We all know the famous stories of The Mahabharata. We understand who Arjuna was and his purpose (udeshya) & actions (karma) in The Mahabharata. We have been instilled now, and then the Mahabharata hero was Arjuna as he was the most invincible character of the epic. Intelligent, Focused, Skilled, Favorite of Teacher, Handsome, Humble, Emotional and so on. Arjuna is the most liked character after Krishna in The Mahabharata. Yet, there was a state in the epic where he was unsure of his purpose and actions. Arjuna, too was volatile and vulnerable when Krishna guided him on the approach he needs to take.
But, do you think Arjuna was aware that Krishna was an avatar of the Vishnu? If Arjuna was a human and Krishna too was a human form, then why did Arjuna listen to Krishna? Was it mere the friendship or relationship or trust? We also come across many friends, relatives & people whom we trust, yet we do not listen to them or accept their advice. Do you know why? I think it is due to a lack of faith and acceptance. In The Bhagwat Gita’s discourse: Chapter 18, verses 56 to 58, Krishna has asked Arjuna to “fix his mind on Krishna & he will overcome all the obstacle. Whereas if he relies on his conceit, he will perish”.
When Krishna gave a discourse to Arjuna as per the Bhagwat Gita, they both were friends, peers & relative. There was no connection of Human to God; still, Arjuna opted to go against his morale and opinion to follow what Krishna told him was the rightful thing. When one drops their view to adopt and act as per the others, it shows the amount of faith & acceptance of the person in their lives. To do so, one needs to overcome self-conceit. How often do you do so? Yet, we all long for the Krishna in our lives to guide and direct us with wholeheartedness. We expect from people, yet we fail to accept them.
Accepting need not always mean following their advice. It is more of accepting them as they are and keep faith in the relationship more than in the outcome one gets. Arjuna did not focus on the result when he accepted his brothers as they were; he was focused on the situation’s need more than whom he was dealing with or what was right or wrong. A war can never be the right thing to do, but the purpose of fighting the war makes all the sense for the one participating.
If you seek a Krishna in your life, you need to be Arjuna to accept and let go of your self-importance to attain happiness in a relationship.
