IS MAN PERFECT?

Man is bundle of imperfections.No man is born without any fault. People are born dumb, deaf, lame and have various deformities in body and mind. There are many robust in their body and constitution but weak in their mind and autistic. Some are weak and emaciated but strong and active in their mental activity. A few more are partially or totally blind and cannot enjoy the beauty of this wonderful world! One kind of disease or other troubles most of the people in the world. The rich man has all the luxuries of the world but cannot eat to his fill because of diabetes!  Many are obese and try to reduce their weight by any means while others, weak in body, try various means to put on weight. Thus our life is a mixture of various complexities that worry us throughout our existence!

Is there any relief from these imperfections in man?why should man be born with these liabilities?  Why should God bring into existence people with deformities and disabilities? Is God partial? These are a few questions commonly asked! The answers are not far to seek! A few people call this unmerited suffering! But nothing in the world is caused without a reason. No effect can occur without a cause. Hinduism believes in the theory of karma and rebirth. According to that  man is involved in the cycle of birth and death! He takes innumerable births or janmas and performs various acts or karmas good and bad. The effects of his good and bad deeds visit upon him at every birth at regular intervals of time punctually.His good deeds in the past give him happiness and prosperity while the bad deeds make him suffer untold miseries! None can escape from the effects of his own karma! The accumulated karma in his innumerable births is so great that man has to take endless births to

experience the effects of the same.

With all these imperfections and disabilities man is under the delusion that he is perfect!  Apart from his bodily defects, mental aberrations, he has to fight a very unequal fight with the invincible inner enemies, six in number--” arishadvargas'”. These are embedded eternally in every individual and are formidable because they are invisible! These adversaries are “ kama-desire,  krodha-anger,lobha-miserliness, moha- attachment, mada- arrogance and pride, and matsarya- envy,hatred.Man has to fight a losing battle against each of these enemies! He is finally overpowered by each one of these antagonists! The first enemy, desire, is the root cause of his rise and fall. It raises him to the pinnacle of glory but at the same time dumps him into the abysmal regions of failure and ignominy!!The others are the offshoots of desire! Anger makes him imbalanced and he behaves without realizing the consequence of his action! He becomes miserly and selfish! He is more attached to mundane things and kith and kin. He develops arrogance and pride. Enveloped and entangled in these unavoidable attachments he enjoys and suffers alternately!

Despite these defects and deficiencies man thinks that he is perfect and gloats ever his birth and performance! He always plays down his faults and magnifies those of others. When he points a finger at others, three fingers point to him. In other words for every defect or mistake in others, he has three defects in himself! “ It is a sin to accuse others when there is a mountain of evil within you. Happiness is obtained not when desires are fulfilled, but when desires are destroyed” asserts Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba.It is meaningless to criticize others when one has so many defects in himself. It is the nature of man to find faults in others. He readily takes in the evil in others and neglects the good in them. This tendency in him has to be curbed.

Let everyone cultivate the habit of seeing the good in others and try to imitate those qualities! With so many innate negative propensities, man has only a few desirable good qualities. Let them be cherished and cultivated. It is not impossible for man to lead a happy life if he sees the good in others and avoid the defects in himself! In spite of his inherent enemies and defects man has been blessed with intellect and discrimination to live happily on earth!

Bhajan and service

BHAJAN AND SERVICE

The word Bhajan means to worship.Repetition of the name of the Lord and singing his glory is generally called Bhajan! There is a congregation of people at a particular venue, and they repeat the name of their chosen deity  with concentration for a fixed time. It can also be singing the glory of various God's and goddesses accompanied  by musical instruments to create an emotional impact on the singer as well as the audience. Bhajans have become very popular of late and there is an an increased participation of common people during the Bhajan. Bhajan is also called Namasankeertan. In these days of Kali Yuga Bhajan is the only panacea for all the ills of society. People in Kali Yuga are stained with evil thoughts, earn money through devious ways,are not bothered about the mandates of religion or the significance of rituals.For all these types of individuals, Bhajan is the only goal,that which can absolve them of their sins and misdeeds! The name of God is so powerful that it transforms a person from being a sinner to a holy person! The robber became sage Valmiki by repeating the name'mara’ that became ‘Rama’ on repetition!

