हिन्दी
Whoever is indeed not adorned by this Question-Answer-Gem-Necklace, memorised for ready reference and which is the foremost means to obtain the seen and the unseen goals (of life)!
O Lord! Which is to be taken?
The utterances of the Preceptor.
And Which is to be given up?
The forbidden act.
Who is a Preceptor?
One who has realized the truth and is ever striving for the good of the disciple.
What is to be quickly done on the part of the wise?
The cessation of the cycle of birth and death.
What is the seed of the tree of release?
It is the right knowledge, shown in practice.
What is more beneficial than anything else?
Righteousness.
Who is the pure (person) here?
One whose mind is pure.
Who is the wise (man)?
One who discriminates.
What is poison?
Transgression of Preceptors' orders.
What is the essence of life?
This alone is to be reflected on repeatedly.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated for one's and others' welfare.
What is it that generates delusion like liquor?
Attachment.
Who are thieves?
Objects of sense.
What is the creeper of birth?
Thirst for enjoyment.
Who is the foe?
It is but idleness.
What is here the fear from?
From death.
Who is worse than the blind man?
One with attachments.
Who is brave?
One who is not shaken by the shafts of amorous glances of women.
What is fit to be heard like nectar by the ears?
Teachings of the good.
What is the cause of greatness?
That which is known as not asking favours.
What is inscrutable?
The conduct of woman.
Who is clever?
One who is not won over by that.
What is unhappiness?
Cheerlessness.
What is easy?
Asking the lowly for help.
What is livelihood?
That which is blemishless.
What is unintelligence?
Not repeating what is learnt.
Who is wakeful?
One who discriminates.
What is sleep?
The stupidity of the living being.
What is transient like the water on the lotus-leaf?
Youth, wealth and life.
Again, tell me who is equal to the rays of the moon?
Only good people.
What is hell?
Being in another's control.
What is comfort?
That disgust towards every kind of attachment.
What is to be done?
The good of the creatures.
And what is dear for creatures?
Life.
What results in evil?
Conceit.
What bestows happiness?
Friendship with good people.
Who is clever in destroying all unhappiness?
One who always renounces.
What is death?
Unintelligence.
What is priceless?
That which is given at the right moment.
What pains like a shaft till death?
The sin committed in secrecy.
Where is effort ordained?
In learning, good medicine, charity.
Where is indifference to be shown?
Towards bad people, another's wife, another's property.
What is to be reflected on day and night?
The futility of life; not certainly woman.
What is to be cultivated with affection?
Compassion towards the helpless; friendship with the good.
Whose self can indeed never be chastened even at the cost of life?
The unintelligent, the doubting, the cheerless and the ungrateful.
Who is good?
One of good conduct.
Who is said to be the lowly?
Certainly, the man of bad conduct.
By whom is this world conquered?
By the person who has truthfulness and endurance.
To whom do Gods offer obeisance?
One who extends pity.
Which is to be shuddered at?
The noble-minded shudder at the jungle of life.
At whose control lies the community of creatures?
One who speaks the truth, kindly and is humble.
Where should one stick?
To the right path wherein the seen and the unseen profits abound.
Who is blind?
One who enjoys wrongdoing.
Who is deaf?
One who does not heed the good advice.
Who is dumb?
One who does not know how to speak the kind words at the right moment.
What is charity?
Expecting no return.
Who is a friend?
One who saves from sin.
What is decoration?
Character.
What is embellishment for speech?
Truthfulness.
What is momentary like lightning?
Bad company and young women.
Who are they unshaken from their noble lineage and good conduct even in the Kaliyuga?
Only good people.
What is that which is rare like the Cintamani?
I will tell; that is the four-fold good.
What do those who have destroyed dark ignorance specially urge repeatedly?
Charity along with sweet words, knowledge with humility, courage with patience, wealth with renunciation. These four auspicious things are hard to attain.
What is to be grieved over?
Miserliness.
What is praiseworthy when there is affluence?
Consideration for others.
Who is to be revered by the learned?
One who by nature is always humble.
Who is the sun making the lotus of family blossom?
One who though possessed of great qualities is yet unconceited.
In whose control is this world?
In his, whose speech is sweet and soothing, and who is wedded to righteousness.
What is that which fascinates the hearts of the wise?
Ennobling poetry and the lady called knowledge.
Whom does disaster not overtake?
One who follows the advice of the elders and has controlled his senses.
Whom does the Goddess of Wealth love?
One who is industrious without lethargy and is just in conduct.
And whom does she (Goddess of Wealth) desert all at once?
One who slanders the Brahmana, the Preceptor, and the Gods and is lazy besides.
Where is one to live?
In the nearness to good people or in Kasi.
Which place is to be shunned?
One abounding in wicked people and ruled by a greedy king.
By what means can a person be griefless?
By obedient wife and undiminishing wealth.
Who is to be grieved over in this world?
One who is not a giver even when there is wealth.
What is the cause of ignominy?
Currying the favour of unregenerate people.
Who is braver than even Rama?
One who does not waver even when hit by the arrows of Cupid.
What is to be contemplated day and night?
The Feet of the Lord; not the worldly life.
Who are blind even when possessed of eyes?
Those people who are unbelievers.
Who is the well-known lame person here (in this world)?
One who takes up pilgrimage in old age.
What is the foremost place of pilgrimage?
That which removes the impurities of mind.
What is to be remembered by people?
Always the Name of Hari; not the jargon of the unregenerate.
What should not be spoken by the good-minded (person)?
The faults of others; and, similarly, falsehood.
