DEIVATHIN KURAL # 40 ( Vol #) Dated 08 Jan 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 40 ( Vol #) Dated 08 Jan 2009

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 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 page number 172 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein the word 'man' includes 'woman' too, mostly.)
(Note:- These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham.blogspot.com constantly updated.)
242. Our Hindu dharmam says that we should handle our money as trustees for common purposes. From Manu to Thiruvalluvar to Mahatma Gandhi, have all said the same thing. If such attitude prevails in every man, that will obviate the need for communism, socialism, revolution and such exotic movements foreign to our ethos! Such an attitude will ensure happiness and prosperity to all. That is why I said that, the rich should develop their mentality like that and help on their own. From our side we should encourage them to be so and not pressurize them if they are different!
243. I used say one more thing in a lighter vein. Those who are in the process of collecting funds for such 'Kainkaryam', normally make out a list of possible donors with some guess estimate as to what can be expected from them. Then they go for collection in that order. They face mostly with disappointments only. A person whom we expect to give quite liberally would prove to be having enormous problems. Or he may not have the mind to help and decline. Or, he may be cribbing and part with very little money. It is our enthusiasm which will be negatively affected. We end up criticizing that rich man!
244. Instead I suggest that, we should make a different list. Tabulate the names of people whom we do not expect to contribute. First go and meet such people. If they so no, we are not going to be disappointed, as it was what we expected. Some of them may surprise us with their largesse. That may encourage us immensely! Having gone for collection thus, people have confirmed to me that, this procedure satisfied them psychologically much. In the art of begging there are many such tricks!
245. What I meant to say was that, rich or poor, everybody must contribute what they can when taking up such socially useful programs. The rich should not avoid physical labour after giving money and the poor after doing physical labour, should not refrain from contributing some money. Because, rich man giving some money and the poor man doing physical labour, cannot be called sacrifice. The rich should share the work load and the poor man should give his minimum bit of money. That is sacrifice! Those doing social service, should contribute both physical labour and cash, if they wish to grow. Only the sick and old are exempted from 'srama daanam'.
246. There was a poor brahmin known to me, who had a very small piece of land, in which there were two coconut trees. He used to do the needed physical labour in his land. That did not stop him from doing his Karma Anushtana-s. Agni hotram, Sandya Vandanam, Nitya pooja, Brhma Yagnam and so on; every day he never failed in his duties as per the saastraa-s. Then with a spade and such other equipments, he will be there in his small field. Simply by the dint of his labour, he had slowly built up his property to a full fledged farm. But, he never refrained from physical labour even after becoming rich! Even at the ripe old age of 85, he continued to work in his farm. He knew that it was his labour and hard work which was the reason for his material success and physical well being.
247. More than the pleasure of working in ones own field, doing physical work while involved in social service gives a unique satisfaction. The pleasure here is in doing. Whether it is digging for a pond or a garden, one should work hard enough to sweat it out and contribute whatever our might in terms of actual cash! Some little bit of what you can spare, should be given. May be some pencil or pens for poor students in school or may be some porridge to appease the hunger of a few beggars! Sacrifice has to be not something we can easily spare but, some thing hard earned!
248. Whatever the office or factory, anyhow there is at the least one holiday in a week. On some occasions there is even two days holiday! These holidays should be thought of as God given for service and we should all be involved in such work. Once you have a mind for such work, there is enough areas demanding our immediate attention.
249. For many of the Paropakaaram activities, we need funds and physical labour. Also some knowledge related to religious functions. Those who know religious matters and also as to how to sing the Bhajan-s should teach and guide others, without pontificating. Now-a-days, in every nook and corner, every street and colony, there are Bhajanai Goshti / Sat Sangh-s. It is these already existing organizations which should take up socially needed projects too. Once some ten hard working, sincere men of integrity and reliability come together in each locality, that is enough. They can achieve wonders.
250. Those who join such social service activities, benefit from the very act of doing so. In this, caste and status has no role to play. This is such an endevour wherein, rich and poor, learned and unread and all types of people join hands on equal footing. So, here the job at hand takes precedence and all other considerations, the back seat.
251. The fight and conflict starts and intensifies, only when you try to remove the differences in caste. Even a well intended statement of truth that, ‘the Aryan-Dravidian divide is a convenient figment of imagination of the Britishers so as to sustain themselves in power’, meets with so-called historical and ethnological, (once again convenient to some for the same purpose of sustaining themselves in power!), objections. So, our aim of unity and integrity, is best done through socially essential projects of relevance.
252. Other than doing such social service activities collectively, a fraction of the very work that we do for sustaining ourselves in this world, that is earning our daily bread, should be devoted for Dharmam, is my sincere wish! A part of the work we do for livelihood, should be done free for the deserving. This should be done by professionals such as Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers etc., too, offering their expertise to deserving cases free of charge! (KTSV adds:- There is a doctor Jaganmohan, in Mandaveli, Chennai, who offers his services very cheap. Any sick person going to his clinic for consultancy had to pay just Rs. 2/-, as far back as 20 years back, irrespective of caste or creed or earning or disease! If I am not wrong, it may be just Rs. 5/- now! You just entered the clinic and put that little money in a box. None ever checked! I know of some Lawyers, who take up both civil and criminal cases, for free, if they felt that the intrinsic nature of the case deserved their help!) (To be continued.) Sambhomahadeva.