Mind games!

 

After the death of Karna, Sanjaya hurried back to Hastināpur to inform Dhritrāshtra of all that had happened. He first bowed down & then briefly described how Karna & Dushasana had been slain

 

When Dhritrāshtra heard the most unpleasant news, he became extremely pained at heart so that he began to lose consciousness & suddenly fell to the floor. Seeing this, the palace ladies cried out loudly. When Gāndhāri rushed to lift her husband, she also fainted

 

Sanjaya comforted aggrieved ladies while Vidura tended to Dhritrāshtra by sprinkling water over his body & fanning him. Thereafter, when the old king finally regained his senses, he anxiously inquired: O Sanjay! pls tell me truthfully-Is Duryodhana still alive or not? Tell me who has been killed & who still lives on both Kaurava & Pāndava sides

 

In response Sanjaya gave a long list of those who had been killed. He then told Dhritrāshtra: This is the harvest of the fruit that has resulted from the evil deeds performed in the past

 

Dhritrāshtra understood that only a small portion of his army has remained & so he became very aggrieved. As he continued to lament very bitterly, the old blind king once again lost consciousness, falling to the floor. After some time, when he came to his senses, he continued to lament over the death of Karna

 

At last, he said: O Sanjaya, my grief is so unbearable that only by taking poison or jumping from a mountain will I be able to gain relief. Oh! I have fallen into a most horrible condition of life, for I am now bereft of my kingdom, relatives & friends. Pls describe in detail all that took place in Kurukshetra

 

As the armies withdrew at the end of the 15^th day, the Kaurava warriors returned to their camp in a dejected state after seeing the death of Drona. As heavy gloom pervaded in Kaurava camp that evening, Asvattāma came & addressed assembled warriors with great confidence. He said: O Kings! We should appoint Karna as the commander-in-chief of our army, for with him at the helm there is still hope of crushing the enemy & attaining victory

 

Duryodhana became a little cheered as Asvattāma continued to glorify the Suta hero. The Kaurava king then said: Dear Karna, due to affection, Bhisma & Drona were both lenient towards Pāndavās. Besides, they had known that they would be giving up their lives upon battlefield. You have no such weakness & so I have much more confidence in your ability to kill Pāndavās. Now pls take command of my army & lead us to victory

 

Karna happily agreed to accept the exalted post offered & boasted that he would kill Pāndavās, along with all their relatives, including Sri Krsna. The installation rituals were then performed with great pomp. After being bathed in the abhisheka ceremony, Karna distributed vast amounts of wealth in charity to the Brāhmanās while having them pronounced benedictions upon him for victory

 

Despite losing nearly all its heroes in war and knowing that they are on the opposite side of Dharma, still Duryodhana cradles hopes of winning the war. Such is the vice like grip of mind over our consciousness. It plays itself as an independent tutor and forces us to do things which are impossible to do otherwise

 

The mind should be under control of intelligence, which should be guided by soul’s conscience. When the soul, which is part of parcel of the Supersoul (Krsna), is dovetailed to it, then it is instructed from within to do what is right & refrain from doing what is wrong. Krsna says

 

mayy eva mana adhatsva mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva ata urdhvam na samsayah

Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus, you will live in Me always, without a doubt

 

Let us all elevate ourselves from the clutches of mind by taking shelter of the Supreme Lord & be exalted

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife