Ugadi: Bitter-sweet Pill For Equanimity  

By Kamala Balachandran  

Ugadi: Bitter-sweet Pill For Equanimity  

In Karnataka, on the morning of Ugadi, New Year, it is a tradition to eat bevu-bella crushed tender neem leaves and jaggery powder mixed and made into little balls. As a child, I remember shutting my eyes, trying to fix my thoughts on the delicacies that would follow, before swallowing the bitter 'pill'. Why is it considered auspicious to begin the new year with a bitter-sweet mix?

The story of Rama and the trials and tribulations he and Sita had to undergo is well-known. Valmiki explains why even Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, had to suffer thus. Since Rama was a human incarnation, the life of the prince had to follow the pattern of an ordinary human being's. His life, too, had to have patches of triumph and happiness, sorrow and suffering.

Rajaji, who has authored popular versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, describes Rama's sorrow over losing Sita: "One may ask whether God can suffer pain or loss. If one realises that all life is divine leela, the play of God, no further explanation is needed."

The concept that every one of us has to experience difficulties at some point is an intrinsic part of the Hindu way of life. Life on Earth cannot but be a mix of sorrow and joy, victory and defeat. Hence even though we might wish each other a happy and prosperous new year, we know that it cannot be so all the year round, for all people.

Eating bitter neem with sweet jaggery first thing on new year is a symbolic acceptance of this reality. It is a demonstration of our mental preparedness for a year of mixed fortunes, of the pleasant and the unpleasant. The acceptance of pain as an inevitable part of life is also an offshoot of yet another fundamental Hindu belief, in karma or the results of the actions of a life.

A Hindu believes that he will repeatedly be born into the world till such time that there is no dushkarma (bad deeds) to be cleared. It follows as a corollary to the fact that we have taken birth into this world. Our birth is proof that we have backlog of nega-tive karma, which would have to offset in this birth against the misfortunes that we shall suffer in our life span.

In the Bhajagovindam , Adi Sankara, highlighting the unassailability of karma has this advise for man: "Oh fool! Discard your greed for money and wealth. Seek true knowledge keeping your mind free of all your excessive desires. Be content and complacent with whatever you have got as a result of your past karma."

On a higher plane, the tradition of partaking the bitter-sweet mix on the morning of the new year symbo-lises yet another fundamental concept of the Hindu faith. The one idea that all its differing schools of philosophy uphold, with unanimity, is detachment. To remain unaffected by pairs of opposites, like pain and pleasure, blame and praise, wealth and poverty, love and hate; to transcend them and accept all on equal footing are the qualities universally acknowledged as the ultimate goal of spiritual endeavour.

Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita propounds this lofty concept in just two words: Samatwam yogamutchyate, which means, 'equanimity is yoga'. A similar emphasis on equanimity is laid by Sankara and in the Bhajagovindam , he has this counsel for man.

"With your foe and with your friend; with your son and kith and kin, have no hate or affinity too. If you aspire to the status of Vishnu, then develop equanimity first."

The intake of the bevu with the bella , is but a token step, taken in the direction of developing composure. In modern-day parlance, it is a new year resolution to maintain mental balance, all the year round.

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See also: Ugadi, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)