GURU

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Guruprasamsa( In praise of Guru ):

One such popular saying from Subhashitha Rathnakarais in praise of the GURU - or Guru Prasamsa.The word Guru in Sanskrit isnot a mere teacher of an objective subject.He gives the real subjective knowledge about oneself. Out of the letters in the word "Guru ",the letter ' Gu ' stands for darkness or ignorance;and the letter ' Ru ' stands forthe one who removes it or dispells it.The Guru is the one who removesthe ignorance of a seeker about his own true natureand gives him Jnanam or '"Knowledge"with which he realises his identitywith the Soul or the Athman.We are all ignorant of our real nature; we do not know from where we came to this world,where we are finally going after this life,what is the purpose of our lifeand whether we are fulfilling it here.Our knowledge about ourselves is covered by a thick layer of Ajnanam -

ignorancewhich impairs our true vision of ourselves.Like a surgeon who performs a cataract operationon the eye to remove the cataract andrestore the vision to the eyes, so also, the Guru applies the collyrium( a medicinal ointment applied to eyes called Kajal)and removes the cataract of ignoranceand restores our vision about ourselvesand our purpose of life.Thus the Guru is more than a God,the one who shows the God and without him,we do not fulfil the purpose of life.Natuarally, a seeker is all praiseof the Guru who gives a meaning to life. By praising the Guru,the student is not obliging ordoing any service to the Guru,but is only trying to imbibe theKnowledge given by the Guru.Without the medium of the teacher,the student would always remain ignorant and blind. The Guru thus gives a new dimensionand opens up a new bright horizon for

the student.The particular verse says: Quote:Ajnanatimirandhasya Jnanjanasalakaya,Chakshurunmeelitam yena tasmai sri Gurave namaha. "Salutations to that gracious preceptor,by whom the eyes of one blinded by ignoranceis opened by applying the collyrium-brush of wisdom. "This sloka has a very beautiful simile embedded in it. It throws up a graphic pictureof a person blinded by cataract,is treated by a Doctor with a medicinal ointment, Anjana.Similarly, the ignorance ofa true seeker Ajnanam is removed by the Guruby giving him Jnanam, Knowledge.In this way the vision of the studentis restored by the Guru. Significance: The verse brings outthe glory of Guru in our culture and showshow much we owe to the institutionof Guru-sishya-parampara in our pursit of Truth.The Knowledge imparted by the Guruto his Sishyas flows from generation to

generationlike the periennial Ganga for all times to come.

 

 

TRIPTHIH ( Contentment ):Sarpaah pibanthi pavanam na cha durbalaastheSushkaisthrinaih vanagajaah balino bhavanthi,Kandhaih phalaih munivaraah kshapayanthi kaalam Santhosha eva purushasya param nidhanam. "Serpents drink air and they are not weak;wild elephants sustain themselves on dried grassand still they are very strong;Great sages pass their time with fruits and roots. Therefore, contentment alone is the supreme wealth of man." This verse is taken from Subhashita Rathnakara-"the Ocean of Good Sayings ".Many of us have a wrong notionthat we cannot achieve success in life because of the various limitationsand privations we have toencounter for our very existence.Life is too precious to be wastedin an eternal search for fulfillmentof the un-ending desires.What makes life happy and worth living is a sense of contentment at all times. It is this contentment

that makes a person strong.Great people are those who do nothanker after material comforts thatstifle the growth of man.A great Vidya Sagar was happy with his surroundings and studied under a lamp-post and came up in life to new heightswhich no student of the present daywith all his pamperings can ever dream of reaching.The great secret of success is,therefore, not wealth, comforts and luxury,but a sense of contentment with what one has. This contentment alone makesa person concentrate on his work,instead of frittering away his energiesin brooding over his limitations in comparison to others. In support of this universal truth of contentment, the verse gives three examples.The first is that serpents arepoisonous and they are strong.Even an army will be scattered bythe mere mention of a serpent at hand. What makes the serpent so powerful? Certainly it does not take strong dosesof

strength-building medicines,nor take food that nourishes the bodyas we would like to, but they arefed on air ( pavana ).Still they are strong, hale and healthy. Another example given here is of the wild elephantswho are very strong and sturdy.What do they eat to developsuch extra-ordinary strength?They eat only dried grass and leaves and are purely vegetarians. But that does not hamper its strength or power.May be animals and rodents are created that way,but men cannot be compared to them!To this natuaral possible query,the poet gives an example of sages and saints. The sages, Rishis and Munisof yore ate only fruits and rootsthat came their way and passedtheir time with them only.Still, they were not weak butextra-ordinarily strong both physically and mentally. They could visualise a galaxy ofsciences like astronomy, astrology, medicine,mathematics, physical sciences

and above allthe science of the Self and spiritualism.What made them great was not their food in-take, nor a comfortable living condition nor wealth,but a sense of contentment with what they hadand their ability to transcend all such petty considerations.Significance:It is a sense of Contentment with what we have that helps us go beyond the fringes of ourcreature comforts and enables us to rise to greater heights.Therefore, contentment is truly the supreme wealth of man.

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