[Advaita-l] What we could learn from Mythology

[Nithin Sridhar]

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............
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>



-- 
Nithin S