Samskrita shloka equivalent to Serenity Prayer?

[Sanjay Chakravarty]

Dear All,

 

The Serenity Prayer, authored by  Reinhold Niebuhr, as some of you might know, runs as follows:

 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

 

Does anyone know any shloka in Samskrita that has the same message delivered?

 

Warm Regards

Sanjay

 

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Are you sure, the Serinity Prayer is based on Sanskrit source?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

There is no mention on the wicky page and how did you guess or assume that it is from Sanskrit Prayer? Do you have any evidence to believe it is a Sanskrit Prayer?

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[Ajit Gargeshwari]

I think Sanjay Did not say serenity Prayer is from Sanskrit all he wanted Shloka in Samskrita that has the same message delivered

Regards
Ajit Gargeshwari
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।

[Arvind_Kolhatkar]

I do not know for sure whether such a shloka does or does not exist and would be happy to know if one does exist.

However, going along the traditional way of Indian thought, it looks unlikely to me that anybody could have expressed such 'rebellious' thoughts.  In India, one was taught to accept things as they were, have faith in the guidance from higher authorities, starting from the Scriptures down to one's own Guru.  The tendency to question and to want to change was generally not tolerated, much less encouraged.

Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, July 17, 2014.

[Sanjay Chakravarty]

That’s right, Ajitji. That was indeed my intention, just as you state. I am looking for some subhashita or some other sloka which carries an equivalent message.

 

Warm Regards

Sanjay

[Sanjay Chakravarty]

Indeed, Arvindji. and that’s why

 

<begin sarcasm>

 

1.       we Indians have become used to accept the decrepit state of the society,

2.       we exhibit full faith in the guidance of “higher authorities”, whom we ourselves have installed with much fanfare, very well knowing their capabilities and intentions.

3.       We don’t have the tendency to question anything, much less change things.

4.       “Let the whole Mithila burn”, was said in a very different context by a great king, but today, we misinterpret that message, and not a single citizen of the country will so much as bat an eyelid should the whole country burn to ashes, as long as his little house remains somehow protected by providence.

 

Sorry, I would much rather rebel.

 

<end sarcasm>

 

Warm Regards

Sanjay

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[Hnbhat B.R.]

4.       “Let the whole Mithila burn”, was said in a very different context by a great king, but today, we misinterpret that message, and not a single citizen of the country will so much as bat an eyelid should the whole country burn to ashes, as long as his little house remains somehow protected by providence.

This idea has come down to day through phrases like "fiddle while Rome burns" in English only with the difference, from the Indian Version:

Fig. to do nothing or something trivial while knowing that something disastrous is happening. (From a legend that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre while Rome was burning.) The lobbyists don't seem to be doing anything to stop this tax bill. They're fiddling while Rome burns.

The city of Mithila is replaced by Rome.! The above is used as idiom in English language. The idea could spring up simultaneously in different languages. One is Indian version of the idiom given by Sanjaya.

Thanks for the idea.

[shankara]

Namaste,

I think he was referring to Janaka's saying "मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्यति किंचन " in M.Bh, Santiparva.

 

regards
shankara

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From: Hnbhat B.R. <hnbh...@gmail.com>
To: "sams...@googlegroups.com" <sams...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 18 July 2014 7:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Samskrita] Re: Samskrita shloka equivalent to Serenity Prayer?

[Manish Modi]

|| ॐ ह्रीं श्री मुनिसुव्रताय नमः ||

|| Auṃ Hrīṃ Śrī Munisuvratāya Namaḥ ||

Jay Jinendra

सत्त्वेषु मैत्रीं गुणीषु प्रमोदम् 

क्लिष्टेषु जीवेषु कृपा परत्वम् 

माध्यस्थ्य भावं विपरीत वृत्तौ 

सदा ममात्मा विदधातु देवा 

~ आचार्य अमितगति 

sattveṣu maitrīṃ guṇīṣu pramodam 

kliṣṭeṣu jīveṣu kṛpā paratvam 

mādhyasthya bhāvaṃ viparīta vṛttau 

sadā mamātmā vidadhātu devā 

~ ācārya amitagati   

O lord, may I always have these qualities:

Friendship with all living beings,

Delight in seeing goodness in others,

Empathy with those who are in difficult situations,

And an unruffled disposition towards adversaries.

मनीषमोदीकृत आङ्ग्लभाषानुवाद

[सीताराम]

Shankara,

can you give more info in what context this was used, because Janaka and Mahabarats were in different times. So I find just this sentence alone out of place.

 

regards

Raama

--
धन्यवाद: - राम 

[shankara]

Sitarama,

It is 176th chapter in Santiparva. Bhishma quotes this verse while speaking to Yudhishtira. Giving below link to this chapter at wikisource.

LINK

 

regards
shankara

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From: सीताराम <raam...@gmail.com>
To: "sams...@googlegroups.com" <sams...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 18 July 2014 5:51 PM

[Sanjay Chakravarty]

Thanks, Manishji. The verse you quoted is indeed very apt.

 

Warm Regards

Sanjay

--

[Sanjay Chakravarty]

Also, in Shantiparva is a similar sloka.

 

अनन्तं बत मे वित्तं यस्य मे नास्ति किञ्चन।

मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्यति किञ्चन॥        (शान्तिपर्व १७-१८)

 

Warm Regards

Sanjay