21 Simple Lessons from Mahabharata: Applicable Even Today!

21 Simple Lessons from Mahabharata: Applicable Even Today!

Mahabharata, Ved Vyas's work is regarded as an honorable epic of all times. It is an elixir that can be consumed infinitely by people of all ages; children, students, parents, teachers and even domestic help. Each chapter and character has its own depth and immense scope of application. It has the heights of injustice as well as the re-establishment of Dharma in real sense. Are you someone who trusts others blindly or someone who hand over your decision making power to someone else? Is your life, someone else's command or you fire from someone else's shoulder for your personal revenge? Do you live in the mist of your arrogance or think that God does everything and you can't do anything? Then this epic has much in store for you! Let us explore some real powerful learning that is applicable in the present world from the Mahabharata:

1.    Strengthen Self- Belief: We solely face all our problems in life. God is just a medium; who shows us the correct direction. God only guides us being a silent, omnipotent watcher. Our work is to take actions; because scientifically nobody can do anything on our behalf to add to our good deeds. It is easy to blame others for our failures and thus we must learn to take full charge of our lives and only then the Universe will extend its unending support to us. We are all infinitely capable and empowered to fulfill our purpose of life. There are no imperfections and shortcomings in us and thus we are here to create or achieve something which is a divine plan. Krishna had to make Parth believe that he had immense potential as well as only he could manage his own emotions.

2.    Avoid all blind trust: Don’t trust anyone blindly whether it is your family, friend, relatives, spouse or son. Blind trust creates opportunity for deceit and makes us vulnerable. If we transfer the onus of acting on our behalf to anyone; we would be responsible for their deeds owing to our trust. Dhritrashtra’s blind trust on his relative Shakuni as well as his son Duryodhan made him lose his 100 sons!

3.    Avoid overconfidence: confidence is a boon while overconfidence is bane because it makes us lose focus from priorities and actions while confidence builds and nurtures this confidence. When overconfidence seeps in, loss of focus follows; negative emotions enter the situation and makes us more prone to committing errors, mistakes and opening all avenues to failures. Karna’s overconfidence over his knowledge led to his doom.

4.    Take your own decisions: we live by our decisions. If we act on someone’s decisions we handle the control of our lives to them. Thus only we can save ourselves and there are no brownie points for blaming God over it. Acting on someone’s decisions, commands and orders requires courage but includes risk by providing others an opportunity not just to rule but to ruin our life. Bheeshm never took his own decisions and dedicated his life as a slave to the land of Hastinapur and let the King’s decisions guide his life; result immense guilt and pain!

5.    Change and adapt with time: water that doesn’t flow becomes polluted with time and gathers filth which makes it lose its tender properties. Change is the only inevitable fact of life and we must be open to changes. Resistance is never helpful; but a damaging mental pattern and be countered in order to move with changing time. No one likes backward or orthodox thinking; everyone is modern and willing to update with time. The earlier we adapt, the better it is. Bheeshm was the only constant during the entire story; his pledge and principles were constant and didn’t change with time; hence he harmed his family rather than adding to their growth.

6.    Avoid all endearment: there is a vast gap between love and endearment. When we think of someone’s welfare it is love but when it becomes only I will do their welfare, it becomes arrogance and endearment.  Love makes the other person grow and enhances the mind while endearment kills the immense potential someone has because it is based on dependence. All love is bliss and all endearment is futile. Dronacharya’s endearment for his son took away his Dharma; made him a sinner and ultimately lose his life.

7.     Mind your own business: it is certainly not our headache as to what goes on in whose life. If we focus on other’s lives; our lives will lose its purpose. We will stop our own progress and growth. Our business confines to what we can do for the benefit of others; without harming the environment and humanity. There is never a point in making someone’s and our life a living hell. A life aiming at other’s loss and doom is a life wasted. Shakuni’s revenge with the entire Kaurav family just because his sister Gandhari was married to a blind man; not only ruined his life but harmed the lives and fate of the entire family!

8.    Let go of revenge; learn to forgive: forgiving is the most painful and emotionally demanding verb in this world and asks for Herculean courage. Revenge is a total waste of energy with only place for negativity and not material or spiritual gain. Revenge makes us lose our peace, easiness and brings burning sensations called anger, hatred and resentment. Pandavas never lived in peace after facing the major injustices and thus had to declare war against Kauravas!

9.    Your child is your responsibility: children spend most time with their parents. Their value system, beliefs, etc. are inculcated by the parents. Parents have to play different roles right from guides, mentors, teachers, friends to a dumping bag where secrets can be dumped. Nobody can replace the beliefs and values imparted by parents. Remember that a child is like mud that needs to be used well to carve a strong character rather than a hollow character with a weak foundation. Dhritrashtra could have forced Duryodhana for changing his damaging and inhuman decisions rather than supporting him at all steps because he had the ultimate power not just being the father but the king!

