As soon as the sky-rending conch-sound of Bhishma shook the battlefield, immediately war-drums sounded from all sides of that vast Kaurava army and the car-warriors began to be maddened with war-delight. On the other side the best hero of the Pandavas and his charioteer Sri Krishna blew their conches in answer to Bhishma’s war-challenge and Yudhishthira etc. warriors of the Pandava side blowing their own conches awakened the war-goddess in the hearts of the soldiers. That great sound making the earth and sky resound rent the hearts of the Dhartarashtras as it were. This does not mean that Bhishma etc. were frightened by this sound; they are heroes; why should they be frightened by the call of the war-goddess? In this statement the poet has first described the physical forceful transmission of the very loud sound; just as the thunder-clap seems to split the head many times, so the transmission of this great sound pervading the battlefield took place; and this sound is as if the announcement of the future destruction of the Dhartarashtras; the hearts that the weapons of the Pandavas will rend, their conch-sound rent beforehand. The battle began; missiles began to be discharged from both sides; at this time Arjuna said to Sri Krishna, “You place my chariot in the middle of the two armies; I wish to see who are the opponents, who have assembled here to do the pleasing work of the evil-minded Duryodhana in battle, with whom I have to fight.” Arjuna’s idea is that I am the hope of the Pandavas, by me the chief warriors of the opponent are to be slain; so let me see who these are. Up to this point Arjuna has the full Kshatriya mood; there is no sign of pity or weakness. Many great heroes of India are present in the opposing army; destroying all Arjuna is eager to give the undisputed empire to his eldest brother Yudhishthira. But Sri Krishna knows that there is weakness in Arjuna’s mind; if the mind is not cleared now, at such a time it may rise from the mind to the intellect and possess it that special harm, perhaps total ruin of the Pandavas will occur. Therefore Sri Krishna placed the chariot in such a place that Bhishma, Drona etc. dear ones of Arjuna remained in front of him yet he could see all other kings of the Kaurava side, and said to him, Behold, look at the assembled Kurus. It has to be remembered that Arjuna himself is a Kuru, the glory of the Kuru race; all his relatives, dear ones, companions of boyhood are of that Kuru race; then the deep meaning and feeling of these three simple words in Sri Krishna’s mouth are understood. Then Arjuna saw that those whom he has to slay to establish the undisputed kingdom of Yudhishthira are none other than his own dear relatives, elders, friends, objects of reverence and love. He saw that the Kshatriya families of the whole of India were bound to one another by ties of love yet had come to this terrible battlefield to kill one another.
The Root Cause of Dejection
What is the root of Arjuna’s dejection? Many praise this dejection and condemn Sri Krishna as a guide to the evil path and supporter of unrighteousness. The peaceful attitude of Christianity, the non-violence of Buddhism and the love of Vaishnavism are the high and best religions; war and homicide are sins; fratricide and killing of gurus are great sins; they say this unreasonable thing being under the sway of these ideas. But these modern ideas did not arise even in the mind of the great hero Pandava of the Dwapara age; that the attitude of non-violence is best, or war, homicide, fratricide and killing of gurus are great sins so one should desist from war, no sign even of this thought is expressed in Arjuna’s words. He said no doubt that begging is better than killing gurus, said no doubt that sin will visit us for killing friends and relatives, but did not say this looking at the nature of the action; said it looking at the fruit of the action; that is why Sri Krishna has given this teaching to dispel his dejection that one should not look at the fruit of action; one has to decide whether that action should be done or not by looking at the nature of the action. Arjuna’s first thought is that these are my relatives, elders, friends, companions of boyhood, all objects of affection, reverence and love; if I obtain the undisputed kingdom by killing them, the enjoyment of that kingdom can never be happy; rather one has to burn in grief and repentance all one’s life; the kingdom of an earth void of friends and relatives is not desirable to anyone. Arjuna’s second thought is that killing dear ones is contrary to dharma; to kill those who are objects of affection in war is opposed to the dharma of the Kshatriya. The third thought is that doing such an action for self-interest is contrary to dharma and improper for a Kshatriya. The fourth thought is that in fratricidal conflict and fratricide destruction of the family and destruction of the race will occur; creating such bad results is a great sin for a protector of the family and protector of the race Kshatriya hero. Except these four thoughts there is no other thought at the root of Arjuna’s dejection. Unless this is understood the meaning of Sri Krishna’s aim and teaching cannot be understood. The conflict and harmony of the dharma of the Gita with Christianity, Buddhism, Vaishnavism will be discussed later. Let us demonstrate the state of his mind by examining the spirit of Arjuna’s words minutely.
