Mananam

  Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna evaluated by Sri Droṇa In our satsangha, we have often used Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna to understand the difference between karmatā and karma yogi. Both are dhārmika. Both are noble. Both have deep reverence for elders, teachers and śāstra. Their inner posture differs. DISCLAIMER : Yudhiṣ ṭ hira is a far nobler and highly qualified aspirant than this essay may appear to give him credit for. I am undertaking this exercise only to help us recognize certain mental proclivities within ourselves, one way or the other. This essay is not an indictment of Yudhiṣ ṭ hira, the great mahātmā who gave us the Yakṣa-praśna and the Nahuṣa-praśna, and whose questions to Bhīṣmācārya gave us the great Śānti-parva and Anuśāsana-parva, containing more than 20,000 ślokas of teaching. The purpose here is limited: to showcase the subtle difference between Yudhiṣ ṭ hira and Arjuna, so that we may be inspired by the noble qualities that both embodied, while also recognizing th...

BhP 11.2.30 ata ātyantikaṃ kṣemaṃ pṛcchāmo bhavato ’naghāḥ | saṃsāre ’smin kṣaṇārdho ’pi sat-saṅgaḥ śevadhir nṛṇām || 30 || “O sinless ones, therefore we ask you about the supreme and final welfare. In this saṃsāra, even half a moment of association with the noble is a treasure for human beings.” Śrīdhara Svāmin’s ṭīkā he anaghā niravadyāḥ, bhavato yuṣmān ātyantikaṃ kṣemaṃ pṛcchāmaḥ. yataḥ kṣaṇārdha-kāla-bhavo ’pi sat-saṅgaḥ śevadhir nidhiḥ. nidhi-lābhe yathānando bhavati tathātra paramānanda ity arthaḥ. Anaghāḥ means ‘faultless ones.’ We ask you about ātyantika-kṣema, the ultimate welfare. The reason is this: even sat-saṅga lasting only half a moment is a śevadhi, a treasure. Just as the obtaining of a treasure produces joy, here the joy is supreme bliss. EXT : Here we see Obtaining Treasure : Obtaining Satsangha :: Finite Joy: Eternal Joy The commentary makes the point very sharply: sat-saṅga is not merely beneficial company. It is treated as a nidhi, a spiritual treasure, because it...