DEIVATHIN KURAL # 63 (Vol # 3) Dated 08 Mar 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 63 (Vol # 3) Dated 08 Mar 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 middle of page 276 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham. blogspot. com constantly updated.)
26. Why do I not talk about the worldly-wise individual responsibilities? I do not talk about such matters as they are not relevant to the inner spiritual refinement process. No one advicing on spiritual matters does so either. Because, with out ever being told every one is already on a selfishness drive. You can pray for everyone's happiness. You do not pray to God, “God! Make only me happy!” You do not need to be adviced to be selfish. Without ever being told, everyman is looking for his own and his family's welfare all of the time.
27. If his selfishness were to be for 'Atma Gnana', that is self- realization, it is OK. But, people never know when to stop being selfish. They have no understanding of the word 'enough'. There is a saying in Tamil which says, “podum enra maname pon seyyum marundu”, which means that, “the mind that says 'enough', is golden!” But, no one knows as to when enough is enough. They pray for more and more and do not notice that they are falling in to the trap of greed. Greed is like the fire that grows with every additional input! Once into this, they never know when to stop! It is a never ending endevour!
28. Not only do they pray for more, but persevere to amass wealth by hook or crook. Religious Dharma of Varna and Ashrama are ignored. Laws of the land go by default. Worldly wise thus become corrupt. They will neither have time nor inclination for Paropakaaram. To divert them on to the right path, we have to tell them to care for the public well being. You will agree that we can not be advicing them to take care of their self and their family! We have to tell them to become aware of the need to cut down on desires, their imaginary needs and necessities which are actually avoidable luxuries.
29. In doing so, it becomes necessary to tell them that it is not enough if they give all attention only to their self and their own families. We have to tell them that they must cut down on their worldly involvement, tighten their morality and pay attention to the fact that they have certain responsibilities as a member of the society in which they live!
30.But I realize now that even in this rendering advice thus, I have to be more careful. That husband and wife couple who spoke to me at length so sadly but sincerely have woken me up to the fact that knowingly or unknowingly, I have been not very careful. While talking about Paropakaaram, I should have laid a qualifying clause. In not doing so I am culpable for an act of omission! They must have suffered a lot and could normally have cursed me for my act of omission. May be considering my age and deservingly or otherwise my being in the position of a Guru, they might have refrained from using harsher words!
31. Let me come to their complaint. Their son, as yet a Brhmachari and employed, reading my advices on Paropakaaram it seems, got too involved in those activities. Reportedly, he does not bother for his personal duties towards his own self and his family! It was not clear as to whether he was working satisfactorily in his office or not! All the time, he was involved in, the project to collect a handful of rice from peoples houses every day, known as 'Pidi Arisi Dittam'; collection of vegetable peelings from houses for giving to cattle; then fetching these things to places where they are needed; then distribution of Prasadam-s from the temples to hospitals and jails and so on!
32. “He does not even have time for washing his own clothes” said his father, “his mother has to to do all that!”. “He does not buy anything, provisions or vegetables. His father the old man has to do all that,” said the woman. “All the Sun and rain are on his head only. He spends all the money that he earns on this. If we ask him anything he gets violently annoyed. We are afraid that we have lost our son. For fear of losing him physically also, that he may not come home at all, we are keeping quiet as far as possible! Still we are human beings only, is it not so? We are not able to totally go shut on the subject either. You have to advice him suitably for our sake”, they said!
33. Though they were being quite polite, I think of it as a 'tick off'! I do not intend to give long winded talks anymore! Still the number of people who come to meet me and ask for advice are on the increase. So from now onwards, when I tell them that they must do something good for the society, as is done in all the business contracts, I will include a qualifying clause of 'without prejudice to'! That is, “You are to get involved in Paropakaram only 'without prejudice to your duties towards your personal self and family'! I do not know if I will remember this, next time I talk on the subject of Paropakaaram or get carried away by my own exhuberance. But at the least, seeing how those parents are suffering, I feel compelled to tell you this.
34. To expect one's mother to wash ones used clothes is anathema! At old age of one's father, to compell him to take care of the house hold is blasphemy! I never meant that one should launch out on Paropakaaram, while one's own house is not in order! I do not know as to how much damage have I done in how many house holds! Many may not have had the mind to come and complain to me, since it would have been a complaint against me, whom they lovingly think of, as the 'Periyaval' the 'Big Man'! I can see the enormity of my unintended error!
35. Instead of taking their words as a curse or complaint, I think that I should take it humbly as an 'Upadesa'! Though the general rule is that mostly people are more concerned about feathering their own nest only, some could be pushed in a different direction by my words. So, while advicing that, “If you think of taking care of your own self and your kith and kin as the first priority and that you will take on the task of Paropakaaram after that, it will be something like waiting for the waves of the ocean to subside!”, I should add that, “For Paropakaaram's sake, you should never ignore your own self and family completely either!” That is the 'Upadesa' I get from this experience!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva