Monthly Archives: January 2023

Krishna Avatar Part 37

By Nirooshitha Sethuram, Yogaratna

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

What else could Yudhishthira stake? 

Yes, Shakuni asked Yudhishthira what else he could stake! Shakuni further provoked Yudhishthira by saying that he has brothers who might bring some luck to him. Yudhishthira pointed at his brother Nakula and said he would stake him. 

Shakuni threw the dice while shouting “Look! Your beloved brother Nakula will be ours now!” To everyone’s surprise, or maybe not, he won, just as he said. The audience were taken by this. Then Yudhishthira called out Sahadeva and said, “This brother of mine who is scholarly and virtuous. Even though I am not supposed to stake him, I will.”  “Sure,” said Shakuni and threw the dice, winning Sahadeva too. 

Shakuni and Yudhishthira
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Now that Yudhishthira had lost two of his brothers, Shakuni was afraid that he would quit the game. So he said provokingly, “In your opinion, Bhima and Arjuna are of a higher standard than your stepmom Madri’s children, right? That’s why you wouldn’t stake them.” 

Yudhishthira exclaimed, “You fool are you, trying to divide us brothers? As you always live in the wrongdoings you wouldn’t understand righteousness. Here I am, staking the brother who would always save us from all odds, the great victor Arjuna. Now play.”

Shakuni threw the dice again. Yudhishthira lost Arjuna too. Now, with tears in his eyes, Yudhishthira said, “The one whom can never be defeated in a physical combat, the mighty Bhima, I stake him too.”  He lost Bhima too. In this way, Yudhishthira wagered all his brothers and lost them all.

Shakuni
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Shakuni asked again if Yudhishthira had anything else to stake? Yudhishthira stubbornly said, “Yes. If you win, I will be yours too.” “Here I am winning you,” Shakuni shouted loudly in a thundering voice, and he did win indeed. 

With this Shakuni announced to the audience that the five Pandavas are now slaves to Duryodhana, himself and the Kauravas. The audience were frozen to their seats. 

After losing himself, defeated Yudhishthira said to Shakuni that he had nothing more to stake. But Shakuni’s game was not over yet. He pointed out to Yudhishthira that someone belonged to him that he could stake. In fact, that someone might bring blessings, so he could gain all that he had lost. That someone he suggested was none other than Empress Draupadi, the beloved wife of the Pandavas. 

Hearing this. both Vidura and Bhishma raised their voices in disapproval. Bhima and Arjuna picked up their weapons to show their rage. Finally, persuaded by Duryodhana and Shakuni, Yudhishthira wagered Draupadi, then screamed loudly in sorrow. Despite the shame and disgust among the spectators and the strong objections by Vidura, Duryodhana had overruled everyone. Only the Kauravas, Shakuni and Karna were delighted about the situation. 

Duryodhana persuasively said if the Empress Draupadi was to be staked, and if Yudhishthira would win this throw, Duryodhana would return all that Yudhishthira had lost so far. Yudhishthira fell for this. as he was deeply lost in his troubled mind and clouded senses. Hoping for a miracle to happen, he staked his beloved queen, something no man would ever do. The result was nothing other than expected. Shakuni won. The whole assembly was in upheaval. Duryodhana was overjoyed when Yudhishthira lost the throw, losing Draupadi. 

Bhishma
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Duryodhana’s plot had worked.  He gained, not only the other half of the kingdom, but he also owned the Pandavas as well. He was laughing like a madman, arrogantly ordering Vidura to go to the chamber of Draupadi to bring her to him. He announced to the public that Draupadi would work as a maidservant in the palace from then onward. He hurried Vidura to fetch her soon so she could start her cleaning duties. 

With anger bursting out of his face, Vidura yelled, “Duryodhana, you fool, inviting death home. You don’t know how much trouble you are inviting to yourself and to the kingdom. Talking like a lunatic!” Then he addressed the assembly, “Yudhishthira, after losing himself, had no right to stake his wife Draupadi. The end for the Kauravas is nearing, as they refused to listen to the wise and good.  They are paving their way to hell.”

