Dharmaraaja, the eldest of the Paandavas, was a sincere adherent
of sathya. But during the Kurukshethra battle, he was persuaded to utter a white lie, a subterfuge
which he thought was excusable, though it was not cent percent honest.
In order to kill Dhrona,
the master archer and General on the opposite side, they had to somehow trick him into
discarding his bow, so they planned a subterfuge. They named a war- elephant after Dhrona's
son, Aswatthaama. Then, they killed it. Immediately within the hearing of Dhrona, the Paandava
army was asked to shout in glee, Aswatthaama is killed i.e.the elephant, which was strictly true.
But while the soldiers were repeating the words, drums were beaten, bugles were
sounded, trumpets pealed, so that Dhrona heard only the first three words. Naturally, he took
them to mean that his son had met with his death from enemy hands.
Dhrona was heavily laden with grief, his hands could not wield the bow and the arrow, as deftly
as usual; at that moment, he was overwhelmed and slain. For this one sin that he had encouraged,
the only one in his life, Dharma-raaja had to spend a few minutes in Hell, says the epics. Such is
the consequence of departing from sathya even by a hair's breadth.
Life is best spent in alleviating pain. Listen to the sequel. When the emissaries of the other world were escorting Dharmaraaja after
death to Hell, for this nominal sojourn, the denizens of Hell suddenly felt a coolness and a
fragrance in the air they breathed, a strange peace and joy, a thrill and exhilaration which they
had never hoped to enjoy. That was the consequence of the holy soul approaching the region of
terror and torture.
The unfortunate sinners gathered around Dharmaraaja to be soothed and
comforted by his very sight. When Dharma-raaja was directed to turn back towards Heaven (the
term of his sentence was soon over) the populace of Hell cried out to him to prolong his stay.
They were reluctant to go back to the heat and the pain.
Hearing their piteous wail, Dharmaraaja
declared that he was surrendering to them all the merit that had earned Heaven for him; he was
willing to stay with them! But that great act of renunciation not only benefitted the suffering
creatures, it gave Dharmaraaja a greater lease of life in Heaven and a more honoured place there.
Life is best spent in alleviating pain, assuaging distress, and promoting peace and joy.
(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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