Thus Spake The Lord

January 21, 2009

Thus Spake The Lord

How lucky was Arjuna! Even from the depths of grief, joy will swell. Until the 11th sloka of the 2nd chapter, it is the story of the despondency of Arjuna; the effect of "the possessions." That is why the first step in the cure is "the exposition of Sankhya Yoga, the Path of Knowledge, (Jnana)"

The Amrithopadesa (Immortality-bestowing Teaching) of Krishna begins from this 11th sloka; in fact, the Bhagavad Geetha starts from this point. Up to this point it is the description of Arjuna's delusion born of ignorance and dullness of intellect. Krishna, acting the role of witness, allows the despondency to deepen and darken. When at last Arjuna threw down his bow and refused to fight, when he confessed that he had lost all sense of right and wrong, when he prayed that Krishna should teach him the Way that will solve his problems best, then, Krishna came forward and said:

"Arjuna! How could this miserable shade of cowardice overtake you now, when you have been clear and bright all along? This is quite unbecoming to the hero you are. The word Arjuna means, pure, unblemished character. Why then this grief? The battle is imminent. The clouds of war have gathered and are thundering. The foes in front are awaiting the moment when they could jump into the fray. They have heaped countless injustices and cruelties on you and now they are ready to grab the land that must come to you as of right. You have so far borne all the agony they have poured over you, without stirring even an iota away from the truth. You have fulfilled all the conditions they imposed and you have passed through the years they prescribed for your exile. Your attempts to effect a compromise were futile, you could not avoid the clash of arms. We have yielded as much as we could. Now war is the only method by which the eyes of the evil-minded Duryodhana can be opened to his own iniquity."

Source: Chapter 2, Geetha Vahini; Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.