With Courage And Purity Realise Divinity

Everyone has to face the consequences of his karma (actions). Who has made the bats to hang from the branches of a tree with their heads downwards? Has anyone tied them upside down out of hatred? No, it is their fate. Likewise, nobody can escape from the consequences of karma.
(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!

Yesterday, I was telling you about the coronation of Parikshit. At that time, there were many who had offered advice to him and assisted him. Many were supportive of his advancement. Parikshit was very young, almost a boy. It was not easy to raise a little boy to be an efficient emperor. There were no elders left in the lineage of the Pandavas. Bhima, Arjuna, Dharmaja, Nakula, and Sahadeva had all started on their way to the Himalayan slopes. The lone representative of the Pandava clan was this little boy Parikshit. He was just put to schooling in the traditional way. But, there was none who could ascend to the throne, except him. The young lad was thus caught in a complex situation. He, however, proceeded on the path shown by three preceptors who were available. The young Parikshit was in tears and was pleading with his granduncle and grandmother (Dharmaja and Draupadi) asking them whether it was fair on their part to abandon him leaving such a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Dharmaja told the boy that the consequences of the passage of time were inescapable. Even Krishna who was their constant support had also left them to fend for themselves. They also had no choice but to follow the footsteps of Krishna. After all, they had been strict adherents to the advice and guidance of Krishna. Krishna treated the Pandavas as bosom friends. He had reared them as His own children. He had been their closest relative. In fact, he had sustained them in every manner of relationship. He alone was their refuge. So, they advised Parikshit to face his responsibilities with courage and confidence. Thereafter, they tarried a while to see how Parikshit would tackle the situation. Parikshit replied bravely that he would not shirk his responsibilities nor let down the glory of his lineage. “I shall rule this kingdom”, he averred. He was full of confidence and courage. Dharmaja and Draupadi were happy and relieved. They were astonished at the courageous demeanor of the young lad.

One has to note some events that transpired at that time. Dharmaja was in his human form and was preparing to proceed to the spiritual and divine realms. To go from the earthly realm to the divine realm one needed a lot of courage. Dharmaja traversed the entire plane of the spiritual and the mundane, and made a proper mix to achieve ability to advance to the divine realms. In fact, he got this capacity by seeing the self-confidence of young Parikshit. Parikshit was then reminded of the happenings prior to this. He had gone to each of the Pandavas and asked them to take up the responsibility of ruling the kingdom. But all of them had declined and insisted that Dharmaja alone was qualified for ruling the kingdom, which was also the wish of the people. Finally, they settled on the young Parikshit as the only suitable person. Hearing this, young Parikshit was frightened and fell at the feet of his grandfather with tears and pleaded whether it was possible for such a young person to rule such a large kingdom. It was Draupadi who gave the necessary reassurance to Parikshit. Thus, the crowning of Parikshit as emperor took place.

After this, Dharmaja and Draupadi got into their chariot in preparation for their departure. People closed their eyes. Their minds were filled with anxiety, worry, and fear. Then Draupadi said, “Please do not worry, worry is the worst enemy of the humankind. Birth is worry, death is another, every decision you make brings in its train a worry. Anticipating and planning for the future is a worry. The only remedy for worry is contemplation of God.” Then, Dharmaja spoke to the people in the court as well as the public and convinced them of the compulsion that drove him to proceed to the mountains. There were some who even thought that Draupadi herself might remain as the regent, but in those days, it was not possible for women to rule kingdoms. So, she only advised Dharmaja what he had to do and what was the right thing to do, with intense faith in God and led them in the right path. After all, the entire universe is in the control of God. We fail to see this dependence. Everyone only thinks of the body, which is made of the five physical elements. It is bound to fall and disintegrate some time or the other. But, the indwelling deity is priceless, dissolutionless, and is without any outwardly distinguishing marks. Draupadi said, “Oh! People, at least from now onwards place faith in the Indweller (Dehi). Without the Indweller, the body is a useless inert object. Therefore, concentrate on the Indweller, He shall protect all.” Dharmaja turned to Draupadi and said “Truly it is Krishna Himself speaking through you - such is your faith in Him. Hence, your words should be taken as those of Krishna Himself.” Dharmaja felt that he was hearing from Krishna Himself who seemed to promise him that He would be constantly overseeing (in spirit) the situation in the country. With this, Dharmaja was greatly reassured and prayed to Krishna and said it was but the power of Krishna that moved them during war and peace, taking up the sword when necessary, and sheathing it when the need was over. He spoke to Krishna (in spirit) that he (Dharmaja) was pacific by nature and he took up the sword only by the prompting of Krishna. Then he called Parikshit and spoke to him. It seemed as if the Lord Himself was speaking to the embodied soul. The change in the spirit of Parikshit was obvious to Dharmaraja and Draupadi and they were delighted. They went before the people and reassured them not to be afraid of anything. “Krishna is protecting us (in spirit) and all that is happening is the will and play of God, which is beyond our ordinary understanding since He will not reveal it explicitly as He is the Indweller God and is all-pervasive. He is not visible to the physical vision.” Thus, all those who were left behind were infused with confidence and courage.

