Whoever is indeed not adorned by this Question-Answer-Gem-Necklace, memorised for ready reference and which is the foremost means to obtain the seen and the unseen goals (of life)!
Who is the wise (man) ?
One who discriminates.
Who is the pure (person) here ?
One whose mind is pure.
What is the essence of life ?
This alone is to be reflected on repeatedly.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated for one's and others' welfare.
Who are thieves ?
Objects of sense.
Who is the foe ?
It is but idleness.
Who is brave ?
One who is not shaken by the shafts of amorous glances of women.
What is unintelligence ?
Not repeating what is learnt.
What is sleep ?
The stupidity of the living being.
What is hell ?
Being in another's control.
What is dear for creatures ?
Life.
Where is effort ordained ?
In learning, good medicine, charity.
Where is indifference to be shown ?
Towards bad people, another's wife, another's property.
Who is blind ?
One who enjoys wrongdoing.
Who is deaf ?
One who does not heed the good advice.
Who is dumb ?
One who does not know how to speek the kind words at the right moment.
Who is a friend ?
One who saves from sin.
What do those who have destroyed dark ignorance specially urge repeatedly ?
Charity along with sweet words, knowledge with humility, courage with patience, wealth with renunciation. These four auspicious things are hard to attain.
Who is to be revered by the learned ?
One who by nature is always humble.
In whose control is this world ?
In his, whose speech is sweet and soothing, and who is wedded to righteousness.
What is that which fascinates the hearts of the wise ?
Ennobling poetry and the lady called knowledge.
Whom does disaster not overtake ?
One who follows the advice of the elders and has controlled his senses.
Whom does the Goddess of Wealth love ?
One who is industrious without lethargy and is just in conduct.
And whom does she (Goddess of Wealth) desert all at once ?
One who slanders the Brahmana, the Preceptor, and the Gods and is lazy besides.
Where is one to live ?
In the nearness to good people or in Kasi.
Which place is to be shunned ?
One abounding in wicked people and ruled by a greedy king.
Who is to be grieved over in this world ?
One who is not a giver even when there is wealth.
What is the foremost place of pilgrimage ?
That which removes the impurities of mind.
What is to be remembered by people ?
Always the Name of Hari; not the jargon of the unregenerate.
What is to be earned by people ?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities ?
Greed.
What is dearer even than life ?
One's duties followed hereditarily and the company of virtuous.
What is to be well protected ?
Good name, devoted wife and discernment.
What indeed is strength ?
That which is courage.
What is fearlessness here ?
Non-attachment.
What too is fear?
For everyone it is wealth only.
What is rare for people to get ?
Devotion to Hari.
Who, verily, is dear to the Lord?
One who causes no pain to others and is not lost in worries.
Where is intelligence found?
In the Brahmana.
Whence intelligence ?
By serving intimately the elders.
Who are the elderly ?
Those who know the duty and the truth.
Who will be happy in the world?
The rich person.
And what, indeed, is richness?
By which there is fulfilment of wants.
Who grows?
The humble.
Who degenerates?
The conceited person.
Who is not to be trusted?
One who as a rule utters lies.
On what occasions, is even a lie sinless?
That which is uttered for the sake of protecting righteousness.
What is rigteousness?
That which has been practised by the virtuous elders of the family.
What is the strength of the good?
God.
Who is good?
One who is always contented.
What is divine?
The good deeds.
Who is the doer of good deeds?
One who is praised by the virtuous.
Who is the friend of a householder?
His wife.
And who is a householder?
One who performs sacrifices.
What is sacrifice ?
That which is ordained by the scripture and is for the welfare of people.
Who is the refined?
One who has accepted the Vedas as authority.
Who is the one that gets killed?
One who has fallen from his religious duties.
Who is the blessed?
One who i as renounced.
Who is esteemed ?
One who is wise and good.
Who is to be worshipped?
One who gives freely.
Who is the giver freely ?
One who gives satisfaction to the needy.
For whom is there no sin ?
For one who recites holy syllables.
Who is the complete person?
One who has progeny.
What is difficult for human beings?
The constant control of the mind.
Who is a Brahmacarin?
One who has sublimated his life-energy instead of wasting it.
Who is the protector of the world?
The Sun.
Who is brave ?
One who protects those in fright.
Whence knowledge ?
Only from Siva.
