कर्म र ज्ञान

Bhishma said more Persons who perform acts consider the performance of acts highly. Likewise, those who are devoted to Knowledge do not regard anything other than Knowledge.

Rare are persons fully conversant with the Vedas and depending upon the injunctions contained therein. The intelligent however consider the abstention from acts as the better of the two, viz., heaven and liberation.

Abstention of acts is observed by highly wise That conduct, therefore, is praiseworthy. The intelligence which advocates abstention from acts, is that by which one attains to liberation. men.

Endued with body, a person, through folly, and endued with anger and cupidity and all the propensities born of Darkness and Ignorance, cherishes attachment for all earthly objects.

One, therefore, who wishes to destroy his connection with the body, should never perforin any impure act. On the other hand, one should create by his acts a path for attaining to Liberation, without wishing for regions of happiness.

As gold, when united with iron, losses its purity and cannot shine, so Knowledge, when existing with attachment to earthly objects and such other shortcomings, fails to display its splendour.

He who, influenced by cupidity, desire and anger, practises unrighteousness, transgressing the path of righteousness, is completely destroyed.

One who is desirous of benefiting oneself should never seek, with too much attachment, earthly possessions representing by the objects of the senses. If one does it, anger and joy and sorrow arise from one another.

When every one's body is made up of the five original elements as also of the three qualities of Goodness. Darkness, and Ignorance, whom shall one worship and whom shall one censure with what words?

Only the fools become attached to the objects of the senses. On account of folly they do not know that their bodies are only modifications of earth.

As a house made of earth is covered over with earth, so this body which is made of earth is saved from destruction by food which is only a change of earth.

Honey, oil, milk, butter, meat, salt, treacle and grain of all kinds and fruit and roots are all modifications of earth and water.

Giving up all desire (for rich food) herinits living in the forest take simple and unsavoury food, for only keeping up the body.

Likewise, a person who lives in the forest of the world, should be ready for labour and should take food for passing life, like a patient taking medicine.

Examining all earthly things that meet him, by the help of truth, purity, candour, a spirit of। renunciation, enlightenment, courage, forgiveness, fortitude, intelligence, reflection, and austerities, and desirous of securing tranquillity, a person of great soul should restrain his senses.

All creatures, stupefied by Ignorance by the qualities of Goodness, Darkness, and Ignorance and continually revolving like a wheel.

All faults, begotten of Ignorance should be closely examined and the idea of Self, which originates from Ignorance, and creates misery, should be avoided.

The five elements, the senses, the qualities of Goodness, Darkness and Ignorance, the three worlds with the Supreme Being himself, and acts, all rest on Self-consciousness.

As Time, under its own laws, always creates the seasons one after another, so one should know that Consciousness in all creatures is the mover of acts.

Ignorance produces delusions. It is like Darkness and is born of Ignorance. All the joys and sorrows belong to the three qualities of Goodness, Darkness, and Ignorance.

Listen now to those consequences that spring from the qualities of Goodness, Darkness and Ignorance. Contentment, the satisfaction that arises from joy, certainty, intelligence, and memory,-these are the results of the quality of Goodness. I shall now describe the consequences of Darkness and Ignorance.

Desire, anger, error, cupidity stupefaction, fear, and fatigue, belong to the quality of Darkness. Cheerlessness, grief discontent, vanity, pride, and wickedness, all belong to Ignorance.

Examining the weight or lightness of these and other evils that exist in the Soul, one should reflect upon each of them one after another.

Yudhishthira said, What eviis are shunned by persons sceking Liberation? What are those that are weakened by them? What are the evils that come again and again? What, again, are regarded as week, through stupefaction.

What, indeed, are those evils upon whose gravity and weakness a wise man should reflect with the help of intelligence and of reason? I have doubts upon these subjects. Describe these to me, O grandfather.

Bhishma said-‘By rooting out all evils, a person of pure Soul succeeds in obtaining Liberation. As an axe made of steel cuts a steel chain, similarly, a person of cleansed Soul, destroying all the evils that originate from Darkness and that are born with the Soul, succeeds in cutting off his connection with the body.

The qualities having their origin in Darkness, those that originate from Ignorance, and those stainless ones characterised by purity, form as it were the seed from which all embodied creatures have sprung. Amongst these, the quality of Goodness alone is the cause through which persons of pure souls succeed in attaining to Liberation.

A person of pure soul, therefore, should cast off all the qualities begotten of Darkness and Ignorance. Then again when the quality of Goodness becomes frced from those of Darkness and Ignorance it shines the more.

Some say that sacrifices and other acts performed with the help of Mantras, and which bring about the purification of the Soul, are evil or cruel acts. On the other hand, those acts are the chief instruments for dissociating the Soul from all worldly attachments, and for the observance of the religion of peace.

Through the influence of the qualities born of Darkness, all impious acts are perpetrated and all earthly acts as well as such acts as originate from desire are performed.

Through qualities born of Ignorance, one does all acts fraught with cupidity and springing from anger. In consequence of the attribute of Ignorance, one feels sleep and procrastination and becomes addicted to all acts of crucily and carnality.

That person, however, who endued with faith and scriptural knowledge, follows the quality of Goodness, attends only to all good things and becomes endued with beauty and a soul free froin every corruption.