DEIVATHIN KURAL # 29 (of Vol 3) Dated 15 Dec 2008

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 29 (of Vol 3) Dated 15 Dec 2008

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyavaal of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, over a period of some sixty years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published in Tamil by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each, as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the second paragraph of page number 126, of Vol 3, of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein the word 'man' includes 'woman' too. )
(Note:- These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham.blogspot.com constantly up-dated.
Datta Mantra
131. We receive many different mantra-s from our Guru-s. Some get Siva Pancha Akshari Mantra of (five letters) "om nama: sivaya". Some others are given Narayana Ashta Akshari Mantra of (eight letters) "om namo narayanaya". Then there is Shad Akshari Mantra of "saravanabhava" of Kartikeya. Similarly there are Rama , Krishna, Ambal mantra-s and many more! But, there is one common mantra meant for all of us, as given by the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad that is the Datta Mantram. All other mantra-s have to be repeatedly chanted in the mind whereas this Datta mantram is to be shown in action!
132. This mantra upadesa occurs in Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad of the Shukla Yajur Veda. To-day Yajur Veda is being followed by majority of people in India. In it there are two divisions as Shukla and Krishna Yajur Veda-s. Throughout North India, it is Shukla Yajur Veda and in the South it is Krishna Yajur Veda. I told you the story in Brihad Aaranyaka Upanishad in Shukla Yajus. Similarly in Krishna Yajus too in Taitreeya Upanishad [1.11.3] 'Daanam' has been mentioned. What does it say?
133. Daanam should be given with Sraddha and not with an attitude of disrespect. Upanishad says, ‘shraddayaa deyam, ashraddayaa adeyam’. Wealth is Sri Lakshmi. When giving anything to others, your mind should be happy and pleasant. There should be no anger, irritation or flippancy. 'Sreyas' is a word in Sanskrit for name and fame. Complete contentment is 'sreyas', which is evolved from 'being filled with Sri'! You should feel diffident and slightly ashamed that had you had more, you would have been able to give more! The Upanishad says, give it with 'hri', which means shame or bashfulness.
134. In Purusha Suktam God Vishnu is said to have two consorts namely, Sri and Hri. So here the Upanishad says, 'while giving, give with Sri and Hri', ‘sriyaa deyam, hriyaa deyam’. Two reasons for being abashed. One is that, we should feel shy for not having more to give. Second reason is that, while giving daanam, you are not to make a big show of it. Not that you are afraid of being pestered by other beggars. If people get to know and start praising you as a great philanthropist, you may get pride and 'aham bhavam'. That will eat up all your 'sreyas' gained by whatever good deeds you have so far done!
135, We may not be desiring to get our names published in the news papers after doing daanam, but may wish to delicately reveal the fact to some people. Even that is not to be done. If they praise you to a certain extent for having donated something, they may praise you much more for not making it public. That will be a greater hurdle. Still some craving for publicity may linger in our minds. The best method of getting rid of that urge is to think of the recipient of our favour or help as ourselves and not somebody else. Then we will not wish to tell anybody about our giving daanam!
136. If you buy a toffee or a dress for your baby or a close relative, do you go about telling others that you have done so? Same way, all human beings are the children of the self same God only. We are all each others kith and kin. So what if we have done some help to somebody? We should be happy that we had the wherewithal to be able to spare and help. Then we should always guard against getting head-weight and egotism. We should give with that inner fear and humility, says the Upanishad, ‘bhiyaa deyam’.
137. Finally that paragraph in the Upanishad [1.11.3] finishes with the advice to give with ‘Samvid’ that is with the clarity that the receiver and giver are one and the same, though seemingly different. The upanishad says, ‘samvidaa deyam’. Let me quote that portion of the Upanishad, “...shraddayaa deyam I ashraddayaa adeyam I sriyaa deyam I hriyaa deyam I bhiyaa deyam I samvidaa deyam I...”.
138. Like the Veda-s talking about daanam, Bhagawat Gita, which is basically the essence of all Upanishad-s, also talks about the art of ‘giving’ daanam! Sri Krishna says that they are of three types, ‘saatveekam, raajasam and taamasam’, preferable in that order. ‘Saatveekam’ is to give with virtually no expectation of returns or name or fame; to the right person in need, at the right place, at the right time! ‘Raajasam’ is to do so because of the likely returns of ‘merits, name and fame’. The last one ‘taamasam’ is evidently, giving to unworthy characters, at the wrong place and time; with malice, that too grudgingly!
139. In Purana-s and Sthala Purana-s, the power of daanam has been emphasized repeatedly. The value of doing donations on special occasions such as in the month of Tula, or on the banks of Ganges and so on are highlighted. Dharma Saastraa-s, Aathi Choodi, Konrai Vendan, Thirukkural and so on have all dealt with at length about charity, helping tendency and benevolence. They are all some form of Paropakaaram only. So I hope I have removed from your minds the wrong notion that this Sanaatana Dharma, is too full of achaaram, anushtaanam, pooja, yagna, yaaga, Yoga and Atma Vichara only; and that it is not at all concerned about Jeeva Kaarunyam and Paropakaaram!
140. The Exceptions. Those who are deeply engrossed in just doing their Karma Anushtaana-s and devotional activities, seem to be too isolated from the rest of the society. But, when you go into the meaning of these activities and their purpose, you will notice that they are all meant for the welfare of all life forms including the pithru-s. Prayers to God is meant for all people's benefit only. Even a devotional activity like a daily pooja starts with, "parameswara preetyartam or jagat hitaaya krishnaaya" and ends with, "loka: samastaa: sukhino bhavantu" or "vaiyagamum tuyar teerkkave"!
(To be continued)
Sambhomahadeva.