Justice “In the Hands of Torture” Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha -2

Justice

“In the Hands of Torture”

Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha

Why God?

What should one understand from this? It is all right up to a degree

that we dispose of questions of God, His mystery and ways, in a

purely emotional manner, saying ‘it is all indescribable’. While indescribability

is true, perhaps in the ultimate view, we cannot forsake

description. Because we are living in a visible world, with

seen objects, with relationships and institutions–moral, religious,

economic, social and the like, which have a basis and purpose, all

to our clear understanding, we have to give a similar description

to the so-called God as well if our approach to this concept or reality

has to be of a level compatible with our day to day living and

needs. I cannot avoid such a statement. There is already a lot of

confusion about the very religion, the way and what for it, the way

in which it should be practised. Whoever is the so-called religionist,

will immediately say that his ‘religion’ is a matter of pure faith. But

the pity is that only in the field of ‘religion’ he calls faith into aid

and ends with it. The very same person may be a lawyer or a doctor,

and in that field he never calls or relies upon faith so much. His

very birth is not a myth, his relationship with the world and the

people is also not so. So we find two distinct compartments in one

man, one taking refuge under the so-called faith, the other resorting

to hard and unnegatable facts and the findings based upon it.

I ask: is this not an incoherence? Can there not be a harmony, a

greater affinity between the two?

Religion might have remained within the so-called temples, dealt

with and pursued as an emotional extension of one’s being. But is

man merely a product and outcome of sentiments alone? In that

case, there should be no discussion of knowledge or the effort to

promote it in several fields.

Religion and Reason

The flat earth of the ancient religionist cannot any more be acceptable

to our children or even to the present elders. That earth which

was flat then has now turned to be round. It has further grown as a

bubble in the bottom-less and borderless womb of space, its very

weight and density to be even questioned and doubted at a certain

level. Yet man continues to live here. Naturally the question arises:

What is this religion according to the developed understanding of

man and in conformity with his elevated pursuits. If religion cannot

be described in the language of understanding, then it cannot

suit the man of understanding.

I was born in a pious family. I was brought up also as that. Besides

the question of ‘being brought up’, I liked to grow as pious and religious.

Even today I more than ever before like to be pious and unshakably

so. But this was not for nothing, or with nothing to precede

and follow it. In the years of my life earlier, and quest later,

the so-called religion and the pivot of it, namely God, had to shed

its mask and mystery. And there came a time, when I could know

as clearly as I do the other seen and heard things of the world,

what this wonderful God-concept and pursuit are, or at least must

be.

God is not an evident fact or reality. What is evident is the object

and material world, its varied constituents and contents. By God

we have always meant the 'subject' presence and power within the

object. That is why God, the supreme Reality and Power, calls for

acceptance as well as rejection in the hands of people. Those who

accept God do not have any general proof or evidence. Those who

reject the Truth also do not have an absolute stand for doing so.

Thus the supreme Reality and God come to be accepted by some, at

the same time rejected by others. Primarily therefore it is a question

of one's prima facie attitude or inclination. Either sentimentally or

emotionally or instinctively some feel disposed towards the acceptance

of the God-idea. Equally so, some others feel in the opposite

direction.

Beyond this stand of the two sections of people if we have to say

anything about God and Supreme Reality, it should be in the

sphere of reason and argument. Either on the basis of an experience

of one, or the very display of the world phenomena, their

rhythm and order, one has to think cogently and arrive at conclusions

either proving or disproving what he wants to posit, whether

God is or not.

In India, right from the ancient days we find both spiritual philosophy

as well as material philosophy equally in vogue. Both had their

respective votaries. One argued in favour of God and the other

against. The faith and intention of our honoured thinkers was that

only those who felt the inadequacy of the material philosophy need

seek and pursue spiritual philosophy, its teachings and practice.

Thus everything was properly set to regiment and fulfilled the

thinking of men and women.

I always say on my part that I am equally at home with those who

believe in God and those who do not. In both cases it is the belief of

man. What is his God? It is something which his mind believes in.

And for the disbelievers, it is a thing which their mind does not believe

in and fails to accept. Both take their position in their own

minds and what the mind dictates. Whether belief or non-belief,

both are equally reflections of the mind, the conclusions and decisions

arrived at by man. Is God anything more than such faith, such

conclusion, for any one, any time? Even the world is what man sees

before him, and not what world sees before itself !

The mind, in both cases, is first there. It is accepted by both the

groups of people. The real substance, the Supreme Reality, too is

this mind, in one sense. It is the subject presence in the objects, the

inward being and power in the outward objects and things.

What do I want to say by all this? My intention is to bring about a

clear understanding in the matter of religion and God. I do not

deny the presence of Providence. The ultimate Truth is that everything

is Providence, Providence’s display and only that. Though

this is so, we should not confuse ourselves in the actual pursuit of

our life. Life for humans is extremely complex. Complexity is all

the more because of the social connections and involvements of our

life. Unlike animals and birds, which too are alike us in many

ways, human life is much more organized, and hence too complicated.

Draupadi, right from the start, stood firm on her ground: ‘Did the

king pledge and lose himself first, or pledge and lose me first’? This

was her vital question. This question of hers is evidently a creation

of her intelligence. I can agree that the intelligence is a gift of God

and nature, as is everything else in the world and in us. ‘If the king

had lost himself first, what moral right did he have to pledge me

then?’ This is a very legitimate point. She again argued that if the

defeat of Dharmaputra meant her defeat as well, then why was he

asked to pledge her specially? Are not both questions quite fundamental

and reasonable? It was this question that led to the entire

fate of hers in the assembly.

If she had accepted her servitude right from the time she was told of it by

Duryodhana’s messenger, nothing tragic as the disrobing of hers would

have taken place. She refused to accompany Duhshasana, as was the

order of the new master Duryodhana. This refusal was clearly her

decision, an act of her choice. It was this refusal that enraged

Duhshasana who then pulled her by hair to the assembly.

