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वृथा वृष्टि: समुद्रेषु वृथा तृप्तेषु भोजनम् ।वृथा दानम् धनाढ्येषु वृथा दीपो दिवाऽपि च ॥vrThaa vrShtih samudreShu vrThaa thrptheShu Bhojanam | vrThaa dhaanam DhanaaDyeShu vrThaa deepo divaa api cha ||Meaning: Rain is wasted on the ocean. Food is wasted on a satiated one. Gifts are wasted on the wealthy. A burning lamp is useless in the presence of daylight.In this episode, Dr. N. Hema Malini, Madhavi Nadig and Archith Narasimhan discuss how the perceived value of things changes according to the context.This subhashitha is also from Chanakya Neeti, Chapter 5.Dr. Hema Malini believes “appropriateness” is the thread connecting the 4 thoughts in this subhashitha.Rains are welcome and beneficial on arid and arable lands. Hungry people are grateful for the food they receive. The needy appreciate the gifts and donations they get.In creating clouds, the ocean loses some of its water. In showering the ocean with rain, the clouds lose themselves. But during this cycle, does the ocean lose itself?Archith quotes Amitabh Bachchan’s dialogue from the movie Sharaabi. “समुंदर में से दो चार लोटा पानी अगर निकाला जाए तो समुंदर को कोयि फरक नहि पडता |” (If you take out a few buckets of water from the ocean, it makes no difference to the ocean.)Humans have pumped out so much of the groundwater that it’s changed the earth’s tilt. We do not understand the full impact of our actions!Mahatma Gandhi said, “The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not enough for everyone's greed.”Serve yourself as much as you need, but don’t waste any of the food on your plate.When Ratan Tata and his friends wasted a lot of food at a restaurant in Germany they had to pay a hefty fine. Germans believe that resources belong to the country and nobody should waste any.Archith disapproves of buying multiple items, simply because they were on discount, when there was a need for only one item. Even though the per unit cost of each item may be low, you end up spending more overall. Plus, you need to dispose of the extra items by gifting, donating or discarding.Money can be a great motivator. But only up to a certain point. Beyond that point, the value of money diminishes rapidly. Other forms of appreciation assume greater value.Dr. Hema Malini talks about the virtue called अस्तेय, astheya or non-stealthiness. Seeing that his friend DVG was very poor, Sir. M. Visvesvaraya frequently gave him work to do for the Mysore maharajas. After each task, he sent DVG a cheque with a handsome payment. It was only after DVG’s death that he realised DVG never cashed any of those cheques. DVG believed he was always helping out his friend, Sir M.V. Hence he did not think he was entitled to the maharaja’s payment.When Sudhama, Krishna’s childhood friend, comes to visit him, the only gift he can afford to give Krishna is a handful of avalakki (beaten rice). But Krishna is thrilled that his friend, despite his poverty, took the pain of travelling and brought him a gift!It's not the price tag of the gift that matters. It’s the thought, the emotion and the bond between the gifter and the recipient that is more valuable.Archith believes that the act of showing up and spending time with a person is more valuable than a material gift.Overdoing anything is overkill. Drinking too much water, indulging in food or spending fortunes on gifts to impress the world are all examples of wasteful actions that drain you. This subhashitha teaches us that everything has to be in moderation.The timing and context of actions matter. Many investors pump money into the stock market during a bull run and pull money out when the market melts down. These ill-timed actions do not help them make money.When people donate to charity, funds do not get distributed appropriately across causes. Some causes attract more funds, while others suffer.If all the money donated to NGOs in India were used effectively, we may have been able to eliminate hunger within India at least.Even though we may not have perfect data to make our resource utilisation the most efficient, let’s try to make it as equitable as possible.People light lamps in places of worship, not to illuminate the space, but to symbolise the removal of darkness from their minds.In Kannada, people may mock your actions saying, “ಸೂಯ೯ನಿಗೇ ಟಾಚ್೯ ಆ?” (Will you shine a torch for the sun?) At times your actions may seem insignificant. But persistence yields great results.We cannot give up on our efforts just because there are bigger fish in the pond, or the world would go to the dogs.Of what use is the ocean to a thirsty person? The rain is better to quench their thirst. It is better to find out what the recipients need and gift/donate those items, rather than give away random items as charity.It’s not just the quantity of something, but the quality of what is offered that matters. The situation has to be appropriate for a person to be satisfied.After a hearty meal, if someone offered Madhavi her favourite sweet as a dessert or a hot cup of coffee, she would feel even more content.What did this subhashitha bring to your mind? Share it with us in a comment.@susambhashanam on Instagram & YouTube