Behind Mahabharat
By T.Gopal
Introduction
The common understanding of
Mahabharat epic is “Fight between
Dharma and Adharma”. But this meaning leaves the reader with number of
questions unanswered.
·
Why Droupadi married five husbands ? This is a
major Adharmic act by Pandavas who are committed to Dharma. Hinduism never
permitted polyandry. In the epic also Bhishma declares that it is an act of Adharma
and refuses to welcome them first into Hastinapur. Supporting this act by
Kunti’s mistaken words of sharing and Droupadi’s previous birth story by Krishna cannot justify it as a Dharmic act for
the common man to whom the epic is
targeted.
·
Yudishtra who stands for Dharma simply bets their common wife and
Kingdom in the Game of Dice discarding the views of all elders present and
brings disgrace.
·
The All powerful
Bhisma’s silence in the Vastra Haran is yet another act of Adharma. This
is explained by Krishna to Bhishma at the Battlefield . Dronacharya who walked
out of the Dharbar earlier for simple reasons also keeps quite. This is the
case with Kula Guru Kripacharya also.
·
Attacking
Bhishma, Drona and Karna when they are not armed cannot come under the
actions of Dharma again.
The above facts drive the reader
to find out the Actual meaning of the epic. Nowhere in the epic Vyasa declares the above said understanding.
Trying to prove whether
these events have really happened
or symbolic becomes irrelevant when one knows the
dialogue between sage Vyasa and lord Vinayaka who undertakes scripting of the
epic with a condition that there should not be a gap in Vyasa’s dictation. This
is to ensure that only truth is spelled out and not simple self biography or a
narration of historical memory which requires thinking gaps. Vyasa also puts a
counter condition that Vinayaka should understand the meaning of what he is
writing. Hence the epic’s clear goal is to convey the meaning and not
historical events.
The following is an attempt to convey
the meaning in a different way as explained in the vedas. More emphasis is on salvation of the Jivatma and
less on Dharma Philosophy which is under question.
Summary of the philosophy explained in Mahabharat
Mahabharata is Vyasa’s
“Kundalini Upanishad of Yajur Vedha”
explained to common man in
the form of a story as the original vedha was very difficult for even
scholars to follow.
It is the path of the jiva in the course of its evolution in the
physical world
The
Concept
Before
we move on to the subject we have to be clear about the basics of life
principle within the human body.
· When the cosmic energy courses through the karmic impressions (Karma) it is known as prana and it is represented by five-headed serpent.
·
The first seat of cosmic energy is Muladhara ckakra located at the base of spine. Here
all the nadis(nervous network) ie Ida,pingala
and sushumna join together. Above Muladhara ,the remaining of the Pancha chakras also provide
the cosmic energy at the knots of
Ida and pingala.
·
Sushumna is
the central nadi connected to the Ajna chakra.
·
When the same cosmic energy withdraws from ida and pingala and flows through the sushumna it is kundalini which is the spiritual energy which takes the jiva to the Paramatman.
·
Karmic impressions are the tendencies or Vasanas
gathered by the jiva over the earlier incarnations. These tendencies manifest
at different chakras as follows
a.
Physical tendencies such as desires for food,
sleep belong to Muladhara and below.
b.
Sensual tendencies such as desires for sexual
union(Kama), taste belong to Swadhisthana
and below.
c.
Emotional tendencies such as Anger(Khrodha),courage
belong to Manipura and below.
d.
Humanistic tendencies such as Love, Hatred (Devasha)
belong to Anahata and below.
e.
Mental tendencies such as desires for power, Pride
belong to Vishudda and below.
·
When prana courses through the above tendencies
the world of forms is perceived by
the Jiva and the corresponding experiences are made available in the form of
pain and pleasure.
·
World of forms
and objects is dissolved or modified once the karmic vasanas are wiped out
or modified. Prana withdraws once its purpose is achieved and Kundalini takes
its birth. The jiva gets exposure to the new spiritual consciousness in the
sushumna path and progresses towards its ultimate destination of the paramatma.
·
The above process can happen through experiences
gained through incarnations or through
Yogic practices
·
Getting control over prana is the goal of all
yogic practice to expedite the above process. When prana is under control it
manifests as kundalini which can be directed to flow through Sushumna.
This yoga is explained in
Mahabharata where all the characters assume various roles
to convey the meaning in an understandable way which is otherwise abstract for
the common man. The author Vyasa
plays a guru role at critical
situations to guide the aspirants
The story
·
Jiva enters the physical body with all the 24 tatvas(Hastinapur-
Hasta is 24) to undergo the experience destined by its previous karma.
·
Hence the body(Hastinapur) is
the Karma Shetra and for the jiva it is Dharma Shetra to attain salvation. This
is confirmed by Krishna in Geetha
“Idam Sariram Kauntheya Shetram”
·
The ego(the shadow of Consciousness –Shakshi chaitanya)
represented by Bhishma commits to the Dharma Shetra through his sacrifice.
