(subhashitani) सुभाषितानि : Wise sayings in Sanskrit – 1 (on knowledge)

1. विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् ।
पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततःसुखम् ।।

- हितोपदेश

Knowledge gives humility. From humility comes the ability to perform activities well. From the ability to perform activities well, one earns wealth. From wealth comes the ability to follow Dharma, from which comes happiness.

2. सुखार्थिनः कुतो विद्या नास्ति विद्यार्थिनः सुखम् ।
सुखार्थी वा त्यजेद्विद्यां विद्यार्थी वा त्यजेत् सुखम् ।।

- महाभारत

Where is there any possibility of gaining knowledge for a seeker of pleasure? There is no pleasure for a seeker of knowledge. A seeker of pleasure should sacrifice the possibility of gaining knowledge. A seeker of knowledge should sacrifice pleasure.

Points to ponder

41.6% of India’s population lives on less than $1.25 a day (World Bank, 2005).

With the inordinately and undeservedly high salaries that many of the IT professionals now get, most of us have lost sight of reality. Almost half of our countrymen live in excruciating poverty. There are countless children who live on the streets without a roof over their heads, who scourge for food among the waste lands of the cities, who have to struggle every day for their survival.

Remember this the next time you watch the IPL to get a sense of perspective, duty and responsibility.

It is a matter of unspeakable shame that many of us display a complete lack of sensitivity to the suffering of our brothers and sisters.

A beautiful proof

There are some proofs, for which the very fact of being acquainted with the working of the mind which came up with such beautiful ideas can transport you to a state of ecstasy.

Georg Cantor (1845-1918) gave a beautifully simple proof for proving that the power set of the set of natural numbers (N) has “more” elements than the set N itself, i.e. 2^N is uncountably infinite.

Assume to the contrary that 2^N is countably infinite. In other words, there exists a bijection between the set N and the set 2^N. (This is what is meant by a set S being countably infinite, i.e. if a set S is countably infinite, then there exists a bijection between S and the set, N of natural numbers.)

2^N = {R_0, R_1, R_2, … }  [R_0, R_1 etc are elements of 2^N i.e. subsets of N.]

Assuming that 2^N is countably infinite implies that every element of 2^N is equal to R_i for some i \in N.

Now, consider this set. Call it D.

If  0 \in R_0, then 0 \notin D.
Else if, 0 \notin R_0, then 0 \in D.

Similarly, deciding whether or not each i \in N belongs to D, is done based on whether or not i belongs to R_i.

If R_i contains i, then we do not include i in D.

And if R_i does not contain i, then we include i in D.

What do we get now?

We get a set D that is different from each R_i. (It is different from R_5 in whether or not ’5′ is contained in it; it is different from R_345 in whether or not ’345′ is contained in it. Hence, D can not be equal to set R_5. And, D can not be equal to set R_345.)

So, we see that D can not be equal to any of the sets R_i.

But, D is also a subset of N.

Hence, D should ideally be an element of the power set of N. By assumption, 2^N = {R_i : i \in N}.

We just saw that D can not be equal to any R_i.

Hence D is NOT a part of 2^N.

This is a contradiction!

We are done. 2^N can not have a bijection with N. 2^N is uncountably infinite.

Higher or Lower duty?

(Swami Vivekananda)

A certain king used to inquire of all the Sannyasins that came to his country, “Which is the greater man — he who gives up the world and becomes a Sannyasin, or he who lives in the world and performs his duties as a house holder?” Many wise men sought to solve the problem. Some asserted that the Sannyasin was the greater, upon which the king demanded that they should prove their assertion. When they could not, he ordered them to marry and become householders. Then others came and said, “The householder who performs his duties is the greater man.” Of them, too, the king demanded proofs. When they could not give them, he made them also settle down as householders.

At last there came a young Sannyasin, and the king similarly inquired of him also. He answered, “Each, O king, is equally great in his place.” “Prove this to me,” asked the king. “I will prove it to you,” said the Sannyasin, “but you must first come and live as I do for a few days, that I may be able to prove to you what I say.” The king consented and followed the Sannyasin out of his own territory and passed through many other countries until they came to a great kingdom. In the capital of that kingdom a great ceremony was going on. The king and the Sannyasin heard the noise of drums and music, and heard also the criers; the people were assembled in the streets in gala dress, and a great proclamation was being made. The king and the Sannyasin stood there to see what was going on. The crier was proclaiming loudly that the princess, daughter of the king of that country, was about to choose a husband from among those assembled before her.

It was an old custom in India for princesses to choose husbands in this way. Each princess had certain ideas of the sort of man she wanted for a husband. Some would have the handsomest man, others would have only the most learned, others again the richest, and so on. All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselves before her. Sometimes they too had their own criers to enumerate their advantages and the reasons why they hoped the princess would choose them. The princess was taken round on a throne, in the most splendid array, and looked at and heard about them. If she was not pleased with what she saw and heard, she said to her bearers, “Move on,” and no more notice was taken of the rejected suitors. If, however, the princess was pleased with any one of them, she threw a garland of flowers over him and he became her husband.

The princess of the country to which our king and the Sannyasin had come was having one of these interesting ceremonies. She was the most beautiful princess in the world, and the husband of the princess would be ruler of the kingdom after her father’s death. The idea of this princess was to marry the handsomest man, but she could not find the right one to please her. Several times these meetings had taken place, but the princess could not select a husband. This meeting was the most splendid of all; more people than ever had come to it. The princess came in on a throne, and the bearers carried her from place to place. She did not seem to care for any one, and every one became disappointed that this meeting also was going to be a failure. Just then came a young man, a Sannyasin, handsome as if the sun had come down to the earth, and stood in one corner of the assembly, watching what was going on. The throne with the princess came near him, and as soon as she saw the beautiful Sannyasin, she stopped and threw the garland over him. The young Sannyasin seized the garland and threw it off, exclaiming, “What nonsense is this? I am a Sannyasin. What is marriage to me?” The king of that country thought that perhaps this man was poor and so dared not marry the princess, and said to him, “With my daughter goes half my kingdom now, and the whole kingdom after my death!” and put the garland again on the Sannyasin. The young man threw it off once more, saying, “Nonsense! I do not want to marry,” and walked quickly away from the assembly.

Now the princess had fallen so much in love with this young man that she said, “I must marry this man or I shall die”; and she went after him to bring him back. Then our other Sannyasin, who had brought the king there, said to him, “King, let us follow this pair”; so they walked after them, but at a good distance behind. The young Sannyasin who had refused to marry the princess walked out into the country for several miles. When he came to a forest and entered into it, the princess followed him, and the other two followed them. Now this young Sannyasin was well acquainted with that forest and knew all the intricate paths in it. He suddenly passed into one of these and disappeared, and the princess could not discover him. After trying for a long time to find him she sat down under a tree and began to weep, for she did not know the way out. Then our king and the other Sannyasin came up to her and said, “Do not weep; we will show you the way out of this forest, but it is too dark for us to find it now. Here is a big tree; let us rest under it, and in the morning we will go early and show you the road.”

Now a little bird and his wife and their three little ones lived on that tree, in a nest. This little bird looked down and saw the three people under the tree and said to his wife, “My dear, what shall we do? Here are some guests in the house, and it is winter, and we have no fire.” So he flew away and got a bit of burning firewood in his beak and dropped it before the guests, to which they added fuel and made a blazing fire. But the little bird was not satisfied. He said again to his wife, “My dear, what shall we do? There is nothing to give these people to eat, and they are hungry. We are householders; it is our duty to feed any one who comes to the house. I must do what I can, I will give them my body.” So he plunged into the midst of the fire and perished. The guests saw him falling and tried to save him, but he was too quick for them.

The little bird’s wife saw what her husband did, and she said, “Here are three persons and only one little bird for them to eat. It is not enough; it is my duty as a wife not to let my husband’s effort go in vain; let them have my body also.” Then she fell into the fire and was burned to death.

Then the three baby-birds, when they saw what was done and that there was still not enough food for the three guests, said, “Our parents have done what they could and still it is not enough. It is our duty to carry on the work of our parents; let our bodies go too.” And they all dashed down into the fire also.

Amazed at what they saw, the three people could not of course eat these birds. They passed the night without food, and in the morning the king and the Sannyasin showed the princess the way, and she went back to her father.

Then the Sannyasin said to the king, “King, you have seen that each is great in his own place. If you want to live in the world, live like those birds, ready at any moment to sacrifice yourself for others. If you want to renounce the world, be like that young man to whom the most beautiful woman and a kingdom were as nothing. If you want to be a householder, hold your life a sacrifice for the welfare of others; and if you choose the life of renunciation, do not even look at beauty and money and power. Each is great in his own place, but the duty of the one is not the duty of the other.

Thoughts

Life is simple. Let it be that way.

Don’t be overly attached to anything.

Don’t have unrealistic expectations.

What is there to worry about? Nothing.

Buddha’s first noble truth: Life sucks. (So, why complain and crib?)

Be kind.

Be caring.

Can you change your past? No. Let go of everything.

Laughter is the best medicine.

(Sleep is also very good.)

What is there to be afraid of? Nothing.

Don’t think too much. Live like a child.

(Too much analysis leads to paralysis.  (ISKCON) )

Get perspective.

Why do we grieve? Is it because of something that happened to us? No, it is because of our attitude towards what happened.

If someone calls you a dog, and you think about the incident three more times, you have allowed that person to call you a dog three more times. (Ajahn Brahm)

Death is a part of life. Why grieve about death?

The Emperor’s three questions

(Leo Tolstoy)
One day it occurred to a certain emperor that if he only knew the answers to 
three questions, he would never stray in any matter.

What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to 
work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?

The emperor issued a decree throughout his kingdom announcing that whoever 
could answer the questions would receive a great reward. Many who read the 
decree made their way to the palace at once, each person with a different 
answer.

In reply to the first question, one person advised that the emperor make up a 
thorough time schedule, consecrating every hour, day, month, and year for 
certain tasks and then follow the schedule to the letter. Only then could he 
hope to do every task at the right time.

Another person replied that it was impossible to plan in advance and that the 
emperor should put all vain amusements aside and remain attentive to everything 
in order to know what to do at what time.

Someone else insisted that, by himself, the emperor could never hope to have 
all the foresight and competence necessary to decide when to do each and every 
task and what he really needed was to set up a Council of the Wise and then to 
act according to their advice.

Someone else said that certain matters required immediate decision and could 
not wait for consultation, but if he wanted to know in advance what was going 
to happen he should consult magicians and soothsayers.

The responses to the second question also lacked accord.

One person said that the emperor needed to place all his trust in 
administrators, another urged reliance on priests and monks, while others 
recommended physicians. Still others put their faith in warriors.

The third question drew a similar variety of answers. Some said science was the 
most important pursuit. Others insisted on religion. Yet others claimed the 
most important thing was military skill.

The emperor was not pleased with any of the answers, and no reward was given.

