The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on the “Atman” and the “Deham” and how we’ve to give more importance for the “Atma-Soukhyam” and comparatively lesser importance for the “Deha-Soukhyam”. Of course, we should ensure that our “Deham” is fit and fine. We should consume nutritious food, perform regular exercises, etc. and keep ourselves fit, both physically and mentally. But at the same time, if we start giving too much importance to the “Deham”, then it would start controlling us! As discussed yesterday, if we’re able to give atleast equal importance to both the “Atman” and “Deham”, even if we encounter several problematic situations in life, we would be able to handle them with the required calmness and balance. If this understanding is not there, and if we start giving too much importance to the “Deham”, we would funk and sit in a corner even if a small problem comes by. In fact, this is the main reason why many people today fall into mental depression. If we closely analyze the gross reasons as to why people fall into depression, it would clearly show that such people do not understand the significance of the “Atman”, and how to enrich our “Atman” as we move on with life. The moment we’re strong with the “Atman”, many problems can be avoided in life. Readers have to understand and realize this point very clearly. 

In this, there is a small problem – Many of us might not be of the intention that we should give more importance to the “Deham”. Of course, many of us are ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, and all of us would respect and revere what Bhagawan Krishna says in His Bhagawad Gita. He uses this term – “Maashuchaha”, which means, “Please do not worry about anything that happens in your life! I shall take care of you and ensure that you reach “Moksha”!” However, are we really following what Bhagawan Krishna says? We might not have the intention to disobey Bhagawan’s divine words of wisdom, but in many situations, we might lack that intent and effort to implement Bhagawan’s words into action. This is where the problem comes. Now we should analyze why such a problem arises. The root cause of this problem is that we do not spend time and effort to understand about our “Atman”. On the other hand, we spend a lot of time trying to understand our “Deham”, and this translates into “Deha-Soukhyam”. For instance, if there is a disease, we immediately go and consult a doctor, get medication and try to cure it. In other case, we tend to read a lot about various viruses, bacteria, etc. and how we should safeguard ourselves against those. Also, we read a lot about various aspects of physical fitness, exercising, dieting, maintaining our body weight, etc. and we also consistently do many things for that. 

Now given this fact, we should ask ourselves a question – Are we doing the same kind of reading, remedy, etc. for our “Atman”? The more we read about something, the more knowledge we would gain on the subject, wouldn’t we? We’re reading a lot about various aspects of the “Deham” and with this knowledge, we’re trying to ensure “Deha-Soukhyam”. Now, if we do not give the same amount of reading and understanding time for our “Atman”, how on earth would we be able to understand the significance of it? If we’re not devoting time and effort to our “Atman”, how would we be able to achieve “Atma-Soukhyam”? We should think about this deeply as this is the crux of the problem. So for achieving this, what should we do? We should read through many discussions, listen to various discourses, debates, etc. that pertain to various aspects of our “Sanaatana Dharma”. We would all accept the fact that there is no shortage of explanations pertaining to the righteous way of living in our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature. Hence, what is stopping us from enriching our knowledge in this subject? So, it is we who’ve to make the effort, and this is the sole purpose of starting and maintaining this blog page as well. Also, the main idea behind spending so many episodes discussing such topics is for all of us to understand this subject. Of course, all of us know the overall storyline of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. because these stories are imbibed into us ever since childhood. But what is important for all of us at this stage, is the deeper understanding of the various aspects of “Dharma” that are both directly as well as indirectly conveyed by Valmiki Maharishi and Sage Vyaasa respectively. 

Hence, for today, let us understand this important point, and let us realize the fact that if we’re able to allocate time and make a conscious effort towards understanding our “Atman”, we would never go into any sorts of mental depression. The more we give importance to the “Atman”, we would become calmer and composed, which would enable us to take on any challenges in life! We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode and move on with what happened next at Indraprastha! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion on two aspects namely “Deha-Soukhyam” and “Atma-Soukhyam”, and how Yudishtra focused on the latter more than the former. By walking the path of “Dharma”, Yudishtra sent out a clear message that no matter whatever difficulty comes his way, he would bear it and not frown over it. This is because these difficulties are of worldly nature, which directly pertain to the “Deham”, and not the “Atman”. For instance, Yudishtra had to lose the Indraprastha kingdom, he had to descend to the forest for the next thirteen years, he had to face the dilemma whether he should get back the kingdom or not, after the thirteen-year period, he had to endure enormous amounts of physical discomfort while living in the forest – All these pertain to the “Deha-Soukhyam”. However, Yudishtra’s firm stance on the “Dharma-Maarga” invited Bhagawan Krishna to visit the Paandavas amidst the forest many times. Moreover, a good number of great Maharishis made a beeline to visit Yudishtra and from them, he had various opportunities to learn a lot of lessons pertaining to the “Dharma” that he was following directly from them. All these pertain to the “Atma-Soukhyam” and Yudishtra’s focus was primarily on that. Thus, if we understand Yudishtra through these lenses, we would be able to appreciate how he firmly stood by the “Dharma-Maarga”, which nobody else was able to! 

