Tuesday, November 12, 2024

musings 293


we Hindus believe that the diseases afflict the body as the result of Karma..
If any short circuiting is applied our weight of papam will remain and will have to be expiated by deferred suffering..
In fact the great philosopher and scholar Appayya Deekshitar has demonstrated this in his own life as recorded by himself..
In fact he was having some serious body ailment, and instead of finding cure he was trying to suffer it away..
He was minister in the court of a king, and as is usual some jealous colleagues carried tale to the ruler.. it was reported that that the scholar minister was having some serious and communicable disease which he was concealing..
To test him, the ruler visited the residence of Deekshitar without prior notice, and that was a period which the minister had allotted for suffering the disease..
Seeing the King, the ailing scholar just threw away his uttareeyam (after transferring the ailment to it through his own tapas), and greeted the king as if nothing has happened.. He was talking to the king in the normal manner but there was no sign of the illness. But at the same time the uthareeyam was just vibrating and throwing itself on the air as if it were shivering from the malady..
Later the fact was explained to t
he king too..
I found this recorded in a biography of the scholar in Sanskrit.. I have the book with me..
This is just an instance.. Transferring of Karmic effect and illnesses to another medium and getting relief was an established practice in India..
They say Humayun was afflicted by fatal fever and Babur just prayed the Almighty to spare his son, took the fever on Himself and gave up his life in place of his son..

परतोषयिता न कश्च स्वगतो यस्य गुणोऽस्ति देहिनः।



परतोषयिता न कश्च स्वगतो यस्य गुणोऽस्ति देहिनः।
परदोषकथाभिरल्पकः सुजनं तोषयितुं किलेच्छति॥
शार्ङ्गधर पद्धतिः इन्दिश्चे स्प्रूचे १६९६
paratoṣayitā na kaśca svagato yasya guṇo'sti dehinaḥ|
paradoṣakathābhiralpakaḥ sujanaṁ toṣayituṁ kilecchati||
śārṅgadhara paddhatiḥ indiśce sprūce 1696
𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬.
𝐈𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬.
𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐲, 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬.
𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐡𝐭𝐢
𝙠 𝙫 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙣
यस्य for whose देहिनः silly fellow स्वगतो concerning himself, about himself कश्च some little गुणः virtues, praisewortha qualities न not अस्ति there अल्पकः सः that wretch of a human being, that silly fellow परदोष कथाभिःby telling about the bad things in others, by spreading scandals and calumny about others सुजनं good people, worthy people तोषयितुं to make them pleased, to make them happy इच्छति want किल it would seem.

Monday, November 11, 2024

musings 292



𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐦
(𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲.. 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭)
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭..
𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬.. 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞..
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐮𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧..
𝐀 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫..
𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞.. 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬-𝐪𝐮𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭..
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦?

शुभं वेत्त्यशुभं पापं भद्रं दैवहतो नरः



अमित्रं कुरुते मित्रं मित्रं द्वेष्टि हिनस्ति च।शुभं वेत्त्यशुभं पापं भद्रं दैवहतो नरः॥
इन्दिश्चे स्प्रूचे ५१९ १९५ पञ्चतन्त्रे
amitraṁ kurute mitraṁ mitraṁ dveṣṭi hinasti ca|
śubhaṁ vettyaśubhaṁ pāpaṁ bhadraṁ daivahato naraḥ||
indiśce sprūce 519 195 pañcatantre
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐳𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐥. 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 , 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰.
𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐦
𝐊𝐯𝐚
दैव हतः who is earmarked by fate for punishment and destruction नरः man अमित्रं unfriendly, hostile person मित्रं friend, associate कुरुते makes सःhe मित्रं a friend द्वेष्टि develops enmity, hostility हिनस्ति cause harm च too शुभं what is good favourable अशुभं unfavourable, porending evil इति thus वेत्ति understand पापं evil things, harmful things भद्रं safe and favourable वेत्ति understands च too

Sunday, November 10, 2024

musings 291



My religious faith emphasizes the principle that one cannot get anything for free..
And if I receive any benefits, material or spiritual, from anyone either on my request or given to me without me asking for it, and I do not provide adequate recompense, I get indebted.. My material, moral or spiritual capital to that extent stands transferred to my direct or indirect benefactor. And my own accumulated spiritual wealth gets depleted to that extent.
Giving Dhaanams (gifts), Dakshinas, etc for Phalasweekaram (with a view to receive the favourable results of a sacred ritual)(फलस्वीकारं) is part based this logic..
Anyway, we can never adequately pay back to our parents, elder relatives and friends for all that they did in providing us material benefits and means of life or livelihood, in sharing with us knowledge and many other bounties. That makes us eternal debtors.
There are many debts that can never be repaid.
That is why we acknowledge Pitru rinam,(पितृ ऋण) Deva rinam,(देव ऋण) Rishi rinam.(ऋषि ऋण..etc (Indebtedness to Ancestors, Indebtedness to Gods and Indebtedness to Sages) and we try to repay continuously , although inadequately just by living a useful and productive life.
We are committing grave sin if we forget our roots.

musings 290



I happened to see a discussion thread started by a friend four years ago..

The question raised was in essence whether it was right for even devout people who visit temples to manage to jump the queue of many many devotees and manage to have audience with the Deity.. even through questionable and unfair means..
My thoughts on it
What do you do?
Have you had occasion to change the philosophy in the past four years..?
I understand that visit to a temple is just an optional way of worship..
Nothing really special comes out of it by way of spirituality..
But the basic human urge is to show that the person who does something want to show that he had done it in a superior way.. he has applied his ingenuity and has cashed on all his resources..
And even the sane man wants to present himself as a very important person even when he knows that claim to be false .. especially in the heart of his hears..
So many of the Vratams, visit to temple and such activities are show offs..
And some impressionable people substitute rituals for the core of spirituality and even worship.. They are just indoctrinated that way..
And there are people who gain some sort of leadership (although mostly empty) among others by such exercises in management by hook or crook..
For any of these categories, such attempts to jump the queue, to be unfair and to brag about it can be quite exciting..
Everyone is entitled to do what excites him.
That is all..
And does it really matter what any or each of the participant anywhere would do?
Ultimately what it matters to the individual is what he does..
A reply here can be another show off

𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬



गुरुतां नयन्ति हि गुणाः न हि संहतिः॥किरातार्जुनीये
गुणाः पूजास्थानं गुणिषु न च लिङ्गं न च वयः॥ उत्तररामचरिते
शरीरं क्षणविध्वंसि कल्पान्तस्थायिनो गुणाः॥चाणक्यनीतिशास्त्रे
गुण खल्वनुरागस्य कारणं न बलात्कारः॥मृच्छकटिके
गुणधर्मविहीनो यो निष्फलं तस्य जीवितम्॥मृच्छकटिक
gurutāṁ nayanti hi guṇāḥ na hi saṁhatiḥ|kirātārjunīye
guṇāḥ pūjāsthānaṁ guṇiṣu na ca liṅgaṁ na ca vayaḥ|| uttararāmacarite
śarīraṁ kṣaṇavidhvaṁsi kalpāntasthāyino guṇāḥ|hāṇakyanītiśāstre
guṇa khalvanurāgasya kāraṇaṁ na balātkāraḥ|ṁṛcchakaṭike
guṇadharmavihīno yo niṣphalaṁ tasya jīvitam|ṁṛcchakaṭika
𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢’𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦
गुरुतां नयन्ति हि गुणाः न हि संहतिः॥किरातार्जुनीये
𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐔𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦
गुणाः पूजास्थानं गुणिषु न च लिङ्गं न च वयः॥ उत्तररामचरिते
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐱 (𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞) 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲)
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐲𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐦
शरीरं क्षणविध्वंसि कल्पान्तस्थायिनो गुणाः॥चाणक्यनीतिशास्त्रे
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚
गुण खल्वनुरागस्य कारणं न बलात्कारः॥मृच्छकटिके
गुणधर्मविहीनो यो निष्फलं तस्य जीवितम्॥मृच्छकटिक
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭, 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨.