When her question was yet being debated and even Bheeshma confessed

he could not give a verdict, which meant she persisted in her

stand, even the disrobing of her body was attempted. Where does

Providence come here? Was not all this a development within the

region of the human intelligence, its decisions and the will exercised

by the persons concerned?

When the question was still awaiting an answer and none seemed

to emerge so soon, Duhshasana began his assault. This assault of

his was improper on all grounds. Human considerations like sympathy,

a sense of accommodation, regard for a woman and the like,

all were thrown into the air by the wicked Duhshasana. His act,

even according to the custom and codes of propriety prevailing

then, also in the view of the elders present at the time, was not at

all just. While he went ahead with his assault and Draupadi's own

husbands could not do anything, also the elders found it improper

to interfere, Draupadi cried out in distress. When all external

sources of help and redress failed her, it was natural that some

internal source came to her rescue in a totally unimaginable manner.

The unimaginability does not make it doubtful or unauthentic.

The very origin of the world is an event unimaginable. Our imagination

and reason themselves begin to work only when events and

phenomena come to pass off first.

Then how can any intelligent man hold that the external and material

things alone are real and carry authenticity with them? The

very idea of ‘external' and 'material' first of all implies its opposite

and contrast, namely 'internal' and 'non-material' or 'spiritual '. Further,

in the very beginning, was there any external-internal, division

at all? If reason and observation and vice-versa are any guiding

force in our understanding, was not all ‘this’ (meaning the existence

as we perceive around us), before its very origin, a mere mass of

nothing which in truth can neither be described as anything nor nothing!

Anything and something as contrary to nothing, existence as contrary

to non-existence, internal as contrary to external, all these became

thinkable and began to occupy our imagination only after all this

(that we perceive now) came into being. Before it came into being,

there was no difference or contrast at all.

So our very thought that externality or materiality alone can be factual

and can be accepted by us with authority is baseless. Higher

reason or pure reason clearly tells us this truth.

What value and place does an external process or development

have in our understanding, the same place the internal ones also

have, at least to a consistent thinker. Here, in the case of Draupadi,

two are the points involved. Was her plight bearable to her? Was it

bearable to the others as well? Impropriety is just another expression

of the same implication. When it was not bearable by all standards

and no one from outside could do anything to rescue her,

naturally opened up an inner door. It is just like a man who trips

on a stone is helped suddenly by another nearby, or gets hold of

some support nearby. When the help is external, the poverty of the

human mind and understanding look low upon it and regard it as

quite normal, nothing impressive or providential. When it is something

strange or invisible, his mind, out of its own rut of normalcy,

is tempted to take it as magnificent and Godly. This is a mistake

which comes out of sheer ignorance. Deluded by the spirit of distinction,

man it not able to think of Providence in a uniform manner.

World and life's normal happenings are taken for granted.

Providence, of course, is something extra, different, superior and

only occasional. Alas! see the poverty of the human mind!

Everything, right from the solid matter up to the boundless space,

and even beyond, is Providence, no doubt. But Providence is not

exhausted just by these. It extends far beyond. The phenomena It

produces within this material range have some order, rhythm, etc.

Rarely these are overruled by Providence and a strange phenomenon

here and there is caused. This does not mean that: the 'out of

the normal' alone is Providence, not otherwise. To look for Providence

only in the extraordinary and the out of the normal is the

sheer bankruptcy of our understanding.

In the case of Draupadi, I will not segregate the protection she got

when Duhshasana was disrobing her and then say that that alone

represents the Divine help. In fact, even after Duhshasana withdrew

from this venture, the humiliation of this great woman continued.

Duhshasana and others were again after her. The only force

that kept all under check was her demand for a clear answer to the

question about her slavery. Everyone, including Duryodhana, had

to concede to this point. That is why Duryodhana changed his

stand and said 'If the Pandava brothers admit that Yudhishthira is

not their Master, I shall let Draupadi free'. This was quite against

his earlier statement, namely Draupadi was his property and she

'should' accept his lordship.

True, that the mysterious lengthening of the saree plugged one

source of Draupadi’s distress. But there were other holes too, in fact

larger and deeper. If her slavery was a fact and she had to accept it

without question, then not merely herself but the entire Pandava

brothers, her husbands, would have remained in total servitude

and there would be left no way of rescuing them. The earlier dangers

and misfortunes could be avoided by some physical means or

other – for instance the attempt to burn them off in the wax palace

– but here was a situation which none other than the great Draupadi

could take up and resolve. The solution lay in the right study,

analysis and understanding of what transpired and how best it

could be implicated.

An event which calls for the use and application of intelligence and

then for evolving the right formula or solution has no substitute.

Where intelligence and its timely effort are needed, we should look

for and exert the intelligence itself, none other.

For right and authentic causes, the intelligence will definitely get

the proper attunement and inspiration from the Indweller, who is

the best representative of Providence. Of all the visible expressions

of the Supreme, the human mind and intelligence are the most

amazing and potential. Of all the weapons man can think of and

wield, his intelligence is the most powerful and queer.

Think for a moment further how Draupadi’s plight which hung on

the fruition of her enquiry progressed further. Bheeshma repeated

what he already said, adding that ‘I cannot give you an answer to

your question. Yudhishthira alone can give a right answer to this.

But I do know and can say that very soon this Kuru family, given

to immorality of the worst magnitude will meet their destruction.'

The implication, of this to me, is too grave.

The best of the Knowers of Dharma (Bheeshma) clearly sees that

Duryodhana's stand is wrong, his cause ignoble, and as a proof of it

he also envisages the destruction of that family as a whole. Thus

though the fact that Draupadi's assaulters were 'in the wrong' was

evident before Bheeshma (that is why he said they would meet destruction

before long), yet he found himself unable to arrive at a

clear answer to the distressed Draupadi's question, despite the fact

that an answer to it would alone resolve her distress. My imagination

soars mystically at this point. Realize how deep and grave is

the problem and its magnitude.

