CHAPTER 90 — सरल-जीवनम् | Simplicity in Living

लघु-समुदाया उत्तरतराः। तेषु प्रति-व्यक्ति अधिक-संसाधनानि, अतो वस्तूनां विपुलता — यद्यपि अल्पानि उपयुज्यन्ते। जना जीवनस्य प्रेमिणः, यत्र सन्ति तत्र सन्तुष्टाः, यानेषु सति अपि तानि अल्पम् एव उपयुज्यन्ते। शस्त्रेषु युद्ध-यन्त्रेषु च प्रवेशे सति अपि, प्रकाशनाय आवश्यकता न॥१॥

laghu-samudāyā uttaratarāḥ। teṣu prati-vyakti adhika-saṃsādhanāni, ato vastūnāṃ vipulatā — yadyapi alpāni upayujyante। janā jīvanasya premiṇaḥ, yatra santi tatra santuṣṭāḥ, yāneṣu sati api tāni alpam eva upayujyante। śastreṣu yuddha-yantreṣu ca praveśe sati api, prakāśanāya āvaśyakatā na॥1॥

Small communities are better. They have more resources per capita and therefore things in abundance, although few are in use. The people have love of life, are content where they are, and even though they have transportation, they rarely use it. Even though they have access to weapons and machines of war, they have no need to show off.

जना सरलतां प्रति प्रत्यागच्छन्तु, स्व-हस्तैः कार्यं कुर्वन्तः। पुनस् ते स्व-सम्पन्न-भोजने आनन्दं, स्व-सरल-वस्त्रेषु सौन्दर्यं, स्व-जीवन-शैल्यां शान्तिं, स्व-संस्कृतिषु च पूर्तिं लप्स्यन्ते॥२॥

janā saralatāṃ prati pratyāgacchantu, sva-hastaiḥ kāryaṃ kurvantaḥ। punas te sva-sampanna-bhojane ānandaṃ, sva-sarala-vastreṣu saundaryaṃ, sva-jīvana-śailyāṃ śāntiṃ, sva-saṃskṛtiṣu ca pūrtiṃ lapsyante॥2॥

Let the people return to simplicity, working with their hands. They will find joy in their wholesome food again, beauty in their simple clothing, peace in their lifestyle, fulfillment in their cultures.

समीप-वासिनां दर्शने वसन्तः, परस्परं स्व-श्वान-कुक्कुटानां ध्वनयः श्रूयन्ते, जना वृद्धा भवितुं शान्ततया च मर्तुं सन्तुष्टाः॥३॥

samīpa-vāsināṃ darśane vasantaḥ, parasparaṃ sva-śvāna-kukkuṭānāṃ dhvanayaḥ śrūyante, janā vṛddhā bhavituṃ śāntatayā ca martuṃ santuṣṭāḥ॥3॥

Living in sight of their neighbors, their dogs and roosters heard by one another, the people are content to grow old and die peacefully.

नगरम् अरण्यवद् भवति। तद् मृगयायै, संग्रहाय, वृद्धये च महद्-अवसरान् ददाति॥४॥

nagaram araṇyavad bhavati। tad mṛgayāyai, saṃgrahāya, vṛddhaye ca mahad-avasarān dadāti॥4॥

The city is like a jungle. It provides great opportunities for hunting, gathering, and growth.

प्राचीनवद् लघु-समुदायान् रचयतु, स्व-स्वातन्त्र्यं च रक्षतु। अरण्ये जीवितुं न शक्नोषि, किन्तु अरण्ये समुदाये जीवितुं शक्नोषि॥५॥

prācīnavad laghu-samudāyān racayatu, sva-svātantryaṃ ca rakṣatu। araṇye jīvituṃ na śaknoṣi, kintu araṇye samudāye jīvituṃ śaknoṣi॥5॥

Like the ancients, form small communities and guard your independence. You cannot live in the jungle, but you can live in a community in a jungle.

समुदायं विना, तव जीवो ऽसन्तुलनस्य आपत्तौ। यदि त्वं तत् न सुधारयसि, तत् व्याकुलकं स्यात्; सन्तुलनं त्वत्कृते पुनः-स्थापितं भविष्यति॥६॥

samudāyaṃ vinā, tava jīvo ‘santulanasya āpattau। yadi tvaṃ tat na sudhārayasi, tat vyākulakaṃ syāt; santulanaṃ tvatkṛte punaḥ-sthāpitaṃ bhaviṣyati॥6॥

Without community, your soul is in danger of imbalance and if you do not correct it, it might be traumatic; the balance will be restored for you.

