Anger made him from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi

"You have thrown me out of this compartment, one day, I will throw you out of my country" - yelled Gandhi when he was humiliated and thrown out of the compartment despite having a first class ticket with him.

There was no personal fight with anyone, he had tickets, he did not break any rule, he had not done any mistake - then, why was he thrown out of the compartment? His mistake was - he was an Indian, and the color of his skin was black. He became the victim of racial discrimination.

That happened when he was in Durban, South Africa in 1893. He was there to fight a case of his client Dada Abdulla, one of the wealthiest Indian merchants in Natal. He took him to the Durban court. There, a European magistrate ordered Gandhi to take off his turban. He refused to do so and left the court.  That was nothing. It was just a beginning of the humiliation and injustice.

One day, he was traveling from Durban to Pretoria. When his train reached Maritzburg station late in the evening, he was ordered to shift from the first class compartment to a van compartment. He had a first class ticket, so he refused. On this, he was thrown out of the compartment with sort of abuses and humiliation.

His color, appearance and origin were mocked. Without any alternative, he had to spend the whole terribly cold night in the dark waiting room without enough cloth with him. That was a horrible experience of humiliation for him.  That behavior of white people angered him. He brooded over the situation throughout the night.

We are taught that any sort of anger is dangerous. But, this is not always true. Anger is nothing but a different form of energy. No energy is good or bad, but its utilization. The presence of anger in you is an indication of the presence of energy in you. And that energy always looks a way out. If it is suppressed, it causes various physical and mental ailments, if it is released abruptly, it causes the social disturbances.

But, when this energy is channelized, an amazing work can be taken from it. Gandhi used that energy for a great reform. He changed his anger into resolution. He chose to fight against the racial discrimination, which was taking place in South Africa on Indians. He found the channel to release his anger which was justifiable in the eyes of human rights.

In 1896, he came to India for a short time and gathered 800 people to help him in South Africa. He left for South Africa with those people. When he reached South Africa, the white people attacked him with bricks, eggs, and slogans. He was bitten with sticks. He was injured. Despite that, he did not break his resolution; rather that incident intensified his determination.

After fighting for 21 years for the racial discrimination and injustice in South Africa, he sailed back India in 1915. To understand the situation of India, he took a tour of India. When he had returned from South Africa, he was in a well-sewed suit. By observing the situation of Indian during his tour, he decided to use the clothing and lifestyle of the average people. Since then he started wearing a loincloth (Dhoti) and sandals.

He simplified his life in all means. He regulated his food habits. He started observing Brahmacharya, the celibacy. Even he had distant himself from his wife. He did not have any greed for name, fame, post, position, money. He had uplifted himself from all these mean things. His only goal was to make India free from the atrocity and injustice of the British rule. He feared nothing except God.

Due to his selfless service towards the humanity, simple life, and high thought, he was given an honorary title of Mahatma, the great soul, by Rabindra Nath Tagore, the first winner of the 1913 noble prize of literature. For millions of the people, Gandhi was a holy man. However, he did not like the title as it was sounding something special for him while he had viewed himself as an ordinary. 

He was humiliated. That angered him. He recognized the energy in him in the form of anger. He mulled over it and converted the energy of his anger into the resolution. With determination and non-violence, he fulfilled his resolution by making India free from the atrocity of the British rule. That makes a shy Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest influential leaders in the history of the world.

Do you have that irritating parasite of pearl inside you?

Do you know how the pearls are made?  A parasite gets inside the shell and causes irritation, and the oyster throws a sort of enamel around it, and that makes the pearl. The parasite enters inside the shell along with the drop of water of Swati Nakshatra. Without the irritation of the parasite along with the water of the Swati Nakshatra, the process of creating pearl cannot be completed.

If you want to achieve something very great in your life, first of all, you must have that parasite in the form of thought or idea inside you which should keep irritating you to take the action to develop the pearl inside you.

Let the parasite of success and accomplishments enter inside you, you enamel it, after some time, that irritated parasite becomes a pearl, the valuable one. The oyster has no value, the pearl inside it has.

Similarly, your birth as a human body made of bones, flesh and blood have no value until you take one concrete goal in your life and let its parasite enamel the opportunity and convert into a pearl. The people throw the exhausted oyster, but they keep the pearl very safe, they use it as ornaments.

Your body would be exhausted and disintegrated and thrown like an oyster, but the pearl of your wisdom, intellect and deeds would be kept safe, it will keep helping in decorating the lives of millions as an ornament.

कान पकड़ के उठक बैठक - आखिर क्या मतलब है इसका?

आज फिर तुम अपना होम वर्क करके नहीं आये, आज मैं कुछ नहीं सुनने वाला, चलो कान पकड़कर उठक बैठक करो, और कसम खाओ कि आज से होमवर्क पूरा करके लाओगे। याद आया-- स्कूल के मास्टर जी की बात। कम से कम एक बार, सबको कान पकड़कर उठक बैठक, या कान पकड़कर कसम खाने का या आज से मैं यह नहीं करूँगा, कान पकड़ता हूँ - ऐसा मौका तो जरूर आया होगा।

क्या कभी आपने सोचा है कि - कान पकड़कर ही उठक बैठक या कान पकड़ता हूँ, ऐसा नहीं करूँगा, सॉरी, ही क्यों कहा जाता है? आखिर कान पर इतना जोर क्यों दिया जाता है? क्या मतलब है इसका?

