Lockdown TV-inspired Gyaan!

Since the past week, I’ve been doing something I do very rarely – watching TV. No points for guessing what are the programs that have caught my attention!

The last time Ramayana and Mahabharata played on TV, I was just stepping into my teens. Thanks to my mother’s narration, and my own reading of Amar Chitra Katha comics, I already knew stories from these epics. So the appeal of the serials, then, was in watching the action actually unfold on the screen.

When DD started airing these serials again during this pandemic-induced lockdown, I was moved to watch them purely by a sense of nostalgia. But as the episodes air day after day, I realize that they’re giving me insights like never before.

I first realized this during one of the Mahabharata episodes.

Satyavati’s father negotiates with Raja Shantanu and later, with his son Devavrata, asking for his word that only Satyavati’s children would ascend to the throne of Hastinapur. 

Then came an episode from the Ramayana.

The ill-advised Rani Kaikeyi misuses her 2 boons due from Raja Dasharatha to reserve the throne of Ayodhya for her son Bharat and to banish Rama to the forest for 14 years.

Just yesterday was the episode where Ravana, hearing of Seeta’s beauty, dismisses words of wisdom from his well-wishers and hatches a plot to carry her away.

As I ponder over these three events, it strikes me that in each case, the protagonists thought they had everything figured out to achieve their selfish motives. Theirs was a perfect and fool-proof plan. But life went ahead and struck them the most unexpected of blows.

The persons who were at the receiving ends of these protagonists were caught unawares. Devavrata didn’t have any ‘plan’ to commit to brahmacharya; Rama didn’t dream of being banished by his dear ones; Seeta had no clue that she would be kidnapped and placed on a faraway, inaccessible island.

None of these persons expected such terrible situations to be thrust upon them and yet, they were able to recover. I’ve been wondering, ‘What was that special quality that helped them cope?’

· Was it their ability to truly live in the present moment, not hanging on to their idea of how things must be?

· Was it their willingness to adapt to the rapid change in their circumstances, with alacrity, never blaming others even for their obviously unfair behaviour?

· Was it their preparedness to face any personal discomfort that came their way, without EVER compromising on what was their dharma at that point in time?

Perhaps it was all of these, and some other factors I haven’t yet understood. But these are enough for me for now. I realize that trying to adopt these 3 qualities alone is going to keep me busy for quite some time to come.

In these unpredictable times we are living through, there is bound to be some sense of anxiety for what the immediate future holds. We are so used to planning for things, and having things (mostly) going as per our plans, that we feel lost in the face of uncertainty like this.

• Can we learn a lesson from what this blog post has talked about, and focus on taking life just one day at a time; maybe even one moment at a time?

• Can we look upon this period as one to cultivate a sense of surrender to the wish of the Universe/Nature/God – whatever you choose to call it?

• Can we start trying to go deeper within our own selves, and use this time to introspect and grow?

When you light a lamp tonight at 9 pm and sit for 9 minutes in quiet contemplation, please remember to feel grateful for all the things you’re blessed with. And send out a prayer for the world to be protected and healed. And for yourself, ask that come what may, you should be guided to always tread and never stray from the path of Dharma!