Mokshadharma Parva — Description of Liberation, Renunciation, sin and virtue

Yudhisthira said By what means does a man become sinful, by what does he acquire virtue, by what does he acquire renunciation, and by what does he acquire Liberation.

Bhishma said now You know all duties. This question which you have put to me is only for confirmation of your conclusions. Listen fully to Liberation, and Renunciation, and Sin, and Virtue.

Perceiving any one of the five objects, desire runs after it at first. Indeed, obtaining them within the pale of the senses, O foremost of Bharata's family, desire or hatred originates.

One then, for the sake of that object, trics and begins acts that require much labour. One tries his best for enjoying again and again those forms and scents that appear very sweet.

Gradually, attachment, hatred, greed and errors of judgement originate, answer

The mind of one possessed by greed and mistake and affected by attachment and hatred is never bent to virtue. One then begins with hypocrisy to do deeds which are good.

Indeed, with hypocrisy one then tries to acquire virture and with hypocrisy one likes to acquire riches. When one succeeds, O son of Kuru's family, in acquiring riches with hypocrisy, one gives his heart to such acquisition wholly. It is then that a person begins to do sinful acts, despite the admonitions of well-wishers and the wise, to all whom he makes reasonable conformable to the scriptural injunctions.

Begotten of attachment and mistake, his sins of three sorts, rapidly multiply for he thinks sinfully, speaks sinfully, and acts sinfully.

When he clearly begins to commit sin, the good notice his wickedness. Those, however, who are sinfully disposed contract friendship with him.

He cannot acquire happiness even here. Whence then would he succeed in acquiring happiness hereafter? It is thus that one becomes sinful. Listen now to me as I describe to you one who is righteous.

Such a man, seeking, as he does, the wellbeing of others, succeeds in acquiring good for himself. By doing duties which are fraught with other people's well-being, he attains at last to a highly agreeable end.

He who, helped by his wisdom, succeeds beforehand seeing the faults referred to above, who is skilled in determining what is happiness and what is sorrow and how each is engendered, and who waits respectfully upon the good, makes progress in acquiring virtue, both on account of his habit and such companionship of the good. The mind of such a person finds pleasure in virtue, and he live on, making virtue his stay.

If he wishes to acquire riches, he wishes only such wealth as inay be gained in righteous ways.

In fact, he waters the roots of only thosc objects in which he sees merit. Thus does not become righteous and make friends with the good.

On account of his acquisition of friends, of riches, and of children, he sports happily both here and hereafter. The mastery that a living being acquires over sound, touch, taste, forin, and scent, O Bharata, represents the fruit of virtue. Remember this. Having acquired the fruit of virtue, O Yudhishthira, such a man does not yield to joy.

Without being satisfied with such fruits of virtue he follows Renunciation, led on by the eye of knowledge, When, having gained the eye of knowledge he ceases to find pleasure in the gratification of desire, in taste and in scent, when he does not allow his mind to run towards sound, touch and form, it is then that he succeeds in freeing himself from desire. He does not, however, even then renounce virtue or righteous acts.

Seeing then all the worlds as being subject top destruction, he tries to renounce virtue and tries to attain to Liberation by the (well-known) means.

Gradually renouncing all sinful deeds he follows Renunciation, and becoming righteoussouled succeeds at last in acquiring Liberation.

I have now told you, O Son, of that about which you had asked me, viz., the topics of Sin, Righteousness, Renunciation, and Liberation, O Bharata.

You should, therefore, O Yudhishthira, follow virtue under all circumstances. Eternal is the success, O son of Kunti, of you who follow righteousness.