हम मनुष्य के पास दो कान और एक मुँह होता है । मुँह से भोजन करना, चबाना, पीना, बोलना, हँसना आदि क्रियाएं की जाती है। मुँह एक और काम अनेक। कान दो है, लेकिन काम सिर्फ एक - श्रवण करना। इसका मतलब जितना हम बोलते है, उसका कम से कम दुगुना हमको सुनना चाहिए। दो कान और एक मुह प्रकृति की बनावट है। प्रकृति का हर एक बनावट महत्वपूर्ण होता है। प्रकृति चाहती है कि हम ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा श्रवण करे।

श्रवण इतना महत्पूर्ण है कि वेद को भी श्रुति बोला जाता है। वेद का ज्ञान अंतरात्मा को सुनने से ही प्राप्त हुई है। जबतक आदमी सुनेगा नहीं, तबतक सीखेगा या समझेगा नहीं। बिना सही से सुने किसी बात पे विचार नहीं हो सकता, तबतक विचार नहीं होगा, नया खोज-बिन नहीं हो सकता, और बिना नया खोज-बिन के विकास संभव नहीं । मनुष्य अज्ञानी के अज्ञानी ही बना रह जायेगा, ज्ञान की प्राप्ति कदापि नहीं हो सकती। जबतक ज्ञान की प्राप्ति नहीं होती, चाहे कोई भी बिषय हो, मनुष्य को आगे बढ़ने का आत्मविश्वास कदापि नहीं आ सकता।

जिस परिवार या समाज में बोलने वाले ज़्यादा होते है, और सुनने वाले कम, उस परिवार या समाज में कभी शांति नहीं रहती , कलह ज़्यादा होता है। जबतक आप एक-दूसरे को सुनेगे नहीं, तबतक एक -दूसरे को समझ नहीं सकते, जबतक समझेगे नहीं तबतक कोई भी समस्याओ का हल नहीं निकल सकता।

श्रवण इतना महत्वपूर्ण है कि भगवत गीता के पहले पाठ में सिर्फ अर्जून बोल रहे है और भगवान श्री कृष्ण सुन रहे है । अर्जून की पूरी दुबिधा पूरी तरह से सुनने और समझने के बाद, श्री कृष्ण ने भगवद गीता का ज्ञान अर्जून को दिये । अर्जून ने भी इसे पूरी तरह से सूने और समझें, तभी तो वह इस ज्ञान रूपी तलवार से अपने सारी दुबिधा के बंधनो को काट डाले, और वही किये जो उस वक्त उचित था।

जब इंसान से बार बार भूल हो रही है, या एक ही गलती को वह बार बार दुहरा रहा है, इसका मतलब यह है कि आदमी काम की बाते कम सुन रहा है, और इधर-उधर की बातें ज़्यादा बोल रहा है। ऐसे में इंसान से गलतियां तो होगी ही।  

जब गलतियां होगी तो मनुष्य अपने बचाव के लिये झूठ का सहारा लेगा। एक झूठ दूसरे झूठ को आमंत्रित करता है।  इस तरह मनुष्य अपने ही बुने हुए झूठ के जाल में फस कर ज़िन्दगी के सारे सुनहरे संभावनों को नष्ट कर देता है। इसके बाद वह अपनी व्यथा सारी दुनिया को सुनाने निकलता है। उसकी तकलीफ और ज़्यादा बढ़ जाती है जब कोई उसको सुनने वाला नहीं मिलता।

शिकायत करना व्यर्थ है - तुमने कभी किसी का सुना है कि तुम्हारा कोई सुनेगा। सुनना बहुत कठिन काम है, और जिसको यह कठिन काम आ गया, समझो वह अपनी जीवन को समझ गया।

इसलिए कोई गलती हो तो हम कान पकड़ते है, ताकि, इस गलती के इशारे को सही से सूने और समझें। सही से समझ जाने पर एक ही गलती की पुनरावर्ती बार बार नहीं होती। 

कान पकड़कर उठक बैठक करना या कान पकड़कर कसम खाना मतलब श्रवण शक्ति पर जोर देना। इसके साथ ही, कान की नाज़ुक नसे मस्तिष्क के तन्तुयो से जुडी होती  है। कान को छूने से, मस्तिष्क की तंतुए सक्रीय हो जाती है। इससे फायदा यह होता है कि  श्रवण शक्ति में इज़ाफ़ा होने के साथ-साथ मस्तिष्क की ग्राह शक्ति भी बढ़ जाती है।

A seed of thought

There are different flowers in one garden. They are flourishing their own way. They have a different color, fragrant and size. The sky is the same, the earth is the same, the wind is the same, the water is the same, the sun is the same, the moon is the same and the gardener is the same for everyone. But the rose is becoming a rose, the jasmine is becoming the jasmine, the marigold is becoming the marigold.

Why is it happening? If all the sources are the same, they should have the same color, the same shape, the same fragrant. But not. All are different. They are growing differently. What is the secret in it?

