Introduction

Kings, their vows, and their actions played a large role in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Through those epics, I learned that a king is not necessarily a heroic figure, even when his rule is just.  Rama, Vishnu’s avatar, was the epitome of both a just and heroic king in the Ramayana. Comparing other kings against the ideal - Rama or another avatar of Vishnu - helped reveal the other kings’ fatal flaws. In this storybook, I have also compared those flaws against the theory of Dharma.  I asked the questions:  Did the punishment fit the crime?  Did the king learn, and therefore progress down the path to enlightenment, or did the king fail and drive himself deeper into darkness?  

To include Rama in the comparisons, I primarily chose “confrontation” stories – points in the Ramayana where another king interacted with Rama.  Those stories provided behavioral comparison points.  I used Rama’s last conversation with King Dasaratha and Dasaratha’s own interpretation of his downfall as the subject of my first story, and Rama’s battle with Ravana for my second story.  At that point in the storybook I shifted focus a little.  Krishna was a prevalent figure in the Mahabhrata, but he had far less interaction with the flawed kings than with the heroic ones.  I chose Dhritarashtra as the subject for my third story, because he does everything possible to avoid Dharma, instead of seek it like Rama or reject it like Ravanna.  I thought that made a nice point of comparison.  For my last story, I deviated from my previous techniques and tried a "group therapy" session.  I did that because two kings (one being an example for the other) had the same fatal flaw and gambled their kingdoms away.   The repetition of such a problem struck me as significant, especially since the solution presented in the epic was to teach the character the "science" of dice.  The implication was that if the element of suspense was removed, the character in question would be able to control himself. 

For my frametale, I introduced the god Threysha*, therapist to souls who’ve departed the earthly plane and reincarnation coach extraordinaire.  Since multiple kings had a tendency to expire shortly after not measuring up to Rama, it seemed rather impractical to have an earthly therapist.  A therapist employed by the gods to help souls understand where they’re moving to and why, however, worked out rather nicely.  Each story was told both fromt the king's perspective, to show why and how he slipped from the ideal path, and annotated by Threysha - who was kind enough to provide comments as to how that flaw led to the king’s downfall.  

To support each character's self-analysis, and Threysha's insights, I did some research on Dharma, reincarnation, and the Vedic restraints.   

Third Age, Avatar of the Rama

Patient Case - Dasaratha's Passions

I have a new batch of kings to counsel this week.  Rama certainly has been busy.  All of them are sulking.  I do believe that Dasaratha is ready to begin working toward his final incarnation, and so our first session will begin tomorrow.

My preliminary evaluation of Dasaratha leads me to believe that as long as he can overcome the grudge he’s carrying against his youngest wife, he will be able to attain Truth in the next incarnation.  Carrying out the will of the gods is not equal to betrayal of the highest order.  He also needs to come to an understanding about why he died.  Dasaratha’s assumption that mistakenly killing the boy in the jungle is the cause of his demise is a superficial reading.  While it did contribute, Dasaratha is still hiding from the root causes – choices he made – that led to his eventual blindness and death.  The fact that he reached even a basic understanding, however, makes me believe that he’s ready to move on and achieve enlightenment.

Third Age, Avatar of the Rama

Patient Case - Ravana's Hubris

I haven't been able to get Ravana to communicate with me at all. He sits, glaring at anyone who approaches him. Steam curls out his nostrils in pure anger. I don't know how I'm going to get to him yet. I can't help him while he refuses to speak.

Third Age, Avatar of the Krishna

Patient Case - Dhritarashtra's Foolishness

Dhritarashtra is simply a person that doesn’t “get it.” Even when given sound advice by people who have his best interests at heart, he cannot, and will not, make a decision. Rather, he can’t stick to good decisions and follows bad decisions toward even worse ends. In a way, this is worse than some of my other cases because when souls choose evil, they deliberately choose the wrong path and the consequences that go with it. It takes a long time to straighten them out, if ever, but they at least know the difference. And if they don’t want to choose good, there’s always hell. Those who don’t know the difference, or are too morally weak to stick to a path, they’re nearly impossible to work with. While you’re talking to them they nod and say all the right things; but the instant a bad influence walks in the room, they’re lost again. Their karmas might never balance if you can’t get them to commit. May Lord Dharma help me on this one.

Third Age, Avatar of the Krishna

Patient Case - Gamblers Annonymous

After a brief evaluation, I've decided that Nala and Yudhisthira are both advanced enough that they can handle a group setting. I'm assigning them to my Gambler's Addiction group. I imagine both of them will be able to move on quickly - without dice - as they are both very good men. They just need to keep their hands off the dice.

* Author's Note:  Threysha is a fictional god.