Saturday, April 14, 2012

the four pillars of life

एको धर्मः परं श्रेयः  क्षमैका शान्तिरुत्तमा
विद्यैका परमा दृष्टिरहिंसैका सुखावहा॥४८
श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि प्रजागरणपर्वणि विदुरवाक्ये अध्यायः ३३

eko dharmaḥ paraṁ śreyaḥ  kṣamaikā śāntiruttamā

vidyaikā paramā dṛṣṭirahiṁsaikā sukhāvahā||48
śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi prajāgaraṇaparvaṇi viduravākye adhyāyaḥ 33

In Viduravaakyam the learned statesman Vidura in his discourse to his elder brother and King Dhritaraashtra  highlights four aspects of human life which make one's life shining.


" The path of righteousness according to the scriptures and traditions is the only one which can endow one with eternal wealth and well-being. Patience and equanimity is the one and only path to peace of the self, mind and body.  The only set of eyes with which we can see the whole world and ourselves properly is proper education.  And the single greatetst source of happiness is non-violence."


Our philosophy of life is based on righteousness. " Dharme pratishtito LokaH.." The universe is anchored in Dharma. For the man who treads the path of Rita the supreme dharma  everything in life will be sweet, so assure Vedas..." Madhu vaataa ritaayateH madhu ksharanti sindhavaH.. for one whose path is governed by Rta or eternal Dharma, the air will be sweet, the rivers will flow with waters of great sweetness.".

For a man with a strong mind and living conditioins, patience  is the most desirable quality. And for the not so strong it is an inevitable shield to protect himself.

"Vidhyayaa Vindhathe amritham... the eternity is accomplished through knowledge" is a much-acclaimed saying.  For one who has great knowledge and the capacity to apply such knowledge in the right direction, the whole  life is like a long saga of extreme happiness and achievement. 

 When one thinks of doing harm to another mentally or physically, the distress starts first in his own mind.  The victim suffers when such violence is given vent through words and action. In an environment of violence and strife, there can be no happiness..

The words of Vidura are of eternal significance.  The reader may ask, "Almost everyone knows about these four things, then why it should be reiterated by the great scholars?"  The answer can be only that such great pieces of advise by our great men only showed the path of peace prosperity and eternal well-being to all of us
In this moment of dawning of Nandana Year, signifying yet another Vishu, I wish all my friends a Very happy Vishu, and recommend the sage advise of Vidura as a guide for shaping the lifestyles. 

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|

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