Harih Om Parents,
Following was discussed/taught to your child in the Balavihar class on Dec 20, 2020:
1. After initial prayers we continued with Bhagavad Gita Dhyana sloka teaching - so far we have learned up to 5 verses
2. Swamiji has completed 13 and 14 verses of Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2) chanting – please have your children practice at home.
3. Today in class we focused on discussing the Kauravas and the Pandava characters in Mahabharata Story, analyzing their life and actions.
While analyzing their actions – we see all of them had shades of good and bad; some with more good than bad and vice versa. Mahabharata story paints a canvas of all possible human actions, emotions, thoughts & attitudes. The Mahabharatha is a reflection of our own situations & mental conditions which is describe through the actions of these various characters – so that we can learn and grow.
a)Bheesma : is one of the central characters in Mahabharata story. His actual name was Devavrata – but due to the terrible oath he took he was blessed with the name of Bheesma. He had in depth knowledge of Shastras and Dharma. His life is an epitome of righteousness; he is revered as one of the greatest devotees of the Lord. As a Kshetriya prowess as a warrior was unparalled – he defeated his own Guru Parushurama at a young age! In the Kurushetra battle field, no one could defeat him. Inspite of fighting on behalf of the Kauravas, he himself told Yudhisthira the secret by which he can be defeated. After the war laying on the arrow bed, with blessing of Lord Krishna, he taught Yudhisthira - Raja dharma, Varna dharma, rules of right conduct and much more, which form the Santi and Anushasana parvas (very voluminous portion)of the Mahabharata. Some consider these teachings as the heart of Mahabharata story. He gave us the famous Vishnusahasranama storam.
Yudhisthira was finally able to come out of his sorrow and guilt after Bheesma's teaching. Despite all these great virtues, Bhisma's life was not without faults. It is believed that each of the arrows on the "bed of arrows" he lay on represented the various wrongs he had done during his life. Due to his loyalty to the Hastinapur throne he had to take the side of adharma during the Kurushetra war. In addition, he was silent witness when Pandavas and Drupadi were humiliated during the dice game.
b)Dhritharastra: his name means 'one who holds on to the nation'. Based on the rules of the land, he was not eligible to be the king as he was blind. He therefore had to hand over his kingdom to his brother Pandu. For this reason, he always held a grudge against his brother Pandu and the Pandavas. But after death of Pandu, he became the king. However, he never wanted to give the throne back to Yudhisthira, the eldest son of Pandu. Dhristharastra always wanted his own son, Duryodhana to be the king. He was very deceitful and caused a lot of problems for the Pandavas. Dhirtarashtra was a character with a wavering and unsteady mind. His mind constantly swung like a pendulum alternating between two extremes. When he listened to Vidura, he would acquiesce and agree that it would be right to hand over part of the kingdom to the Pandavas. However, when he listened to Duryodhana or his ministers he would be swayed in the other direction. He outwardly pretended to be fond of his nephews, the Pandavas. But inwardly, he was a person seething with jealousy and anger. He knew about the plans of Duryodhana to kill the Pandavas by making them go to Ekachakra and live in the Wax Palace. He halfheartedly gave the Pandavas a barren portion of the kingdom as their share; As an elder of the Kuru dynasty, he "watched" silently and indifferntly when Pandavas and Draupadi were humiliated during the game of dice. His atrocities were numerous. Duryodhana 'seems only to be the outer manifestation' of his greed, jealous and blind attachment. Although, he would get advice from elders to follow the righteous path – his blind love for his son and extreme attachment to the throne made him unable to lead a righteous life. He was probably the highest ranking person who could have prevented the war yet he failed to do so. His excuse was that he could not be fully effective in preventing the war because he was blind. His virtues were that he always used to like to listen to "Dharma" and "Neeti" from Vidura. In fact, it is said that he even had listened to Vedanta teachings from Lord Brahmaji's son, called, Sanatsujatiyam. This probably gave him enough punya to have the vision of the Cosmic form of the Lord!
