The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an extension of the discussion on why should we develop this important “Dharma” called “Tolerance” within us. Especially in the current situation at which the entire world is, this assumes extreme significance. At this juncture, it is important for us to stay put at our homes and not to roam around in the open, unless and until it is extremely important. As mentioned yesterday, this is not a “punishment” given to us, but we should view this as a “medicine” for a disease which still doesn’t have a medical cure. Of course, if we’ve to be at home 24*7, it is obviously going to be a challenge for all of us, but there are loads of constructive things that we can do to spend our time constructively. For this, we need to have the tolerance within us. Thus, the point here is that, this current situation is seemingly becoming catastrophic across the world, and we should exercise extra care for our own health as well as the health of our near and dear ones.

Moving on thus, we shall discuss the next aspect of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya is going to talk about to King Parikshit. So far, we’ve witnessed seventeen different aspects of “Dharma” and relevant modern-day explanations for each of them. Now we move on to the next important aspect of “Dharma”, which perhaps assumes loads of significance in today’s scenario as well – “Viparyayah iheksha”. This means, we should perform only those activities and tasks that are useful and beneficial for ourselves and for our society. We should cut down all of those activities that doesn’t add value.

For instance, a person went to a garden which has a lush green lawn all around it. Upon seeing the lawn, he sat down on it and started talking with his friends for the next thirty minutes or so. At the end of the thirty-minute talk, as the person got up from the lawn, the place where he was sitting was full of grass pieces! As the talk was progressing, this person’s hands were not quiet and it started to pick out the grass from the ground and throwing it off. Thus, as the person got up, the beauty of the lawn was destroyed. Can we do this? Or, are we authorized to do such an activity? The answer is obviously a “No”! More than the rules and regulations that might be in place by the organization which maintains the garden, we are not authorized to destroy the life of a plant, isn’t it?

This is where Sage Sukhaachaarya is saying here that we should avoid such unwanted activities in our daily life. Another example to illustrate this point further – As we keep talking with someone or doing some important work, many of us have this habit of pricking our nails unwantedly, or scratching our head and hair, or biting our nails with our teeth, etc. Even these kinds of activities are considered as unwanted. In fact, this is what is being taught as “Corporate ethos” and “personal etiquette” in modern-day organizations as well. If we keep doing such unwanted activities when we’re in front of a client or if we’re part of an important meeting, it sends a very wrong signal to the other people who are sitting around us. Performing such unwanted activities imply that we are nervous for something within us, or we’re guilty of doing something wrong and are trying to cover it up. Thus, these unwanted practices are signs of bad body language and hence should be avoided as much as possible.

Thus the point here is that, we should try and cut down on all our unwanted activities in life. This of course, we’ve witnessed so far only with respect to small things. If we look at it from the spiritual perspective, every passing day we keep doing so many things that are unnecessary and that are detrimental for our spiritual progress. We keep talking and talking with someone or the other, especially on the mobile phone and nowadays more on social media as well. If we analyze the content of what we talk everyday, most of it would be junk! It would be about someone or something that is in no connection with us in any way! These are certain things that we can cut down. Moreover, as part of our routine life, we tend to poke our nose into anything and everything that other people do. This is yet another mistake that we do. If we’ve to progress spiritually, we need to be selfish to some extent – Atleast in this context. Of course, we should be selfless in offering our service to the world, but that’s a different context. Readers should not confuse between both these points here. When it comes to serving the world, we should obviously be selfless in nature. However, when it comes to our spiritual development and performing our spiritual practices, we should definitely be selfish. Here, the word “Selfishness” simply implies that we are conscious about what we’re doing.

Hence, we should understand Sage Sukhaachaarya’s point very clearly. He is explaining here that we should be selfish for our own spiritual development by cutting down all unwanted activities that might be a deterrent for it. This is like how a farmer keeps cutting all the weeds from his paddy field frequently. What happens if the weeds are not cut down? They would grow enormously and would absorb all the ground water, which would be meant for the paddy crops to grow. Ultimately, because of these weeds, the paddy might get destroyed. So to prevent this from happening, the farmer would keep cutting down the weeds frequently, so that the paddy is protected. Similarly, we should make a detailed analysis of those factors that are potential barriers for our spiritual growth. We should identify those factors and take conscious steps to cut them down.

So for today, let us realize this point that Sage Sukhaachaarya is making here, and let us meticulously put this to practice. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next aspect of “Dharma”. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion on Sage Sukhaachaarya’s point on “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”, which means that as “Dhaarmikas”, we should develop the maturity and tolerance to withstand any adverse situation that might come through in life. We had witnessed quite a few instances where we’ve seen that the entire fabric of our “Sanaathana Dharma” is built around this one characteristic. We as ardent followers of this wonderful religion called “Hinduism”, should understand the sacrifices, tolerance and patience that were exhibited by our forefathers and ancestors in protecting our temples, spiritual texts including our “Ithihasas” and “Puraanas”, the Vedas, Upanishads, etc. and making all of these texts available to us today. This itself is an epitome example of “tolerance” and we Hindus are naturally good at it. Of course, some people keep raising fake narratives that our “Bhaarata Desha” (India) is becoming “intolerant”, but sadly the people who were propagating this “intolerance” narrative were the ones who were proved to be highly intolerant!

Hence, the point here is that, irrespective of whatever is being narrated or exhibited against our “Sanaathana Dharma”, we should just turn deaf ears and should continue making progress in our spiritual journey. We should develop that level of tolerance wherein we just ignore whatever nonsense is being thrown upon us. If we’re developing this level of maturity and tolerance, not only we grow spiritually, but also the people who try and insult us would automatically get exposed. This is because, if we are steadfast in our spiritual practices and approach, we are definitely going to benefit from them immensely, which would automatically negate all their false propaganda! Thus, as ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma”, let us focus on this important point and let us do the needful.

