Chapter 24

Ten (Plus) Traditional Mandates

In This Chapter

Looking for words of wisdom

Listening to ancient sources

Sorting out the meanings

One thing you should know about Hindus: We give and get a lot of advice — from parents, teachers, close and distant relatives, siblings, friends, strangers, visiting swamis, wandering monks, fellow travelers on a bus, train, or airplane, beggars, and so on. It’s as though all this knowledge is stored up and suppressed in these well-wishers, and then you show up, and the dam breaks with an outpouring of mantras, references to great men, their own experiences relating to your current venture . . . you get the picture. Only respect for elders prevents you from running away. So exercise care before you seek a Hindu for advice because you will no doubt receive it.

I hesitate, but then the urge to share with you all the advice I got overcomes me, and so I offer you these mandates, most of which come from a variety of scriptures and are aimed at the young. They are usually referred to as subhashitams, meaning proper and appropriate sound advice. Some may even sound familiar, having parallels in your own faith.

Worship Your Women

Women in Hindu religion are the true gatekeepers of dharma (right conduct) and culture. That is, of course, my opinion, but I am certain most of my Hindu sisters and brothers share it. The scriptures also say so. Specifically the verse, from the Manu Smriti, goes:

Gods are pleased where women are worshipped.

Hindu men will most likely tell you, “Yes, we know it” — and advise you to remember it.

Be Strong in Mind and Body

An unmistakable message of Vedanta (philosophical knowledge about spiritual life that follows on the most sacred scriptures of Hindus known as the Vedas) is one of strength. Swami Vivekananda (see Chapter 9) eloquently said that the greatest sin human beings can commit is to say that they are weak. Be strong, he said, advising us to develop muscles of iron, nerves of steel, and a mind made of the same material of which the thunderbolt is made. According to him, strength is life and weakness is death. And there is a reason for emphasizing such strength. It is driven by a Sanskrit saying:

This Atman cannot be realized by the weak!

Atman is one’s self, and it requires a certain level of mental capacity and strength to realize the self. And an associated humorous poem confirms it:

Neither the horse nor the elephant and never a tiger, it is the lamb that is offered in a sacrifice; even God destroys only the weak!

Work Hard

Ancient Hindus recognized the peril of sloth. The Hindu practices of getting up early in the morning before sunrise, preparing for morning worship, studying, and so on were all geared toward instilling a certain discipline. Farmers went out to the land to tend to one or another task early in the morning and worked through noon. Hard work was built into the daily routine. Hindus found the scriptural authority to work hard in a statement from the Panchatantra (a collection of Hindu fables written between 100 BCE and 500 CE) in Book II (see the story of the weaver named “Soft”):

Accomplishments come from work, not by wishful thinking. No prey enters the mouth of a sleeping lion.

Company Is Important When. . .

A subhashitam I learned while taking Sanskrit in middle school states succinctly when having company becomes relevant:

One to meditate, two to study, three to make music, four to travel, five to seven to work in the fields, and many many more for battle.

Work with Passion, but Don’t Concern Yourself with Results

In the Bhagavad Gita (see Chapter 13), you can find this statement:

You have a right to work — not to its fruits.

The scripture wants you to work hard, as if your life depended on it, but it warns you not to be concerned with the results. The reason? Work done without any selfish motive in the service of others is performing one’s duty irrespective of what the outcome may be. Work is your right, and the rest is in God’s hands.

Don’t Bother If You Don’t Have Faith

Ancient Hindus wanted to make sure that rituals, prayers, and worships did not become mere routines that lacked the fundamental faith required while undertaking these spiritual tasks. The corresponding message is found in the Bhagavad Gita:

Whatever is sacrificed, offered, or performed and whatever austerity is practiced without faith, it is falsehood, and of no value either here or hereafter.

Protect Dharma, and It Will Protect You

The mandate to protect dharma is one of Hinduism’s most sacred. The strong attachment to the concept of dharma (moral order) is so ingrained in Hindu hearts and minds that it serves as a yardstick to determine whether an action is within the bounds of right conduct. It was evident as far back as the epic times that this mandate cannot be taken for granted. Dharma will protect you, of course, but only if you do your duty to protect it. This mandate is stated in the following crisp statement (found at the end of the story of Yaksha Prashna that I tell in Chapter 12):

Dharma protects those who protect it!

Don’t Tell Pleasant Lies or Unpleasant Truths

Tell the truth and share pleasantness but don’t tell an unpleasant truth. Don’t lie, even if it is pleasant — that is the eternal dharma.

This verse found in Manu Smrti (Laws of Manu) expresses a practical guide to interpersonal relationships, but it’s not meant to be interpreted literally. Sometimes sharing an unpleasant truth may be essential if doing so means preventing a disaster that may result otherwise. For example, if the kitchen is on fire, you’d shout.

Nonviolence Is the Supreme Dharma

Nonviolence is the supreme dharma.

This mandate (originally from the epic the Mahabharata and made popular by Mahatma Gandhi) also is not meant to be interpreted literally. After all, the same epic (see Chapter 12) lists about a hundred reasons to go to war with the enemies of dharma. Dharma needs to be protected at any cost. Even Mahatma Gandhi, when asked by a reporter whether he expected his son to come to his aid in case he was attacked, without any hesitation replied in the affirmative. But barring such exceptional circumstances, practicing ahimsa (nonviolence) conforms with the Hindu philosophy of tolerance, peace, and oneness.

The Whole World Is Your Family

One learns from the Atharva Veda and Mahopanishad two of the least-known beliefs of Hindu ancestors:

This world is to be loved.

Vedic sages declared this to be the case in the Atharva Veda (see Chapter 10).

Myself, this is mine, that is yours, is a petty way of seeing reality; for those with noble consciousness, the whole world is a family.

You can find this in the Mahopanishad (see Chapter 11).

You May Have to Abandon Something You Care About

Sometimes you may have to sacrifice something or break a relationship to serve a greater cause. Sage Chanikya (350–283 BCE), who was considered an expert in the science of finance and served in the Hindu emperor Chandragupta’s court, declared thus:

For the sake of a family you may have to disconnect from an individual, for the sake of a village you may have to abandon a family, for the sake of a region you may have to abandon a village, and for the sake of the self you may have to abandon the earth (earthly pleasures).