33(A). WHY PEOPLE FOLLOWING DHARMA SUFFER?

SRIMAD MAHABHARATA > AARANYA PARVA > ARJUNAABHIGAMANA PARVA > CHAPTER 33(A) - WHY PEOPLE FOLLOWING DHARMA SUFFER?

“Vaishampaayana said, ‘Hearing these words of Yaagnaseni (Draupadi), Bhimasena, sighing in anger, approached the king (Yudhishthira) and addressed him, saying, ‘O monarch (Yudhishthira), walk in the customary path walked by good men, (before you) in respect of kingdoms. What do we gain by living in the asylum of ascetics (Tapo Vana in Sanskrit), thus deprived of Dharma, Kaamaa, and Arthaa? It is not by Dharma, nor by honesty, nor by might (Tejas in Sanskrit), but by unfair dice, that our kingdom hath been snatched by Duryodhana. Like a weak decomposing flesh-eating jackal snatching the prey from mighty lions, he (Duryodhana) has snatched away our kingdom.

“Why, O monarch (Yudhishthira), in obedience to the common merit of sticking to a promise, do you suffer such distress, abandoning that wealth which is the source of both Dharma and Kaamaa? It was for your carelessness, O king, that our kingdom protected by the wielder of the Gaandiva (Arjuna) and therefore, incapable of being captured by (Lord) Indra Himself, was snatched from us in our very sight. It was for you, O monarch (Yudhishthira), that, ourselves living, our prosperity was snatched away from us like a fruit from one unable to use his arms, or like cows from one incapable of using his legs.

“You are faithful in the acquisition of Dharma. It was to please you, O Bharata (Yudhishthira), that we have suffered ourselves to be overwhelmed with such terrible calamity. O bull of the Bharata race (Yudhishthira), it was because we were subject to your control that we are thus tearing the hearts of our friends and satisfying our enemies. That we did not, in obedience to you, even then slay the sons of Dhritarashtra, is an act of foolishness on our part that grieves me sorely.

“This your abode, O king (Yudhishthira), in the forest, like that of any wild animal, is what a man of weakness alone would submit to. Surely, no man of might would ever lead such a life. This your course of life is approved neither by (Sri) Krishna, nor Bibhatsu (Arjuna), nor by Abhimanyu, nor by the Srinjayaa, nor by myself, nor by the sons of Maadri (Nakula and Sahadeva). Pained with the vows (Vrata in Sanskrit), you cry is ‘Dharma!’ ‘Dharma!’

“Have you from hopelessness been deprived of your manliness? Cowards alone, unable to win back their prosperity, cherish hopelessness, which is fruitless and destructive of one’s purposes. You have ability and eyes. You see that manliness dwells in us. It is because you have adopted a life of peace that you do not feel this distress. These Dhritarashtras regard us who are forgiving, as really incompetent. This, O king (Yudhishthira), grieves me more than death in battle. If we all die in fair fight without turning our backs on the enemy, that would be better than this exile, for then we should obtain regions of joy in the other world. Or, if, O bull of the Bharata race (Yudhishthira), having slain them all, we acquire the entire earth, that would be prosperity worth the trial.

“We who ever adhere to the Dharma of our order (Swadharma in Sanskrit), who ever desire grand achievements, who wish to avenge our wrongs, have this for our bounden duty. Our kingdom snatched from us, if we engage in battle, our actions when known to the world will procure for us fame and not slander. That Dharma, O king (Yudhishthira), which tortures one’s own self and friends, is really no Dharma. It is rather Kudharma, producing calamities. Dharma is sometimes also the weakness of men. Though such a man might ever be engaged in the practice of Dharma, yet both Dharma and Arthaa forsake him, like pleasure (Sukham in Sanskrit) and pain (Duhkham in Sanskrit) forsaking a person that is dead (Pretam in Sanskrit).

“He that practises Dharma for Dharma’s sake always suffers. He can scarcely be called a wise man, for he does not know the purposes of Dharma like a blind man incapable of perceiving the sun light. He that regards his wealth to exist for himself alone, scarcely understands the purposes of wealth. He is really like a servant that tend cows in a forest. He again that pursues wealth too much without pursuing Dharma and Kaamaa, deserves to be scolded and slain by all men. He also that always pursues Kaamaa without pursuing Dharma and Arthaa, loses his friends, Dharma and Arthaa also. Destitute of Dharma and Arthaa such a man, indulging in Kaamaa at will, at the expiration of his period of indulgence, meets with certain death, like a fish when the water in which it lived has been dried up. It is for these reasons that they that are wise are always careful of both Dharma and Arthaa, for a union of Dharma and Arthaa is the essential requisite of Kaamaa, as fuel is the essential requisite of fire.

“Kaamaa has always Dharma for its root, and Dharma also is united with Kaamaa. Know, O monarch (Yudhishthira), that both are dependent on each other like the ocean and the clouds, the ocean causing the clouds and the clouds filling the ocean. The joy that one feels in consequence of contact with objects of touch or of possession of wealth, is what is called Kaamaa. It exists in the mind, having no physical existence that one can see. He that wishes (to obtain) wealth, seeks for a large share of Dharma to crown his wish with success. He that wishes for Kaamaa, seeks wealth, (so that his wish may be realised). Kaamaa however, yields nothing in its turn. One Kaamaa cannot lead to another, being its own fruit, as ashes may be had from wood, but nothing from those ashes in their turn.

“O king (Yudhishthira), as a hunter kills the birds we see, so does sin slay the creatures of the world. He, therefore, who misled by Kaamaa or greed, does not see the nature of Dharma, deserves to be slain by all, and becomes wretched both here and here-after. It is evident, O king (Yudhishthira), that you know that Kaamaa may be derived from the possession of various objects of enjoyment. You also well know their ordinary states, as well as the great changes they undergo. At their loss or disappearance occasioned by weakness or death, arises what is called distress. That distress, O king, has now overtaken us. The joy that arises from the five senses, the intellect (Manasa in Sanskrit) and the heart (Hrudaya in Sanskrit), being directed to the objects proper to each, is called Kaamaa. That Kaamaa, O king, is, as I think, one of the best fruits of our actions.

“Thus, O monarch (Yudhishthira), one should regard Dharma, Arthaa and Kaamaa one after another. One should not devote one self to Dharma alone, nor regard Arthaa as the highest object of one’s wishes, nor Kaamaa, but should ever pursue all three. The Shaastraas ordain that one should seek Dharma in the morning, Arthaa at noon, and Kaamaa in the evening. The Shaastraas also ordain that one should seek Kaamaa in the first portion of life, Arthaa in the second, and Dharma in the last. O you foremost of speakers (Yudhishthira), they that are wise and fully knowledgeable with proper division of time, pursue all three, Dharma, Arthaa, and Kaamaa, dividing their time duly.’