Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
The text under study is BHAJA GOVINDAM, song of despair of time-wasting, by Sri Adi Shankaraachaarya.
Chaturdasha
Manjarikaa Stotra is the name given to the remaining fourteen verses of the
Bhaja Govindam. It is considered that only the first twelve were actually
penned by Shankaraacharya-ji himself… though even that is debated in the
highest levels of Sanskrit academia. The chaturdasha are attributed, one each,
to the disciples who travelled with the Guru around India and who were likely
to be with him when he spotted the grammar semantics discussion which had
raised his ire sufficiently to create this 'song'. One could, loosely, consider
this in the same vein that the disciples of Christ picked up his teachings and
put their own emphases to them… The names of the composers are not given and,
in the end, are irrelevant. What is important is the teaching message contained
within.
Jaiqlae
mu{fI luiÂtkez>
ka;ayaMbrbhuk&tve;>,
pZyÚip
c n pZyit mUFae
ýudrinimÅa<
bhuk&tve;>.14.
Jatilo
mundii lunchitakeshaH
Kaashaayaambra-bahu-kRtaveshaH,
Pashyannapi
cha na pashyati muudho
Hyudaranimittam
bahu-kRtaveshaH ||14||
One ascetic with matted locks, one with shaven head,
One with hairs pulled out one by one, another parading
in his ochre robes;
These are fools who, though seeing, do not See;
Indeed, these different appearances are only for their
belly's sake.
We
see them in society all the time do we not? Those who seek to gain as much from
others as they can without offering much in return; what is more, they do so by
adopting poses and dress which will draw upon sympathy and compassion. We are
not talking about those who have genuine need of assistance, but those who are
not honest about their intentions. In the immediate case, those who would feign
spiritual purpose with a level of show, in anticipation that the devoted will
provide food and shelter to gain karma points of their own (the giving being,
itself, driven by self-interest… see how it perpetuates?!)
Minimum
labour and maximum comfort is the dangerous philosophy of selfishness. It
abounds in all societies and is a part of the process of humanity; but when the
selfish are found in the upper levels, in government, among medicos, in the
teaching profession, they become a danger to the very society they are supposed
to serve.
The
author of this verse brings out a warning about the cheats and self-deceivers
and how they can hide behind the mantels of respectability. Such as these are
not conscious of the 'big picture', the wider goal. It is very possible that
they started out with all good intention, but the vicissitudes of life have not
been dealt with well and have been met with small and mean responses, bringing
them down into the realms of selfish living and lost purpose. Guided by
self-preservation, the lust for power and wealth, there are false folk in every
walk of life; untruthful folk - to themselves most of all. Of all the
deceivers, though, there is none so harmful as that which hides behind the
clothing of the priesthood… this has become only too clear in recent times,
within the Roman Catholic church. It is not alone in its great deception and it
also must be remembered that is not the religion itself but the individuals
within it which are the danger. Individuals who could not rise to the Higher
Teachings and Values, who have damaged the very institution which provided for
them. To the unguarded mind, the whispers of the lower passions become more
urgent than the call of the Higher Aspirations - desire for enjoyment makes Man
slip from his own high values and disciplines.