The secret is in its seed. The seed has the capacity to take the energy of the natural resources and design their own shape, color and fragrant.  The sky, the earth, the wind, water, the sun and moon are equal for everyone. They are continually providing their energy to all living beings. These resources do not force anyone, they do not stop anyone, and even they do not play any role in shaping anyone.  Living beings are absolutely free to take from it according to their basic design and shape their existence.

Humans are same. They have the same sky, earth, sun, moon, wind, water. They are made of the same five elements. But their nature and behavior are not the same. That differs. Some are very successful and living a meaningful life and others are living in destitute despite having the same natural resources which are free for everyone. What does make the different?

Again, the seed. Our thought works as a seed. And the seed of our thought designs the tree of our life. According to the nature of the seed, it takes only those energies which are good for their growth.  The seed of negative tendency draw the negative energy and the seed of the positive tendency draw the positive energy. There is no way, but by changing the seed of the thought, a great tree of life laden with fruits and flowers can be created.

Why is the number 8 associated with Lord Krishna?

 Lord Krishna is the incarnation of lord Vishnu. He is one of the widely revered gods in Hindu pantheon. He is seen as the best lover in Vrindavan and the best strategic in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Whether he is with his Gopis in the middle of the meadow or with his enemies in the middle of the battlefield, one thing is common - his mystic smile on his face. That much of diversity has not been seen in any other incarnation of lord Vishnu.

If you observe, you will find that lord Krishna is associated number 8.

He is the 8th incarnation of lord Vishnu

His is the 8th sons of Devaki and Vasudeva

He took birth on the 8th day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha

Krishna had mainly eight wives, he is called Ashtabharya(Ashta = eight, bharya = wife).

He had 16100 gopis (1 + 6 + 1 = 8)

He had 80(8 + 0 = 8) sons from his 8 wives.

He lived for 125 (1+2+5 = 8) years.

Let us understand the significant of associating of number 8 with lord Krishna.

In numerology, the number 8 represents infinity and everything good in the universe which is infinite. It is the number of supplying of infinity and abundance without any lack - infinite wisdom, infinite prosperity, infinite love, infinite joy, and infinite happiness. In other words - it is the number of the completeness and unending abundance.

The number 8 have no ending and it loops back itself. No one knows where it starts and where it ends. Like number 8, no one knows what is hidden in the mystic smile of lord Krishna. Like infinity, lord Krishna cannot be understood.

There are 8 Rasas or emotions of drama (love, humor, sadness, anger, courage, fear, horror, and wonder). Lord Krishna is the master of Raslila. The science of Yoga has eight limbs, the ashtanga yoga or the eight-limbed yoga. The ashtanga yoga is the considered the complete yoga. And he is known as Yogiraj . The best form of salutation to the deity is considered the eight-fold salutation (shashtanga namakaskaram). He is that deity.

There are 8 forms of Laxmi. Laxmi is the consort of lord Vishnu. The persons who have got the blessings of these eight forms of Laxmi, he is considered a complete man. These eight forms of Laxmi are the eight Shaktis of Lord Vishnu. And in Krishna incarnation, these eight Shaktis became his eight wives. He is Pati (husband) of these eight forms. Pati means owner. That means - he is the owner of the completeness and infinity.

He is considered a complete incarnation of lord Vishnu. He is above of all the finite existence. He is above of all duality - pain or pleasure, happiness and distress, victory or defeat, love or hatred. He is the complete. He is a knower of the infinity. And the knower of the infinity, never bewildered with finite and its upheaval. His mystic smile expresses that. The number 8 is the best-suited indication of his personality.

What do you do with your spare time and energy?

Sohan was expressing his view to his friend, Mandeep - "I want to do many things in my life, but I am not getting time for anything significant. Nothing great is taking place in my life, which is frustrating me." Mandeep also expressed his consent saying - "you are true, time is flying like anything, I also want to do many things, but unable to manage my time for any significant work." They discussed and accepted that they cannot get time for any significant work.

Next day, they found discussing the movie which was released recently and they were giving their review in it. And sometimes, they were fighting in the name of their favorite actors and their movies. They spent hours on the unnecessary discussion. They did not realize that those discussions are absolutely unnecessary in their life, it is no way related to anything else. That is just wastage of time.

Another day, they were found on discussing politics in which they did not know much. When they found alone, they were busy in social media apps. And reading and thinking about those things, which validity is in question. In this way, they were wasting their valuable time in those things which did not make any positive changes in their personality.

This is not a matter of Sohan and Mandeep, this is the story of many of us. We want to do many significant things in our life, but give the excuse of nonavailability of time and energy. The significant result cannot be attained in life, by wasting time and energy on something insignificant.

If you observe and calculate your time and energy, you will find that you never lacked the time and energy for doing something great in your, but you failed to recognize the wastage of your time and energy on those things which did not give anything in return except irritation, frustration, worry, anxiety, and tension.

When you lose your time and energy on unnecessary things, and when you realize, you get nothing but the frustration.

Most of us waste our 90% of the time in 90% unnecessary things, which is absolutely have no value in our life except adding the negative trait in our personality. It is very important to keep the account of your time and energy where you spend and why. It is far more important than keeping the account of your money where you spend. The lost money can be earned, but not the lost time and energy. The usage of your spare time and energy is the deciding factor of your personality and success.

