Guest guest Posted February 28, 2000 Report Share Posted February 28, 2000 Om Srikrishna parabhrahmaNE namaH atha dviteeyOdhyAyaH - sAMkhya yOgaH 2nd Chapter - The path of Knowledge saNjaya uvAca taM tathA kRpayAviSTam aSrupUrNAkulekSaNam viSIdantam idaM vAkyam uvAca madhusUdanaH 2.1 Sanjaya said: 1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and despondency, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana spoke these words. [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] The second chapter opens with an announcement from Sanjaya which, with a few rightly chosen words, gives a complete picture of Arjuna's sad mental state of desperation. His mind had become overwhelmed with pity and sorrow. The very expression clearly indicates that Arjuna was not the master of the situation at that time, but on the contrary, the situation had Arjuna as its victim! To get ourselves over-ridden by life's circumstances is to ensure disastrous failures on all occasions. Only a weakling, who allows himself to be overpowered by circumstances, can be victimised by the outer happenings. Arjuna, in his present neurotic condition, has become a slave to the outer challenges. The estimate of Sanjaya not only describes to us the mental condition of Arjuna but also pointedly gives us a hint that the cracking of the inner personality of Arjuna has made deep fissures into the character of the great hero. The greatest archer of his time, Arjuna, has been so totally impoverished within that he has come to weep like a simple maiden! To Arjuna, thus overwhelmed by an emotion of misplaced pity and tearless weeping, Madhusudana (slayer of the demon, Madhu), Lord Krishna, spoke the following words. Here, it is to be noted that modern psychology has also observed and recorded that a tearless weeping is the climax in the attack of hysteria. SrIbhagavAn uvAca kutastvA kaSmalam idaM viSame samupasthitam anAryajuSTam asvargyam akIrtikaram arjuna 2.2 The Blessed Lord said: 2. Whence is this perilous condition come upon thee, this dejection, un-Aryan-like, heaven-excluding, disgraceful, O Arjuna? [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] The Lord of the Hindus is surprised to see that a king, claiming to be an Aryan, is feeling so flabbergasted on the battlefield. The instinct of a true Aryan is to be balanced and equipoised in all conditions of life and to face situations diligently, compelling them to change their threatening attitude and make them favourable to himself. When life is courted properly, even the ugliest situation can be transformed into a charming smile of success. Everything depends upon the intelligent man's dexterity in steering himself upon the bumping roads of life. Thus, Lord Krishna characterises Arjuna's behaviour as un-Aryan. The Aryans are extremely sensitive to the higher calls of life, righteousness and nobility, both in thought and action. The Divine Charioteer is quite surprised at discovering such an attitude in his friend, whom he had known for years through thick and thin. The mood of dejection was, in fact, quite alien to the mental make-up and intellectual nature of Arjuna. Thus, we have here an expression of wonder and the Lord asks, "Whence comes upon thee this dejection, etc..." It is believed by the Hindus that to die fighting for righteousness is the duty of one born in a family of kings and by so sacrificing his life on the battle-field for a noble cause, he reaches and enjoys the Heaven of the Heroes (Veera-Swarga). klAibyaM mA sma gamaH pArtha nAitat tvayyupapadyate kSrdraM hRdayadAurbalyaM tyaktvottiSTha paraMtapa 2.3. 3. Yield not to impotence, O Partha! It does not befit thee, Cast off this mean weakness of heart! Stand up, O Parantapa (O scorcher of foes) ! [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] In stinging reproachful words, Krishna is deliberately lashing at the anxiety-state-neurotic in Arjuna. Krishna, who was so far silent, is now bursting forth into an eloquence, in which every word is a chosen missile, a pounding hammer-stroke that can flatten any victim. The word 'Klaibyam' means, the mental attitude of one who is neither masculine enough to feel a passionate courage and daring, nor womanly enough to feel the soft emotions of hesitation and despair. In modern parlance, sometimes friends wonder at the impotency of another friend and express their surprise with such an exclamation as, "Is he a man or a woman?" -- - meaning that from his behaviour it is not very easy to decide which characteristic is predominant in him. Emotionally, therefore, Arjuna is behaving now as a contradiction; effeinately-manly and masculinely-effeminate, just as a eunuch of the Indian royal courts --- looks like a man but dresses as a woman, talks like a man but feels like a woman, physically strong but mentally weak! So far Krishna was silent and the silence had a deep meaning. Arjuna, overwhelmed with compassion, had taken the decision not to fight and was all along mustering arguments in support of it. As a diplomat, Krishna knew that it would have been useless to contradict his friend earlier when he was inspired to argue eloquently in support of his own wrong estimate of things. But the tears in the eyes of Arjuna indicated that his inward confusion had reached a climax. In the tradition of religious devotion, it is very truly said and firmly believed all over the world, that the Lord, in His high seat, keeps mum and is almost deaf so long as we are arguing and asserting our maturity as intellectual beings. But when we come down to live and act as emotional beings, when tears of desperation trickle down the cheeks of true devotees, then, unasked, the LORD OF COMPASSION rushes forward