FIVE
Another time, Yudhishtira asks, “They say intelligence is superior to everything else. Intelligence helps a man plan for the future, to provide for it; with intelligence, a man meets every emergency. Pitama, tell me about intelligence and how it used. Especially when a king is beset by many enemies, how does he protect himself with intelligence?”
“When a king is in distress, he often finds that a friend becomes a foe and an enemy a friend. There are times when fate makes everything uncertain and a king hardly knows what to do. There are times when an enemy must be befriended and times when a friend must be treated as an enemy. What a king does depends on the times and the king who does not hesitate to do what the time demands seldom fails. While a king who is unbending, seldom succeeds.
Of course, a man must be investigated thoroughly, before he is accepted as a friend. Enemies must be studied even more carefully, their every strength and weakness examined. In this life, which is a play of masks, often friends appear in the guise of foes and foes disguised as friends. The terms friend and enemy are relative: when a man suits one’s interests, he is a friend; when he opposes them, he is an enemy. If a man serves one’s purpose as long as he lives, he is a lifelong friend. Ultimately, friendship and enmity are matters of self-interest.
Selfishness is the most powerful impulse in every man: the world turns on this pivot. No man is precious to another unless he stands to gain by him. Of course, men’s needs are varied and one man is popular because he is liberal-minded, another because he is sweet-tongued and a third because he is religious. Like-minded people generally become friends, until time changes their affections. It is the rule and not the exception that friendships last as long as they serve some purpose. As soon as the reason for the friendship ends, so does the friendship itself.
An intelligent man knows when to make peace with an enemy. When two enemies become friends, it is obvious that each one only bides his time until he can get the better of the other. And it is invariably true that the wiser and the more patient of the two is the one that succeeds. Until the proper opportunity presents itself, you must pretend there is no one dearer to you than your enemy, no one you trust as much. When the time comes, never hesitate to wage war! Yudhishtira, this policy applies not only with enemies, but friends as well.”
Another day, Yudhishtira asks, “Pitama, what is the font of sin? From where does evil spring?”
“Greed is the single root of evil. Greed destroys dharma and punya. From this single spring the river of sin flows. When a man covets, he becomes full of hypocrisy and cunning. Anger and lust come from covetousness and so do a hundred other sicknesses of the mind. The loss of judgement comes from it, deception, arrogance, malice, vindictiveness, shamelessness, the loss of virtue, anxiety and infamy all spring from covetousness. These are not all. Miserliness, cupidity, arrogance of birth, arrogance of learning, of beauty, of wealth, every impropriety, harshness of speech, speaking ill of others, ruthlessness, malevolence, insincerity, gluttony, a love of lies, indeed, a love of every kind of sin: all sprout from the root of covetousness. My son, no man in this world has been able to relinquish greed. Life on earth may decay, men may diminish in numbers and stature; but the power of greed will never fade. Even the greatest men, those of deep learning, whose minds are a treasury of the scriptures, those who are so able at advising others: these are found wanting when it comes to managing their own lives. Greed nestles in their hearts and makes them weak and cowardly, its slaves.”
“Tell me about ignorance, Pitama,” says Yudhishtira.
“Ignorance, too, springs from the same covetousness. As greed grows, so does ignorance and the mind becomes dark and hardly sees clearly any more.”
Yudhishtira is thoughtful, then asks, “What are the first duties of a king, which must have precedence over the rest?”
“Restraint is the quintessential dharma. Just as giving in to his greed leads a man to every sin, restraining himself leads him to glory. From restraint come the virtues of compassion, forgiveness, patience, mercy, impartiality, truth, sincerity, humility, modesty, steadiness, tolerance and liberality, serenity, contentment, sweetness of speech, benevolence and a heart free of malice. A restrained man will never be a slave to the attachments of this world, nor to his greed. Once he learns to restrain himself, he is already upon the threshold of moksha.”
“Tell me about the truth, my lord, if you are not tired.”
Bheeshma smiles. “All my pain and tiredness left me, when Krishna blessed me. Truth is the dharma not just of kings, but every human being. Truth is the eternal dharma; it is the final sanctuary, the last tapasya. Truth is the highest yoga; why, it is the immortal Brahman. There is no yagna as profound as truth: the three worlds are founded in truth and nothing else.
There are many aspects to truth, Yudhishtira. Impartiality, self-control, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, goodness, renunciation, contemplation, dignity, fortitude, compassion and non-violence are some. But the Truth itself is single, eternal, immutable.”
“What must a man strive for in his life?”
