I have many Gurus, O king -- Earth, Air, Akasa, Water, Fire, the Moon,
the Sun, the pigeon, the huge serpents, the ocean, the insect, the bee,
the elephant, the collector of honey, the deer, the fish, Pingala, the
osprey, the child, the maid, the maker of arrows, the serpent, the
spider and the wasp. These are my twenty four Gurus.
Though oppressed by the elements, the Earth does not deviate from her
path, as she knows that they are only guided by the divine law. This
forbearance I have learned from the Earth. I have learned from the
mountain (which is a part of the Earth) that all our desires should be
for the good of others and that our very existence is for others and not
for self. I have learned entire subordination to other's interests from
the trees (also part of the Earth).
I have learned from the vital air, that one should be content only with
such things as keep up the life and should not care about the objects of
the senses. (The sage should keep up his life so that his mind be not
put out of order and his mental acquisitions lost; but at the same time
he should not be attached to the objects of the senses, so that his
speech and mind be not disturbed.)
Though placed in the midst of the objects with different attributes, the
Yogi should not be attached to them. This I have learned from the
outside air. The soul enters the body and the bodily attributes seem its
own, but it is not so. The air is charged with smell, but the smell is
no attribute of air.
Atma is all pervading and it is not affected by the body and bodily
attributes. This I have learned from Akasa which, though all pervading,
seems to be conditioned by clouds and other objects.
Transparency, agreeability and sweetness, I have learned from water. The
sage purifies others like water.
Powerful in knowledge and glowing with asceticism, the sage receiving
all things does not take their impurities even as fire.
Fire eats the sacrificial ghee when offered to it and consumes the sins
of the offerer. The sage eats the food offered to him by others but he
burns up their past and future impurities.
Fire is one though it enters fuels of various sorts.
One Atma pervades all beings, however different they may appear by the
action of Avidya.
Birth, death, and other affections are states of the body, not of Atma.
The moon looks full, diminished and gone, though it is the same in all
these states.
The sun draws water by its rays and gives it all away in time. The sage
takes in order to give, and not in order to add to his own possessions.
The sun reflected on different surfaces appears to the ignorant as many
and various. The Atma in different bodies, even appears as such.
Too much attachment is bad. This I have learned from a pair of pigeons.
They lived in a forest. One day they left their young ones in the nest
and went about in search of food for them. When they returned they found
the young ones netted by a hunter. The mother had too much affection for
the young ones. She fell into the net of her own accord. The father also
followed suit and the hunter was pleased to have them all without any
exertion of his own.
The huge Ajagara serpent remains where he is and is content with
whatever food comes to him.
The sage is calm and deep, not to be fathomed or measured. He is
limitless (as the unconditioned self is manifested in him). He is not to
be disturbed even like the tranquil ocean. The ocean may receive volumes
of water from the rivers at times or may receive no water at other
times. But it remains the same, even as the sage at all times.
He who is tempted by woman is destroyed like an insect falling into
fire.
The bee takes a little from every flower. The Sanyasi should take only a
little from each Grihastha, so that the Grihastha may not suffer.
The bee extracts honey from all flowers big or small. The Sage should
extract wisdom from all Sastras big or small. Do not store anything for
the evening or for the morrow. Have only so much for your _bhiksha_
(alms given to a Sanyasi) as may suffice for one meal. The bee is killed
for his storing.
The Bhikshu shall not touch a woman though made of wood, even with his
feet. The elephant is shewn a female and is drawn into a trap. The woman
is the death of the sage. He should never approach her. The elephant
seeking a female is killed by stronger elephants.
The miser neither gives nor enjoys his riches. What ever he collects
with difficulty is carried away by some one else. The collector of honey
carries away the honey collected by others. He does not make it by his
own effort. The Sanyasi without any effort of his own gets food from the
Grihasthas, as it is their duty to feed him.
Do not hear vulgar songs. The deer is attracted by songs and is
entrapped.
The love of taste is to be conquered above all, for it is most difficult
to conquer. When the sense of taste is controlled, all other senses are
controlled. The fish is killed when tempted by the bait.
Pingla, a courtesan of Videha waited the whole day for some lover who
might come and make presents to her, with breathless expectation. The
night approached and she grew restless She then thought within herself:
-- "For what a trifle, am I so uneasy. Why not seek Ishvara, the eternal
giver of all pleasures and all desires." She gave up all hopes and
expectations that troubled her ere long and became happy. She had good
sleep in the night. It is hope that gives us trouble. Without hope we
are happy.
When the bird kurara (osprey) gets some flesh to eat, the stronger birds
kill him. He is happy when he renounces the flesh. Renunciation of dear
objects is good for the sage.
The child has no sense of honor or dis-honor. It has not the thoughts of
a man of the world. It is self content and it plays with self. I roam
about like the child. The child is however ignorant, but the sage
crosses the limits of the Gunas.
Some people came to select a bride. The maid was alone in the house. She
received the men who came. She went to a solilary place to beat off the
impurities of the rice for their meal. She had shell-made bracelets on
her wrists. These made a great noise. She felt disgust and broke the
bracelets one by one, till only one remained on each hand. When there
are two or more at one place, they cause a jarring sound, and they
quarrel. I have therefore earned solitariness from the maid.