In the Kali age India has declined; no one can deny that. But God never incarnated to bring about decline. Avatar is for the protection of religion, protection of the world, protection of the people. Especially in the Kali age God incarnates fully; the reason is, in Kali there is greater fear of man’s decline; increase of unrighteousness is natural; therefore for the protection of the human race, for the destruction of unrighteousness and establishment of righteousness, to stop the movement of Kali repeated Incarnation takes place in this age. When Sri Krishna incarnated, it was time for the reign of Kali to begin; frightened by his very appearance Kali could not set foot in his kingdom; by his very grace Parikshit giving five villages to Kali kept his sole sovereignty suspended in his own age. The fierce struggle of man with Kali which is going on and will go on from the beginning to the end of the Kali age, as the helper and leader of that struggle the Avatars and Vibhutis of God come frequently in Kali; to teach and protect the Brahman spirit, knowledge, devotion, desireless work suitable for that struggle God assumed a human body at the mouth of Kali. The protection of India is the foundation and hope of human welfare. God has protected India in Kurukshetra. In that ocean of blood the Great Time-Spirit began to sport in the lotus of play of the new world.
Chapter Two
Sanjaya Uvacha
taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭamaśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam
viṣīdantamidaṁ vākyamuvāca madhusūdanaḥ (1)
Sanjaya said:
To him thus invaded by pity, his eyes full and distressed with tears, his heart overcome by depression, Madhusudana spoke these words.
Shri Bhagavan Uvacha
kutastvā kaśmalamidaṁ viṣame samupasthitam
anāryajuṣṭamasvargyamakīrtikaramarjuna (2)
The Blessed Lord said:
“Whence has come to thee this dejection, this stain and darkness of the soul in the hour of difficulty and peril, O Arjuna? It is not the way cherished by the Aryan man; it does not lead to heaven; it brings no glory.
klaibyaṁ māsma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayyupapadyate
kṣudraṁ hṛdayadaurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa (3)
Fall not from the virility of the fighter and the hero, O Partha! it is not fitting in thee. Shake off this paltry faint-heartedness! Stand up, Parantapa (Scourge of the foes)!”
Sri Krishna’s Answer
Sri Krishna saw that Arjuna was possessed by pity, dejection had seized him. To remove this tamasic mood the Indweller rebuked his dear friend in a manner befitting a Kshatriya; if by that the rajasic mood is awakened and drives away the tamas. He said, Look, this is a time of crisis for your side; now if you abandon your weapon, there is possibility of their total danger and destruction. Abandoning one’s own side on the battlefield should not arise in the mind of a great Kshatriya like you; whence suddenly this evil thought? Your feeling is full of weakness, full of sin. Non-Aryans praise this feeling, are subject to it; but it is unbecoming of an Aryan; by it attainment of heaven in the next world is hindered and fame and glory are lost in this world. After that he rebuked even more cuttingly. This feeling is befitting a eunuch; you are the best of heroes, you are the conqueror, you are the son of Kunti; you say such words? Abandon this weakness of the heart; arise; engage in your duty.
Pity and Compassion
Pity and compassion are different feelings; pity may even be a feeling opposed to compassion. We do good to the world, relieve the suffering of man, the suffering of the nation, the suffering of others under the influence of compassion. If unable to bear one’s own suffering or the suffering of a particular individual we desist from doing that good, then I have no compassion, only the possession of pity has occurred. I rose to relieve the suffering of the whole human race or the country; for fear of bloodshed, for fear of killing living beings I desisted from that meritorious work; I consented to the permanence of the suffering of the world, of the nation; this is the feeling of pity. The strong impulse to relieve suffering by becoming sorrowful at the sorrow of others is called compassion. To be distressed by the thought of others’ suffering or by seeing suffering is called pity. Distress is not compassion; it is pity. Compassion is the religion of the strong; pity is the religion of the weak. Under the impulse of compassion Buddha leaving wife and child, parents, friends and relatives sorrowful and destitute went out to relieve the suffering of the world. Under the impulse of intense compassion the mad Kali killing Asuras all over the world, flooding the earth with blood relieved the suffering of all. Arjuna abandoned his weapon under the impulse of pity.
