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Zeal is the biggest wealth

The haves are haves if they have zeal; if they have it not,
they are have-nots, whatever else they may have


குறள் 591:

உடையர் எனப்படுவது ஊக்கம் அஃதில்லார்
உடையது உடையரோ மற்று.

Energy makes out the man of property; as for those who do not have it, do they (really) possess what they possess ?.

Learning is a Continuous Process

Learning is a Continuous Process


Yaadhaanum naadaamaal uooraamaal
ennoruvan 
Saandhunaiyung kallaadha vaaru 


For the truly learned, every land and town on earth is their own; 

When that is so, why does the process of learning not continue till death?   - ThirValluvar Kural 397




Learn as if you will Live forever  - M.K. Gandhi

FIR (Frequency Intensity and Recovery time)

I received a call from a close friend recently, "I want to talk to you" he said. Being a friend of several years I knew him very well - "So you had a bad day at work?" 

We went out for a coffee. He went about explaining an incident and how he had lost patience and had shouted at this superior. He repeated “it is unfair", "it is unfair" at least a dozen times in 20 minutes. I listened uninterruptedly. 

I told him, "it's ok, getting upset is a part of life".

It was like rubbing salt I guess, his voice even more agitated, "So you want me to stomach injustice?”.

I told him firmly, "No, I don’t want you to stomach injustice". That is not the message. Popular slokas, (Yada Yada hi Dharmasya, Paritraanaya Sadhunaam) talk about protecting dharma and fighting injustice. 

There are 3 responses for every upsetting situation,  Reaction or Inaction or Action

Reaction: To react instantaneously and impulsively with anger is not a wise option. Anger by nature causes more harm than good to the person.

krodhaadbhavati sammohah sammohaatsmritivibhramah |

smritibhramshaadbuddhinaasho buddhinaashaatpranashyati ||

From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory the ruin of reason; from ruin of reason, man finally perishes.

Inaction: To be inactive (passive) is also not the right option. 

sukhaduhkhe same kritvaa laabhaalaabhau jayaajayau |
tato yuddhaaya yujyasva naivam papamavapsyasi ||

Treat joy or sorrow, gain or loss, victory or defeat with equanimity, and then engage in appropriate Action. By doing so, you will not incur sin.

Action: Reaction/Inaction are not appropriate choices. Action is needed, however, an action that has been well thought and thorough.

I quote Thirukural here - a scripture more than 2000 years old which is a golden source of wisdom. Each couplet conveys the complete message in 7 words precisely.

Kural 490

கொக்கொக்க கூம்பும் பருவத்து மற்றதன்

குத்தொக்க சீர்த்த இடத்து

As heron stands with folded wing, so wait in waiting hour;
As heron snaps its prey, when fortune smiles, put forth your power.

The day is raft with events and situations that will make us upset. It is natural to get upset. But to realise that we are upset, and to respond appropriately will yield success. With deliberation, we can work towards reducing the FIR of getting upset - the Frequency of getting upset, the Intensity of getting upset and the Recovery time from an upsetting situation. 

So my friend, there is no need to stomach injustice, respond appropriately with a bit of patience and thinking. Reacting in anger will not be favourable to you. 

Adieu

Daanam

To understand the correct essence of Gita and other Vedantic scriptures, the teachings of a competent Guru is required.

After the maturity of mind (ChittaSudhhi) is increased from Karma yoga (simple definition of Karma yoga is, to do our daily activities based on dharma without questioning the results); the next step up the spiritual ladder is Shravanam. I have dealt with Shravanam in one of the earlier blogs - Shravanam simply put is the "Systematic and consistent study of vedantic scriptures (for a lengthy period of time) under the guidance of a competent Guru". 

To get a good Guru is one of the biggest blessings in this time and age, as in today's world there are so many fake ones.

Having said that, the 17th chapter of the Gita is something that we can read and comprehend without much difficulty. And unlike other chapters, the chances of mis-interpreting these slokas are minimal.

