Is Strength over-rated? Is it time we changed our goal post?

Ancient Indian texts are full of amazing wisdom. Two incidents grabbed my attention. The outcome of these incidents were simply mind blowing. Enjoy...

Amongst the 5 Pandavas, the most famous was Arjun of course, followed by Bheema. What is startling is that even after 5000 years later, not 10 or 20 centuries but an entire 5000 years later, in year 2020... several parents in India are continuing to name their child as 'Arjun'!

Isn't that absolutely baffling?

Sachin Tendulkar named his child Arjun. I personally know of several Arjun’s in my network. I haven’t heard many Bheema's though, but I assure you that if you ask any Indian child to pick up a favourite from the 5 brothers- it would be Bheema!

My guess is that Arjun is role-model of adults because of his war skills. Kids love Bheema, because of his super human strength. 

And this is where it dawned on me. I see a pattern here. ‘Strength’ or 'Power' made these two more famous than their other 3 brothers!

Coming back to the incidents, I was amazed at the accomplishments of one other brother - Yudhishthira! Logically speaking, these seems to be extremely important achievements. Therefore, I am confounded why these feats didn't get Yudhisthira the fan following that Arjun or Bheema got? Check these out...

Incident #1:

The #Pandava brothers become thirsty while in the jungle. Yudhisthira asks Nakula (a younger brother) to fetch some water. Nakula climbs up a tree and sees a Pond nearby. He goes there but doesn’t return. Yudhisthira asks Sahadeva to check why so long. Sahadeva doesn’t return. Its Arjun’s turn. But no. Then Bheema, the mightiest of the brothers goes. Bheema too does not come back. Yudhisthira is worried and trudges to the Pond. Apparently the 4 brothers were captured by a Yaksha (an ancient human like being. A nature spirit who are #benevolent, sometimes mischievous or capricious - Wikipedia ) who owned the Pond. The Yaksha was keen to ask some questions and challenges Yudhisthira to answer these questions in return for his brothers. If Yudhisthira fails to impress him, the Yaksha warns that he too would be captured and killed.

Yudhisthira has no choice, so he agrees. 

The Yaksha asks him some questions, of which here are the ones most intriguing:

Q1 - What is bigger than Earth?

Q2 - What is faster than the Wind?

Q3 - What grows faster than Grass?

Q4 - What is the greatest Dharma*?

Q5 - What is the greatest kind of Wealth?

Q6 - What is the greatest kind of Happiness?

Q7 - What is a man’s worst Enemy?

Q8 - What disease will never have a cure?

I’ll tell you what Yudhisthira replied, but first would love to give you some time to think about what answers you would have given in his place? Do write down your answers before you proceed. This is a request, because only & only when you actually write down your answers, would you realise the wisdom of Yudhishthira's answers.

Hint: There are no right or wrong answers here. 

And by the way, I am not a Yaksha, but if I like your answers, you will get a little gift from me :)

*Meaning of Dharma:

It's tough to explain in English the meaning of this Sanskrit word, nevertheless, here is an attempt:

#Dharma means ones duties, responsibilities, truthfulness, being merciful, purity in mind & body, tolerance, knowing the difference between right and wrong, self control, self restraint, nonviolence, impartial and unbiased, service to good people, generosity.

Click here to proceed to Part 2

Author Harish Walavalkar is an International Coach Federation accredited Academy certified Executive Coach. He coaches people on Executive Presence, How to Talk Like a CEO, Soft Skills, Building Your Credibility & Respect at Work, etc. He also coaches those looking for jobs in areas such as eg. 'How to Grab Attention in interviews'. 

Message your queries to the author (click here)