s, let thy
scepticism give way to faith. Slander not God, who is the lord of all
creatures. Learn how to know him. Bow down unto him. Let not thy mind be
such. And, O Krishna, never disregard that Supreme Being through whose
grace mortal man, by piety, acquireth immortality!'"

SECTION XXXII

"Draupadi said, 'I do not ever disregard or slander religion, O son of
Pritha! Why should I disregard God, the lord of all creatures? Afflicted
with woe, know me, O Bharata, to be only raving I will once more indulge
in lamentations; listen to me with attention. O persecutor of all
enemies, every conscious creature should certainly act in this world. It
is only the immobile, and not other creatures, that may live without
acting. The calf, immediately after its birth, sucketh the mothers's
teat. Persons feel pain in consequence of incantations performed with
their statues. It seemeth, therefore, O Yudhishthira, that creatures
derive the character of their lives from their acts of former lives.
Amongst mobile creatures man differeth in this respect that he aspireth,
O bull of the Bharata race, to affect his course of life in this and the
other world by means of his acts. Impelled by the inspiration of a
former life, all creatures visibly (reap) in this world the fruits of
their acts. Indeed, all creatures live according to the inspiration of a
former life, even the Creator and the Ordainer of the universe, like a
crane that liveth on the water (untaught by any one.) If a creature
acteth not, its course of life is impossible. In the case of a creature,
therefore, there must be action and not inaction. Thou also shouldest
act, and not incur censure by abandoning action. Cover thyself up, as
with an armour, with action. There may or may not be even one in a
thousand who truly knoweth the utility of acts or work. One must act for
protecting as also increasing his wealth; for if without seeking to
earn, one continueth to only spend, his wealth, even if it were a hoard
huge as Himavat, would soon be exhausted. All the creatures in the world
would have been exterminated, if there were no action. If also acts bore
no fruits, creatures would never have multiplied. It is even seen that
creatures sometimes perform acts that have no fruits, for without acts
the course of life itself would be impossible. Those persons in the
world who believe in destiny, and those again who believe in chance, are
both the worst among men. Those only that belie