Mahabharata the greatest epic has a befitting end.
After the war, the Pandavas rule the land for many years.When kaliyuga set in, Krishna went back to his abode in the high heavens. Seeing this the Pandavas crowned Parikshit as the king and went to on their final journey.
On their way, the Pandavas passed many a plains and mountains. During this time a dog joined them. They had just crossed the Himalayas and were proceeding towards Mount Meru. Just then Draupadi fell to the ground. Bhima asked Yudishtira why Draupadi, inspite for of following dharma throughout her life, fell dead. Yudishtira replied that Draupadi was greatly partial to Arjuna and that was her one sin that caused her to die.
Next to fall down dead was Sahadeva. Yudishtira said that Sahadeva thought that there was no one as wise as him. When Nakula fell,Yudishtira said that Nakula thought he was the most handsome man and that brought about his fall.
Then the greatest hero Arjuna fell. Yudishtira said that Arjuna had boasted before the war that he would single handedly kill each and everyone of his enemies. This Arjuna did not accomplish and had to die.
A dieing Bhima asked Yudishtira his fault. Yudishtira replied that Bhima ate too much, was proud of his strength and hated his enemies and these were the reasons he had to die.
Now only Yudishtira and the dog remained. They continued their journey up the mountain. Suddenly, the mountain was lit up by an uneartly glow.Indra, the king of Gods, had come with his chariot to take Yudishtira to the heaven. Indra told Yudishtira that the Gods were pleased with his honesty and adherence to Dharma and were letting him come to heaven in his mortal body. The dog that came this far with Yudishtira, follwed him into Indra's chariot. Indra would not allow the dog to go heaven. But Yudishtira was firm and insisted that unless the dog was allowed to go with him he would not come. Indra was pleased with Yudishtira and allowed the dog. Immediately Lord Dharma, who was in the form of the dog till then, appeared before Yudishtira. He was very happy with his son, Yudishtira who even in this situation refused to give up his dharma. Then they all ascended to the heavens above....
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Karna -1
I have tried to write this post a couple of times in the past. Everytime I sit down to write, something happens and I discard the draft. So here is my third attempt....
The one story that makes me sad everytime I read is the story of Karna. He had such good luck but everytime lady luck smiled at him something went wrong.
Karna was the son of the Sun God and Kunti. He was born with a kavacha (divine armour) and kundala (divine earings). These made him immortal. He looked bright and handsome as the Sun God himself. But his mother, Kunti abandoned him to save herself from infamy. She set Karna afloat in a wooden box on the Ganga. This was the beginning of his cursed life.
The box with the child was found by Athiratha, a charioteer. Athiratha and his wife, Radha did not have any children of their own. They were more than happy to find this infant. They named the child Radheya. When Radheya was sixteen, he decided that he did not want to become a charioteer. He wanted to learn archery. He told his mother, Radha, about his desire. Radha then revealed to him that, he was not her son. She gave him permission to leave and go on his quest in search of knowledge in archery.
Radheya met many rishis and experts in archery. But no one was willing to teach a suthputra (Athiratha was born of a brahmin and kshatriya so was a suth) archery. Finally, Radheya met Bhargava (Parasurama) and fell at his feet and begged him to teach him archery. Radheya told Bhargava that he was a brahmin, a lie that would cost him his life.
Bhargava was very fond of Radheya and taught him everything he knew. One day Radheya was attending to Bhargava. It was noon time and it was hot. Bhargava felt tired and wanted to rest. Radheya offered his lap for his guru to lie down on. Bhargava was pleased and accepted it. Just as Bhargava went into deep sleep, an insect bit Radheya. The bite was so deep that the pain was immense and blood gushed out. Radheya bore the pain so as to not wake his guru up. But, the blood that flowed out, reached Bhargava's ear and woke him up.
Bhargava was shocked to see what happened. Immediately he realized that Radheya had lied to him. Only a kshatriya could bear the pain that Radheya bore. He pronounced a curse of Radheya that when the most important moment of his life came, Radheya would forget all that his guru taught him.
Radheya was distraught. He bowed silently and went away. Cursed by his guru, he had nothing left in this world. Misfortunes don't come single. As Radheya walked on the banks of Ganga thinking about what happened, something flashed in front of his eyes. He thought it was a deer and shot an arrow. When he went near he saw that he had killed a brahmin's cow. The brahmin immediately cursed Radheya, that when he will fight the most important battle in his life, the wheel of his chariot would get stuck in the earth and at that time he will lose his life.
Radheya could not help the curses. He felt that he was at the mercy of Fate. Fate is more powerful that anything in this world...
The one story that makes me sad everytime I read is the story of Karna. He had such good luck but everytime lady luck smiled at him something went wrong.
