DO VIRTUOUS DEEDS DAY AND NIGHT -- 1

official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8

cross-references: none

this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8, 1st edition, version 
	(spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most 
	up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

	I have been explaining, 'Kuru punyam ahora'tram' - Do virtuous deeds day and night. People may wonder how it is possible to do that. It appears to be quite a difficult task. Kuru means 'do' in the second person imperative mood. Do good deeds around the clock. I have already explained the meaning of ahora'tram: the period from sunrise to sunrise.

	The science of time measurement was first invented by the Dravidians and later developed by the Vedic Indians and the Arabians ( not the present Arabians, but the Arabians who lived five to six thousand years ago ). According to the Arab theory, the easiest way to measure time is to think of the Earth as being fixed. Of course, the Earth is not fixed, but for the convenience of recording time - which is a relative calculation - one may think of it as being so. It will only be possible to measure time accurately if the Earth is accepted as being fixed. But in other countries in those days people believed that the Earth was in motion. They also knew that it is round. During the days of the Rk Veda, however, people's general knowledge was not very developed and on this particular point there was some difference of opinion. According to some, the Earth was triangular ; according to others, it was square, but from the days of the Yajurveda it was known that the Earth is round.

	'Kapit'tha phalavat vishvam' daks'in'ottrayosamam.' In Sam'skrta, kapit'tha means 'wood-apple'. It is also called 'udbillva' or 'urubillva'. The place which was previously known as Urubilla [ in Gaya district of Bihar, India ] is now known as Arwal. 'Kapittha Phalavat' : the world is as round as a wood-apple. But its southern and northern poles are elliptical. So, the Earth is partially and not fully elliptical. Indeed, not only the Earth, but all celestial bodies are neither fully round nor fully elliptical. Their shape may be termed 'etherial.'

	According to the ancient Arab theory, it was assumed that the Earth is fixed and the sun is moving around the Earth. If time is calculated according to this supposition, it will be accurate. If on the other hand, it is accepted, that the Earth is rotating, it will be difficult to measure time as there will be no point to start the measurement from. The people of those ancient days thought that if sunrise to sunrise ( ahoratra ) was a period of twenty-four hours, that will make one full day and night. The period from sunrise to sunset was called 'ahan'. This word 'ahan' is found in the word 'saptaha' [ sapta means seven' ; ahan means 'day']. In Sam'skrta, measuring is called 'ma'pa' or 'ma'na'. So the period from sunrise to sunset is called 'dinamana' or 'day-measurement' and the period from sunset to sunrise is called 'ratrimana' or 'nocturnal measurement'. The Latin adjective for night is 'nocturnal'. In Vedic, 'naktram' is the equivalent term for 'night.' 'Madhu naktramutas' aso': 'Let night and day be as sweet as honey'.

	The Western countries learnt the science of time measurement much later. The Sam'skrta word, 'pa'shca'tya' means 'accidental'. What is pa'shca'tya ?' If you look towards the morning sun, your face will be towards the east, and your back towards the west. There are three Sam'skrta equivalents for the word 'back' : 'prs't'ha, 'Pashcim' and 'pashca't'. From the word 'prs't'ha' the Magahii and Bengali word 'pith' has come. The word 'pashcim' has quite a few meanings. One meaning is 'back', another is 'west'. There is a particular a'sana called 'paschimotta'na'sana' during which the back will be lifted off the ground. Some people are under the impression that pashcim means 'behind', but they are wrong; it means 'back'. The Sam'skrta word 'pa'schattya' is derived from paschat + tyaun. Pa'schattya should be spelt with two 't's'.

According to western calculation, ahoratra is the twenty-four hour period from one midnight to another midnight. This has one big disadvantage : if there is a mechanical disorder in the watch, there will be a desynchronisation in the twenty-four hour span. But there is no chance of an irregularity with the sunrise. So, according to the Indian system, the day begins at sunrise and according to the Western system, it begins at midnight.

It has been said, 'Do virtuous deeds day and night. What is 'punya' ? Punya means that action which leads to one's physical, psychic and spiritual well-being. That action which leads to one's physical, psychic and spiritual degeneration is called 'pa'pa'. Punya and pa'pa are both of two types.

The two types of pa'pa are pa'taka and pratyava'ya. If one does something which should not be done, such as stealing, telling lies, etc, it is called 'pa'taka'. It is an action which harms others. If one fails to do that which should be done, such as not feeding the poor or not serving the sick, it is called 'pratyava'ya'. According to the logicians, pratyava'ya is more reprimandable than pa'taka.

Pa'taka is again subdivided into three categories. Suppose your action has harmed others : it is undoubtedly pataka. However, if you do something to atone for the damage done, it ceases to be pa'taka. Suppose you have stolen something. If you return it to its owner along with a little interest - it is no longer called pa'taka as you have paid due compensation. There are some types of damage, however, which can never be compensated for. Suppose you cut off someone's fingers : they can never be replaced. Such an action is called 'atipa'taka'. And when you cause heavy damage which can never be compensated for and which has a recurring bad influence on others, it is called 'mahapa'taka'. Suppose an unscrupulous businessman adulterates black pepper with papaya seeds. Nobody will be able to tell the difference as both seeds look alike. Other businessmen may be tempted to follow his example and thus a vicious cycle of adulteration will be set in motion. This is mahapa'taka. By dedicating oneself to doing virtuous deeds one may atone for atipa'taka ; by offering compensation, one may atone for pa'taka ; but one can never atone for mahapa'taka. It is the worst type of pa'taka. For that one will have to dedicate one's life to a noble cause and refrain from any type of pleasure-seeking.

