Written by London Swaminathan
swami_48@yahoo.com
Date: 14 October 2018

Time uploaded in London – 6-59 am (British Summer Time)

Post No. 5538

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IN THE LAST POST, I MISSED TO QUOTE THE MOST FAMOUS QUOTATION OF MANU, GIVEN BELOW

4-138 A MAN SHOULD TELL THE TRUTH AND SPEAK WITH KINDNESS; HE SHOULD NOT TELL THE TRUTH UNKINDLY NOR UTTER LIES OUT OF KINDNESS. THAT IS THE ETERNAL LAW.

If you can’t read all the slokas/couplets given below, please read 12 important points; then you will know what Manu spoke about.

LET US CONTINUE WITH FOURTH CHAPTER OF MANU SMRTI

MY COMMENTS- 12 important points!!!

1.Sloka 151 about maintaining environmental purity

2.Slokas 160, 162 What is pleasure? What is pain? What is Good? What is bad? beautifully explained

3.Sloka 161 warns about attacks on good people

4.Slokas 172-174 reminds Tamil proverb God kills slowly (deivam Nindru Kollum); English proverb- The mills of the God grind slowly (H W Longfellow’s poem as well); evil actions kill an entire generation.

5.Sloka 178 is beautiful advice- Walk  in the footsteps of Great Men

6.Sloka 186—Warning to Brahmin priests- Don’t get addicted to Daanaas=donations= dakshinas=  fees= gifts.

Two Stories

7.Slokas 196, 197 is about Rudraksha cat (hypocrites) in Sanskrit literature and Mahabali Puram sculptures and the Panchatantra story of heron and crab ( I have written articles about them. Even Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar warns about such hypocrites)

Manu says indirectly Don’t Eat in Restaurants

8.Slokas 205 to 229 say ‘You are what you eat’, ‘You are where you eat’. He gives a list of banned foods and places.

9.Slokas229, 233

What is the best gift? water and Vedas.

10.Sloka 235- benefit of giving Daana and benefit of receiving Daana/gift

11.Sloka 238: Be like ants; gather (Punya) little by little

SPEECH

12. Sloka 256–Speech is the root of everything; Manu warns ‘Be Careful’;

Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar also warns ‘Guard your Tongue’; ‘when fruitful words are there why pluck unripe ones?’

Here we go…………………………..

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURERS

4-151. Far from his dwelling let him remove urine and ordure, far let him remove the water used for washing his feet, and far the remnants of food and the water from his bath.

152. Early in the morning only let him void faeces, decorate (his body), bathe, clean his teeth, apply collyrium to his eyes, and worship the gods.
153. But on the Parva-days let him go to visit the images of the gods, and virtuous Brahmanas, and the ruler of the country, for the sake of protection, as well as his Gurus.
154. Let him reverentially salute venerable men (who visit him), give them his own seat, let him sit near them with joined hands and, when they leave, (accompany them), walking behind them.
155. Let him, untired, follow the conduct of virtuous men, connected with his occupations, which has been fully declared in the revealed texts and in the sacred tradition (Smriti) and is the root of the sacred law.
156. Through virtuous conduct he obtains long life, through virtuous conduct desirable offspring, through virtuous conduct imperishable wealth; virtuous conduct destroys (the effect of) inauspicious marks.
157. For a man of bad conduct is blamed among people, constantly suffers misfortunes, is afflicted with diseases, and short-lived.
158. A man who follows the conduct of the virtuous, has faith and is free from envy, lives a hundred years, though he be entirely destitute of auspicious marks.
159. Let him carefully avoid all undertakings (the success of) which depends on others; but let him eagerly pursue that (the accomplishment of) which depends on himself.

PAIN AND PLEASURE

4-160. Everything that depends on others gives pain, everything that depends on oneself (gives) pleasure; know that this is the short definition of pleasure and pain.

