Gita Satsang Resumption

[Guest guest]

Iam giving below some extracts from the lecture on "Universality of the Gita" by

H.H. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal.

 

"Arjuna has made a good case for banning all wars. He says that any war is wrong

and if one side is foolish enough to resort to arms, it is better to ward off

aggression by refusing to retaliate, thereby bringing about unilateral

disarmament. In such a case casualities will be low. War is different from the

legal punishment imposed by a judge for crime. A judge is a disinterested person

and punishment is intended to act as a deterrent, which will check the tendency

to commit crimes. The disgrace attched to imprisonment and the hardship inside

jails made people afraid to commit crimes.

But war stood on a different footing. It wiped out elders from society,

leaving children and women without guidance. Consequently there is disruption of

the family life, leading to deterioration of Dharma and the loss of chastity.

When women lose chastity, varna sankara (upset of the caste system) is the

consequence. Varna sankara results in both persons responsible for it and their

families to suffer Naraka (hell). Therefore argues Arjuna, a war instead of

leading to moksha, eternal bliss, will instead lead only to Naraka, eternal

misery.

In the general interest of dharma, it is far better to submit bravely, than to

retaliate and cause greater human loss. After expressing this view, Arjuna

remains heart broken.

But how does Krishna meet the argument ? His reply contains a touch of

admonition. "Cast of your mental weakness and rise" says Krishna. He further

says, "If you decide to refrain from fighting, it must not be from the sense of

grief over death that will ensue from it. Your weeping implies that you are

affected by egoism and attachment, the sense of I and mine. Fighting is the

action that you should do as a Kshatriya. In your present state of mind, you

have not attained the qualification to abjure from all action. Activity ceases

only in the case of the unattached person. You are attached to your

relatives,elders and teachers and bemoan their loss and so inactivity is not

yours now. You have not yet acquired the Siddhi which will make for that

inactivity. To attain that Siddhi, you should do the karma ordained by your

swadharma".

Therfore the Lord wants Arjuna to achieve personal perfection before he can

qualify for this humanitarian attitude of abstinence from fighting. "

 

Om Tat Sat.

 

 

 

 

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