Karna was the son of the Sun God and Kunti. He was born with a kavacha (divine armour) and kundala (divine earings). These made him immortal. He looked bright and handsome as the Sun God himself. But his mother, Kunti abandoned him to save herself from infamy. She set Karna afloat in a wooden box on the Ganga. This was the beginning of his cursed life.
The box with the child was found by Athiratha, a charioteer. Athiratha and his wife, Radha did not have any children of their own. They were more than happy to find this infant. They named the child Radheya. When Radheya was sixteen, he decided that he did not want to become a charioteer. He wanted to learn archery. He told his mother, Radha, about his desire. Radha then revealed to him that, he was not her son. She gave him permission to leave and go on his quest in search of knowledge in archery.
Radheya met many rishis and experts in archery. But no one was willing to teach a suthputra (Athiratha was born of a brahmin and kshatriya so was a suth) archery. Finally, Radheya met Bhargava (Parasurama) and fell at his feet and begged him to teach him archery. Radheya told Bhargava that he was a brahmin, a lie that would cost him his life.
Bhargava was very fond of Radheya and taught him everything he knew. One day Radheya was attending to Bhargava. It was noon time and it was hot. Bhargava felt tired and wanted to rest. Radheya offered his lap for his guru to lie down on. Bhargava was pleased and accepted it. Just as Bhargava went into deep sleep, an insect bit Radheya. The bite was so deep that the pain was immense and blood gushed out. Radheya bore the pain so as to not wake his guru up. But, the blood that flowed out, reached Bhargava's ear and woke him up.
Bhargava was shocked to see what happened. Immediately he realized that Radheya had lied to him. Only a kshatriya could bear the pain that Radheya bore. He pronounced a curse of Radheya that when the most important moment of his life came, Radheya would forget all that his guru taught him.
Radheya was distraught. He bowed silently and went away. Cursed by his guru, he had nothing left in this world. Misfortunes don't come single. As Radheya walked on the banks of Ganga thinking about what happened, something flashed in front of his eyes. He thought it was a deer and shot an arrow. When he went near he saw that he had killed a brahmin's cow. The brahmin immediately cursed Radheya, that when he will fight the most important battle in his life, the wheel of his chariot would get stuck in the earth and at that time he will lose his life.
Radheya could not help the curses. He felt that he was at the mercy of Fate. Fate is more powerful that anything in this world...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Itsy Bitsy Spider
"The Itsy Bitsy spider went up the water spout,
Down came the rain and washed the spider out,
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the Itsy Bitsy spider went up the spout again"
I have sung this song so many times in the last 3 years. But today as I stop and think, I see a deeper meaning here. This rhyme has the same lesson as the story "Bruce and the Spider" Robert Bruce was the king of Scotland. He had been defeated by the English six times. After the sixth defeat, Bruce escaped and found a hideout in a cave. Bruce was very disappointed with life. He thought about leaving the country and never coming back.
One day, he watched a spider building a web at the cave's entrance. The spider fell down time after time, but finally he succeeded with his web. So Bruce decided also to go back and fight the English once more, And this time he succeeded!
So also the Itsy Bitsy spider, climbed the spout. Circumstances, in this case rain, pushed Itsy Bitsy back. But Itsy Bitsy didn't give up. It waited till the sun came out. It waited, waited for the right oppurtunity to climb the spout again!!!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Time
It has been more than 2 months since the last post. If you are wondering what I was upto in this time, I would probably say - "Nothing really!!". No major events in life...just the regular - wake up, get through the day and sleep. Plain survival.
Anyway, it is 6:13pm on a Friday evening on the 8th day of May. As I complete the last sentence, another minute of my life has passed. I am older by a minute. I did not do much in the last minute other than pen (errr type) down my thoughts.
Rudyard Kipling once said (in his famous poen -'If') -
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!"
It is impossible for to fill each "unforgiving" minute of life .... that I guess is the reason why we cherish some moments. They are those minutes where we did actually make it across the finish line. They are those minutes that we lived our lives. Having said that, I think I have filled the last few minutes of my life writing this post...it will remain in the cyber world for many many years...just like the mosquito that lay in the fossil in Jurassic Park! (ok bad joke I guess)
P.S - I am not sure about posting this post, but to keep my blog alive I am posting it.
Anyway, it is 6:13pm on a Friday evening on the 8th day of May. As I complete the last sentence, another minute of my life has passed. I am older by a minute. I did not do much in the last minute other than pen (errr type) down my thoughts.
Rudyard Kipling once said (in his famous poen -'If') -
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!"
It is impossible for to fill each "unforgiving" minute of life .... that I guess is the reason why we cherish some moments. They are those minutes where we did actually make it across the finish line. They are those minutes that we lived our lives. Having said that, I think I have filled the last few minutes of my life writing this post...it will remain in the cyber world for many many years...just like the mosquito that lay in the fossil in Jurassic Park! (ok bad joke I guess)
P.S - I am not sure about posting this post, but to keep my blog alive I am posting it.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Who wants to be a Millionaire?
This post is dedicated to my DH who is a huge fan of "Slumdog Millionaire" .
Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees, how did he do it?
A) He cheated
B) He’s lucky
C) He’s a genius
D) It is written
Answer: D) It is written
Throughout the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" we follow Jamal Malik through his life and how each incident in his life held the answer to one of the questions on "Who wants to be a millionaire?"
I have been reading this book called "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It takes an interesting look at successful people. The author says that people are successful not only because they are brilliant or skillful but also because of the circumstances they live in. For eg. Bill Gates is brilliant but he also owes his success to his parentage. His parents were wealthy enough to send him to private school with computer access. He went to school at a time the computer revolution was just beginning. So Bill Gates was born in the right year!
The author Malcolm Gladwell gives a few more examples of people born in the same era and how they were the right people, at the right place, at the right time.
The movie "Slumdog Millionaire" and the book "Outliers" have the same theme! Whatever we do in life, unless it is "written" we won't achieve anything.
Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees, how did he do it?
A) He cheated
B) He’s lucky
C) He’s a genius
D) It is written
Answer: D) It is written
Throughout the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" we follow Jamal Malik through his life and how each incident in his life held the answer to one of the questions on "Who wants to be a millionaire?"
I have been reading this book called "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It takes an interesting look at successful people. The author says that people are successful not only because they are brilliant or skillful but also because of the circumstances they live in. For eg. Bill Gates is brilliant but he also owes his success to his parentage. His parents were wealthy enough to send him to private school with computer access. He went to school at a time the computer revolution was just beginning. So Bill Gates was born in the right year!
The author Malcolm Gladwell gives a few more examples of people born in the same era and how they were the right people, at the right place, at the right time.
The movie "Slumdog Millionaire" and the book "Outliers" have the same theme! Whatever we do in life, unless it is "written" we won't achieve anything.
Friday, January 30, 2009
One year....
Wow! I manged to keep my blog alive for a year. Thanks to all my regular visitors....and my father and sister who leave regular comments!
He said...She said....
One of my favorite songs starts off like:
Kuch To Log Kahenge
Logon Ka Kaam Hai Kehna
Chhodo Bekaar Ki Baaton Mein
Kahin Beet Na Jaaye Raina
This song is from the film "Amar Prem", sung by Kishore Kumar and penned by Anand Bakshi. It simple means:
People will always say something
This is people's occupation
Let go of this useless talk
Else this night will pass
Not just this night, our entire lives pass by thinking of what others think about us. We give undue importance to society. Why should society decide what is right and wrong? Lay the rules yourself and live by them. Do not force others to abide by your rules. And there is no need to follow other people's rules unless they really care about you.
We come alone to this world and will die alone ....so live your life as you wish, and just remember that at the end of this life, the only person you have to answer to is God!
Kuch To Log Kahenge
Logon Ka Kaam Hai Kehna
Chhodo Bekaar Ki Baaton Mein
Kahin Beet Na Jaaye Raina
This song is from the film "Amar Prem", sung by Kishore Kumar and penned by Anand Bakshi. It simple means:
People will always say something
This is people's occupation
Let go of this useless talk
Else this night will pass
Not just this night, our entire lives pass by thinking of what others think about us. We give undue importance to society. Why should society decide what is right and wrong? Lay the rules yourself and live by them. Do not force others to abide by your rules. And there is no need to follow other people's rules unless they really care about you.
We come alone to this world and will die alone ....so live your life as you wish, and just remember that at the end of this life, the only person you have to answer to is God!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Dharma
Each cycle of life on earth consists of four yugas - Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali. We are right now in Kaliyuga at the end of which life on earth will be destroyed. In this yuga, the earth is meant to suffer. There is an interesting story about the Kaliyuga.
Towards the end of the Dwapara yuga, King Parikshit was wandering around the world. At one place, he saw a bull, with one leg, being beaten by a man in a king's attire. One enquiry, the King found out that the bull was none other than "Dharma". In the Krita yuga(the first yuga), the bull had four legs namely - austerity (tapas), purity (soucham), mercy (daya) and truth (satya). In the Treta Yuga, it lost one leg and supported itself on 3 legs. In Dwapara Yuga as Dharma degenerated, the bull lost another leg, but somehow managed to survive on just 2 legs. When Kaliyuga began, the bull, was left with only one leg. Kali in a king's attire was beating the this bull to get rid of its only leg - truth.
