Monday, May 02, 2011

do not smell, hear or see and perish...

उपस्थितविनाशः पथ्यवाक्यं न शृणोति
॥चाणक्यसूत्रं ३९५॥
दीपनिर्वाणगन्धम् च न सुहृद्वाक्यमरुन्धतीम्।
न जिघ्रन्ति न शृणोति न पश्यन्ति गतायुषः॥
upasthitavināśaḥ pathyavākyaṁ na śṛṇoti
|hāṇakyasūtraṁ 395||
dīpanirvāṇagandham ca na suhṛdvākyamarundhatīm|
na jighranti na śṛṇoti na paśyanti gatāyuṣaḥ||

This is a gem from the master statesman Chaanakya
"A person whose annihilation is imminent will not listen to wise counsel.
If one sees a person who is not able to catch the smell coming from the wick of a lamp which is going to be put off because it has run out of oil, a person who does not care to listen to the advice of his friends and who is not able to see the star Arundathi, he can safely infer that such person's good life has already come to an end."
When a person's fortunes are in the downward trend, his faculties to sense further danger gets depleted. It is essential that he should be patient enough to listen and act according to the wiser counsel. But at this stage of life he becomes brash and even callous about such advice.
When an oil-lamp is running out of oil, the wick gets burned up badly and gives a pungent smell. If we smell the trouble and replenish the lamp with oil, we are safe. Similarly if we listen to the advise of our dear friends even if such counsel may not be palatable, we are again in the safe path. Arundathi star represents the consort of Vasishta, one of the seven great sages (saptharshi..the starry constellation representing the seven sages and the ( star Arundathi (a double to vasishta) is also visible in the sky--the big dipper asterism )...She represents motherhood, chastity and absolute fidelity to the husband. It is a custom in India that immediately after marriage newlyweds look up in the sky to see that star..Seeing Arundathi symbolically signifies  the vow of mutual fidelity. And the stars are seen in the heaven when the sky is not turbid. If a person has become incapable of seeing this star, it would mean that he has lost all that is good in life and his end is near.
(Hindu marriage ceremony has a event where bridegroom shows Arundhati to his wife. Arundhati is one of the double star. It is attached to the star Vasishtha. Double Stars (visual binaries) are two stars that move around together gravitationally bound to each other. Star Vasishtha is more than 10 times brighter than the star Arundhati and it is harder to differentiate Arundhati from Vasishtha. Like this double Star, the couple are expected to be together for ever.)
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