The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had commenced witnessing “specific” aspects of “Dharma” that are specific in nature for specific categories of people. In that aspect, we’ve witnessed an important aspect which is referred to as “Atithi Samskaara”, otherwise referred to as taking adequate care of our guests who visit our place. As part of our rich culture of our “Bhaarata Desha”, it is our bound duty to ensure that our guests are well-fed and taken care of in such a way that they are satisfied both in terms of appetite and hospitality. As we’ve witnessed during the yesterday’s episode, this was a great tradition during our yesteryears wherein the concept of living amidst a “joint family” was the order of the day. However, in the present day, as we’ve moved on to live as nuclear families and as we’re currently hard-pressed for time every day, many of us have started hesitating to host people at our place. Even if we’ve to host our relatives or friends for more than a day or two, we start feeling that they are a burden to us. Such has become the mindset in the present-day scenario.

Thus, the point here is that, we should pay our due respects to our guests and serve them food and water in such a way that they are contented and happy to be amongst us. In other words, we should be a great “host” in such a way that people should feel happy to visit us often. Only if we honor the people who come to visit us, we would get the same honor when we visit their place some other day. We should always remember that man is a social animal. We are designed by Bhagawan to “co-exist” with each other. We would never be able to live all by ourselves all the time. We would not be able to live with complete independence from the society. The more we give to the society, the more we can get. Whereas, if we’re hesitating to give anything to the society, what right do we have to point out at people and get something from them? Hence, we should develop the habit of “giving” and this is very important.

Especially during this hour of crisis, it is very saddening to note that there are few people who use this opportunity to play “petty politics” to gain some brownie points for their existence. This is totally uncalled for and unprofessional. At this critical juncture, all of us should only focus on how can we help ourselves (self-protection) and our fellow citizens (by staying at home as much as possible and by donating whatever we can to people who are suffering due to the lockdown). Rather than this, there are some people who neither do both, but keep pointing fingers at governments to find loopholes and faults! Such things should be avoided for the benefit of the nation and for the world.

Moving on further, Sage Sukhaachaarya now talks about certain small aspects of “Dharma” that all of us as “Grihastas” should follow. As a continuation of the previous aspect, in olden days, there used to be a practice – Every house will have a front portion dedicated for accommodating people who undertake “Yatras” (Journeys) of visiting temples and other places of worship. In those days, there was no culture of staying in a hotel. Many of them, especially Sanyasins used to walk all the way to visit important places of worship, and all along their way, they used to rest themselves in the front portions of houses along the path. If the households see somebody resting in their front portion, they used to receive them with utmost respect, offer them food, water and whatever hospitality is required. This gesture, without a doubt is one of the greatest “Punya” (Good deeds) that we can do in this lifetime. However, having said thus, this culture has slowly started to change now, and in the present day, how many houses have their front portions designed to accommodate and host people like these (Yatrikas)? We’ve now started living in apartments and every apartment today has minimum 100 houses in it! In this already crowded situation in cities and towns today, where do we have the space to host such people who go on such religious and spiritual Yatras? Given this limitation, isn’t it our “Dharma” to atleast host those one or two people who come to visit us once in a blue moon? This is the bare minimal thing that we can do, given the present situation, isn’t it? Hence, we should never shrug off and shy away from performing our duties to our guests.

Another aspect of looking at this “Dharma” is that, whenever a guest comes to visit us, he / she would most probably come with some expectation from us. For instance, there might be people who are financially weak and would step into our house to seek some monetary help at a time of need. If such is the case, can it be our “Dharma” to turn them down? If we do so, Bhagawan says that they take away all our accumulated “Punya” that we’ve hard-earned for so many years now! If a person asks for a critical help and if we’re denying it, we’ve to face the wrath of Bhagawan in a hostile way. Thus, the point here is that, if a guest knocks at our door, not only should we ensure that they are well-fed, but also in terms of their expectations and purpose of their visit being fulfilled. This is very important. Feeding our guests with good quality food and hospitality is one aspect of “Atithi Samskaara”. But more than that, the expectations with which the guest has approached us should also be fulfilled. This is more important than the food aspect. Readers must understand this point very clearly.

So for today, let us understand this important extended discussion on the aspect of “Atithi Samskaara” and let us do the needful henceforth. With this discussion, we thus come to the end of the seventh “Skandha” of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. Of course, there are much more in-depth and detailed discussions apart from whatever we’re witnessing here in this blog and those can be taken up for discussions for a different day. At the moment, we are just witnessing the key aspects that are discussed by Sage Sukhaacahaarya to King Parikshit. This, as I’ve mentioned in the earlier episodes, is an extensive and exhaustive text and can be discussed on and on for our entire lifetime! However, many of us might not have the right mindset to have such a huge discussion going on and on for years together! This is why we have the customary practice of having this as a “Saptaaham” (Seven-day discussion). We shall thus wait till the next episode to commence the eighth “Skandha”. Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of an important “Dharma” as to why should we respect the food that we consume. We had witnessed few important aspects pertaining to food and why should we consume only the food that is cooked at our home. Moreover, as Sage Sukhaachaarya and eventually Bhagawan Krishna explain, we should cook at home and consume that cooked food within four hours of preparation. We should never preserve cooked food for later consumption. This might also be a jolt to many of us, as we’re now in the situation wherein we get “readily-cooked” food or “processed food” or “frozen food” items in the open markets! We should understand that in these cooked and preserved food items, possibility is very high that these food stuff might get stale. What is worse here is that, if the food is frozen, we would never even know whether the food has gone stale or not. It is very difficult to identify. If we consume stale food, all of us know what would happen to us and our digestive system. Our human body cannot take such food items and would result in unwanted health complications.

