71. I follow that path (of wisdom), I am alone (unencumbered with attachments), I am successful (in realizing the truth); I am liberated, I am without desire, I am partless and I desire nothing.
72-73. The states of purity, strength, reality, heartiness, truth, true, knowledge, bliss, tranquillity, the rise of constant joy, fullness, true richness, the possession of effulgence and true oneness – the mendicant monk thus thinking on the true nature of his Self and realizing his true nature freedom doubts, indeed became the one without an alternative (i.e. became one with Brahman).
74. If one sorely afflicted recovers, renunciation in the prescribed order should be embraced. (An ascetic) shall not converse with a low caste woman, one fallen from virtue, and a woman in he courses. The ascetic has no worship of gods, nor witnessing (temple) festivals. The goal of asceticism is not one (and the same) heaven. The sorely afflicted and the Kutichaka ascetics gain the worlds Bhur and the Bhuvas respectively. The Bahudaka ascetic (gains) heaven (Svarga). The Hamsa ascetic, the world of truth (Satya-loka). The Turiyatita and the Avadhuta ascetics attain supreme bliss in themselves by deeply meditating on the true nature of
the Self according to the maxim of the wasp.
75. The practice of Scripture-study, which is distinct from meditation on the nature of the Self, is useless like (carrying( saffron flowers which are but a burden to a camel. The ascetic has not to practise the science of Yoga or the Sankhya; he has no rituals
with mantras and tantras nor the study of any other religious treatise (Shastra); if there is, it is like adorning a corpse. (Such an ascetic) is far away from spiritual lore like a cobbler. A mendicant monk shall not mention his name (in the previous stage of life).
One reaps the fruit of whatever action one does. (Hence the ascetic) shall give up all, as one would (discard) the foam on castor oil. There is no receiving of the offerings made to a deity. He shall not worship gods externally.
76. Discarding everything apart from the Self, subsisting on food secured as alms from a number of houses (as a bee gathers honey), being lean and avoiding increase of fat (in his body) he shall move about. He should spend the time, (eating food) secured
as alms from a number of houses using his hand or mouth as a vessel.
77. The sage established in the Self should take food which is conducive to (the realization of) the Self. Two quarters (of the belly shall be filled) with food and one quarter with water; the fourth quarter shall be left for the movement of air.
78. He shall always live on alms; he shall never eat food secured as alms from one house alone; he should go particularly to those houses where the people are seen to be easy in mind (i.e. those who dine only after giving alms).
79. He may expect alms from four or seven houses (where the house-holder) perform religious rites; he may expect (alms) up to the period of milking cows (in the afternoon); when he has come out (of a house without alms) he shall not go in again.
80. Fasting is preferable to (getting food from) devotees; unsolicited food is better than fasting; begging alms is preferable to unsolicited food; hence he shall subsist on alms.
81. He shall never enter a house by a side entrance at the time of begging alms; he shall not out of delusion go across a house where no harm is seen in so doing.
82. He shall not beg alms from a Vedic scholar if it is (given) without faith and devotion; he may beg alms from the house of a twice-born who has lost caste when offered with faith and devotion.
83. Alms from a number of houses without planning, that which is planned, the one unbegged, the timely one and the one offered (at the monastery) are declared to be the five kinds of alms.
84. (The first kind), alms from a number of houses, is declared to be that which is obtained from there, five or seven houses without pre-meditation as in the case of a honeybee (from flowers).
85. (The second kind), alms previously arranged, is that which is accepted after repeated requests made by devotees in that morning and the previous day; none the less he may subsist on that.
86. (The third kind), alms unbegged is that which is received when invited to dine by some one or other as he is ready to go abegging; this should be eaten by ascetics (desiring salvation).
87. (The fourth kind) timely alms is known as that (meal) which is offered by a Brahmana when he has approached (a house) for alms; this (food) should be eaten by ascetics.
88. Sages desiring liberation say that the (fifth kind of) alms, the food offered (to the ascetic at the monastery) is the ready meal which is brought by a Brahmana to the monastery.
89. The ascetic shall subsist on alms by begging from door to door even though it may be from the houses of outcastes. He shall not dine in one house even if (the host) is equal to the preceptor of the gods (in learning). He shall subsist on alms, solicited or
unsolicited.
90. Air is not spoiled by touching (any object); fire by the activity of burning; waters, by urine and faeces (getting into them); and a mendicant monk by short-comings in food.
91. When (in houses) smoke has subsided, the pestle (for pounding rice) is at rest, the fire (in the oven) has gone out and the people have dined, (the ascetic) shall go for alms in the late afternoon.
92. He shall receive alms except from the accursed, the fallen, heretics and the class of people exclusively engaged in temple worship; from all the castes, in difficult times.
93-94. (He shall consider) clarified butter as dog’s urine, honey as spirituous liquor, oil as hog’s urine, condiment as garlic, cakes made of black gram as beef, and milk as urine. Therefore the ascetic shall avoid, by putting forth all effort, clarified butter, etc.
