MAHABARATA DIRECTIVES

Mahabarata is considered as one of the sacred book of Hindus. It has rich collections of right human conduct engraved in it. Below is a conversation between Yudhishthira(the virtuous personality in Mahabarata) and the God of Death, when Yudhishthira’s four brothers were made unconscious due to consumption of poisonous water. In order to save his brothers, Yudhishthira answers the questions asked by the God of Death as below,

What makes the sun shine every day?
The power of virtuous person.
What rescues man in danger?
Courage is man’s salvation in danger.
By study of which science does man become wise?
Not by studying any science does man become wise. It is by association with the great men in wisdom that he gets wisdom.
What is more nobly sustaining than the earth?
The mother who brings up the children she has borne is nobler and more sustaining than the earth.
What is higher than the sky?
The father
What is fleeter than wind?
Mind
What is more blighted than withered straw?
A sorrow-stricken heart
What befriends a traveller?
Learning
Who is the friend of one who stays at home?
The wife
Who accompanies a man in death?
Righteous behaviour, that alone accompanies the soul in its solitary journey after death.
Which is biggest vessel?
The earth, which contains all within itself, is the greatest vessel.
What is happiness?
Happiness is the result of good conduct.
What is that, abandoning which man becomes loved by all?
Pride, for abandoning that man will be loved by all.
What is the loss which yields joy and not sorrow?
Anger, giving it up, we will no longer be subject to sorrow
What is that, by giving up which, man becomes wealthy?
Desire, getting rid of it, man becomes wealthy
What makes one a real virtuous personality? Is it birth, good conduct and learning?
Good conduct alone does. However learned a person may be he will not be a good personality if he is a slave to bad habits.
What is the greatest wonder in the world?
Every day, men see creatures depart to God of death’s abode and yet, those who remain, seek to live forever. This verily is the greatest wonder.

QUOTE: "Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not aboutyour frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself notwith what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you todo." - Pope John XXIII