Link to Part 1: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from.html
Krishna tells Arjuna during the war not to take oaths which make him focus on the result rather than on the task at hand. He cryptically mentions how Bhishma and Bhima are bound by their oaths. Arjuna pledges to kill Jaidrat before sunset, otherwise promises to immolate himself in the fire. It is Krishna's tactic that saves the day for Arjuna.
Krishna is Arjuna's charioteer, but most importantly The Lord Of The Universe. He is the conscience keeper and knowledge provider for the Pandavas, who adore him. They know Krishna's presence alone will enable them to win the war, not the size of their army. Krishna enlivens proceedings in an otherwise poignant saga serenaded with trickery, blind ambition, opportunism and lust for power. Sounds familiar? Looks like nothing has changed?
The significance of Mahabharata cannot be understood without Krishna. He fills an otherwise violent saga with perspectives and moments of peace. Krishna himself though never had an easy life. His uncle Kamsa was braying for his blood. According to a heavenly broadcast, Krishna, the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev, would kill Kamsa and put an end to his evil rule. So Krishna, at birth, is rescued from jail and given in care of Yashoda and her husband Nanda, Vasudev's friend.
Krishna is born to re-establish righteousness in the world. He is related to the Pandavas by birth. He is their Guru, their protector. He performs various miracles during his childhood and throughout his life, but never once does he misuse his power. He is a tactician. He even uses 'deceit', but only against those who cannot be fixed otherwise.
Character Lesson 2: Wth Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.
Krishna is God, but does not impose himself. His job is to guide humans on the right path. Throughout the Mahabharata he preaches peace and strongly advises against war. In fact, he even abandons Mathura and sets up base in Dwaraka to avoid war.
In the build-up to the Kurukshetra war, he does his best to avoid the war. But once the war becomes inevitable, he fully commits himself and the Pandavas to fighting with all their might. For Krishna, purpose of the war is not to win, but re-establish righteousness. The Kauravas have great warriors in the form of Bhishma, Dronacharya, Duryodhan, Karna.....but they are all fighting on the wrong side of the moral code. They have an incredibly large army. The sons of Dridharashtra and Gandhari are hundred in number, whereas the Pandavas are only five.
The Pandavas don't have such a large army, but they have Krishna. Before the war when Duryodhan and Arjuna are asked whether they want Krishna or his army, Duryodhan chooses the army, whereas Arjuna is wise enough to ask for Krishna. Shakuni, who all his life poisoned Duryodhan's mind against the Pandavas, realises his nephew's folly. Even the evil Shakuni realises Krishna is the factor that will decide the war, not the size of the army.
Character Lesson 3: Know What To Ask
In the modern world, like Duryodhan, people's ambitions make them ask for the wrong things - power, money, status - which, though important in moderation, blind them to the real source of happiness - love, compassion, empathy.......
Arjuna knows what to ask. He is wise and brave. Duryodhan is brave, but not wise. He is the result of his father's lust for power and his uncle's crooked manipulation. Shakuni wants to take revenge against the Kuru clan for getting his sister Gandhari married to a blind King. Gandhari, in a moment of incredible sense of partnership, ties her eyes with cloth so that she too can lead a life of blindness. Shakuni, through Duryodhan, works out schemes after schemes to get rid of the Pandavas. Bhishma, due to his oath not to ascend the throne himself, watches all the dubious events helplessly. He knows he is wrong to side with the Kauravas in the war, but puts his oath above the nation.
In this war between right and wrong, all the so-called great men are fighting for the wrong side. They know they are wrong, yet feel indebted to the Kauravas for one reason or the other. While Bhishma is bound by his oath, Guru Dronacharya, teacher to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, is bound by his loyalty to the kingdom. Karna is bound by the loyalty to his friend, who makes him a King though he does not belong to a princely family. It is another matter of course that Karna later realises he is actually the eldest brother of the Pandavas, as he is Kunti's first son, abandoned by her before marriage.
Karna is one of the most interesting personalities in the Mahabharata. He is great, complex, son of the Sun God, is a great giver - a daanveer - says a lot of right things, but often commits unpardonable mistakes. He knows his friend Duryodhan is evil, but he gives up his life for him in the Kurukshetra war as he feels indebted. Duryodhan gives him the respect that society does not deem fit, as he is mistaken to be the son of a charioteer and not of a royal. Karna insults Draupadi during the events that unfold as a result of the dice game. He is part of the cowardly act by the Kauravas when they kill a trapped and unarmed Abhimanyu against the laws of war.
Just like Dridharashtra, he too feels wronged in life. He never receives his real mother Kunti's love. Draupadi refuses to give him a chance at her swayamvar as he is not a Prince. He falls in love with a Princess, but is refused her hand as he is not a royal himself. He ends up marrying the princess' maid. Karna judges his worth by how society reacts to him. He sides with the immorals though he often disagrees with their machinations.