You all know the story of the Ra'ma'yan'a. When Ravana was about to be defeated in the war with Rama, he prayed to Shiva, his Lord and the source of his might, to save his life. But as he had abducted another man's wife, Shiva was immensely displeased and unwilling to help. There was no other person to save Ravana. Had Ravana been the disciple of any other guru, his life might have been saved, but as Shiva was his guru, there was none to save his life. In the scriptures it is said, 'Shive rus't'e gurustra'ta' guraorus't'e na'kashcana.' If Shiva is angry with a person, his guru can save him but if Shiva is also the guru, none can save him. Thus, as Shiva was Ravana's guru, there was none to save Ravana when Shiva was angry with him.

Parvati requested her husband, 'Shiva, Ravana is your devotee so please save him.' But how could Shiva save him ? Ravana was a mahapa'taki. Parvati suggested that Ravana was only an atipa'taki. 'No,' said Shiva, 'If Ravana had abducted Sita as a thief, he could be called an atipa'taki, but he abducted her in the guise of a sadhu. This will have a recurring effect as in the future no married woman will ever trust a sadhu again. They will think that a sadhu may be another Ravana in disguise. Even scoundrels may commit crimes dressed as sadhus.' As in fact they actually do today. 'Such a crime as this which has a recurring bad effect is undoubtedly mahapa'taka.' So Shiva refused to save Ravana's life. Parvati said, "Then I will save his life.' 'You may try,' said Shiva, 'but you won't succeed'. Parvati did try to save Ravana but she ultimately failed.

We have seen that pa'pa is of two types : pa'taka and pratyava'ya. There are also two types of punya : pratyaks'a punya and apratyaks'a pun'ya - direct and indirect virtue.

Pratyaks'a punya, or direct virtue, is acquired when one performs an action such as feeding the hungry or serving the infirm. Indirect virtue is acquired when one's service has a recurring effect, such as service to the society, planting trees, etc. If banyan trees are planted beside a hot and dusty road they will continue to give shelter to weary travellers for one thousand to two thousand years. Virtue acquired in this way is indirect virtue. The financially poor and the physically weak have trouble acquiring direct virtue due to their unfavourable social circumstances. It is a fact that comparatively few people actually acquire direct virtue. But everyone can attain indirect virtue. Of course, people can also attain direct virtue if they make the effort. The financially handicapped can render physical service ; the physically handicapped can render intellectual service. Everyone can render service in some way or other. This explains punyam or virtue.

'Kuru punyam ahoratram'. So far we have discussed ahoratra and punya. Regarding papa and punya, Vyasadeva said ( Vyasa is not a first name, but a surname like Bannerjee or Tiwari. His first name was Krs'n'a Dvaepa'yana. He was born into a fisherman's family on a small island situated at the confluence of the Ganga and Jamuna rivers whose soil is the colour of black cotton. As he was born on an island with black coloured soil, he was named Krs'n'a Dvaepa'yana. He was the author of the eighteen Pura'n'as ) ;

'As't'adashapura'n'es'u Vya'sasya vacanadvayam
Paropaka'rah pun'ya'ya pa'pa'ya parapiir'an'am'

[ 'The two most important words in all of Vyasa's eighteen Pura'n'as are paropaka'rah - doing good is virtue - and parapiir'an'am - doing bad is vice.] 

Why did he write these eighteen Pura'n'as ? He wanted to demonstrate through stories that virtuous deeds lead to the acquisition of virtue. That is, one acquires virtue by doing good to others. Conversely, one accumulates sin by doing harm to others. He wrote these Pura'n'as as a medium of mass education. This is what prompted him to write these Pura'n'as.

'Kuru punyam ahoaratram'. Shankara'carya advises people to acquire virtue night and day. But how can people acquire virtue at night '? What do people do twenty-four hours a day ? They breathe. If you can attune the act of doing virtuous deeds to your inhalation and exhalation, then even during sleep your virtuous deeds will continue. Your respiration continues in both the wakeful state and the sleeping state. So when you attune any subtle activity to your respiration, it will continue twenty-four hours a day. Thus, during meditation, the process of incantation is attuned to the respiratory system. Once you have mastered this practice, your incantation will continue automatically while you sleep. You may ask whether the process of incantation leads to the acquirement of virtue or not. It elevates your mind and equips you with more power to acquire more virtue. Being the subtlest of all acts, it is certainly a virtuous deed. When the process of incantation is perfectly attuned to the respiration, it will continue effortlessly in a wakeful, dream or sleep stage. A person in that situation is said to have attained 'ajapa' siddhi'. The spontaneous repetition of one's is't'a mantra is called "ajapa ga'yattrii' or 'ajapa' japa.' This is said to be the final stage in the process of incantation. It can be continued even during sleep and thus Shankara'carya said,"Kuru punyam ahoratram'. Through this practice human beings will become elevated mentally and spiritually and will consequently be able to render greater service to their own community and to the society at large. Everyone should try to attain this stage.

12 February 1979, Patna