864. Misunderstanding the anatomy of Cosmic Being….

Brahmano asya mukhamaseet | Bahoo rajanya krta |

Ooru tadasya yad vaishya | Padbhyam shoodro ajayata ||

From His mouth came forth the Brahmana (Spiritual Wisdom and Splendour);

And of His arms were Rajan (Administrative and Military Prowess) created;

From His stomach came the Vaishya (Commercial and Business Enterprise);

And His feet gave birth to Shudra (Productive and Sustaining Force)…. Purusha Suktam hymn 13.

This is Varna segregation according to Purusha Suktam which appears in the Tenth Mandala of Rig Veda. Here the Purusha is (Cosmic Being) and the hymn describes the evolution of the Cosmos and holds that the entire Cosmos is nothing but the projection of that Cosmic Being. Since it is accepted that everything has emanated from the same source one has to agree that same divinity pervades in all of them.

Now if every single manifestation is sprung out of the same source, why does it appear as though the Purusha Suktam hymn sanctioned a hierarchical discrimination???

The answer to this is in the previous hymn the 12^th. There are many questions asked like what came out of the face of the Purusha? What came of His arms? What came of His stomach and feet?

As an answer to these questions the subsequent hymn (13th) uses the metaphor of the Cosmic Being envisioned as the human body to explain the various parts of the vast Cosmos. The various parts of the human body are likewise, compared with the different classes of the society namely scholars, kings, traders and workers. 

When knowledge and wisdom manifest in an individual he is Brahmana. When the power of courage and physical strength is manifested he is a Kshatriya. The authority over economics and finance manifests in a Vaisya. And finally most important the power of skill and workmanship manifests in a Shudra. There is no hierarchical discrimination at all if one ponders on that particular hymn.

Brahmanas are preaching class hence for them mouth and speech is very important. Hence the hymn relates them to be born from His mouth. Kshatriyas represent physical strength and muscle power. It is so obvious that we judge a person whether he is strong or not, by looking at his muscles particularly in the arms and the shoulders. No wonder why the hymn linked the warriors to be born from His shoulders. The merchants and traders store both their inventory and cash and stomach is the place where the consumed food is stored. So Vaishyas are said to be born from His stomach. Finally the service and workforce, without whom the other three sections cannot stand on their own, hence Shudras are said to be born from the Purusha's legs. 

This stupid claiming that because the Shudras came from the feet, they have been “doomed to endless pariah status” in society is a distortion of the meaning and spirit of the hymn. It also violates reason. When every organ of the body has emanated from the whole cosmic Purusha, how can any one part be singled out and said to be inferior to the rest? It is as absurd as claiming that the feet are less important than the head? Moreover to me my head is as important as my shoulder, my stomach and my feet. 

Those Brahmin-bashers known only this 13^th hymn of Purusha Suktam further if they continue they can find in hymn 15 that even our planet earth is said to have born out of His feet. Is earth inferior planet then according to those Brahmin-bashers???

Purusha Suktam has 24 hymns but the most talked about and most popular is that 13^th hymn. The entire 24 hymn if read and understood properly one can transcend above all these shortcomings and comprehend the vastness and from their experience the oneness with that Infinite Absolute called PURUSHA…..what say???   

863. Sri Krishna in dual role…..

Sri Krishna seems to be portraying a dual role. He was Mohana (Charming) to the residents of Vrindavan but was Maraka (Dreadful) to His Mama Kamsa. Kamsa lost sleep by mere mention of His name. He was a Sakha (Friend) to Arjuna but a Shatru (Foe) to Duryodhana. He was Uddharaka (Saviour) to Sudhama but a Samharaka (Slayer) to Shishupala.

Was Sri Krishna a dual personality???

No, He was the same always. Sri Krishna proclaims, “Whenever there is a decline in Dharma (righteousness) and an upsurge in Adharma (unrighteousness), I manifest.”

True to His words He manifests again and again.

To establish Dharma one may not get a peaceful start, but it will certainly end in peace. There could be a lot of violence which could be unavoidable while upholding Dharma. This is the inevitable reality of life and the Law of the Universe. When Adharma takes over by unnatural means and creates conflict and chaos, then the individuals who are on the path of Dharma may for a short period of time struggle to fight to the best of their abilities and could sometimes fail also. It is here Sri Krishna comes charging in to destroy the representative of Adharma, thus establishing the Dharma again.

Now, from where does He come charging??? Is it from far away place??? 

