MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 340
17th November 2025
Emotional Immaturity
Anger leads to clouding of judgment, which results in bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined. (Bhagavad Gita 2.63)
I used to hear excuses from some people with emotional immaturity that getting angry is in the genes, or some quoting a Tamil proverb, “People with good character invariably get angry”. Neither is true nor acceptable. Emotional immaturity is not a disease but a trait. Emotional Maturity can be practised, acquired and improved.
There is a fascinating story in the epic Mahabharata about a character who went through all the stages shown in sloka 2.63 and was ruined as well, and the person who stage-managed the ruin is none other than Lord Krishna. Who is the person who got ruined because of his anger and how? Let me narrate the story:
Govarthan gone waste
It is widely believed that the kauravas lost their war against the pandavas mainly because two warriors who were expected to fight on their side decided not to fight the Kurukshetra war.
Who were these two great warriors? One was Balram, Krishna’s elder brother and the other Vidura, intelligent minister as well as a great archer. What made Vidura not to fight the war?
Vidura possessed a great weapon, his bow GOVARTHAN gifted to him by Lord Vishnu. One who wields it at the time of a war cannot be destroyed by any weapon, not even by Arjuna’s Gandiva. Bhishma, Karna and Dronacharya also had divine powers, but Lord Krishna was confident that they could be defeated by exploiting their vulnerabilities. But Krishna could not think of any vulnerability to defeat Vidura. He was worried about the arduous task of defeating Vidura in case he decided to fight for the Kauravas. He was thus waiting for the right opportunity to remove Vidura from the equation and that opportunity came when Lord Krishna visited Hastinapura for the peace negotiation on behalf of the Pandavas.
Duryodhana ensured a warm welcome for Krishna with gifts and requested Krishna to stay with them. Krishna avoided the house arranged by Duryodhana and instead stayed at Vidura’s house.
Why did Krishna decide to stay with Vidura? One reason is that Vidura is a sincere devotee and the other is that Krishna used that as a trap for Duryodana’s fall.
Lord Krishna’s peace formula failed because of Duryodhana’s greed and stubbornness. Duryodhana refused all the offers, including the offer to allocate five houses to the Pandavas. Duryodana called off the meeting, refusing to spare even a needle tip.
True to his character, Vidura advised Duryodana to make peace with the Pandavas. Enraged, Duryodana abused Vidura with harsh words, accusing him of siding with the Pandavas at the cost of being disloyal to the kingdom. He objected to Vidura hosting Lord Krishna at his house.
Dhritarashtra, Bhishma and all the elderly present at the king’s court were stunned. They tried to pacify Duryodana, but he was violent and aggressive. He used the cruelest words against Vidura, while his belly depended on the royal food of Duryodana; his heart beat with love for the Pandavas.
Vidura was a wise man and remained patient until he heard Duryodhana abusing his mother. He burst out like a thunder, taking out his bow and arrow, aiming at Duryodhana.
Krishna cleverly intervened and played a trick. Turning towards Duryodhana, he said, “Do not provoke Vidura like this. If you do, he might break his bow and declare that he will not fight on your side and would remain neutral.”
Duryodhana, however, remained indignant and arrogant, saying it did not matter if Vidura decided against fighting, and that he would win the war without Vidura's support.
Enraged Vidura was unable to digest further insult. He declared, “Krishna, you guided me on the right path and reminded me of my power of archery. I will fight no more.” Saying this, he strung his bow and broke it with a thunderous noise accompanied by a flash of lightning. Vidura thanked Krishna and walked out of the durbar.
This incident probably influenced Lord Krish to compile Bhagavad Gita slokas 2.62 and 2.63. Duryodhana’s excessive attachment to power turned into greed, unsatisfied greed turned into anger, anger resulted in the delusion about Vidura’s loyalty and his own strength, delusion resulted in loss of memory of his position and that of his highly respected and intelligent uncle, which resulted in loss of intelligence and eventually to his downfall in the war.
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Adapted from newindianexpress.com
Waste to Wealth
Shredded pieces of fabric, crumpled cardboards, torn paper sheets, coconut shells and crushed plastic bottles. These may seem like everyday waste to us, but for Cuttack’s #LipsaBehura, it is a medium for meaningful art that translates into thoughtful gifts.
Lipsa is the founder of an eco-friendly gifting venture, #BeyondWaste, through which she has introduced a diverse array of gifts, ranging from upcycled scrap-fabric jewellery, recycled paper diaries, coconut-shell candles, to wall hangings from paper waste, each product blending aesthetics with sustainability. In fact, she has always been passionate about art and sustainability. An MBA graduate from Sri Sri University, Lipsa launched her venture in 2022 to bring meaningful change to the gifting industry.
It was during her MBA internship at a few villages that Lipsa came across the idea of manufacturing eco-friendly handicrafts and other gifting options. She volunteered for a #YouthForSustainability campaign by a local NGO where she began understanding climate change and the need for plastic waste management.
She uses scrap fabric to design jewellery, while coconut shells and spices are turned into scented candles. While glass bottles are upcycled into lamps, upcycled cardboard is used to create fridge magnets and wall hangings in her studio. Although ensuring the quality and durability of recycled products was an initial challenge for Lipsa and her team, they overcame the obstacle through multiple experiments.
Apart from her store in Cuttack and social media handles, Lipsa retails at Balijatra and other events in the Twin City every year. Initially, the demand for upcycled products was low but as the understanding of plastic menace and upcycling grew, people are now choosing products made from upcycled and eco-friendly materials as gifts and even for their own consumption, she added. Among Lipsa’s most popular creations are recycled paper diaries and jewellery crafted from scrap Sambalpuri fabric.
Connect to Lipsa Behura and Beyond Waste from https://in.linkedin.com/company/beyondwaste?trk=public_profile_topcard-current-company
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Conceived, compiled and posted as an inspirational newsletter #MondayMusings every monday by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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