DASARA DIVINE DISCOURSE ON 7-10-2005

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DASARA DIVINE DISCOURSE ON 7-10-2005

THE INDWELLER IS GOD HIMSELF

During childhood, man develops absorbing

interest in play in the company of other children;

During youth, under the influence of cupid

he roams about in the company of women with infatuation;

During the middle age he is entangled in worldly

matters and deeply engrossed in hoarding wealth;

And lastly in old age he craves for this and that

not contemplating on God even at that ripe age.

Unable to get rid of old habits,

Unable to develop interest in Godward path,

Man wastes his precious human birth,

Deeply enmeshed in the web of karma.

(Telugu poem)

Embodiments of Love!

Man spends his life time thus, deeply enmeshed in pursuing ephemeral

things. He is carried away by unproductive thoughts depending upon the

particular stage of growth he is passing through. Ultimately he

realises that, he has, in fact, wasted his precious human birth in vain

pursuits. Is this the real nature of a human being? Is this what he has

to learn in life? These activities are momentary like water bubbles.

They cannot provide lasting happiness to man. It is mere foolishness to

spend one’s time in such futile pursuits.

When God takes birth in human form, people doubt whether he is born

like any other human being from the mother’s womb or out of His Divine

will. The fact is when God takes birth in human form, he selects His

parents. He carries on with His avataric mission with the help of the

form He has assumed. This happens in every age. Same was the case with

Lord Krishna in the Dwapara Yuga. He made friendship with the Pandavas.

In fact, He was friend, philosopher and guide to them. He constantly

protected them against the machinations of the wicked Kauvaras. When

they were engaged in the Kurukshetra war with the Kauravas, Krishna

donned the role of a Ratha Sarathi (charioteer) to Arjuna and led the

Pandavas to victory.

After the war ended, Lord Krishna informed the Pandavas that He would

leave for His palace in Dwaraka. He wanted one of the five Pandava

brothers to accompany Him during this journey. Kunthi, the mother of

Pandavas, suggested that Krishna may take Arjuna with Him, since they

were very close to each other. Accordingly, Lord Krishna took Arjuna to

Dwaraka and provided all comforts to him during his stay there. Arjuna

was a bit embarrassed to take avail of the services rendered by Lord

Krishna to him. He told Krishna “Oh! Lord! How can I take services from

You?” Krishna replied, “Arjuna! You are mistaken. Whom am I serving? Is

it your body? Even your body belongs to Me. It is not yours. I am the

protector of all beings in the world. You, therefore, should not delude

yourself thinking that you are the body.

The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or

later, but the Indweller has neither birth nor death. The Indweller has

no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. Truly Speaking,

the Dehi (indweller) is Devadeva (God of gods) Himself.

(Telugu Poem)

“I am that Devadeva. You identify yourself with the body out of

delusion and say “I”. But, that is not your real Self. You are not the

body. As long as you identify yourself with the body, you remain as the

individual being (Jiva). Once you come out of that delusion, you become

one with Deva (the Supreme Self). Hence, give up attachment to the

body. The human body is like a doll. However, one has to perform all

his karmas using the body as the instrument. Man has the right only to

perform karma. The entire world moves on account of karma. I am the of this cosmic play, Oh! Arjuna!”, said Lord Krishna.

The Yadavas with whom Krishna spent His entire life perished due to

their ego and hatred. In the end, Krishna Himself gave up the human

vesture and left for His divine abode. Watching these developments

helplessly, Arjuna wept inconsolably. Unable to bear the separation

from his dear Lord, friend, philosopher and guide, he wailed, “Oh!

Krishna! You have been constantly protecting me and guarding me. Now

that you left for your heavenly abode, in whom shall I seek refuge?” At

last, realising the futility of spending his time in grief, he returned

to Hasthinapura.

