Kartavyam - Doing one's duty

Most of our epics and scriptures emphasize on the aspect of doing one's duty "Kartavyam" at all times during our life. Here is a story of two brothers, which brings out this aspect of Kartavyam through all its characters.

There were two brothers by name Shankha and Likitha who were sages and lived in their own Ashramam on the banks of river Bahudaa. One day, Likitha came to meet his elder brother Shankha and as he did not find Shankha on his Ashram, he sat on a nearby mango tree. He started eating a mango from the tree without getting permission from his brother who takes care of the tree.
Shankha returned to his Ashram and found his brother Likitha eating mango from the tree. He immediately told Likitha,
"Likitha, one should not take others property or things without their knowledge & permission. Even though I am your brother, you should have asked my permission before eating it. Go and see King Sudyumna and ask him to give punishment for this wrongdoing of yours according to Dhanda neethi sastram."
Likitha went immediately and saw King Sudyumna. The Kind welcomed him and offered him a seat. Likitha explained to King the reason for his visit and asked him to give punishment to him according to Dhanda neethi sastram.
King Sudyumna told him, "Oh muni kumara (young sage), you are undertaking penance for the welfare of others. How can I give you punishment for such a petty act?"

Likitha replied, "All the scriptures and my brother has emphasized on doing our duty and should not deviate from it on any case. So please give me the punishment for my act according to the sastram."
Hearing Likitha's words King ordered his men to cut-off his hands.

Likitha after getting his punishment visited his brother Shankha's ashram and Shankha was happy to see his brother and told, "What you did is really good. One has to adhere to elder's words. Go and take bath in river Bahudaa."
Likitha went and immersed in Bahudaa river and to his surprise he got his hands back. He met his brother Shankha and asked," Brother, if you are so powerful to get my hands back, you could have given me punishment for my act. But why did you send me to the Kind, instead?"

Shankha replied, "Sages duty is to observe penance for the welfare of the society and not to punish. King,being the protector of his people, has the right to punish wrong acts. So I asked you to go to the King."

This story was told by Vyasa Bhagawan to Dharmaraaja  when he was worried about killing his relatives in the war. Bhagawan Vyasa quoted this story to tell King's duty is to protect his people by giving punishment to the wrong acts and hence Dharmaraaja need not worry.

This story shows how important it is to adhere to elder's words though it is harsh and also the importance of doing only our duties.

Source: www.moralstories.wordpress.com

Sabari patti (granny) and her Guru-bhakthi

Today, July 15,2011 in Hindu calendar marks Ashada month's(June-July) pournami (Full moon day). This day is celebrated as Guru Poornima also known as Vyasa Pooja. It is believed that Sage Vyasa completed writing Four Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Vedas) today. Today is considered auspicious to do Guru seva and start initiation from our Guru to learn our desired Vidya (art or knowledge).

All of us, especially kids like to be with our grand parents. Today we can listen to a granny's story and her bhakthi (devotion) towards her Guru.

There was a old granny called Sabari who lived in Sage Matanga's ashram (hermit). Her daily routine was to clean the ashram, decorate it with flowers and collect fruits from the forest, chant Lord Rama's name and by the end of the day, distribute the fruits to the children in the ashram. She did this every single day and one day a child asked her ,"Oh Granny, why are you decorating the ashram with flowers everyday though no one is coming to your home? You are also taking pains to go to forest to collect sweetest of sweetest fruits, but by the end of the day giving it to us, though we have never asked you for fruits"

She caressed the child and told, "Oh, vatsa (my son), I am looking forward for Rama who is the embodiment of love and an avatar of Lord Vishnu. My guru Sage Matanga has asked me to chant Rama Nama all the time and has blessed that he will come and meet me one day. As I do not know on what day he will come and meet me, I am decorating my home everyday to welcome him and collecting fruits to offer him. By the end of the day, I give the fruits to you kids, expecting Rama to come next day."

The kids got interested on Sabari's explanation for her act and asked, "Is that so granny?? Can you tell me how Rama will look like, so that we can search him if he is nearby our ashram?"

