ss and
not in anger, in wisest love and not with a desire to mislead, the Lord
of Love tries the hearts of His beloved, so that any evil that is in
them may be wrung out by the grip that He places on them. Two or three
occasions of it I remember. I may mention perhaps a couple of them to
show you the method of the trial. The battle of Kurukshetra had been
raging many a day; thousands and tens of thousands of the dead lay
scattered on that terrible field, and every day when the sun rose
Bhishma came forth, generalissimo of the army of the Kurus, carrying
before him everything, save where Arjuna barred his way; but Arjuna
could not be everywhere; he was called away, with the horses guided by
the Charioteer Shri Krishna sweeping across the field like a
whirlwind, carrying victory in their course; and where the Charioteer
and Arjuna were not there Bhishma had his way. The hearts of the
Pandavas sank low within them, and at last one night under their
tents, resting ere the next day's struggle, the bitter despondency of
King Yudhishthira broke out in words, and he declared that until
Bhishma was slain nothing could be done. Then came the test from the
lips of the searcher of hearts. "Behold, I will go forth and slay him on
the morrow." Would Yudhishthira consent? A promise stood in his
way. You may remember that when Duryodhana and Arjuna went to Shri
Krishna who lay sleeping, the question arose as to what each
should take. Alone, unarmed, Shri Krishna would go with one, He
would not fight; a mighty battalion of troops He would give to the
other. Arjuna chose the unarmed Krishna; Duryodhana, the mighty
army ready to fight; so the word of the Avatara was pledged that He
would not fight. Unarmed He went into the battle, clad in his yellow
silken robe, and only with the whip of the charioteer in His hand;
twice, in order to stimulate Arjuna into combat, He had sprung down
from the chariot and gone forth with His whip in His hand as though He
would attack Bhishma and slay him where he fought. Each time Arjuna
stopped Him, reminding Him of His words. Now came the trial for the
blameless King, as he is often called; should Shri Krishna
break His word to give him victory? He stood firm. "Thy promise is
given," was his answer; "that promise may not be broken." He passed the
trial; he stood the test. But still one weakness was left in that noble
heart; one underlying weakness that threatened to keep him away from his
Lord. The lack of