Mahabhrata Essay, Research Paper

Myth, as the universal story of every man s journey to become the whole person he wishes to become, is never a story of just one person. By its very nature, it cannot be a story of an individual because myth contains universal messages for every human. To conquer the necessary evils that the hero will encounter during his travels, there is often the need of supernatural help and aide. In the Mahabhrata, there are many instances of supernatural aide, especially when the blessed or divine individuals become mentors or guides to the mere mortals. Bhishma, Vyasa and especially Krishna are examples of this kind of mythic guide that helps the hero prevail. The supernatural guide exists for many reasons on many different levels, all of which warrant discussion.

During the separation stage of the hero journey, the hero often encounters some supernatural entity that provides guidance and instruction, often times laying out plainly in front of the aspiring hero what he must do to survive his oncoming trials. Acting as the storyteller in the Mahabhrata, Vyasa is in effect telling each of us what we must do to conquer the illusion of ourselves and become the person that we truly are. On this most basic level, both Bhishma and Krishna act merely as guides to steer the protagonists of the Mahabhrata in the correct direction to maintain the necessary story line. While an essential facet of the relationship between the supernatural world and the hero, interpreting these characters on this level yields little, if any, worthwhile fruits.

On a different level, however, Bhishma and Krishna can both become the key to all learning that occurs during the trials of the war and the events leading up to it. Without a guide or companion to open their eyes to their own inner strength, characters such as Karna, Arjuna and Yudisthra would never become the incomparable warriors that they are by battle s end. At times, Karna does not heed fully the warnings and admonishing of his teachers, and in the end, this is the cause of his downfall: he cannot remember the formula taught to him that would enable him to defeat Arjuna. His inability to master his own inner divinity (for he has the blood of the Sun god in him) comes from his lack of knowledge of his origins and manifests itself in his inability to conquer his brothers. Arjuna, however, heeds the messages of Krishna, as per the Bhagavad Gita, and becomes the greatest warrior in existence. As symbolized by the fact that all of the Pandavas are literally children of god, Yudisthra is able to fully realize his own inner divinity and thus with the aide of Bhishma and Vyasa, he becomes the most righteous of men and enters into moksha.

One of the most troubling aspects of all of these characters is the fact that they are all defeated in some fashion. Bhishma is killed (although he takes his time in dying) by his most apt pupil, Arjuna. It is then, only after he has been mortally wounded, that Bhishma is able to bestow his greatest teachings upon the world of combat. His talk with Arjuna, as the life force is draining from his body, is Bhishma’s ultimate achievement, and only in surpassing his teacher and friend can Arjuna attain the ultimate boon of all his journeys. Krishna s morals are suspect throughout the entire war, but his death seems unnecessary, as the war had already been won. It was indeed necessary, though, for Krishna to pass from existence so that Arjuna could become a man on his own and escape from the crutch he had kept in his friend Arjuna. His entrance into moksha would have been tainted had he lived his entire life under the protective cover of Krishna. Vyasa seems indignant and unfair in the end with his trickery towards Yudisthra, but it is only through this final test that Yudisthra is able to reach enlightenment and attain the final treasure of enlightenment, which his life s journey had been seeking.

These mythological guides act differently than normal mortals for a reason: they possess the knowledge and wisdom necessary to successfully journey through the unknown. They are not held to our same ideas of morality and ethical values. Because they are able to master both the supernatural and natural world, they are masters of two realities. The supernatural world represents our subconscious while the natural world symbolizes our conscious mind. Mastery of these two distinct realms is what allows us to enter a state of true wisdom and enlightenment. Because these guides represent an ideal of conquering the deepest and darkest recesses of our own mind, they consequently represent the ultimate in self-exploration: mastery of the subconscious inner self. Because of their divine nature, they symbolize to us that we, if willing, are able to tap into our own inner resources and discover the divinity within ourselves.

Without the guidance and help of these preternatural beings, the heroes of myth would never be able to interface successfully with the supernatural world, and would thus be unable to conquer themselves and enter into a purely blissful existence. It is only through this help that heroes can be born, for it is their ability to delve into places too dark and scary for the normal man and garner a newer more effective perspective that immortalizes and separates a hero from a mere man.