From Slave to Salvation

If you observe carefully, you will find that everything, visible and non-visible, from sub-atomic particles to gigantic stars, is struggling for the freedom. Moon is struggling to come out from the orbit of the earth. The earth is struggling to come out from the orbit of the sun. The sun is continually running away to get the freedom.

No one wants bondage. Freedom is a natural quest for all living beings. Be happy, be happy and be happy. But, how can the happiness be attained without freedom? We generally do the mistake of understanding a temporary pleasure as happiness.

A Human sees an opposite sex and attached to that. Instantly, he becomes a slave of sex. He surrenders to it. He is a slave of intoxication. He says no to intoxication in the beginning, but with a little persuasion, he consumes it. He is the slave of money. He is a slave of fame and name. He is a slave of maintaining his social status. He is a slave of his conditioned mind. He is a slave of his unbridled senses. 

Until and unless you become the master of your mind and senses, you cannot get the freedom from anything in this world. Every time and everywhere your mind and senses make you be a prey of the circumstances. Human is entangled everywhere. He is surrounded by the slavery. When his slavery is appreciated in one or another form, he gets temporary pleasure. From the next day, he is the same slave carrying the burden of the world in his mind in order to maintain his superficial imagined self-image.

 For the absolute happiness, an absolute freedom is required. But question arises – is, really, such kind of freedom possible to experience an absolute happiness?

All the living and celestial beings are bound by the Karma. They cannot do but to attach to whatever the role has been given to them or designed for them. A lion can do nothing but to hunt, he cannot learn and make a nest like birds. A mango tree is programmed to produce mango, nothing else. The moon has no choice, but to revolve around the earth and the earth has no choice, but to revolve around the sun. But, this is not the case with the human body and mind.

Humans have the potential to get the freedom. The ultimate purpose of the soul is to get freedom from all kind of bondage created by different kinds of the influences of the mind. As a human, you should have freedom to choose your own thought.

You should have a choice over what you should do and what not according to your personality and temperament. You must be free and strong enough to reject the influence of the thought of others on you. You must be free to choose the lifestyle the way you want, not something imposed by someone. 

You must be free from fear of losing something in your life. You must hold your mind free to flow the supernatural thoughts in it.  Cut the strings of the various bondages and limitations of your life with the sword of knowledge to fulfill the sworn of the complete freedom of human life. You must be free to choose the life the way you want without caring for the initial obstructions.

Be whatever you want to be in your life, but do not bind or identify yourself with anything temporary. Not identifying you with anything external is the sign of freedom. The moment you bind yourselves with your wealth, post, position, name and fame, you become the slave.  And the food of happiness is never served on the plate of the slaves.

Strive for the freedom from the various bondages created in your life with your conditioned mind. Only the freedom gives the nectar of happiness and opens the door to salvation.

Why does Yamaraja ride the buffalo?

Yamaraja, the god of death, with red eyes, club, and a noose in his hands riding on his mount buffalo starts walking towards the mortals to take their life to his abode, Yamalok to make their Karmic account settle.

The moment a Jiva-Atma takes birth on the earth, the Yama riding on his slow vehicle buffalo starts his journey to reach him. Jiva-Atma means, the soul wrapped with a mortal body. The soul gets the mortal body for a certain period of time. You have only that much of time until Yamaraja reaches you.

Yamaraja is the first mortal died on the earth. He lived on the earth very piously in his mortal body.  Due to this virtue, he was made the god of deaths. The direction of death and ancestors is south. And he is the Dikpal, the guardian, of the south. Although, he is a god, yet he is feared even more than the demons. He waits for none. He spares no one. He is the time, the Kaal.

Whether mortals want or not, fear or not, everyone, without any alternative, meets Yama sooner or later. The tickling sound of the watch is the reminder of the presence of Yama. Along with the tickling of time, the Yama is coming near to us. Whether humans would meet other gods or goddesses or not, that is not certain, but meeting Yama is certain. People fear the certainty and embarrass the illusion. The biggest illusion is - everyone dies, not me.

Every god and goddesses are given some certain vehicles. Durga has a lion, Ganesha has a rat, Shiva has bull etc. Every vehicle of gods and goddesses has a certain meaning. Yamaraja is given a vehicle, buffalo. Why buffalo...? Why not other animals...?

Buffalo is the symbol of Tamasic quality, the ignorance. Buffalo is so ignorant that he lies over his own dung. The human body is the best body for the soul for acquiring the divine knowledge. It is the best opportunity to be Divya-Atma from Jiva-Atma. But, due to the unbridled senses, humans involve in those activities which are not better than animals. We forget the ultimate reality, the death. We forget that we are here on this earth for a certain period of time. We forget that we have to die one day. We forget that our body is transitory. We ignore the permanent (soul) and cling to the temporary and transitory (matter). This binds our soul in lower Karmic bondage.

Yama rides buffalo to take you to his abode, the hell, and punish your ignorance. After ample punishment, he releases and gives you another opportunity to take birth again to remove your ignorance and make your soul free from Karmic bondage. Buffalo is a reminder of the ignorance, and the club and the noose are the reminders of the punishment of the ignorance. There is certain hell for the people of tamasic quality.  The buffalo(Tamasic) only knows the path of hell.

