Guest guest Posted March 21, 2003 Report Share Posted March 21, 2003 On the eve of great Mahabharata battle, Arjuna asked his charioteer to drive their chariot out to the front line so he could look over the opposition he must face the next day. As he looked at his foes, he recognized his favorite teacher, Drona, and his beloved grand uncle, Bhishma, and many other relatives and friends. Horrified to realize that he must kill the very people he loved, he threw down his bow and arrow and told Krishna he would not fight. Krishna gave Arjuna numerous reasons to fight. You must fight, he told Arjuna, or it will look like you are a coward, and the people will say you were afraid to fight. You are a prince, and you must set a good example for other people in the kingdom. If the prince refuses to fight, who else can be counted on to enter the battle? Remember, he said, it is your dharma. You are a warrior, and a warrior must fight. You'll build up good karma if you fight, because there is nothing better for a warrior than a just cause for which to fight. He reminded Arjuna of samsara. A person who is born must die, and a person who dies will be rebom; the wise do not grieve over that, he said. Dying is like leaving aside wom-out garments, only instead, one is leaving aside a wom-out body. He instructed Arjuna that the only true essence is Brahman, and that Brahman cannot be killed. What dies is not essential. Further, he said, if you kill Drona, Bhishma and your cousins in battle, you enable them to build good karma, so you are really helping them. Krishna then discussed moksha, the ultimate aim of life. If one experiences moksha, Krishna reminded Arjuna, he breaks the chains of samsara and rejoins Brahman and is not rebom. Krishna explained four yogas or methods to achieve moksha. One method is the yoga of meditation. Another is the yoga of knowledge. These were the methods that traditionally only Brahmins followed. But Krishna assured Arjuna that there were two other methods for achieving moksha that anyone might follow: the yoga of holy indifference and the yoga of devotion. The yoga of holy indifference is called karma yoga. "You must be indifferent to the fruits of your actions," he told Arjuna. "You have a right to the deeds, never to the fruits. If you can perform your deeds but are holy indifferent to the results of your actions, you will not build up any karma and you will not be rebom. Fight because you are a warrior, but don't mind what happens or who wins. On action alone be thy interest, never on its fruits." A fourth method for reaching moksha was the yoga of devotion or bhakti yoga. "Be devoted to me," Krishna said. "If you perform each act with your mind on the me alone," Krishna promised, "you will experience moksha." Devotion alone holds the key. Arjuna was not convinced, so Krishna finally revealed his true identity to the warrior. Krishna was really divinity who had taken the form of a charioteer to help the Pandavas re-establish righteousness. His revelation was like the light of a thousand suns in the sky. As Arjuna looked at him, he saw all the world, all the gods, the universe, the One. Filled with awe, Arjuna agreed to fight. <http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000059.htm> -------PEACE will come! Karta i hope, sorry for the timing and the apropos Yes dear Harsha, GOD BLESS AND SAVE THE WORLD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 , "satkartar5" <sat_karta@h...> wrote: > On the eve of great Mahabharata > battle, Arjuna asked his charioteer > to drive their chariot out to the > front line so he could look over > the opposition he must face the > next day. Namaste, Let us remember this is an esoteric scripture and the field of battle is our own bodies and minds........ONS....Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 , "satkartar5" <sat_karta@h...> wrote: > -------PEACE will come! > Karta > > > > i hope, sorry for the timing and > the apropos > > Yes dear Harsha, > > GOD BLESS AND SAVE THE WORLD! Karta *************************** Hi Karta, That was a different Harsha (Vardhan) that you are responding to -- perhaps he has joined recently (Harsha pronounced Hersh or Hersha or Hirsha) is a Sanskrit word meaning Joy. Yes, dear Karta. God should bless the whole world. It would be a decent thing to do (It would not be God-like to do otherwise). Sages tell us that God does bless everyone in God's own way through the universal laws of evolution the ancients called Karma. According to Jainism, the religion of my teacher, Karma is the most subtle matter in the universe. The evolution of the soul, movement upwards so to speak, happens as heavier particles (vibrations resulting from heavy emotions of hate, rage, anger, etc.) are gradually dropped. How can we understand the mystery except by going through it. Love to all Harsha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 , "saktidasa" <saktidasa> wrote: > , "satkartar5" <sat_karta@h...