Being Kshatriya

[spyrichuwel]

Duryodhana was the best mace warrior of his time and fell in battle fighting. I don't doubt his capacity as a warrior but obviously he cannot be claimed to be an ideal kshatriya like Rama.

Even Ravana for that matter was a Brahmana due to his scholarship in the vedas, but he cannot be stated to be an ideal Brahmana as well like Vasistha or Vyasa.

Actually Duryodhana was even more Kshatriya in a way.

Mace is a heavy weapon, it relies on strength, so it requires more Rajas to fight with.

He fought Bhima and Bhima found it difficult to fight him.

Some warriors are more expert than others, some warriors are more intelligent or faster or better equipped than others. Someone is bound to win and someone is bound to lose.

But they are all still warriors.

The tendency to fight and a sense of realism is what distinguishes Kshatriyas from Shudras and Vaishyas.

 

[ajay0]

Actually Duryodhana was even more Kshatriya in a way.

Mace is a heavy weapon, it relies on strength, so it requires more Rajas to fight with.

He fought Bhima and Bhima found it difficult to fight him.

Some warriors are more expert than others, some warriors are more intelligent or faster or better equipped than others. Someone is bound to win and someone is bound to lose.

But they are all still warriors.

The tendency to fight and a sense of realism is what distinguishes Kshatriyas from Shudras and Vaishyas.

Okay, but he was no white knight in a shining armour or gentleman.

After the pandavas were subjected to slavery through false dice, he made inappropriate statements and gestures to their wife Draupadi, and called on his cheap younger brother Dusshasana to disrobe her .

These does not adhere to the ancient Kshatriya code of conduct and chivalry which is present in modern military etiquette as well. The phrase 'officer and a gentleman' is quite famous in military parlance.

Also Duryodhana made cunning attempts to kill Bheema and the Pandavas in the past clandestinely, which does not conform to the Kshatriya code as well.

 

[ajay0]

The Nazis employed similar methods against women and children of races whom they deemed inferior , especially the Slavs, Jews, Gypsies and handicapped.

Many of them were convicted of crimes against civilians which went against established soldiering conduct, court-martialled and hanged after the second world war.

Nuremberg trials - Wikipedia


All this shows the sheer foolishness even soldiers do under the influence of conditioning and propaganda. Hence the need for deconditioning through meditation and inquiry about our true Self, rather than identifying with false illusory selves and perpetuating misery.

 

[spyrichuwel]

Okay, but he was no white knight in a shining armour or gentleman.

After the pandavas were subjected to slavery through false dice, he made inappropriate statements and gestures to their wife Draupadi, and called on his cheap younger brother Dusshasana to disrobe her .

These does not adhere to the ancient Kshatriya code of conduct and chivalry which is present in modern military etiquette as well. The phrase 'officer and a gentleman' is quite famous in military parlance.

Also Duryodhana made cunning attempts to kill Bheema and the Pandavas in the past clandestinely, which does not conform to the Kshatriya code as well.

The only non-Kshatriya thing about him were his use of cunning and assasination plots against the Pandavas because of their superior military skills.

 

[spyrichuwel]

The Nazis employed similar methods against women and children of races whom they deemed inferior , especially the Slavs, Jews, Gypsies and handicapped.

Many of them were convicted of crimes against civilians which went against established soldiering conduct, court-martialled and hanged after the second world war.

Nuremberg trials - Wikipedia


All this shows the sheer foolishness even soldiers do under the influence of conditioning and propaganda. Hence the need for deconditioning through meditation and inquiry about our true Self, rather than identifying with false illusory selves and perpetuating misery.

About your nazi thing...

Well...

1)We can talk about how Israel has superior military equiptment which makes their fight against the Palestinians unfair.

2)People who gang up on others are morally disqualified from claiming to be persecuted and helpless.

3)People who are open to Krav Maga and what not themselves yet hate military prowess and greatness in others and ban them from these things using force, violence etc contradicts their so called helpless, victim status

A helpless person is someone who is innocent and oppressed. Not someone who boils in envy and does the aforementioned things.

Indeed we live in a grossly hypocritical world.

 

[ajay0]

About your nazi thing...

Well...

1)We can talk about how Israel has superior military equiptment which makes their fight against the Palestinians unfair.

2)People who gang up on others are morally disqualified from claiming to be persecuted and helpless.

3)People who are open to Krav Maga and what not themselves yet hate military prowess and greatness in others and ban them from these things using force, violence etc contradicts their so called helpless, victim status

A helpless person is someone who is innocent and oppressed. Not someone who boils in envy and does the aforementioned things.

Indeed we live in a grossly hypocritical world.

I am talking about the Nazi atrocities against the Slavs, Gypsies, Jews just because they were deemed as inferior races.