95. The Yogin shall never eat food mixed with clarified butter, condiments, etc.; using his hand as a vessel he shall not go about for alms more than once (a day).
96. When the ascetic seeks food with his mouth (alone) like a cow, he becomes equanimous to all; (hence) he becomes fit for immortality.
97. (The ascetic) shall discard clarified butter like blood, taking food in one house like flesh, using cosmetics like smearing himself with unclean things, salt and molasses like an outcaste, garment like dirty dishes, oil bath like courting women, pleasant company
of friends like urine, desire like beef, familiar places like the hut of an outcaste, women like snakes, gold like deadly poison, an assembly hall like a cemetery, the capital (city) like hell and food in one house like the balls of rice at a funeral. There is no worship of gods (by him). Discarding the way of the world he shall become one ‘liberated while living’.
98. Stay (continuously in one place), acquisition of (begging) bowl, collecting (of staff, etc.,), gathering disciples, sleep by day time (divasvapnah) and useless talk – these are the six sins of ascetics.
99-103. Remaining (continuously in one place) except during the rains is said to be a stay (asana). Acquisition of even a single vessel like the afore-said vessel of gourd, etc., for daily use by an ascetic is said to be ‘acquiring vessels’ (patralopa). Collecting (samchaya) is declared to be the acceptance of a second staff, etc., for future use by one who has one already. The acceptance of disciples for personal service, profit, dignity or fame and not out of compassion (to help them) is said to be gathering disciples (sishyasamgraha). (Vedantic) learning is (called) day as it is illuminating; ignorance (avidya) is said to be night. Negligence in learning is said to be ‘sleep during day’ divasvapnah). Excepting talk pertaining to the Self and at the time of receiving alms, (bestowal of) blessings and inquiries (concerning the Self), any other talk is said to be useless talk (vrithajalpah).
104. Food from one house, pride, envy, adorning with cosmetics and flowers, chewing betel roll, oil bath, sport, desire for enjoyment, medicine to prolong life and retard old age (rashayana);
105. Boasting, abusive language, pronouncement of benediction, astrological prediction, buying and selling, ritual, debate on ritual, transgression of the Guru and scripture;
106-107. Conciliating, fighting, vehicle, cot, white garment, release of semen, sleep by day time, vessel for alms (alms-bowl), gold, gum-myrrh, weapon, seed (for cultivation or mystical letter forming the essential part of the mantra of a deity), injuring, severity,
copulation, what is discarded by the yoga of renunciation, vows such as the duties of house-holder;
108. Family, etc., branch of the Veda (of his early days), all families of the father and mother, and wealth – all these are prohibited to the ascetic. If he resorts to them he falls (from the state of renunciation).
109. A wise man, though very old, shall not trust in women though very old. Even in very old patched garments old cloth will stick (when stitched).
110. Immovable property, mobile things (servants), seed (for cultivation), gold, gum-myrrh and weapon these six an ascetic shall not take up as (though they were) urine and faeces.
111. An ascetic shall not take with him even a little provision for a journey except when in danger; in hard times he may receive ripe corn when cooked food is not available.
112. A mendicant monk who is not sick and a young monk shall not stay in any house (of a house-holder); he shall neither accept nor give anything to another at any time.
113. With a sense of humility the ascetic shall strive for the welfare of beings; begging cooked or uncooked food (for another), he falls (from asceticism).
114-115. An ascetic keen on feeding others, who accepts clothes, etc., and woollen garments or others as well as good clothes undoubtedly falls (from virtue). Resorting to the ship of non-duality he will gain liberation while living.
116. For restraint in speech, he shall observe silence; for control over the body, he shall fast; for control over the mind, breath control (pranayama) is prescribed.
117. A being is bound by (worldly) action; he gets liberated by spiritual knowledge. Hence far-seeing ascetics do not perform (worldly) action.
118. Scattered are (torn) garments on roads; alms can be had everywhere; the earth is a wide bed; how (then) are ascetics put to grief ?
119. The ascetic who offers the whole world as oblation in the fire of spiritual wisdom, having (symbolically) transferred the ritual fires to his Self – that great ascetic is the (true) Agnihotrin (the consecrator and maintainer of sacred fire).
120. Advancement in the spiritual path is twofold – that of the she-cat and the she-monkey. Those who practise spiritual wisdom
(Jnana) are (like) she-cats; the secondary way of (Apara-Brahman) is (like that of) a she-monkey.
121. The ascetic shall not speak to any one unless he is spoken to; nor to one who asks improperly. An intelligent man though knowing, should behave in the world as if he were dull-witted.
122. When confronted with a mass of sins (i.e. when the flesh becomes weak, over-ruling the dictates of wisdom) he shall practise the (meaningful) repetition of the Taraka (Om) twelve thousand times (a day); for it cuts (sins).
123. The supreme Brahman shines to him in twelve months who gently repeats the Pranava twelve thousand times every day. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sannyasopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