Having said this, today we have yet another opportunity to exhibit this wonderful characteristic of “Dharma” called “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”. How? As we’re slowly getting “locked down” due to the increased onslaught of the Coronavirus COVID-19, many might be thinking what to do sitting at home all the time! Many of us feel that we would get bored by sitting idle at home and because of this, we might start venturing out of our homes, thus defying the order of “lockdown”. Here’s my take on it as to why should we stay indoors at this critical time:

1. The main purpose for which the government is requesting us to stay indoors is to prevent the virus from entering the “Community Transmission” (Stage 3) stage. For the moment, the virus is seen only in people who have recently traveled into India from some affected countries. But if we’re not practicing home quarantine and isolation, this is going to spread like a rapid forest fire for people who do not have any travel history anywhere! At this stage 3, the transmission is going to become much faster than it is today. This is a huge risk that we are taking if we’re venturing out of our homes at this critical juncture. It is important to “break the chain” of the virus spread, and let us meticulously stay indoors, treating this exercise as a “medicine” to cure this disease, rather than a “compulsion” or a “house arrest”. We should understand that the western countries which are now reeling under the impact of this virus, flouted the norms of home quarantine and roamed around freely, thus enabling the easy transmission of the virus from one person to the other. If we do the same mistake, we should realize that we would also end up in a similar situation like the western countries.
2. Rather than complaining that we’re getting bored, there are lot many things that we can do sitting at home. Of course, with the advent of technology, many office jobs can be done sitting at home itself. Hence, that itself can take care of many things. If this is not possible for few others, we can use this as an opportunity to spend quality time with our family members, talk with them, crack jokes, etc. This would ease out our stress and ensure that we are getting rejuvenated. In Management terms, our “Work-life balance” can be greatly improved if we use this time judiciously to be with our family members.
3. Instead of sitting idle at home, why can’t we use this time to increase our spiritual practices? During our normal working days, we often complain that we do not have sufficient time to do our “Sandhyavandanam” or chanting Gayatri Mantra before going to office. Now that we’re at home, we can very well sit and do all what we’ve missed all these days, isn’t it? We can sit and chant our “Mantra” constantly without any disturbance from anywhere. We can chant as many slokas as possible too! By doing these spiritual practices, we’re not only improving our spiritual path, but also serves as a universal prayer for the betterment of this catastrophic situation. Thus, this serves two purposes at the same time.
4. As we’re at home now, why can’t we use this time to learn something new? We can invest our time in learning a new language, updating our professional skillsets, increase our mental acumen by adopting innumerable methods that are available online. Nowadays, with the advent of technology, many modules of lessons on various subjects are available with just a click of a button. So, why don’t we use this opportunity to do something constructive?

Thus, we should understand here that this “lockdown” situation is an opportunity for all of us to test our “tolerance” level and as “Dhaarmikas”, this is a great chance for us to understand ourselves, introspect and learn a lot. So the important message from this special episode is that, let us not take this “lockdown” as a punishment by the government. It is just a medicine for the virus to get cured as quickly as possible. Let us prove to the world that our Bhaarata Desha is an epitome of exhibiting tolerance by staying indoors at this critical juncture, and thus, stemming the growth of this deadly Coronavirus. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important aspect of “Dharma”! Stay tuned! 😊

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced a discussion on the next aspect of “Dharma” after “Seva”. This is where we understand the importance of “tolerance” and “adjustment” in our daily life. As we’re moving on from “Seva” to “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”, this is a virtual continuation of what we had discussed before as well. In due course of the yesterday’s episode, we had concluded that performing selfless service to the world (“Seva”), we can please Bhagawan’s heart to such an extent that our route to “Moksha” gets the “green signal” easily! 😊

Eventually, as we develop this attitude of doing selfless service, our personal preferences, needs and wants would automatically start coming down. The moment we dedicate our life to be of service of others (“Paropakaaram idam shareeram”), our desires, selfish needs, etc. would start reducing. The moment our desires come down, our tolerance capability would start increasing. This is exactly what Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining here. When he says, “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”, he explains that we should be able to adjust to any kind of adverse situation that we face in our day-to-day life and still find happiness and bliss from it.

For instance, if we’re on a “Yatra” (Spiritual travel, visiting temples and other spiritual places of worship with a group of people), we should realize that there might be many challenges that we have to overcome. Firstly, we should understand that we are with several other people and each individual is different. Sometimes, we might be amongst a multi-cultural diversity of people and thus it might become a bit more complicated. Secondly, we might not get the same luxury of a home when we are outside. We need to adjust with whatever minimal facility we get to rest ourselves for the night. Just because we have a luxurious bedrooms and bathrooms at home, there is no point in demanding the same outside! Thirdly, we should be able to adjust with whatever food that we get to consume when we’re outside. Obviously, we might follow extreme cleanliness while we cook food at home, but can we expect the same outside? The answer is “No”! This is where our tolerance comes into picture. This is the acid test for all of us here – Are we able to adjust with whatever we get, or are we going to keep cribbing and complaining for what we do not get? If we’re going to answer a “Yes” for the second half of the above question, it simply means that our level of adjustment and tolerance is something that we need to seriously work on!

