{"id":701,"date":"2011-07-20T19:05:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-20T23:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omsweetom\/?p=701"},"modified":"2011-07-20T19:05:12","modified_gmt":"2011-07-20T23:05:12","slug":"dharma-sankata-dharma-vs-dharma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/07\/dharma-sankata-dharma-vs-dharma.html","title":{"rendered":"Dharma sankata: dharma vs dharma"},"content":{"rendered":"
My last blog that cited from the Mahabharata<\/em> drew upon the actions of Dronacharya, the childhood guru of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. \u00a0As expected, I received a handful of interesting comments about the great guru. \u00a0The reason that I love the Mahabharata<\/em> is that when one begins to analyze and dissect its characters, it becomes increasingly challenging to classify them as wholly \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad.\u201d \u00a0It also becomes evidently clear that there are lessons to be learned from all of these characters as they struggle through many of the same ethical and practical dilemmas we face in our daily lives.<\/p>\n

Yes, from a young age, we are taught that the five Pandava brothers were \u201cgood,\u201d and the majority of the Kaurava princes were \u201cbad,\u201d but even amongst these two families, there are the exceptions. \u00a0And I find it rather difficult to make such a stark distinction about some of the other key figures in the Hindu epic as well. \u00a0In particular, three – Dronacharya, Bhisma, and Karna – beautifully demonstrate this challenge through their dharma sankata<\/em>, loosely translated as deep moral dilemmas. Today, I\u2019ll focus on Dronacharya, who I\u2019ve found to be one of the Mahabharata\u2019s most complex figures.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, many of Dronacharya\u2019s actions were clearly questionable, particularly his requests for gurudakshina<\/em> – be it Eklavaya\u2019s thumb or that the Pandava brothers capture his childhood friend-turned enemy – as well as his actions during the war. \u00a0But at the same time, he was knowledgeable, sincere, and loyal. \u00a0His love for Arjuna was genuine and was only outmatched by his love for his son.<\/p>\n

And as the great war approached and people were forced to choose sides, he faced a dharma sankata<\/em>. \u00a0Before Dronacharya became the guru to the princes of Hastinapura Kingdom, he was poor man who could barely afford to feed his son and wife. \u00a0It was only through the graciousness of Hastinapura\u2019s king, who hired Dronacharya as the princes\u2019 guru, that Dronacharya\u2019s fortune was reversed. \u00a0For that, he felt permanently indebted to the king of Hastinapura, who was also the father of the Kaurava brothers.<\/p>\n

Dronacharya spent many sleepless nights in anguish — on one side were the Pandava brothers who were on the side of society\u2019s dharma<\/em> and his favorite student, Arjuna. \u00a0On the other side was his personal dharma<\/em> – the burden of his debt that bound him to the unjust king and jealous prince of Hastinapura.<\/p>\n

Today, this may not seem like such a dilemma, but it\u2019s important to examine his dharma sankata<\/em> within the time period of the Mahabharata<\/em>. \u00a0As I noted in the last blog, in those days, a promise was akin to a man\u2019s honor. \u00a0Similarly, repaying a debt, especially one as large as Dronacharya\u2019s, was of utmost importance. That is rooted in the Hindu concept of karma<\/em>. \u00a0Simply explained, debts from one lifetime are carried forward by the atman<\/em>, or soul, until they are repaid.<\/p>\n

In the face of this overwhelming debt, Dronacharya, like Bhisma and Karna, ultimately choose to fight on the side of the Kaurava princes. \u00a0As Karna said, \u201cI would rather fulfill my debt in this war than be bound to the evil Kaurava prince in another lifetime.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Krishna refuted Karna\u2019s logic, explaining that the burden of debt was worthwhile carrying forward if it meant bettering society as a whole. \u00a0Still, all three of these great warriors choose to fight for the Kaurava princes, knowing from the beginning that they were destined to loose the battle.<\/p>\n

Yet, they cannot be classified as \u201cbad\u201d individuals. \u00a0Each of them possessed countless \u201cgood\u201d qualities. \u00a0And part of their \u201cgoodness\u201d was rooted in their desire to uphold a moral code that caused them deep personal pain and ultimately lead to their demise. \u00a0The stories of Bhisma and Karna are quite different from Dronacharya, but they all serve as prime examples of what Gurucharan Das so aptly calls \u201cThe difficulty of being good: the subtle art of dharma.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My last blog that cited from the Mahabharata drew upon the actions of Dronacharya, the childhood guru of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. \u00a0As expected, I received a handful of interesting comments about the great guru. \u00a0The reason that I love the Mahabharata is that when one begins to analyze and dissect its characters, it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hinduism-101"],"yoast_head":"\nDharma sankata: dharma vs dharma - Om Sweet Om<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/07\/dharma-sankata-dharma-vs-dharma.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dharma sankata: dharma vs dharma - 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