z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 03.indd MK SJ+YS 5 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 150
150 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
- “Now that I have seen your sacred features, let me partake of the refreshing waters of your teachings.
II
“Worldly profit is fleeting and perishable, but religious profit is eternal and inexhaustible. A worldly man, though a king, is full of trouble, but even a common man who is holy has peace of mind.”
Knowing the tendency of the king’s heart, weighed down by avarice and love of pleasure, the Blessed One seized the opportunity and said :
“Even those who, have been born in low degree, when they see a virtuous man, feel reverence for him, how much more must an independent king, who by his previous conditions of life has acquired much merit, feel ?
“And now as I briefly expound the law, let the Maharaja listen and weigh my words, and hold fast to what I say.
“Our good or evil deeds follow us continually like shadows.
“That which is most needed is a loving heart !
“Regard your people as we do an only son. Do not oppress them, do not destroy them ; keep in due check every member of your body, forsake unrighteous doctrines and walk in the straight path ; do not exalt yourself by trampling down others. Give comfort and befriend the sufferer.
“Neither ponder much on kingly dignity, nor listen to the smooth words of flatterers.
“There is no profit in vexing oneself by austerities, but meditate on Dhamma and weigh the righteous law.
“We are enclosed on all sides by the rocks of sorrow and ill and only by considering the true law can we escape from this sorrow-filled mountain.
“What profit, then, in practising inequity ?
“All who are wise spurn the pleasures of the body. They loathe lust and seek to promote their spiritual existence.
“When a tree is burning with fierce flames,