Friday, April 22, 2011

the saint and the soldier

द्वामिवौ पुरुषव्याघ्र सूर्यमण्डलभेदिनौ।
परिव्राड्योगयुक्तश्च रणे चाभिमुखो हतः॥
महाभारते विदुरनीत्यां
dvāmivau puruṣavyāghra sūryamaṇḍalabhedinau|
parivrāḍyogayuktasca raṇe cābhimukho hataḥ||
mahābhārate viduranītyāṁ

Vidura, the great statesman while explaining the science of statecraft and lifestyle management to His elder brother and king Dhritarashtra, praises the greatness of renunciation and valour in war front.
"These two persons reach greater worlds even breaking asunder the orb of the sun, O tiger among men, (1) the saint who has totally renounced the world and at the same time has been endowed with the power of Yoga, and (2) the warrior who makes the supreme sacrifice facing the sharp weapons of the enemy".

For us, the average human beings, there are certain levels in life which can be termed as the summit of supreme achievement. Two such levels are underlined by the master intellectual Vidura. A person who has renounced all worldly desires and possessions is considered great among his peers, and when he has achieved supreme control over all his senses and mundane yearnings through mastery over yoga, he becomes incomparable.
Similarly a warrior who fights for his own honour and the honour of his motherland, and gives up his life in a direct encounter with the enemy reaches supreme glory.
The family, the society and the country honours him.
We can see this idea echoed in the Vedic praise of the Parivrajaka..." om na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amrtatvam anasuh
parena nakam nihitam guhayam vibhrajate yad yatayo visanti
vedanta-vijnana suniscatartha sannyasa yogad-yataya-suddha-sattvah"
(Having attained the Immortality consisting of identification with the Supreme, all those aspirants who strive for self-control, who have rigourously arrived at the conclusion taught by vedanta through direct knowledge, and who have attained purity of mind through the practice of the discipline of yoga and steadfastness in the knowledge of brahman preceded by renunciation, get themselves released into the regions of Brahman at the dissolution of the body.) and Bhagavan Krishna's  praise in Gita of Kshatriya who lays down his life in war...Hato vaa praapyasi swargam, jitwaa vaa bhokshyase mahiim..., yadhrichayaa chopapannam swargadwaaramapvrutam..(Arjuna, you will reach heaven if you are killed in war, and if you are victorious, you will enjoy the fruits of the earth..  it is indeed fortuitous that the gates of heaven are opened by the war..the kshtriyas who get such a war are indeed fortunate.)
Yes, they transcend even the realm of the Sun and reach the Supreme being who resides at the greatest level... "na tatra suuryo bhati na chandrataarakam, naivaa vidhyuto bhanthi kutoyam agni", ... 'the sun in not capable of shining there, nor are the moon and the stars, no thunderbolts can reach and the fire also is impotent there..'
The praise is for jnana yoga and karma yoga


--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
(kanfusion)
blog http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|

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