Notes for GenZ

 Note (1) Mumbai, Dec 21, 2025, 01:20 hrs. 

======== by S. L. Abhyankar =========

A point came up in our Gita-study WhatsApp Group - There is such a treasure of knowledge in the vast Sanskrit literature. Members of the group realise that when studying Gita. Most members who are past sixty realise that it is a treasure, which rightfully belongs to the NextGen and the NextGen must benefit from it. 

But people of NextGen are totally unaware of that treasure. Not only that they are unaware, they do not seem to be interested in knowing that. Also, they are too busy in managing what life they are living. Hence they do not have time and energy to take interest in this treasure. 

The funny part of the situation also is that the treasure of knowledge does contain valuable tips for the NextGen even for managing what life they are living, rather, managing what life we all live, rather, managing whatever life, howsoever life we all live. 

It can be  a safe presumption that the NextGen would certainly be interested in knowing those valuable tips.   

These “Notes for NextGen” are a humble effort to jot down the tips. 


Note (2) Mumbai, Dec 21, 2025, 04:30 hrs.

 ========= by S. L. Abhyankar ==========

“All is well, that ends well” is an adage. When applied to life, it would mean that “that life is a well-lived life, which ends well.” 

Many would feel that thinking of “a life that ends..”, sounds an ominous thought, though one would grant that everyone would like to be living a well-lived life. One would also grant that a life would not end well, if it is not lived well. 

Since these notes are for finding tips for a self-fulfilling life by exploring the treasure of knowledge in Sanskrit literature, comes to mind a सुभाषितम् SubhaShitam, a good saying. 

अजरामरवत्प्राज्ञः विद्यामर्थं च साधयेत् |

गृहीत इव केशेषु मृत्युना धर्ममाचरेत् || 

ajarAmaravat prAgyaH vidyAmarthaM ca sAdhayet 

gRihIta iva kesheShu mRityunA dharmamAcaret

One should pursue acquiring विद्या vidyA knowledge and अर्थ artha wealth as if one is not going to be withered ever अजर ajara, nor one is going to die अमर amara. But one’s conduct आचरणम् AcaraNam should be righteous सधर्म sadharma, always fearing that Death मृत्यु mRityu is holding the tufts of your hair, ready to strike at you any moment. 

Of course no one would like to breathe one’s last, when one is not in the right disposition, right ? But death catches with people unaware, say, in accidents, say, due to drunken driving. 

What I have given above is some literal translation. But such verses merit deliberating deeper. There is the word अर्थ, which has many shades of meaning. One meaning is wealth. Another meaning is “meaning”, also positivity. The verse advocates striving for meaningfulness. 

A few years back, a word came into fashion “mindfulness” and people started conducting courses and seminars on “mindfulness”. Isn’t this verse all about mindfulness ? It advocates being mindful of acquiring विद्या knowledge and अर्थ wealth, meaningfulness, being mindful yet that the conduct आचरणम् should be सधर्म righteous. 

The verse tells what the aim in life should be, to acquire knowledge and meaningfulness. It also cautions how the conduct should be when striving. 

Just two lines, fairly rhythmic, easy to commit to memory and recite. Do that ?


Note (3) Mumbai, Dec 21, 2025, 12:15 hrs. 

======== by S. L. Abhyankar =======

In the introductory note (1), I mentioned what prompted scribbling these notes, an urge to write down tips which will be valuable to people of NextGen. Now it comes to mind that these tips are valuable for that every NextGen, and lo, there  will be NextGens, always, forever, right ?

So, I have changed the title of these notes as “Notes for GenZ”. The letter Z is the last letter in the Roman alphabet. So GenZ means that generation, which may be the last one. Will there be any such GenZ ? I do not know. 

But Rishis of yore did think of Genz. Did they ? Yes, only in Vedic literature there is mention of प्रलयः or even महाप्रलयः grand immersion of the entire universe. 

Until then the universe has to be sustained, right ? Yes, I am using the words “the universe has to be sustained”. Can the universe not sustain itself ? Maybe not. Why not ? 

The universe is basically a game of energies. In the solar system the planets rotating around themselves and orbiting around the sun along with their subplanets, the “moons” or satellites are all a game of energies. In the solar system the sun is the largest source and store of energy. Modern science concedes that the temperature of the sun is reducing and earth’s speed of orbiting around the sun is also slowing down. 

May we grant that प्रलयः is that event when all energies may become zero ? Maybe, not that the sum total of energies will become zero, but their activity level may become zero. 

Am I leading you to join me in my thought process ? Some may argue that these thoughts sound more like figments of imagination. 

But wait, let me quote from श्रीगणपत्यथर्वशीर्षस्तोत्रम् - सर्वं जगदिदं त्वत्तो जायते | सर्वं जगदिदं त्वत्तस्तिष्ठति | सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि लयमेष्यति | सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि प्रत्येति | 

श्रीगणपत्यथर्वशीर्षस्तोत्रम् is also called as श्रीगणपत्युपनिषद् or श्रीगणपत्यथर्वोपनिषद्. As an उपनिषद् it is a repository of knowledge. Literal translation of the मन्त्राः - 

  1. सर्वं जगदिदं all this universe त्वत्तो जायते is borne of You. 

