Posted on: 03 Jul 2021
1) अथातो धर्मब्रह्म व्याख्यास्यामः ।
Athāto Dharma Brahma Vyākhyāsyāmaḥ ।
After observing confusion between worldly and spiritual lives, therefore, we are explaining both Dharma or Pravṛtti (worldly life) and Brahma or Nivṛtti (spiritual life).
2) प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तिसूत्रमिति वा ।
Pravṛtti Nivṛtti Sūtramiti vā ।
This book can be also called as Pravṛtti Nivṛtti Sūtram since dharma or justice is the essence of Pravṛtti and Brahmā or God is the essence of Nivṛtti.
3) तयोः कर्तृसम्बन्धः ।
Tayoḥ kartṛsambandhaḥ ।
Dharma Sūtram or Pravṛtti was established by sage Jaimini and Brahma Sūtram or Nivṛtti was established by Sage Vyāsa. Sage Jaimini is the student of sage Vyāsa. Hence, both the subjects are related without any opposition.
4) तयोरेकत्वं भेदो वा ।
Tayorekatvaṃ bhedo vā ।
Worldly life and spiritual life are treated by some people as one subject only interrelated all along and some people feel that both are different lives only.
5) उभयात्मकत्वञ्च ।
Ubhayatvamekatvañca ।
Both are different subjects, but, both are always amalgamated to appear as one subject.
6) मिश्रेण त्रिधा वरेण्यानिवृत्तिः ।
Miśreṇa tridhā Vareṇyā nivṛttiḥ ।
By the intermediate mixture, three levels result and Nivṛtti is high level. This means that pure Pravṛtti is low level, mixture of Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti is intermediate level and Nivṛtti is high level.
7) लक्ष्यसाधनभेदात् द्विधा लक्ष्यमेव सर्वम् ।
Lakṣyasādhanabhedāt dvidhā lakṣyameva sarvam ।।
Based on aim and effort, two types result, which are:- 1) for the sake of Nivṛtti, Pravṛtti is followed and 2) for the sake of Pravṛtti, Nivṛtti is followed. Aim only decides everything. Both these types come under Nivṛtti and Pravṛtti only. This means that Pravṛtti followed for the sake of Nivṛtti is entirely Nivṛtti only whereas Nivṛtti followed for Pravṛtti is entirely Pravṛtti only because the aim decides everything and not the effort. This may be more clearly said that if you are worshiping God for the welfare of yourself and your worldly bonds such worship is also worldly life only and not spiritual life. Similarly, if you are doing worldly duties to earn livelihood for the sake of service to God, such worldly work is also spiritual life only and not worldly life.
8) मिश्रे बहवो लोकेष्वधर्मसंश्लेषात् ।
Miśre bahavo lokeṣvaradharmasaṃṣleṣāt ।
The middle level of mixed Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti contains majority of souls. The major human life is always perfectly mixed with world and God. This means that several people exist in the middle level of mixed Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti.
9) चतुर्था द्विपरः ।
Caturthā dviparaḥ ।
The resulting four types come under the two types of Pravṛtti and Niviṛtti only. We can classify all the human beings in to four types:- 1) people, who are always bothered about worldly life only, 2) people, who are bothered about spiritual life for the welfare of worldly life, 3) people, who are bothered about worldly life for the welfare of spiritual life and 4) People, who are bothered about spiritual life only. The former two types come under Pravṛtti (worldly life) and the latter two types come under Niviṛtti (spiritual life).
10) सम्पदभावे वृत्तिविद्या तल्लक्ष्यानिवृत्तिः ।
Saṃpadabhāve vṛttividyā tallakṣyānivṛttiḥ ।
If background-property is absent, professional education is also Nivṛtti provided your aim is God’s work. If you are not having any property in the background, you must concentrate on fetching a profession for livelihood and for this, you must concentrate on getting a professional degree through education. If you are not having livelihood, you will not exist and your existence is the basis for doing God’s work. Hence, your hard work in education for achieving a profession that earns livelihood comes under Nivṛtti (spiritual life) only and not under Pravṛtti (worldly life) provided the ultimate aim of your life is doing God’s work.
11) अन्यथाख्यातिः गीयते च ।
Anyathākhyātiḥ gīyate ca ।
Misunderstanding of action as inaction and inaction as action is spoken in the Gita also (Karmaṇyakarma...). The Gītā says that the top most intellectual scholar sees action in the inaction and vice-versa. You may mistake a person doing little God’s work and much worldly work like job for earning livelihood and feel that such person is doing lot of worldly work and very less God’s work. You will misunderstand him as a worldly person with little devotion. You will think that this is wrong because he is doing all the worldly work for maintenance only and doing very little God’s work. Actually, all his work is God’s work only because maintenance of body is the most fundamental requirement for doing even the little God’s work. Similarly, a priest may be doing God’s work all the time in the temple through the worship and you may think that he is doing God’s work all the time and very little work is done as worldly work. But, this is wrong because the priest in the temple is doing God’s work only for earning the livelihood keeping the worldly enjoyment as his final aim (majority of priests is like this only). Hence, all his God’s work is only worldly work.
