Chapter 17 - Righteous conduct

Righteous conduct: prescriptions and prohibitions. 

Shri Narayan muni said:- 

Now I shall tell you about Sadachara i.e. good behaviour, which is beneficial for householders. Good behaviour is the way of behaviour of good people. 1. 

Well-behaved people get long life, wealth, sons, happiness, righteous merit, an eternal place in the Lord’s world and also respect from learned people. 2. 

The self-restrained, learned man always behaves in a good manner; and he is honoured in the world, as well as in the next world and finally reaches the Supreme Brahman. 3. 

Righteous conduct (Sadachara) is the highest duty; it is the sublime penance. Life prolongs and sin perishes because of good conduct. 4. 

It is the conduct which is followed by those learned people having no anger and no hatred in this world. The wise people have understood Sad-achara as the base or foundation of Dharma. 5. 

Primarily, Yamas (restraints) and Niyamas (regulations) are deemed to be the essence of Dharma. Hence, wise people should make comprehensive effort for imbibing those alone. 6.

Ten Yamas and Ten Niyams. 

Yamas (Restraint) are ten: 1. Truth (Satya) 2. Pardon (Kshama) 3.Uprightness (Arjava) 4. Meditation (Dhyana) 5.Non-wickedness (A-nrsamsyam) 6. Non-violence (Ahimsa) 7. Subjugation (Dama) 8. Composure (Prasada) 9. Sweetness (Madhurya) and 10. Tenderness (Mruduta). 7. 

Niyamas (Regulations) are also declared to ten: namely 1. Purity (Shaucha)2. Bath (Snana) 3. Penance (Tapas) 4. Donation (Dana) 5. Speech-silence (Mauna) 6. Adoration (Ijya) 7. Study (Adhyayana) 8. Vow (Vrata) 9.Fast (Uposhana) and 10. Celibacy (Brahma-charya). 8. 

Man would become successful everywhere, by conquering the six enemies: 1. Lust (Kama) 2. Wrath (Krodha) 3. Mada (pride) 4. Jealosy (Matsara) 5. Infatutation (Moha) and 6. Greed (Lobh). 9. 

One should always protect Dharma, which is giver of happiness in the next world. No one else (than Dharma) is a friend of man, in the next world. 10. 

The wealth returns home (at the moment of death), as son and relatives return from cemetery. Only the self-done action (Karma), accompanies the departing soul. 11. 

Owing to not studying the Vedas, abandonment of good behaviour, indolence and defects of food, death tempts to swallow Brahmins. 12. 

Therefore, a Brahmin should always practice with effort, righteous conduct. The holy places also long for the company of people with good behaviour. 13. 

Morning cleanliness of body and prayers. 

After getting up early in the morning at Brahma-muhurta, one should ponder over about one’s good. The last three hours of night, are called Brahma-muhurta. 13 - 14. 

The three hours before sunrise is called, as Brahma-Muhurta. The sleep during this period is destroyer of their merit. Having slept (during Brahma-Muhurta) is a fault: for the removal of that fault, a twice-born should take the atonement, named: Pada-krcchra (lesser bodily mortification). 15 - 16. 

After meditating in his own heart upon his pious Guru, he should salute Lord Hari by uttering the names of his devotees; he should salute them with pleasure. 17. 

Remembering the super human powers of the Lord, Gods and great seers, he should salute the holy places and the rivers: Ganga etc. 18. 

Three Shlokas to be performed in Pratah:kaal. “Early morning, I remember Lord Narayan, having Garuda as His vehicle (Vahana) and from whose navel, a lotus sprouts, for mitigation of fear of mundane existence (Bhavabhiti) and great distress. I also remember, that the Lord, the cause of freedom of the king elephant trapped by the crocodile and who has Sudarshan in hand and has beautiful eyes, resembling tender lotus-petal.” 19.

