Posted Date : 06:00 (27/05/2014)
The Great Medicine: Savior of the Mind
Sēvāratnā
Doctor T.S. Narayanaswami. Images: Aras
மனம் காக்கும் மாமருந்து!சேவாரத்னா
டாக்டர் டி.எஸ்.நாராயணஸ்வாமி,
ஓவியங்கள்: அரஸ்
In everyday life, we face a thousand problems, the root cause being the
desire beyond ability, and unhappiness and disappointment due to failure
of nonfulfillment (discontent). There is one way to escape burial in
quicksand: Nurture and growth of mental satisfaction (contentment).
contentment is one of the God-given multiple treasures of sakthi in each
one of us. This Sakthi is not of external origin. It is a great human
Sakthi inside us. Mental satisfaction is a naturally occurring wealth in
all of us.
“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”
-Socrates
Contentment is the joy we experience, when our thoughts and life events
come to fruition. The expression of the notion, ‘All well, no need for
more,’ contentment or satisfaction becomes part of psyche.
Aim
The highest aim, compatible with one’s individual Sakthi and ability,
upon actuation and fulfillment will give self-satisfaction. A good aim
for a doctor is to take an oath: ‘become a good doctor, serve the public
and gain name and fame.’
This is not avarice. This
is an ideal merger of self-interest and sense of public weal.
Wealth
If there is an accumulation of wealth, the daily needs and luxurious
lifestyle demand fulfillment.
Many think cornucopias give great joy and mental satisfaction.
This must be the pauper’s thought. Just ask the rich. They will say,
“Everything is available. The uppermost thought is one of disenchantment
amid plenty, bordering on penury. The thought how to safeguard the
wealth combined with fear rules the mind.
Prasnottara ratna
mālikā is a Q & A treatise, wherein Ādi Sankara gives one-line (or
two-line) answers to disciple’s questions. Question: Who is a rich man?
Who is an indigent? Adhi
Sankara: The indigent is the malcontent with immense wealth, not happy
with what he has but wants more. The rich man is he who lives a
contented life with what he has.
Feelings that torment.
A multitude of deep feelings torment the susceptible. The important
tormentors are anger, hatred, jealousy, frustration, disappointment,
shame, feeling of criminality, irritation, impatience, fury, negative
thoughts, laziness, pain, fear, and panic. People caught in the web of
problems are subject to mental distress, the root cause of which is
ignorance: Inability to appreciate and appropriate the God-given
indwelling lofty Sakthis such as satisfaction and mental repletion.
What is mental satiety?
A country measures its progress by its economic strength. After allowing
for needs and luxuries, the remaining income is called disposable
income. The rank in the world of the rich is determined by amount of
disposable income they hold.
But, what the social scientists discovered runs contrary to it.
The accumulated wealth does not
bring comfort to the rich in later years because of old age, fatigue,
disease, loneliness and mental repression. The social scientists
discovered what they are searching for is good relations, fast friends,
affection, love, health, mental peace and gratification.
Tolstoy: Satisfaction or mental gratification is not the feeling from
fruition of desires. Feeling joyous with what you have is contentment.
Instead of pining for what we do not have, mental satiety is to enjoy
what we have.
Rare indeed is human birth.
When told, ‘Be satisfied with what you have,’ it does not mean that you
should abandon desires, endeavors and improving the quality of your
life.
Rare indeed is human life.
Make full use of it; improving the
quality of your life should be your objective.
You should work hard.
You should endeavour hard. You
must keep ascending the peaks of victory always.
Feel satisfied that loss teaches good lessons, practice and
experience. Satisfaction as man’s nature does not contradict failures.
Know your ability. Know what your aim is. And make your move to attain
it. The chances for victory are high. The bliss thereof is the base for
mental fulfillment. Multitudes
of people are in search of happiness but not mental satiety. Search for
mental satiety.
Mind that says enough
Some look at the plate of the fellow diner instead of looking at their
own plates. The mind finds out whether his plate has everything that his
neighbor has on his plate. The
pleasure of eating goes sour. Whatever is the amount of money one
receives, he thinks more is better. The same is true of other items:
clothes, jewels… There is no contentment. The mind blocks the thought of
contentment. When a dinner
guest expresses full contentment, and rejects further offer of a
delectable, therein lies the God-given contentment.
'பீலிபெய்
சாகாடும் அச்சிறும் அப்பண்டம்
சால மிகுத்துப் பெயின்’ என்று
வள்ளுவர் கூறியுள்ளார்.
(so said Valluvar)
Kural 475.
Peacock-feather-laden cart's axle breaks
if laden beyond its take.
Though the peacock’s feathers are light in weight, the axle of the cart
will break with an overload of feathers. It is grief whatever it is, be
it an object, food, money, gold, property, well-being… in excess.
The savior great Sakthi is
mental contentment expressing, it is enough.