Future prosperity or destruction!

Maharaj Yudhisthira enquired: What should a king intelligently do after losing all his prosperity?

Bhisma replied: When one has fallen into a very distressed condition of life, being bereft of friends, relatives, wealth & reputation, he should practice fortitude & not give way to grief under any circumstances. Indulgence in grief destroys one’s personal beauty, duration of life, prosperity & virtue. One who constantly dwells upon his misfortune loses all enthusiasm, mental equilibrium & bodily strength & meets with total defeat in life

Yudhisthira asked: By what symptoms can one ascertain future greatness or fall of a person?

Bhisma said: The mind is the indicator of one’s future prosperity or degradation. In this connection I will tell you a story related to how Lakshmi had once come before Indra

When Indra asked about the purpose of her visit, Lakshmi-devi said: Formerly I had dwelt with asuras because of their meritorious behaviour. But now since they have acted unrighteously, I’m going to reside with you

Indra requested: Pls describe to us the behaviour of asuras that had formerly obliged you to reside with them & now to leave them

Lakshmi said: I become attached to those persons who strictly follow their occupational duties & act according to religious principles. Formerly the danavas were very clean & charitable & they carefully controlled their passions. They performed sacrifices & studied Vedas; they were respectful to their superiors & they were eloquent in speech. They had a sense of shame; they rose before sunrise & they were compassionate towards the weak. In general, they were distinguished by all good qualities. Because of this, I had swelt with the Danavas for a long time, ever since the beginning of creation

In the course of time, however the danavas’ behaviour changed as they became victims of lust & anger. The young became so disrespectful that they would not even stand up when elders entered the room. In the Danavas’ society, those that attained wealth by unrighteous means became highly esteemed. Sons began to lord it over their parents & wives did the same with their husbands. Cooks no longer observed the rules of purity & everyone simply ate without offering their food to the demigods or to Sri Krsna. Animals were eaten without having first been offered in sacrifice. Parents abandoned their unwanted offspring after begetting them irresponsibly & everyone continued to sleep after the sun had risen

Learned Brahmanas were no longer given respect, disciples no longer honoured their gurus & the gurus treated their disciples as friends. In general the bounds of good behaviour were transgressed & for this reason, I have left the Danavas & come here

My dear Indra I hope that you will receive me respectfully & maintain me by righteous behaviour

Indra welcomed Lakshmi-devi with great joy, as did the other demigods & at that time all auspicious signs became visible. From that day on demigods acted virtuously without deviation & as a result they quickly became endowed with every sort of prosperity

Do we see the parallels in our lives?

Thoughts? #gameoflife