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"Why be good when being bad is considered to be cool?
Why does always bad things happen to good people?
In a society where people get away by doing bad things, why should people still believe in 'Dharma'?
Is a "bad person" never good? Does not the "good" sometimes become bad?
Ultimately what is good and bad? What exactly is our Dharma?
Isn't there a certain degree of good in all evil and a certain degree of evil in all good?
How does one come to terms with the uncertain ethics of the world around us?
Was the great epic called 'Mahabharata' about 'war' or was it about 'peace'?
Is Mahabharata relevant in today's world?
How does one deal with 'moral' dilemmas when along both sides are one's own people?
Should one forgive the wrong doer or take revenge?
Is moral blindness an intracable human condition or can one change it?"
A lot many times we grope hard in the dark for a lot of these answers. There is hardly anyone who at some or the other point in life has not found himself struggling with these moral dilemmas. Through the elaborate analysis of the powerful characters of Mahabharata, the great author tries to find some of these answers.
First, why does a person stray on the wrong path? For Duryodhana, it was envy and the influence of his uncle on him. For his father, it was insecurity. For Ashwathaama, it was revenge. For Karna, it was a search for his identity. Reasons could be many more. The idea is that in life, several things/emotions/circumstances have the power to easily stray one from the right path. In today's world, where a bride is burnt alive, a lot many times, the reason is greed. Bhisma, Drona and many such learned men knew the Kauravas were wrong in what they did to the Indian Queen Draupadi. But their loyalties were not towards what was ethical but towards a throne. A lot many times, we follow the wronged ones just because they are our blood relations; knowing very well that the same will lead to a doom for not just us but them as well in the long run. In times of moral dilemmas, it is easier to weigh the two sides not on who is ethical but on who is closer to us. And that, as the book conveys is disastrous for everyone and not just the victim.
Second, what is one supposed to do when wronged? Does one forgive or does one avenge? Are there are limits of tolerance? Yudhistra resisted war even after losing everything. But his goodness was exploited way too far.
My favourite chapter of the book is 'Draupadi's Courage'. When she is brought to the assembly, her first question is to her husband : 'Whom did you lose first, yourself or me?'
This line has haunted me for days. Clearly, her husband must have lost his conscience first to have staked his wife. For how could he stake the woman he was supposed to protect? What is left of Dharma? For Draupadi, when honest people fail in their duties to speak against wrong, they 'wound' dharma and deserve punishment. If only someone had done that in the assembly, the catastrophic war could have been avoided.
The best part of the book is it does not try to take sides, it does not preach. It only tells us that world is made to be imperfect. And how we can still be good and carve out what we want to become rather than let circumstances define that for us.
Some of the greatest messages/lines of the book are:
- Do good to others but only to the point where goodness does not hurt. Yudhishtra was good but he realized his goodness was being exploited too far and was sending a wrong message. His final decision to go to war was to send the message that goodness should not be exploited too far. Yudhistra's journey from the assembly to the Kurukshetra is insightful.
- Let no man do to another which is repugnant to himself. How would you feel if it was you who was suffering?
- When in a dilemma, choose the right person and not merely the one close to you. Arjuna knows if he fights, he would be killing his own loved ones, gurus, family members. But as Krishna explains to him, it is in such times one's true character is tested. Arjuna needs to fight not for his sake but for the sake of 'Dharma'.
- Dharma is subtle.
- I fear not death as I fear a lie
- Remorse is different from regret. Someone who is remorseful will always reject a consolation of his wrong doings. Most times, when we do wrong to someone, we feel regret but not remorse. We try to find a rational explanation to our wrong doings, blaming it on circumstances/people. Remorse comes when you feel the suffering of fellow human being to an extent, where suffering becomes your own. A person who is truly remorseful only finds ways to make amends and not reasons to forgive himself.
- The process of becoming a good person is an art.
- Each person, no matter who he is needs to deal with the consequences of his actions, his decisions.
- Abandoning someone devoted to you is a bottomless evil. How Yudhistra did not even abandon a stray dog because the dog was loyal to the King finally opened the doors of heaven for him.
- Unexamined life is not worth living.
- What we change internally will change the outer reality.
- There are times when turning the other cheek really sends a wrong signal.
- I act because I must
- Mahabharata is not about war but peace
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Delivered the very next day, this masterpiece is a collection of essays by public intellectual, Gurcharan Das, where he analyses some of the major characters of the Mahabharata, employing both eastern and western ideals, questioning their morality and motive, and leaving us breathless with the sheer brilliance with which he attempts such an ambitious task, and the sheer success of the said task.Despite being a decade old, this collection of essays feels still just as fresh as they must have been during its the publication of its first edition. Written in response to time of chaos, the essays discuss how the characters in the Mahabharata speak to and resonate with the author; he further makes analogies of the events in the epic with real-life occurrences and controversies.Despite being a critique and an analysis of such a mammoth work, never does the author falter or get lost in the labyrinth that he himself is attempting to make sense of. Perfectly readable and a copious amount of notes for further reading, this book is highly recommended.P.S. This book was delivered the very next day and in mint condition. The font is medium and readable. Furthermore, the pages are thick enough to withstand the onslaught of my highlighters. And trust me, you'll need a LOT of highlighters because this book deserves to be annotated the heck out of!
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Top reviews from India
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Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 17 March 2015
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Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 27 April 2022
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Delivered the very next day, this masterpiece is a collection of essays by public intellectual, Gurcharan Das, where he analyses some of the major characters of the Mahabharata, employing both eastern and western ideals, questioning their morality and motive, and leaving us breathless with the sheer brilliance with which he attempts such an ambitious task, and the sheer success of the said task.
Despite being a decade old, this collection of essays feels still just as fresh as they must have been during its the publication of its first edition. Written in response to time of chaos, the essays discuss how the characters in the Mahabharata speak to and resonate with the author; he further makes analogies of the events in the epic with real-life occurrences and controversies.
Despite being a critique and an analysis of such a mammoth work, never does the author falter or get lost in the labyrinth that he himself is attempting to make sense of. Perfectly readable and a copious amount of notes for further reading, this book is highly recommended.
P.S. This book was delivered the very next day and in mint condition. The font is medium and readable. Furthermore, the pages are thick enough to withstand the onslaught of my highlighters. And trust me, you'll need a LOT of highlighters because this book deserves to be annotated the heck out of!
Despite being a decade old, this collection of essays feels still just as fresh as they must have been during its the publication of its first edition. Written in response to time of chaos, the essays discuss how the characters in the Mahabharata speak to and resonate with the author; he further makes analogies of the events in the epic with real-life occurrences and controversies.
Despite being a critique and an analysis of such a mammoth work, never does the author falter or get lost in the labyrinth that he himself is attempting to make sense of. Perfectly readable and a copious amount of notes for further reading, this book is highly recommended.
P.S. This book was delivered the very next day and in mint condition. The font is medium and readable. Furthermore, the pages are thick enough to withstand the onslaught of my highlighters. And trust me, you'll need a LOT of highlighters because this book deserves to be annotated the heck out of!
Images in this review
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 1 November 2016
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 24 August 2016
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Top reviews from other countries
Deepak A.
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 17 February 2016Verified Purchase
kanchan Jadeja
This book is amazing it provides a very current take on ancient wisdom ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 January 2016Verified Purchase
sasha
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 23 September 2015Verified Purchase
Teddy Sun
Perfect commentary to the Mahabharata.
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on 19 August 2013Verified Purchase
ValueShopper
The book that will make you look at everything around you differently!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 2 April 2016Verified Purchase