A robber chief ordered his gangsters, “ vane charamo vasucha haramo ndistaramo vachanam smaramaha “--Go to the forest;plunder wealth; cross the river; remember the words.--It is said that the robber chief attained salvation as he uttered the name ‘ Rama’ four times,though inadvertently! The spiritual ambience in Bhajan turns the person to the path of spirituality slowly but steadily. The melody of the Bhajan induces a sense of bliss where he forgets himself in the bhava. Bhajan purifies the heart of the singer. For an hour or so, people forget themselves and do not think of their families and entanglements. Not only this, the reverberating name of the Lord purifies the entire atmosphere. In short, attending a Bhajan session is a wonderful spiritual experience that has to be replenished again and again.

On the other hand service is a source of everlasting pleasure! ‘ service to man is service to God'. “ The satisfaction that you get by participating in bhajan is temporary whereas service confers permanent satisfaction.”remarks Bhagawan Sri Says SAI BABA! This body of ours is expected to serve and help others. “ Paropakarartha midam sareeram” says the sasthras.Serving others gives us a mental satisfaction. We are seeing the Divine in the other person! The feeling that we have after helping or serving others is indescribable!Service is a kind of sadhana by itself! We increase our spiritual plane by serving others. We lose our ego and selfishness by serving others.Service has to be rendered without expectation of any reward! Otherwise it cannot be called service. As the Lord says, “ karmanye vadhkarastthu ma phaleshu kadachana”---You have the authority to perform karma, not to expect any reward!

Performing bhajans is also a kind of service to society. It allows people to hear the songs and the name of the Lord though they do not attend the bhajans. Later they may be drawn to these congregations slowly.  But serving others selflessly is far more important and better than merely repeating the name of the Lord! “ The hands that serve are better than the lips that pray” The ideal of service has been propagated by various great souls like Sri Ramakrishna paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda who established Sri Ramakrishna Mutt in India and all over the world!Yeoman service is being rendered by this organization to the poor, downtrodden and the dalit community.During floods, earthquakes, and in other calamities they plunge into action and save many precious lives. Various service organizations have sprung up in India and they are involved in  different types of service  to the needy and helpless.

So let us not be selfish but look into the needs and necessities of the poor and downtrodden! Most of the poor and manual labourers cannot afford a meal a day! We live in comfort and luxury and do not think of the travails of the less fortunate. We should remember that there is a pleasure in giving than in receiving!  The more fortunate have to show concern for the less fortunate and involve themselves in charitable activities and derive soul satisfaction as well as the Grace of the Lord. “ He lives who lives for others!”

RENUNCIATION

RENUNCIATION is a quality not given to man! From the time of his birth he is subjected to various attachments. He has his father, mother, brothers and sisters,uncles, aunts and other relationships! As he grows he develops association with other friends. When he enters the school he meets his teachers and is influenced by them. When he is a youth and an eligible bachelor he meets his chosen spouse and the cycle repeats itself when children are born!  So man's life is a continuous process of attachment to some person or object known or unknown to him! There is more and more attachment and It increases as he grows and there is no question of his coming out of these attachments!!

What is the cause of this attachment? It is because of illusion or Maya which creates ego or ‘ ahankara’! Man begins to think that it is his body,.his father, his mother and so on! He becomes possessive more attached to them. He feels that he cannot exist in the world without them! To him all these relationships become indispensable! The moment the child is born, it is enveloped by the six inner enemies viz ‘ arishadvargas’ that lie embedded and develope silently in it! We are surprised to see the anger in the child when some toy is seized from its hand and we are delighted to witness it's anger and possessiveness! The roots of selfishness are already sowed into its individuality!Out of the six inner enemies of man KAMA or desire is the most dangerous and fatal!The second is Lobha or miserliness. These two lead to anger, arrogance, jealousy and never ending attachment! Unable to extricate himself from these hidden foes man becomes a victim helplessly!