Moreover, as we move on, we should understand one more thing pertaining to this subject of “Atman” and “Deham”. Why is it stressed in various contexts of our “Sanaatana Dharma” that we should give more importance to the “Atman” and lesser for the “Deham”? We’ve seen a glimpse of this yesterday itself, but let us elaborate a bit on this today. Normally, as we know by now, “Atma-Sukham” pertains to permanent happiness and “Deha-Sukham” pertains to temporary happiness. We should recollect here that the “Deham” (Physical Body) is destroyable in nature at the end of our human birth, whereas the “Atman” is permanent. After our demise at the end of this birth, our “Atman” gets transferred into another new “Deham” and the cycle continues, which is what we refer to as the “Birth-death cycle”. In this, we perform various types of “Karma” (Actions) – Both good as well as bad. Again within this, each one of us should take a small statistic here – What are all the “Karma” (Actions) we keep on doing every passing day to satisfy our “Deham” and what are all the “Karma” (Actions) we keep on doing every passing day to satisfy our “Atman”? If we take a statistic truly to our heart, we would realize that most of our “Karma” every day is primarily for satisfying the “Deham” and not the “Atman”. If we’re honest in our introspection, we would be stunned with ourselves and because of this, we seem to encounter enormous problems in our day-to-day life. Readers might ask how! I shall explain with an example: 

For instance, assume that we’re contracting a small disease – Maybe an ordinary fever / viral infection or a common cold. The moment we catch a cold, what would be our immediate action? We would start feeling tired and giddy! Many of us would start running around frantically here and there for medicines! Many of us would feel as if the entire world has come to an end for us! All these are because we’ve caught a simple cold! Now we should ask ourselves – Why are we running here and there frantically and making a big issue out of this? It is primarily because we’re more concerned about our “Deham” and if anything small affects our “Deham”, we’re unable to take it! Whereas, if we’re trying to give equal importance towards our “Atman” along with the “Deham”, gradually we would stop running around like this! This is where we’ve to strike a balance – Of course, I’m not saying that we should refrain from taking care of our “Deham”. That’s not the point here. But, we shall always try not to lose hope of our entire life just because of this simple cold, isn’t it? This is where we’ve to balance – If the “Deha-Soukhyam” reduces a bit, it can be compensated by the “Atma-Soukhyam”. The moment we’re strong with our “Atma-Soukhyam”, we would automatically develop the confidence that we shall be able to face any type of problems with ease! This is because, if we’re strong in our “Atma-Soukhyam”, Bhagawan will always be with us and He will take care of our well-being at all stages of our life. This is the basic understanding that we should develop. 

Thus, the point here is that focusing on the “Atma-Soukhyam” gives us permanent happiness and our “Deha-Soukhyam” is transient in nature. This is exactly what Yudishtra is demonstrating here to all of us, and for today, let us understand this point very clearly as we move on further! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Yudishtra gives more importance to the “Atman” rather than the “Deham”. This is an important point that we have to understand as we move on further. Again – I’m spending more and more time explaining Yudishtra’s path of “Dharma” because this understanding is the basis for all whatever is going to unfold for the next thirteen-year period. We’ve discussed for the past four to five episodes on how Yudishtra was extremely meticulous with his three important “Shabadhams” that he had undertaken in front of the Paandava brothers and Draupati. This entire discussion stems out from these “Shabadhams” and how Arjuna countered it. The way in which Arjuna countered Yudishtra, might exactly be the thought process that all of us might have – What is the use of following the difficult path of “Dharma”, if nothing is going to be impacted in this “Kali Yuga” because of whatever we do? This is where we’ve to understand the difference between the “Deham” and the “Atman”. 

I’ve already explained this subject in our earlier episodes and projects as well, but this context warrants a revision of the same. Basically, we’ve to understand that all of us are made up of two elements – the “Deham” (Physical Body) and the “Atman” (Soul). If we’ve to pursue the path of “Dharma” (The difficult path that Yudishtra took up), we’ve to give more importance to the “Atman” and lesser importance to the “Deham”. Now we’ve to understand what are those things that satisfy the “Deha-Soukhyam” and those things that satisfy the “Atma-Soukhyam”. All the worldly pleasures and luxuries that we go behind – For instance, a plush house, an expensive car, and all those items that make our physical body comfortable will all come under the things that enable “Deha-Soukhyam”. Also, name, fame, position, power, controlling others, creating politics, ego clashes, etc. are also those that ultimately satisfy the “Deha-Soukhyam”. We should understand it in this way – The elements of name, fame, position, power, etc. that I had just mentioned, are all ways and means of achieving the worldly pleasures of a plush house, expensive car, luxurious lifestyle, etc. which directly pertains to the “Deha-Soukhyam”. 

Amidst this, we should also understand clearly here that none of these above-mentioned elements that satisfy the “Deha-Soukhyam” directly or indirectly pertain to the “Atma-Soukhyam”. This is where all of us get confused. What we wrongly understand here is that, if we have a luxurious lifestyle, that’s the end of life and we’ve achieved something great. This is actually not the case. The real achievement of a human being is attaining the “Atma-Soukhyam” and this is the unique philosophy that our Bhaarata Desha has been propagating since ages! All the western cultures promote only the “Deha-Soukhyam” with all the luxuries and everything that they propose and this is the primary reason as to why a huge number of western people are flocking towards our Bhaarata Desha for obtaining “peace of mind”. We should understand clearly here that one can attain the ultimate happiness and peace of mind only if we focus more on the “Atma-Soukhyam”, because this is the one that is permanent in nature. All the physical luxuries, money, fame, etc. might be with us today, and might disappear tomorrow! Hence, “Deha-Soukhyam” is transient and temporary in nature, and the “Atma-Soukhyam” is the permanent one. 

Now let’s understand what “Atma-Soukhyam” is all about. Basically, the “Atman” that is present inside each and every living being in this world including plants and animals is nothing but the manifestation of Bhagawan inside all of us in some form or the other. The “Atman is the one that drives us forward in all our actions. If we’re trying to equate the “Atman” to a manifestation of Bhagawan, now what are those elements / factors that satisfy the “Atma-Soukhyam”? The elements are our “Nitya-Karma Anushtaana”, routine prayers towards Bhagawan, performing “Naamasankeerthanam” regularly, chanting the “Mantra” or a regular basis, making sure that we are of help to others in some way or the other, making sure that we do not hurt anyone either through words, thoughts or actions, etc. All these factors would directly contribute to the betterment of our “Atma-Soukhyam”. 