Vidura too followed Bheeshma to say that Draupadi was not in servitude,

and it was immoral for Duryodhana to discuss about a

woman in an open assembly like theirs. Even then the pathetic

plight and indecision continued, with greater vigour and emotional

cyclone.

Providence had really worked its magic, laid the foundation for its

own chosen purpose right from the start when conspiring Shakuni

and Duryodhana began to prevail upon the innocent Yudhishthira

to pledge his belongings one after another and started picking his

brothers in the series. From brothers Shakuni switched on to

Yudhishthira himself.

Even after Yudhishthira's pledge and loss was ensured, Shakuni

and his group were not content. Their crooked intelligence told

them that it was not an adequate humiliation of Yudhishthira and

his brothers. Perhaps they also had in their minds the thought of

Draupadi, who had earlier laughed aloud sarcastically when

Duryodhana on a visit to their palace walked around lifting his

dress thinking that there was water on the polished floor. In fact

there was no water. Such was the glazing polish of the floor that it

created an illusion of water. At other places he was tricked to walk

through pools of water though the floor showed no sign of water at

all and thereby he got wet. This incident really went deep into his

mind, humiliation in the hands of a woman for a folly of this kind

and from that time onwards he wanted to take revenge.

However, the effort of Duryodhana and the others to ensure their

own mastery and the slavery of Yudhishthira and the rest, was the

one which landed them in exactly the opposite shore. This is how

Providence works its mystic ways and fulfils its chosen ends. But

for this greedy step of theirs, the outcome of the whole episode

would have been different.

If you ask me why should the devoted and pious, Yudhishthira,

Draupadi and the rest be subjected to this kind of abject suffering,

does it fit in with the reward of goodness, there is an answer. In

spite of his extreme goodness and nobility Yudhishthira did have a

weakness for playing dice. When challenged and provoked, his

mind got drawn into ways and measures which his own sound reason

would have, in calm moments, resented and refused. What

does this indicate? He clearly had a sense of competition and challenge

so far as his royal position and powers were concerned. In

giving vent to this sense, he stood by his independence, never

thought of taking consultation from his brothers. I am not saying it

was wrong on his part to do so. But I only state that every trait and

feature must have its course of resultant outcome. Goodness is rewarded

in its own way, badness too equally well. Rarely does

goodness reign without the least shade of its opposite, in any one.

As Bhagavadgeeta says, any undertaking is associated with some

defect or other.

Coming back to Draupadi, why was her saree pulled? Was it not

too much for her to have been subjected to this kind of torture and

agony?

Well, the answer which comes to my heart is that Draupadi's stand

did naturally warrant such a development. Yudhishthira had already

sent word to her that she should come to the assembly with a

single dress on her body, during her ‘period'. That very sight

would make the elders in the assembly think gravely of the evil

intentions of the Duryodhana group. By pulling her dress forcibly,

Duhshasana only inflamed their hearts all the more.

Again, it was not just a rash step. Draupadi's arguments and the

refusal to accept her own slavery were the pivot of the whole development.

Perhaps this was something which even Yudhishthira

and the rest did not envisage. He must have been quite straightforward

and innocent in his mind when he staked all his things, himself

and Draupadi in the game. He stood by his innocence and the

spirit of the game and its fate. But to everybody's surprise and an42

noyance all that was his was won by his opponents leaving no

chance of any rescue at all.

To this summary position, it was Draupadi who breathed a surprising

and vital note of change and challenge. After listening to her

views, and finding that Bheeshma found equal weight on both

sides of the dispute, Karna said that the superiority of Duryodhana

and his lordship over Yudhishthira should be demonstrated by

asking the Pandava brothers to give off their dress to their Lord. At

this, Yudhishthira and his brothers, without any doubt or delay,

took off their upper garment and kept it on the floor. What does

this tell us? Here the issue was between Yudhishthira and his people

on the one hand, their slavery, and Duryodhana and his lordship

on the other. Duryodhana demanded his lordship and

Yudhishthira was ready to concede to it. So where is the dispute at

all then? Bheeshma, on his part, did not and could not say that either

the lordship or the slavery was out of place. He found arguments

and propriety on both sides only so far as Draupadi's plight

and stand were concerned. One should remember that this was still

an undecided question.

Once the husbands accepted their slavery and took off their dress,

Draupadi, as their wife, was expected to follow suit. And that was

what normally one would have expected. But Draupadi had her

own inspiration and course of action provoked by her great humiliation.

Bold as she was she would not accept defeat even in the

hands of a devil. Seeing her husbands in total servitude, with not

even a ray of escape, this lady, the symbol of complex womanhood,

got high1y inspired and totally moved. Even with the worst of sacrifices

and sufferings, she was determined to redeem her lords.

This is highly commendable. More than a pious wish or attitude, it

was really a great decision, a strong-willed move, which could

shake even the heaven and hell together. Before such a heroic and

loyal mind and heart, nothing could stand up and fight. Even

Providence can only stand in wonder and appreciation, thinking "Is

my creation, at least one speck here and there, capable of rising so

high in its thought and inspiration? Is it so wise and bold as to

swear itself on my strength and vindicate the supreme law of Satya

(Truth)? But for persons like this, how can my glory be made evident

to the ignorant as well as the wise of this mortal and proud

world."

At the same time, such a decision was pregnant with its own chosen

ends. The decision to stand by her own independence and

thereby reject her slavery unlike her husbands, was clearly Draupadi's.

At the same time, the finality of her independence had not

been decided by the assembly, not to speak of Duryodhana and his

group. In so far as it was as yet an undecided point, Duhshasana

and Karna must have had at least the basic sense not to touch

Draupadi, because she was still to be given a definite answer to her

question. After all, it was only the success in the game that made

them assume lordship over Draupadi. This right over her was to

come to them only by virtue of the propriety of Yudhishthira's

pledge. Inasmuch as the very question of pledge was not decided

upon to the satisfaction of the assembly and Draupadi in particular,

Duhshasana was clearly wrong in his approach. Equally Karna was

immature and cruel in having instigated Duhshasana to take away

her dress by force.