Zionist oppression of palestinians is not a calculated racial genocide like the Nazi one. It is more of a territorial issue. It is also unfortunate that the western allies decided to dump the Jews in conflict prone Palestine rather than rehabilitating them in Europe itself.

Many Jews have lived in India without any issues for centuries till now and had given excellent service to their adopted nation like the zoroastrians.

 

[Shantanu]

Should not posters restrict this Hinduism DIR to Hinduism matters only, not Nazis, Zionists etc.

 

[ajay0]

The only non-Kshatriya thing about him were his use of cunning and assasination plots against the Pandavas because of their superior military skills.

Generosity is also considered a Kshatriya virtue.

When Krishna pleaded as a diplomat for the Pandavas to be given just 5 villages to exercise their administrative duties, Duryodhana retorted that he will not give them a needle's width of land.

If Duryodhana had given a mere 5 villages, war could have been avoided and he could have reigned as emperor.

But that was not to be. His greed and hatred got the better of his judgement leading to his destruction later on.

He was a fitting example of the incisive psychological teaching of Krishna in the Gita...

Brooding on sense objects causes attachment to them. Attachment breeds craving; craving (when obstructed) breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion; delusion breeds loss of memory (of the Self). Loss of right memory causes decay of the discriminating faculty. From decay of discrimination,ruin follows. —The Bhagavad Gita II:62-63

 

[Shantanu]

[*staff edit*]

... in hereditary systems no specific attributes are required for belonging to any of the four vernas as this remains a social stratification of society. In each verna there are therefore all kinds of individuals, some virtuous, some chivalrous, so evil. The point is that regardless of their gunas of sattvic, rajasic or tamasic or a blend of these gunas, members of vernas are still expected to carry out the chores belonging to that verna. This is how the system is functioning now. This hereditary system of course leads to inefficiencies in the way society functions as people not biologically suited to a role perform that role. In ancient society (Vedic society) such inefficiencies were prevented by making the verna system of stratification flexible so people could interchange between vernas. For example, there is no rule requirement for a Kshatriya to be generous which is a sattvic guna. A generous Kshatriya would change his verna to become a Brahmin which is associated with sattvic guna. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas would have mainly rajasic guna, while Shudras would be tamasic.

I hope this clarifies this issue. For further information, read the following blogpost: The varna system of social organisation of the Hindus.

 

[ajay0]

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the kshatriyas.” (Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.43)



As stated earlier, generosity is a kshatriya trait, and it was actually Karna, who was a loyal supporter of Duryodhana who is considered as the exemplar of generosity in the Mahabharatha, as shown by the way he as a king generously and speedily gave up his wealth to the poor who sought it.

Yudhisthira, when exiled in the forest, similarly with a great display of generosity, rescued Duryodhana who were captured by the gandharvas, even though Duryodhana had entered the forest to mock Yudhisthira and the pandavas over their poverty.

 

[Shantanu]

That is the trouble with believing everything written in the Bhagavad Gita as the words of God. A person loses all commonsense and practicality.

 

[ajay0]

A redeeming aspect of Shakuni was that upon being rescued and set free by Yudhisthira and the Pandavas from the Gandharvas, Shakuni too counselled out of gratitude to the dejected Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas and return back their kingdom. However other wicked counsellors of Duryodhana kept on ill-advising him to keep enemity with Yudhisthira , saying that the pandavas did only their duty of rescuing the Kauravas from distress. This even though they had initially come to the forest to mock the pandavas for their poverty and loss of kingdom.

This reminds one of the story of the fox and sour grapes. When unable to get the delicious looking ripe grapes after trying a lot, the fox walks away dejected claiming it to be sour, in order to soothe his wounded ego.

Similarly the wicked counsellors also tried to soothe Duryodhana's wounded ego with all kinds of absurd claims.

Thus it is important to critically examine the kind of advisors and counsellor's one have, as they will have a direct effect on one's destiny, for better or worse.

 

[Shantanu]

A redeeming aspect of Shakuni was that upon being rescued and set free by Yudhisthira and the Pandavas from the Gandharvas, Shakuni too counselled out of gratitude to the dejected Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas and return back their kingdom. However other wicked counsellors of Duryodhana kept on ill-advising him to keep enemity with Yudhisthira , saying that the pandavas did only their duty of rescuing the Kauravas from distress. This even though they had initially come to the forest to mock the pandavas for their poverty and loss of kingdom.

This reminds one of the story of the fox and sour grapes. When unable to get the delicious looking ripe grapes after trying a lot, the fox walks away dejected claiming it to be sour, in order to soothe his wounded ego.

Similarly the wicked counsellors also tried to soothe Duryodhana's wounded ego with all kinds of absurd claims.