Duryodhana was furious about Vidura’s comments and insulted Vidura, accusing him of siding with the Pandavas. He added that Vidura’s alliance was always with Pandavas, that he is afraid of them and hates him and his family. Later, he yelled at his charioteer, asking him to bring Draupadi to the court. He said to the charioteer, “You don’t fear the Pandavas, do you? Now go fetch Draupadi and bring her.”

Duryodhana insults Vidura
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As ordered by his master, the charioteer went to Draupadi’s chamber.  He told her the unfortunate news about how Yudhishthira had fallen into the trap of gambling and lost her to Duryodhana. He also told her why he was sent. 

Being the Empress, due to the great Rajasuya Yaj~na, Draupadi was shocked to hear this news. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She refused to believe that anyone on earth would stake their wife at a gambling game. “Didn’t he have anything else to stake, other than me, his wife?” 

To her question the charioteer quietly answered. “Yes, Empress! He didn’t have anything other than you to stake, as he had lost everything else already.” He told her about the appalling things that had happened at the court. 

This news broke Draupadi’s heart into pieces, killing every inch of her. But after all, she is the Empress Draupadi, who was born out of a yaj~na fire. She was able to console herself.  With a firm and fierce voice, she said, “Oh charioteer, go and ask the man who staked me in the assembly, in front of the audience, whether he lost himself first or me, his wife, first? After getting the answer to this question, you can come and get me.” 

Draupadi
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So, the charioteer went back to the court and asked Yudhishthira, in front of all, the question from Draupadi. Yudhishthira remained like a dead man, not uttering a word, with his head hanging low. Losing his patience, Duryodhana insisted that Draupadi herself should come to the court and ask this question of Yudhishthira so the charioteer was sent back again to bring Draupadi to court. 

Draupadi once again sent him back to the court, demanding that he ask the same question, but now to the whole assembly. The charioteer didn’t have any other choice but to return to the court and announce the question from the Empress to the audience at large. 

Angry, Duryodhana yelled at the charioteer, calling him a coward.  Duryodhana ordered his brother Dushasana to bring Draupadi to the hall, dragging her in if necessary. Dushasana was delighted to carry out the order and rushed to Draupadi’s chamber. He told her not to make any trouble, as she was already won by them so it’s only fair for her obey them, to be at their mercy and to serve them. Saying this, he started to move towards her. 

Screaming loudly, Draupadi started to run towards Queen Gandhari’s chamber. Chasing her from behind, and swiftly catching her, Dushasana dragged her by the hair into the assembly hall. 

Dushasana and Draupadi
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Empress Draupadi was brought to the hall in this disheveled state which made the assembly stop in horror. Containing her emotions, Draupadi stood bravely with her head held high addressed the assembly in a stern voice. “How could you all in this great assembly, let all the evil master minds of gambling get together and devise this terrible plot to make Emperor Yudhishthira stake me in a gambling game? How could you agree to this shameful deed? How can a man who lost everything he had, his kingdom, his belongings, his freedom, his brothers and himself, stake anything else, let alone his wife? Did he have any right at all to keep me as the stake in the game, as I belong to all five of the Pandava brothers?” 

Draupadi continued in a voice filled with fury and distress, “You Kauravas, belonging to this ancient house of the great Kuru dynasty, those of you who have wives, daughters and daughters-in-law can answer my plea.” In this way Draupadi pleaded with the Kauravas, the elders and her husbands. But none answered nor helped her.

Witnessing the state of their wife Draupadi, the Pandavas hung their heads in shame.  Bhima trembled with fury. His anger towards his brother Yudhishthira was very clear on his face as well as in his words. When Bhima started uttering angry words towards Yudhishthira, Arjuna consoled him and reminded him never to lose his state. Arjuna warned him that the unrighteousness deeds of the Kauravas were provoking the Pandavas to do the same. He cautioned not to fall into that trap, as that’s what the Kauravas were plotting to do anyway. 

Hearing this Bhima kept his silence. The elders sat in misery at the shameful action of the Kauravas. The only Kaurava brother who protested was Vikarna. 

