In the spirit of Vedantha

Last week I had the singular fortune of listening to Swami Parthasarathy on The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom from Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita. For the information of those who do not venture into that part of the world, Swami Parthasarathy is one of the world-acclaimed exponents of Vedantic Philosophy. The five-day exposition of Swami Parthasarathy at the prestigious Narada Gana Sabha Auditorium in Chennai drew packed audience and there was hardly any leg room. The speaker must have felt very happy that so many had turned out to listen to him with a view to lift themselves from the mundane thoughts and actions. Listening to him was indeed a moving experience. He made us laugh, he made us think and he moved us to tears. I could see a lady sitting next to me, wearing the most glittering diamonds I have ever seen, dabbing her eyes with her expensive handkerchief as the Swami decried excessive attachment to worldly possessions.

When the second day meeting ended and as the crowd started moving towards the exit, I saw a lady frantically searching for her handbag with tears welling in her eyes. Someone asked her if it contained any valuables to which she replied in the negative but added that she had been using it for 15 years and she would feel lost without it.

I moved to the Woodlands restaurant outside to relieve myself from the intellectual pressure of the sermon I had just received with a hot cup of ‘filter coffee’. As I sat there ecstatically sipping the life-giving brew, I was compelled to listen to an animated conversation of a small group of affluent looking ladies. Eavesdropping was not my intention at all but the sheer decibel level of their conversation made it impossible to shut our ears off their harangue.

One of them was expressing a view that it was an irony that someone like herself, who had been practising Gita all her life, should be listening to the lecture of the Swamiji while her daughter-in-law who was really in need of such lectures was not there. I do not want to go into the details that she was furnishing to her eager friends supporting this view of hers but at the end of it all I was overcome by a distinct feeling of sympathy for her hapless daughter-in-law who might figure in the newspaper someday by setting herself on fire being unable to bear the tantrums of her mother-in-law.
I looked around and saw people leaving in their chauffeur driven limousines back to their life. I know that they would come again on the following day to listen to yet another scholarly exposition on Gita. But nothing is going to change ever. Feuds over material gains will continue. Lack of recognition at work environments will continue to sink hearts and cause acrimony. Observing the audience of Swami Parthasarathy cleared a long-standing doubt of mine, namely why Lord Krishna chose Arjuna and not Duryodhana to teach his Gita

Dear Cheeniya,

I must say that this is one of the best pieces I have ever read. If I said in my last post that you prick the bubble of impertinence in the human psyche, with this you have popped it fully. A very good piece, you have taught us that it is what we practice and not what we preach that makes us gnanis.

Writing this post is the closest that I will ever get to Vedantha. I have much respect and awe for those who attend and teach Vedantha classes, but my purva janma punyam is not enough to draw me there. My spiritual Guru teaches me to avoid Vedantha. He tells me to stay closer to the mundane world of humans, learn to love them and be at ease with my fellow beings and the divine beings. With this post, I salute both him and you.

A wonderful post, Cheeniya. I am nominating this for one of the Finest Posts of IL.

regards
Vidya

dear sri,
i have had similar experience but before that let me tell u, gita opens with the same question as to why lord krishna chose arjuna instead of others, for eg.yudhishtra who is too wise and bhima who has physical strength but not the mental strength to accept the lords teachings, but arjuna he found had enough wisdom to accept his teachings but at the same time too emotional to set him right into the karma yoga without involving directly into it, is gita, where some snippets of ramakrishna paramahamsa, also says u need to be a servant in ur own house, row the boat of life but do not collect the water it will drown ur boat, like wise throw away attachments each time they collect so u can take ur forward journey in life, now coming the experience, we a group of some 15 ladies been telling slokam in a ganesha temple, one day a man who comes there mostly on shankataharachadurthi and sathyanarayana pooja, felt this is a nice audience to start his gita upadesham, but i felt none of the woman there had the time, one thing u need to have patience, no hurry burry in this issue, like how u say they talk a lot of other things before actually coming to gita, so to not emabarras i told the gentleman, i dont think the ladies here are interested in any gita but want to tell sloka and then hurry home to do their work, but still he insisted and the class of 15 dwindled away to a mere 4, even i am out of it....but it made me think how many of us will practise what we hear, are we able to follow them, or get distracted a go away from the point of practise......still pondering will let u know when i conclude on this pondering....regards sunkan