Thus it is important to critically examine the kind of advisors and counsellor's one have, as they will have a direct effect on one's destiny, for better or worse.

That is OK but each person has to consider whether to live out his own Mahabharatta if he believes in truth and justice and fighting for ones dignity and reputation. I was born into a Brahmin family but on God's insistence became a Kshatriya to engage in this pursuit that you keep asking me about and I hope you follow my Blog for the latest situation.

 

[ajay0]

Mercenaries, highwaymen, pirates, gangsters similarly cannot be termed as Kshatriyas even though they may use the term to feed their vanity and low self-esteem.

Kabir's teaching of using critical examination to discern the genuine sages and saints from fraudsters, can also be used in a similar manner to discern the genuine Kshatriyas from the fraudsters.

Kabir on the need for critical examination to weed out the false and fraudulent...

Krishna' framework for the Kshatriya as taught in the Bhagavad Gita, can be used as a benchmark and standard to critically examine and discern the genuine Kshatriyas from the frauds.

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the kshatriyas.” - Krishna (Bhagavad-gita, 18.43)

 

[Shantanu]

As the story of Arjuna tells us, a Kshatriya who has direct knowledge of God and is guided by God cannot fail in his endeavours.

To ascertain the wishes and directions of God, one needs to proceed via the path of satya-advaita, or truth accommodation. These instructions come to the mind from Paramatman when in surrender mode: thus the union of 'I' (jiva) is the with the Self (God/Paramatman) and is the only Consciousness known under satya-advaita.

 

[spyrichuwel]

Mercenaries, highwaymen, pirates, gangsters similarly cannot be termed as Kshatriyas even though they may use the term to feed their vanity and low self-esteem.

Kabir's teaching of using critical examination to discern the genuine sages and saints from fraudsters, can also be used in a similar manner to discern the genuine Kshatriyas from the fraudsters.

Kabir on the need for critical examination to weed out the false and fraudulent...

Krishna' framework for the Kshatriya as taught in the Bhagavad Gita, can be used as a benchmark and standard to critically examine and discern the genuine Kshatriyas from the frauds.

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the kshatriyas.” - Krishna (Bhagavad-gita, 18.43)

Nope, those people are borderline Kshatriyas.

The Arabic Semites used to be bandits plundering caravans. They swiftly conquered Sumer(Sargon of Akkad).

This evolutionary tendency allowed them to conquer Spain and fight the Christians during the Crusades.

Some Indian Kings even hired bandits and mobsters in their army.

Maratha soldiers also probably rose out of bandits. Bandits are very good in guerilla style warfare.

 

[spyrichuwel]

Basic definition of Kshatriya:

- anyone who fights
- anyone who likes to fight
- anyone good at fighting
- anyone who strains hard to fight
- anyone with courage, bravery and honour

And hardwork, persistence, determination

- anyone who is a mixture of Rajas and Sattva

Fyi the Vedic Aryans used to plunder and steal booty.

 

[ajay0]

Basic definition of Kshatriya:

- anyone who fights
- anyone who likes to fight
- anyone good at fighting
- anyone who strains hard to fight
- anyone with courage, bravery and honour

And hardwork, persistence, determination

- anyone who is a mixture of Rajas and Sattva.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, also known as the Iron man of India, never raised a sword or gun in his life. But he was considered as the right hand of Mahatma Gandhi, and helped Gandhi free India from foreign rule without any violence . He also later united the nearly 600 kingdoms of India into a single republic singlehandedly.

So I would say Kshatriyahood is about brains as well as determination.

Once a statue of Napoleon was created with Napoleon showing a menacing fist. Napoleon ,upon seeing the statue meant to glorify him, ridiculed it instead saying that he won his battles with his brains and not with his fists.

Even his rivals Talleyrand and Arthur Wellesley had praised him as the finest soldier in the world for his consistent victories with numerically inferior armies.

Fyi the Vedic Aryans used to plunder and steal booty.

Then they cannot be termed as Arya or noble. It is just primitive tribalism and barbarism.

 

[spyrichuwel]

Then they cannot be termed as Arya or noble. It is just primitive tribalism and barbarism.

LOL telling Aryans that they are not Aryans!

 

[ajay0]

LOL telling Aryans that they are not Aryans!

I am referring to Arya as per the Hindu religious theme, not the western racial pov which smacks of body-consciousness contrary to Hindu religious teachings, as body-consciousness is the source of psychological misery due to false identification with the impermanent mind and body rather than the Self.

Arya as per the Dharmik teachings means the noble one who is established in the Self-awareness or emptiness. The rishis who were established in the Self were the ones who founded the Sanatana Dharma and created the Vedic faith.