“Early in the morning, I salute by mind, speech and head, the lotus like pair of feet of that Narayan, the Supreme Person, the saviour from the ocean of hell. He is attached to the foremost among the wise Brahmins, who are dedicated to singing His praise.” 20. 

“In the morning, I salute Him, who is Donor of protection, to the worshippers and the destroyer of all the sins committed during all the previous births. He who has removed the great sorrow of Gajendra, whose leg was caught by a crocodile, wields in His hands Panchajanya Conch and Sudrshana-Discus.” 21. 

Hari the master of all the three worlds offers His own highest place to him who recites these three (aforesaid) verses (slokas) early in the morning. 22. 

Then, that man should get up from his seat, go in the south-west direction, beyond the reach of an arrow. Covering the land with grass and covering his head with a cloth, he should perform the act of excretion of urine and stools far from human sight. 23 - 24 

During the day-time and in the evening, putting the sacred thread (Upavita) around the ear, facing north-wards, he should perform the act of excretion of urine and stools; and if it is night, he should do it facing the south. 25. 

A twice-born, may do the act of excretion comfortably facing (any direction) in shadow or darkness at night or day and also in the emergency of danger to life. 26. 

For the act of excretion at night, it is not advisable to go out of the village: it may be done, near the house. The same may be done by weak persons also. 27. 

After completing the act of excretion, the man should clean himself in the south direction, with soil and water in a clear water reservoir. 28. 

One should not do the act of excretion, either in a standing position, or in front of a Brahmin, cow, sacred fire, sun or moon, in the ploughed piece of land, on the road, on the river-bank, amidst cows, in the grains, in old temple or in front of a woman. 29 - 30 

After standing a hundred meters away from a lake, one may pass urine.For passing excreta, one may stay two hundred meters away therefrom. The distance is to be four times (100x4=400; 200x4=800) away if there is a sacred ford nearby. 31. 

One should not take soil for cleaning, from the road, the salty land, the place of excretion also; or the soil mixed with excretion, or soil having worms in it, or that from an ant-hill. 32. 

The genital organ should be cleaned once, while the anus three times, the left hand should be cleaned ten times with soil, forearms should be cleaned seven times and both legs three times. 33. 

Half of this is prescribed for women and Shudras. A Brahmin also can behave as a Shudra at midnight and on the road. 34.

A Brahmin, the knower of religious code, should rinse his mouth twelve times after excretion and six times or four times after emitting urine. Water, remaining after drinking and that after cleaning, should not be shipped by a twice-born. In case of nonavailability of other utensil, it should be thrown on the ground and then be reused. 36. 

This personal purification is prescribed for a house-holder. For ascetics, it is prescribed two times, three times for the people living in forest and four times for the renunciates. 37. 

The sick person should follow this (purification rule) according to his ability and a healthy person should do everything as is prescribed with efforts yet suitable to place and time. 38. 

If after discharging urine and excreta no water at all is available, then he should take a bath and change clothes as and when water is available. 39. 

In a forest where water is not available, during night along the road having fear of thieves and tigers it is acceptable to have a soiled hand after passing excreta and urine. 40. 

This code of cleanliness is to be carefully followed by the Brahmins because cleanliness is the base of all their activities. Those activities performed without cleanliness will prove to be fruitless. 41. 

Cleanliness is said to be of two types – external and internal. The external cleanliness would be done with soil and water and the internal cleanliness is done by the purity of thought. 42. 

Without internal cleanliness, a Brahmin does not become clean only by external cleanliness. Therefore, he who executes purity in both the ways is said to be clean. 43. 

The man who is covetous about women and wealth, who is engrossed in deceiving people, who uses bad words, for him, what is the use of cleaning by heaps of soil and river water? 44. 

Cleaning the teeth; other purificatory and religious rights. 

Brushing the teeth every morning is essential for the cleanliness of mouth. Therefore one should do it with germless wood-stick, equal in size of the tip of the little finger. 45. 

