Search:

From the Bhakti List Archives

ramia pichumani • February 15, 2000 


Sriman Chandrasekaran said:
I have a doubt in the purport of the following verse in the 3rd chapter 
ofgItA.
    .......... >>>   tAn akr~thsna vidhO mandhAn kr~thsnavin na vichAlayEth 
||
    Meaning for this is given in a book as,
    "let the wise men, who have no attachments, not unsettle the mind of the
foolish men,     who do actions with attachment"
    I am confused about this advice of the Lord. I request gItA experts in
this list to clarifywhat is exactly meant here.<<<


Hari OM!!!
Dear Bhagavatha,

I am no authority in Gita and can only boast having read Swami 
Chinmayananda's English translation a couple of times. I wish to share my 
humble views so that they serve to purify my own also:

If a wise man who acts without attchments to the fruit of action, cannot 
induce by his "actions", a "need to seek council" in a man of unsettled mind 
- then ofcource "no amount of voluntary persuation" on the part of the wise 
man will ever do the trick.
By his "actions", the wise man must/can induce another man to seek his 
council. But without "vivekam" on the part of the listener to understand his 
own interests, all efforts on the part of the wise man will be in vain - 
"Pulluku eraitha neer".
This endowment of "vivekam" on part of the man of unsettled mind is maybe 
first step of Prapathi as described by Swami Desikan in Parama Pada Sopanam. 
( Please correct me if I am wrong !!! )

Unless a patient( man of un-settled mind ) seeks a doctor (wise man) on his 
own accord, how can he be administered the medicine ( Jnana of the Lord's 
supremacy !! ). As a doctor, he can only establish a general good will of 
his capability to help sick people ( By his actions, a wise man can induce 
everybody to seek His Lord's mercy ). But if the Doctor on his own accord 
were to go door-to-door looking for a "patient who doesn't even know that he 
is a patient"(agnayani), will it not make the patient throw away his 
medicine (Amounts to apacharam ??? ).

I have heard that there are 4 kinds of people :
One who does not know the TRUTH and he does not know that he does not know - 
This man is a fool! Shun him !
One who does not know the TRUTH but he knows that he does not know - This 
man is a seeker!!!! Help him to discover !!
One who knows the TRUTH but does not know that he knows - this man is 
sleeping !!!! Wake him !!!!
One who knows the TRUTH and he knows that he knows - He is a wise man !!! 
Seek him !!!!
Pooh, much like the Boolean algebra 00,01,10,11

Maybe that's why the Lord asserts that a wise man should not unsettle the 
mind of a non-seeker.

I remember a lot of college lectures which I dreamed away just because of a 
gross lack of interest. But some others I was induced to listen to even the 
breath of the speaker, just because I was interested in the subject and I 
knew that the speaker was a competent authority in that subject.

I hope I have not offended anybody by the comparison....
Please feel free to correct me wherever necessary!!!

Sarvam Krishnarpanam!
Ramia P
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com