Bhagavatam study 68 1.13.39-45 Know when to exercise control in the service of the supreme controller and when to release control

Yudhishtira Vacham Naaham Vedagatim Pitror Bhagavan Kvagatavitah Ambavahat Putrartha Kvagatachitapasvini Yudhishtira who is distressed on seeing that his uncle Vidharashtra and aunt Gandhari have departed without informing. He is asking Narada about their whereabouts. He is telling about the cause of his distress.
Naaham Vedagatim Pitror. I do not know the destination. Naaham Vedagatim Pitror.
There were father figures for him. Yudhishtira’s father Pandu had passed away long ago. And Vidharashtra had acted like a father for him.
He had treated Vidharashtra like a father. Although Vidharashtra had never acted like a father. Vidhara had of course acted very much like a protective father towards Yudhishtira.
So both of them had departed. Bhagavan Kvagatavitah. So I do not know.
So Kvagatavitah. From here where they have gone. Ambavahat Putrartha.
Amba he refers to his aunt. Putrartha. She was very afflicted by the death of her sons.
Phugatachitapasvini. Where has she gone? One who was tapasvini. Extremely austere.
The sign of an evolved person is the sensitivity that they bring into relationships. Sign of mental health is to always look for good in others. We see both of these in Yudhishtira.
And where he is referring to Gandhari as Hathaputrartha. She was afflicted by the death of her sons. We could say at level that Vidharashtra was also afflicted.
But quite often it is that men tend to conceal their emotions. Even if they have the emotions, women are often more expressive about their emotions. So both of them were distressed by the loss of their 100 sons.
But Gandhari’s grief was more visible. And although Gandhari had tried to singe Yudhishtira with her anger and she had opened her eyes on Yudhishtira had come to give the news. But still he did not see that as vengeance.
He saw that as grievance. She was overcome by grief that she acted that way. And he rather appreciated the fact that she was tapasvini.
She had performed great austerity. And austerity that she had especially performed was accepting blindness in relationship with her blind husband. And thereby with that austerity she had got great power.
Tapasvini. Kogatache Tapasvini. And he is saying what destiny, where has she gone? So he is appreciating her good.
He is appreciating her emotionally distressed situation. He is also appreciating her enormous power of austerity. Often how we refer to people in their absence reveals what we think about them.
Because generally culture requires us to be cultured to put up a good face when we are in the presence of someone. But in their absence how we speak is often revealing about what we really think about that person. And that is something which we need to take into consideration also.
So Kogatache Tapasvini is here. Yudhishthir is referring to all his relatives in very respectful and positive terms without considering or without obsessing on the fact that Dhritarashtra and Gandhari were the parents of those who had performed abominable atrocities on him and his family. He is simply seeing their emotional condition, appreciating that and he is wanting to know are they well? So he is now requesting Narada who is deputed to be omniscient to tell about the condition of his elders.
So text 40 करणधार इवा पारे भगवान पार दर्शकः अथा भाषे भगवान नारदो मुनि सत्तमः करणधार इवा पारे He says Karanadhar is a captain. So you are like the captain who can take us across this ocean. पारे This material world is a vast vast ocean which is very difficult to scale.
But you oh lord can take us across it. भगवान पार दर्शकः अथा भाषे भगवान you can see through whatever perplexities, whatever adversities and you can see beyond to the ultimate realities. So with this vision with farsighted penetrating vision you oh lord are very much competent to be our captain.
अथा भाषे भगवान When he was आभाषे, when he was addressed like this भगवान in the previous word भगवान was the word used by Yudhisthira to refer to Narada. Here it is the word, same word is used but by Shuddha Goswami to refer to Narada. He also used another word नारदो मुनि सत्तमः Narada was a great the greatest among the sages.
Muni सत्तमः सत् is good, it is the root of the word साधु. Those who are attracted to the eternal they are called as साधु. सत्तमः is the best among those who are attracted to the eternal.
The highest reality is the reality of the personal manifestation of the all-attractive Absolute. And in that manifestation it is the Lord who is our greatest well-wisher. So, भगवान करणधारिवा पारे भगवान पारदर्शक It’s beautiful metaphor is included in this.
Yudhishthir is asking Narada not just for information but also for vision. He is telling him please tell me what is to be done in such a situation like this? How am I to act in this situation? What should I do? How should I perceive things? So, when we go to the great sages it is not just to get some information. Most people go to astrologers to ask what is going to happen in my future? And with that information they think that they can deal with their problems.