Now we should correlate all these factors that contribute to the “Atma-Soukhyam” to the “Shabadhams” that Yudishtra has taken here – Are we able to see a direct mapping? This is exactly what “Dharma-Atmas” do. All their actions would be directed towards the “Atma-Sukham”, rather than the “Deha-Sukham”. In the case of Yudishtra itself, we are going to witness that for the next thirteen years, he had to endure so much insults, cheating, forest life which is extremely difficult, wars, etc. Yet, Yudishtra was strong and steadfast in his approach towards “Dharma”. Never for a single moment did he change his approach, isn’t it? Thus, all the above-mentioned items – Insults, cheating, forest life, etc. are all those factors pertaining to the “Deha-Sukham”. Yudishtra never gave any importance to all these elements. However, what was important for Yudishtra was to ensure the “Atma-Sukham”. The moment we start ensuring the “Atma-Soukhyam”, we would automatically start avoiding many grave mistakes and errors. Once we are mistake-free, we can be confident of our approach. Once we’re confident in our approach, it is very easy to be successful in whatever endeavours we do in life. This is the most important lesson that we’ve to learn from Yudishtra’s life. 

Having said this, we might have a question in our mind – If we’ve to mature spiritually, should we only give importance to our “Atman” and not to our “Deham”? What if our “Deham” gets into some disease or something, because of lack of proper maintenance? The answer is very simple here – Of course, we’ve to give importance to our “Deham”, because the “Deham” is the vehicle gifted to us by Bhagawan to execute all the actions that we’ve to perform. We should of course ensure that we’re up and running at all times, as much as possible. However, the problem comes only when we start giving too much importance to the “Deham” and when we completely forget the “Atman” component in us. This is where all differences of opinions, anger, fights, ego clashes, etc. come in. Thus, to begin with, we should start giving equal importance to the “Atman” and the “Deham” and as we slowly mature spiritually, our priority towards the “Atman” should increase more than that of the “Deham”. In fact, Bhagawan Krishna is going to give a detailed accord on this as part of His Bhagawad Gita, which we would be discussing in detail in the future episodes. But this is an extremely good prelude for that detailed accord. 

Hence, for today, let us clearly understand the difference between the “Deha-Soukhyam” and the “Atma-Soukhyam” and let us also understand that as we mature spiritually, we should give more priority to the “Atma-Soukhyam” as compared to the “Deha-Soukhyam”. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had continued with the discussion on Yudishtra’s firm stance on the path of “Dharma”, no matter whatever happens around him. In that way, we had witnessed how Yudishtra “walked the path” and implemented his stance for the next thirteen years. In due course of yesterday’s episode, we had also answered a few of the questions that might arise in our mind in this regard. As discussed yesterday, Yudishtra’s game plan is simple and straightforward here – Just like how the swimmer would go along with the flow of water, but slowly deviate himself towards the nearest river bank by not getting stuck into the water current and escape from drowning, Yudishtra also goes along with the flow of whatever Duryodhana and Co. were doing. However, he was very careful not to get carried away along with the current, and by catching hold of Bhagawan Krishna’s divine feet, he ensured that he reached the bank safely without getting drowned or hurt! This is what we’ve to understand here. We’ve to go with the flow, but we’ve to ensure that we do not get stuck in the current called “Adharma”. At this point where we feel that we might get stuck, we should tightly hold on to Bhagawan and He would ensure that we reach the bank safely unhurt!

Readers might wonder why I’m spending so much time explaining who Yudishtra really is. I’m doing so because when we move forward with the subsequent “Adhyaayaas” and “Parvas”, and as we witness the events that unfolded, chances are extremely high that we might misunderstand Yudishtra’s stance towards “Dharma”. Nowadays, this has become a fashion – To take a few characters from our “Sanaatana Dharma” and bash them in public. In the current day, there are many debates that are happening, aren’t they? All these debates will have some controversial topic pertaining to our “Sanaatana Dharma”, with the sole aim of defaming us. For instance, they might take some incident from the Ramayana and try to portray Vaali as a hero, and Bhagawan Rama as a villain. The topic of the debate might be – Whether Bhagawan Rama did the right thing by killing Vaali from behind? Why didn’t Bhagawan Rama take on Vaali from the front? Has Bhagawan Rama performed a “cowardly act” of hitting Vaali from behind? All these are useless debates and it is quite evident that people who are debating such topics are half-baked crooks! I say this firmly because, in the Ramayana there is a separate set of eight slokas wherein Bhagawan Rama gives an apt justification for his act, and after listening to Bhagawan Rama’s reply, Vaali himself was satisfied and certifies Bhagawan Rama that whatever He has done was absolutely correct. Modern day debaters won’t look at this set of slokas and Vaali’s certification. They will only look into that one instance of Bhagawan Rama killing Vaali from behind and do some useless debating. This is why I’m saying that such people are half-baked crooks. 

Another example of such useless debates is this question – Whether Yudishtra deviated from “Dharma” when he played the gambling game and when he staked Draupati and played the game? This is perhaps the most stupid question that one can ask, because, it is evident from Sage Vyaasa’s detailed description (which we’re going to see in detail later on) that Yudishtra went forward with the game only to maintain his “Shabadham” pertaining to the “Dharma-Maarga” and not because of an addiction towards the gambling game. If Sage Vyaasa himself is clarifying this, who are we to even debate on this? If there should be a meaningful debate, people should have a holistic viewpoint about the subject before starting. There should be a 360 degree analysis of the context in hand before opening our mouth to talk. 

Similarly in this context also, there are many people who portray Yudishtra as a crook and Karna as a hero. This is totally wrong. In subsequent Adhyaayas we are going to witness how wicked Karna was. Of course, it is understood that Karna had a tough life and he was a deserted child by his own mother. Even then, portraying Karna as a hero is totally wrong. Similarly, many people try and portray Duryodhana as an epitome of “Dharma”! How foolish can this be? The problem with all of us today is very simple – We think that we know anything and everything! Now who has authored the Ramayana? It’s Vaalmiki Maharishi. Mahabharata was authored by Sage Vyaasa. If these two stalwarts weren’t there, or, had they not composed whatever they’ve composed, would we even know that there was someone called Bhagawan Rama or Bhagawan Krishna or Yudishtra? The answer is “No” isn’t it? Hence, what is our duty here? If we’ve to understand these texts, we’ve to accept whatever Vaalmiki Maharishi and Sage Vyaasa have said, isn’t it? When Vaalmiki Maharishi himself explains clearly that whatever Bhagawan Rama had done is right, who are we to debate on it? Similarly, if Sage Vyaasa himself has certified that Yudishtra walked the path of “Dharma”, who are we to even think otherwise? This is where we go wrong, and this is where all our atheist friends try to capture us. Thus, as ardent followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma” we should firmly believe in whatever Sage Vyaasa and Vaalmiki Maharishi have said in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana respectively. 

