There is none in the world who is not subjected to the invincible and dangerous influence of the inner enemies otherwise called as “ Arishadvargas!” These formidable adversaries are embedded in our inner nature and raise there ugly heads off and on according to situations. Man has progressed in his knowledge and civilization, reached the pinnacle, and controlled almost everything in the universe! The tragedy of man's story is that he has lost control over himself! He has become a slave of the senses and instead of holding the reins, he is being led by them. The inner enemies, Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, and Matsarya are simply working havoc in the life of man. Is there any person who has won over these triumphant adversaries? Practically there is none! Kama or desire looks good and enjoyable but it is insatiable! The fulfillment of one desire leads to another and there is no end for it. The result it is disappointment and disillusionment. Krodha or anger is a dreadful enemy that paralyses the mind and makes you act irrationally not realizing the consequences of your action. Virtually it turns man into a beast. Lobha or miserliness makes man greedy and possessive and grossly attached to money and material. It is very difficult to get out of its tentacles. Moha or attachment is the strong attachment to kith and kin, family, children and property. It also refers to lust. Both are so tempting that it becomes impossible for man to come out of their grip. Mada or pride and arrogance leads to the downfall of man. Under its influence he thinks too much of himself to the extent of humiliating others. He is puffed with his ego that destroys him finally. Matsarya or hatred or jealousy causes restlessness in man. He is envious of the belongings of others and develops hatred for them. That feeling eats into him and as such he can never be happy and contented.
Without realizing the dangerous influence of these “Arishadvargas”, man thinks that he is very happy with them! These ingrained feelings endanger individuals as well as others who come into contact with them. “Jealousy and hatred do more harm to those who entertain these feelings than to those towards whom these are expressed.” remarks Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. These feelings are so severe and cruel that they instigate the person to commit even heinous crimes like murder! The life of man possessed with jealousy and hatred can never be peaceful and happy! He will be eternally restless and unhappy at the happiness and possessions of others! He will ever be ready in to destroy the happiness of others and derive the sadistic pleasure of seeing others suffer. Hatred is the chief reason for disliking the other person in our neighborhood. In fact, jealousy is the prime cause for hatred of any other person. The feeling that one has something that you don’t have is the root cause of jealousy that in it turn breeds hatred. The inner agony that these people suffer is indescribable! Why should man subject himself to these emotions? But he is helpless as these enemies are too powerful to be defeated easily. It requires great effort, grit, and determination to keep in check and suppress jealousy and hatred!
Jealousy and hatred has seriously affected the Devas and asuras also! It is through hatred that Hiranyakasipu and his brother Hiranyakasipu lost their lives. They were the haters of Lord Vishnu and wanted to fight with the Lord. They performed severe tapas and obtained boons. But they misused the boons and tormented the sages, saints and others. Hiranyakasipu was a sworn enemy of Lord Vishnu. He could not tolerate his own child Prahlada being an ardent devotee of the Lord. He tried his best to dissuade his son from chanting and singing the name of the Lord. But he failed miserably and as a last resort tried to kill him! Even then Prahlada could not be killed! Though Prahlada was bitten by snakes and trampled upon by elephant and thrown from mountain, he came out unscathed! Prahlada was served with a cup of poison which he drank happily with the name of Lord Vishnu on his tongue. Poison didn’t kill him! Enraged at this Hiranyakasipu demanded to know where the boy's savior, Vishnu was hiding Himself. When Prahlada showed the great pillar nearby, he brought down the pillar with his iron hands! Out came from the pillar, with thunderous noise the form of Man Lion, Lord Narasimha who caught the asura in his strong hands and tore his stomach with His sharp nails! Thus inveterate hatred destroyed Hiranyakasipu!
There are instances galore in our epics and Puranas of people, Kings and others who were undone by their jealousy and arrogance! One such great king was Nahusha. He aspired to become the king of Devas and performed a hundred “ Aswamedha Yagas” to qualify himself for that position. He was being taken in a palanquin by the sages when he grew impatient and wanted them to move quicker! Not realizing the greatness of the renowned sages, he prodded one of the sages with his foot saying “ Sarpa,Sarpa.” Furious at this humiliation, the sage cursed Nahusha to take the form of a serpent! The word “Sarpa” means a snake which moves quickly! The Mahabharata is a classical illustration of the operation of jealousy and hatred in the lives of mortals. King Dhritarashtra, of the Kuru clan and the father of the Kauravas, was an embodiment of jealousy and hatred. The word Dhritarashtra means one who has a firm grip over the nation or kinngdom! He was extremely possessive and never wanted to give up anything in the least. He was highly possessive and paved the way for the downfall of the Kauravas!
