Disability, Karma, and Rebirth

There are many characters in the Mahabharatha with disabilities and impairments. Chief of which are King Dhritarashtra and the cunning Sakuni.

King Dhritarashthra is the father of the 100 Kaurava brothers, including Duryodhana. Dhritarashtra was born blind. His mother Queen Ambika had been originally wed to King Vichitravirya; however, Vichitravirya had died without having any children, so in order to continue the noble bloodline, Queen Ambika used the prestigious Niyoga method. However, while completing this method, she closed her eyes, thus causing Dhritarashtra to be born blind. Dhritarashtra fathered the 100 Kaurava brothers with his wife Queen Gandhari.

When Gandhari was born, she was cursed so that her first husband would die. So in order to get over this curse, her father set up a marriage ceremony with a goat. At the altar the moment the marriage was complete the goat died. Thereby freed of the curse, Gandhari was free to marry anyone she wished to marry. Thus she was married to Dhritarashtra. Later when Dhritarashtra found out that he had married someone who had been married before, as Gandhari's family had lied and said that she was a virgin, Dhritarashtra grew angry and imprisoned Gandhari's family and only gave each of them one handful of rice per day to survive. Gandhari's father mandated that the family give all of their rice to their one son Sakuni who was the most cunning, so that he may survive and exact revenge upon Dhritarashtra and to bring about the ruin of the entire Kuru clan once he got out of prison. Gandhari and Sakuni's father then twisted and broke Sakuni's leg so that Sakuni would always have a reminder of the twisting hunger for revenge that his family felt.

Since Dhritarashtra was blind, the crown was passed over him to his younger half-brother Pandu, who had fathered the five Pandava brothers. However, when Pandu passed away, the crown fell back to him. He appointed Sakuni as his royal adviser as per the request of Queen Gandhari.

Figure 1: We see King Dhritarashtra listening to the counsel of Sakuni. Sakuni speaks of the great war Mahabharatha

It is widely acknowledged that the entire great war was due to Sakuni's interference and trickery. He is the one who enticed Duryodhana into having negative feelings about the Pandavas. It is Sakuni who rigged the gambling dice game so that the Pandavas would lose everything. It is Sakuni who convinced the Kauravas to try to burn down the house of the Pandavas in order to murder them.

Many people have negative opinions of both characters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Disability is seen as a way of balancing karma that is accumulated in one's previous lives. Accumulation of positive and negative karma is usually reflected in the next life, affecting physical and mental health and prosperity. In many cases, people who are disabled or who possess physical and mental impairments are said to have accumulated negative karma in their previous lives. The pain they feel in this life is a result of the pain they caused to others in a previous life. This act of suffering is often equated to a way of paying for their mistakes, a form of recompense to balance their karma. In a way, it might also be a part of their dharma or duty in the current life to understand the pains of the world through having a disability or an impairment. Keeping this sentiment in mind, many people consider disabled people to be incompetent or evil, regardless of their rebirth into a new life and their subsequent suffering. They are extremely wary of this "evil" and despise them because of this.

This sentiment is echoed in the Mahabharatha. In this scene, Duryodhana is seething in jealousy over the fact that the people of the kingdom are waxing eloquent about Yudhishthra and not him.
"one unforgivable offence of the Pandavas in the eyes of Duryodhana was that the people of the city used to praise them openly and declare in seasons and out that Yudhisthra alone was fit to be  king. The people would flock together and argue: 'Dhritarashtra could never be king for long for he was born blind. It is not proper that he should now hold the kingdom in his hands for any longer'. "

 In recent modern times, people have also been equating disability with incompetence, although this may just be a transference of the myths and ideals that run rampant in the Western World. This is seen and reflected in the curses of disobedience section of Deuteronomy 28:37. Disobedience to God will cause immense pain and change upon you that others will look on in horror.

