I had blogged about how one should acquire knowledge.
Achaaryaath paadam aadatthe
Paadam sishya swamedhayaa
Paadam sa brahmachaaribhya
Sesham kaala kramena cha
This is from smruthies. A loose translation is as follows,
A person can get one quarter of knowledge from Achaarya – the teacher, Another quarter by analyzing self,
One quarter by discussing with others and the last quarter during the process of living by method -addition, deletion, correction, and modification of already known aachaaraas or new aachaaraas.
Aacharaas have to be followed based on their merits available from self experience. One should not follow an aacharaa just because a teacher or elder taught you without giving a reason for it.
I have seen numerous cases of people blindly following a tradition or aachara or belief just because they were told to by elders and they never questioned why it has to be done.
I still recall many in Tamil Nadu not venturing out to do anything on Ashtami and Navami without ever knowing why. I have seen people look at the watch to move to exactly 9 am on Monday so that they can leave the house as the inauspicious Rahukalam (7.30 -9 am on Mondays) gets over by then, without realizing the rider -Rahukalam 7.30-9 am is applicable only when the day has 12 hours, sun rises at 6 am and sets at 6 pm. The actual Rahukalam has to be adjusted pro rata depending on the actual time of sun rise and the number of hours in a day. For example, if the sun rises at 6.30 am and sets at 5.30 pm (as can happen during winter), then the Rahukalam for monday will be from 7.52 am - 9.14 am!!!
So dont follow advice, traditions blindly. Find out the real reasons and meaning of each tradition/aacharas by questioning, form your own opinion and then act accordingly.
