Tapas: Austerity

Tapas means the austerity. Tapas is a continuous positive effort done by any seeker, till he reaches his goal. There is a story of Panini that gives a clear understanding of Tapas.

Panini

Long ago, there lived a great scholar and astrologer by the name Pani, on the banks of the river Indus. By the grace of Lord Shiva, Pani's wife delivered a healthy son. The son came to be known as Panini, the offspring of Pani. The little boy was very active and was the apple of his parents' eyes. He grew up to be a sweet child whose smile reminded one of the full moon.

One day, a great scholar, astrologer and palmist visited Pani. He was a great friend of Pani. Pani and his family treated the great man courteously. He was served the best food and was treated with the best services. After lunch, the great man called the child Panini and asked him to sit with him. Panini readily agreed and sat with the great man.

The great man looked at the right palm of the child. He sat there gazing at the palm for several minutes. The expression on his face changed from that of cheerfulness to that of concern. Looking at this change, Panini inquired the great man about what was bothering him.

The great man looked at Pani with pitiful eyes and said "Oh Pani! My friend! You are such a renowned scholar and people around the world come to you for advice. Alas! Fate has it that this child of yours will remain illiterate. He has no education line on his palm.

"Pani asked his friend - "Please forgive me. I am not saying this because I doubt your expertise, but would it be possible that you haven't checked my son's palm correctly?" The great man looked at Pani, whose eyes tried to hold their grief back, and said "My friend! I have checked the boy's palm thoroughly, not once but twice and there is no education line here. He is bound to remain illiterate."

Pani could no longer hold his grief. He closed his eyes and muttered under his breath "If the lord wishes it to be so, so be it!"

Panini, who was listening to the conversation, gently asked the great man "Sir, could you please tell me where on my palm the education line would be, if it had been?" The great man showed the child the location of the education line on his own palm. He felt sympathetic towards the child, who was so well mannered and soft spoken.

The child ran out of the house and returned back in a few minutes. He held out his right palm and asked the great man "Will I be a scholar now? Will I be able to uphold my father's name?" The great man and Pani looked at the child's hand and were shocked. Blood was oozing out of the palm and where there had to be the education line, there was a deep line which was etched with a sharp stone. The two men had no words.

As he grew up, Panini was educated by his father and Pani was astonished by his son's eager quest for knowledge. To attain more knowledge, Panini meditated on Lord Shiva and performed penance for many years. Impressed by the devotion he showed, Lord Shiva appeared before Panini. But Panini was so engrossed in his meditation that he did not notice the Lord's arrival. In order to wake Panini, Shiva sounded his Damaru. The Damaru beats reverberated and Panini woke up from his trance.

The sound made by Shiva's Damaru kept resonating in Panini's ears. Panini bowed to the Lord and the Lord blessed him and disappeared. Panini is believed to have formulated the rules of Sanskrit grammar in fourteen verses, which are believed to be the sounds of Shiva's Damaru, and called them Maheshwara Sutrani. These Sutras are also known as Ashtaadhyaayi, meaning eight lessons, the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga.

Conclusion

Panini with complete positive efforts achieved the goal. By this we can understand that with tapas or positive efforts one can achieve his goal.

Nachiketa

There is an inspiring story in the Kathopanishad about a little boy named Nachiketa. He was the son of Udalak Rishi. Once Udalak organized a yajna to please the deities. It was customary in those days to donate cows to brahmins at the end of the Yajna.

Udalak was a miser and he donated old and weak cows to the brahmins. None of the cows yielded any milk. This disturbed Nachiketa. He asked his father about it, "Father, to whom would you give me in charity?" This made his father very angry, but he decided not to say anything. When Nachiketa repeated the  question, Udalak lost his temper and said, "I give you to Yama."

Yama is the king of Yamapuri-hell. Hearing this Nachiketa went to Yama's kingdom. It was his father's command. It would not be proper for him to disobey his father. 'I should fulfil his wish,' thought Nachiketa, even if it means leaving home. However, his father realized his mistake and tried to stop him, but Nachiketa did not stop. He reached the Yama's kingdom and was told by Yama's guards that he had gone out for three days.

Nachiketa decided to wait on his doorstep till he returned. He waited for three days. No food, no water. Three fasts! Yama returned on the fourth day and saw little Nachiketa at his doorstep. He felt pained for keeping a brahmin waiting without welcoming him, without food and water. It was a sin not to welcome an atithi (guest) at the doorstep. He scolded his wife for not welcoming him.

Both rushed around the house to serve Nachiketa. One went to fetch water. The other brought a mat for him to sit on. Yama still did not feel completely satisfied in serving him. So he told Nachiketa, "dear child, I have offended you by keeping you waiting for three days. To wash my sin I request you to ask for three boons."

Nachiketa declared, "My first wish is, when I return home may my father welcome me lovingly. My second wish is to grant me the knowledge by which I can be worthy of living in the heavens. My third and last wish is to grant me Atmagnanam - knowledge of the Atma." Yama granted the first two boons immediately and tried to convince Nachiketa to give up his third wish. He offered him gold, pearls, coins, horses, elephants and even the happiness of Swarg (heaven) instead.

"No, I do not wish for anything else," replied Nachiketa firmly. Finally, Yama granted him the third boon too, and Nachiketa was enlightened with the knowledge of the Atma.

Conclusion

The Nachiketa inspires us to be strong willed to do something one has decided, even in the face of difficulties and obstacles and to seek for eternal happiness. This story also inspires us to be kind to all creatures and to respect one's parents.