Post by jksivan on Sept 10, 2013 22:54:33 GMT 5.5
Dear Children
72 ‘’The matchless benefactor‘’
It is very unfortunate that we have to repeatedly talk about Dhuryodhan and his character. Jealousy was his second nature. He had everything and yet he was jealous and envied anyone at any time for anything he did not readily have or which others exhibited while he did not , inspite of his being able to do so.
Karna was Dhuryodhan's best friend. He liked him most and made him a king also.Yet it is strange that he was jealous of Karna because of Karna's charitable deeds and spontaneous helping tendency whenever anyone needed any assistance from him.
He was not able to tolerate people praising Karna for his alms- giving, largesse, and philanthropic deeds. He envied Karna when he saw a large number of people always crowding at his residence for receiving his benefaction. Wherever Dhuryodhan went , people praised Karna as the best philanthropist and donor.
Dhuryodhan also began giving alms and doled out money, food along with many other items, as charity, to everyone but nothing could match what Karna did. Dhuryodhan wanted people to praise him also. He made it clear to those who received alms and donations from him to announce wherever they went that Dhuryodhan was the best benefactor and philanthropist.
Dear children, you know well that a person getting praise from people does not earn it by any compulsion. He commands respect and gets and not by demanding it. Poor dhuryodhan dreamed of fame in vain.
Karna never put any condition to those seeking help from him. He was magnanimous, just helping them whole heartedly on his own volition. He was a born philanthropist.
In these stories you would have noticed that I am not telling stories as if in a lesson in any particular order. All incidents are covered piece meal in different topics in an interesting order. So you will not know what will be the next story you are going to read. Only then it will be an unexpected thrill for you. Is n’t it?
The Maha bharath war was being waged by both sides sacrificing many human, and animal lives and blood was running like a river. On both sides there was a huge loss of life incessantly day by day as the battle progressed without any conclusion.
On the Kaurava side, the great warrior general Karna too fell. He was severely injured and excessively bleeding. Yet he was not dead. All the arrows sent by Arjun fell as garlands on Karna’s neck because of the matchless and countless donations, alms, doles, and charities given by Karna to numerous needy people.
It was then, that an old Brahmin slowly approached the fallen Karna, who was leaning on the wheel of the chariot stuck in a pit in the battle field. He was very weak and could not even move and was practically lying in a pool of blood oozing out of his frame, when the Brahmin appeared before him. The Brahmin asked for a charity at that time from Karna! Karna laughed but his face brightened.. Oh Brahmin guruji, what do you think I have now in this condition to offer you as I am slowly dying.?
‘’You still have enough with you to donate Maharaj' said the Brahmin.’’
‘’ I am surprised Brahminji, You name it and have it from me immediately which will make me very happy to have been of some help to you even at this last moment of my life’’
‘’You are a great Philanthropist Karna, whom no one can equal at any time. All the punyas you have earned out of this philanthropy you can give me as a charity. Can you and will you?’’
‘’Oh so nice of you to say this. If I can certainly I will.. I don’t have water to give it as an dhaán arpan'' (a ceremonial procedure of offering with water ‘’dhara’’ in both hands by the donor) . Instead of water, I have now luckily enough blood around me to use as water and offer you all the effects of my charities to you. Thus gave Karna the effects of all the dharmas he had done until then and the Brahmin was the recipient of same. The last protection he had in the form of Dharma now having been donated, nothing could protect Karna as the Dharma Devta was all along protecting him from the fury of arrows aimed by Arjun. Before Karna died of the arrows by Arjun, the Brahmin asked Karna
‘’do you remember and recognize me?’’
“’No, sorry brahmin ji, my memory is fading as I am dying. I don’t normally keep track of whom I helped as I gave what I had without remembering it at any time’’
‘’Karna, let me remind you. Once an old sickly diseased man approached you with his body fully decayed, puss and blood dripping out of his body. He asked you to exchange your beautiful robust youthful body for a while, as he wanted to use your body to be fit, during his pilgrimage and promised to return your body back to you on his return’
‘’I am able to faintly recollect an incident like that but not very clearly.''
‘’The Old diseased man said he went and asked the same from Dhuryodhan but was not helped as the King’s wife did not accept the proposal , whereas when he came to you, even without consulting your wife and others, you readily agreed to exchange your body with the diseased sickly body of the old man.’’
‘’yes Brahmin ji, now I recollect as it was a strange demand on me and when I said I was ready it was Lord Narayan who stood before me who came to test my philanthropic character as the diseased old man. It was my good fortune that Lord Sriman Narayan chose to ask me something which I could give’. He blessed me and it was a great privilege for me’’ recalled Karna.
‘’ Karna there is no one equal to you in the three worlds. It is the same Narayan who again came to you now and stands before you as the Brahmin to beg you to grant the ‘’punya palan ‘’(effect of good deeds) of all your charities upto now, which you readily gave without any hesitation. Karna, you are my beloved son. It is a rare privilege for me to be in the list of those who were fortunate to be recipients of ‘’Dhaan &
Dharma’’ from the great philanthropist Karna.
‘’Karna, you have disappointed me by not asking anything from me, why?’
Krishna, the incarnation of Narayana, I don’t know what to ask as I never asked and from the beginning I only learnt to give. If I think carefully I can certainly ask you only to make me a devotee of you for ever and that would be a greatest reward for me ‘’
‘’Karna you don’t have to be a devotee of me, because the time has come now for you to be with me. Get ready Karna, my precious child’’
Narayana disappeared from the battle field and Karna was with him in Vaikunth next moment, while every one was lamenting the death of the great Warrior and General of Kaurava forces at Kurukshethra.
