Guest guest Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Is there any tradition of understanding the Mahabharata as a spiritual scripture rather than as an epic? Is there some tradition of theological interpretation of the Mahabharata from the Shaiva/Shakta view? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Well the Bhagdwad Gita, which is the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, on the very nuances and issues involved in the about-to-commence conflict depicted in the Mahabharat, is a holy of the holies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Yes... They say that Mahabharata is a description of the spiritual battle that rages inside of us, with participants symbolizing different aspects of our being. But also, as with many holy books of different traditions, it can be understood on the "plain" level too - as a story of a war that happened long time ago. However, most of the traditions warn the student, that if he sees these books only as set of stories about events long passed - "he has no portion in the next world". - Laughing Guru Monday, June 09, 2003 12:28 AM Re: the Mahabharata as a spiritual scripture Well the Bhagdwad Gita, which is the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, on the very nuances and issues involved in the about-to-commence conflict depicted in the Mahabharat, is a holy of the holies. Sponsor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 måndagen den 9 juni 2003 15.50 skrev Mouse: > Yes... They say that Mahabharata is a description of the spiritual battle > that rages inside of us, with participants symbolizing different aspects of > our being. As far as I know, the Mahabharata is a historical account of what happened in ancient India. Maybe spiced up a little bit here and there. It was really "great India". Of course, anyone is welcome to believe the story of the new world leading power, the western civilisation, that says that everything before them was not worth anything and didn't even exist. Now in that civilisation, they still don't know who they are, so maybe the greatness is still to come. Meaning that the western civilisation only acknowledges the gross material nature, the 4 external elements. Since we all actually exist on the level of the mind, according to western belief we don't even exist. They are very busy trying to prove that. Which is kind of silly, since how can someone or something that does not exist prove anything? If we don't exist, brahman must exist, be sentient, and actually be the one that is doing anything, and we exist only in that brahman. But that is not a western teaching. And according to Vaisnava teachings we do exist, as well as the supreme brahman and the supreme personality of brahman. Prisni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 >> Yes... They say that Mahabharata is a description of the spiritual battle >> that rages inside of us, with participants symbolizing different aspects of >> our being. > > As far as I know, the Mahabharata is a historical account of what happened > in ancient India. Maybe spiced up a little bit here and there. It was really > "great India". > Of course, anyone is welcome to believe the story of the new world leading > power, the western civilisation, that says that everything before them was > not worth anything and didn't even exist. You cut off the second part of my response, which said that it also describes the story of the war that happened long time ago. The point is - if it's ONLY a story of a war that happened thousand years before Christ - who would need it now, who would care (except for possibly those for who it's the personal history of their ancestors)? The whole humanity has been in war ever since (and probably before) then, so unless there's also a spiritual meaning and contents - why bother with this particular account of this particular war? Just like if the Bible was just a story of how the Jews were enslaved in Egypt and then left it, who would read it now? So, a historical account? Yes. But if it were merely a historical account - its place would have been on a dusty shelf in a library of archeological faculty of a college and nowhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Hey !!!!!! stop it. No quarrelling please. The Mahabharata is not the only one as a spiritual scriptures. The Devi Mahatmyam too is a spiritual Scriptures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 måndagen den 9 juni 2003 16.47 skrev Mouse: > So, a historical account? Yes. But if it were merely a historical account - > its place would have been on a dusty shelf in a library of archeological > faculty of a college and nowhere else. The particular stories are often selected to have a message of moral and spiritual teachings. Anyway, I don't say how it is, or how it was, but how I see it. Surely it can be interpreted in different ways. For example, the confusion of Arjuna on the battlefield is something that each and every one of us can feel at some time of life. So Krishna speaks to Arjuna and everyone who is in that situation. The story about disrobing of Draupadi tells us that being passive sometimes involves us in a criminal act, and that we have to suffer the consequences for non-action in such a case. Many situations of the Mahabharata and many other of the books can be used for guidance, if we find ourself in that situation in life. I often use those stories for guidance in my life. Personally I don't care if it happened exactly like that, if it could have been captured by a TV-camera that would have been positioned at exactly the right place. That is not important for me. What the stories tell is important. If you want to see it as the battle within you, I have absolutely no objection. It is just me who don't see it like that. Prisni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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