Saturday, September 07, 2024

musings 289



𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐚gan 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐚.. 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬..
𝐘𝐚𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐯𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐇 𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐮 𝐯𝐞𝐝𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐲𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐇... 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠..
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬..
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚.
𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 ..
"𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬, 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐦? ”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫.

musings 288



𝐖𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧
𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞,
𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞
𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟
𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐲, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧..
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭..
𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫,
𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧...
𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧..
𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥..
𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐩 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲..
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠,
𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐝, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.
.𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.
𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭
𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧..
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬,
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬,
𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭,
𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚..

Saturday, April 27, 2024

गायन्ति देवाः किल गीतिकानि धन्यास्तु ते भारतभूमिभागे



गायन्ति देवाः किल गीतिकानि धन्यास्तु ते भारतभूमिभागे।
स्वर्गापवर्गास्पद मार्गभूते भवन्ति भूयः पुरुषाः सुरत्वात्॥
विष्णुपुराणे २-३-२४
gāyanti devāḥ kila gītikāni dhanyāstu te bhāratabhūmibhāge|
svargāpavargāspada mārgabhūte bhavanti bhūyaḥ puruṣāḥ suratvāt||
viṣṇupurāṇe 2-3-24
A quote from Vishnupuranam.. one of the major puranas..
Meaning
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The divine beings in the heaven are singing..
"Those who are living in that part of earth which is called Bharata are really lucky and endowed with merits beyond imagination..
It is the only land from where the occupants can work and gain either the comforts of heaven or alternately they can work for emancipation from the cycle of births and deaths.
Even Gods, when they have to take birth on the face of earth for various reasons would choose only Bharata as the place where they would be born and would live and thrive..
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Our Bharatham is sweet, and great.. A man of Bharath would always would live here in this Bharath alone, and if he were to be born again, he would choose again to be a Bharathiya..
And when we read that sentiment recorded in an ancient and revered text, that would only reinforce our love and commitment for this land of ours.. although no such reinforcement is really needed..
I love my Bharath..my mother India
ഗായന്തി ദേവാഃ കില ഗീതികാനി ധന്യാസ്തു തേ ഭാരതഭൂമിഭാഗേ|
സ്വര്‍ഗാ പവ ര്‍ഗാസ്പദ മാര്‍ഗഭൂതേ ഭവന്തി ഭൂയഃ പുരുഷാഃ സുരത്വാത്||
വിഷ്ണുപുരാണേ ൨-൩-൨൪
മഹാപുരാണങ്ങളില്‍ ഒന്നായ വിഷ്ണുപുരാണത്തില്‍ നിന്ന്
അര്‍ഥം
സ്വര്‍ഗ്ഗവാസികളായ ദേവന്മാര്‍ ഇങ്ങനെ
പാടുന്നു
ഭൂമിയില്‍ ഭാരതം എന്ന പ്രദേശത്തില്‍ ജീവിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യര്‍ ഭാഗ്യവാന്മാരാണ് . ആര്‍ക്കും ചിന്തിക്കാന്‍ പറ്റാത്ത വിധം അത്രയധികം പുണ്യം ചെയ്തവര്‍ ആണ്.
എന്തെന്നാല്‍ ആ ഭൂഭാഗത്തില്‍ വസിക്കുന്ന ജനങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മാത്രമേ സ്വന്തം ആചാരക്രമങ്ങളും നിഷ്ഠയും കൊണ്ട് സ്വര്‍ഗ്ഗത്തിലെ സുഖങ്ങള്‍ നേടുവാനോ അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ സ്വന്തം ജ്ഞാനവും വൈരാഗ്യവും കൈമുതലാക്കി ജനനമരണങ്ങളില്‍ നിന്ന് നിരന്തരമായ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കുവാനോ രണ്ടും സാധിക്കുകയുള്ളൂ
ദേവന്മാര്‍ പോലും ഏതെങ്കിലും കാരണത്തിന് ഭൂമിയില്‍ അവതാരം എടുക്കുമ്പോള്‍ സ്വയം ജനിക്കുവാനും, സന്തോഷത്തോടെ ജീവിക്കുവാനും ഈ ഭാരതഭൂമിയെ മാത്രമാണ് തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുന്നത്.
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നമ്മുടെ ഭാരതാംബ ധന്യയാണ്. മാധുര്യം നിറഞ്ഞവള്‍ ആണ്. ഭാരതഭൂമിയുടെ മകന്‍ ഇപ്പോഴും ആ നാട്ടില്‍ മാത്രമേ ജീവിക്കാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുകയുള്ളൂ. നമുക്ക് വീണ്ടും ജന്മം ലഭിക്കുകയാണെങ്കില്‍ വീണ്ടും ഈ ഭാരതത്തില്‍ തന്നെ ജനിക്കണം . ഭാരതീയനായിത്തന്നെ ജനിക്കണം
അതീവ പുണ്യകരവും ബഹുമാന്യവും ആയ ഒരു പുരാതനഗ്രന്ഥത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് ഇത് വായിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ഏറെ അഭിമാനം തോന്നുന്നു. ഒരു പുസ്തകത്തിലും എഴുതിയില്ലെങ്കിലും നമുക്ക് നമ്മുടെ ഭാരതമാണ്‌ ജീവനേക്കാള്‍ വലുത്. പക്ഷെ ആ വികാരം ഇങ്ങനെ പ്രതിഫലിച്ചുകാണുമ്പോള്‍ ഒരുപാടു സന്തോഷം തോന്നുന്നു.
ഭാരതാംബേ അവിടുത്തെ ഞാന്‍ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നു.. ജീവനുതുല്യം.. ജീവനേക്കാള്‍

Nakshatra for birthday or date of birth as per Western Calendar?



