You may be wondering what the students are doing and how does it connect to the saying of Swamiji. The students are exhibiting physical science experiments. Where as, the saying introduces spiritual science. The experiments describe characteristics of elements in nature. Where as, the saying speaks of the company of a good person versus the company of a selfish person.
సజ్జన సాంగత్యము సాయంకాలపు నీడలా
సుధీర్ఘం గా సాగుతుంది…
స్వార్ధపరుల పొందు ఉదయపు నీడలా
మొదట్లో ధీర్ఘమే కాని, మధ్యాహ్నానికి పోతుంది
With respect to the saying, let’s start with a simple question. How do we know if one is a good person (sajjana) or a selfish person (swa:rdha)? It’s neither written on the face of the individual nor a formula is available in today’s school textbooks. Goodness or selfishness is a characteristic seen through the choices he/she makes, their behaviour, their response to an incident, their priorities in life etc.
When one righteously conducts their responsibilities (as a service to God) towards the five entities: the self, the family, the society, the nature and God (the supreme power), they are called sajjanulu. One who limits their conduct to benefit only one or few of the five, they are called swa:rdha parulu (they are not necessarily bad people, but their knowledge is limited and hence ignorant on other aspects of life – this ignorance drives their choices, their behaviour etc).
The company of such good people (sajjanulu) is like the shadow casted by evening Sun, it remains with us for a long time (sudheergham). The company of such selfish people (swa:radha parulu) is like the shadow casted by morning Sun, it shoots off as a big thing in the beginning, but fades off!
Learning which includes this kind of knowledge in its elaborated and comprehensive structure is called spiritual science. The potions of such knowledge are obtained through Gurus, who lead life as defined in Vedas following the lineage of their own acharyas/gurus.
The physical sciences help us understand the physically available elements in nature, their composition, their properties, their limitations, their uses etc. Such knowledge is related to the third entity of the five entities listed earlier, the nature. Understanding this position of physical sciences in the big picture of our life can help us learn it with right perspective. Same goes with rest of the sciences we learn in schools these days.
The high school students of Netra Vidyalaya, Varija have done a beautiful job presenting their knowledge on physical sciences, biological sciences, chemistry, language arts, recent history etc. At Science fair…..Click Here
– From the Vishakapatnam visit of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– 13th March 2019
