Of God and gold

[Guest guest]

Today morning, a gold chain, which I have worn daily

since 1996, snapped.

 

I took it to my jeweller, who said that because of

over a decade of wear and tear, it would be better to

exchange it for a new one.

 

I selected a new chain, and paid the difference.

 

" By the way, " said the jeweller as I completed the

transaction, " I think that the new chain will last a

lot longer if you didn't have any pendants hanging

from it. "

 

This irked me--I wore the chain specifically for

hanging these three pendants:

 

1. A round gold " R " symbol from an IT column called

" Anti Column " that I wrote in 1996

 

2. A small gold Srinivasa image

 

3. A silver Narasimha Yantra

 

Since two of the items above pertain to God, I was not

at all keen on removing them from my chain. The chain

was for the images of God, and to me, it had no

independent meaning.

 

" Do you know the difference between God and gold? " I

asked him.

 

My jeweller, a very religious man himself, asked me to

explain.

 

" If you love God, He will love you back. "

 

Later, after coming to the office, I decided to search

the Net for more information. I discovered some

interesting details.

 

For instance, in the Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda,

Chapter 16, it is mentioned that, when Dasharatha

performed a sacrifice for begetting progeny, a divine

form emerged from the fire, carrying a vessel filled

with a divine dessert, which, when consumed by

Dasharatha's wives, would enable him to secure

children. Here, the vessel was made of gold,

signifying rajas, and the lid was made of silver,

signifying sattva.

 

According to the Bhrigu Sutras, silver is associated

with Chandra and Sukra, while gold is associated with

Surya, Kuja and Guru.

<http://www.jyotishvidya.com/part1_1.htm>

 

This is funny--how can a sattvic graha like Guru be

associated with rajasic gold? And how can fickle

Chandra and passionate Sukra be associated with

sattvic silver?

 

Is it because Guru denotes the power of the priests,

and the association holds true because of the

relationship of gold with power?

 

Is it because Chandra rules the mother, and silver has

a certain association with being " cool? "

 

Is it because the passion of Sukra and the fickleness

of Chandra lead one to temptation, which blemishes

one's reputation the way silver gets tarnished?

 

Is it because Guru, being a natural benefic, is

associated with gold, the highest good? And Sukra and

Chandra, being lesser benefics, have been assigned a

less-valuable metal?

 

Be it as it may, the corrupting influence of these

precious metals is well known!

 

Maybe, it is best for us to remember Krishna's words

from the Bagavat Gita, Chapter 6-- " The Yogi who is

satisfied with the knowledge and the wisdom (of the

Self), who has conquered the senses, and to whom a

clod of earth, a piece of stone and gold are the same,

is said to be harmonized (that is, is said to have

attained the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi). "

<http://jyotishvidya.com/gita6.htm>

 

Many of us may not be able to attain such

Vairagya--but, even if this is not possible, let us

remember to revere God above gold, and treat gold as

one of His creations, and therefore, as something that

is insignificant when compared to Him.

 

~~~~~~~~~

Balaji Narasimhan

Author & Editor

http://www.balaji.ind.in/

~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

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