Random musings - part 11
'Eat to live and not live to eat' goes the popular
saying! But the world is bent upon doing the latter! I wonder at the fact that
even if we stop producing any new food, this moment, we would still have enough
stored food (both veg and non-veg) for next 5 to 10 years may be! Alas! Our
ever-growing collective digestive fire is enough to consume the whole world!
Infact that (stopping production for sometime) would
do well for the nature to revitalise itself!
प्रत्येकस्य जनस्येह वर्धिष्णुः जठरानलः ।
कालानलेन तेनैव जगत् भुक्तं भवेदहो ।। 101
।।
प्रत्येकस्य of an
individual जनस्येह person वर्धिष्णुः
increasing जठरानलः digestive
fire कालानलेन by destructive fire तेनैव by
that जगत् world भुक्तं
consumed भवेत् may
अहो alas!
The digestive fire of each individual is ever
increasing. Alas! Due to that destructive fire the world may get consumed soon!
Sorry to take up the issue of eating but we are for
sure overdoing it, harming the nature at every step - producing, storing,
packaging, distributing and wasting!
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This is a follow up to the previous one! Hunger, being
twofold, is the culprit - in overeating! One in the stomach and other in the
mind! This is addressed to hunger!
बुबुक्षे! द्विगुणा हि त्वम् शरीरस्थाऽन्यथाऽसि च ।
आद्येन नैव मे बाधः परेण किन्तु सर्वथा ।। 102
।।
बुबुक्षे Hunger! द्विगुणा twofold
हि indeed
त्वम् you
शरीरस्था of
the body अन्यथा otherwise असि are च and आद्येन
by the former नैव not
at all मे to me बाधः
problem परेण by
the other किन्तु but सर्वथा
by all means!
Hey Hunger! You are twofold indeed. One of the body
and the other of non-body (of the mind). I am not affected (much) by the former
but by all means affected by the latter!
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I have found some verses in Sanskrit enforcing certain
dos and donts through an example. The following is an attempt in that genre!
I am sure this could be controversial for some! But I
do not mind as I am just giving expression to what came to my mind (and may be
to others as well) We should never force or induce dharmatmas in to a
dharmasankata situation! It will do us harm for sure! What happened to Sita
when she pushed Lakshmana with her intolerable words overcome by her lobha for
the deer and love for her husband? It burnt her! Even Sita is not an exception!
न जातु धर्मिणं नैव चोदयेद्धर्मसंकटे ।
ददाह दण्डकारण्ये वैदेहीमपि यत्कृतम् ।। 103
।।
Never even once push force good people in to
dharmasankata situation. What was done by Sita in Dhandakaranya burnt her
(even)!
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Some years ago I rushed to pluck that blade of grass
from a pot in which a rose plant was also growing! As an afterthought I was
wondering was my action right? This poem kind of echoes that thought! Somehow
we have this habit of determining the usefulness (or it's absence) of other
things with a limited outlook!
जलं सेचनवेलायां तृणेभ्यो मा भवेदिति ।
चित्तं हन्त कुतो याति दुग्धमूलमहो तृणम् ।। 104 ।।
जलं water
सेचनवेलायां while watering तृणेभ्यो for the grass मा not भवेत् be इति thus
चित्तं thought हन्त alas
कुतः wherefrom याति comes
दुग्धमूलं factor of milk अहो indeed
तृणम् grass is!
While watering plants, there is a conscious effort to
leave out grass, thinking they are useless (and perhaps spoil our effort).
Wherefrom this thought appears? After all it is grass which is a factor for
milk! May be farming is not my cup of tea (or milk!)
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I have wondered how the same old cinema love songs
written by Kannadasa et al made sense in due course of time in
youth though they have been listened to and sung many times in childhood.
Or in the same way matters that pertain to the atma,
perhaps, may become clear when the mind is ripe! So let us keep on reading and
listening to them and take steps to ripen the mind paralelly!
Body, even without our effort, matured but may not be
the case with mind!
प्रणयविषयास्तावत् स्फुटास्तु यातयौवने ।
अध्यात्मविषया नूनं भवन्ति पक्वचेतसि ।। 105
।।
प्रणयविषयाः love matters तावत् no
sooner than स्फुटा (become) clear यातयौवने after attaining
youth अध्यात्मविषयाः matters that pertain to atma नूनं indeed
भवन्ति become
पक्वचेतसि in
a matured mind
Love matters become clear when one attains youth.
Matters that pertain to the atma become clear to a ripened mind!
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Drawing a comparison between my intellect and the
moon's brightness!
चन्द्र! स्वयं न ते भासः तारतम्यं भ्रमेण च ।
लुप्तः सूरिसकाशेऽपि मन्मतिरिव शोभसे ।। 106
।।
चन्द्र! Moon! स्वयं of
own न no ते your भासः
brightness तारतम्यं difference
भ्रमेण due
to motion / confusion च and लुप्तः
(you) disappear सूरि Sun
/ learned men सकाशे in the presence of अपि as
well मन्मतिरिव like my intellect शोभसे you
shine
Moon! You don't have brightness on your own! (Even in
that borrowed brightness) there is lot of difference owing to your motion and
you disappear in the presence of Sun and you shine just like my intellect.
My intellect is a poor reflection of thoughts of other
intellectuals and even in that poor reflection there is no consistency due to
doubts and confusions etc. My presence goes unnoticed in the presence of
scholars!
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How many times there is this feeling of omniscience,
with that little knowledge. For that matter what is knowledge? No idea. From
where does this omniscience-feeling arise?
कथं भवति मे ज्ञानं कुतः प्रभवति स्मृतिः ।
भावनाः कुत्र वा सन्ति धिक् मत्सर्वज्ञभावनाम् ।। 107 ।।
कथं how does भवति arise
मे to
me ज्ञानं knowledge कुतः
from where प्रभवति arise
स्मृतिः memories
भावनाः emotions
कुत्र where
सन्ति are
धिक् shame
on मत्सर्वज्ञभावनाम् my omniscience-attitude!
How do I gain knowledge? From where do I get memories?
Where do my feelings reside? No knowledge at all. shame on my
omniscience-attitude! Mind, intellect etc are all abstract concepts, little
understood, of which only intelligent guesses are being made!
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Where exactly is this concept of time? In mind or
really outside? Some schools of Philosophy state it is for real while some
others term it as not. What does experience say?
दिनायते कला चापि दिनं कलायते क्वचित् ।
कुत्र वाऽस्ति गतिर्हन्त समयस्य तु विस्मयः ।। 108 ।।
दिनायते becomes a day कला minute
चापि as
well as दिनं day कलायते
becomes a minute क्वचित् sometimes
कुत्र where
वाऽस्ति exactly
is गतिः the movement हन्त alas समयस्य of
time तु but विस्मयः
surprising...
Sometimes (say when we are anxious or sad) a minute
moves very slowly as if its a day and sometimes (when we are happy or deeply
engrossed in something) a day flies like a minute. Alas! Where exactly is the
movement of time? Surprising.
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Those who are familiar with shastra texts in Sanskrit
may appreciate this more!
Literature is available in many forms. It begins with
sutras (concise statements) followed by Vartikas. A Vaartika is a commentary
that investigates and clarifies what is said, what is omitted and what is (maybe)
stated otherwise. Great scholars from all schools have spent considerable time
and contributed to this type of literature!
Ok how is it relevant here? Well I am also spending my
time commenting upon what is said, what is not said and what is otherwise
stated by other people (in normal course of life) always, of course in vain!
उक्तानुक्तदुरुक्तानां येषां जनैर्वृथा सदा ।
वार्तिकमेव मे हन्त कुर्वतः कालयापनम् ।। 109 ।।
उक्त of said अनुक्त not
said दुरुक्तानां differently said येषां of
those लोकैः by people वृथा
in vain सदा always
वार्तिकम् commentary
एव only
कुर्वतः of
doing हन्त alas मे my कालयापनम्
time-pass!
Alas! My time is always wasted in only analysing those
words that were said, not said and wrongly said by people! Oh! that is why he
said like that, or he did not say that or twisted and so on. waste of time...
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Two of the many things that we have taken for granted
and do not think about are - language and thought process, and the link between
them. When we think we think in words and sentences i.e with language as a
medium or carrier of thoughts....
How will thinking be if there is no language? Say in
animals and other forms of life? Or even in new born kids how primitive will be
the thinking process? Or the differently-abled who do not pick up language
skills. Does anyone know? Has science made some strides in this area?
अन्तर्वसति या भाः सा प्रसरति नु भाषया ।
तयैव बहिरायाति किं वा भवति तां विना ।। 110 ।।
अन्तः inside वसति resides या which भाः lustre
सा that प्रसरति spreads
नु indeed भाषया through
language तयैव through that only बहिः outside आयाति comes
किं वा what भवति happens
तां that language skills विना without
The consciousness or knowledge or awareness that
resides inside keeps on flowing in the mind through the medium language. It
comes out through the same. How will it ever function if there were no
language?
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