Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Five qualities of a man - पात्रे त्यागी गुणे रागी


Five qualities of a man – giver, virtuous, sharer, intelligent, brave.




(हिन्दी में व्याख्या नीचे दी गयी है)

(Another variation of the fourth quarter goes as ‘sa vai puruSha uchyate’ = he is said to be a man.)

Five qualities of a (real) man:
1) gives to the worthy needy (thoughtfully, not carelessly). Just giving to anyone is not a good giving. Good giving is that which gives to the worthy, needy, in right amount, at right time in the right place. There is not point giving to someone who already has, or will make bad use of it, or when it is too late or too little for the needs.

2) indulges in virtues (not vices). A real cultured man is naturally inclined towards virtues and virtuous, developing good qualities, sponsoring inculcation of good qualities. They are sponsors and pursuers of arts and sciences, dance, music, sports etc.

3) shares [prosperity] with relatives (doesn’t usurp property, or enjoy his good fortune alone). With so many inheritance laws, and land being one of the basic cause of fights from long long time, (Mahabharata!?), the real man does not cheat his relatives of their share. Even from his own share of prosperity, he shares with relatives, so no one feels jealous or inferior.

4) intelligent enough to understand shastra (classics of science and art). A real man is not just about muscles, he is equally smart and intelligent and keen thought leader as well. He is smart in real life situations, negotiator, understand his stuff so no one can fool him!

5) and brave like a warrior in battle. When the time comes, situation demands, he faces it bravely like a fierce warrior in battle.

It may not be possible for one man to have all of them, specially 4 and 5, but it is not that difficult either. Maybe today when we have forgotten how to raise good upright citizens, just (partially) skilled robozens from schools, we may think that you can either be smart academically or strong physically. But bravery is a mental virtue of not giving up, facing what may come in the fight for justice and truth.



Now the language part:
pAtre = in the worthy
tyAgI = giver , one who gives to the worthy, needy
guNe = in qualities
rAgI = one who loves
saMvibhAgI = one who divides equally
cha = and
bandhuShu = among relatives
shAstre = in shAstras, scriptures, sciences
boddhA = knower, knowledgeable
raNe = in battle
yoddhA = warrior
puruShaH = man
pa~nchalakShaNAH =(is) of five characteristic




हिन्दी व्याख्या:
पात्रे त्यागी गुणे रागी संविभागी च बन्धुषु ।
शास्त्रे बोद्धा रणे योद्धा पुरुषः पञ्चलक्षणः ॥

सुपात्र को दान देना, गुणों में रुचि, बन्धुजनों के साथ बाँट कर भोगना, शास्त्रों का ज्ञाता और रण में योद्धा - पुरुष के ये पाँच लक्षण हैं ।

(एक अन्य पाठ्यान्तर में चौथा भाग ‘स वै पुरुष उच्यते’ है ।)

सत्पुरुष के पाँच लक्षण होते हैं –
१) सुपात्र दान । केवल नाम के लिए दे दिया ऐसे नहीं – अच्छा दान वह है जो देश, काल, पात्र, मात्रा देख कर दिया जाए । समय के बाद, गलत जगह पर, गलत मात्रा में या ऐसे किसी को जो उसका दुरुपयोग करे – ऐसा दान ठीक नहीं ।

२) गुणों में रुचि । एक सुसंस्कृत पुरुष स्वभाव से ही गुणों व गुणियों की ओर आकर्षित रहता है । स्वयं गुणों को बढ़ाता है, औरों की भी सहायता करता है । संगीत, नृत्य, कला, विज्ञान आदि स्वयं भी अनुसरण करता है, अन्य लोगों को भी प्रोत्साहित करता है ।


३) बन्धुजनों के साथ बाँट कर भोगना । भूमि को लेकर बहुत पुराने समय से ही विवाद होते रहे हैं (महाभारत !?) । सत्पुरुष पैत्रिक सम्पत्ति में से बन्धुओं का भाग नहीं हड़पता, अपनी समृद्धि में से भी मिल बाँट कर खाता है जिससे किसी में ईर्षा या हीनभावना न आ जाए । गीता कहती है – जो अकेला खाता है वह पाप खाता है ।


