12.227
Vyāsa said.
One should study the threefold Vedic knowledge as declared in the Vedas, along with its ancillaries; and likewise, the Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas, each according to their syllables.
Those who are skilled in Vedic doctrines, as well as in spiritual knowledge, endowed with strength and great fortune, perceive the origin and dissolution (of things).
Thus, one should act according to dharma and perform actions as the learned do. The twice-born should seek their livelihood without obstructing other beings.
He who, being among the good, has acquired knowledge, is well-behaved, expert in the scriptures, performs actions in the world according to his own duty, and is steadfast in truth.
The twice-born householder should remain engaged in these six acts; he should always perform the five sacrifices with faith.
A brāhmaṇa who is steadfast, vigilant, self-controlled, versed in dharma, self-possessed, and free from delight, fear, and anger, never falls into despair.
Gift, study, sacrifice, austerity, modesty, honesty, and self-restraint—these increase one's brilliance and remove sin.
But the wise person whose sins are cleansed, who eats lightly, has conquered the senses, and has brought desire and anger under control, should seek the state of Brahman.
One should honor the sacred fires and Brāhmaṇas, bow to the gods, and avoid angry words, violence, and anything associated with unrighteousness.
This is the more ancient conduct prescribed for a Brāhmaṇa: by acquiring knowledge and performing actions, he attains success in his actions.
The wise person crosses the dreadful river, whose waters are the five senses, whose banks are greed, whose mud is anger, which is very hard to cross and cannot be overcome by the weak-minded.
Whenever desire and anger arise, always utterly deluded, by the great irresistible force ordained by fate, the world is constantly carried away and deluded by the current of its own nature.
Constantly, by the water of time, the great whirl of rain, the force of the waves of months and seasons, and the Ulapa grass of the fortnight.
By the foam of blinking and opening the eyes, by the swift passage of day and night, and by the dreadful crocodile of desire, and by the raft of Veda and sacrifice.
By the island of dharma, and the stream of desire and wealth, and the bank of the stairway of truth, beings are carried away by the current of the tree of violence.
All beings created by the Creator are inevitably drawn, through the stream of ages and the predominance of Brahman, to the abode of Yama (death).
The steadfast wise cross over this (ocean of life) by means of wisdom. What will the unwise, who are without such a raft, do even with rafts?
A wise person alone is able to overcome what is established, not others. The wise, indeed, perceives virtue and fault everywhere, even from afar.
He who is of a doubting nature, filled with desire, with an unsteady mind and little intelligence, unwise, does not cross over; the one who remains thus does not progress.
Indeed, a person without support, bewildered by great faults, is ruined; for one seized by the crocodile of desire, even his knowledge does not serve as a raft (to cross over difficulties).
Therefore, the wise person should strive for spiritual elevation. This elevation is what makes him a brāhmaṇa.
One who is born in a family of threefold purity, who has three kinds of doubts and performs three kinds of actions, therefore, when emerging, should remain steady and cross over by wisdom, as is appropriate.
For the refined, self-restrained, disciplined, and self-controlled wise person, success follows immediately both in this world and the next.
Among them, the householder who is free from anger and envy should always perform sacrifices with five offerings, subsisting on remnants.
One should conduct oneself according to the ways of the virtuous and act as the learned do. Without hindrance, one should seek a blameless practice of dharma.
He who knows the principles of the Veda and special knowledge, follows the conduct of the learned, is wise, acts according to his own duty and is engaged in action, he too is not confounded by action.
One who is active, faithful, generous, wise, and free from envy, and who knows the distinctions between dharma and adharma, crosses over all that is difficult to overcome.
A brāhmaṇa who is steadfast, vigilant, self-controlled, versed in dharma, self-possessed, and free from delight, fear, and anger, never falls into despair.
This is the more ancient conduct prescribed for a Brāhmaṇa: by performing actions with the wealth of knowledge, he succeeds everywhere.
The unwise person, though desiring righteousness, acts unrighteously here; and, grieving as if, he performs righteousness that appears like unrighteousness.
Saying 'I do righteousness', he acts unrighteously; and even one who desires unrighteousness may act righteously. Both are immature in their actions, not knowing; the embodied soul is neither born nor does it die.
