Trying to teach or an Appointment for Annihilation
Why do humans get bogged down?
Why do people whom one interacts with matter?
Why a bad company is more dangerous than a good company or even not have any company?
Bad Company corrupts, good character.
These words were spoken by Menander, the famous Greek Dramatist sometime in 300 BCE.
Sometimes, bad company, bad socializing, helping bad people, not only impacts one’s character but it annihilates.
Humans are social animals, their innate need, to have people around, to be accepted as part of the clan or group, and be recognized in the community, supersedes every other desire.
Life starts with the desire for food and shelter for survival. Soon one realizes that it’s money that is needed to buy any material thing in the world thus starting the chase for money.
Chase for money remains unsaturated and unsatiated for some, till their souls leave the planet. But for many as soon as, food, shelter, clothing, and basic comfort come into existence, the need and greed, to be accepted emerge.
For mortals, the simplest way to be recognized by others in the tribe is by proving their prowess in a physical, mental, or emotional state of one’s own self and reflecting their superior knowledge, which can be useful for others. A few have a special ability to empathize, feel and understand the suffering of others and thus, this unique quality endows them the pole position in the herd.
Helping others selflessly, supporting someone else when one needs it, upholding one, when one’s chips are down, gives a sense of satisfaction and happiness, not only to the one who is being helped or held but also to the helper. Aiding others gives one a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
What is mentioned above is common knowledge known to several.
And several noble souls practice it as part of their daily routine that subsequently forms a habit, whereby one witnessing an unfavorable situation for someone else (apart from oneself or one’s near & dear ones), gets propelled to solving it or lending one’s helping hand within one’s means and within one’s efforts.
This begs the question –
Whether is it prudent every time, to get in a situation to help someone else, without one understanding the nature or attributes of the person who is being helped?
To answer this question, one needs to scroll through the past and absorb wisdom from Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, where Shree Krishna speaks about the nature of People.
Shree Krishna describes and divides people into two categories: One who has divine qualities or divine values and one who has demonic nature.
Reference — Chapter 16, Verse 7.
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुरा: |
न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||
Meaning: Those possessing a demoniac nature do not comprehend which actions are proper and which are improper. Neither purity nor proper conduct nor truth exists in them.
Furthermore, Verses 8, 9, 10 of Chapter 16, explain the behavior of these demonic beings.
Reference — Chapter 16, Verse 10
काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विता: |
मोहाद्गृहीत्वासद्ग्राहान्प्रवर्तन्तेऽशुचिव्रता: ||
Meaning: Harboring insatiable lust, full of hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, the demonic cling to their false tenets. Thus illusioned, they are attracted to the impermanent and work with impure resolve.
Let me further illustrate this using an example that left an indelible mark on humanity and history, a gory, an unworthy, an imbrued unpardonable act.
The Story that shook the education system
This story is about one of the oldest and most valuable universities in human history. The University of Nalanda attracted pupils & scholars from all over the world. This encompasses worthy students from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia, Turkey, and others teaching them on subjects that included Buddhism, Hinayana, Mahayana, Vedas, Logic, Sanskrit, Grammar, Astronomy, medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, Samkhya, Philosophy, astrology, practically every field that impacts human existence was covered in Nalanda.
King Kumaragupta, the 1st founded the Nalanda University in the 5th century AD and named it after the Nalo stupa.
The Sanskrit word “Nalanda” is derived from three words Na, Alam, and Da which literally means “Unstoppable flow of knowledge”
It was one of the rare universities, where Buddhist and Vedic virtues were taught together. The University had a residential capacity of ~ 10,000 students and 2000 teachers. A multistoried campus with meditation halls, dormitories, large playgrounds, lakes, gardens, and a spectacular Dashavatara Vishnu temple was built inside the campus. The University had three mega libraries that had books, scriptures, and texts from all walks of life and from ancient times.
The University that was a hub of education, progress, and the future of the world was destroyed 3 times. The first two times, it could be restored, however 3rd-time Turkish invader Bhaktiyar Khilji razed it in a manner that the University never came up.
Why did Bhaktiyar Khilji destroy the University?
Sometime between 1193 & 1203 AD,
It is said that Bakhtiyar Khilji once fell ill. He got treatment from many hakims (doctors or physicians in Urdu) but his health didn’t improve.
Then one of his ministers advised him to get treatment from Rahul Sribhadra (an octogenarian at that time), head of the Ayurveda branch of Nalanda University, but Khilji did not trust the Ayurvedic (Hindu) doctor and believed it was against his religion to take medicine from a Non — Hakim.
His condition worsened and his ministers requested Rahul Sribhadra to visit Khilji and cure him. Rahul Shribhadra could detect the cause and offered a cure in the form of medicine to Khilji to which Khilji refused blatantly and threw away the medicine.
A thought struck in the mind of Shribhadra and he applied for the medicine on the pages of the Quran and told Khilji to read it. He further said that Quran has to be read by Khilji himself and not by anyone else could read it for him.
He started reading the Quran daily and as he kept turning pages, the medicine, kept going in his mouth. Within 15 days, the health of Khilji started to improve and regained health completely within months.
He later realized that Rahul Shribhadra used a different method to feed him medicine. It made him jealous and furious both at the same time, that cure and knowledge that his ministers, courtiers, and hakims couldn’t bring, was brought by an old Ayurvedic teacher.
Enraged, Anguished, Jealous Khilji ordered Nalanda University to be put on fire and kill everyone and destroy the roots of knowledge.
He burnt down nearly 90 lacs (9 million) manuscripts, massacred and killed thousands of teachers, students, spiritual gurus, and Buddhist monks. A few Original manuscripts of Sacred Upanishads were also burnt down to ashes.
It is said that there were so many books in the university library that libraries and books stored in the libraries kept burning for three months.
Shree Krishna also educates Arjun in Mahabharata that one should never teach or educate or share wisdom with someone who is envious. As one who is envious will never be happy and as one will never be happy, one will keep bringing wrath and awfulness on others.
Khilji is one of the kinds of demonic humans who came on the planet. Then there are those who know what is good and what is bad and still remain the victim of one’s own senses. Like Duryodhan, the infuriated, dejected, and crooked son of Blind Kuru king Dhritarashtra.
After Pandavas completed their Vanvas (exile) of 12 years and Agatvas (Incognito) of one year, Shree Krishna, went to Dhritarashtra and Duryodhan a final time, to have peace between the brothers, and then Shree Krishna asked Duryodhan-
“Duryodhana, you are a prince of great lineage. You have been brought up well and you have everything you want. Then why are you doing these ghastly things to Pandavas?”
Duryodhan replies:
जानामि धर्मं न च मे प्रवृत्ति-
र्जानामि पापं न च मे निवृत्तिः ।
केनापि देवेन हृदि स्थितेन
यथा नियुक्तोऽस्मि तथा करोमि ॥
Meaning — I know what is right but I am not able to practice it; I know what is wrong and I am not able to keep away from it. I act as I am directed to by the mysterious power of my senses, ego, and a false sense of pride.
Thus Siddhartha Rastogi says,
“Helping others, enabling others, aiding others is human being’s highest Dharma, however, blindly pursuing Dharma, without understanding the righteous Dharma at that moment of life, can turn one Dharma into One’s most culpable Adharma, as it happened with Pitamah Bheeshma.
Dharma is dynamic and it changes as one’s position and circumstances in life change.”
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