Infanticide

The first chapter of this abridged version of the Mahabharatha starts off with a story of Ganga, the goddess of the Ganges River. You know how one very small event, one small decision can change the course of everything? The butterfly effect? This story was what set the entire epic of the Mahabharatha into motion.

The great King Santanu fell in love with a women who was standing near a river. So he approached her and said "you must certainly become my wife, whoever you may be". She agreed, but only on a few conditions. These conditions were "that neither you nor anyone else should ever ask me who I am, or whence I come. You must also not stand in the way of whatever I do, good or bad, nor must you ever be wroth with me on any account whatsoever. You must not say anything displeasing to me. If you act otherwise, I shall leave you then and there. Do you agree?" King Santanu agreed and they lived very happily as a married couple. Ganga had many children. However, she drowned her first seven children in the Ganges river.

Figure 1: King Santanu stopping Goddess Ganga from drowning the eight child, Bhishma

Poor Santanu was horrified every time a new child was born, the next day Ganga would drown it. On the eight time, Santanu couldn't hold his horror in anymore and finally asked her why she kept drowning the innocent children. Ganga reminded him of his promise to never question her, and told him the Reason why, before she left to go back to her river. 

The Reason:
The Vasus are immortal god-like beings. The decided to visit the mortal world with their wives for a 'vacation' of sorts. During their visit to the Himalayas, they happened upon the hut of Vasishtha. In the hut's garden, the great sage Vasishtha was deep in meditation. Next to him, stood a cow and a calf. They were really beautiful and one of the Vasus' wives wanted it really badly and convinced her husband to steal it. And so one of the Vasus stole the cow and calf with the seven other brothers acting as a lookout to make sure the great sage wouldn't be roused from his meditation.

After the Vasus successfully stole the cow and calf, Vasishtha woke up. The cow and the calf were important parts of his everyday prayer/ritual to the gods. So Vasishtha cursed the Vasus to lose their immortality for a period of time and be born into the mortal realm of men. The Vasus came back and pleaded for forgiveness and for the curse to be absolved. But once a sagely word has been spoken, it cannot be broken. So Vasishtha agreed to soften the terms of the curse. "The curse must needs take its course. Prabhasa, the Vasu who seized the cow, will live a long life in the world in all glory. but the others will be freed from the curse as soon as they are born. my words cannot prove ineffective, but I shall soften the curse to this extent" (7). The eight Vasus approached the goddess Ganga to be their mother, as she is the giver of life to the entirety of the Himalayas and the North with the waters of the Ganges River. Thus, the seven Vasus were freed from their mortal curse the moment they were drowned by Ganga, but the 8th child that King Santanu saved from drowning was actually Prabhasa's rebirth, destined to live a long life in the mortal world as Bhishma.

-------------------------

This chapter contained many elements of rebirth and infanticide. 

On one hand, the King is horrified by the Ganga's infanticide enough to go back on his word and break his promise of never questioning her. Like I explained in a previous post, the spoken word carries an ENORMOUS amount of weight in this ancient world, it transcends rebirths and generations. This implies that infanticide is a thing that is bad enough to break one's own word.

However, knowing the backstory of this situation brought to light many concepts that present a really complicated view of children. On one hand, after knowing that this death would free them from the pains of the mortal world and bring them closer to Brahman in the immortal world, perhaps the death of those infants can be viewed in a different way.

As I explained in a previous post, Brahman is the all-knowing one. He can be considered God. Everything and everyone is a facet of Brahman, even animals and mountains etc. Brahman sends out a soul to the mortal world with a specific Dharma. Once that Dharma or duty is completed, the soul can once again regain their closeness with Brahman and rejoin his soul. If the soul does not fulfill their dharma in one life, they must go through multiple rebirths until they achieve moksha (or the release from the cycle of rebirth) by settling their dharma and karma.

