Purpose of human form of life!

Vidura narrated an allegory to his brother Dhritrāshtra:

Once a Brahmana found himself in a dense forest teeming with beasts of prey. Being in a very dangerous situation, the brahmana fearfully ran here & there, seeking shelter. While trying to flee from the forest animals, he soon found that it was impossible to outdistance them. Besides that, the poor brahmana discovered that the entire forest was enclosed by a strong net, trapping him inside. All along the circumference of the net were five-hooded serpents that also blocked his exit

There was a fearsome old woman with outstretched arms who constantly pursued him, crying out wait wait! The poor brahmana’s condition was certainly precarious

While running here & there, the brahmana suddenly slipped into a deep pit that was covered by creepers. As he fell toward the bottom, he became entangled in those vines so that he remained hanging head downward in the pit, like a big jackfruit. From that position he could see a huge snake waiting for him at the bottom

As the brahmana looked up in desperation, he saw a colossal elephant with six heads & twelve feet stationed at the top of the pit. Numerous bees also hovered there, and from their hive dripped honey that the brahmana was able to continually drink. Because his thirst was never appeased, he strained his neck so that he could get more & more honey, even in that abominable condition

Then, to his horror, the brahmana saw innumerable black & white rats eating the creepers that kept him plunging into the depths of the pit. The most remarkable thing was that, despite suffering so much by the forest animals-elephant, snake, bees, rats-he maintained strong hopes of continuing his existence

Vidura said: Dear brother, this allegory is told by sages who advocate the path of liberation. The forest spoken about in this story is the material world. The wild beasts represent diseases. The fearsome woman is Jarā (old age), and the pit is the material body of the conditioned soul. The snake at the bottom of the pit represents time, and the creepers are the objects of material enjoyment that are cherished by all conditioned souls. The elephant symbolizes the year, its six faces are the seasons, and its twelve feet are the months. The black & white rats are the nights and days that take away our limited duration of life

The bees represent our aspirations & the dripping honey is the pleasure we derive from the gratification of these desires. By carefully studying this allegory, one can perceive the true nature of his material life & thus become detached from such an abominable existence

Dhritrāshtra praised Vidura for telling him his allegory and he felt great satisfaction hearing his words

Sri Krsna says in Gita

mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection

This temporary material world is full of the miseries of birth, old age, disease & death. But one who achieves the highest perfection, attains the supreme planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana, does not wish to return. We all should strive to first understand the real nature of this material world, for what purpose we are here, from where we have come from & where we would go after leaving this present body. We can then utilize our time to invest in this lifetime for spiritual upliftment & not material entanglement

Thoughts? #gameoflife