Yethi Nethi Nithi

(Note: This is a work of fiction by lionking !)

Yethi Nethi Neethi literally means Yes No Philosophy ... Yethi means Yes ... Nethi means No.

In the human society, we have a Dhukaan or a Shop ... wherein we have very many Choices ... of choosing various kinds of products and/or services ... and we make a choice of buying only those products and/our services, as per our needs/tastes/wishes/whims/fancies ... at that particular point in time ... Consumerism at its best, i would say. Certainly ... human emotions, tastes and preferences ... play an important part in the choices that we make.

In a Dhukaan, we have the 'choice' of incorporating the products/services that are offered to us ... and, if we like a product/service, then we make a 'choice' to incorporate it in our lives, which is Yethi Mamah or 'Yes that for me' ... else, its Nethi Mamah or 'Not that for me'.

The world is full of Choices, and as a Jeeva Raasi or a Living Being ... we chance upon few occasions in our lives ... wherein we consider those choices, which help us to live comfortable lives.

Choices can be compared with the Mango Fruit ... and when the Season of Mangoes arrives in the Summer ... we pick up those Mangoes which are ripe and tasty for our consumption.

Kurthawala these days is having a Chintha ... he feels as if he is waging a war with himself ... he is not able to concentrate properly, as his mind is not at ease at all.

He makes Kurthas in his village Anandapuram. But, due to some more new tailors setting up shop in the village ... he finds that the sales of his Kurthas are dwinding day by day. Due to poor sales of his Kurthas ... his finances are dwindling day by day ... and he has no other sources of income to supplement his main occupation, that is, as a tailor.  ... which is the main reason for his Mental Agony.

The fact of the matter is ... he is being looked down upon by his own family members ... as he has no proper sources of income ... which is the main reason for him finding himself ... in a Catch 22 situation ... all the time.

Today, he is at the newly opened Bhojana Shaala in the village ... and he is quite impressed by the quality of food that is provided, with reasonable prices.

While he is having his Bhojanam in the afternoon ... Shishya Dev appears in the Bhojana Shaala ... and the two Grama Vaasi greet each other with a Namaste. Kurtha Wala knows that Shishya Dev might help him find a way out through the sort of Catch 22 situation that he is in ... and urges Shishya Dev to show him A Way Forward.

After completing their Bhojanam ... they both decide to meet Gurunath, to find some solution to the sort of mental agony that Kurthawala is in.

Gurunath was seated under the cool shades of the Banyan Tree at the centre of the village ... when they both meet him with the customary Namaste. After sitting comfortably under the banyan tree ... Shishya Dev finally tells the sort predicament that Kurthawala is in.

At first, Gurunath is perplexed as to how he should approach this situation ... then after thinking a lot, he concludes that ... he should first tackle the mental agony, that Kurthawala is getting himself subjected to ... and deal with his Occupational Problem later.

Gurunath: Arey Kurthawala ... don't get bogged down by the mental agony, that you are subjecting yourself to ... its essentially an Occupational Problem that you have.

Kurthawala: But Gurunathji, how can i not worry about the Occupational Problem that i have ?

Gurunath: Having worries about your Occupational Problem is quite understandable ... but getting bogged down by such worries is what making your feel depressed.

Kurthawala: Wahi tho ... how can i not get depressed, when i have my Occupational Problem ... which is the main reason for the sort of Mental Agony, that i am facing in my home ?

Gurunath: Arey Kurthawala, what i am telling is that ... you have to clearly understand that, its your Occupational Problem which is Parama Karanam or Prime Reason ... for the sort of misery you are in, namely, the Mental Agony that your mind is getting subjected to. And the Mental Agony that is getting caused in your home ... should be considered as Subsidiary Reason or Anya Karanam for the misery you are in. And it is this Parama Karanam of yours, which is acting as a Bhaaram or Burden ... which you are unable to carry as of now ... that is what is causing you the mental agony that you are in.

Shishya Dev: Gurunathji ... why do you consider this Mental Agony or Mental Misery as a Bhaaram or a Burden ?

Gurunath: Mental Agony or Mental Misery can be considered as a Bhaaram or Burden to the Mind ... when Vasthava Sanghatanam or On the Ground Situations, become unmanageable by the mind ... as Brain finds itself stuck and unable to find Maargam or The Way Forward ... out of those situations.

Shishya Dev: Then how do you take off this Bhaaram from the mind ?

Baby Tortoises

Gurunath: By constantly concentrating on one Khambam ... which gives you peace of mind. For example, the Sunflower always faces towards the Sun ... and moves the same path as the Sun takes in the sky, throughout the daytime, till the evening ... and derives the warmth from its rays, which is the main source of its sustainance. Its like, during the infancy of the Baby Tortoises, they always look at the Mother Tortoise, whose loving and caring eyesights, become their nourishment.

Shishya Dev: But how can this poor fellow Kurthawala find that Khambam which gives him peace of mind. Certainly its quite natural that we being individuals ... we have our own needs/tastes/wishes/whims/fancies ... which makes each individual have his/her own Khambam which gives him/her Peace of mind.

Gurunath: Know this for certain ... that which gives an individual some Peace of Mind, is part of his/her Santhoshi Khambam. And that activity or thing, which gives an individual happiness and pleasure, making his/her mind at ease ... is also part of it. So, Kuruthawalaji, what gives you a sense of happiness, pleasure ?

Kurthawala: (with a glowing face) Eating Peda gives me lots of happiness and pleasure.

