The Connect-Contribute dilemma
Bhishma is a tragic hero of Mahabharata who lived with strict vows to serve his country. He sought to contribute to the welfare of his kingdom. Events unfolded contrary to his expectations. And he was heartbroken.
As a young boy, he saw his father, King Shantanu, fall in love with a fisherwoman named Satyavati and longed to marry her. However, her father offered a condition to the king: he’ll have to ensure the son born of them would be the next king. Shantanu felt shattered; how could he not give the kingdom to his well-qualified and older son Devavrata (Bhishma’s name in youth). The dutiful son on his own volition agreed to forfeit the throne, to which Satyavati’s father argued that although he may relinquish the kingdom, his sons, a few years down the line, could nevertheless stake their claim. How would the young prince then assure there would be no fratricidal conflict amongst the brothers? Almost instantly, in a moment that showed unparalleled love of a son for his father, Devavrata took a terrible vow of life long celibacy. The rationale was if he has no sex, he would have no children to fight for the throne with Satyavati’s children.
The word ‘Bhishma’ means intense or terrific, and the word resounded in all directions by the celestial beings as they showered flowers on Devavrata when he took the dreadful pledge to refrain from sex life. Although he vowed ‘no’ to sexual pleasures because he wanted to please his father more than enjoy conjugal bliss himself, history questions if his sacrifice was indeed worth it?
After Shantanu married Satyavati and begot two sons, years passed, many events unfolded, and a few decades later Bhishma was a mute spectator to the evil designs of the Duryodhana led Kauravas who ousted the virtuous Pandavas, the rightful heir to the throne. Bhishma felt helpless because of his allegiance to the throne. His vows didn’t help. On the contrary, his effort to serve and contribute backfired, as he experienced deep anguish at the injustice meted out to the Pandavas. He loved them, yet fought to kill them in a war. Eventually, Bhishma fell on a bed of arrows, but more than the piercing shafts, it was his internal agony of seeing Pandavas’ plight and his inability to reverse the injustice, that bled his heart.
Had he chosen to connect to a deeper principle of justice and truth, and keep his vow of allegiance aside, a lot of bloodshed could have been avoided.
To be continued….
