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Timeless tales

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Srinivasan Muthupalaniappa

1. The document summarizes a seminar discussing the five verses of Yati Panchakam by Adi Sankara. It explores the concept of seeing oneself without a role or possessions and finding true comfort and happiness from within. 2. It provides the example of how taking on roles can lead to discomfort if seen through the lens of another role. True comfort is found by discovering it from any situation rather than running behind it. 3. The story of the old boatman, cobbler, and goldsmith is used to illustrate how we often fail to value what we have based on its true utility, instead superimposing high value on unknown things. True value comes from seeing the utility of what we

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TIMELESS TALES SEEING COMFORT ANDSEEKING COMFORT By vidyavahiniOnMarch12, 2018In Swamiji'sQuotes The followingarticle isdevelopedbasedonaseminaronthe textYati Panchakamby Swami Ananda Saraswati.ThiswasheldinearlyDec,2017 in Italy. Yati Panchakamisa setof five versesbySri Adi Sankaracharya.InEnglish,the textstitle canbe roughly translatedas,the Wisdomof a LoinClothRenunciate;thatexplainsthe secrettohappiness.The textin essence statesthatfora man to be happy, he needsnopossessionotherthanthatof a loincloth; sufficientenoughtocoverhimself tothe barestminimum. An average mindwouldbe surprisedatsucha proclamation.Some mightevendismissthisthoughtas loftyidealismthatisoutrightimpractical.Thisishardlysurprisingasall of usare conditionedtobelieve that we needtogain possessionsinlifeinordertobecome happy.Butat the core of Yati Panchakam, Adi Sankara reflecsthatthe goal of man is notto become happybutrather to understandthe principles that can helpone be happy.Betweenbeinghappyandbecominghappy,thereinliesaworldof difference. Happinessisnotaboutwhat we have.Itis aboutwho we are.We are constantlyengagedinthinking aboutwhat we have and whatwe couldpotentiallyhave inourlives.Thisthoughtoriginatesfromthe body,movestowardsattributesrelatedtothe body,like name,fame,position,education,andwealth and so onand so forth.In thisfashion,apredominantpartof our livesisconsumedindwellingon thoughtsrelatedtoour possessions.Buthardlyanytime issparedwithreference toknowingwhowe are.An average personwhoisconstantlyengagedinsucha pursuitendsupwronglyconcluding,Ican feel goodonlywhengoodthingshappenin mylife.Ifeelgoodbecause Ihave agood family,a productive job,awonderful houseanda fancycar. But my feelingof goodnessissofragile thatit collapsesthe momentone of the attributesIhave goesfallsshort.ButYati Panchakamtellsusthat this isa perceptionborne outof ignorance.It,onthe contrary,explainsthatwe are the source of all goodness;one thatisindependentof whatwe have orpossess.ItproclaimsgloriouslythatIam the one whoinvitesgoodnessinmylife. To invite goodness,we needtolookatourselveswithoutagivenrole.Butwe neversee ourselves withouta role.Evenduringmeditation,we lookatourselvesasameditatorwhichisalsoanotherrole. Playingarole is essentialbutseeingourselveswithoutarole is fundamental.Understandingandseeing are one and the same.But incommonparlance,these twowordsendupgettingmisused.Forinstance, we shouldaimto understandGod.Onthe contrary, we try to see God.God cannot be seenwithour limitedeyes;thatis a futile quest.Butinterestingly,understandingGodisequivalenttoseeingGod.To understandistosee,albeitnotina physical context.InEnglish,we oftenaskourcounterparts,Doyou see mypoint?That is we askwhetherthe personlisteningisable tounderstandwhatwe saywithouta doubt.