Shishya Dev: (with a mild smile) Arey Kurthawalaji ... he is asking about an activity or thing which makes you happy.

Gurunath: (countering the mild smile of shishya) Its OK ... if Kurthawala thinks that eating Peda makes him happy and helps him to have happiness and pleasure ... then let him try it. Ultimately, this happiness that he gets on thinking about a peda will help his mind, to get at ease. After that he may try about dealing with the Parama Karanam for his Bhaaram ... which we identified as his Occupational Problem.

Kurthawala: (with a thunderous smile and wittiness of a small child) Gurunathji aapne theek kaha ... thinking about Peda gives me a lot of happiness ... and its sweetness just makes me feel as if i am doing an Udaan like a free bird.

Shishya Dev: (with a fading smile) Accha Kurthawalaji ... agar aapko peda khaana aacha lagtha hai ... tho kyu na aap Pede Kaa Dhukaan khol lethe ?

Gurunath: Shishya you are being a bit rude to him ...

Shishya Dev: Oh ! ... I didnt know that ...

Vareva Sacred Symbol

Kurthawalaji: (with his hands thumping in the air, with happiness) Arey nahi Gurunathji ... Shishyaji is quite right ! ... he is a genious. If i open a Pede Ki Dukaan and continue making Kurthayein ... then i would be well off financially. Arey Shishyaji aapne tho kamaal kar diya.

Shishya Dev: Aapko mera sujhaav aacha laga ... yeh sunkar khushi hui ...

Gurunath: OK then ... so be it.

Shishya Dev: Magar Gurunathji ... how can one get help in the Spiritual Parlance ?

Gurunath: By chanting the various sthrothrams, by singing the devotional songs or Bhakti Rasamrutham, by performing/observing/following the rituals ... by reading the Dharma Grandham ... of a particular Ista Daivam of the concerned person.

For example, the Grama Devi Thyohaar helps cleanse the impurities in her devotee ... and her Prasadam/Paaniyam/Theertham helps to purify the body of her devotee. The Vana Bhojanam that is conducted during the Grama Devi Thyohaar ... gives her devotees lots of peace of mind and is like a Santhoshi Khambam for her devotees. Hence, it could be said that the Grama Devi Thyohaar is a perfect occasion ... wherein her Bhakthajan find her presence during the festival ... while she cleanses their impurities, like the waves of an ocean which has no beginning nor end.

Kurthawala: Impurities kaa mathlab ?

Gurunath: Kurthawalaji ... impurities are like the Kitchen Waste in our homes ... we have to dispose off it at the earliest, so that it doesn't become a Bhaaram to us. So, at the appropriate time, we confine our Kitchen Waste ... either, in an Earth Pit in our backyard or throw them in a Chattha Kundi or a Dust Bin.

Shishya Dev: Now i know what it means ... when some spiritually inclined people tell that having Material Wealth is a Bhaaram.

Gurunath: Shishya ... what you said is true.

Shishya Dev: I have one question to ask ... which is, what should we do to all those religious pamplets we get in various festivals ... in which we have the photos of various revered Devatha Murthulu or deities and Dharma Guruvulu.

Gurunath: Shishya ... i understand what you mean. In my personal opinion, having the various pamplets and books of various Devatha Murthulu and Dharma Guruvulu ... picking up dust in the shelves of our homes ... is a Bhaaram in itself. I ask, when we don't have the habit of regularly using those pamplets in our religious rituals, they why not dispose off them. But it should be done in a proper way with full Maryada to those Sacred Material Things.

That is why i say ... in spiritual parlance, when we dispose off some of the Dhaiva Vigraha, Religious Literature and/or Pooja Samagri ... in an Earth Pit, either in our Home Backyard or at the Grama Devi Mandhiram with a Namaste ... then it must be understood that we are doing a Bhudevi Samarpanam of those Dhaiva Vigraha, Religious Literature or Pooja Samagri. Dhaiva Vigraha ... includes all the various Pictures and Statues of any God, Goddess, Sacred Symbol or a Dharma Guru ... it includes any Material Thing which gets worshiped as a Sacred Thing.

Shishya Dev: Nice this ... i liked this idea of Bhudevi Samarpanam. I ask, what should a person do, when inspite of performing the prescribed rituals of a particular Dhaivam or diety ... and even after taking the Sahara of Santhoshi Khambam ... he/she is not able to have Peace of Mind.

Gurunath: I must confess that Shri Krishna is the most powerful as he is himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as stated by him in the Bhagawad Gita. So, when a person is facing a Jihadham or Internal Strife ... then, surrendering to Shri Krishna ... would help him have Peace of Mind ... Shri Krishna Sharanam Mamah.

Kurthawala: Accha Gurunathji, accha Shishyadevji ... mujhe ab jaana hai. Phir Milthe hai. Aapse baathein karke accha laga.

Shishya Dev: Mujhe bhi jaana hai ... phir milthe hai ...

Gurunath: Namaste.

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In Spiritual parlance, the Neethi of Yethi Nethi helps a soul ... to choose and then incorporate ... only those 'choices' which help him/her live a normal/comfortable life.

In Societal Parlance, This Yethi Nethi Neethi helps an aam aadmi, to stand his/her ground ... accepting those that are Mangalakaari and rejecting those that are Amangalakaari ... as comprehended by him/her, during the course of his/her life ... within the parameters of the Karma Neethi.

Vamsinath.

24 November 2010.