The city of Dwaraka presented a scene of total destruction. The entire

Yadava clan had perished. Arjuna did not know what to do in those

circumstances. He remembered the possibility of his mother Kunthi

enquiring about the welfare of Lord Krishna and the Yadavas. A hundred

and one questions cropped up in his mind, but he had no answers for any

of them. Finally, Arjuna collected all the Gopikas and started on his

march out of Dwaraka, as per the Divine command. Suddenly Arjuna and

the Gopikas were surrounded by a horde of forest dwelling nomads. But,

to his utter dismay, Arjuna could not even lift his bow, the Gandiva;

strange indeed! The great warrior Arjuna who tore the opposing army

lines into pieces with utter ease in the Kurukshetra war, could not

even lift his Gandiva now. He lamented at his helplessness and prayed

to Krishna “Oh! Lord Krishna! What has happened to all my strength?

Where is it gone now?” Again, he answered to himself: “He who had

granted this power to me has now taken it back.”

At last, in utter helplessness and agony, he prayed to Lord

Krishna “Oh! Lord! You have to protect your Gopikas yourself. I am

helpless.” Finally Arjuna reached Hasthinapura along with some of the

Gopikas who could be saved from the clutches of the barbarians by the

divine grace of Krishna. There, Arjuna found the people in great

despair. He could not understand the reason for their sorrow.

Meanwhile, Dharmaraja was very anxious to know from Arjuna the welfare

of Lord Krishna. Arjuna replied, “I will tell you everything that had

happened, in detail.” Mother Kunthi was, however, very anxious to know

about the welfare of Lord Krishna. She enquired: “Son! Arjuna! Is my

dear Krishna alright? Please tell me in detail as to what had happened

during your stay in Dwaraka.” She was very eager to know the facts and

Arjuna could not but reveal the truth. Finally, he steadied himself and

related everything about the departure of Krishna for His heavenly

abode and the subsequent developments. The moment Arjuna revealed that

Krishna had shed His mortal coil, mother Kunthi could not bear the

grief and she collapsed on the cot on which she was sitting..

Dharmaraja rushed to her side and tried to console her saying, “Mother!

What was destined to happen, had happened. These are all the Divine

leelas of Lord Krishna. There is no use grieving over these

developments. Please get up.” But, mother Kunthi did not respond. He

realised that she had left her mortal coil. He put her head on his lap

and called all his brothers. He gave instructions to his brothers for

performing the obsequies of mother Kunthi. At the same time, he gave

instructions for the necessary arrangements to be made for the

coronation of young Parikshit, the heir apparent, as the King of

Hasthinapura.

Thereafter, he called Nakula and Sahadeva to his side and told them to

make arrangements for their Mahaprasthana (the great march) of the

Pandavas to the Himalayas. Droupadi, the queen of the Pandavas, who was

witnessing these developments could not maintain her poise anymore. She

could not bear the double loss of Lord Krishna’s departure on the one

side and the sudden demise of mother Kunthi on the other. Dharmaraja

called Arjuna and instructed him to make arrangements for the cremation

of the dead body of mother Kunthi. Arjuna complied with his

instructions. The brothers could not contain their grief. They wept

inconsolably on two counts – one for losing their dear Lord Krishna and

the other over the death of their beloved mother. Dharmaraja led the

funeral procession, carrying the fire in an earthen pot. The same

tradition was in vogue in those days also. As the funeral procession

was proceeding, the people of Hastinapura could not contain their

emotions. Finally, when the body of mother Kunthi was placed on the

funeral pyre in the cremation ground, Dharmaraja lit the pyre. In a few

moments, the mortal body of mother Kunthi was consigned to flames. The

Pandava brothers returned home.