Sabari granny replied, "My intelligent son, I have not seen Rama myself. As my Guru told me, I am sure he would visit me once and I will be blessed to see him in person."

The kids laughed at her and told, "So, you do not know who is Rama, have not seen Him once, but collect fruits for him and decorate your house to welcome him! It seems you are getting mad..". Saying this the kids ran away.

Sabari lost in thoughts of her early life. She used to wander around the forest and eat animals by hunting them. While she was wandering, she reached the Sage Matanga ashram and found it to be very peaceful. She could feel that the environment is so conducive that she did not want to wander anywhere. She thought she could stay there by performing some cleaning duties in the Ashram. Later Sage Mathanga noticed her and consented her to be in the Ashram and do cleaning seva. From then on, she used to wake up early, clean the ashram premises, help collecting things for Ashram's activities. One day, Sage Matanga called all his Sishyas (disciple) and told that time has come for his Jeeva Mukthi and he would like to bless his sishyas and told them to ask for their boons.

His disciples came one by one and asked for attaining siddhis, mastering Vidyas, gaining popularity, gaining health and wealth etc. At the end was Sabari and when Sage Mathanga asked her on what she want, she replied, "Oh, Guru. I do not know what I want, for all these days I did not find any needs for me. I found peace and happiness in serving you. I am sure you will know what I would need, so please bless me with what I should be doing rest of my life."

Sage Mathanga was happy on her unparalleled devotion towards him and told, "Sabari, Rama the son of Dasaratha is none other than avatar of Lord Vishnu. Chant Rama Nama for the rest of your life and one day Lord Rama will come and meet you and will bless you."

Sabari from that day was chanting Rama Nama, decorating her house for his arrival and collect fruits to offer him. It has been 12 years and then one day, kids came running towards her and told,
"Granny, two persons have come to meet you. They are very beautiful and we think it should be Rama, the one you have been waiting for all these days."
On hearing this Sabari felt very happy and came running to welcome them. She could not believe her eyes and was astonished on seeing the beauty of Rama and Lakshmana. She washed their legs and offered seat. She then offered the fruits she collected from the forests. Lakshmana noticed that those fruits were already tasted and asked Rama not to eat them. However Rama told that Sabari wanted to ensure that the fruits are tastier before she can offer and so she tasted it. He continued, that he was moved by Sabari's devotion towards Him and would like to taste the fruits.
Lord Rama born on King's lineage has always been giving things from his hand and this was the first time when he got something from others. Sabari felt blessed on their presence and Lord Rama bestowed her Jeevan Moksha.

This is the story of granny Sabari's Moksha. People may laugh at our faith and beliefs but, Sabari granny proved that her belief in her Guru's words, blessed her with a Moksham in the presence of Lord Rama himself.

During this Guru poornima day, let us all pray to God to bestow us a Guru for us, for only he knows what we want and could show us a path to achieve it.

Listen to our beloved M.S.Subbulakshmi's devoted Guru-Bhajan "Guruvara Deejo"

Feel the presence of God in all activities

This is a short story from the life of Saint Namdev.

Saint Namdev was a great bhaktha and used to sing many abhangas on Lord Vittal. One day, Lord Siva appeared on his dream and told,
"My son Namdev, you are a great devotee yet you need to learn something."  Namdev was happy seeing Lord Siva and asked, "How can I learn it?".
Siva told, "Go to my temple near by your home and meet another bhaktha Vitoba from whom you can learn it" and then disappeared.

Namdev went to the nearby temple and enquired about  the presence of a bhaktha by name Vitoba. While he was roaming around he saw an old man sitting on the ground placing his legs on Siva lingam statue. Namdev thought how disrespectful was the old man to keep his legs on Siva lingam. The priest came there and introduced Namdev to the old man and told Namdev that the old man was Vitoba.

Namdev got puzzled over Lord Siva's statements and thought on what he could learn from an old man who was so disrespectful! Vitoba saw Namdev and told, "Namdev, great to see you. I am very old that I cannot move my limbs and legs away. Can you please move my legs to a place where there is no God".
Namdev was happy that atleast now Vitoba realized his mistake and asked for help and moved his leg away from Siva lingam. But to their surprise, a Siva lingam appeared on the place where Namdev placed Vitoba's legs and this happened whenever he moved Vitoba's legs to a new place.

