Some of my views about Mahabharat characters

We all know some bits of it or at least with reference to Gita.

Well as I see it each character in that has a very strong conviction and their actions are aligned with that.     In my opinion each one does some mistake(s), usually in ego or their conviction of what is right , and the impact is contributes to the war in future. However intentions of each also are reflected

It all starts with Satyawati wanting the kingdom for her sons if she marries the King....thinking as an individual not as a righteous queen ! And not even for the man she loved!

Then Bhishma who wanted the best for his father & his happiness takes the famous oath. Intention was selfless & good but centered towards his father's happiness not the good of the kingdom or world at large.

Dhritrashta who is impaired as blind lives in his own beliefs, far from reality. Mind is blind

Gandhari blinds herself to be her husbands equal and in empathy , and he takes it as an insult! She as a wife could have been the "Intellect" for him, but she blinds herself!!!!

When Mind & Intellect are blind, it gives birth to 100 Kauravs ...the negatives

Also Dhritrashtra  means acquiring others land & represents material thoughts

Duryodhan literally means dirty warrior & represents material action 

Kunti has a baby from Sun God, and she has to desert him but she seeks blessings for his protection for life before doing that. A kind and concerned mother.  Her 5 sons hold her word as a command and when tells them to share Draupadi, she cannot plead ignorance that she spoke without knowledge! For the one who commands , must be aware

The Pandavs were 5, depicting the positive.

Draupadi is born from fire and is beautiful and pure , but she too ridicules Karna & Duryodhan at different instances

Drupad was fair & just, and his one grave mistake of not helping Drona cost him heavily.

Karan was righteous but his one oath towards Duryodhan made him suffer every day.

Shakuni takes the marriage proposal for his sister to mary a blind Prince as a grave insult and spends the rest of his life in manipulating & destroying the Kuru Kingdom. His love for his sister is exemplary but his revengeful thoughts & actions are amazingly wicked.

Vidur is the epitome of righteousness. Once he has taken oath as minister, he declares that the blind Prince cannot become King. When questioned, he says , earlier he spoke only in capacity of a brother, but now the oath towards the Kingdom supersedes and his stance is in the interest of the Kingdom as his duty. A true Karam Yogi!!!

Handling Praise

" Am never too busy to accept compliments" was hung at my table many years ago.

I was reminded of it since heard something interesting about handling praise.

Like every action has many outcomes, how we deal with a compliment and praise could be in many ways...

1. I am so good, glad you noticed, thank you
2. I am awesome , had to be noticed !
3. Wow my talent is noticed, must keep doing this
4. Thank you
5. Thank you you are so kind to notice and to praise
6. Thank you ...and thank you God
7. I did nothing special , we all are the doers of God


and so on

The best would be a combination of
1. Being thankful to the person seeing the good/talent in you
2. Understanding that I must continue to do same/ similar things
3. Knowing this is divinity manifested thru me , and submitting the praise to God and seek blessings to be able to do what is required.

How we handle praise determines how the talent grows or how ego grows and that in turn decides whether we move closer or away from the spiritual path.

PS : Humility comes from realizing that God is the Doer, not you. When you see that, how can you be proud of any accomplishment? Think constantly that whatever work you are performing is being done by the Lord through you.
Another related one "I'm working for the Lord, & even though the Lord's pay isn't very high, his retirement program is - one enlightened soul."

More acronyms for GITA

Get
In
The
Awareness

Get
Introduced
To
Atma


Go
In
To
Awakening

Grow
Inside
Thru
Action

Gather
Information for
Transformational
Ascent

Gain
Insights
True &
Amazing

18 principles of Spirituality ( From AOL Sri Sri, a copy & paste from FB)

In Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta we learn 18 golden principles or rather rules of Spirituality. Each chapter teaches us one of these.

1. Self Confidence.
2. Stop Blaming Others and Yourself.
3. Praise Others and Yourself.
4. Sincerity - Honesty.
5. Responsibility.
6. Let Go of the Past.
7. Acceptance.
8. Confirmation of Your Death - You are Going to Die one day. Death is Inevitable.
9. Impermanence of Life - Life is mortal.
10. Trust - Faith.
11. Unity in Creation - Unity in Universe.
12. Your Nature is Love and Peace - Love and Peace is Your Very Nature.
13. Balance - Equanimity.
14. Self Enquiry - Search for the Truth. Self-Exploration.
15. Dispassion and Maturity.
16. Appreciation of Beauty - Praising the Beauty.
17. Worshipfulness - Respect and Honor.
18. Life is Immortal - Imperishable.

