SURRENDER & FIGHT!
Srila Vyāsdev said to Yudhisthira: My dear grandson, you should not lament for having to perform your duties as a Kshatriya, for such duties are never sinful. On the other hand, it is very sinful for a king to neglect his duties, because this puts the citizens in great danger of being exploited by rogues & thieves
You should satisfy your brothers. Just consider how,
for your sake, they had endured the miseries of forest life for so many years,
waiting for the time to come when they would be reinstated as kings. I can
assure you that later; after having fulfilled your duties as emperor of the
world, you will be able to renounce everything & attain liberation from
material bondage
Yudhisthira said: O grandfather, I no longer desire sovereignty
over earth. After hearing the piteous lamentations of all these women whose
relatives were killed, my heart feels an unbearable grief, so that I cannot find
any peace or happiness in life
Vyāsdev replied: You must consider everything with the
help of your good intelligence, from a philosophical point of view. It is a
fact that all activities are directed by Eternal Time, which acts instrumentally
under the supervision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Knowing this, one
should never consider himself to be the independent doer of anything
The Supreme Lord is the ultimate proprietor & controller
of everything. Thus, it is not right for us to become attached to the fruits of
labour. We should not consider ourselves to be the gainers or losers, and so we
should never rejoice or lament. One should perform his prescribed duties
faithfully & remain indifferent to the resultant dualities of happiness
& distress. In this way one truly acts on the platform of renunciation &
thus never becomes entangled in fruitive work
Without replying directly, Yudhisthira turned to Arjun
& said: Even if a Kshatriya utilizes his acquired wealth & kingdom for
performing sacrifices, it is still abominable because underlying his so-called
piety is the insatiable greed for material opulence & reputation. The path
of Yoga is far superior, because it entails cleansing oneself of all worldly
attachments. I know that the death of my kinsmen was the result of my greed.
Due to material attachment, I became the exterminator of my dynasty. Now my
heart burns with grief, especially when I think how my childhood protectors
& worshipful gurus, Bhishma & Drona have been killed
The death of Dronācharya especially weighs heavily upon
my conscience as it was my disgraceful lie that enabled him to be killed. As I
have performed so many grievous sins, I will now sit down & atone for them
by fasting unto death, I beg you all to give me permission, for then I will be
able to fix my mind on this vow without distraction
We should not get bewildered about executing our
duties for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. Sri Krsna says:
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ
Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in
the form of Kṛṣṇa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of
fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence
fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt
Here
the Lord does not say that one should give up his prescribed duties or
engagements. One can continue them and at the same time think of Kṛṣṇa by
chanting His names. This will free one from material contamination & engage
the mind and intelligence in Kṛṣṇa. By chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names, one will be
transferred to the supreme planet, Kṛṣṇaloka, without a doubt
Do
we? Thoughts?
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