Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 33 to 34

[Guest guest]

Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 33 to 34

 

(Verse Translation by Swami Gambirananda, Gita Bhasya and commentary

by Swami Chinmayanandaji)

Tasmaat twam uttishtha yasho labhaswa Jitwaa shatroon bhungkshwa

raajyam samriddham;

Mayaivaite nihataah poorvameva Nimittamaatram bhava savyasaachin.

Verse 33

 

33. Therefore you rise up, (and) gain fame

and defeating the enemies, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. These have

been killed verily by Me even earlier

be you merely an instrument, O Savyasacin (Arjuna).

 

Tasmat, therefore

tvam, you

uttistha, rise up

(and) labhasva, gain

the yasah, fame, that Arjuna has conquered the Atirathas [Atiratha-

see note under 1.4.6.-Tr.], Bhisma, Drona and others, who are

unconquerable even by the gods. Such fame can be acquired only by

virtuous actions. Jitva, by defeating

satrun, the enemies, Duryodhana and others

bhunksva, enjoy

a rajyam, kingdom

that is samrddham, propersous, free from enemies and obstacles. Ete,

these

nihatah, have been definitely killed, made lifeless

eva maya, verily by Me

eva purvam, even earlier. Bhava, be you

nimitta-matram, merely an instrument, O Savyasachin. Arjuna was

called so because he could shoot arrows even with his left hand.

 

Dronam cha bheeshmam cha jayadratham cha Karnam tathaa'nyaanapi

yodhaveeraan;

Mayaa hataamstwam jahi maa vyathishthaa Yudhyaswa jetaasi rane

sapatnaan. Verse 34

 

34. You destroy Drona and Bhisma, and Jayadratha and Karna as also

the other heroic warriors who have been killed by Me. Do not be

afraid. Fight! You shall conquer the enemies in battle.

 

By saying, 'who have been killed by Me,' the Lord names Drona and

those very warriors with regard to whom Arjuna had (his) doubts.

 

Now then, uncertainty with regard to Drona and Bhisma is well-

founded. Drona was the teacher of the science of archery, and was

equipped with heavenly weapons and particularly, he was his

(Arjuna's) own teacher and most respected. Bhisma was destined to die

at will, and possessed heavenly weapons. He fought a duel with

Parasurama and remained unvanquished. So also Jayadratha-whose

father was performing an austerity with the idea that anyone who

made his son's head fall on the ground would have even his own head

fall. Since Karna also was equipped with an unerring spear given by

Indra, and was a son of the Sun, born of a maiden (Kunti), therefore

he is referred to by his own name itself.

 

As a mere instrument, tvam, you

jahi, destory them

who have been hatan, killed

maya, by Me. Ma, do not

vyathisthah, be afraid of them.

Yuddhyasva, fight.

Jetasi, you shall conquer

the sapatnan, enemies-Duryodhana and others

rane, in battle.

 

(Commentary by Swami Chinmayanandaji for verses 33 and 34)

Here Lord Krishna is very directly consoling Arjuna that he should

stand up and catch the Time and claim success and glory. Whatever be

the might and strength of the negative forces, the all-consuming

Might-of-Change has already destroyed them all, and Arjuna has only

to come forward, act the part of a hero and claim the crown of

victory all to himself: " I HAVE ALREADY SLAIN THEM, BE MERELY AN

APPARENT CAUSE, YOU, O LEFT-HANDED ARCHER. "

 

In fact, to every thinking man, the truth is obvious that in life, he

is at best only an instrument in His hands. We are not generally

ready to accept this proposition, because, the self-arrogating ego-

sense in us will not easily retire so as to allow the Divine in us to

play out in all its omnipotence. Everywhere, in all our activities,

when we analyse each one of our actions, we find that our actual

contribution in them all is a meagre share, compared to what nature

has applied, and what the unseen hand has achieved for us. At best,

we can only combine things that already exist, and coax out of their

own natural qualities and properties, a certain result, and then

claim vainly that we have created something new.