After several nights of reflection, the emperor resolved to visit a hermit who 
lived up on the mountain and was said to be an enlightened man. The emperor 
wished to find the hermit to ask him the three questions, though he knew the 
hermit never left the mountains and was known to receive only the poor, 
refusing to have anything to do with persons of wealth or power. So the emperor 
disguised himself as a simple peasant and ordered his attendants to wait for 
him at the foot of the mountain while he climbed the slope alone to seek the 
hermit.

Reaching the holy man's dwelling place, the emperor found the hermit digging a 
garden in front of his hut. When the hermit saw the stranger, he nodded his 
head in greeting and continued to dig. The labor was obviously hard on him. He 
was an old man, and each time he thrust his spade into the ground to turn the 
earth, he heaved heavily.

The emperor approached him and said, "I have come here to ask your help with 
three questions: When is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most 
important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all 
times?"

The hermit listened attentively but only patted the emperor on the shoulder and 
continued digging. The emperor said, "You must be tired. Here, let me give you 
a hand with that." The hermit thanked him, handed the emperor the spade, and 
then sat down on the ground to rest.

After he had dug two rows, the emperor stopped and turned to the hermit and 
repeated his three questions. The hermit still did not answer, but instead 
stood up and pointed to the spade and said, "Why don't you rest now? I can take 
over again." But the emperor continued to dig. One hour passed, then two. 
Finally the sun began to set behind the mountain. The emperor put down the 
spade and said to the hermit, "I came here to ask if you could answer my three 
questions. But if you can't give me any answer, please let me know so that I 
can get on may way home."

The hermit lifted his head and asked the emperor, "Do you hear someone running 
over there?" The emperor turned his head. They both saw a man with a long white 
beard emerge from the woods. He ran wildly, pressing his hands against a bloody 
wound in his stomach. The man ran toward the emperor before falling unconscious 
to the ground, where he lay groaning. Opening the man's clothing, the emperor 
and hermit saw that the man had received a deep gash. The emperor cleaned the 
wound thoroughly and then used his own shirt to bandage it, but the blood 
completely soaked it within minutes. He rinsed the shirt out and bandaged the 
wound a second time and continued to do so until the flow of blood had stopped.

At last the wounded man regained consciousness and asked for a drink of water. 
The emperor ran down to the stream and brought back a jug of fresh water. 
Meanwhile, the sun had disappeared and the night air had begun to turn cold. 
The hermit gave the emperor a hand in carrying the man into the hut where they 
laid him down on the hermit's bed. The man closed his eyes and lay quietly. The 
emperor was worn out from the long day of climbing the mountain and digging the 
garden. Leaning against the doorway, he fell asleep. When he rose, the sun had 
already risen over the mountain. For a moment he forgot where he was and what 
he had come here for. He looked over to the bed and saw the wounded man also 
looking around him in confusion. When he saw the emperor, he stared at him 
intently and then said in a faint whisper, "Please forgive me."

"But what have you done that I should forgive you?" the emperor asked.

"You do not know me, your majesty, but I know you. I was your sworn enemy, and 
I had vowed to take vengeance on you, for during the last war you killed my 
brother and seized my property. When I learned that you were coming alone to 
the mountain to meet the hermit, I resolved to surprise you on your way back to 
kill you. But after waiting a long time there was still no sign of you, and so 
I left my ambush in order to seek you out. But instead of finding you, I came 
across your attendants, who recognized me, giving me this wound. Luckily, I 
escaped and ran here. If I hadn't met you I would surely be dead by now. I had 
intended to kill you, but instead you saved my life! I am ashamed and grateful 
beyond words. If I live, I vow to be your servant for the rest of my life, and 
I will bid my children and grandchildren to do the same. Please grant me your 
forgiveness."

The emperor was overjoyed to see that he was so easily reconciled with a former 
enemy. He not only forgave the man but promised to return all the man's 
property and to send his own physician and servants to wait on the man until he 
was completely healed. After ordering his attendants to take the man home, the 
emperor returned to see the hermit. Before returning to the palace the emperor 
wanted to repeat his three questions one last time. He found the hermit sowing 
seeds in the earth they had dug the day before.

The hermit stood up and looked at the emperor. "But your questions have already 
been answered."

"How's that?" the emperor asked, puzzled.

"Yesterday, if you had not taken pity on my age and given me a hand with 
digging these beds, you would have been attacked by that man on your way home. 
Then you would have deeply regretted not staying with me. Therefore the most 
important time was the time you were digging in the beds, the most important 
person was myself, and the most important pursuit was to help me. Later, when 
the wounded man ran up here, the most important time was the time you spent 
dressing his wound, for if you had not cared for him he would have died and you 
would have lost the chance to be reconciled with him. Likewise, he was the most 
important person, and the most important pursuit was taking care of his wound. 
Remember that there is only one important time and is Now. The present moment 
is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is 
always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if 
you will have dealings with any other person in the future. The most important 
pursuit is making that person, the one standing at you side, happy, for that 
alone is the pursuit of life."

the way

the hand that prods you
Written is the destiny of this Creation
by the same hand;
So go on my friend.

the stage that envelops you
Played out is the entire cosmic play
on the same stage;
So go on my friend.

the water that wets you
Inundated is this entire manifestation
by that same water;
So go on my friend.

the spark that burns within you
Permeated is everything
by that same spark;
So go on my friend.

Youtube video lectures (Buddhism)

Lectures by Ajahn Brahm from the Buddhist society of Western Australia. http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA

On Prayer

(Kahlil Gibran)

Then a priestess said, “Speak to us of Prayer.”

And he answered, saying:

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?

And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.

And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.

When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and whom save in prayer you may not meet.

Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet communion.

For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive.

And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted:

Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.

It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.

I cannot teach you how to pray in words.

God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.

And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and forests and the mountains.

But you who born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart.,

And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear then saying in silence,

“Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.

It is thy desire in us that desireth.

It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.

We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all.”

On Pain

(Kahlil Gibran)

And a woman spoke, saying, “Tell us of Pain.”

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understandng.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burns your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

The Wise King

(Kahlil Gibran)

Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom.

Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king and his courtiers; for there was no other well.

One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, “From this hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.”

Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the market places did naught but whisper to one another, “The king is mad. Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason. Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him.”

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well. And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it to his lord chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani, because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.

The Madman

(Kahlil Gibran)

It was in the garden of a madhouse that I met a youth with a face pale and lovely and full of wonder. And I sat beside him upon the bench, and I said, “Why are you here?”

And he looked at me in astonishment, and he said, “It is an unseemly question, yet I will answer you. My father would make of me a reproduction of himself; so also would my uncle. My mother would have me the image of her seafaring husband as the perfect example for me to follow. My brother thinks I should be like him, a fine athlete.

“And my teachers also, the doctor of philosophy, and the music-master, and the logician, they too were determined, and each would have me but a reflection of his own face in a mirror.

“Therefore I came to this place. I find it more sane here. At least, I can be myself.”

Then of a sudden he turned to me and he said, “But tell me, were you also driven to this place by education and good counsel?”

And I answered, “No, I am a visitor.”

And he answered, “Oh, you are one of those who live in the madhouse on the other side of the wall.”

On Friendship

(The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran)

And a youth said, “Speak to us of Friendship.”

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with  your hunger and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay”.

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know the flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Fire

The propitious time has arrived! The sacrificial fire has been lit! The merry and mysterious dance of the yellow flames is uttering an esoteric mantra exhorting the spectators to pour in offerings! O lost traveler, let the roaring flames of this all-enveloping fire guide you!

The insults heaped on our Mother will be avenged! Fear not! This is indeed the time ordained for this by the gods themselves! The death-knell has been sounded! Arise, O sleeping warrior, lest thou bear the taint of failing to perform thy duty!

What do you see?! A political class engrossed in serving their own selfish motives. A political class disconnected from the masses. A political class breeding on the vermin of corruption, ignorance and ego. A political class which has enslaved the Mother Earth. A political class inimical to the rightful aspirations of its fellow brothers and sisters. A political class, which having bitten the forbidden fruit of ill-acquired power, intent on perpetuating its authority. O wounded soldier, fear not! Let the insults flow! Let the transgressions continue! The sincere have awakened! The atmosphere is charged with the talk of an upheaval! Every offensive action on the part of the political class is providing life to the flames of the sacrificial fire! The ghee is flowing unabated into the sacrificial pit courtesy those actions!

O Rip Van Winkle, arise! The time for revolution has come! O Rama, garner an axe! The time to become Parashurama has arrived! Unite, O brother, with thy neighbour! O Hindu! O Muslim! Forget thy external differences, and unite! The nation is calling!

O ignorant one! What are you to achieve by dividing our nation?! Be aware that unfettered regional aspirations is pernicious to a united national life! O keeper of the glory of the illustrious Marathas, what are you to gain by hostility towards your neighbors from the ancient seat of the Magadha empire? O resident of Pataliputra, become aware that this was once the land where the greatest teacher of political science taught. Become aware that this was the capital of the Maurya empire of his disciple, Chandragupta of hallowed memory. Then, become aware of its present state!

O descendant of that lion among men, Guru Govind Singh, become aware of your glorious history, written with the sacred blood of his followers! O sister, fortunate art thou to have taken birth in the land that nurtured a Sankara, a Ramanuja, a Madhva and a Chaitanya; a Shivaji, a Askoka, a Rana Pratap and a Lakshmibai; a Buddha, a Mahavira and a Nanak; a Kalidasa, a Bhavabhuti and a Bhasa; a Desika and a Krishnananda; a Mira and a Tulsidas! What have you to fear?! If not your life, at least spare a thought for your Motherland! Become aware of its pitiable state!

O protector of Rashtra dharma, take the sword out of its sheath! The sword for this war is the pen! Draw it out without delay!

O deluded one, where hast thou to hide? The time has come to deliver the verdict! Put the needs of the society above your selfish aspirations, and the aggrieved masses might yet contrive to forgive you.

The fire is roaring! The ominous dance of its flames is portentous. Understand the secret message it speaks. History will not forgive those who remain indifferent to the current state of affairs. The country needs you in its hour of distress. Arise!

Realization

Catapulted
The force enormous
Land beneath my feet
became a chasm deep .

The spark appeared
Faith
The non-existent footholds
sprung Lotuses…

The responsibility of Intellectuals

“The responsibility of intellectuals”: An article by Noam Chomsky in 1967.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/12172

Why are we sleeping??

It is a matter of indubitable shame and sorrow that the inheritors of an ineffable culture have taken to a self-destructing path of mental, social and physical slavery. Devoted to the satisfaction of selfish motives, a nation, that has produced heroes of supreme valour since time immemorial, has witnessed a cataclysmic fall from grace.

A people who could stand up and rise to the stature of world-teacher, have become a helpless and imbecile collection of individuals utterly incapable of discerning the fundamental distinction between truth and untruth, friend and foe, honour and dishonour, threat and security. A nation that illumined the paths of societies and individuals in want of guidance, is seemingly bereft of a sense of direction with respect to following a path that would be commensurate with its inherent national character.

Am I the dreamer or the dreamed?

I close my eyes and drift
into a dark abyss, into a dark chaos.
Sleep is familiar, so I am not afraid
to dissolve into the unknown wilderness,
the vast ocean of non-existence.

