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12/11/20
11. The Prime Minister’s Admonition to the Prince
Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 3:35 am

Β§ 11. The Prime Minister’s Admonition to the Prince
1. Udayin realized that the girls had failed, and that the Prince had shown no interest in them.
2. Udayin, well skilled in the rules of policy, thought of talking to the prince.
3. Meeting the prince all alone, Udayin said, “Since I was appointed by the king as a fitting friend for thee, therefore I wish to speak to thee in the friendliness of my heart.” So began Udayin.
4. “To hinder from what is disadvantageous, to urge to do what is advantageous, and not to forsake in misfortune, these are the three marks of a friend.
5. “If I, after having promised my friendship, were not to heed when thou turnest away from the great end of man, there would be no friendship in me.
6. “It is right to woo a woman even by guile; this is useful both for getting rid of shame and for one’s own enjoyment.
7. “Reverential behaviour and compliance with her wishes are what bind a woman’s heart; good qualities truly are a cause of love, and women love respect.
8. “Wilt thou not then, O large-eyed prince, even if thy heart is unwilling, seek to please them with a courtesy worthy of this beauty of thine?
9. “Courtesy is the balm of women, courtesy is the best ornament; beauty without courtesy is like a grove without flowers.
10. “But of what use is courtesy by itself? Let it be assisted by the heart’s feelings; surely, when worldly objects so hard to attain are in the grasp, thou wilt not despise them.
11. “Knowing that pleasure was the best of objects, even the god Purandara (Indra) wooed in olden times Ahalya, the wife of the saint Gautama.
12. “So too Agastya wooed Rohini, the wife of Soma; and therefore, as Sruti saith, a like thing befell Lopamudra.
13. “The great ascetic Brihaspati begot Bharadwaja on Mamata the daughter of the Maruta, the wife of Autathya.
14. “The Moon, the best of offerers, begat Buda of divine nature on the spouse of Vrihaspati, as she was offering a libation.
15. “So too in old times Parasara, overpowered by passion on the banks of the Yamuna, lay with the maiden Kali, who was the daughter of the son of Varuna.
16. “The sage Vasishtha through lust begot a son, Kapinglada, on Akshmala, a despised low-caste woman.
17. “And the seer-king Yayat, even when the vigour of his prime was gone, sported in the Kaitrartha forest with the Apsara Visvaki.
18. “And the Kaurava king Pandu, though he knew that intercourse with his wife would end in death, yet overcome by the beauty and good qualities of Madri, yielded to the pleasures of love.
19. “Great heroes such as these pursued even contemptible desires for the sake of pleasure, how much more so when they are praiseworthy of their kind?
20. “And yet thou, a young man, possessed of strength and beauty, despisest enjoyments which rightly belong to thee and to which the whole world is devoted.”
Book One, Part IIβ€”Renunciation for Ever
1. *From Kapilavatsu to Rajagraha* — 2. *King Bimbisara and His Advice* — 3. *Gautama answers Bimbisara* — 4. *Reply by Gautama (concluded)* — 5. *News of Peace* — 6. *The problem in a New Perspective*
Β§ 1. From Kapilavatsu to Rajagraha
1. Leaving Kapilavatsu, Siddharth Gautama thought of going to Rajagraha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha.
2. The reigning king was Bimbisara. It was a place which great philosophers and leaders of thought had made their headquarters.
3. With this thought in mind he crossed the Ganges, fearing not her rapid flow.
4. On his way he halted at the hermitage of a Brahmin woman, Saki, then at the hermitage of another Brahmin woman, by name Padma, and then at the hermitage of the Brahmin sage Raivata. All of them entertained him.
5. Having seen his personality and dignity and his splendid beauty, surpassing all other men, the people of that region were all astonished at him [=his] wearing the clothes of a sanyasi.
6. On seeing him, he who was going elsewhere stood still, and he who was standing there followed him on the way; he who was walking gently and gravely ran quickly, and he who was sitting at once sprang up.
7. Some people reverenced him with their hands, others in worship saluted him with their heads, some addressed him with affectionate words; not one went on without paying him homage.
8. Those who were wearing gay-coloured dresses were ashamed when they saw him, those who were talking on random subjects fell to silence; no one indulged in an improper thought.
9. His eyebrows, his forehead, his mouth,–his body, his hand, his feet, or his gait,–whatever part of him anyone beheld, that at once rivetted his gaze.
10. After a long and arduous journey Gautama reached Rajagraha surrounded by five hills, well guarded and adorned with mountains, and supported and hallowed by auspicious and sacred places.
11. On reaching Rajagraha he selected a spot at the foot of the Pandava hill, and put up a small hut made of the leaves of trees for his sojourn.
12. Kapilavatsu by foot is nearly 400 miles distant from Rajagraha.
13. This long journey Siddharth Gautama did all on foot.
Β§ 2. King Bimbisara and his Advice
1. Next day he got up and started to go into the city with a begging bowl, asking for alms. A vast crowd gathered round him.
2. Then Sreniya Bimbisara, the lord of the kingdom of the Magadhas, beheld from the outside of his palace the immense concourse of people, and asked the reason of it; and thus did a courtier recount it to him:
3. “He who was thus foretold by the Brahmins, ‘He will either attain supreme wisdom or be the emperor of the earth’–it is he, the son of the king of the Sakyas, who is now an ascetic. It is he at whom the people are gazing at.”
4. The king, having heard this and perceiving its meaning in his mind, thus at once spoke to that courtier, “Let it be known whither he is going”; and the courtier, receiving the command, followed the prince.
5. With fixed eyes, seeing only a yoke’s length before him, with his voice hushed, and his walk slow and measured, he, the noblest of mendicants, went begging for alms, keeping his limbs and his wandering thoughts under control.
6. Having received such alms as were offered, he retired to a lonely corner of the mountain; and having eaten it there, he ascended the Pandava hill.
7. In that wood, thickly filled with lodhra trees, having its thickness resonant with the notes of the peacocks, he, the sun of mankind, shone, wearing his red dress, like the morning sun above the eastern mountains.
8. That royal courtier, having thus watched him there, related it all to the king; and the king, when he heard it, in his deep veneration, started himself to go thither with a modest retinue.
9. Like a mountain in stature, the king ascended the hill.
10. There he beheld Gautama, resplendent as he sat on his hams, with subdued senses, as if the mountain was moving, and he himself was a peak thereof.
11. Him, distinguished by his beauty of form and perfect tranquillity, filled with astonishment and affectionate regard, the king of men approached.
12. Bimbisara having courteously drawn nigh to him, inquired as to the condition of his bodily humours; and Gautama with equal gentleness assured the king of his health of mind and freedom from all ailments.
13. Then the king sat down on the clean surface of the rock, and being seated, he thus spoke, desiring to convey his state of mind:
14. “I have a strong friendship with thy family, come down by inheritance and well proved; since from this, a desire to speak to thee, my son, has arisen in me, therefore, listen to my words of affection,
15. “When I consider thy race, beginning with the sun, thy fresh youth, and thy conspicuous beauty, I wonder whence comes this resolve of thine, so out of all harmony with the rest, set wholly on a mendicant’s life, not on a kingdom?
16. “Thy limbs are worthy of red sandalwood perfumes,–they do not deserve the rough contact of red cloth; this hand of thine is fit to protect subjects, it deserves not to hold food given by another
17. “If, therefore, gentle youth, thou desirest not thy paternal kingdom, then in thy generosity, accept forthwith one half of my kingdom.
18. “If thou actest thus, there will be no sorrow caused to thine own people, and by the mere lapse of time imperial power at last flies for refuge to the tranquil mind; therefore, be pleased to do me this kindness. The prosperity of the good becomes very powerful, when aided by the good.
19. “But if from thy pride of race thou dost not now feel confidence in me, then plunge with thy arrows into countless armies, and with me as thy ally seek to conquer thy foes.
20. “Choose thou, therefore, one of these ends. Pursue according to the rules of religious merit, wealth, and pleasure; pursue love and the rest, in reverse order. These are the three objects in life; when men die they pass into dissolution as far as regards this world.
21. “Do thou, therefore, by pursuing the three objects of life, cause this personality of thine to bear its fruit; they say that when the attainment of religion, wealth and pleasure is complete in all its parts, then the end of man is complete.
22. “Do not thou let these two brawny arms lie useless, which are worthy to draw the bow; they are well fitted to conquer the three worlds, much more the earth.
23. “I speak this to you out of affection,–not through love of dominion or through arrogance; beholding this mendicant-dress of thine, I am filled with compassion, and I shed tears.
24. “O, thou who desirest the mendicant’s stage of life, enjoy pleasures now, in due time–ere old age comes on and overcomes this thy beauty, well worthy of thy illustrious race.
