The Hindu Article - Contentment gives peace of mind

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Date:07/03/2003 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/07/stories/2003030700920800.htm

 

Miscellaneous - Religion

 

Contentment gives peace of mind

 

CHENNAI MARCH 7 . A person who forsakes Dharma will not have peace of

mind even if he commands power and pelf. Every individual can enjoy

the pleasures of worldly life only according to his merit. A wise man

will understand this and be content with his lot. When an individual

comes under the sway of jealousy seeing others more endowed

materially than him, he will not hesitate to unscrupulous ways to get

what he desires. For some the acquisitive tendency becomes an

obsession and they become greedy to the extent that they are unable

to distinguish the dividing line between legitimate wants and

avariciousness. Such a person will lose his sleep worrying about how

to acquire more and preserve the ill-gotten wealth.

 

The Mahabharata portrays Dhritarashtra as the personification of

greed. Because of attachment to his son Duryodana it never occurred

to him that he was depriving the Pandavas of their legitimate share

of kingdom. All his life he never had happiness, not due to guilt,

but because he could not enjoy the usurped empire peacefully. Though

he had the good counsel of wise men like Bheeshma, Vidura and Sanjaya

he did not mend his ways. It was the proverbial last straw for the

Pandavas when he refused to even hand over Indraprastha after their

exile was over and advised them through Sanjaya not to resort to war.

 

In her discourse, Srimathi Jaya Srinivasan said the Viduraniti and

the Sanatsujatiya were treatises on right conduct appearing as

interludes in this epic. When Dhritarashtra lost his sleep over the

outcome of Sanjaya's mission, Vidura counselled him, which is known

as Viduraniti and he also entreated Sage Sanatsujata to enlighten the

king on spirituality. Even after listening to these profound

discourses the king was only anxious to learn about the strength of

the Pandavas' army from Sanjaya when he returned.

 

Sanjaya told him that Krishna alone was the strength of the Pandavas.

Bheeshma then tried convincing Duryodana to desist from war pointing

out that the Pandavas were invincible because they were righteous and

had Krishna on their side; so victory was certain for them. Besides,

Arjuna and Krishna were incarnations of Nara and Narayana. Such well-

meaning advice fell on deaf ears as the Kauravas had charted the

course of their downfall by their greed.

 

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