Namdev, the saint, now understood his mistake. Though he was a great devotee, he did not realize the presence of God in everything and Lord Siva made him realize it through Vitoba. He also felt bad, for his demeaning thought on Vitoba.
Thereafter Saint Namdev, felt the presence of God everywhere.

In order to inculcate this mindset of perceiving and feeling the presence of God in everything, our Hinduism has certain practices in our every day life. Like considering books, music, arts, toys, tools, pencils etc as Godly forms. We have so many Gods each of them being the presiding deity for a particular activity (health, wealth, knowledge, enjoyment etc). By praying to the presiding deity of a particular activity, we implicitly feel the presence of God in that activity.

For example, before eating we can pray deity Annapurna for bestowing us that meal and ask her us to grace with strength. By slowly practicing this, we will acquire the bhavam of seeing God in every activity.
So let us start all our daily activities by praying to the presiding deity.

We have to carefully understand this story otherwise might get mislead.  By critical analysis of the story, we might say "Let me keep my legs over Lord Krishna's statue like Vitoba did!" Yes, we can but what is our intention behind that act is very important. The intention or bhavam makes the difference. If we do that act just for fun or showing being intelligent to draw similarities, then it is of outright disrespect. However, if you share the same bhavam of Vitoba, the bhavam of seeing God in all beings (yes, that include those you dislike!), then indeed you are a great bhaktha like him. And, it is for sure a Siva lingam would appear from his feet for such a great bhaktha as well!

Let us hear this abhang of Sant Namdev and seek his blessings

Da, Da, Da

Puzzled what does the title "Da, Da, Da" mean??
For some children it might mean DaDaDa - grandpa, DaDa - father, TaTa (DaDa) - adieu or bye
Similarly living beings of three qualities had three different meanings for this syllable "Da". So what does it mean to them??

You know Prajapati?? He is the Creator of all living beings - Brahma. His children were the Devas - who reside in Heaven, Men - who reside in Earth and Demon (Asuraas) - who reside underworld. Devas lived all their life by enjoying in pleasures and recreations. Though they were immersed in sensual pleasures, they did not find contentment in it. People who live on earth, earned grains and wealth by their hard work. They slogged all their life but were not satisfied with their wealth. Demons made their living by killing other people for their purpose and thought they were the most powerful. Yet, they feel dissatisfied in the bottom of their hearts.

All of them decided to pray to Prajapati and seek a solution from him for their yearning. Prajapati meditated a while and told them, "Da" and asked them to tell him after a while, what it meant for them. (Sages and Saints used to just utter a word and it would mean a lot. Only when we contemplate on that we could understand the meaning.)

They all immersed in thinking what does "Da" mean to them. Devas thought that it should mean "Dama" which means to control their senses. They knew that they have been over-enjoying all these years and should start learn to gain control over it.
People living on earth discussed about the syllable "Da" and found that it should mean "Dan" which means giving away or doing charity. They thought they were hoarding all their wealth all these days, which created a sense of discontentment in them, so for them "Da" meant "Dan".
Demons or Asuraas delved into deep thinking of what "Da" meant for them.They are the one who misuses their power to kill innocent people and make living with that. They thought they lacked the feel of "Daya" or compassion which made them feel bad for their doings. So for them "Da" meant "Daya".

After their contemplation, they went to Prajapati and told him the meaning they found by uttering "Da". When they all heard others meanings to "Da" they were surprised. Prajapati then told, "All three of you are right and they apply to you. So practice what you found as the meaning of "Da" and you will be happy and satisfied after that".

So kids, think what "Da" means to you!
All of us might have different thoughts about it, let's pay attention to our hearts and find satisfaction in our lives.

