter is held in high esteem than the former. 20.
If the wise vents his ill temper like a primitive being, what can we make of his knowledge and wisdom? He is stupid indeed! 21.
Charities done, vows observed, restraints and rules strictly followed, severe austerities performed, all the merits as well as the fruits accumulated through these aforesaid deeds would be burnt away in the fire of wrath. 22.
Tranquility, restraint, penance, charity, straightforwardness, modesty and compassion are the seven pavements to heaven as opined by the saints in this world. 23.
Anger is the door to hell as adjudged by the wise. Hence it should be discarded from within by those who wish quick accomplishments. 24.
It is a proven fact that ill temper is the root cause of destruction of all men. How would saintly men of fortitude embrace it knowing fully well that it is the cause of every peril? 25.
Irate man shall commit sin, even kill his preceptor, and is prone to direct his contumelious speech at great men also. 26.
The angry man shall never discern between what to speak and what not to. He will not hesitate from an evil act or from uttering vulgar abuses. 27.
An infuriated man knows not what is to be done. He never observes morality and propriety of conduct. He even derides his preceptors with abuses. 28.
The outrageous man could kill himself in rage. On noticing such blemishes in ill-tempered men, the learned or wise should abandon ill temper. 29.
What traits have to be followed of men of fortitude who have abandoned their wrath, who aspire for the highest good, forever, here and hereafter? 30.
No wrath should be nursed on even wrathful men, or upon oneself or on others. The man of this caliber would protect others from every great fear in this world. 31.
If in case a feeble man throws up his ire at a powerful man, he would be inviting his own peril or he is going to be exterminated by the powerful. 32.
He that kills himself shall never merit an auspicious place in the nether world. Hence one should curb his anger for his own wellbeing. 33.
When a learned man who is tormented remains calm though his is powerful, he certainly becomes successful here and also enjoys hereafter. 34.
O sages, by discarding anger towards the mighty or feeble or upon oneself or others, one earns great merit for protecting oneself and also others. 35.
Even in awkward occasions, the strong or the weak should tolerate insults from other. 36.
Pious men never praise the triumph of irate people. According to noble men, real victory is the one earned by ever forgiving saintly people. 37.
Owing to the blemish of causing trouble to saintly people, one is dead though alive. Is there sense in getting angry with him who is already dead? 38.
You all being the men of brilliance and high intellect and farsightedness, how could you become wrathful even when you are about to be killed by the arms of vicious people? 39.
One who is able to control his anger by his wisdom is regarded as an enlightened one by men of foresight. 40.
The ignorant men regard anger as their might. Be it known that this anger is the product of Rajas (desire) which is the cause of human destruction. 41.
Royal sages are well aware that wrath is indeed not good. They better abandon their Rajasic tendencies than getting into a fit of rage. 42.
If an impotent man is beaten by a mighty one, he should resist his wrath and stay from retaliation, for one might become mightier if keeps his rage subdued always. Both of both of them will then live happily. 43.
Forgiveness as a great virtue.
Forgiveness is a virtue (religion), a sacrifice and the purport of the Vedas. It will lend name and fame to the person. Whatever merit is earned by the unforgiving will be futile. 44.
The forgiving men will surpass the abodes of performers of sacrifice, and will attain higher heavens for certain. 45.
Forbearance is the strength of the brilliant. It is the Brahman it is the truth of true-willed, it is the purity and the real tranquility. 46.
The learned man must forgive all forever. When he does this perpetually, he is sure to realize the highest Brahman. 47.
Forgiving men are adored not only here, but also hereafter, for they are destined for auspicious regions. 48.
Even the overlords of the world the Lord of Vaikuntha, the Brahma and the puissant Shankar extol the virtue of forbearance. 49.
O sages! The virtue of forgiveness is the dearest thing to me always. Is it not? Hence for our sake you should all bear it constantly. 50.
Being tolerant and saintly, preaching those who take shelter under you, being devoted to Krishna, performing one’s religious duties you wander about this earth.’ 51.
Suvrat spoke; -
Having been bidden thus by the lord, those Brahmins grasped his intent, committed His words to memory and said to Him with folded hands. 52.
‘O Lord Narayan, we will follow what has been told us. It will not be good for us to overrule your emphatic expression. 53.
O Shri Hari, we were and are disposed to you by our will, speech and body. For us there is nothing greater than you. Hence your darshan be given at the earliest, again.’ 54.
Suvrat said:-
O king, having thus prayed and saluted Him, the group of sages left for different regions in all the eight directions. 55.
Along their way they propagated the gospels of the Lord. After having listened to them, even the people who were distractive of religion thought that their words were veracious. 56.
Many learned men of scriptures being realists (only taking worldly phenomenon as real) could not overcome those men of real knowledge in disputations. They would win them over in no time at all. 57.
Having listened to the gospel, all the people were wonderstruck. Those that sought liberation would surrender unto them. 58.
Those sages taught them devotion to Krishna as well as chanting of His name. They also taught to accept only things in conformity with religious rules and abandon others that are irreligious. 59.
People in thousands, having renounced their own faiths and prece-ptors, took shelter in them and began to worship Lord Shri Hari. 60.
O king, people gathered in scores in villages and towns and discussed about the exploits of Shri Hari. 61.
Thousands among them who worshipped Shri Hari on being influenced by these sages, got to experience the state of Samadhi instantly, O king! 62.
By virtue of this state of Samadhi, they were able to visualize splendid abodes such as Golok and the like. There they witnessed various forms of Shri Krishna with His supreme endowments (faculties). 63.
The attendants of Shri Krishna took men and women devotees of Shri Hari, at the end of their lives, to the abode of Shri Krishna in celestial cars. 64.
Devotees and non-devotees both wondered when they happened to see devout people who had taken shelter under him being treated highly respectably while leaving their bodies. 65.
Thus Lord (Shri Hari) Krishna being compassionate, manifested His divine prowess to innumerable people who had not even seen (or known) Him actually; the Lord playing the role of a human being, was shining with supreme splendour! 66.
Thus ends the thirty third chapter entitled ‘Advice given to restrain anger’ in the second Prakarana of Satsangijivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 33
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