In our society, we see some people who are very religious and who perform the rituals prescribed by the scriptures. They also pursue their careers and professions with much success.

We also see some people who do not do anything. They grow beard, moustache and long nails and they are always gazing at the sky, oblivious to the surroundings. Even for their day to day works they depend on others. Usually, the society shuns such persons. Those who have inclination towards the spiritual path respect the persons belonging to the second category. When we come across a person like that, we say, "He is so much immersed in the thought of the divine that he does not care even about himself". We tend to revere such people.

The word ÔweÕ here denotes ordinary human beings who do not have any special knowledge. We, who do not have special knowledge can not be sure that our deductions are always correct. Therefore let us see what our elders say in this regard with the help of this Sookti:

Asaamarthyam vyavahritow
tapassiddherna soochakam
Asaktistu vyavahritow
karunaa soocham vibhoh

Not being able to perform actions is not a sign of Tapassiddhi (accomplishment). On the other hand, disinterestedness towards actions is a clear sign of the compassion of the Almighty.

The above Sookti speaks of two aspects - Asaamarthya (not being able to perform actions) and Tapassiddhi (accomplishment through Tapas). It further says that not performing actions is not a sign of Tapassiddhi. It does not say that being able to perform actions is a sign of Tapassiddhi. Similarly, it says that disinterestedness is a sign of the compassion of the Almighty. It does not say that it is a sign of accomplishment.

Let us see the different sets of combination of these four aspects - ability, inability, interest and disinterestedness.

1. Presence of ability as well as interest
2. Presence of ability although there is disinterestedness
3. Presence of interest, but lack of ability
4. Absence of both interest and ability.

Among these, presence of interest is common to 1 and 3. Presence of interest is not a sign of the AlmightyÕs compassion - says the second part of the above Sookti. Because accomplishment through Tapas is not possible in the absence of the compassion of the Almighty, it can be said that fulfilment of tapas is not possible in these two(1 and 3) situations.

A doubt may arise here. There are many who have done penance and with the blessings of the Almighty, have achieved their objectives. Consider the example of Arjuna. Did he not undertake austere penance to please Lord Shiva and to get the powerful weapon - Pashupataastra? He had both inclination and ability. Can we say that he did not achieve accomplishment through Tapas? Did he not get the Darshan of Lord Shiva?

In the above Sookti, the term Tapassiddhi is used to mean complete Darshan of the Almighty Lord. It does not include the experience of Darshan which one may get from time to time as a result of tapas.

What? Are there two different things as complete darshan and experience of darshan?

Certainly. In the above example, Arjuna only got the darshan of Lord Shiva and the boon. He did not get the complete darshan of the Lord! Later Lord Krishna gave him the Vishwa Roopa Darshana (the darshan of the omnipresent form). Even that was not enough for Arjuna. He still had many unanswered questions. Therefore Lord Krishna preached him the Bhagavad Gita. Only after he assimilated the meaning of the preaching of the Lord, he got total understanding. He was then able to view everything with an equi-poised mind and was able to take part in the battle. This shows that getting the darshan of Lord Shiva to receive the boon of a particular weapon is different from getting the total darshan of the Almighty. This total darshan of the Almighty is referred to as Tapassiddhi in the above Sookti.

It is now clear that wherever there is interest in actions, there can not be Tapassiddhi there. If so, does absence of interest ensure Tapassiddhi? The Sookti does not say ÔyesÕ to this question. It states that absence of interest is only an indication that there is divine compassion. Why?

In the situations 2 & 4 above, disinterestedness is a common factor.

Disinterestedness can be due to two reasons. We may develop disinterestedness towards such actions which we are incapable of performing. Such disinterestedness is not permanent. If, in due course of time, we somehow acquire the ability to perform that action, we automatically develop interest. A person who shows aversion for food when he is suffering from fever, will start relishing it as soon as he gets well by taking medicines. A grown up person knows how to play with marbles. But he has no interest in it. The cause for the disinterestedness here is the knowledge that playing with marbles is a paltry game. Such disinterestedness will not go away even when he becomes old.

Similarly, if one realises that the worldly actions are trivial and if such a knowledge results in disinterestedness, then such disinterestedness will be permanent. Only such disinterestedness is an indication of the compassion of the Lord.

Disinterestedness coupled with divine compassion will gradually result in achievement of Tapassiddhi. Once such an accomplishment through tapas is attained, will there be any action left for that person to perform? In the normal course of thinking, we tend to believe that because that person is completely merged in the Almighty, he will be incapable of performing any action. But the first part of the above Sookti does not accept this. It says "incapability is not a sign of accomplishment (Tapassiddhi).

If we analyse properly, we will realise that capability may be present even after God realisation. We also realise that just because there is inability, it need not be an indication God realisation.

If the inability is purely due to permanent disinterestedness, only then it can be a path for God realisation. Eventhough the person possesses true disinterestedness, if ability is his inborn trait, the Almighty Lord will use the physical body of such a person as long as he is living. Then such a person will perform actions with much more ability. Arjuna is a classic example for this.

By this analysis, we can realise that the 2nd and 4th situations mentioned above more or less mean the same.

What about our first question? Whom should we respect more?

This depends on the interest we have got. If we are truly interested in god realisation, we should not try to bother about the ability and inability of a person. Instead, we should consider their interest and disinterestedness. If they are truly disinterested, then we must respect them whether they are capable or incapable.On the other hand, if they are evincing interest in their actions, they need not be respected just because they are incapable.

The above Sookti is driving home another message. Leave aside respecting others. The Sadhaka should examine himself. Everyday, before going to bed, one should question oneÕs self as - "I have performed many actions today. How many of them were done out of self interest? How many were done because of inevitability and duty-mindedness?"

If the majority of the actions were performed out of self interest, it means that the person is quite far away from receiving divine compassion. Then, one should try to decrease interest gradually and thereby try to become fit to receive the compassion of the Almighty. When interest becomes totally absent, the divine compassion will flow in full. Divine compassion is Divinity itself! That itself is complete realisation.

This is the true message of this Sookti.