He feels so indebted to Duryodhan that he does not discriminate between right and wrong. He does what is convenient (even though not easy), not what is right. In the end, he pays the price for this.
Character Lesson 4: In Life Do What Is Right, Not What Is Convenient
The crimes of Karna however are small in front of those of Dridharashtra. He is born blind. He is the rightful heir to the throne as he is Pandu's elder brother. But Vidhur, a man of great knowledge and advisor to the throne, feels Pandu should be King, as Dridharashtra is blind. The final decision is left to their grandmother Satyavati, and she chooses Pandu as the King.
Dridharashtra never overcomes this feeling of having been denied what was rightfully his. He harbours ill will against Vidhur and the Pandu clan all his life. To add to his woes, Pandu's first son Yudhishthir is born before Duryodhan, thereby blocking Duryodhan's chances of becoming King as the elder brother's son. If ifs and buts had any meaning, if Dridharashtra was made King, would the Kurukshetra war have never happened?
Dridharashtra is blinded by love for his son. Shakuni parallely uses Duryodhan to plant ill-will in his mind towards his Pandava brothers. The seeds of a terrible war are sown in the childhood of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Gandhari's vociferous sane voices fail to make Dridharashtra realise his follies. He allows Duryodhan to commit mistake after mistake. He gives his tacit support to various plots to kill or dislodge the Pandavas and deny them their rights. His dream is to see Duryodhan become King. He wants to fulfill his own ambition through his son. Sounds familiar to how modern parents want their children to fulfill their unfulfilled dreams?
Character Lesson 5: Don't Live Your Dreams Through Your Children. They have their independent lives and dreams.
Dridharashtra lives all his life as a victim. He refuses to take responsibility for his decisions. He feels wronged. He never comes to terms with his own lack of character to be King. He places his son before the nation. Sounds familiar? Politics, nepotism, etc?
Character Lesson 6: As A Leader, Put Team Before Self And Selfish Interests
As a result, Duryodhan becomes a symbol of evil. He can easily be manipulated. Duryodhan's personality is a classic example of nature versus nurture. Did he have a natural tendency for evil or his behaviours were a result of how his father and uncle influenced him? Through the Mahabharata, Duryodhan does show signs of his discomfort with winning through devious means. His friend Karna time and again urges him to win the battle at war rather than through treachery. He even forcefully stops him from killing an unarmed and in-prayer Barbarik, who is otherwise invincible with the divine weapons he possesses. Ashamed by his act, Duryodhan even asks his sworn enemy Bheem to cut his head off. Barbarik, after all, is Bhima's grandson.
Duryodhan is a victim of his father Dridharashtra's ambitions and Shakuni's evil politics. Karna believes in the means to achieve an end, though his actions do contradict his beliefs - like when he participates in the collective killing of an unarmed and trapped Abhimanyu, or when he insults Draupadi. Shakuni however believes only in the end, not in the means. Duryodhan lacks the courage to refuse to adhere to the ways of his uncle. After all, he too is consumed by the desire to be King Of Hastinapur. He too believes his father was treated unjustly. So as his father's eldest son, he believes in his right to the throne.
Amidst all this a sane voice in the form of Vidhur - The Prime Minister is often heard in the corridors of power in Hastinapur. He is convinced that the one competent to be King is Yudhishthir, not Duryodhan. He is the Voice Of Truth. Unlike Bhishma or Drona, who are bound by loyalty, Vidhur is bound by Truth. Any wonder then that when Krishna goes to Hastinapur as a peace messenger of the Pandavas, he refuses to accept Duryodhan's lunch invitation? Instead, he eats at Mahatma Vidhur's home. Duryodhan sees this as yet another insult, but Krishna could care less. He only sides with those who are right.
Character Lesson 7: Leadership Is About Competence, Not About Rights.
Krishna and Vidhur are on the same page. They believe in Truth. They both never mince words when it comes to highlighting adharma. Vidhur's was the only voice which vociferously opposed the happenings during the dice game. He kept urging Dridharashtra to stop the game, but the King was happy his son was winning. Bhishma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya - the doyens of the Hastinapur Kingdom watched 'helplessly' even as Draupadi was dragged by her hair by Dushasan and was being disrobed. It is Krishna who saved Draupadi from total dishonour. Draupadi's five husbands too watched helplessly and allowed their wife to be insulted in front of everyone.
Character Lesson 8: Principles Matter More Than Capabilities
Krishna sides with the Pandavas because they are on the side of dharma. He knows the warrior capabilities of each of the Kaurava leaders. He has no qualms using so-called wrong means to defeat the Kauravas at war. He continuously plots against them during the Kurukshetra war to ensure the Pandavas win and through them a just order can be created. He is a leader who always looks at the larger picture.
TO BE CONTINUED