No, He is not coming from anywhere outside of us. The dual role that He plays is in us. The people of Vrindavan were enchanted by Him by simply knowing Him to be inside them. Mama Kamsa could not find Him inside him; hence he was afraid of Him and would shiver if anyone uttered the name of Krishna. Arjuna who spent most of his time with Sri Krishna knew Him as equally as he knew himself. Duryodhana did not know about himself, let go knowing about Lord. He valued the Narayana sene more than Krishna. Sudhama had seen the power of his classmate when they were in the Guru Sandipani ashram. He felt safe when Sri Krishna was around him. Shishupala also knew that Sri Krishna would count 100 abuses and then He would use His Sudharshana Charka on him. Sudhama had this (Prapatti) surrender attitude while Shishupala had the (Pradosa) sedition attitude.  

So, to make Him our friend or foe depends entirely on us. Sri Krishna as an entity is same, if we follow Dharma He is our friend if we are on the Adharma side then He will automatically be our foe. We can have Him for or against us……This Janmastami I wish the entire mankind to make Him a Sakha so that He be our Uddaraka. Let His grace be there for all those Dharmic souls irrespective of Nationality, Religion, Caste or Creed. 

Happy Sri Krishna Janmastami to all my Friends.

Krishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane

Pranatah Klesha Naashaaya Govindaya Namo Namah.

We offer our obeisance unto Krishna, Hari, son of Vasudeva. That Supreme Govinda vanquishes the afflictions of all those who surrender to Him.     

862. Jnana, Karma Bhakti, Hatha…..!

A teacher in a class was telling about the importance of learning swimming. He said by knowing how to swim one can not only save his life but also save a few lives when there is floods or when someone is drowning in a lake. He asked those who are interested in learning can gather at the village big well every Sunday morning. There were four young boys who showed interest to learn. The teacher asked the boys to bring any items such as inflatable tube or dried un-punctured bottle gourd or thermocole blocks or if affordable to buy float boards from the town so that it could help them to stay afloat on the surface while learning.

Those enthusiastic boys geared up to learn swimming and finally on Sunday morning all of them gathered near the village big well. Raju was the son of a farmer and he could buy a float board from town, while the village tailors son Shyam had tied all the thermocole blocks together. Rama was the son of a cobbler and could pick up the dried un-punctured bottle gourd used by his father from the garret. Javeed the son of a mechanic managed to bring an inflatable truck tube.

The teacher first gave the boys some oral instruction on the do’s and don’ts after entering the water. Then he asked the boys to fasten those objects got from home to their waist, so that it lets them stay afloat. The boys were made aware of the buoyancy obtained from the up thrust got by the arm cycle and leg kicking. After the first session the four boys started to debate on the objects they used to fasten to their waist. All the four felt that their accessory was the best and would never agree with others. They debated on this every Sunday and explain the benefits of their accessory and disadvantages of those the others used. It became a routine for them to praise their accessory.   

Years rolled by and the four boys learnt to swim. What started as an essential need to safe guard life became a hobby and all the four friends became experts in different styles of swimming. The four boys got selected to the national games and all the four won the first place in Freestyle, Breast Stroke, Butterfly Stroke and Back Stroke. To reach that level they had indeed made a great effort. The villagers arranged a felicitation ceremony to the four young men. The four young boys who were earlier debating among themselves as to which accessory was perfect in helping them learn swimming now realised that learning how to swim was significant, not the material used to keep them float. No one had ever asked them what type of material we had used to keep ourselves afloat while they were learning to swim.   

Likewise we do have Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Hatha Yoga to get a vision of a vivid account of glory and splendour of the omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence Absolute. But it will be our own efforts like as in swimming the cycling of arms and kicking of legs, alone that can us towards spiritual progress. We have seen many scholars and pundits who have the only objectives of proving that the path that they are following is superior or more advanced. Is it necessary to talk about them which are like those accessories used at the learning process???

861. Give back the good in you before you go!

We have the two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata to guide us to live a virtuous life. These two epics have in them all the lessons for mankind to enhance the way of life. There are few similarities in both the epic, though the big striking similarity being the war which was the triumph of Dharma over Adharma. Apart from this striking similarity there is one more subtle similarity which needs to be pondered upon. In Ramayana at the end of the war Ravana was on his deathbed and in the Mahabharata war we find Bhismacharya on the bed of arrows waiting to shed his mortal coils.

