CLASH BETWEEN LOVE AND LOSS

In loving one always fears losing the beloved.  Therefore there is anxiety flavored affection in  the relationship.  In such situations one experiences pain in union which is caused by fear of losing, and when one loses, there is pain caused by losing the  object of  one’s love.

Seeing this phenomena some philosophers suggest,  giving up all relationships will lead to freedom, because there is no entanglement  of relationship. They move to the "philosophy of seclusion," having no relationship with any one.  They escape the whole affair, but that does not work, and  it is  unnatural.  One’s experience of the world does not agree with this principle of giving up to  avoid entanglement. 

Life is like a war, every one fights, there are internal struggles and external struggles, even those who are in renounced order of life, cannot avoid action, because that is not natural for the living beings. Seeing is action, and one cannot avoid seeing, and responding to seeing is reaction, that  also  cannot be  avoided.  Eating is action, and satisfaction or dissatisfaction is a  reaction.  Inhaling is action and exhaling is reaction, can anyone avoid this ?  It is unnatural to  not  be active. In this situation,  the Bhagvat Gita gives us the perfect advice.---Perform action in Karma Yoga, or Nisakama Karma or the heightened form  of Karma Yoga is Bhakti Yoga, which is done without any motivation or personal benefit. None of these processes talk about giving up things rather they talk of utilizing things,  at the cost of personal sacrifice.

In  the Mahabharata War Abhimanyu’s sacrifice was  a cause of  great pain for the pandavas . Drona had formed the Chakra vyuha, which was very difficult to break, and the only person who knew how to break the vyuha was Arjuna, who was engaged in  fighting the Shamshptakas elsewhere.

Yudhisthira had to make the tough decision of agreeing to Abhimanyu’s  bold decisioin to break  the vyuha and enter it even though he did not know how to come out.  It was break or perish, but allowing Abhimanyu meant losing him.  Yudhishira faced a conflict between love for Abhimanyu, or loss of a huge army and adharma’s progress.  He could not simply say  as the dreamer says   “ may such  a situation never arise,”  that is not a reality, the reality is, there is a clash, “love clash.”  Love of duty or Love of dutiful son Abhimanyu?

Yudhisthira’s love for dharma made him lose Abhimanyu,  it was a painful choice  but it was  also a reality of life.  Since  the loss of Abhimanyu' s life was for  a cause of dharma this loss of  life became the sign of greatest love for the pandavas.  He remained the legacy builder,  and an  immortal  soul and his presence  continued in  the Pandu kula in the form of his great son Pariksita.

Do we want the inaction dream, a  reactionary nightmare or loving, dutiful action?  Choice is ours.