As you sow, So you reap.

The title may sound like that of a class five essay writing competition, but this is something which has been running in my mind for a while now. The very recent killings of the LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has just ignited these thoughts. As I was walking along the queues in Tirupati this afternoon, I heard the following shloka being recited.

Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam.
Dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge.

It translates to

For the up-liftment of the good and virtuous,
For the destruction of evil,
For the re-establishment of the natural law,
I will come, in every age.

This is a shloka, from the 4th chapter of the Bhagwad Gita, from the mouth of the expert psychiatrist of all time, Lord Krishna. It in many ways echoes so many sentiments preached with fervour, right from the title of this post, to the saying which talks about one taking weapons dying with weapons, to ofcourse saying god will actually take care of those who do evil.

One person it actually applied to very well was Prabhakaran. This is not to take sides with the Sri Lankan government. Nor is this to claim that Prabhakaran was a beast of a man. I most definitely respect Prabhakaran for his motive, his cause, his idea of upliftment of the Sri Lankan Tamils. But from an objective point of view, he was essentially a victim of his own arrows. He was responsible for unnecessary violence, and as a result, fell to his own idea, the Eelam war. Any sort of hatred leads only to this kind of an outcome. There is no story in history of a violent warrior whose life wasn't a tragedy. Lord Krishna points this out in the Bhagwas Gita again,

Adveshta Sarva Bhuuthaanaam Maithrah Karuna Evacha
Nirmamo Nirahamkaarah Sama Dhukha Sukha Kshami

This translates to

He who has no trace of hatred towards any creature, who is friendly and compassionate towards all, who is
free from the bondage of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, who takes pain and pleasure as equally welcome and who is
forbearing in spite of provocation…

This in great detail tells us what the advantages of a peaceful life is, and how important it is to lead one. If Prabhakaran's methods were more peaceful, he'd be a hero today worldwide. Not that his legacy is going to end here, he definitely will inspire loads of biopics. In fact, I myself have one ready, and am yet to discuss it with Shre.. :P So, that essentially was the idea. Vellai pookal ulagam engum malarave.. :)