I happened to see a post making a query as to whether we should celebrate our Nakshatra Birthday ( the birthday as per India Calendar), or the birthday as per the English Calendar , cutting cakes and all..
I could sense a tinge of disapproval in the query about Hindus following the English birthday..
My frank view on the matter is as below
English birthday decides many factors of our life..
from the date of birth to the date of death..
getting birth certificates to death certificates..
Superannuation,
attaining major-hood,
becoming a senior citizen and so on..
So it is definitely an important landmark..
There is nothing wrong in following that as the staple crossing mark every year..
In addition, for religious purpose, for Ayushya homams(fire oblations) and shanthis (expiatory chants and rituals) we can and we adopt the Soura maasam(the solar months..medam,edavam etc) and Nakshatram
(Ashvathi to Revathi)..( of course some follow Chandra Masam.. and specify the thithis too.. Rama Navami or Janma Ashtami are examples)
Is there any strict rule that one should not celebrate two birthdays? No
Further, scriptures of ours may say the birthday falls on a Nakshatram in a month.. like Rama born on Punarvasu in Mesha or Chaitra ( there are many schools on this issue..Kolla varsham and Saleevahana Sakaabdam Vikrama Shakabdm, Kaliyugabdam.. and so on..give varied spans for months)...
But no Veda or Shastra has prohibited celebration of English birthday..
It is a complete Loukika Karyam (unconnected with religion..)..
Cake cutting is also of that category..
We need not be too strict either way..

musings 287



naatakaantham kavithvam..നാടകാന്തം കവിത്വം .. नाटकान्तं कवित्वम् as one goes ahead in search of reason, orthodoxy just peels off one's psyche.. like the dead skin of a snake..
in the realm of thought, each person is all alone..
one cannot wait for the approval, nor shun away from the disapproval of others..
True, the state of clear thinking avoiding prejudices may not be the last destination..
It is only a stage..
Maybe there are some sources or destinations for one to dissolve with the Supreme Being..
But if it happens, and if at all it happens, the individual who journeyed towards that Ultimate being will not come back to report what he experienced..
Tad VishnoH paramam padam..തദ്‌ വിഷ്ണോ പരമം പദം तदविष्णोःपरमंपदं
I just call it Vishnu only because it can be called by any name, and at the same time it has no name whatsoever..

musings 286



Everything has its own role and function in this world..
Some functions are apparent on the surface, and they draw attention, invite praise and often receive very severe criticism too
But many staple functions are very methodical, silent and persisitent.. Such fucntions just go on without getting any notice
Take the case of a plant.
It gives out flowers.. The flowers are soft, wear makeup, they are fragrant, and they attract bees too.. But they wither away within a day
There are fruits, the fruits pregnant with seeds.. They attract gourment birds, animals and humans with their aroma and taste, because they know that only through sacrifice of their own bodies they could ensure that further plants of their own species could sprout..
There is the root, no one cares about it.. The roots have no beauty.. But they have the duty to keep the plant alive. They have to incessently ferret the soil for water and nutrients.. They have to dig into the earth to any extent to find the sustenance for the whole plant, the trunk, leaves, flowers and fruits.. If no nutrient is available, no water is availabe, still they would send up whatever they have.. and they would keep the plant alive as long as they live.. But who would care a hoot about the root ?
The poet writes.. He creates sublime muses. But he goes unnoticed. The singer just reads the poetry in his own her voice.. but gets all the accolades
A faceless academic strains his eyes and burns his midnight oil, and creates learned dissetations.. often they are copied and plagiarised and in social media they are invariably subjected to cut and paste.. The academic or scholar is ignored but the copyist and the thief are praised
Of course that seems to be the laws of the nature, the law of the Kali age,
However, if the roots refuse to draw water and nutrients, the plant would die
if the obscure lyricist refuses to write, no singer can sing with elan
If some obscure scholar, author or academic with some originality does not produce articles, the copyists would never be able to cut and paste and shine ..
Better to remember this..
Reserve some kind thoughts to the original plodder
Do not presume that what is apparent need be real
We can choose to wink at the pretenders.
But we must spot them and try to put them at the proper slot they deserve.

punarjanma, moksham



a very valid question raised by a very deeply learned friend

Human birth is the nearest point one can try to realise moksha and shirk off the cycle of birth and death. When a person , especially a close relative or friend, passes away we pray that let his/her soul merge in the Brahman. We daily pray so during food " Brahmani me aatmaa amritatwaya'.
When a girl in the family becomes pregnant, some people tend to bless by saying that let the grand father/ father in law or mother ( or some such close relative not alive) be reborn. Is it not against our belief or prayer. Why should the departed soul get into the cycle?
My views on this
Let us take it this way.. If the person is steadfast towards realization of the Brahmam, and attain Mukthi, his path is clear.. No desire to the contrary by way of either blessing or curse is going to affect him.. But by some chance, the Karmagati in this life is not clear enough to fetch him the mukthi, is it better that he is reborn in the same environs and continues his purusit towards mukthi from the point where he left.?. In such cases, the blessings from elders and the family might do him a lot of good.
.
Human desires, blessings and evan curses are just expressions of human mind.. But sometimes in rare cases such minds would have reacahed such exalted states that such desires or curses would come true.. However, such cases are rarest of the rare..
In fact even in the case of the most exalted persons with sadhana, a directed and purposeful or sakama thought or curse, even when it materializes would deplete the accumulated tapas or the potential spiritual energy of the person at some exalted spirituals stage, and he becomes mere human with karma once again..
This happend to sage Visvamitra again and again
May be the Gods representing the supreme being are exceptions.. because, they will not deplete have their powers depleted through granting boons..
But even they would suffer, like Brahma in many cases, Shiva in the case of Bhasmasura etc..
Secondly, the explanations of life phenomena through Vaidic view following path of yajna etc,, that result in giving blessings like the grandson being reborn as grandson, and the theory of path of Jnaana which carries one to Moksha are basically at variance.. Yajnas prescribed by Vedas are just ladders to enjoyment in heaven, and once the merits gained are used up, the people who went to heaven will have to return to this earth to resume their toils here.. In that case a wish or blessing that he may come back and start as a human in the same family might do him good.. He can, in fact, be reborn as a worm or a piece or grass or a snake or a donkey or a bacteria
And these rules do not apply for the once who are relieved from the cycle of birth and death through Moksham..
Niether blessings nor curses really matter to them.

Friday, April 26, 2024

In the name of spirituality and hinduism and brahminism so many false messages are floating.