Earth & Sun

The Sun is constantly shining , but Earth is revolving as well as circling the Earth, which causes day & night and seasons.

Sun is the constant and the Earth is ever changing.

The Earth does not receive the Sunshine when it turns away or when clouds come in between.

And depending on where we are on Earth we experience the seasons and different lengths of sunshine and darkness

To minimise variation in seasons and night and day, one can move closer to Equator. But after that, on Earth one will still experience day & night.

This if you look from a spiritual point of view : When Knowledge is being shared what we receive and how much we understand is not the same , since we all are at different stages of spiritual evolution.

Seeds of Knowledge

For a seed  to grow & flower needs soil +pot + water + sunshine in the right quantity and at the right time & eventually it will grow into a plant & flower & fruit

If knowledge is the seed
we are the soil
Satsang & practice etc are water & sunshine
Increased divinity is the plant and a beautiful life of giving is the fruit.



Here is a short story about a mango seed & monkeys

Monkeys love Mangoes and figure out that planting a seed will give them a tree and loads of fruit.
So they plant a seed. But the monkeys keep checking. Everyday one of them is digging up to see what is happening. They have no patience for mango to grow and because of there expectation and impatince the seed does not sprout into a plant.

Same for knowledge, we need to nourish it with service and satsang and sadhna and be patient. Then it blooms.

For a seed to become a plant it had to be destroyed. Someone who does not understand growth will see it as the destruction of the seed.

Word plays

• (DO)n't qu(IT)
• Listen and Silent , use the same letters 
• Man is part of Woman. Woman is the "World of Man" / "Wife of Man" / "Wisdom of Man". Wo(man) contains man and in incomplete without it.
• Water Vapour ?? its either water or vapour / liquid state or gaseous state...can't be both.
• Slow Death ? does death have a speed? in which case Life would be slow detah as we are all moving towards it constantly

In other words:
Do It relates to Action as in the Gita
Listening is important and so is Silence. Being silent helps listen !
Man & Woman are complimentary in nature not to compare & compete. 
We can be in one state at one time..
Life is a journey towards death is how some people see it. Death is the culmination of a mission as others see it.

Body, Mind, Intellect & Soul.

Experiencing the world thru the 5 senses is a function of the mind. Even a lovely fragrance you will miss if the mind is else where. 
The intellect is that which categorizes experience into good or bad or indifferent. 
The memory is where past is stored, unpleasant memories are trauma, pleasant ones are, well, pleasant  
Intellect works between the mind and the memory. 
Ego is that which creates a sense of identity. 
And all these including the body are continually changing. 
The body, mind, intellect, ego keep changing - but to identify change, there needs to be an unchanging reference point... This is the Self.

The self/soul/atma ...is the unchanging  

Though there is an argument that the vasna's & karma's etc are carried forward so how is soul unchanging.

Glass half filled with water

Pessimist : Its half empty
Optimist : Its half full
Realist : Its full as there is air. Nothing is empty except vacuum.
Opportunistic : I will drink what I get!

Its a perspective and they all are right from where they see it.

Talent as a divine gift

Talent is God-given...be humble.
Talent often leads to Fame
Fame is man-given...be grateful.
And fame often leads to Conciet and arrogance
Conceit is self-given...be careful.

We need to understand that my talent is Gods gift to me or divinity manifested thru me.

Also when you submit your actions (of your talent) to the divine , the fame is pure and there is no conceit.


A related story

Once a Bird asked a Bee: After constant handwork you prepare honey & man comes and takes it away. Don't u feel sad? The Wonderful Bee replied : No Never...Because the only thing man can do is steal "my honey" not the "art of making honey"

In this world anyone can copy your creation but no one can copy your TALENT...its a divine gift!

PARENTS

P.A.R.E.N.T.S. : People (with) Amazing Resolve (to) Enrich, Nurture, Transform Souls (include parent-bloodline/adopted, teachers and other well wishers like parenting maids and wow ayahs in school during childhood)

Since GOD could not be everywhere he made Mothers!

God and karma choose the parents , so please know that this is what was meant for us.


Putting
All
Resources
Endlessly &
Naturally
Towards
Spirituality