Thus, the point here is that Yudishtra, at whatever instance, walked the path of “Dharma” without an iota of blemish. Of course, he had to give in to the gambling game that Duryodhana had arranged. Playing the gamble might be against “Raaja-Dharma”, but according to Yudishtra, he was following his “Dharma” of not hurting Duryodhana’s sentiments. As per Yudishtra’s “Shabadham”, he wouldn’t talk ill of others, nor will hurt others’ feelings and sentiments, isn’t it? Hence, he walked that path meticulously, even though he knew that he was going to fall into Duryodhana’s trap. We should always remember one thing clearly here – As we follow the path of “Dharma”, there might be many people around us who would try to take advantage of our silence and our resolve. They would try all their tricks in the trade to bring us down. However, if they do so, it is at their own peril. Bhagawan would always be by the side of people who follow “Dharma”. Initially it might seem as if people who are taking us for a ride are winning, but in the long-term, all of them would be eventually destroyed completely. This is where we’ve to make up our mind, not to give in to such crooks who try and derail us. This is exactly the lesson that Yudishtra is teaching us through his life – We should never deviate from our path, no matter how others try and influence us. We should have that firm resolve that “Aatma-Soukhyam” is more important than the “Deha-Soukhyam”. 

So for today, let us understand this point very clearly once again, and we shall wait till the next episode to move forward with the subsequent events that unfolded. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion on why Yudishtra was right in his approach towards the thirteen-year fiasco that is going to unfold very soon. As we’ve witnessed, Yudishtra took a firm stance of following the path of “Dharma”, no matter whatever might happen around him. However, Arjuna and Co. had a different argument to this! Arjuna raised a question that how can we follow the path of “Dharma” of not hurting anyone or not fighting with anyone, if the situation warrants us to do it. However, Yudishtra was steadfast in his approach and wasn’t really bothered about what Arjuna said. This is where we’ve to learn the important lesson as to how we should stick firm to the path of “Dharma” at all times – We might undergo catastrophic situations at various times through various people. But this doesn’t mean that we would take this as an excuse to deviate from the path of “Dharma” and take short-cuts to “escape” out of the problem, or doing something that would be unethical in nature. We see this in normal life as well. For instance, if we encounter a big failure in life, what do many people immediately resort to? Many would go into drugs, cigarette smoking and drinking, wouldn’t they? We see this in everyday news too. Or, some people even go to the extreme step of committing suicide, unable to face the situation. Why do we think people do all this? All these methodologies are nothing but ways and means to escape from the problematic situation. These people do not know the ways and means of handling the problem as per the “Dharma” textbook, and this is where the entire problem begins. Thus, we should understand the important point here that we should rather face the problematic situation in the “Dharma-Maarga” and not get buckled down under pressure from various sources to deviate from the path of “Dharma”. 

If such is the case with Yudishtra, we might immediately ask another question here – “Oh! If Yudishtra wanted to walk the path of “Dharma”, why at all did he participate in the gambling game with Duryodhana? Why did he stake all his brothers and Draupati and play? Isn’t this “Adharma”? In fact, as per the “Raaja-Dharma”, playing a gambling game is itself an act of “Adharma” and in this, Yudishtra went ahead to lose even his brothers and his wife! How does this justify the “Dharma” that Yudishtra is talking about here?” This is a valid claim and an important question. We shall try and answer this question today. We should basically understand this fact – Yudishtra accepted to play the gambling game called for by Duryodhana only to make sure that Duryodhana isn’t hurt. If Yudishtra would have said a “No” to the game, Duryodhana would have felt bad. This is exactly the thought process that Yudishtra had, which stems directly from the “Shabadham” he had taken earlier. What was the “Shabadham” that he had taken? He would not hurt anybody’s feelings, no matter whether he / she is a friend or an enemy. It was only to stand by his “Shabadham” that Yudishtra never opened his mouth to criticize Duryodhana for his heinous act. Even when Draupati was dragged and insulted in front of the courtroom, Yudishtra kept silent, because if he would have opened up, he would be deviating from his “Shabadham”. He just left things to take shape as it is! 

Of course, we shall again ask a question here – Why didn’t Yudishtra stop playing the game even after he started knowing that the game is taking a disastrous turn? Yudishtra could have taken a decent call without insulting anyone to quit the game isn’t it? Why didn’t he do that? Again – If Yudishtra would have taken that call, it would have hurt Duryodhana and King Dhridiraashtra at large. It is because King Dhridiraashtra had made up his mind by then that Duryodhana should emerge victorious, no matter what happens. Of course, King Dhridiraashtra did not anticipate that Duryodhana would stoop to such low levels to claim victory over the Paandavas, but still, deep within his heart, King Dhridiraashtra wanted his son to win. Thus, Yudishtra did not want to hurt King Dhridiraashtra’s feelings by quitting the game in the middle. He thus continued to play and go with the flow, so that Duryodhana and King Dhridiraashtra weren’t hurt. As an analogy, if there is a fast-flowing river and if we’re someone who knows swimming, this is a logical question to ask – Does the swimmer swim against the flow of water, or does he / she swims along with the flow of water? If the water is fast-flowing, it is always better to “go with the flow” of the water, rather than swimming against the flow. This is exactly what Yudishtra is also doing here. He makes sure that he goes along with the flow, but at the same time, ensures that he follows the “Dharma” as well. If the resolutions are taken, Yudishtra’s policy is not to deviate even an inch from the resolutions. Yudishtra had taken the resolve that he wouldn’t hurt anyone by words or by actions. Hence, if he had to stand by his resolve, he had to go as per the flow of what Duryodhana did at that moment.

