Did I ever belittle the people on penance?

There was a Siva Servitor living with his family in a village. He had two sons and two daughters. He was an agriculturist and also doing business. He got both his daughters and elder son married and was living happily.

Last son alone was not married. He was doing cultivation in his land more diligently. He had a spiritual yearning. He used to go for agricultural work in the morning and return home in the evening. He was doing agriculture with utmost reverence. After returning home in the evening, he used to sit in prayer till 10 ‘o’clock in the night and then retire to bed.

While lot of other lucrative businesses we are available, he chose to agriculture with a great benevolent thought as that not only helped his family but also helped others with its usufructs. He considered agriculture as much greater than other avocations. One should understand the greatness of agriculture from the very fact that St. Thiruvalluvar has sung its greatness in ten verses in his treatise “Thirukkural”

The ploughers are the linch-pin of the world; they bear Them up who other works perform, too weak its toils to share. Agriculturists are (as it were) the linch-pin of the world for they support all other workers who cannot till the soil.

Thirukkural 1032

For those who ‘ve left what all men love no place is found, When they with folded hands remain who till the ground. If the farmer’s hands are slackened, even the ascetic state will fail.

Thirukkural 1036

He was doing cultivation with a very great veneration and satisfaction, which was glorified by Valluvar and also continuously practicing meditation. He grew up and was 28 years old. His parents wanted to get him married and approached him with an advice to get married as he had already reached the marriageable age. But he negated their request

and said that he would like to take up penance. His relatives also approached him and said “Dear you are young. You should get married and take care of everything in a family life. Instead, why do you want to avoid marriage and chose to go on penance? Are you so big an ascetic. Had you ever seen God? Why do you behave like this? You shall get married and be happy.” Thus insisted the relatives.

This also he refused and said that he would undertake celibacy. His friends approached him and advised “You please do not waste this youth. You should get married and enjoy the life. Instead why do you want to remain a bachelor and claim to see God?” Like this though he received counseling from many quarters, he was very firm in his decision to enter into Sanyasa. He said that he would do penance and pray unto Lord Almighty and to get rid of this birth and resorted to Sanyasa. But his friends repeatedly compelled him and also laughed at his decision to live without wife and children and become a Gnani. But he said wife and children will be a hindrance for penance.

It is a pity ! They don’t know the truth! They seek pleasure in a void terrain

The pleasure of woman ! unknowingly the result. It is a vain exercise.

The beautiful body becomes pale,

And all the nerves lose their strength and visible in the surface, They starve and die.

This is the result of the pleasure of woman

Oh! Thou crest- jewel of penance , Lord of the Universe Curing the incurables at Velur,

Oh Vaidyanadha!

Thou shall advocate a medicine To these lascivious bases.

Thiruvarutpa 3097

As St. Ramalingar so said, he would not prefer an impermanent married life, would chose to be a Sanyasi and do

penance and very stubbornly refused their suggestion. But without understanding his noble objective, they criticized him in many ways. They also indulged mudslinging and talked ill of him.

They yelled at him, “This fellow is going to penance, he sees God and he is going to be a big ascetic” so sarcastically they degraded him.

Talking ill of people undertaking penance is a grave sin. It is a matter of greatness even to get a thought of doing penance. One shall not talk ill of people with such great sense and people with such will power to sit in penance.

It is so because if one gets Bliss out of penance, the sins of all those who are kith and kin and related for the past seven births, all those “who are kith and Kin and relatives for contemporary seven births and all those who would be his kith and kin for next seven births will be absolved. That is for 21 births all those near and dear will get the fruit of such penance, is the truth. This is what St. Manikkavasagar expressed as under;

Balm ,hardly by celestials gained I praise! King, easy of access to others praise I Monarch in grace, who savest lest we sink In hell’s hated one and twenty rounds, I praise! Companion, praise! My helper.-praise!

Thiruvasakam Potri Thiruagaval ….line 120

Without understanding the noble cause of such ascetics, if any one talk ill of them will be subjected to multivarious sufferings. Moreover understanding that they would incur the wrath of Almighty, they shall guard themselves without talking ill of such ascetics. “Helping them is an act of virtue and it is a sin to talk ill of them” is the advice of St. Ramalingar. Such ascetics not only live in this society but also perform penance unnoticed by others.

“Whatever be the avocation, whatever be the suffering, The mind of Bliss is fixed in penance;

As doth the damsel dancing elegantly swinging hands But fixing the mind always on the pot on the head.”

St. Pattinathar was engaged in sea trade. St. Janagar was a king and ruling the country. St.Pattinathar not only undertook his business venerably and also did penance uninterruptedly. Similarly, though King Janagar was ruling the country, he was in meditation without fail and attained Bliss. St. Kousika was also a ruler. He also attained Bliss through meditation. Hence, unmindful of one’s profession and business, it is better not to talk ill of such penants and cause disturbance to it.

Except that it is a sin to talk ill of such ascetics without understanding their spiritual standing.

If one undertake penance, after realization of true self, himself and his servitors also will be happy.