Pearls from Pasaayadaan: Part 4

 

Pearls from Pasaayadaan: Part 4

दुरिताचें तिमिर जावो
विश्व स्वधर्म सूर्यें पाहो
जो जें वांच्छील तो तें लाहो
प्राणिजात

Durit दुरित sin or sinner

Timir तिमिर darkness

Jaavo जावो be gone

Vishwa विश्व world 

Swadharma स्वधर्म one’s rightful duty

Surye सूर्ये sun

Paaho पाहो be seen

Jo जो whosoever 

Je जे what/ whatever 

Vaanchhil वांच्छील will desire

To तो he

Te ते that 

Laaho लाहो get

Praanijaat प्राणीजात all living beings

This world is full of duality. Good and bad, darkness and light, day and night, heat and cold, high and low, rich and poor, merit and fault, righteousness and sin, right and wrong, happiness and sorrow, knowledge and ignorance.

One pair of dualities is often metaphorically used to describe another pair. For example high and low is used to describe happiness and sorrow or luxury and poverty respectively.

Darkness and Light( Brightness) are frequently applied as metaphors for ignorance and knowledge respectively.

One of the ancient Sanskrit prayers is :

OM Asato Maa Sat gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir gamaya

Mrityor Maa Amritam gamaya 

OM Shanti Shanti Shanti

May the Lord represented by the primordial sound OM lead me from Falsehood to Truth ( Unreality to Reality), Darkness to Light( Ignorance to Knowledge) and Mortality to Immortality. May there be Peace and only Peace within and without.

In this third verse of the Pasaayadaan Dnyaaneshwar is seeking something that echoes with the above Vedic prayer.

He wishes that all sin (durit) that casts a shadow or  darkness on our minds, actions and also on the results of such actions, be removed from the world. May it disappear. 

The Bhagwad Geeta describes how all creation is composed of three basic gunas or qualities. These are satva, rajas and tamas. Satva is that which leads to righteous thinking and behavior. Rajas is responsible for passion, desires, showing off, aggression etc. Tamas creates laziness, filth, confusion, ignorance. Acts of sin occur when a person is predominantly filled with Tamas and rajas and very little if any satva. These rajas and tamas gunas create confusion about what is to be done and what is to be avoided, what is swadharma and what is nishiddha karma.

Dnyaaneshwar has thoughtfully used each word in his writings. Here the word durit is from the root word rit ( रित) . In Marathi Rit means conventional way, universal law. Durit is opposit of rit. That which breaks universal law or common ethics and rules. Obviously actions that go against common ethics and rules inevitably bring grief to oneself and others.

In the Dnyaaneshwari there are so many beautiful examples Dnyaaneshwar has put forward to drive home the disadvantages of going the wrong way. He says it takes hard work to walk the right road or wrong road, then why not walk on the right road? It takes efforts to chop a tree vs plant a tree. Then why not choose planting and not chopping ? It takes as much money to support a wife as a mistress. Then why not just take care of the wife? A mother may be illiterate and ugly but turning to another woman who is educated and prettier will not get you the same unconditional love from her like from your mother ? Then why not love your mother instead of seeking love elsewhere? 

With such impactful examples he has explained how sin can be avoided. When the sun rises, no other special procedures need to be followed to remove darkness. Sunrise brings with itself such overpowering brilliance that no trace of darkness can exist anymore. Knowledge is akin to light. With the dawn of knowledge ignorance disappears. How is one to gain knowledge that would remove sinful ways? This is not the kind of knowledge one gets from reading the alphabet. This knowledge is gained by devoting oneself in the line of duty. The Sanskrit word for duty is swadharma (स्वघर्म). 

What is swadharma? For a student, it is to study diligently, remain respectful and grateful to the teachers and use what is learnt for the greater good of society. For a teacher it is to devotedly teach what he knows to his student in a way that it creates interest and love for the subject. For a mother it is to care for her child’s needs from food, clothing, and shelter to nurturing good values. For a soldier it is to protect his country, for a farmer to raise good crops and make them available for a fair price for the consumer, for a doctor it is to treat illness in his patients and facilitate early recovery. When each person recognizes his/her duty and immerses himself/herself into carrying it out with diligence it results in purification of the person and it brings greater good to the society. Conversely if for example a doctor slacks off, not only would his patients suffer but he himself would face the consequences of that deviant behavior. Imagine a pilot falling asleep while on duty or a soldier running away from the battlefield? Where society is robust with every citizen carrying out their respective duties with good conscience and skills there would be no room for sins. Such is the power of staying on top of one’s duty at any given time. It protects from deviating towards wrong behavior. 

So in the first two lines of this verse Dnyaaneshwar says :

May the darkness of sin disappear 

May the world see the sun of swadharma ( righteous duty)

Lastly in this verse he prays:

May every living being attain to whatever their heart desires.

Now that would be quite problematic, one would think !! There is one job of a CEO of a company and all its employees want that top job! Or there is a beautiful woman and all the men want to marry her! Or everyone wants to live in the prettiest place on earth ! How is that going to work out ? 

But Dnyaaneshwar is no fool to ask such a thing that would pose a logistical problem! He has first asked for every worldly citizen to be enlightened enough to be true to his/her own duties. These awakened souls would be expected to desire only that which is appropriate in context of their place in the bigger scheme of things and which would bring benefits for the larger society and not just themselves. In the previous verse he also sought universal brotherhood and friendship. When such are the interpersonal relationships anyone would rejoice if another person gains something that he himself could not get. 

There are deeper issues here to ponder for each of us from time to time. We may be involved in our relationships and our jobs and our undertakings outside of our jobs and for most part carrying these out as per our individual capacities and with good thoughts. Yet from time and again there may arise situations that would throw us into a dilemma. To do this or not do this ? To go this way or that way ? To fight or not fight ? To change course or continue status quo? Even Arjun was confronted with such confusion and it took 700 verses of the Bhagwad Geeta to convince him to stand up and fight because that was his duty. 

The more purity we gather within us the more light there will be to see the path ahead. That purity comes from questioning our integrity at every juncture? Why are we doing what we are doing or thinking of doing ? Who would benefit from each option? Just me or the larger community ? Will my actions hurt anyone ? Will my actions benefit short term or long term ? Is what I am doing within the limits of righteousness or lawfulness? A good spiritual foundation and guidance of a Sadguru definitely helps gain the clarity at such times.

Before I move on to the next verse my prayer to the Universal Supreme Being is to guide me on my path at every moment to make the right choices in thought, word and action. 🙏🏼🙏🏼