Musings 117

The problem with life is that we are all aware of the terms

fairness, equality, justice.. and related ideas and principles.. 

But the test for determining the measure of these ideas, the mode of delivery of these ideas , and balancing of these when the delivery of each of these ideas might work to tilt the equitable distribution of other variables, all these are very delicate matters posing serious challenges to us.. 

Therefore delivery of dharma is ever a tight rope walk..

That is why it is said in Mahabharatham..

धर्मस्य तत्वं निहितं गुहायां dharmassya tattvam nihitam guhaayaam 

the real substance of Dharma is hidden in the dark recesses of a cave.. 

And the capacity to go somewhere near the optimum, if not perfect distribution of all these varying parameters is what differentiates between the ordinary purusha and the purushottama.. 

Even the best of men may falter.. 

And even those who are balanced at certain point of time, might err in the course of time

And people who could be fair and neutral when it comes to persons, places, and situation not directly connected to them or their near and dear, might waver, and even tend to be subjective when the targets are connected with them in some way or other physically or emotionally..

stick on to stick wherever necessary.

लालनात् बहवो दोषाः ताडनात् बहवो गुणाः।

तस्मात् पुत्रं च शिष्यं च् ताडयेत् न तु लालयेत्॥

चाणक्याद्

lālanāt bahavo doṣāḥ tāḍanāt bahavo guṇāḥ|

tasmāt putraṁ ca śiṣyaṁ c tāḍayet na tu lālayet||

cāṇakyād

(Indeed a very controversial idea by any modern standards..)

The above quote is attributed to Chanakya

He says

"There are many disadvantages by being solicitous to people and wielding the stick yields very beneficial results.

Therefore to a son or a disciple, one should never be solicitous or openly affectionate, but punishment through thrashing should be the better means of getting good result."

The idea may seem abhorrent to the younger generation..

But our seniors used to be votaries of the above philosophy in thought, spirit and action..

"Spare the rod and spoil the child" was the maxim..

One fact remains..

The parents and teachers of yesteryears were not averse to wielding the stick when sons or disciples were concerned..

And the juniors never rebelled for all practical purposes..

Chanakya lived and thought in an era where discipline was of paramount importance..

Now discipline is a blunt cliche..

Maybe the idea works in the reverse way on many occasions..

The students, and/or as the case may be are not averse to use the rod against the teachers and/or the parents as the case may be..

Idam na mama... इदं न मम the idea is not mine.

Musings 116

I had a funny experience in 1978.. with a Marwari moneylender in Chennai during an Incometax raid..

(I was a tax investigator by profession)

He was keeping with him all his duplicate account books and upto date accounts meant for taxmen too .. and it was an open and shut case with tax evasion of about fifty lakhs even at that time

( The tax evasion discovery exceeding a crore happened in Chennai two year later .. of course politicians excluded).

When the person was informed that he would have to shell out a lot by way of taxes (we could reopen sixteen assessments at that time), he asked what would be the consequences if he did not pay the taxes..

Someone told him that he may have to go to jail for seven years..

He requested that all the money and books should be released immediately and that he would just come in our departmental vehicle itself and we could hand him over to the nearest jail..

What he wanted was just that he should be given about one hours time to take leave of his close friends and relatives..

What are we to do with such people?

the lady is the real gem

न स्त्रीरत्नसमं रत्नम्॥

३१३॥ चाणक्यसूत्रं॥

na strīratnasamaṁ ratnam||

313|| cānakyasūtraṁ||

The great aphorism of Guru Chanakya.. in his monumental string of great sayings... Chanakya Niti.

Meaning

There is no gem that would be equal to a lady ( in the house)

It would seem a very ordinary statement.. Even a flattering statement made by a man to please the womenfolk

But Chanakya was a no-nonsense person.. and a sage and celibate and a great intellectual..  he had nothing to gain in his life through flattery..

But he was very wise, wisdom personified..

The most valuable possession in material wealth was stored as gold and precious gems.. And the gems are most valuable when they are blemish-less.

The family, society, the nation.. all are held in its proper workable shape only by the presence of females.. There can be no dispute about it..

We in India, assigned feminine gender to all the soft and finer things.. the earth is given feminine gender.. Most of the rivers are feminine.. The flower creepers and herbs are usually feminine..

Many things which are matter of fact can become workable only when there is the touch of affection by a woman.. The woman may be a grandmother, mother wife, sister, daughter or granddaughter..

And even when the male created divine forms were assigned supreme power, the same forms were shackled with the riddle that these forms would be of no effect when they were in the presence of their female counterparts.. Shiva without Shakti or Uma is a nobody.. Narayana without Lakshmi or Shree, Brahmadeva without Vani.. are of not use to anyone including themselves..

Only the feminine touch can hold together the delicate human relationships .. the relationships which form a tight rope walk between goodwill and generosity on the one side and crass selfishness on the other end..

Pranams to all Mothers.. and all ladies who are the embodiment of the Divine mother..

that life giving flow...

प्र णो देवी सरस्वती वाजेभिर्वाजिनीवती। धीनामवित्र्यवतु॥ ऋग्वेदम् ६-६१-४

pra ṇo devī sarasvatī vājebhirvājinīvatī| dhīnāmavitryavatu|| ṛgvedam 6-61-4

This is a vedic prayer to Sarasvathi.. in Rigvedam…

It is actually addressed to the Great River Sarasvathi,

which is not visible today..

It is also a prayer to Sarasvathi the Divine mother of Letters.

The hymn is found in the sixth Mandalam of Rigvedam.. where River Sarasvathi is Praised.

In fact the affectionate and prayerful description and praise of Sarasvathi (River) is a great piece of poetic beauty too..

The meaning of the hymn is..

The Divine River Saraswathi, by flowing in her meandering way along the heartland of India, was making the land fertile, and giving life to plants and vegetation which provide food for all..

She by Her nature, is very generous and has always been a provider of welfare for all around her without any expectation or partiality.

