Saturday, November 17, 2012

Wealth is a flood that ebbs and flows - mantrA 172

srigurubhyO namahA |
   In the 172nd mantrA the sage goads us to cast aside our material desires and focus instead on gathering a higher and more subtle kind of spiritual wealth.




தேற்றத் தெளிமின் தெளிந்தீர் கலங்கன்மின்
ஆற்றுப் பெருக்கிற் கலக்கி மலக்காதே
மாற்றிக் களைவீர் மறுத்துங்கள் செல்வத்தைக்
கூற்றன் வருங்கால் குதிக்கலு மாமே. I.3.5.172

Weigh well the pros and cons, and having weighed, waver not,
Lose not your bearings, caught in wealth's eddy;
Fling aside the transient trappings of earthly treasures
And thus when the Pale Sargeant comes, for the great leap be ready. I.3.5.172

Com - Weigh well the pros and cons, Realise thoroughly the transitoriness of wealth after having examined the evidence for your self and become clear. and having weighed, waver not, and  having attained the clarity of mind to recognise the truth about material wealth fear no more and stay true to your awareness. Lose not your bearings, caught in wealth's eddy; Instead of being distracted by the dizzying rush of ever increasing waves of wealth, coming at you like flash floods after torrential rain Fling aside the transient trappings of earthly treasures cast aside your attachment for material riches, which are but transient, and focus your efforts instead towards the gathering and multiplying of higher spiritual wealth. And thus when the Pale Sargeant comes, for the great leap be ready. For if you do so, it might help to serve your cause someday when Death (who separates the body from the life force) arrives – it might serve as the tool to even transcend death!

*The term ‘Atru vellam’ is used in a measured way. Flash floods are not permanent. The water running in a great rush will soon dry up and the land is dry once again. Great wealth is also something similar. It is not perennial but is subject to ebb and decrease.  Through the agency of time or the state, the vast riches will someday reduce to ruin. The iconography of Lakshmi the goddess of wealth shown standing on a lotus situated in the wavy/choppy waters of the ocean is worth noting here. The term ‘mAttri kalaidhal’ refers to reversing the pattern – i.e. instead of pining for the lesser and transient material wealth one must seek instead the greater and ever lasting spiritual wealth. In the last line of the verse the siddar uses the term ‘kudhikkalumAmE’, which can be translated as ‘jumping over’ or ‘leaping beyond’. He indicates that it is even possible (for some select great souls, nevertheless) to jump over or transcend death/mortality when this greater spiritual wealth has been accumulated to a significant degree. The words ‘kUtran kudhitthalum kaikUdum’ of the sage thiruvalluvar conveys the similar meaning – it is even possible to transcend death.

thirucchitrambalam

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

i belong to a world where " kaase thaan kaduvalappa, antha kadavulukkum athu theriyum appa ".

And this blog is from another alien world.

Money, Wealth all are on par with God. You can never demystify them. If i wear a Hawai slippers, i get branded as poor. If rajinikanth wears the same slippers, he is branded simple.

Money even determines through which gate you can have a darshan of God in our temples. And if you are ready to shell out more, you can have an audience soon. If you are poor, even God will make you wait for more time.

Sages, saints are supposed to relinquish all worldly pleasures. You go to Chennai Ramakrishna math. There will stand a grand Merc Benz. Jaggi Vasudev drives in a Land Cruiser.

May be the sage who sang these songs was dead poor. May be he did not know how to make money. And all these rants could be a vent because of his failures, of his lost opportunities.

Dear Friend, Believe Me. Money is everything. Without money we are nothing.

After amassing all wealth, we can think about how to live happy.

But, without money, the only thing we can do is sing such songs.

Ada pongappaa.

Anonymous said...

Swami, what happened? Its more than 9 days since you posted the last verse.

Waiting for your posts.

Ram Viswanath.

mooligai sidhan said...

srigurubhyO namahA |

Dear Ram,
Just a bit caught up with some things that need my attention currently. Sorry about the delay in the posts - and since you have asked me, I have made it a double posting to make up for the delay!

Anonymous said...

I dont understand what you mean by double posting. I took it that you will posting two verses, but only one has come.

Ram Viswanath

Anonymous said...

Swami, i was actually looking forward to have your take on one of the comments made by an anonymous person in this column about the importance of money. Though it was a sarcastic comment, i wanted to hear some thing from you and understand your views on money. Please enlighten us.

Is money important or not.

Do we have to go behind money ?

Is there a need to work hard and earn money or live with what we have ?

Please explain in detail, may be in a separate post too.

Arul jothi.

( you have sent me 2 mails earlier, hope you remember )

mooligai sidhan said...

srigurubhyO namahA |

@Arul jothi,
Hope you are keeping well and my apologies for the delay in this reply to your query.
"Swami, i was actually looking forward to have your take on one of the comments made by an anonymous person in this column about the importance of money. Though it was a sarcastic comment, i wanted to hear some thing from you and understand your views on money. Please enlighten us."

Actually, it would have been a fine comment to post a reply to and I dont think that the comment is sarcastic. I think the anonymous poster is well aware of the answer him/herself but is just trying perhaps to be wry in the manner of posing the quesstion here.The reason why I did not reply to it is because neither me (nor in my opinion the sage thirumUlar)are flocking to see 'god' by paying money for darshan at temples and the feet of popular guru's and the comparisons made do not belong to the world of the spiritual seeker but more to the 'ignorant masses' if one could use that expression.

"Is money important or not."

Of course it is. That is why we venerate mahAlakshmi. There is a saying 'sarvE jAnA: kAnchanam AshrayantI' or Everything/everyone is ever in pursuit of wealth/gold. It is indeed necessary for life, but only for what it is capable of providing not for money itself. The four purushArthAs or human aims include arthA or wealth/the proper accumulation of wealth. This wealth when sought for and used for the pursuit of one's ordained dharmA and in charity etc (without getting too attached to the idea of being the owner/possessor of this wealth) then there is no harm in it. But when wealth and its pursuit and horading takes over one and one who is lost in the endless distractions of what such material wealth can provide gets carried away by it. Thus the caution.

mooligai sidhan said...

srigurubhyO namahA |

@Arul jothi,
"Do we have to go behind money ?

Is there a need to work hard and earn money or live with what we have ?

Please explain in detail, may be in a separate post too."

As you say, a seperate post might be a good idea. As your questions touch on a few ideas. Indeed we have to work hard, not just to earn a living and money but also as we are creature designed to go on performing actions. It is then a wise idea to spend our energies in constructive and productive both to oneself and to others paths and work hard with sincere discipline and self control. Thus the awareness that we are only acting out a temporary role here with transient pleasures will never be lost.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Swami, what a clarity in your replies. This was what i was eagerly expecting. And as you have agreed, please make a separate post on money, its implications and other such worldly things.

Thanks again.

Aruljothi

Anonymous said...

A great reply from a great person. But we are waiting for a more elaborate reply from Guruji.

Sri.

mooligai sidhan said...

srigurubhyO namahA |

@aruljothi,
Thank you. I will surely make a note of this topic for a future post someday.

@ Sri,
Thank you. I wonder who Guruji is?!

Anonymous said...

ha ha, you have a great sense of humour. the whole set of visitors to this blog are learning a whole lot of things from your wisdom. and any body who teaches anything is a guru for sure na, even if we are not formally certified so..

Sri