Day 250

 New Year PRESENT

Desiderata(Things Desired)

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

 As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

 Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, -------------

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

 Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.  ---------------------

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.            ------------------   

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

 And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.                                  

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labours and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul…………..

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy. 

                                                                                               (Max Ehrmann, 1927)

WISH YOU AND FAMILY A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

P Bala Chandran

January,1,2022

NB: ( Full text of the poem is on the Internet)

8 30 AM

 

Day 249

 Lessons from Mahabharata-6

People think Dharma is important only while leaving from this world… and they can conduct wantonly during their working years…. For them the following is relevant… who knows when the final call comes?

Moksha dharma parva, Chapter 299:

• There is no fixed time for the acquisition of righteousness. Death waits for no man. When man is constantly running towards the jaws of Death, the accomplishment of righteous acts is proper at all times.
•  Like a blind man who, with attention, is capable of moving about his own house, the man of wisdom, with mind set on Yoga, succeeds in finding the track he should follow. (...)
• One who walketh along the track recommended by the understanding, earns happiness both here and hereafter.— Parāśara, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata Book xii.299

• So postponing acquisition of Dharma.. virtues.. could be foolish… at the same time following the time tested wisdom will be good for self and others..
•  Hinduism is rich with stories and examples on all aspects covering human life… there are plenty… reading all that will take many Janmas… yet the essentials can be gleaned and studied…. 
• Provided the education give value for that…. One Harischandra story or that of Ekalavya or Rama or Shravan Kumar is sufficient…. If studied well or explained well or understood well…( First we need right teachers, then students will follow....)

I saw a video recently wherein in a very elderly Digambar Jain Muni was  seen giving a Prabhashana  to a live audience.

• Among other things, he stated that he is not keen now to guide anyone- especially youngsters as they are all wise in their own wisdom.. he added that  he now prefers  to be silent than  guiding people…

That is why probably  learned/wise people retire from limelight  after an age and live in solitude…

वन्दे मातरम्

 ॐ शान्ति  

10 AM

Day 248

 Lessons from Mahabharata-5

This has been a perennial question.. why one should be Dharmic…. What it is and how to implement it… the whole of Mahabharata is an explanation of that subject…. Gita starts with Dharma Kshetre Kurukshetre…

 Moksha dharma parva, Chapter 259:

•   All men who live on this earth, are filled with doubts regarding the nature of Righteousness. What is this that is called Righteousness? Whence does Righteousness come?— Yudhishthira, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata 

 Moksha dharma parva, Chapter 259:

•   Righteousness begets happiness as its fruit;
  There is nothing superior to truth; Everything is supported by truth, and everything depends on truth.
• One should not take other's properties, that is an eternal duty;
• A thief fears everybody, he considers other people as sinful as himself;
  A pure hearted person is always filled with cheerfulness, and has no fear from anywhere; Such a person never sees his own misconduct in other persons..
• A person should never do that to others, which he does not like to be done to him by others;
•  Whatever wishes one cherishes about his own self, one should certainly cherish regarding another.
• The Creator ordained Virtue, gifting it with the power of holding the world together.— Bhishma, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata 

Unfortunately even now the above questions rage in many forums…  national and international… with out any definite answers.

 वन्दे मातरम्

  ॐ शान्ति: 

9.10 AM

 

Day 247

Lessons from Mahabharata-4 

Knowledge and wisdom are not the same… They are called Jnana and Vijnana… knowledge is mere textual knowledge whilst Wisdom is based on experience and practice/observation…. Today we call it theory and practice… we need more practical wisdom in this world…. The following emphasises on that..

Apaddharma anusasana parva, Chapter 142:

•       I do not instruct you regarding duty from what I have learned from the Vedas alone; What I have told you is the result of wisdom and experience, it is the honey that the learned have gleaned.
•   Kings should collect wisdom from various sources,
• One cannot go successfully in the world with the help of a one sided morality;
  Duty must originate from understanding, the practices of the good should always be determined.
• A king by the help of his understanding and guided by knowledge gathered from various sources, should so arrange that moral laws may be observed.— Bhishma to Yudhishthira, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata 

Hence it is correctly stated that wisdom coming from  age and experience cannot be dismissed. 