When the whole of the vanara sena was celebrating the victory Shri Rama instructed his brother Lakshmana to go to Ravana and request him to share the knowledge of Rajaneeti (Political Science). Again in Mahabharata after Kurukshetra war amidst the pile of bodies, Sri Krishna insists the Pandava brothers to acquire knowledge from Bhismacharya. Sage Valmiki and Bhagavan Vyasadeva feel that Ravana and Bhismacharya have in them the legacy of knowledge which needs to be flowing for generations to come.  

Every single individual in this creation has in him some knowledge which the generation next would benefit from. Those who know the value of that knowledge like Shri Rama and Sri Krishna would recognise it. That valuable knowledge if not tapped will just vanish at death. Knowledge does not outlive death when kept secretively. Knowledge is obtained by experience and to acquire this experience it could be a lifetime, but one can share it in no time at all.   

Every day our experiences make us to churn out vast amounts of knowledge. The knowledge could be of material world or spiritual world. The knowledge of the material world could provide us confidential information by which we can have a competitive edge. That was what Shri Rama wanted Lakshmana to learn from Ravana. The spiritual knowledge can provide us the path which can lead us to merge to our source. That was what Sri Krishna wished Pandavas would know from Bhismacharya.

In the modern world Knowledge Management is a big plus point. To know about anything and everything is a must and only those people who believe in it know its power. One must understand that whomever he interacts with is a fountain of knowledge, irrespective of whether he likes him or not. One has to make conscious efforts to absorb as much as possible from the one who is a powerhouse of knowledge. Also it would be wonderful if the one who knows about something is willing to share it with other who doesn't know. There are only a few great personalities who can recognise the knowledge like Shri Rama and Sri Krishna who guide others to seek it from them. So it is better to take the initiative in sharing what is known. It is the best one can give back to the society from which he has gained a lot before he passes away..........What say???

860. Indian Independence...!

Freedom of speech and Freedom of expression which allows talking and doing whatever one feels like is not Independence.

Organizing an event to shout slogan against the integrity of a country is not Independence.

Yes, there might be flaws in every decision that has been taken in history, but to set right that mistake making another mistake is not a wise thing to do. Democracy has given us a provision to do what is right not what one likes. Doing according to Self-will is not democracy. Democracy stands on the tripod with the legs namely Karyanga (Bureaucracy), Nyayanga (Judiciary) and Shasakanga (Legislature). If either of the one is targeted in the name of freedom then democratic values get fractured.

Those who are against the legislature are now trying to support those elements which want to wage a war on it. It is like an enemy’s enemy is a friend. The group which never got alone are now together to see that the integrity of my country is broken. Looks like the evangelists who are funded to convert more and more people into their religion, the naxals who do not have guts to voice their issues in a democratic way and the religious fundamentalist in the name of jihad have come together with a sole intention of creating disharmony.

I do not understand why the so called intellectuals get worked up when a hardcore terrorist is shot dead by our armed forces. Any individual or any group which tries to take advantage of the situation to twist the tale and want to induce their ideologies are cowards. There is a lot of stage shows being conducted in collages by these anti-nationals to incept those ideologies into the young minds. A few years back there was an event organized by some anti-nationals in a college in Bangalore and there was a stage show which depicted our Armed Forces as villains in Kashmir and the audience were simply watched the Tamasha while only a few raised objection. Unfortunately those few who tried to voice their views were asked to leave the auditorium by the police present there. Is this why our ancestors got us Independence for?  Why are we letting a few take the advantage of freedom of speech and expression to distort the news and spread it?

Love for the nation will never let those anti-nationals to even think of attacking the integrity of my country. We are a happy nation with lots of compassion in our hearts but that need not be the advantage for those with anti-nationals. Now it is become a passion and fashion to those page three aspirants to talk rubbish about my country and my country people. This will stop by when we ignore them and their work. This will be a great tribute to my country on this 69th Independence.

Wish all my Friend a Happy Independence Day

JAI HIND…..!

859. Simple Living…..!

There were pictures of Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron helping workers to move out of 10, Downing Street which were circulated in social media.  Some posted comments like “This is how a true democracy works unlike in our country where elected representatives behave as Feudal Lords”. But then it was found that the pic was taken in 2007, when Mr Cameron and his family were moving into their new house. When the date of that pic was mentioned some flooded with posts on the social media extenuating the post, maybe they found it difficult to imagine that a political leader too can live a simple life.

