In the Third Chapter Lord Krishna tells Arjuna about the importance of action, and of action done as sacrifice, where there is no expectation of the reward of action. He says that we should find satisfaction and peace within ourselves, and that we should set an example for others to follow. The Self in us, the Atma, does not do any action; it is only the attributes of Nature, that do the actions. But because of our innate ego, we think of ourselves as the doers of action. Our biggest enemies are desire and anger. It is they who block our path to salvation. It is, therefore, necessary to control them, is the message of Krishna to Arjuna.
CHAPTER
Arjuna says: Lord, if you consider the path of knowledge to be superior to that of action, then why do you urge me to the savage action of fighting this terrible war? With words that contradict, you confuse my intelligence. Tell me for certain, that one path, by which I may attain the Supreme.
Lord Krishna replies: Partha, right from the beginning of creation, for salvation, I revealed two pathways. For the contemplative and the thinking people, I revealed the path of Sankhya, the path of knowledge, and for the action oriented, I revealed the path of selfless work, the path of Karmayoga.
By not doing action, or by simply remaining inactive, one does not attain freedom from action, nor by just giving up action, can one attain the Supreme. For no one can remain even for a moment without doing work or action.
One who appears to be inactive and doing no action, and also appears to be calm, but who has only curbed his organs of sense from the outside, whose mind is always in turmoil, and who is constantly thinking about, and enjoying those very objects of the senses, in his mind, such a person is deluded, and he is a hypocrite.
That person, however, is superior, who, restraining his senses by his mind, engages the organs of action in selfless action, without any attachment, and in the spirit of yoga.
Therefore, always keep working, always do work, because action is better than inaction. Even your basic body functions cannot be maintained without action.
In this world, all actions, except for those done in the spirit of sacrifice, result in bondage. Therefore, Partha, perform all your actions, do all your work, in the spirit of sacrifice, free from any kind of attachment.
At the time of creation, the Lord God created both mankind and sacrifice together, and decreed that mankind would prosper and flourish through sacrifice. Sacrifice would be the dispenser of all that is desired by mankind.
He said, nourish and nurture the Gods with this sacrifice, who in return, will nourish and nurture you. In this way nurturing each other and working for the mutual good, you will obtain all that is good for you.
Pleased by the sacrifices, the Gods will give you all that you desire. But he who enjoys without giving in return, he is certainly a thief.
The good people who eat the remains of sacrifices, are freed from all sins. But those who prepare food only for themselves, they are evil, and they incur sin.
All creatures are born from food, food comes from rain, and rain is the result of sacrifice, which itself is born of work, of action.
Know that the origin of work is in Brahm, and that Brahm is born from the Supreme Being, who has no decay.
Therefore, the all pervading, non decaying, Supreme Being, is always present in sacrifice, he pervades all sacrifices.
In this world, one who does not help in the running of this cycle of life, such a person is of sinful disposition, lost as he is, in the indulgence of his senses. Indeed, he lives in vain.
But the person who finds bliss and satisfaction within himself, who finds bliss and satisfaction in his own Atma, for such a one there is no work left which is necessary for him to do.
In this world, for such a person, there is nothing worth acquiring, through the actions he has done, or from the actions he has not yet done. He does not depend on anyone for achieving any of his desires.
Therefore, Partha, always do all your actions, always do all your works, without any selfish motive. Do all your actions selflessly, without any attachment; because it is only by doing work selflessly, and without any attachment, that man reaches the Supreme.
King Janak, (a great realized sage and the father the Lady Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, a previous incarnation of God) and other wise ones too, attained the Supreme, by doing selfless work.
You too, should also do work like them. Even otherwise, you should do work for the common good, and also for maintaining the laws of Nature.
Whatever great people do, the same is copied by the masses. Whatever example they set, is followed by the common people, by everyone else as well.
Now look at Me. There is no work whatsoever, there is no action whatsoever, in all the three worlds that I have to do.
There is nothing that I do not have, nor is there anything that I need to have; yet I continue to do work without ever stopping; because if I ever relaxed, and did not do work, then, since people all around follow My example, they too would stop doing work.
And when the people in general stop doing work, then there would be disorder and anarchy, and the world would perish. That this should not happen, makes Me always do work, all the time, always alert, and always watchful.
Therefore, as the ignorant do work, but with attachment, so too, should the wise, and the knowing people do work, but selflessly, and without attachment, only with the objective of public good, and only for upholding and maintaining the laws of nature.
The wise should be extra careful, and see that they do not confuse the minds of the people attached to selfish action. Persons who follow the path of selfless work, should try to persuade others to the path of selfless work as well.
Understand that all our actions are done only by the attributes of Nature. But the person who is full of ego, and who is under the grip and control of that ego, such a one thinks that he is the doer of action, while the action is, in fact, done by Nature.
But the person who understands the attributes of Nature, as well as the areas of working of those attributes, and who also understands that it is the attributes of Nature which act among each other, and which also act in their respective domains.
The attributes of Nature interact and interplay with the senses, and with the objects of those senses; then, knowing this, one does not get attached, one does not get deluded.
But the person who gets confused by the activities of the attributes of Nature, he gets attached to those activities, he gets entangled in them, and then he comes under their bondage.
Those who know the truth, the wise and the knowing people, should not confuse those who know little, and whose knowledge is incomplete and limited.
Therefore, Partha, surrender all your actions to Me completely, fix your consciousness in the Self, in the Atma; extinguish all your desires, obliterate your ego, get rid of this fever of your doubt, and fight the war.
Those people who, with full faith and devotion, and without finding fault, follow this teaching of Mine, they get released from the bonds of work and action.
But those people, who, because of envy and hate, find fault and reject My teaching, and do not follow it, such people remain ignorant of the true knowledge, and they end up being destroyed.
All people, including the wise, act and work according to the attributes of their nature. Nobody can escape this. It is futile to try to change this by force.
Inherent in every sense, and in every sense object, are the feelings of attraction and aversion. The objects of the senses, either attract or repel a person. One should never come under their influence, because these two are the big obstacles on his path to redemption, they are the enemies that block his path to salvation.
It is far better to follow one's own natural and ordained duty, one's own law, even imperfectly, even incompletely, than to follow another's duty, though perfectly. It is better to die doing one's own duty, than to live according to another's law, because living life according to another's nature and law is full of dangers, and also carries great fear with it.