The buffalo walks slow and with the same speed. It is the symbol of time. The time runs equally for everyone.  One who came out of the ignorance and acquired the knowledge of reality within the allotted time is said a person of Sattvic quality.

It is said that one who is of Sattvic quality, the divine quality, who has known the self, Yama directly send him to the abode of shining, that is heaven. He would be out time and ignorance (buffalo). And those who are out of time do not take birth and death again and again. They always remain out of reach of Yama. According to the scriptures, that state is called salvation, the free from the continuous cycle of birth and death. 

This is the logical reason why Lord Brahma is not worshipped

In Hinduism, Lord Brahma is the first god of the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh). He is the creator of the universe. But, he is not worshipped as Lord Vishnu and Shiva. There is only one temple dedicated to him, which is the Pushkar temple of Rajasthan. And many temples are dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva. There is no corner of India where there are no temples of Vishnu and Shiva.

Even his consort goddess Saraswati is remembered and worshipped more than him. He is depicted as worried, tensed, old and alone. 

The entire universe is created by him, still, he is alone and secluded! Why so…? Why is he depicted old, worried and secluded? Why is the god of creation not worshipped? Why does he not get the respect and position in the Hindu pantheon, what he should get as a creator? Why is the originator of four Vedas ignored? Even knowers of the Vedas are worshipped and respected more than its originator, Lord Brahma.

Brahm knowledge is considered the highest knowledge. All the penance, yoga, and meditation are performed for acquiring the Brahm knowledge. One side, people aspire to have Brahm-knowledge and another side, Lord Brahma is ignored. Why this contradicts?

According to a Hindu mythological legend – Along with the creation of the universe, Lord Brahma created a female deity known as Shatarupa, one who can acquire a hundred forms. Brahma had only one head when he had started creating the universe. Later, due to this female deity, he got five heads.

Shatarupa was so beautiful that Brahma became completely infatuated with her and stared at her wherever she went. This is not a divine quality to persuade his own creation like this. Shatarupa was embarrassed by this attention and intention and tried to escape his gaze, but in every direction that she moved, Brahma sprouted a new head until he had developed four.

This frustrated her, and in order to escape herself from his gaze, the desperate Shatarupa jumped high in the sky. To continue his gaze, the fifth head was sprouted at the top of his other four heads.

He showed his lordship on her. This unholy behaviour and an extra attachment to the created things of Lord Brahma angered Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva admonished him and chopped his fifth head as a punishment for his unacceptable behaviour of the creator towards his creation.

Brahma was attached to the created things(temporary) by ignoring the soul(permanent). He became materialistic than spiritual. The resultant, Lord Shiva cursed Brahma not to be worshipped.

And the second legend says – there was competition between Brahma and Vishnu to prove who is greater between them, and who should be worshipped first. In order to win this competition, Lord Brahma spoke a lie and tried to trick Lord Vishnu. On seeing this, lord shiva appeared and chopped his fifth head of Brahma and cursed him not be worshipped.

These are the mythological reasons why Brahma is not worshipped. Now, Let us understand its logical reason.

Whenever nature wants to manifest herself time to time, she chooses someone among us as an instrument. Nothing belongs to us whether it is created by us or by someone. Nothing can be created outside of nature. Therefore, every creation belongs to nature, not to someone. We are just a medium.

You can create something, but its possession is not in your hand. Nature provides her shelter to everyone for a certain period of time. Showing unnecessary proprietary over it gives nothing but miseries, worries, tension, anxiety and suffering. That is what lord Brahma did after the creation of the universe and Shatarupa and started showing his possession over it. This is the quality of Jiva of low birth, not a person of a divine quality.

Lord Brahma is highly attached to his creation. I have created this world, I am the owner of this world, everything belongs to me, everything should work according to me- this is the attitude of Lord Brahma. And when something does not work according to your thought, you become worried, stressed and tensed.

No one wants to be controlled by anyone. Even your own offspring does not want to be an excessive control from you. Brahma tries to control everyone and everything, and hence, no one wants to be in the association with him. That is the reason of Lord Brahma being appeared stressed, worried, old and secluded.

Another reason is – Lord Brahma is exhausted energy, Vishnu is active energy and Shiva is the passive energy. Lord Brahma`s work is done, he(the creation) is the past now. Vishnu(the maintainer) is the present and Shiva(the Destructor) is the future. People care for the present and the future, not the past. This psychology of people makes Lord Brahma to be ignored.

A person made of flesh and bone is not respected or worshipped rather his quality, behaviour, post, position and power are respected or worshipped.

