Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction, contentment and discontentment are part and parcel of our life. They are also the outcomes of our desires and conscious choices. They cannot be generalized because they mean different things for different individuals.
While satisfaction or contentment shows the positive side of our wants and desires or choices, dissatisfaction and discontentment reflect the negative side of our desires, thought process, choices and desires.
But many times, dissatisfaction, not being contented with and not reaching or experiencing the point of satiety is also important and reflects the positive side and positive impact they have on us, our health and happiness.
In one of his quotes, Acharya Chanakya mentions three things one need to be satisfied and contented with in their life in the first line and three more things one should not be satisfied or contended with in the second line.
Related Reading – ‘Three things to be satisfied with’
In this article we shall discuss the three things which one should not be satisfied or contended with. These three things have a strong impact on our physical, mental, sensual and spiritual health.
संतोषस्त्रिषु कर्तव्यः स्वदारे भोजने धने।
त्रिषु चैव न कर्तव्योऽध्ययने जपदानयोः॥चाणक्य नीति ७.४।
Three things to be satisfied and contented with
One should always be satisfied with –
- Swa Dhara – one’s wife
- Bhojana – food
- Dhana – money and wealth
On the other hand, Chanakya also mentions three things for which there should never be a point of satisfaction, satiety or contentment. One should constantly have a thirst for these three things mentioned below.
Three things not to be satisfied and contented with
One should never be satisfied with –
- Adhyayana – studying, learning, knowledge,
- Japa – chanting, prayers,
- Dana – charity
In this article we will limit our discussion to the second half of the verse which deals with ‘three things not to be satisfied with’ and their impact on comprehensive body-mind-sensual-spiritual health.
Three Things one should always be not satisfied with!
Adhyayana – Constant studying and learning will enhance our knowledge, wisdom and skills. There is no end or barrier for learning. There is no age for learning. Studying will keep us updated with all things happening around us and this is a sign of progression.
Adhyayana will get us the respect, name and fame we deserve. It helps in bringing maturity and evolution at mental, sensual and spiritual levels. It will keep us connected with the world and worldly affairs. Adhyayana will keep our brain and its functions constantly activated and healthy. It restores balance of prana vayu, sadhaka pitta and tarpaka kapha operating in our brain.
It will also keep the mind healthy by keeping the trigunas – sattva, rajas and tamas in a state of balance. One should never stop learning and never feel satisfied. Knowledge is a vast ocean. There is something for everyone in it. It depends on how long and how deep we desire to explore it. It has no boundaries and we shall also not try to draw it.
Chanakya says that one should never stop studying and learning. It is a process which should keep going throughout one’s life. Those getting satisfied with learning and studying have put a full stop for their progression, development and evolution in life, in all aspects.
Japa – Japa includes doing meditation while chanting repetitively. The chanting can be a stotra, mantra or just ‘Aum’. It is followed in various spiritual traditions including Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism.
It is not only a part of devotion, it also has a spiritual angle and is said to purify one’s mind, senses and thoughts when done regularly.
It brings in and nurtures one’s focus, intellect, thoughts and memory and balances the doshas of the mind – tamas and rajas. It also increases the sattvika quality of the mind and generates immense positivity in the body, mind and senses. It also deepens one’s spiritual awareness and connects with the divine.
Japa can be done loudly. It can also be whispered or chanted mentally. It is also said to bring about vak shuddhi i.e. clarity of speech. It instills in us peace, calmness and spiritual upliftment. Japa also energizes and opens up the chakras depending on what and how we are chanting in Japa practice.
Chanakya mentions Japa as one of the things which one should keep doing as a practice and keep improvising on it day to day, throughout the life. One should not be contented with doing japa. The more you are, the more you evolve as a human.
Dana – Dana means charity or giving away something to the needy without any expectations or without considering the fruits and benefits of the same. Very few people have the ‘heart to give’. Dana is not just connected to how much you have and how much you can give. Having is individual and it need not always have a giving part on the other side. One may just have and not give. It is a conscious choice to give or not to give. But ‘to give’ is healthy, noble and humane.
Dana has been a part and parcel of Hindu culture and tradition. It is also an ethical, noble, moral and righteous practice. Some do it for atonement. It is not wrong. But this should ignite the fire in them which can keep away or burn away the sins which would lead them to the thought of atonement, ‘the guilt things’. Else charity becomes a compensation for our sins.
Charity should be selfless. It is a virtue which has immense value when it naturally comes out of ourselves. Charity is not planned. It is just done. Dana has been mentioned in Ayurveda also in various contexts. Dana bestows an unexplored and un-experienced kind of satisfaction and bliss. It is a good deed which would bestow many good things on us. We would get back unsaid blessings and wishes from those at the receiving end. Dana is a reflection of our contentment, satisfaction of having adequate, wanting to give and the goodness part of us. It will help in one’s personal, spiritual and social evolution and progression. Dana is also a dharma – righteousness and a pathway for moksha – salvation.
Chanakya says that there should be no drawn line of limitation for dana and one should not get satisfied with giving.
