SHARED
THOUGHTS – 15.10.2016
==============================\
Dash hara – victory over
10 bad qualities.
In recent days there were enthusiastic and passionate
celebrations across India and wherever Indians are across the globe, celebrating
Vijaya Dashami, also known as Dassarah. While the celebrations were confined
mainly to Hindus, well wishes & greetings crossed all man made barriers
typical of the mixed culture and unity in diversity that’s the hallmark of
Indian society.
Likewise the day after Vijaya Dashami this year, was
Muharram, an important day in Muslim calendar. Muharram was the day on which
Hussein Ibn Ali was martyred in the battle of Karbala. Shia Muslims spend the
day in mourning, whilst the Sunni Muslims fast on this day commemorating the
rescue of the people by Moses from Pharaoh. How did History orchestrate future
happenings to see these two sections of Muslims as arch foes for all
generations to come, is a deep mystery as much as it is tragic, leading to
death and destruction over hundreds of years.
In a latent sense, Dassarah means Dasha hara, a Sanskrit
word which means removal of ten bad qualities within you. Hence also known as
Vijaya Dashami signifying “Vijaya” (victory) over these ten bad qualities.
Stories / legends are wound over such philosophies that add colour to the
belief. Story goes on to show that the day marks the victory of Durga over the
demon Mahishasura; The Goddess fought with Evil for ten days and nine nights..
marking finally the victory of Good over Evil.
The ten bad qualities to overcome in our life are - Ahankara
– Ego ; Amanavta – Cruelty ; Anyaya – Injustice ; Kama vasana – Lust ; Krodha – Anger ; Lobha – Greed ; Mada – Over pride ; Matsara – Jealousy ; Moha – Attachment ; Swartha – Selfishness.
Messages as above and more such came in abundance over
social media.. from various corners, such that the above message perhaps not
known to many few years back is now common knowledge to all, at least for one
day, thanks to whatsapp.
Of the ten bad qualities to overcome, we live with a few,
impossible to live without. The only point is to what extent we can reduce it
with each New Year resolution – Ego, Anger
Greed, Over-pride, Jealousy, Attachment, Selfishness. This makes it 7 out of 10, that we choose to
live with, like it or not.
Let’s see this 7/10.
One needs only Ego to destroy a perfect relationship. The
above message of Dash hara was sent to me by 7 friends and relatives. I am well
aware of the fact that one of the seven who sent this message is in the firm
grip of Ego’s tentacles, the resultant casualty being a perfect relationship
that that person enjoys with a well-wisher.
It is said, Anger is a punishment we inflict upon ourselves
due to somebody else’s mistake. A man makes a mistake. In a weak moment of
indiscretion, some spoken words have hurt another person, causing raw burning
Anger to explode up to the last drop of sanity…and boiling over all attempts to
put out. In such a situation, anger gives rise to Ego which prevents the hurt
to forgive the mistake. Fretting and fuming, the hurt spends the rest of the
days, weeks and perhaps longer,
punishing oneself over someone else’s mistake. What a wise saying. With
passage of time, what could have been a simple cause & effect of one day
duration, has been blown to a full scale issue of pride clothed in Ego.. or
over-pride. This over-pride too kills relations – a deadly potent stuff.
We all know, a rich person is not one who has everything,
but one who does not need anything.
Having everything, we still look for more; visiting malls,
branded shops, fancy expensive personal items – there’s no limit to our wants.
We buy gold for a moment of pleasure, to be confined to the lockers soon after;
we buy another watch to add to the existing few; more and more clothes that can
cover us ten times around; footwear always find space over and above the dozens
that have hardly been soiled … and so on. This is Greed, in a harmless way
though.
Greed, in its evil form is another matter, which not all of
us are under its influence.
Attachment is a part of our being. Each of us, whether we
like it or not, is a slave to Attachment. Without Attachment, the cohesion in a
family becomes impossible. Philosophy can state the importance of diluting
attachment, to attain higher plain of existence, with justification that can
run into volumes. But the cradle of a new born, gives birth to Attachment as a
powerful emotion binding the new born to the family and vice versa. This
continues up to the grave, following which those left behind will grieve.. and
so on and so forth.
Attachment to material objects of wealth are on another
level, where Greed prospers.
Selfishness and Jealousy are always looked at in its
negative connotation, even though there are positives for both. Listing these
under bad qualities that should be removed, means, they are in the negative
sense. To be fair and totally honest, not many of us can vouch that we have not
been jealous or selfish at some time or the other. As long as these remain
harmless and the feelings have been well controlled or checked immediately for
better sense to prevail, we can live with these negatives without much
guilt. However for an avid follower of
soap operas on the ‘idiot box’, jealousy and selfishness will form the staple
diet for survival, reducing one to be a real idiot, unless care is taken not to
include those recipes in our daily life.
3/10 may not apply to all – cruelty, injustice and lust; in
a fair and well-meaning life that we lead, perhaps there is no place for these
three to prevail to the extent of being concerned to overcome as a target.
In varying doses, lust is present in all of us, not in its
crude unrefined sense, but on a more accepted version, meaning need for Love or
romance.
Cruelty and injustice are two sides of the same coin. We can
easily overcome these with a sense of fairness, which we are all capable.
In conclusion, each day of festivity or celebration sends
out messages that are filled with sense that aid us to lead a better life. It
is easy to forward such messages to others, but difficult to practice its
contents, if at all one reads the messages to understand its significance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All bad
qualities center round the ego. When the ego is gone, Realization results by
itself. There are neither good nor bad qualities in the Self. The self is free
from all qualities. Qualities pertain to the mind only.
Ramana Maharshi.
==============================================================
Have a safe week-end and a pleasant week ahead..
No comments:
Post a Comment