According to Hindu mythology, the holy trinity of Bramha-Vishnu-Mahesh have their own holy abodes. Lord Bramha is believed to be residing in Bramha-loka, a place where he dreams, designs and brings to life all creations. Present day city of Pushkar in Ajmer (Rajasthan) is often referred as his holy abode. Lord Shiva on the other hand is believed to have his pin code over the mountains. The annual Kailasha Mansarovar yatra is undertaken to visit this holy place only in Himalayan terrains. Lord Vishnu possesses the most psychedelic residence ever. He is believed to be living in Baikuntha Dhama, resting over a glorious bed made by coils of a giant Shesh Naga, floating in the cosmic ocean. His address, well that's been the ultimate objective of many a sage over many eras. Only the one who attains Moksha (Nirvana) through penance and noble deeds can reach Baikuntha.
One day, the manas-putras (brainchild, literally) of Lord Bramha- Sanaka, Sanatan, Sanandan and Sanatkumar, came by Baikuntha to pay respect to uncle Lord Vishnu. Lord was taking a nap that moment and the dutiful gatekeepers- two brothers named Jay and Vijay (sorry, no Jai-Veeru) were manning the gates. These devout guards of Lord Vishnu didn't know the identity or influence of these childlike looking little sages. What ensued was perhaps the first instance of "tu janta nahi mera baap kaun hai?" Jay-Vijay impertinently refused to allow the passage to these accomplished holy men. Enraged at their obstinate and discourteous conduct, the four sages cursed these gatekeepers to be bound to the mortal plane (Bhuloka or Earth) and suffer the miseries of mortal men. Jay-Vijay begged the four sages for mercy and got a choice in bargain. To be born as devotees of Lord Vishnu for seven times, or as His enemies for just three times. Jay-Vijay opted for the latter as it was a shorter waiting period (or so they thought) to return to Baikuntha and reunite with their lord. Jay-Vijay were born as brother demons Hiranyaksh and Hiranykashyipu in Treta yuga. Both were killed by incarnations of Lord Vishnu- Varah (wild boar) and Narasimha (half man-half lion). In their next round of mortal cycle, they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and as we know were killed by Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. In the final round, they were born as Shishupal (Krishna's maternal cousin) and Dantavakra (Shishupal's cousin). Both the brothers were jealous of Lord Krishna and his rising influence among the kingdoms across India. They allied with Jarasandh, the king of Magadha who harbored an enmity against yadavas. Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu killed Shishupal with Sudarshan chakra in pandava's Rajasuya yagna when he insulted him a hundred times. Dantavakra (meaning the one with crooked teeth) attacked pandavas and Krishna when they were returning from Magadha after defeating Jarasandh. He was killed too, and thus, Jay-Vijay got absolved of the curse and returned in their Lord's service back to Baikuntha loka. This is also the reason why a learned man like Ravana, ignored every family member's persuasion attempts and picked a quarrel with Lord Rama by kidnapping Sita.
This story of Jay-Vijay is just one among countless obscure little pearls spread across the ocean floor of Hindu mythology. This little known tale symbolizes the perils of a sinister element called Pride. As the ambassadors of Evil, the one character flaw which defined Ravana, Hiranyakashyipu or Shishupal throughout was pride. An arrogant conduct originating out of pride landed Jay-Vijay in this soup in the first place.
Pride, emanating from the power or a position leads to an eventual downfall. And that the road to redemption is always a long hard one. As a servant leader specially, one must remain forever at guard about his own conduct. However insignificant a customer, stakeholder, constituent or even teammate may appear, one must always conduct oneself with humility and respect. A single disrespectful or arrogant moment is enough to cause the downfall of great empires built over a lifetime.
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