 

What is RENUNCIATION? Is it possible for him to achieve that in his lifetime? Or is he doomed for ever to be an abject slave of these ‘ arishadvargas'?’Arjuna was assailed with attachment or “mamakara” as he stood in front of his mentors and kith and kin on the battlefield at Kurukshetra! He refused to fight and threw down his famous bow Gandiva! ? He went to the extent of saying that he would rather beg than eat the bloody meal after killing all of them! It is then the Lord delivers his Divine discourse, the Bhagavad-Gita and clears all his doubts! Unless attachment is discarded renunciation cannot come.Attachment to mundane things has to be  given up and attention devoted to spiritual things and meditation on God! Attachment to the body must be given up as well as to other things which is the most difficult part of man's life!

The Vedas proclaim that it is sacrifice or renunciation that makes man immortal!  “ nakarmana na Prajaya na dhanena thayge naikena amrutatwa manasuhu” It is not through karma or action or progeny or money but by sacrifice or renunciation that immortality is achieved! Those whom we consider as immortals have sacrificed something that  made them immortal!   “Giving up evil qualities is the real renunciation. That is the real Thyaga( sacrifice) and yoga. Body attachment is human and total detachment is Divine” declares Bhagawan Sri Says Sai Baba! Our sages and seers were all totally nonattached and employed themselves in total meditation on God! They were, no doubt, family men, but untouched by ‘ mamakara’ or  attachment. Renunciation can be attained by constant concentration and meditation on God! It is also possible to develop the quality by association with devotees and sathsang! This will lead to ‘ nisssangatwam’! This will take him to “ nirmohatwam--non attachment and finally to emancipation or ‘ jeevanmukti’! “ satsangatve nisssangatvam  nissangatve nirmohatvam nirmohatve--nischalatatvam  nischalatatve jivan muktihihi”declares Adi Sankara in his Bhajagovinda sthothra!

It should be the aim and purpose of every single individual to be as non attached as possible! It does not mean that you should refrain from all karmas or actions! As a father, mother or son you should discharge your duties perfectly--not more not less! Otherwise you will be drawn into the cycle of samsara! The less we are involved in mundane affairs the better! We need not go far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife and sit under the greenwood trees for serious meditation or tapas!  The  stories of our Nayanmars and Azwars and Ramadas, Kabirdas and a host of others remind us that pure  devotion and total surrender to the will of God shall lead us to the rarest of the rare grace of God! Nothing more is needed for non attachment!

Is God the cause of suffering?

Life is not a bed of roses! Nor is it a bed of thorns. It is a mixture of both pain and

pleasure, good and evil ,right and wrong, happiness and suffering. Caught in the midst  of the cycle of birth and death, he is born again and again and enjoys and suffers! He is elated when he is happy and depressed when in misery. That is human nature. In his ignorance he thinks that he is the cause for his success, pleasure, and enjoyment! He blows his own trumpet when he succeeds and celebrates the victory grandly with gusto.He wants to be happy permanently. When life itself is impermanent, how can he be joyful for ever? He forgets that joy and sorrow are twins and that one cannot enjoy without the other. A person in the hot sun alone can realize the importance of shade and rest!

•      The peculiarity of man is to gloat over his success and blame God for all his losses and failures! He throws up his hands, looks up  and says that God has deceived him! He feels sorry that God has no eyes and heart to save him from all his failures and losses! He does not ponder over the nature of his actions,good or bad and fails to think how God can be responsible for his actions. Is man right in his thought about God? God has given us free will and gift of thinking as a special quality! We have to exercise that quality properly to live happily on earth. Misusing that faculty and blaming God for our failures is meaningless and unsustainable!

                     “ God will never make anyone suffer at any point of time.” says Bhagawan Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. He is impartial, non attached, blissful, transcendent and does not interfere in our actions. He is only the witness--’ sakshibhuta’ of all our actions and thoughts. It is not his duty to make us suffer or enjoy. But he is the protector of all and compassionate. It is sheer ignorance to imagine that God gives us suffering to his own creatures, the human beings! If God does not give suffering, then, what is it that makes people suffer or enjoy? The answer is very simple. It is our actions in this world that bring us success and defeat. Neither God nor the parents, sons and daughters, and siblings or kith and kin is responsible for  a person’s success or failure!