In the five versesof Yati Panchakam,the thoughtof seeingourselveswithoutarole isimplicitlydriven towardsus. Butusually,we endupseeingourselvesinarole and mostunfortunately,we seeagiven situationnotwiththe role thatit entailsbutwiththe one thatwe findcomfortable.Inotherwords,we alwayschoose toput ourselvesinarole thatis leastchallengingormostconvenient. A goodexample here isthatof mothers.Everywomanlikestobe a motheras inthisrole,she feels highlywanted(byherchild).Herlikes,dislikesandpreferencesgounchallenged.Infew instances,we can alsofindsome womenplayingthe role of amotherto theirhusbands.There canbe a motherly attitude ina wife buta wife cannottake the role of a mother.The same role misappropriationalso happensinthe case of men.Thiscan evenbe extendedtoSwamis(teacherinSanskrit).Forexample,I am nowentrustedwiththe responsibilityof playingthe role of ateacherto a setof people whohave come together.Ihave thisrole as longas I am teachingbut the momentIstepout to travel,Ibecome a traveler.If Icontinue todon the role of a teacherevenwhenIamtravelling,woulditnotleadto confusionwithinme? So we needtobe verycautiousinour role play.We all have to playmultiple rolesanditisimperative that we do notmix up one withanother.Seeingone role throughthe eyesof anotherisinfact the root of all conflict. Andwhydo we choose some rolesoverthe other?It isbecause we believe thatcertainroleswill give us more comfort.But doesthat reallyhappen?We gaincomfortwhenwe learntosee comfort,notwhen we try to seekit.That personisa comfortable person,whoseescomfortbutnot runsbehindcomfort. Comfortisnot to be achieved,infactthe more we run behindcomfort,the more the comfortmoves away fromus.On the contrary, comforthas to be discovered.The more one seescomfort,the more one can be comfortable inanygivensituation. Interchangingrolescausesnotjustconflictbuttremendousdiscomfort.The verymomentwe startto see one role throughthe eyesof another,discomfortbegins. Let me take my veryownexample.Iamnow playingthe role of a teacherto a classin Tuscany. If I suddenlystartthinkingthatIam a Swami fromthe Himalayas,andbegintomix thatrole inmy current play,whatis likelytohappen?Iwill startseeingeveryone andeverythingaroundme fromthe standpointof a Swami.My mindwill starttojudge the ItaliansettingfromaHimalayanstandpointandit will inevitablystarttothrow complaintsandmisgivingsaboutall thatsurroundsme.Inshort,everything that I see inthisclassin Tuscanywill startto become a source of discomfort.Mymind,insteadof letting me playthe role of a teacher,whichiswhat isexpectedof me,will wronglystartjudgingthe situation
froman inappropriate standpoint.Thatthenleadstothe zone of discomfort,makingme fail todowhat I have to do at thisgivenpoint. The rise of discomfortisthusnotdue to people orsituations.Itarisesowingtoourinabilitytoplaythe role that isneededandinstead,choosingapreferredrole thatislesschallenging.Ourrole inlife isthus not to run behindcomfortbutratherto see comfortfromwhere we are.Thiscan alsobe further substantiatedfromanotherangle.Letuslookatourselves.We are all bestowedwithanumberof comforts.But dowe truly feel comfortable? Andhave we everaskedourselvesastowhywe feel uncomfortable despitehavingsomuchof comfort all around?The reasonisbecause we donot see comfortwithinourselves.Andwhenwe dontsee comfortin ourselves,we donotgive the rightvalue toour possessions. Everythinginthisworldhasits ownvalue.A needle isasuseful asa sword,andits utilityispurely determinedbythe situation.A swordcannotstitchclotheswhileaneedle cannothelpfightawar. Thus a givenobjectbecomesuseful andvaluabledependingonourusage.Butwe mostly nevergive value to an objectbasedonits utility.Thisisbestexplainedbythe goldrushinIndia,where people flocktoget goldwhenevertheyhave money.Andtheybuygoldbecause theyfinditpreciousandvaluable.Butdo youknowwhat happenstomostof the goldthat is bought?Itstays dormantinbank lockers.Sothe value thatwas attributedwasnotout of utilitybutratherout of perception.Isntthistragicwaste of money? Many among usalso have thishabitof not valuingthingsatour disposal.Butwe superimpose highvalue on thingsunknown.A newemployee,forinstance,willalwaysholdhisCEOinhisesteem, especially whenhe firstbegins.Butaftera fewyearsof experience,hisopinionwill startchangingandthe stature of the CEO byall means,will startdwindling.Itwasnot thatthe CEO became undesirable all of asudden. He wasthe same personbefore andisthe same personnow.Itis onlythe apparentignorance of the newemployeethatmade himweighthe CEOwronglyinthe firstplace.Togo back, whenwe learnto see comfort,we alsolearnto value thingsoutof utility.Andinaremarkable way,we will endupseeing that everythinghasitsownvalue. There isa wonderful storythatillustratesthismessage indetail. There wasonce an oldboatmaninthe countryside whousedto earnhislivingbyhelpingpeoplecrossa river.He had withhima boat that was as oldas himbut still wasgoodenoughtodo the job. One fine day,withthe sun at itspeak,he was aboutto retire afterone lastjourneyacrossthe river.While onhis wayback, he noticedan unusuallyshinystoneatthe riverbank.Ashe landedatthe bank,he walked hurriedlytopickitup.