“All the living are in death’s shadow. The nights come and go, but every moment death draws nearer. Death waits for no man; it frequently arrives before a man’s desires in this life have been fulfilled. Even when a man is plucking flowers in his garden, death snatches him away, like a tiger a ram. So, my child, avoid procrastination in your life. Finish today what you had planned to do tomorrow. Do in the morning what you had left for the afternoon. Time is always shorter than we believe and a man must acquire virtue as quickly as he can. Thus, one must be ready for death: for he comes at his whim, without notice. Only virtue bestows fame in this world and the next.
On earth, man is plagued by a thousand desires, endlessly. He grows attached to possessions and people; he grows attached to places and houses. His work, his home, his lands, his wife and children all weave a subtle web of bondage. Death brutaly tears every thread. Nothing but truth can resist the web of attachment. When a man realizes how ephemeral this world is, he sees the truth; then death holds no fear for him. For, the fear of death springs from attachment. In every man, there are the seeds of death and the seeds of freedom. It is left to each man which seeds he chooses to nurture. It always seems the seeds of attachment are easier to nourish. But the truth of time is otherwise.
Thus the wise man restrains his senses; he rises above desire and anger. He learns how to treat pleasure and pain alike. Serenity comes to him and, then, nirvana. What he thinks and what he says, what he does: all his life is founded in Brahman and such a man does not die, but is born to eternal life.
There is no vision like knowledge and truth is the greatest tapasya. Attachment is the most terrible sorrow and relinquishment the only, deepest joy. Yudhishtira, we are born from Brahman, the eternal current; by Brahman, we are born. If we devote ourselves to that supreme Spirit, we can return to Brahman. My son, always seek the self hidden in the deepest cave of the heart.”
Yudhishtira asks, “Which is the man whom all the world loves? Who is he that is perfectly accomplished?”
“He will be learned, good and wise. He is never so proud that he will lose his composure from arrogance. He is contented and serene. His senses do not lead him astray and he is always possessed of the peace that comes from knowing the supreme truth.”
“Why does a man become a sinner or virtuous? How does he achieve relinquishment and liberation?”
“It is desire that makes a man sin, when he grows so attached to the objects of the senses that he will do anything to gain them. With attachment, the mind becomes clouded and a man abandons the path of virtue. When he is no longer virtuous, he pretends to be so and becomes a hypocrite. The acquisition of wealth by hypocrisy is not difficult and the man plunges down the way of sin. He does not listen any longer to the advice of elders and wise men; and soon there is hardly any hope of Salvation for him.
The man of dharma always seeks the welfare of others. He is sage and knows how to avoid the pitfalls of the senses, how not to let them rule him. He knows the difference between brief, empty pleasure and true joy. A man is virtuous when he is a master of his senses. But just this does not give him freedom; he must practise renunciation, so desire itself leaves him, slowly. At the final stage, knowing this world is merely a passing pageant in death’s halls, the virtuous man casts off his very virtue and its rewards: heaven and happiness. He sets out to seek moksha, the unchanging condition.”
“What are the qualities a man needs to be free from attachment, to achieve moksha?”
“The man who is near moksha has passed beyond the senses and their world. Hunger and thirst do not approach him; his body makes no demands. His mind has grown far beyond anger, greed and sin. He never forgets himself, the truth that is within him. A bamboo hut and a king’s palace are the same to such a man. Pain and pleasure do not touch him, he knows both are conceived in delusion. He sees the world clearly, as only the coming together of the five elements. Pain, pleasure, loss, gain, defeat and victory are all the same to him. Fear and anxiety lay no claim on his heart. He knows that a thousand kings of majesty have lived briefly and then passed on from the earth; he knows the evanescence of life. He has learnt the truth that all things in the world are fleeting, insubstantial. With such wisdom he attains moksha, be it in the jungle or in his home.”
The spiritually inclined Yudhishtira is intrigued. He asks, “How can a man attain moksha without leaving his home and its bonds and going into the forest?”
Bheeshma says, “A king need not abandon his kingdom to attain nirvana; only, he must not be attached to his throne. So, too, with everything else in life, your wife, children, work or wealth. If you can turn your mind away from all these to the eternal Brahman, you will find Salvation. Your state of mind is what is important, not where you are. Knowledge comes from relinquishment and yoga, which is union, comes after knowledge. If his spirit is enlightened, it does not matter if a man lives in his home or in the forest. He is a sannyasin.”
Yet another day, Yudhishtira asks, “Where is the Devi of prosperity to be found?”
“She dwells in the eloquent man, the active man, the attentive man. If a man is high-minded, free of anger and has his passions under control, prosperity comes to him. A man of little energy does not find the Goddess of prosperity, nor does he who is full of anger, or he who is diffident. She lives with brahmanas who are devoted to studying the Vedas, kshatriyas who are men of dharma, vaishyas who are absorbed in their trade and sudras who are bhaktas.”
