Charity Begins at Home

 

Om Shri Ganeshaya Namaha, Shri Saraswathyai Namaha, Shri Gurubhyo Namaha.

॥ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥ ॐ श्री सरस्वत्यै नमः ||

||ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः||

Charity begins at home. And that was the clarion call that kept blowing aloud throughout the Brahmin’s Global Meet 2023, held at Palakkad. A big thanks to Mr. Karimpuzha Raman and his team for putting together a confluence of great minds from across the globe. I am very thankful for having been able to attend and listen to some of the most eminent brains of Bharath. The team has some very sophisticated plans on the anvil, that include a business forum and a mobile app, to stay united even after this meet, and not part ways until the next meeting.

For change to happen, we must be the change ourselves, after-all. These might sound like mere rhetoric and cliched statements, yet extremely essential in raising awareness in every Brahmin household. When there’s an impending threat to Sanathana Dharma, it’s up to each and every Brahmin, to be responsible in standing up for each other, united in cause, regardless of geography and language. Unity begets Unity, it’s that simple.

The Global Meet aimed to cover relevant topics that will help come out with a workable model, something that is sustainable, with something for everyone. It first begins with busting the myth that Sanathana Dharma in its core is merely Brahminical hegemony. It’s a lot more than what meets the eye, on a superficial level. Brahmins are but people who uphold the values of Vedas – which in turn puts us directly on the role of providing service back to the society by way of teaching Vedic values. There’s a popular saying from the Vedas – "परोपकारार्थं इदं शरीरं। It is a reminder that our existence and abilities are meant to be used for the betterment of others and society as a whole.

So, if we are to teach something, we must have the never-ending fire to unlearn and learn. It commences with acknowledging the fact that we must have faith in the Vedas, making an attempt to practise it, and then adapting to the lifestyle. This in no way means that one must shed modernity for us to learn about our own Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. Concepts, Characters and Examples from The Mahabharatha and Ramayana, still hold relevance and water for every walk of life. The study of the scriptures, chanting slokas on a daily basis, attempting to do the Nithya Karma Anushtanams don’t require one to reach retirement age. A sapling doesn’t become a tree overnight when planted – it takes time to build habits and live it diligently. We can be modern and spiritual all at once, if only we try.

The Global Meet brought out several ways for us to gain prominence back in the mainstream – from entrepreneurship to Vedic studies to dance to music, study of culture, tradition, fashion and much more. This is why I began this piece saying, there’s something for everyone to practise Dharma in their own way, and in turn attain Self-Realisation/Moksha. The Ramayana and Mahabharatha have a plethora of examples of how salvation was attained through pure love, art, music and dance… It’s heartening to see that social media today, has plenty of examples of young folks who spread knowledge about Sanathana Dharma by way of living as examples in fields like Food, Music, Dance, Art, Teaching, Mentoring, Management Lessons etc., - all drawing parallels from The Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

Vocation decides the Varna, and not birth. In this sense, a Brahmin can become a Vaishya by way of being an entrepreneur, or a Shudra by way of providing services – working in jobs and being an employee, or a Kshathriya by joining any of the forces of the country. One can tread back and forth the Varna system with utmost ease, provided that we’re rooted in Dharma. We should also not be caught up with fighting for women equality because our scriptures always hail women as complimenting the men – The Arthanareeshwar is the embodiment of this classic example.

For us to be heard and be impactful, it takes each individual from every Brahmin household to uphold the values of Dharma and not shy away from following our own traditions, no matter where we are. Simple things include at the least chanting the Gayathri Manthram, always wearing the poonal (it’s not an option to remove, and question the very basis of it. Instead make an attempt to go learn about it), wearing our traditional symbols like Pottu, Vibhuthi, Kumkumam, wherever we are. We are all very visual people and believe that seeing is believing. So, it’s essential to sport our tradition, and should never be considered as a demeaning or degrading demeanor. It’s sad to know that wearing all this have become nice to haves rather than being a must have! What’s even sadder is that, a fellow Brahmin is one’s biggest foe! Unless we practise it ourselves, our children will have nothing to follow or take after, so the onus lies on us. We should seek answers and validation from our own scriptures, rather than relying upon Whatsapp forwards.

When folks from other faiths can be united with pride, to influence Sanathana Dharma, it takes us to grow a SPINE and give back answers; quote from our own scriptures and be proud of it, ourselves. There’s nothing wrong in flaunting something that’s as eternal as Sanathana Dharma – which has stood the test of time, for centuries together, despite innumerable threats to destroy it. Knowledge is the only thing that doesn’t go through the law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

Charity thus begins at home, it takes us all to return to our roots, to where we belong. Every Brahmin is their own ambassador of Sanathana Dharma in that sense. Let’s stay united for the cause and not make a mockery of each other, continuing to fall for Western concepts. This is a time when the West is making its way to learning about Sanathana Dharma…the internet is full of such examples. The Vedas never claim that it’s only the Brahmins who must prosper and not the rest. A classic sloka that reminds us of this is – लोकः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु … Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu…this only goes to show the inclusivity that’s replete in Sanathana Dharma.

I’d like to end with the Shanthi Manthra:

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।                            

सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु ।

मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत् ॥

oṃ sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ

sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścidduḥ khabhāgbhaveta।

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ॥

Written by Usha Ramani