प्रेम-पूर्ण-समुदाये दरिद्रो वरम्, नगरे एकाकि-वासाद्। समुदाये एकाकि वरम्, नगरे अनाथ-भावाद्। सरलतां प्रति प्रत्यागच्छ; तद् शक्यम्॥७॥

prema-pūrṇa-samudāye daridro varam, nagare ekāki-vāsād। samudāye ekāki varam, nagare anātha-bhāvād। saralatāṃ prati pratyāgaccha; tad śakyam॥7॥

Rather poor in a loving community than live in isolation in a city. Rather alone in a community than lonely in a city. Return to simplicity; it can be done.

स्व-तन्त्रतायाः भ्रान्तिर् बहून् तेषां मूल-परस्पर-सम्बन्धं प्रति अन्धान् करोति। को ऽपि सत्त्वम् एकल-वासे न तिष्ठति; वयं सर्वे जीवनस्य विशाल-पटे तन्तवः॥८॥

sva-tantratāyāḥ bhrāntir bahūn teṣāṃ mūla-paraspara-sambandhaṃ prati andhān karoti। ko ‘pi sattvam ekala-vāse na tiṣṭhati; vayaṃ sarve jīvanasya viśāla-paṭe tantavaḥ॥8॥

The illusion of independence blinds many to their fundamental interconnectedness. No being exists in isolation; we are all threads in the vast tapestry of life.

सत्य-वैयक्तिकता पृथक्करणाद् न उद्भवति, अपितु समग्रे स्व-अद्वितीय-भूमिकायाः प्रत्यभिज्ञानात्। महामार्गी जानाति यद् स्व-अद्वितीयता समुदाय-सेवायाम् अर्पणीयो दानम्॥९॥

satya-vaiyaktikatā pṛthakkaraṇād na udbhavati, apitu samagre sva-advitīya-bhūmikāyāḥ pratyabhijñānāt। mahāmārgī jānāti yad sva-advitīyatā samudāya-sevāyām arpaṇīyo dānam॥9॥

True individuality emerges not from separation, but from recognizing one’s unique role within the whole. The Wayist understands that her uniqueness is a gift to be offered in service of the community.

आधुनिक-जगति, तन्त्र-ज्ञानं प्रायः आत्म-पर्याप्ततायाः भ्रान्तिं सृजति। तथापि प्रत्येक-सुविधायाः पृष्ठे जटिल-सम्बन्ध-निर्भरतानां जालं तिष्ठति — एतद् सदा कृतज्ञतया स्वीकर्तव्यम्॥१०॥

ādhunika-jagati, tantra-jñānaṃ prāyaḥ ātma-paryāptatāyāḥ bhrāntiṃ sṛjati। tathāpi pratyeka-suvidhāyāḥ pṛṣṭhe jaṭila-sambandha-nirbharatānāṃ jālaṃ tiṣṭhati — etad sadā kṛtajñatayā svīkartavyam॥10॥

In the modern world, technology often creates an illusion of self-sufficiency. Yet behind every convenience lies a complex web of relationships and dependencies—we should always appreciate that.

महामार्गी वैयक्तिक-अभिव्यक्तेः समुदाय-सहभागस्य च मध्ये सन्तुलनम् अन्विष्यति। सा स्व-अद्वितीय-दानानि पोषयन्ती, अन्यैः सह च गभीरतया सम्बद्धा तिष्ठति॥११॥

mahāmārgī vaiyaktika-abhivyakteḥ samudāya-sahabhāgasya ca madhye santulanam anviṣyati। sā sva-advitīya-dānāni poṣayantī, anyaiḥ saha ca gabhīratayā sambaddhā tiṣṭhati॥11॥

The Wayist seeks balance between individual expression and community participation. She cultivates her unique gifts while remaining deeply connected to others.

मानस-स्वातन्त्र्यं मूल्यवद्, किन्तु करुणायाः अवबोधनस्य च व्यये न। विवेकि-महामार्गी स्वयं चिन्तयन्ती, अन्येषां विचारेभ्यो सम्भाव्य-प्रज्ञायै च अनावृता तिष्ठति॥१२॥

mānasa-svātantryaṃ mūlyavad, kintu karuṇāyāḥ avabodhanasya ca vyaye na। viveki-mahāmārgī svayaṃ cintayantī, anyeṣāṃ vicārebhyo sambhāvya-prajñāyai ca anāvṛtā tiṣṭhati॥12॥

Independence of mind is valuable, but not at the cost of compassion and understanding. The wise Wayist thinks for herself while remaining open to the ideas and potential wisdom of others.

