Swadharma

There are moments in the life of a student, like during problem sets, or preceding exams, or during personal (esp. romantic) difficulties where it feels that external motivation is necessary — perhaps a story, or inspiring music, or encouragement from someone loved and admired, or from a friend.

Here, I will provide one such motivator, a few verses from the Mahabharata, where Drona is teaching the young princes the use of various weapons. Drona watches Arjuna, his favorite pupil, with the most care, and, aware of Arjuna’s burning ambition, during the lessons he does the following [skt=1-6,eng, rendered by Kisari Mohan Ganguli]:

Arjuna’s devotion to the service of his preceptor as also to arms was very great and he soon became the favourite of his preceptor. (1)

And Drona, beholding his pupil’s devotion to arms, summoned the cook, and told him in secret, “Never give Arjuna his food in the dark, nor tell him that I have told thee this.” (2)

A few days after, however, when Arjuna was taking his food, a wind arose, and thereupon the lamp that had been burning went out. (3)

But Arjuna, endued with energy, continued eating in the dark, his hand, from habit, going to his mouth. His attention being thus called to the force of habit, the strong-armed son of Pandu set his heart upon practising with his bow in the night. (4)

And, O Bharata, Drona, hearing the twang of his bowstring in the night, came to him, and clasping him, said, (5)

“Truly do I tell thee that I shall do that unto thee by which there shall not be an archer equal to thee in this world.” (6)

This passage signifies the reflexive command that Arjuna has over his chosen science — archery. The same principle applies to any other science, where the difference between an Arjuna and a Nakula is the level of reflexive mastery over the rules and practice of the field. Arjuna takes archery to a higher level by mastering the fundamentals so innately that when he draws the bow, there is no question of his success.

So if you are feeling unmotivated, remember to attain a reflexive mastery of the fundamentals.

There are several other verses like this in this chapter of the Mahabharata, which is the one on educating the young princes. On a side note, there’s a trading card game in Thailand which has a card called “Dronacharya,” whose thundering illustration I admire.

Related posts:

1. How to get motivation from Ekalavya
2. Lying and the Mahabharata
3. Question of the Week: Miracles and Religion
4. Question of the Week: What is my duty?
5. The Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5