Anxiety!

 

Sabha Parva ends & Vana Parva starts!

After leaving Hastināpur thro’ Vardhamāna gate, Pāndavās travelled north on their chariots, with Draupadi, their weapons & 14 servants who were accompanied by their wives. Citizens of Hastināpur felt doomed & condemned Bhisma, Drona, Vidura & Krpā for allowing Duryodhana to carry out his wicked plans. Overwhelmed with sorrow, they decided to go with Pāndavās to forest

 

With folded hands, they petitioned Pāndavās saying: Don’t leave us behind, allow us to follow you. We’re afraid of evil-minded Duryodhana. Don’t forsake us as we’re your loving subjects. Qualities of a human being are gained by association, just as cloth & water are perfumed by contact with flowers. For this reason, we wish to engage our lives in our service, for you’re pure hearted, heroic & virtuous

King Yudhisthira said: O residents! You’ve greatly satisfied us. Now pls honor my request to return to Kuru capital & take care of Bhisma, Drona, Dhritrāshtra, Kunti & all our well wishers who’re greatly afflicted because of our exile. Citizens honored the request & went home. Finally, as sun was setting, Pāndavās arrived at a great banyan tree named Pramāna, standing majestically by the side of Gangā. They fasted that night as did many Brahmanās who had continued to follow them out of deep sense of loyalty & affection

In morning Yudhisthira begged Brāhmanās to return saying: It’ll not be possible for us to worship & serve you properly in forest. But they were unwilling to return & said: Don’t worry for us as we shall provide for our own maintenance. We’ll recite scriptures & will engage in philosophical discussions with you. Yudhisthira fervently requested them not to take trouble for his sake & broke down crying as he sat helpless on ground

An elderly Brāhmana named Saunaka said to relieve his intense grief: Dear Yudhisthira! mental grief is one of the major causes of disease. For this reason, a good physician always allays mental suffering of a patient by giving good instructions & offering desirable objects, before administering medicine. If one puts hot iron in water, it soon becomes hot. Similarly, burning of mental grief causes innumerable miseries. On the other hand, just as water easily puts out fire, mental distress can be quickly dispelled by enlightenment in real knowledge

It is a fact that mind’s material attachment is the root cause of all our suffering. As a small fire ignited in the hollow of a tree can consume an entire tree, so even a little unwarranted material attachment can destroy one’s accumulated virtue

Real renunciation doesn’t mean physical withdrawal from all material objects. Factual detachment is attained when one becomes convinced of the fault maintaining material attachments. In whatever situation one finds himself, a person shouldn’t place his affection in friends, family members, wealth or even his own materially conceived self

Huge lessons for our anxieties! #gameoflife