·
He makes Dridharastra ,the mind(Always
blind) to control the kingdom of the kurus(Kurushetra).Kuru
means action.
·
Drona who represents the karma trains all the eight Indrias (Kauravas-
100 nadis in ida) and the five
chakras (Pandavas) to execute the
plan of karma to attain salvation(Jiva merging with Paramatman).It is Karma
which defines the individual Duty. The
following is the process through which the execution has to happen.
·
Ida is Yamuna
and Pingala is Ganga and Panchala is the region where muladhara
is located. Drupad is the king of
panchala. This is the place where Sushumna canal starts. The all powerful Drupad
has already lost half his kingdom to his enemy Drona. This is a natural process
because Drona needs the pranic energy to
activate the karmic impressions to make the world of objects to the jiva. If
panchal has to become powerful then the prana energy with Drona has to be redirected
to become Kundalini to flow in the river Saraswathy(Another
name for Sushumna) in his land.
·
This is
not an easy task as the job involves destruction of the Drona who is the
embodiment of Karma. Prana can stop its course and re manifest as kundalini
only when all the karmic impressions are wiped out. This means that one(Jiva)
cannot have all the worldly pursuits(because
of karma)and liberation through Kundalini at the same time. One has to be sacrificed for another.
·
To achieve the above steps, Drona has to provide
access for his disciples to panchala
·
Pandavas succeed in capturing panchala and
hence access to Muladhara.
·
Drupad undertakes severe penance to wipe out his
enemy and gets DrishtaDyumna and Droupadi who is none other than kundalini. Drupad
is unaware of Droupadi’s nature and is
wondering why he got her when he wanted only a son to destroy Drona.He is
unaware of the fact that he needed only Droupadi to achieve his goal. Then What
is the role of DrishtaDyumna in the Kundalini yoga?.
·
DrishtaDyumna,who later becomes the commander of
the pandava army represents courage to withdraw sense organs which are attracted towards Karmic tendencies
and to establish supremacy for his
sister Kundalini. He is also the kundalini spark
to indicate the emergence of Kundalini.
·
When prana takes its course in shushmna it becomes Kundalini. Droupadi is kundalini who comes out of the fire of pranic energy
when during the natural pranic evolution
or during yogic practice(sadhana Pada of
Pathanjali sutras)
·
Bhishma succeeds in making Udishtar as crown
successor.But the Mind(Dridarastra) is tricked by its desire(Kama) for his sons-100 nadis(Nerves)
agrees for Pandavas Varnavat journey even though he knows his sons evil plan.
The preparations
·
Here the jiva has two options. Liberate itself
from karmic binding in the current birth or continue in the birth cycle as any other average man.
·
Mahabharat explains the first option. In the
path of liberation the following is the first step. This is the
Sadhana Pada of Patanchali Yoga
sutra or the
Abyasa yoga of Bhagavat Geetha or the
Aranyavas of Ramayan or the
Pandavas Vanvas of Mahabharata
·
Pandavas escape in varanavat gives them
opportunity to practice Pratihara
and dharana(Mind control).When they
were ready to get control over the first manifestation of prana at
muladhara, Viyasa directs them to the town of Ekachakra which is nearer to Kambilya(Muladhara)
·
Guru comes as a guide at the appropriate time
for the sincere aspirant
·
Kambilya is
the city where Droupadi’s Swyamwaram
takes place . In Sanskrit Kambilya means
100 wool threads(100 nadis) joined.Here is where prana’s emergence as
kundalini takes place.
·
Now the controlled prana becomes
kundalini(Droupadi) for pandavas and the wedding becomes an automatic process
as explained below
a.
The control
of prana is the wedding of Droupadi .
b.
Kauravas of Chandra Vanse (Ida nadi) failed and Panchali
refuses to marry karna of Surya Vanse(Pingala Nadi) by saying “I will not marry Sudha Putra”
‘Naham variyam sutham’ - Mahabharat
·
The Test for Abyasa Pada -Arjuna hitting the target- proves that they
have controlled the prana –kundalini in
muladhara level.
·
Now the kundalini has to move through the
sushumna(its evolutionary path).It has to unite with all the five
chakras(Pandavas) and hence she is coerced to
marry all the pandavas. Wedding is only symbolic. There cannot be a
better symbolism.