Yes, we may get that kind of vision but when we go to sages we want to get not just a vision of that which is further ahead or that is invisible to us in terms of space or time. That means space means say something which is happening at a far distance away we can’t see but there may be people with mystic powers who can see. And time refers to the future.
But that extension of vision is not as valuable as the extension of vision in terms of our very conceptions of who we are and what the purpose of our life is. What are the factors by which things happen in our life? What are the factors that are mouldable for us so that we can bring about a good future for ourselves? These are the things which the Karanadhar, the Paradarshaka can tell us. So Bhagwan.
So here the word Bhagwan is used twice. Once by Yudhishthira, once by Shudra. And just as the Lord his vision is far bigger than ours by his grace those who are devoted to him like Narada who are Muni Sattamaha can also have a expansive vision.
Narada is being asked for this understanding by Yudhishthira. So extension of vision in terms of space and time is not as consequential as extension of vision, expansion of vision in terms of identity, destiny, cause and effect. That is what now Narada in his answer will give both explanations.
He will give factual information and he will give a broader conceptual understanding also. So text 41 There is no need for you to lament. So was what Krishna concluded the Gita with in 18.66. Do not lament, do not fear, do not doubt.
So similarly Narada’s first words here are do not lament. Why? Because the world is controlled by the Ishwara and under his control everything happens here. So we are simply puppets in his hands and we are meant to that puppet metaphor will come later but he is acting and ultimately he is a benefactor and he is not just our benefactor he is a benefactor of others too.
In fact he is the protector of those whom we think of those whom we think we are protecting. Krishna is actually protecting those whom we think we are protecting and he is protecting even those who think that they are protecting. So that is the wonderful nature of Krishna.
It is all under the control of the Supreme Lord. लोकः सपाल यस्ये में लोकः सपाल यस्ये में So all the worlds and the rulers of the world यस्ये में under this person वहन्ति बलें ईशितु हूँ So they carry on worship of him, sacrifice to him ईशितु हूँ and thus they expect, they want to be protected. सस्यूनिक्ति भूतानी सेवव्यूनिक्ति च एवव्यूनिक्ति च and by his arrangement sometimes living beings are brought together and sometimes they are separated.
So while we are with people we can do whatever is in our power to protect them, to assist them but when they go out of our jurisdiction our area of control, influence then we defer to our lord and it is he who can protect better than us. So he is telling Yudhisthira over here, do not lament. What reason does a wise person like you have to lament? So the three parts over they do not lament the lord is in control he he is to be worshipped by everyone who desires protection and by his arrangement he brings people together and takes them apart.
Could say four points. So protection is ultimately something which is not in human power to offer to anyone. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do our responsibilities but that simply means that when when things go beyond our responsibility our capacity to control or guide then we need to recognise the limitations and we need to move on deferring to the lord’s controllership.
So in service to the lord we may sometimes control and in service to the lord we may sometimes have to release control. So here now is the time for Yudhisthira to release that sense of control. That is the import of what Nagamuni is telling Yudhisthira.
