Chapter 21 - Criteria for determining the good and the evil

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

The Lord said:

1. Those persons who discard the path of devotion, spiritual knowledge and righteous (desireless) actions which have been expounded by me (and which lead to me), and seek trivial pleasures through fickle senses, continue to wander through various species in saṃsāra.

2. Firm adherence to the course of duties to which one is eligible (by Śāstric prescription) is described as virtue while the reverse of it (i.e. strayed devotion to another man’s duties to which one is not eligible) is a fault. Such is the definite decision about them both (i.e. about virtue and fault)^[1].

3.^[2] Even if things (or acts) be similar, the decisions that it is pure or impure, virtue or fault, auspicious or inauspicious, are made for the guidance of investigation so that one may control one’s inclination towards them.

4. O sinless Uddhava! It is for the sake of distinguishing the righteous way from the unrighteous, what is pure and what is impure, has been decided for regulating the behaviour—what course of conduct is permissible for kings (under emergency some concession has to be given to a ruler for adopting the inauspicious or impure means or to an individual for the bare maintenance of his life but to store such impure substances is forbidden). Such a (sinless) course of conduct has been shown by me (in the form of smṛti-writers like Manu and others) for the guidance of those who are the bearers of the responsibility of showing the path of religion.

5-6. The elements, viz. earth, water, fire, air and sky, united with the Soul, constitute the causes of the bodies of all beings, from god Brahmā to an immobile. Even through the point of material bodies and the Ātman all creatures are constitutionally the same, it is, however, to enable these creatures to attain their respective objectives in life (viz. Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa) that the Veda has given them diverse names and forms (about their respective Varṇa and Āśrama) and enjoined their respective code of conduct.

7. It is for regulating what work should be done or what act be prohibited that qualities like goodness or badness have been ordained by me with respect to time, place and other conditions, as well as with reference to substances or things (like rice) to be obtained, O pious-most Uddhava, (my object being to ensure the attainment of the. fruits of Karma^[3].

8. Out of countries, those tracts of land where black- antelopes are not found are unholy, and it is still more so, if people there-of cherish no devotion to Brāhmaṇas. Even if hallowed by the presence of black deer, the tract known as Sauvīra^[4] (i.e. lacking in pious people) or Kīkaṭa^[5] (Eastern Bihar, Bengal and Orissa and inhabited by the uncultured people or having the majority of Mlecchas or a barren place, is unholy.

9.That period of time is regarded as auspicious or good which is proper for performing Vedic rites either due to adequate supply of materials (for that rite or sacrifice) or by its very nature (e.g. the early part of the day). But the time when the materials for the rite are not available or there are politically, unsettled conditions and earthquakes etc., or when the period is unfit for performance of religious rites (e.g. during the mourning period), that period of Time is considered to be bad or inauspicious.

10. The purity or impurity of a substance depends on the contacts with some other thing (e.g. washing with water purifies a thing, while if contacted with urine it becomes impure), or by the word (e.g. in case of doubt about purity, the decision of a learned Brāhmaṇa), or by purification (e.g. sprinkling flowers with water purifies them, but by smelling they lose their sanctity for worship), by passage of time^[6], or by the bigness or smallness of size (e.g. a big lake cannot be polluted by the touch of a man of the depressed class but it is regarded ‘polluted’, if the tank is a small one.)

11. (The same thing becomes pure to one and impure to another). The purity or the impurity of a thing depends upon the physical strength or weakness^[7] (Time of receiving) the information or knowledge^[8] and affluence;^[9] (certain things are pure or impure in relation to different places, states and other circumstances). Hence the incurrence of sin depends on the time and other circumstances^[10].

12. The purity of (food) grains, utensils of wood, bones (like ivory), textiles, liquids like oil, ghee, metals like gold and deer skins and earthen wares, bricks etc. is decided by Time, air, fire, earth and water either jointly or severally.

13. By applying which things an object smeared with an impure thing removes that impure coating, and foul smell and restores its normal state to it, is called the purifier.

14. A ‘twice-born’ person (even a Śūdra is to be included in this category) should purify himself by sanctifying acts and factors like bathing, giving charitable gifts, performance of penance, age (of eligibility for performing a certain act) physical power, initiatory rites like investiture of the sacred thread, performance of sandhyā, remembrance of the Lord and his name, and then proceed to perform his prescribed duty.

15. The purity of Mantras depends on correctly knowing its procedure and application from the proper preceptor. Resigning a Karma to me, is the purity of that act. Religious merit is acquired through the purity of above-mentioned six (viz. place, time, substance, agent, the sacred formula—the mantra and the righteous act performed). The opposite of it results from the absence of these circumstances.

16. (Intrinsically a thing or an act is neither good nor bad). Under some circumstance a merit turns out to be demerit. (Acceptance of help of a thing in emergency may be condoned but the same is a fault in normal condition), but by a quirk of fate, it may be vice versa. The Vedas have ordained some injunctions for the regulation in deciding merit and demerit (or for creation of dispassion about objects of senses), but confusion in understanding them fundamentally cuts the distinction.

17. Those who are already sinners, commission of an act similar to other sinner is no longer a demerit. Sexual intercourse with one’s married wife (during the prescribed period) is not a sin for a householder, though it is so for a Sannyāsin. He who lies on the ground has no further fall.

18. From whatever object or course of action, a person desists, he becomes free from attachment. This Dharma (righteous course of action) is the source of well-being and removes grief, delusion and fear.

19. By mistaken attribution of agreeable qualities to (sense) -objects, man. comes to cherish attachment for them. From attachment springs up the desire to possess it, and desire leads to quarrel among men (for securing it for one’s self).

20. A quarrel breeds irrepressible anger which is followed by infatuation. And the all-round grasping capacity and judgement of man is soon swallowed up (and obscured) by this self-delusion.

21. O pious Uddhava! A man devoid of intellect and judgement is reduced to the stage of non-existence. He fails in (accomplishing) his purpose in life, even as a man who has lost his consciousness or is dead.

22. Through deep attachment to worldly objects, he does not realize himself nor the Supreme Self. He wastes his life in vain like a tree, breathing mechanically like bellows.

23. Just as a promise of delicious (eatables) is made (to children) before administering a dose of (wholesome yet unpalatable) medicine, this promise of fruits to be reaped (in heaven) is made for creating a liking (for religious duties), as an introduction to the elucidation of the (path to the) summum bonum or Mokṣa, even though it does not lead men to the final beatitude.

24. Even though they are the cause of misery (viz. bondage in Saṃsāra) to the Soul, men, by their very nature, are attached in their heart of hearts to their desires and belongings (like cattle) to their life and to their relatives.

25. How can a wise person (or the Veda) direct persons who are ignorant of their own real interests (or the highest spiritual bliss) and yet put implicit faith in the Vedas which promise cattle, long life^[11], progeny etc., through performance of sacrifices wander in the path of misery (of Saṃsāra) and (after enjoying the celestial life) enter the dark hell in the form of plant life?^[12]

26. Not comprehending this real purport of the Vedas, some persons of low understanding (of Asura mentality) mistake flowers (i.e. flower-like heavenly enjoyments) for the fruit of eternal bliss in Mokṣa. But the real knowers of the Veda) like sage Vyāsa) never do so^[13].

27. Persons hankering after sensual desires are miserly and avaricious. They regard the flower (the flowery pleasures in heaven) as the fruit (of Liberation from saṃsāra). They arc stupefied by the Fire-cult, and at the end of their life go by the path of smoke (dhūma mārga), and fail to realize their self and their real region, viz. Mokṣa.

28. Like unto persons whose vision is bedimmed with mist, they, to whom ritualistic performance or killing beasts for sacrifices appear as the real teachings of the Veda and arc bent on gratifying their carnal desires, do not know me who am stationed in their very heart (as their Inner Controller)—me who constitute this universe, and from whom this world has been created, O dear Uddhava.

29. If persons have a liking for eating flesh and would like to kill animals, they should restrict this injury to life to the performance of sacrifices (in which the flesh remaining after oblations is shared by all as prasāda—the grace of gods). But this (performance of animal sacrifices) is not an obligatory duty.^[14] Without understanding my implied meaning expressed indirectly, these persons who are addicted to sensual pleasures^[15], unnecessarily kill animals and get themselves troubled and tortured by them after death.

30. Those wicked persons who take delight in killing animals for sport, (outwardly) worship gods, manes and lords of beings by the slaughtered animals oblated in performing sacrifices, but they really want to gratify their addiction (to flesh).

31. Painting in their mind (the rosy picture) that the next world which is unreal like a dream, non-existent, yet charming to the ear, is certainly real, they spend their resources (in performing sacrifices) entertaining the hopes of blessings (in the next world), just as a merchant, (abandoning bis present fortune) stakes the whole of his property (in a dubious sea voyage) in the hope of earning more wealth (and loses both).

32. Persons in whom these attributes, viz. Sattva, Rajas and Taṃas are ingrained, worship gods headed by Indra who, being possessed of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, take delight in them but they do not worship me (who transcend the guṇas).

33. They strongly hope that by worshipping god with performance of sacrifices in this world (during their life-time), they would enjoy themselves with heavenly pleasures (in the next world) and at the end of that celestial life, they would be born in noble lineage and live in palatial mansions.