The wood-stick prescribed for cleaning the teeth should be, moist and of twelve fingers measurement for a Brahmin; decrease by one-one finger unit is prescribed for a Kshatriya and others: eleven (12-1=11) for Kshatriya; ten (11-1=10) for Vaisya; and nine (10-1=9) for Shudra. 46. 

One should not brush the teeth with a wooden-stick on first lunar date (Pratipada), no-moon day, sixth lunar date (Shashthi), day of vow and the day of Shraddha and on solstice (Samkranti). 47. 

When wood stick for brushing the teeth is not available and when brushing is prohibited, the teeth should be cleaned by gargling water twelve times. 48. 

He commits sin when teeth are cleaned with index finger at the time of cleaning mouth with water. 49 

The nine daily essential religious rites for twice-born persons are: 1. Bathing, 2. Twilight salutation (Sandhya), 3. Chant –muttering (Japa), 4. Fire rite (Homa), 5. Self-study (Svadhyaya) 6. Worshipping God, 7. Omni God –adoration (Vaishvadeva), 8. Guest hospitality (Atithya), and ninth 9.Ancestralpropitiation. The person, who does not perform these duties is to be known as a despised person. 50 - 51 

Morning bath is praised as it causes enthusiasm, intelligence, good fortune, beauty and freshness of mind. Morning bath removes sin, poverty, dullness, impurity and bad dream; it gives pleasure and strength. 52 - 53 

One should not perform the activities like bathing, cleansing etc., in a lake which is filled with insects even when he is in calamity. One should not perform activities like bathing etc. even in a clean lake that is used by lower caste people even in times of calamity. 54 -55 

A tree related to lower caste and a place for dwelling even if plastered, should never be accepted by a twice-born. 56

Food, dwelling place and water should never be accepted without enquiring into the caste of the donor. 57 

The Brahmin is said to be unholy who does not perform Sandhya. He is unfit for all religious rites. He would not share the fruit of all the other meritorious activities, he performs. 58 

Vidhi-yadnya, Paka-yadnya and all other sacrifices do not match even the sixteenth portion of Japa-yadnya. 59 

A twice-born, who is interested in earning money, does not maintain sacred fire, does not perform Homa either in the morning or in the evening would go to hell. 60 

The twice-born who, as per his capacity, does not study Veda or its ancillaries (Vedangas), Mahabharata, Purana or Stotras of Hari is virtually a Brahmin-killer. 61 

The twice-born, who does not worship daily with devotion, God, the Lord of the world becomes a donkey in the next birth and thereafter a swine. 62 

The householder should himself perform mid-day Omni-God worship (Vaishvadeva). In the evening, his wife should offer oblations with cooked food-items without uttering mantras. 63. 

The Brahmins who eat food without performing the mid-day Vaishvadeva are the wretched Brahmins. They become deprived of food in this world and they become crows in their next birth. 64. 

One should omit coarse grains (Kodravas) remaining after winnowing, black-grams, measured grams cooked in oil and two types of salts, in the mid-day Omni-God worship. 65. 

Sin perishes by offering oblations and a person gets peace by self-study. By worshipping God, he obtains the desired divine world. 66. 

If anybody comes begging for food, a man should not think whether he is worthy or unworthy. Food given to a dog-baker or dog is not wasted. It is never fruitless. 67. 

The twice-born, who does not please his ancestors by offering them a palm ful of water has his blood drunk by his ancestors every day. 68. 

The householder who listens to Purana before taking meal should listen to the bare text. But he who listens to it after meal, should listen to the text and its meaning too, either in the morning or during afternoon every day, ‘O twice-born! 69. 

He can meet every day, according to his time, the devotees of Achyuta and saints engrossed in religious activities. Then only he will gain understanding of the ultimate principal set. 70. 

Thus ends the seventeenth chapter entitled, ’Narration of righteous conduct: Sadachara, beneficial to the twiceborn,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra (the rules of the code of conduct). 17