[Advaita-l] What we could learn from Mythology

[V Subrahmanian]

 I think the response by Nadumuri has gone tangential. DP's emphasis was on
the moral aspect of Samva while Nadumuri is completely highlighting Samva's
valor. Valor does not come from father's training, etc. But the morals
require that. Nadumuri did not have even a word against DP's instances of
Samva's misadventures on the moral side. Why would he earn a curse from his
own father who had all appreciation for him as a warrior? For that matter
even Ashwaththama was extremely valorous and yet turned out a villain. DP
had only these issues to say and he said that all perfectly well and he
could thereby convey his point.

On Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 6:53 PM, Sudhakar Kabra via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

>  Beautiful rebuttal. Thanks Mr Nitin Sridhar for the link.Shows how half
> baked ideas work and anybody writing anything.
> Regards,Sudhakar Kabra
>     On Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 5:10:39 PM GMT+5:30, Nithin Sridhar via
> Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>  Pl see this rebuttal to Devdutt's article-
> http://indiafacts.org/no-mr-devdutt-patnaik-krishna-not-negligent-father/
>
> On Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 1:34 PM, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > This message was received by WhatsApp group: ( As written By Devdutt
> > Pattanaik):
> >
> > One of the most disturbing stories that we find in the Puranas is the
> story
> > of Krishna's son Samba, whose mother was the bear-princess, Jambavati.
> >
> > He dupes his father's junior wives by disguising himself as Krishna and
> is
> > cursed by Krishna that he will suffer from a skin disease that will
> enable
> > his wives to distinguish father and son. Samba is cured after he builds
> > temples to the sun. All sun temples in India, from Konark in Odisha to
> > Modhera in Gujarat to Markand in Kashmir, are attributed to this son of
> > Krishna.
> >
> > Samba also attempts to kidnap Duryodhana's daughter and this leads to war
> > between the Kauravas and the Yadavas. Peace is restored, and the marriage
> > is solemnised, only after Balarama, Krishna's elder brother, and Samba's
> > uncle, in a fit of fury threatens to drag Hastinapur into the sea.
> >
> > Then there is the story of Samba pretending to be a pregnant woman and
> > duping sages who were visiting Dwaraka. They sages were not amused and
> > cursed Samba that he would give birth to an iron mace that would be
> > responsible for the end of the Yadu clan.
> >
> > Must not Krishna's son be as noble and divine and wise and loving as
> > Krishna? But that is not so. Samba comes with his own personality and his
> > own destiny over which Krishna has no influence. Or does he?
> >
> > Can we wonder if Samba was a product of his father's neglect? For was not
> > Krishna spending most of his time with Arjuna and the Pandavas and in the
> > politics of Kuru-kshetra?
> >
> > There are hardly any stories of Krishna as father. He is friend,
> > philosopher and guide to Arjuna, but the only stories of father and son
> are
> > of tension, rage and violence.
> >
> > In conversations about corporates, we often forget about the other half
> of
> > our lives, the personal one. As more and more people are working 24x7,
> > thanks to Internet, and smart devices, the lines between professional and
> > personal, work and life are getting blurred. In fact, people feel noble
> > when they sacrifice family for work and guilty when they take a holiday
> to
> > take care of their family.
> >
> > Family is not seen as achievement. Children are not seen as purpose. They
> > are seen as obligations, duties, by-products of existence, even
> collateral
> > damage.
> >
> > We admire leaders who sacrifice family for a 'larger' cause. Like freedom
> > fighters who neglect their wives and children. Like business men and
> > entrepreneurs and consultants who spend most of their time in office.
> >
> > With the rise of feminism, women are also working. Parenting has been
> > outsourced to maids, teachers, computers, videogames and grandparents.
> >
> > Women who work in the office have not been compensated by their husbands
> > spending more time at home. Instead women are made to feel guilty for not
> > being good mothers. No one questions men for not being good fathers.
> > Eventually, the office wins. Absent parents rationalise how office is
> more
> > important than the children: we need the money, the children eventually
> > grow up, surely our needs are also important.
> >
> > Many great Krishnas in the workplace discover that they have nurtured
> Samba
> > at home: sons who either follow destructive paths as they seek attention,
> > or sons who make their way away from parents, as they have grown used to
> > not having them around. Who wins?
> >
> > Corporates were supposed to create wealth for the family. Now families
> are
> > creating only workers for the corporates.
> >
> > We have many more Krishnas in this generation and maybe many Sambas in
> the
> > next.
> >
> > As written By Devdutt Pattanaik............
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>
>
> --
> Nithin S
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