The Mahabharata has a very beautiful story. The more I think about it, the more I feel the story is symbolic. King Vichitravirya is married to Ambika and Ambalika. He doesn't have children. His mother, Satyavati, feels that Vyasa should bless Ambika and Ambalika with children through Niyoga. Vyasa is the son of Mother Satyavati and Rishi Parashara. Vayasa is the person who is writing the entire epic, the Mahabharata. When Ambika meets Vyasa, she closes her eyes out of fear, and that's why she gives birth to blind Dhritrastra. When Ambalika meets Vyasa, she turns pale, and that's when she gives birth to Pandu, who is quite weak since birth. Mother Satyavati insists that Ambika meet Vyasa one more time, and she sends her maid out of fear; the maid gives birth to Vidura.
I feel that the story is quite symbolic, and its true meaning is most relevant in today's world. Vyasa represents the consciousness. He is an aware soul, son of Rishi Parashara, and that's why he represents consciousness or awareness. It's not easy for the ego to handle awareness. That's what happens when Ambika meets Vyasa. She gets so frightened that she closes her eyes and gives birth to Dhritrastra. Dhritrashtra was blinded by his jealousy and an inferiority complex that he refused to be aware of reality, and his refusal to be aware led to the destruction of all his family members. That's the ego's first reaction to awareness. It refuses to see. It goes into a denial mode. Almost all of us have some religious books at home. Generally, what do we do? We read it and yet ignore whatever is written. We get the news about the death of a known person every now and then, and yet we reject the thought that our death is also approaching fast. That's what Dhritarashtra did throughout his life. Even while listening to the commentary of the battle of Kurukshetra from Sanjay, he will reject the thought of the defeat of the Kauravas till Duryodhana dies.
When Vyasa met Ambalika, she turned pale due to fear and gave birth to Pandu. That's what happens to many of us. We turn coward when it comes to taking a stand for the truth. That's what many Indians did when they fought for the freedom of India against British rule. One may be sitting in a very important position and yet may not have even an iota of courage. Such people destroy society and systems in a different way. Finally, Kunti and Madhvi, the wives of Pandu, had to pray to the devas for children.
Dhritrastra and Pandu are the rulers. They represent our "Mana", or the emotional mind, which rules our being. Generally, our decisions are made by the emotional mind rather than the rational mind. The job of the rational mind is merely to provide advice to the emotional mind, and that advice is not binding on the emotional mind. The emotional mind is driven by two primary forces: desire for pleasure, represented by Dhritrastra, and fear of pain, represented by Pandu.
When the maid met Vyasa, she was blessed with a very intelligent son named Vidura. Vidura is intelligent. But he represents the rational mind, and the rational mind is not the ruler. It has to just serve the emotional mind. It can at best give sane advice to the emotional mind, but it all depends on the emotional mind whether it will accept the advice. Dhritarashtra never listened to Vidura's advice. When our emotional mind wants to get pleasure out of food, it becomes blind to the advice of the rational mind to eat healthy. When our emotional mind feels lust, it does not listen to the sane advice of the rational mind to apply restraint. When our emotional mind wants the pleasure of money, it rejects the sane advice of the rational mind not to be corrupt. The emotional mind often becomes blind due to these desires.
There is one more lesson from the Mahabharata. Finally, Arjuna, the son of Pandu, could connect with Krishna. It is not possible for Duryodhana to connect to Krishna. When our emotional mind is blinded by desire for pleasure, it can't stay aware. That's why, in those moments when we feel greedy for pleasure, we become so blinded that it's almost impossible to see through or stay aware. Our rational brain may be very much aware of reality, but that hardly makes any difference because the decisions are made by the emotional mind. The only possibility of being aware is when our emotional mind is afraid. In those moments, we feel confused, and a window opens, allowing us to look out of the "dark room of ego" into the wide sky. In the moments of fear and doubt, Arjuna surrendered to Krishna and connected to him.
Now, coming to the crucial lesson, I got to realise today. We may have the most intelligent brain like Vidura, but that's not going to prevent the battle of Kurukshetra. The stronger our desires for pleasure and fear of pain, the stronger will be our disconnection from reality. Because both of these are the movements of the ego. Now, suppose the strength of desire for pleasure and aversion for pain is supported with a low capacity to handle? What will happen? A person will feel very weak. What will he do to manage this gap? He will create many mental stories and start living in them. The stories are full of entitlement, perceived rights, expectations, jealousy, hatred, cleaving, and exploitation. It will work as long as the ecosystem supports these stories. But these mental stories are as fragile and change as fast as the weather. That's why when these stories fall flat, people are unable to bear them and experience an emotional breakdown. They hold others responsible because they are unable to look within and fall into a deeper trap of emotions.
Comments