This is where, some people are smart enough. In order to ensure that the preserved food items do not get spoilt quickly, “preservatives” are added to them. Of course, there is a specified quantity of preservatives that are prescribed by the government as part of “Food safety regulations” and food processing companies are bound to follow the rules and regulations. Even otherwise, preservatives are nothing but some organic chemicals and if we happen to consume these chemicals, it might cause harmful side effects in our physical body as we progress in age. We might not be able to view symptoms of such health complications immediately, perhaps due to our young age at the moment, but as we progress in age, we might realize the ill-effects. Hence, we’ve to be extremely careful with the food that we consume.

Moving on thus, Sage Sukhaachaarya narrates an allied, but an important aspect of “Dharma” for women in a family – Whenever a guest comes knocking at our door, the woman of the house should make sure that the guest is fed well with quality food, until the guest’s hunger subsides. This is a very important aspect of “Dharma” that all of us should note here. This is often referred to as “Atithi-Samskaara” in Sanskrit. When we have a visitor at our place, irrespective of whatever time of the day, we should make sure that the visitor is comforted duly with adequate food, water or milk or whatever for him / her to consume. This is an important tradition of our “Bhaarata Desha” and our ancestors and forefathers were an epitome of this aspect of “Dharma”.

However in the present day, all or many of us are living as a “nuclear family” comprising of the wife, husband and kids. In the earlier days, people used to live amidst joint families and there used to be heavy influx of visitors every day in the form of some friends or relatives, etc. However, as we’ve virtually “separated” from joint families at the moment, even if one or two friends or relatives knock at our doors today, we feel offended or burdened to serve them! Such is the situation today!

Moreover, in the olden days, there was no telephone, emails, etc. and people would directly knock at our doors, just like that! As they come, our parents or grandparents would receive them with equal love and affection and serve them with whatever food or water they had, without any sort of hesitation. But nowadays, with the advent of technological advancements and our “self-isolation”, even if one of our closest relatives or family friends have to pay a visit to our home, what do we tell them? We would often say, “Please give us a phone call before you arrive, so that we would be prepared!” This is where we’ve landed ourselves in today’s “busy scenario”! Even if someone gives us a call and says that he / she is coming to visit us at our home, what would be our reaction? We would immediately start scrambling only at that very moment to get things in place. Moreover, we would heave a big sigh thus, “Oh! Why should this person come at this time of the day? Why shouldn’t he come tomorrow or why at all should he come all the way? Why can’t he talk over the phone about what he wants to convey about?” Such is the mindset that we’ve moved into in the present day!

Hence, the point here is that, it is our bound duty to take adequate care of the guests who visit our home. We should make sure that we feed them with good food, water, etc. until a point wherein they are happy and contented. This is one of the most important and paramount aspects of “Dharma” of our “Bhaarata Desha” and we should make sure that we follow it! We shall wait for the next episode to take this discussion forward as we move on to the next important aspect of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya narrates! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the next aspect of “Dharma” that every “Grihastha” should follow – Cooking at home and consuming the food only after offering it to Bhagawan. This is a mandatory aspect that all of us should follow at home every day. We should make sure that we cook “Sathvik” food (a balanced diet) at home with our own hands as far as possible. If we’re cooking for ourselves and our family, we would be very careful to cook good quality vegetables, rice, etc. isn’t it? Whereas, if we consume outside food, we never know the level of quality of raw materials used by the restaurants and cafeterias to cook. Moreover, cooking hygiene is very important. If we’re cooking at home, we would eventually ensure that cleanliness is maintained, whereas, in restaurants, cleanliness is not guaranteed. Recently there was a raid by the food safety department of the government in a reputed star hotel in India and it was found that the kitchen was full of cockroaches and filth, amidst which, food was being cooked for the customers! This might be alarming, but it is a fact. This is why we say that external food is to be avoided as much as possible.

Moreover, when it comes to food, there are lot of “invisible” and “intangible” aspects that are associated with it. Of course, we’ve witnessed yesterday with regards to the tangible aspects, which we’ve summarized just now. But apart from that, there are certain other factors too. For instance, the person who is cooking the food should be of a good and a positive mindset. It is only with this positive mindset and good vibrations, the food becomes “Sathvik” in nature. Whereas, if the person who is cooking the food is angry at that moment, the negative vibrations that are emitted out of the anger, weighs into the food that is being cooked. If someone consumes this food, not only the food is consumed, but also the negative vibrations along with it. This alters the character and the nature of the person who is consuming the food. This is why, when we cook food at home, it is advisable to listen to slokas, stories of Bhagawan, etc. The best way here is that, we should keep chanting our “Mantra” as we cook. All these activities, that is, listening to slokas, stories of Bhagawan, chanting of “Mantra”, etc. would ensure that all the good vibrations emitted by these practices would definitely weigh into the food that is cooked.