A while later, as if in a dream,
another being arises,
out of the ashes of oblivion,
assuming a new form, a new identity.

Hindu Rashtra and co-existence of religions

(This passage is from Sri M.S. Golwalkar‘s book, Bunch of Thoughts. In this excellent passage, he describes the salient features of Hindu thought vis-a-vis the parallel development of other religious faiths. Through historical and modern examples, he brings forth the idea of a society where harmonious co-existence of different religions is possible. The phrase “religious tolerance” is a modern and diluted version of one of the key aspects of Hinduism. “Tolerance” has a negative connotation implying a not overly positive attitude of condescension to “allow” or “permit” the co-existence of other religions. Hinduism transcended the level of mere “tolerance” to a stage where people professing other religions were actively considered an integral part of the universal brotherhood, thus implying as a natural consequence, harmonious and symbiotically-beneficial co-existence, obviating and transcending the idea of a “superior” entity “tolerating” the existence of an “inferior” one. Do read the following with an open mind.)

Call to Motherhood

(This is from Sri M. S. Golwalkar’s book, Bunch of Thoughts. Here he talks about the manner in which the womenfolk in our society can elevate the collective social consciousness, and work for the general uplift of the society.)

Epics in Heroic Motherhood

As we are well aware, our nation is beset with ever so many perils. Attempts to undermine the integrity of our motherland and our society are on. Challenges to the time-honoured values of our spiritual heritage are mounting. Conflicts and confrontations are thick in the air. Under such conditions, what is the type of training that we have to impart to our children? Shall we teach them to seek safety in their homes and not to stir out? Should we harp upon things pertaining to their own happiness and future and ask them out not to “dabble in other things”? What shall we teach?

Arousing the warrior spirit

(This is from Sri M. S. Golwalkar’s book, Bunch of Thoughts. Here he talks about arousing our dormant warrior spirit for the protection of the sanctity of our motherland.)

Steel People’s Will

The first requisite is to steel our will for a nation-wide, determined and organised effort. The struggle is likely to be long and bitter. All of us will be called upon to undergo suffering and sacrifices. Let all of us face these difficulties steadfastly and with good cheer. There is no doubt that the adoration for our motherland which had been lying dormant in our hearts so long will now bring forth and dispel all dark shadows of selfishness and mutual jealousies. It is indeed encouraging to see so many people coming forward to contribute to the National Defence Fund. I hope more and more of them will give still more. Let all persons physically fit be ready for military service. And let their mothers bless and send forth their sons at this hour of trial. When the five Pandavas went to seek the blessings of their mother Kunti before the commencement of the Mahabharata war, she blessed them saying, “Go ye all to the battle. This is the occasion for which Kshatriya women give birth to sons. Go and give your best in this dharmayuddha.” Let every mother speak in the same heroic strain to her sons even now.

Modern wars, be it remembered, are total wars. They are not merely pitched battles between armies. Every one, right from the scientist and industrialist to the labourer and farmer, will have to work harder and longer in a spirit of national dedications, shelving aside all other considerations of personal and group interests, disputes and claims for the time being.

The Living Ideal

It is a matter of common experience that character and morality are wanting even in the very high strata of our national life. Those in the higher strata of life are intelligent and educated. They know what is morality and what is immorality. They can even deliver excellent sermons on the subject. Then, what are we going to achieve merely by advising such persons?

In fact, there is only one way by which selfishness can be restrained. Give the man an ideal to work for, to live for and die for. Then that person, in his devotion to that ideal, will be able to control the pulls of his self-interest and build up a better character. There is no other way. Give the people an ideal, high and holy, an ideal, which naturally resonates in their hearts, throbs in their blood and which has been with them for generations. Then even the ordinary man in the street will be able to feel the rise of devotion and character in him. Such an inspiring ideal is the realisation of the glory and greatness of our scared Hindu Rashtra.

“I am a child of this great Hindu nation. For generations, my great forefathers have striven to make this the greatest and noblest nation – an ideal nation of ideal men – on the face of the earth. I, too, will live and strive for the same goal.” – This is the natural impulse that we have inherited. We feel it in our blood. If this natural sublime urge is roused then our people will be able to rise above their selfish pulls and manifest chaste national character in their day-to-day life.

The Vision that Inspires

Even in the present times of national crisis we cannot afford to ignore this content of idealism. Let us not forgot that it was on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, when war-drums were beating, trumpets were blowing and Arjuna was standing in the centre of the two armies, that Sri Krishna taught him the eternal and inspiring message of selfless action in the cause of dharma and spurred him to matchless valour and victory. It is only when a hero is inspired with the vision of an ideal that he will be able to put forth the best in him. He should be clear in his mind about the life values for which he is to fight and die, if need be. Talk of economic plans and industrial glory cannot stir the people to suffer and sacrifice. Dry and disparaging descriptions of our motherland as ‘snow-bound’, ‘unfit for human habitation’, ‘not a blade of grass growing there’, etc., will only kill the spirit of the people who will then see no difference even if such a piece of land is occupied by the enemy. So it is absolutely essential that the eternal and inspiring call of devotion to our holy motherland and our national ideals is engraved in the heart of every son of this soil.

All our valiant freedom fighters in the past and in modern times were inspired with the living vision of Hindu Rashtra. That was the only effective rallying cry to rouse our masses to action from one corner of the country to the other. And whenever that vision was blurred or lost sight of, the people too relapsed into inactivity and servility.

It is only when the people are inspired with this age-old national vision that it is possible to make them rise to heights of selflessness, sacrifice and heroism and to forge them into a single living national entity from one end of the land to the other and build up an unassailable national strength.

Purpose in life – 2

[Here is the first post in the topic.]

Lead a life which is of service to others. Living only for the sake of one’s own self is extreme selfishness.

There are many in need of help, encouragement, protection, comforting words. Be a beacon of light in the lives of those looking for such inspiration.

A drowning man cannot save a friend from drowning. So, elevate yourself through sacrifice and practice to a position from where you can be of better service to others.

Acquire knowledge which elevates. Through continuous acquisition of proper knowledge one can soon reach a stage from where one’s presence itself is a benediction to others. Knowledge that enables us to elevate our lives is proper knowledge.

(It is mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam: A saintly sage is happy and pleasing in his external behavior, whereas internally he is most grave and thoughtful. Because his knowledge is immeasurable and unlimited he is never disturbed, and thus in all respects he is like the tranquil waters of the unfathomable and unsurpassable ocean.)

So, acquire knowledge. The urgency and the importance of acquisition of proper knowledge cannot be overstated.

Strive to acquire the qualities of saintly persons as mentioned in the scriptures. Acquire knowledge of the Self and God.

Utilize opportunities where you can uplift the lives of others. Your life will be blessed.

Qualities of saintly persons – 8

om sri gurave namah

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to explain to him the characteristics of one who is situated in transcendental consciousness. In response, Krishna mentions different such characteristics.

[These verses are in Chapter 2 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.]

[54] Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the signs of one absorbed in transcendental consciousness? How does one steadfast in spiritual consciousness talk? How does he sit? And how does he walk?

[55] Lord Krishna said: O Arjuna, when one gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when one’s mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, such a person is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.

[56] One who remains undisturbed in distress, is unattached/passive when joyous events occurs, is free from attachment, fear and anger, is said to be a sage of steady mind.

[57] One who is without any attachment, and neither rejoices or curses on obtaining good or evil, is said to be firmly situated in perfect knowledge.

[58] One who completely withdraws his senses from the sense objects, just like a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, is said to be in perfect knowledge.

Here are the verses in Samskritam:

Here is the transliteration:

[54]arjuna uvāca
sthita-prajñasya kā bhāshā
samādhi-sthasya keśava
sthita-dhīh kiḿ prabhāsheta
kim āsīta vrajeta kim

[55]śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prajahāti yadā kāmān
sarvān pārtha mano-gatān
ātmany evātmanā tushtah
sthita-prajñas tadocyate

[56]duhkheshv anudvigna-manāh
sukheshu vigata-sprhah
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhah
sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

[57]yah sarvatrānabhisnehas
tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham
nābhinandati na dveshti
tasya prajñā pratishthitā

[58]yadā saḿharate cāyaḿ
kūrmo ‘ńgānīva sarvaśah
indriyānīndriyārthebhyas
tasya prajñā pratishthitā

[I took material for the above from here, here, and elsewhere on the Internet.]

Qualities of saintly persons – 7

Here are six more of the 26 qualities of the divine nature that Lord Krishna mentions to Arjuna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

[These 26 qualities are mentioned in the first 3 verses of Chapter 16.]

21. Radiance/lustre (this is an illustrious proof of the efficacy of spiritual practice); Vigor/strength to aid those in need to protection and help.

22. Forgiveness (Do not harbor feelings of vengeance against those by whom you are wronged. Do not get angry at those who offend you.)

23. Fortitude (Defending/upholding righteousness and steadying the mind, even when you are under great duress.)

24. Cleanliness/Purity (Both internal and external cleanliness to be spiritually worthy. Purity not only in the mind and body, but also in one’s dealings.)

25. Absence of envy (Become free from all feelings of envy towards others.)

26. Lack of desire for honor or prestige/ Absence of false ego.

These are the 26 divine qualities that Lord Krishna mentions. Let us strive to inculcate these in our lives.

Here are the 3 verses in Samskritam [Chapter 16, verses 1,2,3]:

Here is the transliteration:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
abhayaḿ sattva-saḿśuddhir
jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitih
dānaḿ damaś ca yajñaś ca
svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
ahiḿsā satyam akrodhas
tyāgah śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteshv aloluptvaḿ
mārdavaḿ hrīr acāpalam
tejah kshamā dhrtih śaucam
adroho nāti-mānitā
bhavanti sampadaḿ daivīm
abhijātasya bhārata

[This was taken from here, and other sites.]

Qualities of saintly persons – 6

om sri gurave namah

Here are five more divine qualities that Lord Krishna mentions to Arjuna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Let us strive to inculcate these qualities in our lives.

[The Supreme Person, Krishna mentions 26 qualities in all in the first 3 verses of Chapter 16.]

16. Mercy/Compassion towards all living entities: (We should feel compassion towards all beings, especially if they are in distress. Strive to alleviate their misery.)

17. Absence of greed/ Non-covetousness: Do not have greed for sense gratification; be satisfied with what is allotted to you in life.

18. Gentleness/Humility: Such behavior is appropriate for saintly association. Strive to be free from cruelty and harshness.

19. Modesty: Shyness in decorum, and hesitancy even in the thought of wrong-doing.

20. Determination/ Absence of fickleness: This is needed to keep trying even in the face of perceived failure; Determination to remain firm against temptations presented to one; Avoidance of frivolous activities.

Here is the verse from Srimad Bhagavad Gita [Chapter 16, verse 2].

Here is the transliteration:

ahiḿsā satyam akrodhas
tyāgah śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteshv aloluptvaḿ
mārdavaḿ hrīr acāpalam

[Material for the above was taken from here, and other sites. All mistakes in the above presentation are mine.]