However, in this queer world Nature has given ample chance, nay

she has made ample provision even for such unjust, (shall I call it

so) cruel, wild developments and instigations.

Nature's idea is that nothing what-so-ever should lie outside the

orbit of Her Creation. In Her warm embrace must come everything

right from extreme goodness to the worst of badness. Only then

will Nature be exquisite and amazing in every way. In order to incorporate

alike in Her being, both beauty and ugliness, both goodness

and badness, with equal vigour and glare, Nature has first

made Herself neither beautiful nor ugly, neither good nor bad, but

the magnificent 'neuter' of all the opposites. No doubt Her being is

transcendental at all levels and spheres. In being so does she constantly

frightens as well as allures the human, stimulating his deepest

thought and enquiry. For the real seeker and investigator, the

best of delight, nay the fulfilment of his life, consists in probing into

Her mystery and wonder.

In assaulting Draupadi, Duhshasana had clearly thrown aside the

basic rule and code which even the crude dacoits on the road

would honour and obey. Draupadi's steadfastness, her spirit of loyalty

and sacrifice, was thus pitted against the most ruthless adversary.

This was the biggest, yet most pregnant fun which Providence

could instrument and indulge in.

Human will is inherited from Providence of course. Its potency is

marvellous, no doubt. But how far can it rise up in strength? Can it

rise in revolt and begin to question the Power and Design of the

Supreme, from whom indeed it has derived its own birth? Can the

Creator be at any time the slave of man, the topmost of His Creation?

Can the Human will ever rise above the Creator's? Duryodhana

and his brothers had, it is true, been successful in enslaving

the righteous Yudhishthira. But can they rise above the Supreme

and its Power?

On his side, Duhshasana had his manly power and strength to assault

the helpless woman of the Pandavas. But the challenge im45

plied something far graver and greater. The victim of his assault

was not just the woman alone in Draupadi, whom he and his people

hated, but also the Lord who dwelt in her heart, whom no one

could hate, from whom none could ever get away or escape. To this

Lord, devotion and piety were dearer than everything else.

Duhshasana had thought that his manly strength was unchallenged

before Draupadi and she could have nothing to defend herself.

He forgot the basic truth that every man is born of the woman,

and thus the woman is his mother and fosterer. The blood and bone of

man may be stronger, but stronger still and unyielding are the heart and

mind of a loyal and dedicated woman. Even the superior reason of man

got stupefied before Draupadi's interrogation!

All this had to be demonstrated before the hetero-genous assembly,

where the choice of the wicked counted, not the voice of the wise and the

elderly. For the Providence, every event is a fun or sport. For man

alone, it proves to be a lesson.

When those men, her husbands, who were to give protection themselves

were made to stand back mute and helpless, nay when they

were the ones to cause this plight to her, Draupadi found nothing

left in this seen world to look to in her distress. What is an innocent

mortal to do at such a time, in such an event? The only choice was

to look to herself, her own within. That is what she did. The within

of everyone is visible and available to himself alone, to none else.

Every human is born into this world with an intrinsic right. No one

can dissuade or dislodge him from it. By this he is enabled to look

to the Creator's hand of protection as the last resort, when the Creation’s

hand refuses and betrays him. The secret of devotion or piety lies

in realizing this right and resorting to it with exclusiveness in time with

reliance, humility and hope.

Many get steeped in delusion, or they are swept by pride and egoism.

As a result they over-value themselves or misbelieve altogether.

Thereby they miss the Supreme, the benefit of His infinite

love and power. Alas!

Here we have an exemplary fusion of the two, the faithful and the

faithless, the humble and the proud, the innocent and the infatuated,

and their corresponding fates. A great battle for winning supremacy,

no doubt. As well-known for all time ever since the dawn

of human history, the faithful, the humble and the innocent had the

victory; to the discomfiture of the other and to the discernment of

one and all. Without combats and duels, the deeper lessons of

Truth and piety cannot be let known to men and women of the

world.

The within is truly the cause of the entire without. In the within lies

the golden solution for all the problems caused by the without. In

the within alone originate as well as dissolve all polarities, all contradictions,

all opposites.

The Invisible Lord is enshrined truly in the within of each mortal.

One’s own within is the potent and infinite zero upon which subsist

the whole range of numerals and their multiples. The cause and

source are but one. And that one reigns secretly in one’s own within.

It needs great eyes to see this truth, lofty wisdom to discern it, noble

and pious heart to cling to it and gain succour. Draupadi was

one rare soul with the choicest blessings in this regard. With her

invincible husbands tied down in total slavery with the wise elders

struck dumb in doubt and indecision, with the next kith and kin

(Duryodhanas) frowning with vengeance and cruelty, she looked

desperately to the Power within, calling it by her own beloved

name. The name means but little. The call alone matters and the

depth and reliance with which it is made. Before such heroic hearts,

even the hardest rock has to melt, the ferocious river has to go dry,

the tallest mountain crumble and turn to mere dust. And this is

what happened in the case of Draupadi. In an instant the villain

turned to a mere weakling, bashful and exhausted pitiably, to the

ridicule of the noble and to the surprise of even the wicked.

In fact this imposing Universe and the entire visible things have

sprung from the Invisible. Everything rests in the latter and upon

it. Nothing has an abode outside the Invisible. Everything is in

truth and that alone. Is not our body, of many parts and limbs, belonging

to the one ‘I’ within it, the Spirit? So too is this single body

of the universe with all its constituents and contents belonging to

the one mighty ‘I’ within, the Almighty Spirit, the Supreme Lord.

Our left hand scratches an itch on the body, aggravating the suffering,

but only to make the right hand apply medicine to heal it. The

same ‘I’ causes the one hand to scratch and another to resist. Both

of them inhere in the same body, possessed and propelled by the

same spirit, the soul within. For both, the Master is the same, the

only one. In this universe too, in spite of its endlessness and ramification,

the process worked is the same, though it is hazy and elusive

to the unwary eye. The one Lord is the owner, possessor, motivator

enjoyer, sufferer, in short everything and all. He is the giver

and the taker alike. He gives through one hand, but only to take

through another.

