Lessons of Ekchakra

Ekchakra means sole-rule !

How sad that Ekchakra experienced the sole rule of a cannibal for a number of years before it was freed by Bhim on the order of empress Kunti !

Town of Ekchakra was situated in a jungle and surrounded by hostile rakshashas.  Plagued by the rakshashas, ruler of the region decided to make a deal with the cannibals – in exchange for peace, they would send a cart-load of food and a person to the rakshashs on a weekly basis.  Each family in the town was bound by this deal and everyone knew they had to sacrifice a member of their family for the safety of the rest.  It wasn’t an honourable peace, nor was it equitable.  Yet, this was the only way they thought they could live in “peace” with their murderous neighbours.  This wasn’t the ideal way to co-exist, yet it was the only way the ruler of Ekchakra thought they could achieve peace.

When empress Kunti heard this, she was shocked !

How can people live this way ? 

This wasn’t living !

Life should be lived with dignity.

This is what empress Kunti always wanted – life of quiet dignity.

After the death of her belived husband, Kauravas stole it from her.  More often than not, her eldest son Yudhisthir was being over cautious and did not think they were strong enough or had sufficient friends or sufficient influence to fight their enemies.  Being the eldest son, his decisions were key to the survival of her small family.  Mother Kunti listened to her son and supported his decisions for the good of her small family.  However, whenever life allowed, Kunti asserted her Imperial will and insisted on living with dignity. 

Empress Kunti, though living incognito at the time, ordered her son Bhim to take place of her host and kill the Bakasur who was making life hell for the citizens of Ekchakra.  When Yudhisthir heard this, he was alarmed and felt this would expose them to the Kauravas.  But Kunti insisted that this was the correct way to act.  Yudhisthir deferred to his mother’s decision and Bhim acquiesced with great relish. 

Don’t we have Ekchakra like situations all over the world even now ?

Don’t businesses sometimes pay protection money to mobsters, gangsters and goondas for a bit of peace ?

Doesn’t the society pay for lengthy, often “comfortable”, incarceration criminals hoping this will make them better people when they come out ?

Didn’t the Vatican support the Nazi during World War II despite knowing about the concentration camps because it did not want the Nazi’s to destroy its “beautiful little city state” ?

Don’t governments pay for rouge countries to stay out of their way, hoping for peaceful time ?  Aren’t nations around the world paying Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea etc to stay out of their way through various food aids, peace initiatives etc just as the people of Ekchakra did ?

Knowing how badly drugs affect its youth, hasn’t the “west” allowed Afghanistan to continue growing poppies for a bit of “peace” ?  Which war does the west want to win – one against drugs, or terrorism ? 

What does the west do to establish - humane democracies around the world or support despots to keep in check fundamentalists and communists ?

Though fully aware of Pakistan’s duplicity, why do USA and China continue to pay Pakistan billions if not for "Bakasur" like peace ?

Don’t politicians around the world support various criminal elements, terrorists and even separatists for short term political gain ?  Aren’t they using the same excuse of “working with the lesser evil” to justify supporting countries and political ideologies that are at total variance from their stated goal ?

You can’t keep “evil” at bay forever.
You can’t buy them off forever.  Infact, the more you offer, the more they will demand.

You can’t support and nourish them into “reform”.

SO, WHAT SHOULD WE DO ?

As Kunti advised - evil has to confronted head on and comprehensively defeated.  

Consequence of not doing that is just prolonging the pain and postponing the eventual battle that must take place to defeat evil anyway.

No compromise and no co-existence. 

I wonder how long “we” will wait before we learn the lesson of Ekchakra and stop strengthening evil through our inaction.