Sharing Sanjivani (Sanjivani - Life Saving Herb)

Chapter 13 Do we love our own Kind?

A Bird-eye view on chapter -1. The first chapter starts with the scene of battle field of Kurukshetra where cousins Kauravas and Pandavas were ready to fight to kill one another for the kingship of Hastinapur. Arjun gets upset when he realized that he had to kill his own relatives Gurus and elders. And suffering from the pain trying to give up his decision of war .He leaves his weapons and asked Lord Krishna that why should he kill his own brothers for material luxuries, His illusion as a doer of everything and performing his task as his decision Lord Krishna tries to explain him that he is only a puppet and had to perform his role as destined.

Arjun told Lord Krishna that he did not want to fight .Lord Krishna told Arjun that your decision to give up your Karma and leave the weapons is not proper. You are a brave soldier how come this weakness overpowered you? Lord Krishna told Arjun that great people never give up their task in the middle and you have just entered in the battle field and now you feel weakness .Great persons never allow any type of weakness in their mind. They always seek welfare in every action. They accept every challenge while carrying out their task or duty. But they never give up task because to give up any task is a sign of weakness and it would bring no fame to a soldier in the society. Further it would keep away from the heaven after death. The person who is respectable in the society completes the task bravely come what may in his way in the form of relations or obstacles.

Lord Krishna told Arjun to give up this weakness and get ready to fight as it is not admirable for him. The weakness of character should be abandon quickly. Lord told Arjun that you are arguing because you did not want to compete and complete your task. You are hiding your unwillingness behind the issues of religion and non-religion. You are the son of brave mother Kunti and born and brought up to favor the truth and justice. You have to obey the order and win fight for the grace of family’s prestige as a followers and protectors of truth and justice for not only your revenge of insults and humiliation of Draupadi in the assembly but also for the people of your kingdom to provide them security against unjust rule of Duryodhan.

When a time for action has come, you cannot give up and be a coward. It is not prestigious for you. You have to arise and awaken your spirit and be prepared for war. Was it a fear of death of beloveds? Was it a fear of being sinful after killing own people, brothers, grand parents or Gurus? Arjun cannot comprehend his own mind. He requested Lord Krishna that you have killed bad people, unjust rulers, Rakshasas and terrorists but here I have to kill my great grandfather Bhishma, how could I fight against them? I am not fearing death and trying to escape from war because of cowardliness but I feel that it is against religion. I am not a coward because a coward person is afraid of death and I am not afraid of death. I am afraid of killing my own people.

Two relations are of great importance in this world for everybody. The relation created by God blood relation with family members and relation created by us, the relation of Guru and pupil. By killing my Gurus and grandparents I am going to be sinful. How could I be so greedy and selfish? If I don’t fight against Kauravas, they would also avoid war. As a result we may have to give up all our inherited rights and live on Bhiksha for our existence as Duryodhan is not ready to give us our inherited rights. But it would be less painful to me that to kill my Guru and grandfather. If I kill them following your order it would be for kingship and luxuries of life but after killing my Gurus and Grandparents the guilt of sin would not allow me to enjoy that pleasures hence I do not want to kill them in war.

When a bad thing comes to us into a tentative package it is difficult to identify it. When Rawan came to Sita to kidnapped her in the disguise of Sadhu ,  Sita could not recognize Rawan. Here Arjun thinks that his duty to perform war is not fair but it is ordered by Lord Krishna in the form of duty to kill unjust rulers. Arjun thought that Lord Krishna wants to give him justice by winning the war and making Pandavas, rulers of Hastinapur but Lord Krishna did not want to provide him material riches he awakens Arjun’s spirit to realize his duty by punishing unjust rulers of Hastinapur for the welfare of public. Arjun continued his arguments that why should he kill his own people for kingdom? He thought that even if he won, he would be not able to enjoy the luxuries of kingship because he did not like to live on the earth after killing his elders. How could he be so mean and greedy self centered person?    

The illusion of love for family makes him nervous and delusion of the cause of war created by their greed or revenge made Arjun feel guilty. There is a very thin line or gap between love and illusion. Love always makes people strong. A person reaches on the top and gain heights when he is in love with a person, family, knowledge, work or country. He would try to sacrifice all his pleasures and comforts and do miracle for the wellbeing of beloved but illusion is a fantasy. It is an imaginary concept emerges from our wrong belief. Illusion makes people weak. Love makes us torch bearers and we can face and fight against the whole world. Love of a parent for kid made them real parents to guide their children in a right way. They nurture their kids with discipline and taught them the Art of living in a way that when a child grows he would be a dutiful son, obedient pupil, patriotic citizen and a kind and helping human being to serve the whole mankind. But if they nurture a child without discipline, without teaching them difference between wrong and right, without making them enough strong to face adversity and obstacles in life the child would surrender to circumstances and seek solutions in a short cut way from anybody and it might lead him to destructions of not only family but the destruction of the whole world. We are facing terrorists in great numbers today. Nobody takes the responsibilities to know and cure them. How come a god gifted sweet baby turned to a crime and terror of murdering his own kind? Aren’t we follow Dhrutarasta and Gandhari  as parents by keeping blind eyes to their faults in childhood and encouraging them to fight against their own brothers by snatching their rights to live happily on the earth? Who is responsible for war on the borders of every country? Is it a love for the country? Is there any sense in killing one brother in the name of protecting other? Why can’t we share our planet equally and share everything that almighty has given us to enjoy?

Let’s look into our heart and find out the roots of hatred in the name of love…