Wednesday, June 06, 2012

the really wealthy person

यक्ष उवाच 
व्याख्याता मे त्वया प्रश्नाः याथातथ्यं परन्तप।
पुरुषं त्विदानीमाख्याहि यश्च सर्वधनी नरः॥१००
युधिष्टिर उवाच
दिवं स्पृशति भूमिं च शब्दः पुण्येन कर्मणा।
यावत्स शब्दो भवति तावत्पुरुष उच्यते॥१०१
तुल्ये प्रियाप्रिये सुखदुःखे तदैव च।
अतीतानागते चोभे स वै सर्वधनी नरः॥१०२ 
श्री महाभारते आरण्यकपर्वणि यक्षप्रश्ने अध्यायः २९६
yakṣa uvāca 
vyākhyātā me tvayā praśnāḥ yāthātathyaṁ parantapa|
puruṣaṁ tvidānīmākhyāhi yaśca sarvadhanī naraḥ||100
yudhiṣṭira uvāca
divaṁ spṛśati bhūmiṁ ca śabdaḥ puṇyena karmaṇā|
yāvatsa śabdo bhavati tāvatpuruṣa ucyate||101
tulye priyāpriye sukhaduḥkhe tadaiva ca|
atītānāgate cobhe sa vai sarvadhanī naraḥ||102 
śrī mahābhārate āraṇyakaparvaṇi yakṣapraśne adhyāyaḥ 296

Yudhistira is giving answers to the Yaksha in the celebrated question-answer session in Mahabharatam.  One of the final queries raised by the God of Dharma in the form of a Yaksha to his son and the answer given by the just King are very illuminating
"Yaksha Said. 
You the valiant and just prince, your have answered most of my question.  Now explain to me who is who is the real man and the one who possesses all the wealth one can aspire for.
Yudhistira answers..
The fame of one's virtuous action spreads all over the heaven as also the earth. If such fame is everlasting,  till that time he is famous as a real man.  Likewise, he is blessed with all kinds of wealth   so long as he is possessed of equanimity, he is not affected by  happenings which are agreeable to him or not,  he is steady in his approach whether happiness or unhappiness visits him  and who is consistent in his approach to things whether those happened in the past, or which are contemporaneous or which are going to happen. "

Wealth for a man of character is the reputation  that he is blessed with.  To earn the reputation, to maintain it  through evenly nice actions and to have it passed on to the posterity without any blemish is the greatest possession one can have. Likewise  steadiness in character and approach, equanimity and lack of unwanted attachment to mundane possessions makes one really great and indeed wealthy.

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