She is always pleased with the praises being bestowed upon her.. by the Vedic Singers.. She is ever eager to protect such people who sing about her..

May she always provide us with food in the shape of grains and vegetation and may She provide us with pleasant life.

(Now we chant the hymn also in Praise of Devi Sarasvathi.. the Goddess of Knowledge)

Note.. The Vedic people were always very thankful to the Divine manifestation of natural forces, and they believed that they should always pray and praise whatever they found as great an generous..

The praise and prayer will apply not only to the River Sarasvathi.. which was a major river in the Indo-Gangetic Plane during Vedic period but seems to have dried up..but would apply to all the great rivers and sources of water which provide us with life and food..

देवी goddes, whose basic nature is to bestow boons on all

वाजिनीवती who is the provide of basic food.. Annam for all

धीनां those who are praising her

अवित्री protector

सरस्वती sarasvatii the flowing one

वाजेभिः with food in the shape of grains and vegetation

नः प्र अवतु protect us and provide us welfare..

This is a vedic prayer.. Usually it is sung at the beginning of every session of reciting Vedas..

offer to God and receive it back

सोमो वा एतस्य राज्यं आदत्ते। यो राजा सन् राज्यो वा सोमेन यजते। देवसुवामेतानि हवीग्ंषि भवन्ति।तावन्तो वै देवानाग्ं सवः। त एवास्मै सवान् प्रयच्छन्ति। त एनं पुनः सुवन्ते राज्याय। देवसू राजा भवति।

somo vā etasya rājyaṁ ādatte| yo rājā san rājyo vā somena yajate| devasuvāmetāni haveegṁṣi bhavanti |tāvanto vai devānāgṁ savaḥ | ta evāsmai savān prayacchanti| ta enaṁ punaḥ suvante rājyāya| devasū rājā bhavati|

Krishna Yajurveda Taittireeya Aranyakam First Ashtakam Fourth Adhyaayam Second Anuvakam.. (Final Mantram in that Anuvakam)

All would have heard this mantra.. We chant this great mantram when we offer Camphor light or Karpoora Neerajanam to the deity..

It is actually in praise of Agni and Soma.. Soma is the deity of herbs and medicince, also considered as the Moon.

The right and control of everything is with Soma.. And the person who is eligible and desirous to be the leader or the king on a permanent basis, offers everything including the possession and the capacity to be the king.. in fire sacrifice to Soma symbolically

And then havis, purodaasha, soma juice etc are offered in fire to Agni Soma and other related deities who are pleased with such offer and would give back the kingdom and leadership to the yajamanan

When we do the Karpoora Harati.. we are assuming that we are offering everything we have to the deity.. and the deity, pleased with our pooja is presenting us back all that is offered to it and all the Aishvaryams too in addition

Meaning of the Mantra.. A general translation based on the commentary by Sayana Acharya..

This person (yajamana) who is a king and a person eligible to be a king too.. performed Soma sacrifice and offered his kingship along with all possession and the kingdom to Soma.. who consecrated them..

Now to redeem back that kingship and kingdom, offers in havis and soma juice are being given to Agni Soma and connected divine beings.

The Gods are capable of blessing the performer of the sacrifice done through offering of havis(cooked rice or grain etc ),

with the control over his own house,

his kingdom and all the sublime blessings or Aishvaryas.

When offerings in cooked grain soma juice etc are offered to these various gods, they give back the Kingdom, leadership over the house and nation, and all the Aishvaryams to the performer of Sacrifice.

And thus persuaded and blessed by the various divinities, this person who is the yajamana of the sacrifice, becomes the king, leader and the sublime one..

We take offer everything to God,, and receive back those great and sublime things from Him with his blessings added and then alone we can live happily

That was the Indian Vedic concept..

Tena Tyakthen Bhunjeethaa... in Ishaavasya upanishad to conveys this idea

one leaf of vilvam to shiva

एकं च बिल्वं सलिलं च किञ्चित् 

समर्पितं शङ्कर मूर्ध्नि भक्त्या। 

अमन्त्रकं येन समन्त्रकं वा 

स वंशकोट्या शिवलोकमेति॥ 

बिल्वमाहात्म्ये 

ekam ca bilvam salilam ca kiñcit 

samarpitam śaṅkara mūrdhni bhaktyā | 

amantrakam yena samantrakam vā 

sa vaṁśakoṭyā śivalokameti|| 

bilvamāhātmye 

This is in praise of Bilvam the holy triuvirate leaf which is so sacred and pleasing to Lord Shiva 

If a man offers a single leaf of Bilvam and a little water on the head of Lord Shankara with sincere devotion , whether with chanting of mantram or even without chanting any mantram, that man will find a place in the eternal abode of Lord Shiva.. Shivalokam, along with all his kin belonging to one crore of generations.. 

ഏകം ച ബില്വം സലിലം ച കിഞ്ചിത് 

സമര്‍പ്പി തം ശങ്കര മൂര്‍ദ്ധ്നി ഭക്ത്യാ। 

അമന്ത്രകം യേന സമന്ത്രകം വാ 

സ വംശകോട്യാ ശിവലോകമേതി॥ 

ബില്വമാഹാത്മ്യേ 

ഇത് വില്വം എത്ര പുണ്യപ്രദം ആണെന്നും ഭഗവാന് ആ ഇലകളോടു എത്ര സ്നേഹമാണെന്നും ഉള്ള കാര്യം വെളിപ്പെടുത്തുന്ന ഒരു എളിയ ശ്ലോകമാണ്. 

ഒരു വില്വദളവും പിന്നെ ഒരല്പം വെള്ളവും ഭക്തിയോടെ ഭഗവാന്‍ ശങ്കരന്‍റെ ശിരസ്സില്‍ അര്‍പ്പിച്ചാല്‍.. 

