Malevolence
From The Mahabharata
Santi Parva, Section CLXIV
Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Yudhishthira said: I know what benevolence is, in consequence of my observation of persons that are good. I do not, however, know them that are malevolent, nor the nature of their acts, O Bharata. Indeed, people avoid malevolent persons of cruel deeds even as they avoid thorns and pitfalls and fire. It is evident, O Bharata, that he who is malevolent is sure to burn (with misery) both here and hereafter. Therefore, O thou of Kuru’s race, tell me what, in truth, the acts of such a person are.
Bhishma said: Malevolent persons always do wicked acts and feel an irresistible inclination for doing them. They slander others and incur obloquy themselves. They always regard themselves as cheated of what is their due. A malevolent person brags of his own acts of charity. He sees others with malicious eyes. He is very mean. He is deceitful and full of cunning. He never gives others their dues. He is arrogant. He keeps evil company and is always boastful. He fears and suspects all with whom he comes into contact. He is of foolish understanding. He practises miserliness. He praises his associates. He cherishes an inordinate aversion and hatred for all recluses who have retired into the woods. He takes delight in injuring others.
He is utterly regardless of distinguishing the merits and faults of others. He is full of lies. He is discontented. He is exceedingly covetous and always acts cruelly. Such a person regards a virtuous and accomplished man as a pest, and thinking everybody else to be like himself never trusts anyone. Such a person proclaims the faults of other people however unsuspected those faults might be. With regard to such faults, however, as similar to those that stain his own self, he does not refer to them even remotely, for the sake of the advantage he reaps from them. He regards the person that does him good as a simpleton whom he has cleverly deceived. He is filled with regret for having at any time made any gift of wealth even unto a benefactor. Know him for a malevolent and wicked person who quietly and alone takes comestibles and drinks and other kinds of food that are regarded choice, even when persons are standing by with wishful eyes. He on the other hand, who dedicates the first portion to Brahmanas and takes what remains, dividing it with friends and kinsmen, attains to great felicity in the next world and infinite happiness here. I have now, O chief of Bharata, said unto thee what the indications are of the wicked and malevolent man. Such a person should always be avoided by a man of wisdom.
Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CIII
Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Indra said: What are the indications, O best of regenerate ones, of a wicked person? Questioned by me, tell me how I am to know who is wicked?
Vrihaspati said: A wicked person is he who proclaims the faults of others, and who remains silent when the merits of other people are proclaimed in his presence, feeling a reluctance to join in the chorus. Mere silence on such occasions is no indication of wickedness. A wicked person, however, at such times breathes heavily, bites his lips, and shakes his head. Such a person always mixes in society and speaks irrelevantly [Note: Comments by the translator: i.e. he starts such subjects for conversation as do not arise naturally, for what he has in view is the proclaiming of the faults of other people, a topic in which he alone is interested and not his hearers.]
Such a man never does what he promises, when the eye of the person to whom he has given the assurance is not upon him. When the eye of the person assured is on him, the wicked man does not even allude to the subject. The wicked man eats by himself (and not with others on the same board), and finds fault with the food placed before him, saying, ‘All is not right today as on other days.’ His disposition shows itself in the circumstances connected with his sitting, lying, and riding. Sorrowing on occasions of sorrow and rejoicing on occasions of joy, are the indications of a friend. An opposite behaviour furnishes the indications of an enemy. Keep in thy heart these sayings, O ruler of the gods! The disposition of wicked men can never be concealed. I have now told thee, O foremost of deities, what the indications of a wicked person are. Having listened to the truths laid down in the scriptures, follow them duly, O ruler of the celestials!
From the Mahabharata
Karna parva, section XL
Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Addressing Salya, the king of the Madras:
Karna said: The merits of meritorious men, O Salya are known to them that are themselves meritorious but not to them that are destitute of merit. You, however, are destitute of every merit. How then can you judge of merit and demerit? ….
Hold your tongue, O you that were born in a sinful country. Hear from me, O Salya, the sayings, already passed into proverbs, that men, young and old, and women, and persons arrived in course of their listless wanderings, generally utter, as if those sayings formed part of their studies, about the wicked Mandrakas.
Brahmanas also duly narrated the same things formerly in the courts of kings. Listening to those sayings attentively, O fool, you may forgive or rejoin.
