Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sookti – April 14, 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Mātŗvat paradārēṣu, paradravyeṣu lōṣṭavat
Ātmavat sarvabhūtēṣu, yaḥ paśyati sa panḍitaḥ ǁ
Meaning: He who respects another’s wife or sister as his own mother; he who does not seek to covet the wealth and property of others; he who sees himself as existing in all living entities, be it germs, insects, birds, animals or humans, and hence compassionately helps them all, is a truly learned scholar. He is truly enlightened. He is a pandit.
To have reverence for elders and for ladies is our ancient Indian tradition. Right from young girls to old ladies- our tradition teaches us to revere them all. We worship them. We worship our mother, love our wife and lovingly respect our sisters. Only one woman occupies the position of a wife in a man’s life. He must look at every other woman in the universe as his mother and revere them all.
Due to the usage of the word ‘paradāreshu’ – we must not presume that only wives of other men are worthy of respect and that we can behave as per our whims with unmarried women. It is wrong. Every woman needs to be respected and treated properly.
Property of others- be it land, gold, vehicles or any other form of wealth, we must look at it as if it is straw. In other words, we must not get attracted by them. We must never desire an object that belongs to others! We must rejoice seeing the prosperity of others. We must be pleased when their children do well. We must admire the good results that they have obtained due to their past meritorious deeds. But under no circumstances must we be jealous of them. With the thought that the good deeds of this birth will help us obtain all those luxuries in the next birth, we must walk on the right path by performing meritorious deeds.
Ātmavat sarvabhūteṣu- is a very valuable saying. To the sadhakas, who are treading the path of Vedanta knowledge, this is the primary step. You must love others in creation as much as you love your own body and life-force. You must have the same reverence for others as you have for yourself. This equanimity must be developed. For instance, upon coming across a hungry animal, you must feel as if you yourself are hungry. With that feeling you must provide sufficient food to that animal. If any animal or person is injured, you must feel as if you are injured. With that feeling you must attend to that person and do that service which you would do for yourself if you were injured. We must learn to treat the happiness and sorrows of every entity in creation as our own joys and sorrows.
The person who can put this into practice is addressed as a pandit. Mastery over Shastras does not entitle anyone to be addressed as a pandit. He must be able to apply the principles taught in those shastras in his daily life. Only then he can be classified as a pandit. This is the message given by this sookti.