“What should be the dharma of a man who wants to pass pleasantly through this world and have heaven in the next?”
“There are three sins of deed such a man must avoid: killing, thieving and adultery. He must avoid four sins of speech: evil talk, harsh words, lies and speaking ill of others. He must resist three sins of the mind: coveting what belongs to someone else, injuring another in his heart and disbelief in the scriptures. If a man can avoid these ten sins, he passes safely through this world and finds swarga for himself.”
“Is there any virtue superior to brahmacharya? What is the highest punya, grandfather, which is the greatest purity?”
“Abstinence from wine and meat is superior to celibacy. Indeed, you can hardly aspire to being a brahmachari if you cannot first control what you eat and drink. Dharma is the highest punya, it is also the greatest purity.”
“Which are the times in life for dharma, artha and kama?”
“The first part of a man’s life is for earning wealth. Then, dharma must be followed and the enjoyment of kama comes after. Remember, one should not be attached to any of these, but always be reaching beyond them for moksha.”
Another time, Yudhishtira asks, “Which is the holiest tirtha?”
“All the tirthas can purify a man, for they are all blessed; but, my son, there is no tirtha like truth. The deepest, fathomless tirtha is the mind. It is in that tirtha one should bathe, for it is the most untainted of all holy waters. If a man bathes in the Manasa sarovara called truth he becomes sincere and gentle, truthful, compassionate, restrained and tranquil.”
“Who is man’s truest friend? Is it his mother, his son, his guru or his companion? When a man dies, he abandons his body as if it were no more than a clod of earth. Who is the friend who follows a man into the next world?”
Bheeshma smiles, “Man is born alone, my child and so, too, he dies. Whether he knows it or not, he is quite alone all through this wondrous journey called life. Once you are dead, who stays with you? Your mother and father, children and guru, your friends and all the others turn away from your funeral pyre and return to their own lives. But, Yudhishtira, dharma follows you out of this world. Dharma stays with a man even after he is dead. At last, dharma is the only true friend.”
There is a lot else that Yudhishtira asks his Pitama and Bheeshma answers the Kuru king patiently, giving freely of his wisdom to the Pandava. At last, one evening, Yudhishtira asks his last questions. “In this world who is the one God in whom we may seek final refuge? Who is the God I can worship and have everything I want from him? Which is the one true religion that is above all others? Which is the mantra by which a man can free himself from the bonds of life and death?”
Bheeshma takes Yudhishtira’s hand. His face full of light, he says, “My son, Krishna is Lord of the universe. He is the God of Gods, who has come among us as a man. There is no one greater than him: among all the stars, in all the ages. He pervades the akhanda and if you meditate on him and his many names, you will pass beyond every sorrow.” Bheeshma smiles, “You ask me which the greatest religion is. It is Krishna. He is the highest tapasya, the final refuge and the holiest one. He is the beginning of creation and its end. Dark Krishna is the eternal Brahman. He is the Paramatman, Lord of the past, the present and the future. Surrender to him, Yudhishtira and you will find eternal bliss, the place beyond change.”
Bheeshma keeps Yudhishtira’s hand in his for some time and they are lost in a living silence, as the sun sets. Yudhishtira is content. Like cobwebs from his mind, his Pitama’s wisdom has brushed away his doubts and anxieties. His heart is full of faith again; the tiredness and despair of the war have all but left him.
Muni Vyasa arrives there. He says to Bheeshma, “You have restored Yudhishtira’s faith, why, he glows with it. And now, great one, your treasure of wisdom will remain in this world for a time more.”
Bheeshma lays his hand on the Pandava’s head. “You have no more questions. Go back to your kingdom now and begin your reign; and let it be a just and prosperous one. I know your heart, Yudhishtira, your subjects will be as happy as the people of the earth were when Nahusha, Harishchandra and Yayati ruled them. Bless you, my son. Go now and live a joyful life. But when the sun turns north again, at uttarayana, come back to me. I must see you once more at that time, ah, the time I have waited for all this long life!”
Yudhishtira takes the dust from his Pitama’s feet. He kisses his hands tenderly and walks away from him, as night falls. Full of new hope, the Pandavas return to Hastinapura. Slowly, the memories of the war begin to fade from their minds and they have sense of a new day dawning in their lives. Quiet joy is upon them, welling in their hearts.
On Kurukshetra, profound peace again enfolds Bheeshma upon his uncommon bed. His heart is as light as the air, soaring: at last, he knows he has no task left in this world to fulfil. Death draws near like an old friend.