The Madraka is always a hater of friends. He that hates us is a Madraka. There is no friendship in the Madraka who is mean in speech and is the lowest of mankind. The Madraka is always a person of wicked soul, is always untruthful and crooked. It has been heard by us that till the moment of death the Madrakas are wicked. (Amongst the Madrakas) the sire, the son, the mother, the mother-in-law, the brother, the grandson, and other kinsmen, companions, strangers arrived at their homes, slaves male and female, mingle together. The women of the Madrakas mingle, at their own will, with men known and unknown. Of unrighteous conduct, and subsisting upon fried and powdered corn and fish, in their homes, they laugh and cry having drunk spirits and eaten beef. They sing incoherent songs and mingle lustfully with one another, indulging the while in the freest speeches. How then virtue have a place amongst the Madrakas who are arrogant and notorious for all kinds of evil acts?
No one should make friends with a Madraka or provoke hostilities with him. In the Madraka land there is no friendship. The Madraka is always the dirt of humanity. Amongst the Madrakas all acts of friendship are lost as purity amongst the Gandharakas and the libations poured in a sacrifice in which the king is himself the sacrificer and priest.- Then again, it is truly seen that wise men treat a person bit by a scorpion and affected by its poison, even with these words: As a Brahmana (Brahmin) that assists at the religious ceremonies of a Sudra suffers degradation, as one that hates Brahmanas always suffers degradation, even so a person by making an alliance with the Madrakas becomes fallen. As there is no friendship in the Madraka, so, O scorpion, your poison is nought.
With these mantras of the Atharvan I have duly performed the rite of exorcism. Knowing this, O learned one, hold your tongue, or listen to something further that I will say. Those women that, intoxicated by spirits, cast off their robes and dance,- Those women that are not attached (to particular individuals) in the matter of intercourse and that they do as they please without owning any restrictions, I say, that being, as you are the child of one of these women, how can you, O Madraka, be a fit person for declaring the duties of men? Those women that live and answer calls of nature like camels and asses, being as you are the child of one of those sinful and shameless creatures, how can you wish to declare the duties of men?
When a Madraka woman is solicited for the gift of a little quantity of vinegar, she scratches her hips and without being desirous of giving it, says these cruel words, ‘Let no man ask any vinegar of me that is so dear to me. I would give him my son, I would give him my husband, but vinegar I would not give.’ The young Madraka maidens, we hear, are generally very shameless and hairy and gluttonous and impure. These and many other things of a like nature, in respect of all their acts, from the crown of their heads to the tip of their toes, are capable of being asserted of them by myself and others. How, indeed, would the Madrakas and the Sindhu-Sauviras know anything of duty, being born, as they are, in a sinful country, being Mlechhas in their practices, and being totally regardless of all duties?
The Nature of Man according to Hinduism
By Swami Brahmeshananda
By Swami Brahmeshananda
(Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math)
According to Swami Vivekananda, the greatest exponent of the philosophy of
the Vedas, which is also called Vedanta, man is Divine. To be able to grasp the
profound significance of the Hindu concept of the Divinity of man, we must
first review the various prevalent concepts of man.
Various concepts of man
Biologically, man is an animal with the species name homosapiens, whose
fore-brain or neo-cerebrum is more developed than that of other animals.
Consequently man is less governed by his instincts than other animals, who, due
to preponderance of the lower brain or paleo-cerebrum are primarily driven by
instincts. According to the medical materialists, man is a physiologically
driven machine made of complex biochemical molecules. These basic concepts of
man have been accepted by almost all the non-theological philosophers of the
West, each of whom has added his own adjective to the animal-man. Greek
philosophers considered man a rational animal. Aristotle has defined man as a
political animal, and the American philosopher Benjamin Franklin calls him
homo-faber, or tool-making animal. Man has produced tools as extension of his
own body, as it were, and has increased his productivity manifold. He has
harnessed energy, like steam energy, electricity, atomic energy, etc. He has
produced devices that replace thought itself (automation, cybernetics).
E.Cassier has emphasized that man is a symbol making animal and the most
important symbol invented by him is the word through which he can communicate
with others.
Of the Western thinkers, special mention must be made of Sigmund Freud and
Karl Marx. Freud's outstanding contribution is his discovery of the
unconscious. But by laying too great a stress on sex as the most important
driving force, he has reduced man into a sexual animal, the homo-sexuals, with
far reaching psycho-social consequences which are too evident in the contemporary
society to be mentioned. The whole aim of his system of psychotherapy is to
help man attain sexual maturity. Marx believes that man is driven primarily by
a desire for economic gains: he is a homo-economicus. However, in Das Capital,
he has defined man as a social animal. According to him, if man fails to relate
himself actively with others and with nature, he loses himself, becomes
alienated; his drives lose human qualities and assume animal qualities. He
becomes sick, fragmented, crippled human being.