അത് മന്ത്രം ജപിച്ചു കൊണ്ടും ആവാം 

മന്ത്രം ഒന്നും അറിയാതെയും ജപിക്കാതെയും ആവാം 

എന്തായാലും 

ഭക്തിയോടെ വില്വമും ജലവും സമര്‍പ്പിച്ച ആള്‍ തന്‍റെ വംശത്തിലെ ഒരുകോടി ബന്ധുക്കളോടൊപ്പം ശിവലോകത്ത്തില്‍ എത്തിച്ചേരുന്നു 

analysis 

येन (नरेण) by which person 

एकं बिल्वं one leaf of Bilvam 

किञ्चित् सलिलं च and a little amount of water 

अमन्त्रकं with chanting of mantram 

समन्त्रकं वा or without chanting any mantram 

भक्त्या with utter devotion 

शङ्कर्मूर्ध्नि one the head of Lord Shanakra 

समर्पितं is reverentially placed 

स (नरः) that person 

वंशकोट्या (सह) along with one crore number of his generations शिवलोकं एति reaches the world of Shiva 

Early to rise

Early to rise

-----------------

The Hindu rules of Conduct expect us to wake up very early in the morning and to keep awake and do good things during Braahma muhoortam..

Braahma muhoortham is the time period of Ninety minute immediately preceding the sunrise.. that is between 4-30 AM and 6 AM(approximately)

Quotes from Dharma Sastras are given below....

ब्राह्मे मुहूर्ते उत्थाय चिन्तयेदात्मनो हितम्

गुरुं विष्णुं नमस्कृत्य मातरं पितरम् तथा।१

ब्राह्मे मुहूर्ते देवानां पितॄणां च समागमः

जागरस्तत्र कर्तव्यः पितृसम्मननं हि तत्॥२

य इच्छेत् शाश्वतीं सिद्धिं यमस्यादर्शनं तथा

सततं तेन कर्त्तव्यः ब्राह्मे काले प्रजागरः॥३

ब्राह्मे मुहूर्ते या निद्रा सा पुण्यक्षयकारिणी

brāhme muhūrte utthāya cintayedātmano hitam

guruṁ viṣṇuṁ namaskṛtya mātaraṁ pitaram tathā|1

brāhme muhūrte devānāṁ pitṝṇāṁ ca samāgamaḥ

jāgarastatra kartavyaḥ pitṛsammananaṁ hi tat||2

ya icchet śāśvatīṁ siddhiṁ yamasyādarśanaṁ tathā

satataṁ tena karttavyaḥ brāhme kāle prajāgaraḥ||3

brāhme muhūrte yā nidrā sā puṇyakṣayakāriṇī

One should wake up at Braahma muhoortam

and should fill his minds with thoughts which are for his own benefit and the benefit of all..

Immediately on waking up one should offer pranaams to Lord Vishnu,

and to his own father and mother too

The gods and our departed elders meet and stay together during Braahma Muhoortam.

Therefore we should keep ourselves awake during that period as a mark of respect to the departed elders ( and the Gods)

A person who is desirous of welfare and achievement

that would endure for ever

and who is not willing to meet Yama the god of death

should invariably keep himself awake during Braahma Muhoortham

The sleep during Braahma muhoortham is the cause of depletion  Divine Grace (Punyam) already accumulated by him

Arjuna

There was a discusssion in a group about the Character Arjuna of Mahabharatam.. The view expressed was that Arjuna was rather weak and if he had not the support of the stalwarts like Krishna and Anjaneya, he was practically nothing

I cannot agree with this view.

My comments there

And if the contents of Mahabharatham and some other puranas are crtically considered we will find that Arjuna himself was the Nara in the Nara Narayana combine of Lord Vishnu.

And we have to consider the heroism of Arjuna who fought repeatedly with Lord Shiva himself in the form of Kirata in the Pasupatha episode.

We have to understand that practically no character worth his name in the epic is a coward or trifling.

Some like Duryodhana or Karna would have had some evil qualities..

But even they were genuine veeras. Getting support from friends and benefactors directly or indirectly from friends and allies is a recognized war strategy. That cannot be construed as a weakness.

Often, the method of narration and style of delivery in the epic too often tend to confuse the peripheral reader.

One literary technique adopted at least in Sanskrit literature is to praise some glorious characters with even exaggeration at places.

In this discussion we can say Krishna and Anjaneya were beneficiaries justly or unjustly of such exaggerated eulogies..

And characters like Arjuna suffered often unjustly in comparison.

A mature reader of the epic will definitely praise the Blessed Lord Krishna as the key director of the story but will never think of maligning Arjuna for that reason

worship the mother..

भूप्रदक्षिण षट्केन काशीयात्राऽयुतेन च

सेतुस्नानशतैर्यश्च तद्फलं मातृवन्दने॥

नीतिशास्त्रे॥

bhūpradakṣiṇa ṣaṭkena kāśīyātrā'yutena ca

setusnānaśatairyaśca tadphalaṁ mātṛvandane||

nītiśāstre||

The Punyam of Divine Grace that can arise to us

By doing pradakshinam or circumabulation of the entire earth six time,

or

By pilgrimmage to Varanasi ten thousand times

or

By

Holy dips at Sethu..at Rameshvaram one hundred times

the Same punyam will arise to us if

we pay our love and respects to our Mother...

Each character is great in his or her own way

Every concept, subject or entity has its optimal strength and efficacy within a certain spectrum of activity.

When activities overshoot these spectral boundaries the efficiency may dwindle or get annulled even.

At that stage the entity is forced to draw support from other entities with optimal efficiencies in those areas.

For example a doctor facing a legal issue takes help from a lawyer and the lawyer takes medicine from the doctor when he ha flu.

This does not mean that the doctor is superior to the man in black gown or the lawyer is superior to the gentleman in white coat.

In the comparison among Krishna Hanuman and Arjuna we tend to give a tag of superiority to Krishna and Hanuman and a wee bit of inferiority to Arjuna.

