subhashithaani-Quotable quotes

[Guest guest]

34.

kaH kaalaH kaani mithraaNi ko dheSaH kou vyayaagamou

 

kasya aham kaa cha me ShakthiH ithi

chinthyam

muhurmuhaH

 

What

is time? Who are friends? Which is the place or country ? Which are expenditure

and income? Whom do I belong to? What is

my ablility? These have to be thought of again and again.

 

What

is time?

Time

is only a relative term. What is the present now becomes the past and what is the

future today becomes the present tomorrow. So one must only concentrate on the present

which is the only reality. Moreover the time and tide waits for no man and the time goes on whether we make

use of it or not. Anything lost could be regained except time. Hence time is the

most precious treasure for mankind so that every drop if it should be made use

of.

 

Sankara

says in Bajagovindham

 

dhinam

api rajanee sayam praathaH

SiSiravasanthou

punaraayaathaH

kaalaH

kreedathi gacchathi aayuH

 

The day, night,

evening and morning, the seasons like spring and winter keep returning. The

time passes as in play and the life-span gets going. As and when we observe the beauty of the dawn and dusk and enjoy the seasons of spring and

winter, we should bear in mind that it signifies the passing of each day which

brings the end of this life nearer and

nearer. Days and nights, morning and evening pass by and so do the seasons,

spring and winter, which recur every year.

 

 

In ThirukkuRaL ,

Valluvar says,

 

naaLena

onRupOl kaatti uyir eerum

vaaLadhuNarvaar

peRin

 

Those who know the fleeting nature of life,

understand that the day which appears as the measuring rod of time is really a

sword cutting off one life-span.

 

Who

are the friends?

 

Only

those who never leave you till the end like the captain of the drowning ship.

True friendship has already been elaborated in the previous subhashitham.

 

What

is the place or country?

 

Everything

is the place for the wise. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam. We do not belong to one place

or country just because we are born there. The loyalty of one's own country

must be there but it should not result in narrow mindedness. It is said that svadhese

poojyathe raajaa vidhvaan sarvathra poojyathe. A king is honoured in his

own country only but a wise man is honoured all over the world.

 

What

are expenditure and income?

 

A

good reputation is the permanent income earned by virtue and good heart full of

love. The expenditure is what we spend, never to get back by hatred, avarice

and jealousy. That is our peace of mind.

 

Whom

do I belong to?

 

Only

to God, who is our inner self, creator and protector. No one , may it be your

close relatives or even your pay master can claim you as his. The body, mind

and intellect have been given by the

Lord to make use of , in this life only. He is our true Master to whom we

belong. Similarly no one else belongs to us. All have been placed at their respective

roles by the Lord. There is a story in Srimadbhagavatham that a dead child is

brought back to the parents who were grieving and was asked whether he would

like to return to earth to please his parents. He replied that he has had several

parents in several lives and whom he could please?. Then the parents got the wisdom

that the child was not theirs but given by God and was taken away by God.

 

Sankara

says in Bajagovindam,

 

Kaa the

kaanthaa kah the puthraH

samsaarah

ayam atheeva vichithra

Kasya thvam

kaH kutha aayaathaH

thath thvam

chinthaya thadhiiha bhraathaH

Who is your

wife? Who is your son? This life is really amazing! Whom do you belong? Where

did you come from? Think about this oh brother!

Every one comes

into this world alone goes out of it alone. No one is dependent on another nor

belongs to another. Wife, children and possessions are placed in the custody of

man for the time being and taken away after a while. He does not own them

What

is my ability?

 

Human

abilty, though limited, is really great , provided one knows how to tap the potential.

But we must know the correct channel in which our abilty can function. A person

trained and having the aptitude for a doctor could not do the job of a pilot.

But he could achieve the greatest height possible in his own profession if he

puts his mind to it. Those who fail in

their attempts are the ones who have a low estimate of themselves. On the other

hand there are several examples in this world of those who have achieved the

height due to sheer courage and optimistic outlook, considering failures as the

stepping stone to success.