Modern man's life is rather clumsy, for although we pretend to control our destinies, by and large it be an act of ultimate self deception that we control the myriad trials and tribulations of what we sow, although it is true our actions and/or inaction precludes certain options to our current state, but, i believe for the most part, we are careless things that blunder along the path of history until we eventually get to our appointed destinations.
All of this, of course, points to the quaint parochialism of the modern man's- 'Id' state (state of subconscious mind) which is, for most, a rather crude and blunt instrument at best.
All of this, of course, points to the quaint parochialism of the modern man's- 'Id' state (state of subconscious mind) which is, for most, a rather crude and blunt instrument at best.
The root of today's myriad problems troubling our societies is the question of identity (yours and mine) and theperpetuation of that identity over time.
(as popeye famously said; I am what I am, and that is all that I am!)
This, incidentally, is a question that is both personal as it is philosophical; and the individual, has to be made to look into the mirror of self-doubt to see the glimmer of reason tucked behind the cloud of untruths (in the Nietzsche an sense).
It has, in short, to be made to ask the same existentialist questions that we are all bound to ask ourselves sooner or later:
“what am I; why am I here; is this all I am; is this all I can be?”
Instructive in this respect, i believe, is the dialogue between the semi-divine hero Arjuna and the God Krishna that takes place on the eve of the great battle of Kurukshetra, (5000 yrs ago in India) which makes up the theme of the Bhagavad Gita, (equivalent to a Holy Book for Hindus) and which, incidentally, happens to also be one of the most important works of localised Hindu literature in Southeast Asia, locally rendered as the Hikayat Pandawa Lima.
Unable to lay his soul to rest the warrior-prince Arjuna contemplates the folly of life and the madness of power on the night before the great battle between the two warring clans of the Pandawas and Kurawas, cognisant of the fact that regardless of the outcome the battle will spell the doom of both.
This, incidentally, is a question that is both personal as it is philosophical; and the individual, has to be made to look into the mirror of self-doubt to see the glimmer of reason tucked behind the cloud of untruths (in the Nietzsche an sense).
It has, in short, to be made to ask the same existentialist questions that we are all bound to ask ourselves sooner or later:
“what am I; why am I here; is this all I am; is this all I can be?”
Instructive in this respect, i believe, is the dialogue between the semi-divine hero Arjuna and the God Krishna that takes place on the eve of the great battle of Kurukshetra, (5000 yrs ago in India) which makes up the theme of the Bhagavad Gita, (equivalent to a Holy Book for Hindus) and which, incidentally, happens to also be one of the most important works of localised Hindu literature in Southeast Asia, locally rendered as the Hikayat Pandawa Lima.
Unable to lay his soul to rest the warrior-prince Arjuna contemplates the folly of life and the madness of power on the night before the great battle between the two warring clans of the Pandawas and Kurawas, cognisant of the fact that regardless of the outcome the battle will spell the doom of both.
Gnawing at his conscience is the perennial conundrum that he is unable to resolve: How can he, the warrior-prince, obey and comply with two apparently contradictory moral orders, the dharma of the just man who must respect life, and the dharma of the warrior who must destroy life itself?
It is Lord Krishna himself, (In one of his 10 reincarnations) who comes to Arjuna’s aid by offering him sage counsel that is equally relevant to the modern man of today.
Krishna reminds Arjuna that life is full of contradictions and that as a human being one of the first conditions to be met while living in the here-and-now is to accept, understand and live with these seemingly contrasting contradictions.
Arjuna (as a man) has to protect life, but he also has to kill (to protect a life).
He must be both prince and warrior, protector and killer. Having to bear the burden of both obligations is his destiny and he cannot escape this. ( As is the case with all of us, we have to be hunters and warriors and also husbands and protectors of virtue in our family life)
Arjuna was then faced with the last temptation before the great slaughter at Kurukshetra.
It is Lord Krishna himself, (In one of his 10 reincarnations) who comes to Arjuna’s aid by offering him sage counsel that is equally relevant to the modern man of today.
Krishna reminds Arjuna that life is full of contradictions and that as a human being one of the first conditions to be met while living in the here-and-now is to accept, understand and live with these seemingly contrasting contradictions.
Arjuna (as a man) has to protect life, but he also has to kill (to protect a life).
He must be both prince and warrior, protector and killer. Having to bear the burden of both obligations is his destiny and he cannot escape this. ( As is the case with all of us, we have to be hunters and warriors and also husbands and protectors of virtue in our family life)
Arjuna was then faced with the last temptation before the great slaughter at Kurukshetra.
To simply give up.
He longs to relinquish all sense of responsibility, to escape, to deny his own agency and responsibility, to refuse to act, to do nothing.
But it is then that Krishna reveals himself in all his magnificent universal plenitude and shows Arjuna in no uncertain terms that Life is far greater than the individual.
While the warrior-prince is forced to do battle with his conscience, (in this life) Krishna reminds him that Life and one's soul is far greater, more complex, much richer than the finite conscience of the individual; (To understand today, one has to understand our yesterdays-or past lives and visualise what that impact will be on our tomorrows-or next life) and that even if the greatest of heroes cannot reconcile such contradictions in him, Life is far more abundant and expansive and great enough to reconcile all contradictions within itself.
He longs to relinquish all sense of responsibility, to escape, to deny his own agency and responsibility, to refuse to act, to do nothing.
But it is then that Krishna reveals himself in all his magnificent universal plenitude and shows Arjuna in no uncertain terms that Life is far greater than the individual.
While the warrior-prince is forced to do battle with his conscience, (in this life) Krishna reminds him that Life and one's soul is far greater, more complex, much richer than the finite conscience of the individual; (To understand today, one has to understand our yesterdays-or past lives and visualise what that impact will be on our tomorrows-or next life) and that even if the greatest of heroes cannot reconcile such contradictions in him, Life is far more abundant and expansive and great enough to reconcile all contradictions within itself.
That is the promise of the Lord.
The moral of the Bhagavad Gita – of which there are many – is that inaction is no escape from the complexities of life and that submission to Life means accepting the complexities, contradictions and paradoxes that make up mottled landscape of living itself. No, we cannot run from our fears and anxieties and we cannot gloss them over with counterfeit simple solutions either.
The moral of the Bhagavad Gita – of which there are many – is that inaction is no escape from the complexities of life and that submission to Life means accepting the complexities, contradictions and paradoxes that make up mottled landscape of living itself. No, we cannot run from our fears and anxieties and we cannot gloss them over with counterfeit simple solutions either.
REMEMBER,REMEMBER,
The Spanish Conqueror,The Righteous Crusader,
"Aujourd'hui roi, demain rien”- the saying in french ...
The Kings of today will be but commoners tomorrow
The dust will settle,and dreams will be rendered, for through it all,amour should not be a sundered.
The Kings of today will be but commoners tomorrow
The dust will settle,and dreams will be rendered, for through it all,amour should not be a sundered.
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