According to Marx man is driven by two sets of drives: fixed or constant
and relative. Sex and hunger fall under the first category, while relative
drives like hate, avarice etc. owe their origin to certain types of social
organizations.
The Hindu concept of man
This concept, to some extent, resembles the Hindu concept of man: 'Eating,
sleeping, fear and sex are common to man as well as animals. In human beings
dharma (i.e. restraint by moral rules) is extra and special. Without dharma men
are no better than beasts.' According to Shankaracharya, this dharma is of two
types: pravritti-lakshana and nivritti-lakshana. When one, observing the moral
codes of conduct applicable to one's station in life and society performs
actions for enjoyment (kama) and acquisition of wealth (artha), one is said to
be following pravritti dharma. A time comes, however, when one gets disgusted
with sense-enjoyments and acquisition of wealth and aspires for final
emancipation (moksha). The one embraces what is called nivritti dharma,
characterized by renunciation of all worldly desires and selfish actions, and
resorting to spiritual practice to attain liberation. Man rises from animal to
human level by accepting pravritti dharma i.e. by observing social injunctions.
He ascends to godhood and becomes divine by embracing the nivritti dharma.
This Hindu concept of liberation, in turn, is based upon another concept of
an ever pure, ever free, ever perfect, ever conscious spiritual entity in man
called Atman (soul). According to Swami Vivekananda this Atman is the Real Man
as against the body-mind complex which is only the apparent man. The relation
between the real and apparent men has been beautifully described through an
allegory in the Katha Upanishad:
Know the soul to be the master of the chariot and the body the chariot.
Consider the intellect the charioteer, and the mind the reins. The senses, they
say, are the horses, and their roads are the sense objects. The wise call Him
the enjoyer when He is united with the body, senses and mind.
Real and apparent man
The Hindus have further elaborated this concept by stating that the real
man or Atman is conscious, ever free, blissful and immortal. The apparent man
consists of five sheaths which cover the soul or atman. These are (1) the
physical body or the physical sheath, (2) the vital sheath or the sheath
life-force, (3) the mental sheath, (4) the ego sheath, and (5) the Blissful
sheath. According to another concept, the real man or the conscious soul or
Atman has three bodies: (1) the gross physical body, (2) the subtle mental body
and (3) the causal body which is made up of pure ignorance. At the time of
death, the physical body dies, but the subtle mental body and the causal body
remain and together with the conscious soul or real man, transmigrate to
another physical body to be born again.
When we are awake, the gross physical body is active. In sleep, when we are
dreaming, the physical body is inactive, but the mental body is active. But
when we go into deep sleep and do not even see dreams, at that time even the
mental body is not active and only the causal body in the form of ignorance
remains covering the pure soul or Atman.
Western and Hindu concepts compared
From the above resume it would be evident that the Hindu concepts of the
nature of man, his destiny and his drives are far more comprehensive and vastly
superior to the western ones. For western thinkers man is either an animal or a
machine. Hindus on the other hand believe that he is essentially divine.
Secondly, whereas western savants have postulated only three ultimate goals for
man, viz. sensual enjoyment (kama), acquisition of earthly riches (artha), and
fulfilment of social obligations (dharma), the Indian philosophers have
postulated a fourth and final goal: liberation (moksha), the state of fullest
manifestation of innate divinity and perfection. Thirdly, whereas Freud thinks
that man must satisfy his passions to remain whole and healthy, Marx states
that man cannot truly be a man unless he actively relates with others. Swami
Vivekananda, however, says that 'man is man so long as he is struggling to rise
above nature', both internal and external. Finally, western philosophers say
that man's evolution is governed by drives and instincts. But the Hindu sages
say that man's innate perfection is constantly trying to manifest itself and
every effort on our part simply acts as a remover of barriers to its
manifestation.
Implications of the concept of divinity of man
Swami Vivekananda laid the greatest stress, in his message, on the divinity
of man because he knew men are divine, and since truth liberates, the only way
to be free was to perceive the truth of one's divinity. Secondly, we tend to
think and act according to our concept of ourselves. This has profound
practical, psychological and social implications. The concepts of man as a
sexual, economic, tool-making or social animal may be useful to individual or
society to a certain extent, but they are restrictive. If we consider ourselves
sexual animals as Freud wants us to believe, sexual shall we become. If we
believe we are economically driven machines, we shall run after money. If we
think we are social animals, we shall become slaves of society. But if we
consider ourselves ever free, blissful divinities, we shall enjoy freedom and
bliss.
Swami Vivekananda used to illustrate this truth with the help of the story
of a lion cub which was reared along with a herd of sheep from the very day of
its birth. As it grew, it learnt to bleat and eat grass. Then this flock of
sheep was attacked by another lion. He was surprised to find a full grown lion
running away in fear. He caught hold of this younger lion, dragged it to the
forest and told it that it was a lion and acting like a sheep did not befit it.
To convince it, the older lion showed its reflection in the lake. The young
lion was convinced that it was a lion and not a sheep and in a moment gave up
its fear.
Once two young sons of a devotee were playing. One was Vivek and another,
Shirish. They, for the sake of fun, added 'ananda' to their names, and became
Vivekananda and Shirishananda, and, as their play demanded, started acting
according to their new names. Vivek folded his arms and stood erect like Swami
Vivekananda with a grave face. Shirish did the same. But then, for some reason,
Shirish started weeping. Vivek was surprised, and asked his mother, 'Can
Shirishananda weep?' That's it! Weeping does not befit Shirish as long as he is
'ananda', a dignified monk. If children can temporarily change their behaviour
in play according to their assumed identity, can we not change our identity and
behaviour permanently?
Normally, we consider ourselves as physical body or a body-mind complex. It
is extremely difficult to consider oneself as a conscious soul free from body
and mind, and free from the five coverings or three bodies. All the Hindu
scriptures are meant to teach this concept of immortal, pure, blissful, eternal
soul as man's real nature. This is the central theme of the whole Hindu
philosophy and religion, which is taught in various ways through reason,
mythology and stories.
What do we mean by divinity?
When it is said that according to Hinduism, man, in his essential nature,
is divine, it causes confusion in many minds. Because by divine we generally
mean God, and there are various views about God. Not only that, there are a
large number of people-- secularists, materialists, communists, even Buddhists
and Jains-- who do not believe in God. So unless it is clarified what we mean
by divine, and what is the concept of divine in the scriptures of the Hindus,
the Vedas, the confusion would persist.
Let us begin with certain primitive concepts of God. Our ancient aboriginal
ancestors worshipped a God. Their God was generally a tribal God, a God which
protected their tribe and helped the tribesmen to defeat the other tribes, who
too had their God. This tribal God was very similar to the tribesmen, but was
much more powerful. It is said by Swami Vivekananda that if a buffalo were to
think of God, it will think of it as a big buffalo.
One concept of God found in the Vedas is that He is the ruler of certain
elements of Nature. God Indra was the controller of
clouds and rain. Varuna controlled the ocean. Vayu was the wind- god and Agni was the fire-god.
clouds and rain. Varuna controlled the ocean. Vayu was the wind- god and Agni was the fire-god.
Now, if we analyse the above mentioned two concepts, we shall find an
interesting common factor. In both the tribal god as well as the god as
controller of natural element, there is less limitation than an ordinary human
being. The tribal man cannot defeat hostile tribes, but the tribal God can. Man
has no control over nature, but Indra, Varuna and Vayu have. Thus God is he,
who can control the external nature, be it man, animals or elements.
Hence Swami Vivekananda has said, "Each soul is potentially divine. The
goal is to manifest the divinity within by controlling nature, external and
internal."
In the course of human evolution, human beings have gradually learnt to
control nature with the help of science. Man has conquered the ocean by making
a ship and a submarine. He has conquered space by making an aeroplane. He can
produce fire and extinguish it at will. He can protect himself against
rain. The whole history of mankind is an attempt to conquer nature and become
God himself. Sociologically it will be noticed that those peoples or races or nations
who have greater security and prosperity are less prone to worship a God
outside. They are less religious as compared to the poor nations, poor peoples,
because poor people have not been able to manifest the divinity defeating the
enemies in the form of nature and hostile men and animals.
Conquest of internal nature
But as civilization progressed, the humankind searched within and found
that there is also an internal nature--the mind. Mind has its desires,
ambitions and weaknesses. Man can become greedy, angry, and in the fit of anger
and greed, he can do evil deeds which might cause suffering to himself and
others. It was realized that to conquer our mind is far more difficult than the
conquest of external foes. So, man started finding a way to conquer the
internal nature. The religious way is essentially the method of the conquest of
the internal nature or the mind. A person who fully conquers his passions,
desires, likes and dislikes, aversions and attachment, even his love for life
and fear of death, such a man in India is called Mahavir, the great conqueror.