Hearing these words of the Lord, Arjuna asks Krishna: But Keshava, what is it that drives man to commit sin? What is it that forces him to do so even against his wishes and his will, even against his better judgement?
Lord Krishna replies: It is desire and anger, born of Rajoguna, born of passion, which force a person to commit sin. Desire and anger, are both themselves full of sin, and also consume everything, and everyone that come their way. In this world, in this life, consider these two to be your inveterate and biggest enemies.
Just as fire is hidden by smoke, just as a mirror is covered by dust, and just as the embryo is surrounded by the womb, so too, is man's wisdom and discrimination surrounded by desire. Man's consciousness and his wisdom, both are covered by the unquenchable fire of desire, as a result of which he is always unsatisfied.
The senses, the mind and intelligence are the dwelling places of desire. Residing here, the same desire, covering man's knowledge and understanding, deludes him, and leads him astray from his true path to redemption.
Therefore, Partha, from the very beginning, keep your senses under control and destroy desire, the sinful subvertor of wisdom and of discrimination.
It said that the senses are superior to the physical body, the mind is superior to the senses, and greater than the mind is intelligence, and even greater, and more powerful than the intelligence, is the Self, the Atma.
Thus, knowing the Atma to be more powerful than intelligence, then, with that knowledge, control your mind, and fix your Atma in that Supreme Spirit, in the Param Atma, and slay the enemy, in the form of desire, the enemy so hard to reach, the enemy so difficult to get at.
End of Chapter Three
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Bhagavad Gita in simple English : Chapter One
[ The Kaurava and the Pandava armies have gathered on the holy field of Kurukshetra to do battle. Dhritrashtra, the blind king, is sitting far away in his palace at Hastinapur, along with his trusted companion Sanjaya.
The previous night the sage Ved Vyas had come and given the gift of divine sight to Sanjaya, so that sitting at Hastinapur, far away from the scene of battle, he could still see the events as they took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and narrate them to Dhritrashtra.
It is Sanjaya who actually narrates the Gita, the dialogue that takes place between Krishna and Arjuna, to Dhritrashtra.
In the Gita that follows, Lord Krishna is also referred to as Keshava, Vasudeva, and Hari; and Arjuna is also called Partha]
The first chapter describes the field of battle and Arjuna's mental condition. Duryodhana names the principal warriors in both the opposing armies. Both sides blow their conches, their war bugles. Just before the war is about to begin, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to take his chariot and place it between the two armies, so that he could see the people he has to fight.
Seeing his Grandsire, his teachers, his kinsmen, and his friends in the opposing army, at the thought of having to fight and kill them in battle, Arjuna panics. He is overcome with doubt, misgivings, pity, and remorse, and refuses to fight. He puts down his bow and arrows and, despondent, sits down in his chariot.
CHAPTER
Dhritrashtra asks Sanjaya: Dear Sanjaya, when my sons, and the sons of Pandu, gathered for battle, on the holy field of Kurukshetra, what did they do?
Sanjaya replied: Sire, when Duryodhana saw the Pandava army drawn up in battle formation, he went to his guru, his teacher Drona and said :
Teacher, look at this vast army of the sons of Pandu, positioned for battle, by your very own and intelligent pupil, Drishtadyumna.
In this army there are many warriors who are equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, such as Satyaki, Virat, Drupad, Drishtaketu, Chekitana, the king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, Saibya, Yudhamanyu, Uttamauja, Abhimanyu, and the five sons of Draupadi, all great warriors.
Now let me tell you about the main warriors of our army, its leaders. You, yourself Teacher, grandsire Bhishma, Kripacharya, Karna, Vikarna, Asvatthama, and Bhurishrava, all of whom are capable of taking us to victory.
In addition to these, there are many other great warriors, who have staked their wealth, and their very lives for my sake. They are all well armed and skilled in battle.
Grandsire Bhishma protects our army while the Pandava army is protected by Bhima. Though our army is larger than the Pandava army, yet it appears to be weaker than their's. Therefore, all of you, stationed in your various columns, hold your positions firmly, and protect the Grandsire strongly from all sides.
Then to cheer up Duryodhana, Grandsire Bhishma roared like a lion, and blew his conch very loudly, after which, from all sides of the battlefield conches, cymbals, kettle-drums, and horns were sounded, all of which created a very loud and tumultuous noise.
Then, in reply, Lord Krishna, Arjuna, and all the Pandavas blew their respective celestial conches. The other great warriors in the Pandava army blew their conches as well.
The terrible noise and blare of these conches echoed through the earth and the sky, and rent the hearts of the Kuru host, creating fear in them.
Arjuna rode a special chariot. It was yoked with white horses, the God Hanuman was on the flag of his chariot, and Lord Krishna, God Incarnate himself, was Arjuna's sarathi, his chariot driver.
When the fighting was about to begin, Arjuna, looking at the Kaurava army said to Krishna :
O Keshava, drive my chariot, and place it in the middle of both the armies, in front of the Kaurava army, so that I may see the people I have to fight.
I would like to see all the people who have come as the Kaurava's allies, and who would be siding with the evil Duryodhana in this war, to do him good.
At Arjuna's so asking, Lord Krishna drove that special chariot between the two armies, and placed it in front of Bhishma, Drona, and the other kings and said :
Partha, look carefully at all these Kauravas gathered here. These are the people you have to fight in this war.
And what did Arjuna see? In both the armies, Arjuna saw Grandsires, he saw Teachers, he saw Maternal Uncles, he saw Cousins, he saw sons, he saw grandsons, he saw Fathers in law, he saw Friends and well wishers.
When Arjuna saw all these kinsmen, friends, and well wishers standing ready for battle against him, he suffers a crisis of conscience. He is overcome by pity, remorse and doubt, and, with sadness in his heart says :
O Keshava, seeing these relatives and friends of mine, eager to do battle, my limbs fail me, my mouth dries up, my hair stands on end, my bow, the mighty Gandiva, slips from my hands, my whole skin burns, my mind reels, I feel dizzy, and I cannot even stand.
I see adverse omens, too. I see no good in killing our own kith and kin, in killing our friends and well wishers.