        Man suffers or enjoys through the effect of his past actions,, good or bad. Every action has an equivalent and opposite reaction.He has accumulated the effects of his actions during the innumerable births he had.These effects are now visiting him after every birth in the form of joy and sorrow! We call this as “ prarabda karma” - actions that have become effective already and yielding results! We have accumulated so much in our previous births that the effects cannot be experienced in a single birth of the individual! Hence man has to take endless births till he exhausts the effects of his karma. During the course of his every birth, he accumulates more karma that is added on to the already existing karma! There is a further deposit and he has to experience it's effect also. This is called “ Sanchita karma”. This forms the basis for man's future  experiences and is called “ agami” karma! Man cannot live without action and as his action is endless his births too are endless! This is how the cycle of birth and death operates!

       It is the operation of the law of karma that is responsible for man's s joys and sorrows, pains and pleasures, success and failure! As Bhagawan Baba has said God does not come into the picture. He has framed the laws of karma and he cannot break his own laws! He dispenses justice according to the laws  of karma! He is dispassionate and judges man on the basis of the karma at his karma. Good karma results in good for man and he enjoys. He suffers because of the effects of his bad actions in the past! God does not play any part in the suffering or enjoyment of man. Man is the architect of his own destiny!

ON  SERVICE

First and foremost a person should realize that all living creatures have the same ‘ atma’ or soul, the energizing factor of the body. The basic requirement for any person devoting himself to ‘ seva’ or service is to understand this principle. Our Sasthras  point out “ atmavat sarva bhutani” and “ ekah paratma bahu deha varthi” A person should serve himself first and help the members of the family. It is only after that he should go out into society outside. A person who cannot help or serve himself cannot be of service to others. He should never leave his family in the lurch and go out to serve others. It is a rare fortune to be born as human being! God has given this human birth to be of service to our fellow creatures and partake of their troubles  and sufferings.

   

What is service? It is helping others in need of help and who cannot help themselves. The poor, the downtrodden and the dalits and the less fortunate are those who cry for help.According to sage Vyasa serving others is ‘ punya’ and making others suffer is’ Papa or sin! “ paropakara punyaya papaya para pldanam” Selfishness is the root cause of suffering in man.This negative quality is dangerous. On account of this he becomes greedy, jealous and miserly. He is arrogant and puffed up with pride. The urge to serve and help others is a quality that cannot be developed  suddenly. It has to be cultivated early in life. Bhagawan Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba has said “ start early, drive slowly And reach safely” TheBible rightly advocates selfless service to humanity. “ He who finds himself loses himself; he who loses himself finds himself.” ‘ Don’t think of what the country or society can give you. Think of what you can give to society and to the country. Man must give back to society what one has acquired by the use of knowledge and skills received with the assistance of society.’ remarks Swami.

Why should we serve others? What is the benefit we derive from serving others? Seva or service leads to God realization. We are serving God who is enshrined in the other person.! We recognize the soul or atma-- the one who is the ‘ antaryami’ in  every animate and inanimate object. Service is purely for self realization and transformation of one’s own life! It is to root out all selfishness, ego and arrogance of man. Bhagawan Baba says, “ Service to man will help your divinity to blossom, for it will gladden your heart and make you feel that life has been worthwhile. Service to man is service to God for God is in every man, every human being and in every stone and stump” (S S S vol4pp178) How do we serve others? The aim and purpose of seva is not to reform or transform the world. It's purpose is to reform and reshape oneself. Seva should be done as a ‘ sadhana’--an achievement with total dedication as well as concentration. Real seva makes a person humble and happy. One loses his ego pride and position in serving the Lord in others! It is a kind of sadhana which eventually cleanses one’s body of self centeredness and bigotry.

Service should be selfless. There should be no thought of any gain or reward in return for the service rendered. Thus sacrifice is an integral part of seva or service. “ service to man is more valuable than what you call ‘ service to God’.God has no need of your services. Please man; you please God” says Bhagawan Baba! Service is not for show, advertisement or publicity. “ Do your duty as ‘ nishkama karma’. Swami's calls seva as” the essence of devotion, the very breath of a devotee, his very nature...an experience that convinces him that all beings are God’s Children, that all bodies are God’s altars where God is installed, that all places are His residences. Speaking on the speciality of seva or service Bhagawan Baba says “ You forget the body and ignore it's demands. You set aside your individuality and it's prestige and perquisites. You pluck your ego by its roots and cast it away. You give up your status, conceit, your name and form. Man has to worship God in the form of man. God appears before him as a blind beggar, an idiot, ,a leper, a child, a despot, an old man, a criminal or a mad man. You should look behind those veils for the Divine embodiment of Love, power and wisdom, the Sai and worship Him through seva! (SSSvol10 pp8) Seva Brin's out all the great qualities in man. Swami says, “ It broadens the heart and widens one’s vision. It fills one with joy. It promotes unity. It proclaims the truth of the spirit. You are born to serve, not to dominate. Every one in the world is a servant and not a master. All relationships of husband and wife,mother and child,the employer and the employee are based on mutual service. If the principle of service did not operate, the world would come to a halt. (SSS vol0 pp47)