to reach the lost souls and guides them out of their inward darkness to the resplendent LIGHT OF WISDOM. A soul, identifying with the intellect, can seek and discover itself; but, when it is identifying with the mind, it needs the help and guidance of the Lord. The touch of the Lord's grace, when it descends upon His devotees, is invariably felt by the seekers more as an avalanche than as a refreshing shower of Divine Mercy. Spiritual Grace must necessarily re-orientate the heart and burn away its negativities before the Spirit can radiate its sway upon matter. True to this great principle observed everywhere and experienced by every true seeker, in the Geeta too, we find that, when the silent Lord, from the Charioteer's seat, started speaking, His words gleamed and landed like lightning on Arjuna to burn his wrong mental tendencies in the fire of shame. Soft words of sympathy could not have revived Arjuna's drooping mind to vigour. Thus Krishna rightly lashed his friend with these stinging arrows of ridicule, dipped in the acid of satire!! Krishna ends his "word-treatment" with an appeal to Arjuna to "Get up and act." arjuna uvAca kathaM bhISmam ahaM saMkhye droNaM ca madhusUdana iSubhiH pratiyotsyAmi pUjArhAvarisUdana 2.4 Arjuna said: 4. How, O Madhusudana, shall I, in battle, fight with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies! [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] The motive-hunting cowardice in Arjuna has come to pick up a great argument, seemingly quite convincing to the undiscriminating. On the other hand, to one who has not lost his balance and who knows perfectly the art of evaluating such a situation, this is no problem at all, and Arjuna's arguments are quite hollow. The war that is imminent is not between individuals due to any personal rivalry. Arjuna has no personality apart from the Pandava-forces, and the pair, Drona and Bhishma, are also not mere individual entities; in their identification, they are the Kaurava- forces. The two forces are arrayed to fight for certain principles. The Kauravas are fighting for their policy-of-Adharma. The Pandavas are fighting for the principles-of-Dharma as enunciated in the ancient lore of the Hindus. So glorious being the cause, when the two armies representing the will of the People have marshalled themselves, Arjuna, the hero, had no individual right to accept any personal honour or dishonour, or to insist on any respect or disrespect, in meeting the individuals who were champions of the wrong side. Without taking this total view-point of the situation, Arjuna made the mistake of arrogating to himself an individual ego and observed the problems through the glasses of his ego. He recognised himself to be the disciple of Drona and the grandson of Bhishma. The very same teacher and grandsire were also seeing Arjuna in the opposite camp, but they felt no compunction, because they had no such egoistic misconceptions. They drowned their individuality in the cause they were championing. In short, Arjuna's egoism was the cause for his terrible moral confusions and misconceptions. I have often discussed this portion with some of the best men of our country and I have found all of them justifying Arjuna's argument. That is to say, this is a very subtle point to be decided and, perhaps, Vyasa thought of solving this riddle for the society with the very principles of Hinduism for the guidance of future generations. The more we identify ourselves with the little 'I' in us, the more will be our problems and confusions in life. When we expand ourselves through our larger identifications --- with an army, a cause or a principle, or a nation or an age --- we shall find our moral confusions dwindling into almost nothingness. Perfect morality can be declared and lived only by him who has sought to live and discover his real identity with the Self which is ONE WITHOUT A SECOND, EVERYWHERE, IN ALL BEINGS AND FORMS. Later on, we shall find Krishna advising this TRUTH as a philosophical treatment for Arjuna's mental rehabilitation. gurUn ahatvA hi mahAnubhAvAn Sreyo bhoktuM bhAikSyamapIha loke hatvArthakAmANs tu gurUn ihAiva bhuNjIya bhogAn rudhirapradigdhAn 2.5 5. Better indeed, in this world, is to eat even the bread of 'beggary' than to slay the most noble of teachers. But, if I kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and desires will be stained with blood. [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] Continuing his high sounding but futile arguments, due to his false estimate of himself and his problem, Arjuna poses here as a martyr of his own morality and ethical goodness. His gurus, meaning both Drona and Bhishma, are characterised here as Mahanubhavah --- men who were the ideals of their age, symbolising the best in our culture, who, in their broad- mindedness and courage of conviction, had themselves offered many a sacrifice at the altars of the Sanatana Dharma, the Hindu science of perfect living. Such noble men, who formed the very touch-stones of our culture in that era, were not to be eliminated from life, merely for the fulfilment of an individual's appetite for power and position. Not only in their own age, but for millenarian, the world would be impoverished by the heartless squandering of such precious lives. Thus, Arjuna says that it would be nobler for himself and the Pandava-brothers to live upon the bread of beggary than to gain kingship after destroying all the glorious flowers in the garden of our culture. After annihilating them all, elders and teachers, even supposing the Pandavas actually got their kingdom back, Arjuna points out how his noble Aryan-heart would not be able to enjoy either the kingdom or its