mätåvatpara-däreñupara-dravyeñuloñöravat
ätmavatsarva-bhüteñuyaùpaçyati sa paëòitaù
One who sees others’ wife as his mother, who sees all others’ possessions as insignificant as a lump of clay, and who sees all living beings as himself-such a person is considered a learned man.
This is the definition of a learned person according to the Vedic standards. Academic degree is not enough for somebody to be recognized as an educated, cultured man; good qualities are required, too.
A person with a noble character sees all women, except for his own wife, as mothers. That means he will not try to exploit women but will serve and protect them instead. Giving protection to women is an essential part of human civilization. If such protection is not guaranteed, women are easily victimized by unscrupulous men.
According to the official statistics one fourth of the women in Bulgaria are or were victims of violence at home. Alarming divorce rate, rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and coercing into prostitution have become common evils in our modern society. Many of the so-called “independent” women are easy victim for unscrupulous men. All this is a result of the failure of the government and the society at large to protect women.
The government is allowed to collect taxes from the citizens only if it effectively protects them from thieves and rogues. If there is not efficient protection and the government still levies taxes (what to speak of the case when the government itself gives shelter to the biggest dacoits in the country) then part of the citizens’ sinful reactions are transferred to the members of the government. Such are the laws of God.
Another feature of the educated person is that he sees all others’ possessions as insignificant as a lump of clay. This view is not simply a sentiment but rests on a solid scientific basis.
As earlier explained, we can hardly say that we are the proprietors of anything in this world. In order to be the real owner of an object one must be able to exercise full control over it at any given time. But this is impossible for a human being because sooner or later he will be forced to give up all of his possessions. This happens at latest at the time of death when we are not able to keep under control even our most immediate “belongings” – our bodies and minds – what to speak of other, more remote objects of our claims. That means that we are not the real owners of anything, rather certain things are being given to us for temporary use. The real proprietor of everything in all Universes is only God and the root of sin is deliberate disobedience of the laws of nature through disregarding His proprietorship. One of the ancient Upanisads says:
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
In other words we should not long for things which are set aside by God as another’s quota. If we try to acquire more prosperity than we deserve we will inevitably deprive someone else of their rightful share. In other words, we will become thieves and will be punished as such.
We should be content by our own quota knowing that we have received exactly as much as we deserved according to our activities in the past. This of course does not mean that one should accept a fatalistic and pessimistic outlook and refuse to act for self-improvement rationalizing his laziness by the argument that if everything is predestined all endeavors are futile. This is a wrong understanding of the Vedic scriptures. The situations we will be put in during our lives are indeed predestined by our previous activities. It is only natural that people who performed pious work in their previous lives will have better facilities in this life and vice versa. But our reaction to the situation we are put in by our previous deeds is guided by our free will only. We can always choose to change for the better. There is no escape from this choice and the responsibilities that go with it. In other words there is no one but us to blame for our mistakes.
By pondering over the meaning of this verse from the Upanisadsand applying it in our lives, we can uproot two of the biggest enemies of mankind which account for a tremendous amount of suffering all over the world – envy and greed.
An educated person sees all living beings as himself. That means he is compassionate and he works for the welfare of all. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says:
He is a perfect yogé who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna!
The wise person knows that everybody creates their future destiny by their present work. Therefore they are very careful in their dealings with other living entities. Every act of unnecessary violence is bound to come back to the wrongdoer now or in a future life. This applies not only when we harm humans but also when we harass animals and even plants. If we eat the flesh of innocent animals that are killed simply for the satisfaction of our palate, we are implicated in sin and will have to pay a severe price for it. Therefore the Vedas advice: Do not harm any creature.
