Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 164

THE IDEAL GURU PORTRAYED 124 to enlighten the ignorance in which the rest of mankind He is a man who performs all the acts of is plunged. worship of which Siva is the object, omitting none who knows no other god than Siva, and reads no other history than his who shines like the sun in the midst of the dark ; ; who meditates clouds of ignorance which surround him unceasingly on the merits of the lingam, and proclaims everywhere the praises of Siva who rejects, even in thought, every sinful action, and puts in practice all the virtues that he preaches who, knowing all the paths which lead to who observes sin, knows also the means of avoiding them with scrupulous exactitude all the rules of propriety which do honour to Siva. He should be deeply learned, and know the Vedanta perfectly. He is a man who has made pilgrimages to all the sacred places, and has seen with his own eyes Benares, Kedaram, Conjeeveram, Ramesvaram, Srirangam, Sringeri, Gokarnam, Kalahasti, and other spots which are consecrated to Siva. He must have performed his ablutions in all the sacred rivers, such as the Ganges, the Jumna, the Sarasvati, the Indus, the Godavari, the Kistna, the Nerbudda, the Cauvery, &c, and have drunk He must have bathed of each of these sanctifying waters. in all the sacred springs and tanks, such as the Surya- pushkarani, the Chandra-pushkarani, the Indra-push- He karani, and others, wherever they may be situated. must have visited all the sacred deserts and woods, such as Neimisha-aranya, Badari-aranya, Dandaka-aranya ; ; ; ; Goch-aranya, &c, and have left his footprints in them. He must be acquainted with all the observances for pen- ance or asramas, such as are enjoined by the most famous devotees, and which are known by the names of Nara- yana-asrama, Vamana-asrama, Gautama-asrama, Vasishta- asrama. He must be one who has practised these religious He exercises, and who has derived benefit from them. must be perfectly acquainted with the four Vedas, the Tarka-sastram (or logic), the Bhoota-sastram (exorcism), the Mimamsa-sastram (exegetics, &c), &c. He must be well versed in the knowledge of the Vcdanga (six auxiliaries of the Vedas), of the Jyotisha-sastram (astrology), of Vaidya- sastram (medicine), of Dharma-sastram (ethics), of Kaviana- takam (poetry), &c, and he must know by heart the eighteen