(Below is a continuation of the post The Four Pillars Of Knowledge)
3. Titiksha: Titiksha means forbearance. It means the ability to endure even that which is not of your liking. Now, it is not possible that every time you will have everything go as per your way and liking, isn’t it? You must have seen some children who are so sensitive and pampered, if sometimes, even one thing does not go as per their wish, they create so much noise and fuss about it. They will behave as if there is a complete breakdown of everything. It is because they have been raised in this way, they have not had the experience of Titiksha.
Are you able to accept something even if it not as per your liking or choice? Do you have acceptance? Does everything in the world go as per your wish every time? Has it ever happened in anyone’s life? No, it has never happened.
Yes, if what you desire for, happens more often than what you do not wish for, then that is a different thing altogether. That is the quality of a Sidhha (a perfected wise person). Such a person remains happy come what may. If you tend to lose your calm and presence of mind when some things do not happen as per your expectations, then that shows a lack of Titiksha.
Are you able to forbear opposite and conflicting situations in life?
Suppose someone is very unpleasant to you, if you lack Titiksha then it rattles your mind and throws you off balance. With Titiksha you can move on and keep the balance.
If you sow a seed today and keep digging the earth again and again to see if it has sprouted and grown, what will you ever get? You will not get anything. Once you have sown the seed and watered it, then be patient for a while. Having Titiksha means to be patient, to have forbearance. To maintain a balance and be able to bear everything when opposite situations arise in life – that is a sign of having Titiksha. Titiksha does not mean inaction.
Just look inside and reflect on yourself – are you able to forbear opposite and conflicting situations in life? Suppose someone is very unpleasant to you. If you lack Titiksha then it rattles your mind and throws you off balance. With Titiksha you can move on and keep the balance.
4. Shraddha: What does Shraddha mean? It means to like and adore something which you do not know about, yet you feel there is something wonderful about it, and have that deep interest to know more about it.
You do not need to have faith on what you already know. When there is something that you do not know about, yet you feel a sense of connectivity to that unknown – that is Shraddha. The willingness to know, or loving the unknown is called Shraddha. You see a few people doing a ritual, and they have a strong belief in the ritual and that something is happening through the ritual, and in their life because of it. Now, you do not know what exactly they are doing, but you have this feeling of faith and you think “Okay, I accept this”.
Without Shraddha, nothing can move in life. Your doctor tells you to take a certain medicine by which you will get well. You take the medicine because you have faith in the doctor. If you do not have faith in the doctor, you will never even touch the medicine. So, our life runs on faith.
The city’s electricity board has faith in you and gives you electricity, having the faith that you will pay the bill at the end of the month. If they do not keep faith in you, why would they care to supply you with electricity? Putting a foot forward before you get the fruit of the action is called Shraddha. For example, you are unwell and have not yet recovered your health. But you take a step forward and take the medicine because you have faith in the doctor, in the medicine given to you and you have faith in God. This mindset or inner power that helps you move forward in life is called Shraddha. Whether it is in the material or the spiritual world, you cannot take even one step forward without Shraddha.
Shraddha is necessary to move forward especially in the direction of the unknown. If you have to keep moving around one point in life, like a bull tethered by a rope, then you do not need faith. But whether it is material or spiritual life, to take a step in the direction of the unknown, you need to have Shraddha.
If you wish to remain in your ignorance then you do not need Shraddha. When you think you know everything, then what is the need of Shraddha? If you see this from a more subtle level, suppose you really do know everything, then also you need to have faith upon all that you know. This is what you need to understand. Shraddha is having that deep faith and love towards the unknown.
Uparati means to do everything wholeheartedly, finding joy and taking total interest in it.
For example, you see a Havan happening before you and you do not know anything much about it. Yet, in your mind you have this feeling of faith that something good and beneficial will result from the Havan. This is Shraddha. When you leave your young children in the care of their teachers at school, you have this faith that the teachers will teach well and impart good values to your children. It is because you have this faith that you willingly leave your children in their care. You submit yourself to your doctor’s treatment with this faith that the doctor will surely treat you well. You have not yet received the results of the treatment, but you have still taken that first step towards it, with faith.
It is said, “Shraddhavaanam labhate jnaanam”, meaning that one who has faith will gain knowledge. People who have faith surely receive more. Along with Shraddha, if you also have a say over your senses, it is even better. If you have control over your sleep, your eating habits and all other habits, then your mind becomes very sharp. But if you stay drunk all day and night, how can you gain any knowledge? If students drink a lot, then that is the end of their educational career. Their mind becomes duller and duller due to alcohol and intoxicants.
Have you ever found an alcoholic with a very sharp mind? I do not know of any such person. If at all there is such a person, he must surely be a miracle! Their mind cannot be sharp and responsive when they are under the influence of alcohol. Even otherwise you will find dullness creeping into them. So, Shraddha is very essential.
5. Uparati: Uparati means enjoying anything that one does. It may be small things. Uparati means to find interest and joy in doing everything – whether big or small. It means to have a sense of enthusiasm in whatever you do. When there is a lack of Uparati then there is dejectedness, no interest and no enthusiasm. You do not like doing anything. Such a person who does not have enthusiasm cannot create or invent anything new. Uparati means to do everything wholeheartedly, finding joy and taking total interest in it.
6. Samadhana: Samadhana means contentment. That is also a gift, a true wealth. A person who is content exuberates a certain sense of joy from deep within; he exudes certain positive vibrations which everyone else would love to have.
A restless guy cannot be an inventor. You may say that this is contrary, since some scientists were very restless to make discoveries. Like Archimedes was very restless. Well, when did Archimedes find the Buoyancy principle? He did not find it when he was restless. He found it when he was relaxing in a tub of water.
Newton struggled all his life. But when he felt overwhelmed with desperation, when his brain got so tired of thinking and calculating, he sat down to rest below a tree. When he took a moment of rest, the apple fell before him and he found Gravity. When you look at every invention on this planet with a keen sense of observation, you will find that it has come when people have gotten over the restlessness, desperation and dejection. It has happened when they arrived at a point of breakdown, and relaxed. In that moment of total relaxation and contentment, creativity came to them. But we understand it the other way around. We think that contentment is in opposition with creativity. We think that we can be creative only when we are restless and agitated. This question often crosses our mind, “Oh, how can you be creative when you are content?”
I tell you, contrary to this, it is contentment and not restlessness that brings out our creativity. If agitation and restlessness were to be the cause of creativity, then countries like Afghanistan should be the most creative part of the world. There has been restlessness and discontent in Afghanistan for the past 40 years. If this were true, then Lebanon too should have been very creative. Instead we see that the city of Beirut faces problems all the time. There is so much tension and strife in Kashmir. Where do we see creativity in the midst of such restlessness and discontent? See, contentment is not lethargy. Do not confuse contentment with lethargy. Contentment is creativity. and creativity blossoms in us when there is Samadhana.
So these are the six wealths: Shama, Dama, Titiksha, Uparati, Shraddha and Samadhana. Each is called a wealth because like any wealth, some of it comes easily to us in life while for some we have to make effort to acquire or preserve it. Some wealth has to be maintained otherwise it will disappear.
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