"chatvaari shringaa trayo asya
paadaa
dve shiirshe sapta hastaaso asya
tridhaa baddho vrishabho roraviiti
maho devo martyaam aavivesha."
"The bull has four horns, three
legs, two heads and seven hands is bound in three places and,
becoming mighty in splendor, pervades all moral things. It is this
same bull, that roars and fills the universe, which the farmer
worships." The commentators have interpreted this passage in a
variety of ways. And this bullock too is wonderful! The bull that
roars in the heavens and pours down the rains is present in the
farmer's bullock, which drops down dung and urine to fertilize the
field. If a farmer serves his cattle with this noble bhavana, even
this ordinary work of his becomes worship of the Lord.
19. In the same way, the mistress of
the household tries to feed and please the family by keeping the
kitchen clean, lighting the fire and preparing pure and wholesome
food, and all these acts of hers are yajna, sacrificial action. Is
this mere oven, is it not sacrificial fire kindled by the mother?
How pure and holy the food will be when it cooked with the bhavana
of pleasing the Lord - just think of it. If the grihalakshmi
("the goddess of the household") is inspired by such noble
thoughts and feelings, we should think of her as belonging to the
race of rishipatnis (the wives of the rishis) described in the
Bhagavata. While ever so many mothers have attained moksha through
service, scholars and learned men who are thinking of themselves all
the time are cast in corners uncared for. |
