The Compendium of Caraka 1.11: ekādaśa 'adhyāyaḥ

Now we shall expound the chapter on the three desires.

Thus spoke the venerable Ātreya.

Here indeed, by a person of unimpaired mind, intellect, virility, and prowess, who perceives what is wholesome in this world and in the other world, three desires are to be pursued.

Namely: the desire for life, the desire for wealth, and the desire for the other world.

Among these desires, one should indeed first apply oneself to the desire for life.

Why? For when life is abandoned, everything is abandoned.

Its preservation consists in: following the regimen for the healthy by a healthy person, and vigilance in alleviating disorders in a sick person. Both of these have been spoken of and will be spoken of. One who conducts oneself as prescribed obtains a long life through the preservation of life; thus the first desire has been explained.

Next, one should apply oneself to the second desire, the desire for wealth. For immediately after life, wealth alone is to be sought. For there is nothing more wretched than this wretched state: a long life for one who lacks requisites. Therefore, one should endeavor to seek requisites.

Here, we shall describe the means to acquire requisites. Namely: agriculture, cattle-rearing, commerce, service to the king, and so forth; and whatever other occupations are not censured by the virtuous and are known to provide sustenance and nourishment, those one should undertake to perform. Acting thus, a person lives a long life, without being despised.

Thus the second desire, the desire for wealth, has been explained.

Next, one should apply oneself to the third desire, the desire for the other world.

And here a doubt arises: 'How shall we exist after departing from here, or shall we not?' Why again this doubt? It is explained: For some, devoted to sensory perception, rely on atheism because rebirth is imperceptible; while others, solely on the authority of tradition, accept rebirth. And because of differences in the teachings: 'Some consider mother and father to be the cause of birth;

other people consider nature, a foreign creator, or chance [to be the cause].' Hence the doubt: 'Is there really rebirth or not?'

In this matter, an intelligent person should abandon an atheistic view and skepticism.

Why? For sensory perception is small; vast is the imperceptible, which is grasped through authoritative testimony, inference, and reasoned correlation. Those very sense organs by which the perceptible is grasped are themselves imperceptible.

And even of existent forms, non-perception through the senses occurs due to extreme proximity, extreme distance, obstruction, weakness of the sense organ, inattention of the mind, blending with similar things, suppression, and extreme minuteness. Therefore, it is unexamined when said: 'Only what is perceptible exists; nothing else exists.'

Nor are these [conflicting] doctrines sound causes, because they contradict reasoned correlation: / If the self of the mother or of the father were to migrate into the offspring, / that self would migrate in one of two ways: either entirely or in part.

If it were to migrate entirely, the death of the mother or father would occur; / and of the subtle self, which is indivisible, there is no part.

Intellect and mind have been determined [likewise]: just as the self is, exactly so are they. / And for those who hold this opinion, the fourfold womb does not exist.

One should know that the innate characteristic of the six elements is natural; / but in their combination and separation, action alone is the cause.

Creation by another is not accepted for the beginningless consciousness element; / if the other self is meant as that cause, let it be creation by another.

There is no investigation, nothing to be investigated, no agent, and no cause, / no gods, no ṛṣis, no perfected beings, no action, and no fruit of action,

nor does a self exist at all for the atheist whose soul is destroyed by belief in chance; / and of all sins, this clinging to atheism is the worst sin.

Therefore, abandoning this view that proceeds along the wrong path, a wise person / should see everything as it truly is with the lamp of the intellect of the virtuous.

Indeed, everything is twofold: existent and nonexistent. Its examination is fourfold: authoritative testimony, sensory perception, inference, and reasoned correlation.

First, the authoritative: / Those who are freed from rajas and tamas by the power of austerity and knowledge, / whose untainted knowledge is always unhindered with respect to the three times,

they are the authoritative, the cultured, the awakened; their word is without doubt. / They will speak the truth; why would those free from rajas and tamas speak an untruth?

The clear cognition that arises in the present / from the conjunction of the self, the senses, the mind, and sense objects is defined as sensory perception.

Preceded by sensory perception, inference is threefold and pertains to the three times: / concealed fire is inferred from smoke, and sexual intercourse from the sight of pregnancy.

In this way, the wise determine the past, and the future fruit from the seed, / having seen right here a similar fruit arise from a seed.

The arising of grain from the combination of water, plowing, seed, and season / is reasoned correlation; likewise, the arising of embryos from the combination of the six elements.

The arising of fire from the conjunction of the lower churning-stick, the churning process, and the upper churning-stick [is reasoned correlation]; / the perfection of the four pillars, employed with reasoned correlation, eradicates disease.

The intellect that perceives entities as born of the combination of multiple causes / is to be known as reasoned correlation pertaining to the three times, by which the three aims of life are accomplished.

This is the examination, there is no other, by which everything is examined— / the object to be examined, both existent and nonexistent; and by it rebirth exists.

Here, authoritative tradition is first of all the Veda; and whatever other doctrine is not contrary to the meaning of the Veda, composed by investigators, approved by the cultured, and directed toward the welfare of the world, that too is authoritative tradition. From authoritative tradition it is learned that generosity, austerity, sacrifice, truth, non-violence, and celibacy lead to prosperity and the highest good.

And freedom from rebirth is not taught in the gateways of virtue by the faultless for those who have not overcome the afflictions of their mind.

And rebirth has been taught, having seen it with divine vision, by the ancient and more ancient great seers who were intent on the gateways of virtue, free from fear, passion, hatred, greed, delusion, and pride, devoted to brahman, authoritative, knowers of karma, and unimpeded in the operation of their mind and intellect; one should resolve thus.

It is also perceived directly: children dissimilar to their parents; differences in complexion, voice, shape, temperament, intellect, and fortune among those of identical origin; birth in noble and base families; servitude and sovereignty; a happy or unhappy lifespan; disparity of lifespan; acquisition [of results] not performed in this life; spontaneous occurrence of unlearned crying, suckling, laughing, fright, and so forth; the appearance of bodily marks; difference of results despite similarity of action; intelligence here and dullness there in identical work; recollection of past births—arriving here after departing from there; and like and dislike toward the same sight.

Hence it is inferred: that which is done by oneself, unavoidable, indestructible, belonging to a previous body, called fate, and entailing consequences—this is the fruit of that karma; and from this there will be another [life]; the seed is inferred from the fruit, and the fruit from the seed.

And this is the reasoned correlation: birth of an embryo from the assemblage of the six elements; action from the conjunction of agent and instruments; fruit from performed action, not from unperformed; no arising of a sprout without a seed; fruit resembling the action, no arising of one thing from another seed—this is reasoned correlation.

When rebirth is thus taught by the four means of knowledge, one should devote oneself to the gateways of virtue; namely: attendance upon the teacher, study, observance of vows, taking a wife, procreation of offspring, supporting dependents, honoring guests, charity, non-covetousness, austerity, freedom from malice, unblemished physical, verbal, and mental action, examination of the body, senses, mind, sense objects, intellect, and self, and mental concentration. And whatever other actions of this kind are uncensured by the virtuous, lead to heaven, and provide sustenance and nourishment, those one should undertake to perform. Acting thus, one obtains renown in this world and heaven after departing.

Thus the third desire, the desire for the other world, has been explained.

Now indeed, there are three sub-pillars, threefold strength, three etiologies, three diseases, three pathways of disease, three types of physicians, and three types of medicine.

"Three sub-pillars" are: food, sleep, and celibacy. Supported by these three sub-pillars properly employed, the body continues endowed with strength, complexion, and development for the full span of life, provided one does not indulge in unwholesome practices, which will be taught right here.

"Threefold strength" is: congenital, temporal, and acquired.

Congenital is that which is innate to body and mind; temporal is born of the divisions of seasons and of age; acquired, moreover, is that which is born of the combination of food and physical exercise.

"Three etiologies" are: excessive application, non-application, and wrongful application of sense objects, action, and time.

