Yaksha Prashnam Questions 64 - 67

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-59-63.html

What should be abandoned by a person to become beloved by all? After abandoning which we can lead a worry free life? How can a person become rich? How can a person lead a happy and comfortable life?

What should be abandoned by a person to become beloved by all?

Everyone adores a person who has abandoned ego. A person who has abandoned self-ego will be humble thus loved by all. No one likes to keep the company of a know-it-all or a self-trumpeter.

After abandoning which we can lead a worry free life?

By abandoning krodham we can lead a worry free life. In Sanskrit there are two words used for anger; one is “kopam” and the other is “krodham”. There is a big difference between “kopam” and “krodham”. Kopam is normal anger. We feel this when we see injustice done. Our anger is directed towards the perpetuator of the injustice. This kind of anger is rightful anger. Krodham is an emotion we feel when we desire something but feel angry when we do not get the object of our desire. We direct our anger towards innocent people who had nothing to do with us not getting the object of our desire. For example an employee desired to be promoted but his colleague was selected for promotion as the colleague was better suited. The employee started to feel angry as he had not been selected. He went home and rang the doorbell. His wife was in the kitchen using the blender and as a result she did not hear the doorbell. It took a few extra minutes for her to realize that there was someone at the door. As soon she opened the door, the employee yelled at her stating that she had brought nothing but bad luck because of which he had not been promoted. This kind of misplaced anger is called as krodham.

This should be controlled to lead a worry free life. We will only get those things in life which we are destined to get. There is no use worrying about attaining our desires and feeling angry when our heart’s desire is not met.

How can a person become rich?

We can become rich by not spending money to procure unnecessary items. By controlling greed and lust we can become wealthy. Benjamin Franklin mentioned that if a person keeps on buying unnecessary things then that person will end up selling necessary things.

How can a person lead a happy and comfortable life?

We can lead a happy comfortable life if we learn to be contented with what we have.

The answers of Yudhishtirar could also be considered from the following spiritual angle.

In order to attain the love of Lord Narayana we must abandon false pride. It is said that the Lord reveals to the people He loves the most. The Lord loves those people who have abandoned ego. During the Mahabharata war, Ashwatama used the Narayana weapon against the Pandavas. Lord Krishna announced to the Pandavas that the only way to remain unharmed by the weapon was to cast away their weapons and their pride by surrendering to the weapon. Everyone except Bhīma followed Lord Krishna’s advice. The weapon’s intensity increased as Bhīma had not surrendered. The weapon vanished only when Lord Krishna forced Bhīma to surrender. Our false pride and ego keeps us from attaining Lord Krishna.

As long as we lust after unnecessary material things and give place to greed in our heart we will never achieve the Supreme Wealth called Lord Narayana. We must realize that everything in this Universe including ourselves belong to the Lord. He is the only proprietor. We can lead a happy worry free life once we come to the above realization.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-68-71.html

*****************************************************************************************

Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.

Yaksha Prashnam Questions 59 - 63

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-55-58.html

Which is the best dharmam? Which dharmam gives good fruit at all times? Who if controlled is happy?

Which is the best dharmam?

Yudhishtirar recollected the words of Sita Piratti from Valmiki Ramayana and answered that compassion is the best dharmam.

In the Ramayana after Lord Rama defeated Ravana, Lord Hanuman approached Sita Devi and requested her permission to kill all the Rakshashis who had tortured Sita Devi. Sita Devi refused to give her permission. She explained to Lord Hanuman that the best virtue a person can have is to pardon the sins committed by others.

She then narrated the following story to Lord Hanuman. A man was chased by a tiger. He climbed a tree to escape the tiger and found a gorilla sitting on the top most tree branch. The gorilla promised to protect the man since he had come seeking refuge by entering the gorilla’s home. The gorilla protected the man while he slept. The tiger tried to convince the gorilla to push the man down but the gorilla refused. After the man awoke he asked the gorilla to sleep while he stayed watch. The tiger promised to allow the man to escape if he pushed the gorilla from the tree. The man immediately agreed and pushed the gorilla. The gorilla fell down the tree. The tiger told the gorilla that he had asked the man to push the gorilla to reveal the man’s nature. He was interested only to eat the man. The tiger asked the gorilla to go up and push the man. The gorilla agreed and climbed up the tree. As soon as it approached the trembling man it hugged him and promised to protect him from the tiger. The gorilla said that even when people make mistake it is our duty to forgive them.

Which dharmam gives good fruit at all times?

Treta dharmam gives fruit at all times. Treta dharmam could refer to the three forms of Agni worshipped by a householder while performing either aupasanam or agniohothram regularly. It could also refer to the dharmam which incarnated in the Treta Yugam thus referring to the Lord as the means as well as the end. The Lord is enjoined with Thathvam, Hitham and purushartham. He is the supreme Thathvam. He provides Hitham (benefits) to us when He accepts our saranagathi; He is the purushartham we seek.

Who if controlled is happy? What is the one thing to be controlled to lead a life free from remorse?

Our mind should be controlled. We must not try to control other people by bending them to our will. We must control our mind to stop it from dwelling on the mistakes committed by other people. When we exhibit self-control, we will not make fun of other’s fault or yell at their errors thus we are free from feeling remorseful for our bad behaviour.

Which kind of alliance can never be broken or digested? The alliance made with good people is called “Sat-Sangam”; this alliance can never be broken. Sat is the name given to a person who has realized God. Sat is not a person who just believes in God but the name Sat is conferred upon those who realize God as the only saviour, full of compassion and as the means as well as the end. The friendship developed with Sat people will extend even to Sri Vaikuntham.