Qualities of saintly persons – 5

Five more of the 26 qualities that Lord Krishna tells Arjuna about saintly persons in Srimad Bhagavad Gita [Chap 16, verses 1-3]

11. Truthfulness

12. Freedom from anger

13. Renunciation (renounce anything that is opposed to realization of the self)

14. Peacefulness/Calmness (do not let the mind get agitated).

15. Aversion to fault-finding (fault-finding in others is a quality that many of us are afflicted with)

 

Here is the corresponding verse in Samskritam [Chapter 16, verse 2].

 

Transliteration

ahiḿsā satyam akrodhas
tyāgah śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteshv aloluptvaḿ
mārdavaḿ hrīr acāpalam

 

[The material for the above was taken from here, and other sites.]

Qualities of saintly persons – 4

Here are five more saintly qualities mentioned by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

(Twenty six such qualities are mentioned in the first 3 verses of Chapter 16.)

6. Performance of sacrifice

7. Study of Vedic scriptures

8. Austerity

9. Simplicity

10. Non violence

 

Here are the first two verses in Samskritam:

 

Transliteration:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
abhayaḿ sattva-saḿśuddhir
jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitih
dānaḿ damaś ca yajñaś ca
svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
ahiḿsā satyam akrodhas
tyāgah śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteshv aloluptvaḿ
mārdavaḿ hrīr acāpalam

 

(The above was taken from sites on the Internet.)

Qualities of saintly persons – 3

om ajnAna-timirAndhasya
jnAnAnjana-shalAkaya
cakshur unmIlitam yena
tasmai srI-gurave namah

“I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my guru, my spiritual master, opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.”

Lord Krishna mentions to Arjuna, twenty six qualities, which we should aspire to inculcate in our nature. (The earlier two posts on the same topic, dealt with verses from Srimad Bhagavatam, while this is from Srimad Bhagavad Gita.)

These are mentioned in the first three verses of Chapter 16 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

Here are the first five of these qualities:

1. Fearlessness - The first quality mentioned is fearlessness (abhayam).

2. Pure-heartedness or purification of one’s existence.

3. Cultivation of spiritual knowledge

4. Charity (given to worthy recipients from what one legitimately owns)

5. Self-restraint (controlling the mind from being influenced by sense objects)

Here is the first verse in Samsritam:

Transliteration:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
abhayaḿ sattva-saḿśuddhir
jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitih
dānaḿ damaś ca yajñaś ca
svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam

(The above material was collected from sites on the Internet.)

How to perform actions

Lord Krishna explains to His friend and devotee, Arjuna the way to perform action so as to not be entangled by the results.

Here are five verses from Chapter 5 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

(This is from Srila Prabhupada’s writings, available here.)

[3] One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.

[7] One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.

[8-9] A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.

[10] One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Samskritam

Sanskrit

[3] jñeyah sa nitya-sannyāsī
yo na dveshti na kāńkshati
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho
sukhaḿ bandhāt pramucyate

[7] yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā
vijitātmā jitendriyah
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā
kurvann api na lipyate

[8-9] naiva kiñcit karomīti
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
vartanta iti dhārayan

[10] brahmany ādhāya karmāni
sańgaḿ tyaktvā karoti yah
lipyate na sa pāpena
padma-patram ivāmbhasā

Krishna’s Mystic Opulence – 2

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna about His mystic opulence in the soul-stirring discourse contained in Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

(This is from Srila Prabhupada’s writings, which is available here.) [These 3 verses are from Chapter 9.]

 

[17] I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oḿ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

[18] I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.

[19] O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both spirit and matter are in Me.

 

Samskritam

 

Sanskrit

[17]pitāham asya jagato
mātā dhātā pitāmahah
vedyaḿ pavitram oḿkāra
rk sāma yajur eva ca

[18]gatir bhartā prabhuh sākshī
nivāsah śaranaḿ suhrt
prabhavah pralayah sthānaḿ
nidhānaḿ bījam avyayam

[19]tapāmy aham ahaḿ varshaḿ
nigrhnāmy utsrjāmi ca
amrtaḿ caiva mrtyuś ca
sad asac cāham arjuna

 

Krishna’s Mystic Opulence

Lord Krishna in His immortal discourse to Arjuna describes His mystic opulence.

These five verses are from Chapter 9 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

(This is taken from Srila Prabhupada’s writings, available here.)

 

[6] Understand that as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.

[7] O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I create them again.

[8] The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end.

[9] O Dhanañjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.

[10] This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.

 

Samskritam:-

 

Sanskrit:

[6] yathākāśa-sthito nityaḿ
vāyuh sarvatra-go mahān
tathā sarvāni bhūtāni
mat-sthānīty upadhāraya

[7] sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya
prakrtiḿ yānti māmikām
kalpa-ksaye punas tāni
kalpādau visrjāmy aham

[8]prakrtiḿ svām avastabhya
visrjāmi punah punah
bhūta-grāmam imaḿ krtsnam
avaśaḿ prakrter vaśāt

[9]na ca māḿ tāni karmāni
nibadhnanti dhanañjaya
udāsīna-vad āsīnam
asaktaḿ tesu karmasu

[10]mayādhyaksena prakrtih
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

Duty towards Bharat – 2

Assimilate the Good

It is said that our people who go abroad are carried away by the superficial attractions there and do not try to go deeper to find out the really good points in the life of those people. No people on the face of this earth are entirely without some abiding virtues, nor will they be endowed with all the necessary noble qualities. We should be able to discriminate and make a dispassionate assessment of their virtues and vices, and so also, of our own strong points and weak points. We shall then be able to achieve a harmonious blend of the elements of excellence in both the systems. Our intelligent young men who are staying abroad should take up such a comparative study and enlighten our other brethren there with the results of their findings.

There are indeed very pious people worthy of emulation in all countries. We should do well to emulate their examples. There is the recent example of a great and saintly American, who was so full of piety and love for all living creatures that when he would sit with his hands immersed in a tank, fish would swarm and play around without the least fear or hesitation. Such was his spirit of identity with the entire living creation.

Pick Up Such Gems

There are so many inspiring items of their literature which we could pick and make them our own. Many of our sublime thoughts are echoed in their poetry and philosophical works. I remember a most touching poem “Abou Ben Adhem” by Leigh Hunt.

ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
“What writest thou?” The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answer’d , “the names of those who love the lord.”
“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”
Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more – low,
But cheerly still, and said, “I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellowmen.”
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night,
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Abhem’s name led all the rest.

Respond to Local Aspirations

Then there is the important aspect of cultivating the right attitude and pattern of behaviour towards the local population.

The first thing that our brothers abroad have to bear in mind is, that while carrying on a profession or an employment there, earning and amassing money should bot be sole aim. They should understand and appreciate the problems of the local people and sympathise with their aspirations. Some portion of their earnings should be kept apart for promoting their welfare and enlightening them on the great principles and values of Hinduism. At the same time, they should, by their personal example and living, demonstrate that they are coming from the land of a great and hoary culture and thus set a personal example to others.

Be world Missionaries

In a nutshell, our brethren abroad will have to bring about a total transformation in their thoughts and life-styles if they have to lead a happier, richer and more honoured life abroad and also make the image of Bharat shine brighter in those countries. And in order to do this the one supreme conviction that we are a great people charged with a World Mission, should ever be vibrant in our breasts; that a sacred duty and trust is cast upon us of bringing home to the entire humanity the sublime truths embedded in our Dharma and that the various ills and challenges being faced by it could be met successfully on the basis of the all-comprehensive, scientific yet spiritual outlook of Hinduism. If this ultimate vision is kept constantly is view then everything else will become clear as crystal.

 

(This is from Sri Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts.)

Duty towards Bharat – 1

The first point to be borne in mind by our brothers and sisters living abroad is to keep alive their day-to-day behaviour a spirit of intense national self-respect. And for this, a keen awareness of the glorious heritage that our forbears have left for us should ever be present in our minds.

There is even now living evidence of the glory that Bharat was in ancient times.

What the World Expects

Right from Mexico in South America to the tiny islands in the Far Eastern Pacific, our Hindu missionaries had traveled far and wide and carried with them the fragrance of our ancient wisdom. Everywhere, they made a gift of the fruits of their achievements in medicine, mathematics, science, arts and culture. But more than anything else, it was the abiding spiritual values which they preached and practised that has left the deepest impression on the human mind all over.

When Siam became independent and their parliament was to meet in the hall, they all unanimously decided to place the statue of Manu as the presiding deity. The inscription in Siamese reads: “Bhagwan Manu, the first and the greatest lawgiver of mankind.” Indonesia is another country where the local Muslims are infused with the Hindu traditions. Their names, their songs, their drama, their national symbols – all carry the imprint of our epics like Ramayana.

True Ambassadors

It should be kept in mind that whenever a person goes out, he will go out as a representative of the country, the national culture and values of life – which have given birth to him. The world assesses the values and greatness of that country and its people on the touchstone of HIS behaviour. This is all the more true in the case of a great and ancient nation such as ours. If our conduct is not in keeping with the high cultural standards and becomes but a pale reflection of those lands themselves, the image of our country too will go down in their eyes. The respect and esteem that our country suffers will do incalculable harm both to our countrymen residing there and also to our country. It is only when their conduct is imbued with the right spirit of our dharma and samskriti that they can stand up as ideal Hindus and would be able to present an inspiring image of our nation and also receive a similar response from those people.

To Impart Samskars

It is necessary, therefore, that our Hindu brethren there, who have imbibed the right samskars here, should meet regularly with a view to rekindling among all our people there the spirit of national pride, the awareness of our all-round achievements in the past and our mission while abroad.

The children should be taught to recite the same with due devotion and earnestness. And wherever there are our temples the Hindus should cultivate the habit of congregating on certain holy occasions and conduct programmes like satsangs and havans.

Keeping close contact with the learned men and spiritual teachers who visit those countries from time to time and arranging suitable programmes would be of great help in furthering the above-mentioned objective.

(This is taken from Sri M.S. Golwalkar’s book, Bunch of Thoughts (here). )

Immortal verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita – 2

Lord Krishna imparts transcendental knowledge to His devotee Arjuna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Here are three verses from Chapter 4.

(This is taken from Srila Prabhupada’s writings, available here.)

Translation in English:-

[9] One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

[10] Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me — and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

[11]  As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prithā.

Sanskrit

[9]  janma karma ca me divyam
evaḿ yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

[10] vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāh
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāh

[11] ye yathā māḿ prapadyante
tāḿs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manushyāh pārtha sarvaśah

Samskritam

Immortal verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita – 1

In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna imparts transcendental knowledge to Arjuna. Here are four such immortal verses taken from Chapter 4.

(These are from Srila Prabhupada’s writings, taken from here.)

Here is a pdf file of  Srimad Bhagavad Gita in Devanagari script.

 

Translation in English:-

[5] The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!

[6] Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

[7] Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.