Therein, excessive looking at visible objects possessing great brilliance is excessive application; not looking at all is non-application; looking at forms that are too close, too distant, dreadful, terrifying, miraculous, loathsome, repulsive, deformed, horrifying, and the like is wrongful application. Likewise, excessive listening to sounds such as loud thunder, drums, shouts, and so on is excessive application; not listening at all is non-application; listening to harsh sounds, news of the loss of loved ones, assaults, insults, terrifying words, and the like is wrongful application. Likewise, excessive smelling of odors that are extremely sharp, pungent, and causing excessive secretion is excessive application; not smelling at all is non-application; smelling putrid, offensive, unclean, decomposed, poisoned wind, cadaveric odors, and the like is wrongful application. Likewise, excessive intake of tastes is excessive application; non-intake at all is non-application; wrongful application will be taught among the specific factors of dietary rules, with the exception of quantity. Likewise, excessive indulgence in tactile objects that are extremely cold or hot, and in bathing, massage, anointing, and so on is excessive application; non-indulgence at all is non-application; disorderly indulgence in bathing and tactile objects such as cold and hot, impacts on uneven places, and contact with impure beings and the like is wrongful application.

Therein, the single sense of touch pervades all senses and inheres in the mind; and because of pervading touch, the mind also is all-pervading. Therefore, that particular state produced by all-pervading touch across all senses, which through unwholesomeness is fivefold and of three modalities, is the unwholesome conjunction of the senses with their objects; for "wholesome" means "conducive to health."

Action is the activity of speech, mind, and body.

Therein, excessive activity of speech, mind, and body is excessive application; non-activity in every way is non-application. Suppression or forcing of natural urges, uneven stumbling, falling, improper bodily posture, harming bodily parts, striking, kneading, holding the breath, bodily torment, and so on are bodily wrongful application. Slanderous, untruthful, untimely, quarrelsome, disagreeable, incoherent, impolite, harsh speech, and so on are wrongful application of speech. Fear, grief, anger, greed, delusion, pride, envy, wrong view, and so on are mental wrongful application.

And in brief, any action born of speech, mind, and body, other than excessive application and non-application, which is unwholesome and unprescribed, one should know as wrongful application.

Thus, one should determine that threefold action, having three varieties, is indeed error of wisdom.

Moreover, hemanta, grīṣma, and varṣā, characterized by cold, heat, and rain, constitute the year; that is time.

Therein, time characterized by an excess of its own characteristics is excessive application of time; deficient in its own characteristics is non-application of time; but possessing characteristics opposite to its own respective characteristics is wrongful application of time.

Time, furthermore, is called transformation.

Thus unwholesome conjunction of senses with their objects, error of wisdom, and transformation are the three causes of diseases, having three varieties; but when associated with proper application, they become the causes of normal health.

The presence and absence of all entities are never perceived without proper application, non-application, excessive application, and wrongful application; for presence and absence depend upon their respective application.

"Three diseases" are: innate, exogenous, and mental.

Therein, the innate arises from bodily humors; the exogenous arises from malevolent spirits, poison, wind, fire, blows, and the like; whereas the mental arises from the attainment of what is undesirable and the non-attainment of what is desirable.

Therein, an intelligent person, even when afflicted with mental disease, having repeatedly observed what is wholesome and unwholesome with his intellect, should strive for non-indulgence in unwholesome virtue, wealth, and desire, and for indulgence in wholesome ones; for in this world, without these three, no mental pleasure or pain is produced. Therefore, this is to be practiced: one should strive to associate with those knowledgeable in that, and to know properly oneself, place, family, time, strength, and capacity.

And here it is said:
The remedy for mental illness is examination of the three aims of life,
service to those knowledgeable in that, and complete understanding of oneself and the rest.

"Three pathways of disease" are: the extremities, the vulnerable points and joints of the bones, and the central tract.