एक महामूर्ख बना महाज्ञानी

एक गाँव में पप्पू नामक एक यूवक रहता था । उसको लोग महामूर्ख समझते थे । जो भी कुछ बोलता था, उसपर लोग हँस देते थे, उसका मजाक उड़ाते थे । बोलता था, तो भी उसका मजाक उड़ता था, न बोले तो भी लोग उसपर हँसते थे। कुछ करे तो भी मुसीबत, ना करे तो भी मुसीबत। लोगो ने उसका जीना हराम कर दिये थे । हँसे तो समस्या, रोये तो समस्या । करे तो क्या करे, बोले तो किससे बोले। ना कोई सुनने वाला, ना कोई समझने वाला ।

सामान्यतया, लोगो को दूसरो में गलती ढूढने और उसका मजाक बनाने में बहुत आनंद आता है । दरअसल, ऐसे लोग अपनी गलती छुपाना चाहते है। यदि कोई व्यक्ति अक्सर कोई दूसरे व्यक्ति का बुराई या मजाक बना रहा है, तो इससे यह निष्कर्ष निकलता है कि वह व्यक्ति स्वयं ही बहुत से बुराइयों से भरा हुआ है । कोई उसका बुराई ना परख ले, इसके पहले वह दूसरे की बुराई और निंदा में लिप्त हो जाता है । बुराई - बुराई को ही ढुढता है, और अच्छाई- अच्छाई को । अगर आप बुराईयो  से भरे हो तो, आप दूसरे में अच्छाईया  देख ही नहीं सकते।

पप्पू बहुत ही परेशान रहने लगा। लोगो से बचने लगा। इस उपाय की खोज में, एक सन्यासी के आश्रम में गया, और अपनी व्यथा सुनाई। सन्यासी बोला - गाँव जाओ, और जब भी कोई कुछ बोले, तुम बिना सोचे- समझे उसका उल्टा बोलना । अगर कोई बोले - चाँद सुन्दर है, तुम बोलना - खाक चाँद सुन्दर है, देखो कितना दांग है उसमे । कोई सुंदरता की बात करे तो तुम दांग की बात करना । कोई शांति की बात करे तो तुम दंगे की बात करना।  कोई बोले की भगवान है, तो तुम बोलना भगवान नहीं है। कोई जिद्द करे तो बोलना - सिद्ध करके दिखाओ । भगवान नहीं है, यह सिद्ध करना आसान है, लेकिन भगवान है, यह सिद्ध किया ही नही जा सकता, क्योकि भगवान को  आखो से देखा नही जा सकता। जो आँखों से देखा नहीं जा सकता, उसको सिद्ध करना असंभव-सा है।

कुछ सकारात्मक सिद्ध करने के लिए, तपस्या की जरूरत होती है, प्रयास करनी पड़ती है, मेहनत की आवश्यकता होती है, खोज-बीन करनी पड़ती है। लेकिन, नकारात्मक सिद्ध करने के लिए कुछ नहीं करना पड़ता है, बस सवाल पे सवाल करते जाओ।

कोई बोले की ऑक्सीजन है, तो तुम  बोलना कि ऑक्सीजन नहीं है, अगर है तो दिखाओ। पीछे बिलकुल नहीं हटना, डट जाना, निर्लज्ज हो जाना, पीछे पड़ जाना कि सिद्ध करो। देखना - लोग तुमसे भागना शुरू कर देंगे । और ऐसा ही हुआ । वह जिस रास्ते से जाता था, लोग रास्ता बदल देते थे कि कौन मुसीबत ले इससे। अगर कोई मिल जाये तो पूछता था, क्या कर रहो, जवाब मिलने पर बोलता था - क्यों कर रहे हो? लोग परेशांन  होने लगे उससे, लोगो की बोलती बंद कर दिया था वह ।

उसकी चर्चाये चारो ओर होने लगी, उसको ख्याति मिलने लगी। लोग उसको वाद-विवाद प्रतियोगिता में बुलाने लगे। उसको सिर्फ एक ही ज्ञान था कि जो भी कोई कुछ बोले उसका नकारात्मक बोलना है। जब वह बोलता था तो लोगो के पास जवाब ना होता था, लोग एक सकारात्मक बोलते थे, तो वह चार नकारात्मक पॉइंट बोलता था। स्रोता उसको ज्ञानी समझने लगे थे। इसतरह से वह लोगो के नज़रो में महाज्ञानी बन गया ।  

कुछ दिनों के बाद, वह उस सन्यासी से मिलने गया । आगे-आगे वह चल रहा है और पीछे-पीछे लोगो की  भीड़ । एकबार सन्यासी भी आश्चर्य में पड़ गया कि क्या यह वही महामूर्ख है जिसको लोग आज ज्ञानी समझ रहे है । ऐसे ही हमारे समाज के महामूर्ख ज्ञानी बन के  घूम रहे है, और लोग उसकी पूजा कर रहे है। राजा बना के बिठा दिए है, और वह हमपे राज कर रहे है।

Why was the arrow-bed given to Bhishma?

 Arjun confronts invincible Bhishma in the Mahabharata war. Bhishma has a boon from his father, Shantanu - to choose the time of his death. Arjun appears nothing in front of the strength, skill, prowess, experience and boon of Bhishma. Arjun would have been killed by the hand of Bhishma if he was not intervened by Lord Krishna. He is trapped in the net of a well-fabricated trick. And an arrow from the Gandiv of Arjun pierces the heart of a great Bhishma, which always throbs for the welfare of Hastinapur. One after another, the arrows of Arjun pierce the disarmed grandsire.

