merits of dieting, faithfulness to life partner, non-violence and honesty

 

किं चोपवासी यदि चैकभोजी किं ब्रह्मचारी निजदारसेवी।

दानेन किं ते यदि वात्वहिंसा मौनेन किं वा यदि सत्यवादी॥

इन्दिश्चे स्प्रूचे १७४५ प्रश्नोत्तररत्नमालिका

kiṁ copavāsī yadi caikabhojī kiṁ brahmacārī nijadārasevī|

dānena kiṁ te yadi vātvahiṁsā maunena kiṁ vā yadi satyavādī||

indiśce sprūce 1745 praśnottararatnamālikā

Penance, vows, austerities, spiritual observances are all intended to carry the one who observes such vows to spiritual heights. In addition, they help him correct himself and elevate him to greater peaks of welfare and bliss in this world and in the life after life. Acharya Bhagavatpada Shankara in Prashnottararatnamalika highlights the superiority of some noble and worthy characteristic traits that could carry a person to great heights of welfare and accomplishment even without going through self-mortification or strenuous penances.

He asks

If you control your diet and consume only restricted food only once in a day, then is there any necessity for you to observe fasting as a vow? Your dietary habit of restricting food to a single meal a day will ensure your robust health and welfare ensured all through your lifetime.

If your wedded life is happy and contended and you are, utterly faithful to the one and only wife you have and are leading a peaceful life happily in her exclusive company, that itself is a great attainment and a penance. Is there any need for you into enter into bouts of abstinence and celibacy? Your disciplined life is already blissful. Is there anything more to add?

If, as a mission in life and as life-long habit you stick to non-violence and if you ensure that you do not cause any physical or mental harm to anyone around, then you have already gained all the merits in this life and the next life too. No amount of charity, gifts or munificence is going to add to this great accumulation of virtue. Is charity going to add to your accumulation of your accumulated merits?

Moreover, if you are an honest person, a person who would never think of speaking anything other than truth, then vows of silence that you consider would bring in purity of mind are not of much use for you. Your adherence to truth is far more superior to the forced silence that you would impose on yourself through vows. Is vow of silence necessary for you?

Fasting, Celibacy, Charity and Silence are noble indeed.

Here the Acharya’s attempt is merely to underline the merits of dieting, faithfulness to life partner, non-violence and honesty.

Kva

Analysis

यदि त्वं if you are एकभोजी taking food only once in a day वर्तते remain किं उपवासी why should you undertake ritualistic fasting ? यदि त्वं if you निज own दार wife सेवी keep company and enjoy life भवति is किं ब्रह्मचारी then is there any necessity for austerities like celibacy ?

यदि वा if indeed अहिंसा you never harm anyone, if you adopt nonviolence as the mission of life दानेन charity तु किं ते is there any necessity for you? यदि त्वं if you सत्यवादी stick to truth, always speak truth तिष्टति stand किं वा मौनेन why should you observe vows of silence at all ?