Hari Om Parents
We almost are towards the end of Mahabharata/
- Yudhishtra was made the king of Hastinapura
- After transferring his knowledge to Yudhishtra, Bheeshma Pitamah leaves his body
- Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kuntí renounced worldly life and went to the forest, where they died in a forest fire.
- Yadava dynasty ends on account of a curse from the sages that were ridiculed by the yadava youth
- Lord Krishna loses his life when a hunter mistakes the sole of His feet to be a deer's body and shoots an arrow at it
- The Pandavas made Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, the king of Hastinapura and, along with Draupadí and a stray dog, began their grand ascent toward the peaks of the Himalayas
- One by one everyone dies except Yudhishtra along with a dog who are both received by Indra
- Indra asked only Yudhishtra to enter the chariot, as there was no place for a dog in heaven. Yudhishtra stood steadfast and said that he would give up heaven rather than leave his faithful dog behind.
- Indra asked only Yudhishtra to enter the chariot, as there was no place for a dog in heaven. Yudhishtra stood steadfast and said that he would give up heaven rather than leave his faithful dog behind.
- The dog took on its real form--Dharmaraja, the god of righteousness--and welcomed Yudhishtra to heaven
- Lessons learned
o Live by Dharma
o Attitude of gratitude
o Do not think of any one as inferior as God is in and through everyone
- Few more questions from Yaksha were discussed at length.
What is the best quality of a person who is praiseworthy? The best quality of a praiseworthy person is dexterity.
What is the best among the riches? Knowledge is the best among riches.
What is the best gain? Health is the best gain.
What is the best among joys? Contentment is the best among joy
Now that the story is over we spent analyzing the key characters of Kauravas and Pandavas and compared their emotions and attitudes with those in our own lives only to realize that they are all still relevant even today
Kauravas
Bheeshma - A devotee of Krishna always served the king without putting himself in front. He had his weaknesses but he never justified his faults. As human beings when we make a mistake, we might not only own it but we will give hundred justifications as to why we may be right. Bheeshma's vows costed the kingdom a lot. Because of his vows he could not support Dharma although he believed in it. One should not be blinded in love for anyone that they lose their discretion while making important decisions. It might not impact them but have a bearing on people around them
Dhritharashtra - He was the only one who could have stopped the war, but because of his weakness for his son he did not, he wanted to fulfill his desire to be king through his son. He tried to shirk responsibility for his actions by evoking pity from others on account of his blindness. This is exactly what we do to get some pity from others for our shortcomings and under that pretext commit sins. When we have ambitions that we cannot fulfill ourselves, we want to fulfill them through someone else. Then, we become blind to justice. If we happen to be blessed with the company of wise and holy people, our minds start working in the right direction. But as soon as we are in bad company, our minds sink back into wrong channels of thinking and ultimately our strongest emotions take over.
Gandhari - She chose to spend her life with her eyes blindfolded because her husband was blind. She gave much good advice to her wicked children, but they did not heed her. We also, blinded by love, tend to support our loved ones unconditionally sometimes, knowing well what you are supporting is wrong. As long as we understand the law of karma we will not follow bad path
Duryodhana and Dushasana
Dushasana a loyal brother. lost his individuality and lived in the shadows of his older brother. loyalty is good and meaningful only when it is for a noble cause; otherwise, it is useless and creates problems.
Sakuni
He had an ulterior motive of taking revenge from the Kaurava king for taking his sister in marriage to a blind king. And that is what he did. Destroyed the kingdom and himself. But what should be learnt here is as a consequence of his grudge hundreds of innocent lives were lost. Revenge however personal it is will have a rippling effect. One should not entertain such ill feelings
Dronacharya
We can see then that even while he was serving in the Kaurava palace, he was doing so only with his own personal ambition in mind. Also, his reactions of anger and vengeance with king Drupada were just the opposite of true Brahmin qualities.
The cause for the Kauravas' defeat lay in the fact that even though the great leaders knew in their conscience what was right, they could not rise above their own individual weaknesses, attachments, and ambitions. In effect, the Kauravas were all split within themselves and amongst themselves
Yaksha Prashnas
· What is the highest Dharma? - Non-injury is the best Dharma.
· Which Dharma always yields result? - Vedic Dharma always yields results.
· Controlling what man does not grieve? - Having control of the mind one never grieves.
· Friendship with whom does not decay? - Friendship with the good would never decay.
Regards
Vyjayanti ji and Sapna ji
