Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The clouds gather in the sky and they disperse because of the breeze. So also, problems of the world gather and separate out if the conditions are favourable. It is not easily possible for any one to forecast the result of a particular action. It is also not possible for anyone to say what shape things will take as time passes. Everything, in a way, depends on time. Time is a form of God. In that context, we should try and do all our work in such a way that it will be of benefit to us in appropriate time. After the battle of Mahabharatha was over and when Dharmaraja got the privilege of ruling over Bharath, Krishna noticed that Dharmaraja always had a serious countenance. At that time, Krishna asked Dharmaraja why he was so sorry and dejected when he attained victory in the battle and became the unquestioned king. Then Dharmaraja replied, “Oh, Krishna! For the benefit of one individual, it is a great sin to kill so many others. In that context, to have killed and destroyed gurus, brothers, cousins and friends is a great sin committed by me. Even if I suffer hell for millions of years, my sin will not be atoned. I have been responsible for the death of so many people. What is the happiness that I can enjoy by giving pain and trouble to so many others? Only an individual who gives happiness to others and enjoys happiness himself can be a sacred individual. One who gives pain to others and enjoys happiness is indeed a great sinner.” When Dharmaraja replied thus, Krishna laughed and said, “Oh, Dharma-raja, you talk like an ignorant man. It is the Dharma of a king to destroy evil and give prosperity to the people in the kingdom. It is your responsibility to keep your kingdom safe and happy. The prosperity of your people is in your hands. While fulfilling such a task, there is always a justification in punishing those who go against you.” Dharmaraja knew all the Sastras and the Vedas and Krishna was surprised to find that, in spite of his learning, Dharmaraja permitted himself to lapse into a mood of distress. He advised Dharmaraja that to get over his sorrow, he should perform the Aswamedha Yaga. Dharmaraja was surprised and asked Krishna, “If you wash mud with water, will not the water also become muddy? If you wash a pot, which is used to store liquor; by using liquor, will the unsacredness of the pot disappear? In order to get rid of the sorrow that I have got by committing sin, should I perform Yaga in which I have to again kill? I am not interested in the kingdom nor am I interested in performing the yaga. In fact, I do not even want this body, give me permission to leave this body.” Krishna realised that Dharmaraja was in a state of total frustration, and he told Arjuna that they should both go and see Bhishma who is in the last stages of his life. Krishna called all the other Pandavas and along with Droupadi, they went to see Bhishma.

As soon as he saw the Pandavas and Krishna, Bhishma was overjoyed. Bhishma summoned the Pandavas close to him and was expressing his happiness. Addressing Dharmaraja, he said, “How fortunate are we that the almighty Lord has taken human form and is moving amongst us.” The Pandavas were sometimes under the illusion that Krishna was only a relative of theirs, and in the context of such a relationship, Krishna, though he was God, was regarded as an ordinary human being. We frequently suffer from such an illusion. It is not possible for anyone to easily understand the leelas of God. God’s actions cannot be comprehended and easily described. This is beyond human thought and mind. Truly, when divinity appears in human form, we think that he is like an ordinary human being and assess him in comparison with an ordinary human being. Bhishma was very pleased that he had the unique fortune of having Krishna’s presence at that time. He said, “Truly, the words of God always represent truth and, whatever he does is an act of dharma. His words constitute truth and his actions constitute dharma. There is nothing in this world which he wants or which he has to do. All actions of his are undertaken for the good of the people. Our duty is to do what he asks us to do without question. We have no right or the capacity to question or enquire into the actions of the Lord. Can anyone decide or lay down principles as to how small children should conduct themselves or play? Small children have no selfishness and ego. They can smile, play or cry just as they like. In the same manner, Paramatma who is above gunas is like a small baby. No one has the right or authority to decide or lay down as to how he should conduct himself. Whatever he does, it is for our good. In the eyes of God, there are no differences between one and another. In this context, he neither gets angry nor pleased. The Pandavas did not fight the battle, nor did they plan the battle. Victory cannot be ascribed to them. Krishna is the one who made them fight and achieve victory. It is very difficult to understand his leelas. At least from now on, realise this truth, overcome your sorrow, be happy and realise your part and your duty.” Arjuna also was telling Krishna that it is better to beg for food and live than to achieve victory by killing all those who are near and dear. Krishna, in a prophetic manner addressing Arjuna said, “What is ordained by fate is inescapable. Justice will be done, victory will go to the righteous ones. Truth will survive. Selfishness will be destroyed. This is the dharma of all times. Know now that a father, who had a hundred sons, has not got even one son left to do the last rites for this dead body.” Here we see that Krishna had a master plan in which he has all our lives under control. He looks after all of us and has control over the past, present and future. In that context, Krishna told Arjuna that what is ordained had to be done. There is no escape. At that time, Bhishma was advising Dharmaraja as to how and in what manner a king should look after his people, how he should be a good king and so on. He was also telling him how he should conduct himself according to the Varnasrama Dharma and through what steps man should realise divinity. When Krishna was preaching such sacred things, several experienced rishis also came to listen to him. While such sacred teachings were being given by Bhishma in a peaceful manner, Droupadi laughed loudly. This was very unbecoming of her, and the Pandavas felt hurt and ashamed and also angry to a certain extent. All other rishis felt very surprised, but no one understood why she laughed. Krishna was the only person who knew the reason for this. The Pandavas angrily stared at her. Bhishma called Droupadi in a loving manner and addressing Dharmaraja he said, “Droupadi would never laugh without reason. She has a very sacred heart. She will never do anything disrespectful when talking to elders. She always conducts herself with great humility. Let her explain why she laughed loudly.” He called Droupadi and told her that if she explained why she laughed, her husbands will be satisfied. Addressing Bhishma, she said, “It is necessary for you to teach dharma to those who have moved away from the path of dharma. The advice you have just been giving is very necessary for people who have taken the wrong path and who suffer from ego and pride. All this preaching is not necessary for my husbands who have been leading righteous, sincere and honest lives, showing respect to elders. Why is it that you did not preach these things to the Kauravas when they humiliated me and behaved in an unjust manner?” Bhishma then responded by saying, “Droupadi has asked a valid question.

