Krishna and Geeta

[Guest guest]

In the past few weeks, in our endeavour to start posting Geeta slokas, we have

read the

invocation prayers usually said before starting the Geeta (Vinod), we have read

something

about the qualities of Arjuna (Shri Raman, Veena, Balagopal), the importance of

the mind

and mind control (Shri Raman). I am now posting a few lines on Shree Krishna and

his role

as Jagatguru.

Om Namo Narayanaya!

--\

-----

SreeKrishna - epitome of love, love for the gopas-gopis, for the cows and trees

of

Vrindavan. But simultaneousoly non-attachment was His character; once He left

Gokul for

Mathura, He did not look back; just like the gopis/gopas He was also sad at the

parting,

but He was not unduly disturbed by it. He was " Sthita-pragnya " one who remains

undisturbed by sorrow/joy, friends/enemies, respect/insult, and cold/heat.

 

He was also committed to establishing a just society, a society based on Dharma;

that

Dharma following which Man could achieve success in both the materialistic as

well as

spiritual realm. Because of which he advised the Pandavas to fight even as great

a

personality as Bhisma, who was fighting on the side of injustice and evil.

Dharma, for

Krishna, was above personal prestige and personal loyalties. Krishna

philosophized that

if personal vows were in the way of progress of society and were an impediment

to Dharma,

then these vows must be sacrificed. With this logic he also persuaded Arjuna to

forgive

Yuddhistira -- there is an incident during the battle when Yuddishtir criticized

Arjuna's

gaandiva bow; Arjuna has taken a vow of killing anyone who criticizes his

gaandiva and

wants to punish Yuddishtir; Krisha says 'you can insult him; insulting your

elders is as

good as killing them, but if you kill him, you are in effect killing Dharma,

because

Yuddishtir is Dharma personified.

 

Then there is his role as Jagatguru: He was instrumental in bringing together

the paths

of Yoga, Jnana, Bhakti, and Karma. Till then the proponents of each path

quarelled with

each other, insisting that his path is the best. The other significant teaching

is his

philosophy of " Nishkaama Karma " 'work without desire' or 'attachment'. The true

Nishkaama karmi is filled with pure Sattwa, heart full of love for the world.

And then

one of the most powerful advice to Arjuna on the battlefield (from Chp 2):

" Yield not to

unmanliness, Arjuna! There is neither sin nor misery in the world, nor disease

nor grief.

If there is any sin, it is " fear " ; know that any work that brings out the hidden

power in

you is 'punya' & that which makes thy body and mind weak is verily a sin. So

shake off

the faint-heartedness "

 

Swami Vivekananda has said " we depend on everything; upon somebody's good words,

upon

circumstances. When the soul wants to depend on nothing, not even upon life,

then that is

the height of philosophy, the height of manhood. Worship of God, on which

Krishna lays

lot of stress, leads to the same goal " . The Geeta explains the different kinds

of

worshippers. But that worship is the best in which Man loves God for God's sake.

The

other ways are also acceptable but these are lesser ways; however, the Man who

begins to

worship God in any way grows by degrees, and will begin to love God for God's

sake.

Om Namo Narayanaya

--------

 

I hope to start posting slokas from Geeta-Chp 12, from next Thursday. Before

that I will

post some material abt the events leading to the Geeta, and His Vishwarupa, the

form that

is revealed to Arjuna, as narrated in Chapter 11.

 

All material abstracted or quoted from Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale's

discourses and

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Vols 1 and 4.

 

Sarvam Shree KrishnaayaSamarpayaami.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

 

 

 

 

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