It was a large stone thatsparkledbrilliantly,reflectingthe sunsraysinall itssplendour.He decidedthen to keepthisstone asa souvenirfromthe riverandplacedit inhisboat at all times.Time andagain,he usedto see the stone duringhisworkandmarvel at its brilliance. One fine day,a cobblerwhosoughtthe boatmansserviceswasawestruckbythe stonesluster. He askedthe boatman,Where didyougetthis stone?Itisso beautiful I got it fromthe riverbank repliedthe oldman The cobblerwas tempted;he wantedtopossessthe stone andaskedthe boatmanspontaneously, Can I buythisstone from you?I will payyou500 Rupees The Oldmanfeltthatthiswas a good deal.He hardlymade 150 Rupeeseachday and he toldhimself that he had alreadygainedhisshare of pleasure fromthe stone.He feltitwasfine forhimto give it away forgood money.Sothe cobblerboughtthe stone.Hishappinessknew noboundsandhe wanted to keepthe stone withhimself inhisshop.He useditat workand showed itwithgreatpride tohis customers. Many weekspassedbyandone fine day,a goldsmithhappenedtovisitthe cobbler.Histrainedeye gravitatedtowardsthe stone andhe at once knew thiswasnot an ordinaryone.Thisstone wasa preciousstone,adiamond,whichthe cobblerwasblissfullyunaware.He foundithardto digestthatthe cobblerwasusinga diamondworthmillionsinthe mostfrivolousof ways. Sensinganopportunity,he asked,Ireallylikeyourstone.Where didyoubuyit? The cobblerbeamingwithpride said.Igotthisfrom the local boatmanfor 500 Rupees The goldsmithslowlypushedhiscase,Ihave grownsofondof yourstone and I am readyto pay you 1000 Rupeesforit.Will yousell itto me?
The cobblernoddedin disagreement,Iamnot keentogive thisstone away.Please donttake me wrong The Goldsmithincreasedthe price fivetimes,andsaid,Will yourefuse evenif Iwere topay you5000 Rupees? The cobblergave in.He couldmake 5000 Rupeesonlyina month,andthiswas an offerthatwas hard to resist.The goldsmithrelishedinhissuccessandrushedtohisshopto testthe qualityof the diamondat hand.But the verymomenthe put himself toworkonit,the diamondshatteredintopieces.The goldsmith, whohadjustbeenjumpingwithjoy,washeartbroken. He couldnotcomprehendwhatwent wrong. At that moment,avoice fromabove spoke. The boatmanwhopickedthisstone firstdidnotknow of its true value,neitherdidthe cobblerwho boughtit from him.But youknewitstrue value andyet youcheatedthe cobbler.Youthusdo not deserve togainthisdiamondanditsvalue Doesthe same not happeninour lives? Seeingcomfortandseekingcomfortare twodifferentmindsets. We mustunderstandthat comfort mustalwaysbe seenandneverbe sought.Andwhenwe trulydiscovercomfortwithinourselves,we will findvalue ineverything.Andironically,we will findthe rightvalue ineverythingonlywhenwe truly deserve it. Note:A masculine reference hasbeenusedinthisarticle acrossall examplesandillustrations.Thishas beenassumedpurelyforthe sake of convenience.