The Attack of Vaishnava Maya
Arjuna first described his dejection. The great hero Arjuna is overwhelmed and defeated by the sudden rebellion of affection and pity; all the strength of his body has dried up in a moment; the limbs are languid; there is no strength even to stand; the strong hand is unable to hold the Gandiva; symptoms of fever are manifest in the heat of grief; there is weakness of the body; the skin seems to be burning in fire; the mouth has dried up inside; the whole body is trembling intensely; the mind seems to be whirling in that attack. Reading the description of this state we first stop enjoying only that poetic beauty calling it an excessive development of the poet’s vigorous imagination; but if we examine it with subtle judgment, then a deep meaning of this description arises in the mind. Arjuna has fought with the Kurus before also, yet such a state never occurred; now suddenly this internal disturbance has happened by the will of Sri Krishna. Many very strong propensities of the human race defeated and bound by Kshatriya education and high aspiration lie hidden in the bottom of Arjuna’s heart. Purification of the heart does not come by repression; purification of the heart comes by self-control with the help of discrimination and pure intelligence. Repressed propensities and feelings rising from the heart either in this life or in a future life one day attack the intelligence and conquering it drive all actions in the path favourable to their own development. For this reason, he who is kind in this life becomes cruel in another life; he who is lustful and licentious in this life becomes a saint and pure-hearted in another life. Instead of repressing, one has to cleanse the heart by rejecting the propensities with the help of discrimination and pure intelligence. This is called self-control. Self-control is impossible without the removal of the tamasic nature by the influence of knowledge. Therefore Sri Krishna wishes to purify the heart by removing Arjuna’s ignorance and awakening the dormant discrimination. But unless the rejectable propensities are raised from the heart and placed before the intelligence, the intelligence does not get the opportunity to reject them either; moreover, the internal demon and titan are killed by discrimination in the battle itself; then discrimination liberates the intelligence. In the first stage of yoga all the evil propensities that are rooted in the heart attack the intelligence with great force and bewilder the unaccustomed sadhak with fear and grief; this is called the temptation of the Devil in the West; this is the attack of Mara. But that fear and grief are born of ignorance; that temptation is not of the Devil, but of God. The indwelling World-Teacher calls those propensities to attack the sadhak for his good, for the purification of the heart. Just as Sri Krishna is Arjuna’s friend and charioteer in the external world in a physical body, so within him he is the bodiless God and the indwelling Supreme Person; He projected these hidden propensities and feelings on the intelligence with great force at one time. At that terrible blow the intelligence whirled and the strong mental disturbance was immediately expressed in the gross body in the symptoms described by the poet. We know that such physical manifestation of strong unexpected grief and sorrow takes place; it is not outside the common experience of the human race. The Vaishnava Maya of God overwhelmed Arjuna with entire force in a moment; hence this strong disturbance. When unrighteousness assumes the form of tender virtues like pity, love etc., ignorance comes in the disguise of knowledge; thick black Tamas pretending to be bright and white purity says, I am Sattwic, I am knowledge, I am virtue, I am the beloved messenger of God, virtue in the form of virtue-promoter,—then it must be understood that God’s Vaishnava Maya has appeared in the intelligence.
The Characteristics of Vaishnava Maya
The chief weapon of this Vaishnava Maya is pity and affection. The love and affection of the human race are not pure propensities; pure love is polluted and deformed by the perversion of the physical and vital sheaths. The heart is the seat of propensities; the vital is the field of enjoyment; the body is the instrument of action; the intellect is the kingdom of thought. In the pure state there is distinct yet mutually unconflicting activity of all these; feeling rises in the heart; action is done by the body according to that; thought concerning that takes place in the intellect; the vital enjoys the delight of that feeling, action and thought; the soul as a witness enjoys delight in seeing this joyous play of nature. In the impure state the vital, eager for physical or mental enjoyment, instead of making the body an instrument of action makes it a means of enjoyment; the body, attached to enjoyment, repeatedly demands physical enjoyment; the heart, attacked by the desire for physical enjoyment, becomes unable to receive pure feeling anymore; feeling mixed with polluted desire agitates the ocean of the heart; the noise of that desire overwhelming the intellect confuses it, makes it deaf; the intellect is no longer able to receive pure, calm, unerring thought; subject to the restless mind it becomes blind in error, confusion of thought and prevalence of falsehood. The soul too, losing its senses in this confusion of the intellect, deprived of the witness attitude and the state of pure delight, admitting its oneness with the vessel (Adhara), becomes happy and unhappy in physical and mental happiness and unhappiness in this erroneous belief—I am the body, I am the life, I am the heart, I am the intellect. Impure heart is the root of this confusion; therefore purification of the heart is the first step to progress. This impurity not only pollutes the tamasic and rajasic propensities, but also pollutes the sattwic propensity. Such and such person is the object of my physical or mental enjoyment; I like him; I want him; I suffer in separation from him;—this is impure love; the body and life polluting the heart have deformed pure love. The intellect also erroneous as a result of that impurity says, Such and such is my wife, brother, sister, friend, relative, ally; one has to love him; that love is holy; if I do any action contrary to that love, it is sin, cruelty, unrighteousness. As a result of such impure love there is such strong pity that even sacrificing duty is felt to be better than the suffering of the dear one, the harm of the dear one; finally as the blow falls on this pity we support our weakness calling righteousness unrighteousness. Proof of such Vaishnava Maya is found in every word of Arjuna.
