001 : SUBHAASHITAM

யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெறுக இவ்வையகம்
LET ME SHARE THE BLISS I ATTAINED WITH THE WHOLE WORLD

THOUGHT FOR REFLECTION SERIES 001

SUBHASHITAM

(By Swami Sadasiva Giri)

There is a Shloka in the vast and rich collection of SUBHAASHITAM (Utterances of the Wise) available in Sanskrit Literature from times immemorial just as we have such material in Tamil and so many other Indian languages.  Tirukkural composed by Tiru-Valluvar and the utterances of the grand old Lady Avvai constitute some of the vast collection of Subhaashitam available in Tamil. 

यमः    शरीर - गोप्तारं    भूभर्तारं    वसुन्धरा  |

असतीव   हसत्यन्तः   स्वपतिं   पुत्र - वत्सलम् ||

Yama, the god of death sarcastically laughs, within himself, by looking at the ignorance of a person who takes too much of care and interest, only in maintaining his physical body in top healthy condition without reflecting ever on his Atman i.e. Swarupa, as his body is going to become his (Yama's) belonging at any point of time without any indication or prior notice whatsoever.  Similarly, the goddess, Vasundhara, who keeps all the riches and treasures within her bosom, (பூமிதேவி) with a contemptuous look at the king of the land, laughs within herself, reflecting on the king's total ignorance that she has been enjoyed by so many kings without a break before she became his life partner or better half and also without knowing how long his present relationship with her would be lasting.  This is the gist of the first part of the Shloka.

The second part of this Shloka compares these acts of the body-conscious person and the proud king with the amusement of an unchaste and insincere woman, looking at her husband's act of fondling and caressing the infant child born to her without ever entertaining a thought in his mind to the child's real parentage. 

                                 யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெறுக இவ்வையகம்.                    

LET ME SHARE THE BLISS I ATTAINED WITH THE WHOLE WORLD.