Friday, September 30, 2011

perhaps, the Incometax Departments world over have been trained by this deity

प्राप्तव्यमर्थम् लभते मनुष्यो देवोपि तम् लङ्खयितुम् न शक्तः।
तस्मान्न शोचामि न विस्मयो मे यदस्मदीयं न हि तत् परेषाम्॥
विष्णुशर्मणः पञ्चतन्त्रे  मित्रसंप्राप्तौ
prāptavyamartham labhate manuṣyo devopi tam laṅkhayitum na śaktaḥ|
tasmānna śocāmi na vismayo me yadasmadīyaṁ na hi tat pareṣām||
viṣṇuśarmaṇaḥ pañcatantre  mitrasaṁprāptau

A quote from Vishnusharma's panchatantram.  
"A man comes by wealth to the exact limit to which fate has ordained. 
Even Gods cannot make any variation in this account.  
Therefore, I am neither sad, nor surprised by the fact that what is ours alone is ours and what is ordained to be belonging to others will go to them."

There is an interesting story  in Panchatantram, to illustrate this idea
There lived in a town, a weaver named Somilaka.  He was an expert in his field and created thin and fancy attire for the king of the land. But as his luck would have it, he could never earn more money that what would be sufficient for the day to day existence of his family.  Meanwhile, many weavers lived in the same town, with lesser skill and lesser quality of output but had become rich in their profession.  Somilaka  thought he should migrate to some alien land temporarily to earn more money.  When his wife heard of the idea, she tried to dissuade him saying,  "My lord, the idea that you can earn money if you shift to a foreign land is only illusory.  It is only according to your own Karma that you earn.. If you do not deserve to earn through your earlier good deeds, you will not earn it.  Even if you happen to earn money  it will be taken away from you in a jiffy. 
 A mother cow and a calf identify each other even in a great crowd.. similarly, the money and the lucky one also seek out one another.  So please continue with your nice job here itself and let us be contended with what we have."

Somilaka would not  listen. He replied.  " It is foolish to assume that wealth will come to  you  even if you remain without proper action at some obscure corner of the world.  The wealth is there for the man with enterprise.  It is not for one who submits to fate. So my foreign trip is decided. "

Accordingly, he migrated to Vardamanapuram and after toiling for three years earned three hundred gold coins and started back to his own town.  At the fall of night en route, he had to cross a forest and  to escape attack from  wild animals or thugs, he climbed and perched atop a huge banyan tree.  Inadvertently he slept.

In his dream, he saw two persons, of frightful forms talking to one another. (Maybe, they were the God of death and Fate, Yama and his assistant.. ) One was asking the other, "Sir, , you know that according to fate Somilaka could not have more money that required for his bare sustenance.  But you have given him three hundred gold coins in extra?"  The other replied." My Lord,  Be it so, I cannot deny the wages of a person who has earned it with the sweat of his brow.  But the decision as to whether he should enjoy the fruits of that earning is with you..may you be pleased to take proper action" 
Somilaka woke up and searched  his money –bag.  It was empty.
Somilaka was very sad. 
 But he would not like to meet his family and friends without money. 

So once again he went back to the city, stayed there doing business for one year  more and earned five hundred gold coins this time.  He started for his own town once again.  This time even as the night fell, he did not stop in the forest but carefully traced his steps  home in great haste.  This time also, the two imposing persons, stood on his way and  started talking to one another. The first one again asked the second why  the weaver was allowed to earn five hundred gold coins when his fate was that  he should not have anything more that sufficient for his daily existence.  
The second one replied that Somilaka was rewarded for his toil, but  the Lord of Fate had the choice to act.  At this juncture, Somilaka searched for his purse, and to his dismay, he found it empty.
Desperate,  Somilaka prepared a rope of darba grass, and tied it to a tree and prepared commit suicide by hanging himself .
Then he heard a voice from the skies.."Somilaka, don't  be so hasty.  It is your fate that you cannot earn in excess of your needs, and  it is my duty to divest you of whatever you have in excess
( I think the Incometax Departments world over have taken training from this deity, and improvised on the idea ...). 
"However", the deity said, " since you had an audience with me, you can ask for a boon from me"
Somilaka requested  the capacity for   earning more as a boon.
The deity quipped , " You know fully well that you cannot keep your savings.  Still you ask for money. Why so?"

Somilaka answered." I want money, because I  want to be recognized as a man of immense wealth, even if I cannot enjoy its fruits.  Even a stingy, mean and ignoble fellow is respected in this world if he has some money.  Everything other than money will take the back seat."


A real challenge to the taxmen  and the robbers


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