Wishesh Magazine June 2016

cold, loud and soft, sweet
and sour and the like. They
are solely dependent upon
external objects and these
objects are always coming and
going, they are known to be
temporary and thus should be
tolerated. One being situated
in spiritual knowledge should
with fortitude tolerate them and
not succumb to lamentation or
exaltation because of them.
In the proper discharge of duty,
one has to learn to tolerate
nonpermanent appearances and
disappearances of happiness and
distress.
Verse meaning
O son of Kunti, the
nonpermanent appearance
of happiness and distress,
and their disappearance
in due course, are like
the appearance and
disappearance of winter and
summer seasons. They arise
from sense perception, O scion
of Bharata, and one must learn
to tolerate them without being
disturbed.
Explanation
In the proper discharge of duty,
one has to learn to tolerate
nonpermanent appearances
and disappearances of
happiness and distress. One
has to follow the prescribed
rules and regulations of
religious principles in order
to rise up to the platform
of knowledge, because by
knowledge and devotion only
can one liberate himself from
the clutches of maya (illusion).
A great heritage brings
responsibility in the matter of
proper discharge of duties.
The objects of the senses
perceived is called matra or
the functions of the senses
which are hearing, seeing,
smelling, touching and tasting.
Their contact with their
appropriate objects produces
the sensations of hot and
In the absence of selfrealisation,
there is always
sorrow. Therefore it is clarified
thus, matra means sensuous
experience and sparsas
means contact with them.
Thus matra-sparsas is the
interaction of the senses with
sense objects. When the
individual consciousness is
deluded into relating to itself
as the body, pleasure and the
pain is experienced, but when
the individual consciousness
sees itself as separate from
the physical body then the
sorrow arising from the death
of friends and relatives would
not arise.
It is by rejection of ones
constitutional position as
individual consciousness
and accepting the position of
considering oneself the body
that the perception of pleasure,
pain, happiness, sorrow and all
the rest manifests.
JUNE 2016 | WWW.WISHESH.COM