Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sookti – March 31, 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Śatēṣu jāyatē śūraḥ, sahasreṣu ca panḍitaḥ
Vaktā daśa sahasreṣu, dātā bhavati vā na vā ǁ
One among a hundred will be truly courageous. One among a thousand will become an erudite scholar. One among ten thousand people will be an erudite speaker who gives discourses. However, will a true donor ever be found in the world? Only one or two in a billion will be large-hearted donors.
Among all the good qualities, the most-supreme one is charitable attitude! It is very rare to come across one who is totally charity oriented.
Every day lakhs of babies take birth. Among them, perhaps one in a hundred will be a valiant hero who is willing to fight a victorious battle for his motherland. Such courageous heroes protect their motherland from the jaws of the enemy and thus they repay their debt to her.
He who leads the common masses on the righteous path is addressed as a pandit. Having read the Vedas and Shastras, he encourages the people through his motivational words, preaches to them about the importance of righteous conduct and transforms them into people totally dedicated to their righteous duty. One such man can create hundreds of responsible, intelligent men. The existence of such people ensures the country prospers. Among thousands, one such pandit, who can lead many others on the right path, is born.
An orator who with his eloquent speeches can captivate the hearts of the masses is greater than a learned scholar. It is not necessary that every learned scholar is a great orator. Many a time it so happens that other scholars fail to grasp what a learned scholar speaks. If so, how can the ordinary people grasp his words? But a true orator can, with his powerful speech that gushes as forcefully as the Ganga, captivate the hearts of the masses and lead them. With his speeches, he can ensure that they begin to tread the righteous path. But, one in ten thousand will be such an erudite speaker.
All the three types of people mentioned above obtain reverence from the society for their intelligence and grit. However, only those who are born with the divine aspect will be filled with traits of generosity.
Generosity is God’s gift. To be able to give away in charity is a supreme art. Will one generous person be seen among lakhs of persons or not?- wonders the poet.