Manah Sodhanam -Verse 19

I want to start this post with a quick update before I proceed with the 19th verse. Starting with a warm up 4 k jog on Monday, I managed a 10 K run yesterday, which involved running up and down a flyover 5 times, as a part of interval training. Upbeat with yesterday's success, off I went to the beach, donning my shoes strapping my mobile arm band....but my legs refused to cooperate with me. With the bones below my knee jarring with pain, I limped out a miserly 5K and rushed back home. Yes, the dreaded shin splints. So I am revising my 1st objective -I will do 9 more 10ks in March, but definitely not on continuous days. And, I am going to focus on core strengthening and cross training and most importantly, watch my diet.


As far as the other objectives are concerned, I am pretty much on track as far as writing is concerned, have downloaded an app and am tracking my spending diligently and finally, I am yet to make any progress on Sri Suktam.


In the 18th verse, I mentioned that the next 4 verses give us very clear instructions or guidance as to how exactly combat the various vagaries of our mind. 19th verse tells us how to conquer desire, anger, greed and fear.


ASANKALPAJJAYET  KAMAM  KRODHAM  KAMAVIVARJANAT
ARTHANARTHEKSAYA  LOBHAM  BHAYAM  TATTVAMARSANAT


Desire should be conquered by the non entertainment of fanciful thoughts, anger by renouncing desire, greed by understanding the calamitous nature of wealth and fear by understanding the Truth.


Such simple statements, but so much logic and depth behind them. When I first heard my Guru explain this verse to us, I was struck by the power behind these words. And one of the reasons that I didn't proceed beyond verse 18 for some time is, I didn't know how or what to write about verse 19. It resonates with so many of my own personal experiences, that I was a bit overwhelmed. So much truth is encapsulated in this verse that if I can remember and practice these in my day to day life, I am sure that I will be in perpetual peace and harmony.


All the above mentioned emotions are not bad things by themselves. They all motivate us to go further in our lives. But, the key is, I guess, to be aware of these emotions and be in control of them. I am contemplating on Manah Sodhanam, because I have a desire to know the truth.When I see my fellow runners improving on a daily basis, that little jealousy pushes me to work harder. Fear about the security of my future makes me save my earnings instead of squandering them on frivolous things. So I feel that all these emotions are present in us to guide us in the right path. Ultimately, my feelings and emotions are the feedback mechanisms to help me navigate in this world.


But, when these feelings control every waking moment of my life, then it is a problem. Excessive desire and greed, if left unchecked, will make me go down the path of destruction and debauchery. I will not think twice about compromising on my moral and ethical values if I am propelled by unmitigated desires and unfounded greed -to have more, to experience more, to accumulate more. Desire and greed don't plague me much, primarily because I am very happy and content with all that God has blessed me with. To feel content is one of the biggest blessing in life. It makes my life so much simpler :)


And if pondered a bit, desire is also the root cause of anger. I get angry if things don't happen the way I desire them to be. If I desire that the roads should be clean and if someone comes and litters on the road, I get angry and give them a piece of my mind. If I want a costly sari and I don't have enough money with me, I get angry with myself for not being able to afford what I want. If I want to go to a movie and my mom makes me stay at home instead, I get angry with her for not letting me do what I want. The more interested I am in watching the movie, the angrier I become with my mom.


Ultimately, fear -atleast for me - is primarily because of the uncertain nature of the future. The insecurities I feel with respect to my future is what causes fear. And many times, this fear plays a major role in the decisions I make. The more I fear, the lesser the risk I take. This fear, can be conquered by knowing the ultimate Truth (which I am yet to comprehend fully. Will elucidate on this at a later point of time maybe). Hari Om!



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