English
It will not, therefore, be wrong to suppose that, according to Caraka, all proper actions are undertaken through the prompting of three fundamental desires, the desire for life, the desire for wealth and enjoyment, and the desire for spiritual good. And all improper actions are due to improper under- standing, confusion of thought, and misdirected intelligence (prajnaparadha). The three fundamental desires, unassociated with any error of judgment or lack of understanding, may thus be re- garded as the root cause of all proper actions. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in giving full play to the functioning of the three fundamental desires, so long as there is no misdirected under- standing and confusion to turn them into the wrong path. Caraka does not seem to agree with other systems of philosophy in holding the feelings of attachment and antipathy to be the springs of all actions. Actions are prompted by the normal active tendencies of the three fundamental desires, and they become sinful when our energies are wrongly directed through lack of understanding. Though Caraka had to compromise with the acknowledged view of the systems of Indian Philosophy that the cessation of all sorrows can be only through the cessation of all actions, yet it seems clear that the course of conduct that he approves consists in the normal exercise of the three fundamental desires, free from . the commission of any errors of judgment (prajfaparadha). Thus Caraka does not preach the ideal of leaving off desires, DII 27 418 Speculations in the Medical Schools [cH. attachments, feelings and actions of all kinds, nor does he advocate the Gita ideal of the performance of duties without attachment. His is the ideal of living one’s life in a manner that is most conducive to health, long life, and proper enjoyment. Our only care should be that we do not commit any mistake in eating, drinking and other actions of life which may directly or indirectly (through the production of sins) produce diseases and sufferings or jeopardize our life and enjoyment in any way. This unique character of Caraka’s ethical position is very clearly proved by the code of conduct, virtues and methods of leading a good life elaborated by Caraka. He no doubt shows a lip-sympathy with the ideal of giving up all actions (sannyasa) ; but his real sympathies seem to be with the normal scheme of life, involving normal en- joyments and fruition of desires. A normal life, according to Caraka, ought also to be a virtuous life, as vices and sins are the sources of all sorrows, sufferings and diseases in this life and the next. Good Life in Caraka. It is well worth pointing out at the outset that ‘“‘ good life” in Caraka means not only an ethically virtuous life, but a life which is free from diseases, and which is so led that it attains its normal length. Moral life thus means a life that is free from the defect of prajiaparadha. It means wise and prudent life; for it is only the want of wisdom and prudence that is the cause of all physical, social, physiological, moral and spiritual mischiefs. To be a good man, it is not enough that one should practise the ethical virtues: a man should practise the physical, physiological and social virtues as well. He must try to live a healthy and long life, free from diseases and sufferings and free from reproaches of any kind. It is important to note that Caraka does not believe in the forced separation of the physical life from the mental and the moral. Physical diseases are to be cured by medicines, while mental diseases are to be cured by right and proper knowledge of things, self-control and self-concentration. The close interconnection between body and mind was well known from early times, and even the Maha-bharata (x11. 16) says that out of the body arise the mental diseases and out of the mind arise the bodily diseases. Caraka also thinks that a physician should try to cure not only the bodily diseases but also the mental diseases. XII] Good Life in Caraka 419 The Maha-bharata further says in the same chapter that there are three elements in the body, viz. heat, cold and air; when they are in a state of equipoise, the body is healthy, and when any one of them predominates, there is disease. The mind is constituted of sattva, rajas and tamas; when these are in a state of equipoise, the mind is in proper order, and when any one of them pre- dominates, it becomes diseased. Caraka, however, thinks that it is only when rajas and tamas predominate that the mind gets diseased. But, whatever these differences may be, it is evidént that, when Caraka speaks of life, he includes both mind and body, and it is the welfare of both that is the chief concern of the physician. Caraka’s prohibitions and injunctions are therefore based on this twofold good of