All actions governed by Divine sanction

All religious-minded and God-fearing men are fully conscious of the fact that their actions are governed by His decisions. Nothing in this world can take place without Divine sanction. Out of mercy, God supplies all the needs of His devotees and takes care of them. They are quite aware that all happenings are for good. God has also prescribed the method to obtain His grace -by giving up attachment, avoiding desire and shedding ego.

There is an anecdote of a prince and his friend on a hunting spree in a forest. The former shot a tiger but in the process lost a finger. The friend said it was for good, which annoyed the prince who pushed him into a well, taking his remark as an insult. The companion said this too would do him good. Within a few minutes, the prince was caught by bandits for being offered in a sacrifice. At the last moment, they discovered his handicap of a missing finger and released him because the ritual would not permit a disfigured man being offered. The prince went to the well, rescued his friend and expressed regret for his rash act. Asked how this could be taken as a blessing in disguise, the friend said that if he had accompanied the prince, he would have been sacrificed as he did not have any disablement.

Sri, A.S. Baitmangalkar in a discourse, said any amount of human ingenuity cannot convert salt into sweet. This should make one realise God's supreme powers. God is the indweller of all creations, directing them every minute and guiding their activities. He controls all their actions and if this is understood by men, all problems can be overcome. What the human being should do is to discard desires, eschew malice, refrain from hating others and shun ego. These in turn, could be achieved acquiring spiritual knowledge. Wants have no limits but man should endeavour to curb them and develop detachment towards worldly objects.

Duryodhana was a typical example of how pride would destroy a man. He was full of malice and God made the special rite he performed to counter the one conducted by Yudhishtirar, a waste. God stations Himself in the hearts of devotees. Perverted egoism will vanish as soon as transcendental knowledge dawns upon a person. He can then withstand the forceful impulses born of lust and anger.
                                                                        May 2, 1990

Forgive and be Divine

To forget a harm done to us or an injury deliberately inflicted on us is a rare trait. But it is extremely scarce to come across persons who completely forget the very incident and hence such a gesture should be considered as Divine.

It is impossible even to imagine that a character in one of our scriptures recommended that a culprit, who beheaded five children at one stroke, be excused. The person who committed such a crime did so, not to achieve any personal gain but only to take revenge on those who were successful in wiping out the evil forces with whom he was associated. He did not hail from the warrior group but was the son of a respected teacher. Punishment in such instances should indeed be more condign. But the affected person was considerate to him because the Law of Righteousness prohibited extreme penalty in respect of this category of men.

This noble act was displayed by Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas whose children were wiped out by Aswathama, son of Drona, the ace archer-tutor. No doubt she was deeply distressed at the massacre but when she knew that the killer was none else than the son of a preceptor, she pleaded with her husbands to let him go with a mild punishment as it was a sin to offend the Acharya or his wards

Sri Krishna Premi in a discourse said, though the Kurukshetra war was over, Yudhistirar's mind remained agitated over, the tragic consequences and he sought solace from Sri Krishna. Surprisingly the Lord was Himself in a pensive mood and when questioned about the need for His meditation when the universe prostrated at His feet, He mentioned about His concern for a great devotee-Bhishma, the repository of wisdom, who was awaiting the final call from heaven The Pandavas were led by the Lord to the place where he was resting, Bhishma then gave a dissertation about Righteousness and Duty He said Destiny alone was responsible for all the happenings and his anguish. Even after his coronation, Yudhishtirar issued orders only after obtaining the blind king's approval. Tbe Pandavas treated him with utmost courtesy and behaved well towards him. Yudhishtirar was however unhappy over the belated disclosure by his mother that Karna was his elder brother and regretted that if only this secret had only been revealed earlier, the tragedy (of war) could have been averted.
                                                                        January 14, 1991

Epic heroine purified in flames

The propagation of the deals concerning character building, developing the quality of contentment and maintaining religious discipline as prescribed in Divine commands is the basic and common feature contained in all the scriptural texts Towards this purpose, the sacred books have detailed -through the heroes, heroines and other actors, what man should do and what he should avoid to enable him to reach the goal of liberation from the cycle of rebirths.

By the study of the conduct of these personalities, it will be possible for a sincere person to tread the Divine path. To realise how the manner in which the Pandavas faced trials, still clinging on to the rules of virtuous conduct, helps one to refrain from flouting them but uphold them even at the cost of personal inconvenience.

The embodiment of patience and tolerance, Yudhishtirar maintained equanimity even when provoked. Bhima 's life tells us of the value of restraint and listening to his valiant deeds will remove sins. Enemies will vanish if Arjuna's acts are kept in mind. N o ailment will afflict people when they hear the contribution made by Nakula and Sahadeva. The Pandavas stood united and their opponents who thought of creating a rift among them realised how ridiculous was their move. An Ideal wife, Draupadi helped them in all their noble pursuits.

The Mahabaratam presents a riddle through her marriage to five, but the circumstances under which this was forced on them, have been suitably explained. As she stayed with each one of them she got purified in flames. (This is the background for the fire-walking ceremony in temples dedicated to her even now).