In the name of spirituality and hinduism and brahminism so many false messages are floating.
Another trend is false translation on an estimate basis. presuming meanings and ideas that are not presented or even implied or remotely intended in the original text..
This result is ..conveying of very wrong messages.
And blatant lies are floated as anecdotes on the lives of our Revered gurus.
Instead of doing good to the community and society such things would make our community and culture as very cheap and deceitful.
People can keep quiet instead of doing such misrepresentation.
And the very wise followers who really know nothing but who want to show off share and forward such things without even reading.. lock stock and barrel.
I confess that I too present a slokam or two in these columns
. But before posting I refer to all possible and available sources. and resources.
And to carry out a translation of a Sanskrit or Vedic mantram even in a crude way it takes hours and hours of labour. References to texts, and modern libraries and traditional lexicons like Shabda Kalpadrumam, Vachaspateeyam,Nighantu, Amaram and so on.
And bhasyams of great masters like Shankara and Sayanaachary and Bhattabhaskara among others.
So I get genuinely uneasy when I see such destructive trends.
I cannot help it.
God is a business for some.
God is a showpiece for some.
God is a vehicle for gaining cheap and undeserving popularity for some.
It is just moral ethical and spiritual degradation.
When I see such things I feel like running away
But I keep coming back too because there are a set of genuine friends for me here..and I cannot find them elsewhere
Regards
K v ananthanarayanan

ॐ मित्रस्य चर्षणिधृतः श्रवो देवस्य सानसिं



ॐ मित्रस्य चर्षणिधृतः श्रवो देवस्य सानसिं सत्यं चित्र श्रवस्तमं मित्रो जनान् यतयति प्रजानन् मित्रो दातार पृथिवीमुत द्यां मित्रः कृष्टीः अनिमिषाभिचष्टे सत्याय हव्यं घृतवत् विधेम प्र स मित्र मर्तो अस्तु प्रयस्वान् यस्त आदित्य शिक्षति व्रतेन न हन्यते न जीयते त्वोतो नैनम् हो अश्नोत्यन्तितो न दूरात्॥
om mitrasya carṣaṇidhṛtaḥ śravo devasya sānasiṁ satyaṁ citra śravastamaṁ mitro janān yatayati prajānan mitro dātāra prithivīmuta dyāṁ mitraḥ kṛṣṭīḥ animiṣābhicaṣṭe satyāya havyaṁ ghṛtavat vidhema pra sa mitra marto astu prayasvān yasta āditya śikṣati vratena na hanyate na jīyate tvoto nainam ho aśnotyantito na dūrāt||
ഓം മിത്രസ്യ ചര്‍ഷണിധൃതഃ ശ്രവോ ദേവസ്യ സാനസിം സത്യം ചിത്ര ശ്രവസ്തമം മിത്രോ ജനാന്‍ യതയതി പ്രജാനന്‍ മിത്രോ ദാതാര പൃഥ്വീമുത ദ്യാം മിത്രഃ കൃഷ്ടീഃ അനിമിഷാഭിചഷ്ടേ സത്യായ ഹവ്യം ഘൃതവത് വിധേമ പ്ര സ മിത്ര മര്‍ത്തോ അസ്തു പ്രയസ്വാന്‍ യസ്ത ആദിത്യ ശിക്ഷതി വ്രതേന ന ഹന്യതേ ന ജീയതേ ത്വോതോ നൈനം ഹോ അശ്നോത്യന്തിതോ ന ദൂരാത്॥
From Sandhya upasana mantram found in Yajurvedi
I am praising the fame of that Mitra, the fame that is eternal and truthful, wonderful and thrilling and picturesque
That Mitra who is the Supreme one (Sun) who is the friend and benefactor of one and all
That Mitra who is the up-lifter of the intellect of the learned and the pious people
That Mitra who is the ultimate receptacle of our ceremonial worship
That Mitra who can perceive everything with equanimity and could see everything, recognizes the ordained functions of every living being and engages the beings in their respective functions.
That Mitra protects this earth and that sky
That Mitra, remains awake and alert all the time without interruption and enables the human beings on the earth to shine forth in their functions.
Unto that Supreme, eternally truthful being, may we offer cooked rice mixed with ghee
Oh Mitra, the human being who observes fasts, rituals and observances and serves you through them, becomes always blessed with the most effective results in the endeavours in which he is engaged.
Oh Mitra, the one who is protected by you cannot either be killed or destroyed by anyone, nor can he be defeated by anyone.
Oh Mitra, the person who is thus protected by you will not be affected by sins which happen near him, or sins that happen far away from him..

The Suryopaasana Mantram during prayer to Madhyaahnika Sandhya



The Suryopaasana Mantram during prayer to Madhyaahnika Sandhya
As per Yajurvedam
आ सत्येन रजसा वर्तमानो निवेशयन्नमृतं मर्त्यं च हिरण्ययेन सविता रथेनादेवो याति भुवनाविपश्यन्।उद्वयं तमसस्परि पशयन्तो ज्योतिरुत्तरम्। देवं देवत्र सूर्यमगन्म ज्योतिरुत्तमम्। उदुत्यं जातवेदसं देवं वहन्ति केतवः।दृशे विश्वाय सूर्यम्। चित्रं देवानामुदगादनीकं चक्षुर्मित्रस्य वरुणस्याग्नेः। आप्रा द्या वा पृथ्वी अन्तरिक्षम्। सूर्य आत्मा जगतः चक्षुषश्च। तच्चक्षुर्देवहितं पुरस्तात् शुक्रमुच्चरत्। पश्येम शरदश्शतं जीवेम शरदश्शतं नन्दाम शरदश्शतं मोदाम शरदश्शतं भवाम शरदश्शतं शृणुयाम शरदश्शतं प्रब्रवाम शरदश्शतं अजीता स्याम शरदश्शतं। ज्योक्च सूर्यं दृशे। य उदगान्महतोर्ण्णवाद्विभ्राजमानस्सरिरस्य मध्यात्स मा वृषभो लोहिताक्षस्सूर्यो विपश्चिन्मनसा पुनातु॥
ā satyena rajasā vartamāno niveśayannamṛtaṃ martyaṃ ca hiraṇyayena savitā rathenādevo yāti bhuvanāvipaśyan।udvayaṃ tamasaspari pasyanto jyotiruttaram। devaṃ devatra sūryamaganma jyotiruttamam। udutyaṃ jātavedasaṃ devaṃ vahanti ketavaḥ।dṛśe viśvāya sūryam। citraṃ devānāmudagādanīkaṃ cakṣurmitrasya varunasyāgneḥ। āprā dyā vā pṛthvī antarikṣam। sūrya ātmā jagataḥ cakṣuṣaśca। taccakṣurdevahitaṃ purastāt śukramuccarat। paśyema śaradaśśataṃ jīvema śaradaśśataṃ nandāma śaradaśśataṃ modāma śaradaśśataṃ bhavāma śaradaśśataṃ śṛṇuyāma śaradaśśataṃ prabravāma śaradaśśataṃ ajītā syāma śaradaśśataṃ। jyokca sūryaṃ dṛśe। ya udagānmahatorṇṇavādvibhrājamānassarirasya madhyātsa mā vṛṣabho lohitākṣassūryo vipascinmanasā punātu॥
ആ സത്യേന രജസാ വര്‍ത്ത മാനോ നിവേശയന്നമൃതം മര്‍ത്യം ച ഹിരണ്യയേന സവിതാ രഥേനാദേവോ യാതി ഭുവനാവിപശ്യന്‍।ഉദ്വയം തമസസ്പരി പശ്യന്തോ ജ്യോതിരുത്തരം। ദേവം ദേവത്ര സൂര്യമഗന്മ ജ്യോതിരുത്തമം। ഉദുത്യം ജാതവേദസം ദേവം വഹന്തി കേതവഃ।ദൃശേ വിശ്വായ സൂര്യം। ചിത്രം ദേവാനാമുദഗാദനീകം ചക്ഷുര്‍മിത്രസ്യവരുണസ്യാഗ്നെഃI ആപ്രാ ദ്യാ വാ പൃഥ്വീ അന്തരിക്ഷം। സൂര്യ ആത്മാ ജഗതഃ ചക്ഷുഷശ്ച। തച്ചക്ഷുര്‍ദേവഹിതം പുരസ്താത് ശുക്രമുച്ചരത്। പശ്യേമ ശരദശ്ശതം ജീവേമ ശരദശ്ശതം നന്ദാമ ശരദശ്ശതം മോദാമ ശരദശ്ശതം ഭവാമ ശരദശ്ശതം ശൃണുയാമ ശരദശ്ശതം പ്രബ്രവാമ ശരദശ്ശതം അജീതാ സ്യാമ ശരദശ്ശതം। ജ്യോക്ച സൂര്യം ദൃശേ। യ ഉദഗാന്മഹതോര്‍ണ്ണവാദ്വിഭ്രാജമാനസ്സരിരസ്യ മധ്യാത്സ മാ വൃഷഭോ ലോഹിതാക്ഷസ്സൂര്യോ വിപശ്ചിന്മനസാ പുനാതു॥
Meaning
That glorious and resplendent Sun is shining in the tallest position in the sky with a glow that cannot be substituted with that of any other shining object
That sun is proceeding in the sky with his journey in his golden chariot, covering the whole universe, enabling in that journey the deathless Gods as well as the mortal humans on earth to performed their avowed duties and engage themselves in their activities.
He is the witness for all that transpires in this universe.
We, who are seeing the glorious resplendence of the Supreme Being that is the Sun,
The Sun whose position is higher than anything else in the Sky
The Sun, whose glory is greater that anything else,
On that Sun, we take refuge
That Sun is the most established among all the Gods
That Sun who is shining with a glow without comparison
We declare with conviction, for the knowledge of all
that the orb of the Sun carries in itself the greatest glories emanating from the Vedas and therefore emanates the most benevolent and praiseworthy glow.
May we be able to see the Supreme Being in the Solar Orb
That Supreme being is the source of infinite energy found in all gods.
That Supreme Being is the source of strength for Mitra, Varuna and agni
That Supreme being pervades all over, filling the whole of earth, sky and heaven.
That Supreme being is present and inherent in all things that are moving, and that are immobile
The Supreme being is the eye of the universe, the source of all learning and knowledge that could be gained
That Supreme being who is the embodiment of purity
That Supreme being raises in the sky right with the dawn
That Supreme being is the essence of Parabrhma praised by the Vedas
May we see him for long periods of hundreds of Sharats or autumns
May we live for hundreds of autumns in his benign presence
May we live with the happiness of having sons, grandsons and large families for hundreds of autumns
May we be blessed with all the objects and things that would give us happiness for hundreds of autumns
May we progress from strength to strength in our happy existence for hundreds of autumns and remain humble devotees of that Supreme Being (the Sun)
May we live for hundreds of autumns hearing the glories of that Supreme Being
May we be blessed with the capacity to speak good and nice words about the Supreme Being, for hundreds of autumns
May we remain alive and undefeated by others for hundreds of autumns..

