e Ashram talk

Day 2,427, 00:33 • Published in India Croatia • by Vijayakrishna
Our eSaint threw a question at us. Why did Achilles or Budha throw away peaceful life with comforts and chose what they have chosen, fame and enlightenment.


I am not knowledgeable enough to solve this. I will try though, for that I shall tell you about two other persons, one from an epic and other a devotee.

First one is, key Character of Maha Bharatha, Bheeshma. A warrior of legend, a prince who has no equals during his time, the ones much younger than him also did not stand a chance against him even in his old age. Sure such a person will most eligible bachelor during his time. He instead choose not to marry, took a vow to serve those who are at helm of Hasthinapura.


He was true to his word until he took his last breath, saw things which he would not entertain normally but kept quiet, let things happen which he does not approve. All because of the vow he took. He constantly tried to protect the Kuru empire he built and his father’s children, their children and their children.
At last, he had a painful death, holding his breath till good times came (Uttaraayana). Why would a person of such capability do it? Let dharma be violated when he knew more about dharma than others? Undergo pain of witnessing the fall of empire he built?

He believed it was his personal Dharma to uphold his word no matter what. His commitment to his virtues was ultimate for him.



Then we move on to next person, might not be known to most people. He is one of the few persons who were allowed to reach the other world with the physical body, Sant Tukaram. He was a devotee of Vittala Panduranga (Vithoba).

He sung *abhangs* propagating equality and oneness. He spent his life as a normal family man, he had children, helped who came to him. Did no penance, was not extraordinary in any case except for his devotion towards God.

In the end it was enough to earn a place among rarest of the rare people. Why? He was true to his belief, did his duties with devotion.


Ultimately we all might chose different paths but when you know what you want, what is the aspect which matters most to you and put your life on it. The world will bow to you. It’s the dedication and perseverance that matters. We have to be true to our beliefs.


When Achilles chose fame, he was true to try gaining it even though he knew he will die, Siddhartha left all the comforts of life to find cause of human grief, he failed, realised his path had some problems, corrected himself and finally became Buddha. Take something which interests you, put all your efforts into in, the world will remember u for a long long time, just like we do Bill Gates, Aryabhatta, Galileo. They never left all comforts but found comfort in things which were different.


These people are remembered not because they chose some path not routine but because they excelled in that and it made them look special to us.




Hope I made some sense.