This feeling is praised by non-Aryans, practised by non-Aryans. Aryan teaching is liberal, befitting a hero, the teaching of the gods. The non-Aryan falling into delusion abandons the liberal religion calling an illiberal feeling religion. The non-Aryan being affected by rajasic feeling looks to the good of himself, of his dear ones, of his own family or clan; does not see the vast good; becoming averse to duty in pity boasts of being virtuous; calls the austere Aryan cruel and unspiritual. The non-Aryan charmed by tamasic delusion calls wrong propensity cessation from activity; gives the highest seat of ethics to desire-tainted love of virtue. Compassion is the feeling of the Aryan. Pity is the feeling of the non-Aryan.
Man under the influence of compassion engages heroically in battle with evil to destroy the evil and suffering of others. Woman under the influence of compassion pours out all her heart and strength in nursing, care and attempt to do good to others to relieve their suffering. He who under the influence of pity abandons weapon, turns away from duty, sitting to weep thinks, I am doing my duty, I am virtuous,—he is a eunuch. This feeling is small; this feeling is weakness. Dejection can never be religion. He who gives shelter to dejection gives shelter to sin. Abandoning this impurity of heart, this impure and weak feeling, becoming active in war, protecting the world, protecting religion, lightening the burden of the earth by the performance of duty is preferable. This is the purport of this utterance of Sri Krishna.
Arjuna Uvacha
kathaṁ bhīṣmamahaṁ saṅkhye droṇaṁ ca madhusūdana
iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana (4)
Arjuna said:
“How, O Madhusudana, shall I strike Bhishma and Drona with weapons in battle, they who are worthy of worship, O Slayer of foes!
gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyamapīha loke
hatvārthakāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhirapradigdhān (5)
Better is it in this world to eat even the beggar’s crust than to slay these great-souled gurus. Slaying these gurus, I should taste of blood-stained enjoyments even in this world.
na caitad vidmaḥ kataranno garīyo yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāmaste’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ (6)
Nor do we know which for us is better, that we should conquer them or they should conquer us,—before us stand the Dhritarashtrians whom having slain we should not care to live.
kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharmasaṁmūḍhacetāḥ
yacchreyaḥ syānniścitaṁ brūhi tanme śiṣyaste’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam (7)
It is a poor and narrow weakness of heart and mind that has invaded my nature; I lose the understanding of right and wrong; I ask thee, tell me clearly what is my good; I am thy disciple; teach me, who have taken refuge in thee.
na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād yacchokamucchoṣaṇamindriyāṇām
avāpya bhūmāvasapatnamṛddhaṁ rājyaṁ surāṇāmapi cādhipatyam (8)
I see not what can drive away this anguish that dries up my senses, even if I should attain a rich and unrivalled kingdom on earth or even the sovereignty of the gods.”
Arjuna’s Prayer for Enlightenment
Arjuna could understand the purport of Sri Krishna’s words; he desisted from raising political objections; but receiving no answer to the other objections he had, he took refuge with Sri Krishna for instruction. He said, “I admit I am a Kshatriya; desisting from great action under the influence of pity is indicative of impotence for me, inglorious, contrary to dharma. But the mind does not agree, the heart does not agree. The mind says, killing elders is a great sin; if I kill elders for my own happiness I shall fall into unrighteousness and lose dharma, liberation, the other world, whatever is desirable. Desire will be satisfied, greed for wealth will be satisfied; but for how many days? Enjoyment obtained by unrighteousness lasts till death; after that there is indescribable misery. And when you enjoy, finding the taste of the blood of elders in that enjoyment what happiness or peace will there be? The heart says, these are my dear ones; if I kill them I shall not be able to enjoy happiness in this life anymore; I do not want to live even. If you give me the enjoyment of the empire of the whole earth or conquering heaven give the enjoyment of Indra’s wealth, I will not listen. The grief that will overwhelm me, by that all organs of action and organs of knowledge being overwhelmed and exhausted will become slack and incapable in their respective functions; then what will you enjoy? Extreme poverty of spirit has come upon me; the great Kshatriya nature has drowned in that poverty. I have taken refuge with you. Give me knowledge, strength, faith; show the path of the good and save me.”