Technically, those seven babies' dharma was to be born into the living world. But once they finished that dharma, they are free to rejoin the godly realm. In many Hindu contexts, living life in the mortal world is pain and suffering. So, Ganga is offering a "mercy-kill" and saving them the pain that their 8th brother had to live through.

Considering this Hindu view on life and death and rebirth, where can we place infanticide and abortion?

Obviously, some of the most poor, rural regions of India still practice infanticide. There are numerous causes for this practice, the chief of which include a general lack of resources to support the child, the belief that female children cost more to raise than male children. With the population of India on the rise, and with the lack of proper resource management, it is increasingly hard to have enough to take care of a child. Female children are historically difficult to raise in India due to the extra costs involved in keeping them healthy and safe through the difficult puberty years. It is also common belief in India that female children are auspicious. They signify wealth and grace and prosperity, and as such, they are usually adorned with jewels and gold to match their cultural importance. This is also seen in the dowry that is presented to a groom and his family along with the bride. However, with poverty rates on the rise, less and less families are actually able to afford to raise a female child according to culture and customs. Therefore, poor families have developed a prevailing fear of raising a female child, and instead resort to infanticide and abortion.

While the infanticide in the Mahabharatha was portrayed to be a way of helping the Vasus achieve their dharma and balance their karma, these conditions do not apply to the current situation in modern times. As humans, we never actually are able to judge Karma/Dharma of others. In the situation of the Vasus, their birth and death in the mortal world was closely watched and managed by sagely and godly presences like Vasishtha and Goddess Ganga.

As such, I really do not think the case of infanticide of the Vasus can be used as a 'model' to modern infanticide. 

Environment/Animals/Vegetarianism in the Mahabharata

I actually had no idea on where to start with this topic. After doing some external research, I think I'll start with the "mechanics" of the soul rebirth cycle. All souls are fractions of Brahman (the all-knowing one, the universe, everything). Each soul is fractioned off into the world in order to fulfill their duty or Dharma. If the soul does not fulfill their dharma in one life, they must go through multiple rebirths until they achieve moksha (or the release from the cycle of rebirth) by settling and balancing their good and bad karma, and by fulfilling their dharma. It's commonly called the "Karma Dharma Law".

This cycle includes animals. Apparently the most effective way to achieve one's dharma is usually through a human birth. But if humans commit too many sins, their karma/dharma cycle will be set back and they will be born as animals. An animal rebirth has many different and conflicting viewpoints.

On one hand, animals are revered. Many gods have animal steeds on which they ride into battle on. For example, Shiva has his bull named Nandhi. Since many people idolize and pray to every part of Lord Shiva, they also pray to his steed Nandhi. As such, the bull and the cow are considered holy in Hinduism. This is paralleled in Lord Vishnu, who has Garuda the eagle as his steed. So on and so forth. Also, some of Lord Vishnu's reincarnation/rebirths onto the mortal realm of Earth were in animal forms. Lord Vishnu's reincarnations are most famously known as his Dasavatara; "das" meaning ten, "avatara" meaning avatars or reincarnations.

Figure 1: Lord Vishnu's Dasavatara. The Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, and Narasimha avatars contained animal features

Of his ten reincarnations, four were of animal forms. They played immensely important roles in the creation of the world. I encourage everyone to read up on the link I posted ^ because it explains how incredibly important they are.

There is one such example in the Mahabharatha. "one day King Pandu was out hunting. A sage and his wife were also sporting in the forest in the guise of deer. Pandu shot the male deer with an arrow, all ignorant of the fact that it was a sage in disguise. Stricken to death the rishi thus cursed Pandu: 'sinner, you will meet with death the moment you taste the pleasures of the bed, as you have robbed me of mine'" (38).

This story portrays the consequences of killing an animal. Another piece of Hindu lore, apparently a lot of celestial beings like gods and sages often travel about the mortal world in the guise of animals in order to escape notice. If one kills an animal, and if it was a celestial being in disguise, that would mean that they have killed a celestial being! Since the chance of this is high, parents usually teach their kids to approach strangers and animals with care, because you never know when a god is visiting you.

