Children, in life we will experience a mix of good luck and back luck. Sometimes things work out to our advantage, even beyond our expectations. At such times, we feel God’s grace is flowing towards us. However, if we act without discrimination and awareness then even times of grace can end in failure; then we may have to face contempt and disgrace. At other times, nothing will seem like it is going our way. Then, we may even feel like we have been cursed. But if during such times we act with proper discrimination, we will be able to overcome whatever crisis we may be facing and find success. In reality, the things we consider as “failure” or “bad luck” need not be viewed this way. For what determines the course of our life is not good and bad luck but how we respond to the so-called “blessings” and “curses” we experience in life.
Kunti Devi, who served Sage Durvasa, a guest at her house, with devotion, was blessed by the sage with a special mantra. It was a mantra to receive a child from any deva (demigod) she wished. This boon, however, resulted in Kunti conceiving a child out of wedlock and abandoning it in secrecy. Some people may think, “By serving a great sage like Durvasa, all Kunti got was suffering!” Children, sage Durvasa gave Kunti the mantra so that she—who was fated to be childless—would bear noble children after marriage. It was Kunti who, in her lack of discrimination, decided to test the mantra’s efficacy by chanting it too soon. If Kunti had proper faith in Durvasa she wouldn’t have done that. Why should the sage be blamed for the misfortune caused by the Kunti’s lack of faith and discrimination? If a doctor prescribes someone a strong antibiotic with the instruction that it is to be taken only after food and that person takes it on an empty stomach, we cannot blame the doctor if his illness worsens. This is how it was with Kunti; her sorrow was her own creation.
In this regard, there is something else to consider. From good, ultimately, only good can arise. Didn’t Durvasa’s boon eventually bring about the destruction of adharma (unrighteousness) and rise of dharma (righteousness)? If dharma is to be established, the people on the side of adharma have to be defeated. But this defeat takes place only after adharma beings to thrive. Then God takes an avatara (incarnation) to come to destroy it. In the Mahabharata, Karna was on the side of the adharma and the egoistic Duryodhana. Feeling Karna to be his ally, Duryodhana’s ego and adharmic behaviour increased all the more. However, this is what paved the way for Lord Krishna to help the Pandavas succeed in restoring dharma.
The story of how Urvasi’s cursing of Arjuna ultimately transformed into his blessing is famous. This story teaches us that if one acts with discrimination, even disadvantageous situations can become advantageous ones. It was Arjuna’s discrimination in following Lord Krishna’s instructions that transformed the curse in this way. This story of Urvasi and Arjuna demonstrates the exact opposite principle of that of Durvasa and Kunti.
Good luck and bad luck, success and failure—these are all inevitable in life. The important thing is to never become egotistical in victory and to never become mentally weak in failure. If we act with proper discrimination without losing self-confidence or faith in God, we will always be successful in life, even in times of crisis.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader