God Makes the Rivers to Flow: An Anthology of the World's Sacred Poetry and Prose (Essential Easwaran Library Book 4)

by Eknath Easwaran

in fear. No selfish bonds can ensnare such a one, no impure thought pollute the mind. That one I call a brahmin who has cut through the strap and thong and chain of karma. Such a one has got up from sleep, fully awake. That one I call a brahmin who fears neither prison nor death. Such a one has the power of love no army can defeat. That one I call a brahmin who is never angry, never goes astray from the path, who is pure and self-controlled. This body is the last. That one I call a brahmin who clings not to pleasure, no more than water to a lotus leaf or mustard seed to the tip of a needle. For such a one no more sorrow will come, no more burden will fall. That one I call a brahmin whose wisdom is profound and whose understanding deep, who by following the right path and avoiding the wrong has reached the highest goal. That one I call a brahmin whose wants are few, who is detached from householders and homeless mendicants alike. That one I call a brahmin who has put aside weapons and