Chapter III: The Gnostic Aims At the Nearest Likeness Possible to God and His Son. (12)
Forms of fortitude are endurance, magnanimity, high spirit, liberality, and grandeur. And for this reason he neither meets with the blame or the bad...
(12) Forms of fortitude are endurance, magnanimity, high spirit, liberality, and grandeur. And for this reason he neither meets with the blame or the bad opinion of the multitude; nor is he subjected to opinions or flatteries. But in the indurance of toils and at the same time in the discharge of any duty, and in his manly superiority to all circumstances, he appears truly a man (anhr) among the rest of human beings. And, on the other hand, maintaining prudence, he exercises moderation in the calmness of his soul; receptive of what is commanded, as of what belongs to him, entertaining aversion to what is base, as alien to him; become decorous and supramundane, he does everything with decorum and in order, and transgresses in no respect, and in nothing. Rich he is in the highest degree in desiring nothing, as having few wants; and being in the midst of abundance of all good through the knowledge of the good. For it is the first effect of his righteousness, to love to spend his time and associate with those of his own race both in earth and heaven. So also he is liberal of what he possesses.
He was not yet developed. He created still further a better form, Law (dharma). This is the power (ksatra) of the Kshatriya class (ksatra), viz. Law....
(1) He was not yet developed. He created still further a better form, Law (dharma). This is the power (ksatra) of the Kshatriya class (ksatra), viz. Law. Therefore there is nothing higher than Law. So a weak man controls a strong man by Law, just as if by a king. Verily, that which is Law is truth. Therefore they say of a man who speaks the truth, < He speaks designate the military and princely class, as contrasted with the priestly class of Brahmans, See page 98, note 2. the Law/ or of a man who speaks the Law, < He speaks the truth/ Verily, both these are the same thing.
I am standing by? If I in my pride will not do it, better it is that my pride perish. The very crow becomes a Garuda when he lights upon a dead...
(8) I am standing by? If I in my pride will not do it, better it is that my pride perish. The very crow becomes a Garuda when he lights upon a dead lizard; if my spirit is feeble, the least occasion of sin will overcome me. To him who is palsied by a faint heart occasions of sin come abundantly; but he who has a noble pride ever alert is unconquerable even by great temptations. Then with firm spirit I will undo the occasions of undoing; if I should be conquered by them, my ambition to conquer the threefold world would be a jest. I will conquer all; none shall conquer me. This is the pride that I will bear, for I am the son of the Conqueror-Lions. Creatures who are overcome by arrogance bear the title of misery, not of pride; he that is proud falls not into the power of the foe, but they are slaves to the foe Arrogance. Through arrogance they are brought into evil estate, and even in human birth lose their joys, eating the bread of others, slaves, fools, uncomely, wasted away; despised on all sides are the wretches stiff in arrogance; if they are ranked with the proud, say, who are the miserable? Proud, victorious, heroic are they who set their pride on conquest of the foe Arrogance, who overthrow him in all his might, and freely show to the world the fruit of their conquest.
To accomplish the welfare of his fellow-creatures he has an Army, the troops of which are Love of Right, Constancy, Joy, and Abandonment. The Love of...
(5) To accomplish the welfare of his fellow-creatures he has an Army, the troops of which are Love of Right, Constancy, Joy, and Abandonment. The Love of Right he will frame from the fear of suffering and from pondering upon merits. When he has uprooted his foes, he will strive for increase of vigour by means of his armies, which are the love of right, pride, joy, abandonment, devoted heed, and self -submission. Countless are the faults in myself and my fellows that I shall have to destroy, and hundreds of thousands of seons must pass ere even one of these fade away. But I find not in myself the least morsel of vigour to set myself to undo these faults; I am doomed to boundless anguish, and why does my bosom not burst? Many are the virtues in myself and my fellows that must be gained, and hundreds of thousands of aeons will scarce be enough for the practice of even one of them. But I have never practised the least morsel of virtue; to no purpose has been spent the birth so hardly and marvellously won. The joy of the great festivals in worship of the Lord has not been mine; I have done no honour to the Law, nor fulfilled the desire of the poor; I have not given security to them that are in fear, nor happiness to the afflicted; I have been only a vexation of my mother's womb, to work sorrow. Because of old I departed from the love of right, I am now in this evil plight; who would forsake the love of right? This love the Saint has proclaimed to be the root of all righteous works; and its root is the constant meditation upon the fruit that grows from deeds. Manifold are the pains, the sorrows, the terrors, and the disappointments that arise to sinners. Whithersoever the desire of the righteous turns, it is greeted with happy issue, because of their merits; and whithersoever turns the sinner's yearning for pleasure, it is smitten with swords of pain, because of his sins. They that are godly of works enter the wombs of broad, sweet-smelling, cool lotus-blossoms; their lustrous forms grow nurtured by the Conqueror's sweet melody; then they issue in comely beauty from the lotus-flowers awakened by the sunbeams of the Holy One, and are born as Sons of the Blessed in the presence of the Blessed. As to them that are ungodly of works, shrieking in anguish, they are flayed of their whole skin by the Death-god's henchmen, their bodies bathed with copper molten in the fire, their flesh cut off in gobbets by hundreds of blows from flaming swords and pikes, and they fall again and again upon beds of red-hot iron. Then let the love of righteousness be with you, and be heedful thus to foster it.
