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Practical wisdom for life

CHENNAI NOV.10 . An individual can have in-depth knowledge of only the subjects in which he has expertise and formal education endows him with a specific skill to pursue a career. But this is insufficient to handle life situations and hence one needs general knowledge and wisdom to handle them with poise. One must also know how to lead a proper and productive life in the world and it is towards this end that the sages composed a second line of scriptures, expounding the teachings of the Vedas, embodying guidelines and ethics. The Puranas and the epics belong to this genre of scriptures and the sages intended them for the benefit of one and all.

In his discourse, Sri Goda Venketeswara Sastri said spiritual knowledge was meant for everyone and hence must be taught according to the capacity of the individual to understand it. The Vedas, which are the primary scriptural texts, are eternal in nature and were revealed at the time of creation. They are the sum total of all knowledge. The Puranas explain the Vedic wisdom through stories because they make it possible for man to identify with the characters portrayed in them.

The very term for the epics "Itihasa" means "that which happened" and hence they are accounts written by the sages, Valmiki (Ramayana) and Vyasa (Mahabharata), as they witnessed them during the lifetime of the characters portrayed by them. That these texts are integral to daily life and have been in practice can be seen in an observation of Sage Vasishta in his Smriti, which is a digest on Dharma. After elaborating all its salient features, the sage has observed that one can get doubts cleared from elders. In practice, even great Vedic scholars clarify their doubts from elders who practised these principles in life.

The Valmiki Ramayana describes Rama as the very epitome of Dharma who upheld its directives and Sita as His spouse who espoused the same and thus an ideal couple for others to emulate. An incident in their life is sufficient to highlight their commitment to righteousness. When the sages complained to Rama about the atrocities of the demons by obstructing the performance of their sacrifices, He promised to kill them. Sita who was listening to this exchange pointed out a subtlety of Dharma by saying that He should not have promised the sage without first ascertaining it for Himself as any punishment cannot be meted out without hearing the opposite party or checking the facts.

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