Essence of the Bhagwad Geeta

Scene: The battlefield of Kurukshetra.

About 80% of the soldiers died by the 18th day of the Kurukshetra war. Sanjay had come to the battlefield. He wondered if this war had actually taken place. Was there really such a massive massacre? Is this the very place where the Pandavas and Lord Krishna stood and fought? Is this the very place where Krishna taught Arjuna the Shrimad Bhagwat Gita? Is all this true or is it an illusion??

He heard someone say this: "You'll never know the truth of this !!" Sanjay looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a sadhu there. The Sadhu softly uttered. "I know you have come here to see if the battle of Kurukshetra has really taken place. But you will never know the truth about this battle until you know what the real battle was all about."

Sanjay asked, "What do you  mean??"

The Sadhu then spoke with a smile on his face: "The Mahabharata is an epic with a hidden philosophy."  Sanjay got confused on seeing a smile on the Sadhu's face and  begged: "Can you tell me that philosophy?" The Sadhu then began to reveal the philosophy. The Pandavas are our five senses.

Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue and Skin that get us to see, hear, smell, taste and experience touch.

And Kauravas are the many (some hundred) subjects that attack the senses (Pandavas) every day. We can protect our five senses  from this attack. The Sadhu then proceeded to ask and said: "Sanjay, can you tell me  how can we protect them?"

Sanjay wisely answered: "It is when the charioteer, Lord Krishna is the friend of these five Pandavas. Right??". The Sadhu was very happy with Sanjay's answer. He said, "that's right !! Shri Krishna is our inner voice, our soul, our guiding light. If we hear and listen to this inner voice, we need not worry."

Sanjay now came to know the hidden meaning. As yet, he asked again, "Then if Kauravas represent vices, why is it that Guru Dronacharya and Pitamah Bhishma fought on the side of Kauravas??"

"It means that as you get older, your attitude toward people older than you changes. You thought they are perfect when you were young. But as you get older, you start to see the flaws in them and then you have to decide whether you want to listen to these adults or not, and to decide for yourself to resolve the dilemma!!!  Therefore, the teachings of Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta are important in such a crisis. "Sanjay came to know everything now. He asked the last question, "Then why did Karna though being a Pandava fight against them??" Karna is like one of our five senses. But it takes sides with the many undesirable pulls!! This Karna is none other than our own tendencies (vasanas). It is our own but takes sides with the tendencies. Karna keeps repenting and so does our better judgement. It keeps giving reasons why it is supporting the undesirable pulls. It is also like our lust, we repent but as yet we fall a prey again and again.!! "

Tears flow down Sanjay's eyes. He understands the essence of the great epic, the Mahabharata. He keeps standing and looking at the distant Kurukshetra. He turns around to look for the Sadhu and sees no one. The Sadhu disappeared but left behind a deep philosophy for Sanjay - that is us.

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What I gained by reading this:

Pandavas represent our five senses. Karna is also a Pandava. He represents our Vasanas. Our uncontrollable urges, drives, impulses and desires. He takes sides with Kauravas and justifies doing so. The Kauravas represent the one hundred different subjects - attractions that challenge our senses. Krishna represents our sane mind and deep seated consciousness. It is the inner voice that keeps telling - be good, do right. Mahabharata is the philosophy of life written by Vyasa in story form. 

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