Want to go back to university? You can during Alumni All-Access

Have you ever thought about how illuminating it would be if you could go back to university, just for the sake of learning something new in a field you know nothing about, with no tests, homework or studying to worry about?

Would you enrol in more of your major or have you always secretly wished you had signed up for something risky, something mind-meldingly provocative … say, something like The Joyful Sage: Renunciation and the Good Life in the Mahābhārata with Dr. Christopher Framarin, PhD.

Yes, this Alumni All-Access session promises to be one of those in-person lectures that may just blow (or, the very least, bend) your mind. How should one rationalize guilt and grief — or, should one even bother? And, what, exactly, is the proper response to loss? Are the benefits of limiting grief and guilt worth the cost — namely, the cost of not fully feeling everything that makes us people? 

These very topics and more will be explored in the context of the Mahābhārata — the longest epic poem ever written, consisting of 18 books or 200,000 individual verse lines. 

Over 2,000 years old and composed over the course of 500 years, this Sanskrit poem tells the sprawling, convoluted history of Hindu gods, mythic kings, queens and warriors woven into one long narrative that scholars claim outplays the Greek myths in its philosophical guidance as an apocalyptic battle destroys much of the warrior class (and you thought that was something that originated with H.G. Wells).

Framarin, a philosophy and religious studies professor at the University of Calgary, has been wrestling with many of the poem’s themes and thoughts on renunciation for years and expects this session (like his classes) will spark a lively conversation “on how we deal with suffering,” adding, “grief in particular seems poignant because we all have experienced pain that we want to alleviate.”

Framarin, who is working on a book about the relationship between renunciate ideals and living well, says he hopes to have a conversation with the audience about limits: “How do we go about caring as much as we want to about the world, and as much as we should, without it hurting so much?” 

When is Enough, Enough?

Using himself as an example, Framarin describes recently dropping his 18-year-old son off at the University of British Columbia.

“My car ride home became a little laboratory for me,” he explains, thoughtfully. “At first, I wondered if I should pop in my AirPods and listen to a podcast … because I was so sad. And then I began wondering why I didn’t want to sit in grief longer than I typically do? Is it valuable . . . and back and forth I went. My sense is that it is more important than we think.”

To really live is to experience the heartbreak of life and loss, adds Framarin, making contrasts and comparisons to what many of the characters in Mahābhārata experience. “We need to embrace suffering more than we do,” he says. “I’m leaning toward the idea that I have to reorient my whole thinking around suffering and that it’s something that should be embraced more” — like Yudhiṣṭhira does at the end of the Mahābhārata.

In the Mahābhārata, a dynastic struggle between two families — the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas — results in an 18-day battle which the Pandavas “win.” 

Leading the Pandavas is Yudhishthira, who is so consumed with grief and sorrow after annihilating so many people that he initially refuses to ascend the throne and wishes to leave his old life and renounce the world. 

His relatives and advisors convince him otherwise, but not before moral and ethical dilemmas that involve personal well-being and the collective good of a kingdom are debated, probed and explored at length. Some experts claim that the Mahābhārata is a cautionary tale about the dangers of letting ego and pride drive decisions as the poem presents life as an interconnected web, where individual actions affect the collective whole.

Epic Poem’s Themes Resonate with Humanity

Key takeaways of the Mahābhārata that are relevant across cultures include:

• The complexity of dharma (duty and rightness)
• The impermanence of life and material success
• The consequences of actions (karma)
• The importance of compassion and forgiveness
• The power of inner strength and resilience
• The value of dialogue and communication
• The interconnectedness of life
• Acceptance of life’s uncertainties
• The role of spirituality and inner wisdom

By placing life lessons and philosophical issues in the framework of the Mahābhārata, the Alumni All-Access audience is bound to leave more self-aware thanks to the power of this timeless story, one that delves into the complexities of human nature, morality, duty and the consequences of actions. 

If anyone knows how to make philosophy and religion understandable and, dare we say, exciting, it’s Framarin. Framarin facilitates philosophy discussions with elementary and middle school students as coordinator of the Philosophy for Children program. He visits students at Senator Patrick Burns, Collingwood,W.O. Mitchell, and other schools to discuss  questions like "can a robot be a friend?", "is the forest important" and “what is the good life?”

Using the book, The Couch Potato as a catalyst, Framarin prompts kids to examine what a life with 13 televisions and a robot who brings them food would look like.

“It doesn’t take long for the students to see a lazy life is not necessarily a good life,” says Framarin. “They start adding that the potato should go outside or read a book or make some friends who aren’t on Zoom.” Philosophy for Children encourages children to reflect on their values, actions and the complexities of life, much like the Mahābhārata.