This can be possible only if we cook at home, isn’t it? Can we expect a chef in a restaurant to follow these practices? The answer is a big “No”! Perhaps one among thousand chefs might be this way, but there is no guarantee, isn’t it? If we go to a restaurant, will it be possible for us to go and meet the chef, judge what kind of a person he / she is, and then sit down to eat? 😊 This is why we emphasize time and again that it is always better to avoid consuming food outside of our homes as much as possible. Of course, given today’s circumstances and professional requirements, etc. it might not be possible for us to completely avoid consumption of food from outside, but, we should not take this as an excuse. By and large, we should ensure that we consume only home-cooked food and this is very important not only for our physical health, but also for our mental health as well. As we’ve discussed above, food determines lot of things in our everyday life. Many of these things are subtle in nature and we might not be able to understand them by the very look of it. But that doesn’t mean such things doesn’t exist. In fact, many research studies explain that the intelligence, shrewdness and smartness of a person directly correlate with the food that he / she consumes.

Hence, we should be very careful here. We should never underestimate the importance of food in our daily lives. We should definitely allocate some time of our day for consuming food, and we should totally be aware of what we’re consuming. This awareness that we develop over time would automatically increase our “Sathvik” character in us. Moreover, as mentioned in the yesterday’s episode too, we should offer the food to Bhagawan before we start consuming it. This is a very important step too – Even if there is some problem with the food, it can be rectified with Bhagawan’s divine grace, if we offer it to Him. As per Bhagawan Krishna’s excerpts from the Bhagawad Gita, Bhagawan clearly points out that if we consume food without being offered to Bhagawan, it is equivalent of consuming truckloads of sins! Hence, we should be very careful in this aspect as well.

Thus, to summarize in a nutshell, firstly, we should make sure that we consume the right quality of home-cooked food, secondly we should ensure that while the food is cooked, we should be able to transfer positive vibrations into it, through the chanting of “Mantras”, or slokas, or whatever, thirdly, before we start consuming the food, we should offer it to Bhagawan. These are the three messages from today’s episode that all of us should understand. Hence, let us try to put these three messages into practice in our day-to-day routine life henceforth. I’m sure many of us are already doing it, but for many others, this might serve as a learning experience. Hence, let us all take this as an opportunity to follow what Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining to us. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next aspect of “Dharma”! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a quick summary of all the thirty common aspects of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya had described in detail to King Parikshit. As we had witnessed in the earlier episodes during the start of the eighth “Skandha”, Sage Sukhaachaarya lists out several aspects of “Dharma” that are to be commonly followed by all human beings in this world, irrespective of their gender, race, caste, creed, background, etc. and further goes on to list out further specific aspects of “Dharma” that are to be followed by various categories of people such as “Grihastas”, “Brahmachaaris”, “Sanyaasins”, “Yatis”, “Vaanaprastas”, etc. Commencing today, we’re going to witness few of these aspects of “Dharma”, as we move on with Sage Sukhaachaarya’s narratives further. As we proceed forward from the thirty-“Dharma” discussion into the next one, Sage Sukhaachaayra explains thus:

“Griheshwavaschito raajan kriyaah kurvan gruhochitaaha!

Vaasudevaarpanam saakshaath upaaseetha mahaamunim!!”

Now Sage Sukhaachaarya talks about an important aspect of life, which is “consumption of food”. All of us have to consume sufficient quantities of food for our day-to-day survival. But the question here is that, whether are we cooking at home and consuming the food today? Are we offering our cooked food to Bhagawan before consuming it? If we’ve to ask these two questions in the present day, both these questions would entail an answer “No”, in most of our cases! As we’re in a “hurry” every day, we fail to cook at home and nowadays there is a new practice that has come up amongst all of us – “Elaborate cooking at home only during weekends”! This is because, many of us “claim” that we do not have sufficient time to cook at home before we go to work. In most of the cases, sadly this is just an excuse for not doing things the right way, as per our “Sanaatana Dharma”. As a result, we often end up eating in outside restaurants, cafeterias at our offices, etc. wherein none of us are even aware of the quality of food that is served to us. In a hurry, we just gulp whatever food we find in the restaurant and move on with our daily work schedule. This is an extremely bad practice. The reason why I’m saying this is that, we should know what we are eating and should be aware whether the food that we’re eating is good for our health or not. It is for this reason today, many of us are suffering from various kinds of ailments, starting from diabetes, blood pressure, to various other kinds of diseases. In fact, doctors and medical researchers claim today that this present-day Coronavirus COVID-19 attacks those people with a medical history more severely than the others. We can also witness everyday that there are quite a few people who successfully get cured from this deadly disease. This is simply because their body’s immune system is very strong and it quickly produces the required anti-bodies to fight the coronavirus. To maintain our immune system at a desired level, we should consume food of a good quality and this would be available only if we cook at home by ourselves. We would not be able to get this anywhere in any restaurant or cafeteria. Hence, we should develop the practice of cooking at home daily.

Following up on this further, we should also make it a habit of cooking every day and consuming all the food that we’ve cooked on the very same day. We should never carry forward the food that we’ve cooked today to the next day. This invites lot of contamination to creep in. This is the very reason why we advise not to consume food at outside restaurants s much as possible. We would never know when the food has been cooked, how was it cooked, what was the cleanliness level at the kitchen, what kind of raw materials, vegetables, fruits, etc. have they used, etc. Thus, by eating outside, we should understand that we’re pushing ourselves into a major health risk and a hazard! Especially during critical times like these wherein the whole world is gripped with a pandemic, we should be extremely careful with the food that we consume.

