DEIVATHIN KURAL # 47 (Vol # 3) Dated 23 Jan 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 47 (Vol # 3) Dated 23 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 by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the last para on page 204 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man' includes 'woman' too, mostly.)
(Note:- These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham.blogspot.com constantly updated.)
314. In summer we should donate water, fans and umbrella and in winter, woolen shawls or blankets be given, say the Saastra-s. Setting aside all that, to get rid of this command act of Dowry, seems the greatest of Daanam-s! Other Daanam-s are effective only for a short period in relieving the misery and agony of the one receiving. Whereas this Dowry, wrecks the giver forever in to indebtedness and permanent misery. So, in my opinion, not taking Dowry is the greatest Daanam! Further it causes delay in the marriage and forces women to be employed outside the family, contrary to all the tenets meant for women in the Saastra-s! This is sheer injustice!
315. For this only, I spoke in detail about how the 'Kanya Dhana Trust' came into being. (Here 'Dhana' means wealth.) The money accruing out of the fund will be given to the parents or guardians of the girl from the poor background, so that the marriage could be carried out at the earliest possible date, while fulfilling the conditions laid in the Act of Law. The suitable bride groom should be identified sufficiently in advance, before the girl reaches the eligible age as per the law.
316. If the process of identification of a suitable match is kept pending till the girl reaches the permissible age as per the Law, then it may take a year or two more. Then we may be tempted to send the girl for some more study. Then graduation leads to post graduation and so on! Then as the time passes, the problem of identification of a suitable match becomes more and more difficult, as he has to be equally qualified, if not more! By then she would have become employed and then become an officer, further complicating the whole process! By then the nubile maiden would have become an ungainly matron. So instead, if the search for a suitable match commences some two years before she becomes eligible as per Law, such allied problems for an alliance could be obviated!
317. With the increase in the age of the girl, the problem of finding a suitable alliance complicates in geometric progression! That leads to situations about which I am pained to talk here in front of you all, as the head of the Kamakoti Peetam, with the exalted title of a 'Jagat Guru Sankaracharya'! They are said to have 'slipped and fallen' in to delinquency of having failed in their duty to themselves, having lost their virginity out of wedlock! I would not blame them but ourselves, for having driven them to that level of moral turpitude! It is a smudge on the name of our society, religion and the country!
318. It is to obviate this avoidable fate to our young women, that I have created the Kanya Dhana Trust and asked you all to contribute towards it. Initially it may seem to be on the higher side. But, as the saying goes, 'a stitch in time saves nine'! Expenditure on 'Kanya Dhana Trust' will save us from expenses for many 'Seva Sadanams', that will be necessary to take care of women who were unlucky enough to go astray! We should consider this issue more deliberately.
319. Yes, we should take care of the women who have deviated from the straight and narrow path. Yes, God Himself is much revered as the friend of the fallen. But this is not to mean that, they should be patted in the back and given all comfort and luxuries, as some modern day writers do, using words of psychology and humanism as though to encourage those who have gone astray! This will be tantamount to giving incentive to aberrations. Instead, we should give more attention to prevention before onset of the disease, that is, the 'Kanya Dhana Trust', to prevent such aberrations!
320. In this and other areas too, it is the people from middle class, who suffer most. The rich are not so much affected by pretentious display of lucre. They would proudly claim to be conducting their marriage very simply and their simplicity will be enough to instigate your awe! The poor may just do his level best and may be helped by some rich man. It is the middle income group who are neither here nor there. They can not do it simply and bear the likely raised eye brows and turned down noses; nor can they afford to stretch themselves sufficiently! If only he can learn not to claim a false prestige, which he can ill afford; he can get over this blind end!
Simple Living.
321. It is a good thought that others should live the way we live. It is not enough to wish so. If we live a flamboyant life of extravagance, we cannot expect others also to live like that! If it happens also that every one lives a life of unbridled luxury, as they do in US of A, is it for the good? As the outer worldly luxuries multiply, the inner world of every individual becomes more affected by unhappiness and dissatisfaction! This is like the fire that grows voracious with every additional feeding! This desire in human beings will never be satiated with the increase of facilities and luxuriousness. It is this dissatisfaction leading to criminal tendencies, that we see in United States of America and the advanced countries of the West. There itself, there are more and more people who are realizing that, they can have peace of mind and heart only when their dependence on modern luxuries is cut down! There are more and more of people of the West, who are turning over to practice of Dhyana, Yoga and Bhajan-s!
322. Contrary to Man's inner growth, whatever we may do to help in terms of the outer worldly benefits, is really not a help. but only giving him permanent crutches. The more simpler life that we lead is better for our real inner advancement. To make them get used to a simpler life is real help. This cannot be done, if our life is one of pretentious exhibition! No one will listen to us, if we are like that as our hypocrisy will be seen through! So, before we wish that others should live like us, we should be clear in our own minds as to how we are going to lead our lives. We should decide beforehand that we should live the simplest to enable others to copy us.
323. Everyone should get his 'stomach-full' of food. He should get clothes to cover himself. He should have a cottage to live. These are the basic essentials for all. These should be met with. Above this, is needless needs and endless desires! Whether we wish to get involved in social service or not, so as not to make others envious, we should adopt the simplest of the life styles.
Friends, Relatives and Neighbors.
324. Whether you are rich or poor, in every family there are some happy events and some unhappy occasions, such as birth / marriages and sickness / death respectively. For these things, we should not let anyone become indebted. If we do so, then it is great insult to our very being! These things were done quite naturally, in earlier times, without even giving it a name like 'Paropakaaram' or 'Social service'! Before we do any help to a third party, at least within friends and relatives, we should be doing this automatically. In earlier times there was no need to even talk about it! It is our duty to contribute whatever we can on such occasions!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva