Just a man

Just a man

Dreams… For some it is the most delightful word. But for others, it is the most painful word. The delightful side of that word can certainly lead you towards a happy life. However the other side of it... well, it may throw you into eternal despair from which you might not be able to rise ever again.

Being a published writer had always been Roy’s dream since he was in the tenth grade. He had dreamt of his stories travelling across the world. He had dreamt of his stories inspiring various aspiring people across the world. But the time had changed, and so had he. Those bright dreams were now locked in the dark room and the light was ambushed by the horrible darkness. Sometimes he could feel those dreams screaming for help, a single chance to shine again. Perhaps this time, they would shine in limits. However Roy highly doubted if he could let them out of their cage even for once.

That dream of being a published writer had brought him in the world of literature which apparently was different than he had imagined. Here the word literature meant to earn the money regardless the content. Fortunately Roy had learnt that in a short period since he'd arrived. He had assumed that being a content writer would someday provide him a platform to live up to his dreams and to shine again. But one thing he didn’t know was that this world had no space for light. Your shine would always be overshadowed by the various elements of life as well as the world.

Even after five years of being a content writer, he hadn’t written more than five chapters of his dream. He had barely written fifty pages. And even they were lost in the darkness of despair. At that day Roy realized that he wouldn’t be able to survive if his life continued to be such complicated. He had to make it simpler. And Roy knew that there was only one way he could do that. He simply had to make a choice. A choice that could either give him his happiness or it could make him just a man.

He could see two different ways leading towards two different destinations. He could see the barriers on both the paths. But he could discriminate their impact on his life. And then there was a moment to choose the path of his career. One of them would lead him towards a happy career and the other towards a comfortable one. While his heart was leaning towards the happy one, his mind was protesting with logical explanations that Roy knew were legitimate. As his heart leaned towards the happy career, his mind reminded him of the responsibilities he had been carrying along. It reminded him of his old parents, his wife and his children. It reminded him of the smiles on their faces and their comforts which were expected from him. And even if he succeeded to live up to his dreams, there was a fair chance that his works would never make it to the world. Apparently the happy path would compel him to sacrifice their delight in order to achieve his dreams. What kind of a selfish man would do that?

And when his mind leaned towards the comfortable path, his heart reminded him how delightfully he had seen those dreams and how passionately he had chased them… until now. Choosing the path of comfort would clearly be the end of his dreams. And what is the meaning of life without having an opportunity to chase your dreams? Life is supposed to be a personification of freedom, isn’t it? Is it worth to sacrifice all of these for their happiness? Perhaps it was, and perhaps it wasn’t. But the choice was inevitable. It had to be made. And Roy was not that selfish person who would choose his self over the people he loved and cared about. He was not that selfish to lock their future in the darkness so that his dreams could shine and breathe the fresh air. The choice was simple and so would be his life. He made the choice. He chose the happiness of his family over his own. He chose what any man would choose any day. He chose to be just a man.  

Emperor Bharata

“O monarch! Thy mighty son born of Shakuntala, shall grow to conquer the earth and his vigorous glory shall echo through the eternity of time. And because this child is to be cherished by thee, therefore shall this thy son be known by the name of Bharata (the cherished one).”

- The Mahabharata (Sambhav Parva)


Emperor Bharata, the mighty son of Dushyant (Dushmanta) and Shakuntala, was a prestigious monarch of Lunar Dynasty, whose legacy is the entire Indian Subcontinent. In his glory, this country is called Bharat (The land of Bharata) and the subcontinent is called Bharatvarsha.

The story of his birth is mentioned in the first Parva of the Mahabharata and in one of the greatest poems by Kalidas, Abhigyan Shankuntalam. The clan of Emperor Bharata inherited his name and became famous as Bharat Race. The Bharat Dynasty was dignified by many glorious monarchs such as Bhumanyu, Hastin, Shantanu, Yudhishthira, Parikshit, Janmenjaya and many more prestigious rulers. He was also a great ancestor to both Pandavas and Kauravas. All the great Kuru Warriors in epic Mahabharata were born in his dynasty. And thus the greatest poem of all time earns its name as the Mahabharata (The legend of Bharata Race).

