DO YOU HAVE A KRISHNA IN YOUR LIFE?

For many of us, the answer to the question
may be an obvious yes. But first a story which needs retelling only to put
things in perspective.

Arjuna was the third of the Pandavas in the
epic Mahabharat. He was a great archer, a mighty warrior and a key
player in the Kurukshetra war of the Pandavas against their cousins, the
Kauravas.

When they entered the battlefield of
Kurukshetra to ultimately fight a bloody battle for 18 days, the Pandavas,
including Arjuna, knew against whom they were fighting. However, on the day
when the opposing armies assembled facing each other, Arjuna developed cold
feet when he saw the line-up of his own elders and cousins on the other side.

He expressed his predicament to Krishna who
was his charioteer. Gita, the holy book, begins with what is variously
called as Arjuna’s dilemma, anguish, despair or confusion. The conversation
that follows is what we understand as the Gita. At the end of the
conversation, Arjuna decides to go ahead with the battle. And the rest is
history.

We, in the profession, acquire our
qualifications, groom ourselves as professionals, gather expertise, gain
experience and command the profession. It is likely that we come to believe
that what is required to continue as professionals is accumulating some CPE
hours of updating knowledge and participating in some seminars and conferences
to keep abreast of professional updates.

But here is the point that I wish to make. Do
we as professionals never get caught up in situations where we need to seek
help or guidance? I am not talking of knowledge and skill sets. Kindly recall
that Arjuna did not require to be guided in the skills of archery.

There are enough occasions when we, as
professionals, are caught up in predicaments where it is not our knowledge of
the subject which is put to the test. But the dilemma is to be or not to be,
or to do or not to do, or to act or not to act, or to be
inert, or to say a yes or to say a no – to give a nod of approval
or raise an eyebrow of negation.

Whom do we turn to? Saints and seers down
the ages have stressed on the importance of a Guru. Explaining the significance
of a Guru, Kabir had this to say, among the various thoughts that he expressed
in connection with Gurus:

‘Guru kumhaar shish kumbha hai

Gadih gadih kaadhe khot

Antar haath sahaar dai

Baahar baahai chot’

Likening the Guru to a potter and the
disciple to a pitcher, Kabir says that the Guru hits at the defects of the
disciple with the aim of removing them while supporting and loving him from
within.

Unfortunately, we have largely relegated a
Guru to a teacher whom we abandon after acquiring our qualifications. However,
that is not the idea of a Guru handed down to us by the sages. For the purposes
of this write-up, I have therefore changed the metaphor. Do you have a Krishna
in your life who guides you on such occasions? He does not take decisions for
you but does definitely enlighten you enough to take decisions.

At the end of
his conversation, Krishna tells Arjuna – ‘Yatha icchasey, tatha kuru’  [As you desire (wish), do thus.]

Finally, the choice is yours. However, it is
an informed and a well-thought-out choice. As the poet Robert Frost famously
stated:

‘Two roads diverged in a wood

And I – I took the one less travelled by

And that has made all the difference’

That brings me back to the question – Do you
have a Krishna in your life?