Thus, the point here is that, as ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma”, we should be high on tolerance and should be able to take whatever comes by. In fact, if we look at our ancient tradition, Hinduism is a religion of extreme tolerance. If we look at our history of about thousand years or more, how many invaders from various parts of the world have tried to capture our Bhaarata Desha (India) and tried to impose their agenda upon us? Even though they might have succeeded in capturing our land, they weren’t really successful in destroying our “Sanaatana Dharma” isn’t it? How many of our people resisted, tolerated and battled their lives to protect our “Sanaatana Dharma”? There are thousands in the long list! If we happen to visit some ancient temples like the one in Srirangam, Madurai, etc. we would come across startling accords of history as to how people have saved these temples from being invaded by some crooks! There were instances wherein the temple was under siege by foreign invaders, but our people have successfully resisted it, built a wall in front of the main sanctum-sanctorum (deity) of the temple, so as to give an image of an “empty room” for the invader! If such a thing wouldn’t have been done, the precious idols of all the deities in these temples would have been stolen away by now! Such was the resistance, tolerance, sacrifice and valor exhibited by our forefathers and ancestors in protecting our ancient and sacred temples. This is just a tip of a huge iceberg to illustrate how people who are ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma” score very high on this “Dharma” called “Tolerance” or “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”.

If we look at the modern day story, there are different groups of anti-Hindus who constantly keep throwing muck on us for no reason. Even that is being tolerated by us in the present day. For instance, many of us might know and remember how the so-called “Dravidians” in the southern part of India had once insulted Bhagawan Rama by “offering” a garland made of slippers! What more insult do we take beyond this? Yet, as ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, we were tolerating all these nonsensical behaviors, because Hinduism believes in forgiving and forgetting the mistakes done by others and accepting them unconditionally. This itself is a great level of “Tolerance” isn’t it? Had the same thing happened to a deity of another religion, what would have happened? Either these “Dravidians” would have been shot down with guns and bullets by people of one religion which is globally famous for that, or they would have been stoned by people of another religion amidst the symbol which we use for denoting “Addition” in Mathematics! These “Dravidians” could wag their tail and get away only because Hindus are extremely tolerant, but they would face repercussions for all what they keep doing!

So for today, let us understand the significance of “Tolerance” and let us try and imbibe this into us for our long-term benefit of attaining the highest “Moksha”. We might see few people who act against our “Sanaatana Dharma” and get away easily, but let us always remember that these people would definitely reap the fruits for what they’re doing today. We shall wait till the next episode to move on with the next important aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

Yesterday’s episode marked a special edition of the entire blog series, as we’re starring a major health crisis across the world. We had witnessed the significance of “Seva” in the current-day perspective and how can we contribute to stemming the onslaught of the Coronavirus outbreak. We had witnessed four important pointers pertaining to this. To re-iterate once more, firstly we should ensure that we maintain “social distancing”, which means that we shouldn’t gather together at a public place and create nuisance. As much as possible, we should stay indoors and let others stay indoors as well. This itself is a great “Seva” at this critical juncture because, we shouldn’t become a potential carrier of the virus in us. This would trigger a full-fledged “community transmission” of the disease and might turn abysmal for people of older age. It is our Seva thus, to take care of all our people at this time. Secondly, as we’re witnessing a shut down in many places, we should ensure that people like our domestic and daily-wage workers are given holidays along with pay. This would ensure that they can also sustain their daily living without any hassles, as well as serving the purpose of staying indoors. Thirdly, it is time for us now to acknowledge the relentless and persistent “Seva” of our beloved and respected doctors, paramedical staff, hospital staff, etc. who are risking their own lives to ensure our safety. What can we offer them in return? We should ensure that we follow our basic precautionary measures by sanitizing our homes, washing our hands with soap frequently, etc. so that, we would not be creating more burden to these selfless people. Finally, let us follow our Prime Minister’s footsteps and take part in the “Janta Curfew” slated for tomorrow. If we’re in any part of India, let us make it a point that we do not venture out of our homes for the whole day tomorrow for anything, except for some emergency conditions. This would set the tone for disciplining ourselves, and also to “break the chain” of the virus from spreading more into our community.

Thus, we can witness practically today, the importance of “Seva”, which is a critical aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. The important point here is that, we should be ready to serve the world in whatever small or larger way as possible, without any hesitation. If there’s an opportunity for us to serve, we should make the full use of it, by being in the forefront of things. This pro-activeness of ours to come forward and serve the world would definitely please Bhagawan’s heart and this would in turn pave the way for us to attain “Moksha”.

Moving on thus with the next aspect of “Dharma”, Sage Sukhaachaarya narrates the significance of “Adjusting and being contented at all times and at all places” – “Graamyeha uparamah shanaihi”. This is extremely important here. We should ask this question to ourselves thus: “Now that most of us are in cities and urban centers and have gradually moved out of villages – How many of us would be comfortable to have a one-night sleep amidst the natural breeze, without our air conditioner, our cozy bed and pillow? Would we be able to adjust if all of these are not there?” Many a times, the answer would be “No”! This is where our problem lies today. We’re so getting used to a “luxurious” lifestyle, in such a way that our physical body is unable and unwilling to adjust to any sort of small adversity if it has to face. This is indeed a dangerous situation that we are heading towards in the modern day. We should make sure that we develop the tolerance and maturity to make ourselves comfortable even with the smallest of the small facility available.