Through a villain He chooses to be cruel. Through a graceful another,

He chooses to be kind. He it is that tortures. He alone is the

tortured alike. The problem is not His, but ours, to know this naked mystery.

The challenge is perpetually there before every man and

woman. Once man succeeds in knowing this truth, saved is he for

ever. His life will get fulfilled once and for all.

Both Grace and Cruelty, Grandeur and Filth stand in a mystic embrace

in the Invisible Lord. The world is so designed that this mystic

blending may be revealed constantly, in every corner at every

time.

Try with all your might, the world cannot be otherwise. For those

who yearn for Grace, there is enough of it to descend. For those

who wish to revel in cruelty, there is equal chance and scope. It is

merely a question which of the two one wants, in which way one’s

mind turns and works.

Draupadi’s own mind and feeling really worked the miracle before

her. If she had not sought the help, sought it so frantically, that

which happened would not have been. It is the will of the human that

produced the display of the Divine. Like the star of the firmament, the

Divine and its potency are always there. There is no dearth of them

any time. Yet It chooses to manifest only when some earthly creation

first invokes it and yearns for it. Duhshasana, standing in the

same assembly, right in front of the one he assaulted, believed in

his own might and displayed it openly. Draupadi, on the other

hand, believed not in her might but that of the Invisible, and so she

made it manifest copious1y. The Lord and His might were in both,

inside as well as outside, but to the one it was nothing and nowhere,

while to the other it was everything and everywhere; The

difference is wrought by the human. Even now believers believe in

their belief. Disbelievers believe in their disbelief. Both are strong in

their stand and reason. Both are motivated by their minds and

hearts.

Truth and God impartial

The Indweller is impartial always. He is made partial and is seen to

be so by virtue of the different men and women. He helps you the

way you want and seek. For, ultimately, He has nothing to lose or

gain. The gain and loss, if at all, are to us, the mortals. One butchers

out of one's own instigation and motive. In a sense the Indweller is

made to give him the instigation he needs. But the desire, the demand,

comes from the butcher. Equally so one is moved to protect.

Here too the inspiration and motive come from the mortal man.

The Lord merely plays the role He is made to, wanted to. The

house is made the way the owner wants it. The architect is there

only to plan it the way the owner wants.

It is this superb neutrality that makes the Indwelling Lord what He is,

preserves His glory untarnished forever. The moment He were to shift

from this position, He would descend to be a mortal as so many

others are.

The whole game of life is crowned with its destined glory and fulfilment

once the seeker recognizes this supreme truth and remains

seated in it as much as he can. The fall, if at all, will be to this recognition

and the abidance in it. Our scriptures and scriptural stories

are designed to lead man to the enquiry of this nature. Even Draupadi's

plight and role guide the true seeker only to the sublime enquiry

for truth.

The seeker's enquiry is deep and persisting. Far from superficiality

it has to sink deep and rise high, be deeper than the oceans and

higher than the sky. The young boy Nachiketas is made to enquire

from the God of Death (in the Kathopanishad) as to what lies beyond

the ken of both morality and immorality. Morality is man50

made. It has its specific relevance to immorality, again another concept

of man. May be the latter is inferior to the former. But what of

that to the Supreme Reality? The immoral inspirations come from

one's own within, the mind and intelligence. The moral ones too

emerge from the same twins, mind and intelligence. If the Indweller

is said to be within everyone, it becomes a paradox. God is

at the back of both. He would be the cause of both. If both morality

and immorality are thus motivated by Him, why prefer one and

abhor the other? What exactly is the difference between the two? Is

there any difference at all? Are both to be identified with God and

hence accepted or both eschewed regarding them as of humans?

The true Yearning

So Nachiketas presents his yearning in an exemplary way.

He says: 'Only if you see anything supreme rising above both

dharma and adharma, tell me what it is, not otherwise.'

In the last chapter of Bhagavadgeeta too we find the concluding

verse of Sri Krishna, the great succour for one and all:

"Abandon all considerations of dharma, cast them aside and then

seek me out, the one and only one." Evidently, the supreme truth is

one, its only description is 'oneness'. And that one is different from

everything else, all twos and threes. Dharma and adharma, both together,

constitute a pair in the world of man, the intelligent mortal.

They are a typical set of two, like the so many other comrades of

theirs. All the twos are born of the three, sattva, rajas and tamas.

But the Truth of God or Self is above and beyond these three, as the

so many twos created and preserved by them. That is how the Self

becomes Gunateeta (beyond the gunas)

Can the seeker feel inspired to seek It? Can he elevate himself to

that level? Then alone will he deliver himself from mortality. The

enquiry for the Truth in finer stages is not for the weakling and the

unsteady. It is for the most heroic hearts and minds, the most penetrating

intellects. As Mundakopanishad puts it:

Naayamaatmaa balaheenena labhyah

Na cha pramaadat tapaso vapyalingat

This Self, though it dwells within the body of every seeker, is not

available to the fragile minds, brittle minds. Nor can it be obtained

by means of improper austerities. It is not enough if you do austerity.

Ranging from early rising and bath, starving, fasting, half-fasting

and the like to the various meditations initiated into by a variety of

preceptors, austerities are multiple and colourful. But all these need

not be the proper ones for knowing the Self. Find out the proper

one and pursue it if you can.

At one stage I feel like saying God is created in the image of man. Yes,

man imagines God and makes Him the way he wishes. He can make any

mistake in so doing. And all such mistakes will bring in their troubles

and dangers. In the whole field of God, there is little which

man does not make himself. And this is how a lot of confusion and

fight prevails.

Where did Duhshasana lose, and where did Draupadi gain, if they

really did so? This is a conflict which should be understood and

then resolved. Our Scriptures present a number of conflicts and

contradictions. That is their way. The intention is to make the intelligent

man and seeker think for himself, enquire deeply and find

out what he wishes to. Then he has to stabilize his understanding

and faith in what he has found out firsthand. To make his search

safe and fruitful, there is every help and guidance given.

