A learned Pundit was once giving discourses on the Bhagavad Gita in the august presence of a Maharaja.
One day the turn of this sloka came:
"Ananyaaschinthayantho maam
Ye janaah paryupaasathe
Theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam
Yogakshemam vahamyaham." (Gita chapter 9, verse 22)
The Pundit was explaining enthusiastically the many-sided implications of this sloka, but the
Maharaja shook his head and said: "This meaning is not correct."
He continued to dispute the correctness of every one of the explanations the Pundit gave. The poor Pundit
had won meritorious distinctions at the court of many a Maharaja and was honoured by them all with pompous titles. He felt as if he was stabbed when the Maharaja in the presence of the entire band of courtier condemned his explanation of this sloka a 'wrong'.
He smarted under the insult; but plucking up courage, he again set upon his task, and marshalling all his
scholarship, he plunged into an eloquent discourse on the multiple meaning of the words, "Yoga" and
"Kshema."
The Maharaja did not approve of even this; he ordered: "Find out the meaning of this sloka and having
understood it well, come to me again tomorrow." With this, the Maharaja rose from his throne and went into the inner apartments.
The Pundit lost even the few grains of courage left in him. He was weighed down by anxiety; he tottered under the insult; he reached home and, placing the copy of the Gita aside, he dropped on his bed.
Surprised at this, the Pundit's wife asked, "Tell me why you came home from the palace today in such grief? What exactly did happen?" She rained one anxious question after another so that the Pundit was obliged to describe to her all hat had happened, the insults heaped on his head, the command with which the Maharaja sent him home, etc.
The wife listened calmly to the account of what had happened and after pondering deeply over the incident, she said, "Yes; it is true. What the Maharaja said is right. The explanation you gave for the sloka is not the correct one. How could the Maharaja approve it? The fault is yours."
At this, the Pundit rose in anger from the cot, like a cobra whose tail is trodden hard. "What do you know,
you silly woman? Am I inferior in intelligence to you? Do you, who are engaged in the kitchen all the time,
cooking and serving, claim to know more than I? Shut your mouth and quit my presence," he roared.
But the lady stood her ground. She replied, "Lord! Why do you fly into such a rage at a statement of mere
truth? Repeat the sloka once again to yourself and ponder over its meaning. You will then arrive at the
right answer yourself." Thus by her soft words the wife brought calm into the mind of her husband.
The Pundit started analysing the meaning of each individual word in the sloka. Ananyaaschinthayantho
maam, be began, deliberately and slowly, repeating aloud the various meanings.
The wife intervened and said, "What use is it to learn and expound the meanings of words? Tell me what your intention was when you approached this Maharaja. What was the purpose?"
At this, the Pundit got wild. "Should I not run this family, this home? How am I to meet the cost of food
and drink, of clothes and things, for you and all the rest? It is for the sake of these that I went to him,
of course; or else, what business have I with him?" he shouted.
The wife then replied. "If you had only understood what lord Krishna has declared in this sloka, the urge
to go to this Maharaja would not have arisen.
The Lord in the Sloka clearly explains that –
"Ananyaschintayanto maam ye janaa paryupaasate" which means :Whoever worships me without any other thought or any other material worries and if one surrenders to ME completely at all times, his mind ever fixed on ME…
"Teshaam Nityaabhiyuktaanam Yogakshemam Vahaamyaham" which means –" To those devotees of mine, I would provide everything that they need and fulfil all their requirements in life(yoga and kshema)".
Thus explaining the sloka to the Pundit the wife remarked –"You have not done these; you approach the
Maharaja, believing that he would provide everything. That is where you have gone against the meaning of the verse. That is the reason why he did not accept your explanation."
Hearing this, that reputed scholar sat awhile, ruminating on her remarks. He realised his mistake. He
did not proceed to the palace the next day. Instead, he got immersed in the worship of Krishna at home.
When the king inquired why the Pundit had not appeared, courtiers said that he was staying at home
and had not started out. The king sent a messenger, but the Pundit declined to move out.
He said, "There is no need for me to go to any one; my Krishna will provide me with everything; He will bear my Yogakshema Himself. I suffered insult because I did not realise this so long, being blinded by eagerness to know the manifold meanings of mere words. Surrendering to Him, if I am ceaselessly engaged in worshipping Him, He will Himself provide me with all I need."
When the messenger took this message to the palace, the Maharaja proceeded to the dwelling of the Pundit on foot; he fell at the feet of the Pundit, saying "I thank you sincerely for explaining to me this day, out of your own experience, the meaning of the sloka which you expounded yesterday."
Thus, the king taught the Pundit that any propagation of spiritual matters which does not come out of the
crucible of experience is mere glitter and show.
Reflection
Mere learning by rote the contents of books is not important. We should imbibe the gandha (essence) of
all Granthas (texts). That is true education. People read a number of books, but what is the use? They
merely quote what others have said. Is this what we are supposed to learn? We should listen to the
prompting / utterance of our inner voice and share it with others. But, scarcely anybody thinks on these
lines today.
We must put into practice at least one or two principles of what we have learnt and set an example
to others. People who are learned scholars, but do not practice what they preach may appear to be eminent and famous but with their own actions might end up cheap in their behaviour.
The end of education is character. We should consider character as our very life-breath. Education without character is useless like half-cooked rice. We should practise at least one or two principles and only then venture to preach to others.
There are three important principles in every human being – Manas (Mind), Buddhi (Intellect) and Atma
(Self). What is the nature of Self? It is all-pervasive. True education is that which originates
from the heart. The reference in this context is to the spiritual heart and not the physical heart. There
are many noble souls who are setting ideals to society by translating their knowledge into action. If we do
not act in a principled manner, all our education becomes useless. It is what we practise that matters,
not what we speak. Wherever we may go, our behaviour should be exemplary.
In order to realise our true nature, we must practice what we preach. Only then can we experience bliss.
Verily, bliss is the true nature of man. Why should we give up that which is natural to us and lead an
artificial life? Wherever we see, in colleges and schools, students lack practical knowledge. They give importance, only to bookish knowledge and become `books' themselves. True education is that which
originates from the heart. Heart is very important for human existence. We should rely more on our spiritual heart than on the physical heart. Conscience is another name for spiritual heart.
Therefore, demonstrate in your own lives, how love can confer peace and joy, how all faiths lead to the same goal, how all men are brothers of one another. This is the real message of living a truthful and purposeful life.
Please Chant, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.
PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted
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