Kauravas in heaven

A few weeks ago, in my blog on "Did Yudhishthira went to heaven?" I mentioned that he saw Kaurava brothers in the heaven. And he was enraged. But do we know why?

Kuru – the great ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas once tilled a land close to Hastinapuri – his capital. He tilled the earth with such determination that he used his flesh as the seeds and his blood as the water for the seeds to germinate. Upon seeing this, Indra descended from his throne and asked Kuru for his wish. Kuru requested nothing for himself, but for others. He asked ascension to heaven for anyone who dies on the land he tilled. Though Indra could not refuse Kuru's request, he added a condition that the person must die as a warrior.

The land was later known as Kurukshtera and all who died (mainly Kauravas) ascended to heaven for just having died on the land.

Sometimes, we may have done our best and have been the most righteous of all, yet we may not be the one to achieve success. Never loose the hope. There are bigger things in play than you think. Remember, the scale on which the success or failure is determined is created by man. And hence the scale changes with time. What you can do is to set the scale in relative terms for yourself. Since you remain the subject all the time and you remain the measured quantity the scale works better when you measure how much good you did for yourself and others. Never try to judge yourself from other's perspectives.

If there is someone who can remember you, you have conquered the world.

Long ago, there was a king Indradyumna. He went to Swarga of his great deeds. However, after a few years he was sent back to the earth since his account of good deeds was drained. He was told if he could find anyone who could remember him, he can come back to swarga. Indradyumna went to the oldest man on earth who couldn't recognize the old king. However, the old man pointed the king to an old owl. The owl pointed the king to a swan who directed him to a turtle. The old turtle remembered the king and thanked him for the lake he built. The king couldn't recollect anything about the lake. The king had once donated so many of his cows that the earth moved by the moving of the cows from the shelter. This trough formed in the shelter area later became a pond and then the lake where the turtle lived. The king then got his right to get back to the swarga. Hence, knowingly or unknowingly, if you help others, you are sure to succeed.