अस्माकं परस्पर-निर्भरतायाः प्रत्यभिज्ञाने, वयं सत्य-स्वातन्त्र्यं लभेमहि — न तु एकल-वासस्य भ्रान्ति-स्वातन्त्र्यम्, अपितु सर्व-जीवनेन सह सामरस्य-सम्बन्धाद् उद्भूतं गभीर-मुक्तिः॥१३॥

asmākaṃ paraspara-nirbharatāyāḥ pratyabhijñāne, vayaṃ satya-svātantryaṃ labhemahi — na tu ekala-vāsasya bhrānti-svātantryam, apitu sarva-jīvanena saha sāmarasya-sambandhād udbhūtaṃ gabhīra-muktiḥ॥13॥

In recognizing our interdependence, we find true freedom - not the illusory freedom of isolation, but the profound liberty that comes from harmonious relationship with all of life.

व्याकरण टिप्पणियां | Grammatical Notes

Chapter Title and Daodejing 80 Inheritance:

• सरल-जीवनम् (sarala-jīvanam) - “simplicity in living” - the chapter title; sarala (simple, straightforward) + jīvana (living, life); the compound names the practice the chapter teaches — not poverty, not asceticism, but uncomplicated living
• The chapter’s opening verses (1-3) closely paraphrase Daodejing 80’s famous small-country passage: small communities, abundance with little consumption, contented inhabitants, neighbours close enough to hear each other’s dogs and roosters, people growing old and dying peacefully without travelling
• The Sanskrit preserves the Daodejing image-set while extending it (verses 4-13) into the Wayist treatment of community-versus-city as a developmental rather than merely political question

The Abundance-Without-Display Verse (Verse 1):

• वस्तूनां विपुलता — यद्यपि अल्पानि उपयुज्यन्ते (vastūnāṃ vipulatā — yadyapi alpāni upayujyante) - “abundance of things, although few are in use” - the paradox preserved; vipulatā (abundance) and alpāni upayujyante (few are used) named together; abundance is structurally available but not consumptively engaged
• प्रकाशनाय आवश्यकता न (prakāśanāya āvaśyakatā na) - “no need to show off” - prakāśana (display, ostentation, making-conspicuous) is what is unnecessary; the verse identifies the psychological mechanism of consumption — display rather than use — and names its absence in the small community as a structural feature, not a moral achievement

The Working-With-Hands Return (Verse 2):

• स्व-हस्तैः कार्यं कुर्वन्तः (sva-hastaiḥ kāryaṃ kurvantaḥ) - “working with their hands” - the participial phrase names the embodied practice; sva-hasta (one’s own hand) qualifies kārya (work) — labour not outsourced, work not abstracted from the worker’s body
• The four restoration-objects named in sequence (sampanna-bhojana wholesome food, sarala-vastra simple clothing, jīvana-śaili lifestyle, saṃskṛti culture) preserve the Daodejing 80 enumeration while inflecting it toward modern recognizability; saṃpanna (well-prepared, nourishing) carries the precise sense of food that has been made well, not food that is materially excessive

The Iconic Daodejing 80 Image (Verse 3):

• परस्परं स्व-श्वान-कुक्कुटानां ध्वनयः श्रूयन्ते (parasparaṃ sva-śvāna-kukkuṭānāṃ dhvanayaḥ śrūyante) - “their dogs and roosters heard by one another” - the famous Daodejing 80 image; śvāna (dog) and kukkuṭa (rooster) preserved as the canonical animals of the neighbouring-village image
• जना वृद्धा भवितुं शान्ततया च मर्तुं सन्तुष्टाः (janā vṛddhā bhavituṃ śāntatayā ca martuṃ santuṣṭāḥ) - “content to grow old and die peacefully” - the verse’s closing image; santuṣṭa (satisfied, content) modifies the entire life-arc — the people are content to grow old and to die, not merely content within their lives; the contentment includes the natural terminus of life

The City-as-Jungle Reversal (Verses 4-5):

• नगरम् अरण्यवद् भवति (nagaram araṇyavad bhavati) - “the city is like a jungle” - the chapter’s striking inversion of the conventional civilization/wilderness opposition; the nagara (city) is the araṇya (jungle, wilderness, untamed area); the city, conventionally taken as the seat of civilization, is here named as the wilderness from which one needs shelter
• तद् मृगयायै, संग्रहाय, वृद्धये च (tad mṛgayāyai, saṃgrahāya, vṛddhaye ca) - “for hunting, gathering, and growth” - the three city-functions named in the language of pre-civilizational survival; the modern city is treated as the ancestral hunting-ground, requiring the same survival-disposition
• अरण्ये जीवितुं न शक्नोषि, किन्तु अरण्ये समुदाये जीवितुं शक्नोषि (araṇye jīvituṃ na śaknoṣi, kintu araṇye samudāye jīvituṃ śaknoṣi) - “you cannot live in the jungle, but you can live in a community in a jungle” - the verse’s positive prescription; the impossibility is living-in-the-jungle (i.e., as an isolated unit); the possibility is living-in-a-community-in-a-jungle (i.e., the community as the unit, the jungle as the setting); this generalizes the small-community ideal to those who cannot leave the modern city