The next item on their agenda was to perform the coronation of young

Parikshit . What a great wonder! They lost their dear mother; they lost

their very life breath, Lord Krishna; yet they were now prepared to

perform the coronation of Parikshit with perfect calm and poise! Time

marches on! And, all things that have to be performed have to take

their course. The kingdom of Hastinapura has to be protected. Thinking

thus, the priests started chanting the Vedic mantras for conducting the

rituals connected with the coronation of Parikshit. He was brought into

the court and the royal crown was placed on his head amidst the

chanting of Vedic mantras by the priests. Parikshit was, however, very

unhappy and pleaded with the Pandavas, “Oh! My dear grandfathers! You

are all great kings. You are still hale and healthy. Is it proper for

me to wear the royal crown in your esteemed presence? Do I deserve to

wear this royal crown? How worthless and insignificant am I! Some one

of you, please wear this crown and rule the country.” The Pandava

brothers tried to convince Parikshit saying, “Dear child! We will not

be here anymore to rule this kingdom. There must be someone to look

after the welfare of the people as king of this great country. You have

to, therefore, shoulder this responsibility. The affairs of the kingdom

have to be looked after. You should not flinch from your duty in

ensuring the continuity of the regal obligations.” Explaining thus and

convincing the young Parikshit, they sat down. Thereafter, the

coronation of Parikshit as the King of Hastinapura was performed as per

the wishes of Dharmaraja. Parikshit too bowed to the wishes of

Dharmaraja and allowed the rituals of coronation to be completed. The

Pandavas then started on their great march to the Himalayas, straight

from the royal court where the coronation of Parikshit was being held.

They immersed the ashes of their mother in the holy river Ganges.

Thereafter, they continued their march in the Himalayas, proceeding one

behind the other. Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandavas, led the great

march. Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva followed him in that order.

Droupadi, being the wife of the five Pandava brothers, walked behind

the brothers.

While the Pandavas and their queen Droupadi were thus proceeding in

their great march to the Himalayas, Droupadi first dropped down.

Thereafter, the four brothers, Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna and Bhima

dropped down in that order during the course of their jouney. But, none

among them looked behind during their march. For each of them, it was a

lone journey to their final abode. Finally, Dharmaraja was alone and he

continued his march.

In this manner, the Pandavas’ earthly sojourn came to an end. Pariskhit

was grief-stricken when he came to know about their departure from this

world. When they set out on the Mahaprasthana, people were unable to

bear their separation and hence many of them shed their mortal coils.

It appeared as though destiny was unkind towards the Pandavas. Who can

understand its ways! None, except God, can know about the turn of

events in one’s life. One may don ochre robes, but that will not enable

him to know what the future has in store for him.

The Pandavas symbolised virtues and valour. They could shed their

mortal coils peacefully as they had led their lives in an ideal manner

and sanctified their time in the contemplation of God.

Like the Pandavas, King Parikshit was also one of virtues and valour.

Even while carrying out his kingly duties He spent his time in

namasmarana. When he took over the reigns of Hasthinapura, some evil

minded kings joined hands and waged a war against him. They

underestimated his strength and valour thinking that he was young and

inexperienced. But, some other noble kings came to his rescue. With

their help, Parikshit could vanquish the enemies and assert his

supremacy. He could emerge victorious due to his unflinching faith in

God. That is why I often tell you - God is your sole refuge wherever

you are - whether on the mountain top or in the sky or in the town or

in the city or in the middle of the deep sea.

When Parikshit was anointed as the king, initially people were

apprehensive as to how a young boy could shape the destiny of a

kingdom. However, under the able guidance of Kripacharya’s son,

Parikshit proved to be an efficient king. He followed in the foot steps

of the Pandavas. He took some time off from his royal duties and went

to the place where the Pandavas shed their mortal coils. He performed

pradakshina (circumambulation) and wore the dust of their feet on his

head in reverence. He practised and propagated their ideals. The

Pandavas are ideals to the entire world. We should emulate their ideals

and sanctify our lives. We may have to face sorrows and suffering, but

should remain undeterred by emotional obstacles. Only then will the

true power and strength manifest in us. When we follow the ideals of

the Pandavas, we will experience peace, happiness and prosperity.

 

Students!

You are young and have a long life ahead of you. Pariskhit was much

younger to you when he ascended the throne. However, he took up the

challenge with admirable courage and faith in God. He stood as an ideal

to the young generation. You too should develop such courage and

fortitude and strive for the welfare of society. That is the true

ideal. Pray to God to bestow on you the necessary strength to hold on

to this ideal. The Pandavas left the world long ago but their ideal is

eternal and ever fresh. You should cherish their ideal in your heart

and try to follow the same in letter and spirit.

 

Embodiments of Love! Students!

All of you are highly virtuous. You should be an ideal to others. Never

give room for sorrow. Be always fearless. You don’t need to be a slave

to others. Have firm faith that God is always with you, guiding you and

guarding you. Having God firmly installed in your heart and with the

divine name on your lips, you should march forward saying Jai, Jai,

Jai....