Man Maketh Money or Money Maketh Man?

Krishna explained to Arjun the importance of nishkaam karma, ‘Tum karma kar sakte ho, par iska fal paana tumhare hath me nahi’ (to do our duties diligently is our responsibility, whether we get rewarded for it or not is not beyond our control). To associate, we will look at Drona’s story.

Before becoming the guru of Kauravas and  Pandavas, Drona was living with his wife Kripi and was happy with his life: a small hut and two meals a day were enough to keep the couple going. But, things changed when they gave birth to Ashwatthama. The kid grew in abject poverty and was made fun of by his friends, who once tricked him into believing that wheat-water was milk. Drona learned about this and felt ashamed of his inability to fulfill the basic needs of his family. He went to his childhood friend, Drupad, who was a ruler now and asked for his help. Blinded with ego, Drupad burst out at Drona, ‘You are a lowly mendicant while I am a king. People gift me gold, weapons, silk clothes and their harvest. But for you, they only have bhiksha, food, just enough to keep you alive.’ Drona was poor and needy, but never let his self-respect shake. ‘Drupad, you will pay for your arrogance. One day Drona will show you that we are equal.’ Drona held this grudge in his mind for a long time. He went on to become the guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas. After his students had learned enough, they were instructed to attack Drupad, who was humbled and forced to forfeit half of his kingdom to Drona, making them equals. The story does not end here. Drupad swore to take revenge on Drona. And his son Drishtadyumna would turn out to behead his own guru Drona on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Drupad’s daughter, Draupadi would also play a crucial role in the epic we all know as Mahabharata. And finally, Ashwatthama would slay his father’s killer, Drishtadyumna, when the latter was asleep. Ashwatthama’s revenge for his father’s death would eventually gift him the curse of immortality.

What I learn from this story is that chasing money does not make you happy, be it for yourself or to support your family. Drona wanted to make Ashwatthama happy. He failed to realise that the kid was happy to drink wheat-water as milk. The kid would have preferred to read Vedas and do penance in the forest than be a spectator on the battlefield of Kurukshetra and watch his father deceived and murdered by his very own students. The pursuit of money took Drona from being content to being hungry. From being satisfied to never being sated. From a brahmin who preached Veda to a kshatriya who wielded weapons. From caring about a childhood friend to plotting his downfall. From begging for food to demanding the thumb of Ekalavya. From searching Narayana in his penance to slaughtering warriors on the battlefield.

In the end, Drona may have achieved moksha, but it came at a price. It cost him what mattered the most to him: the happiness of his son.