Arjuna’s Way

 Arjuna was the greatest warrior and archer in Mahabharata. His arch-enemy and rival was Karna, on the Kaurava side.

What made Arjuna an invincible?

Arjuna once vowed that he would kill his enemy Jayadrata, the King of Sindh the next day before sunset and if he failed in his mission then he would enter fire and end his life.

Jayadratha, then went to Drona, who was then the commander of the Kaurava army, and pleaded with him to protect his life.

Drona had been the guru for all the Pandavas and Kauravas in teaching the techniques of warfare. For Drona Arjuna, was the most favorite student.

Drona loved Arjuna and Arjuna loved Drona, throughout their lifetime.

Jayadratha was also a former pupil of Drona.

Drona then gave him words of consolation and said that he would design a very rare kind of vyuha or the arrangement of troops the next day that would baffle even Arjuna and thus save his life.

Jayadratha then got some courage for his life and asked Drona, as to whether he showed any partiality towards Arjuna and taught way too many war techniques than his other pupils including himself.

Drona replied to him that he never showed partiality between them but Arjuna was a better student and he always improved his craft. While all others had left their learning after they left his school or Gurukul, Arjuna kept on learning archery from various other sources.

He had gone to Kailash, pleased Lord Shiva with his bravery and courage, and obtained Pasupata astra. He had gone to the abode of Indra the Lord of Gods and had obtained divine astras from him.

He had also learned the nuances of the art of dancing in the abode of Indra.

Now, with all these sustained efforts on his part, he is easily better than me, replied Drona.

In the next day's battle, true to his words Drona formed the army in a complex triple Vyuha and kept Jayadratha at the very end of the formation. But defying all of them, Arjuna reached Jayadratha and killed him on time, fulfilling his words.

From this, we know that one has to be a lifelong learner.

Also, Arjuna, followed one more technique in life and that was, first he would kill those who surrounded and supported his enemies, isolate them, and then concentrate on killing them.

In other words, Arjuna would isolate his target, and then pounce upon it and go for the jugular. Karna, would not do that. He would go to the jugular straight.

The method of Arjuna’s was systematic in approach with clinical precision.

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                                                                    DEATH 

We think that physical death is the only death. That is ceasing to breathe is the only death.

Yes, it is the official way that death is defined.

But death may be a living death too and that may not be visible to others. To everyone around him, he might be living a bubbling life, but inside his heart, he may be a dead man. He would be the dead man walking, without others not knowing that fact.

Every one of us carries loads of our painful past, and many are not able to overcome those defeatist thoughts. While that may require healing time heals a lot. Even if the wounds are healed the scars remain for a lifetime.

Now, let us explore the different kinds of death.

1. We all know as mentioned already, the physical death.
2. Losing your honor is another kind of death. What is the use of living if we lose our honor?

When someone insults us in front of all the people then it is a death.

3. Poverty is another form of death. A poor man only pulls himself along and he seldom lives a life. He has constant worries about his next meal.

In Panchatantra, a verse aptly sums up the death due to poverty.

A beggar to the graveyard ‘hi’ed,

O! Friends corpse arise he cried.

One minute, lift my poverty,

For I am weary of my poverty,

You are rich and good,

The corpse was silent and then he knew that

It was better being dead than being alive and poor.

The above story is narrated about a beggar, who was living near a graveyard and one day, a wealthy man had passed away and his relatives were taking his body to the graveyard for giving proper last rites.

He thought that since the wealthy man had died and he had no more use for his wealth, so why can’t he the afflicted and poor ask for riches from him?

And he called out the dead man to give him some of his wealth. The corpse was silent and then he knew that it was better to be dead than be alive and poor.

4. Seeing your children suffer is another kind of death.

5. When someone you trust a lot betrays you, that is another form of death.

6. If you love somebody and then have to separate them, that is death. Then he/she might become your password because you cannot forget them.

7. Still more, a cruel form of death is being mocked by a person who initially loved you but deserted later.

The arrows lodged in your heart may be extricated, but the wordy arrows lodged into your hearts are not visible but they torment you all through your life.

Hence we should not abuse or insult others.

8. Defeat is another kind of death. Swami Vivekananda would say ‘With every success you live a little more and with every defeat you die a little’.

9. Killing another person with a weapon is punishable. But what if you don’t take any weapon to kill others but damage his reputation?

That is character assassination. Even though this is also a crime, there is no way to prove the character assassination and it is difficult to get over the scandalous charges.

There will be always someone who would say, that without fire no smoke comes out. Even, if you are as white as a swan, it is not possible to get over the scandalous charges. This is another kind of death

10. If you lived royally in your town, but due to a sudden reversal of fortune you have become poor, then that is another kind of death. Shastras says that we should not live in the same place where we once lived royally.

Our shastras, tell us how to lead a life that is worthy of leading and how to succeed in life.

To know more about them kindly follow these links to get the books that give invaluable wisdom about living successfully and happily.

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The Art of Magic Squares: Step-by-Step Solutions

Hinduism for Teens and Adults course day 1 13.7.2021

We all know that India or Bharat is the birthplace of Hinduism. But we will be astonished to note that no university teaches Hinduism to the Hindus or the people living in this subcontinent.

There is only one such University in the world that teaches Hinduism to people of all lands and cultures and that University is situated in the United States of America.

I came to know about Hindu University in America when I participated in a course conducted by BSIS or,  BHISHMA SCHOOL OF INDIC STUDIES https://www.bhishmaindics.org/ 

One faculty by name Narendra Joshi took classes for us in the BSIS was an alumnus of the Hindu University of America https://www.hua.edu/ 

The Hindu University of America conducts a lot of courses on Hinduism. One such course is 'Exploring Hinduism For Teens And Parents.' This course is conducted by Dr. D.K. Hari and Hema Hari.

The first time I came in contact with Dr. D.K. Hari was when he took a session on Kala Gnana or the calculation of the time some 8 years back.

That itself was a fascinating subject. Afterward, I had attended some short lectures regarding various aspects of Sanatan Dharma.

They both have created exhaustive content on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/BharathGyan They have a website called the https://bharathgyan.com/ 

They have also authored many books on the greatness of Bharat.

This is the first day of their course 'Exploring Hinduism for Teens and Parents'. The course was simply mind-blowing.

The first day took some time to settle down and get introduced to various features that are available to the students.

Once that part was over the classes took off well.

The question that was put was what was the original name of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The original name for the Arabian Sea was Sindhu Sagar because the river Sindhu drains into oceans there. The original name for the Bay of Bengal was Gangasagar.

Someone put a question as to why the Bay of Bengal is not called the Brahmaputra Sagar because it also drains into the oceans. 

The teachers said that the Brahmaputra is called by different names throughout its region of flow. In one place it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo, Siang, Jamuna (not to be confused with the Yamuna) it merges with the river Padma as the Ganges is called in Bangladesh and then this is called the Meghna until it drains into the ocean.

I never knew that the Brahmaputra is also called the Jamuna. New information to me.

 Then another interesting question was put; what is the meaning of Bharat. Our constitution names countries like India or Bharat. India is the name given to us by our western neighbors and the Europeans. The name India is derived from the name Sindhu. The Persians had a problem with the syllable S and wherever possible they substituted it with H. So the land that lied beyond the river Sindh came to be called by them Hindu instead of Sindhu.

The teachers it seems have traveled a lot of countries it seems and they say that we are called the Hind by the different cultures and nationalities.

On the other hand, the name 'Bharat' which is the name that we gave ourselves has a very interesting etymology.

'Bha' means light, like Bhaskar. 'Rath' means the chariot. 'Rath' is also closely related to the word 'Rathi' or delight.

That means we are people who are immersed in knowledge.

Sage Vishwamitra refers to our country as 'Bharat Janam' or the people living in Bharat. So the word of Bharat is there from the Vedic times.

How did this land come to be known as Bharat by our forefathers? 

There are a lot of Bharathas' in our mythology. Sri Rama's brother was called the Bharatha, the son born to the Dushyantha, and Sakunthala was called Bharatha and there was also a King called the Jada Bharatha.

How did the other cultures call us?

The Chinese are also an ancient and parallel culture to ours.

The Chinese called the King of the Turks the King of Lions for their being ferocious.

They called the King of Persia the King of the Kings for their wealth, glory, and fertile lands.

They called the King of Rome to be King of Men. The Romans glorified physical strength. The Rome and the Greece was the birthplace of the Olympics. Who can forget the Pheidippides.

The Greek and the Romans believed in physical fitness, valor, courage etc. They ruled a vast area of the land for a very long time.

They enslaved people from different parts of the world. Spartacus is an example of the rebel slave. It is said that at one point there were about 10 slaves for every Greek. 

But if you go to the Greece and Rome and ask them about their ancient culture, they would say that we do not know anything about that. Go to the museum and find it yourself.

If you go to the Persia and asked them about their past culture and religion which was called the Zorashtrians they would know nothing about that. 

But if you came to India, you need not ask them about their past culture and religion. Yes. We have taken a beating, our land mass has come down. Originally the Bharat extended from the Afghanistan to Pakistan to Bharat, to Bangladesh and to the Burma.

Now our land mass has come down but still we essentially keep or preserve the ancient culture and the religion intact. We still see temples more than thousand years old and the practice of worshipping the departed, etc remains the same. We still worship the idols all over the country. The mantras that we utter are all the same throughout the length and the breadth of India.

That means our roots are strong and they go deep.

The first class was only an appetizer. Now awaiting the main course.

How many Prime numbers are there | Are Prime Numbers the building block of Integers

Samhita or Joining in Taitarya Upanishad

Samhita means joining or union. 

We will see some unions here.

The idea is to take from the gross to the subtle.

There are five kinds of unions mentioned in this Upanishad.

1. Adi lokam - knowledge concerning the universe

2. Adi jyotisham - knowledge concerning light - luminosity

3. Adi Vidyam - knowledge concerning vidya or flow of Upanishad knowledge

4. Adi Prajam - knowledge concerning progeny (maintaining family line) and

5. Adi Atmam - knowledge concerning oneself as a human being.

First let us take Adi Lokam.

athadhilokam.h .prithivi purvarupam.h . dyauruttararupam.h .

akashah sandhih . vayuh sandhanam.h . ityadhilokam.h . . .

First, with regard to the worlds: The earth is the first form, heaven is the last from, the akasa or sky is the union and the air is the medium. Thus with regard to the worlds.

athadhijautisham.h . agnih purvarupam.h . aditya uttararupam.h . apah sandhih .

vaidyutah sandhanam.h . ityadhijyautisham.h . . .

Next, with regard to the heavenly lights: Fire is the first form, the sun is the second form, water is the union and lightning is the medium. Thus with regard to the heavenly lights.

athadhividyam.h .acharyah purvarupam.h…antevasyuttararupam.h . vidya sandhih . pravachana sandhanam.h . ityadhividyam.h ….

Next, with regard to knowledge: The teacher is the first form, the pupil is the second form, knowledge is the union and the recitation is the medium. Thus with regard to knowledge.

When the teacher and the student come together they come together with the object of learning. Therefore Vidya sandhih. What causes the transmission of the Vidya? It is pravachanan or discourse by the guru to his students.

athadhiprajam.h . mata purvarupam.h .pitottararupam.h . praja sandhih . prajanana                 sandhanam.h .ityadhiprajam.h ....

Next, with regard to progeny: The mother is the first form, the father is the second form, the progeny is the union and procreation is the medium. Thus with regard to the progeny.

The Mother is the first form and the father is the second form. When they both come together a child is born. What makes them come together? It is the fertility/marriage etc.

athadhyatmam.h . adhara hanuh purvarupam.h . uttara hanuruttararupam.h . vaksandhih . jihva sandhanam.h . ityadhyatmam.h …

Next, with regard to atman: The lower jaw is the first form, the upper jaw is the second form, the speech is the union and the tongue is the medium. Thus with regard to the atman.

Objects for meditation	Purva rupam (Prior form)	Uttara rupam (Latter form)	Sandhih (Union)	Sandhanam (Means of joining)
Universe	Earth	Heaven	Akasa	Air
Light	Fire	Sun	Water	Lightning
Knowledge	Teacher	Pupil	Knowledge	Recitation
Progeny	Mother	Father	Progeny	Procreation
Self Atman	Lower jaw	Upper jaw	Speech	Tongue

itima mahas hitah . ya evameta mahasa hita vyakhyata veda . sandhiyate prajaya pashubhih . brahmavarchasenannadyena suvargyena lokena …

These are the great Samhitas (combinations). He who meditates on these Samhitas, as here explained, becomes united with progeny, cattle, the light of Brahman, food and the heavenly world.

The idea is to go from the gross to the subtle. These mantras urge us to think like this to go from the gross to the subtle. If we think like this then the rewards are having a good marital life with good children, lot of wealth.

Think of this body, world etc as the gross then go one step at a time to the subtle or the atman.

We will be having that Brahman or God consciousness as the reward for thinking like this.

Needless to say that if we make it an habit to think like this in our day to day life we will be wealthy and successful in our life. Also we will get the enlightenment as a result of our pious life.

How Should A King Behave In Times Of Distress.

'How should a king behave when he is without money in his treasury, depleted army, his ministers not loyal to him as they tell others what is happening in the meetings', asked Yudhishthira.

To him, Bheeshma replied, 'the morality or the standards that are to be followed in ordinary circumstances is different from those that are to be followed in dire circumstances.

The king should always have access to his treasury, army, ministers, servants etc. So a king should in no circumstances even think of losing them.

The treasury and the army are like his two arms. Of these two if he has treasury he can maintain an army. So treasury is of utmost importance to him.

A king should see to it that he fills up the treasury in lawful means in ordinary times. But in dire circumstances, he can resort to dire measures.

Since a king is the one who supports the kingdom, the kingdom should support a king in his time of need.

In times of distress, he could resort to filling his treasury by taking whatever measure one needs to take even if it appears to be outright immoral.

Suppose a big tree is to be felled down, it cannot be felled down without causing disturbance or damage to other trees or living creatures living around it.

First, we have to cut down the branches. These branches may be entangled with the branches of other trees in the vicinity. When the branches fall down they may kill any animal living underneath it.

Likewise while filling his treasury a king may resort to such measures which are not always conducive to morality, virtue, or dharma.

But if a king is taken to excessive adherence to dharma, he may have to lose his kingdom or his subjects may have to suffer.

Each one has its proper place.