४) शास्त्रों का ज्ञाता । शास्त्र का अर्थ है कोई ज्ञान क्षेत्र या किसी भी ज्ञान क्षेत्र में सर्वमान्य अधिकारी कार्य । पुरुष केवल शारीरिक बल का ही प्रतीक नहीं अपितु बौद्धिक बल का भी प्रतीक है । वह व्यवहारकुशल और विचारकुशल है । जीवन के पहलुओं में मध्यस्थता में कुशल, और कोई मूर्ख न बना सके इतना चतुर भी ।


५) और रण में योद्धा । जब समय आ जाए और परिस्थिति की माँग हो तो वह एक निर्भीक योद्धा की तरह लड़ता भी है ।

शायद आप सोच रहे हैं कि यह सब एक ही पुरुष के लिए सम्भव नहीं, विशेषतः ४ और ५, पर यह इतना असम्भव भी नहीं । आज जब स्कूल अच्छे जागरूक नागरिक की बजाय केवल दक्ष रोबोट बना रही है, तब लगे कि या तो बौद्धिक या शारीरिक बल ही बढ़ाया जा सकता है । लेकिन शौर्य या वीरता मानसिक गुण है, जो हमें सत्य और न्याय के लिए लड़ने की शक्ति देता है ।


और अब भाषा विश्लेषण –
पात्रे = (सु)पात्र में
त्यागी = (दान) देने वाला (अपनी वस्तु का त्याग कर किसी और को देने वाला)
गुणे = गुण में
रागी = राग/रुचि रखने वाला
संविभागी = बराबर व ठीक से बाँटने वाला
च = और
बन्धुषु = बन्धुओं में
शास्त्रे = शास्त्र में
बोद्धा = बुद्धिमान, समझने वाला
रणे = रण, युद्ध में
योद्धा = योद्धा, शूरवीर
पुरुषः = पुरुष
पञ्चलक्षणः = पाँच लक्षणों वाला (होता है)






(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

Monday, June 2, 2014

It is what you give, not what you have, that matters.






In life we see many great success stories, very prosperous people, companies etc. Sometimes we have to ask for help in terms of a job, loan, advice, whatever. Who should we approach?
Who is a better employer? A better help in times of need?

A small well with sweet water is any day preferable for quenching thirst than a huge ocean which only gives salt water. It is not how much you have, but what you give that matters.

Your success and greatness is not in hoarding a lot of things from the rest of the society. How are you using those resources for which the society has given you the charge? Are you using to splurge on yourself? Or are you using it for the good of others?

Ultimately, you can only consume and use a very limited amount of things. Everyone has a fistful of stomach to fill with food. You can splurge it on a $5000 of single wine bottle from a century back or use that to do some worthwhile cause.

Your greatness is not in how much you have, but in what you are willing to give.




And now the language aspects -

Here is the anvaya (all sandhi broken into base words):

दाता लघुः अपि सेव्यः भवति, न कृपणः महान् अपि समृद्ध्या ।
कूपः अन्तःस्वादुजलः प्रीत्यै लोकस्य न समुद्रः॥ (devanAgari)

dātā laghuḥ api sévyaḥ bhavati, na kṛipaṇaḥ mahān api samṛiddhyā |
kūpaḥ antaḥ-svadu-jalaḥ prītyai lokasya na samudraḥ || (IAST)

dAtA laghuH api sevyaH bhavati, na kRipaNaH mahAn api samRiddhyA |
kUpaH antaH-svadu-jalaH prItyai lokasya na samudraH || (ITRANS)

dātā = giver
laghuḥ = small
api = even, also
sévyaḥ = worth pursuing (serving or being served. In case of a boss/master it is worth serving under such a master. In case of a well, it is worth being served by well’s water)
bhavati = happens, is.
na = not
kṛipaṇaḥ = miser
mahānapi = mahān (huge, big, great)+ api (even, also)
samṛiddhyā = in/by prosperity [sam+ṛiddhi = samyak (complete) +ṛiddhi (growth) ]
kūpaḥ = well
antaḥ-svadu-jalaḥ = whose water is sweet inside
prītyai = for pleasing
lokasya = of people
na = not
samudraḥ = ocean

That is, A giver is worthy even if small, not a miser great in prosperity. The sweet water well [is for] pleasing people [who are thirsty], not the ocean.