There is a famous song called "Maithreem Bhajata" sung by Dr. M.S.Subbulakshmi in UN organization. This song was written by pontiff of Kanchipuram SriSankara Mutt Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal, in which he calls for universal brotherhood and explains the meaning of this "Da" in the song.
Lyrics:
Maithreem Bhajatha Akila Hrith Jeththreem - Serve with Friendship and Humility, which will conquer the Hearts of Everyone.
Atmavat Eva Paraan api pashyata - Look upon others similar to yourself.
Yuddham Tyajata - Renounce War
Spardhaam Tyajata - Renounce unnecessary Competition for Power
Tyajata Pareshwa akrama aakramanam - Give up Aggression on others' properties which is wrong
Jananee Prthivee Kaamadughaastey - Mother Earth is wide enough and ready to give us all we desire like a Kaamadenu
JanakO Deva: Sakala Dayaalu: - God, Our Father, is very Compassionate to All
Daamyata - So, Restrain yourself
Datta - So, Donate your wealth to others
Dayathvam - So, Be Kind to others
Janathaa: - Oh People of the World
Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam - May All People of this World be Happy and Prosperous.
Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam - May All People of this World be Happy and Prosperous.
Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam - May All People of this World be Happy and Prosperous.

Listen to this song 

And also I found this interesting picture story from youtube which children would like to see,

Story line: From Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Lyric Courtesy: http://maithreembhajatha.blogspot.com/2005/10/shreyo-bhooyaath-sakala-janaanaam.html

Chatrapathi Shivaji and his great escape

We all have been listening stories from our parents and grandparents, and also telling stories to our kids. Have you ever thought if there is any story which moulded your personality??

Today we will listen to the story of a boy who turned into a great Kshatriya (warrior). This boy's thoughts and deeds are greatly influenced as he listened to his mother's stories during childhood. He is none other than Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj and it was his mother Jijabai who cultivated morals and ethics to him by telling him stories from Ramayana, Mahabarata, and other saints and kings. These stories kindled him the flame of freedom and made him to take oath for Swarajya.
Shivaji Maharaj was well known for his cleverness and planning. Once Shivaji Maharaj wanted some wealth for his kingdom and looted Surat, a place under the control of Aurangazeb's kingdom. This made Aurangazeb very angry and he wanted to tactically attack Shivaji. So he thought of a plan. He decided that he should send a 'Lion' to overpower this lion. He chose for task the King, Raja Jayasimha (incidentally, 'Simha' means a lion.) Jayasimha was a great warrior and also a clever general. Though he is mighty, it was a shame that he was subservient to a foreigner who was ruling the land! Jayasimha proceeded south with his large army. He won over the Sultan of Bijapur to his side. The battle against Shivaji began. All of a sudden Shivaji wrote a letter to Jayasimha informing him that he would agree to a friendly compromise. What was more, he met Jayasimha and told him that he would remain loyal to the Badshah at Delhi.

All were baffled on Shivaji's sudden peace agreement and bowing down to Badshah. Many thought -that there lay behind this some secret plan. It is possible that Shivaji had planned to go to Delhi on the pretext of serving the Badshah as a dependent and then to put an end to the life of Aurangzeb in a direct encounter. This was perhaps a venture of greater heroism and sharper strategy than ever before in his life. Accordingly, Shivaji proceeded to meet the Emperor, Aurangzeb. His son Sambhaji also accompanied him. At home, in the land of freedom, all were filled with great anxiety.

Shivaji reached Agra in order to meet Aurangzeb. The latter too was equally tactful. He did not allow Shivaji to be near him and bid him stay at a distance in the court besides Aurangazeb's servants. His insult was a great disappointment to Shivaji's hopes.  Aurangzeb did not , keep the promise that he would treat him with respect. Naturally Shivaji was greatly enraged. Ignoring Aurangzeb he left the court.

Aurangzeb was not such a fool as to let an enemy who had come within his reach escape easily. So Shivaji was now in great danger. He ordered Shivaji to be imprisoned and to be executed also.

In spite of the gravity of the situation Shivaji did not lose heart. At this critical hour his intellect and his courage shone more brightly and he made some plans. Suddenly Shivaji took ill and his health became worse. Shivaji begged Aurangzeb to allow his Maratha soldiers to return back. Aurangzeb felt relieved and permitted them to go. Shivaji began distributing sweets to the Fakirs, mendicants and ascetics of the town hoping that his illness may be cured. He began sending gifts also to the wealthy in the town. Aurangzeb permitted all these and did not have any doubts. No Vaidya or Hakim could improve Shivaji's condition. The day of Shivaji's execution had been fixed. On the previous day Shivaji's illness grew very serious, and he lost consciousness.

