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Fighting within family -- from the Mahabharata

A spiritual discourse using stories from the Mahābhārata to illustrate the true nature of familial relationships and dharma.

"What is reality? You will only see that after death, not before. So do not hurry to see it; enjoy a long and healthy life."

"Even God does not appear when the struggle over inheritance begins; the truth is revealed."

The speaker narrates the conflict between the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, focusing on the blindness of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the ensuing succession dispute. He describes how the true nature of relatives is revealed in struggles over inheritance, before recounting the specific story of Yudhiṣṭhira ordering his brothers to rescue their enemy, Duryodhana, from jungle kidnappers, upholding dharma over personal vengeance.

Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Yogateacher Seminar

What is reality? You will only see that after death, not before. So do not hurry to see it; enjoy a long and healthy life. The elder brother, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was blind. It was suggested that the king should not be blind, so they chose his youngest brother, Pāṇḍu, as king. Dhṛtarāṣṭra could not digest this; he could not accept it because he himself wanted to be king. That is one story. There is a different story of Rāma. In both the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, you will see the love of brothers. Nevertheless, in the Mahābhārata, there was much fighting, quarreling, and intrigue. The Kauravas, the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, indirectly tried their best to kill the five sons of Pāṇḍu. Dhṛtarāṣṭra tried to have them killed. Pāṇḍu's five sons were targeted, and Pāṇḍu died. Dhṛtarāṣṭra said, "I may be blind, but my son is the firstborn, and my son should become the next prince and king, the heir to the throne. My son is not blind, and he should be the heir." He argued this over Pāṇḍu's first son, Yudhiṣṭhira. Then you can see what happened in the family. You see the true nature of your relatives—your sisters and brothers—when your family, your father and mother, die. Then, for the heritage, for the property, the truth comes out in how they fight. You can see in a family, when the father dies, how the relatives fight over the inheritance. Even God does not appear when the struggle over inheritance begins; the truth is revealed. They tried to take everything away from the Pāṇḍavas. They attempted to take it all. The Pāṇḍavas even had to disappear, to escape into the forest and stay hidden for some time. But Duryodhana was searching for them to kill them. At that time, it was truly jungle everywhere; there was a smaller human population and more jungle animals, wildlife, and forest. There were also people living in the forest, jungle people, who were very strong. They caught Duryodhana in the jungle. They kidnapped him and wanted to kill him, and the Pāṇḍavas received this message. The eldest brother, Yudhiṣṭhira, then ordered his brothers to go and free Duryodhana from these jungle people. The younger brothers, like Arjuna and Bhīma, said to Yudhiṣṭhira, "Brother, what are you saying? Duryodhana is our enemy; he wants to kill us. Because of him, we have to live in the forest now. And you tell us to go and help him? Let him die. Let him be killed by the jungle people; all our problems will be solved." But Yudhiṣṭhira said, "No, dear brothers, that is not correct, and that is not Dharma. The fighting is between us, between Duryodhana and us. If a third party intervenes, we will fight for him. I am fighting for him." Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Yogateacher Seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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