25. “The old man can obtain merit by religion; old age is helpless for the enjoyment of pleasures; therefore, they say that pleasures belong to the young man, wealth to the middle-aged, and religion to the old.
26. “Youth in this present world is the enemy of religion and wealth–since pleasures, however much we guard against them, are hard to hold, therefore, wherever pleasures are to be found, there thy youth [should] seize them.
27. “Old age is prone to reflection, it is grave and intent on remaining quiet; it attains unimpassionedness with but little effort, unavoidably, and for very shame.
28. “Therefore, having passed through the deceptive period of youth, fickle, intent on external objects, heedless, impatient, not looking at the distance,–they take breath like men who have escaped safe through a forest.
29. “Let, therefore, this fickle time of youth first pass by, reckless and giddy,–our early years are earmarked for pleasure, they cannot be kept from the power of the senses.
30. “Or, if religion is really thy one aim, then offer sacrifices,–this is thy family’s immemorial custom, climbing to highest heaven by sacrifices.
31. “With their arms pressed by golden bracelets, and their variegated diadems resplendent with the light of gems, royal sages have reached the same goal by sacrifice which great sages reached by self-mortification.”
Β§ 3. Gautama Answers Bimbisara
1. Thus spoke the monarch of the Magadhas, who spoke well and strongly like Indra; but having heard it, the prince did not falter. He was firm like a mountain.
2. Being thus addressed by the monarch of the Magadhas, Gautama, in a strong speech with friendly face,–self-possessed, unchanged, thus made answer:
3. “What you have said is not to be called a strange thing for thee. O King! Born as thou art in the great family whose ensign is the lion, and lover as thou art of thy friends, that ye should adopt this line of approach towards him who stands as one of thy friends is only natural.
4. “Amongst the evil-minded, a friendship worthy of their family ceases to continue, and fades; it is only the good who keep increasing the old friendship of their ancestors by a new succession of friendly acts.
5. “But those men who act unchangingly towards their friends in reverses of fortune, I esteem in my heart as true friends. Who is not the friend of the prosperous man, in his times of abundance?
6. “So those who, having obtained riches in the world, employ them for the sake of their friends and religions,–their wealth has real solidity, and when it perishes it produces no pain at the end.
7. “This thy suggestion concerning me, O King, is prompted by pure generosity and friendship; I will meet thee courteously with simple friendship, I would not utter aught else in my reply.
8. “I am not so afraid even of serpents nor of thunderbolts falling from heaven, nor of flames blown together by the wind, as I am afraid of these worldly objects.
9. “These transient pleasures,–the robbers of our happiness and our wealth, and which float empty and like illusions through the world,–infatuate man’s minds even when they are only hoped for,–still more when they take up their abode in the soul.
10. “The victims of pleasure attain not to happiness even in the heaven of the gods, still less in the world of mortals; he who is athirst is never satisfied with pleasures, as the fire, the friend of the wind, with fuel.
11. “There is no calamity in the world like pleasures, people are devoted to them through delusion; when he once knows the truth and so fears evil, what wise man would of his own choice desire evil?
12. “When they have obtained all the earth girdled by the sea, kings wish to conquer the other side of the great ocean; mankind is never satiated with pleasures, as the ocean with the waters that fall into it.
13, “When it had rained a golden shower from heaven, and when he had conquered the continents and had even obtained the half of Sakra’s throne, Mandhatri was still full of craving for worldly objects.
14. “Though he enjoyed the kingdom of the gods in heaven, when Indra had concealed himself through fear of Vritra, and though in his pride he had made the great Rishis bear his litter, Nahusha was not satisfied.
15. “Who would seek these enemies bearing the name of pleasures, by whom even those sages have been overcome, who were devoted to other pursuits, whose only clothes were rags, whose food roots, fruits, and water, and who wear their twisted locks as long as snakes
16. “When they hear of the miseries of those who are intent on pleasure and are devoted to worldly pursuits, it well befits the self-controlled to fling it away.
17. “Success in pleasure is to be considered a misery in the man of pleasure, for he becomes intoxicated when the pleasures of his desire are attained; through intoxication he does what should not be done, not what should be done ; and being wounded thereby he falls into a miserable end.
18. “These pleasures which are gained and kept by toil, which after deceiving leave you and return whence they came,–these pleasures which are but borrowed for a time,–what man of self-control, if he is wise, would delight in them?
19. “What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures which are like a torch of hay,–which excite thirst when you seek them and when you grasp them?