[8] To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

 

Sanskrit:

[5] śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaḿ veda sarvāni
na tvaḿ vettha parantapa

[6] ajo ‘pi sann avyayātmā
bhūtānām īśvaro ‘pi san
praktiḿ svām adhihāya
sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā

[7]  yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaḿ sjāmyaham

[8] paritrānāya sādhūnāḿ
vināśāya ca dushkrtām
dharma-saḿsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

 

Samskritam

 

 

Qualities of a saintly person – 2

In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna relates to His cousin Uddhava, a conversation between King Yadu and a brahmana avadhuta (one who is liberated). Here the brahmana explains to Maharaja Yadu what all he learnt from his 24 gurus.

(Please see this earlier post on the same conversation.) This is taken from here, here, and here.

The various phases of one’s material life, beginning with birth and culminating in death, are all properties of the body and do not affect the soul, just as the apparent waxing and waning of the moon does not affect the moon itself. Such changes are enforced by the imperceptible movements of time.

The flames of a fire appear and disappear at every moment, and yet this creation and destruction is not noticed by the ordinary observer. Similarly, the mighty waves of time flow constantly, like the powerful currents of a river, and imperceptibly cause the birth, growth and death of innumerable material bodies. And yet the soul, who is thus constantly forced to change his position, cannot perceive the actions of time.

Just as the sun evaporates large quantities of water by its potent rays and later returns the water to the earth in the form of rain, similarly, a saintly person accepts all types of material objects with his material senses, and at the appropriate time, when the proper person has approached him to request them, he returns such material objects. Thus, both in accepting and giving up the objects of the senses, he is not entangled.

A saintly sage is happy and pleasing in his external behavior, whereas internally he is most grave and thoughtful. Because his knowledge is immeasurable and unlimited he is never disturbed, and thus in all respects he is like the tranquil waters of the unfathomable and unsurpassable ocean.

During the rainy season the swollen rivers rush into the ocean, and during the dry summer the rivers, now shallow, severely reduce their supply of water; yet the ocean does not swell up during the rainy season, nor does it dry up in the hot summer. In the same way, a saintly devotee who has accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the goal of his life sometimes will receive by providence great material opulence, and sometimes he will find himself materially destitute. However, such a devotee of the Lord does not rejoice in a flourishing condition, nor is he morose when poverty-stricken.

After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being.

Qualities of a saintly person

In Srimad Bhagavatam, there is a very interesting conversation between a brahmana avadhuta and King Yadu. The avadhuta (one who is liberated) explains to Maharaja Yadu what he learnt from his 24 gurus, which include the earth, wind, sky, water, and fire, among others.

This has been taken from here.

Maharaja Yadu once observed a certain brahmana avadhuta, who appeared to be quite young and learned, wandering about fearlessly. Being himself most learned in spiritual science, the King took the opportunity and inquired from him as follows. Sri Yadu said: O brahmana, I see that you are not engaged in any practical religious activity, and yet you have acquired a most expert understanding of all things and all people within this world. Kindly tell me, sir, how did you acquire this extraordinary intelligence, and why are you traveling freely throughout the world behaving as if you were a child?

Generally human beings work hard to cultivate religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and also knowledge of the soul, and their usual motive is to increase the duration of their lives, acquire fame and enjoy material opulence. You, however, although capable, learned, expert, handsome and most eloquent, are not engaged in doing anything, nor do you desire anything; rather, you appear stupefied and maddened as if you were a ghostly creature.

O brahmana, we see that you are devoid of any contact with material enjoyment and that you are traveling alone, without any companions or family members. Therefore, because we are sincerely inquiring from you, please tell us the cause of the great ecstasy that you are feeling within yourself.

The brahmana said: My dear King, with my intelligence I have taken shelter of many spiritual masters. Having gained transcendental understanding from them, I now wander about the earth in a liberated condition. Please listen as I describe them to you.

(The brahmana then lists the 24 gurus from whom he has learned, and then proceeds to describe what he learnt from each of them. Some of them are given below.)

A sober person, even when harassed by other living beings, should understand that his aggressors are acting helplessly under the control of God, and thus he should never be distracted from progress on his own path. This rule I have learned from the earth.

A saintly person should learn from the mountain to devote all his efforts to the service of others and to make the welfare of others the sole reason for his existence. Similarly, as the disciple of the tree, he should learn to dedicate himself to others.

Even a transcendentalist is surrounded by innumerable material objects, which possess good and bad qualities. However, one who has transcended material good and evil should not become entangled even when in contact with the material objects; rather, he should act like the wind.

Although a self-realized soul may live in various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries various aromas does not actually mix with them.

Saintly persons become powerful by execution of austerities. Their consciousness is unshakable because they do not try to enjoy anything within the material world. Such naturally liberated sages accept foodstuffs that are offered to them by destiny, and if by chance they happen to eat contaminated food, they are not affected, just like fire, which burns up contaminated substances that are offered to it.

A saintly person, just like fire, sometimes appears in a concealed form and at other times reveals himself. For the welfare of the conditioned souls who desire real happiness, a saintly person may accept the worshipable position of spiritual master, and thus like fire he burns to ashes all the past and future sinful reactions of his worshipers by mercifully accepting their offerings.

O King, a saintly person is just like water because he is free from all contamination, gentle by nature, and by speaking creates a beautiful vibration like that of flowing water. Just by seeing, touching or hearing such a saintly person, the living entity is purified, just as one is cleansed by contact with pure water. Thus a saintly person, just like a holy place, purifies all those who contact him because he always chants the glories of the Lord.

Verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita – 3

Here are 3 verses from Chap. 2 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. The translation is by Srila Prabhupada, and is available here.

Note: Verses [22, 23, 24] are below. Verses [14, 15, 16, 17, 18] are here; and verses [19, 20, 21] are here.

[22] As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

[23]The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

[24] This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.

Sanskrit:

[22] vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ‘parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi

[23] nainam chindanti sastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na cainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah

[24] acchedyo ‘yam adahyo ‘yam
akledyo ‘sosya eva ca
nityah sarva-gatah sthanur
acalo ‘yam sanatanah

Samskritam:-

(22)

(23)

(24)

Verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita – 2

Here are three verses from Chapter 2 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. This is taken from Srila Prabhupada’s writings which is available here.

Note: Verses [19, 20, 21] are below. Verses [14, 15, 16, 17, 18] are here ; and verses [22, 23, 24] are here.

Translation:

[19] Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.

[20] For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

[21] O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?

Sanskrit:

[19] ya enam vetti hantaram
yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate

[20] na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ‘yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire

[21] vedavinasinam nityam
ya enam ajam avyayam
katham sa purusah partha
kam ghatayati hanti kam

Samskritam:

(19)

(20)

(21)

(The Sanskrit texts have been taken from the Internet. Thanks to Sharadh for asking for these verses to be included.)

Verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita

om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah

“I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.“

Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, on spiritual knowledge. Arjuna, the great warrior, on seeing his relatives, gurus, and respected elders arrayed in the opposing army, feels mentally incapable of fighting against them; and decides it is better to die unarmed rather than fighting such persons. At this juncture, Krishna imparts the divine spiritual knowledge to the distraught Arjuna.

Here are verses from Chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita, addressed by Krishna to Arjuna. These are from Srila Praphupada’s writings. The verses of the Bhagavad Gita are available here.

Note: Verses [14, 15, 16, 17, 18] are below. Verses [19, 20, 21] are here, and [22, 23, 24] are here.

[14] O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

[15] O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.

[16] Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This, the seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.

[17] Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.

[18] Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is subject to destruction; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata (i.e. Arjuna).

Here are the Sanskrit verses.

[14] matra-sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino ‘nityas
tams titiksasva bharata

[15] yam hi na vyathayanty ete
purusam purusarsabha
sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram
so ‘mrtatvaya kalpate

[16] nasato vidyate bhavo
nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto ‘ntas
tv anayos tattva-darsibhih

[17] avinasi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayasyasya
na kascit kartum arhati

[18] antavanta ime deha
nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino ‘prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata

Samskritam:-

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

Atma Shatakam/Who am I

Sri Adi Shankara (788 – 820 CE) was wandering in search of a Guru. At that time, he met Sri Govindapada, who asked him: “Who are you?”. In response, Shankara, who was eight years old at that time, spontaneously composed six verses in reply. This is known as Atma Shatakam or Nirvana Shatakam.

Here is a very beautiful rendering of the verses with music. Do listen to this.

Translation

1)   I am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego
nor the reflections of inner self (chitta).
I am not the five senses.
I am beyond that.
I am not the ether, nor the earth,
nor the fire, nor the wind (the five elements).
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

2)     Neither can I be termed as energy (prana),
nor five types of breath (vayus),
nor the seven material essences,
nor the five coverings (pancha-kosha).
Neither am I the five instruments of elimination,
procreation, motion, grasping, or speaking.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

3)    I have no hatred or dislike,
nor affiliation or liking,
nor greed,
nor delusion,
nor pride or haughtiness,
nor feelings of envy or jealousy.
I have no duty (dharma),
nor any money,
nor any desire (kama),
nor even liberation (moksha).
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

4)  I have neither merit (virtue),
nor demerit (vice).
I do not commit sins or good deeds,
nor have happiness or sorrow,
pain or pleasure.
I do not need mantras, holy places,
scriptures (Vedas), rituals or sacrifices (yagnas).
I am none of the triad of
the observer or one who experiences,
the process of observing or experiencing,
or any object being observed or experienced.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

5)    I do not have fear of death,
as I do not have death.
I have no separation from my true self,
no doubt about my existence,
nor have I discrimination on the basis of birth.
I have no father or mother,
nor did I have a birth.
I am not the relative,
nor the friend,
nor the guru,
nor the disciple.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

6)     I am all pervasive.
I am without any attributes,
and without any form.
I have neither attachment to the world,
nor to liberation (mukti).
I have no wishes for anything
because I am everything,
everywhere,
every time,
always in equilibrium.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.

Samskritam:

Sanskrit:

1) Mano Buddhi Ahankara Chitta Ninaham
Nacha Shrotra Jihve Na Cha Ghrana Netre
Nacha Vyoma Bhoomir Na Tejo Na Vayu
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

2) Na Cha Prana Sangyo Na Vai Pancha Vayu
Na Vaa Sapta dhatur Na Vaa Pancha Koshah
Na Vak Pani Padam Na Chopastha Payu
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

3)Na Me Dvesha Ragau Na Me Lobha Mohau
Mado Naiva Me Naiva Maatsarya Bhavah
Na Dharmo Na Chartho Na Kamo Na Mokshah
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

4)Na Punyam Na Papam Na Saukhyam Na Dukham
Na Mantro Na Teertham Na Veda Na Yajnaha
Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

5) Na Mrityu Na Shanka Na Me Jati Bhedah
Pita Naiva Me Naiva Mata Na Janma
Na Bandhur Na Mitram Gurur Naiva Shishyah
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

6) Aham NirvikaLpo Nirakara Roopo
Vibhut Vaakhya Sarvatra Sarvendriyanam
Sada Me Samatvam Na Mukthir Na Bandhah
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham

(The above texts and translation are taken from here, here, and one other site. I am very sorry for errors in the above.)

