Learning From Mahabharata You Can Teach Your Child

If you have taken a note of this or not, but there are a number of life lessons that you can learn from Mahabharata and pass on those teachings to your child as well. The political rivalry among the brothers have a lot to teach us in life. Here are a few life lessons that you can pass on to your child.

Learnings from Mahabharata

1. Do not seek revenge: While Mahabharata revolved around war between the brothers, the fact that every fight happened was because of revenge. The revenge seeking nature of the Kauravas made them lose everything they had to the Pandavas. This is what you need to teach your child in life, revenge does no good to anyone, including the person seeking it. So do your deed and let karma take up on.
2. Stand by what is right: Earlier Arjuna was hesitant to fight against his kin but it was Krishna who suggested him to stand for what is right even if it means going against one's own family. Your child needs to be taught to always walk on the right path even if it means walking alone. The herd will be following a wrong path but the one who seeks the right path is often found alone but it always leads him/her to the best goals in life.
3. Friendship: The eternal friendship between Krishna and Arjuna is something to look up on in life. Due to Krishna's unconditional support to Arjuna, the Pandavas managed to win the war. The friendship between Karna and Duryodhan is also inspiring in nature. The bond and value of friendship needs to be taught to your child through Mahabharata.
4. Half knowledge is dangerous: Arjuna's son Abhimanyu proved that half knowledge can have adverse impacts by knowing only how to enter the Chakravyuh and not knowing how to exit the same. Teach your child to seek entire knowledge on a particular thing before embarking up on the same.
5. Have no greed: Yudishthir got nothing out of greed, in fact he lost everything that he had, including his wealth and kingdom. This is why one must not have greed for anything in life and all the good things can be acquired from sheer hard work only. Teach your child to work hard to achieve his/her goals in life and not have a greedy nature.
6. Not giving up in life: Right from his birth, Karna fought his way through life, from fighting discrimination and disgrace at every stage. No obstacles could stop him from achieving his goals and hence the same should be taught to your child as well. Teach him/her that no matter how many obstacles come in his/her life, it is only the road towards success if one doesn't give up soon. Fight till the end for good and for your goals, even if you have to fight alone and the success will be yours.
7. Bad company can destroy everything: Shakuni Mama literally destroyed everything that the Kauravas owned as he influenced them to be negative. The war wouldn't have taken place if it wasn't for him. Thus, teach your child to stay away from bad company or from people who are influencing in a bad way as it will only lead to doom. Being with the good and right people, no matter how handful of them you have in life, they will never lead you towards the wrong path.
8. Support from family and friends: The Pandavas had Lord Krishna, and the Kauravas had Karna backing up at all times. Teach your child that his/her family and friends are always there to offer unconditional support in whatever good they do in life to help them achieve success. Whatever be the trouble, ask your child to approach his/her family and friends who wish nothing but good for them.
9. Learning household skills can be beneficial: The Pandavas had been sent on an exile in the forest where life was stressful. Hence basic household skills like cooking and cleaning comes handy when one is away from friends and family, such as going to a different city/state/country for further education. You can teach your child basic cooking and cleaning skills once he/she is old enough so that they can train themselves for further challenges with an ease.
10. Being too emotional isn't good: Dhritrashtra's love for his son was blind. Throughout the epic, he fluctuated between his principles and keeping his son happy. Somehow this made Duryodhan even more evil than what he already was, leading to negative impacts and the war. Teach your child that being emotional and sensitive is good but having too much of the feeling cannot lead to positive outcomes all the time. Being practical is necessary to survive in today's dynamic world.
11. Keep learning throughout: Arjun grasped whatever came his way. Not only did he learn the best of military science from Drona, but he was also interested in learning about divine weapons from Indra. He learnt about Pashupatastra from Mahadev as well. Teach your child that it is never too late when it comes to learning something new and one should be open about learning new things in life. Whatever comes your way, accept the challenge and learn new things in life, thus, being dynamic in nature. Being stagnant will not be of any help in this ever changing world.
12. Nobody can stop your passion: Arjuna was the greatest archer in the world. But Eklavya was even better than him. He hid himself behind the trees and grasped everything that Drona taught Arjuna, making him even better than Arjuna at archery. Teach your child to be passionate about his/her goals and working towards the achievement of the same and nobody can stop him/her in life. Being driven by passion and being consistent with hard work is what will bring success at your feet.
13. Never make anyone feel undesirable: Arjuna dismissed Urvashi and she cursed him to be a eunuch for a year. Teach your child to show love and be emphatic towards everyone in life. Making someone feel less of himself/herself does no good as we too wouldn't like if someone treated us in the same way. Thus, be good, kind and humble towards everyone as we don't know what an individual is going through in life.
14. Have a good strategy: A good strategy is all you need in life to have your boat sail through the toughest storms. Whatever challenges come in way, teach your child to face them with a brave face being put on and never back out no matter what. Work through a plan and have another back up in case the first one fails.

These life lessons from the Mahabharata can be taught to your child and you too can imply on them from time to time in life as need be.