20. “What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures which are like flesh that has been flung away, and which produces [=produce] misery by their being held in common with kings?
21. “What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which, like the senses, are destructive, which bring calamity on every hand to those who abide in them?
22. “Those men of self-control who are bitten by them in their hearts, fall into ruin and attain not bliss–what man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like an angry, cruel serpent?
23. “Even if they enjoy them men are not satisfied,–like dogs famishing with hunger over a bone–what man of self control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like a skeleton composed of dry bones?
24. “He whose intellect is blinded with pleasures, the wretch who is the miserable slave of hope for the sake of pleasures, well deserves the pain of death even in the world of living.
25. “Deer are lured to their destruction by songs, insects for the sake of the brightness fly into the fire, the fish greedy for the flesh swallows the iron hook,–therefore, worldly pleasures produce misery as their end.
26. “As for the common opinion, ‘pleasures are enjoyment’, none of them when examined are worthy of being enjoyed; fine garments and the rest are only the accessories of things,–they are to be regarded as merely the remedies for pain.
27. “Water is desired for allaying thirst; food in the same way for removing hunger; a house for keeping off the wind, the heat of the sun, and the rain; and dress for keeping off the cold and to cover one’s nakedness.
28. “So too a bed is for removing drowsiness; a carriage for remedying the fatigue of a journey; a seat for alleviating the pain of standing; so bathing as [=is] a means for washing, health, and strength.
29. “External objects therefore are to human beings means for remedying pain–not in themselves sources of enjoyment; what wise man would allow that he enjoys those delights which are only used as remedial?
30. “He who, when burned with the heat of bilious fever, maintains that cold appliances are an enjoyment, when he is only engaged in alleviating pain,–he indeed might give the name of enjoyment to pleasures.
31. “Since variableness is found in all pleasures, I cannot apply to them the name of enjoyment; the very conditions which mark pleasure, bring also in their turn pain.
32. “Heavy garments and fragrant aloe-wood are pleasant in the cold, but an annoyance in the heat; and the moonbeams and sandalwood are pleasant in the heat, but a pain in the cold.
33. “Since the well-known opposite pairs, such as gain and loss and the rest, are inseparably connected with everything in this world,–therefore, no man is invariably happy on the earth, nor invariably wretched.
34. “When I see how the nature of pleasure and pain are mixed, I consider royalty and slavery as the same; a king does not always smile, nor is a slave always in pain.
35. “Since to be a king involves a wider range of responsibility, therefore the sorrows of a king are great; for a king is like a peg,–he endures trouble for the sake of the world.
36. “A king is unfortunate, if he places his trust in his royalty which is apt to desert, and loves crooked turns; and, on the other hand, if he does not trust in it, then what can be the happiness of a timid king?
37. “And since after even conquering the whole earth, one city only can serve as a dwelling place, and even there only one house can be inhabited, is not royalty mere labour for others?
38. “And even in royalty nothing more than one pair of garments is all he needs, and just enough food to keep off hunger; so only one bed, and only one seat is all that a king needs; other distinctions are only for pride.
39. “And if all these fruits are desired for the sake of satisfaction, I can be satisfied without a kingdom; and if a man is once satisfied in this world, are not all distinctions unnecessary?
40. “He then who has attained the auspicious road to happiness is not to be deceived in regard to pleasures. Remembering thy professed friendship, I ask, tell me again and again, are the pleasures worth anything?
41. “I have not left home through anger, nor because my diadem has been dashed down by an enemy’s arrow; nor have I set my desires on loftier objects, that I thus refuse thy proposal.
42. “Only he who, having once let go a malignant, incensed serpent, or a blazing hay-torch all on fire, would strive again to seize it, would ever seek pleasures again after having once abandoned them.
43. “Only he who, though seeing, would envy the blind; though free, the bound; though wealthy, the destitute; though sound in his reason, the maniac–only he, I say, would envy one who is devoted to wordly objects.
44. “He who lives on alms, my good friend, is not to be pitied. He has here the best happiness, perfect calm, and hereafter all sorrows are for him abolished.
45. “But he is to be pitied who is overpowered by craving though in the midst of great wealth,–who attains not the happiness of calm here, while pain has to be experienced hereafter.
46. “What thou has spoken to me is well worthy of thy character, thy mode of life, and thy family; and to carry out my resolve is also befitting my character, my mode of life, and my family.”

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ANNIHILATION OF CASTE PART 2

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