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Regular
Recital
Perform duties appropriate to your station
in life. Do not perform duties that are prescribed for others. Do not
perform duties that are fictitious or imaginary. Do not act thoughtlessly and without due
deliberation. However, act promptly in matters pertaining to religious
duties. However beneficial or profitable it may
be, do not perform unrighteous actions. Do not give up the path of righteousness
out of greed or selfishness.
Follow only the righteous deeds of great
men but do not follow examples of their unrighteous actions.
Do not use abusive language. For the sake
of a selfish gain, do not lay a false accusation. Do not accept bribes. Speak only the truth.
But do not utter such words that may hurt others. Do not trespass into prohibited areas belonging
to others. Do not use the premises of others, without seeking the prior
permission of its owners. Do not commit a breach of trust. Do not indulge in self-praise.
Do not kill a human being; not even for
the acquisition of a woman, wealth or a kingdom. Do not commit suicide; not even in a place
of pilgrimage or a holy shrine. Whether in a fit of anger or out of
guilt for a sinful act, do not commit suicide. Do not mutilate any part of your body or
that of others, either out of anger, excitement or as a punishment for
misconduct.
When any serious trouble arises from natural
calamities, fellow men or illness, act cautiously and carefully to protect
your life and that of others. In practical life, even with friends and
relatives, do not carry out transactions of sale, purchase, transfer,
borrowing, lending, payment, etc., without an appropriate document in
writing, and the presence of witnesses. Maintain a daily account of income and
expenditure. Do not indulge in extravagant expenses. Let not your expenses
exceed your income. Even if it be your native place or usual
place of residence, leave it and migrate to a better place, especially
when your prestige, property or life is in danger on account of acute
famine, harassment from the wicked or the tyranny of the state authority.
Do not consume tobacco, hemp or hashish
nor consume wines, liquors, opium and other such alcoholic drinks and
drugs. Do not drink unfiltered water nor use water
which contains germs; not even for bathing purposes. Do not consume food, drink and medicine
given by a doctor whose conduct and credentials are unknown to you. Do not dirty public places such as mandir
premises, holy shrines, lakes or river banks, highways, the ground around
trees, farms with standing crops, by spitting, urinating, defecating
and throwing garbage.
Take good care of your servants in respect
of their food, clothing and shelter, according to your means of subsistence.
Address honorably and deal respectfully
with people in accordance with their social status Spreading of knowledge and education is
a great meritorious deed. If possible, either aid or establish an educational
institution and appoint pious scholars as teachers therein to spread
Serve fellow beings in their illness and
distress. Serve your parents in their old age and take good care of
them, especially in their illness. Pay the correct wages in cash or kind,
according to the contract to the workers employed by you. If you happen to be in power as the head
of a state, then: live a righteous and religious life; treat your subjects
like members of your own family; take good care of them; and make an
honest attempt to consolidate morality and religion in your kingdom.
But for sheer emergencies, avoid the company
of the opposite sex in solitary places.
Married men and women, should be loving,
loyal and faithful to one another. Do not be harsh to one another. Do not keep the company of licentious,
lustful and loose persons. Do not have an abortion and do not keep
the company of those who encourage or assist in abortion.
Offer your salutations with respect to
the deities in mandirs you happen to pass by on your way. Be courteous and hospitable in the mandir.
Welcome all visitors. Serve them food if they happen to be hungry. Take
care of them in accordance with your means of subsistence.
Be honest and regular in daily life. Wake
up early in the morning. Remember God and offer your daily worship to
the Lord. Remember God, recite His name, sing His
glory, say prayers, offer prostrations with reverence, and study scriptural
texts daily. Remember God in all your activities. Visit
the mandir daily. Listen to religious discourses with great reverence.
In the pilgrim places and the holy shrines,
be charitable and serve food to the priests, sadhus and poor worshipers,
according to your means of subsistence. Do not believe in superstitions and black
magic. As per your capacity, donate 10% or 5%
of your total income as an offering to God.
Do not accept the command even of your
Guru, if it happens to distract you from your vow of practising celibacy.
When your life, or that of a woman, is
in danger, protect it by speaking to her or if necessary, by physically
touching her. Control your sense of taste. Neither hoard
nor deposit money or property in any form. But for sheer exigency, do not travel alone,
without the company of a fellow sadhu with you. Do not waste your time in fruitless talks
and activities. In all your activities and service unto humanity, keep
your mind fixed on God devoutly. Control anger and be compassionate and
give up concern and attachment for your body and its relations. Even if someone attacks you with abuses,
insults and beatings for no reason, do not be harsh to him. Bear and
endure the insults. Forgive and bless your tormentors.
Regulate and adjust conduct,
Do not give up faith and devotion to the
Lord out of fear of slander by the unscrupulous and the ignorant. One who keeps his mind fixed on God whilst
doing all activities, divinizes all his actions. Worship with devotion unto the Lord who
alone is the redeemer from the bondage of Maya. Therefore, worship the
Lord with undivided devotion.
Jiva means an individual soul. It is a
spiritual substance. It is atomic in size. It is very subtle and imperceptible.
It is indivisible and imperishable. It resides in every living being.
It has knowability. Its consciousness pervades the whole body. Knowledge
is its essential quality. Therefore, the Jiva is the real knower. Jivas
are innumerable. Maya means prakriti, the primary matter.
It is the basic substance and the cause of all bondage. Its nature is
of darkness and ignorance. Its constituents are the three gunas, namely,
sattva, rajas and tamas. It is the inseparable power of the Supreme
Lord. It is the cause of ego and attachment to the body and its relations.
Parmeshwar or Parabrahman means the Supreme
God. When Lord Krishna is accompanied by Radha,
know them as Radha-Krishna. When Lord Narayan is accompanied by Laxmi,
know them as Laxmi-Narayan. When Lord Narayan is accompanied by Arjun,
know them as Nar-Narayan. In the like manner, you should know and name
the Lord with reference to the ideal devotee who is accompanying Him.
Identify oneself with Brahman,
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© 1999, Bochasanwasi
Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, Swaminarayan Aksharpith
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