Re: Symbols of the mahābhārata
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
Lets take a look at duryodhana as he causes much mischief for the pāṇḍava-s. We know he is king dhṛtarāṣṭra's 1st born son.
We will look at the other sons ( not all 100) in a future post,; let's see what this word duryodhana implies.
- dur दुर् is bad or difficult; great crime or wickedness . We see this in this word duriṣṭha - very bad or difficult or wicked.
- yudh युध् is to fight with.
So dur + yudh is very difficult or bad to fight with. And who is so difficult for us to fight with ? Desire. He is considered active desire , material desire.
We will discuss the 6 faults or blemishes (ṣaḍ-doṣa-s) found in the human and their equivalent personalities in the mahābhārata , yet the 1st one is kāma.
In this use it is the excessive longing and desire for things some like to call lust. This is the symbol that duryodhana plays.
Think of the time in the mahābhārata where the pāṇḍava asked for just a small part of the kingdom, even just 1 village and then there would be no need for war.
Duryodhana would not even give one inch to the pāṇḍava, due to his excessive desire to possess i.e. to own and indulge in as many of the sense-objects as possible. It is my humble opinion that this insatiable desire is the engine for greed, gluttony and the like. It is driven by the symbol of duryodhana.
Before we continue to advance the conversation it will be helpful to revisit this notion of kurukṣhetra. We know this word to mean the field ( kṣetra) of the kuru's.
Kuru also means kartāras or 'doers' and this is rooted in (√) kṛ ( or kri) . This kṛ is quite a profound an robust root sound in saṃskṛtam. In its simplest definition it means to do ,
make , perform , accomplish , cause , effect , prepare , undertake . Hence on 1st inspection this word is viewed as the field of the kuru's, yet it also means the field ( kṣetra ) of doing (kṛ).
We as humanbeings are engaged in the field of doing both internally and externally to our bodies. That is, we engage in work, play, family, fun, thoughts,finances, worry, happiness, good behaviors, bad behaviors, etc. etc. on a daily basis.
The symbol of kurukṣhetra in the mahābhārata
There are 3 levels one can look at this kurukṣhetra. This is also found in many ( not all) śāstra-s to decode their use and application.
- The physical level - this would be the fight of good vs. bad, right and wrong, the big oppressing the small, the strong oppressing the weak. One could say this occurs on the individual, social, national levels and can be seen via the senses.
- The mental level - that of thoughts, ideas, tendencies, behaviors, traits, manas or mind, intellect (buddhi), etc. We can even place meditation on this level. The ~battle~ of the senses drawing one into the field of matter vs. inward to calmness, to steadiness towards the direction of the Self.
- The spiritual level - this is the level of the devata, yet we as spiritual beings can also be found here as one experiences samādhi, perfect silence, etc. Now we have that tendency for union ( yukti, yoga) with the Supreme, yet the ego may get in the way , or the subtler kośa's¹ or even other impulses of nature that may restrict this ability.
So , when we talk of the various symbols of the mahābhārata we're inferring those forces, tendencies, etc. that restrict or divert ( detour) one from their full spiritual experience. Yet the mahābhārata at the same time teaches those social rules
and individual rules of proper habit and actions ( dharma).
Looking at Duryodhana in this light, this ~force~ is what pulls our awareness outward into the field ( kṣetra ) of differences, of diversity, of want.
No matter how much one achieves in the field of diversity it does not bring complete satisfaction. This is confirmed in the chāndogya upaniṣad, where sanatkumāra-ji is instructing nārada and says, nālpe sukham asti or finite (alpa) things do not (na) contain happiness (suka).
Durodhona does not care about this and is only driven , and is the embodiment of kāma. So , the question is how to dis-arm this durodhana and the kaurava that he leads? We will address this in a future post.
praṇām
words
kośa - these are coverings over the Self. Some say there are 3 others say 5. The ānanda-maya kośa or sheath of bliss , the kāraṇa-śarīra or causal frame , the vijñāna-maya or buddhi-maya or mano-maya or prāṇa-maya kośa , " the sheath of intellect or will or life-force , the sūkṣma-śarīra or " subtle frame , the anna-maya kośa , the sheath of nourishmen , the sthūla-śarīra or gross frame i.e. the phyical body level and components
Last edited by yajvan; 14 February 2018 at 04:37 PM.
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
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