Re-Run Episode Discussion - Page 16

Qualities to aspire for

What are the qualities that a person should aspire to develop? What are the things one should seek in life? Sangam literature lays down what should be and what should not be sought and what is to be preferred to what, said M. Elangovan, in a lecture.

Good conduct is worthy of more regard than mere formal education. It is good to bear love and affection for people, but it is even more important to fear criticism. Physical strength and valour are desirable, but they pale in comparison with honesty as a trait. It is better to read only as much as one can grasp and retain it in one's memory, instead of reading a lot and then forgetting what one has read. It is better to value health above youthfulness. Fear of wrongdoing is far better than accumulating wealth. A virtuous woman is to be preferred to one who only has a good lineage to boast of. Instead of poring over books all the time, regardless of whether they are useful or not, it is better to listen to the good counsel of learned men and to read what they have written. If someone criticises us, it is better to introspect and see if we have any fault, rather than fighting with those who criticise us. We should not think of revenge at such times, but must resort to self-examination to see whether we have condemnable qualities that might have made others dislike us and criticise us. It is better to protect one's wealth so that one is not poor in one's old age, rather than to be rich to start with and then to lose all the wealth through one's carelessness.

All this advice has a lot of relevance even now. Youngsters these days prize an athletic physique, but neglect character-building. They value their youth, which is fleeting, instead of good health. They resort to wrong means to make money. And the tendency to think we are perfect and that those criticising us do not know what they are talking about is a trait we all possess, regardless of our age. We also tend to spend irresponsibly in our youth, squandering family property, and suffer for our follies in our old age. The advice offered in our ancient texts is something we must ponder over, for our own benefit.

Greatness of Goddess Parvati

When Lord Siva consumed the Halahala poison, it was Goddess Parvati who intervened to see that Her Consort was not harmed by the poison. She can turn even poison into nectar, said M.A. Manickavelu. Many are the qualities of the Goddess that fill us with awe and bhakti. Abhirami Bhattar, a devotee of the Goddess, who composed the Abhirami Andadi, in praise of the Goddess at Thirukkadaiyur, compares Her to a koel, which sings in a sweet voice. He says that when She took birth as the daughter of Parvataraja, She danced in the Himalayas, with the grace of a peacock. She is luminous like the Sun. Just as the Sun dispels darkness, the moment She enters the hearts of Her devotees, She dispels darkness.

She resides in us as Antaryami. If the hearts of Her devotees can be compared to soft-petalled lotuses, She is like a swan that resides in these lotuses. She is the embodiment of the Vedas. She is responsible for Creation, Protection and Destruction. Those who do not worship Her may have many other things that they may think of as contributing to their status. They may be from a reputable family. They may have an excellent lineage. They may have had the best education. They may have prodigious wealth. They may even be generous with their wealth. But in the absence of bhakti towards the Goddess, all of these are of no use to them at all. They are truly impoverished people, akin to beggars, without bhakti towards the Goddess.

Abhirami Bhattar describes how, when Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati had had an argument, and had then made up, Lord Siva lifted the Goddess' foot and puts it on His head. It is said that Lord Siva holds in His hand a fire. Bhattar wonders where He laid this fire, when He lifted Goddess Parvati's foot. Lord Siva has the Ganges trapped in His matted locks. Bhattar also wonders where Lord Siva placed the Ganges when He put Goddess Parvati's foot on His head. Bhattar was so devout, that he was able to visualise and versify even a divine quarrel, and the subsequent reconciliation between them. Bhattar says that even if the Goddess does not think fit to forgive him his sins, he will still continue to sing of Her.

thanx for articles harnisha...i'll be back wid comments after reading them... :)

Slave to the senses

It would be natural to think that those who have resorted to penance, controlling their senses, will no longer be a slave to their senses. But the senses are not so easily conquered, said Kidambi Narayanan.

