QnA with Sri Sri

QnA with Sri Sri
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014

Q: Why did Lord Krishna cheat in the Mahabharata? Was that his dharma?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, you can’t say he cheated. He had everything, why would he cheat? A student in the classroom cheats because he doesn’t know the answer. He is not capable. If he has not studied, then he cheats. A student who is thorough in his knowledge, why would he cheat? Tell me, will he cheat? There is no need to cheat. If you ask him any question, the student will answer because he is brilliant and has studied well. Who would cheat? One who does not have the ability, doesn’t not know the skill and has a lot of lack. To fill the emptiness he cheats others. He knows he doesn’t have the ability to earn so he cheats, right!

So why would Krishna cheat anybody? He was a Yogeshwara, he had everything at his finger tips, why would he cheat? He used skills. That is not cheating, it is called skill. He was skillful. He was not dumb like Yudhisthira who put everybody in trouble.

That is the beauty. When you are always with dharma (righteousness), someone comes to help even if you are dumb and stupid. Even if you’re dumb and stupid there is always a support that comes to you. But, if you’re cunning and if you don’t have a pure heart, you don’t get nature’s support; the Divine's support. Krishna just showed the way to be skillful.

At the end of the war, Duryodhana and all his brothers died in battle. Seeing this, Gandhari (mother of the Kauravas) got very angry and cursed Lord Krishna. She tells him, 'You have brought death to all my children by unfair means'.
At that moment, Lord Krishna reminds Gandhari, 'Dear Mother, when your own son Duryodhana came to touch your feet and take your blessings for victory, you had said, 'Yato Dharmaha Tato-Jayaha' (meaning, where there is Dharma, there will surely be victory). So you had blessed him saying that 'May Dharma be victorious'. What is my fault then and how am I to be blamed? I only helped to fulfill the blessing that you gave to your own son'. Upon hearing this, Gandhari became silent. She realizes that somewhere it was her mistake, because such were the words of blessing that came from her mouth for her own son.

So this is not cheating. It is skill in action.

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