The basis of the family is the household and the axis of the household rests on the couple. People consider family, household, and married to be the same but there is a very subtle difference between them. Marriage is governed by the personal relationship of husband and wife, the household is related to the responsibilities of children with husband and wife, in which the arrangement is predominant at all three levels – economic, mental, and physical.
Family is the total form of all these, which includes husband, wife, and children besides other relationships. If we talk about the household, then it starts with the couple. If there is no sense of dedication, love, and duty in the relationship between husband and wife, then the household cannot be successful. Both our children's sanskaras and future are related to our love and deeds.
In the Mahabharata, Gandhari was the wife of Dhritarashtra and the mother of Kauravas, who not only kept herself in darkness by blindfolding her eyes but also allowed the entire Kaurava clan to be pushed into darkness and kept doing injustice, which resulted in the destruction of the Kaurava clan. Let us learn something from the 5 mistakes of her life.
1. Jealousy & frustration leads to destruction
Even though Gandhari was pregnant, her pregnancy was taking a long time even after 14 months she didn’t deliver. When she learned about Yudhisitra’s birth before her child she bet her womb badly causing her to deliver a piece of flesh. Her jealousy & frustration caused her kids to be born on an inauspicious day. If she had waited patiently, the children would have been born on an auspicious day. Jealousy! This jealousy & frustration is the root cause of one's destruction.
2. Always be grateful for what God has given us
Gandhari as a character teaches us to always value story would have been different. Instead of leading Dridharashtra in light, she chose to walk with him in darkness. She put n the blindfold to share in her husband's darkness rather than be his guide and be his eyes. And ultimately they both along with their kids are doomed.
3. Do not overlook or tolerate injustice
Dhritarashtra was born blind but Gandhari could see. She, however, chose to close her eyes to the world because her husband was blind this effectively caused Gandhari to overlook her son's actions, which were a major cause of the Mahabharata war. Thus we can learn not to overlook or tolerate any kind of injustice either through words or action.
4. Anger tarnishes the rational judgment of the mind.
When Gandhari came to Kurukshetra and felt the bodies of her sons, her agony caused her to curse Krishna and all the Yadav once the moment of anger led to the annihilation of an entire clan. Anger must be kept under control
5. The act of not acting on anything is dangerous
Gandhari's story gives us an opportunity to think about our actions today and their implications for the future. At an early age, she struggled with a sense of helplessness that she suffered because of her rash decisions instead of serving as a guide and friend to her children. It was a disaster for her family. She drifted helplessly through the whims of her life. Not because she could do nothing, but because she conveniently chose to do nothing in the name of being a noble wife.
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