The Ancients: Vyasa and The Mahabharata

[@davidjordan5175]

I started with internet 2016. At 58 years old. I am happy to find this great library of lectures and music.

[@LordJagd]

Glad to hear it, David!

[@wiolantsungazer7665]

I advice, then, Manly P Hall. Great lecturer and wayshower. Thanks Wes for all btw! Outstanding work! ( Alan Watts is also awesome)

[@phoebejada8785]

The same with me , i am very thankful for all this great teachers , it changed my life

[@zax3358]

I listen to Wes Cecil lectures whenever my depression has me down, something about the steady influx of ideas and his voice gets the dopamine flowing in the morning. My eternal thanks for sharing!

[@altalt839]

Daniel Campbell try ashwagandha. It really worked for me.

[@billyranger1236]

This man’s voice and delivery tells you that he knows and wants you to know. Lacking any bigotry,prejudice and racism. A real educator.

[@felice9907]

sorry but this man´s voice is just the typical voice of an "excited" american ... . he may have studied a lot and maybe know something but for better understanding of the whole matter go to someone who REALLY knows: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j36QaYWQj6l-faM&ab_channel=analambana

[@MusicFillsTheQuiet]

Most of the time I finish your lectures and think, "what a great and surprisingly thorough introduction to this topic!" With this one, I truly feel like this is only Part One.

[@tuljavikas]

Great lecture and oration. Thanks for putting it in so vivid fashion. Love from India. Thank you.

[@Autists-Guide]

Fascinating insight into the USAian mind.

[@asdkfjasdl_kfjas]

I thoroughly enjoyed the part about the brothers and their connection. So much so that I transcribed Wes telling the story about Yudhisthira going to heaven and hell: "They go and they have all these tests and challenges. And each of the other brothers fail on their road to paradise essentially. But Yudhisthira [de oudste broer] makes it. And when he's there he's taken down briefly to hell and sees his other brothers there; in hell, suffering. And they say: 'But you've made it so you can go back to heaven'. And he says: 'No. No I would rather suffer in hell with those I love and care for, than be in heaven on my own. Because there is nothing greater or more noble than being with my brothers.' And that was his final test. The final test was to recognise that being in heaven alone is no heaven, it is no paradise. It's only a paradise if you're with your brothers."

[@asdkfjasdl_kfjas]

Nice to hear the friendship theme come back in this one too. The friendship lecture in the Uses of philosophy for living series was so amazing, it really changed my outlook on the theme!

[@SunnySingh-uy8xy]

I admire n respect your effort to try n understand the fundamentals of Mahabharata. Many a times you missed the mark by a mile but hey that was your interpretation of Mahabharata n I can understand reading all the 18 books is not easy. Decent effort though, my naman to you for trying.

[@claimofthrones4955]

I listen to this as I find myself alone in my apartment in a major American city… because I left everything and drove 1700 miles for law school. And I have hated every moment since. The wheel of dharma rolls as ever.

[@longnest]

Hi Wes, Super awesome fun talk. Thoroughly enjoyed talk on Socrates too. in this talk there is a slight misconception between karma and dharma. In Mahabharatha, you can escape Karma but not Dharma. Even in Budhhism it is the same. Dharma is universal law of righteousness and Karma is the law of cause and effect. Something like how law of gravity is for the planet, there are also laws for the universe. There is absolute right and absolute wrong, so the wheels of dharma preserve the right. A paramahamsa or a saint has overcome his personal karma but is still bound by dharma. Next question would be what exactly is karma? Karma is the law of consequences. We humans are trapped by this cycle as long as our actions are guided or directed by a selfish thought. A person who acts based on pure awareness is devoid of any karma as he does right for the sake of right. A person who is not aware or mindless (basically all of us are just partially aware and guided by the selfish Ego) generate karma.

[@LordJagd]

Beautifully put, thank you.

[@thetakelife437]

The Russian Mathematician that turned down a huge amount of money ( $1 Million) mentioned is Gregori Perelman who solved the Poincaŕe Conjecture.

[@amalakasthurirangan2382]

21:45 No. The hundred brothers, the Kauravas all die at the hands of Bhima and Bhima only. The three who survived on the Kauravas side in the war was Kripacharya, Ashwatthama and the general of Krishna's Narayani Sena who was made to fight on behalf of the kauravas. The only son of King Dridarastra was Yuyutsu who was a half brother of the kauravas and son of Dridarastra and his maid

[@razzmatazz123]

nice lecture...thanks

[@aMulliganStew]

I'm about a half hour into the 45 hour audio-book and I have to agree, "That ain't us."

[@allisonforet3281]

Would love his perspective of the ministry of loneliness in our current Orwellian night mare world …

[@gg3675]

I just want to note that Charvaka is also an ancient Indian (sometimes even described as Hindu) philosophy, so India was likely the place in the ancient world where materialist atheism flourished at its most explicit.

[@mecapoonslayer4245]

Hey Wes I'm wondering would you ever conceder doing a lecture on Yang Zhu for your ancient series. (Come to think of it hes sort of a forgotten thinker as well but I'm just surprised how underrated he is.) either way I thought it would be a fun recommendation but fuck it do what you want dude . Love your channel etc. :D

[@SpecialAatmaen]

Jai Shree Ram 🙏😃

[@JoshuaStoltzis]

First!?! Thank you from Northern Michigan, Wes- longest month ever!

[@MichaelBNegron]

Southern Michigan thanks Wes as well!