This issue comes to the fore especially when we go out on long tours to visit many places. At every place within India and abroad as well, we would not get the same amount of luxury, same varieties of food, etc. We should learn to consume any kind of food (of course, in small quantities while we are on travel), should be able to adjust with whatever small accommodation facilities that are given to us and should still be able to enjoy the trip. Many people tend to take this otherwise – The moment there is a dip in the facilities and luxuries available, people start complaining and making politics out of it. If we start doing all these, the purpose for which we’ve undertaken the tour would totally be defeated. We should not let this happen. Thus, rather than complaining about things unnecessarily, we should make up our mind in advance and be prepared to face the worst of the worst situations. This is exactly the level of maturity which Sage Sukhaachaarya wants all of us to attain.

So for today, let us start pondering over this aspect of “Dharma”. Let us start developing the level of tolerance within us, so as to face any adversity in our life with a strong will. We shall continue this discussion forward into the next episode as well. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced discussion on a very important aspect of “Dharma”, called “Seva”. As witnessed, “Seva” simply means being in selfless service to Bhagawan and to the world. We had discussed some important points pertaining to “Seva” and how should one devote his/her life for serving others. In due course, we had witnessed an excerpt from the Valmiki Ramayana, wherein the sole purpose of the incarnations of Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna were primarily to serve Bhagawan Rama and His Bhaagawathas (Ardent devotees). We witnessed that Lakshmana was an epitome of “Seshatva” which means, dedicating each and every minute of our life for selfless service towards Bhagawan. Bharata was an epitome of “Paaratanthrya”, which is another aspect of “Seva”, wherein one performs selfless service to Bhagawan, but according to Bhagawan’s wish. Finally, Shatrughna stood for “Bhaagawatha Seshatva” and “Bhaagawatha Paaratantrya” – This means, being of selfless service, not to Bhagawan directly, but to His ardent devotees (Bhaagawathas). These are the three dimensions of the “Seva” aspect of “Dharma”. Moreover, it is also emphasized in the Ramayana by Valmiki Maharishi repeatedly that being of service to Bhagawan’s devotees is more significant than being of service to Bhagawan directly. It is emphasized at various instances in the Ramayana text that Bhagawan likes someone who is of service to His devotees. It is for this reason we say that Bhaagawatha Seshatva and Bhaagawatha Paaratantrya are much higher in plane as compared to Bhagawath Seshatva and Bhagawath Paaratantrya.

It is for this reason thus, we repeatedly keep emphasizing often that we should try our level best to serve others. We might not know who are Bhagawan’s devotees or not, but given this ambiguity, this is a good opportunity for all of us to serve more and more people in this world. Every passing day we should take a statistic within our own self, whether have we helped others in some way or the other. It might be a small help, but even that counts.

Now for instance, the whole world is being gripped by a mysterious virus called COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). It is saddening and depressing to see the news every day that thousands of people are succumbing to this global pandemic. Fortunately, with the divine grace of Bhagawan and with some excellent and proactive measures taken by our government, our Bhaarata Desha (India) is somehow well shielded from the onslaught of this Coronavirus. But this is not something that we can feel complacent about at this critical time. It only means that we’re doing a good job at the moment, and we should only intensify and continue doing it in the coming weeks and months.

As this situation is looming larger and larger every passing day, what are some things that we can do, so that we shall be of “Seva” (Selfless service) to our community of people? Here are my takeaways:

1. As the scope of spreading of this pandemic is increasing day by day, governments all around the world are issuing advisories for people to stay indoors and work from home. There is a virtual “shut down” all across India and the world as well. Of course, some jobs can entail the option of “work from home”, whereas some jobs cannot. This includes small and medium businesses, daily-wage workers in factories, industries, domestic workers, roadside shopkeepers, temple priests, etc. The list goes on endlessly. Thus we can see here that a major chunk of people are being rendered jobless, for no fault of theirs. This is where we as “Dhaarmikas” have to chip in. For instance, even though our domestic helpers haven’t turned up for work at our house because of the virus fear, rather than penalizing them for their absence, we should make sure that we pay their wages for this whole month, without any deduction. We should always remember that just like how we have our family, those people too have families and for no fault of theirs, we should not cut their wages. If we cut their wages at this critical time, where will they go for buying food and other necessities for sustaining their lives? Hence, we should always have that compassion towards others and as part of our “Seva”, we should try and help those people who are starring at a potential financial threat in whatever way we can and make sure that we do not let them down.
2. Adding another dimension to the whole crisis that is looming large, it is better at this moment that we stay indoors as much as possible. The reason behind it is that, if we roam around in the streets, we never know who is having the sickness within them and if by chance we get in close contact with such people, chances are high that we might easily contract the fatal disease. And, if we contract the disease, we should also remember that there might be elderly people in our family like our own parents, grandparents, etc. who stay with us at home. As this disease is proving extremely fatal for the elderly, we should be very careful here. Thus, our “Seva” towards our own family members at this hour of crisis is that, let us be healthy first and let us make sure that our family is healthy as well. Let us go out only if it is extremely necessary, else, let us stay indoors for the coming few days.
3. We should always remember that there are thousands of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other hospital staff who are tirelessly working towards ensuring that all of us are safe and healthy. There are hundreds of medical staff who are on constant vigil at airports, sea ports, railway stations, etc., screening thousands and thousands of people who travel. We should also remember here that, to ensure our safety and health, they are risking their own lives! Isn’t this one of the highest levels of “Seva” (Selfless service) that these people are doing? Hence, for a moment, let us wholeheartedly thank all these people and pray to Bhagawan for their personal as well as their family well-being. Let us exhibit our gratitude to their phenomenal and relentless efforts, rather than picking up fights with them for some petty things here and there.
4. As our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has yesterday announced, let us make sure that we follow the “Janta curfew” this coming Sunday, the 22’nd of March 2020. Let us make sure that we do not venture out of our homes from 9 AM to 5 PM and at 5 PM, let us not forget to clap our hands and congratulate the mammoth effort that is taken by our respected doctors and all sorts of medical staff. If not for anything else, let us follow this curfew for our own safety and health.

