musings 299

I am never content with what I am..

I want to earn more.

I do not mean the physical possessions which add to the creature comforts.

I want to earn more knowledge and experience..

I want to earn more friends..

I want to earn more love and more Divine blessings

Stagnation is destruction, annihilation..

And I do not believe that death or cessation of existence of this physical body means an end to what I am

Whatever I possess not by way of material wealth, in my view, would cling to my inner self..

So I can continue in the next life from where I stopped in this life.

Nothing good in life goes waste..

And nothing bad in life shall go unpunished..

Lifes philosophy is so simple..

Why are specific days prescribed for condolence ?

There was a query..

Why are specific days prescribed for condolence ?

My understanding of the matter is that

Is there any such prescription in Shrutis or smrithis.. not exactly.. ?

Of course condolence beyond the aashaucham period is odd.. because on the eleventh day even the close kin take purificatory bath and start living in some sort of normalcy..

The days prescribed are through some social arrangement..

The prohibition for other days seem to be some later justification..

But then there is a social background..

The bereaved people are in a mental turmoil.. Though some sympathy and show of solidarity may be of great help to them, if people start butting in without any order or reason and without any time schedule, that can lead the close family into greater turmoil and disturbance..

And avoiding some week days are the choice of those who go for the condolence.. mainly because they feel certain week days and stars are too sacred to grieve..

It is just a choice.

And for the close relatives, Sapindas, Samanodhakaas and Jnaathis, they have no such restrictions..

In fact when a person in the clan dies, it is expected that all Dayathis, and even persons closely connected on the mother's side by one or two generations alone should all stay together under the same roof and share the same food.. for ten days. Or at least as long as they have aashaucham.

Of course this is not done these day..

If some busybodies weave yarns about more and more superstitions even Yajnavalkya or Apastambha cannot explain such issues..

I am talking about things applicable to Tamil Brahmin system..

In Kerala, Saturday is the prescribed day for visits on condolence.. We Tamils abhor that idea.. There are many such variations..

But the bottomline is that there should be dignity on the part of the mourners as well as the visitors.. And the visitors are expected to be kind.. because the grief suffered by the mourners is beyond repair..

And mind you, there is no restriction on visits before cremation or on the tenth day before Prabhootha Bali..

प्रेक्षणीयः प्रयत्नेन स्वभावो नेतरे गुणाः

प्रेक्षणीयः प्रयत्नेन स्वभावो नेतरे गुणाः।

अतीत्य हि गुणान् सर्वान् स्वभावो मूर्ध्नि तिष्टति॥

vallabhadeva subhashitam

prekṣaṇīyaḥ prayatnena svabhāvo netare guṇāḥ|

atītya hi guṇān sarvān svabhāvo mūrdhni tisṭhati||

One should carefully observe keenly the basic character of any person with whom he would like to associate and also should ensure that the highest level of character is maintained in his own individual case. Other attributes and attainments are of lesser significance. The intrinsic merit of the character of a person stands at the top or in the position of the top of head when compared to other attributes .

If the intrinsic character of a person is of great integrity, other merits would follow sooner or later. And if the intrinsic character is flawed no toppings or window dressings would be adequate to cover such defect

इतो मृत्युरितो व्याधिरितो विपदितो जरा।

इतो मृत्युरितो व्याधिरितो विपदितो जरा।

चतुरङ्ग तुल्यबला हन्ति लोकमनित्यता॥

महाभारते शान्तिपर्वे २०५-४

ito mṛtyurito vyādhirito vipadito jarā|

caturaṅga tulyabalā hanti lokamanityatā||

mahābhārate śāntiparve 205-4

The world and its occupants are attacked by the army consisting of four equally powerful wings ( like the chaturanga force in formal wars ).. the combined attack is by the force of uncertainty and impermanence..

The four limbs of the attackhing army are

Death, Disease, Dangers and accidents and Old age

( All these strengthen one another and jointly and severally add to the state of perilous uncertainty )

This statement occurs in Mahabharatham, but reveals a perennial truth.

musings 298

Narayana, Narayana, Narayana

Yes, the one word which I would have tried too many times to force in the thoughts maximum number of times

Perhpas the one word that ultimately surfaces in the mind when the mind is empty, cluless, directionless ..

Do not know whether the word has any meaning, and I do not know the meaning of the word, even if it has some meaning

But I was told as a child.. call the name at least for five minutes daily.. It was forced on me then

But later on, that became an obsession

Now it is the enigmatic involuntary background score in the mind, whether it is wanted or not.. whether it is sought after or not.

We go after something.. That avoids us at first .. Slowly that becomes slightly friendly.. From there it becomes a habit, an obsession.. Finally that becomes part of us, that becomes us.

That is Narayana