Mahabharat War Within

Many people ask why a person does not change in spite of listening to and agreeing with many discourses, and sessions/seminars/camps? While the reasons would vary according to people, it is normally due to the fact that most people listen but not internalize through contemplation. It is like eating food, but not chewing enough and thereby not digesting it.  Repeated listening, and thinking over it is necessary. What we hear at a Satsangh, etc. is, in a sense, like the Pandavas in the Mahabharat War. They were few (only 5). And they had to combat the vast Kauravas (100), in whose army there were stawarts like Bheeshma, Dronacharya, Karna. Here Pandavas metaphorically are what we intake, listen from evolved souls/saints/seers. But once it goes in, it has to combat with our past archives in our subconscious, like our set beliefs, views, opinions, which are not only many, but also deeply entrenched, which we always held as correct, practical, flawless. And the stalwarts are our strong binding likes, dislikes, attachments, aversions, fears, pride, ego, etc. And this vast Kauravas with their stalwarts vanquish the new data we hear. And so, we do even nod our heads in agreement, but lead our lives on the past archives stored within. 

Robert Lynd in his ‘Arm Chair thoughts’ says “We hold the paradoxical belief that the philosophers were wise men, but that we should be fools to imitate them. We are convinced that, while seers (sages) are worth reading, material things are worth bothering about. We desire wisdom that can be obtained with little effort – caught almost by infection.”

While we shed tears emotionally in the sessions we hear about True Love, feel that it is nice to listen to, but not worth buying into and imbibing or else the world will take us for granted and make us a doormat. 

Well, the solution is to do what the Pandavas did all their life. Seek the help of Krishna, representing divine grace. When we make the Lord, the charioteer of our life, with Hanumanji (representing total faith) on its flag, only then can we hope to win over all the Kauravas sitting within us over many lifetimes. But as long as our ‘ego‘ rides our chariot, we will feed those set beliefs, opinions, greed, etc. making them mightier. 

The choice is ours – to seek divine help or feed our egoism. Somebody rightly observed that between ‘b’ (birth) and ‘d’ (death), there is a ‘c’ – the ‘c’ of choice.