All posts in this series
- Manusmriti & The Curse
- Essence of Manusmriti
We all are descendants of Manu and hence, we call ourselves “manava”.
Manu means “mantra”.
The vedic constitution is Manusmriti.
The reigns of Shivaji Maharaj, Chandragupta Maurya, Vikramadityaji, Dharma Raj Yudhishthirji, Bhagavan Sri Ramchandra, Raghu Dilip, etc, are highly praised. These kings were following the Manusmriti as their constitution. It is impossible to praise a ruler but at the same time abuse the constitution on the basis of which the kingdom functioned.
Today, we see a lot of controversy created around the Manusmriti. Let us understand the fate of worldly people who oppose the Manusmriti.
Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji explains that such people shall remain materialistic. Materialistic people are limited to the present. Such persons are worldly and their vision does not extend to the past, future or That which is transcends everything – Paramatma. For this, we will have to accept the philosophy of the Manusmiriti, as below:
Worldly life (pravritti) is meaningful when it leads to detachment (nivritti). Detachment is meaningful when it leads to renunciation and ultimately, moksha (complete freedom).
The above is also the last mantra of Jabalopanisad. It explains that those desires that give rise to further desires are not considered meaningful.
The Curse
Materialistic people are cursed in three ways:
- Their efforts do not cease. They have to stay engaged in doing things and yet, the result of everything remains incomplete.
- A materialist cannot proudly say that he has done what he wished to, has attained what he wanted to and knows what he wished to find out.
- The life of a materialist becomes meaningless since through his method, he they cannot act, attain and know anything. (Thus, remaining unfulfilled.)
Manusmiriti is the one to provide a way to end to the process of activity, attainment and knowing. Anyone who opposes this cannot evolve and bring divinity into his life. If a person has such goodness in his life, unknowingly, it is because he may have followed the ways of Manusmriti in his past life.
If there is any divinity, it is due to the acceptance and following of vedic constitution, ie, Manusmriti.
We have to accept the authority of Manu to help our actions and knowledge evolve. The essence of the Manusmriti can be summed up as below:
The destruction of the body does not lead to the destruction of the jivatma (individual soul), and the differences in the physical bodies do not create any differences in the jivatma.
If we do not accept the above principle, we cannot undertake any of the activities that are based on vedas and shastras.
A life without karmakand (performing dharmic actions/rituals/rites), upasanakand (worshipping the Supreme), and gyankand (gaining knowledge that takes us towards Truth), as based on vedas and shastras, would be considered to be a total waste.