> > wrote: > > On the eve of great Mahabharata > > battle, Arjuna asked his charioteer > > to drive their chariot out to the > > front line so he could look over > > the opposition he must face the > > next day. > > Namaste, > Let us remember this is an esoteric scripture and the field of battle > is our own bodies and minds........ONS....Tony. As an addition; Dharma and the unreality of it all was also a teaching by Krishna to Arjuna. This war no doubt happened but cannot be compared to any current conflicts, except in the futility of it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 "saktidasa" <saktidasa> wrote: "satkartar5" > wrote: > On the eve of great Mahabharata > battle, Arjuna asked his charioteer > to drive their chariot out to the > front line so he could look over > the opposition he must face the > next day. > > Namaste, > Let us remember this is an esoteric scripture and the field of > battle > is our own bodies and minds........ONS....Tony. Karta: yes, yes of course, but as everything it's meaning is multy-layered Peace, and love, Karta > As an addition; Dharma and the unreality of it all was also a > teaching by Krishna to Arjuna. This war no doubt happened but cannot > be compared to any current conflicts, except in the futility of it > all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 > > Yes dear Harsha, > > > > GOD BLESS AND SAVE THE WORLD! > > Karta > *************************** > Yes, dear Karta. God should bless the whole world. It would be a > decent thing to do (It would not be God-like to do otherwise). > > Sages tell us that God does bless everyone in God's own way through > the universal laws of evolution the ancients called Karma. May God bless those whose dharma it is is to be warriors. May God bless those whose dharma it is to be victims. May God bless those who know not what they do EternaLove, Joyce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2003 Report Share Posted March 30, 2003 i fear it would be streching too much to apply bhagavad gita to the reason and logic of any war. gita also talks of vasanaas, simplistically human nature. man strives to act and fulfill his vasanas. war is the culmination of the activation of the collective vasanas of the individuals of a society. in this respect the poet john donnes lines are of relevance. "donot ask for whom the bell tolls , it tolls for thee" we are all in a way responsible for the war. the hype for violence that has been going on for years had dto find its own denoument. joseph oommen --- satkartar5 <mi_nok wrote: > On the eve of great Mahabharata > battle, Arjuna asked his charioteer > to drive their chariot out to the > front line so he could look over > the opposition he must face the > next day. > > As he looked at his foes, he > recognized his favorite teacher, > Drona, and his beloved grand uncle, > Bhishma, and many other relatives > and friends. Horrified to realize > that he must kill the very people > he loved, he threw down his bow > and arrow and told Krishna he would not fight. > > Krishna gave Arjuna numerous reasons > to fight. You must fight, he told > Arjuna, or it will look like you > are a coward, and the people will > say you were afraid to fight. > You are a prince, and you must > set a good example for other people > in the kingdom. If the prince > refuses to fight, who else can be > counted on to enter the battle? > > Remember, he said, it is your > dharma. You are a warrior, and a > warrior must fight. You'll build > up good karma if you fight, because > there is nothing better for a > warrior than a just cause for which > to fight. He reminded Arjuna of > samsara. A person who is born must > die, and a person who dies will > be rebom; the wise do not grieve > over that, he said. Dying is like > leaving aside wom-out garments, > only instead, one is leaving aside > a wom-out body. He instructed > Arjuna that the only true essence > is Brahman, and that Brahman > cannot be killed. > > What dies is not essential. Further, > he said, if you kill Drona, > Bhishma and your cousins in battle, > you enable them to build good > karma, so you are really helping them. > Krishna then discussed moksha, the > ultimate aim of life. If one > experiences moksha, Krishna > reminded Arjuna, he breaks the > chains of samsara and rejoins > Brahman and is not rebom. Krishna > explained four yogas or methods > to achieve moksha. One method is > the yoga of meditation. Another is > the yoga of knowledge. > > These were the methods that > traditionally only Brahmins > followed. But Krishna assured > Arjuna that there were two other > methods for achieving moksha that > anyone might follow: the yoga of > holy indifference and the yoga of > devotion. > > The yoga of holy indifference is > called karma yoga. "You must be > indifferent to the fruits of your > actions," he told Arjuna. "You have > a right to the deeds, never to > the fruits. If you can perform > your deeds but are holy indifferent > to the results of your actions, > you will not build up any karma > and you will not be rebom. > > Fight because you are a warrior, > but don't mind what happens or > who wins. On action alone be thy > interest, never on its fruits." > A fourth method for reaching > moksha was the yoga of devotion > or bhakti yoga. "Be devoted to > me," Krishna said. "If you perform > each act with your mind on the > me alone," Krishna promised, > "you will experience moksha." > > Devotion alone holds the key. > Arjuna was not convinced, so > Krishna finally revealed his true > identity to the warrior. Krishna > was really divinity who had taken > the form of a charioteer to help > the Pandavas re-establish > righteousness. > > His revelation was like the light > of a thousand suns in the sky. > As Arjuna looked at him, he saw > all the world, all the gods, the > universe, the One. Filled with > awe, Arjuna agreed to fight. > > <http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000059.htm> > > -------PEACE will come! > Karta > > > > i hope, sorry for the timing and > the apropos > > > > > > Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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