On the second day after his coronation, Parikshit assembled all his vassal kings. People thought that the young king was frightened and that was why he was assembling all of them. All the kings were collected and seated in the chamber of the court. Parikshit spoke to them. “You see a young boy as your lord before you. But be sure I shall not flinch from my duties nor should you from yours. We are together committed to seeing to the welfare of this empire; so, I want now to know your intention. Some of you, I know; others I cannot even recognize. So, make your decision to go along with me for the sake of the empire or follow your own ambitions.” After he spoke thus, the assembly split into two factions, one supporting Parikshit and the other pursuing their private ambitions thinking that the youthful king lacked determination and could be flouted easily. After this, a war broke out between the factions. Parikshit fought the battle with the names of his grandfather Arjuna on his lips (Arjuna had 12 names) – Arjuna the pure, Phalguena the one born under the star Phalguena, Partha scion of the Pritha lineage, Kireeti one born with a crown, Svetavahana one mounted on a pure white charger, Bheetatsu one who is above the emotion of revolution, Vijaya ever victorious, Krishna the dark one, Savyasachi ambidextrous, Dhananjaya the victor of all wealth. Thus, as he battled, all the Pandavas were present around him (in their spiritual form). Even Draupadi was there. Few know this fact that Draupadi was a great leader in her own right.

It would be a mistake to think that Parikshit plunged into warfare in his first act as emperor. In fact, Draupadi was his mentor, physically as a child and spiritually in the later part of his life. She had warned him that it would not be proper on his part to drag himself into strife as soon as he became the king. First, he had to infuse confidence in his own people and, thanks to the training given by Draupadi, he was able to succeed in good measure. All his subjects young and old stood by him addressing and adoring him as Maharaja the king of kings with affection and awe. They became confident and fearless. With such a king presiding over their welfare, where was the room for any fear? And Parikshit reassured them that in spite of his being so young, he was fully favored by God’s grace and, as such, there was no power on earth that could oppose him. God alone was his refuge. He undertook the administration of the empire with full faith under the guidance of God.

Do not be under the impression that all this training was only after the decision of the Pandavas to proceed to the Himalayas. Right from the end of the Great War, it was known that the sole heir to the empire was the infant son of Abhimanyu. Draupadi decided to take up the task of grooming of the child for his future role. So she told Dharmaja that though he was the repository of all virtues, he was at times prone to indecision. Thus, right from the beginning Parikshit, was under the care of Draupadi. Even before the formal coronation of Parikshit, Draupadi along with Dharmaja used to address the people of Hastinapura, saying that this young child was their future ruler. “Do not be misled by his youthful looks. He is blessed with the grace of God and is replete with all kingly virtues. The duty of a ruler of a large population is to look after their needs like a mother. At present, he is a small child and needs your support and protection. Take this up as a duty conferred on you by God. In due course, he will be the king and will look after your welfare like a dutiful son. We are not concerned with enjoyment and pleasure. Do everything as a matter of duty. And when the time is ripe you shall be protected and provided with your needs by him as he is verily a gift of God to us and to all. Everything happens according to the will of God. The will of God cannot be tampered with by any other force.”

Thus Draupadi and Dharmaja already paved the way for the crowning of Parikshit. That was the manner of political administration in those days. Every single person in the kingdom shall be well looked after, like the children of a close-knit family. When such a family of elders and children are in control, where is the room for fear or worry? Thus Parikshit became a great emperor. Are there any parents who can bring up their children in this way? Even if you are prepared to train the young boys in the right way, the children will not be ready to listen. But Parikshit was a good learner as well as a leader with courage. Courage is the means of all successful results. This is also a true spiritual practice. That is the true strength. Armed with such divine and spiritual strength Parikshit achieved greatness. And the whole empire prospered thereby. Such a motherly preceptor is very rare.

Parikshit summoned all his ministers as also representatives from the subcontinent and spoke to them on the importance of unity. In fact, purity is dependent on unity and purity is the way to divinity. With divinity, all tasks will become fruitful. It is enough to sustain and maintain this purity both in the individual and community. This concept of individual and collective behavior was taught to his subjects and thereby an ideal community was created in his empire. The young king Parikshit smilingly approached his people and even apologized to them for any mistakes that he might have unwittingly committed. The type of communication that should exist between the ruler and the ruled was exemplified by Parikshit par excellence. Young Parikshit had full faith in God whose benevolence and love ensured his welfare and that of his subjects. All of you have the same firm faith in God and maintain purity and you can be certain of success in your sadhana.

Divine Discourse, Dasara, 08 Oct 2005