• But the modern generation has scant respect for anything old… whether it is age or knowledge… hence we find… re-inventing the wheel again and again and people groping for solutions…. 
• As they have not cared to learn from the past… there is a saying… Those who forget history/past are condemned  to repeat it..

Hence the old adage … don’t reinvent the wheel..

वन्दे मातरम्

 ॐ शान्ति: 

10 30 AM

 

Day- 246

 Lessons from Mahabharata-3

The following quote will be a great eye opener… though it is the truth, people will find  difficult to digest it easily… only time and experience will open up their eyes…but then in many cases , it will be lost…

• A famous case has been reported in papers… where a leading industrialist of recent past transferred his vital properties in the name of his Son, and thereafter the son ditched him…
•  so, the father went on to guide other with a message that till life lasts, never part with all your property even to your children.. 
• THIS IS NEITHER THE FIRST SUCH CASE NOR WILL BE THE LAST…. As each fondly think that their child will be different…..

Apaddharma anushasana parva, Chapter 138:

·        Nobody is nobody's friend, nobody is nobody's well wisher,
persons become friends or enemies only from motives of interest.— Bhishma, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata 

Dime a dozen cases of misuse of relationships are available over the years… to testify the observation above will be sufficient.

वन्दे मातरम्

  ॐ शान्ति: 

9 30 AM

 

Day 245

 Lessons fromMahabharata-2

Dharma ,truth etc. have been discussed elaborately in the Mahabharata…  it is strange that in India now such maxims have become a rarity in public and private life.... let us consider the following-

Rajadharma anushasana parva, Chapter 56:

·        There is nothing which leads so much to the success of kings as Truth,
the king who is devoted to Truth enjoys happiness both here and hereafter.
Even to the Rishis, O king, Truth is the greatest wealth,
Likewise for the kings, there is nothing that so much creates confidence in them as Truth.

— Bhishma, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata ( Wiki )

Why with availability of such profound wisdom leaders/people still resort to unholy deeds… worth pondering…

Dharma and Truthful actions are not seen at many places… examples are aplenty.. when people are divided on many man- made aspects, a uniform Dharma cannot emerge…. Everyone is a creator of a self- made/proclaimed Dharma as  shown in many local and even international  movies…. 

In fact none wants to adhere to Dharmic principles for short term gains… we have seen terrorists killing people in cold blood and doing many maniacal things…. Their religion and education may not have taught that, one is sure… yet…. They behave… this is just one instance…. 

None is keen to uphold even the rule of Law…. Otherwise you will not see so many breaking even the traffic rules… case of drug trafficking, women trafficking, smuggling, tax evasions etc. are there with  us  for decades now… though laws are also present… yet…. Such nefarious activities go on…

 वन्दे मातरम्

 ॐ शान्ति: 

10 30 AM

 

Day 244

Lessons from Mahabharata-1 

The subject of happiness and sorrow has been discussed extensively since Vedic times… Mahabharata is the best example where this subject is covered in depth… the following quotes will testify that.

Rajadharma anushasana parva, Chapter 25:

·        Sorrow comes after happiness, and happiness after sorrow;
One does not always suffer sorrow, nor always enjoy happiness.

·        Only those who are stolid fools, and those who are masters of their souls, enjoy happiness here;
They, however, who occupy an intermediate position suffer misery.

·        Happiness and misery, prosperity and adversity, gain and loss, death and life, in their turn, visit all creatures;
The wise man, endued with equanimous soul would neither be puffed up with joy, nor be depressed with sorrow.— Vyasa, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata ( Wiki)

The above quotes depict the situation very vividly ,  further explanation will be redundant…

People knowing , understanding and acting based on those maxims are indeed rare. That is the problem.

वन्दे मातरम्

   ॐ शान्ति: 

9 10 AM