THIRTY-FIVE RULES OF CONDUCT

 

RULE 11

His expenses should be in proportion to his income.

RULE 12

When he lives in any country, if there is some particular, well-known, well-established custom, which does not involve the breaking of any high principle, such custom should be followed.

RULE 13

He should avoid any undesirable habits such as meat-eating, or wine-drinking. There is a destruction of infinite minute life in fermentation.

RULE 14

He should not libel or slander anybody, especially the king; these are done not with a view to doing good, but with a view to, or from the motive of, harming the person and are done without any proper reason. Showing up fraudulent persons is doing good and is not libel or slander.

RULES 15 AND 16

He should keep the company of only pure-hearted persons, and persons of good conduct, and should not keep the company of bad persons. The difference between this and rule 8 is that this rule refers to equals, and rule 8 refers to spiritual superiors.

RULE 17

He should respect the parents. The idea is that they do so much for us, while we are weak and incapable that we should return gratitude.

RULES 18

None of the person's actions should be such as to cause unnecessary ill-feeling to anybody; he should not speak words which would unnecessarily cause ill-feeling in the mind of another.

RULE 19

He should maintain those who are dependent on him; that obligation should be fulfilled. He should assign to them their proper work and should see that they do it right, or else they become harmful to him. If they get into vices, etc., then he should assume such an attitude toward them that they may feel that he knows of their wrong-doing. He should not ignore wrong-doing or let the dependent persons get so vicious that their condition would lower his wisdom. Avoid a person if very bad; do not bring up serpents in your house.

RULE 20

Respect and render service to the Master, i.e. the right ideal; to the guest; and to poor, deserving people. When a person has an ideal, he respects him; if he does not respect him, he is not that person's ideal. If the ideal is a wrong one, then the whole life will be wrong.

RULE 21

With regard to eating and drinking; the person should eat and drink at the proper time, in conformity with the nature of his constitution. But under all circumstances give up excessive eating or drinking simply because that particular fool or drink is liked.

RULE 22

When he feels that he is getting weak physically, he should adopt the proper remedy.

RULE 23

He should not travel in countries which are full of criminals, or where there are other dangers, such as earthquake, plague, famine, wild animals, lions, tigers, etc. The idea is self-protection.

RULE 24

He should not act in such a way as to become unnecessarily hostile to the people; he should live in peace with them. (All these rules are for the beginner and not for those strong in spiritual quality.)

RULE 25

With reference to the attitude that he should have towards people who are in a low state of development, his action should be such that they would feel that there is a higher life than their own; he should let them feel the influence of the purer life of honesty, for instance.

RULE 27

He should render service to those who have taken spiritual vows and who are experienced in wisdom and knowledge. He should do some kind of service to them, and in that way he appreciates the wisdom and vows, with the idea of, in time, becoming like those persons.

RULE 28

This rule is with regard to the objects of life. There are four classes of objects of life, and the person who wishes to progress spiritually should have all these four objects, but in such a way that a higher one is not sacrificed for the sake of a lower one. If there are difficulties, as far as the lowest object is concerned, then he should let it go, and preserve the higher ones.

The four classes of objects of life are as follows:

1. Doing good; that is to say, the practice of these rules.

2. The acquisition of the means of enjoyment; i.e., wealth.

3. Desires. There are desires for a nice house, for dress, for writing books, etc. This is the lowest of the four objects of life.

4. Liberation. This is the highest of the four classes of objects of life, and some idea of it can be had by remembering what particular quality of the soul comes out when any of the foreign energies in any of the eight classes mentioned (in earlier chapters) is removed.

The ordinary man of the world accepts only two of these four objects, viz., the second and third; getting the means to satisfy desires, and satisfying desires. When the other two objects are added, the person's life becomes very different.

RULE 29

In doing anything, he should always consider his strength and his weaknesses. He should not undertake more than his strength will allow him to carry out.

RULE 30

He should always attempt to rise higher and higher, so far as concerns the above mentioned objects of life.

RULE 31

He should do or abstain from doing things that should be done or should not be done, respectively, at the time. He should stop doing a thing, if it should not be done at that time.

RULE 32

The layman should hear or read every day the rules of life, or scriptures. The idea is that the practice of these rules leads the person to the state of right conviction, right belief, etc., so that, if, after examining himself, he finds he has not attained the right attitude to be known by the previously mentioned internal signs,, then he will know how to reach it, viz., by practicing these rules.

RULE 33

The person who wishes to make spiritual progress should give up obstinacy in all things. Obstinacy, as here meant, is the doing of an immoral, wrong, or evil act, with the object of hurting, or defeating another. He should be yielding and not stubborn.

RULE 34

He should be partial to virtues. He should have all his energies directed towards the gaining of virtue.

RULE 35

He should be critical towards opinions, beliefs, philosophies, religions, etc., he should reconcile all the questions and solve all the doubts arise out of this critical attitude.

We have now seen that in all the 14 stages of development above the 3rd, the right attitude of mind and a relish of the truth are present. The signs of this attitude and the means of attaining it have been given. The next subject is, therefore, the fourth stage of development.