Many sections of the Mahabharata focus on various aspects of dharma to reinforce its integral presence in a man’s life. For instance, the questionanswer format of the Yaksha
Prasna sensitises the individual’s conscience towards the awareness and practice of dharma
in one’s life, pointed out Srimati Prema Pandurang in a lecture. While an attempt to answer these questions along with Yudhishtira would hold a mirror to our moral worth, Yudhishtira’s answers would hold a beacon
light to righteous living.
Asked to explain the meaning of “snana” (good bath), Yudhishtira told the Yaksha that it is
cleaning the mind of impurities. Maintaining a pure mind is the most difficult of sadhanas, say
the scriptures. The individual mental space is
subtle and thoughts of all kinds spurred by the glitter of worldly life find their way into it with or without one’s consent. Desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy — are ever ready to invade and pollute the mind. To eliminate these, one should seek the company of the pious and remain devoted to God. In addition,
a compassionate outlook towards all fellow human beings helps to keep the mind pure. It is from the springboard of a pure mind that one can aspire to scale the spiritual ladder. Integrity is the perfect alignment of one’s
thought, word and deed and this is the ideal to strive for.
That is why Yudhishtira attributes the term bath to the mind, implying its metaphorical
cleansing — when upholding the moral values of life causes the impurities to be flushed out.
To a question on the greatest wonder in the world, Yudhishtira replies that people prefer to
eschew the truth of the mortality of human life. Even though every day takes its toll of lives in front of our eyes, we continue to think that death is a distant reality as far as we are concerned.
The mystic Tamil saint Pattinathar captures the levelling quality of death stating that there is no difference in the ashes of the dead be it the rich or the poor. The daily event is the almost
imperceptible way in which all beings in this earth, which is compared to a cauldron, are constantly cooked by Time.
Comments
Post a Comment