wealth; for everything would be smeared by the bitter memories of the precious blood that would have been spilt in the war. Once we misread a situation, sentiments cloud our understanding and then we too act in life as Arjuna did in his. This is clearly indicated here in the detailed narration of the incident by Vyasa. na cAitad vidmaH kataran no garIyo yad vA jayema yadi vA no jayeyuH yAn eva hatvA na jijIviSAmas te 'vasthitAH pramukhe dhArtarASTrAH 2.6 6. I can scarcely say which will be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us. [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] The two earlier stanzas from Arjuna, no doubt, indicate to us the state of perplexity and confusion in his 'objective-mind.' That the state of hysteria within has now developed to attack even his intellectual composure is indicated in this stanza. The stimuli coming from the array of the enemy-lines, as they touched his 'objective-mind,' created therein a problem, to solve which, he needed the guidance of the rational capacities of his intellect --- the 'subjective-mind.' Split as he was within, his mental personality, divorced from his intellect, could not easily come to any definite decision. His egoistic self-evaluation and the ego-created intense anxieties for the fruits of the great war, stood, as it were, between his mind and intellect, separating them and creating between them, an almost unbridgeable gulf; hence, Arjuna's confusions here. The mind, generally functioning as an efficient "receiving-and-despastching-clerk," receives the information of the perceptions conveyed to it by the sense-organs, and after arranging these perceptions in order, conveys them to the intellect for its judgement. The intellect, with reference to its own stored-up memories of similar experiences in the past, comes to final decisions which are conveyed to the mind for execution; and the mind in its turn issues the necessary orders for the organs-of-action to act upon. All these are happening at every moment, all through our waking-state, in our intelligent existence in the midst of the objects of the world. Where these equipments are not functioning co-operatively, with perfect team spirit, the personality of the individual is shattered and he becomes inefficient in meeting life as a victorious mortal. The rehabilitation of that individual is the re-adjustment and re-education of his inner world and where his personality is once again tuned up and adjusted, he comes to exhibit better efficiency in life. Poor Arjuna, victimised not so much by the external world as by his own mental condition, is seen here as being incapable of judging whether he should conquer his enemy or, by an ignoble retreat, allow them to conquer him. In this stanza, Vyasa is indicating to us that the hysteria in Arjuna was not only mental, but also at the level of the intellect. kArpaNyadoSopahataSvabhAvaH pRcchAmi tvAM dharmasaMmUDhacetAH yacchreyaH syAn niScitaM brUhi tan me SiSyas te 'haM SAdhi mAM tvAM prapannam 2.7 7. My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee. Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee. [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] In this stanza, when Arjuna has completely realised the helpless impotency in himself to come to any decision, he surrenders totally to Krishna. He, in his own words, admits the psychological shattering felt and lived by him in his bosom. He has instinctively diagnosed, correctly, even the cause of it to be "an uncontrollable amount of over-whelming pity." Of course, Arjuna does not realise that it is his misplaced compassion; but, whatever it be, the patient is now under the mental stress of extreme confusion and bewilderment. Arjuna confesses that his intellect (Chetas) has gone behind a cloud of confusions regarding what Dharma and Adharma are at that moment for him. The problem --- whether to fight and conquer the enemies or not to fight and allow the enemies to conquer him --- which needed an urgent solution, could not be rationally judged with the depleted mental capacities of Arjuna. We have already explained Dharma and found that the Dharma of a thing 'is the law of its being.' A thing cannot remain itself without faithfully maintaining its own nature, and 'THAT NATURE, WHICH MAKES A THING WHAT IT IS' is called Dharma. Hinduism insists on the Manava Dharma, meaning, it insists that men should be true to their own essential nature, which is godly and divine, and, therefore, all efforts in life should be directed towards maintaining themselves in the dignity of the Soul and not plod on through life like helpless animals. Here Arjuna indicates that he is quite ready to follow all the instructions of the Lord and maintain perfect faith in the wisdom of his Divine Charioteer. The Pandava must also be considered to have indicated that, if he, in his foolishness, were to raise doubts, even for the thousandth time, Krishna should have the large-heartedness, compassion and kindness patiently to explain them again to his disciple. All through the Geeta we come across many occasions when Arjuna punctuates Krishna's message with his own doubts. Never does Krishna, even once, grow impatient with his disciple. On the other hand, each question, as it were, is seen to have added more enthusiasm and interest to the discourses on the battle-field. na hi prapaSyAmi mamApanudyAd yacchokam ucchoSaNam indriyANAm avApya bhUmAvasapatnaM RddhaM rAjyaM surANAm api cAdhipatyam 2.8 8. I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses, even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth, or even Lordship over the gods. [Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda] Arjuna is indicating