December 2020
V Si.’s World of Riches
H V R Iyengar, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India had immense respect for V Si. ‘Fate has not dealt too kindly with V Sitaramaiah’ – was the sum and substance of the worldly life of V Si.
While talking about a person’s life we often use the terms ‘ups’ and ‘downs.’ But it would not be wrong to say that there were no (economic) ‘ups’ in V Si.’s life. He constantly ‘went down’ in his finances. He did not seem to have...
It is indicated above that the buddhi is a power that works with the manas. The buddhi is under the influence of the manas. Therefore, to purify the buddhi, it is imperative to purify the manas. Buddhi is an implement that enables reflection. Manas experiences the product of the buddhi. In Vedānta, jñāna (wisdom) is the same as anubhava (experience). Knowledge of Brahman is the experience of Brahman. Mind is the arena of experience. Unless the...
ಹಣಹಿಡುಕರ ವಿಡಂಬನೆ
‘ಹಣವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೆಣ ಸುಡುವುದೂ ಕಷ್ಟ’ ಎಂದು ನಮಗೆ ಹರಿಶ್ಚಂದ್ರನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಈಗಂತೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಮಾಜ ನಿಂತಿರುವುದೇ ಹಣದ ಮೇಲೆ. ಹೀಗಿರಲು ಜೀವನದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಆಯಾಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಹಣದ ಪ್ರಭಾವ ಕಂಡುಬರುವುದು ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯಲ್ಲ. ಮುಂದಿನ ಪದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂಥ ಒಂದು ಸಂಗತಿಯತ್ತ ಕವಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಗಮನವನ್ನು ಸೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ:
ಅಕ್ಷ್ಣೈಕೇನ ವಿಲೋಕನೇ ದಶ ತಥಾ ದ್ವಾಭ್ಯಾಂ ಕೃತೇ ವಿಂಶತಿಃ
ಷಷ್ಟಿರ್ಗಂಧವಿಮರ್ದನೇ ಸ್ರಜ ಉರಸ್ಯಾಧಾಪನೇ ದ್ವೇ ಶತೇ |
ಶುಲ್ಕಂ ರೂಪ್ಯಸಹಸ್ರಮರ್ಧಘಟಿಕಾಭೋಗಾರ್ಥಮಿತ್ಯಾದಿಭಿ-
ರ್ಧೂರ್ತೈಃ ಸಂಪ್ರತಿ ಕುಟ್ಟನೀವ್ಯವಸಿತೈರ್ದೇವೋऽಪಿ...
A Touchstone
Though we have a great deal of material connected with dharma, it is not easy to decide what constitutes dharma and what would be adharma when faced with challenging situations. Draupadī, while being humiliated in the court of the Kauravas hurls a scathing remark at Bhīṣma and questions him about the nature of dharma. Bhīṣma replies that it is beyond his capacity to assess what is dhārmic under the current circumstances.[1]
One can...
Once the king refused, the commander married her. Once when the king was roaming, he saw her standing in the balcony of the commander’s house. As soon as he saw her it was as though he was put under a mesmerising spell. He came back to the palace and laid down with great mental agony. Having understood the reason for his present situation, the commander offered, ‘She is your servant, not parastrī[1]; I’ll abandon her in the temple, you can have...
The Beginning of Fragility
This idea is now crippled. A few people opine that the pride of the local officer (i.e., the officer in charge) was first pricked during the tenure of Sir Mirza Ismail. I can’t say that it was an absolutely baseless accusation. Citizens who deemed themselves prominent would call upon the Dewan at the drop of a hat, complain about the local officers, on occasion get the Government to roll out hukums without seeking the...
ಉಪಕ್ರಮ
ದೇವವಾಣಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಂಭೀರವಾದ ಭಾವಗಳನ್ನೂ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನೂ ಕುರಿತ ಕೃತಿಗಳು ಅಪಾರಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವುದು ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಸರಸ್ವತಿಯು ಲಘುವಾಗಿ ವಿನೋದ ಮಾಡಿ, ಗೇಲಿಗೆರೆದು, ನಕ್ಕು-ನಗಿಸಬಲ್ಲಳು ಎಂದರೆ ಹುಬ್ಬೇರಿಸುವ ಮಂದಿಯೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕಟಕಿ, ಕುಹಕ, ಹಾಸ್ಯಗಳ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಅಜ್ಞಾನವೇ. ಆದಿಕಾವ್ಯ ರಾಮಾಯಣದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಹಲವಾರು ಹಾಸ್ಯಪ್ರಸಂಗಗಳಿವೆ. ಅನಂತರದ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಂತೂ ಇಂಥ ಸಂದರ್ಭಗಳು ಸಾವಿರಾರು. ಇದು ಕಾವ್ಯದ ಮಾತಾಯಿತು, ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಹಾಸ್ಯದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾವವುಂಟೋ? ಎಂದರೆ,...