Thursday, April 25, 2024

न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन



न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन
नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यम् वर्त एव हि कर्मणि॥३--२२॥
श्रेमद्भगवद्गीतायां
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana
nānavāptamavāptavyam varta eva hi karmaṇi||3--22||
śreemadbagavadgītāyāṁ
=============
The Blessed Lord Sri Krishna Says in Gita..
Oh Arjuna, I have nothing left in this world which I should perform as if it were my bounden o duty..
There is nothing in this world which is achievable that I have not already achieved.
Still I remain in action, I do my karma..
The Lord remained as a Karmayogi because He being the Supreme person of the age when he manifested on earth, if He did not set Himself as an example and remained lazy and inactive, others also would be tempted to follow the path of inaction..
But for us the lesser mortals, the satisfaction can come from only a sense of contentment..
The Blessed Lord had the capacity to achieve anything He deemed fit, but we have our own limitations..
If we set our targets at achievable limits (अवाप्तव्यं) then alone we are likely to have a reasonable satisfaction that we have really achieved something..
For us the ordinary humans, remaining in action alone can keep the body and mind alert and active..
Here the law of inertia speaks.. every material body remains in a state of rest or of uniform motion unless it is acted upon by an external force to change that state.. ( Remember Newton)
Usually we are in a state of mental and physical inertia.. see how difficult it is to get out of bed..?
Usually our role models are Kumbhakarna or Rip van winkle..
It is said that Winston Churchill, during his World war days, used to mark all the instructions he issued with the handwritten caption..
"ACTION THIS DAY "

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Even the ugliest offspring is so sweet to its mother



Of course many people write original things.. no doubt about it.
But that is not easy to find in social media.
And Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Maugham, Sheldon, Radhakrishnan, Russell .. and many covering a wide spectrum of core thoughts used the same language so attractively.
The taste of the readers too vary.
My problem is that even though I might try my hands on humour or economics or science once in a while I have lost interest in those genres.
And synthetic creation of cluster if words without adding heart to them is just waste of time and energy.
And sure,
a piece of writing by me that would make me read it again only would engage the attention of anyone else even for a short period.
I know that any Individual writer like me thinks too high of himself.. but others just tolerate him.
Even the ugliest offspring is so sweet to its mother.

असूयैकपदं मृत्युः अतिवादः श्रियो वधः



असूयैकपदं मृत्युः अतिवादः श्रियो वधः।
अशुश्रूषा त्वरा श्लाघा विद्यायाः शत्रवस्त्रयः॥
महाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि ५-४०-४ विदुरवाक्ये॥
asūyaikapadaṁ mṛtyuḥ ativādaḥ śriyo vadhaḥ|
aśuśrūṣā tvarā ślāghā vidyāyāḥ śatravastrayaḥ||
mahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi 5-40-4 viduravākye||
A quote from Viduravakyam of Mahabharatham... The minister of Kauravas and the younger brother of the King Dhritarashra, the wise Vidura is discussing various aspects of statecraft and lifestyle management with his elder brother the King..
Here in this sloka, he is pointing out the adverse effects of certain base human qualities..
Meaning of the sloka
================
**The one word synonymous with jealousy and intolerance is death itself..
**Excessive and unwanted argument with someone is just as bad as getting killed..
**And the three enemies of acquiring knowledge and getting educated are
1. Not giving respect to the preceptor who is imparting knowledge, and also not giving due respect to the subject by constant practice
2. Too much of haste, too much eagerness, too much of avariciousness
3. Too much of self praise.. boasting about ones own knowledge.. receiving too much of praise from others on a person's learning and knowledge..
==================
So many murders do happen due to jealousy and intolerance.. Even otherwise, jealousy and intolerance burns away all that is good in a man... and he is dying a gradual death..
Unnecessary argument would carry us nowhere.. But that can cause distress to the one who argues as well as the one who listens.. And dry arguments often provoke anger in others.. and that can result in strife and even death.. More than that an argumentative person would be shunned by all.. and that could mean social rationalization and virtual death. And above all, arguments, in excess can bore one to death..
Education would progress in the proper manner only if the student is in a receptive mood.. If the student has no respect for the knowledge of the teacher, and if he is not having much devotion to the subject of study how can there be any progress?
Human mind has its limitations.. Things can be imbibed only through assiduous practice.. Education and training are time bound.. Shortcuts and haste would never help.. never.. Often we forget this when preparing for competitive examinations. The apparent success in the short term perspective would only generate incompetent and least equipped work force.. and human beings..
And we are all basically vain.. We succumb to praise.. When we are praised even for small achievements, we tend to believe that we are super heroes.. And that would spell doom for our further pursuit in acquisition of knowledge.. And when a person just starts boasting and bragging about his own knowledge, that is the end of his education.. Some people brag by telling belittling things about themselves.. expecting others to contradict them and praise them.. That too is just bragging bottled in a slightly different manner..
These points are worth a lot of consideration..

choice is ours. we can give voluntarily or choose to get robbed.



choice is ours. we can give voluntarily or choose to get robbed..
----------------------------------------------
सञ्चितम् क्रतुषु नोपयुञ्च्यते
याचितम् गुणवते न दीयते
तद् कदर्य्यपरिगतं धनं
चोरपार्थिवगृहेषु भुञ्ज्यते॥३२
चाणक्यराजनीतिशास्त्रे अध्यायः १
sañcitam kratuṣu nopayuncyate
yācitam guṇavate na dīyate
tad kadarthaparigataṁ dhanaṁ
corapārthivagṛheṣu bhuñjyate||32
cāṇakyarājanītiśāstre adhyāyaḥ 1
--------------
People amass wealth with eagerness and great enthusiasm..
But they fail to utilize and spend such wealth for right causes.
What happens to such wealth.?
Chanakya says.
===============
" The accumulated wealth of a stingy person is not usually applied for socially useful purposes.
Nor any part of it is given to good people who ask for it or even beg for it.
Such wealth accumulated for some selfish and ignoble purpose ultimately converts itself into sumptuous food in the household of a thief of a king"
==============
The management experts and the leadership pundits are very keen to groom people to attain the peak capacity to earn and accumulate money.
The economist or investment expert will give us sound advise as to how multiply such money earned in the shortest possible time.
But the majority of the people with huge wealth are not inclined to share even a part of it with the people who are less fortunate.
Nor are they prepared to recycle the funds for some socially useful purpose without profit motive.
They are possessive, rather stingy, about money...
Ultimately, they fall to swindlers who play upon their ego or they shell out most of the earning by way of Government Levies..
Alternately their money can be stolen by thieves, either burglars or suave e-hackers.
Is it not better that some good souls enjoy the benefits of your earning while you watch and you have the satisfaction that you gave it to them voluntarily?
The other choice is that your wealth is stolen away by burglars or inflation, or is simply taken away by the Government by way of taxes while you live or when you are dead.

न हि धर्मार्थसिद्ध्यर्थं पानमेवं प्रशस्यते




न हि धर्मार्थसिद्ध्यर्थं पानमेवं प्रशस्यते।
पानादर्थश्च धर्मश्च कामश्च परिहीयते॥
श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीये रामायणे किष्किन्धाकाण्डे ३३-४६
na hi dharmārthasiddhyarthaṁ pānamevaṁ praśasyate|
pānādarthaśca dharmaśca kāmaśca parihīyate||
śrīmadvālmīkīye rāmāyane kiṣkindhākāṇḍe 33-46
This is what Lakshmana says in the Kishkindaakandam of Valmikiramayanam..
Sure, it is not desirable to indulge in drinking intoxicating hooch if one desires the fulfillment of his Dharma or proper living and gain of wealth and welfare..
In fact, when one gets addicted to drinks, his proper conduct and lifestyle, his wealth, and the fulfillment of all his fond desires.. all these received setback and he is sliding down in his stature..
The four purposes of life are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha..
Once a fellow consumes hooch, his mind gets clouded and his sense of proper behaviour and right action are lost.. His dharma gets hit there.
Dependence on drinks leads to wastage of resources through wrong spending, and careless spending too.. and this, coupled with the lack of right activity on the part of the drinker, leads to depletion and destruction of wealth, if any in the possessing of the drinker.
And an addict loses all senses and his social standing is eroded, and he has no proper resources and he has no capacity to pursue his fond desires and dreams.. So his Kama is also gone.
Of course, Lakshmana does not talk about Moksha.. But if a fellow indulges in excessive drinking, Moksha is ensured if quick death is indicated by that word.. But if Moksha means emancipation and happiness in the life after death, a drinker can hardly hope for it..
So drinking is a killer in the present and future too..
(The backdrop of the statement is this.
After Sugriva the monkey and Rama became friends, and Rama restored the leadership of monkeys to Sugriva after killing Bali, and Sugriva had promised to help Rama in searching for the lost Sita.. a few months elapsed.. Sugriva just entered his city Kishkinda and indulged himself in wine and women, while Rama and Lakshmana were expecting proper action by Sugriva in the search of Sita.. The brothers were spending their time in the outskirts of Kishkinda, braving the rainy season,, just hoping that Sugriva would come out and take proper action.. However months passed and it looked as if Sugriva had conveniently forgotten his part in the pact.. Rama was enraged, and he sends Lakshmana to Kishkinda with a note of warning..
When Lakshmana enters the city, anger personified, Sugriva is stuck with mortal fear.. He send Thara, the beautiful queen of Bali to meet and pacify Lakshmana.
Of course Lakshmana is a Royal gentleman and he would not show anger to a lady..
So he addresses Thara in calm words.. He is warning against the attitude of Sugriva who has forgotten his duties and is just spending his time in consuming hooch..
The warning not is that if Sugriva just failed to forget his commitment to Rama, then his Dharma, Artha and Kama all could vanish in a moment .. if the anger of Rama and Lakshmana worked against him.)
Messages against drinking are in plenty.. Such messages are read, praised, but mostly not put into practice.
One more such message in the hope that it would do some good to all.

