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Showing posts from November, 2014

My condolences..

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Jai Guru Deva, Today is the anniversary of the great tragedy of 26/11. My deep condolences of all those who are killed. On the fatal day, I had slept early and did not know till I saw The Hindu next morning. It was one of the most shocking moment of my life. In 2008 I was already half dead with several of my personal problems but this was beyond my imagination. I knew Islamic terrorism has done for several centuries. From Nalanda library to Bamiyan statues but 26/11 was something that I am witnessing and I am connected to. Atleast four people who I know have escaped the massacre very narrowly. My deepest condolences to all the people who lost their lives in such a ghastly attack. Sarvejana Sukhinobhavantu, -Karthik

Learnings from Mahabharath - 5 : Yudhishtir

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Jai Guru Deva, Dharmaraj Yudhirshtir, the name needs no introduction. For the last 2000+ years, anybody in this country living a pure and principled life is compared with him, such is the glory of that man. Being the eldest son of Pandu raj he has every right to be the king of Hastinapur but Dhritrastra was not going to yield. A visionary like Vidur had anticipated that only Yudhishtir can give a stable and harmonious rule to the people of Hastinapur. However, Duryodhan's greed for power ensured a great war for the crown of Hastinapur.  There will be no famine in the land where he lives and in the land which tastes his blood there will not be so rains for so many years as his drops of blood. I just wonder how principled should he be to alter seasons and dictate nature. Take a bow! But the biggest mistake of Yudhishtir is the dice game he had participated. I take that as a biggest learning from his life. For some reason I am not addicted to any kind of gambling for the

Learnings from Mahabharath - 4 : Dronacharya

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Jai Guru Deva, Let me write about the great teacher of Hastinapur: Dronacharya. Guru Dronacharya was born in a brahmin family Bharadwaja clan and was a disciple and student of Sage Parasurama. Parasurama was himself an embodiment of Narayana. As a student of Parasurama his prowess with weapons is beyond the reach of any ordinary man. Arjuna who is the greatest warrior of this country mentions that "only Grandsire Bhishma, Guru Dronacharya, God Indra and God Mahadev can break his bow" which means Guru Dronacharya's archery skills are nothing short of God Indra and Lord Mahadeva. What can be a bigger praise for a mortal life? Apart from his skills of archery he also knew the Divine weapons which are invincible but also he is a master strategist. Whatever victories Kauravas had won in the war are majorly because of him. He is the architect of chakravyuh which killed Abhimanyu. On the other side of the great warrior there stays a poor Brahmin who has to fa

Learnings from Mahabharath - 3 : Karna

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Jai Guru Deva, Today I am going to write about another great warrior of this spectacular epic:Karna. Being the eldest son of kunti he has every right to feel that he had been wronged but that is no reason for his hatred towards Arjuna. Because of this, hatred becomes the soul of Karna's character and probably because of that reason he always faces troubles and became synonymous with trouble. He identifies himself as the slave of Duryodhan and repeatedly argues that he is indebted to Duryodhan. However, he is not indebted to Duryodhan but to the throne of Hastinapur. Grandsire Bhishma and Guru Drona realized this but Karna could not realize this and in a false sense of indebted supported Duryodhan in all the conspiracies hatched against the pandavas. At the starting of the war when Krishna asks Karna to fight from Pandava's side as Grandsire Bhishma didnt approve him into his army, Karna blatantly rejects the proposal saying he cannot do anything against the intere

Learnings from Mahabharath - 2 : Arjuna

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Jai Guru Deva, Today I am writing about Arjuna, who is one of the greatest warriors of this country. Being the member of Kuru clan he had inherited a great legacy but he always referred himself as "Student of Drona". I for one, who is earning my livelihood only because of some great teachers who had blessed me with what I am today. I vividly remember some of the things my mentor VIMP sir told me and those conversations stand as guiding principles of my life. So it is only obvious that Arjuna's devotion towards Guru Drona appeals me more than any other feature of him.  His passion towards archery and his determination to be the best archer of this planet is something not visible in any other characters of the great saga. The only other person comes to my mind with so much of passion towards a particular profession/art is Sachin Tendulkar. Thats why even after thousands of years of after mahabharath people still use Arjuna as an epitome of unwavering concentration

Learnings from Mahabharath - 1 : Bhishma

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Jai Guru Deva, Mahabharath is one topic which I always wanted to write about. There are a lot of people who had deciphered the knowledge present in Mahabharath. Many conversation present in Mahabharath amazes me. In this series I am planning to write my learnings/obersavations from different characters and events in Mahabharath. This series does not contain anything from The Holy Bhagavat Gita. I am neither qualified nor competent to write about the Holy. I wish one day in my life I attain that maturity and calibre to write about it. All the things that I am writing are out of my understanding from Mahabharath telecasted in DD way back in early 90s. The script and dialogues for that series is given by Bhandarkar Institute of Oriental Research Mumbai, so I think thats an authenticated story and characterization. Grand-sire Bhishma: He is one character which inspires me day in and day out. There are multiple reasons for my adoration to this character but the main reason is