Taking refuge completely with God is the path of the Yoga of the Gita. This is called Self-surrender or Self-offering. He who is ready to sacrifice all other dharmas regarding God as Guru, Master, Friend, Guide, who not judging sin and virtue, duty and non-duty, right and wrong, truth and falsehood, good and evil, offers all feelings of his knowledge, work and sadhana to Sri Krishna, he alone is entitled to the Yoga of the Gita. Arjuna said to Sri Krishna, Even if you ask me to commit the murder of a guru, explain it to be dharma and duty, I shall do that. By virtue of this deep faith Arjuna surpassing all contemporary great men was accepted as the best vessel of the teaching of the Gita.
In reply Sri Krishna first refuting Arjuna’s two objections then assumed the burden of the Guru and began to give real knowledge. Up to verse 38 is refutation of objections; after that the teaching of the Gita begins. But in this refutation of objections a few priceless teachings are found; unless one understands them the teaching of the Gita is not comprehended. It is necessary to discuss these few words in detail.
Sanjaya Uvacha
evamuktvā hṛṣīkeśaṁ guḍākeśaḥ parantapaḥ
na yotsya iti govindamuktvā tūṣṇīṁ babhūva ha (9)
Sanjaya said:
Gudakesha, terror of his enemies, having thus spoken to Hrishikesha, and said to Govinda, “I will not fight”, became silent.
tamuvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasanniva bhārata
senayorubhayormadhye viṣīdantamidaṁ vacaḥ (10)
Hrishikesha, smiling as it were, O Bharata, spoke these words to him, who was thus sorrowing between the two armies.
Shri Bhagavan Uvacha
aśocyānanvaśocastvaṁ prajñāvādāṁśca bhāṣase
gatāsūnagatāsūṁśca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ (11)
The Blessed Lord said:
“Thou grievest for those that should not be grieved for, yet speakest words of wisdom. The enlightened man does not mourn for the living or the dead.
na tvevāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param (12)
It is not true that at any time I was not, nor thou, nor these kings of men; nor is it true that any of us shall cease to be hereafter.
dehino’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntaraprāptirdhīrastatra na muhyati (13)
As the soul passes physically through childhood and youth and old age, so it passes on to the changing of the body. The calm and strong man is not bewildered thereby.
mātrāsparśāstu kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ
āgamāpāyino’nityāstāṁstitikṣasva bhārata (14)
Death is nothing. The material touches, O Son of Kunti, giving cold and heat, pleasure and pain, things transient which come and go, these learn to endure, O Bharata.
yaṁ hi na vyathayantyete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha
samaduḥkhasukhaṁ dhīraṁ so’mṛtatvāya kalpate (15)
That man whom these do not afflict, O Bull among men, who is steady in pain and pleasure and is firm, he becomes fit for immortality.
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayorapi dṛṣṭo’ntastvanayostattvadarśibhiḥ (16)
That which is not, cannot come into being; that which is, cannot cease to be. The limit of both of these has been perceived by the seers of truth.
avināśi tu tadviddhi yena sarvamidaṁ tatam
vināśamavyayasyāsya na kaścit kartumarhati (17)
Know that to be imperishable by which all this is pervaded. None can destroy that immutable Being.
antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
anāśino’prameyasya tasmād yudhyasva bhārata (18)
These bodies of the eternal embodied soul which is indestructible and immeasurable are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Bharata.
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaścainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate (19)
He who regards this as a slayer, and he who thinks this is slain, both of them fail to perceive the truth. It slays not, nor is slain.
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (20)
This is not born, nor does it die, nor is it a thing that comes into being once and ceases to be. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient; It is not slain when the body is slain.
vedāvināśinaṁ nityaṁ ya enamajamavyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam (21)
He who knows this as imperishable, eternal, unborn and immutable, how and whom does that man slay, O Partha, or cause to be slain?
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro’parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānyanyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī (22)
As a man casts off worn-out garments and takes others that are new, so the embodied soul casts off worn-out bodies and enters into others that are new.
