“War causes destruction to all, it is sinful, it leaves hell, it gives the same result in victory and defeat alike.”
- Sanjay, a principal character in Udyoga Parva (Book of Effort), a part of The Mahabharata.
The Mahabharata is the greatest literary work in all of recorded history, and the timeless wisdom contained therein is still relevant thousands of years later. With the threat of nuclear war looming large on our collective horizon, we would be wise to turn to the lessons of The Mahabharata in order to possibly extricate ourselves out of a potentially very perilous situation.
The Mahabharata, translated into English as the Great Epic of Bharata, (ancient name of India), based on the balance of all research, did indeed take place sometime between 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. (Please refer to our two newly added articles in our News Desk by clicking here). A more detailed discussion about the timeline of the events described in The Mahabharata will be offered in future blog posts.
With 100,000 shlokas (metrical verses) containing two verses each, 18 books, and about 1.8 million words, the epic of Mahabharata is the grandest epic, both in size and scope, in the history of humanity. It is four times the size of the oldest extant epic in Earth’s history, called the Ramayaṇa, yet another ancient Indian historical tale, which, according to the storyline, was about the lives and times of the ancestors of the people whose history is described in The Mahabharata. The epic of Mahabharata is about ten times larger than the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey combined!
Now, that is of "epic" proportions!!!
In the context of ancient Indian literature, it has also been hailed as the Fifth Veda!
Thus, in my view, it belongs to the group of ancient Indian literature that I have dubbed The Manuals of The Cosmos™.
The centerpiece in the epic of Mahabharata is the painstakingly granular and exceedingly nuanced description of the Kurukshetra War, named after the ancient Indian city, which was the battlefield in The Mahabharata epic, and which still exists in modern India. This war was fought by two major dynasties, who happened to be cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura (once again, this city also still exists in India today). Contained in this centerpiece is the book of Bhagavad Gita (“Divine Song”), arguably the most revered philosophical and theological work in history. It has been the object of commentaries, fascination, and research by scholars from almost every modern culture.
The characters and events described in this unparalleled epic seem to have timeless and universal pertinence. It has been said that every imaginable human emotion, motivation, and quirk have been embodied in almost three thousand characters which comprise the compelling and gripping storyline of this epic.
The epic of Mahabharata is a treatise, not only on the cultural, societal, geographical, and geopolitical conditions of the time, but also on the complexities of the human psyche as well as the desirable codes of human conduct, both during the times of the war and of the peace, two conditions which have been inevitable to human existence since time immemorial.
It seems as though the epic of Mahabharata was composed, as were other literary work related to Sanatana Dharma, with an intention, among other things, to provide moral guideposts for future generations, particularly in the context of human conflicts. It also appears as if the author of this instructive work forewarned human progeny about the perils of war. Modern warfare, definitely including the current conflict of the Russian/Ukrainian war, has not conformed to the tenets of Dharma Yudha (righteous war) as described in detail in my previous blog article (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam a Cosmic Paradigm for Peace and Prosperity Part II).
In the current strife, scores of innocent civilians including women and children have been intentionally harmed and/or killed. Furthermore, weapons, banned by the international community, such as cluster bombs, vacuum bombs, mines, etc. are being used with abandon. Humanitarian aid efforts are being impeded. Civilian and cultural installations are being purposely decimated.
The more this current war is protracted and remains unjust or unrighteous, the greater the likelihood of our world getting embroiled in a more widespread conflict, possibly marred by nuclear catastrophes.
Thus it is not surprising that the words of wisdom spoken by Sanjay, the chief advisor to the father of Kauravas, named Dhritarashtra, in the quote at the beginning of this article, have eternal significance.
As I have indicated several times in my blog posts so far, the pearls of eternal wisdom are the hallmarks of the body of ancient Indian literature and philosophy (which many people mistake for religion) called Sanatana Dharma, which, once again, translates into “Eternal Righteousness” or “The Eternal and Natural Way to Live.” You may recall, in a previous blog article, I proposed that the choice by the people of the Vedic culture to describe the overarching philosophy of their lives with the phrase “Eternal Righteousness” was well thought out and intentional.
Indeed, the Kurukshetra War has been described in the epic as a battle between Dharma (righteousness) and Adharma (opposite of righteousness). Dharma is supposed to be the natural order which is in harmony with the cosmos while the Adharma promotes disharmony.
Once again, it is precisely the combination of eternality, universality and antiquity of knowledge and wisdom, among other attributes, so characteristic of the Vedic literature, which inspired me to coin the phrase The Manuals of the Cosmos™ to describe them.
The following is another such example of a pearl of timeless wisdom from The Mahabharata:
“Success that is obtained by negotiations and other means is the best. Success which is secured by creating disunion amongst the enemy is temporary. Success secured by battle is the worst.”
- Vyasa, the original and principal author of The Mahabharata in Bhishma Parva (Book of Bhisma).
It is obvious that serious lessons conveyed in the above quote need to be heeded by the world community in this moment of deep peril. In order to avoid a more widespread war similar to that of World War II, where atomic weapons were used, (may or may not have been used for the first time on Earth: to be discussed in future blog posts!) diplomacy, as suggested in the epic of Mahabharata, is going to be our best and last hope.
As I have previously pointed out, The Manuals of the Cosmos™ are “hidden” in our plain sight. It is our choice, as the most advanced species on our planet, to follow or not follow the most advanced and the most comprehensive wisdom spoken in The Manuals …
And that’s all folks...
At least for now… Until next time…
“They that are desirous of victory do not so much conquer by might and prowess, as by truth, compassion, piety and virtue. Fight without any arrogance, for victory is certain to be there where righteousness is.”
- Sanjay, a principal character in Udyoga Parva (Book of Effort), a part of The Mahabharata.
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