c)Gandhari: Wife of King Dhirtarashtra: she was a very faithful wife, served her husband dutifully. Yet one wonders if she could have better served him by being 'his eyes'; instead of getting blind folded. She did give good advice to her sons and told them not to be jealous of the ability of the Pandavas. She even told them to avoid the company of her brother Shakuni and advised them fighting against the Pandavas. In fact, when Duryodhana came to her to seek her blessings before the war, she refused to do so. But she too was blinded by her love and attachment towards Duryodhana and had a deep desire for him to become King. When she heard Kunti had given birth to the first son, who will eventually become the heir, she got very angry and jealous and tried to destroy her womb by hitting on her stomach. It was Veda Vyasa who saved the 'garbham' and 101 children were later born to Gandhari. She also watched silently the humiliation of Pandavas and Drupadi, till she started seeing bad omens portending the destruction of her own children. She was therefore an opportunist. At end of the war when all her sons had been killed, she blamed Lord Krishna for her sorrow and cursed Him and the Yadava clan! Dhrithrastra and Gandhari characters are examples of how parents should not be! In addition, one sees through these characters how their intellect was deluded with extreme love and attachment for their child.
d)Duryodhana: his ambition and greed was egged on by Dhritharastra's silent approval. Again, his intellect was clouded and he was not able to follow the good advice given by the elders. It is believed that he confessed that he knew what was the right thing to do but did not have the determination to follow through and that he also knew what was wrong but could not prevent himself from following it! It is quite clear to any impartial observer of Mahabharata story that his army/ warriors would be no match for Pandavas in the war. Arjuna had repeatedly proven to be a better warrior than Karna on several occasions. Yet, Duryodhana had blind faith in Karna's ability to kill Arjuna. One person's megalomania and delusion lead to the destruction of an entire clan! We see reflections of Duryodhana's personality even in modern world –example: Mussolini, Hitler etc. where one person's ideology leads to so much destruction and suffering. One of Duryodhana's positive attributes was that he was a devoted friend to Karna. And for this friendship he was more than willing to do anything. Again, one can argue that the foundation of this friendship was based on selfish motives. He however did perform many yagnas.
e)Duhsasana: brother of Duryodhana. He was an unusual strange character. He had deep and unabiding love for his elder brother, Duryodhana. But that love should not be blind and make us do bad things. Loyalty is meaningful only when it is for noble cause. He blindly followed whatever Duryodhana asked him to do – leading to his demise in the war.
f) Sakuni: who was Gandhari's brother, had a grudge against the Kuru dynasty as his sister was asked in marriage for a blind king, Dhritharastra. He could not oppose Kurus as they were stronger, so he secretly vowed that he would ultimately cause destruction of the Kuru dynasty. He succeeded in that by continually poisoning Duryodhana's mind and arranging and defeating Pandavas in a deceitful dice game. This eventually lead to the the war.
g)Dronacharya: was the teacher for Pandavas and Kauravas. He was the most preeminent archer of his time. Very learned in sastras and dharma; was righteous and disciplined. His yoga practice was so powerful that he was able to sit in meditation in battlefield and give up his life! He was a Brahmin by birth but followed his passion for learning various arts, at a gurukula, along with friend Drupada. Later in life the impoverished Drona went to ask for financial help from his friend Drupada, who was by then a King. However, Drupada pretended not to recognize him and insulted Dronacharya. Drona vowed to seek revenge for this act and carried a grudge against the King. He devised a plan whereby he became the teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas. At the end of their training, he in the form of seeking Gurudakhsina from Arjuna was able to avenge his insult. Drupada was defeated, captured in the war, humiliated and later released. Thus he pursued his profession in Hastinapur for the sole purpose of seeking revenge and to further his personal agenda. He silently stood and watched when during the game of dice, the Pandavas and Drupadi were humiliated. Unlike Vidura and Vikarna did not voice his horror and disgust at the treatment being meted out on the Pandavas because it was in perfect agreement with his plans. As a Brahmana, there was no need for him to participate in any warfare, yet he took part in many wars. He degraded himself as a paid tutor and ultimately had a sad demise in the Mahabharata war. His life almost gives us a vivid picture of the Lord's teaching - that by following 'paradharma' one gets destroyed.
