Believe in yourself

Mahabharata is a great collection of short stories. The stories are all connected with each other to display a central theme. Yet the stories convey a powerful message in themselves. They showcase the thought process and the behavior of people subjected to various scenarios. Many of the scenarios have never outdated themselves, in fact, have turned around and presented themselves before us many a times. A good understanding of the stories helps us brace ourselves to deal with our situations better. 

I would like to talk about one such story that has always evoked emotions of awe and despair everytime I read it. It’s the story of Karna. The story of Karna has moved many. It was unjust for him to have been brought up in a charioteer’s home. It was unjust for his teachers to have abandoned him in the moments he needed them most. It was unjust of Bhishma to have kept Karna outside of the war till he was the general. His own charioteer – King Shalya, disobeyed him and caused his death. It was unfair of the earth to hold the wheels of his chariot when he was dueling with Arjun. It was unjust of Draupadi to reject his bid in the swayamvara citing his birth. Karna who always longed for Draupadi, supported his friend Duryodhana, gave away generously – was eventually known as one of the villains in Mahabharata.

Let us understand this shift in Karna’s position by contrasting him with Sri Krishna. Both have so many commonalities – 

• Both were abandoned by their biological parents
• Both were raised by their foster parents
• The foster parents for both belonged to the lower strata of the society 
• Cowherds for Sri Krishna
• Charioteer for Karna
• Both were highly capable compared to the ally they supported

At the same time there were glaring differences –

• Krishna resembles peace and sports an everlasting smile while Karna is always seen as amidst a contest – of thoughts, of weapons
• Krishna uses every tact possible, while Karna tries to stick to the principles
• Krishna cares nothing for acceptance, while Karna yearns for acceptance

In my understanding, it was Karna’s yearning for acceptance that led to his downfall. Karna never believed in himself. Though he had all the qualities to be great, he was ashamed of his birth. He was never confident of what he had. Unlike Krishna, he never liked to be known as a charioteer’s son. He wanted to be par as the Pandavas and Kauravas. He drew confidence from the fact that Duryodhana accepted him and made him the king of Anga. His birth is frowned upon today as illegitimate, just as he was ashamed of himself. 

Krishna always believed in himself and made others believe in him too. He never drew power or confidence from others but gave it to them. He helped others to rise up and achieve their goals. We call him God and believ in him. His birth is celebrated today as he always shown pride in himself.

Just like my last post - Durga or Shakti?, the central idea for me to bring this topic was to realize your inner potential as compared to depending on others. It is your inner strength that helps you move forward. Believe in yourself, so that others can believe in you.

As if to drive the point home, I would like to quote this verse from SriMadBhagvad Gita (Chapter 4, shloka 40) as said by Sri Krishna himself -

In this shloka, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna -  One who is ignorant, one without faith in knowledge, and one afflicted by inner doubt and uncertainety is ruined, and for one afflicted by doubt and uncertainty there is no happiness in this world nor the next.