A true connoisseur can view all the characters as of equal significance and enjoy the vagaries and vascillation in individual qualities and conflicts among various characters.

Why should we presume that Arjuna is inferior to the other two..and find or invent justifications for that?

Each character is great in his or her own way

musings 115

In religious life as well as in social life. people do not follow most rules..

and if they follow they follow such rules in an abridged, perfunctory, and showy manner.. without much sincerity..

Rules are not followed by most people unless there is direct and effective evil consequences occurring in a direct way

People will not drink poison, not because there is a rule against suicide... but because they have already seen and experienced the misery and horror of death following such action..

But what is stated in Vedas and Shastras.. if not followed may not result in evil consequence immediately..

and even the evil happenings if at all they occur, can never be logically tagged to acts of omissions in good conduct..as prescribed.

To follow or not follow is the mans or woman's choice, and it is his or her privilege to face the consequences too..

And if someone makes the statement that nobody follows the rules, that is too much of generalization..

Many follow fully, or partially..

And each Individual has to ask himself whether he can follow at least some golden rules, rather than raising the question as to whether others are following..

When the majority of the people do not follow the law, laws of the state, law of the society, and the law of spirituality as the case may be, it is anarchy, and it is a dangerous phase of the society and nation from where fast slide towards destruction of the self and the society is the only possible consequence.

study of sanskrit

I happened to see a query in a group as to whether Sanskrit Language can be learned through self study and whether Vedas, Upanishads and Puranans could be read after such self study..

My response to the query.. is shared here.. because that seems to be relevant beyond the group.

Sanskrit in its elementary aspects can be learned without much difficulty.. There are enough materials for self study. plentily available in the web . and institutions like Samskritha Bharathi can guide you..

The respected member of this group AnanthaKalyana Krishnan is a pioneer in spreading Sanskrit.. You can message him and I am sure he will himself come on line once this tag is seen..

understanding Vedas and Upanishads in original will take more than peripheral knowledge of Sanskrit..

Puranas are more simple, but to learn them too deeper knowledge of Sanskrit may be called for..

But Sanskrit is the most beautiful language by any standards..

So once you start learning that beauty, deeper interest and knowledge will follow..

The fox and its lost tail..

The fox and its lost tail..

There is the story of the fox who lost its tail brushes which were caught in a trap as he had to pull away cutting off the tail just to save his body and soul from sure captivity and sure death..
It was embarrassing for the fox

However, like all foxes, he had a glib tongue...
So when his relatives and colleagues gathered around him wondering what has happened to his tail, he declared with gusto that he had managed to cut off his own tail because the tail had proved to be a nuisance while executing many of his profitable activities..
For example,  he pointed out,  it was more convenient for him  to cross a thick fence without the obstruction of a tail. Moreover the possibility of  an enemy coming from behind and catching hold of the fox by the tail was ruled out..

Of course, some of the juvenile foxes even believed the  assertions of their   senior and even planned to have a camp where all the youth among the foxes would gather and ceremoniously cut off their tails..

But there was an old fox.. a wizened, seasoned fox.. foxiness and old age making the right combination in that grandpa.

He could easily understand  what was the problem with the fox who had lost his  tail..
The fellow had escaped from the trap   but had to lose  his tail in the bargain.. The tail was actually  of great help.. in many ways like covering the backside and warding of wily insects..

However, the fellow who lost the tail was trying to conceal his shortcoming by  use of clever words and was encouraging others too to sacrifice their tails..

The grandpa fox explained the situation to the younger foxes. And the  young foxes, quite unlike young men and women of many generations who would never listen to elders,  took the advise of the elderly fox and saw through the trick..

They abandoned the plan to cut off their tails ..
 and of course, drove away the tailless ugly dude of a fox who had lost his tail..

(Adapted from an Aesops Tale )

an ideal

मूर्खाः यत्र न पूज्यन्ते धान्यं यत्र सुसञ्चितं।

दंपत्योः कलहं नास्ति तत्र श्रीः स्वयमागता॥

चाणक्यनीतिः

mūrkhāḥ yatra na pūjyante dhānyaṁ yatra susañcitaṁ|

daṁpatyoḥ kalahaṁ nāsti tatra śrīḥ svayamāgatā||

cāṇakyanītiḥ

The Goddess of wealth resides voluntarily only in places

Where Idiots and ruffians are not given prominence or control

Where there are arrangements for storage of sufficient quantities of food-grains and cereals

and

Where there is no quarrel between husband and wife

Maybe this Chanakya's prescription for a welfare society..

മൂര്‍ഖാഃ യത്ര ന പൂജ്യന്തേ ധാന്യം യത്ര സുസഞ്ചിതം|

ദമ്പത്യോഃ കലഹം നാസ്തി തത്ര ശ്രീഃ സ്വയമാഗതാ||

ചാണക്യനീതി

ഒരു സ്ഥലത്ത് നന്മയും സമൃദ്ധിയും സ്വയം വന്നുകൊള്ളും. 

ഭാഗ്യദേവതയായ മഹാലക്ഷ്മി അവിടെ എന്നും സസന്തോഷം താമസിക്കും. 

പക്ഷെ അതു സംഭവിക്കണമെങ്കില്‍ 

അവിടെ വിഡ്ഢികള്‍ക്കും മണ്ടന്മാര്‍ക്കും ആയിക്കരുത് ബഹുമാനം നല്‍കുന്നത്.

അവിടെ കൃഷി നല്ലവണ്ണം നടന്നു പത്തായമെല്ലാം ധാന്യം കൊണ്ട് നിറഞ്ഞു കവിയണം

പിന്നെ അവിടെ ഭാര്യാഭര്‍ത്താക്കന്മാര്‍ തമ്മില്‍ പോര് ഉണ്ടാവരുത്.