It is love which is revealed as Seva or service! Bhagawan Baba says, “ Seek out the slum dwellers, the poor, neglected people in Hamlet's and take Love and Light to them in plenty.” Seva should be in the form of food for the hungry, comfort for the forlorn, consolation for the siick and the suffering.The essence of the teaching of Jesus was compassion and love. Swami says, “ Heroes while lecturing are zeros while putting what is said into practice. Be good. Do good and see good. Develop compassion. This is the way to God. Swami recommends  items of service like nursing the sick, visiting patients in the hospitals, reading nice stories sitting by the side of patients in the beds, writing letters for them and being kind and friendly to them in their loneliness and pain!

Lakshmana in the Ramayana and Hanuman can be considered as role models for service. Lakshmana  volunteered to serve his brother Sri Rama selflessly and never thought of the dangers of forest life.He kept a watchful eye looking after the welfare of his brother and his wife in the forest. It is said that he never slept throughout the stay in the forest! He was implicit in his obedience to Sri Rama while taking Sita to the ashram of Valmiki and in kindling fire to test the chastity of Sita! Hanuman is another epitome of service and self sacrifice.From the time he meets Sri Rama till the end, we see him as a true servant and messenger! That is why he is called, “ Rama pada seva dhurandhara”. He has the most difficult and challenging task of finding where Sita is! He successfully completed his mission andendears himself to SriRama. No wonder, Rama embraces Hanuman as he has given a new life to him! There is no situation in the Ramayana where Hanuman is seen as selfish! Let us, therefore, involve ourselves in selfless service and ennoble and realize ourselves!!!

Poll

ANUGRAHA----Divine Grace

We live in this world because of divine grace!  It is impossible for us to live without His Grace. It is His compassion that allows us to carry on our existence on this earth.Our defects and innumerable mistakes are overlooked by the compassionate Lord and we are able to carry on our lives. It is possible for man to surmount any difficulty or a crisis through Divine Grace. But this special Grace is a quality that one has to earn by his intense devotion or tapas. Normally one has to suffer the consequences of his past karma-- the effect of past deeds, good and bad. It is lmpossible to escape from them and thus we are born again and again to suffer and enjoy in the cycle of birth and death! God’s grace is capable of obliterating all our past karma-- and grant us salvation or mukti. This sadhana is not possible for the ordinary mortal! It is reserved for people with extraordinary devotion and love for God!

      Innumerable instances are there when the Lord has showered his Divine Grace on his chosen devotees for their rare devotion and determination to achieve their cherished spiritual goal! Child Dhruva was humiliated by his step mother and denied the love of his father!She did not allow him to sit on the lap of his father as he was not her son! Disappointed, at this humiliation, Dhruva went to the forest to perform penance. On the way sage Narada met him and gave him the Narayana mantra. He told Dhruva that he would get a much better position and salvation than the seat on the lap of his father! Dhruva was impressed and did penance with fierce zeal and concentration! Nothing could disturb him in his penance! Finally Lord Vishnu appeared before him and granted the position of the pole star permanently!  Dhruva never expected such a wonderful boon and Divine Grace from the Lord! When Divine Grace is showered it is overwhelming and beyond our expectations!

