9th February, is my mother- Sundar Patil’s birthday. Since I launched Sundar Yoga on her birthday in 2016, it’s been a wonderful journey to discover myself, connect deeply with “sundar” - the beautiful world around me.
These last five years of learning, practices- Swadhyay (my study), caring and sharing; have helped me discover and accumulate so much wealth. Wealth of peace and happiness within, wealth of pure joy and love from the universe around, wealth of knowledge!
The journey has been amazing with all the Yogis @SundarYoga! Thanks to them from bottom of my heart!!
We often recite this shloka in our sessions;
न चोरहार्यं न च राज्यहार्यं न भ्रातृभाज्यं न च भारकारी |
व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यं विद्या धनं सर्वधनप्रधानम् ||
Na chor haarym na cha raajya haaryam na bhraatrubhaajyam na cha bhaarakaari.
Vyaye krute vardhati eva nityam vidyaa dhanam sarva dhan pradhaanam.
Unlike other forms of wealth, scholarship and learning can neither be stolen by a thief nor can the Government confiscate it, It is also not divisible among brothers as a share in ancestral wealth. It is not heavy to carry. On the other hand the more you spend it (shared with others) the more it increases day by day. No doubt, wealth in the form of knowledge, scholarship and learning is the foremost among all forms of wealth.
Although, my mother was educated only till 12th standard formally; she was a lifelong student. If there was a chance to learn something new or more in depth, she would sign up for it. With kids and all household work, she managed to learn Yoga, various kinds of cooking, sewing, embroidery, English language(broken!), gardening, religious scripture and driving.
She took her driving lessons and got her license, after her first cancer encounter at the age of 66! I still remember the sparkle in her eyes!!
She would say- “Keep learning Pama.. always good to learn something!”
She would promote other women- friends, relatives to learn- be udyogi- enterprising too. “Be Busy- be independent!”- she would say.
Actively supporting a couple of good NGOs focused on women and within her reach, she reminded me to do the same. Caring and sharing forward was important and must for her.
She would almost chant- “Be a giver.. “
I am sure, she tried to teach me many of her skills, knowledge and I hope some things stayed with me! :-) Apart from continuous learning, I admired her amazing focus on the Samatva- Equality.
She was always fair in her decisions, actions. As an average house wife from her generation, I have witnessed many interesting situations around her; where she will be put to test! She would take hard stands to ensure those are handled with justice. She could not and would not stand with discrimination.
As she grew older and spent more time reading spiritual scriptures, in spiritual activities; this aspect of her personality was further strengthened. She demonstrated justness with much more clarity.
During her last few days, I felt a bit of annoyance about everything- everyone around me. I guess that was due to the fact that I was losing her and not able to do much about it.
She would smile and remind me of so many beautiful memories, aspects of life. “This is all Maya- Illusion. Look deep and focus on the Satya- Truth within.”
I am sure most of us have similar wealth of wisdom and compassion as our inheritance; let’s treasure it. Let’s share it. Let’s give it forward to the next generations.
Yoga is Sarvabhouma (Universal) and dictates Samatva - Equality.
The Jeevatma- individual consciousness, within every living soul around us is no different but the same Brahman/Paramatma- Supreme Consciousness. No exception.
Detailed elaboration of the four Mahavakyas (great sayings from the Upnishadas) are available widely. Here is one to conclude today’s bit scattered yet part of the sharing forward series:
प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म
Prajnanam Brahman - "The Ultimate Reality is Wisdom (or consciousness)".
There is no discrimination in the ultimate supreme consciousness.
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति:॥ - Peace Peace Peace