Chanakyashreyika chapter 3- Know the mantra to win.
सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः।
धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः। अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यं। राज्यस्य मूलं इन्द्रिय जयः।
इन्द्रियाजयस्य मूलं विनयः। विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवा ।।
“The
basis of happiness is dharma (righteous conduct/ethics); the basis of dharma is
artha (resources/wealth); the basis of artha is rājyam
(state/kingdom/governance); the basis of the state is mastery over the senses;
the basis of mastery over the senses is discipline (vinaya); the basis of
discipline is service to the elders …”
चाणक्यश्रेयिका
श्रीगणेशाय नमः।
श्रीगुरुभ्यो नमः।
आचार्यं चाणक्यं प्रणम्य अहम् अधुना प्रवचामि —
“विजयस्य मन्त्रः”
इति विषये एतत् भाष्यम्।
जीवने यशःप्राप्तिः कठिनं
नास्ति। दुर्लभम् अस्ति यशःप्राप्त्यर्थं मनोबलम्। अत्र आचार्यः लिखति —
“सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः”।
धर्मस्य अर्थः किम्? धर्मविषये शब्दकल्पद्रुमे
वक्तव्यम् यत् —
“धरति लोकान् ध्रियते पुण्यात्मभिरिति वा। धृ +
अर्त्तिस्तुहुस्रिति।”
एतत् अर्थविवेचनं तु मह्यम् अतिव रोचते। इदम् अर्थं यत् —
धर्मः लोकान् धारयति। “धारयति” इत्यर्थे, जीवने धर्मः लोकानाम् आचारं
धारयति। तत् मनुष्यस्य आचारं धारयति। अतः धर्मः अर्थप्राप्तेः नियमनं करोति।
अर्थस्य अर्थः —
जीवनोपयोगीनि साधनानि। अतः धर्मस्य आचरणेन सुखस्य प्राप्तिः निश्चितं भवति।
कामः अस्ति मनुष्यस्य
भौतिकभावः। मोक्षः तु ब्रह्मावबोधनम्। अहम् एतत् विषये अन्यस्मिन् समये
व्याख्यातुम् इच्छामि। अधुना वयं पश्यामः यत् —
“अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यम्”
इति। आचार्यस्य एतत् वचनं
किम् उपदेशं यच्छति?
एतत् वाक्यम् अवबोधयति यत् — राज्यस्य अनुपालनेन
अर्थप्राप्तिः भवति। राज्यम् — अत्र अर्थः अस्ति वृत्तिः,
व्यवसायः च। वृत्तिः
कर्मस्य अभ्यासः इति ज्ञातव्यम्। एतस्य अभ्यासेन अर्थस्य प्राप्तिः भवति — खलु
सत्यम्। एषा वृत्तिः कर्म एव मनुष्यस्य इन्द्रियाणां निग्रहं करोति। इन्द्रियाणां
योग्यं कर्म दृढीकरोति।
क्रोधः, लोभः, शोकादयः भावाः — एतेषां
नियन्त्रणम् इन्द्रियजयः। इन्द्रियजयः विवेकः इति ज्ञातव्यम्।
इन्द्रियजयस्य मूलं विनयः —
इति चाणक्यः कथयति।
अत्र विनयस्य अर्थः अस्ति — नम्रता,
अध्ययनार्थं प्रबलः इच्छा,
स्व-अज्ञानस्य स्वीकृतिः।
परन्तु एतानि लक्षणानि महत्त्वाकाङ्क्षिणां पुरुषाणाम् एव दृश्यन्ते।
अत्र “पुरुष” शब्दस्य अर्थः केवलं पुल्लिङ्गः नास्ति — इति
बोधनीयम्।
विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवा।
वृद्धानां सेवा — इति केवलं
एतस्य अर्थः नास्ति। “वृद्ध” इति शब्दस्य विवेचनं अहं ददामि —
वृद्धः इति शब्दः महती योग्यता इत्यर्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते।
वयोवृद्धः, अभ्यासेन वृद्धः, ज्ञानवृद्धः च सम्भवन्ति।
वयं सर्वे अस्माकं जीवने सर्वेषां वृद्धानां उपसेवनियम्।
उपसेवनीयम् इत्यर्थे — तेषां आचरणस्य जीवने अनुसरणम्।
यदा हि त्वं जीवने सुयशः इच्छसि,
तदा आचार्यस्य सूत्रम्
आचरनीयम्। एतत् एव सुजयस्य मन्त्रः।
मनो ब्रह्म — न ब्रह्मान्तरम्
इति स्मर्तव्यम्।
अथ सारः।।
Saluting a great learner like Chanakya, I present
today’s chosen topic for our series, ‘Mantra to win.’ It sounds easy. It
actually is! However, putting this into practice can only be done by someone
with a deep desire to learn and a clear mind. Before that, I should brief you
about Dharma - the righteousness, Artha – the ultimate means through which you
can experience this world, Kama - all your desires, and Moksha - a topic that,
for now, I will call salvation. Moksha is altogether a new topic. Starting with
today’s topic, Chanakya was a kingmaker. Thus, the sutras he wrote and
experimented with can definitely lead us in the right direction towards
absolutely dominating any field. Now, reinterpreting Chanakya’s saying, I shall
tell you the mantra to win, from wherever you are right now. In this sutra,
Chanakya tells how everything in our life depends on our attitude. Sukhasya
moolam dharmaha- Implies that all that is done righteously- righteous anything
which either benefits you or the surroundings, but in the process doesn’t cause
harm or loss of anything else, or anybody. Anything which is achieved by this
method is Sukha- gives you happiness, but will not make anybody’s eyes tear.
This is Sukha. And this righteous method of dharma, which holds that everything
is bound by Artha. Artha is material, a tool, media, or necessities. And you
all know that to do any kind of work in any kind of manner, there is a price
one needs to pay for it. Artha supports dharma. Without Artha, you cannot perform
dharma. Arthasya moolam rajyam- Here acharya tells that Artha comes from rajya-
Rajya earlier meant kingdom and trade, but for today’s date, we need to
reinterpret it as whatever you profess and earn a livelihood through is rajyam.
The strategies you adapt to gel at the workplace, the way you manage time doing
multiple things, the way you command your inner self as for playing multiple
roles, this altogether is no less than a kingdom. You are a king. And hence
comes the Artha. Rajyasya moolam indriyajayaha- This means that to structure
whatever you do in life to achieve Artha, can only happen if you are in control
of yourself. You must win over your actions, speech and thoughts. Indriya here
refers to the senses, which further explains it as a deeper thought – having
control over what you see, hear, speak, taste, touch, think, and process. These
factors totally govern whether you are really capable of becoming the king of
your kingdom. And hence, control over all this decides what you earn. Indriyajayasya
moolam vinayaha- Now, the term Vinay- means to stay humble in easy words. Being humble is not your greatness. It is and
should be your need. Because knowledge will not come to an arrogant, ignorant
person. When you are vinayi, it means that you have surrendered to reality and
show readiness to accept whatever the situation demands. Vinay only comes from
‘Vruddhopaseva’. This doesn’t only mean service to elders. Any person, anything
which is ‘vriddha’, greater in any aspect serve your attention, action and
thought towards it. It might be great books- I would choose to call even books
‘vriddha’ here in this context. For a learner, the entire world should be
‘vriddha’, knowledge is everywhere. And hence serve everything with your best.
That's it, the mantra to win. No bogus cheat codes and plans – simple and the only
way to win. That's all. And only thus,
you can control your mind, which in turn is going to control what you do, to
dominate from wherever you are now. Instead of thinking about and cursing the
situation you are in right now, follow what Chanakya is trying to convey. You
decide the role- an absolute winner or nothing. You have to write the script- Plan
and relate all these points with your personal goals its not too late yet, go!
Concluding – Your mind itself is brahma, nothing
else- control it efficiently to choose what it creates- victory or nothing.
-Shrutika V. Patankar ©
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