I do not want victory or kingdom. I do not want pleasures, or enjoyments. I do not even want happiness.
What would we do with such kingdom, with such pleasures, and with such enjoyments, or even with life itself, when those, for whose sake we desire all these, those very teachers, those very grandsires, maternal uncles, sons, grandsons, and other kinsmen, are all standing here, having given up their attachment to their wealth and their life.
They stand here ready to die in this war. With all of them dead victory, would have no meaning for us, it would be hollow, and meaningless.
I would not want to kill them even if I were to get lordship over all the three worlds, much less for the measly kingdom of this world, even though they kill me instead.
What good would we gain by killing the sons of Dhritrashtra? Killing these people would only cover us with sin. Therefore, it is not proper for us to kill the sons of Dhritrashtra, our very own kinsmen. How could we ever be happy by killing our own people, our own kith and kin?
It is true that they are blinded by greed, because of which they are unable to see the sin of ruining family, and of turning against friends.
But we are not blinded by greed, and we can clearly see the sin of ruining the family and the race. Therefore, we, at least should have the good sense, and the understanding, to stay away from committing such a sin.
It is said that on the destruction of a race, the prevailing ancient customs and traditions get destroyed; and when these get destroyed, evil and sin overtakes the family, and when evil and sin prevail, then the women of the family get corrupted.
When the women get corrupted, intermingling and mixing of the castes takes place, and this intermingling and mixing of the castes, takes the whole family, along with the destroyer of the family, to hell, because the ancestors of those families, deprived of the customary rites of pinda, deprived of the offering of rice balls, of the offering of food and water, fall from their high place in heaven.
And because of these evils and sins, the ancient laws governing race and family are both destroyed.
And we have heard, as passed down by tradition, that those people whose family and race laws have been destroyed, they are forced to live in hell.
O, we are so ready and keen to commit this terrible sin, this carnage of killing our own kinsmen just for the greed of enjoying the pleasures of a kingdom! How can we even think of doing such a terrible deed?
It would be far better for me if the sons of Dhritrashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me, I remaining unarmed, and unresisting.
Having said this, Arjuna laid down his bow and arrows, and with a sad and dejected mind sat down in his chariot.
End of Chapter one
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
The previous night the sage Ved Vyas had come and given the gift of divine sight to Sanjaya, so that sitting at Hastinapur, far away from the scene of battle, he could still see the events as they took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and narrate them to Dhritrashtra.
It is Sanjaya who actually narrates the Gita, the dialogue that takes place between Krishna and Arjuna, to Dhritrashtra.
In the Gita that follows, Lord Krishna is also referred to as Keshava, Vasudeva, and Hari; and Arjuna is also called Partha]
The first chapter describes the field of battle and Arjuna's mental condition. Duryodhana names the principal warriors in both the opposing armies. Both sides blow their conches, their war bugles. Just before the war is about to begin, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to take his chariot and place it between the two armies, so that he could see the people he has to fight.
Seeing his Grandsire, his teachers, his kinsmen, and his friends in the opposing army, at the thought of having to fight and kill them in battle, Arjuna panics. He is overcome with doubt, misgivings, pity, and remorse, and refuses to fight. He puts down his bow and arrows and, despondent, sits down in his chariot.
CHAPTER
Dhritrashtra asks Sanjaya: Dear Sanjaya, when my sons, and the sons of Pandu, gathered for battle, on the holy field of Kurukshetra, what did they do?
Sanjaya replied: Sire, when Duryodhana saw the Pandava army drawn up in battle formation, he went to his guru, his teacher Drona and said :
Teacher, look at this vast army of the sons of Pandu, positioned for battle, by your very own and intelligent pupil, Drishtadyumna.
In this army there are many warriors who are equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, such as Satyaki, Virat, Drupad, Drishtaketu, Chekitana, the king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, Saibya, Yudhamanyu, Uttamauja, Abhimanyu, and the five sons of Draupadi, all great warriors.
Now let me tell you about the main warriors of our army, its leaders. You, yourself Teacher, grandsire Bhishma, Kripacharya, Karna, Vikarna, Asvatthama, and Bhurishrava, all of whom are capable of taking us to victory.
In addition to these, there are many other great warriors, who have staked their wealth, and their very lives for my sake. They are all well armed and skilled in battle.
Grandsire Bhishma protects our army while the Pandava army is protected by Bhima. Though our army is larger than the Pandava army, yet it appears to be weaker than their's. Therefore, all of you, stationed in your various columns, hold your positions firmly, and protect the Grandsire strongly from all sides.
Then to cheer up Duryodhana, Grandsire Bhishma roared like a lion, and blew his conch very loudly, after which, from all sides of the battlefield conches, cymbals, kettle-drums, and horns were sounded, all of which created a very loud and tumultuous noise.
Then, in reply, Lord Krishna, Arjuna, and all the Pandavas blew their respective celestial conches. The other great warriors in the Pandava army blew their conches as well.
The terrible noise and blare of these conches echoed through the earth and the sky, and rent the hearts of the Kuru host, creating fear in them.
Arjuna rode a special chariot. It was yoked with white horses, the God Hanuman was on the flag of his chariot, and Lord Krishna, God Incarnate himself, was Arjuna's sarathi, his chariot driver.
When the fighting was about to begin, Arjuna, looking at the Kaurava army said to Krishna :
O Keshava, drive my chariot, and place it in the middle of both the armies, in front of the Kaurava army, so that I may see the people I have to fight.
I would like to see all the people who have come as the Kaurava's allies, and who would be siding with the evil Duryodhana in this war, to do him good.
At Arjuna's so asking, Lord Krishna drove that special chariot between the two armies, and placed it in front of Bhishma, Drona, and the other kings and said :
Partha, look carefully at all these Kauravas gathered here. These are the people you have to fight in this war.
And what did Arjuna see? In both the armies, Arjuna saw Grandsires, he saw Teachers, he saw Maternal Uncles, he saw Cousins, he saw sons, he saw grandsons, he saw Fathers in law, he saw Friends and well wishers.
