Some people are TV addicts. They switch on the TV as soon as the TV programmers start, remain glued to their seats and watch all the programmers. They have lost their sense of appreciation and power of judgment. They cannot say which TV program they like most. But since 1 watch only a few select TV programs, I can say which of these 1 like most.
Among the programs I watch I like 'Mahabharata' most. 1 am not a student of the fine arts, nor am I an art critic. So I cannot give reasons or explanations for my likes and dislikes. I like a programs because I simply love to watch it, and 1 do not care what experts or critics say about it. The real test of any good work of art is the interest it creates in us. 'Mahabharata' interests me so much that I do not know how time flies.
The story of 'Mahabharata' by itself is very absorbing and full of a variety of interesting episodes of all sorts. So when it is presented on the screen, and the characters of that great epic stand in their historical background with their traditional costumes before my eyes and I see them talking and acting their parts, 1 forget myself and become a part of that great drama. I am one with its central characters. I rejoice at their happiness, sympathise with their suffering, feel angry at their wickedness and pity their misfortune. The TV screen greatly succeeds in arousing the same feelings and sentiments which the great poet Veda Vyas intended to arouse, but perhaps did not always succeed on account of the limitations of language as a means of effective communication.
The great battle of Mahabharata between the Pandavas and Kauravas reminds me of the great battle that has been going on in our society and within my own mind between the forces of good And evil of virtues and vices. It seems to me that when 1 am not able to decide between a good act and a bad one, Lord Krishna, who dwells deeply within me guides Arjuna, my troubled coherence and prepares me for the right action.
Thus, watching 'Mahabharata' on TV is not just a source of entertainment but also a source of guidance, instruction and great inspiration.
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