If we acknowledge these above-mentioned points and act accordingly, this would be the biggest “Seva” that we can offer for the betterment of the world. Of course, we can always do our prayers towards Bhagawan and let us all join hands and pray ardently that this crisis should wane away as quickly as possible. If all of us pray together with sincerity and devotion, Bhagawan’s heart would definitely melt, just like how we saw Prahlaada being saved by Bhagawan countless number of times. So for this moment, let us awaken the “Prahlaada” within us, and let us invoke Bhagawan’s grace with all our heart.

We shall wait till the next episode to continue with the various aspects of “Dharma”, as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya! Stay tuned!

 

 

We had an extended discussion in the previous episode with regards to an important aspect of “Dharma” as narrated by Sage Sukaachaarya, which is “Samadhruk”. We witnessed the practical application of this aspect wherein we witnessed some important reasons as to why employees quit organizations. If we do not treat employees of our organization on par, it is going to result in serious catastrophic consequences in the long run, and this is one reason why some successful organizations around the world have failed. Thus, the point here is that, we should make sure that we treat all people equally without any sort of discrimination. As we mentioned this with respect to we, human beings, the same thing is applicable for animals as well. Just like how we have the right to live in this world and to lead a life as per our wish, we should realize that animals too have their own right to live their life. Hence, we are not supposed to harm them in any way or inflict any sort of pain to any animal, including insects and mosquitoes. Hence, let us try and put this important aspect of “Dharma” to practice.

Moving on thus, Sage Sukhaachaarya talks about the next important aspect of “Dharma” – “SEVA”. This is yet another key aspect that is repeatedly spoken about in various contexts and at various places in our “Sanaathana Dharma” texts. This simply means, being of service to Bhagawan and Bhaagawathas (Devotees of Bhagawan). We should realize that Bhagawan has given us this physical body only for being in service to the world. If that is the case, we should not keep our physical body only for fulfilling our own needs and wants. Of course I’m not saying here that we should never employ our physical body and energy for our own self, but having said thus, we should also make sure that we are of help to our parents, peers, and various types of people whomever we come across in our daily lives.

In fact, when we were at our early inception stages of our blog, during our Ramayana episodes, we had witnessed the very purpose of incarnations of Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna. All of us know the purpose for which Bhagawan Rama was born. However, the purpose of incarnation of the other three brothers are extremely important for us to recollect and understand in this context here. Lakshmana was born in this world to illustrate the “Dharma” called “Sheshatva”. This means, being of service to Bhagawan at all times, right from birth till death. This is why we witness all through the Ramayana that Lakshmana was steadfast in his “Seva” towards Bhagawan Rama. He had sacrificed his personal life and luxuries at Ayodhya, went along with Bhagawan Rama and Mother Sita to the forest for fourteen long years, did all possible service to both of them at every point in time. Even when the battle with Ravana was unfolding, Lakshmana was at the doorstep of Bhagawan Rama for anything and everything. This is how one needs to be of service to Bhagawan at all times and Lakshmana was an excellent illustration of the same.

When we talk about Bharata, he is one step higher. Bharata represents another aspect of the “Dharma” of “Seva”, called “Paaratanthriya”. This means, being of service to Bhagawan, but according to Bhagawan’s wish. Bharata was an epitome of this aspect of “Seva”. How? When Bharata requested Bhagawan Rama to come back to Ayodhya from Chitrakoota, Bhagawan Rama replies to him thus, “Oh Bharata! I totally agree with what you’re requesting. However, I cannot come back to Ayodhya without completing my fourteen-year tenure. This is the promise that I’ve given to our father, King Dasaratha. So let me complete it and in the meanwhile, you keep ruling the kingdom till I come back!” As Bhagawan Rama says thus, Bharata didn’t talk a single word back! He blindly accepted Bhagawan Rama’s wish and executed it to the fullest of his abilities, until Bhagawan returned back to Ayodhya.

This is where the difference between Lakshmana and Bharata arises – If a similar situation would have reckoned Lakshmana, perhaps he might not have had this much of maturity to accept Bhagawan Rama’s words! For Lakshmana, his agenda was that he has to somehow be of service to Bhagawan. But Bharata was a notch higher than Lakshmana, wherein he was able to offer his services, but only according to Bhagawan’s wish and not according to his wishes. Thus it is said that “Paaratanthriya” is a step higher than “Seshatva”.

Now if we witness the purpose of incarnation of Shathrugna, we would see that he too was of service, just like his other two brothers – But not for Bhagawan Rama directly. Shathrugna performed all of his services to Bhagawan’s ardent devotee called Bharata! This is called “Bhaagawatha Seshatva” & “Bhaagawatha Paaratanthrya”. It is always said that Bhagawan becomes happier if one offers his/her services to His ardent devotees, rather than to Him directly! This is where Shathrugna specializes himself. His agenda was to perform all services whatever Bharata and Lakshmana did for Bhagawan Rama, to Bharata, who is Bhagawan Rama’s ardent devotee!

