Yaksha Prashnam Questions 59 - 63

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-55-58.html

Which is the best dharmam? Which dharmam gives good fruit at all times? Who if controlled is happy?

Which is the best dharmam?

Yudhishtirar recollected the words of Sita Piratti from Valmiki Ramayana and answered that compassion is the best dharmam.

In the Ramayana after Lord Rama defeated Ravana, Lord Hanuman approached Sita Devi and requested her permission to kill all the Rakshashis who had tortured Sita Devi. Sita Devi refused to give her permission. She explained to Lord Hanuman that the best virtue a person can have is to pardon the sins committed by others.

She then narrated the following story to Lord Hanuman. A man was chased by a tiger. He climbed a tree to escape the tiger and found a gorilla sitting on the top most tree branch. The gorilla promised to protect the man since he had come seeking refuge by entering the gorilla’s home. The gorilla protected the man while he slept. The tiger tried to convince the gorilla to push the man down but the gorilla refused. After the man awoke he asked the gorilla to sleep while he stayed watch. The tiger promised to allow the man to escape if he pushed the gorilla from the tree. The man immediately agreed and pushed the gorilla. The gorilla fell down the tree. The tiger told the gorilla that he had asked the man to push the gorilla to reveal the man’s nature. He was interested only to eat the man. The tiger asked the gorilla to go up and push the man. The gorilla agreed and climbed up the tree. As soon as it approached the trembling man it hugged him and promised to protect him from the tiger. The gorilla said that even when people make mistake it is our duty to forgive them.

Which dharmam gives good fruit at all times?

Treta dharmam gives fruit at all times. Treta dharmam could refer to the three forms of Agni worshipped by a householder while performing either aupasanam or agniohothram regularly. It could also refer to the dharmam which incarnated in the Treta Yugam thus referring to the Lord as the means as well as the end. The Lord is enjoined with Thathvam, Hitham and purushartham. He is the supreme Thathvam. He provides Hitham (benefits) to us when He accepts our saranagathi; He is the purushartham we seek.

Who if controlled is happy? What is the one thing to be controlled to lead a life free from remorse?

Our mind should be controlled. We must not try to control other people by bending them to our will. We must control our mind to stop it from dwelling on the mistakes committed by other people. When we exhibit self-control, we will not make fun of other’s fault or yell at their errors thus we are free from feeling remorseful for our bad behaviour.

Which kind of alliance can never be broken or digested? The alliance made with good people is called “Sat-Sangam”; this alliance can never be broken. Sat is the name given to a person who has realized God. Sat is not a person who just believes in God but the name Sat is conferred upon those who realize God as the only saviour, full of compassion and as the means as well as the end. The friendship developed with Sat people will extend even to Sri Vaikuntham.

The five Pandavas along with Draupadi decided to go away on Mahaprasthanam. They had to keep travelling in a northerly direction without consuming food while waiting for death. They were soon joined by a stray dog which followed them. After sometime, Draupadi fell down and died. Yudhishtirar explained that as she had always been slightly partial towards Arjuna she had fallen first. She was followed by Sahadevan. Bhīma asked Yudhishtirar why Sahadevan had fallen. Yudhishtirar replied that Sahadevan had been proud of his intelligence and hence had fallen next. Sahadevan was followed by Nakulan. Bhīma wanted to know the reason for Nakulan’s fall, Yudhishtirar replied that Nakulan had been proud of his appearance and as a result of this fault he had fallen. Soon Arjuna fell down and died. Bhīma wanted to know about Arjuna’s fault. Yudhishtirar mentioned that Arjuna had been proud of his prowess and he always thought that he was the saviour of the Pandavas. Next Bhīma himself fell down but just before he passed away he wanted Yudhishtirar to explain the reason for his fall. Yudhishtirar explained that Bhīma had coveted food too much and as a result he was falling. In the end Yudhishtirar just had the company of the dog. Soon they were met by a heavenly chariot sent from heaven. As Yudhishtirar was about to embark on the chariot the driver informed him that he cannot bring the dog inside the chariot. Yudhishtirar told the driver that if the dog was not allowed he wouldn’t step inside as well. He informed the driver that he would rather walk with the dog than abandon it to travel by chariot. The dog then revealed himself to be Dharma Devathai i.e. Yudhishtirar’s father. Dharma Devathai praised Yudhishtirar’s integrity.

In the above story Yudhishtirar is sat and as he had walked more than seven steps with the dog, he considered the dog to be his friend and refused the abandon the dog. Hence friendships cultivated with sat people like Yudhishtirar can never be broken.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-questions-64-67.html

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Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.