The Highest Consolation

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9.

 

And the whole of the wisdom teachings of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita

commences with the admonition: " asochyan anvasochastvam -- O Arjuna,

thou grievest for that which should not be grieved for. " It is a

fine way of consoling a person who is almost having a nervour

breakdown, who is weeping, and is nearly in a fainting condition!

His mind is whirling, his body is trembling and he is on the verge

of a collapse. And yet this is how Lord Krishna begins His famous

teachings: " asochyan anvasochastvam -- O Arjuna, thou grievest for

that which should not be grieved for. "

 

A little later He tries to explain why. He says: " That which is

inevitable, that which has happened, for which there is no

alternative, the wise do not grieve for. Tasmat apariharya'rthe ne

tvam sochitum arhasi (Therefore, over the inevitable thou shouldst

not grieve). " There is birth, we have to accept it. There is death,

we have to accept it. There is disease, we have to accept it. There

is old age, we have to accept it. There is sorrow, we have to accept

it. We accept it because it is God's creation and we love God and

trust in His all-wisdom. We hvae faith that things will not occur if

they are not meant to occur. And if things do occur, it means they

are meant to occur. So we have total trust, we have faith. The

devotee accepts the decision of the Divine.

 

But what about the human plane? Can we justapose these two? How do

you know if something is the decision of the Lord or if it is not

His decision, it is some unfortunate error? It is a balancing

between understanding the world and understanding God and God's will

that constitutes the wisdom in action which is called Yoga. Yogah

karmasu kausalam (Yoga is skill in action).

 

Contd....