How can one get release ?
By devotion to Mukunda (Vishnu).
Who is Mukunda ?
One who takes us across ignorance.
And what is ignorance ?
The non-manifestation of the Self.
For whom there is no sorrow ?
For one who has no anger.
What is happiness ?
Contentment.
Who is king ?
One who makes others happy.
Who is a dog ?
One who serves the lowly.
Who wields Maya ?
The Supreme Lord.
What is the divine Magic ?
This world.
What resembles a dream ?
The activities of our waking life.
And what is real ?
Brahman.
What is indeterminable as either real or unreal?
Maya.
What is it that is superimposed (imagined) ?
Duality.
What is ultimately real ?
Non-duality.
And what is the sustainer of the body ?
The actions that have started yielding results.
Who is to be contemplated by the Brahmanas?
Siva who is seen in the Gayatri, Sun and fire.
What is there in the Gayatri, Sun, fire and Siva?
That is the Reality.
Who is the perceptible Goddess ?
Mother.
And who is the Preceptor to be honoured ?
Father.
What is the cause of the decadence of a family?
That which one does to produce heartburn in good people.
Whose words never fail ?
Those, of course, who observe truthfulness, silence and control of the mind.
What is birth ?
Attachment to sense-objects.
What is unavoidable ?
Death.
Where is the foot to be placed ?
Where purity is perceived.
Who is the fit recipient of the gift of food ?
The hungry.
Indeed who is to be worshipped ?
Incarnation of God.
Who is the Lord ?
The Supreme Lord who is both Narayana and Sankara.
And what is the result of devotion to the Lord?
The immediate realization of His Abode and one's own Nature.
And what is release ?
Indeed, it is the setting of ignorance.
What is the origin of the Vedas ?
And then, Om.
Those for whom the Question-Answer-Gem necklace is ready to quote from memory shine in the assembly of noble people like the necklace of pearls by dint of their purity.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/60354578/Prasnottara-Ratna-Malika-Skt-English
http://www.scribd.com/doc/167616257/Adi-Shankara-Prasnotthara-Ratnamalika-English
Who is the wise (man) ?
One who discriminates.
Who is the pure (person) here ?
One whose mind is pure.
What is the essence of life ?
This alone is to be reflected on repeatedly.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated for one's and others' welfare.
Who are thieves ?
Objects of sense.
Who is the foe ?
It is but idleness.
Who is brave ?
One who is not shaken by the shafts of amorous glances of women.
What is unintelligence ?
Not repeating what is learnt.
What is sleep ?
The stupidity of the living being.
What is hell ?
Being in another's control.
What is dear for creatures ?
Life.
Where is effort ordained ?
In learning, good medicine, charity.
Where is indifference to be shown ?
Towards bad people, another's wife, another's property.
Who is blind ?
One who enjoys wrongdoing.
Who is deaf ?
One who does not heed the good advice.
Who is dumb ?
One who does not know how to speek the kind words at the right moment.
Who is a friend ?
One who saves from sin.
What do those who have destroyed dark ignorance specially urge repeatedly ?
Charity along with sweet words, knowledge with humility, courage with patience, wealth with renunciation. These four auspicious things are hard to attain.
Who is to be revered by the learned ?
One who by nature is always humble.
In whose control is this world ?
In his, whose speech is sweet and soothing, and who is wedded to righteousness.
What is that which fascinates the hearts of the wise ?
Ennobling poetry and the lady called knowledge.
Whom does disaster not overtake ?
One who follows the advice of the elders and has controlled his senses.
Whom does the Goddess of Wealth love ?
One who is industrious without lethargy and is just in conduct.
And whom does she (Goddess of Wealth) desert all at once ?
One who slanders the Brahmana, the Preceptor, and the Gods and is lazy besides.
Where is one to live ?
In the nearness to good people or in Kasi.
Which place is to be shunned ?
One abounding in wicked people and ruled by a greedy king.
Who is to be grieved over in this world ?
One who is not a giver even when there is wealth.
What is the foremost place of pilgrimage ?
That which removes the impurities of mind.
What is to be remembered by people ?
Always the Name of Hari; not the jargon of the unregenerate.
What is to be earned by people ?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities ?
Greed.
What is dearer even than life ?
One's duties followed hereditarily and the company of virtuous.
What is to be well protected ?