When Arjuna saw all these kinsmen, friends, and well wishers standing ready for battle against him, he suffers a crisis of conscience. He is overcome by pity, remorse and doubt, and, with sadness in his heart says :
O Keshava, seeing these relatives and friends of mine, eager to do battle, my limbs fail me, my mouth dries up, my hair stands on end, my bow, the mighty Gandiva, slips from my hands, my whole skin burns, my mind reels, I feel dizzy, and I cannot even stand.
I see adverse omens, too. I see no good in killing our own kith and kin, in killing our friends and well wishers.
I do not want victory or kingdom. I do not want pleasures, or enjoyments. I do not even want happiness.
What would we do with such kingdom, with such pleasures, and with such enjoyments, or even with life itself, when those, for whose sake we desire all these, those very teachers, those very grandsires, maternal uncles, sons, grandsons, and other kinsmen, are all standing here, having given up their attachment to their wealth and their life.
They stand here ready to die in this war. With all of them dead victory, would have no meaning for us, it would be hollow, and meaningless.
I would not want to kill them even if I were to get lordship over all the three worlds, much less for the measly kingdom of this world, even though they kill me instead.
What good would we gain by killing the sons of Dhritrashtra? Killing these people would only cover us with sin. Therefore, it is not proper for us to kill the sons of Dhritrashtra, our very own kinsmen. How could we ever be happy by killing our own people, our own kith and kin?
It is true that they are blinded by greed, because of which they are unable to see the sin of ruining family, and of turning against friends.
But we are not blinded by greed, and we can clearly see the sin of ruining the family and the race. Therefore, we, at least should have the good sense, and the understanding, to stay away from committing such a sin.
It is said that on the destruction of a race, the prevailing ancient customs and traditions get destroyed; and when these get destroyed, evil and sin overtakes the family, and when evil and sin prevail, then the women of the family get corrupted.
When the women get corrupted, intermingling and mixing of the castes takes place, and this intermingling and mixing of the castes, takes the whole family, along with the destroyer of the family, to hell, because the ancestors of those families, deprived of the customary rites of pinda, deprived of the offering of rice balls, of the offering of food and water, fall from their high place in heaven.
And because of these evils and sins, the ancient laws governing race and family are both destroyed.
And we have heard, as passed down by tradition, that those people whose family and race laws have been destroyed, they are forced to live in hell.
O, we are so ready and keen to commit this terrible sin, this carnage of killing our own kinsmen just for the greed of enjoying the pleasures of a kingdom! How can we even think of doing such a terrible deed?
It would be far better for me if the sons of Dhritrashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me, I remaining unarmed, and unresisting.
Having said this, Arjuna laid down his bow and arrows, and with a sad and dejected mind sat down in his chariot.
End of Chapter one
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
Friday, January 11, 2013
The Bhagavad Gita in Simple English : CHAPTER TWO
In the second chapter Lord Krishna tries to cajole and motivate Arjuna telling him that his behavior and conduct is unbecoming, and unworthy that of a noble person, and that he should forsake this weakness and unmanliness of his. Arjuna again voices his doubts and refuses to fight.
Actually it is after this, that is, it is after the eleventh verse of the second chapter, that the discourse of the Bhagavad Gita actually begins.
Krishna tells Arjuna about the immortality of the soul, and about the difference between the body and the soul. He says that we should not grieve for the atma, the soul, which is immortal, indestructible and imperishable; and we should also not grieve for the body, which is perishable, and has to die.
Krishna tries to kindle the sense of duty in Arjuna. He tells him about the yoga of selfless work, of equipoise, of balance and harmony, and also that we must do all our actions and all our works, without the expectation of any reward for those actions. He also speaks of the person of steady wisdom, listing out the qualities of such a one.
CHAPTER
Arjuna is sitting depressed and dejected in his chariot, his eyes brimming with tears. He is overcome with doubt and compassion. Then Lord Krishna says to him:
Partha, what has happened to you? At such a critical juncture, at such a crucial time, why this doubt, why this ignorance? From where have these come?
This wavering, and this ignorance, at such a critical juncture, is totally unbecoming of a noble person like you. It is not worthy of you.
This will take you nowhere. This conduct will not lead you to heaven, nor will it give you fame here on earth. Rather such conduct will be a blot on your fair name and, instead of fame, it will give you shame, it will give you a bad name.
Therefore, get rid of this unbecoming, unmanly weakness, and this cowardice of spirit, cast off this petty faint heartedness, and get up to fight, brave warrior.
However, Arjuna's despondency prevails, and he replies : Keshava, Bhishma and Drona, both are worthy of worship. How can I in battle shoot arrows at them?
Rather than killing these respected and revered gurus, it would be far better for me if I lived the life of a beggar, begging alms.
Though they appear to be blinded by their misguided sense of duty, and by their self interest, yet they are my teachers, and how can I even entertain the thought of enjoying those worldly pleasures, which would be stained with their blood?
And we do not even know what is good for us, our victory or theirs? After killing whom, we would not even want to live, those very sons of Dhritrashtra, stand before us, ready for battle.
Doubt and compassion, have completely overpowered my brave nature, and weakened me. I am totally confused about my duty. Therefore, I beg you, please tell me for certain, what is good for me, what I must do. I am your disciple, I seek refuge in you. Give me refuge, and teach me.
Even if I were to become king of this world full of wealth, where I have neither any enemy nor any equal; even if I were to become king of the Gods in heaven, yet I do not see anything, which will rid me of the grief, which has taken hold of my senses, and which has weakened them.
Saying this, Arjuna said to Lord Krishna:"I will not fight" and became silent.
Then, to the dejected, despondent, sad, and doubt ridden Arjuna, Lord Krishna, as if smiling, said : Partha, you grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you also speak words of wisdom.
But the truly wise do not grieve for anyone. They do not grieve for the living, and they do not grieve for the dead.
Never was there a time when you did not exist, or I did not exist, or all these kings did not exist, nor will there ever be a time after this, when we all shall cease to exist.
Just as a soul, while in the body, passes through the stages of childhood, youth and old age, so too, is the taking on of another body by the soul, after death, part of the journey of the soul. The wise and the steadfast man is not agitated, or confused by this.
Feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, are the result of the senses coming in contact with the objects of the senses. They are all temporary, and transitory in nature, they come and they go, they have a beginning, and they have an end, they do not last for ever. Therefore, learn to endure them, learn to bear them patiently.
