The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem every written. In a hundred thousand verses, the jewel of the Indian tradition and eastern philosophy tells the most beautiful stories of all times – stories of men searching for enlightenment in a world full of pain. The tale of Yudhisthira teaches an important lesson: it's said to be impossible to reach paradise without obeying to the dharma.
The Story of Yudhisthira
Once upon a time a very noble and skilled man named Yudhisthira was told that after so much bravery he finally deserved to go to paradise with his brothers. So the gods told them the directions that they needed to follow in order to reach the gates of Indra’s heaven, their final destination, where they would find peace and joy. So off they went through the mountains on their pilgrimage towards paradise. The path was very long and painful, it never seemed to end. They didn’t have enough to eat and drink, the nights were cold and the days were hot, and one by one they died, leaving Yudhisthira alone.
One day he was very tired, resting under a tree, when a thin and ugly dog approached. From that day on, the dog followed Yudhisthira everywhere he went. Together, they passed through edgy rocks, hot sand, painful thorns and deep mud. When there was food, both of them ate, when there was nothing to eat, both of them starved. Finally, after a long time, they saw the chariot of Indra and they ran towards the flying machine.
“Oh, you finally arrived! I have been waiting for you for so long! It’s a pleasure to have you here in my chariot, let’s fly to my heaven!” said Indra. “But… the dog can’t come, look at it, it’s old and thin, it’s not worthy of my heaven."
Yudhisthira thought for a while and said, “I’m sorry, if the dog can’t come with me, I will go back now. I thank you for your invitation, but I cannot leave this animal, as it was my faithful companion during this journey.”
As he prepared to turn around and go back instead of entering in Indra’s chariot, the little dog jumped from his arms and transformed into his real shape. The dog was the God Dharma, testing Yudhisthira.
“Now you can come, this was your final test and you showed that you deserve to come with me,” said Indra, opening the doors of his chariots to Yudhisthira. And off he went to heaven.
Teachings of Ancient India
This tale teaches that the dharma is the only way through which a person can find peace. One must follow the path of righteousness because of its intrinsic value and not because he or she will win the right to paradise in exchange of being good. When one does right things thinking about the reward, it means that nothing was really learned or achieved.
There are many people that do good things for fear of being punished or for hoping that one day they might deserve God's shelter, but according to the Hindu philosophy, this is the wrong reason behind a good action and has no value as sooner or later, every person will have to face their real motivation.
If there was no heaven nor reward, would people still do the right thing? If the answer is "yes," this is a good indication that heaven is near – the state of spirit that frees one from pain by recognizing himself as a drop in the ocean, totally detached from the ego. This is when a person realizes that nobody is completely free until all the others have joined him in paradise.
When Yudhisthira decided that he could not leave his dog, as his duty was to care for the animal that had been faithful to him, he showed that everything that he was doing had an unique purpose: to live according to his dharma, doing the right thing and acting the way he was supposed to act without expecting any reward. Heaven is a natural consequence of the right action – the path of the dharma that leads every person to the nirvana.
Read more:
The Difference Between Dharma and Karma
Vimanas - The Flying Mavchines of Ancient India
Sources:
Bose, Buddadheva. Translated by Sujit Mkherjee.The Book of Yudhisthir. Sangan, India, 1986.
 |
 |