10. Acceptance to all: dividing people on various parameters whether caste, color, religion, creed is not only a thing that should be buried and limited to the past but must be abandoned at all costs. One must be open to accepting God’s creatures in one and all forms. We all are made up of the same organs by the Almighty; then how can one be inferior of another depending on one’s family background, religion or profession. Such injustice brings an element of revolt in the people concerned which can be harmful for the humanity. Karna was always regarded and addressed as Soot Putra and never provided with equal opportunity thus he grieved until his death!

11. Avoid all Partiality: all people must recognize their habit of coining favorites which snatches the right to equality; suppressing untapped potential of remaining contenders or say resources. If you keep on supporting one person; the others will either rebel or continue to bear the ongoing justice with the brunt. Dronacharya asked Eklavya to give his thumb as fees for the observational learning Eklavya had gathered in order to keep Arjun ahead of him.

12. Let go the past: You can’t fly high when you are attached to small trees. Let go of the past; whether painful or joyous but just maintain memories. Living in the past is a heinous crime for neither we can change the past nor it has complete power on present or future. A human always wins when he lives in the moment. Pandavas converted their anger into oaths rather than letting the past go to reconstruct a better future.

13. Avoid being over-emotional: an overemotional person tends to understand, love and respect others but ignores himself. Such a person observes and attracts pain to his life which is unnecessary. Focus must always be on priorities rather than people, things, places or circumstances. Arjuna had to face emotional mentally perturbing challenges when he had to fight the battle at Kurukshetra.

14. Raise voice against injustice: whenever, wherever we notice injustice being done and we have the power to stop or do something about it; we must raise our voice or hands. It is inhuman to tolerate injustice being done to another person who has been created equally by the Supreme. Neither Bheeshm nor Dronacharya lifted their voice to stop the act of disrobing Draupadi despite of being respected elders who could command the next generation. They died with utmost guilt!

15. Accept and correct mistakes: mistakes convert to blunders when we don’t learn from them. Cultivate the honesty to accept mistakes and this will keep your conscience free of guilt. If we can commit mistakes then it is only we who can find a solution to correct it or else we aggravate it. Remember, one’s biggest sin becomes the reason for one’s ultimate downfall. Duryodhana never accepted his mistakes and blunders; hence was the reason behind the death of his 99 brothers and several respected men. Even Kunti didn’t accept Karna as her child till the crucial moment!

16. Choose words wisely: let words be chosen with great care and after utmost mental work. Words harm like pointed arrows thrown from a bow and can be devastating to the entire people we know. Words once spoken can never be called back and apology for harmful words adds to knots in relations. Irresponsible and reckless usage of words degrades not only one’s impression but also shows a hollow and weak character. Karna and Duryodhana never realized the power of the ill-words they spoke for Draupadi.

17. Rethink before acting: actions speak louder than words. Any act of harming others can also never be undone. Actions engrave in memory forever and generate a lot of attention from people. Before implementing plans rethink about its implications and understand how those implications may affect your life. Dushshasana disrobed Draupadi without a thought about what a disgraceful act he was doing and was punished brutally for it!

18. Life is a journey and not destination: to achieve, in the precious life God has allotted to us as humans; we must focus on struggling towards the purpose of our life. It takes immense time to identify and then achieve this purpose but this is what God had created us for. After every achievement there must be a thought ‘what next’ in order to keep going rather than facing stagnation at the current point. Pandavas had been exiled for 14 years yet they struggled for all those years to get back their kingdom and when they still weren’t given the same as promised; they fought the war and sacrificed the lives of precious family members.

19. Never express your charitable deeds: one’s charity is one’s spiritual deed. Any charity ends when you sing about it or flaunt it because charity is a method to detach or let go of something that has been accumulated by you and is precious to you. Being famous for your welfare motives or charity is dangerous as it would invite fake people around you as well as people who would like to take advantage of your heart’s tenderness. Charity is relevant till the point it’s secretive; but when it finds limelight, it transforms into show-off or a medium of public attention. Karna had to give away his armor in charity to his enemy because he was famous for his charitable deeds.

20. Arrogance is devastation, avoid it: we are all on this earth for the motive of learning and sharing knowledge as well as fulfilling the divine motive of the spirit. In the process of life, we gain a variety of things such as money, possessions, knowledge etc. People who are arrogant or full of pride, sub-consciously commit themselves to losing what they have accumulated. Arrogance means putting another person down to rise ourselves. On a deeper spiritual level, we need to rise not at the cost of others. Dhritrshtra was arrogant about having Bheeeshm, Dronacharya and a lot of other warriors to support his 100 sons in the war but lost all of them in the war of Kurukshetra.

21. Don't be overburdened by someone’s favors: favors must be valued to the extent that they don't convert into burden and harms one’s independence. Understand that a person doing a favor is investing in you and try to find the motive behind the same. If the favor is unsung and not reciprocated, its charity but if it is sung, it becomes transaction and a burden on the subject. One must not be captivated in the chains of undue dedication or devotion. It is intelligent to understand a person before asking for a favor. Karna devastated his life due to the burden of Duryodhana’s favors which were aimed at using him in his favor at the Kurukshetra.

The epic still holds relevance despite of the fact that the war was over years ago. It is for us to imbibe what this great story on politics, family feuds, religion, war and humanity teaches!