commentary of first 11 slokas of first chapter of holygita

[Guest guest]

dear friends,

 

When i have requested the members to comment upon these slokas, i

received quite a few mails giving reasons why they cannot do it. Most

of the messages were just that- reasons and excuses and nothing more

that. It is vivekananda who said, " if u think u r weak, u r weak. If

u think u r strong, u r strong " so simple as that, yeah.

 

Now, i request each of u to reply this message, either

substantiating or condemening these slokas . It helps you, me and the

society at large. Just a few lines of what you think of the above

slokas. There r people who r apprehensive but yes, as long as u know

how to type , go ahead and do it. PLeae do it blissfully, voluntarily

and not under pressure or force. NOt because I said so but coz u feel

so. If u donot feel, go ahead and still do it, coz u may feel it

later.

 

They r also another type of people who have lots to say but obviously

do not find either words or time for it. If u belong to such type,

please reply this message immediately just listing out the points u

want to say without much explanation. That saves ur time and/or

groppling for words. Never bother for words.It is the feeling and

experience which counts.

 

I am interested in YOU and your experiences. Please write about them.

 

thank you

 

kishore

 

http://clubs./clubs/holygita

gita_bh

 

my e mail: siva_sai19

[Guest guest]

Respected Devotee,

 

It must first be recognized that Sri Bhagavad Gita is but a part of the

Mahabha:rata, and as a result is a

historical work of great significance. Consequently, there is no question of

condemning or questioning

the relevance of the first 11 slo:kas. We must merely accept that as an

appointed court reporter, Sanjaya

merely made the report because that is what he had been asked to do by

Dhrtara:stra.

 

But, the question arises as to why such historical accounts should be recorded

in the Gita, which is

clearly a philosophical discussion between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. These have

just been easily recorded as

a prelude to the Gita, having the Gita start with Arjuna and Krishna on their

chariot. I feel that the

first 11 verses, and indeed the first chapter, are one of the most important set

of slo:kas in the Gita, as

they give us insight into the pathos of the human condition and to subtle

variances of human character that

lead some to God, and others to the futility of self-interested egos.

 

The first eleven verses of the Gita point out this ironic latter state of mind

which is the nature of

Duryo:dhana. Here he is, a mighty commander-in-chief, a lion-like warrior who

has a celebrated history of

many battles, who now stands ready to fight with a host of equally worthy and

noble heroes. His troops are

not just fierce warriors, but in many cases are the very men who trained him to

be who he is; and not only

that, they are his very kith and kin, his uncles, his cousins, his childhood

playmates, who probably

supported him through the many battles of personal life as well as war. And

here they are, these great

heroes, some of whom who have spent their entire life in battle, standing at his

side to sacrifice their

very life, if needed, in an effort to follow Duryo:dhana's command.

 

And yet, Duryo:dhana is too much wrapped up in himself to see this. While he

cannot deny that these men

are great heroes, he cannot help but feel that somehow they may still be too

inadequate to win this war. Is

not this quality not in some ways very similar many human beings, who live our

lives chasing pipedream

after pipedream all in an effort to win? We want our family, friends, and

co-workers to support us through

this, but at the same time, we are lost in the desire to make the sweet taste of

victory a personal glory.

In this false sense of individualistic effort, each war, each project, each

family issue, each personal

issue, becomes an individual victory or an individual defeat, and as a result,

every other person in our

lives is seen as someone who wants the same thing, and consequently, no matter

how good or supportive

he/she is, we cannot help but want to see a hidden agenda or hidden fallacy

somewhere.

 

Contrast this with the commander of the opposing troops, Arjuna, who sees the

very same faces that

Duryo:dhana sees, but feels something comletely different, and I think that you

can understand the need for

the first eleven slo:kas.

 

I hope this helps.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan

 

 

 

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