A king in dire needs can obtain wealth in not so straight means and in times of normalcy give it back to the people.

In this way, his people will not censure him and he will also not be liable for adharma.

A king that has a well-filled treasury obtains success here in this life. He also earns religious merit doing sacrifices and giving of his wealth.

In ordinary circumstances, his treasury should be filled up by righteous means and in dire circumstances, his treasury should be filled by means that may not be approved by the scriptures. But by following this path a king does not earn sin.

Wealth

Yudishthira was very sad after he won the Great War, because he had killed all his kinsmen.

He was lamenting and telling his brothers that the Kingly duty of ruling the subjects doesn’t appeal him. He will go to the forests and spend his days as a recluse on penance to extirpate his sins.

To him Arjuna said, ‘Brother, if you had wanted to do penance you need not have started the war. We could have all lived in the forests and wiled our time away and let our enemies to enjoy our entire Kingdom.

After winning this war with a superhuman effort now you are lamenting like this.

You say what are the use of the Kingdom and the riches of the Kingship since you have lost all your kinsmen in the war.

For a person of this nature what is the use of Kingdom and all the riches who will be satisfied to be a mendicant?

The Vedas declare that the riches obtained from one’s enemy after winning a war belongs to the winner.

If you go to the woods and practice penance abdicating your Kingly duties then dishonest men will rob the innocent civilians and cause chaos in the society. That sin will pollute you.

Many people including royal Nahusha when afflicted with poverty have done many wicked acts and repented for it later in their life. King Nahusha lamented about the state of poverty that he was in.

The recluses make no provision for the future. However the Kings duties are to make provision for the future as the religion of royalty depends on the wealth.

When one man robs another man he robs him of his religion also because deprived of his wealth he will not be in a position to follow virtue and will sink down.

Do not applaud the state of poverty as it breeds sinfulness. There is no difference between a fallen man and a poor man because; because of his poverty he falls again and again. It will be difficult to lift him up.

Wealth gives us opportunity to practice virtue and religion and also obtains heaven for ourselves in the Earth.

A man of little intelligence who loses his wealth is said to live a wretched existence.

He that has wealth has got friends, relatives and he is regarded as the true man in this world.

A poor man though he is virtuous is not respected in the society.

Wealth begets wealth. A wealthy man entering in any enterprise meets with success whereas a poor man doesn’t meet with success.

Religious acts, pleasure, joy, courage, learning and dignity etc. all spring from wealth.

A man who does not have wealth doesn’t have this world or the next.

A person who is lean in his wealth is indeed a lean person and not the one who is lean in his physique.

Therefore you also adore wealth and practice all the religious acts ruling your Kingdom.

To this the Rishi Devasthana would add the following words:

‘Four modes of life viz. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa are ordained one after the other. You pass on these stages one after the other.

Even the Rishis are ever engaged in action represented by their performing sacrifices.

Some say that he who does not seek wealth is superior. I would say that they would be incurring more sin if they follow this precept because to live in this world one needs wealth.

Beware of this. He who gives away wealth to undeserving person acquires the sin of killing a child in the womb.

The God created men and also He created the wealth. He kept the wealth in the custody of the man ordaining him to utilize the same for sacrifices.

Even the Lord of the Gods’ Indra had obtained to his position by making many sacrifices.

To him the Bhima would add these words:

The learned of the scriptures that all that we see is the food for the strong. This world of mobile and immobile is the object of enjoyment of the strong man. The wise men say that those who obstruct the way of the King should be slain by the King and the King doesn’t incur sin by taking this route to success.

Therefore you have only followed the duty of the King and no blame attaches you. The life of the recluse is only for the one who is not able to support anybody in life.

A person’s success in this world depends on his own exertion. If you believe in this then take up the Kingship and rule the world because he that is withdrawn from action never attains to success. Therefore everyone who wishes success should strive to his best.

You have vanquished all your enemies and acquired this vast land. Rule this land be a just King.

TRUE ASCETISM

TRUE ASCETISM

Some Brahmin boys thought that eating the remnants of the sacrifice leads one to great merit.

These boys left behind their Father, Mother, brothers, sisters and their gurus and came to the forest thinking that eating the remnants of sacrifice leads to great merit.

They were highly knowledgeable about the scriptures and they sincerely believed these words.

The chief of the celestials Lord Indra took pity on them of little understanding came to them in the form of a golden bird and addressed them saying, ‘those men who eat the remnants of the sacrifices are highly meritorious. They attain to the highest end being devoted to virtue’.

The boys, we will henceforth call them brahmacharins then thought ‘this bird is applauding those who eat the remnants of a sacrifice. Surely we eat our food that is the remnant of a sacrifice everyday. Therefore this bird is applauding us’.

To them the Indra in the form of the golden bird said, ‘I do not applaud you. You people are wicked and do not know the true meaning of eating the remnant of sacrifices’.