The Kauravas inherited jealousy and hatred from their father! Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas hated the Pandavas though they were his cousins. He did not grant them even a small piece of land though they had the rightful share for it. At every time he attempted to kill them but all of them backfired. He was jealous of the good qualities and popularity of the Pandavas. He cheated them in gambling and sent them into exile in the forest. His hatred and jealousy resulted in the terrible battle of Kurukshetra where the entire Kauravas were decimated! Many other kith and kin were annihilated. Karna is another example of jealousy and hatred in the Mahabharata. He hated Arjuna, the Pandavas warrior from the beginning since Duryodhana wanted him to kill Arjuna. Arjuna was Karna's rival in archery. Karna lied to his mentor in archery that he was a Brahmin and when his teacher learnt it, he grew angry and cursed him! That was reason why he forgot all his astras on the battlefield when his chariot wheels dug into the ground! His hatred and jealousy for Arjuna cost his life! It is a pity that even great people fall victim to these emotions and appear helpless and despondent! Man must try his best to rise above these inner adversaries by sincere effort though it may seem impossible!!
Without realizing the dangerous influence of these “Arishadvargas”, man thinks that he is very happy with them! These ingrained feelings endanger individuals as well as others who come into contact with them. “Jealousy and hatred do more harm to those who entertain these feelings than to those towards whom these are expressed.” remarks Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. These feelings are so severe and cruel that they instigate the person to commit even heinous crimes like murder! The life of man possessed with jealousy and hatred can never be peaceful and happy! He will be eternally restless and unhappy at the happiness and possessions of others! He will ever be ready in to destroy the happiness of others and derive the sadistic pleasure of seeing others suffer. Hatred is the chief reason for disliking the other person in our neighborhood. In fact, jealousy is the prime cause for hatred of any other person. The feeling that one has something that you don’t have is the root cause of jealousy that in it turn breeds hatred. The inner agony that these people suffer is indescribable! Why should man subject himself to these emotions? But he is helpless as these enemies are too powerful to be defeated easily. It requires great effort, grit, and determination to keep in check and suppress jealousy and hatred!
Jealousy and hatred has seriously affected the Devas and asuras also! It is through hatred that Hiranyakasipu and his brother Hiranyakasipu lost their lives. They were the haters of Lord Vishnu and wanted to fight with the Lord. They performed severe tapas and obtained boons. But they misused the boons and tormented the sages, saints and others. Hiranyakasipu was a sworn enemy of Lord Vishnu. He could not tolerate his own child Prahlada being an ardent devotee of the Lord. He tried his best to dissuade his son from chanting and singing the name of the Lord. But he failed miserably and as a last resort tried to kill him! Even then Prahlada could not be killed! Though Prahlada was bitten by snakes and trampled upon by elephant and thrown from mountain, he came out unscathed! Prahlada was served with a cup of poison which he drank happily with the name of Lord Vishnu on his tongue. Poison didn’t kill him! Enraged at this Hiranyakasipu demanded to know where the boy's savior, Vishnu was hiding Himself. When Prahlada showed the great pillar nearby, he brought down the pillar with his iron hands! Out came from the pillar, with thunderous noise the form of Man Lion, Lord Narasimha who caught the asura in his strong hands and tore his stomach with His sharp nails! Thus inveterate hatred destroyed Hiranyakasipu!
There are instances galore in our epics and Puranas of people, Kings and others who were undone by their jealousy and arrogance! One such great king was Nahusha. He aspired to become the king of Devas and performed a hundred “ Aswamedha Yagas” to qualify himself for that position. He was being taken in a palanquin by the sages when he grew impatient and wanted them to move quicker! Not realizing the greatness of the renowned sages, he prodded one of the sages with his foot saying “ Sarpa,Sarpa.” Furious at this humiliation, the sage cursed Nahusha to take the form of a serpent! The word “Sarpa” means a snake which moves quickly! The Mahabharata is a classical illustration of the operation of jealousy and hatred in the lives of mortals. King Dhritarashtra, of the Kuru clan and the father of the Kauravas, was an embodiment of jealousy and hatred. The word Dhritarashtra means one who has a firm grip over the nation or kinngdom! He was extremely possessive and never wanted to give up anything in the least. He was highly possessive and paved the way for the downfall of the Kauravas!
The Kauravas inherited jealousy and hatred from their father! Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas hated the Pandavas though they were his cousins. He did not grant them even a small piece of land though they had the rightful share for it. At every time he attempted to kill them but all of them backfired. He was jealous of the good qualities and popularity of the Pandavas. He cheated them in gambling and sent them into exile in the forest. His hatred and jealousy resulted in the terrible battle of Kurukshetra where the entire Kauravas were decimated! Many other kith and kin were annihilated. Karna is another example of jealousy and hatred in the Mahabharata. He hated Arjuna, the Pandavas warrior from the beginning since Duryodhana wanted him to kill Arjuna. Arjuna was Karna's rival in archery. Karna lied to his mentor in archery that he was a Brahmin and when his teacher learnt it, he grew angry and cursed him! That was reason why he forgot all his astras on the battlefield when his chariot wheels dug into the ground! His hatred and jealousy for Arjuna cost his life! It is a pity that even great people fall victim to these emotions and appear helpless and despondent! Man must try his best to rise above these inner adversaries by sincere effort though it may seem impossible!!
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