A roaring lion among the warriors falls down in the battle of Kurukshetra like an old, shadowy big banyan tree. But his body does not touch the earth. His wounded body lies on the arrow-bed. Why arrow-bed…?

Everyone is crying  seeing their grandsire on the arrow ridden bed. He is suffering from the pang of the arrow. But, no one tries to remove the arrows from his body and let him lie on the earth comfortably. He waited 58 days for the auspicious day (Uttaranayan) on the arrow-bed for sacrificing his mortal body. Why could no one do anything despite their love for their grandsire?

According to a legend - he was suffering on the arrow-bed due to the sin he had perpetrated in one of his past lives. He had thrown a snake in the bush of thorn, and the pain of the snake was unbearable. Due to that sin, he was also suffering on the arrow-bed. Similarly, there are many other legends approves his arrow-bed. But, these are not the logical reason for his arrow-bed. Let us try to find what is that empirical reason.

Our body is made of five elements, the Panchbhutah (Earth, fire, water, air and ether), and it subsists on these five elements. The imbalance of any of these five elements makes us sick. These elements come from nature. Nature has given these five elements as a form of body to the soul for a certain period of time. Hence, we are not the owner of the body, but nature.

On the due date, there is no option but to return back those five elements whence it has been taken.  What has been taken from nature, we have to return it back. Nature always kills the old and dilapidated one to create a place for the new one. Any trick with nature has always been a perilous effect.

Bhishma had a boon of choosing the date of his death, which is against the law of nature. The death of the individual is chosen by nature, not by the individuals. Bhishma kept postponing his death, which nature did not like. The earth was not happy with Bhishma. Hence, at the time of death, the earth did not accept the body of Bhishma, and hence, the arrow-ridden death bed was provided to him. There can be violent in nature, but not the violation of its law. Boon becomes a curse when the limitation of the boon is not understood.

What happened to Dhritarashtra after the Mahabharata war?

All the efforts went in vain from all the scholars and elders to reconcile the animosity between Kauravas and Pandavas. Even the effort of Lord Krishna, the embodiment of the Godhead, was not fructified. Instead of reducing the fire of hostility, its flames took an inextinguishable form. At last, an unprecedented war took place between Kauravas and Pandavas over the distribution of the family property. And the great fortune of the Kuru dynasty and prestigious lineage of emperor Bharat became SWAHA in the pit of the fire of hostility. 

Once, the land of Kurukshetra was irrigated by the blood of King Kuru for continuing the incessant supply of food to his subjects. The same bloodline, for quenching their lust and safeguarding their arrogance, converted Kurukshetra into the crematorium.  Lust is like the water of an ocean. The way, the ocean is never filled with the water of all the rivers, the lust is never filled.

At the time of the foundation of the war, the king of Hastinapur was Dhritarashtra.  He was a blind king. This blindness is metaphoric. He was blinded by his extra attachment to his sons and the throne. Without knowing what is good for Hastinapur, who would be the ideal king of Hastinapur after him, he was supporting all the activities of his sons blindly. He could not see the difference between the righteous and unrighteous act, the Dharma and Adharma. He did not care for the welfare of his subjects. He did not have a vision. That is the reason, he is depicted as a blind king.

There is no difference between a blind man and a king without a vision. Whatever is explained to a blind man, he accepts it, because, he does not have any other way to verify it, his belief of the explainer becomes his reality, the same is true for a king without a vision. Without proper guidance, both fall miserably.

Dhritarashtra was always emotionally misguided by his elder son Duryodhan.  In the presence of such king, the annihilation of the kingdom is certain. A war took place, 100 sons of Dhrishtrashtra were killed. Pandavas won the battle. The eldest of Pandavas, Yudhishthira was made a king of Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra was dethroned.  But, what happened to Dhritarashtra after that? Where did he go? And how did he die?

King Yudhisthira respectfully invited the parents of Kauravas in his palace. All the Pandavas were respectful to his  uncle Dhritarashtra except Bhima. Bhima used to keep reminding him the death of his sons. And explaining how callously he killed his sons in the war of Kurukshetra. Even at the time of  food, whenever Dhritarashtra used to eat meat and cracking the bones of meat between his teeth, Bhima used to mock Dhritarashtra – “the same sound I got when I broke the bones of your favorite son Duryodhan”.

That become unbearable for Dhritarashtra, who had lost his kingdom, his sons, his grandsons, his son-in-law, everything. He was a Kshatriya. And for a Kshatriya, dishonor is worse than death. One day, he decided to leave the palace of King Yudhisthira and dwell in the forest. At least, he could die peacefully there. He was accompanied by his wife Gandhari, Sanjay and Pandava`s mother Kunti to the forest.

One day, the same forest was caught by the fire. Sanjay tried to save them by showing the way out of the forest. But Dhritarashtra showed his reluctant to come out of the forest. Instead, he chose to die there in the forest fire. All four sat in a meditative posture in the middle of the forest and their mortal bodies were engulfed by the forest fire.

कबसे सो ही तो रहे हो - जागोगे कब ?