[@ervinhart1511]

Beware of jovial scholars . @ :44-ish. The real underlying facts of the 1 wife 5 husband tale is, the oldest brother was always bringing home things. Things he found, things he won etc. This day he brings home a woman. He says to his mother what he found. His mother says , It doesn't matter to me what you bring home this time, kind of out of annoyance or frustration. ( It is the reason behind this particular story) She then declares ," What ever it is, share it amoung all 5 of you." And not to disobey their mother, they shared her. and a footnote to this is,,,, some people think of your hand. The 5 fingers are the 5 senses, and Pandavas is the palm of the hand. And together they make a fist which is more powerful. Context can be important.

[@SpecialAatmaen]

Hare Krishna 🙏😃

[@matsulrich7765]

25:51

[@mridulagrawal6687]

It's a totally wrong interpretation of caste,Ved vyas's real name is Krishna dwaypaya who compiled Vedas got the title,he was the son of fisherwoman but,he became a Brahmin by his attributes and karma,same case with Valmiki wrote ramayana

[@maku8075]

Not 3000 it's up to 8-5 thousand years old.

[@matsulrich7765]

38:08

[@matsulrich7765]

31:47

[@zoop2174]

What's with Wes valuing interpersonal relationships so much? I don't get it.

[@tomswan3401]

Thats the mark twain version of the mahabharata.

[@prashantchaudhary2569]

Thanx for uploading , love to listen eastern Philosophy as well ! One good thing abt liberal world order, u can thoroughly enjoys other cultures , philosophy,history , i think chinease Confucius has some relationship with indian philosophy like Dharma, what should a citizen, king, teacher, student , wife etc duties , how to lead a life etc ..

[@alevornek]

Often refers "that is not us" who are we n them here?.. You are a lecturer n given a course on a subject, many from different backgrounds might atten your lecture so who is this "us"?

[@mridulagrawal6687]

There is no, absolutely no idea of virgin birth in mahabharata r anywhere in Indian scriptures

[@miller0079]

You fool . Kunti was virgin when she gave birth to karna .

[@maku8075]

@@miller0079 karna is the son of Surya the sun god

[@ou-rb2gv]

I think it's all metaphorical to meditation. Same thing as Buddhism, just the cultural dialect of those on the other side of the fence.

[@prashantchaudhary2569]

King didn't have any child, so he choose vyasa to do with his wife 😂

[@00Boogie]

While I somewhat understand the reasoning of the brothers having one wife between them, that many husbands probably created a great burden if she was a dutiful wife.

[@aekagal]

Dharma is the right way to live Karma is the consequences of your actions

[@vinodraturi3021]

good lecture but mahabharata is not correctly orated.

[@aekagal]

I am a great fan of Wes and thoroughly enjoy his talks. But this time around I fear he is out of his depth.

[@HAPcompany24]

Really 🤦

[@aekagal]

Some confusion there between Dharma and Karma

[@SlugSage]

Anil Kagal Please explain the difference if you don't minnd.

[@ishanarora5456]

"Dharm" is a code for what you are supposed to do, its your duties and responsibilities.For example, Dharm of warriors is to fight and protect their people, of a son is to obey parents and serve them, of parent is to protect and give good values to their children, of spouse is to love and support their partner(Hindu dharm gets very sexist how to serve ) and of student is to follow and serve his teacher, of a teacher is to teach his students. It can also mean religion (yes, its unsavory bits, like caste-ism and sexism as well) depending on its usage, but duties are part of religion in hindu culture. "Karm" is what you actually do. It literally means your "action". For example, giving alms to a poor person is a karm and not following your teacher's command is a karm. Here,1st one is good karm and the second one is bad karm. According to Hindu philosophy, Good karm leads to happiness and joy and contentment, bad karm lead to suffering. So, karm have a way of coming back to you.(fruits of your actions)

[@longnest]

@@SlugSage In Mahabharatha, you can escape Karma but not Dharma. Even in Budhhism it is the same. Dharma is universal law of righteousness and Karma is the law of cause and effect. Something like how law of gravity is for the planet, there are also laws for the universe. There is absolute right and absolute wrong, so the wheels of dharma preserve the right. A paramahamsa or a saint has overcome his personal karma but is still bound by dharma. Next question would be what exactly is karma? Karma is the law of consequences. We humans are trapped by this cycle as long as our actions are guided or directed by a selfish thought. A person who acts based on pure awareness is devoid of any karma as he does right for the sake of right. A person who is not aware or mindless (basically all of us are just partially aware and guided by the selfish Ego) generate karma.

[@AudioPervert1]

Apartheid came very early in the indian continent .. caste and inequality was deeply internalised over the next 1500 odd years ... Western academics could take a field trip to see and relearn how hindu apartheid is at work in India.

[@calmislamly]

Terrible. There are way better resources to learn about the Mahabharata on KZbin and the internet in general.

[@abhinnatma]

He is simply Wrong

[@starsmitten2083]

You need to get your pronunciation of MAHABHARAT right before you give us a discourse . Mahaa - Great, Bharat- India actually meaning the Great War

[@kaceobrwa7039]

another misinterpretation by westerners westerners

[@gobindosarma2262]

U don't know 100%,,,it's ok,,u at least know 50%,,,,, storytelling must be improved

[@upadhyayrathiraj1518]

Grossly failed to bring out the gist of Bhagvad Geeta.

[@silphy2677]

nice, but I'm missin' the West philosophical tradition tho :/

[@keedt]

chill man, search the channel, there is plenty there

[@SpecialAatmaen]

Hare Krishna 🙏😃