To him the brahmacharins asked ‘how do you say that we are not taking the remnants of the sacrifices. Everyday we perform sacrifices and take our food that is the remnant of the sacrifices. How do you say that we are wicked? Tell us sir, for we are open to know our short comings.

To them the Indra said,’ the domestic mode or the Grihastha mode of life is superior to every other mode. Because, this mode of life sustains the other three modes, that of Brahmacharya, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa.

The Grihastha mode is called the field of success.

The duties like the worship of the Gods’, the study of the Vedas and the gratification of the Pitris and also the services rendered to the guru are said to be the austere penances.

A person by performing these penances attains to the highest end. Asceticism is to obtained by leading the life of the Grihastha.

They that eat the remnants of feasts after duly serving their kinsmen, guests, Rishis attain to the highest ends. They are called the eater of the remnants of the sacrifices.

These men attain to the heaven and live for a long time in the region of the Gods ruled by Indra.

Hearing these words the brahmacharins then went to live with their parents and took wives to help them in the Grihastha mode of life got good children.

They also served the Gods, Rishis, Pitris and the guests and attained to the highest ends in life. 

Chastisement

It is said that the King have the right to wield the rod of chastisement. Only the King can wield this rod and nobody else. If other than King some body uses it then he is said to incur sin.

But this Danda or the rod of chastisement should be used as a last resort.

This rod of chastisement should be used against one’s enemies as well as one’s subjects.

When used against one’s enemies it should be used as a last resort, when all other three courses (Sama, Dhana, and Bhedha. Sama stands for peaceful way, Dhana stands for gift, Bhedha stands for creating rift) of action has been tried and of no avail.

 When used to rule his Kingdom it should be used keep the subjects to do their duty.

Kings rod of chastisement is invisible but the subjects know well that the King is capable of inflicting him punishments.

The rod of chastisement is awake when all other is asleep.

The rod of chastisements takes many forms.  For some mere censure is enough. For some it takes the shape of deprivation of food. In the case of some other it takes the shape of deprivation of wealth by means of fine and restrictions.

Where there is no other course then the rod is wielded in the form of physical suffering.

There are some sinful people who could only be kept under check by the application of rod of chastisement.

Because of the rod of chastisement all the four order of life is regulated and the society runs smoothly.

If the rod of chastisement is not wielded then the idea of ownership of property and family will not be there. Then nobody will marry.

The women marry because of the censure of the world and also because they need protection throughout their life.

Even for the camels and oxen to draw the carriages some amount of chastisement is required.

The Gods’ who wield the rod of chastisement like the Vishnu, Shiva, and Skanda are adored. Whereas, the Gods’ like Brahma, Pushan and Dhatri are not worshipped because they do not wield the rod of chastisement.

Everyone in the world is made to follow his duties because of chastisement. If no chastisement prevailed then unruly elements would overtake the world and harass the good and soft minded people.

There are two higher things in this world. They are abstention from injuring others and injury caused while striving for righteous motives.

Of these two the injury caused while one is engaged in striving for the righteous motives is superior because there is no act that is wholly meritorious and wholly wicked. All the actions are the mixture of these two.

One finds his foe taking up a weapon and advancing against him with the intention of killing him. In this case it is not a sin to kill the advancing foe. The one who provokes the other person to take up to arms to kill him is the cause for the killing. Therefore no sin is attached with the slayer of the foes, in self defense.

Chastisement is one more powerful limb of a kingdom. Without chastisement or punishment the people will lose respect for the general law and order.

Without the fear of punishment the people will stray from the good behavior and there won't be any sense of belonging or property.

Nobody will be able to protect his wife and children and his properties. Without the punishment there will be no prosperity. Punishment is the duty of the kings.

The punishment was sent down by the God to help the kings rule their kingdom with dharma.

The story of a dog turned sarabha

The story of a dog turned into sarabha

Once there lived in a forest a Rishi in an Ashram.

The forest was abounding in all kinds of wild animals like deer, buffalo, leopard, tiger, lion etc.

All these animals came to the hermitage of the saint and bowed before him out of respect, sought his blessings and went their way.

In fact all the animals behaved like a slave to the Rishi.

There lived a dog in the vicinity of the Ashram. He always lived nearby to the Rishi eating fruits, nuts etc.

The dog had become very docile.

Once as he was wandering near the hermitage it saw a leopard coming towards it with fierce eyes, eager to kill it to satisfy his hunger.

The dog immediately sensed the danger to its life and limb and ran fast towards the Rishi and begged to save him from the leopard.

The Rishi seeing the plight of the dog immediately changed it into a leopard.

The born leopard upon seeing the dog turned leopard, wishing not to harm a member of its own kind went its way.

Now the dog was eating all kinds of flesh and it was coming out of the influence of the former eating habits.

Then one day a tiger saw the dog turned leopard and came to hunt it.

The dog turned leopard went running in panic to the Rishi. The Rishi saw the plight of the dog turned into leopard and immediately changed it into a tiger.

