Enlightened Life
Formulae for Personality development
Nindantu niti nipunayadi vastuvantu Laksmih samavisatu gacchatu va yathestam Adhvaiva va maranamastu yogantare va, Nyayyatpathah pravicalanti padam na dhirah
(Bhartruhari, Nitisataka-79) It
means, a person on the path of truth shall not be moved by taunts or praise, wealth or poverty and immediate or delayed death, such person being on the path of truth has the support of the Almighty. Truth has always prevailed. The following example of Satyakama Jabali reminds us of the significance of truth:
Once a child of 10-12 years came to the asrama (a hermitage) of Muni Haridrumata. He seemed to be stately and talented, but unlike other Brahmacaris (Celibates) he didn't have samidha (pieces of woods of various holy trees), munja (a kind of reed), asana (a piece of cloth to sit) or yajnopavlta (sacred thread: worn in yajna) etc. The Muni inquired about the purpose of his arrival.
“I wish to acquire education at your asrama. My mother has sent me here. My upanayana samskara (one of the sixteen rituals that are performed since a child is born) has not been done so far, so please be kind enough to conduct this ritual,” the boy answered.
The acarya was quite impressed by the boldness of the boy and said, “It would require the name of your father, caste and clan.” The boy returned the next day with an astounding answer and said, “My mother told me: as she had worked at many asramas for livelihood, she was not able to tell exactly the name and clan of my father; rather she suggested me to give her name, Jabala, as an alternative.” The Muni was astonished, the way the boy presented such a harsh truth and said, “I will name you as Satyakdma and your clan will be Jdbdli, so from now onwords you will be known as Satyakdma Jdbdli.” The Acarya accepted him as his disciple. The truthful boy Satyakama Jabali won the hearts of his teacher Muni Haridrumata and other Brahmacaris with his selfless-service, truthful nature and politeness. Prarabhyate na khalu vighnabhayena nicaih, Prarabhya vighnavihata viramanti madhyah. Vighnaih punah punarapi pratihanyamanah, Prarabhya cottamajana parityajanti.
(Bhartruhari, Nitisataka-26)
It means — many people do not start any work, as they are afraid of possible setbacks. Some people start an endeavour, but leave it in the middle, as they also get affected by setbacks. An ideal or a great man is — who inspite of numerous troubles, setbacks and unfavorable conditions, never leaves his started endeavour, continues to pursue and stops only when he accomplishes his goal. Laksya na ojhala home paye kadama milakara cala. Manjila tere paga cuamegi aja nahin to kala. (Unknown)
As soon as the mind awakens, the first and foremost thing that needs to be done is to set the goal of life. An aimless journey of thousands of miles will only lead to tiredness, bewilderment and disappointment; not to the destination. There is only one way to achieve success: fix your goal and start working in its direction.
One should not only learn to pay respect to the elders, but also try to inculcate their acarana (conduct). Great personalities are not only to be worshipped, but also to motivate and guide others.
Life is a blessing of God and death is his call to heaven. Neither consume in excess nor run away, only awake! Wisdom is the only true solution.
Don’t under-estimate your hidden physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual and organisational abilities. Under-estimating our potentials only bring disappointment, distrust and dejection again and again. We should always aim for the victory of good virtues and defeat of evil virtues. We should struggle till our last breath and even ready for sacrificing our lives at the cost of achieving the above aim.
If we donate 10% of what we aspire for, then we will definitely receive much more than our expectations. Look at the history. Donation for satkarma (holy works) is considered holy; while not donating for seva-karya (activities for the betterment of people) is regarded as unholy.
Passing personal comments on the religious and spiritual beliefs of a person, or on the guiding principles, vision and values of any social trust or organisation, should not be the culture of any individual or organisation.
An individual or organisation should idealise the dignity and principles of Lord Purusottama Ramacandra, and the ethics and dexterity of Yogesvara Srikrsna. Using slangs and brawing at others, consumption of liquor, cigarette, cocaine, heroine etc, to have extramarital affairs; are the basic reasons for social crime and destruction. These harm an individual, society and nation.
A man wastes his present in the contentions of the past and future. If we wish to enjoy the present moment, then we must be away from these contentions.
Be cautious to present your views with full awareness, as we may forget what we have said, but those who listen to it, remember our spoken words.
The world is home to both positive and negative thoughts, virtues and vices, happiness and sorrow; it solely depends on us what we aspire to receive and what not to receive. Faith is the pillar that brings stability in family relationships.
The objective of education is not only to literate a person, but also help him in his character building. It is not important how much material property we are giving to our children; rather what matters is the kind of samskara (values) we are giving to them.
The quality of time spent with children matters more than the amount of time spent with them. If we aim to inculcate values them, then good habits are to be formed in childhood itself.
Ups and downs, happiness and sorrows are part of life. We should always face these situations cheerfully.
Those who wish to keep their mental strength intact should never be affected by the criticisms of others. When we laugh the world laughs with us, but when we are in grief, pain and discomfort, the world appears sad to us. So, laugh and cheerfully acknowledge the God’s grace.
(Excerpted from the book Divine Transformation: Building Blocks for Englightened Life, Ideal Nation & Peaceful World by Acharya Balakrishna)