What is to be earned by people?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities?
Greed.
Who is the enemy?
Lust.
And what assembly is to be shunned?
That which is devoid of elder councillor.
Here in what should a man be cautious?
Verily, in the service of the King.
What is dearer even than life?
One's duties followed hereditarily and the company of virtuous.
What is to be well protected?
Good name, devoted wife and discernment.
What is the Kalpa-creeper in the world?
Knowledge imparted to the earnest student.
What is the imperishable banyan tree?
The gift offered to the deserving recipient according to rules.
What is weapon for all?
Reason.
And who is the mother?
Cow.
What indeed is strength?
That which is courage.
What is death?
That which is absence of care.
Where is poison?
In wicked people.
What is defilement here?
Indebtedness of men.
What is fearlessness here?
Non-attachment.
What too is fear?
For everyone it is wealth only.
What is rare for people to get?
Devotion to Hari.
What, too, is heinous?
Cruelty.
Who, verily, is dear to the Lord?
One who causes no pain to others and is not lost in worries.
Whence is divine power?
From penance.
Where is intelligence found?
In the Brahmana.
Whence intelligence?
By serving intimately the elders.
Who are the elderly?
Those who know the duty and the truth.
What is more painful than death to a respected person?
Infamy.
Who will be happy in the world?
The rich person.
And what, indeed, is richness?
By which there is fulfilment of wants.
What is the source of all pleasures?
Merit.
And whence pain?
From sin.
Whose is the lordship?
One, verily, who worships Sankara with devotion.
Who grows?
The humble.
Who degenerates?
The conceited person.
Who is not to be trusted?
One who as a rule utters lies.
On what occasions, is even a lie sinless?
That which is uttered for the sake of protecting righteousness.
What is righteousness?
That which has been practised by the virtuous elders of the family.
What is the strength of the good?
Divine.
Who is good?
One who is always contented.
What is divine?
The good deeds.
Who is the doer of good deeds?
One who is praised by the virtuous.
Who is the friend of a householder?
His wife.
And who is a householder?
One who performs sacrifices.
What is sacrifice?
That which is ordained by the scripture and is for the welfare of people.
Whose action is fruitful?
Of one who is of good conduct and refined.
Who is the refined?
One who has accepted the Vedas (knowledge) as authority.
Who is the one that gets killed?
One who has fallen from his dharmic duties.
Who is the blessed?
One who is renounced.
Who is esteemed?
One who is wise and good.
Who is to be worshipped?
One who gives freely.
Who is the giver freely?
One who gives satisfaction to the needy.
What is good fortune for those who have body?
Health.
Who is the one that realizes the result?
The tiller.
For whom is there no sin?
For one who recites holy syllables.
Who is the complete person?
One who has progeny.
What is difficult for human beings?
The constant control of the mind.
Who is a Brahmacarin?
One who has sublimated his life-energy instead of wasting it.
Who is said to be Supreme Goddess?
The consciousness - power (Amba).
Who is the protector of the world?
The Sun.
Who is the cause of livelihood for everyone?
That is rain.
Who is brave?
One who protects those in fright.
And who is the protector?
It is the preceptor.
Indeed, who is said to be the World-preceptor?
Siva.
Whence knowledge?
Only from Siva.
How can one get release?
By devotion to Mukunda (Vishnu).
Who is Mukunda?
One who takes us across ignorance.
And what is ignorance?
The non-manifestation of the Self.
For whom there is no sorrow?
For one who has no anger.
What is happiness?
Contentment.
Who is king?
One who makes others happy.
Who is a dog?
One who serves the lowly.
Who wields Maya?
The Supreme Lord.
What is the divine Magic?
This world.
What resembles a dream?
The activities of our waking life.
And what is real?
Brahman.
What is illusory?
That which is destroyed by knowledge.
(What is) total non-entity?
Hare's horn etc.
What is indeterminable as either real or unreal?
Maya.
What is it that is superimposed (imagined)?
Duality.
What is ultimately real?
Non-duality.
Whence this unknowingness?
It is beginningless.
And what is the sustainer of the body?
The actions that have started yielding results.
What bestows food?
And that is life-span.
Who is to be contemplated by the Brahmanas?
Siva who is seen in the Gayatri, Sun and fire.
What is there in the Gayatri, Sun, fire and Siva?
That is the Reality.
Who is the perceptible Goddess?
Mother.
And who is the Preceptor to be honoured?
Father.
Who is the self of all deities?
The Brahmana who is endowed with knowledge and action.
What is the cause of the decadence of a family?
That which one does to produce heartburn in good people.
Whose words never fail?
Those, of course, who observe truthfulness, silence and control of the mind.
What is birth?
Attachment to sense-objects.
What is one's subsequent birth?
It is the son.
What is unavoidable?
Death.
Where is the foot to be placed?
Where purity is perceived.
Who is the fit recipient of the gift of food?
The hungry.
Indeed, who is to be worshipped?
Incarnation of God.
Who is the Lord?
The Supreme Lord who is both Narayana and Sankara.
And what is the result of devotion to the Lord?
The immediate realization of His Abode and one's own Nature.
And what is release?
Indeed, it is the setting of ignorance.
What is the origin of the Vedas?
And then, Om.
Those for whom the Question-Answer-Gem necklace is ready to quote from memory shine in the assembly of noble people like the necklace of pearls by dint of their purity. Thus ends the Prasnottara Ratna Malika - the Question - Answer - Gem - Necklace by Srimad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Srimad Sankara Bhagavatpada.