The real tiger as soon as it saw the dog turn into tiger, left as it did not want to harm one of its own kind.

Now the dog turned tiger was living happily, killing all the animals in the forest.

Because of this no animal now came to the hermitage.

Once an elephant came to attack the tiger and this dog turned tiger became alarmed of it and went to the Rishi to once again free it from the fear towards the elephant.

Instantly the Rishi turned it into an elephant. Seeing another elephant the real elephant now went away as it did not want to do any harm to one of its own kind.

One day Lion came there and this elephant which got afraid of the Lion went to the Rishi to urged him to grant him the boon to be freed from the fear of Lion.

Instantly the Rishi turned it into a Lion. Seeing this the real Lion went away not wanting to harm one of its own kind.

Now its arrogance knew no bounds. It was killing all the other animals wantonly, spreading fear all across the forest as it now became the true king of the forest.

Hearing the atrocities of this a Saraba which kills the Lion came to the hermitage to punish the dog turned Lion.

As soon as it saw the Saraba the dog turned Lion went to the Rishi and asked him to save his life.

The Rishi now changed it into a  Saraba. Seeing this dog turned Saraba the real Saraba went away not wanting to hurt one of its own kind.

Now the dog turned Saraba thought 'this Rishi turned me from a dog to a leopard, to tiger, to an elephant to Lion and to a Saraba. He can also change me to a dog if he lives. Why not kill him before that'.

As soon as these kind of thoughts passed its mind the Rishi was able to read its mind and instantly changed it into the dog.

He said to the dog, ' I made you from dog into a leopard to a tiger to an elephant to a lion and then a saraba. Now you are plotting to kill me. I have done no harm to you. But you are planning to harm me. Hence you once again become a dog'.

The Rishi also drove the dog out of his hermitage.

The human beings are also like this. Many a times they forget what they had received from a person and after advancing in life plot to overthrow those who had aided in their progress.

A king that is guided from this story of dog turned into leopard, tiger, elephant, lion and into a saraba should appoint person who are good for that post. Putting an inferior person in an exalted position will cause that person to lose his senses and make him plot for the downfall of the king.

HOW SHOULD A MAN BEHAVE WHEN INSULTED IN AN ASSEMBLY BY WICKED PEOPLE

How should a man behave when insulted in an assembly by wicked people

If a person is insulted by another in an assembly for no fault of his but remains calm transfers his demerits to the insulting. The demerits of his is transferred to the insulting and the merits of the person who is insulting is transferred to the insulted.

One who talks good of a person when he is near and talks disparagingly of him when he is far behind his back loses all his merits.

That man who always talks ill of others should be avoided like any wild animal like a wolf, elephant in rage or a fierce dog.

When the person seeks to counter the wicked words of such people, those wise near him should counsel him saying that the 'exchange of words between a good and a wicked person is never desirable. Let the tirade go. Don't counter him as far as possible. That man who remains calm when reproached by such a wicked wretch of a person never suffers any pain caused due to speech'.

Lessons from trees and the creepers

LESSONS FROM TREES AND CREEPERS

Once the ocean which is the refuge of all the rivers asked them. 

'You mighty rivers. How is it that you bring to my realm the trees which are huge and weighing in tonnes but you do not bring to me any small plant like grass or creepers'.

To the ocean replied the Ganges, 'The trees stand in our banks in haughty temperament. They do not yield to us, very arrogant. It is for this reason that they have to stand against our current. Our current washes them away.

But the grass and the creepers act differently. They bend towards our mighty current and so they are not affected because of us'.

Likewise a king should act bending before mighty foes, saving his life and after the threat has passed away grow and thrive.

Lazy Camel

LAZY CAMEL

Long time back there lived a camel. It had knowledge of all its preexistence. It sat on meditation on Lord Brahma.

Lord Brahma was immensely satisfied with the Tapas of the camel and came down to reward the camel with his boons.

The camel sought the boon of having long neck at will, so long that it could even extend it to hundreds of miles.

Having obtained this wish the camel became idle. All it had to do was to reach out the food anywhere with its long neck.

One day he spied some food in a cave and as usual it wished to grow its neck to reach the food. The food was inside a cave and at a far off place.

As he was about to shorten and take back its neck it saw a terrible wind blowing with a heavy downpour of rain.

The camel thought that it would take out the neck from the cave after the cessation of the wind.

By this time a jackal and its wife entered the cave to escape the fury of the winds and the rains.

Being hungry it saw the extended head of the camel and started biting it.

This caused terrible pain to the camel and it started to shorten its neck. 

But the jackal stuck on to the neck of the camel along with its life partner and ate the camel away.

Camel paid for being lazy with its own dear life.

A king should not be idle. He should be very intelligent.

It is said that acts achieved through the intelligence are superior to the acts achieved through the might of the arms.

The acts achieved through the might of the arms are superior to acts achieved through the aid of the feet.