161. When the performance of an act gladdens his heart, let him perform it with diligence; but let him avoid the opposite.
162. Let him never offend the teacher who initiated him, nor him who explained the Veda, nor his father and mother, nor (any other) Guru, nor cows, nor Brahmanas, nor any men performing austerities.
163. Let him avoid atheism, cavilling at the Vedas, contempt of the gods, hatred, want of modesty, pride, anger, and harshness.
164. Let him, when angry, not raise a stick against another man, nor strike (anybody) except a son or a pupil; those two he may beat in order to correct them.
165. A twice-born man who has merely threatened a Brahmana with the intention of (doing him) a corporal injury, will wander about for a hundred years in the Tamisra hell.

WARNING ABOUT 21 BIRTHS

4-166. Having intentionally struck him in anger, even with a blade of grass, he will be born during twenty-one existences in the wombs (of such beings where men are born in punishment of their) sins.

167. A man who in his folly caused blood to flow from the body of a Brahmana who does not attack him, will suffer after death exceedingly great pain.
168. As many particles of dust as the blood takes up from the ground, during so many years the spiller of the blood will be devoured by other (animals) in the next world.
169. A wise man should therefore never threaten a Brahmana, nor strike him even with a blade of grass, nor cause his blood to flow.
170. Neither a man who (lives) unrighteously, nor he who (acquires) wealth (by telling) falsehoods, nor he who always delights in doing injury, ever attain happiness in this world.
171. Let him, though suffering in consequence of his righteousness, never turn his heart to unrighteousness; for he will see the speedy overthrow of unrighteous, wicked men.

EVIL ACTS WILL SLOWLY KILL YOUR FAMILY

4-172. Unrighteousness, practised in this world, does not at once produce its fruit, like a cow; but, advancing slowly, it cuts off the roots of him who committed it.

173. If the punishment falls not on the offender himself, it falls on his sons, if not on the sons, at least on his grandsons; but an iniquity once committed, never fails to produce fruit to him who wrought it.
174. He prospers for a while through unrighteousness, then he gains great good fortune, next he conquers his enemies, but (at last) he perishes (branch and) root.
175. Let him always delight in truthfulness, (obedience to) the sacred law, conduct worthy of a cultured person, and purity; let him chastise his pupils according to the sacred law; let him keep his speech, his arms, and his belly under control.
176. Let him avoid (the acquisition of) wealth and (the gratification of his) desires, if they are opposed to the sacred law, and even lawful acts which may cause pain in the future or are offensive to men.
177. Let him not be uselessly active with his hands and feet, or with his eyes, nor crooked (in his ways), nor talk idly, nor injure others by deeds or even think of it.

WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS HOLY MEN

4-178. Let him walk in that path of holy men which his fathers and his grandfathers followed; while he walks in that, he will not suffer harm.

179. With an officiating or a domestic priest, with a teacher, with a maternal uncle, a guest and a dependant, with infants, aged and sick men, with learned men, with his paternal relatives, connexions by marriage and maternal relatives,
180. With his father and his mother, with female relatives, with a brother, with his son and his wife, with his daughter and with his slaves, let him not have quarrels.
181. If he avoids quarrels with these persons, he will be freed from all sins, and by suppressing (all) such (quarrels) a householder conquers all the following worlds.
182. The teacher is the lord of the world of Brahman, the father has power over the world of the Lord of created beings (Pragapati), a guest rules over the world of Indra, and the priests over the world of the gods.
183. The female relatives (have power) over the world of the Apsarases, the maternal relatives over that of the Visve Devas, the connexions by marriage over that of the waters, the mother and the maternal uncle over the earth.
184. Infants, aged, poor and sick men must be considered as rulers of the middle sphere, the eldest brother as equal to one’s father, one’s wife and one’s son as one’s own body,
185. One’s slaves as one’s shadow, one’s daughter as the highest object of tenderness; hence if one is offended by (any one of) these, one must bear it without resentment.

DON’T GET ADDICTED TO GIFTS/DANA/DONATIONS

4-186. Though by his learning and sanctity he may be entitled to accept presents, let him not attach himself too much to that habit; for through his accepting many presents the divine light in him is soon extinguished.

