Make Human Life Meaningful

Meaning: According to the Athervaved 2/11/4 — "O men! To make this human life meaningful, obtain knowledge; be bright to physically strong; instead of being satisfied with your present situation, and try to progress further.

Message: In the ancient times when the disciples left their Guru's hermitage, the Guru used to advise them, "Satyam Veda, Dharmum chara, Swadhayanum pramadaha" which means, speak the truth, tread the religious path, and never neglect self-study. This advice is appropriate also because howsoever much one had acquired the knowledge, but if it is not revised again and again, then over a period of time it becomes useless. It does not do to scrub and wash the utensils once only. The atmosphere tarnishes them. To keep them clean and useful, they have to be scrubbed and washed daily. Similarly if knowledge is not made profound by self-study, then layers of ignorance start shrouding it and without revision, it gets lost from memory.

The best book for self-study is the Veda. One meaning of Veda is 'gyan' (i.e. knowledge). Knowledge is the soul of God and is timeless and endless. The collection of the knowledge acquired by sages with great insight through severe austerities is the Vedas.  The knowledge of all the art, skills, science, political, strategy, religious, tenets and morality is collected in the Vedas. The Vedas have the capacity to throw new light on any subject of the past, present or future.

Through self study we acquire the knowledge of the solution to the various problems arising in human life. Self-study does not mean parrot-like repetition of books or a display of such learning. Endless and unknown meanings of even simple words manifest, before us when we contemplate on the thoughts of great men in the books. The best way of worship of knowledge is through self-study only.

Who will talk today about self study of great religious books, when even the books meant for a particular subject are not completely taught in the schools with the excuse of lack of time in completing the syllabus? The teacher himself does not read the book or the subject thoroughly and most students are also not interested in any way. They buy the guide-book solely for the purpose of passing the examination; cram a few questions-answers or resort to copying in the exams. If they pass the examination, then it is alright. Most teachers have turned education into mere business. They teach only that which is necessary for passing in the examination. The teachers themselves do not have more knowledge than that. If there is no water in the well, how can the bucket are filled? Such a situation mostly prevails. The result of this itself is that there is less knowledge and more ignorance in the society. This also is a reason for the corruption which has spread everywhere.

The activity of self-study is declining day by day. People have no dearth of money. They have purchased plenty of gadgets and facilities for comforts. One will find gadgets from all over the world in their homes, but hardly can good books be seen in any home. Nowhere today the proper atmosphere of self-study is to be found. In reality, good books have an extraordinary place in human-life. The humanness of men is collected in such books. Such good books provide culture, good advice and teach the discretion between truth and untruth. They increase man's joy in his happy times and in his times of grief; they provide the balm of sympathy in various ways and reduce his sorrow. If studied properly and with concentration, then they increase man's luster and sharpen mental faculties.

With 'swadhaya' man's character shines like gold, good qualities increase and the person is freed from bad tendencies. With the realization of facts, one develops an automatic dislike for bad habits and addictions. As a result, physical health improves and peace and happiness increase. Man becomes bright and lustrous with better mental faculties and more influencing ability.

Man's greatest treasure is his character. Its protection is more valuable than the protection of our own life. Only that person achieves fame by reaching the life's objective, who succeeds in protecting his treasure, that is, character.