The Littleness of Vaishnava Maya
Arjuna’s first word, These are our own people, relatives, objects of love; what good of ours will be accomplished by killing them in war? The pride of the victor, the glory of the king, the happiness of the rich? I do not want these empty self-interests. Why do kingdom, enjoyment, life become dear to people? Because there are wife, son, daughter; because we shall be able to keep relatives and kinsmen in happiness; because we shall be able to spend days in happiness and pleasure of wealth with friends and companions; these happinesses and greatnesses are objects of greed. But those for whom we want kingdom and happiness, they are present in war as our enemies. They are rather prepared to kill us, yet not willing to enjoy kingdom and happiness together with us. Let them kill me; but I shall never be able to kill them. Even if I obtained the kingdom of the three worlds by killing them, I would not be able to do so; let alone the sovereignty of the earth. Superficial people charmed by these utterances—
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca
and
etān na hantumicchāmi ghnato’pi madhusūdana
api trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ kiṁ nu mahīkṛte
say, “Oh! what a great noble selfless loving nature of Arjuna. Defeat, death, eternal sorrow are preferable to him to enjoyment and happiness stained with blood.” But if we examine Arjuna’s state of mind, we can understand that Arjuna’s attitude is very small, expressive of weakness, befitting a eunuch. To sacrifice personal self-interest for the good of the family or for the love of dear ones, under the influence of pity, for fear of bloodshed may be a great noble attitude for a non-Aryan; for an Aryan it is a middling attitude; to sacrifice self-interest for the sake of duty and love of God is the best attitude. On the other hand, to abandon duty for the good of the family, for the love of dear ones, under the influence of pity, for fear of bloodshed is the lowest attitude. To control affection, pity and fear for the sake of duty and love of God is the true Aryan attitude. This small attitude, showing the sin of killing kinsmen in support of this weakness, Arjuna again said, “What happiness, what satisfaction of mind can we have by killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? They are our friends and companions, relatives and kinsmen; although they do injustice and are hostile to us, usurp the kingdom, break the truth, by killing them we shall only incur sin; there will be no happiness.” Arjuna forgot that he is fighting a righteous war; he has not been engaged in killing the sons of Dhritarashtra by Sri Krishna for his own happiness or for the happiness of Yudhishthira; establishment of righteousness, destruction of unrighteousness, observance of Kshatriya duty, establishment of a great empire founded on righteousness in India are the objects of this war. It is Arjuna’s duty to accomplish this object even by sacrificing all happiness and enduring life-long sorrow and suffering.
The Question of Destruction of the Clan
But in support of his own weakness Arjuna discovered another higher argument; destruction of the family and destruction will take place in this war; therefore this war is not a righteous war, it is an unrighteous war. In this fratricide there is hostility to friends, that is, harm is done to those who are naturally favourable and helpful; moreover destruction of one’s own family, that is, the Kshatriya family and race called Kuru in which both sides are born, is accomplished. In ancient times the nation was mostly founded on blood relationship. A great family expanding turned into a nation; for example the Bhoja race, the Kuru race etc. were particular families within the Indian nation which became powerful nations. Arjuna called the internal conflict and doing harm to one another within the family hostility to friends. On the one hand this hostility to friends is a great sin in the moral sense; on the other hand in the economic sense the destruction of the family which is the inevitable result of this great fault involved in hostility to friends. The proper observance of the eternal family duties is the cause of the progress and stability of the family; if the high ideal and order of work which the ancestors have established and preserved in domestic life and in the political field are harmed or the discipline is relaxed, the downfall of the family takes place. As long as the family remains fortunate and powerful, this ideal and order of work are preserved; if the family becomes weak and feeble, there is relaxation in high duties due to the spread of tamasic nature; as a result anarchy, corruption etc. faults enter the family; the ladies of the family become unchaste and the purity of the family is lost; sons are begotten in the great family by men of low caste and low character. By that the ancestors fall from the world of ancestors being deprived of the true progeny of the destroyers of the family and due to the spread of unrighteousness, moral degradation and spread of low qualities born of admixture of castes and faults like anarchy etc. the whole family also is destroyed and becomes fit for hell. Racial duties and family duties both are destroyed in the destruction of the family. Racial duty means the eternal ideal and order of work coming down from generation to generation of the great nation which is formed by the aggregate of all families. After that Arjuna again declaring his first decision and determination regarding duty sat down in the chariot abandoning the Gandiva even at the time of war. The poet hinted in the last verse of this chapter that Arjuna had resolved on such non-Aryan conduct unbecoming a Kshatriya because his intelligence was confused by grief.
