fame, and prosperity.
One should never behold the Sun at the moment of rising, nor should one
turn one's gaze towards a naked woman that is another man's spouse.
Congress with one's wife (in her season) is not sinful but it is an act
that should always be done in privacy. The heart of all sacred spots and
shrines is the Preceptor. The heart of all pure and cleansing things is
Fire. All acts done by a good and pious person are good and laudable,
including even the touching of the hair of a cow's tail. Every time one
meets with another, one should make polite enquiries. The saluting of
Brahmanas every morning and evening is ordained. In temples of gods, amid
cows, in performing the rites of religion laid down for Brahmanas, in
reading the Vedas, and in eating, the right hand should be raised.[594]
The worship of Brahmanas, morning and evening, according to due rites,
produces great merit. In consequence of such worship the stock-in-trade
of the merchant, become abundant and the produce of the agriculturist.
Great also becomes the yield of all kinds of corn and the supply of all
articles that the senses can enjoy becomes copious. When giving eatables
to another (seated at his dish), one should say, 'Is it sufficient?' When
presenting drink, one should ask, 'Will it gratify,' and when giving
sweetened milk and rice, or sugared gruel of barley, or milk with sesame
or pease, one should ask 'Has it fallen?'[595] After shaving, after
spitting, after bathing, and after eating, people should worship
Brahmanas with reverence. Such worship is sure to bestow longevity on
sickly men. One should not pass urine with face turned towards the sun,
nor should one see one's own excreta. One should not lie on the same bed
with a woman, nor eat with her. In addressing seniors one should never
apply the pronoun you to them or take their names. Thouing or the taking
of names is not censurable in addressing inferiors or equals in age.[596]
The hearts of sinful men betray the sins committed by them. Those sinful
men that conceal their conscious sins from good men meet with
destruction. Only ignorant fools seek to conceal the sins which they
commit consciously. It is true that human beings do not see those sins
but the gods see them. A sin concealed by another sin leads to fresh
sins. An act of merit, again, if concealed by an act of merit, increases
the merit. The acts of a virtuous man always follow in the wake of
virtue. A man destitute of unders