Vedic Wisdom Talks

  Humility!   When Brahma-muhurta arrived, Arjun touched water for purification & sat in meditation upon Lord Siva. In his meditation, Arjun saw Sri Krsna dragging him by the left arm thro’ the sky at the speed of mind towards the Himalayas. In this way they soon reached Mount Kailāsa after passing over many beautiful & sacred spots   On top of Kailāsa, Arjun saw Lord Siva seated with Pārvati & surrounded by his innumerable associates. Being ever engaged in the performance of austerities, Lord Siva blazed with effulgence while adored by greatest of sages. After coming before Lord Siva, Sri Krsna & Arjun bowed their heads & offered him praises by chanting the appropriate Vedic mantras   Sri Krsna said: O best of demigods, pls be kind upon us & fulfil our desire   Arjun saw numerous offerings placed near Lord Siva for his daily worship of Sri Krsna. In this way Arjun vividly understood the supreme position of his dear friend...

  Vote. We have great responsibility! The subjects define which type of leader they want. If they falter, they themselves are liable to be governed by someone not qualified & suitable The principles are the foremost. People may come & go but their adherence to principles leaves legacy behind. If someone has principles then he would emotionally affect us, intellectually teach us & socially make us apt in interacting with the world In Ramayana we can see that due to immaturity of the cititizens of Ayodhya, Sri Ram was separated from Mother Sita. It was Raj Dharma of the leader which prevented Ram from defending in individual capacity about the purity of Mother Sita & he left it to the wise judgement of his subjects Sri Ram after killing Ravana, came back & was coronated as King of Ayodhya. He governed Ayodhya for 10000 years; and the news once came out that Sita had conceived. Then Sri Ram asked her if she had any longing & she replied that she would like to v...

  Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham! As Sri Krsna tried to console Subhadra, she responded by indulging in piteous lamentations. Draupadi & Uttara joined her & after sorrowfully wailing aloud for some time, they fainted. Sri Krsna sprinkled some water from a container He held & once again assured them that Abhimanyu had attained an exalted destination Sri Krsna then returned to Arjun & retired to rest. That night while lying on His bed, Krsna passed the time thinking of various ways Jayadratha could be killed. Thus, He appeared to be in a meditative trance of Yoga-nidra. Indeed, no one was able to sleep that night in the Pāndava camp, for everyone was too anxious, wondering how Arjun would be able to fulfil his difficult vow. Since all Pāndava warriors knew that Arjun would enter fire if he failed to keep his promise, a great fear penetrated their hearts In the middle of night, Sri Krsna suddenly woke up with a start & addressed his charioteer who was resting nearby: O Dā...

  Boasting!   Arjun vowed to kill Jayadratha next day & if he fails to do so before sun sets, he’ll enter a blazing fire. He also vowed that besides this, he would also willingly accept hellish destination attained by most sinful persons, such as those wretches who eat sweets in front of servants, children & wives without sharing them, those who bathe naked, those who urinate into a body of water, those who touch Brahmana or fire with their feet & those who glorify unworthy persons   Arjun picked up his bow & twanged it menacingly. The he & Sri Krsna blew their mighty conch shells. All Pāndava warriors roared loudly to express approval of Arjuna’s words. Arjuna’s vow was then related to Jayadratha by means of Duryodhana’s spies & so the King of Sindh became exceedingly overwhelmed by fear. He hurried to the assembly of Kuru warriors & pleaded: O Kings! You must protect me at all costs or else grant me permission to return home. Turning ...

  Grief!   Arjun falteringly questioned his brothers about Abhimanyu. He knew that only Abhimanyu could penetrate Kaurava’s circular formation, but also that his son was unable to come out of it. Deeply mortified by thoughts that raced thro’ his mind & alarmed by his brothers’ silence, Arjun suddenly declared: If I’m not able to see my son this very minute, I’ll go to the abode of Yamarāja, if need be to bring him back   While tearfully lamenting at great length, Arjun wailed: Oh! My heart must be made of iron, for it has not broken into 1000’s of pieces upon learning about my dear son’s death. Arjun recalled how he had heard the victorious cries of the sorrow & with tears in eyes, he inquired in an agonized voice: O Krsna, why didn’t you tell me about Abhimanyu’s death when it happened so that I could have immediately killed all Kuru warriors that fought against him?   Sri Krsna said: Dear Arjun don’t lament for your son. Such a heroic death is t...

  Duty it is!   After fall of Abhimanyu, all leading Pāndava warriors took off their armour, put down their weapons & sat surrounding Maharāj Yudhisthira. While brooding intensely, the grief-stricken king lamented: Oh! How I’ll be able to look at Arjuna & Subhadra? It was my fault that Abhimanyu was killed for I had ordered him to perform an unnecessarily dangerous task & then failed to give protection   Just then Vyāsdev arrived at Pāndavas’ camp & so Yudhisthira and other kings worshipped him with great respect. Finally, when he was seated, Yudhisthira informed him of Abhimanyu’s death & expressed his unbearable grief at how the prince had been unfairly killed while he & other Pāndavas stood helplessly   Vyāsdev said: Dear grandson, you shouldn’t lament, for Abhimanyu has already ascended heaven. Because death is unavoidable, when someone attains a glorious destination, it is a cause for great joy & not sadness. Abhimanyu was...

  Steady Intelligence! Abhimanyu picked a mace, after the wheel he was carrying was destroyed & rushed towards Asvatthama. Drona's son hurriedly jumped in the nick of time as Abhimanyu smashed his chariot to pieces with horses & driver Covered all over with arrows, Abhimanyu looked like a porcupine & his clothes were dyed red from blood that flowed from his innumerable wounds. Still, the heroic son of Arjun proceeded to kill many Kaurava soldiers that stood in his path When Abhimanyu rushed at Dusasana's son, the prince was forced to jump while his chariot was smashed. Mace in hand, Dusasana's son challenged Abhimanyu to fight & so the 2 young warriors began striking one another with heavy blows. As duel continued it so happened that two princes struck each other simultaneously & fell to ground same time Dusasana's son was the first to get up & as Abhimanyu struggled to his feet, Kaurava prince struck him on the head very severely with his mace. ...