Good name, devoted wife and discernment.
What indeed is strength ?
That which is courage.
What is fearlessness here ?
Non-attachment.
What too is fear?
For everyone it is wealth only.
What is rare for people to get ?
Devotion to Hari.
Who, verily, is dear to the Lord?
One who causes no pain to others and is not lost in worries.
Where is intelligence found?
In the Brahmana.
Whence intelligence ?
By serving intimately the elders.
Who are the elderly ?
Those who know the duty and the truth.
Who will be happy in the world?
The rich person.
And what, indeed, is richness?
By which there is fulfilment of wants.
Who grows?
The humble.
Who degenerates?
The conceited person.
Who is not to be trusted?
One who as a rule utters lies.
On what occasions, is even a lie sinless?
That which is uttered for the sake of protecting righteousness.
What is rigteousness?
That which has been practised by the virtuous elders of the family.
What is the strength of the good?
God.
Who is good?
One who is always contented.
What is divine?
The good deeds.
Who is the doer of good deeds?
One who is praised by the virtuous.
Who is the friend of a householder?
His wife.
And who is a householder?
One who performs sacrifices.
What is sacrifice ?
That which is ordained by the scripture and is for the welfare of people.
Who is the refined?
One who has accepted the Vedas as authority.
Who is the one that gets killed?
One who has fallen from his religious duties.
Who is the blessed?
One who i as renounced.
Who is esteemed ?
One who is wise and good.
Who is to be worshipped?
One who gives freely.
Who is the giver freely ?
One who gives satisfaction to the needy.
For whom is there no sin ?
For one who recites holy syllables.
Who is the complete person?
One who has progeny.
What is difficult for human beings?
The constant control of the mind.
Who is a Brahmacarin?
One who has sublimated his life-energy instead of wasting it.
Who is the protector of the world?
The Sun.
Who is brave ?
One who protects those in fright.
Whence knowledge ?
Only from Siva.
How can one get release ?
By devotion to Mukunda (Vishnu).
Who is Mukunda ?
One who takes us across ignorance.
And what is ignorance ?
The non-manifestation of the Self.
For whom there is no sorrow ?
For one who has no anger.
What is happiness ?
Contentment.
Who is king ?
One who makes others happy.
Who is a dog ?
One who serves the lowly.
Who wields Maya ?
The Supreme Lord.
What is the divine Magic ?
This world.
What resembles a dream ?
The activities of our waking life.
And what is real ?
Brahman.
What is indeterminable as either real or unreal?
Maya.
What is it that is superimposed (imagined) ?
Duality.
What is ultimately real ?
Non-duality.
And what is the sustainer of the body ?
The actions that have started yielding results.
Who is to be contemplated by the Brahmanas?
Siva who is seen in the Gayatri, Sun and fire.
What is there in the Gayatri, Sun, fire and Siva?
That is the Reality.
Who is the perceptible Goddess ?
Mother.
And who is the Preceptor to be honoured ?
Father.
What is the cause of the decadence of a family?
That which one does to produce heartburn in good people.
Whose words never fail ?
Those, of course, who observe truthfulness, silence and control of the mind.
What is birth ?
Attachment to sense-objects.
What is unavoidable ?
Death.
Where is the foot to be placed ?
Where purity is perceived.
Who is the fit recipient of the gift of food ?
The hungry.
Indeed who is to be worshipped ?
Incarnation of God.
Who is the Lord ?
The Supreme Lord who is both Narayana and Sankara.
And what is the result of devotion to the Lord?
The immediate realization of His Abode and one's own Nature.
And what is release ?
Indeed, it is the setting of ignorance.
What is the origin of the Vedas ?
And then, Om.
Those for whom the Question-Answer-Gem necklace is ready to quote from memory shine in the assembly of noble people like the necklace of pearls by dint of their purity.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/60354578/Prasnottara-Ratna-Malika-Skt-English
http://www.scribd.com/doc/167616257/Adi-Shankara-Prasnotthara-Ratnamalika-English
ReplyDeleteAdi Sankara was an exquisite thinker, a brilliant intellect, a personality scintillating with the vision of Truth, a heart throbbing with industrious faith and ardent desire to serve humanity, sweetly emotional and relentlessly logical, in whom the Upanishads discovered the fittest Spiritual General.
Swami Chinmayananda.