He succeeds not
in winning happiness even here. Whence then would he succeed in winning
happiness hereafter? It is thus that one becomes sinful. Listen now to me
as I speak to thee of one that is righteous. Such a man, inasmuch as he
seeks the good of others, succeeds in winning good for himself. By
practising duties that are fraught with other people's good, he attains
at last to a highly agreeable end. He who, aided by his wisdom, succeeds
beforehand in beholding the faults above adverted to, who is skilled in
judging of what is happiness and what is sorrow and how each is brought
about, and who waits with reverence upon those that are good, makes
progress in achieving virtue, both in consequence of his habit and such
companionship of the good. The mind of such a person takes delight in
virtue, and he lives on, making virtue his support. If he sets his heart
on the acquisition of wealth, he desires only such wealth as may be
acquired in righteous ways. Indeed, he waters the roots of only those
things in which he sees merit. In this way, doth one become righteous and
acquires friends that are good. In consequence of his acquisition of
friends, of wealth, and of children, he sports in happiness both here and
hereafter. The mastery (in respect of enjoyment) that a living creature
attains over sound, touch, taste, form, and scent, O Bharata, represents
the fruit of virtue.[1296] Remember this. Having obtained the fruit of
virtue, O Yudhishthira, such a man does not give himself up to joy.
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