Post by Sumi on Jan 13, 2012 17:37:29 GMT 5.5
Courtesy: Shri Sundaresan Subramanian
Source: www.periva.org
Dear fellow-devotees,
Namonamah. As many of you might have experienced, we often remember clearly
things that we learnt as young kids. There seems to be a safe spot in our
'hard disk' (the brain) that stores old things without damage. In this
context, I am happy to share below an interesting article relating to Dr.
Swaminathan's experience with Mahaperiava. The described incident happened
more than 50 years ago, but the underlying message holds good even today –
perhaps more relevant today amidst a variety of disturbing external
influences!
S.Subramanian
=============================================================================
Where did you learn?
(Here is a gist of the article written by Dr. C.R. Swaminathan, former
Deputy Educational advisor to Govt. of India for a souvenir.)
This happened in the year 1956-57, when H.H. Sri Kanchi MahaswamigaL was
camping at the Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Madras. One evening,
MahaswamigaL was about to address a huge gathering in which great
personalities like Rajaji were present. He was contemplating about the
topic he should speak on. Suddenly, he called Professor Sankaranarayana
Iyer, who was standing by the side of the dais and recited two lines of a
Sanskrit verse. He asked the Professor if he remembered the remaining two
lines of that verse. The Professor pleaded ignorance and got down from the
dais.
This conversation took place before the mike, so audience gathered could
easily hear its details. Dr. C. R. Swaminathan, the author of this article
on Mahaperiyava, heard the beginning of the Sanskrit verse that Periyavaa
recited. Since he happened to know the other two lines of the verse, he
went to Prof. Sankaranarayana Iyer and told him those two lines. The
Professor went up the dais again and recited the lines before MahaswamigaL.
Mahaperiyava asked him, "You said you did not know the lines. How come you
know them now?" The professor replied "Someone in the audience remembered
it and told me."
Mahaperiyavaa inquired about the person who remembered it and asked the
Professor to call Dr. Swaminathan to the dais. When he came, Paramacharya
inquired about his name and occupation. Then the sage asked, "Where did you
study?"
Thinking that the question was about his academic education, Dr. Swaminathan replied that he studied in the Presidency College, Madras."Not that. Where did you learn this verse?"Dr. C.R. said that his grandfather taught him the verse when he was a child.. Paramacharya inquired about his native place, his
grandfather' s name and his family details. The entire conversation was held before the mike, so the audience heard every bit of it.
The verse in question was the following:
arthaaturaanam na gurur na bandhu,
kshudhaathuranam na ruchiki na pakvam,
vidyaturaanaam, na sukham, na nidra,
kaamaaturanam na bhayam na lajja.
Meaning:
One who pursues wealth knows no guru or relations.
One who is hungry knows not taste or if the food was cooked well.
One who pursues knowledge knows neither comfort nor sleep.
One who has desires knows no fear or shame.
Later in the discourse, Paramacharya dealt with the Kenopanishad and
explained how Goddess Parvati came as a teacher to enlighten the celestials
about the supreme Brahmin. When concluding the discourse, he referred to
the earlier incident and said:"Before I started delivering my discourse, I
called a young man to the stage to know where from he learnt the subhashita
verse, of which I recited the first half. I knew who he was. What I wanted
him to tell you about his reciting the other two lines this moral verse was
that he had learnt it, not from his school or college, but from his
grand-father, and that too during his childhood days. It was to impress
upon you all that children should get moral education at home from elders
because they cannot get it from the modern schools and colleges".
Dr. Swaminathan concluded his article with these words:
"I am recalling this incident to show that an insignificant person like
myself, extremely nervous, while standing before H.H. on the dais, noticed
by about thousands of people forming the audience, could be utilized by the
Acharya to drive home to the audience that:
a) a joint family system with elderly parents and grandparents can serve
as a valuable supplement to the school education of young children
(b) the elders can usefully spend their time by narrating such stories and
morals to the children and
(c) such teaching can be retained in one's memory only if imparted at the
formative age.”
Source: www.periva.org
Dear fellow-devotees,
Namonamah. As many of you might have experienced, we often remember clearly
things that we learnt as young kids. There seems to be a safe spot in our
'hard disk' (the brain) that stores old things without damage. In this
context, I am happy to share below an interesting article relating to Dr.
Swaminathan's experience with Mahaperiava. The described incident happened
more than 50 years ago, but the underlying message holds good even today –
perhaps more relevant today amidst a variety of disturbing external
influences!
S.Subramanian
=============================================================================
Where did you learn?
(Here is a gist of the article written by Dr. C.R. Swaminathan, former
Deputy Educational advisor to Govt. of India for a souvenir.)
This happened in the year 1956-57, when H.H. Sri Kanchi MahaswamigaL was
camping at the Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Madras. One evening,
MahaswamigaL was about to address a huge gathering in which great
personalities like Rajaji were present. He was contemplating about the
topic he should speak on. Suddenly, he called Professor Sankaranarayana
Iyer, who was standing by the side of the dais and recited two lines of a
Sanskrit verse. He asked the Professor if he remembered the remaining two
lines of that verse. The Professor pleaded ignorance and got down from the
dais.
This conversation took place before the mike, so audience gathered could
easily hear its details. Dr. C. R. Swaminathan, the author of this article
on Mahaperiyava, heard the beginning of the Sanskrit verse that Periyavaa
recited. Since he happened to know the other two lines of the verse, he
went to Prof. Sankaranarayana Iyer and told him those two lines. The
Professor went up the dais again and recited the lines before MahaswamigaL.
Mahaperiyava asked him, "You said you did not know the lines. How come you
know them now?" The professor replied "Someone in the audience remembered
it and told me."
Mahaperiyavaa inquired about the person who remembered it and asked the
Professor to call Dr. Swaminathan to the dais. When he came, Paramacharya
inquired about his name and occupation. Then the sage asked, "Where did you
study?"
Thinking that the question was about his academic education, Dr. Swaminathan replied that he studied in the Presidency College, Madras."Not that. Where did you learn this verse?"Dr. C.R. said that his grandfather taught him the verse when he was a child.. Paramacharya inquired about his native place, his
grandfather' s name and his family details. The entire conversation was held before the mike, so the audience heard every bit of it.
The verse in question was the following:
arthaaturaanam na gurur na bandhu,
kshudhaathuranam na ruchiki na pakvam,
vidyaturaanaam, na sukham, na nidra,
kaamaaturanam na bhayam na lajja.
Meaning:
One who pursues wealth knows no guru or relations.
One who is hungry knows not taste or if the food was cooked well.
One who pursues knowledge knows neither comfort nor sleep.
One who has desires knows no fear or shame.
Later in the discourse, Paramacharya dealt with the Kenopanishad and
explained how Goddess Parvati came as a teacher to enlighten the celestials
about the supreme Brahmin. When concluding the discourse, he referred to
the earlier incident and said:"Before I started delivering my discourse, I
called a young man to the stage to know where from he learnt the subhashita
verse, of which I recited the first half. I knew who he was. What I wanted
him to tell you about his reciting the other two lines this moral verse was
that he had learnt it, not from his school or college, but from his
grand-father, and that too during his childhood days. It was to impress
upon you all that children should get moral education at home from elders
because they cannot get it from the modern schools and colleges".
Dr. Swaminathan concluded his article with these words:
"I am recalling this incident to show that an insignificant person like
myself, extremely nervous, while standing before H.H. on the dais, noticed
by about thousands of people forming the audience, could be utilized by the
Acharya to drive home to the audience that:
a) a joint family system with elderly parents and grandparents can serve
as a valuable supplement to the school education of young children
(b) the elders can usefully spend their time by narrating such stories and
morals to the children and
(c) such teaching can be retained in one's memory only if imparted at the
formative age.”