34. With their minds distracted by the flowcry language of Karma-Kāṇḍa holding out promise of heavenly life) these proud and highly obstinate persons (steeped in perverse notions) do not like even the mention of my name.

35. (As a matter of fact the Vedas advocate the path of renunciation). Although the Vedas deal with the three subjects (viz. those concerning ritualism, devotion and spiritual knowledge), they teach mainly about the Brahman and the Ātman^[16] (that the Ātman and Brahman are identical). The Vedic texts (mantras) or their seers present their exposition in an indirect way, as such presentation (with hidden import) is liked by me (it is expected that only the pure-hearted persons are eligible to know the real import of Vedas. If others follow it literally, they will be misled and give up their karmas (religious duties) prematurely).

36.^[17] The Veda, the verbal form of the Brahman, is extremely difficult for comprehension. It constitutes the vital air (The Parā stages of speech), the mental faculty (the Paśyantī and Madhyamā stages of speech at the mental plane) and the oral expression (the Vaikharī stage). From the cosmic point of view the cosmic prāṇa is limitless and unending, too deep for comprehension and unfathomable like the sea.

37. It is presided over (from within) by me who am all pervading, master of infinite powers, the attributeless, changeless Brahman, the inner Controller and perceived in all created beings in the form of unstruck’, (anāhata) sound like fibers filling the stalk of a lotus.

38. Just as a spider evolves (lit. vomits) out of its mouth woolly cob-web fibers from its heart, the Lord in the form of Hiraṇyagarbha, through Prāṇa (the vital air) manifests himself in the form of Veda. Essentially he is absolutely blissful. With the material of eternally abiding unstruck, (anāhata) sound emanating from the cavity of the heart through the medium of the mind, he brings out various sounds represented in the letters of the alphabet.

39-40 The Lord who is the embodiment of the Vedic meters and essentially sweet (lit. nectarine), manifests out of Oṃ the Vaikharī form (of speech) which, flowed out in a thousand ways beautiful with various sounds classified as consonants, vowels, sibilants (Ś,S,S), semivowels (y,r,l,v). Such proliferated praṇava (OṂ) became expanded in various languages and was characterised by metres each consisting of four more letters than the previous one, and is (in a way) limitless. The Lord who creates this unlimited Vedic speech, also withdraws it^[18] within himself

41. (In the Vedas) there are many metres like Gāyatrī, Uṣṇik, Anuṣṭubh, Bṛhatī, Paṅkti, Triṣṭubha, Jagatī, Aticchanda Atyaṣṭi Atijagatī and Virāṭ.

42. Nobody else except I in this world, knows the real implication^[19]—the very heart as to what the Veda prescribes, what it explains, what it prohibits after making a statement.

43.^[20] It lays down injunctions of worshipping me (through performance of sacrifices—This is the Karma Kāṇḍa). It declares my Nature (as gods to be worshipped and enunciates the path of Devotion or, and it removes Upāsanā Kāṇḍa) external universe that is imposed on me (i.e. the part called knowledge—Jñāna Kāṇḍa). I am verily the purport of the entire Veda. Basing itself on me, the Veda first explains diversity (in me) as the result of Māyā—(Finally) denying the reality of diversity, the Veda assumes silence (is merged in me. Ultimately I alone stay existent).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Bhāvāratha Dīpikā clarifies that a virtue or a fault is not inherent in the act, but it is the eligibility of the doer which decides the matter.

[2]:

Bhāgavata Candrikā Though the factors of an act (such as Time, Place, agent, mantras or the particular karma be the same, they present two different sides of eligibility. It is after investigation that one can decide whether it is good (leading to auspicious consequences) and bad (resulting in evil consequences).

[3]:

Karmaṇām niyamārthaṃ phala-sādhanārthaṃ /—Padaratnāvalī

[4]:

Variously identified with upper sinḍh (Bhāgavata Candrikā and N.L. De) or norṃern Saurāṣṭra along the Gulf of Cutch (Rhys Davids.) Bhāvāratha Dīpikā is led away by grammatical derivation.

[5]:

It appears that in the old Smṛti period, these states were not completely Aryanised. Hence a visitor to them, except on purpose of a holy pilgrimage, had to expiate the sin of visiting it, by the rite of investing the sacred thread. Bhāgavata Candrikā quotes a smṛti text as follows:

aṅga-vaṅga-kaliṅgeṣu saurāṣṭra-magadheṣu ca /
tīrtha-yātrāṃ vinā gatvā punaḥ saṃskāram arhati //

[6]:

Bhāvāratha Dīpikā quotes a Smṛti which lays down:—“Rainwater stored in reservoirs should be used for drinking but it should be avoided for the first three days. As for water stored at other times, one should wait for ten days after which it attains purity”.

