Hi
The New Year is round the corner. It’s time to look forward to what we desire to achieve in the coming year. It’s time for New Year RESOLUTIONS. The story of Bhishma from The Mahabharata is very inspiring in this context.
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Bhishma Pratigya – Your Promise to Yourself is a Oath You Have to Keep
As the epic goes, Devavratha was the son of King Shantanu and his wife Ganga, who left the king for her own reasons after Devavratha’s birth. As Devavratha grew up, he became an excellent warrior and highly skilled at political sciences with all the qualities fit to be an excellent king. However, he never became a king. Why?
On one of his outings, the king Shantanu saw a beautiful fisherwoman Satyavathi, fell in love with her instantly, and wanted to marry her. But Satyavathi's father refused it on the grounds that his daughter's children would never be rulers as there was Prince Devavratha already. This made Shantanu very sad. Upon discovering the reason for his father's sorrow, Devavratha promised Satyavathi’s father that he would never stake a claim to the throne, and that the child born to Shantanu and Satyavathi would only become the ruler after Shantanu. At this, Satyavathi's father retorted, “Okay, you would give up the throne, what is the guarantee that your children would not claim it?” Devavratha then took the vow of lifelong celibacy. He never married and kept his vow.
Thus Devavratha came to be known as Bhishma, which means a man of terrible oath.
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Bhishma made an oath and kept it by all means. In order to get what we want, we have to set SMART goals, identify right actions, and make right New Year RESOLUTIONS saying, "Come what may, I WILL DO THESE THINGS in the New Year, as I know they are important for me." Having made such resolutions, it is important to treat them as an OATH made to oneself and do every bit to keep them up. HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.
With love and regards,
Siva
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