Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 2:26 II

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

atha chainam nitya-jaatam, nityam va manyase mrtam

tathapi tvam mahaa-baaho, nainam shochitum arhasi

 

" And, O' mighty-armed (Arjuna), even if you regard this Atman as

constantly taking birth and constantly dying, even then you should

not grieve like this. "

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 35 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

 

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Chapter 2, Verse 26 is as follows;

 

Atha = now

Cha = and

Enam = This (the Self, the Aatman)

Nityajaatam = constantly born

Nityam = constantly

Vaa = or

Manyase = you think

Mrutam = dead

Tathaapi = even then

Tvam = you

Mahaabaaho = mighty armed one

Na = not

Enam = This (the Self, the Aatman)

Shochitum = to grieve

Arhasi = should / ought

 

English translation:-

 

Even if you conceive of the Atman as subject to constant births and

deaths, even then, O mighty armed Arjuna, you should not grieve like

this.

 

The philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that can be

truly proven to exist is the physical matter. Materialists believe

that, fundamentally all things are composed of material and all

phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material

interactions of a physical body, the mind and the intellect.

Therefore, from a materialist's point of view, physical matter is

the only substance that we need to investigate and know. According

to this view, all that exists is matter and void, and all phenomena

are the result of different motions and conglomerations of base

material particles called atoms. Some of the basic principles like

`nothing can come from nothing' and `nothing can touch body but

body' first appeared in the works of a Greek philosopher called

Lucretius.

 

On the other hand, the famous German philosopher Schopenhauer has

said, " Materialism is the subject of philosophy for those who forget

to take account of themselves i.e. it is the philosophy of the

extroverts for the extroverts. " All the known solid, liquid, and

gaseous substances of matter are composed of protons, neutrons and

electrons. However it is now known that less than 5% of the physical

composition of the universe is made up of such `matter' and the

balance 95% of the Universe is composed of `Dark Matter and Dark

Energy' - with no agreement amongst scientists about what these are

actually made of. Some philosophers feel that these dichotomies

necessitate a switch from a pure materialistic point of view to a

much broader philosophical point of view.

 

There is a merit in this point of view as many students of science

and technology including myself, finally turn to the study of

Vedanta philosophy.

 

Materialism takes the position that society and reality originate

from a set of simple economic acts which human beings carry out in

order to provide the fundamental material necessities of human

existence like food, shelter and clothing. Materialism takes as its

starting point that, before anything else, human beings must produce

their everyday economic needs through their physical labour with

productivity. As per Karl Marx, this single economic act, gives rise

to a system of social relations, which include political, legal and

religious structures of any society.

 

A man may to a theory of either theism, atheism,

agnosticism, materialism, existentialism or any other any school of

thought and belief; it is of no consequence. Irrespective of one's

inclinations and beliefs, one must try to become free from sorrow

and seek freedom from miseries of poverty, hunger and ignorance in

human life.

 

In this verse, Lord Krishna takes this materialistic standpoint of

inquiry. He says, granting that even this materialistic point of

view is valid; even then there is no basis for grieving. A layman

believes that the Aatman is born when living beings are born and the

Aatman dies when the living beings succumb to death. A layman has a

partial picture of the true working of the entire Universe. He

perceives the world as an endless series of births and deaths. From

his limited vision, nothing existed prior to births and nothing

exists post deaths. Due to the attachment and love, he develops a

preferential relationship with his near and dear ones and he

experiences grief upon their deaths. Similarly, the very thoughts of

parting from Bheeshmaachaarya, Dronaachaarya and Kauravas have

generated immense mental anguish to Arjuna and have landed him in

the state of despondency.

 

Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna as `Mahaabaaho' i.e. mighty armed one

just to imply that being a warrior of strength and valour, Arjuna

can certainly pass the test of endurance and Arjuna should not

resort to the attitude of `fait accompli' i.e. an accomplished,

presumably irreversible deed or fact.

 

Thanking you with Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

 

===============================================================

Dear Madan Kaura, Mike & GT Moderators,

 

Thank you very much for this lively dialogue. I really appreciate

your observations.

 

I fully endorse the point of view of Shri Madan Kaura. However, what

I wanted to communicate was that, whenever Lord Krishna says 'I do

it' invariably he means: 'the Brahman does it, but being a

personification of the very Brahman, Lord Krishna says he does it'.

 

I really appreciate Mike's deep thought that 'knowledge exists, you

just have to remember it or recollect it in every progressive birth

till you attain the convergence of the series in the form of Self

realisation'. Knowlege is always sought by the seeker. Knowledge can

not be doled out by any Guru. This is precisely reflected in the

verses 43, 44 and 45 in chapter 6 of Shreemad Bhagawad Geeta.

 

God bless all of us in the process of self purification and seeking

unity with the Self.

 

Once again thanking you,

 

With Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi.

 

 

|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

All Sadhaks can and should contribute as well. Discussion /

clarification is encouraged

 

OTHER REQUESTS FROM SADHAKS -

 

Please feel free to take the lead in any of these areas so that all

sadhaks may benefit.

 

- Introduction to Chapters (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK SANJIVANI)

- Chapter Summary - Principles and Laws emanating from it.(N.B. VYAS)

- Summary of Chapter from Sadhak Sanjivani " AS IS "

- Yes, Epilogue / Important Facts in each verse good to bring out.

- Any subtle thoughts / interpretation (MIKE)

- In-depth explanation of " Om Tat Saditi Srimadbhagavadgitaasu,

Upanishadsu..... " is a very good idea. (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK

SANJIVANI)

 

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram

-----------------------------

 

Shree Hari

Ram Ram

We deeply thank Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative to

support this divine work of daily one verse Bhagavad Gita

explanation and Shri Madan Kauraji for the Gita Prabodhani

translation Chapter 1 and 2 and to Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka

explanation on a daily basis.

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram