काव्यशास्त्रविनोदेन कालो गच्छति धीमताम्
व्यसनेन तु मूर्खाणां निद्रया कलहेन वा
- हितोपदेश
Kaavya-shaastra-vinodena kaalo gachchhati dheemataam
vyasanena tu moorkhaaNaam nidrayaa kalahena vaa
- Hitopadesha
Meaning: The intelligent (dheemataam) spend their time (kaala) in studying literature (kaavya) and scriptures (shaastra) for their amusement (vinoda), while fools by (indulging in) bad habits (vyasana), sleeping (nidraa) or quarreling (kalahena).
Our hobbies, our pastimes tell us about our personalities. Intelligent people always have hobbies which enrich their minds, which add value to their lives, which take them further in life. Whereas foolish people indulge into unproductive activities like vices, too much sleeping, and having tussles and quarrels with others.
What are we spending our time on?
What do we do, when we have nothing else to do?
What do we want to do, if we had more time?
These are the questions being asked by the subhaashitkaar. If the answers contain productive activities where our mind is involved positively, even during amusement, then we are among the intelligent.
Time is of great essence, and every moment if not used productively, is causing losses to us in the business of life. We should know what we are doing at any moment, and why we are doing what we are doing. If that is well-defined, even an hour spent watching the rains or the birds, or even sleeping is well-spent. It all depends upon whether you know what you are doing, and whether there is a well-defined productive reason for what you are doing. Reading books may not be always be productive, and sleeping may not be always unproductive. They may well be vice versa. It all depends upon the 'why' behind the action. Know your whys in life and you are good to go !
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Books
तैलात् रक्षेत् जलात् रक्षेत् रक्षेत् शिथिलबंधनात् |
मूर्खहस्ते न दातव्यं एवं वदति पूस्तकम् ||
Tailaat rakShet jalaat rakShet rakShet shithila-bandhanaat
Murkha-haste na daatavyam evam vadati pustakam
Meaning: Protect me (rakShet) from oil (taila), protect me from water (jala), protect me from loose-binding (shithila-bandhan); do not (na) give me (daatavyam) in the hands (haste) of a fool (murkha) - so says the book (pustaka).
Personifying a book, this shloka tells us various things to take care of a book from. Take care of books from oil, since they leave permanent marks on the pages. We usually have the habit of eating stuff with bare hands whilst reading. It's good to avoid that practice.
Protect books from water, since the pages get torn easily when wet. Also the pages become brittle and flimsy after they dry.
Make sure we handle books in a delicate manner so as not to loosen the binding. If the binding is already weak then we should repair it to make it strong again, or at least treat the book with enough care so as not to further loosen the pages.
Murkha over here means anyone who doesn't understand the value of the book. So we should avoid giving our books to anyone and everyone. This is really very important. Most of us lose our books by lending them to people who not only never read them, but also put them away in places that they themselves don't remember. Our books will stay protected only in the hands of those who value it. We have to be very careful about whom we lend our books and we should also ensure that we get them back.
Books are a symbol of literature, and also a symbol of knowledge. In essence, the poet is also telling us to value and protect knowledge since it's invaluable to our sustainance as well as progress.
मूर्खहस्ते न दातव्यं एवं वदति पूस्तकम् ||
Tailaat rakShet jalaat rakShet rakShet shithila-bandhanaat
Murkha-haste na daatavyam evam vadati pustakam
Meaning: Protect me (rakShet) from oil (taila), protect me from water (jala), protect me from loose-binding (shithila-bandhan); do not (na) give me (daatavyam) in the hands (haste) of a fool (murkha) - so says the book (pustaka).
Personifying a book, this shloka tells us various things to take care of a book from. Take care of books from oil, since they leave permanent marks on the pages. We usually have the habit of eating stuff with bare hands whilst reading. It's good to avoid that practice.
Protect books from water, since the pages get torn easily when wet. Also the pages become brittle and flimsy after they dry.
Make sure we handle books in a delicate manner so as not to loosen the binding. If the binding is already weak then we should repair it to make it strong again, or at least treat the book with enough care so as not to further loosen the pages.
Murkha over here means anyone who doesn't understand the value of the book. So we should avoid giving our books to anyone and everyone. This is really very important. Most of us lose our books by lending them to people who not only never read them, but also put them away in places that they themselves don't remember. Our books will stay protected only in the hands of those who value it. We have to be very careful about whom we lend our books and we should also ensure that we get them back.
Books are a symbol of literature, and also a symbol of knowledge. In essence, the poet is also telling us to value and protect knowledge since it's invaluable to our sustainance as well as progress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)