Below is a narration of a story from the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic. I had read this story as a child and came across it once again fairly recently. I felt that the story was very pertinent to my previous blog, therefore I am sharing it with all of you in my own words.
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On their evening walk, Lord Krishna and his elder brother Balrama ventured deep into a thick forest, and soon after, darkness fell. The brothers decided to stay in the forest for the night, and took turns to sleep. Krishna went to sleep first while Balrama stood guard. In the quiet of the night, suddenly, a giant, forest-dwelling monster materialized in front of Balrama and screamed with a booming voice, “HOW DARE YOU TRESPASS INTO MY LAND?” Balrama, frightened and scared, trembled in fear. The monster disappeared, only to re-appear within a few minutes. The monster shouted at Balrama again. The hapless Balrama started sweating, and immediately turned pale. The monster appeared a third time, and screamed at the top of his lungs. Balrama, out of unimaginable fear, yelled “Krishna!” and thereafter became unconscious, and fell to the ground.
Upon hearing his name, Lord Krishna woke up. He thought that the unconscious Balrama was sleeping and that it was now his turn to stand guard. Seeing a new candidate, the monster appeared again and similarly screamed at Krishna as he did with Balrama. Lord Krishna, however, unperturbed, asked the monster what he wanted. Hearing Lord Krishna’s unshaken, calm voice, the monster literally shrank in size, and disappeared. Not long after, the monster re-appeared and yelled at Krishna again, but Krishna, consistent with his initial response, was tranquil and unruffled. The monster once again shrank in size and disappeared. The third time the persistent monster re-appeared and screamed at the coolheaded Krishna. Upon hearing Krishna’s response, the monster reduced in size further, thus becoming a miniature of himself, and fell unconscious. Lord Krishna picked up the small monster and placed him in his pocket.
The next morning, while walking home, Balrama narrated the episode of the previous night to Krishna. Krishna took the little monster out of his pocket and upon seeing Balrama’s bewilderment, Krishna explained to Balrama his own response to the situation: Krishna faced a scary stimulus with composure and mindfulness, and even though the feared situation was persistent, he overcame it with patience and self-control.
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In my opinion, the forest is a representation of the human psyche where all kinds of fears/worries (monsters) dwell. The monster paints very grim prospects about our future. If we do not encounter the monster with composure and mindfulness, then the fears and worries consume us. It is said that the mind is an orchestra constantly playing instruments of all kinds of thoughts, but without a conductor. The instruments playing ‘worries’ make their own music, resulting in a cacophony. In Dhammapada (a 400 B.C. Buddhist text), it is said, “The worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts.” Through this story, Lord Krishna teaches us how to deal with this enemy.
***
On their evening walk, Lord Krishna and his elder brother Balrama ventured deep into a thick forest, and soon after, darkness fell. The brothers decided to stay in the forest for the night, and took turns to sleep. Krishna went to sleep first while Balrama stood guard. In the quiet of the night, suddenly, a giant, forest-dwelling monster materialized in front of Balrama and screamed with a booming voice, “HOW DARE YOU TRESPASS INTO MY LAND?” Balrama, frightened and scared, trembled in fear. The monster disappeared, only to re-appear within a few minutes. The monster shouted at Balrama again. The hapless Balrama started sweating, and immediately turned pale. The monster appeared a third time, and screamed at the top of his lungs. Balrama, out of unimaginable fear, yelled “Krishna!” and thereafter became unconscious, and fell to the ground.
Upon hearing his name, Lord Krishna woke up. He thought that the unconscious Balrama was sleeping and that it was now his turn to stand guard. Seeing a new candidate, the monster appeared again and similarly screamed at Krishna as he did with Balrama. Lord Krishna, however, unperturbed, asked the monster what he wanted. Hearing Lord Krishna’s unshaken, calm voice, the monster literally shrank in size, and disappeared. Not long after, the monster re-appeared and yelled at Krishna again, but Krishna, consistent with his initial response, was tranquil and unruffled. The monster once again shrank in size and disappeared. The third time the persistent monster re-appeared and screamed at the coolheaded Krishna. Upon hearing Krishna’s response, the monster reduced in size further, thus becoming a miniature of himself, and fell unconscious. Lord Krishna picked up the small monster and placed him in his pocket.
The next morning, while walking home, Balrama narrated the episode of the previous night to Krishna. Krishna took the little monster out of his pocket and upon seeing Balrama’s bewilderment, Krishna explained to Balrama his own response to the situation: Krishna faced a scary stimulus with composure and mindfulness, and even though the feared situation was persistent, he overcame it with patience and self-control.
***
In my opinion, the forest is a representation of the human psyche where all kinds of fears/worries (monsters) dwell. The monster paints very grim prospects about our future. If we do not encounter the monster with composure and mindfulness, then the fears and worries consume us. It is said that the mind is an orchestra constantly playing instruments of all kinds of thoughts, but without a conductor. The instruments playing ‘worries’ make their own music, resulting in a cacophony. In Dhammapada (a 400 B.C. Buddhist text), it is said, “The worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts.” Through this story, Lord Krishna teaches us how to deal with this enemy.
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