DEIVATHIN KURAL # 44 (Vol # 7) Dated 27 Sept 2013

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 44 (Vol # 7) Dated 27 Sept 2013

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavãL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are going ahead from page No 377 of Volume 7 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein ‘man/he’ includes ‘woman/she’ too mostly. These e-mails are all available at   http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated continually)

(Note: - From this issue onwards PeriyavãL talks about his messages to small children, a little grown up children in schools and colleges and then about taking care of the cow, under the general heading Society.  Let us start with the first being the one for small children.)

'மூட்டை தூக்கி' – 'Load Carrier'

(For Small Children)

1.       Your home is a family for which Father and Mother are the heads or leaders.  Similarly the whole world is a big family for which Easwara and AmbãL are the parents.  You children should have love and respect for your parents.  Similarly towards Easwara and AmbãL as parents of this big family you should have love and devotion.  Between your small family of home and this big one of the world, there is yet another family known as the school.  All the students in the school are like your brothers and sisters at home.  For this interim family the Head Master or Mistress with the team of teachers should all be considered and viewed as parents with equal love and respect.

2.            During your stay in the school, your duty is to read study and learn.  All your attention should be completely in your studies only.  This is not the time to get involved in other extraneous matters.  However many other interesting subjects may be there, you may get involved in those things after due consideration after completing your education.  You should not be entering those things on the pretext that, 'Already I have some power and the mind to get involved in them.  So, I am going to enter those areas which do some good to the world.  Why shouldn't I'?  First you learn to take care of yourself before you start doing anything for this world!

3.            Say there is a load carrier who works for some payment of wages for each load.  When he feels cramps or muscle pull in the hip, what will he do?  Even if he has some power to carry the load, as he is not doing well, first he should look for getting some medical attention or at least some rest and try and relax his muscles, isn't it?  Otherwise he is likely to further harm his physical well-being.  Doing service to this world is also like lifting loads for others only.  Whether you do it for wages or do it for free, to do it, you have to have the necessary power.  Instead of building up one's own physical power and mental fitness, if we start doing social service, we will have both physical discomforts and psychological problems.  Instead of helping others we will need others help!  At a young age, before building up our own physical and mental wellbeing, if we get involved in things other than our studies, we will only be a sick person.

4.            Already we have many mental diseases such as desire, anger and many other deficiencies and disabilities.  These are our accumulated loads of the past sins.  Before this birth we have committed many crimes and sins in our past lives.  That is why we have this body as a load already.  We already carry the 'vãsanãs' – 'वासना' or 'smell' of our past sins, tendencies and proclivities!  That is why, before knowing anything, we have some likes and dislikes, desires and passions.  We go to school not to take sides on issues, but to know ourselves and get rid of our past 'vãsanãs'.  Ignorance as a disease is treated with education.  With that our bad habits and tendencies have to be got rid of.  For this education alone is not enough.  We need humility and patience.  With humbleness bad habits and bad character qualities can be got rid of.  With respectful devotion to Mother, Father, Teacher and God, if we pay due attention to our studies, we will obtain knowledge and at the same time our good character qualities will also grow and refine.

5.            Without humility any amount of accumulation of knowledge will only be a waste.  Mere knowledge will only inculcate the feeling that, we are highly knowledgeable and we will think of no end to ourselves, leading to boosting of ego and pride.  God will not help such people and without God's Blessings however erudite and intelligent we may be, we cannot be successful and happy.  For the disease known as 'the heavy baggage of past sins' the only medicine is education.  This medicine has to be carefully taken.  After all learning we have to reckon with our infinitesimal smallness and imbibe true sense of humility.  This we have to learn as the important lesson of education.  Doctor when he prescribes medicines, will also tell us to maintain certain strictness in our diet.  If we follow that, then only the medicine will have salubrious effect.  For you all with education, the only rule of diet is that you should also inculcate true humility that is, 'vidya and vinayam' – 'विद्या व विनयं', known as 'PaNivu' – 'பணிவு' in Tamil.  With PaNivu be devoted to God, Guru and your parents, be good students paying all your attention to your studies.  God will help you.  (Elders reading this e-mail may think of reading it out to your children.)

(Deivathin Kural will continue.)

Sambhomahadeva