This is seen from the story of a sage, who for many years, stood under water, as he performed his penance, with his eyes shut, oblivious of his surroundings. When he emerged from the water, he saw all around him shoals of fish, swimming around with their families.

He, too, was then seized by a desire to have his own family. So he approached a king, who had 50 daughters of marriageable age, and asked the king to get one of them married to him.

But the king was hesitant, for the sage was an old man. The king then told the sage that he would ask all his daughters to present themselves before the sage. Whoever agreed to marry the sage would be married to him. The sage agreed, but made himself appear young and handsome as the girls appeared before him. The result was that they all agreed to marry him! So the king gave them all in marriage to the sage.

Some months later, the king decided to visit his daughters. He found that the sage had provided a separate mansion for each of his wives.

The king visited his eldest daughter first and asked her if she was happy. She said that the sage was a loving husband, but he was in her company throughout the day. Would this not make her sisters unhappy, for the sage was their husband too? The king then visited his second daughter, and she, too, said that the sage was with her throughout and never visited any of his other wives. The story was repeated in every daughter's house.

Finally it turned out that in order to be with all his wives all the time, the sage, using his powers, had made 50 replicas of himself, so that in each wife's house there was a replica of him!

Thus a sage, who had been immersed in penance for many years, became a slave to his senses. So to safeguard against temptation, we must not be complacent, but must keep our minds focused on Lord Narayana.

A case of wrong attribution

When Rama was a child, He playfully threw a stone at Mantara, Kaikeyi's maid. There is a verse in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham that mentions this incident, but the verse is actually speaking of Lord Krishna. When we think of Rama, it is not a naughty child who comes to our mind, but a gentle, obedient child.

But the very mention of Krishna brings before our eyes a child constantly playing pranks on people. This child, despite His pranks, is loved by all. Had any other child been so mischievous, we would have chided it, but everyone loves Krishna for his playfulness. Maybe, that was why the verse speaking of the stone thrown at Mantara is addressed to Krishna, said M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar.

Lord Krishna's playfulness is indicative of His simplicity. Krishna would only have enjoyed this wrong attribution in the verse.

There is a story about a man who built a house, which was broken into the very night the construction was completed. The plastering not having dried, the wall collapsed and fell on one of the many burglars. Angered by the death of their partner in crime, the other burglars approached the king and asked that the house owner be punished.

The owner said the mason was responsible, and the mason said he always made the measurements accurately, but in this case the potter had supplied a pot of a size different from the usual one.

The potter said he was distracted by a maid from the palace, who had passed to and fro several times. The maid said she was trying to get the washerman to wash her clothes, so she had frequented the place. The washerman said he could not wash the clothes because there was a sage seated on the stone on which he would do the washing.

The king went to the sage and asked him what he had to say. The sage was observing silence that day, and therefore did not reply. The king then said all the others had offered some excuse, but the sage had said nothing. Therefore he was responsible for the death of the burglar! Krishna's silence is like the sage's. He is said to have done something, which in fact Rama had done.

thank u for more articles harnisha...
actually my net was not working..so couldn't read them..
bt rly very tahnkful to u for sharing them..nw im saving them..so can read anytime...
thank u once again...

thanks harnisha for the articles


hmm swati it seems just u and me here

i dont know what to say more here.
am waiting for the episode nw


btw i saw u on GKD forum

i m there in silent mode yet waitin for koi jaana pehchaana to appear there

so far i also like the show..


if u r regular there i wud join fully then..


this character has been done very nicely though isnt it..

let me know if u still want me to do update here for ramayan considering no one is here

and ya btw if i m going to GKD forum i wud need change of one siggy though heheheh and also avtaar..

though i do wish praphulla was doing the lead there as its his background i mean the show has UP ka setting only.

hey di...yeah im there..n def i'll be active over there...u also join it..its a wonderful show..finally after ramayan i got something to watch..n diplz cont updt...for me.....plz.....

coz today again i missed whole episode coz of power cut.... :(

so i rly need updts.....


n dat will be gr88 if PP will be there...