Amidst all the Russia-Ukraine tensions, I’m thinking of other war stories that I grew up hearing.
There was the Battle of Lanka, quite intriguing with the different kinds of characters in it: humans, demons, bears, monkeys, etc.
There was the Dharmayuddh of Kurukshetra that some people say was the biggest war fought in the history of mankind.
But the simple question is: why fight at all?
Wars take a heavy toll on resources and the economy.
Not to forget that no one wants bloodshed, death and destruction.
There were multiple efforts, both diplomatic and political to stop the Mahabharat war.
First, they argued over technicalities if the Kauravs had unearthed the Pandav’s disguise.
Then as a compromise, there was a proposal to divide the kingdom. Everyone gets a piece of the pie.
As the last resort, Krishna requested that Duryodhan give just 5 villages to the Pandavas to avoid any conflict.
“I will not part with a needle point of territory,” he fumed.
And that was it.
That was not just the final nail in the coffin, but the very reason for war.
‘This is mine. I’m not leaving it’ is a very animalistic mentality.
Almost as if one’s protecting their territory.
Just as an animal is afraid that they’ll lose their pasture/ hunting ground, there’s an inherent fear that bothered Duryodhan.
‘What if what I have is not enough?’
That fear has driven rulers throughout history to conquer more.
And the welfare of people can never be left to such insecure leaders.
Millions died to teach us this lesson.
We don’t control the actions of Putin, NATO or any government.
We only control our decisions.
So the next time we seek to possess something, or find it difficult to let something go, can we ask ourselves ‘What am I afraid of?’
The answer to that question can nip many future wars in the bud.