Another aspect that we need to understand here is that, whatever food we cook at home should be offered to Bhagawan before we consume it. This is extremely important and this is exactly what Sage Sukhaachaarya also explains here. If we consume food that is not offered to Bhagawan, it is equivalent of consuming truckloads of poison! It is also equivalent of accumulating more and more sins by the way of eating! Already our list of sins that we’re doing is long enough, and by consuming food that is not offered to Bhagawan, we are only making the list even longer! Hence, we should make it a point that we consume only that food which is offered to Bhagawan and nothing else.

Hence for today, let us realize and understand this important aspect of “Dharma” of consuming food as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya. We should remember two things from today’s episode – Firstly, we should avoid consuming outside food as much as possible and secondly, we should only consume food that is offered to Bhagawan. We shall ponder over these two points for today and let us continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the last aspect of “Dharma” called “Aatma-Samarpanam”, as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. We had witnessed earlier as to how Hanuman was steadfast in this “Dharma” towards his Bhagawan Rama and how he selflessly dedicated all his services to Bhagawan Rama at all times. Through this point, we should understand that our Atman and our physical body are afterall gifted to us by Bhagawan, so that we use both of them for His service and to make Him happy with whatever actions that we perform. If we’re starting to exclaim that this physical body is “ours”, it simply implies that we are the biggest “thieves” in this world! We should always remember that Bhagawan has created us in this world for some purpose that He wants us to fulfill for Him as well as for the benefit of the world. Each and every one of us in this world have a definitive role to play and we should play our stipulated roles to the fullest of perfection possible. We should never shy away from our duties towards Bhagawan and the world. We should thus realize this important point through this aspect of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya narrates.

With this, we come to the end of the thirty important aspects of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya has narrated so far to King Parikshit. These aspects, as we’ve discussed before, are common for all human beings to follow. To have a quick recollection of all whatever we’ve witnessed over the past 25-odd episodes in this regard, we commenced discussion on an important “Dharma” called “Satyam”. Subsequently, we moved on to other important aspects of “Dharma” such as “Daya”, “Tapaha”, “Shoucham”, “Tithiksha”, “Iksha”, “Shamaha”, Damaha”, “Ahimsa”, “Brahmacharyam”, “Thyaagaha”, “Swaadhyaaya”, “Aarjavam”, “Santoshaha”, “Samadhruk”, “Seva”, “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”, “Vrinaam viparyayeksha”, “Maunam”, “Aatma Vimarshanam”, “Annaadyaadehe samvibhaagaha”, “Shravanam”, “Keertanama”, “Smaranam”, Seva”, “Ijjya”, “Avanatihi”, “Daasyam”, “Sakhyam” and “Aatma Samarpanam”.

These thirty aspects of “Dharma” is to be practiced by all human beings in this world commonly, without any discrimination between any of us. As a request to all readers here – Please do not stop with just reading through all of these thirty aspects of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya. All of us should actively understand, re-read the entire thing again and again multiple times until we get a hold of it. More than all of this, we should take down notes, ponder over all of these “Dharma” points and most importantly put all of these into practice. Reading and understanding all these points is just one aspect. However, if we’re not practicing all of these, there is no point in reading through all of these, isn’t it? Hence, practice is extremely important.

As we’re currently amidst a nation-wide and a global lockdown and we’re spending most of out time at home, this is a golden opportunity for all of us to read, re-read, take notes and implement all of these points of “Dharma” meticulously. All these days and years, we might have thought about so many things, but due to our busy professional commitments, we might have not been able to execute many of what we would have thought about. This is a golden opportunity given by Bhagawan to introspect on all those aspects and to try and implement them by using the time given to us. Hence, rather than wasting away our time now, we should use this time constructively in understanding these useful aspects of leading a peaceful life as per our “Sanaathana Dharma”. We do not know if we would get this kind of a leisure time ever again in our lives. Hence, let us make the full use of it. It is for this reason that, I’m meticulously writing episode after episode each passing day, so that all of us shall together benefit out of this lockdown period. Thus the overall point here is that, if all of us keep following these thirty aspects of “Dharma” meticulously, or even if atleast we put a conscious effort in following these aspects, we would automatically become so important in Bhagawan’s eyes. We can assuredly say that if we put the effort, Bhagawan is going to protect us with His divine grace, during any catastrophic situation that we might go through in our lives.

Now moving on further, we are now going to witness various other aspects of “Dharma” that are particularly meant for different classifications of people. For instance, there are certain aspects of “Dharma” that are specifically meant for “Grihasthas” (Married people with families), “Sanyaasins” (Saints), “Vaanaprasthas”, “Yatis”, etc. We shall witness each one of them in detail as we move forward and for that, we shall wait till the next episode to commence the next important and interesting discussion in this regard. Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an extended discussion on the all-important aspect of “Dharma” called “Aasyam”, wherein we had seen how Hanuman was an epitome for this point. We saw how Hanuman was totally devoted to Bhagawan Rama 24*7, right from “day-1” of his meet with Bhagawan. From that moment onwards, as Hanuman saw how Lakshmana was ardently devoted to his brother in his selfless service, he too thought thus, “Oh! I should also render my services selflessly to my Bhagawan just like how Lakshmana is rendering!” This thought triggered Hanuman to do whatever he did to Bhagawan Rama and there was no looking back from there on! Finally too, we witnessed when Bhagawan Rama was transcending to Vaikunta after all His duties were over, He made sure that Hanuman is called up to accompany Him. However, Hanuman wasn’t ready to come along, as he was solely devoted to His Bhagawan Rama in this world itself! Hanuman explained his stance to Bhagawan Rama that he would live in this world as long as Bhagawan Rama’s divine names are being chanted. This moved Bhagawan Rama to tears and thus He transferred all His divine powers on to Hanuman as He transcended to Vaikunta! Such was Hanuman’s ardent following of the “Dharma” called “Aasyam” and this is exactly what Sage Sukhaachaarya is also explaining here.

