"Yudhishthira said, 'O thou of mighty arms, tell me, after this what is
beneficial for us. O grandsire, I am never satiated with thy words which
seem to me like Amrita. What are those good acts, O best of men, by
accomplishing which a man succeeds in obtaining what is for his highest
benefit both here and hereafter, O giver of boons!'
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection I shall narrate to thee what the
celebrated king Janaka had enquired, in days of yore, of the high-souled
Parasara, 'What is beneficial for all creatures both in this world and
the next! Do thou tell me what should be known by all this connection.'
Thus questioned, Parasara, possessed of great ascetic merit and
conversant with the ordinances of every religion, said these words,
desirous of favouring the king.'
"Parasara said, 'Righteousness earned by acts is supreme benefit both in
this world and the next. The sages of the old have said that there is
nothing higher than Righteousness. By accomplishing the duties of
righteousness a man becomes honoured in heaven. The Righteousness, again,
of embodied creatures, O best of kings, consists in the ordinance (laid
down in the scriptures) on the subject of acts. All good men
belonging to the several modes of life, establishing their faith on that
righteousness, accomplish their respective duties. Four methods of
living, O child, have been ordained in this world. (Those four methods
are the acceptance of gifts for Brahmanas; the realisation of taxes for
Kshatriyas; agriculture for Vaisyas; and service of the three other
classes for the Sudras). Wherever men live the means of support come to
them of themselves. Accomplishing by various ways acts that are virtuous
or sinful (for the purpose of earning their means of support), living
creatures, when dissolved into their constituent elements attain to
diverse ends. As vessels of white brass, when steeped in liquefied
gold or silver, catch the hue of these metals, even so a living creature,
who is completely dependent upon the acts of his past lives takes his
colour from the character of those acts. Nothing can sprout forth without
a seed. No one can obtain happiness without having accomplished acts
capable of leading to happiness. When one's body is dissolved away (into
its constituent elements), one succeeds in attaining to happiness only in
consequence of the good acts of previous lives. The sceptic argues, O
child, saying, I do not behold that anything in this world is the result
of destiny or the virtuous and sinful acts of past lives. Inference
cannot establish the existence or operation of destiny. The
deities, the Gandharvas and the Danavas have become what they are in
consequence of their own nature (and not of their acts of past lives).
People never recollect in their next lives the acts done by them in
previous ones. For explaining the acquisition of fruits in any particular
life people seldom name the four kinds of acts alleged to have been
accomplished in past lives. The declarations having the Vedas for
their authority have been made for regulating the conduct of men in this
world, and for tranquillizing the minds of men. These (the sceptic says),
O child, cannot represent the utterances of men possessed of true wisdom.
This opinion is wrong. In reality, one obtains the fruits of whatever
among the four kinds of acts one does with the eye, the mind, the tongue,
and muscles. As the fruit of his acts, O king, a person sometimes
obtains happiness wholly, sometimes misery in the same way, and sometimes
happiness and misery blended together. Whether righteous or sinful, acts
are never destroyed (except by enjoyment or endurance of their
fruits). Sometimes, O child, the happiness due to good acts remains
concealed and covered in such a way that it does not display itself in
the case of the person who is sinking in life's ocean till his sorrows
disappear. After sorrow has beep exhausted (by endurance), one begins to
enjoy (the fruits of) one's good acts. And know, O king, that upon the
exhaustion of the fruits of good acts, those of sinful acts begin to
manifest themselves. Self-restraint, forgiveness, patience, energy,
contentment, truthfulness of speech, modesty, abstention from injury,
freedom from the evil practices called vyasana, and cleverness,—these
are productive of happiness. No creature is eternally subject to the
fruits of his good or bad acts. The man possessed of wisdom should always
strive to collect and fix his mind. One never has to enjoy or endure the
good and bad acts of another. Indeed, one enjoys and endures the fruits
of only those acts that one does oneself. The person that casts off both
happiness and misery walks along a particular path (the path, viz., of
knowledge). Those men, however, O king, who suffer themselves to be
attached to all worldly objects, tread along a path that is entirely
different. A person should rot himself do that act which, if done by
another, would call down his censure. Indeed, by doing an act that one
censures in others, one incurs ridicule. A Kshatriya bereft of courage, a
Brahmana that takes every kind of food, a Vaisya unendued with exertion
(in respect of agriculture and other moneymaking pursuits), a Sudra that
is idle (and, therefore, averse to labour), a learned person without good
behaviour, one of high birth but destitute of righteous conduct, a
Brahmana fallen away from truth, a woman that is unchaste and wicked, a
Yogin endued with attachments, one that cooks food for one's own self, an
ignorant person employed in making a discourse, a kingdom without a king
and a king that cherishes no affection for his subjects and who is
destitute of Yoga,—these all, O king, are deserving of pity!'"
