Timeless lessons from Mahabharat that can alter your life
When we talk about learnings from Gita, some of the popular ones are:
· One should completely focus on our work at hand and not on the result.
· You are born empty-handed, and you will leave this Mother Earth empty-handed.
Let’s look at some of the other less known but noteworthy lessons from Mahabharat can change the course of one’s life (and future lives if you believe in them).
Almost all the time in our lives, we are making decisions that impact our remaining experience of life. The more powerful position one holds in society, the bigger is the impact of their decisions on their and others’ lives. Therefore, it is pertinent that the decisions impacting the larger population are not only filtered from the lens of right or wrong for an individual, but rather the larger good of the society. As an example, you may have noticed that government authorities give concession to property tax defaulters to pay one time fine and then join the rest of the compliant population of regular taxpayers. As another example, many households paid for one to two months of their maids’ salary during the initial COVID outbreak, though the maids did not provide their services during that time. So, considering the larger interest of the masses will ensure that you continue the path of righteousness. But please be aware that any such decision is not influenced by the intent of personal gain, else it will be more of politics.
After the Mahabharat war Draupadi asked Krishna why this large-scale annihilation was required ending the lives of millions of soldiers and warriors on both sides. Krishna responded that when the people in power get corrupt, then gradually the entire societies get corrupt. The junior rank officials take orders from senior officials that are ultimately taking orders from the king. So slowly the majority population becomes part of the misdeeds of their king to some degree or other. The level of corruption and degradation in values at that time was beyond repair and hence entire annihilation was required to build a new system and society from scratch. So, what lesson can we learn from this episode? Either we work for some corporation or maybe even some of us own one. We must not blindly execute orders from our seniors but review them from the lens of righteousness. One should not be afraid to ask the right questions and push back unjust decisions. You may not be successful all the time due to various reasons like job security or keeping personal and professional life separate. But in the end, it does impact your karmas. If you are not able to overturn an unjust decision, at least you would live with a feeling that you stood for what was right.
