Durvasa Syndrom

A great man is always willing to be little.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once Narada was sitting in Lord Vishnu  court at vaikunta which was attended by illustrious sages and brahmarshis. Just then Durvasa entered the assembly carrying a huge bundle of books. Durvasa was a great saint, but was highly irascible, quick to anger , arrogant and   big  showoff . Ignoring the august assembly, he went and sat by the side of Lord Vishnu . Vishnu  asked him smilingly: "Sir, how are your studies progressing?" The saint proudly displayed his bundle of books and said, "I have thoroughly studied these books and I know them by heart."

Narada stood up and called Durvasa a donkey carrying a burden of books on his back. Durvasa thundered in wrath and  started  abusing  Narada.Lord  Vishnu pacified and  praised durvasa  and   asked  his  opnion on OMkara  as  they  were  were  all  discussing  on  the  said topic .Durvasa  was  about  to  talk  but nothing  came  out from  his  mouth   as  he  had suddenly  forgot  everthing  .Vishnu  smiled   and  discussion continued

Narada retorted, "There you are! You have not been able to get over your passions like  anger & arrogance  in spite of your scholarship, Moreover You have ignored the assembly and gone and sat next to  Lord Vishnu . What good is scholarship without Humbleness ? These books are nothing but the burden of a donkey." Durvasa realized his folly. He  threw away the books into the sea and went into penance.

 This    may appear  to  be a puranic   story  but    has lot of  inner  meaning. .Lord  Vishnu here  represents ocean  of  knowledge and in  comparison  Durvasa  represents    drop of  water,  and  sitting  next  to  ocean like  lord  Vishnu   will  not  last   long .Narada  reprents   awareness  in  us  who  is  giver of  wisdom where.Nārada means Naara = Wisdom + Da = Giver . He  is  the  person who   always  guides us  to   right  path   and  prompts  us  to  be  humble and  not  boast  about our  knowledge  at  the  drop  of  hat .

I remember a  poem  By  kannada poet  Panche mangesharaya  taught in  our  school days  which  I  feel is relevant to our adult life  as  well. 

ಏರುವನು ರವಿ ಏರುವನು; ಬಾನೊಳು ಸಣ್ಣಗೆ ತೋರುವನು;

“ಏರಿದವರು ಚಿಕ್ಕವನಿರಬೇಕೆಲೆ” ಎಂಬಾ ಮಾತನು ಸಾರುವನು.

Eruvanu ravi Eruvanu banoLu sannage toruvanu
Eridavanu chikkavanira bekembakale emba  matanu saruvanu

Here  Poet  says SUN  gives a message  to  the  world that  even though he  is ascending  in  the morning  from east and as day progresses looks  smaller  and  smaller  , not bigger  and  puffed  up  with arrogance .He  is always   humble  and this   implies that  a person should  be  humble  like  the  SUN during  his  ascending  in  life

That  is  why  you  see many  great film  actors  like  Dr  Rajkumar  were   humble even  after reaching   heights   and  used  to  say " My  best  is  yet  to  come " and  on  the  contrary  we  have  also  seen  many actors who were   wiped  out  because  of  their  arrogance . This  is  applicable  in  all  field   be  it film ,business , arts ,  sports ,  corporate life.

.  Talking on   corporate  circle being humble is quickly met with 'sneers', 'whispers' and a general belief that you are not advocating for oneself. This society is too often forcing people to 'toot their own horns loudly or blow  your  own  trumpet 

. Yes , I do agree it is a dog eat dog world out there  and  it  is crucial to have important skill and   need to exhibit quite  often  in  this competitive world  but   at the  same  time I  feel it  doesn't mean that it's necessary to play by those set rules to get ahead  always

 . It's easy to forget to be humble, and calm, but who knows being too much of a prick can just as easily be your downfall as being kind. Moreover, more people will 'trust' you with their ideas as you are not seen as the 'know-it-all-' who's just going to shoot them down.

.. According to Wikipedia, the characteristic of a humble person is defined by unpretentious and modest qualities and not by feelings of superiority where one thinks that he or she is better or more important than others..

 Take a moment to do an honest appraisal of yourself. There have been times in my life where I was  gripped in  so  called  durvasa   syndrome   where I  felt I  know  every  thing  and  sat  next  to lord Vishnu  the  ocean  of  knowledge  until one  Narada  in me  made  me  aware of  my  position . It    may happen  to  you as  well 

. The first step I  feel  is to recognize the distasteful characteristics of   know all durvasa  syndrome  in  us and    eliminate  that with help  of Narada the  wisdom [Viveka]    thereby making  the necessary changes in our  life.

. “Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself.”
― Blaise Pascal