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SPIRITUAL INTERACTION SERIES NO.1 / 2016 - DATED : OCTOBER 6, 2016
After bowing down to Ganapathi, who is the giver of intelligence and eulogising Goddess Durga - who creates, sustains and destroys the Universe - should one aspire to find a way to the divine regions of felicity.Srushti sthithi vinaashaanam shakthi bhoothay sanaathani, gunashrayay gunamaayay naarayani namoshthuthay
THE DYNAMICS OF ACTION
We are in the midst of the great autumnal festival of Goddess Durga or Adhiparashakti, a most auspicious time to work, worship and deliberate on the good things of life., Today is the 5th day of Navratra. On the 10th day - Vijaya / Bijoy Dashami - even the books and work tools are worshipped. The message is clear. - One should learn and one should act. One has to become wise by learning (Medhavi) and as a result of the learning one has to act effectively (Varchasvi). Ganapathi gives sadh buddhi and Durga gives sadh Shakhi. The greatness of action is given in all known religions of the world
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"Action is superior to inaction. Yoga is skill in action, so take to Yoga "- said the Lord in the Bhagavad Gita.If you have the ability to do something useful or good and fail to use your strength for a good cause, it is by itself a shirk / sin which Allah does not see with favour. - IslamOnly those who bear the cross (who can take on the world for the sake of righteousness) are worthy of me - Bible
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All religions agree that once born, one has an obligtion towards one's family, one's society, study, work place, colleagues, friends, and also those with whom we share an asociation in the world including the flora and fauna. and finally towards God. One should not avoid action, as action is the maker of our destiny. What is important is, it should be true and righteous action. One may not be always successful in attaining the end result of the action in a wordly sense, or fail to be rewarded, but in such a case, work would be its own reward. Only those who are more interested in the work itself rather than in being too desperate to get a reward (na faleshu kadaa chana) are true devotees who fulfil one of the debts of life and become entitled to receive the sanguine grace of God. The effect of such attitude is chitha suddhi - purity of mind which will put one ahead in the larger scheme of the divine plan. God's grace is more important than the fleeting wealth, position, luxury. name, fame and wordly honours The Bble says : what will it avail if a man gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process ? Success cannot be always attained, but good work can be always done within one's ability. Good work never goes in vain and the guarantor for giving the results of such work is God himself. A purposeful life is a successful life whereas a successful life is not always by itself , a purposeful life. For the righteous who miss out on success and happiness in the world, an unimaginable opulence is guaranteed in the next.
It is indeed true that our own actions determine our destiny and all the plusses and minuses in life is the result of our own past Karma. Actions do not usually bear fruit immediately, they bring results in due course. The result of our actions cannot be stopped, though God has the power to forgive those who truly repent for their past sins. Karma Yoga - the path of performing good action is the best path in any Yuga to reach the Kingdom of God and is the central teaching in the Bhagavad Gita. Yudhisthira seeing the all out destruction after the Mahabharatha war, refused to accept the Kingship of the Earth, saying that he found all delights of the world futile and decided to retire to the forest. Bhishma Pitamaha in his timeless expositions, the Santi Paarva and the Anushasana Parva that are only next to the Bhagawad Gita, directed and convinced Yudhisthira to take over the reins of the Kingdom as a sacred obligation in the interest of swadharma and to maintainin the rule of law in the world. Rituals and observances are meant to facilitate creation of opportunities to enable tread the right path. But the real merit lies in work. True devotees of God should perform all wordly actions, whether mandatory or voluntary as an act of worship to God.
Also, one should have the courage to bear all adversities in this world with fortitude. Adversities are the purifiers that burn away our sins. Hinduism, Islam and Christianity among the world's major religions are unequivocal in saying that one should stay focussed on obtaining our true home in the Kingdom of God rather than compromise on God's grace by accumulating assets, hoarding and using it only to satisfy one's own venal desires. No doubt the dynamics of the material world, is based on economics and life in this planet moves on instincts, ambitions and desires, but what is important is that one should not place the cart before the horse. One should use the life God has gifted us to sail over the waters, not jump out of the boat and get drowned in wordly pursuits. One should never forget the original purpose of life or miss the humanatarian angle. The best of God's devotees, over the ages, have undergone unprecedented sufferings and persecution, but never wavered in their mission. We are very lucky that in this modern age, we have adequate freedom and resources to spend our time in thinking and performing actions that can make our life purposeful in this world and opulent in the next. And we have the added benefit of discretion to pick and choose the best not only from our own religion, but also savour the divine delights from other religions. - Sundararaman Iyer, Mumbai
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