Rahul Gandhi is away for a while, to ‘reflect upon recent events’.
Inner Reflection. Looking for answers. It is not the first time a Rahul has done that.
Rahula, Buddha’s son also had the same inner quest. He wanted to renounce the world and become a monk, according to the Buddhist text, Mahavastu.
Know another thing?
Both Rahuls were also very attached to their mothers.
In fact, to loosen the oneness of the mother-son bond and become a good monk, Rahula’s mother, Yashodhara asked her son to view all women as his mothers – excerpt from Ties That Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism published by Oxford University Press.
On the other hand, a mother’s affections always remain strong – fervent, even. At times, though, the yoke of maternal affection becomes destructive – not just for the son, but for the masses as well.
As the biblical king Solomon The Wise said – A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
Hitler and His Indulgent Mother
In 1905, after dropping out of high school at 16, Adolf Hitler spent many years indolently. With his father dead, Hitler could not be dictated. He would sleep late, wander around the city, visit museums, and sit by the river. His indulgent mother did little to change him.
Hitler later described these teenage years as the happiest of his life. Soon after, he served as a soldier in World War 1. For the young man used to a sheltered, almost unreal existence, the trauma of war and the submission to authority possibly transformed him into the monster we all know.
Kaikeyi’s Boons Becoming a Bane
Most famously, it was Kaikeyi’s blind love for her son, Bharat, that sets up the epic Ramayana. Using boons promised to her by her husband Dasharath, Kaikeyi demanded that Bharat succeed him as King, and that elder brother Ram be sent into exile for 14 years – to clear any impediments in Bharat’s accession.
Alas, it was not to be. Dasaratha, grief stricken, died six days after Ram left Ayodhya. Kaikeyi blamed herself. And Bharat, the son for whom she did it all –never laid claims on the throne.
Princess Sophie of Bavaria And Her Accession Scheme
Princess Sophie’s ambition to place her oldest son on the Austrian throne was pressing. She persuaded her husband – Franz Karl, the Archduke of Austria –to abdicate in favour of Franz Joseph, her son. Once her son took over, Sophie became the real power behind the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Gandhari’s Curse To Krishna
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Devastated by the death of all her 100 sons on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Gandhari chose to curse Lord Krishna, whom she held responsible, as he had been on the side of the Pandavas. Gandhari’s curse led to the end of the entire Yadav clan that Krishna was a part of.
Zeus’ Mother Saves Him From Father
Acting on a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him in the future, Zeus’ father Cronus the Titan, ate all of his children — little Zeus only escaped because Cronus was fed a rock in baby’s clothes by his mother.
Perhaps fathers, unlike mothers, are less prone to be blinded by affection for their sons, after all.
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