Vedic Wisdom Talks

Truth! When King Brhadratha enquired about her identity, Jarā disclosed that she was creation of Brahmā named Grha-devi, the goddess presiding over households of humans. She said-I give great prosperity to those who paint my picture on wall & worship me with devotion & as because you worship me in palace temple, I favored you. Normally I devour bodies, but I joined 2 halves out of curiosity & when the child came to life, I spared him so that your long-cherished desire would be fulfilled The King named his son Jarāsandha & held a grand festival in honor of Jarā. Soon Jarāsandha became a very powerful youth & his father made him king to retire in forest along with his wives to perform austerities Krsna continued-Yudhisthira, because Jarāsandha is practically unconquerable on battlefield even by demigods, I recommend challenging him to a single combat with bare hands. For this purpose, I’d like Bhima & Arjun to accompany me to Magadha region. I’m sure if Bhim...

  Hitting the nail!   Yudhisthira said to Krsna-How will we kill Jarāsandha? Bhima interjected-Let me, Sri Krsna & Arjun attack Jarāsandha. Even if we aren’t powerful enough to defeat him, I believe that because of Krsna’s mercy & intelligence, we’ll still come out victorious   Krsna said-Since 88 kings are already imprisoned by Jarāsandha, we should immediately go & fight with him. Even if we are defeated, we’ll gain tremendous pious credit. And if we win, Yudhisthira would be the Emperor of World   Yudhisthira became upset when Krsna mentioned possibility of defeat. He said-My Lord! I cannot bear to live without you, Bhima & Arjun. Let us give up idea of fighting with Jarāsandha & performing Rājasuya Yagya. It is too risky!   Arjun said-Brother, don’t think of us to be impotent eunuchs. Heroism is quality of a Kshatriya & so we must not hesitate to fight Jarāsandha & thus become cowards. Krsna was pleased to hear this & praised ...

  When in doubt!   Maharāj Yudhisthira contemplating about whether to take up the Rājsuya sacrifice or not, took shelter of Sri Krsna, meditating upon His lotus feet with concentration. He was confident that Krsna, being the omniscient, omnipotent & omnipresent Supreme Personality of Godhead, was the fit person to make the final decision regarding performance of sacrifice. He thus sent a messenger to Dvārka inviting Krsna to Indraprastha   After receiving the message, Sri Krsna immediately mounted His chariot & set out. When He arrived at Indraprastha, Yudhisthira received him with great joy & affection. Krsna first went to see his aunt, Queen Kunti & then had very jovial conversation with His intimate friend, Arjun. After he rested, King Yudhisthira approached him & said-I’d like to perform the Rājsuya sacrifice. At the same time, I’m hesitant because I know that this sacrifice can only be successfully performed by a ruler who is worshiped all over th...

  Decision making!   Nārada said to Yudhisthira-When I met your father Pāndu at Yamarāj’s assembly hall, he asked me to convey message to you-If you & your brothers conquer all other rulers of earth & then perform Rājsuya sacrifice, it will enable him to be promoted to the planet of Indra   Yudhisthira, if you like I can convey your reply to your father, said Nārada. My advice is that you endeavor to fulfill his wish. If you do so, you’ll also obtain exalted destination after death, as will your ancestors. However, there are obstacles to perform Rājsuya sacrifice. There are Brahma-Rāksasas who look for even the slightest fault in sacrificial performance & finding one, cause a great war to even destroy earth. Nārada then left with his associates to go to Dvārka to see Sri Krsna   Pāndavās after listening to above, could only think about Rājsuya Yagya and nothing else, & lost all peace of mind. They discussed with their ministers the possibility of perf...

Intent & content!   Sri Nārada gave details of assembly hall of Kuvera, built by Lord of wealth himself. When Kuvera sits in this hall, he is surrounded by his 1000 wives. Lord Shiva often comes there along with Pārvati & other associates, just to visit his friend. The great mountains, headed by Meru, worship Kuvera in their personified forms. This hall is attached to sky & so can go anywhere floating in air   Nārada said to Yudhisthir-In Satya-yuga, I met Sun god, Adityā. After visiting assembly hall of Lord Brahmā, Adityā came to earth in human form & I happened to meet him. He described wonders of Lord Brahmā’s assembly hall & I became curious to see it. But he explained that it takes a particular vow to be executed for 1000 years to qualify for seeing it. Thus, I went to Himalayas to execute austerities & upon its completion, Adityā came again before me   Sun god escorted me to Brahmalok & then took me on a guided tour of the assembly hall,...

  Real well-being! Q. Why in world there is suffering? A. There is suffering as the main problem is that we are avoiding the cause of : birth, old age, disease & death. We are talking about all different kind of nonsense but not addressing the real cause of us being in the perpetual cycle of birth & death & not finding how to come out of this. People are misguided & they are kept in darkness by the material propaganda. Let us start giving them some light. We are soul which is eternal & not this body Q. Yes, but apart from giving spiritual enlightenment, are you also concerned about people's physical well-being? A. Physical well-being automatically follows spiritual well-being. If we are spiritually well situated, we would be materially happy too. The Supreme Lord has given enough for everyone's need but not enough for one person's greed Q. And how does that work? A. Suppose you have a car. So naturally you take care of the car as well as yourself. But yo...

    Questions!   Sri Nārada further asked Maharāj Yudhisthira: Has your study of the ritualistic portions of the Vedas, your knowledge of the philosophical portions of scriptures, your acquisition of wealth & your married life proven fruitful?   Yudhisthira said-My dear sage, how can a person understand if these 4 things have borne fruit?   Sage replied-Study of the Vedas bears fruit when one performs abundant sacrifices. Knowledge of philosophical portions of scriptures bears fruit when it results in humility & good behavior. Wealth bears fruit when one enjoys it or gives in charity. A wife bears fruit when she renders service to her husband & produces children   Yudhisthira bowed his head to worship sage’s lotus feet & while doing so promised to act as he has been directed. The sage said-A King who passes his days earnestly protecting the four social orders (Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya & Shudra), lives happily in this life & attai...