I AND MY WORDS

 A man once boarded the wrong train and ended up in Tamil Nadu near Arunachala in Tamil Nadu, a holy pilgrim site that has moved many a seer and saint. He was told by a lot of people to go visit the site and meet a man named Ramana Maharshi.  The man, an avowed communist and atheist, had always baulked at the idea of religion. However, since he had heard so much by then, he decided to go and meet him.  The minute he stepped into the ashram of Bhagavan, he could not control his emotions. Something took over him. Meeting Maharshi he did not know what happened to him. Bhagavan said nothing, and yet he was impacted heavily by the meet. His whole outlook to spirituality and religion changed in a minute.  He took Bahgavan's blessing and returned home to Kerala. Took up Sannyas and started to work for society. That man later became famous as Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of the Chinmaya Mission.

तेरे शौर्य की है ऐसी गाथा तेरे सौंदर्य पर वो भारी पड़ी तेरी चिता की राख की गर्माहट ज्वाला से भी बहुत अधिक रही करें कोटि प्रयत्न चंद तुच्छ मनुष्य तेरी छवि को आज मिटाने की पद्मावती, तू बस एक रानी नहीं जीवन पर्यन्त तू अमर हुई। तेरे हुकम रावल रतन की आँख का तारा केवल तू नहीं रही तू दूर आकाश में ध्रुव तारे सी जग में यूँ तू ज्ञात हुई तेरी वीरता से ख़िलजी थर्राया तू वीरांगना श्रेष्ठ कुछ यूँ हुई तू बस एक सुंदर रानी नहीं मेवाड़ का अनमोल इक रतन हुई। वो छल पारंगत क्रूर आक्रांता जिससे बन लोहा तू भिड़ ही गई तेरे प्राप्ति के हर संभव प्रयास को तू आँधी बन छिन्बिन करती रही तू बन चरित्र परिभाषा नई हर पथ को प्रतिष्ठित करती चली तू बन सिंहनी कर चली जौहड़ बनी आत्मसम्मान की नई गिरि मरुथल में खिलते नहीं हैं पुष्प तू बात असत्य कुछ यूँ कर गई इतिहास स्वयं साक्षी था वहाँ स्वयं धर्म बना तेरा अनुयायी तेरी स्मृति महक रही आज भी है तू भारत की ऐसी वीर हुई। पद्मावती, तू बस एक रानी नहीं जीवन पर्यन्त तू अमर हुई।

It is interesting to observe the idea of seva or service in the Indic darsanas. Whatever be the outlook towards life, the importance to service of others is given a lot of importance. This definitely arises from the intertwined helical relationship between karma and seva. A succinct example of the depth of embedding of seva in the philosophy of karma can be be found in the Srivaishnava sampradaya’s understanding of the Advaita marga as put out first by reformer saint Sri Ramanujacharya, who lived in the 12 th century AD. As Mohan Sagar had elaborated in his short piece on Ramanujacharya’s darsana [1] highlights some important facts: ·     Each and every aatma or soul in a crude translation is in its essential nature, its svarUpam, a simple receptacle to the Lord's Grace, and a humble instrument to His Good. This nature of servitude is not only limited to the soul, but is indeed the nature of matter, as well. ·       Consequently, the Lord is likened to the Soul

Whatever be the darsana, the emphasis on purushartha has always been significant. Barring perhaps the charvaka system, each attaches a degree of importance to the ideas of dharma, artha, kama and moksha in varying degrees. The eventual goal of the varying darsanas is not even moksha; rather it is mukti, or liberation from the bonds of the world in their entirety. However, it is not that mukti is to be sought independent of the four purusharthas; rather, the four serve as a sequential process towards the same, somewhat similar to the conceptualization of an algorithm that forms the underlying principle of any software. The concept of purushartha is different significantly from the conception of the Calvinistic and Lutheran thoughts on the relationship of man and God and man and society that eventually serve as the source of all individualistic and libertarian principles. Purushartha defines your relationship with yourself and the society that surrounds you, as it defines your d

Purushartha in human life is essential to the goal of moksha and mukti or ultimate freedom from bondage. To achieve the purpose, the four pillars of dharma, artha, kaama and moksha are to be attained in one’s life. The tools to enable the cultivation of the four pillars have been clearly identified by several scholars in the triage of sadhana, seva and swadhyaya, one not being mutually exclusive of the other. In all of this, the key underlying philosophy of seva or service clearly becomes paramount to the cause. The Philosophies of Dharma, in particular the Indic philosophies, have always attached a high degree of importance to service alongside devotion and liturgy. Service is an outcome unto itself, defining the manner in which we relate ourselves to the outer world. Despite the various astika (Vedanta, Veda, Advaita, Dvaita or Vaishnava, Shakta, Shaiva Siddhanta and others) and nastika philosophies (Jainism, Buddhism) that have existed around for millenia, the consensus on seva or