As usual the baskets that would carry the sweets were brought in. Shivaji who was lying on his sickbed suddenly jumped into one of the baskets and so did his son Sambhaji. Immediately the servants put on the lids and carried the baskets away.

The sentries who had been examining the baskets were convinced by long custom that they contained nothing but sweets. Polad Khan, the chief of sentries though checked some baskets, did not chance upon checking the baskets hiding Shivaji and Sambhaji. That was by the grace of Goddess Bhavani. He must have meant 'Let him live' when he said, 'Let the baskets go.'

Inside the prison where Shivaji had been lying a little while before, a friend of Shivaji by name Hiroji lay down. He put on the royal ring, which Shivaji had given him. He lay down, with his hand, which showed this ring thrust out. The rest of the body had been covered with the blanket.  The day to execute Shivaji came and the 'Shivaji' who was lying there got up and covered the place with pillows and blankets. Putting on his usual clothes, he came out and announced to thesentries that the condition of Shivaji was very serious and that it was a matter of a few hours for Shivaji. He said he- was going to bring some medicine. So saying he went out. He went away and did not return. Inside, on the couch, lay the huddled imitation of Shivaji. Outside the prison the sentries stood with swords drawn.

As the day for execution dawned Polad Khan came in. There was a strange silence and he grew suspicious. When he saw no movement in Shivaji's body, he thought he might have died and pulled the blanket. He was shocked to see just the bare bed and the pillows! Shivaji had disappeared. You can imagine the feelings of Polad Khan, and more important still, of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb at once ordered his army to capture Shivaji and the army set out in all directions.

By this time Shivaji and Sambhaji had already mounted the horses that were kept in readiness for them and proceeded south. They dashed away at great speed. On the way they were sheltered comfortably in the Maths established by Swami Samarth Ramdas.

Shivaji and Sambhaji dressed in the robes of a 'sanyasi' reached Raigadh. For a while even his mother Jijabai could not recognize her son. Later, she was happy to learn their escape and safe return. When the news of Shivaji's escape from Agra reached the ears of his enemies in the south, they were all speechless and helpless. Not just that Shivaji's fame spread all over India. Shivaji had thrown dust into the eyes of the greatest schemer and politician like Aurangzeb and had escaped from the latter's capital.

Indeed this story is very interesting as we listen to it. Shivaji Maharaj's clever and excellent planning mind could be seen very well from this story.
June 13th marked the coronation day of Shivaji Maharaj. Let us all take with us the great qualities Shivaji Maharaj displayed in his life, the same way as he took it from the stories told by his mother Jijabai.

Let us now listen to a song by Sant Samartha Ramadas on Shivaji.

Story Courtesy: Story from our 5th standard english book.
Song Courtesy: Song referred by Ajey Gotkhindikar

"What is within is seen outside"

After a very long time, I attended a guest lecture today on "Responsible Capitalism" by Edward Freeman in Tampere. Few minutes after the lecture began, I had a reminiscence feeling of the days when I used to listen to Bhagavat Geetha lectures in the Kamaraj auditorium, Chennai by Sunandaji from Vedanta Institute.

"Responsible Capitalism" and "Bhagavat Geetha" are they related someway?? What made me reminiscent over Bhagavat Geetha discourse on a "Responsible Capitalism" lecture? Because of the lines Dr.Freeman told, "All the business are for a purpose, if it focuses on the purpose, money and profit will follow".
I vividly remember the voice of Sunandaji telling Krishna's words for Arjuna, "All our lives are for a purpose. Hey Arjuna, do your duties which you are ought to, rest will be taken care of".

Those lines of Freeman can raise many arguments and debates, which is for sure worth a discussion. However, I liked the ideas and the ways he discussed it in a short span of duration. His confidence and belief over the Responsible Capitalism can be seen on the way he carried his talks. He narrated it as a new story and wanted all of us to share it with our circle of people and let everyone talk about this: Be responsible as you do your business. He did not criticize about businesses making profits, but commented that businesses do need to make profit for their existence in the first place. What he emphasized instead is, that making profits alone should not be the objective of a business. Quite contradictory to one of my professors who used to say, "Doing Business finally boils down to making money!"