We have this man who was the president of Uruguay, his name is Jose Mujica. He says “I have a way of life that I don’t change just because I am a president. I earn more than I need, even if it’s not enough for others.” He is termed as world’s poorest president for which he says, “I'm called ‘the poorest president’, but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more.”  His salary was $ 12500; he donated 90% of his salary and kept $1250 for himself. After he completed his tenure as president in 2015 he said so in an interview, “People who like money too much ought to be kicked out of politics. We invented this thing called representative democracy, where we say the majority is who decides, so it seems to me that we (heads of state) should live like the majority and not like the minority.”

This made me recapture the words of Chanakya, the author of Arthashastra. He says, “A minister is like a honey collector for a King; he may lick his hand after collecting and storing the honey in the jar, that is tolerable, but if he empties the entire jar for himself, then that is big worry for the people of the land.” In Democracy which it is termed as “Praja Rajya” (People are Rulers) obviously we  the people are the Kings and our elected representatives are those who are to serve us.

A Chinese visitor had come to Pataliputra to meet Chanakya. He did not find him in the palace. He was told he can find him in the outskirts of Pataliputra. Reaching the outskirts the Chinese visitor found a humble dwelling in that remote place. With the intention to get information on where Chanakya was he knocked the door. The door opened and the visitor inquired, “Where can I find Chanakya?” The person who opened the door said, “I am Chanakya”. It was then the Chinese visitor realized the true opulence of Pataliputra.

The Chinese visitor writes in his book, “When the minister stays in a simple dwelling the subject enjoys good housing, and when the minister lives lavishes, it is then the subject will be bereft of dwelling, and go astray.”  Bhismacharya describes the characteristics of an able minister to Yudhisthira in Anushashana parva. He mentions the most important qualities to be Sauchah (Cleanliness). Cleanliness is not simply being bodily clean but it indicates integrity and transparency. A clear inside is the key.

I have visited many ancient temples built by kings and I have seen many forts also but I have rarely seen any of the palaces of kings apart from those who had colonial influence on them. The ponds, lakes and wells built by them exist even today they focused on the welfare of the subjects. 

We have had such people among us Abdul Kalam sir is one of them. He will be remembered for his simple living....I wonder why our politicians do not emulate him..... Does anyone know why???

858. Futurist Thought and Conservative Ideas............

In this Vyavaharika Loka (Relative World) there is a constant tiff between a Futurist Thought and a Conservative Idea. Futuristic thoughts bring in enthusiasm, sense of progress, no prejudgment, and swift action. In Conservative Ideas there is authenticity, wisdom of legacy, validity and safe action. Although both have their own flaws too, while Futurist thought is embodiment of conjecture, the fear of experimenting something unknown, its cogency is hidden till the future divulges it. Conservative Ideas annihilate innovation, is stuck in time, it could be irrelevant to the future.

If there is ambiguity regarding which has to be followed between the two we have Samavada (Discussion). Some of the Conservative Ideas could be blocking the views towards progress and in such situations Dharma Shastra tells one has to discuss with others and contemplate within. “What is the right thing to do” should be objective of such discussions. The Futurist Thought should never surpass the principles of the past and the Conservative Ideas should not hamper the novelty of the future.

We have seen many occasions where the Conservative Ideas has been used as Anukula Shastra (theory of convenience). Shakuni uses it when he asks Duryodhana to challenge Yudhisthira to play the game of dice. Shakuni knew that game of dice was the weakness of Yudhisthira and moreover a Kshatriya would seldom refuse a challenge. Yudhisthira accepted knowing very well that it would be detrimental and that too for the second time.

As far as the Futurist Thought one can point to the marriage of Draupadi to the five brothers, it was revolutionary and against the regular norm, though it did not become a trendsetter it was very authentic. Also when Dronacharya and Bhishma stuck to the old Conservative Idea of being loyal to the king irrespective of whether the king was Dharmic or not, Sri Krishna used a Futurist Thought to break the misuse of the Conservative Idea. Dronacharya and Bhishma were overpowered by using the new law of utility. One has to keep in mind that the Futurist Thought which has been set to break the Conservative Idea must be based on principles.

Look at the new fines for traffic violations in Motor Vehicle Act which was approved by Central Government. Here the law is the Futurist Thought to make everyone abide to traffic rules, but Conservative Idea of “India against Corruption” is not discussed it could be like icing on the cake for corrupt officials to make more money too. Hence it is important to see that Futurist Thought and Conservative Idea go hand in hand with the sole understanding that everyone surging ahead should not forgo the principle……What say??? 

