Chakravyuha

The Chakravyuha (or Padmavyuha) is an army formation mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is a seven-tier defensive spiral formation that is likened to a chariot wheel, it was used by Dronacharya, commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army. As we are all aware, Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu knew how to penetrate the Chakravyuha but did but not how to exit from it.
How many such Chakravyuhas do we enter in our lives without knowing how to extricate ourselves from the maze?

Our mind is a Chakravyuha of endless thoughts that go on and on despite our best efforts to bring it under control. The idle chatter continues ceaselessly, one thought leads to another, worries about the future torment us or memories of past actions haunt us. The ‘I could have’, ‘I should have’, ‘if only’ are really irrelevant …….

Let us learn to live in the present and enjoy every moment of it. I quote from ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’ (Dad dearest presented me with a copy on my 7<SUP>th</SUP> birthday)
“The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
“Were it not Folly, Spider-like to spin
The Thread of present Life away to win --
What? for ourselves, who know not if we shall
Breathe out the very Breath we now breathe in!”
Life is a Chakravyuha of seeking happiness in the outside world. It is a series of endless desires, from getting a lucrative job to owning a mansion and a Merc or a BMW. When one ambition is fulfilled, the mind targets the next peak to conquer. And so it continues, the search fot this elusive happiness ends in a cul-de-sac at every turn. Sages and Enlightened masters advise us to seek for the Bliss that exists within us.

I sometimes feel that terrorists are sucked into the vortex of a Chakravyuha from which there is no escape. This is nothing but a controlled, systematic indoctrination into believing that mindless destruction of lives and property will strike fear into the hearts of a nation. Death is the only logical end to the Jihadis.

The Chakravyuha formation is akin to the seven chakras or energy levels in our body. My Guruji’s words come to mind “A human body is made up of many energy layers. Just like we peel an onion layer by layer and discover that it is empty inside, when we peel the layers of our individual identity, we will find that the emptiness inside (the loss of our individual identity) is the Collective Consciousness that we call the Divine’”

To end on a humorous note, one Chakravyuha that I love to rush into and have no desire to exit in a hurry is the Indus Ladies Forum!

Padma Srinivas

 

Dear Vahee,

The first one to send FB, thanks a lot for the nice way you worded your appreciation,
it is unique!

Padma

 

Dear Sriniketan,

I'm honoured that have been caught up in my Chakravyuha, the best compliment I could get!

At age 7, I did not understand all the underlying connotations of Omar Khayyam but my father, my first Guru, explained to me my favourite lines "The moving finger..." and I had such the vivid imagination of the very young, I could really picture the hand as it wrote on a blank page, when I told my parents, they burst out laughing ....

The IL Chakravyuha is very intoxicating, all ILites would like to be inside it forever!

Thanks Sriniketan,

Padma

 

Dear Gowri,

Thanks for your sweet words about enjoying the Chakravyuhas!

Padma