By avoiding laziness and by taking the aid of the intelligence a king should win this world.

How to win one's friends, relatives and even foes as said by Narada

How to win one's friends, relatives and even foes as said by Narada

Once sage Narada came to meet Lord Krishna in the Dwaraka.

Krishna received him well, did wash his feet with water, served food to him and while he was resting came to meet him.

Krishna asked Narada, 'Maharishi, I have all the things in this world. All my relatives are strong. They are all having a lot of wealth. I too give them half of what I have. But the speech of my relatives more often than not hurts me. They abuse me and always use cruel words about me.

I am helpless in this situation. Their cruel speeches burn me inside out. Please tell me a way on how to tackle them'.

Narada replied. 'Krishna calamities are of two kinds. One is internal and the other one is external. They arise due to one's own acts or due to the acts of others. Your present problem is due to your own act'.

There is a weapon that is not made of steel. That is very mild and yet capable of piercing all hearts. Use that weapon as often as possible. Sharpen that weapon as often as possible and tie the tongues of your kinsmen.

The giving of food to one's own capacity, forgiveness, sincerity, mildness and honor to one to whom an honor is due, all these constitute a weapon not made of steel.

By soft words turn away the minds of the kinsmen who use harsh words, mollify their hearts and tame their slanderous tongues.

This could be used or applied only by great men with pure heart. Take up this weight. Following this you can subdue your friends as well as foes'.

The Principal duties of a Kingdom

Yudhishthira asked Bhishma, 'Tell me grandsire, what are the principal duties of a Kingdom'?

To this Bhishma replied, 'Electing a King is the foremost duty of a Kingdom, because when a Kingdom is bereft of a King, the thieves take advantage of it.  The anarchy prevails, it becomes weak and nobody can live in that Kingdom'.

Vedas declare that crowning of a King is like crowning Indra as the King. Nobody should go against the words of the King. But implied in this is that a King should seek the advice of good councellors and rule justly his Kingdom.

Suppose if a Kingdom is without a King and it is bereft of anarchy and a powerful King comes with the intention of annexing this Kingdom and rule it justly then the citizens should welcome him with respect.

The wood that bends easily will not be subject to much heating. Likewise a wise man should bend before powerful people. That man who bends his head before a powerful person bends himself to Indra.

Those that reside in countries where anarchy prevails cannot enjoy their wealth and wife. The sinful people take advantage of the situation and rob them of all their belongings. So election of a King is of foremost necessity for a Kingdom.

Like a disciple who humbles himself before his teacher or like gods in front of Indra one should humble oneself before a King.

To differentiate between a King and the ordinary citizen and to give respect to a King his subjects should give him a throne, vehicles, outward ornaments etc.

It is because only when a King is honored by his citizens will he be honored by his enemies.

The duties of every man is having its root to the King. It is because of the feat that one has for the King do the weak are not being eaten alive by the powerful.

If a king did not exercise the duty of protection then the strong will take possession of the properties of the weak and the civilization as we know comes to an end.

If there is no strong king then the person who kills another fears nothing. Instead of punishment he enjoys happiness and perfect immunity.

Where the king is strong and doing his duty men can sleep anywhere fearlessly, women can move around at any time with all the ornaments on.

Vedas protect agriculture and trade but the Vedas are protected by the king.

Since a king's existence means his subjects existence and his destruction means the destruction of his subjects, who will not worship a king?

That person who bears the responsibilities of the king in protecting his subjects conquers both this and the other world.

The man who even thinks of doing harm to the king goes to hell.

The king assumes five different forms according to five different occasions. He becomes Agni, Aditya, Mrityu, Vaisravana and Yama.

When the king is deceived by falsehood, burns with fierce energy the sinful offenders, he is said to assume the form of Agni.

When he observes through his spies the acts of all the persons and does what is for the general good he then assumes the form of Aditya.

When he destroys in wrath hundreds of of wicked men with their sons, grandsons and relatives he is then said to assume the form of Mrityu or destroyer.

When he puts fear in the minds of the wicked by inflicting upon them severe punishments and favours the righteous by bestowing rewards upon them he is said to assume the form of Yama.

When he gives profusely to them who has done him exemplary services and takes away from them who has offended him, then he is said to assume the form of Kuvera.

No man should spread evil reports about the king who seek to advance in their career.

Even if a person be the king's son, brother, wife or his second self, cannot be happy if they offend and go against the king.

A blazing fire aided by gusts of wind may leave behind remnant but the anger of a king leave nothing intact.

One should turn away from all things that belongs to a king as he would turn away from death.

That man who desires his own prosperity should serve a king diligently, sincerely with utmost respect. He would surely obtain happiness. The king is the heart of his people and he is their great refuge.

The king ruling thus attains lasting fame and also high heavens after his life time here.

What are the duties of a King?

Yudhisthira asked Bhishma 'What are the duties of the King. It is being said by the wise that the Kingly duties are the foremost of all duties. Hence I want to know about them'.