The triplets of Dharma

Sincerity of purpose is the one quality that counts everywhere in all

our actions and pursuits. To be sincere all have an equal chance

and power. Even the weak and the unintelligent can raise sincerity

in themselves as much as their more blessed counterparts. It needs

no greatness of position, power or superiority. You find in the instance

we discuss, both Duhshasana and Draupadi equally sincere.

The womanly weakness and inferiority did not stand in the way of

Draupadi arousing the best notes of sincerity from within her. The

child can be as much sincere as the grown up. So, none can complain

of unequalness or lack of opportunity in this sublime virtue.

Sincerity arises from sentiments and emotions, or say feelings. It is

a kind of total identification with the object or purpose in hand.

There is no need for reason or anything subtler like that to evoke

sincerity at any time. In India there have always been a number of

spiritual seekers and saints, whose pursuit was dominated by sincerity

of purpose and total identification more than anything else.

Steeped in sincerity many have gone to several extremes, which

would have normally been considered wrong and disastrous. But

they were extraordinarily saved from the disastrous consequences.

Why? Only because, they had their stand in sincerity. The mere

dint of sincerity, however much wrongly placed it was in the eye of

reason, is the only force and power which saved them. This is but a

natural law, a fundamental one, governing the human heart and

life.

But mere sincerity will not be adequate, as perhaps the instance of

Duhshasana suggests. What is further needed is an important enquiry.

The motive and ideal must be good. Goodness is the ultimate

watchword. Well, the question arises as to what goodness consists

of. Goodness can have several facets and expressions. But briefly it

lies in giving freedom to the others as much as one wants it for oneself.

One should let others live just like one seeks to live oneself. In

the pursuit of our life, we should not take away or interfere with

the others' lives. The needs, urges and ideals of life are there for one

and all. And each should consider them as relevant and necessary.

A consideration of this nature instantly brings in the need for restraints

in oneself. A number of restraints applying to the body and

senses on the one hand and to the mind, intelligence and heart on

the other thus call for adoption and pursuit. Restraint is thus the

third virtue, quite imperative as the others. Every misbehaviour,

interference and assault arises only when restraints are lacking.

Duhshasana failed to apply the restraint needed and that is why he

assaulted Draupadi. Yudhishthira, standing on the opposite side,

displayed it copiously. Bound by his own promises, he removed

his garment just when Kama demanded it and laying it on the

ground he stood mute as a loyal servant of the enemies. Bheema

now and then erupted, no doubt, lacking restraint, but when admonished

he checked himself.

One takes to thieving only because he lacks restraint. One takes to

stealth due to the same instigation and cause. In any walk of life, it

is greed and misplaced feelings and thoughts that pull a man to the

wrong course of life.

In the Bhagavadgeeta, though many things are discussed and laid

down as the foundation and pursuit of dharma, there is one point

which alone ranks supreme. It is placed as the first and last limb of

Dharma and Wisdom. Indriya-nigraha or indriya-niyamana is this

fine virtue – restraint of the senses. In describing the stitha-prajna,

the guna-ateeta, the bhakta as well as the knower, Sri Krishna repeatedly

stresses upon the one limb, namely restraint of the senses.

When one’s senses are restrained, he becomes a lover of everyone,

even of the enemy. He is also loved by one and all. All quarrels,

fights, competitions and conflicts, all have their origin in lack of

restraint. In pursuing and practising the right type of restraint in

the right and feasible manner, lies the golden solution for all human

problems, both individual and social.

In the case of Draupadi’s humiliation, Duhshasana respected only

his own feelings and views. He threw aside those of Draupadi as

well as the several others including some of the best elders like

Vidura, Bheeshma, etc. Where a check and restraint had to be applied

he deliberately did not. For that mistake, he alone was responsible.

Naturally it brought its own consequences. The indweller

in him did not interfere with his trend of thinking or values.

Those whose feelings were interfered with and thereby got

wounded and pained were Draupadi herself and then her husbands,

besides the elders like Bheeshma and Vidura. Each of them

came out with his own counter thoughts and measures.

Draupadi found Duhshasana impossible to bear. But she could not

do anything to resist him bodily or externally. Her husbands, who

were the ones to give her defence were standing helplessly mute.

Naturally her sincerity and need both turned to the Indweller. She used

her wits and powers in desperation to bring the Indwelling Power

to an extraordinary measure of protection. Why not? That was her

wont, decision and challenge. She was moved more by the dire

need of the hour and the spontaneous feelings of her heart. It was

not so much reason. Reason arises only when the background of

calm and composure is first there. Draupadi's mind gave forth reason,

but that was earlier when the news of Duryodhana gaining her

in the game was broken to her by Pratikami. She sternly responded:

"Whom did the king stake first, himself or me?"

But now the situation was far more unnerving and sudden. It was

an instance of molest, that too right in the midst of an open assembly

by an act of pulling her dress. Probably that was the first time

when a woman of the land was ever submitted to a plight such as

this.

Naturally a flood of emotions and feelings surged up in her heart.

It gave vent in the form of a hectic call for protection. The within -

the presence dwelling within whatever we see outside, being the

cause of everything be it the vast space or the numberless galaxies,

here too the within could produce the necessary extraordinary phenomenon.

God's identity absolute

God and His Power are not anything remote or separate, as many

are prone to think. He may be transcendent, but surely He is immanent.

Everything is He himself, not the least different. Like a pinch

of sugar dissolved in a cup of water, His nature and Power are

fused in everything created, animate as well as inanimate, and are

found to exist in one form or other. Every form of existence has its

own specific place and importance. Nothing is inferior or superior.

The crow flies because of its power, which is truly the power of

God Himself. The mosquito too bites in exactly the same manner,

deriving its motivation from the same single source.

The humans too are fused into the being of God. God’s power is

fused in them as sugar in water. It is this power that makes the

body breathe and function. The mind thinks because of it. The intelligence

reasons due to the same Power and source. In the working

of the body and likewise in that of the mind and intelligence,

nothing except God’s power becomes manifest. It is but a question

of knowing this supreme Truth.