857. Mind: Prison or Prism???

Yesterday one of my friends on F.B posted a comment on the write up Ravana: Great or Good???  

He posted thus: Every one see Truth, through his mind set, and Truth is coloured with their thoughts. Truth can be perceived as Truth only, when mind is free of thoughts and free of memory. This is the extreme state of Yoga. Yogi can see the Truth, and all our ancient books are narrated by Yogi.

Contemplating on this I could summarise so.

I was at my factory supervising the schedule material dispatch for the day. My mobile phone started ringing. “What are you doing?” asked the voice from the speakers. It was my friend on the other side. “Nothing” I said.

Was I doing nothing??? I questioned myself. No, I was thinking about the dispatches, as the phone began to ring. I wondered who could be on the phone, could it be the transporter to tell the vehicle will be late or was it the client wanting to know when the consignment will reach his place or was it anyone else. True, there was many thoughts in my mind yet I said I was doing nothing. Doing nothing physically but mentally it was chaotic. Mind is a cluster of thoughts it is like a prism.

When I was in college we had this Newton’s prism experiment. It was quite exciting we were told to project a beam of light on the prism at certain angle and we could observe a spectrum of seven colours. A pure white ray enters into the prism and is divided into seven colours and a spectacular rainbow is formed. To the prism one single ray of light is enough to bring a rainbow of colours. Likewise to the prism of mind one single ray of Truth is enough to bring in rainbow of thoughts. If not seven which is the fixed number for the rainbow, there is no fixed number of thoughts in the prism of mind, at the least starting with two. 

The Prism of mind divides; it cannot see the whole as one. The nature of mind is always to think in terms of duality. Hence they say mind is dualistic in nature, it thinks in terms of thesis and also antithesis. Love and hate, compassion and wrath, greed and charity, hot and cold, summer and winter, pain and pleasure, wet and dry, dark and bright, white and black, they all go together it is as if they come in a package. They are not separate but the mind continuously creates that.

When I say “Beautiful” I have “Ugly” too behind in my mind. How can I talk about “Beauty” if I do not know what “Ugly” is? My mind has divided views and it is bipolar. If I say “Pious” I have said “Profane” too. My mind divides but reality is one. Then what to do? Mind has to be put aside. Can I do that, no my mind is the mean for knowing I cannot put it aside.

While doing the experiment in the college lab I just enjoyed looking at the spectrum of coloured light. Though the incident white light was a beauty, the spectrum was spectacular. …. I can just enjoy the duality as I enjoyed the spectrum..if not mind will be prison...So simple…..So profound……….Am I right???

856. Ravana: Great or Good???

Last week in one of our regional T.V channel there was a discussion on the goodness of Ravana. Though I felt the topic was irrelevant since Ravana could be great but he was never good. There is a subtle difference between “Greatness” and “Goodness.” The anchor started with analysing how we have different perspectives how one sees, what one sees and in which way he understands and applies what he sees. He wanted to bring out the different perceptions reflected on the character called Ravana. There were three panellists to discuss, one was a professor who viewed Ravana to be equally good as Shri Rama. The other was a Vaishanava scholar who opposed him and the last panellist was from theatre who knew about how the character of Ravana was depicted in drama and at modern stage shows.  

In the discussion the anchor said that he once received a message from a young college girl who felt, “it is better to have Ravana as a brother as he stood by his humiliated sister Surpanakha.” At that moment I wondered if that young college girl had read and understood Ramayana. As I understand, Ravana did not protect Surpanakha instead he was trying to protect her brutality. Not many know that it was Ravana who killed Surpanakha's husband. Surpanakha had married Vidyuth Jihva (Electric Tongue) it is believe that whenever he protruded his tongue he could produce lightening that could kill many. He belonged to Danava race of Kalakeya clan. Kalakeyas were powerful, ferocious and cruel barbarians, if not ferocious as shown in the blockbuster movie “BAHUBALI”. The writer of the movie Sri. K.V. Vijendra Prasad has very well used the clan to project the nastiness. We do find such clans in our puranas and Ramayana has the mention of Kalakeyas.

Now, Ravana had no great love for his sister Surpanakha and she too wanted to take revenge on her brother Ravana for killing her husband. She wished for Rama-Ravana war. While explaining Ravana about her nose injury she drops bait for which Ravana fell. She started to glorify the beauty of Sitadevi. She insists that a woman of such beauty should be his wife. Foolish Ravana loses all his sense and goes behind what he should have resisted. We all know what happened to him at the end.