मित्रस्य मा चक्षुषा सर्वाणि भूतानि समीक्षन्ताम्



मित्रस्य मा चक्षुषा सर्वाणि भूतानि समीक्षन्ताम्।
मित्रस्य चक्षुषा सर्वाणि भूतानि समीक्षे ।
मित्रस्य चक्षुषा समीक्षामहे।
यजुर्वेदम् 38-18
दूरङ्गमं ज्योतिषां ज्योतिरेकः तन्मे मनः शिवसङ्कल्पमस्तु।
यजुर्वेदं वाजसनेयी संहिता 34 - 1
Mitrasya chakshushaa sarvaani bhutani sameekshantaam
Mitrasya chakshushaa sarvaani bhootaani sameekshe
Mitrasya,chakshuushaa sameekshaamahe
Yajurvedam 34 -1
Doorangamam jyothishaam jyotirekah
Tan me manah shiva sankalpamastu
I present before you
two great mantrams from yajurveda.
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The first Prayer from Yajurvedam
May all things present in the universe look upon one another with the eyes of friendship and goodwill.
I see, I am eager to see and perceive, all things around me with the eyes of friendship and goodwill.
Thus may we all look upon one another wit the eyes of friendship
And from Vajasaneyi samnhita comes the second mantram
May my mind reflect on that being with brilliant effulgence- spreading its glory far and -- the shine that alone causes everything to shine-- and may that mind of mine desire only what is good for me and others.
=====
The prayers are for universal friendship and universal goodwill.
Of course a devout person will say the first prayer is to Mitra.. the Sun.
Yes Mitra is the greatest friend of all of us. Without him we have no existence. So that prayer is in order
The second prayer iis conceived by the devotees as directed towards Shiva..
Yes Lord Shiva is the embodiment of all that is great and peaceful.
So the desire to contemplate on Shiva who is the source of all the brilliance far and near is also very correct.
Shivasankalpam is sublime beyond words and thoughts.
We just saw Divinity in all that is sublime..at least Vedas did so.

I am not at all bothered about the source from which knowledge and information comes...



I am not at all bothered about the source from which knowledge and information comes...
I devour the contents, wherever it comes from, be it printed books, be it manuscript or scraps, be it electronice documents or voice recorded or videographed material or a discourse from a learned person or a lecture from a professor.. or even a talk with a friend
In fact availability of pdf or other electronic formats of books and documents have actually revolutionized the realm of knowledge..
Now there will be no one in the world who would be forced to suffer ignorance for lack of reading material..
Many sites.. many books that could be downloaded free or through payments..
Of course the inclination to read can vary from person to person..
And, fully knowing that I would not be able to read too many books in the time left for me, I never stop acquiring any sort of book..
Normally, we accountants and taxmen talk of book balance as the money available as per account books
However, my idea of book balance is that state of balance of mind we can attain by reading good books, or the balance we can keep in regulating our lived to have sufficient time to read books..

Why are people following Godmen of first to last century? Or alive Godmen of this century?



Why are people following Godmen of first to last century?
Or alive Godmen of this century?
They follow such Godmen's cult or even religion.
They even make 'filmy' bhajans on these godmen for popularity.
They make temples and churches and mosques and other prayer halls for the followers!
What drives these activities? Is it only money consideration?
Someone asks
My honest respnse
Religion and its observation are above five percent faith and the rest showmanship.
There may be a tiny fraction of conviction too..
And in any organized group activity, the more showy, the more talkative a person is, the more attention he draws and he is more popular..
Take for example a leader of a Namasankeerthanam gang.. More than his musical talent, the build up given to him by his team and others, the way he makes funny gestures while he sings, the way he makes funny noises in the middle, the way he would appear to be possessed with the presence of some god at some point, all these adds to his success. Every perfoming artist resorts to certain gimmicks unique to him..
At every point of history,the best showmen became leaders..
From Vyasa Valmiki, Krishna and a lot of them like that upto the modern swamys, periavals, gurus.. all are like that
Krishnas choice of a dramatic occasions to give Gita, his Rasaleela or his dance on the head of a Sanke... are some such occasions. Without such incients, would he have reached such a fame..
This idea applies to any divine personage in any religion or faith.
And there is a secondary line of godmen who pretend to be ardent followers of the men at top, and try to gain mileage but generation mass hysteria over the name and fame of the senior leader.. but they would be biding for their time to stab the leader on his back, throw him away from his seat and quietly occupy the seat falling vacant.
If there are two teachers, one of them well stocked in knowledge but less articulate, and another whose knowledge has many blank spaces but who talks and and presents things well, the second would become more successful and the leader too
No human being is above vanity, showmanship and worship of what is apparent than what is substantial comes instinctively to all the people
Maybe there are people who are indeed very deep and wide in their intellectual content, but if they do not show off, they would not be praised or followed in Society
Do you think there was no greater swami in India aprat from Vivekananda ?
Do you think there was no greater political leader in India apart from Gandhi?
And in the field of music, fine arts, word-craft etc, the persons who are able to churn up the emotions of the audience albeit temporarily are the only successful ones
We are carried way by the tall talks of many film stars..
We even attribute spotless character and all qualities like selflessness, chastity etc in such persons..
Remember, they are professional actors.
And let us remember, all leaders are consummate actors too..
No one can be really successful if he cannot have at least two faces.
It is a tragedy that often we have to show two faces even for mere survival..

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

छायामन्यस्य कुर्वन्ति तिष्ठन्ति स्वयमातपे



छायामन्यस्य कुर्वन्ति तिष्ठन्ति स्वयमातपे ।
फलान्यपि परार्थाय वृक्षाः सत्पुषा ईव ॥
chāyāmanyasya kurvanti tiṣṭhanti svayam ātape
phalānyapi parārthāya vṛkṣāḥ satpuruṣā iva
There is a lot in common between a grown tree and a mature noble person
The tree stands immobile in scorching sun and gives shadow to living beings who take shelter underneath them
The fruits growing in the trees are also given free as food for others.
Great people too are like that.
They would receive and endure the brunt of misfortune, suffering and torture meted out and protect others from difficulties in that process.
But others who are watching this and can understand the sacrifice should not permit the tree to suffer always..
Remember, the tree would choose to suffer for ever but if the heat is too great, its foliage, branches and trunk .. all would dry up and the tree would die.
So there would be no tree and and no shadow..
Therefore devoted care should be taken to add water at the roots of the tree when the summer is at is peak..
Instead we watch the tree to rot, so that we can cut the timber easily..
This happens in the case of noble souls too..
Will we ever change?
ഛായാമന്യസ്യ കുര്‍വന്തി തിഷ്ഠന്തി സ്വയം ആതപേ
ഫലാന്യപി പരാര്ഥായ വൃക്ഷാഃ സത്പുരുഷാ ഇവ
മഹാവൃക്ഷങ്ങള്‍ക്കും നല്ല മനസ്സുള്ള വ്യക്തികള്‍ക്കും ഇടയില്‍ ഒരുപാടു കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ സാമ്യമായുണ്ട്
വൃക്ഷങ്ങള്‍ പൊരിയുന്ന വെയിലത്ത് ഇലകളും കൊമ്പുകളും വിടര്‍ത്തി ക്ലേശം സഹിച്ചു നിവര്‍ന്നു നില്‍ക്കുന്നു.. അവയുടെ നിഴലില്‍ എത്രയോ ജീവികള്‍ക്ക് ആശ്വാസം കിട്ടുന്നു. മരങ്ങളില്‍ കായ്ക്കുന്ന പഴങ്ങളും സ്വയം തിന്നനല്ല.. വരുന്നവര്‍ക്കെല്ലാം വീതിച്ചു കൊടുക്കാനുള്ളവ മാത്രം
നല്ല മനുഷ്യരും ഇതുപോലെ ഒക്കെയാണ്. സ്വയം ജീവിതത്തില്‍ എന്തൊക്കെ വിഷമങ്ങള്‍ സഹിച്ചാലും ആശ്രയിച്ചു നില്‍ക്കുന്ന വരെ ഏതുവിധേനയും സംരക്ഷിക്കാന്‍ വേണ്ടി പാടുപെടുന്നു. താന്‍ നേടിയതും നേടുന്നതും നെറ്വാന്‍ പോകുന്നതും എല്ലാം മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ക്ക് വേണ്ടി മാത്രമാണ് എന്ന് അവര്‍ സ്വന്തം ജീവിതം കൊണ്ട് തെളിയിച്ചുകൊണ്ടേയിരിക്കുന്നു

