#hindiusm

The Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, describes Dwarka's founding by Krishna on 12 parcels of land reclaimed from the sea.  The text paints a vivid picture of life in the ancient city.  When Krishna dwelled there, Dwarka was filled with many beautiful gardens, ponds and palaces.  The men and women who lived in the city of Dwarka decorated themselves with jewels, ornaments, scents and sandals.  Traders brought merchandise to marketplaces that had been cleanly swept and sprinkled with water.  Noble people, conveyed in chariots and elephants, came to pay their respects, and entertainers and poets amused the god by dancing, singing and playing on musical instruments.  Religion flourished, too.  Brahmin priests read the Vedas...and holy and virtuous men sang praises eight times each day. After Krishna left the city for his heavenly abode, Dwarka was inundated, ushering in the current dark age, known as the Kali Yuga.  As the charioteer Arjuna describes the event in the Mahabharata, the sea broke its boundary and rushed into the city, submerging the beautiful buildings one by one.  In a matter of moments it was all over – there was no trace of the city; Dwarka was just a memory.

Don’t feel sad that you cannot be as disciplined as you would like to be. Do what you can. Don’t be sad about what you are not able to do. Don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t suppress or judge yourself. Give the body the food and sleep it needs. There is nothing wrong in that. But don’t overly pamper yourself either. There may be lapses in your discipline. We may fall down. But we shouldn’t allow it to make us feel frustrated. When you fall down, instead of lying there on the ground thinking how comfortable it is, remind yourself of your goal. Get back up and keep moving forward. Never accept defeat.