Ahibhuk and the Boatman - अहिभुक्कैवर्त न्यायः

Ahibhuk and the Boatman

ahibhuk kaivarta nyāyaḥ
अहिभुक्कैवर्त न्यायः

Ahibhuk was a regular user of afeem (opium), his very name suggests ‘opium-eater’. Even the word afeem comes from Sanskrit word ahi-phéna.* One day he boarded a ferry boat that was pretty crowded. Delusional, he wondered what if he got lost in this crowd and could not identify himself? So he tied a rope around his ankle and dozed off confidently. Unknown to him, the boatman heard his somewhat loud concerns. Playing a joke on him, the boatman removed the rope and put it on his own ankle. Upon waking, Ahibhuk screamed, “Oh no, I have indeed lost myself and changed into a boatman!”

A century ago, a western translator mocked it thus, “And this nonsense is meant to teach the identity of the individual with the One Self!” Let us see how this ‘nonsense’ has far-reaching depth for life and leadership.

We are Ahibhuk, delusional that this body is the real us. The river he is crossing is the bhavasāgara, this world, the ocean of happening, of births. The crowd on the boat is humanity – the people in the world. We all share the journey going across the ocean of births and deaths. But, we want to identify ourselves separate from others and even the Divine Principle – the boatman. At the end when we wake up, we are indeed one with the Divine Principle. That rope is our false identity, name, title, power, ego with which we bind ourselves. By the Divine Grace, those who are freed from the rope of ego, from whose eyes the veil of illusion (māyā-jāla) is removed, they see their true identity with the Divine Boatman.

As a leader, have a perspective, vision, and deeper understanding. Know that you are not made by labels. You make labels. Go beyond labels. Lead without authority. You started that way in the first place.

Go beyond label and title.

This post is an extract from the book Attitude Shift - Sanskrit Maxims for Contemporary Life and Leadership . You can download a FREE PDF file of the book. clicking the above link. JOIN THE FACEBOOK PAGE as well.

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Attitude Shift - Sanskrit Maxims for Contemporary Life and Leadership

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and now the language aspects -

अहिभुक्कैवर्त न्यायः = अहिभुक्-कैवर्त न्यायः = ahibhuk-kaivarta nyāyaḥ.


ahi =snake, poison, poisonous snake
ahi-phéna = afeem, opium
bhuk = one who has eaten
ahibhuk = opium-eater
kaivarta = boatman

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(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Slithering lizard is not a snake - न हि गोधा सर्पन्ती

Slithering Lizard is not a snake!

na hi godhā sarpantī

न हि गोधा सर्पन्ती

“A slithering lizard does not become a snake on account of slithering.”

The Sanskrit word for a snake is सर्प sarpa, from the verb root सृ sṛi, to slither. From sarpa we get the English word serpent. One of the defining qualities of a snake is its slithering, because of lack of any legs. In Sanskrit, all reptiles are called ‘slitherers’, सरीसृप sarī-sṛipa.

But, just because it slithers a lizard or an iguana does not become fearsome like a snake. No one is scared of a lizard. Slithering is just one quality! A snake is not defined or dreaded by its slithering, but by its deadly poison and hiss. Without the power of the snake, just imitating its gait does not earn ‘respect’.
One does not become great just by external appearance or position. One needs the qualities of power to be powerful. True leadership is not by position but by inherent qualities.

Merely putting on a black power-suit would not give you the power. Bill Gates looks as powerful in his jeans and T-shirt as in any corporate suit, even after he leaves Microsoft. A variegated scalp does not make you Aamīr Khān of Hindi blockbuster Ghajani. A quirky hairstyle does not make you Einstein or APJ Abdul Kalām, the former President of India and an eminent scientist. Wearing Niké does not make you Michael Jordan.

Learn to develop the real qualities of the great, not just their external quirkiness. The wrapping only matters when the gift inside is already great in its own right.

Develop real qualities; content over style.

This post is an excerpt from the book Attitude Shift - Sanskrit Maxims for Contemporary Life and Leadership . You can download a FREE PDF file of the book by clicking the above link. Join the Facebook Page as well.

To view full screen, click on the fourth icon from left on the bottom.

Attitude Shift - Sanskrit Maxims for Contemporary Life and Leadership

To view full screen, click on the fourth icon from left on the bottom.


