Bits of life

S-28 Words-2000

of our daily struggles in our own contemporary society. The field of Kurukshetra is within us. The battle of the Maha Bharata is being fought within the self even today. Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapur stands for Ignorance or Avidya. Arjuna, the fantastic archer represents the individual soul. Krishna, the charioteer dwells within the self. He is the guide, friend and philosopher everyone has within the heart. The body is the chariot. The horses symbolize senses. These senses contain egoism, cravings, vasanas or latent tendencies, likes and dislikes, lust, jealousy, greed, and hypocrisy. These are our real enemies. So the war within consists of our victory over our enemies within. The conquering of senses leads to self mastery, fee from the tyranny of ego, the cause for all our suffering and sorrow.

The Bhagavad Gita in brief-
As the battle was about to be fought, rishi Vyasa approached the blind king of Hastinapur Dhritarashtra. He asked him to stop the war. He said it was possible to do so even in the eleventh hour. But Dhritarashtra was not willing to do so. Then rishi Vyasa said that he would grant him vision to see the battle being fought. The king asked the rishi to grant it to his charioteer, Sanjaya, so he can report it to him as the war progressed.
Sanjaya got the divine vision and reported the events that took place in the battle field of Kurukshetra.
The Gita or the Bhagavad Gita consists of eighteen chapters, with the number of verses differing from chapter to chapter.

Chapter-1
It is entitled the “hesitation and disillusion of Arjuna, which in Sanskrit is called “Arjuna Vishada yoga.”
The contents of the chapter are mirrored in the title of the chapter itself.

Dhritarashtra asked Sanjaya,
“Hey Sanjaya, what is happening on the field of righteousness, the field of Kurukshetra as the Pandavas and my own children came together to fight the battle?"

Sanjaya answered,
“at that time before the battle began, the prince Duryodhana went to his teacher, guru Dronacharya and asked him to look at the army of Pandavas which was strategically formed by his own pupil, Drustadyumna. He added that the Pandava army has great warriors like Satyaki, Virata, Drupada, Chekitana, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, Saibhya, Yudhamanya, Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna, and the warrior sons of Draupadi. Then he went on telling Drona the names of great warriors on the Kaurava side. There were , Drona, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa and Samitimjaya, Ashwathama, Vikarna and Saumadatti and several others. And many others were ready to give up their lives for Duryodhana with their well skilled martial arts and weaponry.

Then Duryodhana told the army of soldiers and warriors to be around Bhishma an
d protect him because he was the most valued of all the warriors on the Kaurava side. Then Bhishma pleased by the glorious words of Duryodhana roared like a lion and blew his conch shell. Following him conches, kettle drums, tabors, drums and cow horns blared forth creating a tremendous sound.

Then on the Pandava side, Krishna the charioteer of Arjuna and Arjuna himself blew their respective divine conch shells named Panchajanya and Devastate. They were followed by Yudhishtar blowing his conch shell named, Anatha vijayam, Bhima blowing his conch shell named Paundram and Nakula and Sahadeva blowing their conch shells called Sughosha and Manipushpaka respectively.

Rest of the group of leaders and warriors blew their own conch shells signaling the beginning of war. The chaotic sound rent the hearts of Duryodhana’s army making both heaven and earth resound.

Then Arjuna with his flag on which Lord Hanuman was painted, took up his bow and arrow and asked his charioteer and friend, Krishna thus:
“O Krishna, take the chariot to the middle of the two armies so that I can see with whom I am battling when the battle starts.”

Krishna followed the wish of Arjuna and took the chariot to middle of the two armies and made it stand still.

He said to Arjuna,
“Behold the Kurus assembled to fight in the war.”

The Arjuna looked at the Kaurava army and recognized many of his kith and kin. He saw fathers, grandfathers, maternal uncles, teachers, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends too. Looking at the familiar faces in both armies, Arjuna the son of Kunti was overcome with deep pity, said to Vasudeva Krishna,

“O Krishna! When I perceive what I am going to do in the war, killing all those dear ones in the other side, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched, my body quivers and my hair stands on it end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hands and my skin burns all over. I am unable to stand and my mind is reeling. I see adverse omens and do not see any good in killing my kinsmen in the battle. I do not desire victory O Krishna, or the pleasures. Of what use is all that after a devastating war. I do not want to kill them. let them kill me if they so wish. I do not desire for the kingdom of Hastinapur or for dominion over the three realms. There is evil in destruction. By destroying the family, immemorial rites of the family perish. On the destruction of spirituality, impiety will overcome the whole family. By the pervasion of impiety, women of the race will be corrupted and with the corruption of women, confusion of castes will arise. Through this confusion, the eternal religious rites of the family are destroyed. So we are all involved in sin by fighting this unholy battle. I would rather be killed by the sons of Dhritarashtra than kill them and become a sinner. "

Having spoken thus, Arjuna casting away his bow and arrows, sat down on the chariot with his mind overwhelmed by sorrow.