With the murder of the sage in deer form, King Pandu accrued a sin. He was also cursed. He also robbed the sage of his own pleasures, and of his chance to complete his dharma in the world. Because of the aforementioned views, many Hindus take to vegetarianism as a way to protect the sanctity of life. Vegetarianism is also a way to ensure that those people do not inadvertently commit a sin by extinguishing another's life before they are able to fulfill their dharma. For example, say that you were born as a human and you failed to complete your dharma and you die without fulfilling it. You are somehow reborn as a chicken. If another human ate you, they have committed a lot of sins. These sins include not only ending a life, but also ending a life before they can fulfill their karma/dharma cycle.

In my own life, my family raised me with a vegetarian lifestyle. I chose to continue this lifestyle as I moved on to college to living on my own in a different state. Recent press, media, and trends have given rise to the trope of the "vegan" who always rants about killing and abusing animals. While my own ethics requires me to not kill and eat any animal, I would never presume to ask others to follow in my footsteps. I would never presume to know someone else's dharma or karma; therefore, I would never turn into that "trope" of the "crazy vegan". Many people are always turned off, surprised, uncomfortable, or disgusted when I mention that I am vegetarian. This aversion is part of the reason why I wanted to write this blog post explaining the basis of my decision to remain vegetarian.

The different views of femininity

In class, we discussed at length the concepts of pornography, adultery, and sin relating to females, as it is portrayed in the Bible.

In the Mahabharatha, there are numerous instances on where the concepts of adultery, sexual desire, and femininity are discussed in the scope of ethics and Dharma. The Mahabharatha presents a model of ethics with which people should emulate and follow. This model is presented in the form of stories of different characters. I've picked a story that stuck with me, and I will explain the lesson that they are trying to teach, in regards to the sexual desire and femininity. 

In this story, we learn of how Bhishma's vow of celibacy played an important part in the story of Mahabharatha. Following his vow of celibacy, the kingdom was handed over to his half-brother Chithraganda who ruled kindly and generously for many years until he was killed in a battle. Chithraganda never had any children, and as such, the kingdom was passed down to Chithraganda's younger brother (Bhishma's other half-brother) Vichitravirya. Since Vichitravirya was only a teenager, Bhishma ruled in proxy. When Vichitravirya came of age, Bhishma went to a swayamvara (a contest in which many princes and their proxies compete in order to display themselves capable and worthy to marry the princess, the princess chooses who impresses her the most) in order to find a princess for Vichitravirya. The Swayamvara was for the three princesses Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika. The congregation spurned him for "breaking his vow of celibacy" when in reality they did not know that Bhishma was there for his little brother. Bhishma became angry and completely blew the competition out of the water. So he won and he escorted all the princesses home to the kingdom. Amba tried to protest by saying that she was secretly dating Prince Salva and had already given her soul to him. So Bhishma acquiesced and sent her to Prince Salva, but Salva's pride and manhood and ego were sorely injured and according to the rules of battle and justice, he cannot accept a prize he did not win. Salva turned away Amba saying "I have been disgraced". So when Amba returns to Bhishma asking him to take her as his wife, Bhishma denied on account of his vow of celibacy, and Vichitravirya would not marry her as she had already given her heart to another man. So Amba became angry and prayed to God Subramanya for a way to get revenge on Bhishma. Lord Subramanya gave her a boon in which in her next life, she will be able to become a man and kill Bhishma. Amba committed suicide and in her next life she was born as Sikhandini, a female, and through austerities and rituals and prayer, she became a man named Sikhandhin and she succeeded in helping Arjuna kill Bhishma. 

This story presents various views on women. On one hand, it seems to portray the individuality, power, and courage of a woman. On the other hand it portrays one of the few instances of LGBTQIA+ in Hindu culture.

