Let Drona lose his head, keep his son alive in you
This is the most interesting character in the Mahabharat battle by birth and works. He has the wisdom of the Creator and had received divine weapons from a great brahmin warrior Parashuram. He is an acknowledged expert in the mantra shastra, the Vedas and the martial arts. He alone had the Brahmastra (the weapon of the Creator) which he used against the Pandavas, but was rebuked by the saptarishis who forced him to take it back as it would end the entire creation. He obeyed the rishis. On the 15th day of the battle, Dhrishtadumya (the army chief of the Pandavas) cut his head when he dropped his weapons after hearing the rumour of his son Ashwaththama’s death.
Real import: This is history. Drona in Sanskrit means a leaf-like container. But what has it to do with Dronacharya? A legend goes that once Rishi Bharadwaj was taking bath in the Ganga. He saw a beautiful lady and his sperms came out. He collected the sperms in a drona from which was born Dronacharya. That charming female in sanskrit is called Apsara—saratasya vegane sah yo chittam apsarati so apsara. The female who like wind speed brings the mind down to the sensual level is called Apsara. But what has she to do with Dronacharya? This explains a very profound scientific process of how sperms (which in Sanskrit are called Veerya. Veerya also means energy) and memory are linked. If we understand this, we will surely understand the genesis of Dronacharya. It was not the woman but her image in Bharadwaj’s mind that gave birth to Dronacharya. Drona resembles a leaf-like structure, that is much similar to neurons which store memory. Bharadwaj was a great ascetic. His mind always remained on the highest plane. Therefore, when the presence of an erotic woman evoked in him sensuality, he soon collected the refined sperm energy (as they say in the yogic parlance) stored it up in the neuron as ojas—refined energy in the brain. This is the very basis of Brahmacharya in the Hindu system of celibacy—even a sensual input is converted into a refined energy. Where? In the drona— can be compared with a neuron and soma, its bulbous part. Soma in Sanskrit is referred to a water-like nourishing energy. What does it mean? It shows a connection between how neurons are made and used by a yogi to store refined energy as memory. Therefore, Dronacharya represents individual memory with its universal extension. Remember! It is the memory where all the information is stored and hence Drona is compared to Brahma—the Creator from whom Praktriti (pre-made patterns of creation) comes out and dissolves in the end. Therefore, Prakriti is just Creator’s memory.
Transmission of knowledge or skill by the acharya to shishyas is possible only through the universal memory link. That is why Dronacharya is the master who teaches the Vedas and the martial arts to the Kauravas and the Pandavas with an equal ease. Dronacharya is beheaded by Dhrishtadyumna, who is the brother of Draupadi, daughter of Drupad, who once was a friend of Dronacharya. Drupad stands for acquired and stabilised genetic traits—Sanskaaras. First, memory and sanskaaras are friends. But, memory (Drona) is like a poor brahmin and begs for money from king Drupad. The latter refuses this to Drona, saying he didn’t remember any friendship. This enrages Drona (throws memory into a revengeful vibration). Later, he becomes the guru of the Pandavas and commands them to defeat Drupad and snatch his kingdom. Drona owns half of Drupad’s kingdom--means memory takes half of the sanskaaras’ jurisdiction—universal and genetic memories have a 50-50 jurisdiction..
Dhrishtadyumna, which in Sanskrit means, the brave revenger and cruel attacker. He symbolises a karmic impulse. A karmic impulse is a genetically transferred information. It always intervenes and beheads memory in order to impose the genetic wisdom. But, Dronacharya’s son Ashwaththama kills Dhrishtadyumna. Ashwaththama, is eternal, and resembles the inverted tree of creation as has been described in chapter 15 of the Gita. It resembles the entire energy channel system-or nadis carrying energy vibrations in the individual and universal dimensions. This means the karmic intervention is dissolved by strong currents of energy in the system. Ashwa in Sanskrit means energy, thama means the stem which holds it erect. Drona is the father of Ashwaththama, memory has an ascending link with the energy channels. Therefore, it has been shown as the son of Drona. Universal memory and energy system can annihilate karmic effect.
What is Brahmastra? When the creative pattern is used as a destruction, it is called Brahmastra. How? Creation has an eternally progressive pattern of multiplication. In a Brahmastra, this is probably used as a law of multiplying destruction.
Example: You try to do something and suddenly there is an obstruction. This obstruction symbolises Dhrishtadyumna at play. Let it behead the memory, means let your individual memory acquire a bigger dimension with such intervention . What should one do? Let Ashwaththama of energy channels play in-- means perform pranic exercises and kill the karmic obstruction. Karmic obstruction can come in the form of diseases, mental instability, negative environment and external challenges. This is the reason why the yogis have always emphasised the practice of pranayam and yoga.
Takeaway: Karmic interventions can be dissolved by the currents in your energy channels. So keep exercising the yoga way.
Next: Who is Draupadi?
Vivek Sharma