Having lived with the cruel and wicked Kauravas and having eaten their food, all my blood was contaminated. All the dharmic principles were buried deep under such blood. When your husband shot me with an arrow, all the bad blood had flown out and the dharmic principles are now coming up.” The meaning and moral of this story is that the kind of food we take will determine the kind of thoughts and the kind of blood that will form in us. Even people who are basically good will have bad thoughts if they eat unsacred food. That is why we say that the kind of food that we take will determine the kind of thoughts that we get, and the kind of thoughts we get will determine our conduct. While Bhishma was preaching the need for sacred conduct, uttarayana had set in. Bhishma was waiting for nearly fifty-six days for this sacred time. He looked at the divine and compassionate face of Krishna. Bhishma’s eyes met those of Krishna. He was addressing him and saying, “Oh, God in human form, who lives in Dwaraka, you have the capacity to grant birth to people, sustain them and bring about their end; you have assumed various Avatars to take care of your devotees.” Saying thus, Bhishma gave up his life. By this praise and description from Bhishma, once again the Pandavas realised that Krishna was indeed divine. Even earlier, they realised his divine nature, but being under the influence of maya, sometimes they used to regard him as their brother-in-law rather than as a divine person. This maya makes people do various things, both good and bad. Truly, if the Pandavas were not subjected to such maya, they would not have been able to experience Krishna for such a long time. If they readily recognised Krishna as God, they would not have done all that they had actually done because of ignorance. Divinity always brings about unions and separation. Man’s actions are influenced by attachment. Here, attachment should be interpreted as desire to have something. For this, the basis is generally a worldly desire. For such desires, the sensory organs are important. However much is your experience, you will want to have more and more. Whatever the extent of experience it may be, you are not satisfied. Here, in order to get detachment, the only process is one of sacrifice. This is something that is closely connected with good company. This good company has got certain ancillaries like good ideas, good habits, etc. To recognise human nature, the proper path is to move on from a state of attachment to a state of vairagya and from there to a state of love. You should have attachment towards the Lord and detachment towards the world. The reason for this is that the entire world is just transient. Whether it is in sorrow or pleasure, joy or pain, we should be able to think of God with an equal mind. Such a quality should be developed by us. Bhishma was an individual who knew very well the sanctity of such an equalmindedness.

