Yesterday, I had a discussion with a dear friend on "choice". My friend said that in a state of realisation, there is no choice, and one would be neutral among the options. I asked him that, in that case, would a realised person like Krishna fight on the Kauravas' side? Does realisation mean that fighting on the side of the Pandavas or the Kauravas makes no difference?
Consciousness is one, and all forms take birth from the same. That's why Shiva makes no distinction between the Devas and the Danavas. Whoever prays to Lord Shiva is blessed in the same way. Mythology is full of stories in which the Danavas received boons from Lord Shiva and then tried to control all three Lokas. I think that to contemplate this complex problem, we may consider the three natures of Prakrati, viz., Tamas, Rajas, and Satva. Underlying all three is the same consciousness. Like H2O taking the form of ice, water, and vapour. It's the same water in all three states. We need all three forms of nature to make this world run. We need Tamas or solidity. If Earth is not solid, we will not have a stable platform on which we can live. We need Rajas or liquidity. We need energy in different forms for transportation; we need electricity to run a fan or the AC; we need fire to cook food. We need Satva or Gas. We need air to breathe at the most fundamental level.
Glaciers, rivers, and clouds: all three are required for life. However, what if the mountain, river, or cloud forgets the reality underlying its existence and becomes arrogant? In a state of awareness, all three work in perfect harmony, and the cycle of water keeps the world running. What if the glacier refuses to melt? What if the river refuses to flow? What if the clouds refuse to return to Earth as rain? Whenever any form of nature gets deprived of the awareness of reality, it develops ego. Once a form of nature develops ego, naturally it becomes fearful and starts accumulating. It forms ambitions and sets targets under the false belief that once it reaches that destination, it will be happy. The fundamental reason for that unhappiness is ignorance. Lack of awareness of the unity within. Until that ignorance is addressed, no achievements will help.
So, when we talk of choices, it's not about choosing Tamas, Rajas, or Sattva. That a person will choose based on their genetic and mental make-up. Somebody would be more interested in constructing buildings, somebody in sports, and somebody in science. But awareness helps us see through. Krishna can see that the Kauravas are driven by that ignorance. Why would he fight on the side of the Kauravas? Ram will have to help Sugriva fight Vali. He will have to fight Ravan and make Vibhishana the king of Lanka. Between darkness and light, one always chooses light. Actually, there is no choice. A pig is not aware of cleanliness, so it does not notice, and it happily stays in foul-smelling mud. However, once somebody experiences cleanliness, they will naturally be attracted towards a clean place.
Basically, we become instinctive while we are ignorant. Instincts take over our decision-making. Once we are aware, we will no longer be under the control of instincts. Ved Vyasa will naturally write Mahabharata and not some chick-lit. Once Vakmiki is aware, he will not do the dacoity. Once Goenka ji realised the nature of reality, he couldn't continue to spend his life in the mindless accumulation of wealth as a businessman, and he made efforts to set up Vipassana centres so that it could reach as many people as possible. We may call it choice or surrender, that does not matter. For Krishna, it may be a choice; for Arjuna, a surrender. But what the Bhagavad Gita tells us is that Arjuna also did not accept what Krishna said until he answered all his questions, and finally, Krishna had to show him his Vishwaroopa. Any belief before that may turn out to be a blind faith. Swami Vivekananda too tested Ramakrishna Paramhansa before accepting him as his Guru. Blind faith and surrender may be quite instinctive, driven by the hurry to reach some imaginary destination.
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