Knowledge and Ignorance
We see the shadow of a very great and high idea in Arjuna’s words regarding the destruction of the family; the discussion of the serious question associated with this idea is very necessary for the commentator of the Gita. Yet if we seek only the spiritual meaning of the Gita, completely separate the religion of the Gita from our national, domestic and personal worldly duties and ideals, we shall deny the greatness and necessity of that idea and that question and narrow the all-pervading extent of the religion of the Gita. Shankara etc. who have commented on the Gita were ascetic philosophers devoted to spiritual knowledge or devotees averse to the world; finding their necessary knowledge or idea in the Gita they were satisfied by obtaining what was necessary. Those who are wise, devotees and workers in one vessel, they alone are entitled to the deepest teaching of the Gita. Sri Krishna, the speaker of the Gita, was a man of knowledge and action; Arjuna, the recipient of the Gita, was a devotee and man of action; to open his eye of knowledge Sri Krishna preached this teaching in Kurukshetra. A great political conflict was the cause of the preaching of the Gita; to engage Arjuna in war as an instrument and cause of the fulfilment of a great political purpose in that conflict was the object of the Gita; the battlefield was the place of teaching. Sri Krishna was a great politician and warrior; establishment of the Kingdom of Righteousness was the main object of his life; Arjuna also was a Kshatriya prince; politics and war were his natural work. How can the Gita be explained by excluding the object of the Gita, excluding the speaker, the recipient and the cause of preaching of the Gita?
Five main foundations of the human world are always present—individual, family, clan, nation, humanity. Religion is also founded on these five foundations. The object of religion is attainment of God. There are two paths of attaining God: mastering Knowledge and mastering Ignorance; in both self-knowledge and God-vision are the means. The path of Knowledge is the attainment of Sachchidananda or merger in the Supreme Brahman abandoning the phenomenal world of Ignorance which is the manifestation of Brahman. The path of Ignorance is to attain the All-wise All-good All-powerful Supreme Lord as friend, master, guru, father, mother, son, daughter, servant, lover, husband, wife by seeing the Self and God everywhere. Peace is the object of Knowledge; Love is the object of Ignorance. But the nature of God consists of Knowledge and Ignorance. If we follow only the path of Knowledge we shall attain the Brahman of Knowledge; if we follow only the path of Ignorance we shall attain the Brahman of Ignorance. He who can master both Knowledge and Ignorance, he alone attains Vasudeva completely; he is beyond Knowledge and Ignorance. Those who have reached the final goal of Knowledge, they have mastered Ignorance with the help of Knowledge. In the Isha Upanishad this great truth has been very clearly expressed, e.g. —
andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye vidyāmupāsate
tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ
anyadevāhurvidyayā’nyadāhuravidyayā
iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ ye nastadvicacakṣire
vidyāñcāvidyāñca yastadvedobhayaṁ saha
avidyayā mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā vidyayā’mṛtamaśnute
“Those who worship Ignorance enter into blind darkness; those who are engaged in Knowledge enter into greater darkness as it were. We have heard from the wise who have explained the truth of the Supreme Brahman to us that there is one fruit in Knowledge, another fruit in Ignorance. He who knows both Knowledge and Ignorance together, he crossing death by Ignorance enjoys immortality by Knowledge.”
The whole human race is advancing towards Knowledge enjoying Ignorance; this is the true evolution. Those who are best, sadhaks, yogis, men of knowledge, devotees, karmayogis, they are the advance guard of this great expedition; reaching the distant destination with swift speed they return and make the human race hear the good news, show the path, distribute power. The Avatars and Vibhutis of God coming make the path easy, create favourable conditions, destroy obstacles. Knowledge in Ignorance, renunciation in enjoyment, asceticism in the world, all beings in the Self, the Self in all beings, the world in God, God in the world, this realisation is real knowledge; this is the appointed path of the human race to go to the destination. Narrowness of self-knowledge is the main obstacle to progress; body-consciousness, selfishness is the root cause of that narrowness; therefore seeing others as oneself is the first step to progress.