12) प्रवृत्त्येका अधमाः ।
Pravṛttyekā adhamāḥ ।
The level of pure Pravṛtti is related to the exceptional basic category of people only. If you are not bothered about the concept of God and if you are totally bothered about worldly life only, even then, you have to concentrate on professional education for the sake of your livelihood since your existence is the basis for your worldly enjoyment. If you have property in your backside, you may enter into worldly enjoyment directly. You may also enter into professional education even if you have property in the background provided your ultimate aim is to grow your wealth as far as possible for your worldly enjoyment. People mentioned in this Sūtra are of low pravṛtti level only.
13) मिश्र एव विचारः ।
Miśra eva vicāraḥ ।
Our discussion is confined to the middle mixed level only. The first and third types of people are of pure pravṛtti and pure nivṛtti only respectively. In both these types, the aim is only one, which is either pure worldly life or pure spiritual life. Since majority of people belong to the intermediate level, which is mixed pravṛtti and nivṛtti, our analysis is always confined to this middle level only, which has the problem of confusion of one to the other in Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti. We have already clarified above that Pravṛtti or Nivṛtti is decided not by the external work or effort seen, but, by the internal aim behind it.
14) ज्ञानमात्रपरमात्मनोः गतिज्ञानात् ।
Jñānamātraparamātmanoḥ gatijñānāt ।
The word ‘Brahma’ means mere knowledge or God and the word ‘cara’ means knowledge. The word ‘Brahmacarya’ means the effort put to know about God or can also simply to know any knowledge especially the worldly knowledge of even a worldly work needed for maintenance of life by earning livelihood so that God’s work can be done, which is the ultimate aim of life. Brahma means God and in this sense, Brahmacarya means knowing the knowledge of God only. The word ‘cara’ is for movement, which means the process of knowing because verbs used in the sense of movement can be taken in the sense of knowing the knowledge (Gatyarthānāṃ dhātūnāṃ jñānārthakatvāt). The word Brahma also means the Veda and the Veda means simply knowledge (Vidul-jñāne), which can be worldly knowledge also needed for earning the livelihood (in the case of absence of background property) to do God’s service and thus, in this context, the worldly knowledge also becomes a part of God’s knowledge or Nivṛtti. Hence, the conclusion is that Brahmacarya āśrama means the knowledge of God to be acquired or the knowledge of a worldly profession to earn the livelihood for the sake of doing God’s service.
15) चर्यं ज्ञेयमिति सर्वं ब्रह्मपरम् ।
Caryam jñeyamiti sarvaṃ Brahmaparam ।
The word Brahmacaryam means the effort in which the knowledge of God or the knowledge of any profession that supports the livelihood needed for doing God’s service in the life (Brahma Jñānamātraṃ paramātmā vā caryaṃ Jñeyaṃ yatra tat Brahmacaryam।). The final conclusion is that Brahmacaryam means both the direct knowledge of God and the indirect knowledge of a profession needed for maintenance of livelihood required to do the service to God in human life. Both the direct and indirect knowledge are related to God only and not to the world in any way.
16) विपरीतमद्य शासनविधानात् ।
Viparītamadya śāsanavidhānāt ।
Today, everything is reversed due to different policy of the present Government. In ancient days, kings supported the propagation of spiritual knowledge as very important part of education system for making their administration very easy because every soul develops inherent resistance to do the sin either due to love to God or fear from God’s punishment. There was a single court for the entire kingdom and that court was also almost without any work! The present Government is supporting professional education in the place of spiritual knowledge and is unable to control the sin. Hence, in the ancient days majority of people were studying spiritual knowledge for the sake of wide propagation and hence, spiritual knowledge itself became the topmost professional education. In those days, the real professional education was taken up by a few people only and there was no unemployment problem. But, today, things are totally different and there is urgent need to study the real professional education for majority, which leads to lot of unemployment since the spiritual knowledge lost its importance due to present Government neglecting it.
17) व्यत्ययात् कार्यमन्यथा ।
Vyatyayāt kāryamanyathā ।
Since situation is reversed at present, everybody has to act in different way! Sin is to be controlled by the Government, which is impossible due to absence of inherent resistance to sin in the citizens. The controlling agencies established by Government are many solving the unemployment problem to some extent without the final expected result of avoiding the sin! Spiritual knowledge (philosophy) is very much limited to a department existing in a rare institution like university only and professional colleges are many like mushrooms. In ancient days, this situation was just reverse! Hence, today, one can’t get livelihood by studying the spiritual knowledge and must opt for the professional education only for livelihood.
18) स्वतन्त्राभावः सम्प्रति निर्बन्धात् स्वयं ज्ञेय आनन्दः ।
Svatantrābhāvaḥ samprati nirbandhāt svayaṃ jñeya ānandaḥ ।
Today, independent taste is absent since even parents force their issue to select professional education only. Nobody can select the knowledge of subject as per his/her taste in the present education system especially when the background property is absent because in such case one must opt professional education only and there is no choice of the taste of the student to select the line of knowledge as per his/her interest. If there is background property, one can select the branch of knowledge based on personal taste. Even if the background property exists, parents force their issue to select professional education only so that the issue will grow the property by profession! Under these circumstances, one has to study the knowledge of God allotting some personal time apart from usual study of professional education. The entertainments in the leisure time can be replaced by the spiritual knowledge, which gives highest joy. Students must understand the parents, who compel their issues to choose professional education in view of present situation. The student must accept the forcible selection of branch of knowledge especially when earning livelihood is inevitable.