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and now the language aspects -

न हि गोधा सर्पन्ती सर्पणादहिर्भवति = na hi godhā sarpantī sarpaṇāt-ahiḥ-bhavati

godhā = kind of lizard, iguana.

sarpantī = while slithering.
this is a long I vowel at the end. It is not plural form of sarpati, but singular form in continuous tense, like 'while slithering'

ahiḥ = snake, a dangerous large snake.

bhavati = becomes.

sṛi =to slither; सृ
not to be confused with shrī श्री (śrī) which is erroneously written as sri without the diacritic marks.

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

Divine in Self - पुष्पे गन्धं तिले तैलं

पुष्पे गन्धं तिले तैलं काष्ठेऽग्निः पयसि घृतम् |

इक्षौ गुडं तथा देहे पश्यात्मानं विवेकतः ||

puShpe gandham tile tailam kAShThe'gnim payasi ghRitam |

ikShau guDam tathA dehe pashyAtmAnam vivekataH ||

[As] fragrance in flower, oil in sesame seeds, fire in wood (araNi wood), ghee (fat) in milk, sugar in sugarcane, so see the Supreme Divine in the body by the power of discrimination.

In this self-obvious shloka from chANakya, we see a way of guestimating the Divine. The one that is by definition beyond perception, is hinted here.

We can't see the fragrance of the flower, but can smell it. Similarly, we can't see the divine, but can see its effects.

The oil of the seeds is not obvious till you press them very hard.

The fire in wood is a very popular way of indicating the divine in us. This refers specially to the fire-sticks, called araNi wood, which when rubbed vigorously produce fire. This is how it is still done in 'real' camp trips!

The ghee or fat in milk is also not obvious till you boil it and churn it.

The sugar crystals we eat or the brown sugar (jaggery or guDa in India) is not so obviously in the sugar cane until we squeeze it out and process it.

Similarly, the Divine exists in us, enabling us to do all the things we do so effortlessly like breathing, thinking, or expressing ourselves through art or making new discoveries through science.

This is no angry old man, but a subtle principle, concept that can only be hinted at

A slightly different version goes -

पुष्पे गन्धं तिले तैलं काष्ठे वह्निः पयोघृतम् |

puShpe gandham tile tailam kAShThe vahniH payo-ghRitam |

 

This seems to be a later copy of the original.

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and now the language aspects of the shloka -

पुष्पे pushpe = in the flower (puShpam)
गन्धं gandham = fragrance

तिले tilE = in the sesame (tila) seeds
तैलं tailam = oil

काष्ठे kAShThe = in the wood (kAShTha)
अग्निः agniH = fire

पयसि payasi = in milk (payas)
घृतम् payo-ghRitam = ghee (ghRitam) of milk (payaH)

इक्षौ ikShau = in sugar cane
गुडं guDam = jaggery, brown sugar, sugar (guDa is the first stage of preparation)

तथा tathA = similarly, so is

देहे dehe = in the body (deha)
पश्यात्मानं pashyAtmAnam = see (pashya) the Self/Divine (AtmAnam)

विवेकतः vivekataH = by discrimination (viveka)
This discrimination is the discriminating faculty to realize the good from bad, truth from untruth etc.


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(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Statue of the maiden getting ready, Belur temple, Belur, Karnataka, India (11th century)

The 40 some intricately carved statues of maidens in various poses of normal daily life capture not only the excellence in carving, but also the life style of the socialite of the era. These statues also capture the essence of kAma-shAstra-s regarding the moods and types of the heroine.

kAma-deva (the god of desire) is no chubby cherub with a small play bow. But a handsome young man with deadly bow with :

• a string of bumble bees (that hummm around flowers)
• five arrows : unmAdana (intoxication), tApan (fever), shoShaNa (weakness), stambhana (stupefication) and sammohana (spellbound, hypnotized)
• that churn the heart (hence he is called 'manmatha' - the heart churner),
• his friend vasanta (spring),
• wife rati (intercourse).

Only shiva was able to resist such a deadly marksman and burnt him to ashes. Hence, kAmadeva got the name ananga (without body, i.e. desire can't be seen but felt).

He is the youngest of the gods for he is born every moment as desire, in the heart of young (and old). He is the oldest of the gods, for even before creation came the 'desire' to create - kAma.

Happy Valentine's Day, once again.


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