·
But this is not the end of the liberation
journey. The karmic impressions are manifesting in all the five chakras and
prana is already operating in all these levels. All these impurities or
impressions have to be experienced and cleared in the onward journey. The life
energy cannot operate as prana and kundalini simultaneously as explained
earlier
v Vastra Haran of Droupadi
·
Invoking kundalini still maintaining flow of
prana through the karmic impressions is an impossible situation. The act will
result in trying to expose the dormant kundalini to outer world. This
is the ‘Vastra Haran of Droupadi’
who is protected by Krishna who is the guardian of sushumna nadi of the Krishna Vanse. Without knowing this
truth today many aspirants are wrongly guided to invoke Kundalini with
undesirable results
·
Clearing karmic impurities come in stages in the
sushumna journey and bypassing chakra levels will result in disaster. This is the route of Adharma
which Sakuni takes through the Game of dice as explained below
·
To get control over chakras which transform the
pranic energy to kundalini the jiva has to win the battle with karmic vasanas
or impressions at physical,emotional and at mental levels. Sakuni who guides
the captain of the indirias(DurioDhan)
knows that it is not possible to battle at physical and emotional levels. He
resorts to mental level warfare which is the Game of dice and defeats
Yudishtra(to get access to Vishudda chakra directly bypassing other chakras).He
thinks Indirias can get supremacy over
Pancha chakras in this method.
·
In the ladder of chakras,the higher ones have
control over the lower ones and hence the pandavas obey the eldest and hence a
temporary defeat. Here is where the sadhak or the aspirant requires the
guidance of a competent Guru to access various chakras. Direct concentration
and yogic exercises without clearing impurities is simply tricking the mind in the Game of Dice and the illusion of victory
ends up only in disaster.
o The accent Of Kundalini
·
Bheema’s fight with Idumba and Bakasura
symbolises Conquering the lower physical natures at Muladhara level
·
Arjunas Kandava
Dahana symbolises Burning of impurities at emotional level at Swadishtana and Manipura.
·
The elimination of Jarachanda and keeshaka
by Beema symbolises victory over Anahata.
·
The final battle of kurushetra symbolises
victory over Vishuddha chakra where
duality of jiva and its connected attachments are eliminated. Vishuddha is the gateway to liberation from the state of Maya. Also the 18 days of war symbolises
the dissolution of the physical and mental bodies levels as explained below.
War at Kurushetra
·
Attachment to kith and kin is a strongest
impurity at Vishuddha level. Illusion
or Maya is at the highest at Visudha level .Pandavas have to get rid of these
by destroying their own elders and family members. Visudha level is purely a
mental level phenomena and strategy and tricks are required to win over. Mind is already tricked by Maya
and the jiva is in delusion. Hence Krishna has to become a war strategist and
the maya has to be destroyed by another maya. This settles the controversy over
playing tricks by Maya Krishna at critical times. This is same as tricking the
cow for milk by feeding grass. Shhikandi is used as shield to eliminate Bhishma
·
The final battle is explained in more detail below.
The destruction of Maya and the dissolution of the physical and mental
bodies
·
10 days
of war with Bhishma who represents
ego as the commander symbolises release
from ten aspects of Ego (10 heads of Ravana)
·
5
days of war with Drona who represents Karma as
the commander symbolises release from the following five types of karma
1.
Sanchita Karma
2.
Parabdha
Karma
3.
Kriyamana Karma
4.
Agami
Karma
5.
Samhita Karma
·
2 days of war with Karna as the
commander symbolises release from the following two obstacles. Raga and Devesha
(Attachment to Duriodhan and hatred towards pandavas).Krishna says Attachment
is the strongest enemy in the battle field. He has to engage Indra to weaken
karna.Pandavas have to sacrifice their powerful asuric son Gadothgaja to save
Arjuna from Karna. Finally he could be
killed only when he is without arms.
·
1/2 day of war with Shalya as the
commander symbolises release from false faith. Shalya changes his mind in the
last minute to join Kauravas due to false faith. ”Mithya-darshan-shalya”
·
1/2 day of war with duriyodhan who represents
of all Indirias in the body as the commander symbolises total release of jiva from physical body.
Dissolution of body is inevitable when all karmic impressions are fully burnt
and no power (Like Gandaris boon) can overcome this phenomena.
Life after death
At the end of the battle one wonders why vyasa kept two
people alive in the kaurava side. One is Aswathama
and the other is Kripacharya. The success of pandavas is followed by grief when
Aswathama kills all the sons of pandavas in the night with the help of
Kripacharya. why these two evil forces were left alive by Krishna himself. If
the meaning of the epic is only Dharma versus Adharma then these two couldn’t
have survived. But the meaning explained in the summary above gives answer to
this peculiar phenomena which is difficult to comprehend otherwise.
Aswathama is the son of Drona(who is the embodiment of
prarabdha Karma) and hence Aswathama represents Agamya Karma. When everything
ends in the physical body Agamya Karma(Unfulfilled Karma) alone continues its
journey to the next incarnation of the
Jiva. Here Jiva doesn’t get fully liberated and takes the second option. The
agamya karma wipes out the remnants of the Chakras(sons of
Pandavas) so that the Pancha chakras go back to their five element state(Puncha
butas) after the dissolution of the body.
Kripacharya ,the kul kuru represents Maya and the illusive
Maya continues to work to sustain the universe and this is the expression of
dynamic state of the paramatman and the same is recognised as the Lila of Krishna
Om Hari om
