Ramnath Pai Raikar | NT
Shree Vidhyadheesh Teerth Shreepad Wader Swami, the head of the Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math, in his blessings to mankind, said that everyone should try to connect with almighty God to the best of his or her ability and at the same time strike a balance between family life, work life and spiritual life.
“Today people focus only on their work life, for 8 to 12 hours a day, on all working days of the week, and then concentrate on their family life during the weekends,” Swamiji said, questioning how much time the common man dedicates to the almighty, except maybe offering flowers and a namaskar in the morning. “It is important for the young generation to know about striking this balance,” he said, adding that giving all importance to family life will push a person away from the divinity, while one would need to become a sanyasi or mendicant if he desires to totally focus on spiritualism, which is why this equilibrium is important.
Swamiji was interacting with ‘The Navhind Times’ on the occasion of the ongoing 550th anniversary of the Math tradition established under the Dvaita order by Jagadguru Madhvacharya in the 13th century. The event marks a significant milestone in the spiritual and cultural history of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community.
Swamiji said that the Math community or any other community should take up ‘Nama-Smaran’ or meditation of their respective deity and relate with the same. “This connection will act as a protection for the devotees. The best example for this concept is the millstone made up of two circular stones used for grinding grains. You will observe that the grains at the periphery of the two stones are crushed and powdered, while those at the centre of these stones remain safe. Similarly, those who stay close to God are protected and safe,” he added.
“Shree Ram, Shree Vitthal, and Shree Vishnu are all forms of the same almighty God. One can follow the upasana, or devotion, to any of these deities and achieve salvation. The boss at the workplace gives you salary, incentives and other perks so that there is improvement in your work. However, there is another boss who is ruling this universe. The dedication towards the work in the company will satisfy the boss, but to please God, you need to commit to him. And the almighty God will support you during your lifetime,” Swamiji said, adding that the company may change its rules, and the pension which existed all along could be discontinued at the time of one’s retirement, but there is no change in any rule in the realm of God. “You surrender before God, and he will be there alongside you at all times. This is applicable to all communities, all societies and all religions. Nonetheless, there needs to be propagation and emergence of knowledge about such things.”
Swamiji said that work life has become very hectic and the style of working and living has changed.
“Furthermore, people take up additional part-time jobs or do overtime to raise their standard of living. This struggle does not spare any time for allegiance towards God. However, a person can always spare 10 minutes or so to remember God and chant the mantra ‘Shree Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama’ during the office recess. And such a mantra, unlike the Gayatri Mantra, can be said without having bathed or performing Nyas Vidhi. So there is flexibility in the Ram mantra, which allows a person to say it during his spare time and thus remember the deity.”
He said that people will not find all of the four ‘purusharthas’, or goals of human life as stated in Hindu philosophy—dharma, artha, kama, and moksha—while working in, say, a multinational company.
“Dnyan (knowledge), bhakti (devotion) and vairagya (dispassion) will take a person away from the material world and detach him from materialism, in turn leading him to the final destination that is moksha or salvation,” he said, adding that social studies tell us that once 67 to 70 per cent of the Indian population was involved in agriculture.
People would work in the fields during the day and, after returning home in the evening, participate in bhajans, ‘nam-smaran’, ‘bhagwat shravan’ and so on, said Swamiji.
“Today, there is a decline in such spiritual activities. We can now go back and make our life purposeful by striking a balance among family life, work life and spiritual life.”
Speaking about the guru-shishya parampara—the teacher-student tradition of the Math—he said that the main objective of this tradition is the welfare of the society.
“Right from Shree Narayan Teerth Swami, the founder of the Gokarn Partagali Math, to the present head of the Math, every swami strove for the upliftment of the society as well as disciples,” he said, adding, “And this is relevant to all the communities in the society, who should follow the path of tolerance.”
Swamiji stated that the construction of the 77-foot-tall statue of Lord Rama at the Partagali Math premises will result in attracting more devotees to the Math, which in turn will help in the socio-economic development of the people in the region, as well as the advancement of the area.
“We are also propagating religious views, including the principles and philosophy of Jagadguru Madhavacharya. In fact, this is the main objective of the Math,” he said, adding that the proposal to start a Vedic Pathshala at the Math is an effort to take this philosophy down the generations.
“The guru-shishya parampara has resulted in many achievements, the latest being an initiative called the ‘Rama Nama Japa Abhiyan’ that aimed to carry out 550 crore recitations of the mantra ‘Shree Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama’,” Swamiji said.
“This initiative succeeded as a community effort, with all the disciples of the Math following the dictum without any objection.”
Swamiji said that the authentic teacher-disciple relationship is the one in which the teacher never discards his disciple and vice versa. “The head of the Math is not concerned with the administrative aspects but is committed to religious matters, including activities related to temples and their renovations,” he said, concluding that these Guru-Shishya and Guru-Math traditions will continue forever.