Thus, today we have witnessed and recalled a very important point here – The significance of “Seva” and why should we offer our services to Bhagawan and His ardent devotees. We shall continue this discussion further in the upcoming next episode as well! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Sukhaachaarya’s important discussion on the various aspects of “Dharma” that all of us should strictly adhere in our daily lives. We’ve discussed yesterday, something that is extremely important when it comes to our regular life as well – “Samadhruk”. This means that we should be able to see each and every living being in this world equally, without any discrimination. When we talk about living beings, it encompasses animals, plants, etc. too, apart from human beings. When it comes to human beings, we should rise above all levels to see all people as divine children of Bhagawan. If we’re calling ourselves as children of Bhagawan, there can never be any difference or discrimination, isn’t it? How can a mother discriminate between her own children? Aren’t all children equal in a mother’s or a father’s eyes? Similarly, all of us are equal in Bhagawan’s eyes, and we should realize this point as we make spiritual progress.

Of course, it is easier said than done. There are many practical implications to this “Dharma” in today’s life, wherein, we have multiple roles to fulfill – As a parent, as a son / daughter, as a working professional in our respective organization, etc. In all these roles, we’ve to come across and interface with innumerable people every day. This is where the problem comes – Of course, in our home and within our close family, it is much easier to practice this “Dharma” (barring certain exceptional cases here and there), but is it going to be easy at our workplace? We have a definitive hierarchy as part of every organization and the moment there’s a hierarchy, immediately comes a question as to who is “superior” or “inferior” in the organization. As this divide grows on and on, rifts start happening within people and as time passes, these rifts keep escalating beyond permissible levels, only for employees to quit the organization, or the entire organization comes to a collapse!

In Organizational Behavior science, there is something called “Job Satisfaction” and “Psychological Contract”. These concepts are closely linked with this “Dharma” called “Samadhruk”. Employees in an organization would get satisfied only if they are treated on par with everyone and when their voices are heard by the top management. As employees get more and more dissatisfied with their organization, their “Psychological contract” (An unwritten contract between an employer and an employee over certain terms and conditions) gets damaged very badly. This leads to “withdrawal behaviors” from the employees’ side, wherein people get disconnected with the organization in lot of ways. If employees aren’t respected in the way they should be, and if they’re not treated the way in which they should be, it is going to be a downhill for any organization. This problem of inequality in an organization thus increases the “Attrition rate”, that is, the number of people quitting an organization at any point of time. This is why it is always said that once talented and committed employees leave an organization, it is very difficult to earn them back, or to find suitable replacements. Thus, the point here is that, if we don’t treat people on par with ourselves equally, this is going to have disastrous consequences.

So much for human beings with regards to the “Dharma” called “Equality”. Now, how is it for other living beings in this world? Every living being in this world has the basic right to live a life, irrespective of what the being is. It might be a plant, or an animal or a human being. Nobody has any right to kill any living being in this world. This itself is equality, apart from many other parameters. For instance, if there is a small insect or a cockroach crawling at some corner at our home, what do we do? We immediately take a broom, beat and kill it, isn’t it? If we’re doing this, it simply implies that we’re not following the “Dharma” called “Samadhruk” or “Equality”. This is because, just like how we have a right to live a life in this world, that cockroach also has a similar right to live its own life isn’t it? Who are we to deny another living being an equal right to live a life? We should understand this important point here.

Thus, next time if we come across a similar situation, we should be able to think in this manner. Rather than killing the poor insect, we can always take it in a piece of paper and put it out of the window, isn’t it? This can serve two purposes – Firstly, it doesn’t disturb us and secondly, we’re not killing a living being, which otherwise, would be one of the greatest sins that we can do for ourselves! If this applies for even small insects, we do not even need to talk about other living beings like cows, goats, sheep, hens, chicken, etc. So for today, let us ponder over these important points when it comes to the “Dharma” of “Equality” or “Samadhruk”. We shall wait till the next episode to move on with the next point. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the next aspect of “Dharma” called “Santosha”, as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit. So far we’ve witnessed around ten important aspects of “Dharma” and yesterday we had mentioned that at whatever situation in life we might be in, we should make sure that we’re happy and contented. Both happiness and contentment go hand in hand with each other. If we are contented in life with whatever we have, we’re automatically going to be happy. The moment we become happy and peaceful, we would always have a smile in our face. Once we have a smile everytime in our face, Bhagawan is going to like us more and more. Thus, this aspect of “Dharma” called “Santosha” gains lot of prominence if we’ve to become “Dhaarmikas” or “Practitioners of Dharma”.

Moving on further, we go into the next point which Sage Sukhaachaarya is going to talk about here – “Samadhruk”. This means, we should be able to see everyone equally without any difference. For instance, there might be people among us who are different in different ways. Right from gender differences to financial differences to religious, caste-wise, creed-wise, dressing-wise, etc. If we’re going to get carried away with all these differences amongst all of us, where are we going to concentrate on attaining Moksha? Thus, the point here is that, we should be able to see everybody equally without any blemish. How would we be able to achieve this? It is possible only if we’re able to see the “Atman” in everybody.

This is where, we’ve discussed during many episodes in the past that we should clearly be able to distinguish which is temporary in nature and which is permanent in nature. Our physical body (Deham) is temporary in nature, because it keeps changing its shape, size, beauty, etc. as we get older and older by the day. Can we be of the same beauty when we are 30 years old and when we become 75? It’s not possible isn’t it? Moreover, our physical body is something that can be destroyed. Irrespective of whatever we do or however we live, all of us are going to die one day. Subsequently if and when we take our next birth, we’re going assume the form of a different physical body. Thus, these aspects clearly indicate that our physical body is temporary in nature. However, our “Atman” is something that is going to be permanent and non-destroyable. Irrespective of how many ever births we might take, or we’ve taken so far, our Atman never changes. This is where we’ve to develop the maturity within ourselves that we should look only at those that is permanent in nature, and not at those which are temporary in nature.