Happiness

The happiness you obtain by seeing the happiness of others is truly liberating. When you see everyone in you, and yourself in everyone, you are on a plane of glorious happiness. Make every effort to strive for the happiness of others. Lend a comforting shoulder to those in need of one, lend an encouraging hand to others, motivate those in need of motivation, become a source of inspiration to others. When you identify yourself with the joys and sorrows of those around you, it is a great feeling. Enjoy this beautiful journey of life.

Purpose in Life

Every life has to have a purpose. One beautiful feature of leading a purposeful life is the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that will fill your life. You will discover yourself to be stronger, more capable, and a much better person than you ever imagined yourself to be.

One simple method of obtaining happiness is to be actively involved in giving happiness to others. The more happiness you bring to others, the greater the sense of fulfillment you bring to your own life.

(Sri Ramanuja was given a sacred secret mantra by his Guru after a lot of effort on the part of Ramanuja. This mantra was the mantra that could lead a person to moksha or liberation. Ramanuja was told by his Guru not to disclose the mantra to anybody, and warned that any such action on his part would certainly land him in hell. Ramanuja immediately went to the temple top, and called out loud to all people that he had obtained a priceless jewel which he wanted to give to them. He then recited the mantra for all  those assembled there. This action on Ramanuja’s part greatly enraged his Guru. On seeing his Guru’s outrage at his transgression despite the warning, Ramanuja calmly replied: “By knowing this mantra, so many people are now liberated. If an insignificant mortal such as myself has to go to hell in return for the liberation of so many people, then I am ready to joyfully accept that.” On hearing this, his Guru was filled with reverence for the infinite compassion that Ramanuja had for everyone, and understood that Ramanuja was a much greater person than himself.)

(Sri Ramanuja (1017 – 1137 A.D.) is the most important saint-philosopher in Sri Vaishnavism.)

Once you start solving problems for others, the seemingly difficult problems in your own life begin to seem trivial and inconsequential.

Always be willing to help one who is in need of help. You will never be without help when you need it.

Give selflessly, and with purity. Your heart will be purified through such actions. You will receive miraculous gifts when you least expect them.

There are many who can be benefitted by your help. The blessings that will accrue through such an action on your part will indeed prove to be a great antidote to all negativity, and will be a harbinger of peace. The persons who are today helped by you, would tomorrow become healers themselves and serve a great many people.

There are many qualities that will be gained through such endeavor: one is a sense of perspective (you will see your problems in perspective, and realize their insignificance), another is fearlessness (by helping others, you will overcome your own limiting fears.)

Fearlessness is a quality of prime importance. You are the Children of Immortal Bliss. Stand tall in the face of all fears, and they will disappear.

There is no problem that you face that does not have a solution. There has never been such a problem, and there never will be.

Wake up each day with a sense of bringing great happiness to the world. Act like the sunshine that brightens people’s faces and gladdens their hearts.

May the mercy of God act through these words to enable them to transform your lives.

Quotes on the Joys of Reading – 2

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. (Confucius)

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting. (Henry David Thoreau)

A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people. (Will Rogers)

The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. (Descartes)

Don’t ask me who’s influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he’s digested, and I’ve been reading all my life. (Charles de Gaulle)

When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. (Erasmus)

I often feel sorry for people who don’t read good books; they are missing a chance to lead an extra life. (Scott Corbett)

Force yourself to reflect on what you read, paragraph by paragraph. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

The best effect of any book is that it excites the reader to self activity. (Thomas Carlyle)

It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything. (Lord Henry P. Brougham)

Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. (Henry Ward Beecher)

He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes. (Barrow)

Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. (Francis Bacon)

I‘ve traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I’ve been where no-one’s been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books. (Anonymous)

Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends. (Dawn Adams)

Quotes on the Joys of Reading – 1

A home without books is a body without soul. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting. (Aldous Huxley)

What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. (Thomas Carlyle)

What you will be five years from now depends on two primary influences: the people you associate with, and the books you read. (Robin Sharma)

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. (Joseph Addison)

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island. (Walt Disney)

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. (Charles W. Eliot)

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations – such is a pleasure beyond compare. (Kenko Yoshida)

Medicine for the soul.  ~Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. (Edmund Burke)

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. (W. Somerset Maugham)

The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t. (Mark Twain)

To read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one. (Chinese saying)

The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary.  It is the only art which can be practised at any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness. (Holbrook Jackson)

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book. (Henry David Thoreau)

Sri Yamunacharya’s debate

In the south of India many great devotees have appeared to spread the glories of the Lord. Of all these devotees, perhaps the most famous is Sri Ramanujacarya. However, just before Ramanuja there lived another great Vaisnava whose life and teachings had a tremendous influence on Ramanuja. This was Sri Yamunacarya, also known as Alabandara – “The Conqueror.”

Yamunacarya was born around AD 918 in the city of Madurai in south India, which was then the capital of the mighty Pandya kings. After the untimely death of his father, Yamunacarya was left to be brought up by his mother and aged grandmother, living a life of great poverty.

THE CHALLENGE

When he was five years old, Yamunacarya went to study at the school of  Bhasyacarya and quickly won his teacher’s affection, both for his sweet nature and his ability to learn quickly. He studied hard, and by the time he was twelve years old he was Bhasyacarya’s best student.

In those days in India, great scholars used to challenge one another to see who was the more learned in Vedic scriptures and more skilled in the science of logic. While Yamunacarya was studying at the school of Bhasyacarya, there was a great scholar who lived at the court of the Pandya king. His name was Kolahala, and he was a great favorite of the king because he could defeat any other scholar in a debate. In fact, the king had passed a law decreeing that every scholar who had been defeated by Kolahala must pay a tax to him every year – if anyone refused he would be put to death.

Now Yamunacarya’s teacher, Bhasyacarya, had also been defeated by Kolahala, and so he too was obliged to pay this tax. However, because he was a very poor man, he had not been able to pay for the past two years. One day, when Bhasyacarya was away on business and all the other students had gone home, Yamunacarya was left alone in the school. At that time one of Kolahala’s disciples came there to collect the overdue tax from Bhasyacarya.

“Where is your teacher?” he demanded in imperious tones when he saw that Yamunacarya was alone in the school.

“Might I know, sir, who has sent you here?” replied Yamunacarya in a very gentle voice, anxious not to give any offense.

“What!” exclaimed the disciple, “do you not know that I am a disciple of the greatest and most erudite scholar in all of India? Kolahala is the terror of all other scholars, and even the great Pandya king is his obedient servant. All those scholars defeated by the great Kolahala must pay a yearly tax or else forfeit their lives. Has your teacher become insane that he dares to withhold payment for two years? Or is it that he intends to challenge my master again, just as a moth rushes into a blazing fire.”

Yamunacarya was by nature very kindhearted, and he hardly ever quarreled with his fellow students. However, he also had great love and respect for his teacher. Therefore, when he heard Bhasyacarya being spoken of in that contemptuous manner, he felt such pain at heart that he could not restrain himself and replied very strongly to Kolahala’s messenger. “How foolish you are and how foolish your teacher is as well, for who but the greatest fool would  train his disciple to possess such monumental pride, instead of removing such qualities from his heart. Why should my noble teacher waste his time debating with such a man? Go and tell your master that the lowest disciple of the great Bhasyacarya challenges him to a debate. If  he dares to face me, let him send his reply at once.”

PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEBATE

Kolahala’s disciple was so astonished and indignant that he could not think of anything to say, but left in a furious rage to inform his teacher of this insult. When Kolahala heard what had happened, he could not help but laugh on hearing the age of his rival. The Pandya king decided to send another messenger to the boy to see whether he was insane, and, if he was serious about the debate, to bring him immediately. When the royal messenger came and told Yamunacarya of the king’s command, the boy replied, “I will certainly obey the command of his majesty the king; but if I am to be accepted as a proper opponent of the great Kolahala, then surely a conveyance should be sent to bring me to the palace”

After discussing Yamunacarya’s reply, the king and his courtiers agreed that the boy’s statement was fitting and sent a costly palanquin and one-hundred soldiers to conduct him to the palace. In the meantime news of these events had spread all over the city of Madurai, and Bhasyacarya heard the whole story as he was returning home. He was very unhappy to learn of the danger his favorite student was facing, for though the king was generous by nature, it was well known that he dealt very severely with anyone who insulted the court pandita.

Yamunacarya, however, was not in the least concerned. “There is no reason, revered sir, for you to be alarmed,” he consoled his teacher when he returned to the school, “for you can be certain that, by your grace, I will smash the pride of Kolahala.”

While they were thus talking, the king’s men arrived at the school with the palanquin. Yamunacarya worshipped the feet of his guru and calmly climbed into the palanquin, preparing himself for the great debate that was about to take place. A large crowd of people had gathered along the way, for it was unheard of that a twelve-year-old boy should challenge the court pandita and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the wonderful child. The brahmanas, many of whom had already been defeated by Kolahala, offered him blessings, saying, “May you defeat this insolent pandita, just as Visnu in the form of a dwarf brahmana displaced Bali Maharaja, the king of the asuras.”

Meanwhile, in the royal court a difference of opinion arose between the king and queen about Yamunacarya. The king said, “Just as a cat plays with a mouse, so will Kolahala defeat and destroy the boy”. But the queen was more thoughtful, realizing that Yamunacarya was no ordinary child. “Just as a small spark,” she said, “can turn a mountain of cloth to ashes, so will this boy destroy the mountain-like pride of Kolahala.”

“How can you really believe that this is possible?” exclaimed the king in amazement. “If you truly have faith in the child, then you must make a wager to back your words”. “Very well,” replied the queen, “I will make a wager. If the boy does not defeat and humble the proud Kolahala, I will become the servant of your maidservant.”

“This is certainly a mighty wager,” said the king, “but I will match it. If the boy defeats Kolahala, as you say, then I will give him half of my kingdom.” While the king and queen were thus exchanging wagers, the palanquin arrived and Yamunacarya entered the palace. When Kolahala saw him, he looked at the queen and smiled sarcastically. “Ala-bandara,” he said, meaning, “Is this the boy who will conquer me?”

“Yes,” replied the queen quietly, “Ala-bandara. This is he who has come to conquer you.”

THE  CONTEST

When the contestants were seated, Kolahala began the debate by putting simple questions on Sanskrit grammar to Yamunacarya. When, however, he found the boy could answer them with ease, he began to pose really difficult grammatical problems; but still, Yamunacarya replied to them all without difficulty.

He then spoke to the great pandita with a playful smile on his lips. “Because I am just a boy, you are insulting me by asking these simple questions. Remember that Astavakra was no older than myself when he defeated Bandi at the court of King Janaka. If you judge a person’s  learning by his size, then surely it follows that the water buffalo will be a greater scholar than yourself.”

Although Kolahala winced at these words, he controlled his anger and replied smilingly, “Well answered. Now it is your turn to put questions to me”.