187. Without a full knowledge of the rules, prescribed by the sacred law for the acceptance of presents, a wise man should not take anything, even though he may pine with hunger.
188. But an ignorant (man) who accepts gold, land, a horse, a cow, food, a dress, sesamum-grains, (or) clarified butter, is reduced to ashes like (a piece of) wood.
189. Gold and food destroy his longevity, land and a cow his body, a horse his eye (sight), a garment his skin, clarified butter his energy, sesamum-grains his offspring.
190. A Brahmana who neither performs austerities nor studies the Veda, yet delights in accepting gifts, sinks with the (donor into hell), just as (he who attempts to cross over in) a boat made of stone (is submerged) in the water.
191. Hence an ignorant (man) should be afraid of accepting any presents; for by reason of a very small (gift) even a fool sinks (into hell) as a cow into a morass.
192. (A man) who knows the law should not offer even water to a Brahmana who acts like a cat, nor to a Brahmana who acts like a heron, nor to one who is unacquainted with the Veda.
193. For property, though earned in accordance with prescribed rules, which is given to these three (persons), causes in the next world misery both to the giver and to the recipient.
194. As he who (attempts to) cross water in a boat of stone sinks (to the bottom), even so an ignorant donor and an ignorant donee sink low.
195. (A man) who, ever covetous, displays the flag of virtue, (who is) a hypocrite, a deceiver of the people, intent on doing injury, (and) a detractor (from the merits) of all men, one must know to be one who acts like a cat.

TWO STORIES- RUDRAKSHA CAT AND HYPOCRISY OF A HERON

196. That Brahmana, who with downcast look, of a cruel disposition, is solely intent on attaining his own ends, dishonest and falsely gentle, is one who acts like a heron.
197. Those Brahmanas who act like herons, and those who display the characteristics of cats, fall in consequence of that wicked mode of acting into (the hell called) Andhatamisra.
198. When he has committed a sin, let him not perform a penance under the pretence (that the act is intended to gain) spiritual merit, (thus) hiding his sin under (the pretext of) a vow and deceiving women and Sudras.
199. Such Brahmanas are reprehended after death and in this (life) by those who expound the Veda, and a vow, performed under a false pretence, goes to the Rakshasas.
200. He who, without being a student, gains his livelihood by (wearing) the dress of a student, takes upon himself the guilt of (all) students and is born again in the womb of an animal.
201. Let him never bathe in tanks belonging to other men; if he bathes (in such a one), he is tainted by a portion of the guilt of him who made the tank.
202. He who uses without permission a carriage, a bed, a seat, a well, a garden or a house belonging to an (other man), takes upon himself one fourth of (the owner’s) guilt.
203. Let him always bathe in rivers, in ponds, dug by the gods (themselves), in lakes, and in waterholes or springs.
204. A wise man should constantly discharge the paramount duties (called yama), but not always the minor ones (called niyama); for he who does not discharge the former, while he obeys the latter alone, becomes an outcast.