body and mind that ought to be aimed at. After speaking of the harmfulness of attempting to control some of the bodily excretory movements, he recommends the necessity of attempting to control certain other mental and bodily tendencies. Thus he forbids all persons to indulge rashly in their unthinking tendencies to eommit mistakes of mind, speech and action. A man should also control his passion of greed, and his feelings of grief, fear, anger, vanity, shamelessness, envy, attachment and solicitude. He should not speak harshly or talk too much or use stinging words or lie or speak irrelevantly or untimely. He should not injure others by his body, indulge in unrestricted-sex- gratifications, or steal. Injury to living beings (/zmsa) is supposed to produce sins and thereby affects one’s longevity. Non-injury is thus described as being the best way of increasing life (ahimsa prana-vardhananam). The man who follows the above right course of life is called virtuous, and he enjoys wealth, satisfies his desires, abides by the laws (dharma) of a good life, and is happy. Along with the proper and well-controlled exercise of the moral func- tions Caraka advises people to take to well-controlled bodily exercises (vyayama). When moderately performed, they give light- ness, power of doing work, steadiness (sthairya) and fortitude (duhkha-sahisnuta). Avoidance of unwise courses and non-com- mission of errors of judgment (tyagah prajnaparadhanam), sense- control, remembrance of past experiences (smrti), due knowledge of one’s own powers, due regard to proper time and place and good conduct prevent the inrush of mental and bodily diseases; .for it is these which are the essentials of a good life, and a wise man always does what is good for himself. Caraka further advises 27-2 420 Speculations in the Medical Schools | [cH. that one should not keep company with those who are sinful in character, speech and mind, or with those who are quarrelsome, greedy, jealous, crooked, light-minded or fond of speaking ill of others or cruel or vicious, or with those who associate with one’s enemies. But one should always associate with those who are wise, learned, aged, with men of character, firmness, self-concentration, ready experience, with those who know the nature of things and are full of equanimity, and those who direct us in the right path, are good to all beings, possess a settled character and are peaceful and self-contented. In these ways a man should try, on the one hand, to secure himself against the inrush of mental troubles which upset one’s moral life and, on the other hand, properly to attend to his bodily welfare by taking the proper kind of food at the proper time and attending to other details of physical well-being’. The rules of good conduct (sad-vrtta) are described in detail by Caraka as follows?: A man should respect gods, cows, Brahmanas, preceptors (guru), elderly persons, saints and teachers (@carya), hold auspicious amulets, bathe twice and clean all the pores of the body and feet and cut his hair, beard and nails three times in a fortnight. He should be well-dressed, should always oil his head, ears, nose and feet, comb his hair, scent himself and smoke (dhima-pa). He should recognize others with a pleasant face, help others in difficulties, perform sacrifices, make gifts, talk delightfully, nicely and for the good of others, be self-controlled (vasyatman) and of a virtuous temperament. He should envy the cause of another’s prosperity in the form of his good character and other causes of his personal efficiency (hetav irsyu), but should not be jealous of the fruits of these in the form of a man’s prosperity or wealth (phale nersyu). He should be of firm decision, fearless, suscep- tible to the feeling of shame, intelligent, energetic, skilful, of a forgiving nature, virtuous and a believer (astzka). He should use umbrellas, sticks, turbans and shoes, and should at the time of walking look four cubits of ground in front of him; heshould avoid going to impure, unclean and dirty places; he should try to appease those who are angry, soothe the fears of those who have become afraid, help the poor, keep his promises, bear harsh words, be self-controlled, remove the causes of attachments and antipathy (raga-dvesa) and behave as the friend of all living beings. Again, 1 See Caraka-samhita, 1. 7. PIbidartO. XII] Good Life in Caraka 421 one should not tell lies, or take that which belongs to others, should not commit adultery, or be jealous at other people’s wealth, should not be given to creating enemies, should not commit sins, or do wrong even to a sinner, or speak about the defects or secrets of ethers; should not keep company with the sinful or with those who are the king’s enemies or with madmen, the mean, wicked, out- cast, or those who make abortions.