Perhaps Krishn is the best example of a leader as a catalyst available in
the whole world literature. He has no interests, no position and no power.
Yet on almost all important occasions, when great events occur in
Mahaabhaarat, He is present there. He does nothing, only his presence makes
things happen. The word Krishn means center, He is the center of attraction,
He is the center of activities. He stands for certain values of life and
wants to destroy all those who make others suffer. Unlike Raam He doesn’t
try to walk on a straight line. He makes His own way, He deviates from His
way when it is situationally appropriate.
While Raam is a character,
While
Krishn is an actor.
Krishn involves Himself without being involved. He
Himself does not do anything but is a catalyst energizing others into
action. He refuses to circumscribe his life with ideas and ideals. For him
life is larger than all ideas and ideals put together. In fact His all ideas
and ideals are for life; not that life is for them. It’s the same mind that
gives rise to both good and evil, virtue and vice. Both aspects are
different transformations of one and the same energy. Krishn doesn’t deny
these dualities. A mirror reflects everything that appears before it, but
unlike a camera, it doesn’t retain impressions. A man of mirror-like
consciousness will relate with people and things, but He won’t enter into
any kind of relationships involving attachment.
Raam is a doer; He acts for his
ideals and is therefore called Marayaadaa Purshottam
While Krishn on the other hand, is an incomparable actor.
He turns the whole
world into His stage. He plays a friend and a foe without being involved in
friendship and enmity. That is why Krishn is called Leelaa Purushottam. He
does only Leelaa (acting). He accepts all contradictions and ambiguities of
life. He isn’t afraid of them. That is why He’s called complete incarnation
or Poorn Avataar. Krishn’s mission of life was to uphold Dharm. His whole
life is like an open book. He wears no mask. Whatever He is, He is. He
doesn’t deny anything; He is transparent. It’s true that life is full of
contradictions and absurdities. To Krishn all that doesn’t justify escapism.
He does what is situationally appropriate. Since it’s not possible to remain
a mere witness, it’s better to act with complete self-knowledge and moral
courage.
Creative
Destruction
There’s one event in Mahaabhaarat, which generally doesn’t catch popular
attention: the burning of the Khaandav forest. When Duryodhan had failed in
killing Paandav at Baaranaavat, Dhritraashtra was forced to give them half
of his kingdom. he kept Hastinaapur to himself and his sons, and gave a
little-known town Khaandav Prasth to the Paandav. On a hot summer day, some
younger members of the Paandav family with Krishn’s family went for a picnic
to the nearby Khaandav forest. There they drank, sang and danced. Suddenly
everyone saw that the forest caught fire and Krishn and Arjun together
guarded the forest from all sides so tightly that no creature could flee
from the blaze. Furiously driving their chariots, the two slaughtered
everything in sight. Fire consumed almost all vegetation and life. It’s not
known how the fire really started. But, the question remains: why Krishn and
Arjun acted so ruthlessly and so mercilessly? Of course, the Paandav were
planning to build Indra Prasth, a city bigger than Hastinaapur, which they
did. And, they may also be trying to fulfill the duty of a ruling king to
provide more land for cultivation. Forests had to be cleared for human
settlement and entire region made rich and fertile.
Swadharm, as ordained by Swabhaav,
Krishn makes a distinction between ends and means. Ends can be idealistic
but if means are absolutely pure, they will soon become ends and the
distinction between ends and means will disappear. Is a pure end ever fully
achieved? It’s always there as an ideal. Often at times the problem is to
choose between a greater evil and a lesser evil. If it’s found necessary
Krishn breaks his own vows. In the MBH history, it has happened three times
-
(1) Violating the Kshatriya code, he once even ran away from the battlefield
when Jaraasandh attacked Mathuraa (and at that time He was called Ranachhod
= who has abandoned battlefield) because discretion could sometimes be a
better part of valor.
(2) When MBH was going to take place
His elder brother,
Balaraam, decided to remain neutral in the battle at Kuru Kshetra, but
Krishn knew that great issues were at stake. He was also aware that both
sides looked at Him as a friend. Neither side was totally right nor totally
wrong. The way He divided Himself is indeed admirable and may be said that
it was in an extraordinary way. He told both Arjun and Duryodhan they had two options : He or His army. It’s obvious if
one is anxious for victory he wouldn’t choose Krishn without his army and,
more so when He Himself says that He wouldn’t fight. Krishn intelligently
provided the first choice to Arjun and Arjun chose Him because he knew that
He was a great strategist, at one moment a sober statesman, but very often
also the shrewd manipulator bent upon achieving His purpose irrespective of
means employed. He
knew that even His presence was more important than His participation.
And it was true He manipulated the killings of all outstanding warriors of
the Kaurav’s army.
(3) At another time,
when Duryodhan and Arjun came to ask for His help, He had already indicated
that He would not take up any weapon during the war, but
when He saw that Bheeshm was killing Paandav army like anything, He asked
Arjun to kill Bheeshm but Arjun could not kill him. Seeing this He got angry
and ran towards him carrying a wheel of a broken chariot. It happened not
only once, but twice. Thus for a good cause Krishn broke even His promise
(just for information Bheeshm could not do it, he kept his vow. Perhaps if
Bheeshm had broken his vow the situation of the family must have been
different).An
individual’s sacrifice for the sake of the family, a sacrifice of the family
for the sake of the community, a sacrifice of the community for the sake of
the nation, are the widening grades of sacrifices, and with each sacrifice
is widening the greater fulfillment of the collective life of humanity
promoted.
A few other
issues are also involved here. How do we destroy evil. Was the killing of
Duryodhan justified? I think most of us would agree (if we agree that
Duryodhan was evil) killing of Duryodhan in whatever means is justified.
There is nothing wrong in taking out a thorn with thorn, poison with poison.
That was the price paid for enduring peace.