Moral prescriptions for healthy and happy life

As far as Caraka is concerned, an ethically virtuous life will be a healthy and a happy one. So he gives elaborate moral prescriptions which are conductive to good health and happiness. From the point of view of one's mundane and spiritual well-being, he advocates to hold back from urges relating to evil deeds. A wise person should refrain from greed, grief, fear, anger, vanity, shamelessness, jealousy, extreme attachment, and malice. One should not use harsh and untimely words. One should not engage in violence or immoral contact with women, theft, and persecution.^[1] Injury to living beings (hiṃsā) is a sin and so it will affect one's longevity. So non-injury (ahiṃsā) is prescribed as a way of increasing ones life (ahimsā prāṇavardhanaṃ).

One should avoid such sinful persons in character, speech, and mind as well as those who are quarrelsome and those who make vicious remarks about others. The greedy, the envious, the cruel, the fickle minded as well as those who indulge in defaming others, those who associate with the enemies, those who are devoid of compassion, and those who do not follow the virtuous course of life are also to be avoided. Caraka further advises to associate with wise, learned, and matured persons as well as with men of character, fortitude, and self concentration. So also one should make association with those who know the real nature of things and are full of equanimity, who direct us in the right path, who are good to all beings, and who are peaceful and content.^[2] The better way is to give up the unwholesome habits and to develop wholesome habits steadily and gradually.^[3] He must improve himself by a series of ideological and behavioural self identifications.

It is essential to maintain the balance of both mind and sense organs. For this one has to perform one's noble acts with utmost care. Caraka says that one should respect gods, cows, brahmins, preceptors (gurus), and elderly. One ought to help other persons, saints, and great teachers (acāryas). One should offer auspicious amulets, wear good herbs, bath twice, and clean all the pores of the body and feet, and cut hair, beard, and nail three times in a fortnight. One should wear good apparel, should be pleasant, apply scent, comb the hair, oil the head, ears, nose, and feet and smoke. One should perform sacrifices, and pay offerings to the departed ancestors. One should be self controlled and virtuous. One should be envious of another person's efficiency, but should not be jealous of the fruits of such efficiency. One should be firm in decision, fearless, susceptible to the feelings of shame, be intelligent, energetic, skilful, merciful, virtuous, and a believer (āstika). One should devote oneself to teachers who are modest, intelligent, learned, noble, aged, and spiritually perfect. One should acquit oneself as well as display good manners. One should avoid going to impure and untidy places. One should be compassionate to all beings and should root out attachment and antipathy.^[4]

It may not be improper to refer to Caraka's opinion of social hierarchy. In connection with the description of practices that is to be followed for the procreation of the desired child he describes the due rites that should be performed by women belonging to each varṇa, namely brāhmin, kṣatriya and vaiśya. He also reminds us that a śūdra woman should offer only obeiscence to the gods, fire, brāhmins, preceptors, and those who have attained perfection.^[5] This shows that Caraka did not dishonour the social hierarchy. But it does not in any way harm his humanitarian conceptions. It is not because of sectarian thoughts that he refers to such customs, but because he believed in the potency of one's karma to ordain for him pleasure and pain according to the good or bad actions one does. So the assumption of inequality of men is sought to be justified on the basis of the law of karma which traces these inequalities of the present life to the actions of different selves in their past lives.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

CS, Su, VII. 26-29.

[2]:

Ibid., 56-59.

[3]:

Ibid., 38.

[4]:

Ibid., VIII. 18.

[5]:

See, CS, Śārīra - sthāna, VIII. 10-14.