Thursday, March 12, 2020

The Celebration which bestows Victory and Virtue

Kannada Article by: Vid N Chandrashekhara Bhatta
English Rendering by: M R Bhashyam
(Respond to lekhana@ayvm.in)
Everyone has the practice of celebrating one's own birthday every year without fail.  The day of birth is generally called "Vardhanti – celebration for all-round progress"; but in the case of incarnations like Lord Shri Raama and Shri Krishna it is called "Jayanti", the celebration of Victory and Virtue. The Jayanti of Lord Raama and Krishna are celebrated throughout Bharat, unfailingly and with dedication, from the 'southern bridge' (bridge built by Lord Shree Raama on the Indian Ocean) to Himalayas in the north.  People spend the entire day in His memory and proximity without food and singing prayers (bhajan)s of Raama and making holy offerings like Arghya (consecrated water) at the time of moon rise to Lord Krishna. They fill their minds and senses with the memories of Lord Raama and Lord Krishna, spend the night by listening to the stories of their glory and partake food early next morning. Having the knowledge of the ultimate goal of life and with a dream of uplifting all, both in spiritual and mundane spheres (Yoga and Kshema), the seers and ascetics of Bharat, have pioneered such exemplary practices. Here we can recall the nectarine words of Shri SriRanga Mahaaguru : "Let us pray to the monarch of the nine nectars (nava – rasa naayaka), Shri Ramachandra, the Lord of the hearts of the people with sublime love, on his day of descent into nature to uplift the mundane to eternity.  Let us sing the glory of the Lord, seated in the eight-petalled lotus of our hearts with Jnaana Mudra (posture of Jnaana) in the hand,  to bestow on us the wealth of this world and liberation to the beyond". "Lord Shri Krishna lived a life in all its splendor, as a child with children, as the most knowledgeable  and realized amongst the knowledgeable and realized ( as a Jnaani with jnaanis), as a grazer  with  cattle grazers, as  an expert in  statecraft  in the battle field and  as an elevator of  the souls of women. Oh! What a great incarnation was His! On the day of His manifestation, all sublime aspects of Nature (kalaas) blossom, brim and overflow"  

How do we decipher the word Jaya – Victory

"ಜಯಂ ಪುಣ್ಯಂ ಚ ತನುತೇ ಜಯನ್ತೀಂ ತೇನ ತಾಂ ವಿದುಃ"|

"That which spreads victory (jaya) and virtue (punya) is jayanthi"; the jaya- victory of the soul and the victory over mind and senses. Controlling the mind and the senses, without letting them to take flight on their own, and making them flow towards the soul and the soul of souls is "winning" over them.

These are the words of the Great Poet Kaalidasa about the word Punya – Virtue (solemn deeds):

"ಲೋಕಾಂತರಸುಖಂ ಪುಣ್ಯಂ ತಪೋದಾನಸಮುದ್ಭವಮ್" |

The acts of penance and charity performed by us with the body, mind and spirit all in harmony (thri karanaas – body, mind and spirit) due to which we attain the heavens and its pleasures is called punya – the result of performing good deeds.  If we nourish and nurture Jaya (victory) and punya (virtue), the celebration of "Jayanthi" is meaningful and fruitful. 

When we bring the words of Shri ShriRanga Mahaaguru and the expanded meaning of the word jayanthi into our mental realm, then we will understand its importance and greatness. "It is regrettable that the present day intellectuals are interpreting "Jayanthi" in a way that is far from its true meaning". 

Let us pray that the commoners and the leaders of today end this type of misinterpretation for temporary gains and develop a mind set to understand its true meaning.

Note: The Kannada version of this article can be viewed at  AYVM blogs