The spirit that knows not despair, the troops of the Army, devoted heed, self -submission, equal esteem of self and others, and regard of others in...
(3) The spirit that knows not despair, the troops of the Army, devoted heed, self -submission, equal esteem of self and others, and regard of others in place of self [are the supports of strength].
Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, though he has committed no offence, endures reproach, bonds, and stripes, who has endurance for his force, and...
(399) Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, though he has committed no offence, endures reproach, bonds, and stripes, who has endurance for his force, and strength for his army.
The Kskatra. Verily, rule is life (frana), for verily, rule - is life. Life protects (Vtrd) one from hurting (ksanitos). He attains a rule that needs...
(5) The Kskatra. Verily, rule is life (frana), for verily, rule - is life. Life protects (Vtrd) one from hurting (ksanitos). He attains a rule that needs no protection (a-tra), he wins co-union and co-status with the Kshatra, who knows this. food and life quite superior to benefit or injury from any other individual * nunciation, since the meaning of the compound verb m-ram is *to renounce.' G The word ksatra, seems to be used in this paragraph in two meanings- abstractly, as 'rule/ and, specifically, as the ' ruler,' referring to the second or ruling class. In connection therewith, the first three items treated in this section may refer to the priestly class of Brahmans, who alone performed the ritual.
A true Brâhmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two valiant kings, though he has destroyed a kingdom with all its...
(294) A true Brâhmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two valiant kings, though he has destroyed a kingdom with all its subjects.
Still further advanced class differentiation is evidenced by the use of brahma and ksatra along with vi§ as designations of the * priesthood,* n. 2. 7...
(2) 7. 3 12; 13. 1,5.2. Still further advanced class differentiation is evidenced by the use of brahma and ksatra along with vi§ as designations of the * priesthood,* n. 2. 7. 14-16. This conspectus of usage furnishes corroboration to the inherent probability that here (in the Upanishad which forms th§ conclusion of the Satapatha Brahmana), especially in § 6, the words brahma tnd ksatra are class-designation^, pregnant, however, with the connotation of the respective qualities. Accoidingly, the (hybrid) word ' Brahmanhood ' can perhaps best express both ' the Brahman class ' and the quality of * devotion ' or ' sanctity ' characterizing the priesthood. Similarly the woid ' Kshatrahood ' is used to designate both 'the Kshatnya class' and the quality of * warrior-rule ' characterizing the nobility. 9 H 2 Lo, verily, It is the Soul (Atman) that should be seen, that should be hearkened to, that should be thought on, that should be pondered on, O Maitreyi. Lo, verily, with the seeing of, with the hearkening to, with the thinking of, and with the understanding of the Soul, this world-all is known.
Lo, verily, not for love of the gods are the gods dear, but for love of the Soul the gods are dear. Lo, verily, not for love of the beings (bhuta) are...
(2) e. from being a 'householder' (grhastka) he is going on to be an 'anchorite' (vanajbrastha) in the order of the £ four stages.' a From the more simple, general conception of brahma as ' devotion * and Lo, verily, not for love of the worlds are the worlds dear, but for love of the Soul the worlds are dear. Lo, verily, not for love of the gods are the gods dear, but for love of the Soul the gods are dear. Lo, verily, not for love of the beings (bhuta) are beings dear, but for love of the Soul beings are dear. Lo, verily, not for love of all is all dear, but for love of the Soul all is dear. priesthood or 'the Brahman class.' Likewise from the more simple, general conception of ksatra as ' rule' was developed^ more specific, technical application, The trend of this process is discernible in the Rig- Veda at i. 157. 2, the earliest instance where the two words are associated. Various stages may be noted in other passages where the two words are connected. In the Atharva-Veda at 1 5 8 they would seem to be used (unless, indeed, figuratively) in the primary, non- technical sense, for they are mentioned along with othei qualities of a Kshatnya. But the technical significance is evident in AV. 2. 15. 4 and 15. 10. 2-; while m AV. 9. 7. 9 the social classes as such are unmistakably emphasized. Similarly in the Vajasaneyi-Samhita: — in 19. 5 the primary meaning is dominant; in 5. 2,