Interestingly Ravana’s wife Mandodari says thus while sobbing over his dead body, “It is not Rama’s arrows that has brought you death, rather it was the tears of Sitadevi and many other women that killed you.” Now, why will a wife say so???  On the other hand Shri Rama loved Sitadevi so much that he suffered in separation more than any one could imagine, the description of which is given by Sage Valmiki. Also sending Sitadevi to the forest was not done by choice, rather it was done to uphold Raja Dharma (Statute of Governance). Shri Rama with great pain tells Laxmana to take Sitadevi,who was pregnant and leave her near Sage Valmiki’s hermitage. By sending Sitadevi to forest, Shri Rama made the inhabitants of Ayodhya repent for their outburst towards her. It was not just the question of a single washer-man who had voiced it aloud but many had doubted Sitadevi’s chastity in their mind. Sure enough the inhabitants of Ayodhya repented but it was too very late. Shri Rama never remarried and remained loyal to Sitadevi in spirit and form. Millions and millions of sensitive people love and adore this very Shri Rama even today irrespective of what the rationalist feel.

No doubt Ravana was a Brahmajnani, a Shiva bhaktha, a great ruler of Lanka, but it is for us to make the choice, whether we accept the ideologies of want Shri Rama or Ravana?

855. Action and Reactions...........

It was a cold chilly night all of a sudden a dog started barking in the street. Then a few more dogs from the adjoining street joined the lone dog and they all started barking together. The other dogs which joined the first dog do not know why they are barking, but still want to make their presence felt. This is called Avegasheela Pratikriya (Impulsive Reaction). This is how sometimes a few share the messages on Facebook or WhatsApp. They do not know the authenticity or check the validity of it yet they share. Why and what for they are doing so they are least bothered to analyse. One can observe that this impulsive reaction happens in an instant, it is hysterical.

A few years back an aged lady used to work in my factory, she was an introvert. She was very good at work and she was the one who was brewing tea for all of us. Somehow few workers in my factory did not like her and for anything that might go wrong in the factory, they would blame her. There were many a times when I would ask others not to jump into conclusions and blame her for every unforeseen occurrence that happens. But they would never mend their ways and continue to blame her. They had decided to intentionally drag her into everything. This is called Buddhipurvaka Pratikriya (Intentional Reaction). If we observe here this reaction is not instantaneous, it is a way of expressing covert feelings of anger and jealousy.  

A person riding a two-wheeler was off balanced while negotiating a pothole and he lost balance and fell down. He had noticeable bruises on his forearm. Immediately a lady from house opposite came there with a jug of water. The injured person was made to sit on the pavement for some time and he was given water. After a few minutes the man thanked the lady and drove off. The lady who got the water displayed Svaabhaavika Pratikriya (Spontaneous Reaction). She had not seen him before and maybe she won’t see him again in future. She just responded in a natural way seeing someone in distress. 

  

Now every action has a reaction but if we look in deep we find that it could be impulsive or intentional or spontaneous. For an intentional reaction too much of thought process is involved but amazingly the impulsive and spontaneous reactions happen in a jiffy without a second thought. On the surface they both look as if they are one and the same but rarely can they be used interchangeably. Spontaneity is infused with all sorts of positive connotations. It means to follow our natural feelings without restraint and when we just get an idea we go for it. There's nothing holding us back and hence we are free to do. However in impulsive reaction though we act without thinking it is often used pejoratively to refer to instances where we should have thought before but failed to.  

Spontaneous Reaction is an external action in response to external stimulus that inspires an internal response for a positive outcome. Most importantly in such reactions we do have control on that action. Impulsive Reaction is an internal response that manifests externally as action which is out of control and mostly with negative consequences. 

854. Are weapons deadly.......

While I was in college I used to be awake till late night studying, I had a thermos filled with tea to keep sleep away. My room had a window facing the main road and exactly at 1.30 in the night our patrol gurkha Sri. Bikram Tamang ji would come blowing his whistle. We would have steaming tea together and chat for some time. I was fascinated looking at the Khukuri (Gurkha Curved Knife) he had with him. I had asked him to get me one when he went to his native in Nepal. Though he would nod his head he would forget that very next minute.

