Q: Guruji, in the Upanishads, we
usually find references of Samit Pani (ritual of offering dry sticks to
the Master). Gurudev, could you please tell us, what is the significance
of this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Samit is the stick which is ready to catch fire.
Here, it is a symbol of being ready, so that when the knowledge is
given, you just grab it. Samit Pani has many meanings. One is, ‘Be
Attentive’; second is, ‘Ready to Give Hundred Percent’.
You know when Samit (dry stick) is put in the fire it burns totally
without any residue. So, the meaning of Samit Pani is, ‘Be prepared to
absorb the knowledge and live it. Give your hundred percent.’
Samit also means, ‘Go (to the master) with Stability.’
A student needs some stability and endurance. If there is a little
difficulty, and the student runs away, then that student cannot study
anything. Usually it happens, after the first year of Medical College or
Engineering College children just want to wash their hands off and want
to run away. How many Engineering and Medical students have felt like
that? This is because it appears to be very tough. But you have to go
through that. You have to stand that tough time.
So Samit Pani is also keeping that equanimity and endurance. In earlier
days, they used to say, ‘Don’t go with an empty hand. When you go to a
Guru, go with something.’ The Guru is going to give you knowledge, so
what you can do, is exchange it with a little stick. Give something in
exchange, because knowledge flows with an exchange. Something comes and
something goes. So like this, there are many meanings for Samit Pani.
Going to study with zeal, enthusiasm, and dedication, and being ready to
receive knowledge; ready to undergo toughness. There is also a proverb
that says, ‘If you are a student then there is no pleasure for you. And
if you are a seeker of pleasure, then there is no knowledge for you.’
So, a student will have to go through hardship. This means, if you are
just pleasure loving, you can’t be studious. In English, the word
studious means, being much focused and not running after pleasures or
comfort, but going beyond the comfort zone.
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