The Luminous Mind of Yuddishtara

Hatred has immense magnetic power than the earth’s gravitational pull. To defy it, is a challenge of a lifetime, and a feat. Advanced countries have invented scientific formulae to defy gravity, but their mindless wars render such achievements barbarian. The ‘first-world’ nations engaging in wars with advanced weaponry claim themselves as ‘advanced society’; but in reality, it is nothing but ‘sophisticated savagery’. This sort of outlook starts with their Leaders, who only look for a cause to wage war than to maintain peace. Not only their own innocents are killed in war, but they fund the downtrodden ‘third-world’ countries to join their cause and turn them to terrorists. About 5000 years ago, the same was the perspective of Prince Duryodhana, the infamous Kuru Prince, the antagonist in the epic Mahabharata, whose distinct trait was hatred. Duryodhana always searched for the grey areas in every person; especially of his cousins Pandavas. In the epic 18 days battle, not only the lives of the entire Kaurava army were compromised, but also all those millions of his Alleys who canvassed behind Duryodhana. Whereas Prince Yuddishtara, the eldest of Pandavas, reckoned only the fairness in all, and he always campaigned for peace. Even his enemies hailed him.

When the Kuru Princes, the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu crossed their teens and successfully completed their education and training in all fields under able Teachers; their grandfather Bhishma, the Grand Sire of Kuru Dynasty, the custodian and trustee of the clan, was trapped in a huge dilemma. He wanted to conduct a test to know which of the elder grandson was worthy to be the King. In those times it was the practice of the Royals to travel within their kingdom incognito to gather the mood of the citizens in their kingdom from time to time. The Royals disguised themselves as commoners and mingled with the ordinary to gather such critical intelligence. Bhishma assigned both Yuddishtara and Duryodhana to this exercise independently, to test how they perceived their subjects. Precautious, Bhishma summoned the Master Spy, Akshaka and briefed him in his Secretum Secretorum (a secret chamber of the Kings to discuss classified and military strategies) giving strict instructions to provide multiple layers of security to his grandsons, and he personally assigned Akshaka to watch the Princes from close quarters as to how they conducted themselves.

The Princes returned after a few days gathering the pivotal intelligence from their own perspective and reported to their Grandfather thus:

Yuddishtara submitted, “Respected Grand Father, our citizens have unparallel ethics. The people are fairer than the fairest. Their loyalty to their King is incomparable and so is their honesty. They pay their taxes even in difficult times and support each other for meagre issues without approaching the Royal Court. Our Law & Order officers are imprisoning and punishing even those who unintentionally or inadvertently had committed minor offenses. Yet neither the accused nor their families have complained to the King. They are suffering in silence. We are fortunate to be their Rulers and are indebted to them Grandfather. Here is my list of reforms which I request you to consider and recommend to King Dhritarashtra. I plead for the release of prisoners whom I found not criminal at all. I humbly recommend imposing lesser taxes this season, as a relief to the destitute farmers. I also request for better amenities to travelers who visit Hastinapura for trade, from far away kingdoms. I feel it is our utmost duty to be compassionate to our subjects.”

Then came Duryodhana with resentment vividly revealed in his face, “Grandfather, I did not find even one honest citizen in Hastinapura. Our subjects are disloyal, dishonest, and uncharitable. They evade taxes citing difficulties which are not intense at all. The farmers despise to pay the usual one-sixth of the produce, despite having enjoyed bountiful crops last season. Those who approach the Royal Court for help have unclean hands undoubtedly. We protect them from Bandits and invasion of enemy Kings with our military might, but they ween and grumble that we are exploiting them for our Royal luxuries. I also suspect enemy spies loitering in our charity inns to gather military information; hence the inns to have lesser facilities. In a nutshell our subjects do not deserve any sympathy. Stricter laws for punishment must be imposed on those who cheat the King.”