WrittenbyKarthikSundarambasedonSwamijistalk

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Timeless tales

  • 1. TIMELESS TALES SEEING COMFORT ANDSEEKING COMFORT By vidyavahiniOnMarch12, 2018In Swamiji'sQuotes The followingarticle isdevelopedbasedonaseminaronthe textYati Panchakamby Swami Ananda Saraswati.ThiswasheldinearlyDec,2017 in Italy. Yati Panchakamisa setof five versesbySri Adi Sankaracharya.InEnglish,the textstitle canbe roughly translatedas,the Wisdomof a LoinClothRenunciate;thatexplainsthe secrettohappiness.The textin essence statesthatfora man to be happy, he needsnopossessionotherthanthatof a loincloth; sufficientenoughtocoverhimself tothe barestminimum. An average mindwouldbe surprisedatsucha proclamation.Some mightevendismissthisthoughtas loftyidealismthatisoutrightimpractical.Thisishardlysurprisingasall of usare conditionedtobelieve that we needtogain possessionsinlifeinordertobecome happy.Butat the core of Yati Panchakam, Adi Sankara reflecsthatthe goal of man is notto become happybutrather to understandthe principles that can helpone be happy.Betweenbeinghappyandbecominghappy,thereinliesaworldof difference. Happinessisnotaboutwhat we have.Itis aboutwho we are.We are constantlyengagedinthinking aboutwhat we have and whatwe couldpotentiallyhave inourlives.Thisthoughtoriginatesfromthe body,movestowardsattributesrelatedtothe body,like name,fame,position,education,andwealth and so onand so forth.In thisfashion,apredominantpartof our livesisconsumedindwellingon thoughtsrelatedtoour possessions.Buthardlyanytime issparedwithreference toknowingwhowe are.An average personwhoisconstantlyengagedinsucha pursuitendsupwronglyconcluding,Ican feel goodonlywhengoodthingshappenin mylife.Ifeelgoodbecause Ihave agood family,a productive job,awonderful houseanda fancycar. But my feelingof goodnessissofragile thatit collapsesthe momentone of the attributesIhave goesfallsshort.ButYati Panchakamtellsusthat this isa perceptionborne outof ignorance.It,onthe contrary,explainsthatwe are the source of all goodness;one thatisindependentof whatwe have orpossess.ItproclaimsgloriouslythatIam the one whoinvitesgoodnessinmylife. To invite goodness,we needtolookatourselveswithoutagivenrole.Butwe neversee ourselves withouta role.Evenduringmeditation,we lookatourselvesasameditatorwhichisalsoanotherrole. Playingarole is essentialbutseeingourselveswithoutarole is fundamental.Understandingandseeing are one and the same.But incommonparlance,these twowordsendupgettingmisused.Forinstance, we shouldaimto understandGod.Onthe contrary, we try to see God.God cannot be seenwithour limitedeyes;thatis a futile quest.Butinterestingly,understandingGodisequivalenttoseeingGod.To understandistosee,albeitnotina physical context.InEnglish,we oftenaskourcounterparts,Doyou see mypoint?That is we askwhetherthe personlisteningisable tounderstandwhatwe saywithouta doubt.