King Parikshit took pity at the bull and managed to drive Kali away. But Kali could not be killed. He went into hiding to come back in full strenght when Kali yuga set in.
As Kali Yuga advanced, even the single leg was lost and the bull just exists breathing and vegetating in its struggle for life having lost all Dharma that once sustained it.
Towards the end of the Dwapara yuga, King Parikshit was wandering around the world. At one place, he saw a bull, with one leg, being beaten by a man in a king's attire. One enquiry, the King found out that the bull was none other than "Dharma". In the Krita yuga(the first yuga), the bull had four legs namely - austerity (tapas), purity (soucham), mercy (daya) and truth (satya). In the Treta Yuga, it lost one leg and supported itself on 3 legs. In Dwapara Yuga as Dharma degenerated, the bull lost another leg, but somehow managed to survive on just 2 legs. When Kaliyuga began, the bull, was left with only one leg. Kali in a king's attire was beating the this bull to get rid of its only leg - truth.
King Parikshit took pity at the bull and managed to drive Kali away. But Kali could not be killed. He went into hiding to come back in full strenght when Kali yuga set in.
As Kali Yuga advanced, even the single leg was lost and the bull just exists breathing and vegetating in its struggle for life having lost all Dharma that once sustained it.
In this Kaliyuga, lies and deceit stand tall. The only form of power is wealth. There is no value for human feelings. A truthful person is trampled upon by everyone. The only thing we can do is recite God's name and let Him guide us!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I have a dream....
"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream." - Martin Luther King Jr.
You would have heard "great people" say that unless you dream you cannot achieve anything in life. But one thing that everyone forgets to mention is that not everyone can have a dream. For the majority of us it is really a waste of time to dream. We are better off doing things that are regular and mechanical. We should leave our dreams to the time we sleep.
Achieving a dream is very dependant on lot of other factors including opportunities. It depends on fate. If you have a dream, by all means go after it, but do not bet on its success!
You would have heard "great people" say that unless you dream you cannot achieve anything in life. But one thing that everyone forgets to mention is that not everyone can have a dream. For the majority of us it is really a waste of time to dream. We are better off doing things that are regular and mechanical. We should leave our dreams to the time we sleep.
Achieving a dream is very dependant on lot of other factors including opportunities. It depends on fate. If you have a dream, by all means go after it, but do not bet on its success!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
All that glitters is not gold!
Have your ever wondered how it would be living someone else's life? May be this question comes to your mind either because the other person is better than you, or in a worse position or simply out of curiosity. I have a comment in my year book written by a classmate of mine. She, who shall not be named, wrote that in her next birth she will want to be me :) Flattered, I was, but that aside it was strange. Why would somebody want to be me?
Living the life of another person is not a good idea though simply because you are not meant for it. Every person has his or her own burden to bear. For example, you may see this person shopping at an upscale store and think what it would be to live that person's life and buying at that store. But think about it this way, may be that person has a 90k credit card debt, and is a complusive shopper. Thank god you are not in that place.
Everything that appears need not be what it is. As they say "All that glitters is not gold!" Always remember when life is not going too well, there is nobody who can handle it better than you. Never wish you were somebody else because that somebody would not be able to handle the tests of your life. And never ask for somebody else's life, because you won't be able to pull the load of their life!
Living the life of another person is not a good idea though simply because you are not meant for it. Every person has his or her own burden to bear. For example, you may see this person shopping at an upscale store and think what it would be to live that person's life and buying at that store. But think about it this way, may be that person has a 90k credit card debt, and is a complusive shopper. Thank god you are not in that place.
Everything that appears need not be what it is. As they say "All that glitters is not gold!" Always remember when life is not going too well, there is nobody who can handle it better than you. Never wish you were somebody else because that somebody would not be able to handle the tests of your life. And never ask for somebody else's life, because you won't be able to pull the load of their life!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy New Year!
A new year has just begun......A new year brings an anticipation for change. But really only a few things change. Most of the things in our lives remain the same. Every year I grow a year older and may be wiser - nothing new in that. I live in the same place and dont plan to go anywhere. I will be doing the same things I did last year and the year before that.
For me new year has been a time of retrospection. A time to understand my mistakes of the last year. A time to relish life changing events. And after all a new year is just another date in the calendar....just another measure with units......just another point on a time graph.....just another reason to celebrate...just another reason to write a blog post !!!
Happy New Year to everyone. And dont forget the 2009 in the cheques you write!
For me new year has been a time of retrospection. A time to understand my mistakes of the last year. A time to relish life changing events. And after all a new year is just another date in the calendar....just another measure with units......just another point on a time graph.....just another reason to celebrate...just another reason to write a blog post !!!
Happy New Year to everyone. And dont forget the 2009 in the cheques you write!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)