Text 42 यथा गावो नसीप रोतास तन्त्यां बद्धः श्चदामभी वाक तन्त्यां नामभिर बद्धः वहन्ति बलिम ईशितु हूँ यथा गावो नसीप रोतास Just as the cows are strung by the nose with तन्त्यां बद्धः श्चदामभी bound by ropes वाक तन्त्यां Similarly, by the Vedic hymns नामभिर बद्धः by the order of the living Supreme Lord according to their positions वहन्ति बलिम ईशितु हूँ All living beings carry out the orders of the Supreme Lord. So when the Vedas describe a social order for example there is a mention of Varanashram In Varanashram there is a responsibility to protect that some people have and that responsibility we all need to execute At the same time even while executing the responsibility we need to remember that we are doing this in a mood of service we are controlled This metaphor of drawn from nature of a cow being controlled by the ropes in the nose is often used We at our level we may not seem to be controlled but ultimately everyone of us is under the control of the Lord who is guiding us Without His control nothing can be done Even if we think that we are not controlled ultimately we are controlled by the consequences of our actions We can never avoid those consequences So we do certain actions and we inevitably, inescapably get the consequences for those actions and in that way we do stay bound no matter what happens So He is a Lord to be worshipped Our responsibilities are not meant to make us forget that we are controllers rather they are meant to encourage us to take up the role of being a controller in the service of the supreme controller So responsibilities are meant to be not reasons to give up our service attitude but reasons but ways to expand the scope of our service and service attitude So yes Yudhishthir had a role as a king as a young able nephew to protect his uncles but ultimately he is controlled by the supreme and those whom he wants to protect his uncles they are also controlled by the supreme and he is meant to do his role So while his uncles are living as Gharastas he can protect them but now they have chosen the renounced order he cannot stop their onwards spiritual evolution because they have their relationship with with transcendence which they need to develop and they have to do what they need to do for that purpose Text 43 now yatha kridopaskaranam sanyogavigam avih icchaya kridituhur syatam tathaivesh veshichchayadranam yatha kridopaskaranam so krida upaskaranam that means play things just as say in a game of chess certain players are brought together or are moored sanyogavigam avih they are brought together and they are moored icchaya kridituhur syatam similarly for playing a particular role certain people are brought together tathaiva veshichchayadranam by the will of the supreme lord certain beings are brought together does this analogy mean that we have no free will at all no every metaphor has a context and every metaphor has a purpose if we either overlook the context or the purpose of the metaphor then we may come to a conclusion opposite to what is implied for example over here the point is not on an exposition of whether the living being has free will or not it is not a philosophical discussion on aetiology what is the nature of cause and effect connections here the point is that Yudhishthir who is distressed is being given a philosophical context within which to see the departure of his uncles so for that purpose what can be done ultimately is only so much that is in human control so here for Yudhishthir to recognise that things which have been ordained by higher arrangement need to be accepted not resented and that is the context in which this is being told don’t think of Dhritarashtra as your uncle alone see that he is a part of the lord you are a part of the lord by his arrangement you have brought together for some time you did your responsibility towards him while you were there but now that he has departed now don’t cheese after them you do your part and he will do his part so metaphors need to be seen in the light of their context and their purpose and here the purpose is not to deny free will but to indicate the limitations of human free will that now things you had a responsibility but now things have gone beyond your jurisdiction it is ultimately the lord who is always in control and now by his arrangement some things have happened they have departed so accept it so text 44 here Yudhishthira’s argument oh but I need to care for my elders that is being countered through a temporary rhetorical inclusion of the non-spiritual world view so if you consider the person to be eternal Dhruvam factually existing forever but even if you consider that to be temporal not eternal in both situations there is no need to lament out of affection illusion is to be illusion is born don’t lament here the important point is that there is no need to lament if the soul is eternal then then that eternal soul has gone to another destination from which soul will continue its multi-lifetime spiritual evolution if you consider the soul to be temporary then that soul is not going to be available anyway the person existed and has gone into non-existence it’s just a lump of chemicals either way the temporariness of material existence cannot be denied and out of affection if we imagine that the temporary is eternal the short lasting can be long lasting that is simply an illusion so he is telling that do not give in to this illusion if there is no there is no essential person there is a lump of chemical that has come alive somehow and that lump of chemicals is anyway doomed to be destroyed then what is the point of lamenting affection is not the problem the affection that leads to illusion is so we may have affection as long as the relationship is going on but once the relationship ends for whatever reason then we have to also let our emotional entanglement in that particular person end and then we move on towards progression towards doing other things in our life so here he is expected to move forward using the knowledge he has acquired of the nature of life so text 45 text 45 text 45 the agitation of the mind the distress of the mind which has come up which has come upon you because of ignorance give it up what is that ignorant thinking which is causing you distress how can those who are who have no protections those who are helpless how can they how can they live without me this is the thinking which you are having and this thinking is illusory so give it up this kind of declaration is not meant to be hard hearted it is simply meant to be level headed that he is telling him that you understand your limitation you are not the supreme controller there is a supreme controller in the service of the supreme controller you took of the service of protecting your elders but now that they have gone he will tell in the future where they have gone what they are doing but he says now that they have by the arrangement of the lord they have left entrust them to his control do not think that they are helpless and protectionless and that you have to protect them such thinking is it is it is distress that is coming from ignorance ignorance of the nature of this world ignorance of the nature of the lord’s supreme controllership of this world when we understand properly with philosophical context how the lord is always in control then we won’t get distressed when things beyond our control go wrong we do our best to control situations we do our best to purify ourselves and thereby we move steadily towards Krishna and ultimately we attain Krishna thank you