Why did she marry 5 guys? Why not more? Why not less?
Mythologies all over the world with no exceptions, are there to deliver a profound message, idea, truth to the world through the work of art. Expressing such messages overtly, makes the idea too simple to be ignored and loose the ability to connect the dots of our understanding. Draupadi is one such character to convey a message that we all tend to ignore in our daily life.
Women is always represented as shakti or energy in all sorts of Hindu mythologies. Shiva-parvathi is portrayed as masculine and feminine energy as a representation of complimentary roles we play in our daily life. Every man has his fair share of masculine and feminine qualities within. And so does women. In a subtle way feminine energy is portrayed as the one that flows all over but need to be directed by a masculine energy.
Draupadi, in Mahabharatha, is a representation of feminine energy that is there within every one of us looking for a direction to flow towards the purpose of our life.
We need to pause and ponder here what “energy” is? A oversimplified definition for energy is the capacity to do work or the ability to move something. Any form of flow has energy within that is causing the flow. The flow can be blood flow, oxygen flow, muscle movement or thought flow as signal flow through neurons. No wonder we find river as over used depiction of energy flow in action that can be witnessed clearly.
In Mahabaratha, Pandava brothers represent the five sense organs. A Sense organ supplies data to the mind. Sense organs are like tributary rivers with different origin sources. All the sense organs join the main river to flow with greater intensity that can move the obstacles on its way to flow freely.
Draupadi’s marriage to Pandava borthers should be seen in this context. Draupadi, is the main river that receives all raw intelligence data from the tributary sense organs. Each sense organs gives a facet of the big picture perceived that gets assembled at the intelligence center. Point to be noted is, all the data arrived is still intelligence data, not a decision or the direction of the flow. In that sense, Draupadi is a flow of data or thoughts.
Draupadi is described as so beautiful for this reason. The combined data, of smell, sight and taste is like curd rice with mango pickle, produces more thoughts of pleasures and imaginations to flow. This thought flow is quite wild, exotic, uncontrolled and immense source for many creative actions.
DISTRACTIONS TO OUR PURPOSE
We all get lots of creative thought flows, but to put to them into a proper from takes a great deal of effort and determination. In the process of giving shape to the thoughts, the original thought flow gets pulled from all direction of distraction and compromises before it gets fructified. This is what represented as Kauravas desire towards Draupadi.
SELF DOUBT
We often see ourselves as though we own mind and thought flows within ‘our’ mind. This is not true. Just as the way the sense data are combined to form thoughts about worldly objects, “I AM” is also a thought in the same stream of thought flow. It is the perception paralysis makes the illusion we are seeing and and owning the mind. Instead the mind gives the projection of our existence thorough the thought combinations.
THE SOLUTION
In this conjunction, Draupadi calls out to Krishna, the big picture, to help her out of this confusion of desires and about illusions of self. Krishna’s advise to Draupadi, to Arjuna and to all of us is to keep flowing. To do the duty for the duty sake.
How do we know what we are doing is good or bad?
Krishna’s answer is, with the discipline any work that we do, thoughts relevant to that work keeps surfacing up. Instead, when we worry and doubt about the results, the mind gives more doubts and more worries. Instead of worrying, when we keep doing, thoughts of what to do and what not to do will surface up. The Big Picture, Vishwa-Roopa, about what we are doing will reveal on its own, as we keep doing what we are doing consistently.
The rolling stone gathers no moss, and that is how a river cleanses itself by flowing more. So does the thought flow cleanses itself by flowing more as we do more actions. In that way purpose of life is to keep flowing and giving like a river does to all forms of plants and animals on its path.
Here are some of the videos, i had posted in Youtube describing the flow of thoughts.