ചാണക്യവാക്യം പതിരറ്റതാണ്. പക്ഷെ ഇതെല്ലാം ഒന്നിച്ചു കണ്ടു കിട്ടുന്നത് വിരളമാണ്.

musing on Sandhyavandanam

During every morning and evening as we do sandhya vandhanam

we close our accounts of mean and sinful activities offering the sins and ourselves as oblation to the sun the womb of Immortality, (in the morning) and the fire and truth..the wombs of immortality in the evening

with a prayer to sun(In the morning) and fire(in the evening) and the god of anger Manyu himself that we may be protected against the sins of commissions and omissions caused by Manyu representing anger and base feelings.

We list in our confession the misdeeds caused by

mind and words

by the hands and feet ,

by the stomach and the genitals,

and also recount all the accumulated bad karma..

Such a periodic confession with such precision and at the exact timeslots where day and night or night and day meet each other is ever conceived by any other race.

If we can do that with precision and faith there is no doubt that we can leave this world without any baggage of good or bad at any moment

(this is the vedic mantram

सूर्यश्च मा मन्युश्च / अग्निश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यो पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम्॥ यद्रात्रिया /यदह्ना पापमकार्षं मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्यां पद्भ्यां उदरेण शिश्ना। रात्रिः / अहः तदवलुंपतु। यत् किञ्च दुरितं मयि। इदमहं मां अमृतयोनौ सूर्ये / सत्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहाः॥

sūryaśca mā manyuśca agniśca mā manyuśca manyupatayaśca manyukṛtebhyo pāpebhyo rakṣantām|| yadrātriyā yadahnā pāpamakārṣaṁ manasā vācā hastābhyāṁ padbhyāṁ udareṇa śiśnā| rātriḥ ahaḥ tadavaluṁpatu | yat kiñca duritaṁ mayi| idamahaṁ māṁ amṛtayonau ṣurye ṣātye jyotiśi juhomi svāhāḥ||)

He alone lives a real life

स जीवति यशो यस्य कीर्तिर्यस्य स जीवति।

अयशो अकीर्तिसंयुक्तो जीवन्नपि मृतोपमः॥

सुभाषितम्॥

sa jīvati yaśo yasya kīrtiryasya sa jīvati|

ayaśo akīrthisaṁyukto jīvannapi mṛtopamaḥ||

subhāṣitam||

He alone lives a real life,

when the greatness and quality of his life remain intact,

He alone lives a real life,

when such greatness and quality is worthy of being praised by all and are indeed so praised.

If his life has lost such quality,

or

if his moral background has become unworthy of any praise,

then

he is dead for all purposes,

even if he is physically alive..

==================

a Sanskrit Subhashitam

yashaH and Keerthi are more or less identical in meaning and content..

But yashaH stresses more of the quality and worth, while keerthi stresses on the public perception about such quality..

സ ജീവതി യശോ യസ്യ കീര്‍ത്തിര്‍യസ്യ സ ജീവതി।
അയശോ അകീ ര്‍ത്തി സംയുക്തോ ജീവന്നപി മൃതോപമഃ॥
സുഭാഷിതം॥

ഒരു വ്യക്തിയുടെ  നല്ല പേരും ബഹുമാന്യതയും  കോട്ടമില്ലാതെ നിലനില്‍ക്കുന്നുവെങ്കില്‍ മാത്രമേ അയാള്‍ ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് പറയുന്നതില്‍ എന്തെങ്കിലും അര്‍ത്ഥം ഉള്ളൂ. 

അങ്ങിനെ നല്ല പേരും ബഹുമാനവും ഉണ്ടാവണമെങ്കില്‍ അയാളുടെ  ഇതുവരേയുള്ള പ്രവൃത്തികളും പെരുമാറ്റവും എല്ലാം അതിനു അയാളെ അര്‍ഹനാക്കിയിട്ടുണ്ടാവണം  

ഒരു നിലവാരവും ബഹുമാന്യതയും ഇല്ലാത്ത ജീവിതം നയിക്കുന്നവന്‍ ജീവിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ തന്നെ മരിച്ചുപോയവന് തുല്യനാണ്.

ഇവിടെ  യശസ്സ് എന്ന വാക്ക് സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നതെ  ഒരാളുടെ നൈസര്‍ഗ്ഗികമായ  ഗുണഗണങ്ങളെയാണ്.
കീര്‍ത്തി എന്ന വാക്കിലൂടെ  നാം മനസ്സിലാക്കേണ്ടത്  ഒരു വ്യക്തിക്കു മറ്റുള്ളവരില്‍ നിന്ന് ലഭിക്കുന്ന പ്രശംസയേയാണ്
കീര്‍ത്തിയും യശസ്സും ഒരേ അര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ പ്രയോഗിക്കാറുണ്ട് എങ്കിലും ഈ ഒരു കൊച്ചു വ്യത്യാസം ഓര്‍ക്കണം 

शिवं शिवकरं शान्तं shivam shivakaram shaantam

शिवं शिवकरं शान्तं शिवात्मानं शिवोत्तमम्

शिवमार्ग प्रणेतारं प्रणतोस्मि सदाशिवम् 

I offer my humble pranams at the lotus feet of Sadasiva.. who is ever auspicious, ever merciful and ever happy 

He is the personification of all that is great and worthy and 

He is the one who annihilates all sins and brings in peace and plentitude. 

He is extremely calm

He is the best among the most respectable personages 

He is the one who leads us safe in the most useful, safe and auspicious path. 

ശിവം ശിവകാരം ശാന്തം ശിവാത്മാനം ശിവോത്തമം 

ശിവമാര്‍ഗ്ഗ പ്രണെതാരം പ്രണതോസ്മി സദാശിവം

ദേവന്മാര്‍ക്കും ദേവനായ 

സദാ സന്തോഷവാനും, 

പുണ്യത്തിന്‍റെ ഉറവിടവും 

കനിവിന്റെ കടലുമായ

ഭഗവാന്‍ സദാശിവന്റെ കാലടികളില്‍ 

എന്റെ വിനയാന്വിതമായ പ്രണാമങ്ങള്‍. 

. 

