The Kurukshetra Counsel: Krishna's Final Teaching

Scriptures say that the 18-day Mahabharata War wiped out 80% of the male population at the time. At the end of the war, Sanjaya went to the site of Kurukshetra, where the world's greatest battle had taken place.

He looked around, wondering if the war had really happened here. If the war had taken place here, the ground where he was standing should be soaked in blood. Was he standing on the same spot where the great Pandavas and Krishna stood?

Just then, an old man approached and said in a low, calm voice, "You will never know the truth about that!"

Sanjaya turned his head to see an old man in saffron robes appearing amidst a huge cloud of dust.

"I know you are here to find out about the Kurukshetra War, but you cannot know about that war until you know what the real war is?" the old man said mysteriously.

"What do you know about the Mahabharata?" Sanjaya then asked the mysterious man.

He began, "The Mahabharata is not just a saga; it is also a reality, and certainly a philosophy."

Philosophy of the Mahabharata in Kurukshetra

"Can you tell me what philosophy is?" Sanjaya requested.

"Of course I do," the old man began. "The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. And do you know what the Kauravas are?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The Kauravas are a hundred kinds of disorders that attack your senses every day, but you can fight them and win. But do you know how?"

*Sanjaya shook his head again.*

"When Krishna rides your chariot!" Saying this, the old man smiled affectionately, and Sanjaya began to contemplate the new gem of insight he had discovered...

"Krishna is your inner voice, your soul, your guiding light, and if you entrust your life to Him, you need worry no more," the old man said. Sanjaya had almost regained consciousness by now, but quickly asked another question.

Why were Dronacharya and Bhishma fighting for the Kauravas in Kurukshetra?

Bhishma symbolises our ego, Ashwatthama our desires, which do not die easily. Duryodhana symbolises our worldly desires and wishes. Dronacharya represents our sanskaars (cultures). 

Jayadratha symbolises our attachment to our bodies, the feeling of "I am this body." Drupada symbolises detachment. 

Krishna defines the Pandavas

Arjuna is my soul; I am Arjuna, and I am also self-controlled. Krishna is our Paramatma (Supreme Soul). The five Pandavas are also the five lower chakras, from Muladhara to Vishuddha chakra. Draupadi is the Kundalini Shakti, the awakened power, with five husbands and five chakras. 

What is OM

The word Om is Krishna's Panchajanya conch sound, which reassures you and me, saying, "Don't worry, I am with you. 

Conquer your evils, fight your base thoughts, base desires, worldly desires, your inner enemies, the Kauravas, that is, abandon your materialistic desires, and embrace the path of consciousness. The Kauravas, in the form of vices, are unrighteous and evil by nature."

Feeling with Krishna

With the company of Shri Krishna, the 72,000 nerves are filled with the divine energy of God, and we realise that I am consciousness, the soul, awakening; I am not a body made of food. Therefore, wake up and know yourself, your soul, your true self. Find God. This is God-realization, or self-realisation. This is the highest goal of human life.

This body itself is the field of Dharma, Kurukshetra. Dhritarashtra is the mind blinded by ignorance. You are Arjuna, and Sanjaya is your spiritual guru.

The old man shook his head sadly and said, "As you grow older, your perception of your elders changes. The elders you thought were perfect in your growing years, you now realise are not perfect at all. They have flaws. And one day you will have to decide whether their behaviour is good or bad for you. Then you may even realise that you may have to oppose or fight them for your own well-being. This is the hardest part of growing up, and that is why the Gita is important."

Sanjaya sat down on the ground, not because he was tired, but because the wisdom he had brought with him was crumbling one by one. 

Why did Karna fight for the Kauravas in Kurukshetra? 

But still, he asked another question, almost in a whisper: "What do you say about Karna?" "Ah!" the old man said. "You saved the best question for last."

"Karna is the brother of your senses. He is desired. He symbolises your attachment to worldly pleasures. He is a part of you, but he feels wronged and appears to stand with your opposing vices. And he constantly makes up some reason or excuse to stand with the thoughts of those vices."

"Doesn't your desire lead you to yield to vices, to be swept away by them or to embrace them?" The old man asked Sanjay.

Sanjaya nodded in acknowledgement and, with his head bowed, tried to organise his thoughts. And when he raised his head, the old man had vanished into the dust clouds. But before leaving, he had given Sanjay a direction and a philosophy of life that he had no other option but to embrace.