Now Yudishtra’s game plan is simple and straightforward here – Just like how the swimmer would go along with the flow of water, but slowly deviate himself towards the nearest river bank by not getting stuck into the water current and escape from drowning, Yudishtra also goes along with the flow of whatever Duryodhana and Co. were doing. However, he was very careful not to get carried away along with the current, and by catching hold of Bhagawan Krishna’s divine feet, he ensured that he reached the bank safely without getting drowned or hurt! This is what we’ve to understand here. We’ve to go with the flow, but we’ve to ensure that we do not get stuck in the current. We should surrender to Bhagawan and He would ensure that we reach the bank safely unhurt! So for today, let us understand this important point and let us try and implement this in our daily lives as well, in whatever situation we are in. If we completely surrender to Bhagawan, He would start driving the show, rather than us doing it! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna’s counter-narrative to Yudishtra’s three important “Shabadhams’ ‘ that he undertook in front of everyone. Arjuna’s point was very simple – How do you be good to those people who do not intend to be good to you? Can you project yourself to be good to all people in this world? Is this even possible? Many of us also have this question within us, for which we try and ponder over answers. Yudishtra’s take is very simple here – Just because someone is going behind something bad, do we also follow suit? Do we also go along with the flow with those people who walk the path of “Adharma”? We should always follow our “Dharma”, no matter what people think or talk about us. However, one thing is important here – We cannot stop Bhagawan’s “Sankalpa”. If something has to happen according to Bhagawan’s divine will, it is bound to happen, no matter whether you’re following the path of “Dharma” or “Adharma”. However, that doesn’t mean that we stop following “Dharma” even though we see destruction and disaster right in front of our eyes. We should keep following “Dharma” at all times, irrespective of whether we’re facing good or bad times in our lives. 

This was Yudishtra’s firm stance, and we can see this quite clearly as well – Even though Yudishtra tried to follow the path of “Dharma” by not hurting anyone or by not fighting with anyone, still whatever had to happen, happened, didn’t it? The gambling game did happen, and Yudishtra ended up losing everything. Finally, as Sage Vyaasa envisioned, the disastrous Kurukshetra war did happen, which resulted in mass destruction on both sides. Thus, whatever had to happen, did happen according to Bhagawan Krishna’s divine will, however, the important point to note here is that Yudishtra still followed whatever he followed best – The path of “Dharma”. Not even on a single occasion did Yudishtra deviate from the path of “Dharma”, which made Bhagawan Krishna come behind the Paandavas and help them wherever necessary. We should imagine one thing here – If Yudishtra hadn’t followed “Dharma”, would Bhagawan Krishna be behind the Paandavas? Not at all, isn’t it? It was only because the Paandavas walked the tightrope of “Dharma”, did Bhagawan Krishna come to their rescue at all times! We should always remember that wherever “Dharma” is being practised and followed, Bhagawan will always mark His presence, and this is the reason Bhagawan Krishna was even ready to drive the chariot of Arjuna (Bhagawan “Paartha-Saarathy”). We can witness here that Bhagawan will go down to any level to help those who follow the path of “Dharma”. Else, we can imagine – Who was Arjuna and who was Bhagawan Krishna here? Arjuna was a normal “Samsaari” (Jeevatma) in this world, whereas Bhagawan Krishna was a “Paramatma”. Ideally, it should be Arjuna driving Bhagawan’s chariot, but here it was the reverse! Bhagawan Krishna would go down to any level to support the cause of “Dharma”. Later on, we’re going to witness how Bhagawan Krishna helped Arjuna and Co. during the Kurukshetra battle in such a way that Arjuna always had the upper hand against the Duryodhana’s camp. 

Thus, Yudishtra takes a firm stance that no matter whatever happens / not happens for the next thirteen years, he is not going to deviate from the path of “Dharma”. This is where we’ve focus and understand Yudishtra’s stance more clearly. During the last days of the Paandavas in this world, all the five brothers along with Draupati march their way towards this place called “Satopanth” amidst the Himalayas. We’re going to witness all these events during the “Svarga-Aarohini Parva” towards the end of the Mahabharata story. As the Paandavas were going through, it was only Yudishtra who sustained and withstood every testing moment that came through, and finally Indra and the others were extremely impressed with Yudishtra’s steadfast focus on “Dharma” even during the last moments of his life. Finally, he was the only one who was able to get inside Indra’s divine chariot, which took him to the “Svarga Lokha” and from there, Yudishtra attained the highest Moksha. As Yudishtra entered the chariot, he had a laugh within himself which signified the fact thus: “Oh! All of you laughed at me for following the tough path of “Dharma” for thirteen years, didn’t you? Now who is getting the divine opportunity to get into Indra’s chariot? I’m the only one who is getting that, isn’t it?” 