Therein, the extremities are the tissues such as blood and the skin; that is the external pathway of disease. The vulnerable points are the bladder, heart, head, and so forth; the joints of the bones are the bone articulations and the ligaments and tendons tied there; that is the middle pathway of disease. The central tract is called the great channel, the middle of the body, the great hollow, the stomach, and the intestines by synonymous terms in this treatise; that is the internal pathway of disease.

Therein, disorders such as cervical lymphadenitis, boils, alajī, scrofula, warts, fleshy excrescences, moles, leprosy and other skin diseases, freckles, and so forth, as well as erysipelas, swelling, abdominal lump, hemorrhoids, and abscesses arising in the external tract, are diseases following the extremities; hemiplegia, stiffness, convulsion, facial paralysis, consumption, pulmonary consumption, pain in the bone joints, prolapse of the rectum, and so forth, as well as diseases of the head, heart, and bladder, and the like, are diseases following the middle pathway; fever, diarrhea, vomiting, alasaka, acute choleraic diarrhea, cough, dyspnea, hiccup, abdominal distension, enlargement of the spleen, and so forth, as well as erysipelas, swelling, abdominal lump, hemorrhoids, and abscesses arising in the internal tract, are diseases following the central tract.

"Three types of physicians":
There are those who walk in the guise of physicians, there are those who are accomplished by association with the accomplished,
and there are those endowed with the qualities of a physician: three types of physicians are on earth.

Those ignorant men who acquire the title of physician by means of medical paraphernalia,
medicines, books, clever posturing, and appearances—they are pretenders.

Those who, not being of that kind, acquire the title of physician
through the designation of those accomplished in disciples, fame, and knowledge—they should be known as accomplished by association with the accomplished.

Those accomplished in the success of practical application, knowledge, and discernment, who bestow happiness,
they are the rescuers of vital breaths; true medical practice is established in them.

"Three types of medicine":
namely, based on the divine, based on reasoned correlation, and victory over the mind.

Therein, that based on the divine consists of mantras, herbs, gems, auspicious rites, oblations, offerings, burnt offerings, vows, expiations, fasts, propitiatory blessings, prostration, pilgrimages, and the like; that based on reasoned correlation, on the other hand, is the administration of diet and medicinal substances; and victory over the mind is the restraint of the mind from unwholesome objects.

In the case of vitiation of bodily humors, resorting to the body itself, they generally maintain three kinds of medicine:
internal cleansing, external cleansing, and application of surgical instruments.

Therein, internal cleansing is that medicine which, entering inside the body, cleanses away diseases arising from food; external cleansing, on the other hand, is that which cleanses away ailments relying on external touch by means of massage, fomentation, paste application, affusion, unction-kneading, and the like; and application of surgical instruments consists of excision, incision, puncture, rupture, scraping, extraction, scarification, suturing, probing, along with alkaline substances and leeches.

And on this point there are [the verses]:
When a disease has arisen, the wise man attains relief
by external or internal action, or by surgical intervention.

The foolish, undiscerning man, however, out of delusion or negligence,
does not perceive a disease first arising, just like an enemy.

For having first been minute, the disease grows thereafter;
having taken root, it steals the strength and lifespan of the foolish man.

The confused man does not gain awareness until he is afflicted;
only when afflicted does he subsequently direct his mind toward checking the disease.

Then, summoning his sons, his wife, and his kinsmen, he speaks:
"Let some physician be brought to me, even at the cost of all my possessions!"

And who is able to rescue such a man—
weak, afflicted by disease, emaciated, with faculties impaired, wretched, whose life is gone?

Having failed to find a savior, the fool abandons life,
like an iguana tied by the tail being dragged away by a stronger creature.

Therefore, even before diseases [arise], or while the diseases are still fresh,
he who desires his own happiness should counter them with medicines.

Here are two summary verses:
Desires, sub-pillars, strength, cause, diseases,
pathways, physicians, and remedies in the chapter on the three desires—

These eight topics, each as a triad,
were taught by the wise Kṛṣṇātreya, unattached to existents, on which all is founded.

Thus ends the eleventh chapter, titled "The Three Desires," in the Ślokasthāna of the compendium composed by Agniveśa and redacted by Caraka.