Anyways, I enjoyed the lecture and an unexpected interesting conversation I had with two others during snack time. Both of them are Finns, one being an elderly person (with up-to-date knowledge about India) and another being a middle-aged man. The discussion went around the lecture topic and all of us agreed that the lecture was a brief overview and triggered an interest towards the subject, while at the same time spurred many questions. The middle-aged man aspires to start a business soon and we had a discussion about his views on making his future business being "responsible".

Also when we chatted about reputed companies being responsible and less responsible, the middle-aged man casually stated that "Being responsible comes from within and can be seen outside". Yes, his simple statement strike me a truth: "You are seen outside as what you are inside". This applies to individuals and organizations as well.. Whatever good ethics we want to have, comes within ourselves. Yet it is also true that people and companies are not always good as seen outside. However, the real face can be seen one day or the other! There are many good examples for this, like the Satyam Computers scam in India.

Our discussion went on and we departed acknowledging each of us for our wonderful discussion. My take away from this is,
"What is within is seen outside" - one day or the other. So, let us think good and do good and be good, as far we can.

Importance of making right choices

Last weeks we saw that we should believe that our small efforts will make a difference and also we could put tremendous efforts to accomplish big tasks.
Adding to this, it is also important to understand that not all tasks can be achieved merely by one person's efforts and we would be in need of help from our friends and family to accomplish a task. This week we can listen to a story emphasizing the ethics one need to possess when approaching others for help and how to make a choice.

This incident happened in our Epic Mahabharatham. The war between Gauravas and Pandavas had been declared. Duryodhana being the head of Gauravas started gathering support for his army and one day approached Krishna. When he went to Krishna's home, he found him sleeping and so he sat near his head.

Later after sometime Arjuna also came to Krishna's home to ask for his support for Pandavas. When he found Krishna sleeping, he humbly sat near his foot and both waited patiently till Krishna woke up.

Krishna woke up from his nap and saw Arjuna first and enquired about his welfare. Arjuna told ,"Krishna, we want your support for us during the Gurukshetra war". Then he saw Duryodhana sitting behind him and enquired about his welfare as well. Duryodhana replied, "Krishna, I came first and we want your support for us during the war".

Though  Duryodhana had come first to meet Krishna, Krishna saw Arjuna first. So he replied that he would accept both their requests and gave them a choice and divided his sainya (army) into two: 10000 Yadhuviras who are equal to him in valour on one side and Krishna alone on the other side. And, Krishna told that he will not take any arms but can just be the Rathasarathi (charioteer).

Then, he asked Arjuna first for his choice, as he was younger than Duryodhana. This is because, according to Sruti Vakya, younger one should be given precedence over older person. Arjuna had firm faith on Krishna that he did not want anyone else except Krishna and so he replied, " Let only You be on our side and we would be blessed".

Duryodhana was so happy hearing it and immediately replied, "I am happy to have your 10,000 Yadhuviras" and thought Arjuna should be a fool to reject a wonderful choice offered to him on a platter.

But from the complete story of Mahabharatham, we could understand that how the presence of Krishna influences the victory of Pandavas.
Though the army and valorous soldiers are important in a war, Arjuna chose Krishna instead of 10,000 Yadhuviras, because he knew that Krishna was an embodiment of grace, astute mind, philosopher and guide. And, that Krishna's presence on their army would have magnanimous effect than Krishna's mighty army.

When we want to accomplish some tasks in our lives and are in need of help or have a choice to make, take sometime to understand the capability of the person or choice. People like Duryodhana may laugh or criticize at us for our decision, but if we believe the Divine Grace to be on our choice, proceed with that.
The presence of Divine Grace will help us accomplish our goal.

Also one has to learn the quality of Vinayam (being humble) at all times, like what Arjuna did in this story.

PS: I could not think of any song that would relate to this story. If you have any songs that would relate or kinda suits this story, please share.