1234. Drum Beats of Dispassion….!

There was once a man who would recite some Sanskrit verses always. Though at the daytime those verses he was muttering did not cause any problem, at night it was a bother for people around him. Irritated they complain to the King of the region. The King summoned the man and listened to what he was muttering. King could grasp the depth in those profound verses. He wished to appoint the man as one among his courtiers, but the man refuse to be in the palace. King tried to convince him by saying that  knowledge sharing is the utmost service anyone can do to the society.

Reluctantly the man asks the King to post him as the jailer where the convicts serving death sentence were kept. King was surprised but had to accept the request. While in the jail, the man continues to chant the verses. The convicts did not understand anything so were avoiding him.

As the days passed, one by one the convicts started to show interest and wanted to know the meaning of those verses. The man started to have a discourse on those verses. One day the man asked one of the inmates, “Why are you worried???”   He will be hanged in a few days told the others around. The man said, “He is lucky, at least he knows the date of his Moksha. The people outside the prison are daily dying without having a clue about it.”

“Does that mean we are better off having committed crime???” asked one of them.

The man said, “If you have realised you have committed crime and decide not to repeat, you are already liberated and you are not in bondage like the people outside the prison. Awareness is more important.” 

All the convicts were thrilled and happy.

One day, the King came on rounds to the prison and was surprised to see all convicts joyful and cheerful he asked the man, “What magic did you do???” 

The man replied, “I did no magic. I just told them the meaning of those verses, The Truth.”

Now, what were those verses???

The verses were from Vairagya Dindima (Drum Beats of Dispassion) composed by Sri Sri Shankara. It contains 5 verses filled with wisdom. Here I wish to share what I understand from those five verses (not just translation):

1. Life is full of miseries, old age is painful, possession of amassed property or wealth is of no use and in fact anything that is available in this world induce pain of losing it. So be Aware, be Aware.

2. Desires resulting in thoughts to act in several ways are binding us to this world, we are so deluded that we forgot that in this rat race, our age is depleting. So be Aware, be Aware.

3. Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada & Matsarya  attacks our intellect and drains out our Jnana. We need to have control over them to lead a life of a true Being. So be Aware, be Aware.

4. Assets are temporary and youth is impermanent. Like the withering flowers before the scorching Sun we are nearing the last days in this body. We need not waste our life. So be Aware, be Aware. 

5. You have neither mother nor father. No relatives no brothers no wealth no house - nothing will remain forever, nothing will follow you after death. So be Aware, be Aware.