     The story of the young Markandeya is another illustration of Divine Grace showered on a devotee for his rare bhakthi and meditation! His parents had no children for long and worshipped Lord Siva. Pleased with their devotion, the Lord granted their request and asked them whether they wanted  an ordinary and long lived son or a great bhaktha but short lived for about sixteen years!  The parents preferred the latter option! Markandeya was born and from his early days exhibited exceptional devotion to Lord Siva.Days rolled on and Markandeya reached his sixteenth year!  His parents were sad and feared that what the Lord had said would surely happen.Young and innocent Markandeya questioned his parents on their sudden sadness when they reluctantly informed him about the boon granted by Lord Siva!

        Markandeya was shocked and surprised but not afraid. He wanted to change his fate by performing penance. He reassured his parents and sat with great determination to perform tapas in front of his Siblings. The end of his life was imminent and the God of death, Yama sent his kinkaras to get the life of Markandeya but they could not near him because of the heat of his penance! Yama, himself came to take the life of the young bhaktha. But it was not an easy task for him.Markandeya, seeing Yama, embraced the Siva linga. The pasa or the rope that was thrown to take his life fell on the Siva linga and Yama pulled it strongly!  Suddenly, from the Siva linga out came Lord Siva and in great anger directed his trisula or the trident towards Yama and kicked him out. He warned Yama not to near his great devotees like Markandeya! Yama begged pardon and left. Later, Lord Siva blessed Markandeya and granted him longevity for ever---to be a “ chiranjivi”.

        Thus, Divine Grace has the rare power of alteringthe fate of individuals in a fraction of a second! To be qualified for this Grace of the Divine, man has to be extremely devotional, unattached to mundane affairs and things, and spiritual! If God’s anugraha is showered on the individual, what can the “ navagrahas” do??

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SUBHASHITA 4

                                                                                  

                                               

ALL ABOUT MONEY (ARTHA Paddhati)

Let caste and community reach abysmal regions!  Let courage and daring meet the same fate! Let character be totally spoiled! Let warrior like qualities be destroyed! We are not at all worried about the absence of these qualities! What we want and cherish is money only! That is our ultimate aim and goal! It is because without MONEY all other qualities are good for nothing like the broom with dry grass! That is why we reject all noble qualities and are passionate about money! After describing Self respect and heroism,  Bharthruhari  points out the significance of Money which is the root cause of all things. Fist he speaks of people who are worshippers of Mammon, the god of wealth!

         One need not have character, scholarship, erudition, capacity for comprehension, eloquence, and even beauty! But if he is rich and possesses fabulous wealth, he acquires all the afore said qualities! You may wonder how with money alone he can have those qualities. All the qualities mentioned above are solely dependent on money only! Hence, if money is present, all other qualities are present ! How money is destroyed in four ways is clearly recorded by the poet later.  The King and his riches are destroyed by hearing the advice of an evil minister! A yogi or an ascetic is undone by evil company.  The son is spoiled through over indulgence. The Brahmin loses respect by not having scholarship in the Vedas. The clan is destroyed by a bad son. Evil company destroys one’s character. Modesty is lost by drinking alcohol. The field and  produce  is destroyed through neglect and not over seeing. Love for wife and children is lost through travel in foreign countries. Lack of affection spoils friendship. Absence of morality destroys riches. Through charity and lack of caution Money is totally destroyed!

            There are three stages for the use of money viz the worst, the medium and the best. The first stage is offering money to the richly deserving. The second stage is to enjoy one’s own money. The third and the worst stage is money robbed or stolen away by thieves and robbers. Money should definitely have one of these three stages. The person  who does not offer money to the deserving or enjoy it himself, is robbed of all his money which is the third stage. Though the benefactor or the philanthropist loses all his money through charity his greatness is unaffected.

             There are a number of things and people who are unaffected by their defect or loss of money through charity! A polished precious stone does not lose its value;  an injured warrior on the battle field  is considered a hero; An elephant with the flow of ‘madajala’ though emaciated is respected; river with dry sand dunes during ‘ saratkala—(September- October) is loved though not with much water;  the Moon with a single phase is adorable nevertheless;  a lady lost in conjugal bliss is not disliked;  and those who have become poor by offering charity for others , though lean and poor, are really rich!

               What is the nature of the rich when they possess money and when they lose it and become poor? If by misfortune the rich lose money and suffer poverty, even a small amount of food is considered as good and great! But the same person, after he becomes rich again, looks down on the same thing! He becomes arrogant and does not care for the world! He does not maintain the same point of view on things!  Once he considers it great but the next time he thinks it is nothing! He feels the small as big and the big as small!