(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Give dutifully when, where, to whom the need is


it is that time of the year,
the season of giving,
the season of charity, caring, love and kindness!

merry christmas!

those in the snow belt, enjoy the snow.
others, enjoy the sun! but enjoy.

recently, on a reputed online discussion forum, i read a comment in context of why indians (read - hindus) don't do much charity, that other religions stress on charity, even as much as 15% of your income! that is a hefty chunk of charity! surely the trait is giving is shrinking everywhere - with our increased wants and needs, increased population, and increased selfishness, corruption and reducing trust.

it is true that many hindus are wary of charity as a routine, mainly because they are not sure of what happens of the donation. many non-profit organizations exist for the mere task of funneling money in form of expenses. but otherwise, hindus do actually do charity, in many small to large organizations around the world.

but this set me thinking, what does the ancient philosophy say on this? does the 'religion' talk about it? i am including just a few thoughts on the topic of giving, and since the sanskrit is not necessarily simple, i have skipped the language part for them.

the concept of giving was at many levels. the householder sustained a large part of the society via charity. the students begged their food in the village/town as brahmachAri. this ensured they didn't develop egos larger than their hearts! the sannyAsii, poor, wandering monks all depended on the gRihastha (householder) for sustenance. this is still seen among buddhist societies, where monks still take alms.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Give to the needy - वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रेषु

rain in ocean is waste, food for the already-fed is waste |
charity to the opulent is waste, and lamp, even in daytime, is waste ||

वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रेषु, वृथा तृप्तेषु भोजनम् ।
वृथा दानं धनाढ्येषु वृथा दीपो दिवापि च ॥


vRithA vRiShTiH samudreShu, vRithA tRipteShu bhojanaM |
vRithA dAnaM dhanADhyeShu, vRithA dIpo divApi cha ||


the act of giving has to be done to the needy.

another famous shloka from bhagawadgItA says - the giving that is done with a sense of duty, without chance of return favor, considering the time, place and need of the recipient is considered as the best type of giving.

so while it is true that one should give as if it is one's duty, a must chore, but the need of the recipient must be considered.

same is for a gift given for the sake of giving, not keeping in mind who is getting and whether s/he needs or not. lot of times, we give birthday gifts without considering if the child needs it, already has it or will even use it. that gift is truly wasted.

anyone remember how all state governments in india wanted to give prizes to abhinav bindra, the first solo gold medal in olympics 2008. why? because all wanted to come in the news, so and so has given an award of 5 lakhs, or 10 lakhs. one state government even announced 1 crore ($250,000)

and how poor is this star abhinav bindra? his dad gives him a multi-story five-star hotel as GIFT? does he really need $10,000 or $250,000 ? it would have been better if these entities who wanted to cash the publicity, made a sports complex in the name of abhinava bindra! that way, it wuld have been a full win-win situation! abhinav gets name, govt/entity gets press coverage, future sportsmen get facility!

but.
nope, वृथा दानं धनाढ्येषु (vRithA dAnaM dhanADhyeShu), charity to the opulent ...

note the alliterative use of vRi sound.

also, in writing धनाढ्येषु, the ढ्य has a weird looking य, it indicates the previous consonant is half, specially used for consonants that don't have the trailing bar of 'a' mAtrA, the vertical bar at the end, as in म प च etc.



now the shloka at hand -

vRithA = in vain, waste, useless, pointless, meaningless
vRiShTiH = rain, showering of something
samudra = ocean; samudreShu = in the ocean

tRipta = content, well fed, well nourished (tRip - verb, to be content)
tRipteShu = in the satisfied; i.e. for the satisfied/well-fed person
bhojanaM = food

dAnaM = giving, charity, alms; from dad - to give
ADhya = rich;
dhanADhya = rich of wealth; dhana (wealth) + ADhya
guNADhya = rich of qualities; guNa (qualities) + ADhya
dhanADhyeShu = in the rich man; i.e. charity to the rich ... is a useless

dIpaH = lamp; from dIpta = brilliant; divya = illuminating; deva = the divine (illuminating light) being.
divA = day
api = also, even





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(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।