Bhagavada Vahini - Chapter 7

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Bhagavada Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba

 

Chapter 7

Vidura the Counselor

 

Vidura continued his admonition of Dhritarâshthra: " You have reached

this advanced age, but still, without any shame or hesitation, you

are leading a dog's life. You may not be ashamed of it, but, I am.

Fie upon you! Your method of spending your days is worse than that of

a crow. "

 

Dhritarâshthra could not hear more. He cried, " O! enough, enough.

Please stop. You are torturing me to death. These are not the words

that one brother should address another. Hearing you, I feel you are

not Vidura, my brother. He would not have reprimanded me so cruelly.

For, is Dharmaraja, with whom I now am, a stranger? Have I taken

refuge with an alien? What is this that you are saying? Why these

harsh words! Dharmaraja is fostering me with great love and care; how

can you declare that I am leading a dog's life or a crow's? It is a

sin, if you entertain such ideas. This is just my fate, and nothing

else. " Dhritarâshthra bent his head and moaned.

 

Vidura laughed in derision. He said, " Have you not sense of shame,

that you should talk thus? Dharmaraja might, out of his goodness,

care for you more than his own father. He might look after you with a

love greater than your own sons. This is but the reflection of his

character. That is but the amplification of the significance of his

name. But, should you not plan for your own future? One leg of yours

is already in the grave and you are blindly filling your stomach in

comfort and rolling in luxury. Reflect for a moment how you tortured

Dharmaraja and his brothers, to fulfil the wicked intentions of your

vile sons, how you devised strategems for their extinction. You put

them in a wax house and to set fire to it, you attempted to poison

them.

 

Duryodhana's brother Dushasana forcibly attempts to disrobe Draupadî

in the center of the assembly hall. Draupadî's husbands, the Pândavas,

who have lost her as well as their kingdom in a crooked game of dice,

sit helplessly to the right. Krishna's divine grace provides her with

an unending length of material as a sari, thus sparing her further

humiliation.

 

You insulted their Queen (Draupadî) in the most humiliating manner

before a vast assembly. You and your abominable brood piled grief

over grief on the sons of Pându, your own brother. Blind, senile,

thick-skinned elephant, you sat on the throne, perpetually asking

those beside you " What is happening now? What is happening now?How

can you stay in this place enjoying Dharmaraja's hospitality, rolling

over your mind the iniquities perpetrated by you, for his

destruction? When you were devising their end, did they cease to be

your cousins? Or, did the cousinship emerge now, when you came to

them for stay? You tell me so proudly that they are treating you

well, without a shred of shame!

 

Why speak so much? The disastrous game of dice took place at your

initiative, isn't it? Do you deny it? No, I was the witness of that

game. I advised you against it then, did you take it to heart? What

happened then to the love and sympathy which you are now freely

pouring forth? Today, like a dog you are gulping the food the

Pândavas are placing before you and leading this despicable life. "

 

Hearing these words of Vidura which pained him like hammer-strokes,

Dhritarâshthra developed a distaste for his style of living. Vidura's

intention was to prod him into the life of a recluse and the life of

sâdhana, so that he might realise his self before it was too late. At

last, he felt that Vidura was speaking the truth and giving him a

true picture of his low nature. He said, " brother! Yes; all that you

have said is true, I admit. I have realised it now. But, what am I to

do? I am blind and therefore, I cannot go into the forests for

sâdhana, alone. I must have a companion. What shall I do? For fear

that I may suffer without food, Gandhâri never leaves me even for a

moment. "

 

Vidura saw that he had modified his attitude and had seen light. He

emphasized his original advice. He said, " You have become blind due

primarily to this attachment to the body. How long can you be

burdened with it? It has to be dropped by the wayside same day, some

place. Know that " you " are not this body, this package of nauseating

things. To identify yourselves with the physical frame is the sign of

extreme foolishness. The body is being besieged perpetually by death

with his army of diseases. But, you are unaware of it; you do not

care for the pro and the con; you snooze your fill and snore. This

drama has an end, remember. The curtain has to come down. So hie

towards some holy place without delay and meditate on God and save

yourself. Let death come and carry away your body there; that is the

most excellent end. Do not die like a dog or fox, somewhere, somehow.