This is what we say even in today’s corporate terminology – Focus on the long-term goals, rather than focusing on short-term goals. Of course, short-term goals are important, but these goals should be in line with achieving the long-term goal, isn’t it? This is the same analogy that we employ in our “Sanaatana Dharma” too – Here, the long-term goal is attaining “Moksha”, and all the short-term goals should be in line with taking us to that ultimate goal. This is exactly what Yudishtra is doing here – All his short-term goals are focused on following the path of “Dharma” at any moment, no matter whatever happens around him. This is the focus that all of us have to develop within ourselves. So for today, let us understand this point very clearly once again. I’m focusing on this point for several episodes now, because this is the crux of the entire Mahabharata story. Yudishtra’s firm stance towards “Dharma” was the root cause of the Paandavas’ success story and was the basis for their association with Bhagawan Krishna at all times. Hence, let us understand Yudishtra’s clear stance and let us try and implement atleast a bit of what Yudishtra did in our lives as well! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important counter-narrative from Arjuna, on Yudishtra’s three important resolutions. Arjuna’s version was very simple – “How can you be “good” to the entire world? Of course, you can be good to people who are “Dharma-Atmas” and ardent “Bhaktas” of Bhagawan. That’s correct. But how can you be good to people like Duryodhana who are looking for every chance to pull you down? Is it even possible to be good to these crooked people? Moreover, if you’re trying to be good to crooks, they would only use this as an advantage to play their dirty games on you more and more, isn’t it?” Arjuna’s point was extremely relevant and this is where we witnessed yesterday how Yudishtra’s resolutions backfired to a large extent. Of course, with all these resolutions, was Yudishtra able to achieve his ultimate motive of avoiding the disaster? The Kurukshetra war did take place and the entire Kaurava clan was completely destroyed! Was Yudishtra able to stop that? He wasn’t! This is what we call as “Deivamatra-Pramaanam”, which means, whatever Bhagawan has decided, He would somehow make it come true and there could be nothing that could stop things from happening! 

Now the big question comes – If everything happens according to Bhagawan’s will and wish, why should we be true and honest? Why should we be at the receiving end every time and take all the blame upon ourselves? Yudishtra did exactly this – Right from the gambling game, it was Yudishtra upon whom the entire blame was pinned! Nobody wanted to criticise Duryodhana for cheating Yudishtra and Co. This is how the world is! Hence, we would immediately ask a question here – If such is the case, where we would have to take all the blame by being true and honest, why shouldn’t we also start lying and “go with the flow” of the world? For instance, today we’re talking about “Westernisation” and we’ve gone to the extent of integrating western and eastern cultures. Our cities have become more cosmopolitan in nature, which means that there are so many ways and means to follow “Adharma”. There are so many atheists who propagate wrong facts about our “Sanaatana Dharma” for their own personal brownie points. If we’ve to listen to all of them, we ourselves would start getting tempted as to why we should follow the “Dharma Maarga” anymore! Why don’t we enjoy our life by going into all the wrong ways of leading life? 

This is where we’ve to be careful. We should ask this question within ourselves – Just because someone else is following the path of “Adharma”, just because the entire society is going away from the “Dharma-Maarga”, should we also follow suit? If someone is going to fall into a gutter or a pit hole, what would we do? Do we try and prevent that person out of the gutter, or do we also go and fall into it along with him? This is where we’ve to use our discrimination sense. The western cultures propagate the fact that “Deha-Sukham” (Comforts for the physical body) is more important for a life, whereas our Indian culture propagates the fact that “Atma-Sukham” (Comfort for our Atman) is more important. Now which is better here? The ultimate purpose of taking a human birth in this world is to ensure that we’ve to reach “Moksha”, isn’t it? If we’ve to reach “Moksha”, which one is more important? The “Atma-Sukham” is more important, isn’t it? Thus, if we ensure that our “Atman” is happy, even if the “Deham” suffers with some disease or displeasures, or frustrations, etc. we can easily discard all of them and focus on the higher goal in life. Whereas on the other hand, if we’re focusing only on the “Deham” part, even if a small disaster happens in our lives, we would go into a deep mental depression! 

This is the gross difference here – If our focus is on the “Atman”, we wouldn’t bother much even if our “Deham” has to undergo suffering. We should realize one important point here – The “Deham” is bound to suffer periodically because it is something that is subjected to destruction some day or the other. Whereas, the “Atman” is something that is permanent, sans destruction by any external force. We’ve witnessed this concept earlier in our previous episodes and projects as well. Given this fact, does it make sense for us to give importance to something that is destroyable at some point, or does it make sense for us to give importance to something that is permanent in nature? This is where we’ve to make a conscious decision for ourselves and this is exactly the decision that Yudishtra takes here – Of course, he is going to go to the forest shortly after losing the Indraprastha kingdom, and all his wealth. But did Yudishtra feel for it even for a moment? Not at all! Yudishtra was calm and composed at all times, because his focus was completely on the “Atman” part. All those worldly things associated with the “Deham”, like the luxuries and kingdom, did not matter for him! Thus, Yudishtra chose to follow the path of “Dharma” which ultimately enriches “Atman”. Hence, even though Yudishtra would have suffered a lot because of this decision, he did not take that as suffering at all. Moreover, since Yudishtra followed “Dharma”, Bhagawan Krishna followed him, isn’t it? If Bhagawan is coming behind us, what should we worry about?

Now here’s the choice for all of us – Just because someone is going behind some wrong path, should we also go along with him in that, or should we still follow “Dharma” and make Bhagawan come behind us? This is the conscious choice that all of us should make in our lives. Hence, for today, let us think and analyze about this counter-narrative to Arjuna’s point and let us wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra taking three important pledges (“Shabadham”) in front of his brothers for the next thirteen years. He takes a firm resolve that he wouldn’t hurt anyone through words, harsh language and abuse. Also, he wouldn’t fight with anyone unnecessarily and would completely avoid it. Also, he would see everyone equally and wouldn’t create any rift between himself and anybody, both in terms of thoughts and actions. These are extremely firm pledges that Yudishtra is taking here, for the purpose of avoiding any possible mishaps for the next thirteen years. We’ve already witnessed Sage Vyaasa signalling a warning to Yudishtra that tough times are looming large in the near future, which is ultimately going to lead to a huge disaster and a mass destruction. Therefore, rather than trying and escaping out of the grave danger that is ahead, Yudishtra is trying to adopt the “Dharma-Maarga” (Path of “Dharma”) to face the problem that is ahead of him. This, as mentioned before, is the gross difference between Yudishtra and ourselves today. The moment we anticipate a problem in front of us, we would only try different ways to escape out of the problem, rather than facing it head-on. This is what we’ve to learn from Yudishtra’s firm resolve here. 