here to Krishna the urgency for guidance but for which he would be left to suffer the voiceless agonies of an inward pain. The patient is unable to explain or even to indicate vaguely, the source from which the pain is rising in him. This mental sorrow in Arjuna is "blasting" even his sense organs! Under the heavy burden of his sorrows he finds it very difficult even to see or hear things properly. Even his Indriyas (sense- organs), are being blasted by the overheated sorrows within him. It is natural for any reasonable human being to feel an intellectual impastience to solve a problem of the mind and thereby make it quiet and peaceful. Poor Arjuna also has tried his best to bring some consolation to himself through his own intellectual discrimination. The sorrow that he felt was not for the acquisition and possession of any sensuous object in the outer world, because, as his own words indicate, he has already thought over them and found that even an empire comprising the whole earth, flourishing under his kingship --- nay, a lordship over the gods even --- would not have wiped off his sense of sorrow. The urgency felt by Arjuna, as is evident from his own words, may be considered as amounting to his burning aspiration for liberating himself from the limitations of a mortal. All that he needed to make himself perfect was right discrimination (Viveka) which the 'LORD OF THE SENSES' (Hrishikesha) gives him throughout the DIVINE SONG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2000 Report Share Posted March 5, 2000 Greetings Advaitins: The weekend was filled with the great occasion of Mahashivarathri - a celebration to the occasion of the marriage between Parvathi(Shakti) and Shiva. This divine marriage is spiritually significant and symbolizes that Shakti and Shiva are inseparable. In Tiruchengodu (Tamil Nadu, India)the presiding deity is "Arthanarishwarar"- half male and half female from i.e. Siva and Sakthi and is worshipped as one. This type of worship at the sanctum is the unique feature in Tiruchengodu. All separations of people by sex, race and by religion is an illusion due to our ignorance. Shankara's Advaita philosophy reminds us the unity in diversity. Now let me divert your attention to the Gita Satsang. This chapter lays down the entire foundation for us to understand the significance of our life along with the life of all others. The first chapter described the state of extreme dejection from which Arjuna suffered in detail. Bhagavan Sri Krishna addressed in the beginning of the second chapter with a brief reference to the distressed state of Arjuna. Arjuna's deep love for his friends and relatives was responsible for the anguish, his eyes were filled with tears and he was filled with grief and sorrow. He sincerely but incorrectly believed that he will be injecting terrible sin if he indulged in the war which will eventually destroy his family of friends and relatives. Ram Chandran ======================================================= Discussion on Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 31-38 compiled from Bhagavdgita - Multimedia CD (permission is obtained from the publisher for conducting Gita Sang Discussion) ======================================================= Verse #1 Referring to Bhagavan Sri Krsna by the name `Madhusudana' (Slayer of Madhu) in this verse, and qualifying the word `Vakyam' (word) by `Idam' (these) Sanjaya gave a warning to Dhrtarastra. His intention was to point out that Bhagavan Sri Krsna had on a previous occasion killed the demon Madhu, who had been tyrannizing over the celestials. That was how He happened to be known as `Madhusudana'. It was that very Sri Krsna who encouraged and inspired downcast and unwilling Arjuna with the following words to engage himself in the fight. Under these circumstances how could Dhrtarastra expect a victory for his sons, who were as great tyrants as the demon Madhu, and specially when it was the Lord's chosen mission to bring about the destruction of tyrants and persecutors. Therefore, Sanjaya intended by implication to urge that those among Dhrtarastra's sons and relatives, who had survived the fearful slaughter of ten days could yet be saved if Dhrtarastra could influence his sons to make peace with the Pandavas. Verse #2 The word `Kasmalam' with the adjective `Idam', in this verse, indicates Arjuna's heaviness of heart and low spirits, due to infatuation. The Lord here administers a snub to Arjuna, and expressing wonder asks how in that dangerous and difficult situation, viz, on the battle-field, where dejection and cowardliness were wholly out of place, and just at the moment when the battle was to commence, a hero and fighter like him, who was capable of easily vanquishing the greatest of Maharathis, should be overtaken by an unworthy faintheartedness, which was not at all expected of him. Wherefrom did he get it? Calling this dejection and faintheartedness of Arjuna's unworthy of noble souls and calculated neither to lead to heaven, nor to bring fame, the Lord gives His reasons for expressing amazement and wonder. The intention was that the sentiment with which Arjuna was now overpowered was not entertained by men possessed of nobility of character, and was not likely to lift Arjuna to heaven or contribute to his fame. Out of the four objects of life it would lead to the fulfillment of none-neither of Moksa (salvation), nor of Dharma (virtue), nor of Artha (Wealth), nor of Kama (enjoyment). Therefore, possessed of a strong intellect as he was, how could Arjuna be subject to such a depression of spirits at that odd hour on the battle-field, faced with the imminent danger of a clash of arms with very powerful adversaries? Verse #3 The other name of Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, was Prtha. Kunti was a heroic mother. When Bhagavan Sri Krsna had gone to Hastinapur as a messenger of peace to try for an amicable settlement of the dispute between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, and met there His father's sister, Kunti, the latter had sent through Him a message, full of sentiments of the most heroic type, to her son Arjuna. In that message, citing the instance of Bidula and her son Sanjaya, Kunti had encouraged Arjuna to establish the claim of the Pandavas over their kingdom by the arbitrament of war. Therefore, addressing Arjuna as `Partha', Bhagavan Sri Krsna reminds Arjuna of that message, worthy of a true Ksatriya mother, and intends to convey by the first half of the verse that as a hero himself, Arjuna was a worthy son of a worthy mother, for whom it was quite out of place to be overcome by unmanliness and cowardice. Possessed as he was of incomparable valor and skill as a fighter, which invariably struck terror into the hearts of the greatest of heroes and generals, to what a sad plight he had brought himself, his hair standing on end, face drooping and trembling, the Gandiva about to drop from his hand, and the mind, merged in grief, quite perplexed and confused. This unmanliness and faintheartedness was never worthy of him. He who scorches the foe by virulence of attack is called a `Parantapa'. Here the intention of addressing Arjuna as `Parantapa' is to remind him of his fame as a `scorcher of foes'. Being the vanquisher of extremely powerful demons like the Nivatakavacas and others, how could he now adopt such an attitude of cowardice, and unmanliness, which were the reverse of what a Ksatriya should possess, and would thus delight the heart of his enemies instead of terrifying them as before. By asking Arjuna to "shake off this paltry faint-heartedness and stand up", the Lord shows that in the heart of a hero like Arjuna there should be no place for pusillanimity, which is invariably rejected by heroes, and is entertained only by cowards, who feel scared at the sight of a battle.Therefore, the Lord urges him to throw it off immediately and prepare and harden himself for the fight. Verse #4 Addressing the Lord as 'Slayer of Madhu' and Destroyer of foes' and using the word 'Katham' (how), Arjuna expresses his surprise. His intention is to show that Bhisma and Drona, with whom the Lord was encouraging him to fight, were neither demons nor enemies; on the other hand, they were very respected elders. Under the circumstance, how did the Lord, contrary to His nature, exhort Arjuna to fight his elders? How could Arjuna involve himself in the commission of that dreadful sin? By using the word 'Isubhih' Arjuna means to show that elders against whom the use of even light words was considered as a great sin, how could he range himself against them in a fight with sharp arrows? He, therefore, wondered how Bhagavan Sri Krsna exhorted him to do what appeared to him to be an utterly sinful action. Verse #5 The word `Gurun' with the adjective `Mahanubhavan' points to teachers like Dronacharya and Krpacharya, and elderly relations like Bahlika, Bhisma, Somadatta, Bhurisrava and Salya, etc, who were all noble in character, posted in the army of Duryodhana. By using the indeclinable `Api' after the word `Bhaiksyam' it is indicated that though it was considered dishonorable for a Ksatriya to live on alms, such a livelihood was, indeed, better than the enjoyment of the pleasures of kingship obtained through the massacre of noble elders who were objects of reverence and respect. By using the adjective `Rudhixapradigdhan' and `Arthakaman' and the indeclinable `Eva' after the noun `Bhogan', Arjuna compares by implication the value of the lives of those noble elders with what he would actually gain by the most reprehensible act of killing them. He would gain neither salvation nor merit through that act, but only wealth and sense of enjoyment, which were valueless as compared to the lives of those elders. And these too he would gain as the fruit of slaughter of those elders, and therefore they would be as if stained with their blood. In his opinion, therefore, killing elders for obtaining such pleasures and enjoyments could never be met and proper. Some commentators have taken the word `Arthakaman' as an attribute of `Gurun', but this does not appear to us to be a proper interpretation inasmuch as Arjuna has spoken of these elders in this very verse as `noble', and he could not be expected to speak of them in the same breath as obsessed by greed for wealth, the two attributes being naturally contradictory. We have therefore chosen to interpret `Arthakaman' as we have done. Verse #6 By saying "we do not know which is preferable for us." Arjuna indicates that he was not in a position to decide whether it was better for him to fight or to refrain from fight; for while on the other hand it was laid down as the duty of a Ksatriya to fight, the destruction on the other hand of the family and race as a result of such a fight was also declared as an evil and a sin. Again, when Arjuna says "nor do we know whether we shall win, or they will conquer us," he means that if it was held that it was better to fight, he was unaware whether the crown of victory would belong to his side or would be wrested from his hands by his adversaries. Further, when Arjuna says "killing whom we do not even wish to live, those very sons of Dhrtarastra are arrayed against us," he means to say that if it was granted that the battle would end in a victory for his side, even then it did not appear to him advisable to engage in that fight. For those real cousins