  • 2. In the five versesof Yati Panchakam,the thoughtof seeingourselveswithoutarole isimplicitlydriven towardsus. Butusually,we endupseeingourselvesinarole and mostunfortunately,we seeagiven situationnotwiththe role thatit entailsbutwiththe one thatwe findcomfortable.Inotherwords,we alwayschoose toput ourselvesinarole thatis leastchallengingormostconvenient. A goodexample here isthatof mothers.Everywomanlikestobe a motheras inthisrole,she feels highlywanted(byherchild).Herlikes,dislikesandpreferencesgounchallenged.Infew instances,we can alsofindsome womenplayingthe role of amotherto theirhusbands.There canbe a motherly attitude ina wife buta wife cannottake the role of a mother.The same role misappropriationalso happensinthe case of men.Thiscan evenbe extendedtoSwamis(teacherinSanskrit).Forexample,I am nowentrustedwiththe responsibilityof playingthe role of ateacherto a setof people whohave come together.Ihave thisrole as longas I am teachingbut the momentIstepout to travel,Ibecome a traveler.If Icontinue todon the role of a teacherevenwhenIamtravelling,woulditnotleadto confusionwithinme? So we needtobe verycautiousinour role play.We all have to playmultiple rolesanditisimperative that we do notmix up one withanother.Seeingone role throughthe eyesof anotherisinfact the root of all conflict. Andwhydo we choose some rolesoverthe other?It isbecause we believe thatcertainroleswill give us more comfort.But doesthat reallyhappen?We gaincomfortwhenwe learntosee comfort,notwhen we try to seekit.That personisa comfortable person,whoseescomfortbutnot runsbehindcomfort. Comfortisnot to be achieved,infactthe more we run behindcomfort,the more the comfortmoves away fromus.On the contrary, comforthas to be discovered.The more one seescomfort,the more one can be comfortable inanygivensituation. Interchangingrolescausesnotjustconflictbuttremendousdiscomfort.The verymomentwe startto see one role throughthe eyesof another,discomfortbegins. Let me take my veryownexample.Iamnow playingthe role of a teacherto a classin Tuscany. If I suddenlystartthinkingthatIam a Swami fromthe Himalayas,andbegintomix thatrole inmy current play,whatis likelytohappen?Iwill startseeingeveryone andeverythingaroundme fromthe standpointof a Swami.My mindwill starttojudge the ItaliansettingfromaHimalayanstandpointandit will inevitablystarttothrow complaintsandmisgivingsaboutall thatsurroundsme.Inshort,everything that I see inthisclassin Tuscanywill startto become a source of discomfort.Mymind,insteadof letting me playthe role of a teacher,whichiswhat isexpectedof me,will wronglystartjudgingthe situation
  • 3. froman inappropriate standpoint.Thatthenleadstothe zone of discomfort,makingme fail todowhat I have to do at thisgivenpoint. The rise of discomfortisthusnotdue to people orsituations.Itarisesowingtoourinabilitytoplaythe role that isneededandinstead,choosingapreferredrole thatislesschallenging.Ourrole inlife isthus not to run behindcomfortbutratherto see comfortfromwhere we are.Thiscan alsobe further substantiatedfromanotherangle.Letuslookatourselves.We are all bestowedwithanumberof comforts.But dowe truly feel comfortable? Andhave we everaskedourselvesastowhywe feel uncomfortable despitehavingsomuchof comfort all around?The reasonisbecause we donot see comfortwithinourselves.Andwhenwe dontsee comfortin ourselves,we donotgive the rightvalue toour possessions. Everythinginthisworldhasits ownvalue.A needle isasuseful asa sword,andits utilityispurely determinedbythe situation.A swordcannotstitchclotheswhileaneedle cannothelpfightawar. Thus a givenobjectbecomesuseful andvaluabledependingonourusage.Butwe mostly nevergive value to an objectbasedonits utility.Thisisbestexplainedbythe goldrushinIndia,where people flocktoget goldwhenevertheyhave money.Andtheybuygoldbecause theyfinditpreciousandvaluable.Butdo youknowwhat happenstomostof the goldthat is bought?Itstays dormantinbank lockers.Sothe value thatwas attributedwasnotout of utilitybutratherout of perception.Isntthistragicwaste of money? Many among usalso have thishabitof not valuingthingsatour disposal.Butwe superimpose highvalue on thingsunknown.A newemployee,forinstance,willalwaysholdhisCEOinhisesteem, especially whenhe firstbegins.Butaftera fewyearsof experience,hisopinionwill startchangingandthe stature of the CEO byall means,will startdwindling.Itwasnot thatthe CEO became undesirable all of asudden. He wasthe same personbefore andisthe same personnow.Itis onlythe apparentignorance of the newemployeethatmade himweighthe CEOwronglyinthe firstplace.Togo back, whenwe learnto see comfort,we alsolearnto value thingsoutof utility.Andinaremarkable way,we will endupseeing that everythinghasitsownvalue. There isa wonderful storythatillustratesthismessage indetail. There wasonce an oldboatmaninthe countryside whousedto earnhislivingbyhelpingpeoplecrossa river.He had withhima boat that was as oldas himbut still wasgoodenoughtodo the job. One fine day,withthe sun at itspeak,he was aboutto retire afterone lastjourneyacrossthe river.While onhis wayback, he noticedan unusuallyshinystoneatthe riverbank.Ashe landedatthe bank,he walked hurriedlytopickitup.