Such a person is worshipped as God because he or she has manifest the divinity
within fully.
The Hindus have evolved a number of methods to conquer the mind and thus
manifest the divine nature. One such method is yoga. A perfected yogi develops
tremendous powers. According to the books on Yoga, a Yogi can fly in air, can
become small as an ant or become big as a mountain. He can disappear from
sight. He can even create new planets and govern them. He can read the thoughts
of others, see things far away and can listen to very distant sounds. If a Yogi
gets perfectly established in truth, whatever he would speak will come to pass.
If he practices non-injury to perfection, a stage comes when people lose their
hostility in his presence. A lamb and a lion will sit fearlessly in the
presence of such a Yogi. There are a number of such results possible by the
practice of Yoga. Thus we find that Divine or Divinity of man also means the
conquest of Internal nature or mind. Hindus believe that all minds are
interconnected. In fact the yogis believe that there is one ocean of mind
throughout and our individual minds are like whirlpools at localized places. So
they say that if one can control one's own mind, one will be able to control
all minds.
A third higher concept of divinity is also found in Hinduism.
Although, as described above, by the practice of yoga one can get these superhuman powers, the highest yogic attainment is freedom from the bondage of nature. In spite of attaining the powers described above, a yogi may still be egoistic and selfish. He may use them to harm others. If he misuses them, he loses them and again becomes an ordinary human being. So the highest manifestation of divinity is the total freedom from the internal nature (mind) and external nature.
Although, as described above, by the practice of yoga one can get these superhuman powers, the highest yogic attainment is freedom from the bondage of nature. In spite of attaining the powers described above, a yogi may still be egoistic and selfish. He may use them to harm others. If he misuses them, he loses them and again becomes an ordinary human being. So the highest manifestation of divinity is the total freedom from the internal nature (mind) and external nature.
Relation between God and soul
According to the Vedas, the scriptures of the Hindus, the highest Divinity
or God is called Brahman. This is actually another name for God. Brahman is
said to be present everywhere, pure, conscious, immortal bliss and knowledge
absolute. It is said that the human soul is also of the same nature. According
to one school of Hindu philosophy, man and Brahman in their real nature are
one. According to another school of Vedanta, individual soul is a part of
Brahman, like a limb in a body or a branch of a tree. According to the third
school, individual soul is separate from Brahman but related to it, and of same
nature. We do not need to go into these philosophical details. The main point
is that the soul of man is pure, immortal, conscious, full of bliss and
knowledge. These characteristics are covered due to mental impurities like
attachment and aversion, fear, hatred, anger, lust, etc. As one removes these,
one gets more and more joy, more and more knowledge.
Divinity in all
When the Hindus say that man is divine, this means that all men and women
are divine. When by following the discipline of yoga, one starts realizing that
one is divine and not mortal, he also, to that extent, starts seeing that
others are also divine and he starts behaving with others similarly.
There was a saint named Pavahari Baba in India a hundred years ago. One day
a thief entered into his cottage. As he was tying the bundle of the stolen
goods, the saint woke up. Leaving the stolen articles behind, the thief ran.
The saint also followed him with the bundle of articles. After a long chase,
the saint caught the thief, and with folded hands addressed the thief as God
and gave the bundle to him. The result was that the thief was transformed, gave
up stealing and became himself a saint. Since the saint saw the divine
within himself, he actually saw the same in the thief. His experience of this
divinity was so strong that he behaved also in the same manner. This conviction
forced the thief also to think that he too was God. Pavahari Baba used to see
God in snake, cat, rat, dog, in every creature. Only such saints of spiritual
realization can prove by their actions the truth of the Divine nature of man. But
they also prove that every one can realize one's true divine nature.
(Swami Brahmeshananda is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, a
world-wide religio-spiritual Hindu organization, founded by Sri Ramakrishna, a
great man of God, and his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda who preached the
philosophy of Vedas (Vedanta) all over the world.
Swami Brahmeshananda has been
trained as a medical doctor and has served the sick people considering them as
God for more than two decades in the hospital of the Ramakrishna Mission in
Varanasi, India. He served for several years as the editor of the Ramakrishna
Mission's English monthly journal, Vedanta Kesari. He has written four books on
religious and philosophical subjects.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
0 comments:
Post a Comment