The Balance-Will-Be-Restored Warning (Verse 6):

• यदि त्वं तत् न सुधारयसि, तत् व्याकुलकं स्यात्; सन्तुलनं त्वत्कृते पुनः-स्थापितं भविष्यति (yadi tvaṃ tat na sudhārayasi, tat vyākulakaṃ syāt; santulanaṃ tvatkṛte punaḥ-sthāpitaṃ bhaviṣyati) - “if you do not correct it, it might be traumatic; the balance will be restored for you” - the verse’s understated warning
• The Sanskrit preserves the impersonal-passive force of tvatkṛte punaḥ-sthāpitaṃ bhaviṣyati (it will be restored for you) — the agent of restoration is left unspecified, naming the structural inevitability rather than a particular restorer; the balance (santulana) is a feature of the cosmos that asserts itself when individual practitioners fail to maintain it
• The verse uses sudhārayasi (you correct), building on Chapter 81 verse 6’s sudhāraka-karma (corrective action) — the same root carries through the corpus: correction is flow-unblocking, restoration of structural balance; self-correction is the practitioner’s portion of the work, and if it is not performed, the cosmos performs it on the practitioner

The Alone-vs-Lonely Distinction (Verse 7):

• समुदाये एकाकि वरम्, नगरे अनाथ-भावाद् (samudāye ekāki varam, nagare anātha-bhāvād) - “rather alone in a community than lonely in a city” - the precise lexical distinction; ekāki (solitary, alone) names the physical state of being unaccompanied, anātha-bhāva (forsaken-state, lacking-protector-state) names the emotional state of being unconnected
• The Sanskrit distinguishes what the English distinguishes with alone and lonely: physical solitude is compatible with belonging, emotional isolation is the actual harm; a practitioner can be ekāki (alone) in a community and remain held by the community’s relational structure; the same practitioner in a city among many people can be anātha (without protector, lonely)
• The chapter’s prescription depends on this distinction: small communities offer relational protection without requiring physical proximity at every moment

The Tapestry Image and Paraspara-sambandha (Verse 8):

• मूल-परस्पर-सम्बन्धं प्रति अन्धान् करोति (mūla-paraspara-sambandhaṃ prati andhān karoti) - “blinds many to their fundamental interconnectedness” - paraspara-sambandha (mutual-connection, interconnectedness) is the corpus’s established term from Chapter 82 verse 9 and Chapter 88 verse 17; not ekatva (oneness/identity)
• जीवनस्य विशाल-पटे तन्तवः (jīvanasya viśāla-paṭe tantavaḥ) - “threads in the vast tapestry of life” - the paṭa-tantu (tapestry-thread) image echoes Chapter 88 verse 17’s brahmāṇḍīya-utkrānter bhavya-paṭe… tantuḥ; the corpus is building a consistent imagery for the connected-while-distinct cosmology — threads are distinct from the tapestry while being constitutive of it
• The protective work of this image: the practitioner is not absorbed into the tapestry (Vedantic absorption-doctrine) but neither is the practitioner separated from it (atomistic individualism); the practitioner is a tantu (thread) — a distinct entity whose existence consists in being woven-into-relation

True Individuality (Verse 9):

• पृथक्करणाद् न उद्भवति, अपितु समग्रे स्व-अद्वितीय-भूमिकायाः प्रत्यभिज्ञानात् (pṛthakkaraṇād na udbhavati, apitu samagre sva-advitīya-bhūmikāyāḥ pratyabhijñānāt) - “emerges not from separation, but from recognizing one’s unique role within the whole”
• The verse defends vaiyaktikatā (individuality) against the misreading that interdependence would dissolve it; advitīya-bhūmikā (unique role) is the precise unit — the individual’s distinctiveness lies in their bhūmikā (role, part) within the samagra (whole), not in their separation from it
• स्व-अद्वितीयता समुदाय-सेवायाम् अर्पणीयो दानम् (sva-advitīyatā samudāya-sevāyām arpaṇīyo dānam) - “uniqueness is a gift to be offered in service of the community” - the verse’s positive prescription; the individual’s unique gifts are arpaṇīya (to-be-offered) — preserving the gift-economy frame against both possessive individualism and collectivist absorption