To him Bhishma said 'A King should always strive to please his subjects. He should be like a pregnant woman, who will not take anything that is inimical to the child. Likewise he should not do anything that is inimical to his subjects.

A King should bow down before Gods and wise of his Kingdom. A King should always be exerting. He should always look at means to keep his subjects happy and to keep his treasury full.

Exertion and destiny have equal role to play. Of these two exertion is of high merit. We can only start things and work on those projects earnestly. But if the results do not come as intended then no blame attaches itself on the King.

When the results are going down, it is an indication that some remedial action needs to be done.

A King should be devoted to Truth. If a King has to be respected by his subjects then he must be truthful.

If the King becomes mild others do not respect him. If he becomes harsh then people tend to avoid him. A King has to be mild in places where he has to be mild and harsh in places where he has to be harsh.

A King should conceal his weaknesses but lookout for the weaknesses of his enemies. He should consult all the Ministers but should not confide his thought to all of them. He should keep his counsel. He should reveal his thoughts only to appropriate people at the appropriate times.

Fire has sprung from the water, a Kshatriya has sprung from the Brahmana and the Iron has sprung from the stone.

While fire prevails on everything else it is quenched by the water. Likewise a Kshatriya cannot prevail upon his source the Brahmana and likewise an iron sword could not prevail upon the stone from which it had come from.

A King has to take this in the mind.

However he has to chastise the Brahmana who has crossed his limits, who is a threat to the general order of the society and who has risen his weapons to kill him.

A King should take good care of his servants. He should be considerate to the four orders of people living as society in his domain.

A King can have his private pleasure outside the view of others. It does not mean that he should be addicted to them. When you are attached or addicted to them then you become overpowered by your enemy.

You should not laugh with your servants or joke with them. If you mingle freely with your servants then they forget their position and ask things that should not be asked for. They tell your secrets to others, they seek to outwit you. They will try to dominate over you and will start accepting bribes. They will not do even your own personal work like bringing your dress, your jewels, your food in time and feel not anxious about it.

So keep everyone in his place.

A King should always be ready for action. 'Like a snake swallowing a mice the earth swallows up the two viz a King that is averse of battle and a Brahmana who is excessively attached to his wives.

Make peace with those that are powerful than you and make war with those that are weaker than you.

Whoever it may be, be it your teacher or your own kith and kin, if they go against the interests of your Kingdom should be killed.

Even if your teacher has transgressed his limits punishment should be meted out.

The duty of the Kings is to strive for the happiness of his subjects, observing the truth and being sincere.

From a King who is powerful, truthful and of forgiving temperament will not loose wealth.

He would always follow the four Purusharthas viz Dharma (virtue), Artha (wealth), Kama (pleasure) and attain Moksha (salvation).

A King should not show non confidence on his workers and also should not be fully confident of them too. He should rather test them time and again without their knowledge.

A Kingdom has seven limbs viz King,  Army, Counsellors, Friends, Treasury and Forts.

A King should always protect them all.

A King should be able to wield his powers like Yama while protecting his subjects and amass wealth like Kubera.

A King should never take wealth from the righteous but take it from the unrighteous and distribute the same among his subjects.

A crooked and covetous King who suspects everybody and who taxes heavily is soon deprived of life by own servants and relatives.

A King of righteous behavior, even when he falls down will be able to recoup and win back with the help of his counsellors, subjects, treasury etc.

That King deserves to rule whose spies, counsels, accomplished and unaccomplished acts remain hidden from his enemies.

A King's first obligation is the protection of his subjects.

A person should choose a King who is capable of protecting and then acquire wife, children and wealth. Of what use is the wife, children and wealth if there is no protection.

These people should be avoided like a leaking boat in the sea viz. a teacher who will not speak, a priest who has not studied scriptures, and a King that does not give protection.

Striving or exerting is the root of the kingly duties. 

The Amritha was obtained by exertion, the Asuras were killed  by exertion. Even the God Indra, the God of the Devas obtained his realm only through exertion.

Those that are good at language that is the poets praise the heroes in action.

As a snake that is without poison will be killed by its enemies, a king who is intelligent but without exertion will be killed by his enemies.

A King may be strong and his enemy may be weak. But a king should not take him for granted because as a small spark of fire produces a conflagration likewise that foe would also become strong in the future.

A king should do acts that are straight and also crooked. But he should be able to conceal them all. Even if a king acts in crooked manner that should be for the benefit of his subjects and not for his personal gains.

He has to also keep secret the movement of his troops and the purposes of his heart. He should act righteously for keeping the people under his control.

Persons of crooked minds cannot bear the burden of an extensive kingdom. So he has to be crooked and as well as be straight.

A kingdom that is desired by all around for its wealth and resources cannot be guarded being simple and straight forward.

Therefore a king has to be both straight and crooked in his approach.

If in protecting his subjects the king falls into danger, he earns great merit.