Even though the Kaurava army had so many great warriors they were defeated as each one had their individual weakness, attachments, and ambitions – and they were not able to raise above them and work in a united fashion and defeat the Pandavas.
4. "Yaksha Prashnas" :
- What is the highest Dharma? Non violence is the greatest Dharma. Everybody in this world has the right to lead of peaceful and harmonious life. We should not tread on anybody's rights. In Gandhiji's words, " an eye for an eye make the whole world blind."
- Which Dharma leads to results? Vedic Dharma leads to results. If we follow Dharma prescribed in the Vedas we will lead a fulfilling and happy life. We have been given this body to serve others and to do good to others.
- Controlling what one does not grieve? Controlling our mind, one does not grieve. We should be an intelligent witness to all that is happening around us. We should let ourselves live this life joyfully and live through our "Prarabhdhas" and not question "why me?" when we are going through challenges and difficulties in our life.
- Friendship with whom does not decay? Friendship with a person of upright character and values does not decay. People who are straightforward, sincere and compassionate are the people with whom our friendship will never decay.
5. Kunti : She was the wife of Pandu and the mother of the Pandavas. She was adopted by Kuntibhoja who was childless. She was the sister of Vasudeva and aunt of Lord Krishna. After the death of her husband, King Pandu, she showed exemplary courage and raised the Pandavas with the support of her relatives. She was a great devotee of the Lord. It is believed that she once prayed the Lord 'to give her more suffering in her life' – so that she would remember Him all the time! Karna, her eldest son was born to her when she was not married and was in her teenage years. This was due to her using a boon given to her by sage Durvasa for serving the Rishi during his stay in Hastinapura. She invoked Surya Bhagavan while chanting the mantra given by Sage Durvasa and lo and behold became pregnant! Scared of societal and parental repercussions she let go of the baby floating him in the river. This son (later known as Karna) was raised by a charioteer, Adhiratha and his wife, Radha. For this reason, Karna is also known as Radheya. Her other sons were all born of celestial beings. Kunti shared the mantra given by Sage Durvasa with Maadri (the second wife of King Pandu) and invoked these celestial beings and as a result the Pandavas were born . With time, enmity and jealousy developed between Karna and Arjuna. Duryodhana waged the war with Pandavas mainly depending on Karna's prowess and friendship. The war resulted in such a large-scale destruction and many close relatives and cousins, uncles etc. were unnecessarily killed. It is possible that some of this death and destruction could have been avoided had Kunti told everyone that Karna was her son. For most of her adult life, Kunti had to bear the burden of guilt for letting her eldest born afloat and never developed the courage to tell the world that Karna was her first born. After the war however she dutifully served Dhritharastra and Gandhari.
6. Yudhisthira: he was the eldest of Pandavas, was also called Dharmaraja – because in thought, word and deed he followed Dharma. There are numerous situations which show his greatness – For instance, when his brothers lay in 'coma' during the Yakshaprasana episode, he was asked by the Yaksha to choose one brother to live – he choose Nakula without any hesitation. He could have chosen Arjuna or Bhima – who could have helped him in a bigger way in the war. But he wanted at least one son of Maadri to be alive. He gave great thought before he acted and whenever he acted he did in a Dhaarmic fashion. In order to avoid large scale war and destruction, he was willing to take just 5 villages from Kauravas. Unfortunately, his policy of compromise was not enough to change Duryodhana's heart. When the Gandharvas captured Duryodhana, Yudhisthira sent Arjuna and Bhima to rescue him – saying 'we all are still one family.' Such was the generosity possessed by Yudhishthira. After the war was over, one of the first proclamations he made was that everyone was to treat Dhritharastra and Gandhari respectfully. Despite all the cruelties meted out by the Kauravas and also by King Dhritharastra upon the Pandavas, the thought of revenge never crossed Yudhisthira's mind. Unfortunately, he had one vice. The weakness for playing dice lead to his downfall and also to a lot of problems and suffering for Pandavas.
