The Tilaka of Sharada

Second Chapter

If the mantra is in the tail, the practitioner is oppressed by bondage, removal, and other afflictions. This is called the "Tortoise-wheel," which facilitates the success of mantras. (136)

Sacred places, riverbanks, caves, mountain peaks, pilgrimage sites, the confluence of rivers, holy forests, (137) gardens, solitary places, the root of a Bilva wood-apple tree, the slopes of a mountain, (138) temples, shores of the ocean, and one's own home: these locations are praised for practitioners. (139)

To attain the goals of life, a good student should take refuge in a teacher. The teacher should be pure in behavior from both the mother's and father's side, pure-hearted, and have mastered the senses. (140)

The teacher should know the essence of all Agamas traditional scriptures and the truth of all sciences, be devoted to helping others, and be dedicated to recitation and worship. (141)

The teacher should be truthful in speech, calm, well-versed in the Vedas and their auxiliary branches, contemplative of the yoga path, and have the deity enshrined in their heart. (142)

A teacher possessing these qualities is accepted by the scriptures. The student should be from a noble family, pure-hearted, and dedicated to the goals of life. (143)

The student should have studied the Vedas, be skilled, have abandoned desire, be a well-wisher to all living beings, and be a believer, having abandoned atheism. (144)

The student should be devoted to their own duty, devoted to the teacher, and engaged in serving the teacher through speech, mind, and body. (145)

A student endowed with such qualities, and no other, is fit. A Brahmin becomes eligible after one year, a king after two years. (146)

A merchant becomes eligible after three years, and a servant after four years of serving the teacher. Only a student who is eager to serve should be accepted for initiation, rituals, and vows. (147)