October 22nd


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
स्वभावसुन्दरं वस्तु न संस्कारमपेक्षते ।
मुक्तारत्नस्य शाणाश्मघर्षणं नोपयुज्यते ॥

- दृष्टान्तकलिका

Transliteration:
svabhāvasundaraṃ vastu na saṃskāramapekṣate ।
muktāratnasya śāṇāśmagharṣaṇaṃ nopayujyate ॥
- dṛṣṭāntakalikā

Meaning of the subhAShita:
That which is beautiful by nature does not need further refinement.  For a pearl, grinding on a touchstone will do no good!

Commentary:
In its original form, a pearl is lustrous.  One does not have to scrub or polish it to make it shine brighter.  In fact, grinding only harms the pearl because it chips away its layers!  By its very nature, it has the shine that it has.  Any method of processing can neither make it shine less nor more!

That is true for the characteristics of a person as well.  They will shine all on their own, whether he is sitting on a king's throne or living in some obscure thatch his originality, attributes and nature will not change.  Just as the sweetness is inseparable from sugar, just as saltiness is inseverable from salt, so is the intrinsic characteristic of anyone or anything.  No contentions there. 

Trust your nature and let it shine, all on its own accord!  At the same time, let the nature of others shine through in all their glories as well.

pada vigrahaH:
स्वभाव-सुन्दरं वस्तु न संस्कारम् अपेक्षते ।
svabhāva-sundaraṃ vastu na saṃskāram apekṣate ।

मुक्तारत्नस्य शाण-अश्म-घर्षणं न उपयुज्यते ॥
muktāratnasya śāṇa-aśma-gharṣaṇaṃ na upayujyate ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
svabhaavasundaraM vastu na saMskaaramapekShate ।
muktaaratnasya shaaNaashmagharShaNaM nopayujyate ॥
- dRuShTaantakalikaa

svabhaava-sundaraM vastu na saMskaaram apekShate ।
muktaaratnasya shaaNa-ashma-gharShaNaM na upayujyate ॥

2 comments:

  1. The inner man shines through the crusty one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very deep and insightful. Thank you so much

    ReplyDelete