Thus, if we’re able to see the “Atman” and its purity within everybody, we would not be able to differentiate between people. All of us are Bhagawan’s children at the end of the day, isn’t it? If that’s the case, why should we keep seeing differences in everybody and with those, discriminate among ourselves unnecessarily and create issues unwantedly? The moment we start discriminating, we would slowly start losing that divine love and compassion towards all living beings. Only if we start seeing the “Atman” in every living being in this world, we would be able to develop the compassion. For instance, if we even see a beggar on the road, suffering for some reason, we should be ready to run and help out that person in whatever way we can. Just because we might be well-off today in a plush car and a villa, it doesn’t mean that we disrespect someone just because they’re not upto what we are. As Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (AMMA) repeatedly keeps telling us thus – “Someone else’s problems today, might become our problem tomorrow! For instance, suppose there is a fire in the ground floor of our building which is ten storied and we are living in the sixth floor – People in the ground floor are calling fervently for help, and those people are supposedly of a low-income group. Can we discard them by saying ‘Oh! I’m much superior to you in lot of ways. I do not need to come down to your level and help you out! It’s your problem that your floor is on fire!’ Can we say that? Now what is the guarantee that the fire which is on the ground floor might not quickly spread to the sixth floor within minutes? How will the fire know whether we are superior or inferior as compared to others? Isn’t it foolishness on our part to differentiate people this way?” This is where, we need to realize that we should see everyone equally and if someone is in some form of pain or suffering, we should immediately extend a helping hand to them. This is because, someone else’s problem today might well become our problem tomorrow, and we never know!

Another instance to highlight this point – How many of us even thought in our wildest dreams, two months ago that the whole world is going to be gripped by a pandemic called “Coronavirus”? Does the virus differentiate between male or female, rich or poor, east or west, etc.? The answer is “No”! Hence, the point here is that, we should see everyone and every living being equally and should be ready to be of service to the world. So for today, let us realize this important “Dharma” of “equality” and let us meticulously try and put this into practice. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important “Dharma”, which Sage Sukhaachaarya is going to explain! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Sukhaachaarya’s important accord in the various principles of “Dharma” that all of us should follow in our daily lives. In that way, we have so far discussed ten such principles, including the last five that we’ve been talking about in our few previous episodes, namely, “Ahimsa”,  “Brahmacharya”, “Thyaaga”, “Swaadhyaaya” and “Aarjavam”. Yesterday we had concluded the discussion on the last two principles – “Swaadhyaaya” and “Aarjavam” wherein we had explained that we’ve to somehow be “brutally honest” within ourselves, chant our “Mantras” or Bhagawan’s divine names, so as to attain Moksha. This is of prime importance because, at times we tend to get complacent with ourselves. Rather than meticulously following a routine, we start becoming lazy and gradually come out of the practice that we would have started enthusiastically. It is always the case that whenever we start some good spiritual practice, we would have all the motivation and rigor behind it and thus would make a “grand beginning”. However, as days, months, years pass by, our motivation levels would start coming down slowly and steadily, and at one point, we would even totally stop what we’re doing! For instance, many people have this habit of maintaining a “spiritual diary” – To note down all important spiritual practices we do every day. In fact, this is a good thing to do, so that we are on check every time. Initially when we start writing for the first few days, it would be very interesting and thrilling to do it. However, as days pass by, some of us might start feeling lethargic.

This is exactly why Sage Sukhaachaarya is warning us, that we should be “brutally honest” in our practices and come what may – We should never ever deviate from our path that we have selected. Of course, most of the time, it is we who voluntarily come forward to select a spiritual path, isn’t it? Nobody is pushing us to do anything, isn’t it? If we’re the ones who are selecting this path, isn’t it our responsibility to follow what we’ve selected? Thus, the point here is, we should be steadfast in our spiritual path and should be honest and sincere to ourselves when it comes to performing our spiritual practices.

Moving on thus, Sage Sukhaachaarya now talks about the next aspect of “Dharma”, which is also very important – “Santosha”. Here, Sage Sukhaachaarya beautifully explains that we’ve to happy and smiling at all times. This is why today too, we talk so much about having a “smile” on our face always. If we keep smiling, automatically we would find that we’re amidst lot of people. Some people are excellent in cracking instant jokes and making everybody laugh loud around them. This is what Sage Sukhaachaarya explains here – Only if we keep smiling and only if we maintain ourselves happy always, Bhagawan likes us. On the other hand, if we start crying for anything and everything in life, there is no end for this, isn’t it? At some point, we’ve to get contented with what we have and what Bhagawan has gifted us with. If we keep cribbing at what we don’t have in our lives, there is no end for it. For instance, a person was crying that he couldn’t buy a car that his neighbor or relative had. Over a period of time, he earned sufficient money, and was able to buy the same car as his neighbor. However, after a year or so, his neighbor sold his car and bought a more expensive car than the previous one! Upon seeing that, this person started crying thus, “Oh no! My neighbor has lot of money and he’s changing cars just like changing dresses! Unfortunately, I don’t have that much money and buying power to change cars like he does!” If we start comparing ourselves like this with others around us, there is no limit at all!

Moreover, what is the use of cribbing? Who is going to gain what? What is the use of sitting in a corner and sobbing endlessly? We’re not going to gain anything out of it. Life has to move on, isn’t it? For instance, if some close family member passes away or is seriously ill in the hospital, of course, we would feel bad. But does life stop there? No! Life has to move on, and we’ve to move on with whatever tasks and responsibilities we have. Instead, just because we’ve lost a near and a dear family member, how long can we sit and cry, leaving all our other work? Or, to go one step further, who on earth doesn’t have problems in life? Human life is all about sadness and happiness alternating with each other and we should have the maturity to take both happiness and sadness in the same way. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself explains in His Bhagawad Gita, that we shouldn’t get scared or bogged down by anything in life. On the contrary, if we keep getting bogged down for anything and everything in life, it only implies that we’re not following Bhagawan’s words, isn’t it?