The five Pandavas along with Draupadi decided to go away on Mahaprasthanam. They had to keep travelling in a northerly direction without consuming food while waiting for death. They were soon joined by a stray dog which followed them. After sometime, Draupadi fell down and died. Yudhishtirar explained that as she had always been slightly partial towards Arjuna she had fallen first. She was followed by Sahadevan. Bhīma asked Yudhishtirar why Sahadevan had fallen. Yudhishtirar replied that Sahadevan had been proud of his intelligence and hence had fallen next. Sahadevan was followed by Nakulan. Bhīma wanted to know the reason for Nakulan’s fall, Yudhishtirar replied that Nakulan had been proud of his appearance and as a result of this fault he had fallen. Soon Arjuna fell down and died. Bhīma wanted to know about Arjuna’s fault. Yudhishtirar mentioned that Arjuna had been proud of his prowess and he always thought that he was the saviour of the Pandavas. Next Bhīma himself fell down but just before he passed away he wanted Yudhishtirar to explain the reason for his fall. Yudhishtirar explained that Bhīma had coveted food too much and as a result he was falling. In the end Yudhishtirar just had the company of the dog. Soon they were met by a heavenly chariot sent from heaven. As Yudhishtirar was about to embark on the chariot the driver informed him that he cannot bring the dog inside the chariot. Yudhishtirar told the driver that if the dog was not allowed he wouldn’t step inside as well. He informed the driver that he would rather walk with the dog than abandon it to travel by chariot. The dog then revealed himself to be Dharma Devathai i.e. Yudhishtirar’s father. Dharma Devathai praised Yudhishtirar’s integrity.

In the above story Yudhishtirar is sat and as he had walked more than seven steps with the dog, he considered the dog to be his friend and refused the abandon the dog. Hence friendships cultivated with sat people like Yudhishtirar can never be broken.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-64-67.html

*****************************************************************************************

Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.

Yaksha Prashnam Questions 55 - 58

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-51-54.html

What is the best method to earn money? Which is the best property or investment? Which is the best profit? Which is the best item to be enjoyed?

What is the best method to earn money?

Skill is the best method to earn money. A skillful person will always be able to provide for themselves and their families by applying their skills. In the story of Nala Damayanthi, King Nala lost his kingdom along with everything he owned to his brother. The king wandered in the forest with his wife. Wishing for his wife to live comfortably he abandoned her knowing that she will find her way to her parent’s home where she will be comfortable. The king heard a cry for help. Upon following the voice he noticed that the serpent Karkotan was surrounded by forest fire. He stepped inside the ring of fire and saved the serpent. Karkotan then asked the king to walk ten steps along with him while counting the number of steps in Sanskrit. Accordingly the king walked counting his steps. The moment the king took the tenth step counting “dasha” the snake bit him. Alarmed at the snake’s behaviour, the king enquired why the snake had bitten him. Karkotan replied that he only did what the king had asked him to do as in Sanskrit “dasha” means “ten” as well as “bite”. The snake added that he bit the king only to help him. In the meantime the king’s appearance changed. The once handsome king became short and stout. The snake told him that now the king could pass his exile incognito and the moment the king feels it is safe to re-surface he would get back his original handsome figure. The king went to the country of King Rituparna seeking employment. As Nala looked very ugly the people were not impressed. He went to Rituparna’s court seeking employment. As Nala showed-off his skill as a charioteer, the king immediately hired him even though he had not been impressed by Nala’s first impression.

Thus a person possessing skills will always be able to find a livelihood.

Which is the best property or investment?

The best property is listening to Upanyasams (religious discourses). The Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar stated in Thirukural that “selvathul selvam sevi selvam” i.e. the best wealth is the wealth of listening.

We cannot learn everything by just reading books. Most of us have read the Valmiki Ramayana. We know that Lord Rama concealed Himself from Vali while shooting Vali with His arrow. Sugreevan approached Vali and challenged him to a wrestling match. Vali beat up Sugreevan while Lord Rama watched them fight.  Sugreevan asked the Lord why he hadn’t interfered. Lord Rama lied that He was unable to distinguish between Vali and Sugreevan as they looked identical. The following day Lord Rama asked a flower garland to be prepared and insisted that Lakshmana should garland Sugreevan before the match. That day the Lord shot and killed Vali.

Books will tell us that the Lord had asked Sugreevan to wear the garland in order to be able to identify him from Vali; in reality the Lord is the Supreme Being and can differentiate between the two without the help of a garland. Then, did Lord Rama lie? The Lord did not lie as He referred to the arrogant behaviour of both Sugreevan as well as Vali. Both the brothers displayed arrogance. They thought that “they were fighting”. They felt that victory would be because of their effort. They did not acknowledge the Lord as the inner controller. Hence Lord Rama found their attitudes to be identical and witnessed the match without interfering.

Sugreevan never treated Lord Lakshmana with respect. He felt that he need to show respect only to Lord Rama as Lord Rama was a king like himself. Lord Rama never protects anyone who did not pay their respects to Lakshmana. Hence He insisted that Lakshmana should garland Sugreevan. In order to wear the garland Sugreevan had to bow his head before Lakshmana thus pleasing Lord Rama.

Above commentary is not available from any books on Ramayana. It can only be learned by listening to the discourses of Acharyans.

Which is the best profit?

The best profit a person can earn is good health. Even if a person is very rich but is suffering from illness, the person will not be able to enjoy the pleasures money can provide.

Which is the best item to be enjoyed?

Contentment is the best pleasure a person can have. If a person is not contented no matter what he/she possesses they will never be happy.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-59-63.html

*****************************************************************************************

Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.