Choose what to listen
apy unmattāt pralapato bālāc ca parisarpataḥ
sarvataḥ sāram ādadyād aśmabhya iva kāñcanam ||34.30||
In life, sometimes we get to hear a lot of information from others. One should choose and listen to only positive speech or constructive feedback. There can be worthwhile information sometimes even in an intoxicated person’s words or even a child’s mumbling. One has to pick up the valuable part out of that just as gold is picked from the stone or in the manner in which rice is separated from the chaff. A person who picks up valuable information from a person who is mad, foolish, clever, new, old or lazy is compared to a person who picks valuable gold from the stone. Such a person is always in a positive frame of mind. He does not see who has spoken but rather focuses on what has been spoken.
A teacher reprimands and scolds a child for the child’s bright future so that the child grows into an asset for society. The child should take it as constructive help for improvising himself rather than taking it negatively.
Tread the path taken and exemplified by the great
suvyāhṛtāni sudhiyāṃ sukṛtāni tatas tataḥ
saṃcinvan dhīra āsīta śilā hārī śilaṃ yathā ||34.31||
Scholars speak words of wisdom and elucidate upon how to lead a good life. This is a guiding light to lead our life. One should pick the good and relevant points from the learned just as people pick grains and pulses from the harvested field. One can get a lot of motivation for life from great people’s life and words. We should scout for great and knowledgeable people and source good advice from them. Just as the pigeon separate pulses from the fields amidst all other things strewn, one needs to search for knowledgeable people and take their advice.
Senses help one to think sensibly
gandhena gāvaḥ paśyanti vedaiḥ paśyanti brāhmaṇāḥ
cāraiḥ paśyanti rājānaś cakṣurbhyām itare janāḥ ||34.32||
Cows have a strong sense of differentiating between odours as their sense of smell is better than others and decide whether to consume a particular food or not. Priests and brahmins would not take anything directly by face value. Instead, they would analyse the matter with the help of shastras and their knowledge and interpret them accordingly. Kings use spies to get information from within their own kingdom as well as from the neighbouring kingdoms. For them spies are the eyes.
Only common people see from their eyes and interpret directly. Therefore, it is essential that a person activates all his sensory organs to evaluate and analyse what is right or wrong and then take decisions accordingly. It is useful to adopt the best evaluation methods to arrive at the right conclusion.
Attempt to be the best- give your best
bhūyāṃsaṃ labhate kleśaṃ yā gaur bhavati durduhā
atha yā suduhā rājan naiva tāṃ vinayanty api ||34.33||
Life is about getting adjusted to the way that enables one to live honestly and righteously without compromise. A cow that gives milk without any fuss or trouble does not come across any difficulty. But a cow that gives a lot of trouble to the milkman during the milking process gets difficulty from every possible side. A person should be able to give out whatever characteristic or skill he has in him without any trouble. In this process, he and others around him experience comfort. In other words, give out your best to whoever deserves it, else it will give rise to difficulty.
An ardent student of Indian philosophy-Tatvavada.. with focus on management and leadership insights from Ithihasa and Puranas. Interested in Neeti and dharma shastras.
Always admired your article!