Yaksha Prashnam Questions 51 - 54

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-47-50.html

What is the soul of a man? Who is that friend bestowed on man by the gods? What do men seek to obtain to enhance their livelihood? What is the route that takes humans to a good place?

What is the soul of a man?

A man’s son is his soul.  The word atma means that which attains everything it wishes for in Sanskrit. A man’s child is his soul as the father expects his children to achieve the things which he never achieved. The gestation period of human beings is considered to be 12 months by the Vedas. This is because the child resides in the heart of its father for 2 months before residing in its mother’s womb for ten months. A wife is called as “jaaya” in Sanskrit which means that the husband takes birth through her as their son. Immediately after a child is born the wife should be treated with respect as a mother by the husband.

This answer also reveals that Lord Vishnu’s soul is His Bagawathas.

Who is that friend bestowed on man by the gods?

Wife is the friend bestowed upon a man by the Gods. The word “saka” is used to refer to a friend who shares in our happiness as well as sorrow equally. Hence a wife is called as a “saka” as she stays by her husband during good as well as bad times. “Saka” is masculine gender; the feminine gender “saki” is not used to refer to a wife. The word “saka” is used to represent a wife to show that she is equal in every way to her husband as only equals could be best friends.

By chanting the Vedic wedding manthram during Saptha Pathi the husband requests his wife to be his best friend.

“saka saptha patha bava

Sakayam saptha patha babuva”

The husband says that by taking the seven steps around the sacred fire they have become friends. He promises never to abandon their friendship and requests his wife to abide by their friendship as well. This is why it is a grave sin to cheat one’s wife or to insult her as the sin obtained by back stabbing one’s friend is unforgivable.

What do men seek to obtain to enhance their livelihood?

Men seek rain as the rain waters bring prosperity. Even if a man earns a high salary; but due to a famine if the commodities prices sky rocket, he would be unable to save any money. Thus rain is required for prosperity.

What is the route that takes humans to a good place?

Dhanam takes humans to a good place. By donating we get rid of the numerous sins which we have accumulated. We should give donation with interest (shradha) and without any attachments to the object donated (ashradha). A man went to attend a religious discourse. He noticed that at the end of the lecture people donated funds to the collection plate. He wanted to donate money to the collection plate as well as a token of appreciation to the lecturer but he did not have any cash with him. The following

Day he took a dollar with him. At the lecture he kept feeling the dollar and he felt that a dollar was too much to donate. He felt that fifty cents would be sufficient. As he did not have any change he thought that he could drop a dollar in the collection plate and take back fifty cents from the plate. As the man with the collection plate approached him, he felt that it will look very bad if he took back fifty cents in change. He decided not to donate any money at all. As the man had been attached to the dollar, his attachment had prevented him from making the donation.

Human beings are by nature misers. They do not like to make donation.

Once, Devendra, an Asura and a man went to Lord Brahma to learn. As the lecture was very lengthy they asked Lord Brahma to summarize the contents in just one word. Lord Braham said the word “dha” to each of them.

Devendra understood “dha” to mean “dhamayatha” which meant “don’t be arrogant”. The Devas tend to feel superior and hence exhibit arrogance. As a result of this they indulge in sensual pleasures unable to control their senses. Devendra thus took the word “dha” to mean exhibit proper self-control and abandon arrogance.

The Asura took “dha” to mean “dayathvam”. The Asuras are cruel by nature and they do not show compassion. Thus the asura took “dha” to mean avoid cruelty to other beings.

The man took “dha” to mean “dhatta” or “give”. Men never donate to the needy thus he took “dha” to mean donate to the needy.

By donating we can rid ourselves of the numerous sins which we have accumulated.

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