Before the Kurukshetra war, Arjuna went to Krishna to seek His help. Duryodhana also went to Krishna. Krishna saw both of them coming. He closed his eyes and acted as if He was sleeping. He wanted to teach the world the difference between the two. When He was awakened He found Arjuna sitting at His feet. Duryodhana was full of ego. He thought, “I am a king. How can I sit at the feet of Krishna?” He took his seat behind the head of Krishna. On opening His eyes, Krishna saw Arjuna, who was sitting at his feet. Krishna asked, “Brother-in-law, why have you come?” Duryodhana was filled with jealousy. He reflected, “As soon as Krishna got up, he started talking to Arjuna and not to me.” He did not realise that it was only natural for Krishna to see Arjuna first because he was sitting at Krishna's feet. Arjuna got up and offered Namaskar. Krishna knew that Duryodhana was sitting behind. He asked Arjuna, “What do you want?” Duryodhana came closer and said, “Krishna I have also come.” Krishna said, “So both of you have come. I have two things to offer. On one side I am alone. On the other side there is My entire army. Do you want My army or Myself?” Being apprehensive that Arjuna might ask for the Army, Duryodhana came forward and said, “Krishna, I want your army.” He said, “Duryodhana, I give you My army, you can go.” Arjuna told Krishna, “Swami, I do not want anything except You. I will be happy if I have You alone.”
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| Arjun and Duryodhan with Krishna |
Right from the beginning the Pandavas believed in ‘God first, the world next and self last.’ The belief of the Kauravas was - ‘I first, the world next and God last’. So, for them God was last
Lord Krishna as an Envoy in Hastinapura
In order to prevent a war between the Kauravas and Pandavas, Krishna played the role of an envoy. Duryodhana felt that the Pandavas were successful because of the support of Krishna and hatched a number of plans to get hold of Krishna and do away with Him when He came to Hastinapura. Vidura was aware of these plans. Krishna entered the assembly of the Kauravas along with Vidura. The blind king Dhritarashtra addressed Krishna and said, “The Pandavas and the Kauravas are cousins. When they are children of two brothers, You should have the same attitude towards them. Why are You prejudiced against the Kauravas? Why do You love the Pandavas?” Krishna replied, “Dhritarashtra! You are not merely suffering from physical blindness, mentally also you are blind. I shower My grace on those who take refuge in Me. The one who is close to a fire gets both warmth and light. The Pandavas have been close to the fire. They are getting the wisdom and the grace in the form of light and fire. The Kauravas are staying far from the fire.” Here fire refers to Jnanaagni, the fire of wisdom. The Pandavas were near and dear to Krishna. To whom can you compare them? In our body the head is very important; next the shoulder, the stomach and the legs. The body consists of these four parts, but it is useless without the heart. Krishna told Dhritarashtra, “Oh blind king, I am giving the analogy of a body with reference to the Pandavas. In this body, Dharmaraja may be compared to the head, Arjuna to the shoulders, Bheema to the stomach and Nakula and Sahadeva to the legs. In it, Krishna is the heart. Without Krishna, there are no Pandavas. Without the Pandavas there is no Krishna. That is the kind of mutual relationship between them. They are mutually interdependent.”
Krishna made this declaration in the open court. So dear were the Pandavas to the Lord. As there was protection for the Pandavas from Krishna, though they had lost the kingdom and everything else, Krishna was able to get back the kingdom and everything else and confer joy on them. Success comes to those who have the protection of God. When Dhritarashtra asked Sanjaya who would win the war, Sanjaya answered, “Where there is Krishna, the Yogeshwara, and Partha with bow and arrow, there justice will prevail and there will be victory. This is my firm conviction.”
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| Dhritarashtra and Sanjay |
The Pandavas firmly believed in Dharma and God. The Kauravas went and prostrated at the feet of their mother, Gandhari, before the start of the war. She had blindfolded her eyes and was not able to see them. She caressed Duryodhana and blessed him. She observed, “Yatho Dharmah Tatho Jayah” (where there is Dharma, there is victory). But they had no righteousness on their side. Even their mother blessed them in that manner. Their wickedness was responsible for this. They went to their preceptor Dronacharya, and offered Namaskar. Dronacharya declared, “Where there is Dharma, there is Krishna: where there is Krishna, there is victory.” Thus both their mother and their preceptor blessed in these terms. Neither the mother nor the preceptor blessed them with success. The Kauravas relied on their wealth and the power of their arms. But, there is need for God's grace. Along with God's grace, there could be wealth, position, power and knowledge.
Earn God’s Grace
My Dear Students! Pursue your studies. But, together with education, earn the blessings of your parents. In addition, earn the grace of God. Despite all his knowledge, authority, power and prowess, what happened to a warrior like Karna? He lacked God's grace. Earn God's grace. That is true spiritual education. Along with spiritual education, you may pursue worldly education. A basic requirement for all this is good character. Morality alone helps one in a number of ways. If your conduct is not good, society will not respect you. As long as one is in power, society may respect one. Once power goes, the man will be an object of derision. You may not have any power, but morality will confer on you honour and respect.
The Power of Lord Rama
Rama and Lakshmana protect the Yaga of Vishwamitra
To recognise the power of the Divine, here is an illustration from the Ramayana. Rama and Lakshmana went to protect the Yaga performed by Sage Vishwamitra. There were demons who wanted to undo the Yaga performed by Vishwamitra. Mareecha was one of them. He was the son of the ogress Tataki. As soon as Rama espied Mareecha, with one arrow He despatched him far away. Mareecha recognised then the power of Rama. He firmly believed that Rama had the power of Divinity. From that moment he gave up his demonic quality. When he was in this state, Ravana came to him to seek his help for kidnapping Sita. Ravana said, “I want to kidnap Sita. Rama and Lakshmana are there. Become a golden deer and divert their attention”. Folding his palms, Mareecha told Ravana, “Oh King of Demons! You are having so much confidence in your physical power. Rama is not an ordinary man. I have experienced His prowess. You have lost your senses. Do not embark on this enterprise. You can never achieve victory over Rama.” In a number of ways Mareecha sought to advise Ravana. There is a saying, ‘When destruction is impending, one's intelligence will be perverted’ (Vinasha Kale Vipareeta Buddhi). Ravana was in a rage. He said, “Mareecha will you obey my command or shall I sever your head?” Mareecha thought within himself, “When I become a golden deer Rama may kill me. If I go against Ravana, he will kill me. Death is certain either way. Instead of meeting with death at the hands of Ravana, it is better I die at the hands of Rama”. Mareecha did not like to be killed by the wicked King Ravana. That is why Mareecha took the form of the golden deer.
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| Seeta pointing at the Golden Deer in the forest |
My Dear Students! The Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavatam teach the lesson that desire, anger and greed cause destruction. Fix your faith on God and not on the things of the world. When you have faith in God, your discrimination will be perfect. You will be guided by your conscience, which will always lead you properly. In Vedantic parlance, this conscience is called ‘Chit’. God is ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’. ‘Sat’ means Being, ‘Chit’ means Awareness. Where the two are combined, there is Bliss. That is the meaning of BABA: Being + Awareness + Bliss + Atma.
My Dear Students! You are all aspirants of bliss. You should enjoy bliss. You have to combine Sat and Chit to realise Ananda. Without Sat, there can be no Divinity. Without Divinity there is no bliss. So, always think of God.
Source: Discourse 17, My Dear Students Volume 2; Divine Discourse delivered on September 17, 1992, at Sri Sathya Sai Hostel, Prasanthi Nilayam
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