To look for God’s Grace as if it were something away and separate

from what already is in us and everywhere else, is the sheer poverty

of true wisdom. To view only the extraordinary phenomena,

sudden strokes of miracles like what happened in the case of Draupadi,

as an act of God's Grace is also a poor wit of man. As God is

equally present everywhere, the real seeker should try to think of

him alike in all events and causes. That is the road leading to

enlightenment and redemption.

The prompting of Draupadi's intelligence when she was first told

of her servitude to Duryodhana, by which she torpedoed the whole

attempt of the Kaurava camp headed by Shakuni, was equally an

act of God’s Grace and protection. The continuous lengthening of

her dress when Duhshasana forcefully pulled it asunder was none

the more. One was internal, the other external. If at all, the seeker

should try to find his inspiration in both. To stress one and thereby

lower the other will cut across his own ultimate object and ideal.

Differentiation is sometimes dangerous. It may lead him far too

astray.

Intelligence, the Supreme Creation

Of all the things created by the Supreme, the human within, the

mind and intelligence of the human, are the most superb. They are

the most potent. From the mind can arise the most august feelings

and urges like love, kindness and sacrifice. Equally so, from it can

emerge the most corrupt feelings and urges like hatred, cruelty and

selfishness. Because the mind is the seat and source of these opposites,

the scope and tussle of man is perpetually there to bridle the

mind the way he wants and the way that is the best. But for this

mystic swingingness, our life would become stale and even inert.

Likewise the intellect of man too can drift in the two directions, the

creative and the destructive, the useful and the useless. Because the

drifting is sure to be there, it becomes an uphill task to have it produce

the best and the most fruitful.

That is how right from the ancient times when our Seers began to

probe into the hidden truths of Nature and the secret of supreme

Goodness, they hit upon the Gayatri as the most needed and fruitful

prayer and desire. More than the usual prayer, it is a creative

thought where the thinker determines for himself the path he

wants to tread. The Gayatri mantra is very simple and lucid, precise

and firm in its content and import. May our intelligence be

'properly' propelled by the Indwelling Lord, who is worshippable, and

whose brilliance we meditate upon.

The suggestion is very clear and should make everyone think what

it means to him or her.

Coming back to Draupadi's plight and the way it was resolved,

even the withdrawal of Duhshasana did not terminate the whole

issue and liberate her and her lords. The debate and indecision continued.

When no decision could be arrived at, suddenly Dhritarashtra's

palace was rebounding with evil portends caused by birds,

animals, etc. The news was reported to the old King. He got terri58

fied. In his mind he was already sure that the designs of Duryodhana

and Shakuni were bad and disastrous. But the insistence of

his son and his own parental ties of attachment prevented him

from sternly preventing Duryodhana from what he was proposing

to do. Now that the evil portends were also there, Dhritarashtra felt

all the more sure that his family would soon be on the verge of annihilation.

So he hurried to get Draupadi to his presence and speaking

to her in gentle terms of approbation, he granted her three

boons; As a loyal wife and as a wise moralist, she chose only two of

them by which she gained the freedom of Yudhishthira and the

four brothers. She refused to avail of the third boon, regarding it as

superfluous to her purpose and stressed the need for avoiding

greed. She also declared, 'With my husbands set free, I want nothing

more. Whatever is needed by me, they will accomplish.' What

greater prudence and moderation can one think of?

Here the sudden emergence of evil portends is also an act of Providence.

First was the intelligent enquiry of Draupadi as to who got

staked first. Second was the visible protection given to her when

molested by Duhshasana. Third is the emergence of evil portends.

All these are steps in the same ladder, leading to the same height of

purpose. One should not overstress one step or underrate another.

Each is in place and has the same importance as that of another.

The Value of Dharma

Let me end the narrative on this important episode of moral and

ethical complexity. Let us see what this story tells us, the men and

women of the present day in the context of our lives and problems.

Whether it is devotion to God, the Almighty, or morality and ethics

in one form or another, in truth this is but a pursuit of man, which

he takes up for the merit and protection which it is capable of giving

him. Righteousness has its value, place and usefulness for man.

It is this usefulness that makes righteousness desirable, nay imperative.

To consider that righteousness is a law born from the unseen

heavens is not so much proper. The same is the case with devotion

to God. Belief in God and the pursuit of devotion are meritorious

for the intrinsic value and usefulness which they hold for

man. These again are man's wont, decision and pursuit.

Knowing that this is so, it is for the devotee and moralist to make

his devotional and moral pursuits as true and proper as possible.

Under the garb of devotion or morality, none can expect a license

for committing wrongs and excesses. Like a false step, knowingly

or unknowingly done by any other person, the error made by the

devotee and moralist is also sure to bring in its wake its specific

consequences.

Insofar as Yudhishthira, much against his wishes or those of others,

including Sri Krishna, chose to play dice with Shakuni and as the

first step began to offer valuable and great stakes, describing his

riches and power in eulogical terms, it was natural that he was led

to the consequences of the venture. In a game one loses or gains.

And in this case Yudhishthira lost. It is true that he was a great

Dharmishtha (moralist). But the fact is that even then he played the

game, agreed to play with Shakuni, knowing fully well that the latter

was an adept in foul play. When the game progressed, at every

stage Yudhishthira tried to win, but could not and did not. Naturally

the fate of the loser had to be accepted and faced. Was not this

that happened?

So even the best of the righteous has to face the inevitable consequence

of what he does, knowingly and even unknowingly. There

is nothing in righteousness which can insulate him from the consequences

of what he does. Now one may ask. What is then the special

protective power of righteousness or dharma?

In spite of the worst consequences and the righteous having to face

them, he will find an ultimate course of redemption. It is true that

the redemption will not always be easy or fast. As hard and painful

as the consequences are, so hard and slow will the redemption also

be. But redemption is sure to come. That is where dharma derives

its unique merit. It becomes worthy of man's option and pursuit.