7. Bhima: was second Pandava, had enormous physical strength and had the special blessings of Hamunanji himself. He was chief protector of Pandavas from demons during their stay in forests. He even carried all of them including his mother on his shoulders when they were all tired! Despite his great physical appearance and might, he always respectfully listened to his elder brother – Yudhisthira and followed Dharma. He was chiefly responsible in killing all the children of Dhritharastra and Gandhari in the war. He was one who can be called a "gentle giant." Despite being huge and powerful, he never resorted to violence unnecessarily.
8. Arjuna: was the most skillful archer of the brothers. He was the favorite disciple of Dronacharya – he earned this status through hard work, dedication, service and skill. He once saved Dronacharya from a crocodile and was instrumental in capturing Drupada as Gurudakshina to his teacher. His dedication was so great that he even practiced bow and arrow in the dark –to improve his skill! He received Pasupatha astra from Lord Shiva and several special astras from Gods with penance and prowess. With guidance and protection of Lord Krishna he was mainly responsible in defeating Kauravas in the war. Despite his prowess he always listened to his eldest brother and followed Dharma. Both Bhima and Arjuna had some pride in them – one of the blemishes in their character.
9. Draupadi: was daughter of King Drupada and wife of Pandavas. She was a devoted wife and a great devotee of Lord Krishna. Like all Pandavas she too always followed Dharma. Arjuna won her hand in marriage through a "Swayamvara" during the time the Pandavas were banished to the forest. Inspite of being a Princess, she adjusted to a new lifestyle living in a hut with her husbands and mother in law with humbleness and without any complaints. Her humiliation during the dice game was the main trigger for the ultimate Kurushetra war.
10. Abhimanyu: he was the valiant son of Arjuna and Subhadra. He was able to penetrate the "Chakravyuha formation" that Dronacharya formed for the army on the 13 th day of the war. Other Pandavas were prevented from entering into this formation by King Jayadratha. Abhimanyu, who was only 16 years old, fought bravely against the Kaurava warriors all alone, and none of them could defeat him initially. Later Karna attacked him from behind and breaks his bow; after that the Kuru warriors attack him all at one time and kill him in a very unjust manner.
11. Parikshit: was the son of Abhimanyu and Uttara. After war Asvatthama kills all children of Pandavas and Draupadi (Upapandavas) while they were asleep. Asvatthama then sends Brahmasironama asthram to kill the unborn son into the womb of Uttara. Lord Krishna saves the unborn boy. Parikshit continues the lineage of Pandavas, who make him the king before going to heaven.
12. "Yaksha Prashnas" :
- The world is veiled by what? The world is veiled by ignorance. We see the world according to our own Vasanas. If we are happy we see the world as a beautiful place. If we are unhappy we tend to see the world as a place which is not fair and cruel and unjust. We must understand that God is all pervading and that He is in everything. If we are put through difficult circumstances, it is because God wants us to learn new lessons and grow from those new experiences.
- Why does knowledge not shine? Knowledge does not shine because of "Tamas" or Inertia. Knowledge does not shine or come through because we are lazy and do not introspect about the purpose of life. We need to see the Divine in each and every being and action. When we make the effort to introspect and learn this knowledge will shine.
- Why does one abandon friends? One abandons friends because of greed. A friend is one whom we share our thoughts, feelings and worries. If a person decides his friend is not "good enough" for him and abandons him what kind of person is that?
- Why does one not go to heaven? One does not go to heaven because of attachment. Our mind gets attracted to an object because there is a vasana in our mind for it. This attraction for the object and the vasana driven mind causes lots of complications. Because once the object has been acquired, the mind creates new demands and desires. The demands of the mind are unending. Instead, we should create a desire in our mind to remember the Divine because He is the ideal. The more we create a desire to know the Lord, the more we become perfect like our Ideal.