The steady person who is not troubled by these, on whom these have no effect, and who remains the same in pleasure and in pain, he is wise, and he makes himself fit for eternal life.
Those who know the truth have realized the distinction between what is Real, and what is Unreal.
The Real is that which is eternal, and can never cease to exist, it can never perish, while the Unreal is transient and temporary, and ceases to exist, it has to perish.
The body is unreal, and has to perish, while the soul, the Atma, is real, and can never perish.
The soul, the Atma, which pervades the whole world, which pervades this entire creation, is indestructible. No one can bring about the destruction of this changeless Being. It cannot be destroyed by anything, or by anyone.
It is only the bodies of the eternal, embodied soul, that come to an end, and not the soul itself, because the soul itself is indestructible, and incomprehensible, it is beyond comprehension. Therefore, Partha, knowing this, you should fight.
He who thinks that the soul, the Atma kills, and he who thinks that the Atma is killed, both fail to see the truth; because the Atma neither kills, nor is it killed.
The soul is never born, nor does it ever die, nor having come into existence, will it ever cease to exist. It always existed, and it will always exist.
It is unborn, it is eternal, it is permanent, and it is immemorial. It is not killed when the body is killed. It does not die when the body dies.
He who knows that the soul is indestructible and eternal, that it is uncreated, and unchanging, how then, can such a person kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed?
Just as we take off old, worn out, and torn clothes, and put on others that are new, so too, does the embodied soul, cast off worn out, and old bodies, and take on others, that are new.
Weapons do not cut or pierce the soul, fire does not burn it, waters do not drench it, nor does the wind make it dry.
The soul cannot be cut, pierced, or harmed in any way, it cannot be burnt, it can neither be drenched, nor can it be dried. The soul is eternal, it is all pervasive, it is unchangeable and immovable. It is the same forever and ever.
The soul is said to be unmanifest, it cannot be seen, it is unthinkable, it is beyond thought, and it is unchangeable. Knowing it to be such, you should not grieve.
And even if you think that the soul is born, and that it dies too, even then, you should not grieve.
Because, for the born, death is certain and for one that has died, birth again is certain.Therefore, for what must happen, for the unavoidable, and for the inevitable, you should not grieve.
Beings are visible and seen only in their middle, during the period after their birth, and up to their death. They are not visible before they are born, and they are not visible after they die. What is there in this to grieve about?
Some look upon the soul as an object of wonder, some speak of the soul as an object of wonder, some hear of the soul as an object of wonder, and even after hearing, none whosoever, has known it. It is very difficult, indeed, to know the soul, the Atma.
The dweller in every body, the soul, the Atma, is eternal, and it can never be killed. Therefore, Partha, knowing this, you should not grieve for any one.
Further, considering your own duty too, you should not hesitate, for there is nothing better for a kshatriya, than to fight a righteous battle, a dharma yuddha, a battle for what is right.
Fortunate indeed, are those kshatriyas who get a chance to fight such a war. You are lucky that such a war has come to you of its own accord, opening the doors of heaven for you.
But if you do not fight this dharma yuddha, this righteous, lawful war, then not only would you be failing in your duty, your dharma, and your glory, you would also incur sin.
And men will forever talk of your ill fame, and for those of self respect and honour, ill fame and a bad name, are worse than death.
All the great warriors gathered here will think that you did not fight in the war out of fear, and those very people, who held you in high esteem, and who spoke highly of you, all of them will make light of you, will mock you.
Your enemies will ridicule your strength, and say many unseemly things about you.What could be sadder, what could be more painful than that?
Either killed in battle, you shall attain heaven, or victorious, you shall enjoy the earth. Therefore, Partha, stand up resolved to do battle.
Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, all alike, all the same, get ready for battle. In this way you shall not incur sin.
Partha, what I have told you till now, is the way of Sankhya, the way of knowledge. Listen now to the way of karmayoga, the way of selfless work.
If you understand it, and if your intelligence accepts it, you shall be rid of the bondage that accompanies all action, and all work.
In this path of yoga, no effort is ever wasted, no effort is ever lost. Each and every effort is counted, added up and accumulated, and there is never any failure.
Even the smallest practice of this yoga, protects one from the greatest of fears and sorrows.
The people who follow this path to emancipation, determined to reach me, attain unity of purpose. Their understanding gets concentrated on this single point; while the thoughts of the undecided and the uncertain, branch off into many directions, and are endless.
Those people who speak flowery language, who are seduced by the words of the scriptures, and by the literal meaning of those words, without understanding their true import, those who get stuck in the rituals of the scriptures, focusing only on the details of such rituals, thinking that there is nothing higher than this, such people are ignorant people.
Their minds are always full of their selfish desires. They regard the acquisition of luxuries and of physical pleasures, as heaven. The objective of all their actions, and of all their work, and of all their efforts, is the acquisition of power and of enjoyments, the result of which is repeated births for them.
Those people whose minds are always after acquiring power and enjoyments, whose minds have been seduced by them, and who are always entangled in them, such people are not able to concentrate their intelligence and their mind properly, in their self, in their atma; their intelligence does not stabilize in their self, in their atma.
Partha, the scriptures deal mainly with the attributes of the three gunas, and with religion, with profit, and with pleasure. You have to rise above all these, and also free yourself from the duality of the pairs of opposites, such as pleasure and pain, profit and loss, victory and defeat, and you have to always remain firmly established in your true Atma, in your true soul.
Get rid of the anxiety of first owning things, the anxiety of first acquiring possessions, and then, the anxiety of having to protect all that you own, all that you possess.
When a large reservoir of water is available, there is little use of a well. Similarly, when the larger knowledge of Brahm has been obtained, there would be little use of the scriptures. Knowing Brahm is knowing the scriptures, and much more.
Partha, your duty is to do the work only, to do the action only. Your duty is not to crave for, or to worry about, the fruit of the work, about the reward of the work. Give up all attachment to the reward of action, and then do your work, then do your actions.
Your aim should never be the reward of your actions; neither should the thought of giving up action ever enter your mind.
Therefore, do all your actions, without any attachment, regardless of success or failure. Maintaining equipoise, remaining the same in success, and in failure, is called yoga.
