Sri Rama Charita Manasa - Shri Sita Ram Foundation, USA

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›R∫ RÅMACARITAMÅNASA *
again, is the most terrible sin. Further tell me in unambiguous terms the diseases of the
mind, omniscient as you are and richly endowed with compassion.î ìListen, dear GaruŒa,
with reverence and rapt attention while I tell you briefly my views on these questions.
There is no other form as good as the human body: every living creatureó whether
animate or inanimateócraves for it. It is the ladder that takes the soul either to hell or
to heaven or again to final beatitude, and is the bestower of blessings in the form of
wisdom, dispassion and Devotion. Men who fail to adore ›r∂ Hari even after obtaining this
body, and wallow in the basest pleasures of sense, throw away the philosopherís stone
from the palm of their hand and take bits of glass in exchange for the same. There is
no misery in this world as terrible as poverty and no blessing as great as communion
with saints. Beneficence in thought, word and deed is the innate disposition of saints, O
king of the birds. The saints undergo suffering in the interest of others while impious
wretches do so with a view to tormenting others. Tender-hearted saints, like the birch
tree, submit to the greatest torture (even allow their skin to be peeled off) for the good
of others; while the wicked, like the hemp, have their skin flayed off and perish in agony
in order to be able to bind others (in the form of cords). Listen, O enemy of serpents:
like the rat and the serpent, the wicked injure others without any gain to themselves.
Having destroyed othersí prosperity they perish themselves, even as the hail dissolves
after destroying the crops. The elevation of the wicked, like the rising of a cometówhich
is a detestable heavenly bodyóis a source of calamity to the world. The advancement
of a saint, on the other hand, is ever conducive to joy, even as the rising of the sun and
the moon brings delight to the whole universe. A vow of non-violence is the highest
religious merit known to the Vedas; and there is no sin as grievous as speaking ill of
others. A reviler of Lord Hara and his own preceptor takes the form of a frog (after his
death) and his birth in that form is repeated a thousand times. A reviler of the Bråhmaƒas,
after suffering tortures in a number of hells, is born on earth in the form of a crow. Those
conceited souls who revile the gods and the Vedas are cast into the hell known as
Raurava. They who delight in vilifying the saints are reborn as owls, who love the night
of error and for whom the sun of wisdom has set. The fools who censure all are reborn
as bats. Note now, dear GaruŒa, the diseases of the mind, from which everyone suffers.
Infatuation is the root of all ailments and from these again arise many other troubles. Lust
is a counterpart of wind and inordinate greed corresponds to an abundance of phlegm;
while anger represents bile, which constantly burns the breast. Should all these three
combine, there results what is known as Sannipåta (a derangement of the aforesaid
three humours of the body, causing fever which is of a dangerous type). The cravings
for the manifold pleasures of the sense, so difficult to realize, are the various distempers,
which are too numerous to name. The feeling of mineness corresponds to ringworms,
envy represents itches while joy and grief correspond to a disease of the throat marked
by an excessive enlargement of its glands. Grudging contemplation of othersí happiness
represents consumption; while wickedness and perversity of soul correspond to leprosy.
Egotism is a counterpart of the most painful gout; while hypocrisy, deceit, arrogance and
pride correspond to the disease known as Dracontiasis (which is marked by the
presence in the body of a parasite known as the guinea-worm). Thirst for enjoyment
represents the most advanced type of dropsy; while the three types of craving (those for
progeny, riches and honour) correspond to the violent quartan ague. Jealousy and
thoughtlessness are the two types of fever. There are many more fell diseases, too
numerous to mention. (1ó19)