Seven Hills, Seven Seas

In my child hood days, I have listened to stories which talked of some treasure lying far away with a King promising his princess in marriage for anyone who retrieves that treasure.  A young and ambitious person goes on an adventure to retrieve the treasure.  Normally you identify yourself with that young person as the story unfolds.  This person with his trusted aides has to cross Seven seas and seven hills to get to the treasure.  He fights different demons, snakes and animals all of whom he encounters on his way.

During the years 2001-2005 when I was posted in London, I had the opportunity to listen to an Indian Scholar, Philosopher and Guide – Shri Parthasarathy.  He is famous for his philosophical and Bhagvat Gita discourses and application of philosophy to management.  In one of his talks, he talked of ways to maintain harmonious relationships with all those people whom you come across in your life span.  His main theme was accept the people as they are and do not impose your expectations of behavior on them.  

When I introspected on this thought, I found a postulate (axiom) in the child hood story theme of Seven hills, Seven seas.  Let us look at the following diagram which represents this axiom.

As a person grows and continues his life journey, he encounters situations and gathers experience. He gets a family, he lives along with his relatives, he has a neighborhood, and he associates himself with certain groups of people and so on. We can represent these relationships in circles (vattam in Tamil) and as one’s circle and contacts enlarge: the enlarged personal and social circles in concentric circles, we get the following seven circles.  Now let us go back to our story of Seven Hills, Seven seas.  Each person, in his life cycle, can attempt to remain in his own selfish world or can attempt to cross Seven Hills, Seven seas.  As the person starts identifying his relatives, neighbours, village / locality, as his own, he starts loving them as his own.  For example, people who lived in Tambaram or studied in MCC would immediately relate to each other and mention proudly the achievements of any one in the related group to others.  How many of us have not related our MCC relationship when, Indira Nooyi became Pepsi CEO?

Extending this concept further, as a person relates himself with a broader group, his own world enlarges.  When he starts himself identifying all living beings (Homeo-sapiens or others), he has reached the Seventh Hill or Seventh Sea.  Now Viswaroopam of Lord Krishna when he showed the entire world in his mouth or when he showed entire universe to Arjuna in the battle field can be understood well.  Your soul (atman) is a part of Paramatma!

Coming to harmonious relationships which will help you pass one lower circle to the higher –a person is in the first circle and another in the third circle meet, the person in the higher circle has to acknowledge and accept that that the other person is in the first circle.  Accept the people as they are.  Therefore their behavior would be constrained by the boundaries of the circle.  When a person crosses over to higher circle, his horizon enlarges, vision is higher and his relationship canvas is larger.  He is large hearted and hence his behavior towards all is love towards all and malice towards none.   . As he reaches the last circle and aims to cross even the last barrier, he becomes a Mahatma or a Mahadev – one who attains the Godly qualities of loving and caring everyone – without exception.  

Har Har Mahadev!

sekar