Moving on thus, we now come to the last aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. Here he talks about an important aspect called “Aatma-Samarpanam”. Readers must note that this is the thirtieth aspect of “Dharma” that we’ve discussed so far till this point, ever since we commenced the eighth “Skandha”. This is the final aspect of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining here. So what is this “Aatma-Samarpanam” all about? It simply means that we (both our physical body and our Atman) are together Bhagawan’s property and not ours! It is Bhagawan who has gifted us this physical body and the Atman to serve His purpose and cause. We should always remember this as we move forward with our life. This is why we emphasize time and again that whatever actions we perform in this human birth, should be all those which Bhagawan likes. We should use our Atman and physical body to think and execute all possible actions that would add happiness, satisfaction and contentment of Bhagawan, rather than fulfilling our selfish needs.

Having said thus, are we putting this principle into practice every passing day? The answer is a big “No”! Day in and day out, we are so engrossed only in activities that we see pleasure in. Early in the morning, we start out for work, spend the whole day in earning money and enjoy with whatever money that we’ve earnt during the remaining time. Moreover, in due course of our busy professional life, we’ve totally forgotten the fact that our physical body is meant to service Bhagawan’s wishes. We’ve rather started investing in “beautifying” our physical body in innumerable ways, just to satisfy our wishes and pleasures! Of course, I’m not saying that we should shun all of these. Of course, when we walk into a professional set up, we should maintain ourselves in a neat fashion. In fact, Bhagawan too emphasizes this only. At all times, we should be neat, tidy and pleasing in appearance. But that doesn’t mean that we spend excessive time and money in maintaining our physical appearance. This is where we get carried away! Thus the important point here is that, we should be able to maintain a fine balance between what is required and what is excessive in life. If we go too much behind worldly pleasures and needs, we’re going to move away from Bhagawan’s divine grace slowly and steadily. We should never create a situation like this. Thus, maintaining our balance between what is required and what is excessive is exactly called “Aatma Samarpanam”. Through this “Dharma”, Sage Sukhaachaarya explains clearly that we should realize that this “Atman” and physical body is owned by Bhagawan and not by us. We are just in this physical form on a “rental basis” and Bhagawan is the owner!

Another extended aspect in which we can look at this “Dharma” called “Aatma Samarpanam” is that, if we’re claiming possession of something that is not ours, we would be considered as a “thief” isn’t it? Now who is a thief and who is not? Normally we say that if someone involves in burglary or pick-pocketing, or any such crimes, we brand that person as a thief. But in reality, there is an extension to this definition. The moment we start claiming ownership of any object in this world, including our own Atman and physical body, all of us are thieves! This is because, as we’ve just witnessed, all of these objects in the world are owned by Bhagawan, who is the “Supreme landlord”. Afterall we are just “tenants” to our “Supreme owner”! This is exactly what we should understand from this aspect of “Dharma” called “Atma Samarpanam”.

Thus, the point here is that, we should make sure that we do not end up being thieves of Bhagawan’s property! We should realize that nothing in this world is ours and should surrender ourselves wholeheartedly to Bhagawan’s lotus feet. We should make sure that we render our services selflessly to Bhagawan with this divine thought. So for today, let us understand this important “Dharma” of “Aatma Samarpanam” and let us try to implement this in our daily lives as well. We shall wait till the next episode to move forward with the next narrative of Sage Sukhaachaarya! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the next aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit, called “Aasyam”. This means that we should be ardent servants of Bhagawan at all times. When we use the word “servant” it doesn’t imply “slavery”. It simply explains that we should be ready to commit ourselves to all the ways and means prescribed by Bhagawan, under the category of “Dharma”. We should constantly be of service selflessly to Bhagawan and His Bhaagawathas all times. We’ve witnessed this during our Ramayana project as well, wherein Bhagawan Rama’s brothers, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shathrugna stood tall as epitomes of this “Dharma”. While Lakshmana and Bharata was unperturbed in his service to Bhagawan Rama 24*7, Shathrugna was devoted to the service to his elder brother Bharata, who was Bhagawan’s ardent devotee (Bhaagawatha).

Similarly, Hanuman was yet another epitome of this “Dharma” called “Aasyam”. We might even discard the argument of Lakshmana and Co. being devoted to Bhagawan Rama, as all four of them were brothers, but Hanuman was simply outstanding in whatever service He offered to his Bhagawan! For Hanuman, Bhagawan Rama was everything in this world! It is worth to paint a beautiful explanation to this aspect of “Dharma” with some excerpts from Hanuman’s life.

