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Learning from Lord Indra

 The story goes something like this. Satyabhama, the wife of Lord Krishna, expressed a strong desire to have the Parijat tree. As seldom things happen without twists, so was the case with the Parijat tree. It was a celestial plant, and it was only found in the Indralok. Indra considered keeping the celestial plant, which came out of Samudra Manthan, as his duty. The plant was something that was not to be shared with anyone especially earthlings. In the past, Indra had declined a similar request from Lord Shiva.


Add to the complexity of this situation, Krishna had saved Indra from Narkasur, the asura king, and hence, Indra owed a favour to Krishna. The situation which Indra faced is a classic case of an ethical dilemma a person faces - Returning a favour versus upholding your principles, especially when the person asking for favour is someone whom you admire and adore.


Indra made his intentions clear and said that Krishna can have gold, precious stones, and all riches of the Indralok but not Parijat. This led to Krishna waging a war against Indra. Day one of the fight ended in the evening with no result, and it was supposed to resume the next day. As the war halted, Indra folded his hand and asked Krishna to rest in his Shayan Kaksh (bedroom). These two responses of Indra and the earlier decision to not give Parijat have two very important lessons:


Disagreement does not mean disrespect: This can be observed when Lord Indra, after the end of day 1, offered Shayan Kaksha to Lord Krishna with whom he was fighting. It is very hard to agree with everyone on every topic. In fact, it is also not desirable because it hinders the process of discovery of truth. After all, Truth is something to be explored through constant debate and discussions. Stannis Baratheon, from Game of Thrones, said "A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward". Good deeds and bad deeds are to be dealt with separately.

Do not comprise your values: When Lord Indra refuses to give the tree despite owing a favour to Lord Krishna shows Lord Indra's adherence to his principles and values. It is necessary to have right values because these are the traits that bring consistency in our responses when faced in different situations. Hence, it is the foundation of our decision making.

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