fire

Courtesy: Sri.kv.Anantanarayanan

 

पञ्चाग्नयो मनुष्येण परिचर्याः प्रयत्नतः।
पिता माताग्निरात्मा च गुरुश्च भरतर्षभ॥६२॥
महाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि प्रजागरणपर्वणि विदुरवाक्ये अध्यायः ३३
pa�cāgnayo manuṣyeṇa paricaryāḥ prayatnataḥ|
pitā mātāgnirātmā ca guruśca bharatarṣabha||62||
mahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi prajāgaraṇaparvaṇi viduravākye adhyāyaḥ 33

The great scholar and minister Vidura is rendering his learned treatise on
statecraft and lifestyle management to his King and elder brother
Dhritaraashtra.
"O bull of Kuru race, even man should serve with due diligence and
sincerity the following five fires. They are (1) his father (2) his mother
(3) the fire itself (4) his own pure inner self (5) the preceptor."

Fire when properly channelled is the most benevolent and rewarding force
one can have at his disposal. But the same fire, if neglected or made angry
can destroy the whole world including the one who has fomented it.
 Right from birth we are all taught that the most important things in our
life in the order of priority should be mother, father, preceptor and the
God. This is because the first three are before us as the physical
manifestation of God while God himself stays in the background as a noble
but invisible presence.
The parents always work for the benefit of their offspring and would
happily sacrifice everything they have for their benefit. They may not think
of any rewards for this. However all their life, dreams and expectations
are hovering around their children. Spontaneous love is flowing from them
like the nectar of the rays of moonlight soothing the child....for them we
are only children whatever our ages might be. But when their feelings get
disturbed involuntarily because of some wrong actions and deeds of the
children, a destructive fire springs out from sorrow, and this fire, if not
assuaged in time can burn up the son or daughter. Applying value standards
and criticism to justify disrespectful treatment are of no use when it
comes to our parents. No one can become superior to his parents. After all
we originated from them.
The fire itself is very potent. Through fire, we cook food, through fire
we offer oblations to all Gods, through fire we dispose off the garbage.
Fire was the first god we started worshipping..." agnimeelee purohitam... is
the beginning of the Rg vedam". But the same fire inundates forests, the
same fire in the hands of a terrorist as gunpowder of a bomb causes terrible
explosions and destroy life and all good things in the shortest possible
time. The leader of the armed forces shouts "Fire.." as his first war
command.
The subtle self, innate in ourselves is also like fire. Tended with
calmness, this inner self gives us peace and bestows some purposefulness for
our life. If this soul is neglected, we are lost for ever.
The preceptor or Guru is also to be equated to our parents. Every person
who has, at any point of time, enriched our knowledge or helped us out in
directing our own lives in a better way is a Guru. The neighbour, the boss,
the colleague, the subordinate, the friend, all in addition to our teachers
in academics should be treated as gurus. God himself has manifested as guru
in the shapes of Krishna, Shankara, Dakshinaamoorthy, Vyasa, Hayagreeva,
Dattatreya, Ramanuja, Jesus, The Prophet..the list is very lengthy. Will is
be possible for us to fight the enraged fire coming from a provocated
preceptor and continue our existence?

knr
--
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.

  Every moment, thank God