the merits of each of the fifteen Tithis in Mahalaya paksham



Now I am trying to attempt the merits of each of the fifteen Tithis in Mahalaya paksham and also the following Ashvina Shukla pratipadam.. the prathama tithi following the Mahalaya Amavasya..
I quote from what Sage Markandeya Said..
मार्कण्डेय
कन्यागते सवितरि दिनानि दशपञ्च च पार्वणेन विधिना तत्र श्राद्धम् विधीयते॥
प्रतिपद् धनलाभाय द्वितीया हि प्रजाप्रदा वरार्थिनां तृतीया च चतुर्थी शत्रुनाशिनी॥
श्रियं प्राप्नोति पञ्चम्यां षष्ठ्यां पूज्यो भवेन्नरः।गणधिपत्यं सप्तम्यां अष्टम्यां वृद्धिमुत्तमम्॥
स्त्रियो नवम्यां प्राप्नोति दशम्यां पूर्णकामतां वेदांस्तथाप्नुयात्सर्वानेकादश्यां क्रियापरः॥
द्वादश्यां हेमलाभं च प्राप्नोति पितृपूजकः॥
प्रजां मेधां पशून् पुष्टिं च वृद्धिमुत्तमाम्॥
दीर्घमायुष्यमैश्वर्यं कुर्वाणस्तु त्रयोदशीम्।
अवाप्नोति न सन्देहः श्राद्धम् श्रद्धापरो नरः।
युवानो पितरो यस्य स्मृताः शस्त्रेण वै हताः।
तेन कार्यं चतुर्दश्यां तेषां ऋद्धिमभीप्सताम्।
श्राद्धं तु कुर्वन्नमावास्यायां अन्नेन पुरुषाः शुचिः।
सर्वान् कामान् अवाप्नोति स्वर्गं च अत्यन्तमश्नुते॥
आश्विनशुक्ळप्रतिपदि दौहित्रस्य मातामहस्राद्धमुत्तमं॥
mārkāṇḍeya
kanyāgate savitari dināni daśapañca ca pārvaṇena vidhinā tatra śrāddham vidhīyate||
pratipad dhanalābhāya dvitīyā hi prajāpradā varārthināṁ tṛtīyā ca caturthī śatrunāśinī||
śriyaṁ prāpnoti pañcamyāṁ ṣaṣṭhyāṁ pūjyo bhavennaraḥ|gaṇadhipatyaṁ saptamyāṁ aṣṭamyāṁ vṛddhimuttamam||
striyo navamyāṁ prāpnoti daśamyāṁ pūrṇakāmatāṁ vedāṁstathāpnuyātsarvānekādaśyāṁ kriyāparaḥ||
dvādaśyāṁ hemalābhaṁ ca prāpnoti pitṛpūjakaḥ||
prajāṁ medhāṁ paśūn puṣṭiṁ ca vṛddhimuttamām||
dīrghamāyuṣyamaiśvaryaṁ kurvāṇastu trayodaśīm |
avāpnoti na sandehaḥ śrāddham śraddhāparo naraḥ|
yuvāno pitaro yasya smṛtāḥ śastreṇa vai hatāḥ|
tena kāryaṁ caturdaśyāṁ teṣāṁ ṛddhimabhīpsatām|
śrāddhaṁ tu kurvannamāvāsyāyāṁ annena puruṣāḥ śuciḥ|
sarvān kāmān avāpnoti svargaṁ ca atyantamaśnute||
āśvinaśukḻapratipadi dauhitrasya mātāmahasrāddhamuttamaṁ||
When the Sun enters the Kanya Rasi, it is ordained that Shraddham as per Parvana Vidhi should be conducted for fiftten days..
( The days to be reckoned are from the Prathama Tithi after the pournami in Kanya month.. the fifteen days upto Amavasya.. and in some cases the Prathama Tithi after the Amavasya ( called the mahalaya amavasa )too.
The sraddham performed on the Prathama tithi of Krishna Paksham during mahalaya.. would bless us with a lot of money and affluence
The Sraddham performed on the Dvitheeya following the above would bless the performes with health progeny.
The Sraddham performed on the thriteeya following the aboue would help in finding suitable Varas or grooms for the females in the family.
The Sraddham performed on the Chaturthi following the above would destroy one's enemies.
The Sraddham performed on the Panchami following the above would bless us with Shree.. the presence of affluence and plenty and grace at home.
The Sraddham performed on the Shashti following the above would make the performer respected by all.
The Sraddham performed on the Saptami following the above would make the performer the leader of the groups and clans in which he lives.
The Sraddham performed on the Ashtami following the above would provide Vriddhi to the family.. birth of children, marriage, happy functions, increase in possessions and so on.
The Sraddham performed on the Navami following the above would help in finding suitable brides for the males in the family.
The Sraddham performed on the Dashami following the above would help in one attaining all that he desired very fondly.
The Sraddham performed on the Ekadashi following the above would help the performer getting deep knowledge in Vedas.
The Sraddham performed on the Dvaadashi following the above would enable the performer to earn Gold in plenty, Children, Intellect, Cattle, general increase in affluence, and progress and expansion in the family in all its aspects.
The Sraddham performed on the thryayodashi following the above would, no doubt, provide us with long life and prosperity.
Those whose fathers have departed into memory at very young age.. perhaps by fate, and those persons whose fathers and grandsires have been killed by weapons, and the kin of the youth who departed too young, should performe Sradhams for such departed persons on Krishna Chaturdashi.. if they desire progress for themselves and satisfaction for the departed ones.
And those who perform Sraddham on Amavasya.. with arrangement for feeding the Bhokthas with rice too, and if they perform the sraddham after ensuring that they are pure both physically and mentally, they would attain all that is to be attained on this earth, and would reach the ultimate heaven when they depart..
And on the Shukla Prathama.. the day usually following the Mahalaya Amavasya, the Grandsons by daughters should perfom Shraddam for the maternal grandfather and his predecessors.. Some hold the view that even maternal uncles should be included here..
The literature and discussions on the subject can run to volumes.. and there can be variations in views about to comparative merits of certain tithis.. These can be discussed in due cours..
But paying respects to Departed elders during Mahalayam or pittupaksham is considered our duty.. and such memorial performance is sure to bring great welfare and divine grace..