Page 4 - Newsletter Feb 2019

FOOD FOR THOUGHT :

Q & A

With

Mrs Asha Manoharan

Living in the Present

A question was posed by one of our BDS members on “What does Living in the
present mean?”

I would like to talk about this topic today.
The phrase “Living in the present” is being frequently used nowadays, especially

by youngsters in the age group 20-30, as they are constantly distracted with
events happening in social media, and as a result, are completely disconnected
with the present day reality around them. They feel they should enjoy all the

pleasures of life and engage in fruitless activities.
People in the age group 30-40 are faced with a different problem. They are
frustrated and bored with their daily routine, and are inconsistent or completely

disregard their Nitya Karma or daily rituals.
At this point, I would like to elaborate on what Nitya Karma is.
When we are born, we inherit three kinds of debts, that of our ancestors/parents,

our gurus, and Gods/Goddesses. Let me touch upon each one of them.
Our parents provide food, shelter, clothing and financial support from the moment
we are born. They work hard so that we get the best education, and become

successful and respected in society. Therefore, when they get old, it is the
responsibility of each one of us to take care of them and repay that debt. In
modern society where nuclear families are on the rise, parents are neglected and

sent off to old-age homes. Doing so will incur Pitra Dosham, which will not only
affect the son or daughter, but his or her entire family.

The second debt we have to repay is that of our teachers. Starting from Kindergar-
ten and all the way up to college or university, teachers provide us with knowledge
that helps us survive and be successful in society. We have to treat our teachers
with utmost respect and completely surrender to their guidance. Furthermore, we

should share the inherited knowledge and apply it in our personal and
professional arena. Only then, we can retain the knowledge gained from them.

The third debt is that we inherit from Gods/Goddesses. They created this
wonderful earth and provided us with oxygen, sunlight, plants, animals, etc., that
are vital for our survival. To appreciate all that they have given us, we should

perform pujas and rituals everyday, as opposed to doing this at a later stage in life
or when we enter Sanyasam. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “surrender
your mind to me, and become a Bhakta with complete devotion”.

We all have to strive to reach this mental state, by taking small steps on a day to
day basis.
Therefore, in my opinion, “Living in the present” means performing our Nitya

Karma with complete dedication.

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