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ (23)
Weapons cannot cleave it, nor the fire burn, nor do the waters drench it, nor the wind dry.
acchedyo’yamadāhyo’yamakledyo’śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇuracalo’yaṁ sanātanaḥ (24)
It is uncleavable, it is incombustible, it can neither be drenched nor dried. Eternally the same, all-pervading, stable, immovable and everlasting is the Self.
avyakto’yamacintyo’yamavikāryo’yamucyate
tasmādevaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśocitumarhasi (25)
This is unmanifest, unthinkable and immutable. Therefore knowing it as such, thou shouldst not grieve.
atha cainaṁ nityajātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛtam
tathāpi tvaṁ mahābāho nainaṁ śocitumarhasi (26)
Even if thou thinkest of it as being constantly born and constantly dying, even then, O Mighty-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmādaparihārye’rthe na tvaṁ śocitumarhasi (27)
For certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead; therefore what is inevitable ought not to be a cause of thy grief.
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni bhārata
avyaktanidhanānyeva tatra kā paridevanā (28)
Beings are unmanifest in the beginning, and unmanifest again in their end, but manifest in their middle, O Bharata; what cause is there for lamentation?
āścaryavat paśyati kaścidenam āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ
āścaryavaccainamanyaḥ śṛṇoti śrutvāpyenaṁ veda na caiva kaścit (29)
One looks on it as a wonder; another speaks of it as a wonder; another hears of it as a wonder; but even after hearing of it, no one knows it.
dehī nityamavadhyo’yaṁ dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṁ śocitumarhasi (30)
This dweller in the body of everyone is eternal and indestructible, O Bharata; therefore thou shouldst not grieve for any creature.”
The Unreality of Death
Hearing Arjuna’s words, a feeling of smile appeared on Sri Krishna’s face; that smile was full of fun and yet full of grace,—the Indweller smiled recognising the ancient delusion of the human race in Arjuna’s delusion; that delusion is born of Sri Krishna’s own Maya; He has subjected man to this Maya in order to exhaust evil, sorrow and weakness in the world through enjoyment and self-control. Attachment to life, fear of death, subjection to pleasure and pain, feeling of dear and disagreeable etc. ignorance which has been expressed in Arjuna’s words, this has to be removed from man’s intelligence to make the world free from evil; to prepare the favourable condition for that good work Sri Krishna has come; He is going to reveal the Gita. But first the delusion that has arisen in Arjuna’s mind has to be exhausted by enjoyment. Arjuna is Sri Krishna’s friend, representative of the human race; to him alone the Gita will be shown; he is the best recipient; but the human race has not yet become fit to receive the meaning of the Gita; Arjuna also could not receive the full meaning. The grief, sorrow and distress that arose in his mind, the human race is enjoying it fully in the Kali Yuga; Christianity bringing love, Buddhism bringing compassion, Islam bringing strength have come to lighten that suffering of sorrow. Today the first part of the Satya Yuga within the Kali Yuga will begin; God is again giving the Gita to India, to the descendants of the Kuru race; if we are able to receive, to hold, then the good of India, the good of the world is a certain result.
Sri Krishna said, Arjuna, you are judging sin and virtue like a pundit, speaking the truth of life and death, trying to prove what constitutes the welfare or ill-fare of the nation, but no sign of true knowledge is found in your words; rather every word of yours is full of gross ignorance. Speak plainly; my heart is weak, overwhelmed with grief, my intellect is averse to duty; there is no need to support your weakness by arguing like an ignorant person in the language of a wise man. Sorrow arises in the heart of every human being; every human being thinks death and separation very terrible, life invaluable, sorrow unbearable, duty hard, fulfilment of self-interest sweet, rejoices, grieves, laughs, weeps; but no one calls these faculties born of knowledge. You are grieving for those for whom it is improper to grieve. The wise grieve for no one,—neither for the dead nor for the living. He knows this—there is no death, no separation, no sorrow; we are immortal, we are eternally one, we are children of bliss, children of immortality; we have come to this earth to play hide and seek with life and death, with joy and sorrow—we are acting the play of laughter and tears in the vast theatre of Nature; dressing as friends and foes we are tasting the rasa of war and peace, love and quarrel. This short time that we live, we do not know where we shall go tomorrow or the day after leaving the body; this is only a moment in our infinite play, a momentary game, a feeling of a few hours. We were, we are, we shall be—eternal, everlasting, imperishable—we are lords of Nature, masters of life and death, parts of God, possessors of past, present and future. As childhood, youth, old age of the body, so attainment of another body,—death is only a name; hearing the name we get afraid, become sad; if we understood the thing we would not be afraid, would not be sad either. If calling the attainment of youth of a boy death we wept saying, Alas! where has that dear boy of ours gone, this young man is not that boy, where has my golden moon gone—everyone would call our behaviour ridiculous and born of gross ignorance; because this change of state is the law of Nature; in the boy’s body and in the youth’s body the same person remains steady transcending external change. The wise man, seeing the fear of death and grief at death of the ordinary man, sees his behaviour as ridiculous and born of gross ignorance in exactly the same way; because the attainment of another body is the law of Nature; in the gross body and in the subtle body the same person remains steady transcending external change. We are children of immortality; who dies, who kills? Death cannot touch us,—death is a blank sound, death is an illusion, there is no death.