 

The radio, the aeroplane, the roaring engines, the subtle machinery,

the wonder-drugs, in short, the entire " Brave New World, " and all its

achievements in progress --- are all nothing but the play of children

in the lap of the Lord who, in fact, is the One who has ordered and

allowed us to have electricity, iron, ether, air, etc., with their

special properties. Without these, no achievement is ever possible;

and achievements are nothing but intelligent acts of the assembling

and reassembling of these very God-given things.

 

The concept of self-surrender and the theory of serving the world in

constant awareness of the Lord, are not idle dreams prescribed for

escaping the gross realities of the world. It is essential for man to

raise his calibre and temper so as to work efficiently and achieve

success in the world. It is the technique of keeping oneself

constantly in a mood of tireless enthusiasm and joyous inspiration.

The world is too much with the ego. To the extent the ego is

surrendered in the awareness of the greater and the nobler, to that

extent, the entire world and achievements therein become a game of

simple and sure success everywhere. Earlier in the Geeta, it was, at

many points, strictly pointed out that through the technique of self-

surrender, the greater possibilities can be milked out of us. The

same idea is again repeated here. The entire army has been invited

here only to play the part of the hero --- serve as His Instruments

and let them claim for themselves the crown and the glory as their

wages.

 

Arjuna had certain reasons why he should be particularly afraid of

some of the top men in the Kaurava forces. They are taken up one by

one and the Lord indicates how even they have already been killed by

the All-consuming Time-Spirit.

 

Drona was Arjuna's teacher who taught him the art of archery. The

Acharya had with him some special weapons and he was particularly

revered and respected by Arjuna. The grandsire Bhishma had his death

at his command, and he too had very powerful celestial weapons. Once

in the past Bhishma had made Parashurama lick the ground. Jayadratha

was invincible; for, his father who was engaged in tapas, had firmly

resolved that " whoever causes my son's head to drop down on earth,

his head too shall fall. " Karna also had a powerful missile given to

him by Indra. It becomes clear now why these four names are

particularly enumerated by the Lord in the list of personalities that

Time had already devastated. Even these great warriors have been

eliminated by the Principle-of-Destruction, and thereby, it has been

brought home to Arjuna that the field is clear for him to play his

part and advance towards the throne and crown, and claim the entire

glory is his own.

 

IT IS NATURAL THAT, WHEN A BURNING DESIRE IN AN INDIVIDUAL IS

FULFILLED, HE SUDDENLY BURSTS INTO AN IRRESISTIBLE GLORIFICATION OF

HIS KINDLY PATRON:

[Guest guest]

Namaste Satsanghis:

 

First, let me express my sincere greetings to you all during this

Holidy Season (observed in North America and now also in India). Also

Happy New Year and wish you all the very best. Vedanta emphatically

remind us to recognize that we are not the 'Doers,' and these verses

explain the operational role for Arjuna including all of us. Many of

our saints and sages of the past and present often state the

following: We have no absolute control over Whatever that happens at

PRESENT. Whatever we did yesterday will influence today's happenings

and consequently we have to prepare ourselves well today to face

tomorrow's reality! These statements convey that an invisible force

(Sakti or mAyA) controls our destiny. The two verses under discussion

conveys the role of the Lord of our Destiny. Lord Krishna has

provided a fastforwarded vision of the happenings that have alreay

been decided by the Destiny! Arjuna has been reminded (this reminder

applies to all of us) that we are the instruments of the Lord. Our

role is to watch our life through the Big Screen TV (just like how

Arjuna witnessed the Visvarupam) and our remote control can't

generate new shows but it can only visualize what has already been

produced!

