Hymn To Rain of Gold

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When His Holiness Sri Jayendra Sarasvati Swamigal, S Sankaracārya of Kinci Kamakoti Mutt, turned forty nine years in 1984, he expressed a wish that the complete works of Adi Sankara should be translated into both English and Tamil.

Some of the hymns of Adi Sankara, in praise of Hindu gods and goddesses, have already been translated into both these languages. But, hymns constitute but a minuscule part of his excellent lucubrations. His major works are his pellucid exegeses of the Bhagavad Gita, the Vişhņu Sahasranama, the Brahma Sutras and the eleven principal Upanishads, all of which deserve to be translated into English and all the Indian languages.

But, the one hymn composed by Sankara that would be most beneficial to the Hindus, if translated into English, is undoubtedly "Kanakadhārāstava" (Hymn to rain of gold). This is because, the majority of the people in India are wallowing in poverty. Most of them, however, feel that there is no way out the impasae and are floundering around in despondency. Their economic plight could possibly ameliorate, if they recite this hymn daily.

Kannadasan, the Tamil poet, had already translated the hymn into Tamil. In an article published in "Kumudam", the well-known Tamil weekly in 1979, the late lamented poet had asserted that after his translation of "Kanakadhärastava", into Tamil, money started flowing to him like a cascade, no matter how much he spent. Likewise, in his preface to the Tamil translation of the hymn, he had asseverated that his financial difficulties eased only after he completed the translation of the hymn into Tamil.

The Vedas, the Holy Scriptures of Hinduism, regarded as sacred revelations of God by the pious Hindus, lay stress on the importance of wealth and its acquisition for leading a normal and contented life. That Hinduism itself accords wealth its due place in day-to-day life can be seen from the fact that there is an 'exclusive' Goddess in the Hindu pantheon of Gods and Goddesses for bestowing or conferring wealth viz. Goddess Mahalakṣmī, the consort of Lord Vishņu, whom Brahmaśrī Agnihotram Rāmānuja Tatacāriar, the redoubtable Vedic scholar of worldwide renown, and the recipient of the prestigious President's award, has described as "the presiding Deity of wealth" in his laudatory foreword to the book. Therefore, it cannot be too strongly emphasised that wealth is certainly most essential for mundane life. Indeed, it is the pivot around which human subsistence on earth revolves. It is both the kingpin and lynchpin of livelihood. It is the sheet-anchor of life itself. Small wonder, therefore, that Benjamin Franklin has once said: "Nothing but money is sweeter than honey".

There are excellent books in English, which provide useful guidelines to become rich, the most popular of which is Napoleon Hill's work: "Think and grow rich". Here again, there are two insuperable difficulties. The first is that the majority of the people in India are not literate and cannot, therefore, make profitable use of such books. The second is that, it is not always possible for all those who read such books, to put into practice, the useful suggestions contained therein to grow rich, because of some peculiar conditions prevailing in our country.