Fearful or Fearless!

After departure of Pāndavas, Dhritrāshtra became absorbed in anxiety over fate of his deviant sons. The blind king knew that a great danger awaited them because of their wicked behavior. He thus had no peace of mind & called Vidura asking him to describe Pāndavās departure

Vidura said: While leaving Hastināpur, Yudhisthira covered his face with a cloth, Bhima repeatedly looked at his arms, Arjuna spread grains of sand on the ground, Sahadev rubbed his face with his hands & Nakula covered himself with dust. Weeping aloud, Draupadi attempted to cover her face with her disheveled hair & Dhaumya uttered mantras of Yamarāj found in Sāma Veda

Dhritrāshtra inquired: Why did Pāndavās do these things while leaving? Tell me about the hidden meaning behind these peculiar actions?

Vidura said: Yudhisthira is so magnanimous that he is still a well-wisher of your envious sons. He covered his face with cloth so that his angry eyes might not burn to ashes persons upon whom his gaze will fall. Bhima considers himself unrivaled in terms of physical strength. Looking at his powerful arms, he had intense desire to use them against your wicked sons. Arjuna, the foremost of archers, scattered grains of sand on the ground to symbolize that he would soon shower arrows upon the heads of enemies

Sahadev smeared something over his face so that no one would recognize him on that unhappy occasion. Handsome Nakula covered himself with dust so that the ladies who had come to see his departure would not be attracted to him. Draupadi had worn a single bloodstained cloth and by keeping disheveled hair & shedding tears, she indicated that this would be the fate of Kauravas’ wives upon completion of her husbands’ period of exile

Dhaumya held Kusa grass in his hand & sang prayers to Yamarāj from Sāma Veda. This is to illustrate that priests of Kauravas have to perform such ceremony after they're killed in battle

The people of Hastināpur bitterly condemned the elder Kurus for having allowed such a tragedy to take place & lamented seeing Pāndavās forced to wear deerskin and going to forest. Earth trembled, lightning appeared in cloudless sky & carnivorous birds and jackals uttered loud cries all around

My dear King, these signs indicate that destruction of Kurus is at hand for sure, said Vidura

Dhritrāshtra was more fearful than ever listening to this

Fear is nothing but illusion created by our ignorance. It is because of our attachment to & identification with the body. Thus, we do we do without realizing that we are soul, which is part & parcel of the Supreme Lord. More we depend on the Supreme being, less we’ll be scared

We think we are controllers but ultimately its God’s will which prevails, him being the Supreme controller. Our ultimate happiness doesn't come from anything material but from our loving relationship with Krsna

nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt

Thoughts? #gameoflife