As we’ve witnessed during the Ramayana episodes, the moment Hanuman meets Bhagawan Rama and Lakshmana, He comes to know immediately that it is none other than Bhagawan Rama who is the Supreme Lord of the whole universe. From that moment onwards, Hanuman’s exemplary service to Bhagawan Rama and Mother Sita is just a treat for all of us to admire! Amongst all the “Vaanaras”, it was Hanuman who came forward to cross the mighty ocean to reach Lanka, search for Mother Sita amidst the nook and corner of Lanka and only to find her amidst Ravana’s “Ashoka Vana”. Although Hanuman found out the whereabouts of Mother Sita thus, He decided not to end His pursuit there. He decided to strike a conversation with Her, explain Bhagawan Rama’s condition and exuded confidence and motivation that all is not over yet. Hanuman assured Mother Sita that Her beloved husband is on His way to destroy Ravana and Co., thereby taking Her back to Ayodhya! Even after this, Hanuman wasn’t done yet! He decided to teach Ravana a lesson, and thus started waging a “preliminary war” with Ravana’s close associates! Whomever Ravana sent to capture Hanuman ended up being killed in His hands! Finally it was Indrajith who somehow succeeded in capturing Hanuman and bringing Him to Ravana.

As Ravana enquires about the whereabouts of this “treacherous monkey”, Hanuman again explained the significance of Bhagawan Rama and Mother Sita and warned Ravana of imminent danger for his heinous crime of abducting Mother Sita! As Ravana didn’t pay heed, Hanuman’s tail was set ablaze! With that fire, Hanuman quickly emerged out of Ravana’s palace and thus burnt the entire city of Lanka within minutes! Thus ends Hanuman’s “Lanka visit” and finally returns back to Kishkinta and conveys all that conspired in Lanka to Bhagawan Rama! As Hanuman narrates the whereabouts of Mother Sita, Bhagawan Rama couldn’t hold back His tears! He immediately hugs Hanuman with Him and exudes thus, “Oh Hanuman! Today you’ve proved to be an epitome of selfless service! You’ve undergone innumerable trials and challenges all along the path, and you’ve finally achieved what you were supposed to! Had I been the king of Ayodhya by now, I would have given you a great reward for your remarkable achievement! But here I am, roaming in the forest without anything. At this moment, all that I can offer you is myself and my generous and heart-felt hug!” Saying thus, Bhagawan Rama hugs Hanuman amidst His tears of joy! Hanuman on His part replies to His Bhagawan thus, “Oh Rama! I offered my services not with an expectation of any kind of reward from you! This is my contribution of “Seva” to you! I’ve always thought how fortunate are Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna, who always have the opportunity to be with you all the time! Now that you’re amidst the Vaanaras and myself, I should thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you!”

Such was Hanuman’s exemplary service to Bhagawan Rama and this is real “Aasyam”. In fact, this is what prompted Bhagawan Rama to transfer all of His powers to Hanuman when He decided to leave for Vaikunta too! We might be knowing this episode of the Ramayana – When Bhagawan Rama was preparing to leave for Vaikunta after all His duties were over, He remembered that He had to meet Hanuman before He left. As Bhagawan Rama meets Hanuman for one last time, He offered Hanuman to join Him to transcend to Vaikunta! However, Hanuman wasn’t ready! Hanuman replies thus, “Wherever there is ‘Rama-Naama-Japa, I shall always be there and would meticulously keep thinking about you! Even though I’m not near you from now onwards, I don’t mind! I shall live the rest of my life with your divine thoughts!” Hearing thus, Bhagawan Rama was so moved that He transferred all His divine powers to Hanuman before He transcended to Vaikunta!

Thus, from this narration, we should understand the significance of this important “Dharma” called “Aasyam”. When we say that we should be Bhagawan’s servant, we should immediately recollect Hanuman’s contribution, and through that we should learn to devote ourselves to the selfless service towards Bhagawan and His Bhaagawathas! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion and a clarification on the aspect of “Dharma” called “Ijjya”, as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. We had discussed yesterday that “Ijjya” doesn’t stop with just performing “Homas” and “Yagnyas” on a larger scale for the sake of world peace and harmony. It also extends to our daily “Nitya-Anushtaanam” or regular spiritual practices that we do. The only difference here is that, rather than praying to Bhagawan for our selfish needs, if we pray for the benefit of the world, the effects multiply. Of course, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray for our needs to get fulfilled.

In fact, to go a bit further, the best way to pray to Bhagawan is to thank Him for giving all that He has given us – Proper food, shelter, peaceful life, good family, etc., which many in this world are still suffering for! Especially in critical times like these, there are many people who are suffering and succumbing to the global pandemic. It is shocking and scary to note that around 70,000 people around the world have succumbed to this disease till date and around 1.2 million people have been affected! We can imagine the scale of suffering that the world is currently going through. Inspite of all this, if we’re safe and secure at our homes, having proper food three times a day, it is really a blessing from Bhagawan, and we’ve to thank Him for this! There are countless families in this world who are mourning today for the loss of their near and dear ones. Inspite of all that, if our family members are safe and secure, wherever they are in this world, this itself is another big blessing from Bhagawan!

Hence, my suggestion at this critical hour of crisis is that, rather than praying for our selfish needs of our worldly life, let us spare a thought for all those people out there who are suffering and mourning today! Let us show to the world that we are epitomes of this important “Dharma” called “Ijjya”, by praying for world peace and harmony. Let us together pray to Bhagawan that this disease should automatically subside down on its own, and thereby reduce the number of causalities and the infection rate. If we are able to really do this for our fellow citizens and for the world, this is real “Ijjya” and this would really benefit the world in a great way!