Bharata was born to Shakuntala in the forest in the Ashram of Kanwa. He grew playing with lions, bears, tigers and other wild animals. Since he was finicky by nature, he was originally named as Sarvadaman (the one who subdues all). After the events of Hastinapur followed by the curse of Durvasa when Dushyant realizes about his son and his wife, he makes Shakuntala her queen and installs Bharata as his heir-apparent.

Emperor Bharata grew to be a Chakravartin Samrat who conquered the entire subcontinent and unified all the kingdoms into one invincible empire. He married to Princess Sunanda of Kashi and begot a son named Bhumanyu, who succeeded him on the throne after his demise.

For we have inherited the glorious name of Bharat, we all are his descendants. Till there remains the shape of Bharat (India) on the face of earth, his glory shall thrive in the heart of this nation.

Harihara

शिवाय विष्णु रूपाय शिव रूपाय विष्णवे |

शिवस्य हृदयं विष्णुं विष्णोश्च हृदयं शिवः ||

यथा शिवमयो विष्णुरेवं विष्णुमयः शिवः |
यथान्तरम न पश्यामि तथा में स्वस्तिरायुषि|
यथान्तरम न भेदा: स्यु: शिवराघवयोस्तथा||
(यजुर्वेद)
Vishnu is Shiva and Shiva is Vishnu. Vishnu resides in Shiva’s heart and Shiva resides in Vishnu’s. Hence, Vishnu can be found in the same place as Shiva and Shiva can be found in the same place as Vishnu. A person who sees them as one and inseparable, is the one to live a gracious life.

यथा शिवस्तथा विष्णुर्यथा विष्णुस्तथा शिव: ।
अन्तरं शिवविष्ण्वोश्र भनागपि न विद्यते ।।
(स्कन्द पुराण)
Where exists Shiva, Vishnu exists with him. And where exists Vishnu, Shiva exists with him. (They both exist in each other and everywhere.) Their eternal existence has no difference.

Harihara, is called the form of supreme god, in which both Adipurushas (birthless eternal beings) exists as one. ‘Hari’ stands for Vishnu and ‘Hara’ stands for Shiva. This particular form is worshipped by all the cults of Hinduism as the supreme form. However, it stands for a deeper meaning. Their eternal existence must be seen as one and infinite. Both Vishnu and Shiva are supreme gods (Swayam Bhagwan). They represent two sides of one coin. Vishnu, the preserver of universe, resides upon the ocean of milk (in which the entire universe cherishes), whereas Shiva, the destroyer of creation, resides on the summit of Divine Kailash (the cosmic mountain situated in the centre of the universe). Where Shiva, despite being an ascetic, has compassion for his family, Vishnu, despite being married, represents an ascetic mind. Shiva, who is married to Adishakti (the very energy of universe), represents how a man can still be egoless and powerful. Vishnu, who is married to Lakshmi (the prosperity of universe), represents how a man can still be generous and without greed in spite of having enormous wealth. Shiva, the destroyer, has a cherishing family. Whereas Vishnu, the preserver, has the universe as his family. Shiva, the founder of Yoga, meditates on Rama’s (Incarnation of Vishnu) blissful name. And Vishnu meditates on the calmness of Shiva. As the Yujarveda says, they both resides in each other’s heart. Vishnu is the only one to calm Shiva’s temper and endure his pain and Shiva is the one to know the endurance and purposes of Vishnu’s incarnations. They live human lives through each other’s heart, establishing the standards of an ideal life. They worship each other in their incarnations. E.g., Hanuman (Incarnation of Shiva) worships Rama (Incarnation of Vishnu) and Rama worships Shiva. They both are each other’s supreme gods and each other’s greatest devotees.
There cannot be any difference between them. The universe is a part of their eternal existence and they both together sustain balance of nature. Their singular existence results into manifestation, preservation and destruction.

