Saturday, January 12, 2019

born with us



आयुः कर्म च वित्तं च विद्या निधनमेव च।
पञ्चैते ननु कल्प्यन्ते गर्भगत्वेन देहिनाम्॥२७
नीतिसारे---
āyuḥ karma ca vittaṁ ca vidyā nidhanameva ca|
pañcaite nanu kalpyante garbhagatvena dehinām||27
nītisāre---
.


This slokam from neetisaram is quite controversial..
(It is in Hitopadesham too)
It would seem to support utter fatalism,, stating that all major aspects of life are determined by fate.. that way suggesting that we have little control over what happens in our lives...
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Those who read are free to agree or disagree..
(Of course not to read too is also a choice )

But the theory of Karma, which is so basic to Indian thought would seem to support the view that fate plays a major role in shaping our lives.. and that the consequences of our own deeds
would come to us sooner or later.
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The meaning of the slokam is
Our span of life,
the work or profession in which we land up,
the financial status that is whether we are wealth or poor ,
capacity and opportunity for education and acquiring knowledge 

and
finally death, how and when it happens,,

all appear to have been determined for a living  being even at the time our life starts in the womb of the mother as a foetus..
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Genetic and social factors of parentage do affect the life of a human being.. These factors either give advantage or create roadblocks at least early in life
To that limited extent the idea conveyed by the slokam is in general valid..

But such thoughts of fatalism need not provide us excuses or alibis to seek and woo failure and destruction,
We need not abandon hard work and proper application of mind
Why should we blame everything in life to the parentage or fate.?
We can always try to make things better..
Nothing is lost even if we fail..

आयुः span of life, longevity
कर्म work, profession, avocation, way of life
वित्तं wealth affluence
विद्या education, chance to acquire knowledge
निधनं death
च एते पञ्च these five aspects
देहिनां for all beings with body
गर्भगत्वेन at the time of conceiving, at the time of forming the foetus
ननु कल्प्यन्ते would seem are decided.

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