CC daily 59 – CCM 5.29-33 – A vow draws on our innermost values for honoring our words

Thank you … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … and two people are connected with each other in the sense of a very intimate sense of belonging to each other.

So, being a property does not necessarily mean dehumanizing, it can be endearing. Statements which are taken from one cultural context cannot be applied in another cultural context where they have a different meaning. So, if we take the word dhana as not property, if in translation we take it more as treasure, then if somebody says that, one relative says to another relative, a father says to a daughter that you are the treasure of my life, then that does not seem negative to us.

Treasure is something cherished, properties, the word treasure conveys some sense of being valued, treasured, cherished, whereas the word property conveys something of controlled, owned, dominated, something like that. So, now the word dhana is used in the earlier sense of being cherished, not in the sense of being controlled. I will give you my daughter and I neglect everyone else, I don't care for anyone else, this is what I have decided to do and this is what I am going to do.

Do not have any doubt about this, just accept this. Don't have doubts, just accept this. So, now the elder brahmana starts, he has warm intentions to reciprocate with the service of the younger brahmana and accordingly he says that, no, I will do this, you just accept my proposal and I am going to do this.

So, chota vipra kahe yadi kanya deete mana, if you have decided to give me your daughter, that is what your mind has decided, that is what you have resolved. Gopale rage kahe, e satyavachana, speak this in front of Gopal, Gopale rage kahe, speak this in front of Gopal, take this as a vow, take this as a satyavachana, take this as a vow, as a commitment in front of Gopal. Now, he asks for this because he knows that it is not going to be an easy thing to do and generally, it is, if something is difficult to do and it is safe here, it is all to do it, then one of the many ways in which legally binding or morally binding, a vow that is taken, a vow that is given in front of the deity may not be legally binding in terms of the law, but it is morally binding, especially for those who are spiritually devotionally minded and that is what is being talked about here in this text, that how we can all cognize the glory of devotion and thereby cherish that essence of devotion in our lives, because devotion means not just doing what the Lord tells us to do, which is of course one part of not only just offering our heart to the Lord, not just carrying out instructions, but also honoring the Lord by treating him as a very respectable person and that respectable person is whatever is spoken in his presence, we take it seriously and we do it.

So, the younger Vipra says that take this as a word of honor in front of the deity. So, what happens in this world also, you say that sometimes people say that I take a vow in the name of my mother or of my father or of my dynasty or my country. So, what is the idea? These are things which are bigger than me, these are things which I value and if I take a vow in their name, then that indicates that I seriously intend to keep my vow, these are things greater than me.

So, even if I'm not able to, even if there are difficulties in doing this and even if you don't consider my word to be very strong, but my commitment to these causes, commitment to say my mother or father or my country or my dynasty or now in this case my deity, that is something which is sacrosanct, which is sacred, which is inviolable, non-negotiable for me and therefore, I will make sure that I do this. So, that's how, that's the rationale for taking a vow and during initiation also when we take a vow, the rationale is that it enables us to go deeper, go to the deepest core of our self, to the most central of our values and from there, draw the strength to overcome whatever temptations, distractions and obstacles that may come in implementing that word. So, accordingly, गोपालेर आगे विप्र कहिते लागिल, तुमी जाननी जे कण्या इहरे आमे दिला। So, गोपालेर आगे, after going in front of Gopal, विप्र कहिते लागिल, so the Vipra spoke, now this should refer to the elder Vipra, तुमी जाननी जे कण्या इहरे आमे दिला। that I have, you know, know this oh lord, that my daughter I have given to him, अमे दिला। It's interesting that he's using, not the future tense that I will give my daughter, he's using the past sense here, अमे दिला, that I have given my daughter to him.

This indicates that he has already considered it to be like a done deal. And he's saying that, yes, it has already been given by me and you are a witness to that. And to seal the deal, the younger Ramana also says that, एतब, the younger Ramana says, चोटा विप्र बले ठाकूर तुमी मोर साक्षी, तोमा साक्षी बोलाईनु यदि अन्यथा देखी। So the younger Vipra says, ठाकूर तुमी मोर साक्षी, you are my witness oh lord, you are my witness and तोमा साक्षी बोलाईनु, and I will call you as a witness यदि अन्यथा देखी। So if I find that this word is not being implemented, अन्यथा means otherwise, means the normal course of action is that this is what has been already committed and this is what will happen, but if it doesn't work out that way, then I will call you.

So here we see how both of them consider the deity not just as a stone image but as a person and treating the deity as a person, they immediately call out to the deity and say that they actually treat the deity as a person and especially this younger Varamana reveals his disarming faith over here by saying that my lord I will call you, now how is the lord going to come and why is the lord going to come, the deity how will it move, now he doesn't get all these questions, he sees the lord as a person and he says that the lord has served as a witness and if somebody has agreed to serve as a witness then that person if there's a dispute that person will come and thinking thus he says he tells so it's a solemn affirmation by both of them and in a very practical real sense we see over here how the lord can be made the center of our lives, we often talk of being Krishna as a center but here there is one way in which in our transactions, in our even our day-to-day interactions by here we see in the culture how by making a commitment in front of the lord they make him the center of their life and similarly we too by considering the super soul as the witness of the sentences of the commitment that we make even if we do not formalize them in front of the deity we can also take our commitment seriously. Thank you.