DON’T EAT THE FOLLOWING

205. A Brahmana must never eat (a dinner given) at a sacrifice that is offered by one who is not a Srotriya, by one who sacrifices for a multitude of men, by a woman, or by a eunuch.
206. When those persons offer sacrificial viands in the fire, it is unlucky for holy (men) it displeases the gods; let him therefore avoid it.
207. Let him never eat (food given) by intoxicated, angry, or sick (men), nor that in which hair or insects are found, nor what has been touched intentionally with the foot,
208. Nor that at which the slayer of a learned Brahmana has looked, nor that which has been touched by a menstruating woman, nor that which has been pecked at by birds or touched by a dog,
209. Nor food at which a cow has smelt, nor particularly that which has been offered by an invitation to all comers, nor that (given) by a multitude or by harlots, nor that which is declared to be had by a learned (man),
210. Nor the food (given) by a thief, a musician, a carpenter, a usurer, one who has been initiated (for the performance of a Srauta sacrifice), a miser, one bound with fetters,
211. By one accused of a mortal sin (Abhisasta), a hermaphrodite, an unchaste woman, or a hypocrite, nor (any sweet thing) that has turned sour, nor what has been kept a whole night, nor (the food) of a Sudra, nor the leavings (of another man),
212. Nor (the food given) by a physician, a hunter, a cruel man, one who eats the fragments (of another’s meal), nor the food of an Ugra, nor that prepared for a woman in childbed, nor that (given at a dinner) where (a guest rises) prematurely (and) sips water, nor that (given by a woman) whose ten days of impurity have not elapsed,
213. Nor (food) given without due respect, nor (that which contains) meat eaten for no sacred purpose, nor (that given) by a female who has no male (relatives), nor the food of an enemy, nor that (given) by the lord of a town, nor that (given) by outcasts, nor that on which anybody has sneezed;
214. Nor the food (given) by an informer, by one who habitually tells falsehoods, or by one who sells (the rewards for) sacrifices, nor the food (given) by an actor, a tailor, or an ungrateful (man),
215. By a blacksmith, a Nishada, a stage-player, a goldsmith, a basket-maker, or a dealer in weapons,
216. By trainers of hunting dogs, publicans, a washerman, a dyer, a pitiless (man), and a man in whose house (lives) a paramour (of his wife),
217. Nor (the food given) by those who knowingly bear with paramours (of their wives), and by those who in all matters are ruled by women, nor food (given by men) whose ten days of impurity on account of a death have not passed, nor that which is unpalatable.
218. The food of a king impairs his vigour, the food of a Sudra his excellence in sacred learning, the food of a goldsmith his longevity, that of a leather-cutter his fame;

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

219. The food of an artisan destroys his offspring, that of a washerman his (bodily) strength; the food of a multitude and of harlots excludes him from (the higher) worlds.
220. The food of a physician (is as vile as) pus, that of an unchaste woman (equal to) semen, that of a usurer (as vile as) ordure, and that of a dealer in weapons (as bad as) dirt.
221. The food of those other persons who have been successively enumerated as such whose food must not be eaten, the wise declare (to be as impure as) skin, bones, and hair.
222. If he has unwittingly eaten the food of one of those, (he must) fast for three days; if he has eaten it intentionally, or (has swallowed) semen, ordure, or urine, he must perform a Krikkhra penance.
223. A Brahmana who knows (the law) must not eat cooked food (given) by a Sudra who performs no Sraddhas; but, on failure of (other) means of subsistence, he may accept raw (grain), sufficient for one night (and day).
224. The gods, having considered (the respective merits) of a niggardly Srotriya and of a liberal usurer, declared the food of both to be equal (in quality).
225. The Lord of created beings (Pragapati) came and spake to them, ‘Do not make that equal, which is unequal. The food of that liberal (usurer) is purified by faith; (that of the) of the) other (man) is defiled by a want of faith.’
226. Let him, without tiring, always offer sacrifices and perform works of charity with faith; for offerings and charitable works made with faith and with lawfully-earned money, (procure) endless rewards.
227. Let him always practise, according to his ability, with a cheerful heart, the duty of liberality, both by sacrifices and by charitable works, if he finds a worthy recipient (for his gifts.)
228. If he is asked, let him always give something, be it ever so little, without grudging; for a worthy recipient will (perhaps) be found who saves him from all (guilt).

GIFTS AND BENEFITS

229. A giver of water obtains the satisfaction (of his hunger and thirst), a giver of food imperishable happiness, a giver of sesamum desirable offspring, a giver of a lamp a most excellent eyesight.
230. A giver of land obtains land, a giver of gold long life, a giver of a house most excellent mansions, a giver of silver (rupya) exquisite beauty (rupa),
231. A giver of a garment a place in the world of the moon, a giver of a horse (asva) a place in the world of the Asvins, a giver of a draught-ox great good fortune, a giver of a cow the world of the sun;
232. A giver of a carriage or of a bed a wife, a giver of protection supreme dominion, a giver of grain eternal bliss, a giver of the Veda (brahman) union with Brahman;
233. The gift of the Veda surpasses all other gifts, water, food, cows, land, clothes, sesamum, gold, and clarified butter.

