Was Arjuna an Atma Jnani ?

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Namaste Sadhakas,

 

Yesterday i was reading an article,in Kannada, on the Gita and

Anugita. Therein, the context of the teaching of the Anugita in the

Mahabharata was mentioned along with some verses from the

Mahabharatha. Wanting to know a little more about the context, i

searched in the Bharatadesam site that contains the English

Translation for the Mahabharatha and found this:

 

 

"Janamejaya said, "When the high-souled Kesava and Arjuna after

slaying their enemies repaired to the assembly rooms, what

conversation, O regenerate one, took place between them?'

Vaisampayana said, "The son of Pritha (Arjuna), having recovered his

own kingdom, joyously spent his time, without doing anything else, in

the company of Krishna, his heart filled with delight, in that palace

of celestial beauty. One day, those two listlessly proceeded to a

particular part of the palace that looked, O king, like a veritable

portion of Heaven.

 

Themselves filled with delight, they were then surrounded by their

relatives and attendents. Pandu's son, Arjuna, filled with joy in the

company of Krishna, surveyed that delightful mansion, and then

addressed his companion, saying, 'O--mighty-armed one, thy greatness

became known to me upon the approach of the battle. O son of Devaki,

thy form also, as the Lord of the universe, then became known to me!

What thy holy self said unto me at that time, O Kesava, through

affection, has all been forgotten by me, O chief of men, in

consequence of the fickleness of my mind. Repeatedly, however, have I

been curious on the subject of those truths. Thou again, O Madhava,

wilt repair to Dwaraka soon.'

Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed by him, Krishna of mighty

energy, that foremost of speakers, embraced Phalguna and replied unto

him as follows.

 

'Vasudeva said, 'I made thee listen to truths that are regarded as

mysteries. I imparted to thee truths that are eternal. Verily, I

discoursed to thee on Religion in its true form and on all the

eternal regions. It is exceedingly disagreeable to me to learn that

thou didst not, from folly, receive what I imparted. The recollection

of all that I told thee on that occasion will not come to me now.

Without doubt, O son of Pandu, thou art destitute of faith and thy

understanding is not good.(the words in the original work are:

ashraddhadhaano'si durmedhaashcha asi paandava). It is impossible

for me, O Dhananjaya, to repeat, in detail, all that I said on that

occasion. That religion (about which I discoursed to thee then) is

more than sufficient for understanding Brahma. I cannot discourse on

it again in detail. I discoursed to thee on Supreme Brahma, having

concentrated myself in Yoga. I shalt now, however, recite to thee an

old history upon the same topic. O foremost of all persons, observant

of duty, listen to everything I now say, so that, with an

understanding adapted to my teaching, thou mayst succeed in attaining

to the highest end. O chastiser of foes, on one occasion, a Brahmana

came to us from the regions of Heaven. Of irresistible energy, he

came from the regions of the Grandsire. He was duly reverenced by us.

Listen. O son of Pritha, without yielding to scruples of any kind, to

what he, O chief of Bharata's race, said, in answer to our enquiries,

agreeably to heavenly forms.'

 

(The rest of the Anugita is available for reading at this link:

 

http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/mahabharata/mahabharata_14016.ph

p

 

 

Continuing, the purpose of giving the above here is also to drive

home the point that this could be seen as a wake up call. We might

have heard the Truth being expounded before and it is quite likely

that we have forgotten it. The words 'ashraddha' and 'durmedha' are

very signifacant. A brahmachari, while performing the daily fire-

ritual called 'samidaadhAnam' chants at the end a prayer for being

blessed with shraddhaa and medhaa. Faith and the Truth-bearing

intellect are immensely valuable and indispensable treasures for the

Truth to be realized. Shraddhaa involves the conviction that 'this is

of utmost importance to me and i should never be negligent of this

vidya in any way, at any state of my life'. And a sharp and

cultivated intellect alone can grasp the Truth-teaching and

successfully assimilate it. The Kathopanishad (i.ii.7) teaches:

 

Of that Self, which is not available for the mere hearing to many,

and which many do not understand even while hearing, the expounder is

wonderful and the receiver is wonderful; wonderful is he who knows

under the instruction of an adept.

(One can see the Acharya's commentary on this and the next mantra

also) The Bhagavadgita too contains thid idea: ManuShyANam

sahasreShu....

 

Warm regards,

subbu