Inspiration from Wordsworth

It is well accepted that pursuit of excellence would enable one to become truly indifferent to all the unworthy and the shallow. But then, in reality, it is not given to everyone to be wholeheartedly devoted to arts, music, sports, science or entrepreneurship . Most, actually, have to simply put up with demands of sheer livelihood.

Applied to such persons, what would be the relevance of Patanjali's injunction (Sutra: 1,33) on cultivating affinity (maîtri ) to the pleasant, compassion (karuna ) to the deprived and delight (muditha ) in the sublime , which process would also bring about that needed true indifference (upekshana) to the unworthy ? The answer could be found in certain inspiring lines of William Wordsworth.

Patanjali's concept of maîtri also finds expression in Wordsworth's narration on how he used to “come along these hills; when life a roe/I bounded over the mountains, by the sides/Of the deep rivers, and the lovely streams,/Wherever nature led... ”. He also reveals how, in solitude , his mind “dances with the daffodils” .

In his The Solitary Reaper , he oozes karuna, as he pictures the “highland lass, reaping and singing by herself” those songs which perhaps depict “some natural sorrow, loss or pain/That has been and may be again” .
Maîtri and karuna are, actually , the forerunners to that muditha .

If you cannot be a great artiste , singer, scientist or entrepreneur, take delight in the expressions and creations of great achievers, even if these be just vicarious indulgences. Satsang , social work, showering karuna on the deserving, joyfully striding, jogging or hiking and, as Wordsworth would prescribe, absorbing nature's bounties — these are available to all, irrespective of age, status or any special talents.

Such involvements would generate that needed muditha , which, as the poet notes, “can so inform/The mind within us, so impress/With quietness and beauty, and so feed/With lofty thoughts” , leading finally to acquisition of that ultimate upekshanaand imperviousness to what he terms as “evil tongues, rash judgments, sneers of selfish men and greetings where no kindness is and all the intercourse of daily life” .

This supreme state, wherein “all which we behold is full of blessings” is, after all, attainable by everyone, including those who are in the thick of mere routine living. Seers, as Wordsworth , have shown the way!