72 ‘’The matchless benefactor‘’
It is very unfortunate that we have to repeatedly talk about Dhuryodhan and his character. Jealousy was his second nature. He had everything and yet he was jealous and envied anyone at any time for anything he did not readily have or which others exhibited while he did not , inspite of his being able to do so.
Karna was Dhuryodhan's best friend. He liked him most and made him a king also.Yet it is strange that he was jealous of Karna because of Karna's charitable deeds and spontaneous helping tendency whenever anyone needed any assistance from him.
He was not able to tolerate people praising Karna for his alms- giving, largesse, and philanthropic deeds. He envied Karna when he saw a large number of people always crowding at his residence for receiving his benefaction. Wherever Dhuryodhan went , people praised Karna as the best philanthropist and donor.
Dhuryodhan also began giving alms and doled out money, food along with many other items, as charity, to everyone but nothing could match what Karna did. Dhuryodhan wanted people to praise him also. He made it clear to those who received alms and donations from him to announce wherever they went that Dhuryodhan was the best benefactor and philanthropist.
Dear children, you know well that a person getting praise from people does not earn it by any compulsion. He commands respect and gets and not by demanding it. Poor dhuryodhan dreamed of fame in vain.
Karna never put any condition to those seeking help from him. He was magnanimous, just helping them whole heartedly on his own volition. He was a born philanthropist.
In these stories you would have noticed that I am not telling stories as if in a lesson in any particular order. All incidents are covered piece meal in different topics in an interesting order. So you will not know what will be the next story you are going to read. Only then it will be an unexpected thrill for you. Is n’t it?
The Maha bharath war was being waged by both sides sacrificing many human, and animal lives and blood was running like a river. On both sides there was a huge loss of life incessantly day by day as the battle progressed without any conclusion.
On the Kaurava side, the great warrior general Karna too fell. He was severely injured and excessively bleeding. Yet he was not dead. All the arrows sent by Arjun fell as garlands on Karna’s neck because of the matchless and countless donations, alms, doles, and charities given by Karna to numerous needy people.
It was then, that an old Brahmin slowly approached the fallen Karna, who was leaning on the wheel of the chariot stuck in a pit in the battle field. He was very weak and could not even move and was practically lying in a pool of blood oozing out of his frame, when the Brahmin appeared before him. The Brahmin asked for a charity at that time from Karna! Karna laughed but his face brightened.. Oh Brahmin guruji, what do you think I have now in this condition to offer you as I am slowly dying.?
‘’You still have enough with you to donate Maharaj' said the Brahmin.’’
‘’ I am surprised Brahminji, You name it and have it from me immediately which will make me very happy to have been of some help to you even at this last moment of my life’’
‘’You are a great Philanthropist Karna, whom no one can equal at any time. All the punyas you have earned out of this philanthropy you can give me as a charity. Can you and will you?’’
‘’Oh so nice of you to say this. If I can certainly I will.. I don’t have water to give it as an dhaán arpan'' (a ceremonial procedure of offering with water ‘’dhara’’ in both hands by the donor) . Instead of water, I have now luckily enough blood around me to use as water and offer you all the effects of my charities to you. Thus gave Karna the effects of all the dharmas he had done until then and the Brahmin was the recipient of same. The last protection he had in the form of Dharma now having been donated, nothing could protect Karna as the Dharma Devta was all along protecting him from the fury of arrows aimed by Arjun. Before Karna died of the arrows by Arjun, the Brahmin asked Karna
‘’do you remember and recognize me?’’
“’No, sorry brahmin ji, my memory is fading as I am dying. I don’t normally keep track of whom I helped as I gave what I had without remembering it at any time’’
‘’Karna, let me remind you. Once an old sickly diseased man approached you with his body fully decayed, puss and blood dripping out of his body. He asked you to exchange your beautiful robust youthful body for a while, as he wanted to use your body to be fit, during his pilgrimage and promised to return your body back to you on his return’
‘’I am able to faintly recollect an incident like that but not very clearly.''
‘’The Old diseased man said he went and asked the same from Dhuryodhan but was not helped as the King’s wife did not accept the proposal , whereas when he came to you, even without consulting your wife and others, you readily agreed to exchange your body with the diseased sickly body of the old man.’’
‘’yes Brahmin ji, now I recollect as it was a strange demand on me and when I said I was ready it was Lord Narayan who stood before me who came to test my philanthropic character as the diseased old man. It was my good fortune that Lord Sriman Narayan chose to ask me something which I could give’. He blessed me and it was a great privilege for me’’ recalled Karna.
‘’ Karna there is no one equal to you in the three worlds. It is the same Narayan who again came to you now and stands before you as the Brahmin to beg you to grant the ‘’punya palan ‘’(effect of good deeds) of all your charities upto now, which you readily gave without any hesitation. Karna, you are my beloved son. It is a rare privilege for me to be in the list of those who were fortunate to be recipients of ‘’Dhaan &
Dharma’’ from the great philanthropist Karna.
‘’Karna, you have disappointed me by not asking anything from me, why?’
Krishna, the incarnation of Narayana, I don’t know what to ask as I never asked and from the beginning I only learnt to give. If I think carefully I can certainly ask you only to make me a devotee of you for ever and that would be a greatest reward for me ‘’
‘’Karna you don’t have to be a devotee of me, because the time has come now for you to be with me. Get ready Karna, my precious child’’
Narayana disappeared from the battle field and Karna was with him in Vaikunth next moment, while every one was lamenting the death of the great Warrior and General of Kaurava forces at Kurukshethra.