संदीप को कही यात्रा पर जाना था, उसको सुबह की ट्रैन पकड़नी थी। उसको सुबह में देर से उठने की आदत थी। ट्रैन थी सुबह चार बजे की । वह अपने मित्र तारकेश्वर से बोला कि मुझे सूबह नींद से जागा देना, मुझे सुबह चार बजे की ट्रैन पकड़नी है। यह यात्रा बहुत ज़रूरी है मेरे लिए, मैं किसी भी कीमत पर यह ट्रैन मिस नहीं करना चाहता। क्या भरोसा अलार्म बजे और मैं उठ ना पाऊ, इसीलिए मैं आपको बोल रहा हू कि आप मुझे नींद से जागा देना । अगर उठ न पाऊ तो जबरन जगा देना, लेकिन जगा जरूर देना । मित्र ने बात मान ली। 

सुबह हुई, अलार्म बजा, पर संदीप अलार्म  बंद करके फिर से सो गया। तारकेश्वर उसको जगाने गया। संदीप कस के बिस्तर को पकड़ के सो रहा था । ऐसा लग रहा था कि बिस्तर छूटा कि  प्राण निकले । तारकेश्वर उसका नाम पुकारकर जगाने की कोशिश की। मगर संदीप उसे सुनकर भी अनसुना कर दिया। इतना ही नहीं, वह अपने कान के ऊपर तकिया रखकर सो गया, ताकि यह आवाज़ फिर से सुनाई ना दे ।  

तारकेशर उसका  चादर खिंच के उठाने की कोशिश करने लगा, पर वह चादर छोड़ने को तैयार  नहीं, बात सुनाने को तैयार नहीं। उसका हाथ पकड़कर हिलाया, और बोला - भाई, तुम्हारा ट्रैन है, समय से नहीं जागोगे तो ट्रैन छूट जायेगा, तुम अपने गंतव्य पर नहीं पहूँच पयोगे, तुम्हे अपने गंतव्य पर जाना है कि नहीं। उठो भाई, तुम लेट हो जाओगे । 

तुम्हीं बोले थें - नींद से जागा देना, सो तुंझे मैं जागा रहा हू। यह तुम्हारे भले के लिए है। उठने के बजाय तुम तो मुझपे नाराजगी दिखा रहे हो, और पूछ रहे हो की ट्रैन लेट तो नहीं है आज, या रद्द तो नहीं हो गयी, ताकि तुम कुछ घंटे और सो सको। ना ट्रैन लेट है, ना रद्द हुई है, तुम लेट हो। जब इंसान लेट होता है तो सोचता है कि सारी  दुनिया मेरी तरह लेट हो जाये। 

इसी तरह तुम भी गहरे नींद में हो, जाना कही और है, लेकिन तुम तो चादर तान के सो रहे हो। जगना  तो चाहते हो, लेकिन जग नहीं पाते। प्रकृति के अलार्म बजते है, तुम सुन नहीं पाते, चारो तरफ तुम्हारे घटनाएं घट रही है, सब कुछ तुम्हारे आँखों के सामने हो रहा है, तुम उसे अनदेखा, अनसूना कर रहे हो, तुम तो भ्रम रूपी चादर से निकलना ही नहीं चाहते। तुम तो अपनी नींद की अधूरी सपने पूरा करने में लगे हो । होश में आओ, और समझो कि किसी के सपने सोने से नहीं जागने से पूर्ण होते है । 

लेकिन तुम्हारी एक अड़चन है - जो तुम्हे जगाने की कोशिश कर रहा है , तुम उसी को अपना दुश्मन समझ लेते हो, न जाने क्या-क्या अनाप-सनाप बक देते हो। 

जो तुमको चादर उढा  दे, और बोले कि  सोए  रहो, कुछ भी भागा नहीं जा रहा, आज नहीं तो कल चले जाना। लेकिन इस विलास रूपी बिस्तर को हाथ से ना जाने देना।  जो ज़िंदगी है, बस यही है, इससे बढ़कर कही कुछ भी नहीं , यही सुख की सागर बहेगी, बस लेटे रहो। दुनिया इधर से उधर हिल जाये लेकिन तुम इस बिस्तर से न हिलना । जो ऐसा बोल दे, उसके प्यारा और न्यारा इस दुनिया में कोई नहीं है तुम्हारे लिये। 

जो जगाने की कोशिश करे वह तो तुम्हे महा मुर्ख लगता है।  तुम्हें यह ख्याल भी नहीं रहता कि वह तुम्हारे भले के लिए ही जगा रहा है। तुम नींद में हो, तुम्हे नहीं पता कि तुम कुछ पल नींद के लिए, जीवन का ट्रैन मिस कर रहे हो। जब तुम समय से जग नहीं पाते, और तुम्हारा ट्रैन मिस हो जाती है तो उसको कोसते हो जो तुम्हे  जगाने का हर प्रयास किया ।  बिना अपनी पात्रता देखे दूसरे को कोशने में लग जाते हो। 

ख्याल रहे, मनुष्य कि ज़िन्दगी बहुत ही दुर्लभ होती है। संसार की भोग विलासता और इसके चोंका चौन्ध कही तुम्हारी आँखे बंद करके गहरी नींद में सोला ना दे।  इसके पहले देर हो जाये, जग जाओ, और अपने गंतव्य को प्राप्त करो ।