CHAOS TO COHERENCY

The cosmos has the inherent qualities of diversity and duality. Diversity and duality exist with as much surety as the surety of water quenching thirst.
Diversity is in every aspect of existence, and duality is in everything that we experience.  But the strange and stubborn human mind with its brain tries to create uniformity by destroying diversity and tries to create a uniform  experience.
An experience of pleasure by eliminating suffering . Humans by their limited technological advancement try to eliminate suffering  but sure enough and  fail again and again .This endeavour is a the privileged characteristic of humans, but it is applied in the wrong direction since ages.

The Mahabharata speaks and presents this reality with great force. It does not impose the same like a diktat, rather  narrates it with history and logic.
The reality of life is to find order in chaos. This is the theme of the Mahabharata .
In other words even if we win there is an inherent disadvantage of some one else suffering. In loss there is an inherent advantage of learning a lesson of what does not work. In loving relationships there is the fear of losing  them. When we reflect upon this reality we realise that we shall experience this duality till we have this corporal existence.

Yudhisthira was the epitome of this understanding. Therefore he was reluctant to be intoxicated by victory or to be miserable in defeat. Position or power did not make him arrogant.Losing all that he had in an instant did not make him lament. This demenour  of his made him the most qualified in the eyes of Sri Krishna. He was qualified to sit on the throne as the dharma raja.

It's our choice whether to deny this reality or accept it . Reality in terms of duality and diversity exists anyway

INTENTIONS AND SURROUNDING

Good intentions need favourable surroundings to fructify .This can be proved by a sensitive observation of the world. No newspaper or news channel can recount this phenomenon.

What makes one do what he or she is reluctant to do is a conflict between sincerity and surrounding. This clash is the story of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Duryodhana and Ravana also experienced this clash at least for a few moments, but their surrounding was insurmountable.
Duryodhana developed intense detachment from the world when he was saved by the Pandavas from the haughty Gandharvas. He decided to renounce everything and fast till death. He convinced Dushasana to rule. Karna and Dushasana failed in convincing him other wise. But when the lower beings came and convinced him about his enemity towards the Pandavas and when they promised that they would assist him, Duryodhana suddenly changed his attitude and regained his arrogance and ambition.
Another time Duryodhana agreed to accept Sri Krishna as supremely powerful, but when Sri Krishna sided the Pandavas Duryodhana excused himself and preferred to die in battle.

Ravana had unlimited power and resources. He had no reason to be lusty. Maricha, his uncle instructed him not to mess with Sita and Rama, by narrating his personal encounter with Sri Rama. Ravana like a sensible person went back to Lanka, but his sister Surphanaka, changed everything for him and for the destiny of Lanka.

For good sense to prevail one has to create a good surrounding either the external or the internal surrounding . The problem with an external  surrounding is that it is always in a flux, hence one who does not work from an internal surrounding becomes an integral part of the external surrounding.

Duryodhana and Ravana are extreme examples.They were thinking of something good but their surrounding was unfriendly. No one is as evil as Duryodhana and Ravana.
Yet we see a constant clash between intentions and surroundings. Depending upon who influences whom people make decisions. Some become good with good surrounding and some wanting to be good change into doing what the external world influences them to do .

With developed sensitivity and the recreation of a strong internal surrounding through sadhana, svadhyaya sadhu-association and selfless service one can be like Vibhishana, Hanumana and Vidura whose surroundings were unfavourable but they acted upon their good intentions.
We might fail to change the external  surrounding but whay about the internal surrounding?
Is it not our choice?

ABHIMANYU THE CAST

In life we cast something which is not  precious or even if it is precious not to the extent where it takes the life of the person whom we cast. We seldom take such risks, unless we are mentally and intellectually crazy and fanatical.

Abhimanyu was cast by Yudhdthira in the battle field not because he was a burden in the war field, rather he was the one who would shape  the positive future of Hastinapura. The stakes were high. It was victory at the cost of life, or life at the cost of the complete routing of the Pandava army, including the capture of Yudhishthira.

Abhimanyu feeling the tension of the moment, wanted to take the burden of becoming the cause of relief to the pandavas. The choice was between a conscious present and an unconscious future,  both being opposite of each other .

The eventuality did occur, Abhimanyu was brutally killed,  but not before damaging the Kuru army to an irreparable extent.

Some people in this world are difficult to  forget. They are unforgettable because  of their nastiness like Ravana whose   name made  people cry, and others are unforgettable due to their mind-blowing achievements. Arjuna belonged to the latter category .He was a person who brought happiness to the lives of many.

People like Abhimanyu are like hot sugar cane, you can't drink the hot sugar cane and can't  even resist the temptation to taste. Abhimanyu was the person who made people cry with joy pride and gratitude.

In life for creating lasting impressions in  war like situations, we will be forced to have more Abhimanyus, since Arjuna's of our life will need to fight  the battle elsewhere. We can hope that our Arjuna  always be with us, but the battle of life may not allow us that privilege, and we may be forced to make a decision to be an Abhimanyu or a leader like Yudhisthira-- who is forced to send his dear and near one in battle knowing clearly the consequences of such a  decision.

In Mahabharata Arjuna is the greatest hero, but Abhimanyu is the one who was willing to be put under the power of fire, so that others could have better resources to continue the battle of life and be victorious and for the battle to continue