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STAGES OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
175 9. With regard to the home or house he wishes to establish, if any, there should not be bones underneath; the spot where it is built should not be too open nor too much concealed. (This applied more especially to India in the past). The house should not be among quarrelsome, undesirable neighbours.
10. He should dress according to his means, should not spend beyond his means on dress; and if he has the means to dress extravagantly, still he should not do so. The dress should not be too showy.
11. His expenses should be in proportion to his income.
12. When he lives in any country, if there is any particular, wellknown, well established custom which does not involve the breaking of any high principle, such custom should be followed.
13. He should not get into any undesirable habits or practices, such as meat-eating or wine-drinking.
14. He should not libel or slander anybody because this is done always with a view to haiming the reputation of the person without any proper purpose. Showing up fraudulent people is not libel or slander, it is doing good. Do not libel or slander the King.
15 & 16. Keep the company of only purehearted persons and persons of good conduct, and do not keep the company of bad persons.The difference here from rule 8 is that this refers to equals and rule 8 refers to persons spiritually more advanced,
17. Respect the parents. The idea is that they have done so much for us that we should retum something, we should retum gratitude. If we cannnot do this by giving them money, we can do so by slowing them the right path. Had they chosen not to care for us, we should have suffered.
18. None of the person's actions should be such as to cause unnecessary ill-feeling to anybody; he should not speak words which would unnecessarily cause ill-feeling in the mind of another.
19. He should maintain those who are dependent on him; that obligation should be fulfilled. He should assign to them their
should see that they do it right, or else they become harmful to him. If they get into vices etc., then he should assume such an attitude towards them that they may feel that he
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