Conjunction of oyster and Swatinakshatra makes jalbund pearl...combination of dharmakarani and seva makes life flame...

- Homage to Amrit - Acharya Vijayaratnasuri

- Since this is a concrete reality in the field of life, there is an urgent need to test coincidence. This is why we have placed this conjunction at the fourth place among the five characteristics that surround life and begin with the letter 'S' that we are contemplating.

There are three distinct seasons: winter-summer and monsoon. However, texts of Ayurveda-Sahityajagat etc. still show six seasons in depth: Hemanta-Shishir-Vasant-Grisham-Varsha and Sharad. As the seasons of this cycle change, so do the coincidences of nature. The same rays of sunshine that are comforting in the freezing cold of winter become excruciating in the sweltering heat of summer - not even liked. Warm clothes that protect against the cold are especially popular in winter, but those clothes are not popular at all in summer. Replace it with fine clothes.

From the sky that rains heat in summer, it rains torrentially in monsoon. A person who has never held an umbrella in eight months remembers the umbrella before going out in the monsoon. The land parched by the scorching heat of the summer becomes wet and green in the monsoon, while the rivers which have dried up in the summer become intoxicating in the monsoon. How nature's conjunctures change due to seasons is reflected in these events.

Just as the seasons change the coincidences of nature, the coincidences of life change due to auspicious karma. The difference is that the seasonal conjunctions change sequentially. Hence it can be anticipated and prepared accordingly. As after the scorching heat of summer, the rainy season of Monsoon generally occurs in the month of Ashadha. Hence, it can be assumed that 'it will rain now' and the umbrella-raincoat etc. can be prepared accordingly. But life's turning coincidences are not sequential. It is often quite unexpected. Coincidences a year from now will be very different from what is happening today. Hey! Why a year? Even in a month and a day, opposite coincidences do not occur. And another important thing is that after the reversal of coincidences, a situation often arises that a person cannot prepare accordingly even if he wants to. For example, a person who is moving around in good health this morning is unable to do anything when in the afternoon he goes into a 'coma' due to a 'brain stroke', in a reverse coincidence.

As this is a concrete reality in the field of life, there is an urgent need to test the coincidence. This is why we have placed this conjunction at the fourth place among the five characteristics that surround life and begin with the letter 'S' that we are contemplating. If one knows how to identify favorable coincidences, one can take good advantage of them. One should take full advantage of auspicious coincidences especially in respect of sukrito-dharmakarya-sevakarya. Let us consider three types of coincidences among many in this perspective:

(1) Swasthyasanyoga :- From the point of view of Sanskrit grammar, the word 'body' is derived as 'Shiryate Tachhariram'. The essence that is exhausted is called the body. It is the nature of the body to decay. When will the machine of this body deteriorate? Which part of it will be completely wrong when? Nor can one imagine when the whole body will become completely inactive.

- A few years ago, on a field trip, we saw a girl in the tenth standard who was completely bedridden in six months due to a strange problem of 'va'. Six months ago, the leaping-jumping deer Sami, who was getting high marks in school, was helpless against this plight of the daughter: as if the definition of 'Shiryate Tachchasariram' was being interpreted here.

- In Mumbai-Kandivali our young man was successfully handling all the professional responsibilities of the family. A peculiar disease took such a hold in him that the body became as rigid as wood. Lying in one position on the 'bed' for twenty-four hours. Speech was completely gone and cognition was completely intact. Remained like a living dead body with only a hint of transactions: as if the words of the line 'Yah Tanaka Hai Kavan Bharosa' are literal: Here the truth shines.

Since the health of the body is so fickle-unreliable, its favorable coincidences should be assessed and its benefits should be reaped as much as possible through dharmakarani - service activities. In the more than twenty-three hundred years old Jain Agamagrantha called 'Dasvaikalik', there is a nice presentation that develops this point of view:-

Jara jawa na pidei, wahi jawa na wadhai;

Javindia na Hayanti, Taw Dhamma Samayre.

This ancient saga states that till old age has shaken the fortress of this body, till the body has been worn down by the ravages of disease and till the senses have weakened, do as much Dharmasadhana as possible...

(2) Combination of Wealth :- Chapala is one of the synonyms of Lakshmi-wealth found in Sanskrit literature. Those who are very fickle - when they come and when they go are not reliable, they are called chapala. Since wealth is so fleeting, the Yoga Shastraka has written for it "Kallolachapala Lakshmi:". In other words, Lakshmi Jlatarang's fickleness is experienced in a very bad way. In this situation, when the combinations of wealth are favorable, one should show the approach that good deeds are done more and more. Want to know how lofty and sincere the ideology of those who have this approach? So read this inspiring life story of Raja Bhoja:

King Bhoja, who had the triveni confluence of scholarship-dominion and money, had in mind the impermanence of wealth. So without any attachment to wealth, he used to give alms to the poor and beggars. The minister had visions of extravagance in this charity of the king. He was worried that if donations were given day by day in this way, then it would not take long before the full store would be empty. A minister aware of the king's benevolent nature, instead of giving direct instructions, secretly wrote a line on the entrance of the king's bedroom saying "Aapdarthe Dhana Rakshet" to make the king understand. Assets should be saved to come in handy when emergencies or calamities occur.

The king who went to bed at night read this verse. The crafty king understood that someone had written this line to put a 'brake' on my charity. In response to this the learned king wrote another line below that "Bhagybhajan qu chapad:". It means that he is lucky-virtuous, from where do calamities come? May he have a spring in the desert and Mars in the forest... The next day the minister read this verse and was amazed. But once again to apply a strong 'break' he wrote a new line "Kadachit kupite daive". This meant that sometimes calamities can befall even the virtuous, as luck would have it. Even though Ram-Pandava etc. were virtuous, great calamities befell them... The king who came to sleep at night, after reading this new line, wrote a line that gave an ironic answer to it, "Sanchitampi Nashyati". The gist is that if luck is lost, the accumulated wealth will also be lost. If it is buried as a matter of course, it will be destroyed and if it is deposited anywhere, the depositor will confiscate it.

After reading this final answer, the minister fell silent.

(3) Shubhbhava Sanyoga :- In the above mentioned occasion of King Bhoja, the unbroken value of King's giving of charity happens in 'rare cases'. Otherwise, it often happens that a person's auspicious mood rises when there are excellent occasions - a strong atmosphere radiating ecstasy etc. and when he moves away from those occasions - atmosphere, that auspiciousness subsides like a froth in a pan of milk. Whether charity or Tava, whether celibacy or various Vrata-niyamas : this rule generally applies in all these auspicious bhavas. That is why it is also encouraged to immediately implement the auspicious feeling that has appeared in the heart. It will not be long before the coincidence of auspicious sentiments breaks down while extending the rest. On the same lines it is written in the text "Vairagyashatak" that "Jan Kalle Kayavvan, Tan Ajja Chiya Kareh Turmana". The meaning is that the auspicious work that you want to do tomorrow, hurry up and do it today. Because there is no trust in tomorrow and if there is a tomorrow, there is no trust that the good price will last.

One last thing : Conjunction of Oyster and Swatinakshatra makes jalbund pearl... Conjunction of Dharmakarani and Seva makes life flame...