wrote Mahabaratha even before it happened, and
only then did all these events occur. It is also said
that someone told Kamsa that Krishna would come
and kill him. How can people know things before
they actually happen?
Sadhguru:That’s called a prophecy. Are some parts
of our lives predetermined, and if it is so, what is the
point of all this striving? I have to tell you a story.
During the Kurukshetra war, which was described
as the Dharma Yuddha,the mother of all battles,
no one could remain neutral. You had to be either
on the Kaurava side or the Pandava side. Hundreds
of kings started aligning themselves on either side.
Since Jarasandha of Magadha, who used to be a
major force, was dead, his grandsons had split up.
Most of the Magadhas joined the Kaurava side; a few
of them joined the Pandava side. Almost the whole
of Arya Varta took sides. Only one chose to remain
neutral – the king of Udupi.
This Udupi king said to Krishna, “Anyway, everyone
is going to fight. Those who fight a battle have to
eat. I will be the caterer for the Kurukshetra war.”
You know, the Udupi cuisine is quite popular.
Even today, a lot of the Udupi people are caterers.
Krishna said, “Fine. Someone has to cook and serve –
do it.” The Udupi king was serving food for both
sides. They say over 500,000 soldiers had gathered
for the battle. The battle lasted for 18 days. Every
day, thousands of people died. It was a challenge
to manage the catering. If you keep cooking for
500,000 people, a lot of food will go waste. If you
cook less and the soldiers do not have enough food,
it will not be good either. But the Udupi king served
well. Amazingly, every day when he cooked, the
food was enough for all the soldiers, and no food
was wasted. People were amazed how he managed
to cook the exact amount of food, because no one
knew how many people died on each day. By the
time they took accounts, it would have been too
late. Definitely, the caterer did not know how many
people died on that day, but every day, he cooked
exactly the amount of food that was necessary for
the remaining soldiers.
When someone asked the Udupi king how he
managed this, he said, “Every day in the night,
Krishna likes to eat boiled peanuts. I peel them and
keep them in a bowl. He eats just a few peanuts, and
after he is done, I count to see how many he has
eaten. If he has eaten 10 peanuts, I know tomorrow
10,000 will die, so I cook tomorrow’s food for 10,000
people less. Every day, I count these peanuts and
cook accordingly, so it turns out right.”
Life happens on many levels. There is a poem in
Eternal Echoes about knowing the beginning and
the end – it is called “Pranam.”
Pranam
My awareness knows yesterdays and tomorrows,
my love’s domain is only today
Knowing the beginning and the end,
still have to play the game in the middle
The joy of love was coupled
with life-taking venom,
the wondrous grace of the Guru
with heart-breaking sadhana
The fire of enlightenment
with ridicule and failure
the blissfulness of the being,
the rapture of fulfillment, enjoined
with the pain of the body
Is this a joke
Is this Shiva’s will
Is he compassion
Or cruel
O’ Shambho! Let me tell one and all:
I do not want it any other way,
I do not want it any other way!
- Sadhguru.
Krishna’s predicament was the same – “Knowing the
beginning and the end, still have to play the game
in the middle.” People always want to know their
future. The reason why you should not know your
future is, if I tell you what will happen tomorrow,
you will not participate in today. If I tell you that
you are going to die tomorrow, you will say, “If I am
anyway going to die, why should I meditate? Why
should I go to work?” This is the state of mind you
are in. Krishna is not like that – he knows tomorrow,
but still, he totally participates in today.
Knowing the beginning and the end, you still
have to play the game in the middle. Otherwise,
there is no game, because the game is only in the
moment. Now you may ask, “Knowing tomorrow,
you are still making us play today?” You must play
today – even if you know tomorrow. Or you must
withdraw from all play, but you are not capable of
that. Anyway you play – so better play well. You
anyway have to perform action – why do it halfheartedly? Better to do it well.
Sadhguru.
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