ഉയര്‍ച്ചയും മൂല്യവും ഉള്ള എല്ലാ വസ്തുക്കളുടെയും മൂര്‍ത്തിമത്ഭാവമാണ് ഭഗവാന്‍ ശിവന്‍, ശങ്കരന്‍ 

ആ ശങ്കരന്‍ എല്ലാ പാപങ്ങളെയും ഉന്മൂലനം ചെയ്തു ലോകത്തിനു ഇപ്പോഴും മംഗളങ്ങള്‍ മാത്രം അരുളുന്നു

എല്ലാം സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു, 

എല്ലാം കീഴടക്കി, 

എല്ലാം തന്നില്‍ത്തന്നെ ഉള്‍ക്കൊണ്ടു

ഒന്നും അറിയാത്തവനെപ്പോലെ

ഭഗവാന്‍ ശാന്തനായിരിക്കുന്നു. 

നന്മ, ശാന്തത, ഔന്നത്യം, അനുഗ്രഹവും മംഗളവും നല്‍കാനുള്ള ശക്തി തുടങ്ങി എല്ലാ ഗുണങ്ങളുടെയും ആത്മാവായി ഭഗവാന്‍ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു 

ശ്രേഷ്ടന്മാര്‍ക്കെല്ലാം ശ്രേഷ്ടനാണ് ഭഗവാന്‍.

ലോകത്തിലെ എല്ലാ ജീവജാലങ്ങളെയും നന്മയുടെയും സമൃദ്ധിയുടെയും ആനന്ദത്തിന്‍റേയും പാതയില്‍ ഭഗവാന്‍ കൈപിടിച്ചു നടത്തുന്നു. 

നമഃ ശിവായ

bleating sheep gets devoured

अशनं मे वसनं मे जाया मे बन्धुवर्गो मे।

इति मे मे कुर्वाणं कालवृको हन्ति पुरुषाजम्॥

सुभाषितसङ्ग्रहे॥

aśanaṁ me vasanaṁ me jāyā me bandhuvargo me|

iti me me kurvāṇaṁ kālavṛko hanti puruṣājam||

subhāṣitasaṅgrahe||

Another worthy Subhashitam

========

This is my food,, this food is for me alone

This is my cloth... it is meant specially for me

This is my life.. my lovely wife

These are my kin.. my exclusive kin

The man who is just like a goat is bleating mey mey calling out ever for the perishable worldly possessions

And the wolf in the shape of time which is all greed to gobble him, spots him by the "mey mey " bleating and makes a sumptuous meal out of him.

=========

Here the author.. an anonymous one.. is driving home the futility of our existence without substance.. where we run after some things like food, cloth, wife and family... and we run around bleating like goats just expecting to pissess and maintain these things for ever.. and time is running out on us... the precious time to engage ourselves some activities worth emulation.. an time is watching on us like a wolf.. and on listening our bleating.. our craving for some worldly belongings.. pounces on us and we are finished for ever..

mey.. mey.. is the way a goat bleats..

mey... means mine.. my own.. too..

The poet implies that we are behaving like sheep when we are chanting mey mey for ever..

Yakshamagna Sooktham..

Yakshamagna Sooktham..

the rigvedic mantra expected to remove the maladies of people even facing death..

This is the Yaksmagna sooktham of Rigvedam… Mandalam 10 Sooktham 161

It is a wish and blessing for cure of Yakshma or Tuberculosis.. the various gods are invoked to save the patient from severe diseases.. Through the sooktham and the yajnams mentioned therein, even a person on the throes of fatal diseases like tuberculosis and other ailments, would be restored to life in its full.. A virtual mritasanjeevani..

This is one of the sookthams which is chanted for cure of physical illness and removal of misfortunes.

Yakshma actually means consumption or tuberculosis . and Yakshagna means destroyer of TB..

मु॒ञ्चामि॑ त्वा ह॒विषा॒ जीव॑नाय॒ कम॑ज्ञातय॒क्ष्मादु॒त रा॑जय॒क्ष्मात् । ग्राहि॑र्ज॒ग्राह॒ यदि॑ वै॒तदे॑नं॒ तस्या॑ इन्द्राग्नी॒ प्र मु॑मुक्तमेनम् ॥

यदि॑ क्षि॒तायु॒र्यदि॑ वा॒ परे॑तो॒ यदि॑ मृ॒त्योर॑न्ति॒कं नी॑त ए॒व । तमा ह॑रामि॒ निॠ॑तेरु॒पस्था॒दस्पा॑र्षमेनं श॒तशा॑रदाय ॥

स॒ह॒स्रा॒क्षेण॑ श॒तशा॑रदेन श॒तायु॑षा ह॒विषाहा॑र्षमेनम् । श॒तं यथे॒मं श॒रदो॒ नया॒तीन्द्रो॒ विश्व॑स्य दुरि॒तस्य॑ पा॒रम् ॥ श॒तं जी॑व श॒रदो॒ वर्ध॑मानः श॒तं हे॑म॒न्ताञ्छ॒तमु॑ वस॒न्तान् । श॒तमि॑न्द्रा॒ग्नी स॑वि॒ता बृह॒स्पति॑: श॒तायु॑षा ह॒विषे॒मं पुन॑र्दुः ॥

आहा॑र्षं॒ त्वावि॑दं त्वा॒ पुन॒रागा॑: पुनर्नव । सर्वा॑ङ्ग॒ सर्वं॑ ते॒ चक्षु॒: सर्व॒मायु॑श्च तेऽविदम् ॥

muñcāmi tvā haviṣā jīvanāya kamajñātayakṣmādutarājayakṣmāt |

ghrāhirjaghrāha yadi vaitadenaṃ tasyāindrāghnī pra mumuktamenam ||

yadi kṣitāyuryadi vā pareto yadi mṛtyorantikaṃ nītaeva |

tamā harāmi nirterupasthādaspārṣamenaṃśataśāradāya ||

sahasrākṣeṇa śataśāradena śatāyuṣā haviṣāhārṣamenam |

śataṃ yathemaṃ śarado nayātīndro viśvasyaduritasya pāram ||

śataṃ jīva śarado vardhamānaḥ śataṃ hemantāñchatamuvasantān |

śatamindrāghnī savitā bṛhaspatiḥ śatāyuṣāhaviṣemaṃ punarduḥ ||

āhārṣaṃ tvāvidaṃ tvā punarāghāḥ punarnava |

sarvāṅghasarvaṃ te cakṣuḥ sarvamāyuśca te.avidam ||

================

Free translation.. without going too much into the intricacies of the Vedic Language.

