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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Philanthropic acts will bring peace

 

CHENNAI, OCT. 21. Religious literature tells us about the

existence of the heaven and the hell and that the good deeds of a

person will take him to the former while his sinful acts will

lead him to the latter. Even while alive, a person can imagine to

some extent how the two territories will look like. The

performance of noble acts will be rewarded here itself and his

worldly journey will be smooth while those who have no respect

for the code of conduct will face the consequences like

condemnation and sufferings. How to enjoy peace and happiness and

drink elixir has been explained in a Vedic passage - by

``sacrifice'', meaning that his attention may be paid to giving

charity from his possession.

 

But many cling to worldly comforts and do not share with others

what they enjoy. They feel that the fleeting pleasures will fetch

them joy not realising that by doing so, they eat only the skin

of a fruit and not the tasty pulp beneath it. A host gave a

foreign visitor a banana but the latter threw away the real

content after consuming the outer layer. The host then explained

how to enjoy it and likewise, in life, one should reject what is

prohibited and perform only those acts which will entitle him to

go to heaven. Personal sacrifice in the form of philanthropic

acts will bring him solace while making recipients happy.

 

The Bhagavad Gita, which is an Upanishad, provides all the

guidelines needed for doing pious act only. No man remains

without doing some kind of work, even for a moment. If by

ignoring the codified injunction, men of impure heart and

irrational understanding perform their duties guided by the

deluding factor (Rajas) and thereby commit sins, they will land

themselves in hell. Those who have purged out the dirts in their

hearts and escaped from the impact of lust, anger and avarice,

described as the three gates to hell, and perform only noble

deeds, will be shown the doors to heaven.

 

Sri Sakatapuram Sankaracharya said in a discourse that the Garuda

Puranam describes the nature and types of punishment for various

wicked deeds and that is why it is not recited in the house. A

tale is told of a person who, keen to know what happens in hell,

found all comforts there but the men there were lean. The reason

was that though sumptuous lunch is available, they cannot eat as

their hands cannot be bent and remained for ever stretched.

Though the same was the case in heaven the men there were stout.

Their hands too were unbendable but each one fed the other and so

all of them ate and they were not starved. While living in this

world, people should help others and see they too are happy

though this will mean some amount of personal sacrifice.

 

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