  2. सर्वं जगदिदं all this universe त्वत्तस्तिष्ठति is sustained by You 

  3. सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि लयमेष्यति all this universe will dissolve in You 

  4. सर्वं जगदिदं त्वयि प्रत्येति all this universe will re-emerge in You

These last two मन्त्रौ mantrau endorse the thought that by the प्रलयः event “not that the sum total of energies will become zero, but their activity level may become zero.”

What is the valuable tip ? The universe is such an unfathomably huge game of energies, that any thought “I do this, I do that” is such a false, childish, unintelligent ego. Ego अहङ्कारः is not good. It is a vice. Rather, it is the foremost among vices. Major vices are mentioned to be six. See the list in 

अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् |

विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ||गीता 18-53||

ahankaAraM balaM darpaM kAmaM krodhaM parigrahaM 

Vimucya nirmamaH shAnto brahmabhUyAya kalpate 

One who becomes निर्ममः devoid of any ownership and शान्त: is at peace after forsaking अहङ्कार ego बल power दर्प haughtiness काम desires क्रोध anger परिग्रह accepting anything from anybody, he कल्पते becomes eligible ब्रह्मभूयाय for being one with The Ultimate or The Supreme. 

This verse in just two lines not only 

  1. lists all the six major vices 

  2. but also advocates what faculties to cultivate, being निर्ममः devoid of any ownership and शान्त: at peace, 

  3. also sets the high aim of ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते being eligible to be one with The Ultimate or The Supreme.

Hey GenZ, churn the essence in your own mind, meditate on it, absorb it, practise it. May you attain the high aim !

(By the way December 21 is International Meditation Day !) 


Note (4) Mumbai, Dec 22, 2025, 12:30 hrs.

======== by S. L. Abhyankar =======

When relooking Note (3), I came to notice that I missed out transcriptions of the 

  1. मन्त्राः mantrAH from 

    1. श्रीगणपत्यथर्वशीर्षस्तोत्रम् shrI-gaNapatyatharva-shIrSha-stotram - 

  2. सर्वं sarvam जगदिदं jagadidam त्वत्तो tvatto जायते jAyate | 

  3. सर्वं sarvam जगदिदं jagadidam त्वत्तस्तिष्ठति tvattastiShThati | 

  4. सर्वं sarvam जगदिदं jagadidam त्वयि tvayi लयमेष्यति layameShyati | 

  5. सर्वं sarvam जगदिदं jagadidam त्वयि tvayi प्रत्येति pratyeti |

GenZ people may also wonder what this श्रीगणपत्यथर्वशीर्षस्तोत्रम् shrI-gaNapatyatharva-shIrSha-stotram is. 

  1. A स्तोत्रम् stotram is a song of praise and prayer, an ode.  

  2. This one is to the deity श्रीगणपति shrI-gaNapati. 

  3. अथर्वशीर्षम् means unwavering, steadfast head, steadfast intellect. 

Hinduism respects 330 million deities. Though the number is not any round figure such as 300 million or 350 million, I don’t think anyone knows the complete list of 330 million deities. श्रीगणपति shrI-gaNapati is certainly one of them, rather, regarded as the foremost among all, because worships to all deities start with the worship of श्रीगणपति shrI-gaNapati or श्रीगणेश shrIganesha. Note, श्री shrI is an honorific prefix for names of all deities. 

Well, most deities have multiple nominations. One famous स्तोत्रम् stotram is श्रीविष्णुसहस्रनामस्तोत्रम् shrI-viShNu-sahasra-nAma-stotram wherein one recites 1000 names of श्रीविष्णु shrI-viShNu. Can one recite as many as 1000 names verbatim ? Yes, if you by-heart the श्रीविष्णुसहस्रनामस्तोत्रम् shrI-viShNu-sahasra-nAma-stotram, you can recite. This stotram has about 120 verses. The appropriate Sanskrit word for such verses is श्लोकाः shlokaaH (plural), श्लोकः shlokaH (singular). Do you think that learning 120 verses by heart is a daunting task ? Not really. श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्य shrImacCankaraacaarya of शृङ्गेरी shRngerI मठः maThaH had started a scheme of awarding people who can recite all 700 श्लोकाः shlokaaH of श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता shrImadbhagavadgItaa. I won that award in 2010. Many children also have won that. 

You would grant that learning so many श्लोकाः shlokaaH is an amazing training of the memory. It also is an amazing training of appreciating the rhythmic aspect of sound, developing a musical ear. Learning by heart श्रीविष्णुसहस्रनामस्तोत्रम् shrI-viShNu-sahasra-nAma-stotram is cultivating the practice of walking meditation. 

Do you know that there is a श्लोकः shlokaH which, one way, is an ode to श्रीकृष्णः shrIkRShNaH in the first line and to श्रीशिवः shrIshivaH in the second line, not just that, but together is a mnemonic for the value of pye to 32 digits ? Here it is 

गोपीभाग्य मधुव्रात शृङ्गीशोदधिसंधिग |

खलजीवितखाताव गलहालारसंधर ||

gopI-bhAgya madhuvrAta shRngIshodadhisandhiga 

khala-jIvita-khAtAva gala-hAlA-rasaM-dhara 

Complete study of the श्लोकः shlokaH has been presented by me in my YouTube video https://youtu.be/QTG0Tw4mkuk?si=7m5eZxtF6KM8PvRT 

The point is that learning श्लोकाः shlokaaH by heart has so many benefits. More than that there is immense joy and pride, rather, self-respect. 

Why would one not gain those benefits, the joy and the self-respect ?

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