A man by following the duties which are appointed by his birth, doeth no wrong. A man's own calling, with all its faults, ought not to be forsaken. Every undertaking is involved in its faults, as the fire in its smoke.

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A man

also being engaged in every work, if he put his trust in me alone shall, by my divine pleasure, obtain the eternal and incorruptible mansions of my abode.

THE BRAHM.

Those whose understandings are in the Deity, whose souls are in him, whose confidence is in him, are purified by wisdom from all their offenses, and go from whence they shall never

return.

The learned behold Deity alike in the revered Brahmin, perfected in knowledge, in the ox, the elephant, the dog, and him who eateth the flesh of dogs. Those whose minds are fixed on this quality, gain eternity, even in this world. They put their trust in Brahm, the Eternal, because he is everywhere without fault.

The man who knoweth, and confideth in, Brahm, and whose steady mind is free from folly, should neither rejoice in prosperity, nor complain in adversity. Such an one, whose soul is fixed upon the study of Brahm, enjoyeth pleasure without decline. The enjoyments which proceed from the feelings are the wombs of future pain. The wise man, acquainted with the beginning and the end (or consequence) of things, delighteth not in these.

He who can bear up against the violence produced from lust and anger in this mortal life, is properly employed, and a happy man. The man happy in his heart, at rest in his mind, and enlightened within, is a Yogee, or one devoted to God, and of a godly spirit; and obtaineth the immaterial nature of Brahm, the Supreme. Such Rishis (Saints) as are purified from their offenses, freed from doubt, of subdued mind, and interested in the good of all mankind, obtain the incorporeal Brahm.

The incorporeal Brahm is prepared from the beginning, for such as are free from lust and anger, of humble minds and subdued spirits, and who are acquainted with their own souls.

BRAHM-THE UNIVERSAL SPIRIT.

I am the sacrifice; I am the worship; I am the spices; I am the invocation; I am the ceremony to the manes (spirits) of the ancestors; I am the provisions; I am the fire, and I am the victim; I am the father and mother of the world, the grandsire and preserver. I am the Holy One, worthy to be known; the mystic figure Aum; the Rig, the San, and Yajoor Veds.

I am the journey of the good; the comforter; the creator; the witness; the resting place; the asylum, and the friend. I am generation and dissolution, the place where all things are reposited, and the inexhaustible seed of all nature. I am sunshine, and I am rain; I now draw in and now let forth. I am death and immortality; I am entity and nonentity.

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They who serve other gods, with a firm belief, in doing so involuntarily worshlp even me. I am he who partaketh of all worship, and I am their reward.

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I am the soul which standeth in the bodies of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things. * I am among worships the silent worship, and amongst immovables the mountain Himmalaya. Of all science, I am the knowledge of the ruling spirit, and of all speaking, I am the oration. I am also never-failing time, the preserver, whose face is turned on all sides. I am all-grasping death, and I am the resurrection of those about to be. Among feminines I am fame, fortune, eloquence, memory, understand*I am the seed of

ing, fortitude, patience.

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all in nature, not anything animate or inanimate is without me. My divine distinctions are without end.

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I

planted this whole universe with a single portion (motion) and then stood still.

THE GOOD MAN-OR DEVOTEE.

Kreeshna said:

He, my servant, is dear 'unto me, who is free from enmity, the friend of all nature, merciful, exempt from all pride and selfishness, the same in pain and pleasure, patient of wrong, contented, constantly devout, of subdued passions, and firm resolves, and whose mind and understanding are fixed on me alone. He also is my beloved of whom mankind are not afraid, and who is not afraid of mankind; and who is free from the influence of joy, impatience, and the dread of harm. He, my servant, is dear unto me who is unexpecting, just and pure, impartial, free from distraction of mind, and who hath forsaken every enterprise. He also is worthy of my love, who neither rejoiceth nor findeth fault; who neither lamenteth nor coveteth, and, being my servant, hath forsaken both good and evil fortune. He also is my beloved servant, who is the same in friendship and in hatred, in honor and in dishonor, in cold and heat, in pain and pleasure; who is unsolicitous about the event of things; to whom praise and blame are as one; who is of little speech, and pleased with whatever cometh to pass; who owneth no particular home, and who is of a steady mind.

DIVINE DESTINY-ABSORPTION IN THE DIVINE NATURE.

Kreeshna said: The man born to divine destiny is endued with the following qualities: exemption from fear, a purity of heart, a constant attention to the discipline of his understanding; charity, self-restraint, religion, study, penance, rectitude, freedom from doing wrong, veracity, freedom from anger, resignation, temperance, freedom from slander, universal compassion, exemption from the desire of slaughter, mildness, modesty, discretion, dignity, patience, fortitude, chastity, unrevengefulness, and freedom from vain-glory: whilst those who come into life under the influence of the evil destiny, are distinguished by pride, hypocrisy, presumption, anger, harshness of speech,

and ignorance. The divine destiny is for Moksh, or eternal absorption into the divine nature; and the evil destiny confineth the soul to mortal birth.

FROM CODE AND LAWS OF MENU.

MORAL DUTIES-THE SOUL ITS OWN WITNESS.

To patriarchs, to deities, and to mankind, the scripture is an eye giving constant light. The Veda Shastra could not be made by human faculties, nor can it be measured by human

reason.

The birth which man derives from his parents is merely human; that which the Vedas procure for him is the true birth, exempt from age or death.

To a man contaminated by sensuality, neither the Vedas, nor liberality, nor sacrifices, nor strict observances, nor pious austerities, will produce felicity.

A wise man faithfully discharges all moral duties, even though he does not constantly perform the ceremonies of religion. He will fall very low if he performs ceremonies only, and fails to discharge his moral duties.

By honoring his father, mother, and sister, a man effectually does whatever ought to be done. This is the highest duty, and every other is subordinate. All duties are performed by him who completely honors these three; but to him by whom they are dishonored, all other acts are fruitless.

Whatever oblations a man, actuated by strong faith, piously offers, as the sacred laws have directed, become a perpetual, imperishable gratification to his ancestors in the other world.

He whose sins are mostly corporeal, will assume, after death, a vegetable or mineral form; for sins mostly verbal he will assume the form of bird or beast; for sins merely mental he will assume a human form, but in some of its lower con

ditions. An unauthorized teacher of the Sacred Books will return into a dumb body.

If a wife speak unkindly to her husband, she may be superseded by another, at once. A woman is never fit for independence.

The sacrifice required of Brahmins is to gain knowledge and instruct others; of the Cshatriyas, that they protect others; of the Vaisyas, that they supply the wants of commerce; of the Soodras, that they serve others.

Like a tree carried far from the river which saw its birth, like a bird that flies from the branch on which it rested, man ought to free himself from the body; for thus will he see himself delivered from the devouring monster of this world.

The soul itself is its own witness, and its own refuge. Offend not thy conscious soul, the supreme internal witness of men! Oh, friend to virtue! that Supreme Spirit which thou believest one and the same with thyself, resides in thy bosom perpetually, and is an all-knowing inspector of thy goodness, or wickedness.

The priest, baptising the child, says: "Little babe, thou enterest the world weeping, while all around thee smile. Mayest thou so live that thou mayest depart in smiles, while all around thee weep."

ON CREATION.

The universe existed in darkness imperceptible, undefinable, undiscoverable, and undiscovered; as if immersed in sleep.

Then the self-existing power, undiscovered himself, but making the world discernible with the five elements and other principles, appeared in undiminished glory dispelling the gloom.

He whom the mind alone can perceive, whose essence eludes the external organs, who has no visible parts, who exists from eternity, even he, the soul of things, shows forth in

person.