THE COW AND THE LAME  BULL

When Parikshit was born Dhaumya and Kripa had cast his horoscope.  They told Yudhishthira that the Child had a glorious future. “He will be like Ikshvaku, the Son of Manu” they said. “He will honour Brahmins and He will be Truth Speaking, like RAMA, the Son of Dasharatha. Like Shibi He will be a great giver and as for His glory and fame they will spread to the four quarters like that of Bharata, the Son of Dushyanta. In Archery, He will be as great as Arjuna and Karthavirya. He will be as stately as Himavan and as patient as Mother Earth. His courage will be that of Bali and His devotion to NARAYANA will be equal to that of Prahalada. He will perform the Ashvamedha  and He will learn Brahma Vidya from Shuka, the illustrious Son of Vyasa. His name will be remembered on the Earth so long as the Sun and Moon, move in their Orbit.’

After He was crowned Parikshit justified the words of the Rishis. He ruled His Kingdom just as well as Yudhishtira had been doing. He married Iravati, the daughter of uttarakumara and Janamejaya was his eldest Son. On the banks of the River Ganga He performed the Ashvamedha Yaga. There was great pain in the Heart of the King since He saw the influence of Kali increasing day by day.  He wanted to fight with Kali, destroy Him and restore to the Earth Her past glory and beauty when his grand father ruled the Earth.

Once on the Banks of the Sarasvati a Bull was talking to a Cow. The Cow looked emaciated and She looked like She had lost Her Calf. Tears were flowing from Her Eyes. The Bull was maimed. He was limping on just one leg.  He went near Her and said: “Why are you weeping? Why do you look so despondent? You look sick, My Dear. It seems to Me it is a Malaise of the Mind. I can see that some intense pain is gnawing at Your vitals. Are You mourning the loss of someone very Dear to You? Are You weeping because you cannot bear to see Me with three of My legs broken? Are You weeping at the thought of the  low-born Shudras instead of Kshatriyas will rule You in the days to come? Are You sorry for the Devas who will be denied their share of the Havis in the Yagnyas since Yagnyas will not be performed anymore? O Mother Earth, are you sad because Indra will not wet you with rain hereafter? Are you sad about the decay of Dharma? Are you dreading the future when men will no longer protect the Women? ; when Parents will not be respected by their Children? Are You sad because Goddess Saraswati will have to live in the Homes of sinful Brahmins; or because High-Born Brahmins will do menial service to their inferiors? Or are you mourning the fate of Mankind which will be so immersed in Sin, the gratification of the senses that it will never think of the Lord?

“I know why you are sad. The Lord has been with You and He removed the burden which was choking You. He destroyed adharma and relieved you. But when He went away Dharma went with Him. That I am sure, is the cause of your unhappiness. Time, the Arch enemy of all, has stolen your glory and the pain in your heart is because of the thoughts of the future. Am I right?”

The Earth raised Her tear-filled Eyes to the Bull and said: “Lord Dharma, you know only too well what lies behind this pain of mine. Your questions only serve to make my wounds bleed anew. The Lord has left Me and I am pining for Him. The moment He went away, righteousness left Me and with it all the noble qualities for which I have become the Home all these years. I am mourning for you and all that you once stood for. The Lord Who was the Home of all that is Beautiful, Good and Pure, has left Me and I am dreading the progress of Kali. In the form of KRISHNA, the Lord had placed His Dear Feet on Me and He had walked on Me. I was so beautiful then because He had sanctified Me. I had become proud perhaps of My Good Fortune. To punish Me, He has left Me and I do not know what I should do. The memory of those glorious days makes me weep and weep the more because I weep in vain.”

As they were thus engaged, out of nowhere, a low-born Man who was dressed in the garments of a kshatriya  approached the couple. He began to harass them. With a stick, He was trying to break the one remaining leg of the Bull. King Parikshit who was coming near the place in a Chariot saw this terrible scene and hurried to the spot. He had His bow in His Hand and His other Hand was already in the Quiver picking out an arrow. The sight of the Cow brought tears to His Eyes. In a terrible voice He addressed the assailant; “How can you behave like this? How is it possible for such injustice to take place in My Kingdom? In the Land which was once ruled by the great Yudhishthira? How could you pluck up courage enough to commit this atrocity when I am King?”

He comforted the Cow and the Bull and said: “Whoever You may be, You are rid of this sinner who has been harassing you. I am going to kill him. Be rid of your fears. Poor Bull, tell Me who cut off your other legs?”

Dharma looked at Him and said: “It is but fitting that a great scion of the Kuru house should speak thus. You are the descendent of those Great Men for whom the Lord Himself took up the role of a messenger of Peace, the role of a Charioteer. As for our condition, we do not really know who is responsible for it. When I look around Me I become faint with the many forms of dharma which people talk about.  There are the atheists who say: Man himself is Master of His Fate. The Gods have neither the Power nor the right to influence the lives of Men on Earth. Nothing governs Man except his EGO. There are some others who ascribe everything to the nine planets: the grahas. They say that fate and Grahachara are but synonyms. Some others talk about Karma and say that Karma is what matters: Karma it is, which is responsible for everything. And again, there are those who say that one’s Good or Bad Fortune is the consequence of one’s own nature, Svabhava, and nothing else.  There are still a few, very few, however, who maintain that there is a God who is beyond the Ken of Human thought and that He is responsible for everything. Consider, O King, all these views you have, you should yourself make up your Mind as to who is responsible for this state of affairs. As for Me, I really do not know!”

The King considered his words for a moment and spoke with a smile. He said: “The Shastras say that the Naraka which is waiting for the perpetrator of adharma is meant also for him who mentions the name of the wrong-doer. A truly righteous person will never betray the name of the sinner. You speak words befitting a person who knows the nuances of Dharma. The more I think on it the more I am convinced that you are Dharma himself and no one else. Only you can trace so vividly, the death of purity on the Earth.

“It has been said that Penance (Tapas), Cleanliness (Shaucha), Compassion (Daya) and Truth (Satya) are the four legs of Dharma. Pride is also responsible for the destruction of Tapas; Smaya, indulgence and arrogance for that of the other two. In the Kali Yuga Man can be said to practice Dharma only by the observance of Truth and that is the one leg on which you are standing.  This Kali is trying to kill truth and replace it with his weapon, untruth. I know why Mother Earth is weeping. She is comparing the Golden Age when the Lord walked on Her with the days to come when sinners will rule over her. But be without fear. I am going to kill Kali.”

The King dropped His bow and taking up a sword in His Hand He rushed towards Kali.

Kali shed his disguise and dropped at the feet of the King and begged for mercy. Parikshit said: “You know that I will not hurt you now that you have fallen at My Feet. I have been born in the family of Arjuna and I will not hurt a suppliant.  But you are a Dear Kinsman of adharma and so, I command that you should no longer be here, you should not exist in the country where I rule. I cannot brook your presence. Once you are given a chance to stay, your many companions will join you: avarice, untruth, theft, unrightousness, hypocracy, quarrelsomeness, and in short, all that is ugly and hateful. I do not want any of you in my Kingdom.”

Trembling with fear, Kali said: “My Lord, the entire Earth is ruled by you. Where can I go? God who has created Good has also created evil which is but the shadow of Good. I have to exist somewhere since I have been created. Tell me where I should go and I will obey you.”

The King thought over his words and said: “What you say is right. You can go and thrive where the name of the Lord is forgotten. You can go where there is gambling, drinking, lustfulness and the desire to kill.”

Kali said: “Point out to me a single spot where all these are present and I will go there.”

“Gold”, said the king. “Gold will propogate avarice, untruth, arrogance, lustfulness, ruthlessness and hatred. These five will be the places and so, Gold, will be the place where you will be allowed to Live.”

Kali went away from there to the places mentioned. This is why the wise say that Kamini and Kanchana are the two dread enemies which are lying in wait to destroy Man. The words spoken by Kali are worth studying. He says that he is also created by the Lord and so, there is a purpose behind his creation. Kali is made to live in places where thoughts of the Lord are absent. The Lord Himself is forgotten. True enough. But, as KUNTI said, “Give us misfortunes all the Time so we may think of You.” Man is lost in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures. If he is a success in Life, he ascribes it all to himself and not to his Good fortune. Never. However, if and when trouble comes, when Man is in distress, then the Mind becomes pliable. Suffering melts the hardened core of the EGO. When something is achieved, the EGO comes forward and takes the credit. But when there is failure, the EGO must necessarily be pushed to the background and humility makes its appearance. The EGO surrenders itself completely admitting defeat and the Lord who is present in the Heart always, but has been hidden by Avarana, shines resplendant. It is when one is in trouble that the thoughts of the Lord come to the Mind and Kali meant this perhaps, when he said that there is a purpose behind his creation. People will walk in evil paths and forget the Lord completely and Kali helps them in this. But the backsliding is really to save the Soul. When they are hurt and sorely tried, Men will turn towards the Lord and be saved. This is what Kali means when he says: “Evil is but a shadow of Good.”

Some of the characteristics that the Puranas describe as being innate to Kali Yugam are;

1. Projection of the self.  People will be anxious to prove their superior physical and mental capabilities over that of others.  This is an Asura's character from the prior yugams, which is widely prevalant in Kali Yugam.

2.  The mind functions based on perceived REALITY.  All perceived objects are classified as REAL or IMAGINARY.  This arises from the seperation of the thought process, from what it perceives.  This is a very fundemental building block concept of thought in the Kali Yugam.

3.  Truth and fiction overlap.  The mind loses its ability to perceive the truth behind objects, events and people.  The classification of Truth and Fiction is motivated only by the extent of "personal gain" that the individual can make.

4. The mind functions only based on "I and Mine".  All objects in this world are seperated into those that "belong" to the self and those that are owned by others.