Chapter 2

To Arjuna who was completely taken over by sorrow and depression, Lord Krishna spoke thus;
“From where did you get this state of dejection? It is most unworthy of you, disgraceful and that which will stop the gates of heaven for you.”

O Partha! Don’t yield to impotence. It does not befit you. Cast off this mean weakness of heart. Stand up and fight!”

Then Arjuna said,
"How can I aim my arrows at my grandfather Bhishma and my teacher Dronacharya, who are worthy of worship? It is better for me to beg alms from them, than to slay them. even if I win after killing them, all my enjoyments and wealth will be stained with their blood.
I confused. My heart is tainted with fear and my mind is imbalanced. Tell me what I should do.
I will not fight."
After that Arjuna was silent.

Krishna looked at Arjuna as if smiling and said the following words.
“ you are speaking words of wisdom. Yet you are grieving for those who need not be grieved. But the wise people do not grieve for those who are living or for those who are dead. Those with the knowledge of self do not grieve because self is immortal and it is unborn. The wise men know that there is no such thing as death. Death is nothing more than the disintegration of matter and the five elements that the body is composed of. These elements return to their source. You have forgotten that the soul is deathless and that it is only the body that takes on changing forms. One lives in this world in the present as a result of his past actions. The result of past actions is called Karma."

The immortality of the soul and the imperishable nature of the self-

Krishna speaks here of the immortal nature of the soul. The soul, he says is immortal. It continues to exist even after the body is no more. Just as the body progresses from childhood to youth to old age, the self too has no interruption as it passes from one body to another.
"One should endure heat, cold, pain and pleasure which have an end, which are not permanent. For the firm man these differences do not matter. The only solid reality is the Self or soul or Atma. Brahman or the supreme soul that pervades objects does not perish. It cannot be destroyed. It is living truth. These bodies which accompany soul are destructible. Therefore fight on Arjuna."

"He who thinks the self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them knows. It slays not, nor is it slain. If I think I am slaying or if you think you are slain we both do not comprehend the real nature of self. It never perishes. It is indestructible.
It is not killed when the body is killed. Birth and death do not touch the immortal, all pervading self. Just as a man casts off worn out clothes, and puts on new ones, so also the embodied self casts off worn out body and enters the others, which are new. Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it and water cannot wet it and wind cannot dry it. This self is said to be unmanifested and unchangeable. Therefore, you should not grieve.yu should not mourn. You should not think you are the slayer or you slay those that stand before you. Arjuna! You should know that those are born would die and when they die, they would be born again. Birth death cycle is relentless and inexorable. You should not grieve over this unrelenting law of nature. It is very hard to understand. In the beginning there is no being and in the end again there is no being. What we see in the middle that is the physical body is just illusory. Those who understand this will not grieve over the inevitable thing called death."

"So you should not grieve over the death of Bhishma or any creature. Now, Krishna gives some worldly reasons why Arjuna should fight.
Arjuna! You should not waver in your duty as a Kshatriya who fights safeguard righteousness. You must be happy to fight such a war which opens the gates of heaven for you. If you abandon to fight in such war between the dharma and adharma, you are incurring a sin. It will be considered a dishonor for you if you do not fight now. If you withdraw from fighting, those great warriors from both sides of it will presume that you have done so out of fear. They will hold you lightly who have previously thought highly of you. Your enemies will heap abuse on you. What is more painful than that? If you get killed in the war, you will attain to heaven. If you win the war you will enjoy earth. So stand up O son of Kunti! And resolve to fight. Engage this battle for the sake of it. Rise above the factors of gain and loss. Be determined to be poised in action. Then there is no incurring of sin. Be single minded. Your single minded determination arises from the right source of knowledge. You should be free from wavering or vacillation of the mind. Your only right is to work but not to the fruits thereof. You should not let fruits of action become your motive, not should you let inaction be your motive."

"The evenness of the mind is called Yoga. Perform action O Arjuna, by being steadfast in yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success and failure. Wretched are they whose attachment is to the fruits of action. You should seek refuge in wisdom. If you devote yourself to yoga, you can develop a skill in action."

Arjuna asked Krishna,
“what is the definition of him who attained steady wisdom? How does he speak, how does he sit and how does he walk?”
Krishna answered,
“O Arjuna! A man who completely casts off all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self is said to be