In one of our short courses, Lessons from the Mahabharata, students learned communication skills, decision-making abilities, and critical thinking through stories from the ancient Indian epic. Read on as Ojuswini shares some beautiful learnings that have enriched her life.

• Never be an egoist: It is the first step of destroying yourself

If in the Mahabharata, Duryodhana would have agreed to give five small villages to Pandavas, the war could have been avoided. But it was his ego and jealousy which did not let him do so.

• Excess  of anything is bad

I realised this through two instances in Mahabharata. The first is that if Dronacharya would have refused to give Ashwathama the lesson of Bhramastra, he would have been saved from the curse. The second is if Dhritarashtra would have not supported Duryodhna in his Adharma he would have been safe. But he had a lot of affection towards his son, also termed as “PUTRA MOH”,  which destroyed both of them.

• An impulsive decision or a decision made in anger is not always right

I understood that before doing anything, we should think several times and then make a decision. Like in Bheeshma Pitamaha’s case, the pratigya (pledge) that he took was good for his father and the present time. However, in the long-term, the entire future changed because of his one pratigya.

• We should have control over ourselves and our passion

For  instance, Pandu had a passion for hunting and because he could not exercise control over it, his passion itself snatched his life from him.

• Do not believe in something unless you have investigated it

If we get to know something, we should not completely believe in it before investigating it and finding out about it ourselves. Like in the Mahabharata war, after hearing from Bheema that Ashwathama is dead, Dronacharya checked with Yudhisthira and gave up the war. Instead, he should have first confirmed it himself before taking that decision.
You can find more such insights from our students in ‘The Plus’ magazine. Our online programs also offer platforms for students to showcase their talent and work.