Nagercoil: APRIL 18 – 19, 2012
Jagadguru re-enters Tamil Nadu at Nagercoil
Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji was welcomed back into Tamil Nadu at Nagercoil after the Kerala Vijaya Yatra on the evening of 18th April 2012. The Jagadguru reached the Sringeri Shankara Math at Vadiveeswaram in Nagercoil to a great reception by hundreds of devotees.
In His Anugraha Bhashanam, Dharma can be taken to mean duty in general. The Dharma of a son is to serve his parents, that of a student is to study sincerely and that of a teacher to teach his students well.
While these duties vary from individual to individual, there are a set of principles that constitute Dharma common to all. One of them is Ahimsa. It is said that अहिंसा परमो धर्मः – Ahimsa constitutes the highest Dharma. Ahimsa is not to be understood as mere abstinence from physical harm. Our Shastras declare that only one who never hurts anyone by thought, word and deed can be said to be adhering to the principle of Ahimsa.
Another such Dharmic principle common to all is to speak the truth. The Jagadguru recalled the words of Kalidasa in his poetic work, Raghuvamsha, when the great poet describes the kings in the lineage of Raghu Maharaja as सत्याय मितभाषिणाम् – those who spoke little for the sake of truth. The Jagadguru explained that this trait of the kings was to refrain from speaking at length unless necessitated for. As it is not easy to control one’s tongue, every word spoken was measured giving no opportunity of uttering a lie. Illustrating thus, the Jagadguru advised the devotees to speak measuredly because overindulgence in speech often leads to the telling of lies.
The Jagadguru also spoke about a third Dharmic principle – वित्तस्य पात्रे व्ययः – that one’s wealth must be spent in charity to the deserving. In the past centuries, the rich used to construct temples out of a sense of rendering service, as thousands of people could then come to the temple and get solace. The Jagadguru also stressed upon the fact that one must seek security in life only by wealth acquired through just means – न्यायोपार्जितवित्तेन कर्तव्यं ह्यात्मरक्षणम् . If a person procures wealth unjustly, he will lose it in the very ways he obtained them unjustly. The Jagadguru ended His Anugraha Bhashanam Hence one must observe Dharma common to all, besides adhering to one’s own special duty.
On April 19th, the Jagadguru graced the Kanyakumari Gurukula Ashrama and Alamelu Vidyashrama Matriculation school in Pazhavoor, Kanyakumari district. Being run for more than half a century, the Ashrama and school serve many orphans by providing them with good education and helping them to lead a good life. The Jagadguru was pleased with the noble efforts, blessed the teachers and students, as well as alumni of the institutions that included a lawyer and a doctor.