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?

#gameoflife

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