theguyinallblue Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Many a times..during my growing up years.. i resolved and promised myself about many things... i resolved to follow many things....only to break my promise after some time... whether after days..or weeks or months..notwithstanding... Today i saw one episode of Mahabharat when GangaPutra pledges to remain unmarried..till death.. and followed it till his last breath... have we lost that steely resolve in today's world... How do we gain control on Mind..and Heart..?
Guest Hiten. Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Good analysis. Talking about not fulfilling resolutions, I am no stranger to that. Been there, done that. I will be more than happy to see some expert of fulfilling resolutions to leave some tips to help us loose minded chaps :P
CC1981 Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 have we lost that steely resolve in today's world... I am not too sure that the kind of character Bhisma had is actually the ideal (nevermind that it is highly impratical). Because the aspect of Bhisma's character you are directing at, is not of steely resolve but obstinacy/pig-headedness and ultimate in being too much into his pride. For i hope you realize that Bhisma's ultimate failing ( and this can be derived from Krishna's lecture in eve of Kurkshetra) is putting his pride/ego above the greater good. For, had he broken his oath,taken a wife and asserted his BIRTHRIGHT to rule (he WAS the crown price, he WAS the first born, he WAS nominated by the ruling king,he was an unbeatable warrior-he remained undefeated in war, as his demise came only after he refused to keep fighting, and he was peerless in his grasp of ethics and logic - as demonstrated by the fact that *HE* is the guru of the ultimate character of ethics and logic in the entire mahabharat- Vidur, thus satisfying ALL criterias of righteous rulership from vedic era standards), there would be no kuru-pandav feud which destroys society, there wouldn't be any lafraas and mahabharat would've been a 50 page storybook. The kurus and the pandavas would've been minor princes (cousins to the ruling house) and had minor estates and would've been footnotes to history or at best, credited as servant of the kingdom. Bear in mind that Yudhisthir, Krishna, Vidur, etc. at some point or another mentions that Bhisma's grasp of logic and ethics is peerless as well, meaning that he would've been no less a ruler of virtue as Yudhisthir. The mahabharat makes it AMPLY clear that Bhisma (as well as others) realized his superior eligibility over ALL the rulers who came after him till the Yudhisthir-Krishna generation(ie, 2-3 generations). So it cannot be said that he wasn't aware of his superior eligibility either. And in concept of karma espoused in the mahabharat (where one act of evil comes to haunt you years down the road), it was very clear to Bhisma that he is creating a mess from the MOMENT he rejected the chick he stole for his nephew..... Had he the courage to take personal fall for it and damned himself as an oathbreaker, he would've saved not only his nation but several nations....so while he sacrificed a lot in his life and led a highly exemplary life, his selfish desire to remain spotless on his personal moral level meant he sacrificed his nation and several other nations for that goal. The ultimate lesson (in my opinion) of Bhisma's character, is not to jeopardize the greater good by blindly sticking to personal good (ie, being good at a moral conduct from purely personal view). Should one become the villain while knowing that damning yourself saves the majority/averts a catastrophe for the nation ? I believe so and i think Krishna is quoted several times in the gita asking us to look at the bigger picture. That was the essence of his appeal to Karna as well (which is a synopsis and precursor to the Gita, as it is remarkably similar- much more concise but the parallels are remarkable between Krishna's rath-yatra with Karna and his on-top-of-rath lecture to Arjun) : he openly asked Karna to go back on his word and accept personal discredit inorder to do the right thing on the bigger picture.
CC1981 Posted May 11, 2008 Posted May 11, 2008 i didn't know i'd gone away..but thanks ! :hmmmm::hatsoff:
ludhianvi Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Its also important to set realistic goals and some sort of plan to go with it. We all seem to know what we are suppose to do but not many of us actually do it. Take family guy:--D
Lurker Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 have we lost that steely resolve in today's world... Not really. Nothing has been lost as such. It is a case of discipline and we all are disciplined in some ways. I wouldnt compare myself with Great Bhisma but I personally have great discipline when it comes to fitness and eating right. Been doing that for decades and can do the same till the end of time, no problemo. I mention this because for bulk of human population eating right and doing exercise everyday is never an easy task but to me it comes rather easy. What has changed, or maybe lost, is our values and importance we attach to those values. Only a century ago to many Indians, India was above anything else, today it is not so. In Bhisma's time a man's word was important and relationships were revered above everything else. Even Ramayan speaks of how Ram went to vanvaas because of his Father's word. Today of course it is not so. I mean people can say something and later on when confronted ask for the "proof" or maybe -Take the 5th.
Ram Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Flash resolutions/ new year promises etc, are very artificial and unhealthy way of doing things and are are guaranteed to fail. If we ever want to do something new, like say give up something, its should be because we personally believe thats good and healthy for us and not because we decided one fine day that 'I am going to do so and so' or 'I am not going to do so and so'. Personally for me, Abrupt and forced changes have never worked and I tend to fall back into the same 'bad habit'. Two of the 'bad habits' that I previously had was to eat VERY late nights ( 1 am or 2 am). I was also caffeine addicted and drink lots of coffee. When I tried all these 'resolutions' and 'promises' thingy, it used to work for at best, a week or ten days and then I fell back into the same habit. Then I tried to gradually reduce habit, by eating late night once 3 days then once 5 days and then once a week. Same for coffee. Now, from days when I used to drink 4-5 cups a day, I have reduced it to 1-2 per week. Its also been 2-3 months since I ate past 10 p.m. One new habit I am trying to develop - Run every morning at 5.30 A.M for 5 kms. Lets hope it works. :D
THX_1138 Posted May 12, 2008 Posted May 12, 2008 Our fascination with heroes and icons of considerable resolve will be our unbecoming. We are a species of individuals who must work in collaboration rather than in opposition. Instead of looking for such individuals of "resolve" lets all make a little resolution and adhere to it. For instance, if everyone on this board decided to donate a dollar a day towards charity, our collaborative achievement would exceed some of the most charitable organizations... Similarly if we all take it upon ourselve to educate ourselves in some particular field of science, then our collective achievement would match those of some of the finest thinkers of our day and age... As the Borg say: Assimilate... As an individual one cannot succeed, as a collective success is inevitable. Now i dont want us to take this as a Marxian propaganda as i am as opposed to Communism as any other Hamiltonian, but yeah, recognitation of social and fiscal responsibility is a step closer to achieving a cohesive collective.
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