19) सर्वात्मनां नियतं पूर्वमपि ।
Sarvātmanāṃ niyataṃ pūrvamapi ।
Even in the time of ancient sages, the whole system was compulsory to all souls without any partiality. In ancient days, there was no pressure of caste, gender etc, which have become prominent in the recent middle age only due to blind recitation of the Veda without enquiring its meaning. Bhūriśravāḥ, Yājñyavalkya and Gārgī were rewarded heavily by kings for their excellent spiritual knowledge. Hence, professional education is essential for everybody irrespective of caste, gender, religion etc. Spiritual knowledge is also essential irrespective of these meaningless factors because uplift of soul is necessary for everybody. God is beyond all these useless factors and is impartial to every soul.
20) तदनुग्रहाय सेवा कार्य ।
Tadanugrahāya sevā kāryā ।
To attain the grace of God, practical service like propagation of spiritual knowledge must be done. In Brahmacarya āśrama or life of education, one has to learn for the livelihood, which is the very essential stage for the whole life-drama. For such basic earning of livelihood also, God’s grace is essential. If God’s grace does not exist, even the background property will be lost! Hence, the grace of God is very very essential for anybody from the starting point of human life till its end and later on also after the end of life. In view of this most essential grace of God, every soul must do God’s work to please God for getting His grace. When somebody is pleased, then only, you can get his grace. Anybody will be pleased through practical service and practical sacrifice only. For practical service and practical sacrifice to God, attainment of knowledge is needed, which is done in this first part of life called Brahmacaryam.
21) प्रचारेण लोकसङ्ग्रहात् तद्दया साध्या ।
Pracāreṇa lokasaṇgrahāt taddayā sādhyā ।
One can get the grace of God by doing the propagation of spiritual knowledge. What is the need for the propagation of spiritual knowledge in this world? The need is very much in the present times when everybody needs to develop self-resistance to do any sin in this world. The need is very much in the present time due to absence of this self-resistance to sin in every soul. If everybody does sin, the world enters horrible turmoil. By this, the creator of this world, God, becomes very much displeased. If one wants to please God and get His grace, he/she must propagate the spiritual knowledge in the world so that everybody develops self-resistance to sin by which this world runs on smooth lines and peace and this will please God. The necessary knowledge to be propagated and the necessity to learn professional education for self-maintenance brings the need for learning both spiritual knowledge and professional education simultaneously in this first phase of life called Brahmacaryāśrama.
22) सेवात्रये प्राधान्यक्रमो ब्रह्मचर्यादेव ।
Sevātraye prādhānyakramo Brahmacaryādeva ।
The three types of divine services (knowledge, devotion and practical service with sacrifice) are in the ascending order of importance and the basis is this first phase of life only. In the work of propagation of spiritual knowledge-food, cook, caterers and purchasers of food materials are needed. Cook is doing purely theoretical service by preparing the spiritual knowledge-food with most attractive taste. The cook stands for pure theoretical service, called knowledge or jñāna yoga that generates devotion. The caterer receives this knowledge-food from the cook and caters it to at least the surrounding humanity in his/her life. The caterer stands for practical service or karmasaṃnyāsa yoga done with full devotion or Bhakti yoga. The caterer attains Bhakti Yoga and the catering is a part of karma yoga, which is karmasaṃnyāsa yoga. Jñāna yoga and Karmasaṃnyāsa yoga are purely theoretical and saints can do these two only. The third final is sacrifice of fruit of work or karmaphalatyāga needed for the support of propagation and this has highest value. A king performing 100 Vedic sacrifices is sitting in the chair of Indra because the king is doing the entire karamaphalatyāga needed for the Vedic sacrifice. Hence, the purchaser of food material is greater than caterer and the caterer (who moves always) is greater than the sitting cook. The cook belongs to Jñāna yoga and Bhakti yoga. The caterer belongs to Bhakti-yoga and Karma yoga. The purchaser of food materials belongs to the final part of Karma yoga, which is Karmaphalatyāga. The importance is in the ascending order. The house-holder must do all the three types of services as far as possible to get the grace of God for him/her. For all these types of services to God, achievement of both knowledge of God and professional knowledge are essential. Brahmacaryam is very important to attain such basic requirement, which is the knowledge from Sadguru (or human incarnation) or at least from Guru (who follows the established knowledge of Sadguru). Sadguru is guide and goal whereas Guru is only guide and not goal.
।। इति ब्रह्मचर्याश्रमो नाम प्रथमपादः ।।
।। Iti Brahmacaryāśramo Nāma Prathama Pādaḥ ।।
First Chapter Called Life of Education is completed.