“Very well,” Yamunacarya responded, “I will put three propositions before you, and, if you can refute them, I shall accept defeat.” Kolahala agreed and prepared to refute Yamunacarya’s statements. “My first proposition is this,” Yamunacarya spoke out clearly and boldly, “that your mother is not a barren woman. Refute this if you can.”

Hearing this, Kolahala remained silent. “Had my mother been barren, my birth would not have been possible,” he thought. “How can I refute his statement” Seeing Kolahala as silent as a dumb man, all the courtiers were astonished. Although the great pandita tried to conceal his anxiety, he could not prevent a flush from crossing his cheeks.

Yamunacarya spoke again, “Sir, if in spite of your all-conquering intelligence you are unable to refute my first proposition, then please hear my second. It is this, that the Pandya king is supremely righteous. Refute this if you can.” On hearing this Kolahala, was deeply disturbed, sensing his imminent defeat. With the king seated there in front of him, how could he deny the boy’s statement? Again he remained silent, the color draining from his face as he was scarcely able to control his anger.

Yamunacarya spoke again, “Here is my third proposition-that the queen of the Pandya king is as chaste and faithful to her husband as was Savitri. Refute this if you can.”

Seeing how he had once again been trapped by the intelligent boy, Kolahala could no longer restrain his anger. “You rascal,” he screamed, “how can any loyal subject say that his king is unrighteous or his queen unfaithful to her husband? It is true I have not replied to your statements, but that does not mean I am defeated. First you must refute your own propositions, and, if you cannot, you should be put to death, for the implications of your words are treason against your king and queen.”

When Kolahala shouted out these words, all his disciples and supporters cheered; but all those who favored Yamunacarya cried, “No, Kolahala is defeated. He is simply letting forth his anger, because he could not refute the statements of Yamunacarya as he promised to do.”

Thus an argument broke out in the palace, but in the midst of the contention Yamunacarya quieted them all by saying, “Please stop this argument, for it is unnecessary. I shall refute all my propositions one by one. Please hear me” At this everyone fell silent and turned their attention to Yamunacarya, wondering how he could possibly do this and yet not offend the king and queen.

“My first statement,” he continued, “was that our great pandita’s mother was not a barren woman. However, it is stated in the Manusamhita that a woman who has only one child is to be considered barren. As your mother gave birth to only one son, even though he is a man of such merit as yourself, according to the sastra, she must be considered barren.  Secondly, I stated that the king of the Pandyas is a most righteous man. However, the Manu’ samhita states that a king enjoys the benefit of one sixth of the religious acts of his subjects, but also has to bear the burden of one sixth of their sinful deeds. Because in the present age of Kali men are more prone toward sinfulness than piety, it must follow that our king, although flawless in his own character, is bearing a heavy burden of unrighteousness. And now to my third proposition, which stated that our queen is as chaste and faithful as was Savitri. But again, if we consult the laws of Manu, it is said that the king is the representative of Agni, Vayu, Surya, Candra, Yama, Kuvera, Varuna, and Indra. Therefore, the queen is married not just to one man, but to these eight demigods as well. So how can it be said that she is chaste?”

On hearing these wonderful answers, all the people were filled with amazement and the queen joyfully cried out, “Alabandara! Alabandara!- He has conquered! He has conquered!”

The king immediately came forward and embraced Yamunacarya. “Just as on the rising of the sun,” he said, “all the insignificant stars fade away, so you, 0 learned Alabandara, have conquered the proud Kolahala by your learning and skill. This fellow just a short while ago was demanding your death, now you may deal with him as you see fit. I have also promised to give you half my kingdom as a prize for this victory, and that promise I will certainly fulfill.”

Of course, Yamunacarya forgave Kolahala, and, although he was but a boy of twelve years, he began at once to rule the kingdom he had won. Thus his days of poverty were over.

(This has been taken from the excellent book titled, The Life of Ramanujacarya, by Sri Naimisaranya das. This book is available online here.)

Yudhisthira’s answers to the Yaksha

In the great epic Mahabharata, Maharaja Yudhisthira, the son of Dharmaraja is the embodiment of all good qualities. For this reason, he is often referred to as Ajatasatru, one who has no enemies. In many conversations Yudhisthira reveals his deep understanding of the Vedic scriptures and their practical applications. One day while living in exile in the forest, Yudhisthira finds that while attempting to drink water from a lake, all his brothers have been killed by a mysterious Yaksha (a celestial entity). When Yudhisthira arrives, the Yaksha challenges him to answer all his questions or else face the same consequences as his brothers. These questions-answers are like Vedic sutras, short, pithy and practical, and deal with piety and religiosity.

Yaksha:: Who is really a helpful companion?

Yudhisthira: Steady intelligence is a very good friend, and can save one from all dangers.

Yaksha: How can one acquire something very great?

Yudhisthira: Everything desirable can be attained by the performance of austerity.

Yaksha: What is amrita (nectar)?

Yudhisthira: Milk is just like nectar.

Yaksha: What is the friend bestowed upon man by the demigods?

Yudhisthira: Wife is such a friend.

Yaksha: What is the best of happiness?

Yudhisthira: True happiness comes as a result of contentment.

Yaksha: Why does one give in charity to brahmanas, artists, servants and kings?

Yudhisthira: For religious merit, prestige, maintenance and protection, respectively.

Yaksha: Why does one forsake friends?

Yudhisthira: Lust and greed drives one to forsake friends.

Yaksha: What is the only food?

Yudhisthira: The cow is the only food, for the milk that she produces is used to make ghee (clarified butter), which is used to perform sacrifices, pleased by which the demigods give rain, which causes the grains to grow. Therefore it should be understood that the cow is the root cause of all kinds of food.

Yaksha: What is the king of knowledge?

Yudhisthira: Knowledge pertaining to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the king of all kinds of knowledge.

Yaksha: What is ignorance?

Yudhisthira: Not knowing one’s constitutional duty.

Yaksha: What is the best bath?

Yudhisthira: That which cleanses the mind of all impurities.

Yaksha: What is real charity?

Yudhisthira: Real charity is protecting one from the onslaughts of material nature.

Yaksha: Since dharma (virtue), artha (profit) and kama (desire) are opposed to each other, how can they co-exist harmoniously?

Yudhisthira: These three become congenial to one another when one has a virtuous wife.

Yaksha: Who is condemned to everlasting hell?

Yudhisthira: When one promises a brahmana charity, but upon his arrival refuses to give him charity.

Yaksha: What make one a brahmana, birth, learning or behavior?

Yudhisthira: It is behavior alone that make a person a brahmana. Even one who is expert in the four Vedas, born of brahmana parents, but whose behavior is not proper, should be considered a sudra.

Yaksha: Who is pleasing?

Yudhisthira: A person who speaks in a pleasing manner.

Finally the Yaksha asked Yudhisthira four questions of great significance:

Yaksha: Who is truly happy?

Yudhisthira: One who cooks his own food (is not dependant on anyone), is not a debtor (does not spend more than he can afford), does not have to leave home to make in order to earn his livelihood (does not over endeavor for material things) is truly happy.

Yaksha:What is the most wonderful thing?

Yudhisthira: The most amazing thing is that even though every day one sees countless living entities dying, he still acts and thinks as if he will live forever.

Yaksha: What is the real path to follow in this life?

Yudhisthira: The best path is to follow in the footsteps of the pure devotees, for they are the actual Mahajanas whose hearts are the sitting places of the real truths regarding religion.

Yaksha: What is news? (that is What is real situation in the material world?)

Yudhisthira: The material world is like a frying pan. The Sun is the fire, the day and nights are the fuel. The passing seasons are the stirring ladle, and time is the cook. All living entities are being thus fried in this pan. This is the real news of what is happening in the material world, which is a miserable place full of ignorance.

These questions and answers cover a wide gamut of instructions from being successful to pious to religious. Pleased by the answers of Yudhisthira, the Yaksha who was none other than Dharmaraja (the father of Yudhisthira and the embodiment of religiosity) revives all the brothers of Yudhisthira and offers him many benedictions.

(This is from here.)

For a virile national life

Strength is Virtue, Weakness is Sin

Whatever the external conditions, it is the weak who suffer. No amount of external adjustment or juxtapositions will be able to save a nation if it is inherently weak. To remain weak is the most heinous sin in this world, as that would destroy oneself and also incite feelings of violence in others. Our forefathers have said that physical survival is part of the highest religion and for physical survival strength is the only basis. It is said of Vishwamitra that once during an acute famine he did not get any food for days together. One day he saw the rotting leg of a dead dog lying in a Chandala’s house. Vishwamitra snatched it and got ready to eat it by first making an offering to God. The Chandala exclaimed, “Oh, sage, how is it you are eating a dog’s leg?” Vishwamitra replied, “Yes I must first live and be strong enough in order to do penance and good deeds in the world.”

But the thinking in our country during the last few decades has been one of looking down upon strength as something sinful and reprehensible. A wrong interpretation of ‘non-violence’ has deprived the national mind of the power of discrimination. We have begun to look upon strength as ‘violence’ and to glorify our weakness.

Once a Sadhu said, ” A person sufficiently strong to do himsa, but not doing so out of restraint, discretion and compassion can alone be said to be practising ahimsa. Suppose a strong man is going in a road and somebody knocks against him. If the strong man says with compassion, “All right, my dear fellow, I excuse you for the wrong you have done me”, then we say that the strong man has practised non-violence. For, though he is capable of giving him a blow and smashing his skull, he has restrained himself. Suppose, a thin, lean man – just a mosquito! – is going and somebody pulls his ears and the ‘mosquito’ trembling form head to foot says, “Sir, I excuse you”, who will believe him? Who will say that he is practising non-violence? He is like a man who, unable to check the dacoits plundering his house, loudly proclaims vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the entire world is my home)! People will only say that he is a coward and hypocrite, that he dare not to do anything and is only hiding his cowardice behind big platitudes. The atmosphere of our country today is charged with such misconceptions and platitudes of self-deception. A dense cloud of dust is raised in the form of high-sounding words like ‘peace’ and ‘non-violence’ with an assumed air of moral authority only to cover up our imbecility.

Non-Violence of the Imbecile

It is because of such perverse notions that we have been losing all-round. We find our frontiers shrinking. No one is in a mood to protect the integrity and honour of the motherland. Every national insult is covered up under the mast of ‘peace’. All these we gulp down saying that we are devotees of ‘peace’! It is said in the Mahabharata that a person who goes on swallowing insults is neither a male nor a female.

एतावानेव पुरुषो यदमर्षी यदक्षमी ।
क्षमावान् निरमर्षश्च नैव स्त्री न पुनः पुमान् ।।

(He alone is a man who does not brook or forgive insults. One who remains cold and tolerant in the face of insults is neither a male not a female.)

The Great Examples

Our philosophy tells us that man should be humble only when he is capable of humbling others. When can one be forgiving? Only when one becomes powerful enough to strike down those who insult him. When should one serve others? Only when he becomes worthy of commanding the willing service of the entire world.

We see this ideal in Sri Krishna who preached ahimsa in Gita, after annihilating the many evil demons one after another right form his childhood. It was he who slew Kamsa, reinstated Ugarasena on the throne but himself remained as the sentinel at the court entrance, welcoming the royal guests. It was again he who took upon himself the menial service of removing the leaves after meals in the great Rajasuya Yaga of Yudhishthira, where he was the person honoured with Agrapooja! Such is the message of our philosophy.

