THE SPIRITUAL PATH

Thus, to know how we should act in the course of our lives, we must turn for guidance ultimately to saastra, i.e. the Vedas.  To know what the Vedas say it is necessary to learn them and keep uttering the everyday lest, by reason of their not being put to writing, they should be forgotten.  Therefore, Sri Sankara opened his Pentad of Instruction with the words:

"Vedonityam adheeyataam."

The Vedas should be learnt and kept alive in the utterance every day.

Having learnt them the next thing which follows is:

"taduditam karma svanushteeyataam."

The duties prescribed by them should be properly performed.  What will be the result of such good conduct according to the Vedas?  God is pleased by it. tena eesasya vidheeyataam apachitih. 'Discharge well and truly', says Sri Sankara, ‘the karma which is yours, and that will be worship most pleasing to the Lord'.

To lead a good life, we must get rid of evil in our mind, speech and conduct. To this end, we must be continuously engaged in thinking good thoughts and doing good deeds prescribed by the saastras.  An old sanyaasi was asked how he over came the prompting of lust, kaama.   He replied that when kaama knocked at his mind's door, it found him so busy that it went away of its own accord.  An idle mind is the devil's workshop.

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