Stories are just plain events. It’s our interpretation, our meanings that bring them to life. Each story could be interpreted in a number of ways. Consider this for instance.
Gandhari blinded herself to take revenge on Bhishma who coerced her father to give her away in marriage to blind prince Dhrutarashtra (Yuganta – Irawati Karve). Instead of making up for his incapacity, she decided to get even. Their son Duryodhana represented complete sense indulgence. Blinded by love,Gandhari always gave in to his unreasonable demands, seldom registered her displeasure.
Gandhari certainly is an interesting archetype and we find a lot of them around. Reacting to what life throws at them, they revolt against their context by turning a blind eye and indulging in sense pleasures – shopping, traveling, sex, sensual pleasures, drugs, material acquisitions, obsessive action (activity traps) and so on. They never want to face their truth. They slip into indulging ‘Duryodhana’ upon even a faint sight of the truth. Turning a blind eye is their coping strategy. It helps them keep the pain away, ignore it, by making themselves numb. But the pain doesn’t go away. They are wedded to it (Dhrutarashtra). In such cases, what’s a way out? How does one break the pattern of this pain and pleasure to be available for the higher pursuits?
To all the Gandharies out there… I am heralding a call to adventure. What if you show a little courage to face your truth? Vageries of your life is an opportunity for you to transform. What are you letting it go for? There is no other way but to face them.
