You are the author your own life, make it interesting

Whether we want to be a writer or not, we all write at least one story, the story of our own life. Whether we want it or not, we are the author as well as the main protagonist of that story. It's like directing a movie as well as playing a lead in it. If we look at our lives this way, then why not try to write an interesting book or make an entertaining movie for ourselves. Also, we don't have to worry if the story we are writing is interesting to others or not, make sure it's interesting to us, if we like it, most probably, others will also love it. 

The next question is, how to make our story interesting. It depends, we need to first search for what we find interesting. We must try to find our interests, try to search for what we like or what are our ambitions, and chase them with full force and commitment. As I mentioned in one of my blogs finding our own passion is not easy for many of us, but if we keep on searching we are bound to find something which we like, something which we feel is worth our precious time. We all can do certain things like taking risks to pursue our passion once we find it, we can help others, stand behind ones who need help, be happy to see others succeed, try to make positive contributions to the society around us, spread love and compassion, help people in need as much as you can, talk to someone who is feeling lonely, frustrated, or depressed, be kind, and above all don't forget that we are here for only a short period, so, try to make most of it. There will be some pages or chapters of our book that only we will know and we don't want to share them and that's totally fine, don't worry about these chapters. But remember, every aspect or shade of our life is important, it might be a lesson for others and might save them from going through the same trouble that we went. Not only our success but also our failure, not only our joy but also our sorrows are part of our story and they all make our life interesting. The reality is that every life is interesting in its own way, the only difference is some stories are told and some aren't. That's why make sure you tell your story, most of us are not going to end up with a commercial movie or a biography released, we need to communicate our story. This is where technology comes to our help. The Internet is a great tool to communicate our stories. There are many bad side effects of the internet and social media but at the same time, there are many good effects. The availability of a platform to communicate with people all over the world is one of the advantages the Internet offers to most of us. Please don't hesitate to use this opportunity to tell your story. You never know, someone somewhere in the world might get inspired by your story, might feel connected to it, might see his or her own reflection, and feel happy that there is someone very similar to him or her. Be assured that someone is waiting to read your story, provided you are willing to tell it.  

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Karna and his fight with destiny

For me, Karna is one of the two most exciting and complex characters from the epic Mahabharat. If anyone matches the complexity of Krishna’s character, I think it’s Karna’s character. The story of his birth is also very interesting. He was born to Kunti much before her marriage to Pandu, when she accidentally invoked Surya to test the boon given to her by the sage Durvasa. It was too late when she discovered that boon really worked and was left with an unwanted child. Ashamed of the baby and scared about social reactions, she set the infant afloat on the river, praying for his safety. This baby was picked up by Adhiratha, a childless charioteer, he and his wife Radha raised this child like their own son.  He had inborn attributes, his earrings (hence the name Karna) and breastplate, which made him invincible. 

Karna’s official entry in the epic is also very dramatic. He enters the public arena as a stranger, where the sons of Pandu and Dhritarashtra are displaying their martial arts skills. He openly challenges Arjuna and even claims that he can put on a better show of skills than Arjuna, and to everyone’s surprise, this stranger fulfills his promise. Then he challenges Arjuna to a duel, and from here his conflict with the Pandavas begins. Kripacharya, the match referee, asks Karna to reveal his identity to confirm his lineage, as it seems only a Kshatriya can fight with another Kshatriya. Karna’s face fades; this was not the first time his lineage blocked his way.  The Mahabharat takes place in a very feudal society, where social status or lineage matters a lot. Karna faced this problem of lineage when he tried to become a student of Drona, and also when his Guru, Parashuram, cursed him for not disclosing his true caste identity. Kunti, his biological mother, recognizes him as her abandoned son but doesn’t show enough courage to accept him. Bhima insults him as ‘sutaputra’ just because he is a mere charioteer’s son. He stands there as a defenseless victim, questioning whether a person's social position should be defined by birth or by the talent they possess. Duryodhana seizes this opportunity and comes to rescue him as he sees that this warrior might come in handy in his fight against the Pandavas. A similar incident is repeated many years later in the Kuru assembly, where Draupadi gets insulted when Dushasana drags her into the assembly and tries to disrobe her. Karna was also disrobed in public, not literally, but the way he got insulted because of his lineage is like getting disrobed in public. In both cases, the victim was targeted for no fault of their own. If the Kauravas had been victorious in war, I am sure Karna's insult would have been equivalent to Draupadi's vastraharan.

I am not trying to justify any of Karna’s future actions, like his role in Draupadi's insult or the killing of Abhimanyu, or his loyalty towards Duryodhana. Karna made some mistakes in his life and got punished for each of them. Karna's story is a story of double standards in our society. He was wronged by his teachers, mother, brothers, friends, seniors (Bhishma), and even by the Gods (Indra).

Krishna tried to persuade Karna to switch sides by offering him the kingdom by disclosing his true identity as the eldest son of Kunti. Karna not only denied his offer but even requested Krishna to keep the truth about his true identity a secret till his death. Krishna didn’t try to deliver something like the Bhagavad Gita to Karna, as he knew that Karna didn’t need it. I think most of the celebrated warriors from the Kuru army already understood the principle of Nishkam Karma from the Gita; they did their duty without worrying about the results or the end product. I think every one of them knew what their destiny was and even had an opportunity to change it, but they didn’t. One can not understand the Mahabharat and its characters if we assume in the beginning that one side is right and the other is wrong. It’s not a simple story of victory of hero over the villain, but it's a tale of continuous tussle between right and wrong attributes; they are not associated with any particular side or character, and there is no clear winner. 

Karna is one of my favorite characters from the Mahabharat.  He refused to give up even after so many setbacks and defeats, stood by his friend till the end, fulfilled his promises, and fought against all the odds even after realizing that he couldn't win. He made mistakes and paid for them. At the end of his life, his slate was clear; he didn't owe anything to anybody. Even people who killed him and hated him came to pay homage after his death because of his bravery, honesty, and loyalty. For me, he will always remain a symbol of a person's fight with his destiny.

Thanks for reading and your comments are welcome.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)