of his, Duryodhana and others, killing whom he did not even wish to live, stood arrayed before him to meet their death in that fight. If at all he attained a victory, it would be gained by putting those cousins to death. Therefore, he was puzzled and perplexed and could not decide for himself what was the proper course for him to adopt. Verse #7 The word `Karpanya' is an abstract noun derived from the adjective `Krpana', which conveys various meanings:- (1) A miser, who even though possessing abundant wealth, does not like, owing to excessive greed and attachment for wealth, to spend even a farthing either in charity or in satisfying the legitimate needs of himself or of his dependents is a `Krpana'. (2) The main object of human life, as pointed out by the scriptures and declared by saints, who are the saviors of humanity, is realization of God through attainment of Knowledge about the reality of God. He who forgetting this primary goal of existence wastes his life only in enjoying sense-objects, that man of feeble intellect is also called `Krpana'. The Sruti says:- "Gargi ! whoever departs from this earth without knowing God, the Imperishable, is a `Krpana'. The Lord too has called in the Gita men attached to worldly enjoyments and power, seeking the fruits of action as `Krpana.' (3) One with a wretched and miserable state of mind is also, in a general sense, designated as a `Krpana.' The `Karpanya' complained of by Arjuna was neither of the nature of miserliness, produced by greed, nor of attachment to worldly enjoyments. For Arjuna was by nature an extremely generous and charitable man, and a master of his senses. In the Gita itself he clearly states that he coveted neither victory, nor kingdom, nor pleasures, for his own sake; those relations of him for whom these things were needed were arrayed before him to lay down their lives. He did not want to kill Duryodhana and other relations even for the sovereignty of the three worlds; how, then, for this earth (Chap. I.32-35). Undisputed sovereignty over the entire earth and lordship over the gods could not drive away his grief (Chap. II. 8). He who was prepared to sacrifice so much, could neither be miserly by nature, nor attached to worldly enjoyments. Besides, interpretation of the word in this sense does not fit in with the context here. The `Kapranya' by which Arjuna was possessed was a sort of lowness of spirits, which expressed itself in the form of faint heartedness and grief mixed up with compassion. Sanjaya, in the first verse of the chapter, referred to this very state of Arjuna when he spoke of the latter as `overwhelmed with pity'. In verse 3 of this chapter, the Lord uses the word `unmanliness' to describe this very state of Arjuna. All these clearly indicate that the `Karpanya' of Arjuna was nothing but faintheartedness coupled with compassion produced by the fear of loss of his kith and kin. As an ideal Ksatriya fighter Arjuna was, by his very nature, a hero. Cowardliness of spirit was a weakness in his case, to whatever cause it might be attributed. Therefore, Arjuna calls it in this verse as the `vice of faint-heartedness.' On account of this faint-heartedness, Arjuna's very nature as a Ksatriya, adorned with such qualities as valor, prowess, firmness, adroitness and courage, etc, had been vitiated; that is why his very limbs were giving way, the mouth was parched, the frame was shaking, the skin appeared to be burning all over and the mind was puzzled and reeling as it were. Observing these marks of weakness in him, which were quite opposed to his nature, appearing as the result of his unmanliness of spirit, Arjuna says in this verse," My very being has been tainted by the vice of faintheartedness." He whose mind had become wholly incapable of ascertaining what is virtue and what is vice, what is duty and what is interdicted, is called `Dharmasammudhacetah', i. e, one whose mind is puzzled with regard to duty. The mind of Arjuna at this time was in a state of terrible confusion with regard to his duty. From the point of view of protection of subjects, the duty of a Ksatriya and vindication of his rightful claim, he considered war to be a righteous duty and thought it advisable to engage in the fight; while, on the other hand, the unmanly spirit that had now taken possession of him, unfolding to his mind the various dreadful effects of the war, was trying to force him to take up the profession of a beggar, adopt Samnyasa and retire to the forest. The mind obsessed by compassion did not allow the intellect to function freely and come to a decision, and finding himself entirely puzzled and perplexed, Arjuna expresses himself as above. The words "Tell me what is decidedly good" should not be interpreted to mean that Arjuna was frightened at the sight of the very powerful Kaurava army, protected by such invincible and world-renowned heroes and fighters as Bhisma, Drona, Karna, etc; an army much larger than that of the Pandavas, and despairing of victory, approached the Lord for a definite light as to whether it would be "good" for him to fight, or to retire from the battle with a view to ascertaining whether victory or defeat would follow his footsteps. Here the predominant sentiment of his heart was affection and tenderness for friends and relations. There was, again, the fear of sin that would attach to him as the result of the destruction of friends and relations, which might be a great obstacle to his attainment of the supreme good. As opposed to this there was also the slow stirring of thought that renunciation on his part of the recognized duty of a Ksatriya to engage in a righteous war might also be wrong, and might prove a hindrance to the attainment of