To analyze this further, I want to start on the whole process of swayamvaras. But first, I want to take a detour into the literal word. In the olden days of Ancient India, the spoken word was taken extremely seriously. Anything spoken by an elder or by a celestial being was taken very seriously and was immediately put into effect, or it was considered to have already been put into effect. For example, it can be most easily be compared to God's statement of "let there be light" in Genesis 1:3. That being said, any promises that are made, are also taken very seriously. If a promise or destiny is not fulfilled, then that promise will follow that soul through every rebirth they have until they fulfill it.

Now onto swayamvaras and the discussion of the place that femininity occupies in ancient Indian lore. If a female is not of noble birth, the common practice of that time was that her parents, mainly her father, would find her a suitable husband to marry. Their search would be based on financial stability, class, how just and good the man is, and also social standing within the class they occupy. However, if the daughter is of noble birth, then commonly there are numerous people vying to meet and marry her. So the daughter's father usually arranges a Swayamvara for all the princes to gather and show off for her so that she can choose whoever impresses her the most.

Figure 1: Draupadi's Swayamvara. Arjuna is demonstrating his strength.

"Swayam" means self or soul and "vara" means groom or spouse. Only grooms of the same or better caste, and of similar or better economic status could participate. Marriage is one of the major milestones in life. Often times, if one is not married, their life isn't considered successful. In the 3rd chapter of the Mahabharatha, it explains how marriage is a gift and a stepping stone to fulfillment of one's Dharma, or path in life. Fulfillment of Dharma is actually one of the most important goals in a Hindu person's life.

The very concept of swayamvaras present a sense of individuality, power, and status. I dont know if I am verbalizing this properly, but the very concept of a female taking her own life into her own hands if mind-blowingly cool to me, especially when you consider that this story is taking place in Ancient India.

However, this story also presents a contradictory view of women being prizes to be had. They are treasures to be coveted. A lot of female descriptors used in this book begin with a compliment on appearance; for example, "beautiful Draupadi", "his wife, the princess Santha, whose great beauty soothed and pleased him", and "O beautiful maiden with bright earrings". This is objectification is also present in the way Prince Salva rejects Princess Amba when she went to him after being sent by Bhishma. He rejects her saying that, she is a prize that has already been won by some other man of justice. Vichitravirya regards Princess Amba as a tainted object for having already given her heart away to Prince Salva and for desiring him and desiring to be with him. Please note that when it mentions her giving her heart away, it just means that she loves him, not any kind of sexual connotation. Even with keeping and maintaining her virginity, and only loving a man with her heart, she is considered tainted.

This duality is confusing as it presents two very different views on femininity in the same story. It projects this idea that women are to be treasured and respected, but also that they are required to be individual and independent. They are also expected to be pure in mind, body, and soul! So when Amba gave her heart to Salva, it was a sin, as they had not yet been married. Since she had given her heart to Salva, and had thus been won by Bhishma and presented to Vichitravirya as a "taken women", it would be considered adultery if Vichitravirya has agreed to marry a women that has already been spoken for. Having been rejected by all the males around her, Amba was left without anyone to marry, thereby depriving her of her duty and path to Dharma and religious fulfillment.

There is also one instance of LGBTQIA+. The rebirth of Amba into Sikhandhini is actually an attempt and a chance for Amba to finally fulfill her life duty/ Dharma by being born into a new life. Amba vowed that her life duty shall be to slay Bhishma for ruining her life and for disrespecting her but refusing her hand in marriage. After being born as Sikhandhini, she realized that she still cannot achieve her goal, as she is female and females cannot enter battle, and it is sinful for males to raise a hand against a female. So Sikhandhini, through penance and divine intervention, became a man named Sikhandhin (as a sidenote, most female names end in -i). This can be clearly considered a case of a transgender character appearing in the founding epics of Hinduism.

This redefines the concept of femininity once again, shedding yet another perspective onto this complex presentation on femininity and sin.