This chapter is not just the easiest to follow, it is one of the significant ones that can be applied to practice in everyday life. It deals with Yagna (sacrifice), Tapas (austerity) and Daana (charity) in a manner that can be adopted in daily lives.

Just a couple of them for illustrating the significance of these slokas, slokas 8 to 22 have many more such messages.

This one below depicts the austerity of speech (Vak Tapas)

anudvega-karam vakyam
satyam priya-hitam ca yat
svadhyayabhyasanam caiva
van-mayam tapa ucyate

Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting scriptures.

It's interesting to note that Satyam (Truth of speech) has been given a higher order than Priyam (Pleasingness of speech). I find this useful particularly when you are faced in a situation (at office most probably) where you need to convey a truth that is not so pleasing!

datavyam iti yad danam
diyate 'nupakarine
dese kale ca patre ca
tad danam sattvikam smrtam

Daanam (Charity) given without expectation of any returns, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person is considered to be Saatvik - the highest form of goodness.

yat tu Pratyupakarartham

phalam uddisya va punah

diyate ca pariklistam

tad danam rajasam smrtam

Charity performed with the expectation of some return (such as Punya or heaven), or with a desire for fruitive results, or in a grudging mood, is said to be charity to be Raajasik or mode of passion.

And to conclude the third form of Charity (Tamasik or mode of ignorance) is where charity is performed out of fear or force without giving proper attention to the worthiness of person, time and place.

To note here, Tamasik Charity is good enough and is much better than No Charity at all !

However good enough is not as good as Best- hence we should strive for Saatvikness in all our deeds including Charity.

Cheers

Fate and Fatalism

Honesty is the richest legacy - I was reading a book by Sudha murthy and could connect with several of her observations. She has written a small story on Honesty, which I read out aloud to my son. (Just to give you a background of the situation, he was studying for his exams and I had taken time off to be just with him; do absolutely nothing; but to be around him during the stressful time of exams). He suddenly asked me a question, 'Mama, is everything already pre-destined? should I really work so hard?, some of my friends are so lucky that they get questions from only what they study'

Thirukural 619

Transliteration(Tamil to English)

Theyvaththaan aakaa theninum muyarchidhan; 

meyvaruththak kooli tharum

Though fate-divine should make your labour vain; 

Effort its labour's sure reward will gain.

This was my immediate response to his innocuous question. That one can defeat fate through hard work, and that the more he studies thoroughly the chances of him getting good results are higher, etc.. I guess this is the usual stuff a parent would tell a son.

Later I tried reading a few scriptures on this subject - till date I have not found any question related to self knowledge unanswered in the scriptures.

The concept of Fate and Fatalism.

I will try to summarise :-) what is quoted in the Chandhogya upanishad in a manner that will make sense. As per the Law of karma, we produce results due to our actions. So all results are produced by our own action only, solely. So if people are lucky or unlucky this is due to his or her own actions. That's quite reassuring to know, that there is no force out there that is partial to one over another.

Anyways there seems to be a huge caveat here....

The principles of Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami: Human-beings have freewill. Hence in a given situation, two people can react differently which can be totally opposite. This freewill causes actions. Actions are the cause of Karma.

Basically there are three kinds of Karma. They are called Sanchita (the accumulated karmas), Prarabdha (the current karmas), and Agami (the expected karmas). Sanchita constitutes all the accumulated Karmas of past lifetimes of an individual.

Prarabdha (which is a part of Sanchita) is for the present life. Prarabdha explains the differences between humans - right from the time of birth - being born rich or poor, healthy or with congenital issues etc, being lucky, unlucky etc. 
Apparently, if the results of an action can be fructified in the current life due to a conducive environment, it will happen. Else this karma will move to Sanchita which will be effected in a future life. Conducive is defined as an environment that will also befit the karma of people surrounding the person - wife, children etc. (example given here is that the adharmic action of a husband cannot fructify immediately if the wife is very dharmic and vice-versa as the lives are related). Such karma moves to Sanchita without fructification in the current life.

As per law of karma, To be lucky now and in the future the only way is to lead a dharmic life (a life of righteousness).

Bye, until we meet again.