Selfless work, without regard to reward, is far, far superior to work done with an eye on the reward. Therefore, Partha, seek shelter in selfless work; always do all your work selflessly. Those who desire the fruit of their actions, are lowly and miserable people.
Those who have united their intelligence with Brahm, The Supreme, they are freed from all actions, good or bad. Therefore, Partha, apply yourself to the yoga of selfless action. Yoga is nothing but skill in action.
Those people who have united their intelligence with Brahm, whose intelligence has merged and become one with Brahm, and who have given up the rewards of all their actions, such people are freed from the shackles of birth and death, and they reach that Supreme State, where all their sorrows end.
When your intelligence shall cross over the dense forest, and the quicksand, of delusion, then will you become indifferent to all that you have heard, or all that you have yet to hear.
When your intelligence rises above both, the bookish knowledge, and also, above the confusion and the contradictions of the scriptures, and becomes firmly established in the contemplation of the Self, when it gets firmly established in the meditation of the Self, then will you have attained to yoga.
These words of Lord Krishna had a calming effect on Arjuna. He could feel his despondency lift and lighten. He was eager to know more and asked Krishna :
Dear Lord, the person whose intelligence is fixed and stabilized in contemplation, and who has attained the Supreme, how is such a person? How should the person of steady mind sit, walk and speak?
Lord Krishna explains : Listen Partha, When a person is able to curb the rush and rising tide of desires in his mind, when he is able to rid himself of all his desires, and when his Atma, remains contented in itself, when he finds satisfaction and contentment within himself, then is he known as a person of stable intelligence, a person of equipoise, a person of stable wisdom.
A person who is not agitated or drowned by sorrows, and who does not crave for, or hanker after, happiness, who is free from attachments, fear and anger, such a person is great, and he is called a person of stable, or fixed intelligence and wisdom.
The person who has no attachments, who is neither carried away by pleasures, nor overwhelmed and drowned by sorrows, the intelligence of such a person is firmly established.
The person who can withdraw the objects of the senses, from those very senses, just as a tortoise draws in all its limbs into its shell, the intelligence of such a person is firmly and strongly established in wisdom.
Even though the embodied soul may have given up enjoying the objects of the senses, yet the longing for, and the taste of, those objects, persists in his subconscious. Once he has attained the Supreme, then such longing, such taste also melts away.
Partha, even though a person be ever vigilant and discriminating, and also be always trying to attain salvation, yet his strong and obstinate senses succeed in confusing his mind.
Therefore, control the senses at all times, join with me; concentrate your mind on me constantly, and establish yourself in yoga, because only one who has firmly controlled his senses, only his intelligence is firmly and strongly established.
When a person starts thinking about the objects of the senses, then his mind gets attached to those very objects. Attachment gives rise to desire, and desire thwarted, or desire not fulfilled, gives rise to anger. Anger clouds memory, judgement and discrimination, leading to the destruction of intelligence. With intelligence destroyed, the person himself perishes.
But the disciplined person, who has brought his senses under his control, he is freed from both attachment and aversion, and he enjoys the objects of the senses without any taint. Such a person attains to the purity of the soul, of the Self.
And in that purity of the soul, all his sorrows end. The intelligence of such a person, of pure soul, gets very quickly established, and fixed in the peace and quiet of the soul.
The uncontrolled person and the indisciplined person, does not have stable intelligence. He does not have the ability, or the power of concentration of the mind, or of the intelligence, or of meditation. One who cannot concentrate, or meditate, can have no peace. And without peace, how can there be happiness? Happiness is impossible without peace.
When the mind chases after the wandering senses, then those very senses, seduce the mind, just as a storm takes a boat away from its fixed path, and tosses it about.
Only when a person withdraws all his senses from their objects in every way, does his intelligence get firmly and strongly stabilized and established.
What is night for most people, is the waking time for the self controlled, and what is waking time for most people, is night for such a one.
The ocean, though constantly being filled by the waters of the rivers flowing into it from all sides, always remains calm and still; similarly the person who stays calm, composed, and serene, when all his desires enter into him, without him in any way getting agitated, or baffled, he attains true peace. But he who chases after his desires never attains peace.
A person attains peace and tranquility, when he surrenders and gives up all desires, when he does selfless work, without expectation of any reward, when he has no attachment to anything, and when he becomes devoid of ego, the feeling of "I", the feeling of "mine"
Partha, this is the divine state, the state of attaining Brahm. Whosoever attains this state, is never again deluded. Situated in this state, at the time of death, one attains to the bliss of liberation, to the bliss of emancipation, he becomes one with Brahm, the Supreme.
End of Chapter Two
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
Actually it is after this, that is, it is after the eleventh verse of the second chapter, that the discourse of the Bhagavad Gita actually begins.
Krishna tells Arjuna about the immortality of the soul, and about the difference between the body and the soul. He says that we should not grieve for the atma, the soul, which is immortal, indestructible and imperishable; and we should also not grieve for the body, which is perishable, and has to die.
Krishna tries to kindle the sense of duty in Arjuna. He tells him about the yoga of selfless work, of equipoise, of balance and harmony, and also that we must do all our actions and all our works, without the expectation of any reward for those actions. He also speaks of the person of steady wisdom, listing out the qualities of such a one.
CHAPTER
Arjuna is sitting depressed and dejected in his chariot, his eyes brimming with tears. He is overcome with doubt and compassion. Then Lord Krishna says to him:
Partha, what has happened to you? At such a critical juncture, at such a crucial time, why this doubt, why this ignorance? From where have these come?
This wavering, and this ignorance, at such a critical juncture, is totally unbecoming of a noble person like you. It is not worthy of you.
This will take you nowhere. This conduct will not lead you to heaven, nor will it give you fame here on earth. Rather such conduct will be a blot on your fair name and, instead of fame, it will give you shame, it will give you a bad name.
Therefore, get rid of this unbecoming, unmanly weakness, and this cowardice of spirit, cast off this petty faint heartedness, and get up to fight, brave warrior.
However, Arjuna's despondency prevails, and he replies : Keshava, Bhishma and Drona, both are worthy of worship. How can I in battle shoot arrows at them?
Rather than killing these respected and revered gurus, it would be far better for me if I lived the life of a beggar, begging alms.
Though they appear to be blinded by their misguided sense of duty, and by their self interest, yet they are my teachers, and how can I even entertain the thought of enjoying those worldly pleasures, which would be stained with their blood?
And we do not even know what is good for us, our victory or theirs? After killing whom, we would not even want to live, those very sons of Dhritrashtra, stand before us, ready for battle.
Doubt and compassion, have completely overpowered my brave nature, and weakened me. I am totally confused about my duty. Therefore, I beg you, please tell me for certain, what is good for me, what I must do. I am your disciple, I seek refuge in you. Give me refuge, and teach me.
Even if I were to become king of this world full of wealth, where I have neither any enemy nor any equal; even if I were to become king of the Gods in heaven, yet I do not see anything, which will rid me of the grief, which has taken hold of my senses, and which has weakened them.
Saying this, Arjuna said to Lord Krishna:"I will not fight" and became silent.
Then, to the dejected, despondent, sad, and doubt ridden Arjuna, Lord Krishna, as if smiling, said : Partha, you grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you also speak words of wisdom.
But the truly wise do not grieve for anyone. They do not grieve for the living, and they do not grieve for the dead.
Never was there a time when you did not exist, or I did not exist, or all these kings did not exist, nor will there ever be a time after this, when we all shall cease to exist.
Just as a soul, while in the body, passes through the stages of childhood, youth and old age, so too, is the taking on of another body by the soul, after death, part of the journey of the soul. The wise and the steadfast man is not agitated, or confused by this.
Feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, are the result of the senses coming in contact with the objects of the senses. They are all temporary, and transitory in nature, they come and they go, they have a beginning, and they have an end, they do not last for ever. Therefore, learn to endure them, learn to bear them patiently.
The steady person who is not troubled by these, on whom these have no effect, and who remains the same in pleasure and in pain, he is wise, and he makes himself fit for eternal life.
Those who know the truth have realized the distinction between what is Real, and what is Unreal.
The Real is that which is eternal, and can never cease to exist, it can never perish, while the Unreal is transient and temporary, and ceases to exist, it has to perish.
The body is unreal, and has to perish, while the soul, the Atma, is real, and can never perish.
The soul, the Atma, which pervades the whole world, which pervades this entire creation, is indestructible. No one can bring about the destruction of this changeless Being. It cannot be destroyed by anything, or by anyone.
It is only the bodies of the eternal, embodied soul, that come to an end, and not the soul itself, because the soul itself is indestructible, and incomprehensible, it is beyond comprehension. Therefore, Partha, knowing this, you should fight.
He who thinks that the soul, the Atma kills, and he who thinks that the Atma is killed, both fail to see the truth; because the Atma neither kills, nor is it killed.
The soul is never born, nor does it ever die, nor having come into existence, will it ever cease to exist. It always existed, and it will always exist.
It is unborn, it is eternal, it is permanent, and it is immemorial. It is not killed when the body is killed. It does not die when the body dies.
He who knows that the soul is indestructible and eternal, that it is uncreated, and unchanging, how then, can such a person kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed?
Just as we take off old, worn out, and torn clothes, and put on others that are new, so too, does the embodied soul, cast off worn out, and old bodies, and take on others, that are new.
Weapons do not cut or pierce the soul, fire does not burn it, waters do not drench it, nor does the wind make it dry.
The soul cannot be cut, pierced, or harmed in any way, it cannot be burnt, it can neither be drenched, nor can it be dried. The soul is eternal, it is all pervasive, it is unchangeable and immovable. It is the same forever and ever.
The soul is said to be unmanifest, it cannot be seen, it is unthinkable, it is beyond thought, and it is unchangeable. Knowing it to be such, you should not grieve.
And even if you think that the soul is born, and that it dies too, even then, you should not grieve.
Because, for the born, death is certain and for one that has died, birth again is certain.Therefore, for what must happen, for the unavoidable, and for the inevitable, you should not grieve.
Beings are visible and seen only in their middle, during the period after their birth, and up to their death. They are not visible before they are born, and they are not visible after they die. What is there in this to grieve about?
Some look upon the soul as an object of wonder, some speak of the soul as an object of wonder, some hear of the soul as an object of wonder, and even after hearing, none whosoever, has known it. It is very difficult, indeed, to know the soul, the Atma.
The dweller in every body, the soul, the Atma, is eternal, and it can never be killed. Therefore, Partha, knowing this, you should not grieve for any one.
Further, considering your own duty too, you should not hesitate, for there is nothing better for a kshatriya, than to fight a righteous battle, a dharma yuddha, a battle for what is right.
Fortunate indeed, are those kshatriyas who get a chance to fight such a war. You are lucky that such a war has come to you of its own accord, opening the doors of heaven for you.
But if you do not fight this dharma yuddha, this righteous, lawful war, then not only would you be failing in your duty, your dharma, and your glory, you would also incur sin.
And men will forever talk of your ill fame, and for those of self respect and honour, ill fame and a bad name, are worse than death.
All the great warriors gathered here will think that you did not fight in the war out of fear, and those very people, who held you in high esteem, and who spoke highly of you, all of them will make light of you, will mock you.
Your enemies will ridicule your strength, and say many unseemly things about you.What could be sadder, what could be more painful than that?
Either killed in battle, you shall attain heaven, or victorious, you shall enjoy the earth. Therefore, Partha, stand up resolved to do battle.
Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, all alike, all the same, get ready for battle. In this way you shall not incur sin.
Partha, what I have told you till now, is the way of Sankhya, the way of knowledge. Listen now to the way of karmayoga, the way of selfless work.
If you understand it, and if your intelligence accepts it, you shall be rid of the bondage that accompanies all action, and all work.
In this path of yoga, no effort is ever wasted, no effort is ever lost. Each and every effort is counted, added up and accumulated, and there is never any failure.
Even the smallest practice of this yoga, protects one from the greatest of fears and sorrows.
The people who follow this path to emancipation, determined to reach me, attain unity of purpose. Their understanding gets concentrated on this single point; while the thoughts of the undecided and the uncertain, branch off into many directions, and are endless.
Those people who speak flowery language, who are seduced by the words of the scriptures, and by the literal meaning of those words, without understanding their true import, those who get stuck in the rituals of the scriptures, focusing only on the details of such rituals, thinking that there is nothing higher than this, such people are ignorant people.
Their minds are always full of their selfish desires. They regard the acquisition of luxuries and of physical pleasures, as heaven. The objective of all their actions, and of all their work, and of all their efforts, is the acquisition of power and of enjoyments, the result of which is repeated births for them.
Those people whose minds are always after acquiring power and enjoyments, whose minds have been seduced by them, and who are always entangled in them, such people are not able to concentrate their intelligence and their mind properly, in their self, in their atma; their intelligence does not stabilize in their self, in their atma.
Partha, the scriptures deal mainly with the attributes of the three gunas, and with religion, with profit, and with pleasure. You have to rise above all these, and also free yourself from the duality of the pairs of opposites, such as pleasure and pain, profit and loss, victory and defeat, and you have to always remain firmly established in your true Atma, in your true soul.
Get rid of the anxiety of first owning things, the anxiety of first acquiring possessions, and then, the anxiety of having to protect all that you own, all that you possess.
When a large reservoir of water is available, there is little use of a well. Similarly, when the larger knowledge of Brahm has been obtained, there would be little use of the scriptures. Knowing Brahm is knowing the scriptures, and much more.
Partha, your duty is to do the work only, to do the action only. Your duty is not to crave for, or to worry about, the fruit of the work, about the reward of the work. Give up all attachment to the reward of action, and then do your work, then do your actions.
Your aim should never be the reward of your actions; neither should the thought of giving up action ever enter your mind.
Therefore, do all your actions, without any attachment, regardless of success or failure. Maintaining equipoise, remaining the same in success, and in failure, is called yoga.
Selfless work, without regard to reward, is far, far superior to work done with an eye on the reward. Therefore, Partha, seek shelter in selfless work; always do all your work selflessly. Those who desire the fruit of their actions, are lowly and miserable people.
Those who have united their intelligence with Brahm, The Supreme, they are freed from all actions, good or bad. Therefore, Partha, apply yourself to the yoga of selfless action. Yoga is nothing but skill in action.
Those people who have united their intelligence with Brahm, whose intelligence has merged and become one with Brahm, and who have given up the rewards of all their actions, such people are freed from the shackles of birth and death, and they reach that Supreme State, where all their sorrows end.
When your intelligence shall cross over the dense forest, and the quicksand, of delusion, then will you become indifferent to all that you have heard, or all that you have yet to hear.
When your intelligence rises above both, the bookish knowledge, and also, above the confusion and the contradictions of the scriptures, and becomes firmly established in the contemplation of the Self, when it gets firmly established in the meditation of the Self, then will you have attained to yoga.
These words of Lord Krishna had a calming effect on Arjuna. He could feel his despondency lift and lighten. He was eager to know more and asked Krishna :
Dear Lord, the person whose intelligence is fixed and stabilized in contemplation, and who has attained the Supreme, how is such a person? How should the person of steady mind sit, walk and speak?
Lord Krishna explains : Listen Partha, When a person is able to curb the rush and rising tide of desires in his mind, when he is able to rid himself of all his desires, and when his Atma, remains contented in itself, when he finds satisfaction and contentment within himself, then is he known as a person of stable intelligence, a person of equipoise, a person of stable wisdom.
A person who is not agitated or drowned by sorrows, and who does not crave for, or hanker after, happiness, who is free from attachments, fear and anger, such a person is great, and he is called a person of stable, or fixed intelligence and wisdom.
The person who has no attachments, who is neither carried away by pleasures, nor overwhelmed and drowned by sorrows, the intelligence of such a person is firmly established.
The person who can withdraw the objects of the senses, from those very senses, just as a tortoise draws in all its limbs into its shell, the intelligence of such a person is firmly and strongly established in wisdom.
Even though the embodied soul may have given up enjoying the objects of the senses, yet the longing for, and the taste of, those objects, persists in his subconscious. Once he has attained the Supreme, then such longing, such taste also melts away.
Partha, even though a person be ever vigilant and discriminating, and also be always trying to attain salvation, yet his strong and obstinate senses succeed in confusing his mind.
Therefore, control the senses at all times, join with me; concentrate your mind on me constantly, and establish yourself in yoga, because only one who has firmly controlled his senses, only his intelligence is firmly and strongly established.
When a person starts thinking about the objects of the senses, then his mind gets attached to those very objects. Attachment gives rise to desire, and desire thwarted, or desire not fulfilled, gives rise to anger. Anger clouds memory, judgement and discrimination, leading to the destruction of intelligence. With intelligence destroyed, the person himself perishes.
But the disciplined person, who has brought his senses under his control, he is freed from both attachment and aversion, and he enjoys the objects of the senses without any taint. Such a person attains to the purity of the soul, of the Self.
And in that purity of the soul, all his sorrows end. The intelligence of such a person, of pure soul, gets very quickly established, and fixed in the peace and quiet of the soul.
The uncontrolled person and the indisciplined person, does not have stable intelligence. He does not have the ability, or the power of concentration of the mind, or of the intelligence, or of meditation. One who cannot concentrate, or meditate, can have no peace. And without peace, how can there be happiness? Happiness is impossible without peace.
When the mind chases after the wandering senses, then those very senses, seduce the mind, just as a storm takes a boat away from its fixed path, and tosses it about.
Only when a person withdraws all his senses from their objects in every way, does his intelligence get firmly and strongly stabilized and established.
What is night for most people, is the waking time for the self controlled, and what is waking time for most people, is night for such a one.
The ocean, though constantly being filled by the waters of the rivers flowing into it from all sides, always remains calm and still; similarly the person who stays calm, composed, and serene, when all his desires enter into him, without him in any way getting agitated, or baffled, he attains true peace. But he who chases after his desires never attains peace.
A person attains peace and tranquility, when he surrenders and gives up all desires, when he does selfless work, without expectation of any reward, when he has no attachment to anything, and when he becomes devoid of ego, the feeling of "I", the feeling of "mine"
Partha, this is the divine state, the state of attaining Brahm. Whosoever attains this state, is never again deluded. Situated in this state, at the time of death, one attains to the bliss of liberation, to the bliss of emancipation, he becomes one with Brahm, the Supreme.
End of Chapter Two
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)