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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00050 Feb 2003

 
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Dear member-friends in Kuwait,

In a few days time, the northern half of Kuwait will become a
completely militarized zone, in preparation for the outbreak of what
now seems to be certain war.

As civilian residents of Kuwait City, the only news we get of the
impending war is what we see on our TV news-screens like CNN, Fox and
BBC. Our respective embassies all seem to have entered into an
unwritten pact of silence for there is hardly any information they
seem to be willing to give us about how events will unfold in the
days and weeks to come. We seem to have no choice but remain mute and
helpless in a state of resigned but agitated suspense.

The TV news reports these days, if you have noticed, are full of
coverage about the frenetic activities taking place at this very
moment in the theatre of international diplomacy. Envoys, foreign
ministers, diplomats and emissaries of every level and every hue,
are running around the world capital cities, trying their very best
to steer events away from the edge of a terrible war into which the
part of the world we live in is dangerously close to plunging. 

If we are to take any lessons from our ancient scriptures, we should
know then that diplomacy is far more than some last-ditch, desperate
act of the civilized world trying to prevent itself from inevitably
self-destructing. Diplomacy is actually the Voice of God calling out
to Man -- one last time before disaster strikes -- to pull back from
the precipice and return to sanity. In moments like these, it is the
diplomats who are Angels of God and it is to their words of counsel
that we should turn with all respect and humility.

Both in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, we see how God gives
Diplomacy a chance to save Man from the ultimate folly of his ways.
The wisdom of the ageless Vedantic Way clearly recognizes the crucial
role that the function of diplomacy plays in the affairs of Man. 

In the Ramayana, Lord Rama sends his envoy, the highly resourceful
negotiator Anjaneya, to the court of Ravana in order to talk reason
and sense into the latter. In the Mahabharata, Krishna dons the role
of an ordinary emissary Himself and, virtually on the eve of the
great Kurukshetra War, He takes the trouble to go all the way to the
royal court of the Kauravas, and puts forward sincere and reasonable
proposals for the warring parties to consider in order to find a
diplomatic alternative to the tragedy of war. 

Long before Krishna revealed his true Form as God incarnate to Arjuna
on the battle-field of Kurukshetra, while delivering the
Bhagavath-gita, God actually chose to give a glimpse of His True Self
-- his "vishwa-roopa" -- to everyone gathered in the Kaurava Court.
God showed Himself even to the evil cohorts of Duryodhana who
otherwise would be ones least deserving of the revelation of God.
This tells us that God Himself is ready to do almost anything to
avoid the tragedy of War befalling Man.

Krishna, the Almighty in the 'avatAra' of a diplomatic emissary, went
to the Court of Duryodhana principally to remind everyone gathered
there that Diplomacy was God's last Act of Grace! It was a sign from
Him and His way of saying, "I have not yet lost hope in Man." It is
therefore upto Man to take the opportunity and seize the Hand of God
outstretched to him in all Mercy and Kindness.

In this moment of crisis, one readily recollects indeed the wonderful
temple of "Pandava-dhoota" in the sacred town of Kanchipuram, India,
where Lord Krishna to this day is present amongst us, revealing
Himself to one and all as the Divine Emissary, the Supreme Diplomat.

*********** ********* ********** 

In this hour of nervous anxiety, when the whole world waits with
bated breath for news of the success or otherwise of the efforts of
the brave diplomats of the world, let all of us here who are in
Kuwait, not give way to fear or hopelessness. Let us instead take a
few minutes to quietly read the relevant passages of the Mahabharata
in a spirit of fervent prayer. 

Let us remind ourselves about the exploits of that greatest Diplomat
of all, Lord Krishna, and pray to Him that He should give the
necessary strength and inspiration to all the emissaries of the world
today, enabling them to succeed in their great endeavour -- an
endeavour which even He, in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata,
eventually failed! Let us pray and hope for that diplomatic coup,
that diplomatic miracle that will save the world, even if it were in
the very last moments before certain War...

Let us pray that the Diplomacy of Man succeeds where even the God of
Diplomacy failed in Mahabharata!


Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan 







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