Passage 9

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

Embodiments of the divine Ātma! Bring the meaningful words, “Mātṛdevo bhava, pitṛdevo bhava,” onto the sacred path and take the vow to restore the culture of our Bhārata by living them out. First of all, satisfy your parents. Parents give not only their very blood; when the need arises they go hungry, run into debts of every kind, undergo hardships, and set about giving us the happiness we need. If we hurt the hearts of our parents, we cannot live in the future with any happiness and peace at all. If you make your parents happy today, tomorrow your sons will set about making you happy. Yadbhāvaṃ tadbhavati: this also means that what we have done is just what bears fruit for us later. When you wish to win a good name in the future, with happiness, contentment and joy, set about doing good deeds from this very age. Be good, See good, Do good. This is the way to God. Honouring elders, loving our parents and developing love of our country, we must set our life within the aim of reaching God. Do not forget God; do not fear death. Bold in everything, a great hero, be ready to receive the meaningful name, ‘You are a son of Mother Bharata.’ That wealth of Dharma itself is our wealth of Jñāna. With just this in view, they called Arjuna Dhanañjaya. That is, it does not mean one who piled up wealth. The wealth of Jñāna itself was Arjuna's wealth. That is precisely why Arjuna received meaningful titles such as Arjuna, Phalguna, Pārtha, Kirīṭi, Śvetavāhana, Bībhatsa, Śrīkṛṣṇa, Savyasāci and Dhanañjaya. He did not receive a Padmaśrī or a Padmavibhūṣaṇa. That is precisely why, in all three, work, worship and wisdom, W is the first letter. What does Work mean? For the sake of the sacred service of God, we must undertake the sādhana fitting for the sacred field. In our Bhārata we must take the vow for this sacred doing of karma.