Thus, when we talk about “Santosha”, it not only means “happy”, but also, “contention” in life. We should be contented with whatever we have. Only if we’re contented, we would be able to enjoy happiness. Only if we’re happy, Bhagawan would like us. See how the chain goes here. Thus, if we’re having a house, a good family, sufficient amount of money to sustain a decent life, we should have the contention that this is enough for us. With whatever we have, we should not waste our time in going behind what we don’t have and rather, think about Bhagawan and implement all the other principles of “Dharma” that we’ve already discussed so far.

So for today, let us ponder over this important aspect of “Dharma” and we shall wait till the next episode to witness the next one! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on the various aspects of “Dharma” that Sage Sukhaachaarya is explaining to King Parikshit. Accordingly, we had yesterday witnessed an extended discussion on why the aspect called “Thyaaga” is of paramount importance if we’ve to attain Moksha. Even for our daily life, if we’ve to achieve something extraordinary and if the world has to look at us with awe, we’ve to sacrifice so many aspects in life. We’ve seen quite a few examples yesterday, with sports persons, with doctors, etc. who make huge sacrifices in their lives, to achieve their ultimate goal. Some people even go to the extent of sacrificing their majority part of their young family life, food, etc. to achieve their goals. Thus, the point here is that, if we’ve to achieve something in life, we’ve to be prepared to make some equivalent sacrifices. This is what we call “Opportunity cost” in Economics. Thus, this “opportunity cost” is totally applicable for our pursuit for “Moksha” too, which is the highest goal of our human birth. For attaining this ultimate goal, we should be ready to sacrifice quite a few worldly pleasures that many a times we keep going after. This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna too talks about in His Bhagawad Gita, that we should have a detached mind from worldly pleasures, so as to attain Moksha. If we’re going into all sorts of worldly attachments, it is going to be a never-ending vicious cycle of birth and death and we would never be able to raise up our bar.

Moving on thus, we had moved on to the next aspect of “Dharma”, wherein we’ve just seen a small introduction to it. We’ve started discussion on “Swaadhyaaya aarjavam” wherein we witnessed that it is also part of our regular “Dharma” to keep chanting Bhagawan’s divine names every day. We should make it a daily routine and a practice to chant any sloka or some verses from the Vedas, or Bhagawad Gita or Bhaagawatha Puraana, or Vishnu Sahasranaama, or whatever. It is not important as to which slokas are we chanting. All what is important is whether we are chanting them or not, with total concentration and devotion. If we do this meticulously, we would develop something called “Adrishta Shakti” around us, which is nothing but a “ring of protection”, which would protect us from any kinds of enemies or catastrophic situations. We saw in the previous “Skandha” how Prahlaada was an epitome of this aspect of “Dharma” and how he was protected every time when his father Hiranya-Kashibu subjected him to lot of tantrums and punishments. Thus, chanting Bhagawan’s divine names will definitely serve as a great protection to us and we would definitely feel it when the apt time arrives. This is one way of looking at it.

The other way of looking at this aspect of “Dharma” is that, if we constantly keep chanting Bhagawan’s divine names, our mind would slowly start getting focused on our spiritual growth, rather than wandering into various worldly activities. Chanting Bhagawan’s names is perhaps one of the most effective ways to bring our mind under complete control. Once our mind is controlled, all our external disturbances in the world would start coming down automatically. Once this happens, we would be only in the path of attaining Bhagawan’s feet or Moksha”.

Thus, to bring this one-pointed focus to our mind, we need to meticulously develop this habit or practice of chanting Bhagawan’s divine names. As mentioned earlier, it could be anything, ranging from few verses from the Vedas, or Upanishads, or Puraanas or Bhagawad Gita or Vishnu Sahasranama or Lalitha Sahasranama or whatever. The point here is that we’ve to make it a regular practice to chant any of these daily without fail.

“Aarjavam” is something that is associated with this. This means, “Being frank and honest”. Of course, we might take this meaning as being honest to the external world, by not cheating anybody, by not giving or getting bribes from someone, by not misinterpreting others’ words for our personal gains, etc. This is of course part of honesty, which is obviously required. But honesty doesn’t end here. We should be honest to ourselves too – For example, if we’ve to evaluate ourselves on a daily basis as to what are some steps that we’ve taken today for our spiritual growth – Here’s where our real honesty is put under test. We should not cheat ourselves by manipulating whatever we’ve done and whatever we’ve not done. If for instance, today I’ve not chanted any sloka of any text, and if I’ve not thought about Bhagawan even for a moment today, let us be frank and honest about it! Only if we’re frank within ourselves, we would be able to take corrective measures for tomorrow.

Thus, the point here is that, honesty should be both ways – External and Internal. Externally, we should make sure that we speak what we think and we do what we speak. There should be no discrepancy between these three – Speaking, thinking and doing. Internally, we should make sure that we are honest to ourselves with respect to our spiritual progress every day. We would be able to improve ourselves only if we’re brutally honest to ourselves!

Hence, with this we’ve witnessed another five important principles of “Dharma” thus – “Ahimsa”,  “Brahmacharya”, “Thyaaga”, “Swaadhyaaya” and “Aarjavam”. There are many more aspects of “Dharma” which Sage Sukhaacaarya is going to talk about as well. Stay tuned for the next episode for more updates! 😊