One needn’t doubt whether the prayer that we do sitting at a corner of our house would have any effect or not! Even a small prayer done whole-heartedly has immense power to melt Bhagawan’s heart! Readers might remember the story of little Dhruva, which we witnessed few episodes back – How this little child was steadfast in his approach to obtain Bhagawan’s divine vision. His consistent approach, steadfast attitude and relentless effort made Bhagawan’s heart melt within just six months, isn’t it? Finally, Bhagawan had to answer the little child’s fervent calls and thus appeared in front of him directly. Similarly, if we’re also following the footsteps of little Dhruva, we can also obtain similar results. We should trust ourselves in this pursuit. Thousand people might mock at us if we pray and we shouldn’t lend out our ears to those thousand voices. Our steadfast attitude and relentless pursuit towards our goal is what is important here. If we do this, I’m sure the world would be able to tide over this crisis as quickly as possible. Hence, let us do it.

Moving on thus, Sage Sukhaachaarya explains the next important aspect of “Dharma” called “Aasyam”. This means that we should develop the attitude within us that we are servants of Bhagawan. This implies that we should shun our ego, attitude issues and pride and should be able to accept Bhagawan and Bhaagawathas as our Masters. Of course, it is not said that we should be servants to stray people who go on the streets. All what Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining here is that we should be servants (divine servants) to Bhagawan and Bhaagawathas or Aachaaryas or Spiritual Masters. Only if we have this attitude within us, we would be able to develop the “Bhakti” or “Ardent devotion” towards Bhagawan, and would be able to progress the spiritual path forward.

So for today, let us understand the extended discussion of the “Dharma” called “Ijjya” and the introductory part of the “Dharma” called “Aasyam”. An important discussion pertaining to “Aasyam” is on the cards in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on an important aspect of “Dharma” called “Smaranam” and how significant is it to constantly practice it regularly. We had witnessed that the meditation process requires loads of persistence and perseverance to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is important that we should not give up in the middle, just because we’re unable to control our mind’s wavering. It is tough initially and our mind keeps roaming around everywhere. But it is important that we do not give up our attempt at this point by being upset with ourselves. The more our mind is wavering around, the more persistent we should become with our attempts. We should remember this always as we move on.

With this point, we commenced discussion on the next two important aspects of “Dharma” called “Seva” and “Ijjya” wherein Sage Sukhaachaarya explains that we should render our services to the society in such a way that our actions should be of immense benefit to all the people. For instance, if we’re having the ability and financial strength, we shall initiate the process of digging ponds, wells, etc. so that the entire locality gets benefited with uninterrupted water supply. Also, we might initiate and contribute to building temples, maintaining existing temples and reinstating their past glory, etc. This would again enhance the growth of our “Sanaatana Dharma” and increase the awareness amongst people. Also, if we’re a bit more wealthy, we can initiate some important “Yaagas”, “Homas” and such spiritual practices, which would be immensely beneficial for maintaining peace and harmony of the world. All these activities wherein we’re performing spiritual practices for the benefit of the world contribute to the important aspect of “Dharma” called “Ijjya”.

We concluded the previous episode with a series of questions in this context – How can we do all these “Homas”, “Yagnyas”, etc. on a large scale, given our financial constraints, etc.? Isn’t this only for wealthy people? Why should we do all these rituals and how will these rituals benefit the world? Let us look at the answers for it today.

We can look at it in two different dimensions here. One is of course, doing these spiritual practices on a larger scale – It is always said that if a prayer is conducted in a mass, or when many people come together unitedly to pray to Bhagawan, it gives exponential benefits, as compared to praying on an individual basis. When we come together, we always do it for a common cause, isn’t it? There would be no selfish or personal motive behind it. In most of the occasions, we come together to pray for world peace and harmony. All of us pray together to Bhagawan, seeking His blessings for the world to be prosperous, wherein the basic needs of all the living beings in the world are taken care of duly. In special and unique occasions like the one which we’re facing currently, the world should unite together from wherever we are, to pray that the all of us should get rid of this life-threatening COVID-19 disease that is currently plaguing the whole world! Normally we come together at a particular place and offer our prayers or spiritual practices, but of course, given the current situation, we shall keep praying from wherever we are, at our respective homes. This, as mentioned above, has immense benefits to the world and it definitely has the strength and power to change the situation from bad to good. We should have this confidence and faith on Bhagawan as we pray together.

Another dimension to look at this is that, this aspect of “Dharma” called “Ijjya” encompasses not only the “Homas”, “Yagnyas”, etc. performed at temples on a mass level, but also the regular spiritual practices that we offer to Bhagawan at our respective homes. (“Nitya-Anushtaanam”). In other words, whatever small spiritual practices we do – Like for instance, performing our “Sandhyavandanam”, regular chanting of some excerpts from the Vedas, Upanishads, Puraanas, etc. or even chanting our “Mantra” every time, etc. – All of these contribute to the aspect of “Dharma” called “Ijjya”.

