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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Jealousy, root cause of all strifes

 

CHENNAI, JULY 26. The root cause of strifes, either between

individuals or racial groups or countries can be traced to

jealousy. It grows by stages and ultimately ends in calamities

and destruction. One among them who suffers defeat will always be

planning to pull down the other. This envy arises because of the

power wielded by one or the wealth in his possession or the

physical strength he has gained. Hence the main motive behind the

other one is to take revenge and defeat the other by ruthless

measures. This is the theme of the epic, Mahabharata. Equal

emphasis can be laid on wounding the sentiments of others by

ridiculing their behaviour or uttering harsh words which cannot

be wiped out from one's mind. The joy of Bhima and Draupadi on

witnessing the antics of Duryodhana in the palace of the

Pandavas, constructed with numerous architectural intricacies,

resulted in the ultimate Kurukshetra war. The childhood jealousy

in the heart of Duryodhana turned into hatred. He was cursed with

the tragic flaw, ``envy'', which burnt his entire life and led to

his fall.

 

Even though the seven-day mammoth Rajasuya Yaga was a great

success, the killing of Sisupala and other subsequent events made

the chief of the Pandavas totally distressed but he received

comforting advice from Sage Narada who told him that the

happenings can be guessed by men of intelligence who will take

precautions to avert the impending crisis. In his lecture, Sri

K.P. Arivanandam said at times, an individual may cause danger to

society and on occasions, the latter may provoke a single man to

turn rebellious. To illustrate this, a story refers to a king

dreaming about a fox hanging down. While none could explain the

significance, a woodcutter got the clue from a serpent on the

understanding that the prize money would be shared between the

two. The woodcutter revealed to the king about the conspiracy

within the palace to dethrone him and it proved true. But the

former took away the entire money. For a second time, the king

dreamt of a dangling sword. The woodcutter again got the clue and

said this indicated a war and the king became alert. This time

too, the man did not pay the serpent. On the third occasion, he

tendered his apology and gave all that was due to the serpent.

The goat's head the king saw in his dream this time meant peace

in the land. The serpent said the conduct of its friend was due

to society's fault and individual's avarice. Narada removed the

grief from Yudhishtra's mind and said all would end well. Krishna

was given the prime honour and the Yaga turned out to be a grand

affair.

 

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