Yaksha Prashnam Questions 35-38

Continued From:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-question-9.html

The Yakshan asked Yudhishtirar to name a traveler’s best friend, the best friend of a house holder, best friend of a person suffering from disease and the best friend of a person who is dying.

Name a traveler’s best friend.

Knowledge and education is the best friend of a traveler. A person is respected because of the knowledge he/she possesses. True knowledge called Brahma Vidhya will guide us in our travels to reach Sri Vaikuntham.

Who is the best friend of a house holder?

A wife is the best friend of a householder.  A husband is expected to respect his wife. 
In English we have only one word for “friend”. Sanskrit has many synonyms according to the function fulfilled by a friend. In this question the Yakshan used the word “mitram” for friend. A mitram is a friend who helps during times of danger and difficulty. Yudhishtirar answered that one’s wife is the mitram as she is the one who provides protection and aid during times of need.
A Brahmin who performs agnihotram regularly has to perform a yagam called Ishti on full moon as well as on new moon days. Agnihotram should always be performed only when accompanied by one’s wife. It is very crucial to complete the Ishti yagam on the specified date. If a Brahmin’s wife is unable to participate due to health reasons, the Brahmin must seek her permission to complete the Ishti yagam without her presence. If he completes the Ishti yagam without obtaining permission from his wife, then he must seek her pardon and try to please her. She may impose any fine upon him including the most expensive jewellery for not obtaining her permission. The husband is bound by the Vedic rule to pay the fine imposed her. If he is not able to fulfill this, he has to re-do the Ishti yagam when she is able to participate.

The Vedic wedding manthram declares a husband and wife to be best friends; hence, a householder’s best friend is his wife.

This answer can also be taken as a disciple is the best friend of an. A disciple is an Acharyan’s well-wisher as well as customer.

Who is the best friend of a person suffering from disease?

The best friend of a patient is his/her doctor.

 Who is the best friend of a person who is dying?

Best friend of a person who is dying is charity. A person must donate thinking that they may die at any moment but while learning they must think that they will live forever and hence continue to learn even when they are very old. Donation must be given only to the deserving people.

Once, a saint went to a pilgrim house in Varanasi to have his meal. He requested the pilgrim house’s manager to show him the kitchen as the saint did not want to eat if the kitchen was untidy. The manager took him to the kitchen which was in pristine condition. The counters and floors were well scrubbed and food was cooked hygienically. Upon looking at the kitchen the saint screamed stating that there was a corpse hanging above the stove. The manager thought the saint was a lunatic and turned him away. The following year the saint again came to the same pilgrim house and requested to see the kitchen. The manager took him inside just to humour him. This time the saint refused to eat at the pilgrim house because there was a skeleton hanging above the stove. The next year the saint returned and as per his routine was shown the kitchen. This year the saint exclaimed that the kitchen was very clean. The saint then asked to speak with the owner of the pilgrim house. He asked the owner how he had obtained the pilgrim house. The owner admitted that he had murdered the previous owner to steal the pilgrim house but as his conscience was bothering him, he had given away free food to all the pilgrims who traveled to Varanasi. The saint told the owner that the pilgrims had slowly eaten away the owner’s sins and it had taken three long years of feeding thousands of pilgrims each day to destroy the sins. Thus by donating we are freed of our sins. Earning wealth incurs sins; we can destroy these sins by donating money.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-39-42.html

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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.