On one occasion, during the war, one of Bhishma’s arrows hit Arjuna and the blood that was flowing out of Arjuna’s body was dripping on Krishna. The entire body of Krishna was drenched in blood. When Arjuna saw this, he was under the illusion that Krishna was really suffering. As a result of his love towards Krishna, Arjuna became somewhat weak and dejected. Krishna, immediately realised this and said, “Arjuna! Why are you so weak? Will you carry on the fight or shall I carry on the fight?” Saying this, Krishna jumped out of the chariot. He announced that he would kill Bhishma and got down from the chariot. Then Bhishma said, “When you leap and jump out from the chariot, the gold and diamond rings on your ears are shining brilliantly. The radiance is beautiful and fills the whole space.” Bhishma prayed that the same Krishna who came to kill him should save him. Such was the equanimity and equal-mindedness of Bhishma. We should see here also that when Krishna was coming to kill him, Bhishma did not pray to Rama or Shiva to save him. He prayed to Krishna himself. His faith was so firm that he believed that Krishna was the one who would save or kill. No one else had the capacity to do this. When this situation came, there was a great transformation in Arjuna. The reason for this is that at the beginning, Krishna said that he would not fight in the war but would only be a charioteer. Arjuna was worried that if Krishna now participated in the battle, his word would lose its value. Arjuna then immediately resumed fighting, so that he would not be the cause of dishonour to Krishna. As soon as Krishna saw this, he agreed and said that he pretended as if he was going to fight so that he can get back Arjuna into the fight. Whatever the Lord does, he does it with a purpose. He never does anything to deceive others or put up a show. We generally do not try and recognise our own faults, and we make an effort to find fault even with God. However much you may try, you can never find fault with or a blemish in God. His heart is clean and his ideas are sacred. As we see our own image in a mirror, we see our own faults in God. We should realise that God is like a clean and pure mirror. Whatever you see in the mirror, all those are your faults and not those of God. For the protection of people in the world, God takes a human form from time to time. Bhishma recognised the truth that Krishna was God, and as a result of that recognition, he was showing up the Pandavas as ideal human beings for the rest of the world. Bhishma Stotras, the praise of the Lord by Bhishma, have been giving strength to the Pandavas.

Krishna had always been telling people that divinity exists in everyone and that the omnipresent divinity is the same in all creation. He, in that manner, taught them to give up jealousy, ego and such qualities. Jealousy and ego are demoniac qualities that come in the way of man’s spiritual progress. Only when we can eliminate jealousy and ego can we call ourselves true human beings. There is no objection to desiring and asking for what you want, but you should not feel jealous of what others have. By teaching the gopis and gopalas in this manner, he was showing them the divine path. Krishna’s sacred leelas are infinitely deep and not understandable. Unless you learn the significance of these teachings and put them into practice, all this description of Krishna’s qualities would be a waste. Krishna used to look upon all the creation with an equal mind. Here, you might get a doubt as to how he undertook to kill and exterminate forty lakhs of the Kauravas army, if indeed he looked upon all creation with an equal mind.

There is an example for this. If there is a cancerous growth in your body, you will find a large number of germs and bacteria in the wound. This is a condition, as a result of which, the entire body may deteriorate and become cancerous. At that time, a doctor will decide to cut away or amputate that part of the body that has become cancerous. Under those conditions, what is important is that the person should be operated upon and the doctor will decide the course of action. He will not worry about the lakhs of germs that are present in the cancerous growth. The alternatives are: is it good to perform the operation and save the patient or is it good to cancel the operation thinking that thereby, he will save millions of germs? Since these germs are going to cause more trouble to many other people by infection, it is necessary to kill them. This same dharma was followed by Krishna. This is to say that the world had a boil of cancer in the Kauravas. As a result of the action of the Kauravas, the world came to a situation where there was adharma and unjustness, and the world itself would have been destroyed. At that time, Krishna realised that the disease had crossed all limits and he got ready for the operation. Here he accepted the Pandavas as the compounders and he performed the operation in the form of a war. In this operation, the forty lakhs of germs in the form of Kauravas and their supporters were killed. This act is for the prosperity and the good of the world. This was not done for a selfish interest. Krishna said in the very beginning that the Kauravas were born to bring disrepute and harm to a royal family. To this situation, Suta’s son Karna added fuel. On top of this, there is the further aggravation caused by the wicked Sakuni. This forest fire has spread all over and now there is no solution other than an avalanche of arrows. The kind of fire is such that it is going to destroy the entire forest. A fire that has spread everywhere cannot be extinguished with a small quantity of water. There must now be a downpour of arrows for the sake of peace and the good of the world. Whatever God does, he does it for our own good. It is necessary for us to recognise and accept that all actions of God are indeed for our good only.