Guidelines for man's good conduct

There may be found a person who enjoys all the objects of the Senses. He is intelligent. The world holds him in esteem. He is popular. He is wealthy and yet he may be considered not alive. A reply to this riddle contained in one of the epics says that in spite of all these assets, a man who definitely breathes, is said to be "dead" when he does not offer anything to God, guests, servants and parents.

Scriptures have assigned specific duties to all sections of humanity. Some have been asked to acquire spiritual knowledge, serve society, cultivate humility, shed ego and show compassion to all. They should consider themselves as tools used by God to carry out His commands and never imagine that even the little they have achieved is due to their own efforts. On the other hand, they should realise that God had made them do these tasks Their prayers should he to plead with God to grant them the power to rigorously follow what He had ordered to he done Another group, according scripture" ought to safeguard the country's borders.

The Mahahharatam incorporates a lesson through a dialogue between the main character Yudhishtira and a celestial The latter warned four of the five Pandavas not to taste the water of an enchanted pool Defying this, they entered into it to quench their thirst. They fell unconscious Yudhishtira alone obeyed and answered the question, raised by the celestial and got his brothers revived Called Yaksha-Praana, these exchange, rover all guidelines for man's good conduct. These were explained by Sri. V.S.Karunakaran in his discurses.

Steady intelligence serve, man as a helpful companion Alway, more praiseworthy than earth is one's mother who has gone through enormous sacrifice to bring up her children, the wife is the friend bestowed on man by God; charity is the intimate associate of a person and so, to the extent possible, he should donate to genuine cause, without hesitation; of all possessions, knowledge is the most valuable, sound health is the best of all gains, contentment provides all the happiness a man need; forgiveness consists in enduring enmity; anger is man's invincible enemy; covetousness is an incurable disease; he who desires the good of all creature, is honest; by destroying miserlines, one can remain happy; the man to whom the agreeable and the unlikeable, weal and woe, the past and the future are the same, is considered to possess every kind of wealth.
                                                                        January 18, 1993

Time on the earth too brief to be wasted

The purpose of the human life is to see that a person, granted this precious gift, liberates himself from re-birth. Sages, through valuable contributions, have given advice on how to conduct oneself  to achieve this goal. One of their suggestions refers to the nature of "Time". It does not wait for any one. Every minute takes a man towards his end. Time flies and so any one born in this world ought to realize that one should not waste even a second.

But a common man allows himself to be lured pleasures, misses his goal and returns to the universe only to further get entangled in pleasures and face the consequences. On the other hand, men who take to religious exercises will be aware of his brief time at their disposal. What happens to a person the next day, if nit the next hour, cannot be predicted by him. He cannot also get back lost time, because the life-span gets diminished.

Involved in worldly activities and free from anxieties, man is not concerned with the factor. "Time", which consumes him. When he is struck by grief, he understands, the value of Time. Apostles have prayed to God that they reach His kingdom soon, avoiding the pulls of pleasures and stay in this world for long.

The Mahabharatham narrates how a king got himself entangled in family life as a result of which he forgot the years he had spent with a bewitching woman of his choice. She had married him on the understanding that he would not question her acts. But a stage arrived when he could not but seek her explanation why she had thrown seven of their children in a river in succession and might have done the same thing to the other child also. Then the woman, a human form of the Ganga (river), mentioned about the curse that eight celestials suffered. She took the last child with her, gave training in all arts, brought him back groomed as an extraordinary person and left him in his father's care. He was later known as Bhishma, who served as the link between the two warring factions, Pandavas and Kauravas.

This story reminds posterity of the purity of the Ganga as it flows down the plains and that even now godly souls reside on its banks (some unseen) doing penance. Adi Sankara has rendered a hymn "Gangashtakam" describing it as a pathway to obtain salvation, said Sri B. Sundarkumar in a discourse. Residing in sacred centres and taking bath in holy rivers will help cleanse our minds. Only when the mind is kept clean, can we devote our attention on God and meditate on Him. As steps have been prescribed in our spiritual literature to face challenges (like being conscious of the value of time), it is easy for us to adopt them and hold on to the feet of the Lord.
                                                                        June 29, 1994

Man must seek liberation

The nature of human beings can be easily assessed from their reactions when they commit mistakes. Some can be categorised as the worst because having committed a criminal act, they will shift the blame on others. Some will do wrong but not accept them. The third category will admit their faults only when threatened or thrashed. The fourth group will meekly submit having done the misdeed. (when confronted) But there are some extraordinary characters who will even own responsibility for the misdeeds committed by others. Two examples are of Bhishma and Bharata.

Yet another moral rule is the crime arising out of abetting a sin committed by some one known or remaining unconcerned when mischief is being done instead of preventing it or punishing the culprit. Bhishma felt that he had shirked from his moral duty when the Kauravas resorted to heinous deeds. In this connection despicable crimes committed by bad elements which need no investigation but for which capital punishment is the only remedy have been singled out in the codes of conduct. These crimes are to set houses aflame, kill by administering poison, carry arms to attack men, grab the lauds held by others and to covet women other than their wives.

Manu, the Law-giver, says men who were found to have resorted to even one among them, deserve death penalty. Imagine, some crooks having mercilessly combined all of them. Duryodhana and his associates set fire to the wax palace where their cousins were staying, caused poisonous snakes to bite Bhima, attacked them through weapons, took away their kingdom and property by deceit and disgraced Draupadi in public.