Vedic Wisdom Talks

Ringing in the New Year 2025! A year past leaves so many memories & realizations to reflect and learn. We are sometimes so much engrossed in executing our material duties & desires that we forget the whole purpose of this human form of life–our spiritual identification & duties   As long as we are in this material world, happiness & distress will come and go. So, we should not be disturbed by them. Our real business is trying for self-realization. That must go on; it must not stop. Self-realization is the goal of human life. Suffering & so-called happiness will go on as long as we have a material body, but we must come to the knowledge that “I am not the body; I am a spirit soul. I have gotten this body because of my past activities. That is knowledge!   As we wade through our lives, we do not realize   nūnaṁ   pramattaḥ   kurute   vikarma yad   indriya -prītaya  āpṛṇoti na   sādhu   manye   yata ...

Year end 2024 Reflections:  The Supreme Lord knows everything & when we serve Him, we are elevated and fearless! Arjun was very anxious wondering how Karna would be killed, so that a cold sweat covered his entire body Understanding his fear, Sri Krsna said: My dear Arjun, you have already proven by your heroic deeds that you’re to be counted amongst the very best of warriors. What to speak of this world of men, even the celestials would find it difficult to vanquish you on the battlefield. Of course, you should never disregard Karna, not even for a moment, for he is at least your equal, and perhaps even your superior in battle   There are now only five formidable warriors remaining on the Kaurava side: Karna, Salya, Asvattāma, Krpā & Krtvarmā. I admit that you may have good cause to be lenient with four of them, but there is absolutely no reason for you to show any mercy to Karna. It is upon Karna alone that Duryodhana has depended on all these years, and thu...

EGO is just a three-letter word which can destroy a big twelve letter word called RELATIONSHIP As Arjun left after touching the feet of his elder brother, Maharāj Yudhisthira got up from his bed. While following Arjun, he very despondently condemned himself, saying: My dear brother, I’m such a cruel wretch & coward. I don’t deserve the association of such noble persons as you, nor am I qualified to act as the emperor of the world. Therefore, instead of continuing my false show of being a pious ruler, I will retire to the forest. After defeating the Kauravas, Bhima can be installed upon the royal throne to rule the earth   Saying this Yudhisthira began departing to the forest. Sri Krsna then came & bowed down at his feet while pacifying him with sweet words. He said: O King! Arjun spoke to you so harshly only because I had instructed him to do so. That was his way of preserving his vow to kill anyone who would even suggest that he give away his Gāndiva bow   M...

  Tact to diffuse!   Sri Krsna further said to Arjun: As disrespect is equivalent to death for one that has always been honoured, I suggest you show some slight disregard for Yudhisthira, to keep your vow intact. This can be accomplished if you simply address him as “you” instead of the formal “your honour”   But in response Arjun spoke very harshly: O king, Bhima may have the right to criticize me, for he is an un-retreating hero that has killed many thousands of warriors in battle. You have no such right, however especially while lying here on Draupadi’s bed after fearfully fleeing from the battlefield   Frankly speaking, I’m not very enthusiastic about fighting to regain the kingdom you foolishly lost by gambling. Because of your addiction to dice, you plunged your entire family into depths of despair & yet you still have the nerve to ask us to fight so that you can take back the kingdom you had stupidly lost. As if this was not enough, you are suc...

Scriptural wisdom to act! Maharaj Yudhisthira further said to Arjun: If you are afraid to fight with Karna, you should give your G āndiva bow to someone else who can better utilize it. Infact, it would have been better if you had come out of mother Kunti’s womb after conception as a miscarriage rather than a coward who left the battlefield   Yudhisthira spoke with such harshness! The limits were crossed in anger   Arjun heatedly said: O Krsna! long ago I made a secret vow to behead anyone who would even suggest that I give away my Gāndiva bow. It is for this reason that I will now kill Yudhisthira and thus pay off my debt to Truth   Sri Krsna strongly chastised his friend, saying: My dear Arjun, you speak self-righteously, but you do not know the truth of morality.   According to Sastra, it is highly virtuous to tell a lie for the purpose of saving a life, especially that of a king or a Brāhmana. Lying is also meritorious when used to save one’s wealth ...

  Mental derangement!   Maharaj Yudhisthira after being repeatedly attacked by Karna and wounded, fled & was overwhelmed with pain & sorrow. He arrived at the Pāndava camp & sat down on his bed so that the arrows sticking in his body could be extracted. He then ordered Nakul & Sahadeva to return to the battlefield to assist Bhima   Meanwhile, Asvattāma returned to attack Arjun with renewed enthusiasm. He was able to counter Arjun’s celestial weapons & when Arjun managed to kill his driver, Asvattāma picked up the reins & continued fighting, while simultaneously guiding his chariot. At last Arjun cut-off the harnesses & reins of Asvattāma’s horses so that the afflicted steeds carried him far away from battlefield   Duryodhana went to Karna & begged him to do something that would save his faltering forces. Thinking momentarily, Karna fixed a powerful Bhargava weapon onto his bowstring. At once millions of arrows flowed in ste...

Better version of self or imitation of others! As the battle progressed, Kaurava army gradually weakened. Arjuna fought with Samsaptakas & managed to kill 20000 of them in a fierce battle. Karna continued to annihilate Pāncālas by the thousands & so Maharaj Yudhisthira rushed at him, along with Dhrstadyumna, Draupadi’s sons & other leading warriors. And yet, inspite of being surrounded by so many powerful warriors, Karna was able to check them all. Arjun also wanted to join the attack on Karna & so he ordered Sri Krsna to take him where the battle was raging   Asvattāma attacked Arjun sending forth showers of arrows. In fact, he covered Arjuna’s chariot with so many arrows that the two Krsnas became completely obscured from view. When Arjun witnessed this unprecedented display of prowess, he considered himself to be surely vanquished. Sri Krsna became very angry seeing Arjun lose his confidence & determination. He chastised Arjun saying: O descendant of Bh...

  Inner torment!   After letting Yudhisthira go, Karna continued to massacre Pāndava soldiers. Because their King had retreated from battle, they followed him. When Yudhisthira saw how Karna is annihilating his soldiers, he sent Bhima to rally his forces & face suta’s son. Thereafter, when Bhima & many others Pāndava heroes confronted Karna, all the leading Kaurava warriors joined the fray, and a fierce battle took place   The fighting became so savage that warriors were seen dragging each other by hair & biting and tearing each other with their teeth & nails. Thus, everything became covered with blood & the corpses floated in the rivers of blood. Seeing this, warriors on both sides became overwhelmed by a terrible repulsion that made them disheartened   After some time, the Pāndava warriors gained the upper hand. As they continued to beat the Kaurava army badly, Bhima & Sātyaki flared up with renewed vigour. Kaurava army was alrea...

Unity in diversity! Despite Karna’s conciliatory speech, Salya continued to abuse him. Finally, losing all patience, Karna interrupted & said: O King! Once at Dhritrāshtra’s palace, I overheard a Brāhmana describe despicable qualities of the Madrakas. Since you are the ruler of these abominable people, you will have to share 1/6 th of their sinful reactions   As Salya began to refute Karna’s statements, Duryodhana appeared upon the scene & intervened. After stopping their argument, Duryodhana begged both to cooperate for his sake & so once again the two heroes proceeded to battlefield. While going, Salya suddenly pointed out Arjuna’s wonderful chariot & described inauspicious omens that had manifest. Salya said: O Karna, just see how your emblem trembles & your horses shake with fear. This indicates that very soon you’ll meet with defeat at the hands of your enemy   As Salya continued to glorify Arjun, the remaining 34000 Samsaptakas prepared to ...