Sacred Concord

Mbh 12.289.4d

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

That man who beholds the world as consisting of eaters and edibles (and himself as different from both) and who is never touched by pleasure and pain which are born of illusion, is regarded as emancipate. That man who regards a soft bed on a fine bedstead and the hard soil as equal, and who regards good sali rice and hard thick rice as equal, is emancipated. That man who regards linen and cloth made of grass as equal, and in whose estimation cloth of silk and barks of trees are the same, and who sees no difference between clean sheep-skin and unclean leather, is emancipated. That man who looks upon this world as the result of the combination of the five primal essences, and who behaves himself in this world, keeping this notion foremost, is emancipated. That man who regards pleasure and pain as equal, and gain and loss as on a par, in whose estimation victory and defeat differ not, to whom like and dislike are the same, and who is unchanged under fear and anxiety, is wholly emancipated. That man who regards his body which has so many imperfections to be only a mass of blood, urine and excreta, as also of disorders and diseases, is emancipated. That man becomes emancipated who always recollects that this body, when overtaken by decrepitude, becomes assailed by wrinkles and white hairs and leanness and paleness of complexion and a bending of the form. That man who recollects his body to be liable to loss of virility, and weakness of sight, and deafness, and loss of strength, is emancipated. That man who knows that the very Rishis, the deities, and the Asuras are beings that have to depart from their respective spheres to other regions, is emancipated. That man who knows that thousands of kings possessed of even great offence and power have departed from this earth, succeeds in becoming emancipated.
Mbh 12.289.4d · Mahabharata · SANTI PARVA

Themes in this passage

NatureStrengthAnxietyFearLeadership

Nature in other traditions

The same theme, as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Taoism address it.

The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joel 2:10 · Bible · Joel
Hast thou not seen that unto Allah payeth adoration whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts, and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due. He whom Allah scorneth, there is none to give him honour. Lo! Allah doeth what He will.
Quran 22:18 · Quran · The Pilgrimage
Cut down the whole forest (of lust), not a tree only! Danger comes out of the forest (of lust). When you have cut down both the forest (of lust) and its undergrowth, then, Bhikshus, you will be rid of the forest and free!
Dhp 20.283 · Dhammapada · The Way
Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can man!
Tao Te Ching 23.1 · Tao Te Ching

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