PASSING THE BALL

In Soccer, passing the ball to other players, especially within the D-line characterizes coordination, cooperation and the desire to win collectively, sometimes even at the cost of personal excellence.

A player is often posed with a choice between proving his brilliance and contributing to the team. When one does make such sacrifice on a personal front, he or she may not realize that he may have lost many future opportunities to score. But the winning team recognizes this act and offers chances to progress in future matches.

This is the picture of the Mahabharata.

Bhima and Arjuna represent the act of passing the ball of victory at a crucial moment. They perform most remarkably but Yudhishthira is offered the credit. He takes the glory, and Bhima and Arjuna take the subordinate position.

In the Kauravas’ team, each one battled only for personal excellence. Bhishma fought only to protect the vow he took before his father. Drona fought to avenge Drupada. Karna fought to prove his superiority over Arjuna. And above everyone, Duryodhana fought to acquire the throne, not to establish good governance but only for the position of the king. They were all greatly accomplished players but played the ball within their own proximity, not seeing the rest of the field. They did play some excellent game but only with the desire of improving their own score, against the team’s. Karna refused to pass the ball to Bhishma because he wanted all the glory  for himself. Kauravas played with one player less, karna, till Bhisma fell,  karna would not play and perform.

Kauravas were sure to be defeated owing to the bad coaching of Shakuni. Krishna, on the other hand, with His excellent track record of great coaching, made the Pandavas win because they acquired the technique of passing the ball of glory, giving credit to the next player.

Let us all play such a game in life. With Krishna’s coaching, we will certainly be in the winning team where having personal excellence or not becomes immaterial.