  • 4. It was a large stone thatsparkledbrilliantly,reflectingthe sunsraysinall itssplendour.He decidedthen to keepthisstone asa souvenirfromthe riverandplacedit inhisboat at all times.Time andagain,he usedto see the stone duringhisworkandmarvel at its brilliance. One fine day,a cobblerwhosoughtthe boatmansserviceswasawestruckbythe stonesluster. He askedthe boatman,Where didyougetthis stone?Itisso beautiful I got it fromthe riverbank repliedthe oldman The cobblerwas tempted;he wantedtopossessthe stone andaskedthe boatmanspontaneously, Can I buythisstone from you?I will payyou500 Rupees The Oldmanfeltthatthiswas a good deal.He hardlymade 150 Rupeeseachday and he toldhimself that he had alreadygainedhisshare of pleasure fromthe stone.He feltitwasfine forhimto give it away forgood money.Sothe cobblerboughtthe stone.Hishappinessknew noboundsandhe wanted to keepthe stone withhimself inhisshop.He useditat workand showed itwithgreatpride tohis customers. Many weekspassedbyandone fine day,a goldsmithhappenedtovisitthe cobbler.Histrainedeye gravitatedtowardsthe stone andhe at once knew thiswasnot an ordinaryone.Thisstone wasa preciousstone,adiamond,whichthe cobblerwasblissfullyunaware.He foundithardto digestthatthe cobblerwasusinga diamondworthmillionsinthe mostfrivolousof ways. Sensinganopportunity,he asked,Ireallylikeyourstone.Where didyoubuyit? The cobblerbeamingwithpride said.Igotthisfrom the local boatmanfor 500 Rupees The goldsmithslowlypushedhiscase,Ihave grownsofondof yourstone and I am readyto pay you 1000 Rupeesforit.Will yousell itto me?
  • 5. The cobblernoddedin disagreement,Iamnot keentogive thisstone away.Please donttake me wrong The Goldsmithincreasedthe price fivetimes,andsaid,Will yourefuse evenif Iwere topay you5000 Rupees? The cobblergave in.He couldmake 5000 Rupeesonlyina month,andthiswas an offerthatwas hard to resist.The goldsmithrelishedinhissuccessandrushedtohisshopto testthe qualityof the diamondat hand.But the verymomenthe put himself toworkonit,the diamondshatteredintopieces.The goldsmith, whohadjustbeenjumpingwithjoy,washeartbroken. He couldnotcomprehendwhatwent wrong. At that moment,avoice fromabove spoke. The boatmanwhopickedthisstone firstdidnotknow of its true value,neitherdidthe cobblerwho boughtit from him.But youknewitstrue value andyet youcheatedthe cobbler.Youthusdo not deserve togainthisdiamondanditsvalue Doesthe same not happeninour lives? Seeingcomfortandseekingcomfortare twodifferentmindsets. We mustunderstandthat comfort mustalwaysbe seenandneverbe sought.Andwhenwe trulydiscovercomfortwithinourselves,we will findvalue ineverything.Andironically,we will findthe rightvalue ineverythingonlywhenwe truly deserve it. Note:A masculine reference hasbeenusedinthisarticle acrossall examplesandillustrations.Thishas beenassumedpurelyforthe sake of convenience.