T Ram Sewak

DUKH

Kakabhushundiji answers Garuda's second question, "What is the greatest sorrow?" in Shri Ramcharitmanas 7.121.

nahin daridr sam dukh jag mahin .

"There is no greater sorrow (dukh) than poverty (daridr) in this world."

The obvious inference is that material poverty is most sorrowful, as it shatters an individual's basic dignity and freedom, producing inner turmoil that tests the endurance of his morality and conscience.

However, what Kakabhushundiji implies is spiritual poverty. The absence of gyan (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion) in a being constitutes true poverty, which is the greatest sorrow.

Such a being is spiritually impoverished, who is entangled in ignorance and delusion caused by his attachment (Moh) to the sense objects. The greatest moh for a being is dehabhiman (attachment to the body). In this context, poverty (daridrata) refers to an unquenchable thirst for material satisfaction, where no matter how much one acquires, there is always a lingering sense of incompleteness or poverty, leading to dissatisfaction and sorrow.

Verily, one who is immersed in ignorance (agyan) and gripped by desire is daridr (truly poor). Shri Krishna clarifies in Gita 2.67 that for the unsteady (entangled by attachment to sense objects) and unmeditative mind, steeped in ignorance, there is no peace or happiness. Furthermore, in Gita 2.70, He states that he alone attains peace who remains desireless; i.e., one who has transcended the delusion of attachment and attained self-realisation (knowledge).

Regarding the lack of bhakti in a person, Shri Ram states in Shri Ramcharitmanas 3.35 that such a being is no more worthy than a cloud without water. Bhakti effortlessly eradicates all ignorance because at its very first step, it eliminates ahankar (ego), thereby setting the bhakt on a path that dispels the darkness of ignorance.

In Shri Ramcharitmanas 5.32, Hanumanji states that there is no greater misfortune or sorrow than being bereft of Shri Ram's bhakti. Therefore, the absence of the jewel of bhakti is that spiritual poverty, which is the greatest sorrow!/ DAILY WORLD /

The author is a former electrical Engineer and resides in the Himalayas. He can be occasionally reached at ramam.namami@gmail.com