A wonderful duologue with Aanu connected dots - between Ishopanishad, Narayan Murthy and
, among others. The very first verse of the Upanishad goes:
īśāvāsyam idam sarvam
yat kiñca jagatyāḿ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
SYNONYMS
īśa — by the Lord; āvāsyam — controlled; idam — this; sarvam — all; yat kiñca — whatever; jagatyām — within the universe; jagat — all that is animate or inanimate; tena — by Him; tyaktena — set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ — you should accept; mā — do not; gṛdhaḥ — endeavor to gain; kasya svit — of anyone else; dhanam — the wealth.
courtesy: vedabase
MEANING
All this is full of the Lord, who dwells in & controls 'Jagat' ("that which moves/changes" - Everything! i.e; all that is animate and inanimate in the universe). Accept that which is left to you by the Lord(also, renunciate and enjoy "jagat") , be not greedy after another's wealth!
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Accept your lot, as left out by the Lord, and mind your business - "Lust not after another's wealth"
The fact-of-the-matter idea, that to be driven home here, is that All This, EVERYTHING, belongs to the Lord - literally! All this is full of the Lord, is soaked in the Lord and verily all this IS the Lord: "Sarvam khalu idam brahma!"
Our notion, idea that we
process,
own or
have anything, or that something
belongs to us is verifiably untrue! We are
fated to loose grasp of everything. Sooner or later... including our very bodies!
We've done only so much to literally create our eyes, ears, nose, limbs, organs - hearts, lungs, brain, cells etc. So it would not be blasphemous to say we don't really own our bodies, we only
use them,
lent to us by the Lord, as they are. Same goes for our every talent, ability, weaknesses, strengths - all part of the package!
Osho so beautifully puts it in his
discourse on the Upanishad, "All things belong to God. But our human mind tries to argue that it is all ours, and we live in this delusion throughout our lives. Something is mine. The idea is of ownership and possession – it is mine!......
"As we go on throwing down each ’mine’ the base of ’I’ is simultaneously eroded away. If not a single ’mine’ is saved, then there is no foundation on which the ’I’ can stand. The ’I’ needs a resting place, a shelter, a house of ’mine’. The ’I’ requires a foundation stone of ’mine’ otherwise the whole structure of ’I’ will tumble down."
Vittap ajja was speaking the exact same language when he said, "Dittalo devu.." - "The Lord is the Giver (of all that you have), he knows what to give you and when.. "
Narayan Murty, in a popular
speech on his life-lessons said, "When, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that,
in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate."
Aanu directs me to the fact of how Narayan Murty instigates voracious creation of wealth, while at the same time maintains a humbling awareness of such sublime truths as above!
Dad says, social icons like
Ammembal Subba Rao Pai etc, were all philanthropists who had similar precepts & principles.
When we learn that we possess nothing, that we only
use everything - that
everything literally
belongs to the Lord, a sense of honor and respect springs up for all that we have near and use. We become contended with our lot and hence peaceful in our minds. We appreciate our blessings and become more happy. Our complaints subside. Our greed for another's wealth evaporates. We tend to make the best, most judicious use of all that we have (that was otherwise taken for granted). We begin to happily regard our blessings and set out to
utilize everything, for the highest good of all.