supreme good. That is why he wanted to know what was "decidedly good". His question, therefore, had no relation with victory or defeat in war; its object was to know what was conducive to supreme good in the form of God-Realization. In short, Arjuna here says, "Lord, I have wholly lost my capacity to ascertain what is my duty. Pray tell me definitely, how I can attain the supreme good." Arjuna was Bhagavan Sri Krsna's dear friend. Spiritually speaking, they might have been on different levels; but in practical life the relation between Arjuna and Sri Krsna was, in almost all places, that of equality. While dining, reposing in bed or going from one place to another, Bhagavan Sri Krsna used to show the same consideration to Arjuna as He bestowed on His own Self, and Arjuna also, for his part, reciprocated that sentiment of equality and friendship, though maintaining in his heart deep reverence and respect for Sri Krsna's spiritual superiority. But now finding himself in a most deplorable state of mind, Arjuna felt that he was not fit to maintain equality with Sri Krsna. Between two equals there might be exchange of advice and counsel, but no instruction as from a superior to an inferior; there might be prompting and suggestion, but no command. Arjuna realized that suggestion and advice would not help him at that stage to get out of the mental rut. What he needed was a true Guide and Teacher, who would command him to follow a certain path, and driving out all his grief and infatuation, would help him to attain the supreme good Who could be a better guide to him than Sri Krsna? But the shower of nectar in the form of a Guru's instruction fell only when the soil of the disciple's heart was ready to receive it. Therefore, Arjuna now says, "Lord, I am Your disciple." There are many types of disciples. The disciple who after receiving instruction from the Guru depends on self-effort centered in the ego, or looks to other sources of help than that of the Sadguru, cannot derive true benefit from the grace of the Guru. Therefore along with the declaration of his discipleship, Arjuna takes up the attitude of exclusive surrender, and says, "Lord, I am not only Your disciple, but I have also taken refuge in You". The root of the word `Prapanna' means surrender of the self to God, knowing and realizing Him to be the repository of all power and the highest Being. The term is synonymous with `taking refuge in the Lord', `throwing of the self at the Lord's feet', and `offering the self to God'. The spirit of a `Prapanna' is truly cultivated when one completely, and for all time, throws one self at the feet of God and keeps looking on at the Lord's enchanting face without a twinkle in the eye and with the mind constantly engaged in the thought of God from the exclusive desire of always acting as a mere puppet in His hands. He believes, on the one hand, that God is almighty, omniscient, the knower of all hearts, an endless ocean of innumerable virtues, the supreme master, the infinite repository of greatness, love, valor, virtue, knowledge, non-attachment, etc, the remover of all afflictions, shackle of Karma, and every form of doubt and error, the dearest lover, the dearest friend, the dearest relation, the Supreme Guide and the Supreme Divinity, and regards himself, on the other, as standing alone in the world utterly helpless and without any support, devoid of intelligence, lacking in strength, lacking in substance, and depending thoroughly and exclusively on God's help, support, knowledge, power and incomparable affection for the devotee who thus takes refuge in Him. Arjuna's desire was to develop such an attitude of surrender to the Lord, and inspired by this feeling he now says, "Lord, I am Your disciple. Pray instruct me, who have taken refuge in You". When this idea of true surrender to God, the best and most perfect flower of spiritual insight, would develop into true surrender under the influence of the most esoteric teaching of the Lord contained in verses 65 and 66 of the eighteenth chapter, and Arjuna would be prepared to carry out the behest of the Lord without any question, the Gita itself would reach its conclusion. Thus the Sadhana of the Gita commences from this verse, the seed is sowed here for the beginning of the Gita gospel, and the Sadhana would reach its consummation when the Lord would exhort Arjuna to "surrender all duties" to Him. There lies the natural conclusion of the Gita. Verse #8 Referring to Sri Krsna's exhortation to face his adversaries in the fight, Arjuna says here that the best result that could be expected from the battle was a victory which might bring him undisputed sovereignty over the earth; but the more he thought over the matter the more he felt that, even if he obtained lordship over the gods, not to speak of sovereignty over the earth, that would not remove the grief which was drying up his senses. He, therefore, appeals to the Lord to show him some definite and unfailing way that would remove his grief and bring him everlasting happiness and bliss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2000 Report Share Posted March 6, 2000 Just couple of points with reference to sloka-s 2, 3 and 7. Till then Krishna kept quite to let Arjuna vomit out whatever he can without either encouraging nor discouraging him, by just with his characteristic smile on His face. As Shree Swami Ranganathanandaji of Ramakrishna Mission points out with these two verses that Krishna is also teaching everyone of us how to handle correctly at the psychological level any criticism of others for their inaction or inappropriate action. By saying that wherefrom you got this weakness of Oh Arjuna!, Krishna implies that that