Arise and go, develop detachment. Give up this delusion, escape from

this house. "

 

Thus was planted in the heart the seeds of renunciation.

Dhritarâshthra pondered long, and broke into tears. His lips

quivered. He moved his hands from side to side to contact Vidura. At

last, he held his hands and said, " Vidura! What can I say to you who

gave this most valuable advice, advice that is certain to promote my

best interests? Though you are younger in age, your jñâna (religious,

spiritual knowledge) makes you senior to all of us. You have full

authority to speak as you like. Do not consider me as someone outside

your circle. Hear me with patience. I shall certainly follow your

advice. " He then began to describe his condition to his brother.

 

" Vidura " , he began, " How can I leave from here, without informing

Dharmaraja who is looking after me, with more care than even a son?

It won't be proper to do so. Then, he might insist on coming along

with us, his nature is such. You must save me from this dilemma. Take

me to a place where I can engage myself in sâdhana (spiritual

discipline). "

 

When he pleaded thus, Vidura replied, " Your words sound strange. You

are not going into the forest to eat banquets, to witness carnivals,

or to enjoy the beauty of the scenery. You are giving up everything

with a full sense of detachment. You are taking up a life of

austerity and spiritual discipline. And, in the same breath, you are

talking of " taking leave " of kith and kin! This is odd. You resolve

to lay down the body in the pursuit of the ideal, but, you are

considering how to get the permission of men who are related to you

through the body. These bonds cannot help sâdhana. They can never

liberate you. Bundle them up and sink them deep. Move out of this

place with just the clothes you wear. Do not waste a single moment of

your life. "

 

Thus, Vidura advised him without mercy, he did not change the tune of

his song, he emphasized the importance of immediate renunciation.

Dhritarâshthra was on his bed, listening intently and ruminating on

the next step. He said, " Vidura, what you say is quite true. I need

not describe to you my special difficulties. This body is decrepit,

these eyes are blind. I must have some one at least to guide my

steps, isn't it? Your sister-in-law (Gandhâri) has 'blinded' her eyes

by a bandage, in order that she can share my handicap, and suffer

similarly. How can we two blind persons move about in the forest? We

have to be dependent on others all our lives. "

 

Vidura saw the tears rolling down the cheeks of the old man, he

pitied his plight, but, he never revealed his pity. He said

assuringly, " Well, I am prepared to take you to the forest. I am

ready. What greater pleasure have I than releasing you from here, for

this sacred purpose? Come, arise. Start. " Vidura stood up.

Dhritarâshthra too rose from his bed and stood on the floor. Gandhâri

too stood by his side, with a hand on his shoulder. She

pleaded, " Lord, I am also coming with you, ready for anything. "

 

But, Dhritarâshthra said, " 0, it is very hard to guard women in the

jungle. The place is infested by wild beasts and life there is bound

to be full of privations. " He spoke in this strain for a long time.

But, she argued that she could not desert her lord, that she could

stand the privations as much as he, that it was her duty to continue

serving him until her death, that she was only following the

tradition set up by the gems of Indian womanhood, that it is not

dharma to prevent her from observing her dharma, that life in the

zenana (place where women stay) without him would be unbearable for

her, that she would welcome instead, life in the jungle with her

lord. She fell at the feet of her lord and demanded permission to

accompany him.

 

Dhritarâshthra was silent, he did not know what to say. It was Vidura

who spoke. " This is not the time to discuss the niceties of dharma,

how can this lady who never stayed away from you a single moment,

suddenly leave your company and live apart? It is not proper. Let her

also come, we shall take her. For those who march forward to do

austerities, there should be no fear or delusion, no hunger or

thirst, no grief or suffering. It is not tapas (asceticism) to

complain of these or anticipate these. When the body itself is being

disowned, what can privations do? Come, there is no justification for

delay. "

 

Vidura moved forward, leading Dhritarâshthra silently followed by

Gandhâri who had her hand on his shoulder. The saintly votary of God,

Vidura, took the pair unnoticed by the guards and the citizens

through the side streets and out beyond the city limits. He hurried

them on so that they may reach the forest before dawn. But, the Ganga

had to be crossed in a boat and no boatman was there to take them

across before sunrise. So, they had perforce to wait on the bank of

that holy river. Vidura made them rest for a while in a bower and

himself arranged for a boat to take them all to the other bank in the

dark