Spiritual lesson gleaned from Hindu scripture
Hindus all over the world celebrated Lord Krishna’s birthday (called Krishna Janmashtami) on Aug. 14. The celebrations and rituals on this day are joyous as well as devotional. Lord Krishna is an incarnation of God who comes to Earth in human form to uphold Dharma and to ensure that evil is destroyed. The story is told in the Hindu epic called Mahabharata.
Each of the characters in Mahabharata has his or her own unique personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and, through these characters, the epic story describes in great detail the trials and tribulations of each one, along with deep insights into their psyche, behaviours and actions. It is through these insights and dialogues of the characters that we learn invaluable lessons about ethics, morals, Dharma and revelations regarding the most important questions about life’s meaning, and our true purpose in the world as human beings.
Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of Mahabharata, describes the basic philosophy of life, nature of the universe, our relationship to God, life’s purpose, and the forces of nature — both good and evil.
The Mahabharata teaches us how to distinguish good from evil, explains how our “ignorance” creates confusion, making us hold on to wrong ideals and principles, and tells us how to cut through the fog of this ignorance to achieve “moksha,” that is, become one with God.
Of the many complex characters in Mahabharata, one of the most complex (and conflicted) character is Karna. Born out of wedlock, Karna faces discrimination. Yet, through sheer persistence, hard work and dedication, he overcomes the innumerable obstacles in life, to become a superior human being, who could be an inspiring role model (in certain aspects) to anyone aiming to rise above the earthly challenges and injustices faced by most mortals. But Karna also has his shortcomings — some of which are glaring — leading to his taking unconscionable actions.
Karna’s Achilles’ heel was that he could not come to terms with being addressed as suta or sutaputra; the word means a person of lower class. Others used this epithet while addressing Karna because, as an orphan, Karna was raised by a charioteer; and a charioteer is considered a lowerclass person than a Brahmin; and a lower class even compared with the warrior (ruler) class to which kings, queens, princes, etc. belong.
This repeated and hurtful epithet made Karna a bitter man who could not overcome his bitterness.
Yet Karna never compromised his superior qualities — he never ever refused anyone who asked a favor or made a material request. Karna was prepared to even give his life if someone asked for it. Karna’s devotion to God was unparalleled. Another great quality he had was unremitting loyalty. Unfortunately, that loyalty was misdirected and given to the wrong person — Duryodhana, who was the personification of evil in the world.
Duryodhana made Karna the king of a region; Gods showered Karna with weapons of unequalled power. Yet, Karna in his own mind felt lacking — he felt he was never quite accepted as a man with superior qualities. And this kept him shackled in a state of resentment and despair.
Mahabharata teaches us, through Karna, many lessons. That we must fully accept that which we can not change in life. That we must not deviate from righteousness in the name of loyalty, especially loyalty to evil forces. That unparalleled devotion to God, extreme generosity, becoming a scholar in every sense (including in philosophy and divinity), sacrifice, charity, etc. — all of these combined are nothing if the most important pursuit — the pursuit of Dharma (righteous conduct) is lacking.
Suresh Basrur practises the Hindu faith, participates in inter-faith activities in Victoria, and speaks to audiences about Hindu religion, philosophy and practices.