 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

 

Ram Chandran

 

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

 

 

Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Explanations:

 

This is significant; maya eva ete nihatah purvam eva, " By me alone

these people are definitely already destroyed. " By the Lord as

kalah, as the one who presides over the law of karma, they are

already destroyed. The time has come. " You are only an instrument,

nimitta watrammbhava, " Krishna tells Arjuna. " When a fruit is fully

ripe, if it falls in the wake of a gust of wind, that wind is only an

instrument, nimitta matram. The fruit was ready to fall.

 

Arjuna is addressed here as savyasacin, the one who can also send

arrows with his left hand. He is ambidextrous. He can use his right

hand, of course, and if there is an occasion where it will be more

efficient to use his left hand, he can do that too. Perhaps Krishna

has used this epithet here to remind Arjuna of his prowess so that he

will be encouraged to fight. " Therefore, " he says, " may you be purely

an instrument. " All he has to do is send some arrows. That is his

part of the plan. He is presented here with something which he did

not ask for and in fact did not want. So it is very clear that it is

his pcarabdha. There is a scheme behind all this. " Therefore, "

Krishna is saying, " don't bring your will into this and disturb the

whole thing because any decision based on your will here, will be

adharma. Your will must conform to what is to be done. And what is to

be done here is very obvious. Therefore, get up and be a mere

instrument in the ensuing battle. "

 

" Everything is waiting for you. All you have to do is send some of

those arrows of yours. The enemies will all fall like ninepins. " This

is what is said in the next verse.

 

dronam ca bhisoiam ca jayadratham ca karnam tatha'nyanapi yodhavlrstn

maya hatamstvam jahi ma vyathistha yutfhyasva jetasi rane sapatnan

 

 

Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha, and Karna as well as other heroic warriors

are destroyed by me. You defeat (them); do not be afraid; fight. You

are the victor of the enemies in battle.

 

Why does Krishna single out Bhlsma, Drona, Jayadratha and Karna?

Sankara gives the argument. These are the most formidable of all the

people on the other side. If they can be defeated, there is no

question of conquering the rest. By mentioning these names, Krishna

will allay any fear Arjuna may have about losing the battle against

people of such well-known valour.

 

Drona was a master of Dhanurveda, one of the six upavedas like

Ayurveda. In this there are mantras which add to the efficacy of the

missiles as well as the means of acquiring and using celestial

weapons. More than that, Drona is Arjuna's teacher. How is he going

to stand against him in battle? Then there is Bhlsma who can decide

the time of hjs own death. This revered patriarch of the Kuru clan

held his own in a duel with Paras " urama, an avatar a. Naturally

Arjuna will have some doubt about how he is going to win against such

powerful foes. Jayadratha had a boon from his father that anyone who

should cause his head to fall to the ground would immediately lose

his own head. His arch-enemy Karna who is equal to Arjuna in weaponry

and prowess, is also standing there. He was born through the grace of

Lord Sun himself to Kunti as a virgin and has a special power given

to him by Lord Indra. These are all people who cannot be touched. And

they are the important people in Duryodhana's army, the ones who are

in front of Arjuna right now. Understandably he had some doubts about

whether he could defeat these formidable warriors.

 

Besides these, there are other great warriors, anyan api yodha-

viran. But Krishna assures Arjuna here, " They are already destroyed

by me, maya hatan. " In fact, he does not do anything they have

already brought about their own destruction. Lord Krishna simple

presides " over the law of karma by which they will reap the

destruction they have sought. Nobody can stop it. Therefore he

says, 'You defeat them., tvam jahL " As was said in the last verse,

only by being an instrument, nlmittamatrena. They are ripe for this

destruction; no one can stop it so Krishna says, " Do not be afraid,

ma vyathisthah. " " You are the victor over the enemies in the battle,

jetasi rane sapatnan. " Therefore, " yuddhyasva, you fight. " Even

though they have special powers, these great men already have an

appointment with Lord Death. You are not going to stop that.

