शंखनाद

मैत्री की राह बताने को, सबको सुमार्ग पर लाने को,

दुर्योधन को समझाने को, भीषण विध्वंस बचाने को,

भगवान् हस्तिनापुर आये, पांडव का संदेशा लाये।

कृष्ण की चेतावनी

‘दो न्याय अगर तो आधा दो, पर, इसमें भी यदि बाधा हो,

तो दे दो केवल पाँच ग्राम, रक्खो अपनी धरती तमाम।

हम वहीं खुशी से खायेंगे, परिजन पर असि न उठायेंगे!

दुर्योधन वह भी दे ना सका, आशीष समाज की ले न सका,

उलटे, हरि को बाँधने चला, जो था असाध्य, साधने चला।

जब नाश मनुज पर छाता है,पहले विवेक मर जाता है।

These are the famous lines from the poem "Rashmirathi" written by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, a great Hindi poet and writer. "जब नाश मनुज पर छाता है,पहले विवेक मर जाता है।". These lines are so apt. We can see the examples of this all around us. The whole world is full of war zones. It seems that human beings are hell bent to destroy the Earth. People are very intolerant of "love" even in the closest of relationships. They just want whatever their instincts desire. They have become so shameless that they can threaten to destroy their relatives if their unreasonable desires are not fulfilled.

It is strange to see Narad muni, who stays with Vishnu all the time, get attached to a girl when he comes to Earth to fetch a glass of water for Narayana and forgets Narayana. He marries the girl and enters family life, leaving aside his years of Sadhana. Ravana, who had such great control over his senses and did such a penance that Lord Shiva had to agree to go with him to Lanka, was so infatuated with Sita that he decided to kidnap Sita. Why would any sane person not give even 5 villages to his cousins to avoid a battle, that too when Lord Krishna himself approaches with the proposal? Yet, Duryodhana refuses to accept, and that's what leads to one of the worst battles, the battle of Kurukshetra.

On the other hand, Arjuna, even after reaching the battlefield, gets confused. He feels it would not be appropriate for him to fight his own cousins and teachers. That's when Krishna teaches him the highest discrimination. The discrimination between the "call of the soul" and "force of the instincts". He tells Arjuna that his desire to run away from the battlefield is nothing but his emotional response to the situation. His emotional response is like that because he is attached to his elders and teachers. This attachment is devoid of awareness. People like Bhishma, Drona, and Kripacharya have chosen to fight on the side of Duryodhana, which is devoid of Dharma; therefore, attachment to them is also devoid of Dharma. Dharma always has truth and fairness at its centre. Arjuna listens to him and fights the battle of Kurukshetra.

Why did Duryodhana not listen to Krishna, and why did Arjuna listen to him? It is because Arjuna was confused that he was looking for guidance. He was open. We wanted to examine, and therefore, he asked Krishna to guide him. On the other hand, Duryodhana was sure of himself. He knew very little and believed that to be true. The problem with Duryodhana was that his father, brothers, and mama Shakuni were equally blind. His mother too blinded her eyes and did not intervene when Duryodhana was setting the centre of his life around ego. His friend Karna also added fuel to the fire and never tried to make him understand the meaning of Dharma. That's why he became so sure. He hardly interacted with wise people. He simply turned a deaf ear to the sane advice of Vidura and Bhishma. That's why he became so arrogant and could not discriminate between right and wrong, and became a cause of the destruction of his entire family. 

I don't know how to make the Duryodhanas of today understand. If Lord Krishna could not make them understand, who are we? The world is full of Duryodhanas everywhere. In families and in the world around us. They can destroy the entire world for their desires. They are surrounded by brother Dushasana, father Dhritrastra, mother Gandhari, and friend Karna. How will they ever get to see reality? God knows? The battle of the Mahabharata is going on everywhere. Arjuna may have love and compassion for the elders and teachers, but it is for them to choose the side of Dharma. Arjuna has already chosen to fight the Battle of Kurukshetra under Krishna's guidance. Destruction is the beginning of a new creation. Probably that's why Krishna showed the way to the Arjunas of the future. Anybody who decides to move on the path of Dharma would have to fight the battle of Kurukshetra, however unpleasant that may be for him. Because Bhishma, Drona, and Kripacharya will fight from the side of Adharma due to their own conditioning. It's not easy to choose Krishna. But once Krishna chooses Arjuna, Arjuna has no other option than fighting the battle. Krishna already declared the battle in these lines:

तो ले अब मैं भी जाता हूँ, अंतिम संकल्प सुनाता हूँ

याचना नहीं अब रण होगा, जीवन जय या की मरण होगा

टकरायेंगे नक्षत्र निखर, बरसेगी भू पर वह्नी प्रखर

फन शेषनाग का डोलेगा, विकराल काल मुंह खोलेगा

दुर्योधन रण ऐसा होगा, फिर कभी नहीं जैसा होगा

भाई पर भाई टूटेंगे, विष बाण बूँद से छूटेंगे

सौभाग्य मनुज के फूटेंगे, वायस शृगाल सुख लूटेंगे

आखिर तू भूशायी होगा, हिंसा का पर्दायी होगा