Hare Srinivasa !!!
Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha
Dharma protects one who protects Dharma.
There was a King; once during the night he noticed some movement in his palace. He woke up to see some effulgent people leaving his palace. He stopped them and enquired about their whereabouts. They mentioned one by one that they were; wealth, fame, opulance, abdunance, purity etc.. and dharma/satya. Due to change of planetary positions they had to leave the palace. They introduced themselves one by one and bade the King farewell. The King respectfully escorted each one out of the palace, thanking them for their stay. All them went out of the palace and waited for the others.
Finally Dharma/Satya requested to leave; the King refused. The King explained, that he had protected Dharma/Satya all his life and was not ready to let go of him. Dharma/Satya was pleased and agreed to stay behind. All other virtues were waiting for Dharma/Satya outside. Once this virtue stayed back all of the virtues came back saying they will stay only where Dharma/Satya reside.
The moral of the story is;
1. there are times when we loose all wealth/possessions/opulence. But no matter what we should never leave Dharma.
2. Choose your battles; the King fought for Dharma not for anything else. He was not perturbed by anyone else leaving.
3. If you have Dharma, you'll have everything eventually; without Dharma you'll never have anything in the long run.
Uptil the 60's-70's the general belief was that doing dana-dharma is mandatory for well being. If someone is good inspite of this; it must be the dharma of ancestors that is protecting that person.
Also noteworthy is the term "Satya-naash". If satya is naasha; then there is no hope for that person.
In the volatile economy like this; one has to look beyond the horizon. Investing in something long term and secure; is the greatest fundamental of Banking and Investment.
Dharma's effects can felt across generations. One small ex. recently my father was traveling to a temple in a bus. He was standing and was feeling tired. Immediately somebody recognized him as HRV's younger brother and offered him a seat. This is after 15 years of HRV's passing away; readers can have more powerful examples; but purport is that Dharma protects not only us, but spans generations. No matter how many instruments the financial industries create; ensuring 2-3 generations down enjoy good benefits is simply beyond it's scope.
In Mahabharata, Yudhishtira is generally portrayed as soft spoken and a push over sometimes. SriMadhwacharya explains that he is Yama(death) himself; it is a very frightful position; but Vayu Devaru keeps an avesha of "Sowmya" roopa; so he is seen as soft hearted. Also the forgiving nature of Yudhistira is representative of the nature of dharma. Dharma keeps forgiving; keeps giving second/third/fourth chances; keeps throwing us life lines and follows us everywhere we go to protect us.
So start investing in the easiest possible way; to get the maximum returns and the most secure way; sounds like a no-brain er investment to me :)
BharatiRamana MukhyaPranantargata SriKrishnarpanamastu,
Hrishikesh
Hrishikesh ji,
ReplyDeleteWonderful post this one!
Shuchi
Naham Karta ! Hari Karta !
ReplyDeletewhy this "ji" ? :)
Dear Hrishikesh
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Thank you! From where does this story about the king originate? Do you happen to know the source (e.g. particular chapter of the Mahabharata or of a specific Purana)?
Also, is it Dharma or Satya that the king refused to let go of. In one sense, they are of course the same, but I'm interested to know what word is used in the original Sanskrit. If you could help, I would be immensely thankful.
Best wishes
Gopal das
Gopal Das,
DeleteThanks for your kind words :)
I've always tried to provide references wherever I can; I have heard this is in a pravachana long back. I'll definitely try to find the original source; I think the source mentions Sathya.
Sathya and Dharma are interchangeable. It will require a very detailed discussion; but the jist Dharma and Satya are on the same side always.
Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh