By Chaitanya Charan das
During my visit to Central New Jersey, Govinda Prabhu and I spoke at Princeton University on the topic of “Tragic Hero? Lessons from the life of the Mahabharata character Karna.” Addressing the Karna-Duryodhana friendship, I spoke on how a low self-esteem makes us emotionally vulnerable to be manipulated by whoever seems to offer us respect. After the talk, on seeing the intense interest throughout of a pan-Indian and a non-Indian audience, I felt reinforced in my conviction realized that sharing life lessons through epics comprises an appealing and powerful way of connecting scriptural wisdom with people’s practical concerns – a way that we bhakti teachers need to tap much more effectively.