Such goliathon pastimes of my great grandfather were rather popular. For a subject of the Queen of Scantiness that I was, I sensed pride in every pompous fable that surrounded my great grandfather. At least he got to eat what he wanted.
From the aforementioned conversations gleaming with haughtiness, it is quite evident that hauteur was an obvious underlying factor in his administration.
Just like Yudhiṣṭhira, the other Pāṇḍavas too spoke provocative words. Listening to their humiliating words, Duryodhana decided to fight the battle and said, “You are too many! You have chariots, weapons, and everything needed for a war. I am all alone! I don’t have anything with me – neither chariots nor weapons. I don’t possess even an armour now. I have been grievously injured. Is it right for a person like me to fight you all? How is that justified? I am not scared of any of you! Enraged, I can chase you all away from the battlefield. However, this is not dharma!
ಇಂದಿಗೆ ಸುಮಾರು ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೊಂಬತ್ತು-ಮೂವತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ, ಅಂದರೆ ೧೯೮೯-೯೦ರ ಆಸುಪಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ರಾಜಾಜಿನಗರನದಲ್ಲಿಯ ಕುಮಾರವ್ಯಾಸಮಂಟಪದ ಯಾವುದೋ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ವೇದಮೂರ್ತಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಶೇಷಣ್ಣಶ್ರೌತಿಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿ ನೋಡಿದ ನೆನಪು. ಅನಂತರ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪದ ಅಂತರದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣಮಹಾಸಭೆಯ ಹಲಕೆಲವು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಶಂಕರಜಯಂತಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಕಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪರಿಚಯ ಮತ್ತು ಬಳಕೆ ಆದದ್ದು ಶ್ರೀಪರಮಾನಂದಭಾರತೀಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಆಯೋಜಿಸಿದ ಮೊತ್ತಮೊದಲ ಗಾಯತ್ರೀಮಹಾಯಾಗದ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ. ಇದೇ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಧ್ಯಾವಂದನೆ, ಸಮಿದಾಧಾನ, ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಯಜ್ಞ ಮುಂತಾದ ನಿತ್ಯ ಕರ್ಮಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಮತ್ತು ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧವಾದ ರೂಪವನ್ನು ಶ್ರುತಿ-ಸೂತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಮ್ಮತವಾಗಿ ಕೊಡಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಇರಾದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನಿದ್ದೆ.
K.P. Puttanna Shetty was the deputy commissioner of Kolar during 1903-04. On one of those days, K.P Puttanna Shetty inaugurated a library in one of the clubs of Kolar. I listened to the speech he delivered that day. I was a high school student then. Someone had taken me along to this event. His speech may have lasted for about five minutes. It was in English. His choice of words and the emotions hidden in them appealed to my mind. Only so many words as to stay appropriate. It was brief and simple. My appreciation and admiration towards him blossomed as a result.
Now, this Vēṅkaṭaśarma was not one among my ancestors. It was a person named Śāmabhaṭṭa who was my predecessor. A Vedic practitioner by birth, Śāmabhaṭṭa, chose the profession of a Shanbhogue [1]for a livelihood, which brought unto him, an official turban or a roomal, thus earning him the title of Rumāle Śāmabhaṭṭa. Now this title might've been a banter, and very much akin to the case of the esteemed, Chappalli Viśveśvara Śāstri, as mentioned by me elsewhere –
Note: This is the first of a two-part series of an English translation of D.V. Gundappa's essay titled "Bengalurinalli Hotel Udyamada Arambha," the tenth essay in the volume titled "Hrudaya Sampannaru," in the Jnapaka Chitrashale volumes.
Jñāneśvara’s school of philosophy broadly aligns with Advaita-vedānta; even so, it is not possible to pigeonhole his ideas to one particular school of thought. In this work, we can see threads of all major Indian darśanas. It would not be incorrect, however, to say that the Jñāneśvarī lays emphasis on Bhakti (devotion) and Vairāgya (detachment).
গীতায় কৃষ্ণকে প্রায়শই ভক্তি সম্বন্ধে কথা বলতে লক্ষ্য করা যায়। তিনি যতদূর বলেন - যে রূপে চাও সেই রূপে আন্তরিকভাবে ঈশ্বরের উপাসনা কর ; তোমার বিশ্বাসকে আমি শক্তিপ্রদান করব (ভ.গী. ৭.২১)। কিন্তু একথা কি কৃষ্ণের ক্ষেত্রে প্রযোজ্য ? তিনি কি একজন ভক্ত? নাকি একজন দাম্ভিক দেবতা?