[7]:

Eating food during the period of solar or lunar eclipse is prohibited as sinful to normal people but is permissible to the aged, sick or weak persons.—Bhāvāratha Dīpikā

[8]:

If the birth of a child in the family is informed within ten days, the nearest kins have to observe a seclusion but the same information after ten days has no such binding effect.—Bhāvāratha Dīpikā

[9]:

To use soiled or old clothes is permissible to the poor, but a rich person incurs sin by using them—Bhāvāratha Dīpikā

[10]:

For example: It is sinful not to wear a gold ring at the time of performing sandhyā or other religious duties. But it is not sinful if they are not worn in regions infested by robbers. Bhāvāratha Dīpikā quotes a Smṛti text which lays down that the factors of time, place, physical and mental condition, materials, its objects and other relevant circumstances must be taken into account before determining the purity of a thing or a person.

[11]:

Span of life, power of the senses—Bhāgavata Candrikā

[12]:

Padaratnāvalī raises the objection that the scripture which misleads people to momentary pleasures would cease to be Veda.

(katham iti viṣayābhiniveśena tamo viśatas tān punas teṣu viṣayeṣu vedaḥ kathaṃ yuñjyan na kalham api yunakti / unmatta-vākya-sāmyaprāpti-bhayād iti śeṣaḥ /

[13]:

Padaratnāvalī: Persons of Asura nature being ignorant of the true purport of the Vedas speak of the heavenly happiness when they really mean that Liberation from saṃsāra is the real fruit. Padaratnāvalī thinks that Asuras (i.e. persons of Asura nature) arc implied in these verses.

[14]:

Some editions add: “Hearing this commandment of the Veda, people arc not deluded into such acts.”

[15]:

1 SS & Bhāgavata Candrikā add here: vṛthā paśūn vihiṃsantī hiṃsyante pretya tais tu te /

[16]:

2 Bhāgavata Candrikā: They teach that the Supreme Brahman is abiding as the Inner Controller in all beings (sarvāntarātma-bhūta-para-brahma-viṣayaḥ). They deal with the nature of the Supreme Brahman, His attributes and the path of Brahma-realization.

[17]:

(i) EK: After explaining how Praṇava evolves from the Parā vāṇī till it is expressed orally (with the vaikharī he states that despite the efforts of sages like Vyāsa, Sumantu, Jaimini and others, the Veda has remained incomprehensible, but it is the Lord who knows the inner subtle meaning of the Veda.

(ii) Padaratnāvalī.: Veda is incomprehensible except through my Grace. The terms prāṇa etc. in the verse designate god Brahmā and others which preside over senses. The Veda is too deep etc. like the sea for the ineligible persons (alpādhikāriṇaḥ [alpa-adhikārin]).

[18]:

Bhāgavata Candrikā.: All the articulated sounds are evolved out of OM (Praṇava). It is ever-abiding and of unlimited extent, expressing wonderful ideas in four chief metres (each foot of which is longer by four syllables than that of the previous metre). It is Prāṇa which evolves and withdraws this speech.

[19]:

Padaratnāvalī: It is only the vital breath who, through my Grace knows it (...cet ko vāyur mat-prasādāt vetti)

[20]:

(1) Bhāvāratha Dīpikā and Bālaprabodhini: Just as the sap derived from the seed by the sprout proliferates into branches but the original sap runs all through these branches, leaves etc., the Lord, the “sap” of Praṇava, pervades all the branches of the Veda which is a proliferation of Om.

Bhāvāratha Dīpikā pays obeisance to the eternally-free promulgator and Knower of the Veda who enlightened him on what is Ātman. This Supreme Ruler is his preceptor and his preceptor is the Almighty Lord. ‘To him I bow’.

(2) Bhāgavata Candrikā: The Veda states that the difference such as a man, a god, a subhuman being etc., is the modification of Prakṛti and this difference has nothing to do with the individual Soul (jīva). The veda finally concludes that I (the Lord) am distinct from every other principles

(vedaḥ... deva- manuṣyādi-bhidām māyā-mātram prakṛti-mātram anūdyatām jīva-svarūpe pratiṣiddhya... sarva-tattva-vilakṣaṇa-mat-pratipādanena paryavasita-vyāpāro bhavatītyetāvān evetyarthaḥ!)

(3) Padaratnāvalī: There is no difference in my incarnations. I am Viṣṇu in each of them. The bondage of saṃsāra is due to my will. By following the paṃ of devotion, the spiritual knowledge dawns and the jīva is liberated. Stating this the Veda which depends on Vāsudeva for its supports sinks into silence.

(4) Kramasandarbha.: The Veda feels that it has achieved its purpose by entire dependence on Lord Kṛṣṇa. He quoted Bhagavad Gītā (XV. 15). Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ etc.