1 Oh the sick man, I am releasing you from known and unknown downfalls and the disease of consumption and wishing you a full active life ..

Oh lord Indra, oh Lord Agni, if the demoness who infests humans grasping them in the form of diseases, may you receive this oblation of cooked rice or havis and free him totally from all the diseases.

.

2 Even if his life has left this man almost completely, even if he has already left his mortal body, even if he is in a condition where death has virtually grabbed him, may the Lords be pleased to remove all the illness and may he be brought to a life of excellent health..

May he live for hundred autumns

3 With yajnas and oblation with keen devotion of hundred eyes, with yajnas continuing for hundred autumn, with the yajnas that would revive hundred lives, I have revived this man who was at the throes of death..

May Lord Indra keep him safe and healthy and steer him to the shore which is away from all misfortunes.

4..Oh man, (who has been revived by the Yajna) may your strength of body and mind increase, and in that state may you live through hundred autums, may you live through hundred springs, may you live through hundred winters.

In return of the hundred fold oblations offered, may Indra, Agni, Brihaspati, and Savita give him a life of hundred years.

5.Oh man, through oblations (and through this sooktham) I have discovered your ailments and rescued you.. Now your youth and energy have been restored.

You are now in a wholesome healthy state and your organs are perfect.

I have found and restored your vision.. both internal and external, and I have restored the whole life once again for you.

lingering around suffering insults...

स्थानं उत्सृज्य गच्छन्ति सिंहाः सत्पुरुषा गजाः।

तत्र एव निधनं यान्ति काकः कापुरुषामृगाः॥

हितोपदेशे १०४

sthānaṁ utsṛjya gacchanti siṁhāḥ satpuruṣā gajāḥ|

tatra eva nidhanaṁ yānti kākaḥ kāpurṣā mṛgāḥ||

hitopadeśe 104

A very thought provoking statement found in the great compendium of animal stories.. Hitopadesham.. by Narayana Pandita

Having suffered insult or challenge to dignity and being not prepared to live in captivity and demeaning conditions, the lions, noble persons and the elephants just abandon their living environs and leave for ever.

However crows, mean and wretched people and deer, hover around the original habitats, even if they are driven off again .. and get killed in the bargain..

Yes, the proud and honourable persons do not take insults lightly.. They can either fight and perish.. and if they realize that they could not fight and survive with honour, they would just leave the place for ever.. never to return..

However some wretched persons just persist, cringing and crawling at the feet of the enemies.. and sooner or later get finished off..

half baked...

अज्ञः सुखमाराद्यः सुखतरं आराद्यते वेशेषज्ञः।

ज्ञानलवदुर्विदग्धं ब्रह्माऽपि नरं न रञ्चयति॥

॥सुभाषितं॥भर्तृहरेः

ajñaḥ sukhamārādyaḥ sukhataraṁ ārādyate veśeṣajñaḥ|

jñānalavadurvidagdhaṁ brahmā'pi naraṁ na rañcayati||

||subhāṣitaṁ||bhartruhari

അജ്ഞ സുഖം ആരാധ്യഃ സുഖതരം ആരാധ്യതെ വിശേഷജ്ഞ:

ജ്ഞാന ലവ ദുര്‍വിദഗ്ദം ബ്രഹ്മാ അപി നരം ന രഞ്ജയതി

It is very easy to convince a person and to have a healthy working arrangement with a man who is practically ignorant..

It is even more easier to deal with a person who is an expert or having specialized knowledge on the subject on hand.

But even the Maker of all mankind, Brahmadeva cannot please a person who has somehow acquired partial and half baked knowledge and has become dogmatic and has convinced himself that the little knowledge he has acquired is all that is right ..

We see this in a positive way in our own learning process..

A child who is not initiated to the ways of the world can be trained or taught with ease..

A person who has attained dexterity in a field would also find no difficulty in absorbing periodical updating..

But the asinine persons who try to learn a few things right or wrong and then close their minds can never be responsive to any progressive or for that matter any fresh inputs..

from sin to sin...

अदत्तदानेन भवेत् दरिद्रो दरिद्रभावाच्च करोति पापम्।

पापादवश्यं नरकं प्रयाति पुनर्दरिद्रः पुनरेव पापी॥

गरुडपुराने प्रेतकाण्डे २-२४-४६

adattadānena bhavet daridro daridrabhāvācca karoti pāpam|

pāpādavaśyaṁ narakaṁ prayāti punardaridraḥ punareva pāpī||

garuḍapurāne pretakāṇḍe 2-24-46

a very forceful and poignant statement found in Garudapuranam

Meaning

A person who does not make gifts where such gifts are due (this can mean helping others without expectation too) becomes poor.

And the state of poverty makes him commit more and more sins

And such sins lead him to hell..

And from there he emerges again as poor and in turn sinner too..

Helping others and sharing ones resources for the welfare of others too is a great idea.. And that idea really sustains this world.. Otherwise only the strongest would have survived and all others would have perished..

Being poor is not a sin..

But surely the challenging conditions of life where one has no clue as to how to survive, he may deviate from the path of righteousness, just for existence..

Of course, the wrong does is a sinner.. and the sinner goes to heaven..

One has to expiate the sins and for that he has to come back.. and a person of that background would be born poor..