Moving on thus, as Yudishtra spells out his resolutions, as briefed earlier, Arjuna spells out his unhappiness! He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! How can it be possible to make everyone in this world happy at all times? Moreover, if at all you mean what you say, you should have mentioned that you would try and make the “Saadhus” and “Dharma-Atmas” happy. You should have mentioned that you would try and make Bhagawan happy! Instead of saying this, you’re saying that you would make everyone and anyone in this world happy. Is this really feasible? Can you make Duryodhana happy with your words and actions?”

This is an important point here and this is where we might feel that Yudishtra was slightly on the wrong side. For instance, even in today’s world, can a policeman take a resolve that from today onwards he wouldn’t be harsh to anyone and he wouldn’t hurt anyone in anyway? What would happen to all the criminals who commit crimes? Can a policeman say that he would try and make criminals happy by not punishing them in the appropriate way? This cannot happen, isn’t it? This is where Arjuna is trying to correct Yudishtra here, and this assumes a lot of significance. Of course, we can all be good towards people who are “Dharma-Atmas”, “Maharishis”, “Aachaaryas”, “Bhaktas”, etc. But can we be too good towards people who are aethists, thieves, murderers, etc.? Can we be too good towards people who are trying to attack our “Sanaatana Dharma” every passing day? We’ve to raise our objections time and again, don’t we? 

Hence, this is the small balance that Yudishtra failed to achieve. Of course, we should understand here that for the next thirteen years, Yudishtra stuck to his stance. He never deviated from the path of “Dharma” at any point in time. He never went behind anyone to hurt, abuse or to fight. He remained steadfast in whatever resolutions that he took up. However, still, the Kurukshetra war did happen, and the mass destruction happened, isn’t it? Before this, it is for this same reason of not raising voice against Duryodhana, did Yudishtra come for the gambling game. It is only because of this resolution that he wouldn’t speak anything that is hurtful to others, did Duryodhana take Yudishtra for a ride, and Yudishtra ended up losing everything to Duryodhana! It is only because of Yudishtra’s silence, did Draupati face whatever she had to face! Even if Duryodhana played the foul game, Yudishtra was silent! Even when Duryodhana asked Yudishtra and Co. to go to the forest for the next twelve years, Yudishtra did not object. He could have easily called Duryodhana to the battlefield then and there, but he chose not to do it, because, he had taken a resolution that he wouldn’t fight against anyone! Moreover, after the thirteenth year of “Vana-Vaasa”, even when Duryodhana did not return back the Indraprastha kingdom, Yudishtra chose to be silent. So many messengers went back and forth from both the camps to doze down the issue, isn’t it? But nothing worked and ultimately the matter was taken up at Kurukshetra as a huge war! 

Thus, for today, let us think for a moment – Where did Yudishtra go wrong? Did these resolutions that he took really backfire on him? Let us continue this interesting discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra’s first resolve (“Shabadam”) that he took in front of everyone as to not hurting anybody through words or heated arguments using harsh language and unparliamentary words. This is a very important resolve that Yudishtra is taking, which is very much applicable to all of us as well – If there are good and pleasing words in the dictionary, we have no rights or business to use unparliamentary words while addressing another person, no matter how much angry or frustrated we might be. Of course, this is easier said than done by many of us, but we’ve to consciously practise this in our daily lives. If we’re able to control our tongue, half of the problems would come to an end automatically. The main issue in many cases is because of the heated argument and the harsh words that we use to scold each other. If we use one unparliamentary word on another person, he/she would get irritated and fire us back with two unparliamentary words. In return, we would fire back four or five unparliamentary words at the other person, and the fight would develop into a huge clash! Ultimately, it would then become a clash of egos between the two, rather than finding a solution to the problem in hand. Rather, if we’re able to maintain ourselves calm and composed and if we’re using a pleasing language while addressing others, it becomes very easy to make the others fall in line with us. Hence, we should think about this moving forward. 

Now for the second one – Yudishtra explains that for the next thirteen years, he would not exercise “Bhedam” (Rift) between anyone. In other words, there will be no difference between him and his brothers, his parents vs. others’ parents, his relatives vs. other relatives, etc. Nobody is higher or lower to anyone in any context and all are equal. This is what Yudishtra is going to practise for the next thirteen years. If such is the feeling that all of them around us are equal, then where is the possibility of a fight? In today’s scenario, why do we see people fighting with each other? It is only because we create that rift between us and others. For instance, fights between the wife and in-laws are very common in today’s scenario. Why is such a fight happening? The primary reason behind the fight is that the daughter-in-law is unable to accept another family in her life post her marriage, apart from her parents. For so many years, she has lived with her parents, and if suddenly one fine day if she has to leave her home and get into another place, it would obviously be difficult to acclimatise immediately. However, this should not be an excuse for picking up fights with people in the family. So why do these fights happen? It is because one thinks inferior of the other and hence, automatically a rift is being created. This is the root cause of all problems that happen at various homes and families. This is exactly where Yudishtra wants to be careful here – Even though he might be enemies with Duryodhana and Co., Yudishtra takes a pledge to treat Duryodhana also as his dear brothers, equal to his other Paandava brothers. Thus, Yudishtra is of the opinion that if he showers love and affection towards Duryodhana, somehow he would change and ultimately peace would reign in the family. This is why Yudishtra is taking the pledge that he wouldn’t create any rift between himself and the others. 

Moreover, Yudishtra takes the third pledge here – He would neither fight with anyone, nor be a cause of a fight between people. This is, of course, a continuation of the previous pledge here. Readers might think here for a moment – When does a fight arise? Why do people fight? People start fighting because of the rift that they create within themselves. People start fighting because they proclaim things to be theirs’! The moment we start putting our claim on something or someone, immediately fights would start! This is the root cause even for big wars that happen around the world, isn’t it? Even within our home, nowadays, each person within the family wants “privacy” and takes up an entire room inside the house, just for themselves! Nobody else inside the family, even parents would be allowed to enter that room unnecessarily, and if at all someone enters, a big fight breaks out! Now what’s happening here? We lack the basic understanding that nothing is ours in this world! Everything is Bhagawan’s, and it is Bhagawan who has given us this opportunity to live in a luxurious apartment. If we have this mentality, we would first stop demanding “privacy” at home. The moment we stop demanding “privacy”, we would automatically stop creating rifts between our own family members. Once the rift is gone, there would be no fights at home! This is the secret behind establishing love and happiness at home. 