Finally, Akshaka, the Master Spy reported that night in secrecy, thus:

“O Grand Sire, the mind of Prince Yuddishtara is divine. He mingled with commoners conversing, dining, and even rested along with them at nights at the charity inns, whereas the Son of Dhritarashtra returned to the Palace every night. Yuddishtara visited the prisons and sympathized those who pleaded innocence. The Pandu Prince listened patiently to the plight of the farmers. Hey Acharya, I have no words to describe the colossal beauty of his wisdom. He not only treats all humans equal, but even helpless animals such as dogs, and stray cattle, as subjects in distress. He advised the City Head for a special care for them. O Sire, Prince Yuddishtara has compassion vaster than the seven seas, and a heart larger than our mighty Kuru Kingdom. I have heard about your great Father, Legendary King Santhana, but Sire, I am sorry to state that Prince Yuddishtara is no less,” and he hesitantly continued in a subdued tone with his head tiled down, “I may be forgiven to speak less about Prince Duryodhana. I found him to be just the opposite Sire.”

Bhishma, was aghast at the contrary perceptions of his grandsons. Yuddishtara is wise and the right heir to the throne, but his cousin Duryodhana will never concede. The Grand old Kuru Prince sat heavily with eyes closed, recollecting the greatness of his Father, the great Santhana who after generations of Royal Lineage, consolidated the Kuru Dynasty and built the great city Hastinapura. His Father ruled unparallel to any Ruler on earth by protecting all his subjects that not only included men of all colors and creeds but also all animals both domestic and the wild. King Santhana preserved the beauty of natural resources and jungles and maintained strict law in their controlled exploitation. The reputation and glory of Santhana appealed to Kings and Royals from all corners of the expansive territory of Bharat, hence only they surrendered to his pious rule. Truth and justice prevailed in his rule until the far corners of his vast kingdom.

The reason for Bhishma’s melancholy was that the minds of Yudhistara and Dhuryodana were poles apart, and he might not keep his commitment given to the Queen Mother, Satyavathi during her last breath; that he would install a King of equal parlance to his father King Santhana from her progeny. King Santhana treated all men in equal parlance and without any added bondage or hatred. In his rule there existed no poor or rich that one can distinguish, there were no diseases nor misery, there were no hatred nor evil thoughts that one can discover. Only Yuddishtara had such luminous mind as his Father.

From the day I heard the anecdote from my Guruji, my perception changed overnight. I started to practice being less critical of people around me and started appreciating them. Then, I accounted all the good things in those I had differences with, in the past, and was shocked to realize how wrong I was to find fault with them. I ignored all those wonderful pastures in them which I did not possess. I failed to see the numerous exceptional traits of people who supported me. I realized that I am today because of many who contributed during my life until now, including those I had difference with. I would have been nothing without them. When I could ignore all similar negative areas in my near and dear and cared for them; why I cannot apply the same yardstick to those I had differences with? I realized that bookish knowledge, or awareness of Politics, Computers, latest gadgets and their operations is not what makes us enlightened; it is the knowledge of the truth which matters. I understand the lacuna now. It is the moral education, which is necessary, not in textbook format but in the form of true knowledge from an Enlightened Teacher, who only knows the ways and means.

I also see and hear from some of my friends and clients confiding in me that their young are blind to recognize the sacrifices of the elders. Disappointingly, they even adventure to find faults with parents and mock their achievements, with uncharitable remarks. Very pathetic. That’s how exactly Duryodhana repeatedly insulted his Grandfather ignoring all his immemorable and legendary sacrifices, which gave him the name Bhishma.

Yuddishtara pleaded only a town for each of the Pandavas instead of their lawful share that he lost in the wager. The proposal which Duryodhana not only rejected but refused to part even the space occupied by a needlepoint to his cousins within the Kuru Kingdom. Ultimately the refusal by Prince Duryodhana for a peaceful resolution proposed by Prince Yuddishtara resulted in the inevitable Mahabharata war that caused the death of crores of innocent humans. Millennia later, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of United States of America wisely stated, “Those who make peaceful resolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.” JFK also stated that “The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and dissemination of truth.” I realized that all that education I had in Public Schools, and Colleges, etc., was undoubtedly incomplete and half-baked. I missed the real teachings. I should have known of Yuddishtara and his luminous mind at the earliest point of life as part of the curriculum. But no regrets, even late, I had the opportunity to meet my Guruji who administered my mind with the required antiviral. I have regained my childhood innocence the moment I began to appreciate every person and the world around me.