[Guest guest]

--- Ram Chandran <ramvchandran wrote:

 

 

> 34. You destroy Drona and Bhisma, and Jayadratha and

> Karna as also

> the other heroic warriors who have been killed by

> Me. Do not be

> afraid. Fight! You shall conquer the enemies in

> battle.

>

 

Just for contemplation and not intended to renew the

topic.

There is thin line between fate and free-will here in

this sloka. One side Lord says Drona, BhiiShma and

Jayadratha have already been killed by Him. Yet Lord

advises Arjuna to get up and fight and claim the

victory what fate has already done its job. Was

getting up of Arjuna and fighting also decided by

fate? The Lord could have said, you are fate is to

kill them whether you like or not - but He did not.

He is playing an advisory role asking Arjuna to do his

duty and then claim the victory.

 

We seem to always walking on this thin line.

 

Happy new year to all and you still have to get up and

make it even better - better is becoming a brahma

chaari - that is going towards Brahman. It is like

this, You are already with or in Brahmna but you still

have to go towards it - the irony of it! - this is

where fate and free will playing too!

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

Let me continue with Sadaji's comments with some additional

observations. Once again, these are not meant to start any debate on

the thin line between the fate and free-will. Those who believe in

the `fate' should also recognize that `responsibilities' do lie

within the domain of fate! All beings (humans, animals, plants, etc.

all included) can't escape from conducting their duties (dharmas) and

this is an integral part of fate. The visvarupadarshan is a live

video presentation of an elaboration of the fate all actors

(including Drona, Bhisma, etc.,) and the reasons for their

destructions. The entire Mahabharat provides the missing links which

describe why Bhisma and Drona were killed during the war. Vedanta

describes in subtle terms that every action (both dharma and adharma)

will have an outcome and no one can escape. Those who believe in

free-will can't disassociate themselves from `fate.' When I think

that I can change my `fate' by my free-will, I assume that I could

decide my tomorrow's fate! My assumption confirms that I can't escape

from the influence of my free-will that I exercised yesterday! The

thin-line will exist as long as we maintain the materialistic

attitude and with an spiritual attitude, the thin line along with

fate and free-will get dissolved. Then all actions become spontaneous

and the actor accepts the outcome with the Prasadabuddhi!

 

With my warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin , kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada wrote:

>

> There is thin line between fate and free-will here in

> this sloka. One side Lord says Drona, BhiiShma and

> Jayadratha have already been killed by Him. Yet Lord

> advises Arjuna to get up and fight and claim the

> victory what fate has already done its job. Was

> getting up of Arjuna and fighting also decided by

> fate? The Lord could have said, you are fate is to

> kill them whether you like or not - but He did not.

> He is playing an advisory role asking Arjuna to do his

> duty and then claim the victory.

>

[Guest guest]

Those who believe in

free-will can't disassociate themselves from `fate.'

When I think

that I can change my `fate' by my free-will, I assume

that I could

decide my tomorrow's fate!

 

This seems to be one of those areas where either/or,

the opposites, just will not work. Seems maybe

" both/and " is the middle road here. No fate without

free will/no free will without fate. Seems I'm fated

to have free will in order to bring about fate so that

I can have free will in order to choose, which brings

about fate.

 

If I say " All is fate! Nothing I do or think

matters!! " , then I'm going to have a very tough time

in this realm.

 

If I say " I have complete, total free will and I can

do as I like! " --I'll find out the opposite very

quickly and have a very tough time in this realm...

 

....so neither/ both, maybe...

 

Chicken/egg paradigm, maybe?

 

Maybe I have the same amount of free will that a

violin has in its case--it moves around a little, but

not much.

 

Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, had much to say on

this subject and about distinguishing the two, in a

practical, everyday way.

 

Anyway, I'd never argue from one side or the other! I

may be a fool but not THAT foolish!!

 

The pairs of opposites and argument from one side or

the other always leads back to their unity and

inseperability...no one wins ever wins those

arguments--or the wars caused by such argument.

 

 

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