Passage 15

In English

Take the case of . We know from our mythology that at the time when lived, there was no other individual who had access to property and wealth any more than had. had all the position which one could command. He had all the authority that one could have. In spite of that, the fact that was subjected to great difficulties towards the end and that he lost his life in battle is noteworthy. We should compare this with what happened to . intentionally and willingly gave up all his property; he gave up his kingdom, and he went into the forest for several years. Ultimately, he was given the honour of having maintained in this country. From this difference between , who had all the property, position and authority and who willingly gave up all the property, position and authority, we should conclude that we cannot attach any importance to either property, position or authority. We can only attach importance to character and to the pursuit of right conduct. Thus we conclude that money comes and goes whereas morality comes and grows. It is only in this context that we often say, “.” This simply means that those of us who safeguard will be safeguarded in turn by . This is the essence of Indian culture. But how to know what is right? How to know what is righteous conduct? This is something that you all will know later as days go by.