This is the reason why we repeatedly keep stressing and emphasizing that we should never miss our daily routine of prayers. Whatever spiritual practices we do every day, we should make sure that there is continuity in it. We should be consistent in our approach and this is very important. The reason why we’re emphasizing on the continuity part is that, when we perform spiritual practices, the positive vibrations that evolve from our dedicated effort would invoke and awaken the “Devatas” (Invisible beings) that are associated with that particular spiritual offering. We should understand that every spiritual practice is associated with a particular “Devata” and when we offer the spiritual practice with all our devotion, this would certainly invoke that “Devata” associated with it. The blessings of these “Devatas” is what we should acquire and these blessings open the door for us to reach Bhagawan. If we continue doing the spiritual practices regularly, the “Devatas” associated with these practices would all assemble at the place where we’re performing it. They would wait for us to perform the practices. If for whatsoever reason we’ve to miss doing the spiritual practices for one day, the “Devatas” get disappointed and upset and this would in turn transform into negative vibrations over time. This is what we’ve to understand today.

Thus, the purpose of Sage Sukhaachaarya highlighting this point called “Ijjya” is to create the awareness amongst all of us that it is important to perform our spiritual practices on a regular basis without a break in the middle. Of course, if for unavoidable reasons we’re unable to perform them, it is fine. But this cannot be taken as an excuse to stop doing what we’re supposed to do! So for today, let us understand the significance of the two aspects of “Seva” and “Ijjya” and let us wait till the next episode to move on with the next narrative of Sage Sukhaachaarya! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the twenty-fifth aspect of “Dharma” which Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining to King Parikshit. As a sequence, we’ve seen three aspects of “Dharma” back to back, starting from “Shravanam”, Keertanam” and “Smaranam”. All these three aspects of “Dharma” are of paramount importance to a person who is ardently seeking the path of attaining “Moksha”. In due course of yesterday’s episode, we had witnessed the significance of the “Dharma” called “Smaranam”, wherein Sage Sukhaachaarya explains that it is our ardent “Dharma” to keep thinking about Bhagawan all the time. The thoughts might be of His divine plays, stories, events, slokas, names, or whatever. For this, we need to focus our mind towards Bhagawan and it is only with this steadfast focus, would we be able to think of Bhagawan continuously without a break. For this focus to be attained, we perform something called “Meditation” or “Dhyaanam”. The main agenda behind performing “Dhyaanam” is to attain this focus of mind which we are talking about here. We’ve also discussed in due course of the last episode, various phases through which we transcend through the meditative experience. The primary goal here is to “internalize” Bhagawan within us in such a way that we’re entering into a world of indefinite and immortal bliss.

Of course, for normal people like us, it might be difficult to attain this state sooner, but we should make a conscious effort to move forward in this regard. Just because we might have tried for one or two days and we would have failed to control our ever-wavering mind, we should not give up. We should be prepared to take on the initial onslaught of our mind. As I had mentioned yesterday too, only when we sit down to meditate, will our mind wander from Asia to Europe to Africa to America to Australia! All sort of weird thoughts would start coming into our mind only when we sit down to meditate. This is normal for all of us, and we shouldn’t get startled by this happening. However, the main point here is that, we should never give up our attempts. The more we try, the more we succeed. As we make it a habit of sitting and meditating every day, slowly and automatically our mind will come under our control. The wavering of our mind would come to a halt as time progresses. Of course, for some people results can be witnessed within just one or two days, whereas for some people, it might even take months. But however, even if it might take months for us to control our thoughts, it is still fine! We should never get upset with ourselves for this and we should constantly keep trying.

It is only once we reach this state of total mind control, will we be able to experience the blissful state with Bhagawan. So let us make it a point to try meticulously again and again. We should always remember that we would be able to taste success only with repeated failures. We might see this even in our professional life as well isn’t it? We might go through lot of hardships at our workplace every passing day and finally after many years of experience we might get a top position in an organization. If we’re prepared to face those difficulties for our career improvement, why shouldn’t we be prepared to face these difficulties for our spiritual improvement? We can definitely do it! Especially with the lockdown period that is currently in place in many countries around the world, we would have much more time to dedicate for our spiritual growth. Hence, let us use this time constructively for meditating and attaining atleast some amount of spiritual progress.

Readers might remember the story of “Dhruva”, which we discussed few episodes back. Readers might feel free to refer our earlier episodes to get a hold of this important story. What did Dhruva do? He make a steadfast resolve within himself to see Bhagawan in front of him somehow or the other! With that resolve, he started to meditate deeper and deeper each day and by the end of the sixth month, Bhagawan appeared in front of him! If a little child can achieve this feat within six months, why can’t we? Hence, it all depends on how much of “Vairaagya” do we possess and it is a real test for all of us! Hence, let us do the needful!

With this note, we shall move on with the next aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit thus:

“Seve ijjyaavana daasye sakhyam aatma samarpanam!!”

Here, Sage Sukhaachaarya talks about the twenty-sixth aspect of “Dharma” thus – “Seva” for the society. There are certain recommendations given in the Vedas, for all of us to follow so that these actions of ours would be of immense benefit to the society as a whole. For instance, digging of wells, ponds, etc. which would supply water for hundreds and thousands of people, building of temples so that many people can assemble at a spot and worship Bhagawan, performing “Homas”, “Yagnyas”, etc. for the benefit of the world, etc. The process of performing “Homas”, “Yagnyas”, etc. for the larger benefit of the world is called “Ijjya”.

We might have a question here – How can we do all these “Homas”, “Yagnyas”, etc. on a large scale, given our financial constraints, etc.? Isn’t this only for wealthy people? Why should we do all these rituals and how will these rituals benefit the world? An important and an interesting answer awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