Technology and Self-Sufficiency Illusion (Verse 10):

• तन्त्र-ज्ञानं प्रायः आत्म-पर्याप्ततायाः भ्रान्तिं सृजति (tantra-jñānaṃ prāyaḥ ātma-paryāptatāyāḥ bhrāntiṃ sṛjati) - “technology often creates an illusion of self-sufficiency”
• Tantra-jñāna (technology, lit. “instrument-knowledge”); ātma-paryāptatā (self-sufficiency, lit. “self-fullness”); bhrānti (subjective error — the established corpus discernment) — the diagnostic is precise: technology generates bhrānti (subjective error), not actual self-sufficiency
• The verse’s positive instruction: jaṭila-sambandha-nirbharatānāṃ jālaṃ (the complex web of relationships and dependencies) behind every suvidhā (convenience) should be received with kṛtajñatā (gratitude); the practice is not to reject technology but to see through its self-sufficiency illusion to the relational web that actually sustains every convenience

The Balance Formula (Verse 11):

• वैयक्तिक-अभिव्यक्तेः समुदाय-सहभागस्य च मध्ये सन्तुलनम् (vaiyaktika-abhivyakteḥ samudāya-sahabhāgasya ca madhye santulanam) - “balance between individual expression and community participation”
• The verse uses sahabhāga (participation) — the established corpus term — for community engagement, joining the chapter’s relational position to the broader cosmological vocabulary; the practitioner’s relation to community is structurally identical to the practitioner’s relation to theWAY itself, both being modes of sahabhāga
• Santulana (balance, equilibrium) names the precise practice — neither expression-without-participation (atomistic individualism) nor participation-without-expression (collectivist erasure); the dual-genitive vaiyaktika-abhivyakteḥ samudāya-sahabhāgasya (of individual expression, of community participation) presents both terms as positive values to be balanced, not opposing forces

The Closing Freedom Inversion (Verse 13):

• न तु एकल-वासस्य भ्रान्ति-स्वातन्त्र्यम्, अपितु सर्व-जीवनेन सह सामरस्य-सम्बन्धाद् उद्भूतं गभीर-मुक्तिः (na tu ekala-vāsasya bhrānti-svātantryam, apitu sarva-jīvanena saha sāmarasya-sambandhād udbhūtaṃ gabhīra-muktiḥ) - “not the illusory freedom of isolation, but the profound liberty that comes from harmonious relationship with all of life”
• The verse names two kinds of freedom: bhrānti-svātantrya (illusory freedom — using bhrānti, the corpus’s term for subjective error) of ekala-vāsa (isolated dwelling); and gabhīra-mukti (deep liberation) arising from sāmarasya-sambandha (harmonious relationship) with sarva-jīvana (all of life)
• The lexical move from svātantrya (independence, self-rule) to mukti (liberation, release) is significant — true freedom is not independence (which would be the freedom-of-isolation, the bhrānti) but liberation (which has a different structure, not freedom-from-others but freedom-through-relationship); the practitioner becomes free by being held, not by escaping

The Sanskrit of Chapter 90 carries the corpus’s most explicit treatment of community as developmental necessity, paraphrasing Daodejing 80’s small-country ideal while extending it into modern conditions. Several precise structural moves do the chapter’s protective work: paraspara-sambandha (interconnection) rather than ekatva (oneness) for the relational position; ekāki / anātha-bhāva (alone / lonely) distinction preserved against the conflation that would make community-belonging require constant physical proximity; vaiyaktika-abhivyakti (individual expression) and samudāya-sahabhāga (community participation) presented as terms to be balanced rather than opposed; bhrānti-svātantrya (illusory freedom of isolation) contrasted with gabhīra-mukti (deep liberation through harmonious relationship). The chapter’s pedagogical move at verse 5 — araṇye jīvituṃ na śaknoṣi, kintu araṇye samudāye jīvituṃ śaknoṣi (you cannot live in the jungle, but you can live in a community in a jungle) — provides the practical bridge from the Daodejing’s pastoral ideal to the modern practitioner’s actual condition, refusing both nostalgic withdrawal and surrendered absorption into the city’s atomising structure.

Colophon: This translation represents the collaborative restoration work of the Wayist collective Salvar Dàosenglu, based on the ancient mahāmārga teaching tradition, rendered into contemporary English and restored to classical Sanskrit for posterity.