Dharma protects when protected and preserved, is the one infallible

assurance.

You find this clearly demonstrated in this episode. Holding on to

dharma Yudhishthira hazarded to play the game, though he knew

well the stealth and its aftermath in the process. But the refusal to

play would tantamount to cowardice and withdrawal in fear.

Duryodhana should not have caused the play in the manner he

did. Once he chose to challenge Yudhishthira, it was not right for

him to back away from the game. A true Dharmishtha must preserve

his dharma at any cost. Whatever consequences may be ahead

for him, he should not flinch from its pursuit. Fearing deceit and on

that account withdrawing from a venture that faces the

Dharmishtha in the natural course of his life is not heroic or exemplary.

In the pursuit of dharma, dharma's own damage alone need be

considered and avoided.

Once he chose to play, Yudhishthira did his part as was customary

in a heroic manner. One after the other, he began to lose his stakes.

Further, each time a new stake was offered, particularly that which

his opponent. Shakuni, wanted and insisted upon. It was in that

strain. Yudhishthira offered himself first and then at the insistence

of his adversary staked Draupadi too.

If while clinging to Dharma and its pursuit a Dharmishtha is exploited

by his adversary by fair means or foul and is made to take

disastrous steps designed to destroy him, well, what is the solution?

Where lies the protection for the votary of Dharma? To this,

the answer lies in the very sequence of things that took place in the

game. Shakuni and Duryodhana had their evil intentions. In making

them pursue these, the Supreme Power had seen to it that their

object of attack, namely Yudhishtira, was destined to be saved. Just

like the passage for escape had been built in the wax palace, which

was later on set fire to, here too Providence had made the hole for

escape. In the former, the escape hole lay outside the palace. The

latter was built right within the body by making the intelligence

shortsighted. What precisely did Shakuni and Duryodhana plan to

ensure, namely the slavery of Draupadi, that indeed became the

lever for escape and means of redemption for the opponents.

Draupadi, the complex woman

Now let us think of Draupadi. Draupadi was bold and shrewd. She

as a typical woman could take stock of the situations with a practical

touch. But along with heroism, exclusive loyalty and faithfulness,

she had enough of competition and intolerance towards the

Duryodhana brothers. She had spoken teasingly about Duryodhana,

Karna and others, and that is what provoked the latter's

wrath and cruelty. Her morality and steadfastness were good and

rewarding, but her other traits and indulgence too were equally

damaging in their own way. One does not mean an escape from the

other. Each has its own law of compensation.

But nonetheless she was exclusive in her personal loyalties and ide62

als. Her nature was such that in the pursuit of her loyalties she

would brook no resistance or opposition. Although Arjuna was the

one who won her hand after hitting the target with the bow in the

marriage assembly, Kunti, the mother of Arjuna, accidentally pronounced

her as the prize to be equally possessed and shared by all

the five sons of hers. Without the least doubt or resentment, she

honoured and accepted this verdict of her mother-in-law and

abided by it throughout her life. Arjuna and his other three brothers

had accepted the elderliness and leadership of Yudhishthira in

all matters. That indeed became the law for Draupadi too. All this

clearly reveals the greatness and exclusiveness of her thinking and

decisions.

As a true woman, complex and strong in her emotions and sentiments,

Draupadi did embody a sentimental side also within her. A

woman would cease to be a woman if she is weak in the display of

timely sentiments. Giving vent to her sentiments liberally on the

one hand and pursuing the best and hardest ideals on the other,

this indeed is a curious moral mixture. It cannot but bring a mixture

of reciprocal developments and outcomes. And that is what

took place.

Who, particularly which woman, will indeed have the courage and

timely prompting to resist heroically, without succumbing, the assault

of a tyrant like Duhshasana, who had not merely the might of

position but also the strength of righteousness (at least until Draupadi

questioned it) to do what he did? Indeed it was no small heroism,

no ordinary decision. By making such a decision and showing

such heroism, Draupadi had proved herself exceptionally strong

and adorable in her mental and moral mettle and ideals. Naturally

on two accounts her step was pregnant with untold consequences.

One was that like a strong whirlpool attracting the substances float63

ing on the surface near about into itself, her thoughts and feelings

would inevitably warrant their own reciprocal outcome. Secondly

only a heroic mind will be tested in an extraordinary manner. By

means of the first the natural laws of the mind are fulfilled, and by

the latter a great elevation and reward are accomplished. Both are

quite in place and promoting too in their effects.

To be a strong and exclusive moralist or devotee does not mean to

be soft and be gentle always or to pass through an easy and challengeless

life in the world. As high and deep, as strong and exclusive,

are one's ideals and pursuits, so hard and tough will be the

trends and ordeals they will call for. No hardship or test can be an

excess for such a person of pure ideals and pursuits. By stepping

into such hardships and trials, the devotee and the moralist

strengthens and glorifies his decision and pursuits on the one hand.

On the other, he allows Nature or Almighty to reveal to the rest of

the world how rewarding and redeeming an exclusive pursuit can

be though attended with a number of risks and battles.

Even today it is not the lakhs and crores of mortals who eat their

daily bread, grow outwardly and in the end breathe their last, perhaps

leaving to their posterity some bounty in the form of houses

and other riches that constitute the backbone of mental and moral

civilization of the mankind and their deep-rooted culture. Instead it

is those rare few, mostly countable in fingers, who, right from the

start or soon later in their life set before themselves sublime values

and sound standards in the pursuit of which they make, with

pleasure and willingness, any extent of sacrifices and risks. Of all

such people, the assiduous moralists (righteous and dharmic persons

like Yudhishthira) and the exclusive devotees (like Meera and

others) rank supreme. It is because of instances such as these and

the historic influences which they have perpetuated in our society

right from the ancient days, that even today at least one man here

and another woman there are born whose hearts and minds get

inspired to make the highest of seeking and the deepest of yearning.

 

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(End)

(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of H H Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha ji  for the collection)