It's February already! February, the month of …..
Well, yes, the month of Valentines Day, the month of Love, Chocolates, Teddies and the whole paraphernalia.. But that was not the answer that I was looking for 🙃!
February is when Spring commences in the Indian sub-continent and yes, from that point of view, it is the month of Love – for Nature starts to blossom!
We celebrate this onset of Spring on वसन्त-पञ्चमी (Basant Panchami) – the 5th तिथि (tithi/day) of the Month of माघ / Magh. Incidentally, this year, Basant Panchami falls on 14th February!
On Basant Panchami, Goddess Saraswati – the deity of Learning, Music and Art – is worshipped as it is believed that she was born on this day!
As we began our journey together through this blog, we covered one Shloka praising Goddess Saraswati (https://pravin03458.wixsite.com/prajaktas-bloom/post/as-we-begin-to-learn-anything-new).
This Basant Panchami, as we pray to Goddess Saraswati, let us also appreciate that –
सुखार्थिनः कुतो विद्या नास्ति विद्यार्थिनः सुखम्। सुखार्थी वा त्यजेद्विद्यां विद्यार्थी वा त्यजेत्सुखम्॥
It means that –
सुखार्थिनः कुतः विद्या - There is no knowledge for those who seek comforts.
न अस्ति विद्यार्थिनः सुखम् - There is no comfort for those who seek knowledge.
सुखार्थी वा त्यजेत् विद्यां - A Seeker of Comforts should give up knowledge.
विद्यार्थी वा त्यजेत् सुखम् - A Seeker of Knowledge should give up comfort.
This shloka from the Mahabharata tells us that if you choose to seek Knowledge and Wisdom, be ready to give up comforts and happiness. Because, to acquire Knowledge, Skills and Wisdom, one needs to put in lots of hard work, effort, practice and patience.
Once you accept this maxim, it becomes easier to give up on that movie invitation, or a night-out plan, or a day-long family outing (yes, you can wriggle out of those too if you are not selectively turning down only family events!!!) and work towards your goals.
Look around you, you will find that all successful personalities – whether they are academic toppers, businessmen, sportspersons, entertainers or politicians – they toiled a lot during their “विद्यार्थी / Student” days (when they were acquiring the skills and knowledge in their domain) and did not give in to many temptations in order to reach the zenith.
Hence, this February, as you gear up for the exam season, why not express your love towards your Goals and Aspirations? Get out of your comfort zone and become a “विद्यार्थी / Vidyarthi”… not a “सुखार्थी / Sukharthi”!
शुभास्ते पन्थानः सन्तु । (May your journey be auspicious!)
All the best!
Sunder 👌👌👌I wish this gets viral to the next generation of valentine and the "days" culture ...
Become a vidyarthi not a sukhachi. Great learni g which can change ones direction. All my trg prog are about getting out of the comfort zone. When you leave comfort behind you are in fear zone as all is new. But if you stick with it you can transcend to learning zone only after learning, expanding your comfort zone, doing new things do you enter the growth zone. More dramatically I tell people. Magic happens out side the comfort zone...lage raho muniya...you are doing great work