And if he has not the backing of a solid character, the person may veer towards more sins.. and the sins would again push him to hell..

So it would be a vicious circle..

Of course we believe that adherence to virtues and divine grace might permit us to escape from this tangle at some stage..

We really do not know whether being good is really of any use to us..

But somehow mankind in general has attempted to be good and generous during the long tenure of their sojourn on earth..

Such goodness has only helped all..

So what is really wrong in helping others when we do not lose much from that action?

Maybe, if I help someone today, the Golden rule will operate and help will come to me when I am in dire straits..

the jithendriya...

स्पृष्ट्वा श्रुत्वा च भुक्त्वा च घ्रात्वा पीत्वा च यो नरः। 

न हृष्यति ग्लायति वा स विज्ञेयो जितेन्द्रियः॥ 

शब्दचिन्तामणि मनुस्मृति २-७३ 

spṛṣṭvā śrutvā ca bhuktvā ca ghrātvā pītvā ca yo naraḥ| 

na hṛṣyati glāyati vā sa vijñeyo jitendriyaḥ|| 

śabdacintāmaṇi manusmṛti 2-73 

The real victor over senses.. the ideal human being.. is defined in this couplet from Manusmriti.. The quote is found in various other texts too. 

A person should be understood as the 

one who has scored great victory over his senses 

If he is neither overjoyed nor is he saddened 

By touching, hearing, tasting, smelling or drinking anything 

We know each one of the sense organs can trigger jointly or severally ecstasy or agony in any human being.. 

Maybe when he scores a fair victory over the sense organs, his mind comes under his control slowly and steadily.. 

സ്പൃഷ്ട്വാ ശ്രുത്വാ ച ഭുക്ത്വാ ച ഘ്രാത്വാ പീത്വാ ച യോ നരഃ। 

ന ഹൃഷ്യതി ഗ്ലായതി വാ സ വിജ്ഞേയോ ജിതേന്ദ്രിയഃ॥ 

ശബ്ദചിന്താമണി മനുസ്മൃതി ൨-൭൩ 

മനുസ്മൃതിയിലും ശബ്ദ ചിന്താമണി എന്ന ഗ്രന്ഥത്തിലും ഇന്ദ്രിയ്ങ്ങളെ പാട്ടിലാക്കിയ ഒരു ആദര്‍ശ പുരുഷന്‍ എങ്ങിനെ ആയിരിക്കണം എന്ന കാര്യം വിശകലനം ചെയ്യുന്നു. 

ആശയും അനുരാഗവും മറ്റു ചിന്തകളും വാസനകളും സ്വാഭാവികമായി ആരിലും ഉടലെടുക്കാന്‍ കാരണമാവുന്ന 

സ്പര്‍ശനം, കേള്‍വി (ശ്രവണം), രുചി(ഭോജനം), മണം പിടിക്കല്‍ (ഘ്രാണം), കുടി അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ പാനം എന്നീ കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ മനസ്സിലും ബുദ്ധിയിലും പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ അയാള്‍ക്ക് സുഖമോ ദുഃഖമോ പ്രത്യേകിച്ചു ഉണ്ടാവുന്നില്ലെങ്കില്‍ അയാളെ ജിതേന്ദ്രിയന്‍ എന്ന് വിളിക്കാം

ഇവിടെ ഒരു കാര്യം ഓര്‍ക്കണം.. ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങള്‍ മനസ്സിന്റെയും ബുദ്ധിയുടെയും ചട്ടുകങ്ങള്‍ മാത്രമാണ്. ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങളെ നിയന്ത്രിക്കണം എങ്കില്‍ മനസ്സ് പൂര്‍ണ്ണമായ നിയന്ത്രണത്തില്‍ ആയിരിക്കണം. അതേ സമയം ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങളെ നിയന്ത്രിക്കാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ മനസ്സും കുറേശ്ശയായി നിയന്ത്രണത്തിനു അധീനമാവാന്‍ എല്ലാ സാധ്യതയും ഉണ്ട്.

power of an oath lies in the mindset and not on the book we touch...

To take oath touching a book is not an Indian ritual or way at all..

Of course there were people who invoked the powers of nature or even their own penance or Tapas when trying to reinforce a promise..

The marriage--kanyakaadaanam is done invoking the name of the supreme being ( Narayana Parameshwara Harihara) who bears the weight of the universe and also invoking the witnessing of all the Gods, with the following mantram

विश्वम्भरः सर्वभूताः साक्षिण्यः सर्वदेवताः।

इमां कन्यां प्रदास्यामि पितॄणांतारणाय च।।2।।

(The Lord who carries the Universe, all the elements, all the Gods, are witnesses.. I am giving this girl in marriage to you so that the elders of my race attain eternal pleasure)

While being initiated to Gayatri and study of Vedas, the promise that one shall perform the duties as a brahmachari for ever is made by touching the chest or the heart region of the guru with the right hand. and making a solemn promise..

The promise that one will look after the girl received in marriage with all happiness and safety is also given by the groom placing the finger on the chest of the person who gave he Kanya to him.

When someone takes charge of a new office, according to the Indian traditions the elders and the sages present just instruct the employee, be it king or the minister, about his duties and is offered aasheervachanams by pouring grains and valuables and holy waters on the prostrate figure of the would be employee. who offers his pranams to all elders.

So making a fuss about taking oath on Gita or any printed book is basically of little consequence anyway..

In fact the procedure for oath is that the person being sworn in invokes the name of God or Solemnly affirm that he will be faithful to his motherland and would discharge his duties without fear or favour. and this oath is taken in the presence of an authority who is empowered to witness such oath.. The President, The Speaker, The Chief Justice, Authorities in Law, Quasi Judicial authorities and so on. ( There is a law for oaths in India)

The showing of a book, as I could understand from old colonial literature was just a sort of gimmick of the westerners..

I think you are aware that the much announced news item about some US judge taking oath on Gita was just a media hoax..