Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville, TN 2/3/2013 Review: Review of Bheeshma’s fall? Moral of the “three filters of Socrates” story? Wisdom Story: The bad-tempered shopkeeper I walked with a friend to the newsstand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the owner politely. The owner, however, did not even acknowledge it. “A sullen fellow, isn’t he?” I commented as we walked away. “Oh, he’s that way every night,” shrugged my friend. “Then why do you continue being so polite to him?” I asked. And my friend replied, “Why should I let him determine how I’m going to act?” Moral: Show good attitude despite circumstances and other people’s provocation. Wisdom Story: The Edison Factory Fire It was a cold December night in West Orange, New Jersey. Thomas Edison’s factory was humming with activity. Work was proceeding on a variety of fronts as the great inventor was trying to turn more of his dreams into practical realities. Edison’s plant, made of concrete and steel, was deemed “fireproof.” As you may have already guessed, it wasn’t! On a frigid night in 1914, the sky was lit up by a sensational blaze that had burst through the plant roof. Edison’s 24-year-old son, Charles, made a frenzied search for his famous inventor-father. When he finally found him, he was watching the fire. His white hair was blowing in the wind. His face was illuminated by the leaping flames. “My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “Here he was, 67 years old, and everything he had worked for was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, ‘Charles! Where’s your mother?’ When I told him I didn’t know, he said, ‘Find her! Bring her here! She’ll never see anything like this as long as she lives.’” Next morning, Mr. Edison looked at the ruins of his factory and said this of his loss: “There’s value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew.” Moral: Recover from setbacks and mistakes with determination. These are God’s tests for us. Page 1 of 3 Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville, TN 2/3/2013 Mahabharata (Part 14): War Continues – Abhimanyu’s bravery After visiting Bheeshma, Duryodhana returned to his camp and was anxious to appoint the next commander-in-chief. Karna suggested the name of Drona and everyone agreed. Drona had a soft corner for the Pandavas. He knew that the war was due to the bad advice that Duryodhana got from his maternal uncle Shakuni. But he was committed to serve the crown. After taking command, Drona changed Bheeshma’s tactics and made a special war formation with the intention of capturing Yudhishthira. Drona underestimated the strength and cleverness of Krishna. He failed to capture Yudhishthira. During the scuffle, however, he killed Drupada, his old friend – turned - enemy. Drupada’s son, Dhrishtadyumna, vowed to kill Drona. The following day, Drona attacked the Pandava army with a vengeance but victory was not in sight. Upon his return at the end of the day, Duryodhana accused Drona as failing in his duties to capture Yudhishthira. Drona was infuriated and promised to kill one of the great Pandava warriors on the following day or else he would give up his life. With the day break, he called for a special meeting asking his best commanders to keep Arjuna busy as he was the only one who knew how to break through his special circular array, called the “Chakravyuha”. Jayadratha was given the task of organizing the movement of the Chakravyuha. Drona was confident of his victory as no one knew how to break through the “Chakravyuha”, except Arjuna. Hence Drona asked all his commanders to prevent Arjuna from coming near the “Chakravyuha”. It seemed the perfect plan. The Kaurava army began to march across the Pandava army with the advance of the circular array. It was like a giant wall advancing and crushing the Pandava soldiers. Yudhishthira finally asked his brothers for advice. Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu said, “I only know how to enter the circle but I do not know how to get out.” Yudhishthira asked his brothers, Bheema, Nakul and Sahadeva to follow Abhimanyu and fight their way out. When Abhimanyu started to break through the circle, Jayadratha ordered to quickly close it, trapping Abhimanyu inside. The Pandavas were unable to break into the circle to help Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu single-handedly fought bravely. In frustration, Duryodhana, Karna, Drona, Ashwathama attacked the brave son of Arjuna Page 2 of 3 Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville, TN 2/3/2013 simultaneously (against the previously set rules of war) and killed him. Abhimanyu’s death sent a current of joy in the Kaurava camp. When Yudhishthira got the news, he felt responsible for the death of Abhimanyu. Arjuna did not hear of his valiant son’s death until the end of the day. He immediately broke down and fell senseless on the ground. It was an unjust fight. The code of the war called for a fair fight between two soldiers and not ganging up against a single soldier. Arjuna vowed to kill Jayadratha, the person who had plotted the Chakravyuha. He swore he would either kill Jayadratha the next day before the sunset, or else, he would kill himself. When Jayadratha heard of Arjuna’s vow, he wanted to run away from the battlefield. Drona assured him that he would protect him. All the warriors of the Kauravas were also alerted that the following day might prove to be the decisive battle. If Arjuna could not kill Jayadratha, he would kill himself and thus the Kauravas would be able to get rid of one of the most powerful warriors of the Pandavas. The fighting resumed the next day. Arjuna penetrated into the Chakravyuha but was unable to reach Jayadratha until close to sunset. “Arjuna, it appears that you will not be able to get to Jayadratha before sunset.” Krishna said, “Let us work jointly and when I will give you the cue, you will get your last chance to kill Jayadratha.” Soon Krishna created an illusion by which the sun set and the Kaurava army began to rejoice, relaxed in their effort to resist Arjuna any longer. Krishna asked Arjuna not to lose his opportunity to kill Jayadratha. Arjuna lost no time and Jayadratha was beheaded. Soon Krishna removed his illusion and the Kaurava army was surprised to see that the sun was still up. They realized that Krishna had tricked them and the Pandava army rejoiced. Proverbs: Vision without action is a daydream; action without a vision is a nightmare. There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not bothering to find out. It's not enough to know how to ride -- you must also know how to fall. Page 3 of 3 .