When something painful happens, you tend to focus all your anger on one person and make them the villain. It feels like they are the cause of all your suffering. But that is not true.
But what has happened is the result of many different factors, and the person you’re blaming is just one part of it. You dont see the bigger picture in the moment, so you hold on to one person as the reason.
From the Mahabharata
Indra asks Karna for his kundala (earrings) and kavacha (vest) that make him unslayable. So now he is vulnerable and can be killed in the war. It looks like Indra is the reason for Karna’s downfall. But in reality, Indra is just one piece.
There are also Karna’s past curses and the choices he made in his life. This shows that one person is never the full cause of your suffering, they are only one part of a much larger picture.
This reflection draws from Swamini Supriyananda’s Mahabharata teachings at Chinmaya Mission Hong Kong.
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