RECEIVING AND GIVING GIFTS- SEAT RESERVED IN HEAVEN

234. For whatever purpose (a man) bestows any gift, for that same purpose he receives (in his next birth) with due honour its (reward).
235. Both he who respectfully receives (a gift), and he who respectfully bestows it, go to heaven; in the contrary case (they both fall) into hell.
236. Let him not be proud of his austerities; let him not utter a falsehood after he has offered a sacrifice; let him not speak ill of Brahmanas, though he be tormented (by them); when he has bestowed (a gift), let him not boast of it.
237. By falsehood a sacrifice becomes vain, by self-complacency (the reward for) austerities is lost, longevity by speaking evil of Brahmanas, and (the reward of) a gift by boasting.

BE LIKE ANTS

238. Giving no pain to any creature, let him slowly accumulate spiritual merit, for the sake (of acquiring) a companion to the next world, just as the white ant (gradually raises its) hill.
239. For in the next world neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor sons, nor relations stay to be his companions; spiritual merit alone remains (with him).
240. Single is each being born; single it dies; single it enjoys (the reward of its) virtue; single (it suffers the punishment of its) sin.
241. Leaving the dead body on the ground like a log of wood, or a clod of earth, the relatives depart with averted faces; but spiritual merit follows the (soul).
242. Let him therefore always slowly accumulate spiritual merit, in order (that it may be his) companion (after death); for with merit as his companion he will traverse a gloom difficult to traverse.
243. (That companion) speedily conducts the man who is devoted to duty and effaces his sins by austerities, to the next world, radiant and clothed with an ethereal body.
244. Let him, who desires to raise his race, ever form connexions with the most excellent (men), and shun all low ones.
245. A Brahmana who always connects himself with the most excellent (ones), and shuns all inferior ones, (himself) becomes most distinguished; by an opposite conduct he becomes a Sudra.
246. He who is persevering, gentle, (and) patient, shuns the company of men of cruel conduct, and does no injury (to living creatures), gains, if he constantly lives in that manner, by controlling his organs and by liberality, heavenly bliss.
247. He may accept from any (man), fuel, water, roots, fruit, food offered without asking, and honey, likewise a gift (which consists in) a promise of protection.
248. The Lord of created beings (Pragapati) has declared that alms freely offered and brought (by the giver himself) may be accepted even from a sinful man, provided (the gift) had not been (asked for or) promised beforehand.
249. During fifteen years the manes do not eat (the food) of that man who disdains a (freely-offered gift), nor does the fire carry his offerings (to the gods).
250. A couch, a house, Kusa grass, perfumes, water, flowers, jewels, sour milk, grain, fish, sweet milk, meat, and vegetables let him not reject, (if they are voluntarily offered.)
251. He who desires to relieve his Gurus and those whom he is bound to maintain, or wishes to honour the gods and guests, may accept (gifts) from anybody; but he must not satisfy his (own hunger) with such (presents).
252. But if his Gurus are dead, or if he lives separate from them in (another) house, let him, when he seeks a subsistence, accept (presents) from good men alone.
253. His labourer in tillage, a friend of his family, his cow-herd, his slave, and his barber are, among Sudras, those whose food he may eat, likewise (a poor man) who offers himself (to be his slave).
254. As his character is, as the work is which he desires to perform, and as the manner is in which he means to serve, even so (a voluntary slave) must offer himself.
255. He who describes himself to virtuous (men), in a manner contrary to truth, is the most sinful (wretch) in this world; he is a thief who makes away with his own self.

SPEECH IS THE ROOT OF EVERYTHING

256. All things (have their nature) determined by speech; speech is their root, and from speech they proceed; but he who is dishonest with respect to speech, is dishonest in everything.
257. When he has paid, according to the law, his debts to the great sages, to the manes, and to the gods, let him make over everything to his son and dwell (in his house), not caring for any worldly concerns.
258. Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul; for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss.
259. Thus have been declared the means by which a Brahmana householder must always subsist, and the summary of the ordinances for a Snataka, which cause an increase of holiness and are praiseworthy.
260. A Brahmana who, being learned in the lore of the Vedas, conducts himself in this manner and daily destroys his sins, will be exalted in Brahman’s world.

END OF FOURTH CHAPTER

–subham–