"'Yudhishthira said, "By what means doth a man become sinful, by what doth
he achieve virtue, by what doth he attain to Renunciation, and by what
doth he win Emancipation?"
"'Bhishma said, "Thou knowest all duties. This question that thou askest
is only for confirmation of thy conclusions. Listen now to Emancipation,
and Renunciation, and Sin, and Virtue to their very roots. Perceiving any
one of the five objects (viz., form, taste, scent, sound, and touch),
desire runs after it at first. Indeed, obtaining them within the purview
of the senses, O chief of Bharata's race, desire or aversion springs
up.[1295] One, then, for the sake of that object (i.e., for acquisition
of what is liked and avoidance of what is disliked) strives and begins
acts that involve much labour. One endeavours one's best for repeatedly
enjoying those forms and scents (and the three other objects of the
remaining three senses) that appear very agreeable. Gradually,
attachment, and aversion, and greed, and errors of judgment arise. The
mind of one overwhelmed by greed and error and affected by attachment and
aversion is never directed to virtue. One then begins with hypocrisy to
do acts that are good. Indeed, with hypocrisy one then seeks to acquire
virtue, and with hypocrisy one likes to acquire wealth. When one
succeeds, O son of Kuru's race, in winning wealth with hypocrisy, one
sets one's heart to such acquisition wholly. It is then that one begins
to do acts that are sinful, notwithstanding the admonitions of
well-wishers and the wise, unto all which he makes answers plausibly
consistent with reason and conformable to the injunctions of the
scriptures. Born of attachment and error, his sins, of three kinds,
rapidly increase, for he thinks sinfully, speaks sinfully, and acts
sinfully. When he fairly starts on the way of sin, they that are good
mark his wickedness. They, however, that are of a disposition similar to
that of the sinful man, enter into friendship with him. He succeeds not
in winning happiness even here. Whence then would he succeed in winning
happiness hereafter? It is thus that one becomes sinful. Listen now to me
as I speak to thee of one that is righteous. Such a man, inasmuch as he
seeks the good of others, succeeds in winning good for himself. By
practising duties that are fraught with other people's good, he attains
at last to a highly agreeable end. He who, aided by his wisdom, succeeds
beforehand in beholding the faults above adverted to, who is skilled in
judging of what is happiness and what is sorrow and how each is brought
about, and who waits with reverence upon those that are good, makes
progress in achieving virtue, both in consequence of his habit and such
companionship of the good. The mind of such a person takes delight in
virtue, and he lives on, making virtue his support. If he sets his heart
on the acquisition of wealth, he desires only such wealth as may be
acquired in righteous ways. Indeed, he waters the roots of only those
things in which he sees merit. In this way, doth one become righteous and
acquires friends that are good. In consequence of his acquisition of
friends, of wealth, and of children, he sports in happiness both here and
hereafter. The mastery (in respect of enjoyment) that a living creature
attains over sound, touch, taste, form, and scent, O Bharata, represents
the fruit of virtue.[1296] Remember this. Having obtained the fruit of
virtue, O Yudhishthira, such a man does not give himself up to joy.
Without being contented with such (visible) fruits of virtue he betakes
himself to Renunciation, led on by the eye of knowledge. When, having
acquired the eye of knowledge, he ceases to take 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.[1297] He does not, however, even
then cast off virtue or righteous acts. Beholding then all the worlds to
be liable to destruction, he strives to cast off virtue (with its rewards
in the form of heaven and its happiness) and endeavours to attain to
Emancipation by the (well-known) means.[1298] Gradually abandoning all
sinful acts he betakes himself to Renunciation, and becoming
righteous-souled succeeds at last in attaining to Emancipation. I have
now told thee, O son, of that about which thou hadst asked me, viz., the
topics of Sin, Righteousness, Renunciation, and Emancipation, O Bharata!
Thou shouldst, therefore, O Yudhishthira, adhere to virtue in all
situations. Eternal is the success, O son of Kunti, of thee that adherest
to righteousness."'"[1299]