Saturday, November 19, 2011

Hard work - the best friend. आलस्यं हि मनुष्याणां

Hard work- The best friend.

This one is so obvious, what can one elaborate on this.

People believe in destiny, but destiny is separate from free will. What ever you know, can control, can foresee, can plan for is not destiny. Destiny, as explained by Lord Rama (rAma, राम) when going to forest exile (vana-vAsa, वनवास) is the unknown factor which you could not foresee coming, which gives no indication of coming, and which you could not have controlled (even if you knew) once it came.

So all those who think - "If I am destined to have this or that, I will get it." should wake up from the slumber and do some work to make their sleepy dreams a wake up reality.

Those who think short cuts will work, should remember that the only short cut is through it. You can't avoid work, if you want to progress and prosper.

आलस्यं हि मनुष्याणां शरीरस्थो महान्रिपु ।
नास्त्युद्यमसमो बन्धुः कृत्वा यं नावसीदति ॥

= ālasyam hi manuṣhyāṇām sharīrastho mahānripu |
nāstyudyamasamo bandhuḥ kṛitvā yam nāvasīdati || (IAST)

= Alasyam hi manuShyANAm sharIrastho mahAnripu |
nAstyudyamasamo bandhuH kRitvA yam nAvasIdati || (ITRANS)

Laziness is verily the great enemy residing in our body.
There is no friend like hard work, doing which one doesn’t decline.






And now the language aspects -

ālasyam /Alasyam =laziness

hi /hi =surely

manuṣhyāṇām / manuShyANAm =of humans
manuṣhya / manuShya = human

sharīrastho / sharIrastho= situated, located in the body
sharIra = body, that which wears out
-stha = situated, located

mahānripu / mahAn_ripu =great enemy
mahAn = great (from mahat)
ripu = enemy

nāstyudyamasamo / nAstyudyamasamo =
na asti udyam samaH = not, is, hard work, like

bandhuḥ / bandhuH = friend

kṛitvā / kRitvA = having done

yam = which

nāvasīdati / nAvasIdati = not (na) sinks (avasIdati)
avasId = to drown, sink, go to ruins.




(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
Practical Sanskrit. All rights reserved. Check us on Facebook.

4 comments:

  1. great one! - Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very well said, my father used to teach me this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful job. I specially liked it - since 1. each word meaning is explained 2. English translation is provided. This aided teaching my kid, since I prefer to take the grammatical route teaching her - explaining through identification of the Bibhakti for each dhatrupa

    ReplyDelete

Please do add your name and place, after the comment.