For this, we should develop the realisation that all whatever we possess today is of Bhagawan’s and we should be indebted to Him for keeping us comfortable inside a luxurious house, at a time when thousands of other people are suffering without a home and without three meals a day. If we look around and see many people suffering, automatically we would start thanking Bhagawan for whatever we have with us, rather than keep on running behind money, name and fame every time. So for today, let us understand these two important pledges that Yudishtra is taking and let us also try and follow these in our day-to-day lives as well. Of course, as mentioned earlier, we might not be able to achieve 100%, but we can always try and put conscious effort towards achieving this. The more we let go off our possessions, the happier we can be in life. Hence, let us consciously follow this as we wait for the next episode to continue this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂

We’re at the midst of an important juncture wherein Yudishtra and Arjuna were conversing about upholding “Dharma” during tough times. As Yudishtra outlines to Arjuna about what Sage Vyaasa had mentioned, Arjuna immediately raises his objection that if Sage Vyaasa’s words are always going to come true some day or the other, why at all should we be true to someone who is trying to destroy us? This is something that all of us have in our minds as well – If someone does something that is detrimental to us in some way or the other, why at all should we be good to that person? Or, what is the use of following “Dharma” at a time and place wherein “Adharma” is the order of the day? For instance, even in today’s world, when people are going behind atheists and those who ridicule our “Sanaatana Dharma” practices, the dilemma is simple – Should we go along with them in ridiculing our own culture and “Dharma” or should we resist it and continue following our age-old practices as mentioned by our great Maharishis? Of course, the choice is ours! But Yudishtra’s stance here is very simple – Irrespective of whatever people do around us – Irrespective of a thousand people throwing stones at us – We should be steadfast in our “Dharma” of not hurting them back. We should be focused in our “Dharma” to be true to them at all times. It is very easy to pick up a stone and throw it back at them, or to insult them back with our words. But, the real question here is whether are we sticking to our “Dharma” even during testing times! This is the real test that Bhagawan is giving all of us here. 

We might know this story – Once a king wanted his people to pour one pot of milk per family in a huge container for the next day’s “Puja” for the local deity. As the king ordered thus, some people started thinking what if they pour a pot of water instead of milk? How will the king know whether we’ve poured water or milk? This thought was seemingly smart enough, only to be adopted by all the people in the kingdom! Finally when the king saw the container the next day, it was full with water, rather than milk! This is exactly what all of us are doing here – Just because one or two people are “Adharmic” in nature, we also take things for granted that “Oh! This is Kali Yuga! We can survive in this world only if we walk the path of “Adharma”! There is no place for “Dharma” in this Kali Yuga!” We come to such shallow conclusions just because few people are deviating from the path of “Dharma”. This is exactly what Yudishtra is advising Arjuna – Just because Duryodhana and Co. are “Adharmic” in nature, will it sustain in the long run? Some day or the other, Duryodhana will have to answer for all what he’s doing today. Let that day come. Bhagawan would be by our side to support the “Dharma” that we’re doing today. Asserting thus, Yudishtra explains: “Oh Arjuna! No matter what people do elsewhere, I do not care! I would stick to my “Dharma” and my “Shabadhams” that I’ve made just now, at all times, irrespective of how much suffering I’ve to endure!” 

With this, Yudishtra declares the following in front of everyone. Now let us discuss one by one in detail. Yudishtra says thus: – “From today onwards, I would not say any word that would hurt others. I would never employ harsh language to scold anyone!” This is an important pledge that Yudishtra is taking here. Most probably, in any situation, if we control our tongue, we might be able to avoid many problems! If we talk a lot, we’re only exposing our ignorance more and more. The more we keep quiet, the more we would be respected in society! Moreover, even if we’re talking, we should make sure that we employ kind words and sweet language. We should never use offensive language against anyone at any point in time. This is of course, something very ideal – But we can always try minimising our harsh language during crunch situations. It is normal human psychology that if anybody acts against our will and wish, we would immediately tend to burst with anger! But this is where, we’ve to think for a moment – “If we’re going to scold this person, what is that we’re going to gain? Are we really going to make a change to their actions by scolding someone harshly?” Many a time, the answer to this question is “No”! If that’s the case, one question might arise here – “If someone does something bad to us, should we remain silent? What if they take our silence for a ride and do more and more bad things to us? What if they end up destroying us completely because of our silence?” 

The answer is very simple here – By saying that we should talk pleasing language as much as we can, I never meant that we should keep silent when someone is doing something bad. We can always raise our objection towards it. But the point here is that, there are ways to raise objections – We should be clear and specific in our counter-narratives, with facts and figures to support our argument. In most cases if we’re able to do this correctly, people will accept. However, in cases wherein the opponent is trying to overrule and dominate us in some way, we can always be assertive enough to establish our point. We should not confuse between being assertive and using harsh language. We can always be assertive by using the right words at the right context, by not deviating from the content and subject. However, there might be one more question here – What if someone starts abusing us even if we’re trying to highlight our stance clearly? The best way to deal with it is to walk away from that place! If we’re going to rather get into arguments, only the arguments that we make would stand, and not the subject in hand! Thus, it is always better to walk off from a place where people are unnecessarily creating issues. We can handle them offline through various ways, either legally or through some other means, rather than putting a head-on fight with them with harsh words! 

So for today, let us understand this “Shabadham” that Yudishtra has taken and let us try and implement this in our daily lives starting today! We shall wait till the next episode to discuss Yudishtra’s next resolve! Stay tuned! 🙂