The many ways to wisdom. The Rishi, the housewife, and the Butcher.

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In Hinduism, there is the concept of dignity of labor and also the pursuit of material wealth. If somebody tells you Hinduism looks down upon the pursuit of wealth or material things, don’t believe them.

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In Hinduism life has four goals.

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Dharma

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Artha

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Kama

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Moksha.

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All these goals are interlinked.

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Artha is the pursuit of material wealth. But this pursuit of wealth should be with Dharma.

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The wealth should be acquired by legitimate means.

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One should follow ethical ways and practices to gain wealth. It should not harm others or society.

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It should be the means to an end and not the end itself.

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Artha is necessary for a householder, that is when we are in the Grihasthashram phase of our life.

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Wealth is needed to fulfill our duties like taking care of our family, educating children, doing our religious duties, and contributing to the good of the society and community.

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Once there was a great sage who performed penance and meditation for long. His name was Kaushika Rishi. He was rather proud of his mediation and the power he had derived from it.

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He sat under a tree and was meditating on life. His meditation was disturbed when bird droppings fell on his head.

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The sage was angry and looked up to find a crane sitting above. The anger in the sage’s eyes burned the bird and it dropped dead to the ground below. The Rishi felt remorse that his anger had caused the bird to die.

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Kaushika Rishi could not go back to his meditation so he bathed in the nearby river and walked to the nearby village to seek alms and food.

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He stood before a house and called out “Bhavthi Bhikshan Dehi” which means “Oh mother give me alms”. It was the duty of the housewife to feed a Rishi or a student who seeks alms.

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The lady indicated to the Rishi to wait as she was busy attending to her husband who was sick.

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The housewife came out after some time and offered the food to Rishi Kaushika. The Rishi was annoyed at being kept waiting, his ego was hurt and he felt slighted.

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He looked at the lady with his eyes red with anger. The housewife paused and looked at the sage and smiled saying ” I am not a crane to be burned by your anger, Rishi Kaushika.”

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The sage was dumbfounded. No one has observed the incident in the forest. But the housewife knew about it and that meant she had spiritual powers.

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The surprised sage asked the housewife how she had gained such spiritual power.

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She laughed at him. She told him she was a grihasthani, a householder. She did her duty as per Dharma. Taking care of her sick husband was her Dharma as a wife. She told him that there were many paths to Moksha and also that following Dharma gave you the required insights into life. She advised him to go and meet Dharmavyadha in the town of Mithila to learn more about Dharma and spirituality.

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Kaushika Rishi immediately started for Mithila. He searched for Dharmavyudha, the teacher in the schools of the city but could not find him.

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Then someone told him to meet the local butcher. Sage Kaushika went to the Butcher at his shop and found that the Butcher was Dharmavyudha.

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The Rishi was shocked but a few minutes of conversation with the Butcher convinced the Rishi that Dharmavyudha was an enlightened soul.

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The Butcher took him home and the Rishi saw how the Butcher lovingly took care of his aged parents, his wife and his children, and all his family. Dharmavyudha explained to the Rishi that one must follow Dharma and do one’s duty with devotion and sincerity. Any job or work has to be done well and to the best of our ability. That was Dharma.

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The Rishi realized his error of being too proud of his spiritual powers and his penance.

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He knew now that Dharma was nothing but performing our duties with devotion and humility. Wisdom comes from inside and from unexpected places and people. One should be ever ready to learn from anyone however humble.

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Spiritual growth comes from our heart and how we live our life. Dharma is action and found also in living life properly and not just found in books and treatises.

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Namaste until the next time.🙏

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