weakness is not natural to Arjuna, whom He calls as parantapa. Instead of calling someone as a stupid - a positive approach is to ask - where did you get this stupidity from? - which means that the stupidity is not natural and it is only external and hence one can easily get rid of it by proper thinking. It is a better way of scolding than call any one a stupid or fool etc. These very first two versus of Lord Krishna are also examples His mastery of human psychology. Verse 7 is as Prof VK noted is the example of completely surrenderence of a confused soul to a higher authority. KrishNa's real teaching about reality starts only after He found a worthy disciple in Arjuna. Till that surrenderance is complete, the student is not ready to listen. "I surrender completely - I am your disciple - please teach me what is good for me" - Only after such surrenderance the true teaching starts. This aspect is emphasized in the VishishhTaadvaita - path of prapatti - ' saadhi mAM tvAM prapannam' - Surrender to the Lord is essential step for knowledge. One cannot surrender unless one has devotion to that Lord. Hence Bhakti is essential ingradient for true prapatti. Next point is Arjuna is not asking a temporal solution to his problem but for a solution that provides what is overall good from all respects - shreyas - He is looking for a fundamental solution rather than a temporary solution for the problme- Not just removal of the symptoms of the problem but the problem itslef with the roots. That is what shreyas implies. Hence Krishna sees that Arjuna's problem is not just temporary weakness of the situation but a more fundamental human problme of what is right and what is wrong and how one should act when the mind is clouded by the attachments and aversions. Hence Krishna's very first few sloks in resonse takes us to the utmost philosophical heights. Everything else is an elobaration of these thoughts. Hari Om! Sadananda >SrIbhagavAn uvAca >kutastvA kaSmalam idaM viSame samupasthitam >anAryajuSTam asvargyam akIrtikaram arjuna 2.2 > >The Blessed Lord said: 2. Whence is this perilous condition come upon thee, >this >dejection, un-Aryan-like, heaven-excluding, disgraceful, O Arjuna? > >klAibyaM mA sma gamaH pArtha nAitat tvayyupapadyate >kSrdraM hRdayadAurbalyaM tyaktvottiSTha paraMtapa 2.3. > >3. Yield not to impotence, O Partha! It does not befit thee, Cast off this >mean weakness of >heart! Stand up, O Parantapa (O scorcher of foes) ! > >kArpaNyadoSopahataSvabhAvaH > pRcchAmi tvAM dharmasaMmUDhacetAH >yacchreyaH syAn niScitaM brUhi tan me >SiSyas te 'haM SAdhi mAM tvAM prapannam 2.7 > >7. My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to >duty. I ask >Thee. Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct >me, who have >taken refuge in Thee. ____ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2000 Report Share Posted March 6, 2000 Namaste, Gita 2:33 summarises this like an aphorism: "tataH svadharma.n kiirti.n cha hatvaa paapamavaapsyasi .." Re:surrender- Sri Ramana had an answer for an inquirer who said he had great difficulty in surrendering. Ramana asked him: " When you board a train with your baggage, do you carry it on your back or let the train carry it? So, let the one who put you on this train of 'sa.nsaara' carry it! Why do you worry?!!" Saint Ekanatha, in his hymn ' hari paaTha', says: "aavaDiine bhaave hariinaama ghesii . tujhii chintaa tyaasii sarva aahe .." Utter the Lord's name lovingly; all your worries are His concern. Regards, s. >Ram Chandran <ramvchandran >advaitin >advaitin >Re: Re: Bhagawad Gita - Ch.2 - Verses 1-8 >Mon, 6 Mar 2000 12:41:01 -0800 (PST) > that Arjuna's behavior will >reflect poorly on his Kulam, teachers, and other >acquaintances. >regards, > >Ram Chandran > > ____ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2000 Report Share Posted March 6, 2000 Here is a tradition about Verse 7 of chapter 2. kArpaNya-doshopahata-svabhAvaH ..... In this verse Arjuna seeks Krishna's advice sincerely since he is totally confounded as to what is good for him. There is the surrender to the Guru of the disciple. This verse, it appears, has been used as a meditational prayer by generations of our ancestors whenever they have had any dilemma or doubt as to how best to act. Any time when you are at the head of a fork in your life, even in mundane problems of daily life, sit before any altar that you respect, close your eyes, recite and repeat this sloka and seek advice from within. You will get it! praNAms to all advaitins. profvk ===== Prof. V. Krishnamurthy The simplified URL of my website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/ You can also access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and Practice from the same address. Talk to your friends online with Messenger. http://im. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2000 Report Share Posted March 6, 2000 Hari Om: Sadaji's observation regarding Sri Krishna's mastery of human psychology is excellent and important. Krishna implicitly argues that Arjuna's behavior will reflect poorly on his Kulam, teachers, and other acquaintances. This argument is right on the money - Krishna reminds Arjuna that he may bring more shame to his family and teachers by putting down the weapon instead of fighting! What a beautiful way to apply the logic of Arjuna to make him understand that he is wrong! regards, Ram Chandran --- Kuntimaddi Sadananda <k_sadananda wrote: > > Instead of calling someone as a stupid - a positive > approach is to ask - > where did you get this stupidity from? ... > > These very first two versus of Lord Krishna are also > examples His mastery of human psychology. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.