akṣaraṁ yat tad om iti
parāg riktam apūrṇaṁ vā
akṣaraṁ yat tad om iti
yat kiñcid om iti brūyāt
tena ricyeta vai pumān
bhikṣave sarvam oṁ kurvan
nālaṁ kāmena cātmane
Oṁ indicates separation from wealth, being devoid of wealth. He who utters oṁ and agrees to give becomes lesser in wealth by that. If he decides to give everything to the person who requests, there will not be enough left for his own enjoyment.
In order to make clear that by truthful words the body cannot survive, he explains the bad qualities of truth and the good qualities of lying in two verses. The word oṁ indicates parāk which means to separate oneself from wealth. Riktam, from the Śruti, means empty, explained by the word apūrṇam. Therefore, the person who utters oṁ indicating that he will give becomes lesser in wealth (ricyate) but not completely lacking in wealth. Deciding to give everything to the requester by uttering oṁ there will not remain enough for one’s own enjoyment (ātmane). He will not be able to accomplish his own enjoyment. The same meaning is stated in the Śruti: parāg vā etad riktam akṣaraṁ yad etad om iti tad yat kiñcid om ityāhātraivāsmai tad ricyate sa yat sarvam oṁ kuryāt ricyād ātmānaṁ sa kāmebhyo nālaṁ syāt.
|| 8.19.42 ||
athaitat pūrṇam abhyātmaṁ
yac ca nety anṛtaṁ vacaḥ
sarvaṁ nety anṛtaṁ brūyāt
sa duṣkīrtiḥ śvasan mṛtaḥ
He who, telling a lie, refuses to give does not deplete his wealth and attracts others wealth. But the person who always lies becomes infamous, and though breathing, is a dead man.
Therefore saying no is perfect, since then one will not deplete one’s wealth. It will also draw others’ wealth to you (abhyātmam). One who always says that he has nothing and that he is suffering draws others’ wealth to him by that lie. This is well known. “Does that mean I can always lie, like drinking nectar?” No, such a person is condemned. Śruti says the same: athaitat pūrṇam abhyātmaṁ ya neti sa yat sarvaṁ neti bruyāt pāpikāsya kīrtir jāyate sainam tatraiva hanyāt.
|| 8.19.43 ||
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