How does a king earn money?  The poet tells the king that the earth is like the sacred cow!  If he wants to milk money from the cow, he should consider people as the calf and protect them!  It is only after the calf is fed, the cow yields milk! Therefore when people are properly ruled and looked after, earth will  yield  money and other produce like the wish yielding Tree—Kalpataru! 

                     What is ‘Raja Niti?’ How should conduct himself! The Poet says that the king’s  morality is similar to that of a prostitute! He should speak the truth sometimes and falsehood at others! He should kill at times and show mercy at other times. He should exhibit miserliness sometimes and  do great charity at other times!  He spends much money and at the same time earns  more money! The ways of the king are different at different  times!

                                                                                                                                                                                              

SUBHASHITA 3

                                                         SELF RESPECT AND HEROISM

The Lion intent on feasting on the brain of the elephant has admirable self respect. Even when it is emaciated through hunger, and oppressed by old age or has lost control of its muscles and in great difficulty or about to die, will never try to eat the dry grass! Similarly one with self respect shall never  stoop down to perform lowly acts! Animals of the low order do not have such great qualities. The dog is extremely happy to find a bone with some small nerve and fat and foul smell. It is clear that its hunger is not satisfied with the bone it has got. But the lion does not care for the jackal very near it  and has an eye on the elephant at a distance! The dog wags its tail in the presence of one who offers it food. It kicks off dust, rolls on the ground exposing its mouth and stomach! On the other hand the elephant is very dignified  in its looks and patted by the trainer eats jaggery and rice!

          What is the use and purpose of existence on earth? A person should have self respect and heroism  and at the same time  bring repute to his clan. Only then he shall have fulfillment of his birth! Is there any person who is not caught in the cycle of birth and death on account of his deeds good and bad in the previous birth? Can anyone defy death?  Birth and death are common to all! By his mere birth he does not get prominence! He is really born who brings his clan to very great heights! His birth fulfills him! A person with self respect and heroism is comparable to a bunch of flowers. Either it is worn on the head by all and fades away or it loses its glory in the forest itself! The greatest of all is the individual with self respect and  has an eye on the radiant Sun and the Moon and attacks them  despite having the head alone! He eclipses the Sun and the moon periodically!

heroism says the poet. In spite of the presence of great deities like Brihaspati, the Sun and the Moon and a few others, Rahu with effulgence does not care for them. He

           The greatness of people with Self respect and heroism is really amazing!  ‘Adisesha’ the many headed  serpent  bears the fourteen ‘ lokas’ on his hoods! The original turtle (Kurma) bears the ‘ Adisesha’ on its back! This turtle that has reached the nether world during the deluge, is borne by the “Adi Varaha’—the wild boar! Thus it is astonishing to note the doings of people with self respect and heroism.  Others who are devoid of self respect and heroism do not possess such amazing powers!  Mynaka, the son of the king of Himalayas is an example. He went and hid himself in the sea while  his father was tortured by Indra, king of Gods by his ‘ vajrayudha’ Death would have been better for him instead of seeing his father wreath in agony!

             Any person with self respect will not tolerate humiliation by others! The ‘suryakantha mani’—a precious stone, dazzles at the touch of the rays of the Sun. It is terribly angry. When such a nonliving object  cannot tolerate other's interference, how can a man with self respect and heroism endure such an act? Age is not the criterion to show your warlike qualities and heroism! The lion, even if it is a small cub tries to pounce upon the head of the elephant that is dear to it! It is the nature of  the strong to  exhibit  their heroism even from their childhood!  Age has nothing to do with your show of courage and heroism!

           

                                         

ADVERSITY---THE REAL TEACHER

                                                    

  “Sweet are the uses of adversity “says the English bard William Shakespeare! It is adversity that brings out the real quality of man. There is not a single individual in the universe who is not a victim of some sort of adversity or suffering. Life is not a bed of roses .It is also not a bed of thorns. It is something of both. Caught in the meshes of this cycle of birth and death, man undergoes a life full of vicissitudes and suffers for some time and enjoys at some other time! He has to balance himself and maintain equanimity. The precious and noble qualities of an individual are tested severely by adversity and it is only then we know if he is really noble or great! If he succumbs to adversity and loses himself , he is no more a great personality. He has to rise above all adversity and establish his supremacy over it!

         “Joy and sorrow, success and failure, praise and criticism—all are intertwined. They can never be experienced singly. As sandal  wood  does not give the fragrant paste unless it is rubbed on the stone, so the goodness of the people does not come out unless they go through difficulties.” remarks Bhagawan  Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. Gold in its purest form is unfit for making ornaments. It has to be melted in a crucible under very high temperature to get rid of all impurities. It has to be mixed with certain amount of copper for making ornaments. Only then it becomes ductile and malleable and can be fashioned into attractive designed ornaments! Similarly going through the test of adversity man shines forth in his true   colors . Undergoing all troubles and turmoil he emerges unscathed and resplendent!

          In the lives of great devotees, sages and saints we find brilliant example of acute adversity and a severe test of their patience, devotion and sincerity. Take the case of the child bhaktha, Prahlada. Is there any torture that he was not subjected to? He was put in a room fulll of poisonous snakes, allowed to be trampled upon by the elephants, thrown into the ocean simply because he was a staunch devotee of Lord Narayana! Finally he was administer ed a cup of poison and Hiranyakasipu was happy that his son’s life was over! But Prahlada was saved by his constant nama japa—repetition of the name of Hari  and he came out unscathed! But because of his intense and enviable love for God , he did not feel the excruciating experience of the entire torture. It is the nature of God to test His devotee to find out if he is sincere in his devotion or love for Him!

             Gopanna or Ramadas, as he was familiarly called was a devotee of Sri Rama! He was in charge of his area and had to collect taxes and report to the Tanisha. Ramadas had a fond desire to build a temple for his chosen deity in his place, Bhadrachalam. His ecstatic love for God made him totally forget his duty for man! He collected all taxes, and with that money went ahead to build the temple for Rama. He decorated Rama with diamonds and other precious stones and garlands. He offered scintillating necklaces to Sita, the wife of Sri Rama! He was in an ocean of bliss after he fulfilled his dream of building the temple. Meanwhile the Tanisha, came to know about the dereliction of duty by his subordinate, Ramadas.  He grew terribly angry and summoned Ramadas and imprisoned him For a number of years Ramadas was tortured by jail warers of the Tanisha and it was beyond the endurance of Ramadas.

              Ramadas could not get freedom till he repaid all the taxes spent by him for the construction of the temple. Who is to come to his rescue and pay back the money? Then Ramadas started singing for the mercy of god. He wondered whether Sri Rama did not see his suffering in the jail. He complained whether He was not satisfied with the adornments presented by Ramadas. He called upon his God to come to his rescue. He appealed to Sita to recommend his case to Rama so that he would take pity and save him.  He reminded her that he had presented a ‘ chitaku pathakamu’—a pendant in the shape of the leaves of the tamarind tree to look more beautiful! In this manner Ramadas composed many devotional songs which are the outpourings of his intense devotion and love. As expected, Sitadevi, could not tolerate her devotee to suffer torture anymore! She prompted Sri Rama to get Ramadas released from the prison!

                Sri Rama and Lakshmana disguised themselves as the servants of Ramadas and appeared in the dream of the Tanisha! They introduced themselves as the servants of Ramadas and deposited all the money collected and used by Ramadas for constructing the temple. They ordered the Tanisha to release Ramadas immediately! The Tanisha could not believe his own eyes! The money was there really but Ramoji and Lakshmoji were not there. He woke up immediately, went to see Ramadas in his cell,  and praising his devotion,  released him! He gave presents to Ramadas and sent him back! In spite of such devotion Ramadas had to suffer incarceration and torture! If God had willed, He could have prevented the sufferings of both Prahlada and Ramadas! But He wanted to show to the world, the greatness of his devotees and how steadfast their love and devotion to HIM was!

                Adversity brings out the golden qualities in Man! Ordinary men cannot withstand it. It is only the brave, and confident that can withstand the severe tests of God! But God recognizes the devotion of such an individual and runs to save him from his critical situation!  Adversity thus is the teacher that   educates us in every aspect of life! We should be able to learn lessons from our adverse circumstances in life!