More to come…

Do You Know?

By Swami Shrutananda

My tears began to flow.  I was on a long drive back to the Ashram.  I found several religious stations that played upbeat and positive music.  A Christmas song about Jesus was the one full of the most tenderness and devotion, “Mary, Did You Know?” by Pentatonix.

The song makes Jesus personal:  “Mary, did you know… when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?”  “Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?”  Mary, did you know “that sleeping child you’re holding is the great, I Am?”  Probably not.  

For me, the song describes the potential of a human being by describing the Jesus’ greatness.  Probably your mother did not know your greatness unless she herself was Self-Realized.  Yet, more importantly and more personally, do you know your own greatness, your own Divinity, your own Self?  Probably not.  Some students describe their knowingness of their own Beingness when they were young.  However, they shut it down as they grew.  

Does your mother need to know the greatness of your being for you to know?  Do others in your life?  If so, you will be waiting for a long time.  Yet this is what the Guru sees in you when they look at you or think about you.  Even if you cannot, the Guru sees your own greatness, your own Divinity, your own Self. 

When I hear devotional songs about other great beings, I think of my Guru, Gurudevi Nirmalananda.  I feel fortunate to have a living Guru.  I can tangibly see her form.  I can hear her teachings, made so relevant to me in this day and age.  I can talk to her on the outside or inside.  She is always accessible.  The yoga we practice comes from Siddha Yoga.  It is the yoga of being in relationship with a siddha, a Self-Realized being.  Gurudevi is such a being.

This song “Mary Did You Know?” touches me so deeply.  It touches my inner yearning to know my own greatness, my own Divinity, my own Self.  It brings up tears because the knowing is so close, yet just beyond my reach.  

Fortunately, I have a Guru, a living Guru, who reveals my own Divinity to me.  It is the function of the Guru to help you to reveal your own greatness to yourself.  This happens through the Guru’s presence, teachings and the practices they give you.  This is the gift of a living Guru.  

The Guru performs miracles.  The Guru’s miracles don’t include walking on water, curing blindness or bringing the dead alive.  The Guru’s miracle is much more personal to you.  She burns away that which gets in the way of you knowing your own Self.  You will feel fresh and new, and full of joy.

Gurudevi’s Guru said:

The power of the human being is so great that he can even transform himself into God.  God lives hidden in the heart of every human being, and everyone has the power to realize that.

-Swami Muktananda, Where Are You Going? page 5

You are embodied Divinity.  You already are God.  That is amazing.  But you simply don’t know, not yet.  Through your yoga practices, you come to know that you are God.  You are the Lord of all creation.  You are the great I Am.  The knowing is hidden within.  The Guru reveals that which is hidden in your own being.  It is the Guru’s function to reveal your own Self to you.

Traditionally, yoga does not honor a great Guru’s birthday.  We honor the anniversary of their death.  At the end of life, you see what that little baby did with their life.  Those we honor knew their own greatness, their own Divinity, their own Self.  And they helped others to find That within themselves.

Do you know?  Do you want to know?  Get a Guru.  I have one and I’ll share.

Digesting Life – A Study Group with Gurudevi

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

Up close and personal — I’ve missed it during the pandemic.  Online is so useful, but there’s nothing like being together in-person. I’m delighted to serve so many of you through Telecourses and zoom satsangs, but when we get a weekend together, so much more happens. So I’ve created a program with five weekends, interspersed through the year. 

Digesting Life

5 weekend retreats with Gurudevi

Beginning February 17

Our group size is limited so we can dive deep together.  Every day, we’ll intersperse yoga practices with mental processes.  The practices deepen your experience of the inner infinity of your own Self.  The contemplations are to help you understand your inner experiences as well as to help you understand your life experiences. 

After each weekend, you take your new sense of Self home with you.  In the same place, with the same people and activities, you try out the new you.  Then you come back and we work it through.  What you learn about yourself makes you more powerful and more loving at the same time. 

Your enrollment is for all five weekends. Carve the time out of your schedule and make these weekends a priority. Don’t miss any! Your presence is a support to others, even while you’re in the process yourself.