Swami Vivekananda in one of his letter to the Maharaja of Mysore reads in part "My Noble Prince, This life is short, the vanities in this world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive".
Then if we have to do something before we pass way, what is that best thing we can do? Before discussing this beautiful question, I would like to mention the name of one of the most famous philosopher, poet, musician and composer from Karnataka. Kanaka Dasaru (1509-1609) [1] was well known for his(avara) Kirtanes and Ugabhoga (reminiscent of Vachanas) compositions in Kannada langauge for Carnatic music. The uniqueness of his(avara) compositions was he(avaru) embedded common people's day-to-day language into the complicated classical carnatic music which was mostly limited to scholarly language[2].
Kanaka Dasaru in one of his(avara) works has explained LIFE beautifully, probably the simplest i have heard so far. Although the words used in the poem are written by keeping in mind the society that was there during Kanaka Dasa's period, the inner meaning implies to all societies of all periods
ಎಲ್ಲರು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ | ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ಮುದ್ಧೆ ಹಿಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ || ಪಲ್ಲವಿ ||
Every one works for stomach, clothing and food. Kanaka Dasaru when saying for Stomach, implies we all earn/work to fulfill our hunger and then we earn/work to fulfill our clothing needs.
ಕೊಟ್ಟಣವ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು - ಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆಯ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು | ಕಷ್ಟ ಪಾಡು ಪಡುವುದು ಏತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one do the difficult task of carrying paddy and wood (referring to the agricultural prominence in India)? for Food and Clothing(the inner meaning is as implied in the previous line)
ಬೆಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ - ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು ಮರಳು ಮಾಡಿ | ಸುಳ್ಳು ಬೊಗಳಿ ಬಾಳುವುದು - ಎತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one cheat others by speaking sweet (as sweet as Jaggery) words, and lead life by lying? for Food and Clothing
ಸಂನ್ಯಾಸಿ ಜಂಗಮ ಜೋಗಿ - ಜಟ್ಟಿ ಮೊಂಡ ಬೈರಾಗಿ | ನಾನಾ ವೆಷಗಳೇಲ್ಲ - ಏತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ? ||
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one wear different attires of saint? for Food and Clothing
When you think of the plight of cows, pet dogs, rats in the gutter, cats, birds etc... Are their needs quite similar?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಇಷ್ಟು ರೊಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ ||
For Food and just Food alone...
When you think of wild animals like lion, tiger, snakes, eagles, flies and mosquitoes etc... Are there needs quite similar
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೂಡುಗಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ |
ಸವಿ ತುತ್ತಿಗಾಗಿ - ಹಸು ಮೆತ್ತಗಾಗಿ
For handful of food, best shelter, and for better sleep
Is this all for which we are here in this world, or are we aiming at things higher? Lets Discuss...
Glossary
avara - Kannada word for its English counterpart "HIS". The kannada meaning denotes more respect to the addressee
avaru - Kannada word for its English counterpart "He". The kannada meaning denotes more respect to the addressee
References
[1] http://www.publicationsdivision.nic.in/b_show.asp?id=857
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaka_Dasa
Then if we have to do something before we pass way, what is that best thing we can do? Before discussing this beautiful question, I would like to mention the name of one of the most famous philosopher, poet, musician and composer from Karnataka. Kanaka Dasaru (1509-1609) [1] was well known for his(avara) Kirtanes and Ugabhoga (reminiscent of Vachanas) compositions in Kannada langauge for Carnatic music. The uniqueness of his(avara) compositions was he(avaru) embedded common people's day-to-day language into the complicated classical carnatic music which was mostly limited to scholarly language[2].
Kanaka Dasaru in one of his(avara) works has explained LIFE beautifully, probably the simplest i have heard so far. Although the words used in the poem are written by keeping in mind the society that was there during Kanaka Dasa's period, the inner meaning implies to all societies of all periods
ಎಲ್ಲರು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ | ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ಮುದ್ಧೆ ಹಿಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ || ಪಲ್ಲವಿ ||
Every one works for stomach, clothing and food. Kanaka Dasaru when saying for Stomach, implies we all earn/work to fulfill our hunger and then we earn/work to fulfill our clothing needs.
ಕೊಟ್ಟಣವ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು - ಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆಯ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು | ಕಷ್ಟ ಪಾಡು ಪಡುವುದು ಏತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one do the difficult task of carrying paddy and wood (referring to the agricultural prominence in India)? for Food and Clothing(the inner meaning is as implied in the previous line)
ಬೆಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ - ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು ಮರಳು ಮಾಡಿ | ಸುಳ್ಳು ಬೊಗಳಿ ಬಾಳುವುದು - ಎತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one cheat others by speaking sweet (as sweet as Jaggery) words, and lead life by lying? for Food and Clothing
ಸಂನ್ಯಾಸಿ ಜಂಗಮ ಜೋಗಿ - ಜಟ್ಟಿ ಮೊಂಡ ಬೈರಾಗಿ | ನಾನಾ ವೆಷಗಳೇಲ್ಲ - ಏತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ? ||
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೇಣು ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ ||
Why does one wear different attires of saint? for Food and Clothing
When you think of the plight of cows, pet dogs, rats in the gutter, cats, birds etc... Are their needs quite similar?
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಇಷ್ಟು ರೊಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ ||
For Food and just Food alone...
When you think of wild animals like lion, tiger, snakes, eagles, flies and mosquitoes etc... Are there needs quite similar
ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗಾಗಿ - ಗೂಡುಗಟ್ಟಿಗಾಗಿ |
ಸವಿ ತುತ್ತಿಗಾಗಿ - ಹಸು ಮೆತ್ತಗಾಗಿ
For handful of food, best shelter, and for better sleep
Is this all for which we are here in this world, or are we aiming at things higher? Lets Discuss...
Glossary
avara - Kannada word for its English counterpart "HIS". The kannada meaning denotes more respect to the addressee
avaru - Kannada word for its English counterpart "He". The kannada meaning denotes more respect to the addressee
References
[1] http://www.publicationsdivision.nic.in/b_show.asp?id=857
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaka_Dasa
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