Dear Vidya
You have really overwhelmed me! I essentially write to share my experiences with like-minded people. I speak from my heart. I expect nothing in return. When people like you read what I write, it is more than any award for me. When I was a committee member in one of the elite music forums of Chennai, I have always stoutly opposed awards being given to vidwans of advanced age but fought for such awards being given to younger artists.
Coming to your spiritual guru, I remember my meetings with Paramacharya. He always told us to get back to our homes as soon as we had his darshan. He always said that nothing was more important for a grahastha than to do his duty to his family.
But honestly, I attend these lectures more to observe the hypocrites there than to imbibe the spirit of Vedantha!
Sri

Dear Sundari
I can see that you must be a Gita addict like me from your comments.
We all know why the Lord chose Arjun for His Spiritual Teachings. In fact, I am planning to write a sequel to this post by expanding on my last line.
By the way, Sundari, have I ever thanked you for introducing me to IL?
You have really enlivened the evening of my life by bringing me here!
I have already written about the Rainbow of the setting Sun, havent I?
Sri

Dear Sri,

This post of yours really is the tops. I love to read about Vedantha, but am far from grasping the inner menaings etc... Like Vidya, i too am comfortable practising the " love thy neighbour" sort of thing. But what you have written is so true... It is difficult to practice what we preach!!

I second Vidya in the nomination of this post for this months contest. Would love to read your explantions on the last line of your post. Please do give us the details.

Vandhana

Dear Vandhana
It is far easier to explore the Universe than the Inner Self. Vedantha is not given to all of us but what is more important is to be true to oneself. Loving thy neighbour is the easiest of all soul enriching exercises that we can practice. It helps us to live respected and die regretted.
I am touched by your expressions of appreciation and I shall strive to live upto your expectations.
Sri

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

I love reading all your posts. You start the write-up with your observations and just when one gets the feeling that you are telling this,you end up telling something else quite contradictory and that is exactly what I like about your posts.

I read your thread 'Mother-in-laws' day ' too. Somehow when I saw the title of that thread,I just grit my teeth. In 'Vaigai puyal' Vadivelu's style,I said-Vandhitaanyaa, Vandhitaanyaa!!! You know why I said that. Well,here we are in IL, mostly ladies,cribbing about our relationship with our inlaws,especially MIL and here comes a man asking us to celebrate MIL's day...How dare he?? Because of this thought,I refused to read that thread for a few days. Finally,I said to myself,let's see what only he has written and I was in for a big surprise!
That post turned an angry-me to a smiling-me .

This post of yours also made me think. Most of our people out there who never miss an opportunity to preach something from the vedas to lesser known souls like me,never truly follow anything that is said in the Vedas themselves.

Dear Sunitha
If there is one actor who has built his entire career on just one word, it is Vadivelu with his 'Vanthittanya, vanthittanya!'
I simply love the duo, Parthiban and Vadivelu!
Now I know why my "mother's-in-law Day" was not read by many in this forum!
You are very right about people who read scriptures and follow nothing that is said there.
Padikkarathu Ramaayanam, Idikkarathu Perumal Kovil cases all!
Sri

Dear Cheeniya,

First of all, I have to admit that I have been losing out much by not reading your posts. It is not intentional, as a matter of fact, I always keep thinking I should read your posts as I have enjoyed the ones I have read immensely. But due to time constraints, I seem to postpone reading the longish posts! I MUST and WILL change that now. And you will be instrumental for my doing so!

My sentiments about your post echo those of Vidya's.

A very reflective post and one that made me feel better about some of the views I hold regarding those who 'profess' to have the know how of Vedantha. Many a time, I am taken aback as to why these 'oh so wise ' beings behave with not even the common decency.

I myself enjoy the little Vedhantha that comes my way and am striving to learn more of it. I therefore have to frown upon those who make it into a convenient and sometimes, a snobbish hobby to add to airs and promote a certain outward personality. Sad state of affairs indeed.

L, Kamla

PS: I hasten to add that not all fall into this superficial category. I hold the genuine followers of Vedantha in highest esteem . But unfortunately, many use such Vedanthic premises for selfish purposes.