The legend of Ganesha

Ganesha, more commonly known as Ganpati or Vinayak, is a second son of Lord Shiva, and an incarnation of Adishakti, Parvati. He is worshipped as the god of new beginnings and remover of obstacles. He is also a sibling to Kartikeya (also known as Skanda or Murugan) and Ashoka Sundari (the daughter born from the grace of Kalpavriksha). As the legend goes, Vinayak was created by Goddess Parvati while Shiva was away for his routine penance. She made a beautiful idol of a boy from special clay, who would be both virtuous and courageous. Being an incarnation of Adishakti, she gave life to the idol by the energy she possessed. Seeing the beautiful boy and his innocent nature, she embraced him as her child. From his birth, Vinayak was a skilful warrior and an obedient son to his mother. And he guarded Kailash while Shiva was away. All other goddesses blessed him with eternal beauty and virtue upon seeing his enchanting form.

One day while his mother was taking a bath and while he was guarding the entrance of Kailash, Shiva returned home after completing his months-long penance. Unaware of each other’s identity, Vinayak stopped Shiva from entering Kailash. He told the latter that he can’t enter unless his mother permits. Upon hearing this and thus stopped by an arrogant child from entering his own abode, Shiva became furious. Their verbal quarrel soon erupted as a combat fight. Vinayak fought bravely with his elephant goad and axe while Shiva, being the master of warfare, seemed invincible. Now the legends vary on Lord Shani’s involvement here. One legend describes that it was due to Shani’s Vakradirshti on Vinayak that put him in fight with Shiva. And another legend says that Shani, upon seeing an outrageous battle between Ganesha and Shiva, intervened to stop them. It is said that the weapon that Shani touches, is destined to end its enemy. Striving to stop Shiva, he accidently touched his Trishula, which resulted into Shiva beheading his own son Vinayak. As Parvati heard the cry of Vinayak upon his beheading, she rushed out where she saw Vinayak’s body lay headless and furious Shiva standing beside him. Devastated by her son’s loss, she told her lord about Vinayak which filled Shiva’s heart with sorrow and empathy. However in her devastation, Parvati furiously cursed Shani, making him blind of his sight (Vakradrishti). When Parvati pleaded her lord to revive their son, Shiva commanded his Ganas to bring the first creature they see nearby. The Ganas were not that witty. So they thought that their lord meant any creature by his mention of creature. And they brought an elephant head.

This act, however, shocked all of the gods, especially, Parvati. She wouldn’t dream of her beloved son with that gigantic elephant head. But the act was inevitable. As Shiva told her that they cannot take another creature’s life for it. Eventually, she agreed and Shiva placed the head upon Vinayak’s body and revived him. Thus, Vinayak opened his big eyes with this new elephant head. He asked Shiva’s forgiveness for not recognizing him while Shiva apologized for the same. And they embraced each other. Upon this incredible incident, the gods bestowed Vinayak with various blessings and boons. However, the concerned Surya (Shani’s father) told Parvati that without Shani’s Sight, the balance of universe would quake since he is the god of justice. Parvati realized her mistake and gave back Shani’s sight as well.

Later Vinayak was made the leader of Ganas at Kailash to which he was named as Ganesha and Ganpati. Ganesha is often depicted with Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi who are goddess of knowledge and goddess of prosperity respectively. Ganesha completes the trio as the god of virtue and auspiciousness. Ganesha has two consorts: Riddhi (prosperity)/Buddhi (wisdom) and Siddhi (spiritual power). He has two sons: Kshema/Shubh (God of auspiciousness) and Labh (God of achievements). In newer legends, Goddess Santoshi Mata is a daughter of Ganesha and sister to Kshema and Labh. Ganehsa is often shown with two weapons: An axe and a goad.

Apart from traditional view, the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi was revolutionised by the well-known freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Lokmanya Tilak) in order to encourage people to join the fight of freedom. Thus the tradition of Ganesha Pandals still thrives in many parts of India. People welcome beautiful idols of Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi and submerge them ten days later on Anant Chaturdashi.