And again in the Mahabharata Sri Krishna, on the battle-field of Kurukshetra, invoked manliness in Arjuna with the call:

क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ ।

(Yield not to imbecility, O Partha!)

Not only the message of the Gita, but the context in which it was delivered, the preceptor who gave it out, and the pupil, are all cast in a heroic setting. Sri Krishna, the preceptor, was accepted on all hands as the supreme hero of that Yuga. Arjuna, the pupil, too was a warrior par excellence, only next to Sri Krishna. And Bhagvad – Gita, the greatest treasure-house of spiritual knowledge, is the dialogue on the battlefield between these two great heroes of those times.

This only highlights the fact of human life that the establishment of righteousness and virtues in this world of conflicts is not possible without the quality of fearlessness and heroism. Of course, Arjuna was not a coward. But having seen his own elders and preceptors ranged against him, he was riddled with doubts about the rectitude of his course of action. He did not want to run away from the battlefield. On the contrary, keeping aside his arms, he wanted to die at hands of his adversaries, in a spirit of resignation.

यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः ।
धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ।।

(Far better would it be for me if sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, should slay me in the battle, while I remain in non-retaliating and unarmed.)

The same confusion appears to have gripped the hearts of our leaders today. Words like ‘non-retaliation’, ‘peace’ etc., are being shouted form housetops. Of course, there is a vast difference between the mental conditions of the two. Arjuna was a hero to the very core; while the protestations of high-flown words like ‘non-retaliation’ etc., that we hear today are put up as a smoke-screen to cover up our imbecility.

The Right Philosophy

Of course, we should not indulge in unprovoked violence. At the same time, we should also not allow others to do violence to us. Allowing violence to be done to oneself is also violence and therefore adharma. Once a great Jain Sadhu explaining the significance of ahimsa said, “If you are faced with a brute force bent upon destroying you and you do nothing to protect yourself in the name of ahimsa, then you will have only encouraged the evil power to indulge in violence. You thus become an abettor in the crime and an abettor is as much guilty of the crime as the actual perpetrator.” He added, “Intention, and not the physical act, is the only criterion to decide whether the act is in the nature of himsa or ahimsa.”

The teaching of the really great ones have always guided us correctly in all such matters. Even a most compassionate saint like Tukaram defined compassion as:

दया तिचे नांव भूतांचें पालन आणिक निर्दलन कंटकांचें ।

(Compassion is protection of all living beings and destruction of the wicked elements).

There is an instance in the life of Buddha, significant in this connection. The commander-in chief of a particular kingdom came to him to receive deeksha and become his disciple. Buddha asked him as to what had prompted him to become a bhiksu. To that, the commander replied, “Enemies have invaded our territory. I am now required to lead our forces against them. But that will lead to violence and bloodshed on both sides. I felt that it would be sinful act. I therefore decided to relinquish the military responsibility and have come over here to follow your path of peace and non-violence.” Buddha counseled him: “Merely because you have come away, the enemies are not going to give up their aggression. They are bound to indulge in killing and ravaging. If you forsake your duty of protecting the innocents under your charge, the sin of all that violence will visit upon your head. Protection of the good and righteous is verily a duty enjoined by Dharma. No sin will attach to you while doing this duty. So, go back and carry our your assignment.” That was how Buddha interpreted the true meaning of ahimsa.

Sri Krishna has unequivocally and for all time to come declared that establishment of dharma implies the destruction of the evil-doers:

विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।

Sri Krishna himself was the very embodiment of that principle. No doubt he exerted himself to the utmost to avoid war and bring about peace. But he clearly foresaw that the ultimate sanction lay in his own supreme strength. When he was about to go to Duryodhana for bringing about a compromise Dharmaraja (Yudhishtira) became anxious about his safety fearing that the evil-natured Duryodhana might harm Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna assured him that in that event Dharmaraja would get the kingdom without a war as he himself would destroy Duryodhana and his host of associates. That is the only right view regarding the role of strength while facing adversaries. To speak and act always in terms of applying force when it is not needed and when a just and honourable compromise is possible is inhuman and brutal. But to talk always of compromise and not to use force even when there is no other way out to undo injustice and insults is sheer cowardice and imbecility.

We, therefore, have to properly understand the true message of those great lives as lived by them in this world of hard realities. And the hard reality is that the world, as it is constituted today, understands but one language – the language of strength. It is on the unshakable foundation of immense strength alone that the nation rises and maintains itself in a glorious condition.

(The above is from Sri Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts.)

Education

Our Basic Concept

To start with, what does ‘education’ connote in the modern sense of the term? It is to draw out the latent faculties in man. Merely stuffing pieces of information into the brain is not education. Making man’s brain a lumber room is not its aim. Recognising and bringing out the diverse talents and genius in man has been taken to be the cornerstone of education everywhere. And this has yielded substantial results too. We can find men of great achievements in several fields of arts and sciences in various countries.

But, we the Hindus have gone further. With us, the bringing out or the manifestation of the Inner Personality of man, is the essence of education. Life is not a mere bundle of passions. We say, there is an Ultimate Reality within us. To realise and manifest that Supreme Reality is the basic aim of our system of education. Our great sages and tapasvis have given detailed instructions with regard to the procedures to do that. And the teacher has a vital role in executing them.

Tap the Reservoir

To start with, he has to inculcate in the students the ten principles of Yama and Niyama. Ahimsa (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-coveting), Brahmacharya (continence) and Aparigraha (non-acquisition) form the five Yamas. Shoucha (purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapah (penance), Swadhyaya (spiritual study), and Ishwara Pranidhana (offering of one’s actions to God) form the five Niyama. Even if a small number of students in a school imbibe the spirit of Yamas and Niyamas, they will be able to spread a healthy atmosphere so that others also will follow them in course of time.

Purge Perversions

Most of our young men do not even know that we have an ancient history, rich with excellences in all fields of life. Their methods of studying subjects also betray a lack of serious effort and the will to understand. Study of text-books and reference books by standard authors is given a go-by. ‘Short-Notes’ and ‘Questions and Answers’ have become the fashion of the day. Private tuition appears to the students to be another such easy way to pass. A teacher should, in fact, feel it an insult to his calibre and devotion to duty if his students are required to take tuition from others. The effect of all such short-cuts on the students’ minds has been ruining of his initiative, will and ability to understand.

Be Hindus to the Core

All these perversions have to be nipped in the bud and the great qualities of head and heart planted in the young minds right from the elementary school stage. This can be done only when we draw upon the limitless storehouse of our ancient as well as modern literature which depicts our sublime national ethos and our mighty national heroes and events. Especially, our young men must be made to feel proud of being born in the great lineage of Rishis and Yogis. If we have to live up to their legacy, we must live as Hindus, we must appear as Hindus and also we must make ourselves felt by the whole world as Hindus. It is only when we learn to respect ourselves, our national customs and manners that we can hope to command respect from the outside world also. In fact the world wants us to be true to ourselves and not to become mere carbon copies of some X,Y or Z.

Once a Frenchman came to me. He was invited for food. He gladly sat on the floor and took our food just like us with fingers – no spoon, no fork, no tables. He said that he relished it all the more, and remarked: “When we come to you we must know and experience your ways and specialities of behaviour and customs. Otherwise where is the fun in our coming all the way to your country?

(The above is from Sri Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts.)

The Eternal Basis

Ideal Society as God

We look upon the society as the living manifestation of Almighty. And we have attributed to the Almighty the capacity of feeding all the living creatures under his care. He is therefore called Vishwambhara. There is a pauranic story, which I heard form a keertankar. Once, it seems, it occurred to Narada to test Lord Vishnu Himself. He caught hold of a few ants, shut them up in a small box and kept it in his safe custody. Then he went out on his usual rounds singing the praise of Vishnu. After a while, he came to Lord Vishnu and casually enquired whether the Lord had had his food. Vishnu replied that he had done so after attending to the feeding of all the living creation. Narada then took out his box saying, “Well, these poor creatures seem to have escaped your Lord’s notice!” Vishnu appeared taken aback, apologised and requested Narada to open the box. And lo! When the box was opened, the ants came out each with a particle of sugar in its mouth!

Imaginary though the story may be, it beautifully depicts the state of an ideal society, which will take care of the needs of every living being under its shelter. In fact, the descriptions of our ancient society approximated to this state. No individual, however low and humble he may be, was left to suffer with hunger, thirst or want of shelter. The animals and birds near about also were cared for. Some had even taken a vow of feeding the ants before taking their food.

For an Abiding Basis

It is also well known that such an abiding, alert, positive and organised state of society cannot be based on mere antagonism to others. The reason for this is very simple. Movements which start as reactions to outside factors collapse to the ground no sooner the object of their antagonism is removed. There is also another important consideration. When the spirit of antagonism rules our mind, we have perforce to think constantly of those whom we oppose. And especially, we shall have to ruminate over their evil acts and evil qualities. Our shastras says that a man becomes what he thinks. It is the continuous thought-processes that go to form the mental texture and thus shape the personality of man.

Sign of Living Society

It is on this reactionary background that people say that there is now a change in circumstances, that since the British have left this country there is no need for an organisation of this type. We, on the other hand, view the problem differently. We say, the Hindus were here and they continue to be here. They were disunited and are still disunited. We see the same disintegrated, mute Hindu Society letting itself to be trampled upon without a murmur of protest. And when it does speak, it is with so many voices that what it says sounds like gibberish. As such, we see absolutely no change in the situation. Suppose there is a man suffering from typhoid during an epidemic. Will the doctor treating that patient lose the incentive when the health officer of the town declares that the epidemic had ended? Similarly, do we not see the malady of disunity still scouring the body of this ancient and great society? How then can we afford to stop administering the proper medicine?

Our duty, therefore, to make our society united, organised and mighty is as much before us today as at any time before. It is our dharma to see that our society, our great mother, is made powerful, great, and happy. It is this innate love and adoration for our people, this positive faith in our national being that has been the constant urge for all our actions. True love of that type is not dependent upon external situations. Nor is it born out of them. It takes its roots deep in our hearts reminding us of the duty towards our nation every moment of our life. It makes us conscious that we belong to this great and sacred motherland that we owe a deep debt of gratitude to her and that every action of ours must be our offering in her cause.

Hinduism, which has been our sheet-anchor, fosters this pure and all-embracing love, free from any spirit of reaction. We of the Sangh, who have been born and bred in that heritage, only act. We do not react. In fact, it is the nature of the insignificant and material things to react strongly towards momentary heat and cold. But healthy living human beings are not overcome by vagaries of weather. They maintain a steady temperature of their own which even the extreme variations of weather cannot disturb. In fact, they fall down lifeless whenever their bodies no longer maintain that normal temperature. It is therefore that we have been constantly keeping before our mind’s eye the vision of an organised society, which would not stray from its chartered course because of changes in external circumstances.

(Taken from Sri Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts.)