Matra
The Soul is motionless, Nature is moving. The motionless Soul is situated in moving Nature. The Soul in Nature resorts to Nature to enjoy what it sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches through the five senses. We see form, hear sound, smell scent, taste relish, feel touch. Sound, touch, form, taste, smell, these five subtle elements are the objects of sense-enjoyment. The special object of the sixth sense, the mind, is impression. The object of the intellect is thought. For the feeling and enjoyment of the five subtle elements and impression and thought is the mutual contact and infinite play of Soul and Nature. This enjoyment is twofold, pure and impure. in pure enjoyment there is no pleasure and pain; there is only the eternal characteristic religion of the Soul, Delight. In impure enjoyment there is pleasure and pain; heat and cold, hunger and thirst, joy and grief etc. dualities agitate and disturb the impure enjoyer. Desire is the cause of impurity. Everyone who has desire is impure; he who is without desire is pure. Attraction and repulsion are created from desire; under the influence of attraction and repulsion the Soul becomes attached to objects; the result of attachment is bondage. The Soul being agitated and disturbed, even pained and tormented, becomes unable to abandon the cause of its agitation, pain or torment due to the fault of the habit of attachment.
Equanimity
Sri Krishna first mentioning the eternity of the Soul then showed the way to loosen the knot of ignorance. Mātrā means various contacts of objects, the cause of dualities like pleasure, pain etc. These contacts are transient; they have beginning and end; because they are transient attachment has to be abandoned. If we are attached to transient objects, we are pleased at their arrival, sad or pained at their destruction or absence. This state is called ignorance. In ignorance the eternal nature and homogeneous delight of the imperishable Soul are covered; we remain maddened only with momentary states and objects; we are plunged in the ocean of grief at the sorrow of their destruction. He who can endure the contacts of objects without being thus overwhelmed, that is, he who realising the duality can receive pleasure and pain, heat and cold, pleasant and unpleasant, good and evil, success and failure equally with a cheerful heart and smiling face without feeling joy and grief, that person becomes free from attraction and repulsion; cutting the knot of ignorance becomes able to realise the eternal nature and delight,—amṛtatvāya kalpate.
The Virtue of Equality
This equality is the first teaching of the Gita. Equality is the foundation of the Sadhana of the Gita. The Greek Stoic sect obtaining this teaching of equality from India preached the doctrine of equality in Europe. The Greek philosopher Epicurus seizing another side of the teaching preached by Sri Krishna preached the teaching of calm enjoyment, Epicureanism or the doctrine of enjoyment. These two views, Stoicism and Epicureanism were known as the best ethical views of ancient Europe; and in modern Europe also assuming new forms created the eternal conflict of Puritanism and Paganism. But in the Sadhana of the Gita the doctrine of equality and calm or pure enjoyment are the same thing. Equality is the cause, pure enjoyment is the effect. In equality attachment dies; attraction and repulsion are pacified; in the destruction of attachment and pacification of attraction and repulsion purity is born. The enjoyment of the pure man is devoid of desire and attachment; therefore pure. In this lies the virtue of equality that attachment and attraction and repulsion cannot exist in the same vessel with equality. Equality is the seed of purity.
Conquest of Grief
