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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Wisdom entails making the right choice

 

CHENNAI, JUNE 14. From the time of the Upanishads man has made a

choice between good and evil. The secular vision is limited to

immediate pleasures whereas the wise person cares for lasting

values and hence chooses the good. In the process, he has to face

trials and tribulations but he does not flinch before them. To

exercise choice is to commit oneself. In the case of those who

choose values their choice is not an accident or impulse and is a

conscious decision influenced by tendencies accumulated over

several births. To choose the Lord Himself as the ultimate good

is wisdom unparalleled; it uplifts man from the mundane to the

spiritual. To select Him is to single out victory, prosperity and

righteousness.

 

The Mahabharata is an eternal saga of good and evil and not just

the story of the lives of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

Yudhishtra had accepted to play the game of dice as decorum

warranted but he had a weakness for the game. Pitted against

cunning Sakuni he had no chance to win and lost everything.

Balarama had pointed this out in the assembly when he taunted

Yudhishtra for all the troubles the Pandavas faced. He had the

guts to speak out the truth but Krishna had remained silent in

deference to His elder brother. A war became imminent.

 

In her discourse, Smt. Prema Pandurang said that when news

reached that Krishna was in Dwaraka, Duryodana and Arjuna

hastened to seek Krishna's help. Both entered the precincts of

Krishna's apartments where the Lord was sleeping, simultaneously,

and true to his assertive nature Duryodana opted to sit on the

beautifully made seat at the head of the cot. Arjuna remained

near the Lord's feet and when Krishna woke up His eyes naturally

rested on Arjuna. Both wanted Krishna's help and Duryodana tried

to ensure that he got what he had come for by asserting that he

had reached first. Not to be outdone the Lord pacified him saying

that He intended to help both of them and gave them a choice -

His army or Himself with the condition that He would not fight.

 

As Arjuna was the younger of the two he was asked to choose

first. True to his parentage - being the son of Kunti, a sterling

devotee of Lord Krishna - he did not hesitate to choose Krishna.

Duryodana went away pleased that he had secured Krishna's army.

When the Lord rebuked Arjuna about his choice he replied, ``I

want You to take the reins of my white horses... I will be known

in aftertimes as the man whom the Lord steered through the

battlefield. My name will become immortal because You will be

called Parthasarathi.''

 

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