During our third year engineering we had All India Tour organised and Nainital was one of the destinations. There in a shop I found this Khukuri and I purchase it (i think my friends would remember it now). Back home I decorated it on the hall wall and it was a major attraction. While the youngsters in my family were excited to look at the collection, elders told me that keeping weapons which would cause harm was not a good idea. I do not know why but the Talwar, Khukuri Umri, Bhagnakha, Khanda, Pichangatti, Adya Kathi and so fascinated me in those times. I wondered elders were against young keeping them. Later on while reading Ramayana I understood the reason.  

 

While on exile Sitadevi asks Shri Rama what was the necessity for him to carry bow and arrow with him, now that he is living a life of hermit. She feels that when he has to live a life of a sage in forest he could indulge in cruelty without enmity because of the weapons he carried. To establish her stance she tells the story of a Sage who lived in the forest amidst animals that adored him. He never harmed anyone and that was his nature. As if to challenge his nature, Indra, the leader of Devas came to him and gave him a sword for safekeeping until he returned. The sage agreed and started to guard that sword. As promised he would not leave the sword he carried it wherever he went. Without knowledge the faculty of the weapon comes to stick to the carrier of that weapon and hence anger, fury and ultimately inclination to use the weapon set in. The sage was driven by such faculties as a result the sage who was gentle turned violent. Further Sitadevi says that all this happened owing to the reason of associating with a weapon constantly, and the sequel of constant association with weapon is as good as constant association with fire. Sitadevi feels that carrying a weapon was unnecessary and deadly.

Next is how Shri Rama talks to his beloved and convinces her by saying that as a Kshatriya he was entitled to carry a weapon. It was perfectly justified to kill wild animals and demons. Though he was not in the forest to wage war, it was his responsibility to protect Sitadevi and his brother Lakshmana. It was his Apad Dharma (Duty at Distress) to carry a weapon.

Look at the present situation the Taliban and ISIS have SLR-101, SGI-21, RPG-7, MGL, AK 47 and so to terrorise the world. Is U.S.A playing the role of Indra as in the story told by Sitadevi…… though definitely Taliban and ISIS are not like the Sage in that story……

We do need weapons, not to terrorise but to defend. Also the weapon is the same even in the hand of a soldier or a terrorist but the intentions behind the use of it is different.......am I right???

853. Husband and wife......

My grandmother (my father’s mother) would touch the feet of my grandfather and seek his blessings as soon as he has had his bath in the morning every day, as a small kid I used to watch this. One day I asked her why thatha would not touch her feet and get her blessings. My grandma laughed and said she was younger to him and she had to seek blessings and he would seek blessings from God. I wondered if he was seeking blessing from God why not my Grandma too seek blessing from God. I was too small to understand at that age.

“Patiye Pratyaksha Daiva” (Husband is visible God) was the feeling a woman would harbour at those time. Woman folk then believed that husband were not mere human. He was the Kartha of a family. He was the one who would take care of the family and his responsibility was to shoulder all the hardship in maintaining well-being of the family. It was a nice gesture to seek the blessings of a man who care. Moreover traditionally at the time of marriage, every man would take an oath to look after the woman whom he is about to get married to. But this does not mean that husband is superior to wife at all. 

A few men who think they are superior to women should understand that without a woman they would not have appeared on this earth plane. Amazingly it is because of the nurturing at infant stage by a woman who is a mother; they have reached an age where they are able to think they are superior to women. Not only their childhood but all along their entire life span they need to have a woman to assist, guide and motivate them be it as a mother or a sister or even as wife.

Absolute has done justice in creating male and female species. If He has given man strength and might He has balanced it by conferring women with beauty and grace. While He gave men the ability to gain worldly knowledge He gave the role of guiding that knowledge to women. He made men to go out and fend for the family while the responsibility of love and care was on women.

Husband and wife are advice to compromise with each other to sustain bond with each other. Why should they? By compromise it shows that either of them is superior. It is like Anivaryata (Inevitable) situation. But in reality it is not so and should never be so. Married Life is not a string of compromises, if so, and then it is never strong. Instead of compromising to each other if they try to compromise with the universal law and lead life then there is no Anivaryata required at all but unknowingly they will have Anyonyata (reciprocity) as we see between a bee and a flower. 

Wife prays for the well-being of her husband and brothers on certain days. Today happens to be Bheemana Amavasya and for the wife to pray for the well-being of her husband or a sister to pray for the well-being of a brother, the husband and brother should earn to deserve it…….What Say???