Last week, I was on a vacation with very dear friends. One part of me was treating it like an ajnyatavas, much like how Pandavas spent their year in incognito mode in Mahabharata.
The deal was that if they were, god forbid, discovered by the enemy's spies, they would have to spend 12 more years in the forest.
And that was the fascinating part.
In order to be 'undiscovered', they had to make sure that they worked on everything they had disowned inside themselves - their compulsivities and shadows - to prepare and become the best they can be for the big final war that awaited them.
Yudhishtra, the gambling addict, becomes Kanka, the advisor and gambling playmate to the king.
Bhima, the rapacious bravado who loves to feed his appetite for a challenge, becomes Valala, a cook, to own the appetite that feeds him.
Arjuna, the proud warrior, takes advantage of a curse that was given by Urvashi, and becomes Brihannala, a eunuch to teach dance and music to the women in the King's harem.
Nakula, the healer who loved to subsume himself in the background and serve, becomes Darnagranthi, the man who will be in charge of the king's horses.
Sahadeva, the wise astrologer who loved to build frameworks and predict the future(much like many of us on Social Media), becomes Tantripala, the cowherd who will tend to the cows of the king.
Draupadi, the wise and beautiful, becomes Sairandhari, in charge of dressing up the women of the kingdom.
I often wonder: If I were to go on Agnyatavas for a year, where would I go? Would I probably work as an accountant under a Marwari businessman? Or would I work as a librarian to own my appetite for knowledge?
If you were to go on Agnyatavas to work on your disowned part of yourself, what would be your disguise and where would you go?