Chapter 2: Sloka 1-3
Lord
Krishna’s words after having kept quiet for 48 slokas, is very direct and
addresses Arjuna as disgraceful, heaven-excluding, impotent and weak of heart.
Arjuna has still not asked Lord Krishna for help. So Krishna is now being only
transactional just like a charioteer would be to their boss, a normal friend to
another friend and so on. Vedhantha advises one not to impart knowledge until
it is sought! So Krishna is trying to get his objectives met with minimal “gyan
baatna”. He is attempting to just give Arjuna the shock treatment and get this war
going. Let’s see when Arjuna will ask for help! He hasn’t done so yet!
Surrender is the key to getting Purna Vidya. He is still resisting and so
Krishna doesn’t give him anything more than a transactional imploration!
Chapter 2: Sloka 4-6
Arjuna wonders why he should fight Bhisma and
Drona, who are fit to be worshiped by him. He is willing to beg and eat rather
than slay his noble teachers. He also wonders if it is important that either
the pandavas or kauravas conquer the world.
These are thoughts coming from the greatest warrior on
earth at that time. For once, I wouldn't infer that Arjuna was afraid of battle
but he is getting confused between what is "right thing to do-Dharma"
and what feels right. Feelings would line up with "Dharma" if and only
if you experience the union of body, mind and soul. Guruji has taught a
technique to center your mind with body and soul which helps align body, mind
and soul.
Arjuna is not exhibiting "clarity of thought".
Arjuna trained his body and mind together for his craft but he hasnt trained
his body, mind to align with his soul for a second. Don't we all struggle to do
the same?
Chapter 2: Sloka 7
Arjuna say’s
his heart is overpowered by pity, mind confused about duty and says he is
Krishna’s disciple and he is asking for instruction and that he is taking
refuge in Krishna
My Guruji
talks about distinction between a teacher and Guru. Teacher would be sharing information
and teaching a craft of some kind whereas a Guru owns the disciple and takes on
his/her Karma, removes spiritual darkness and takes one’s hand and leads in the
path of spiritual knowledge. Guru is an exalted relationship with a disciple
and my experiential reality is that it is the most selfless human act from a
realized master to impart Purna Vidya to a disciple. The only relationship
which compares is that of a mother giving birth to a child-ranks highest among
selfless human acts. I am using Swami Chinmayanandaji’s translation of the
verse and his choice of words from Arjuna to Krishna is requesting Krishna to
be disciple and instructor. Arjuna is not surrendering to Krishna. He is asking
him to be his teacher and instructor. Krishna being “compassion” personified is
going to still teach him the highest knowledge but as you will see, Arjuna is
not ready for the knowledge. He will most likely process this teaching as
“information”. My last 2 plus years in India exposed me a bit more to Indian education
system and I realized that the teacher student relationship is just information
sharing and not knowledge creation. Point to ponder! Most of us spend our
entire lives gathering information and this new age when information is
available at one’s fingertips are not helpful to experience deep knowledge of
anything. Information when drilled into us with real life experience turns into
knowledge. That’s why professional education looks to give “on the job
training”. This purna vidya is completely futile without “on the job training”!
Chapter
2 verse 8-10
In
verses 8-10 Arjuna says that victory in the war and thus winning the kingdom is
not going to make him happy. Hence Arjuna refuses to fight.
This
is a classic midlife crisis for Arjuna. We all are subject to this when we
question the utility and futility of life and our pursuits. His primary
identity in this life is that of a great warrior and his role in this war is to
lead the Pandavas army to victory against the evil forces of Kauravas.
Yet Arjuna is very confused. This is the mind playing tricks on him. We tend to
freeze sometimes not knowing what to do. In these times, we either closeout
near and dear from our lives and draw ourselves in a cocoon or cry out for
help. At this point in time, if we get lucky, we get divine help like Arjuna is
now about to get. However, another important factor is to recognize that you
are getting divine help. It is key not to resist divine help. Arjuna due to the
blessings from his ancestors, his own punya karma from this life and past
lives, his Guru Bhakti (Drona in this case and not really Krishna-Krishna is
just his friend and a teacher at best. He doesn’t consider him his Guru) has
been given an opportunity to get divine help in his predicament. How does he leverage
it remains to be seen? Are we all open to getting divine help even when it is
offered? What are we resisting in our lives? Point to ponder?
No comments:
Post a Comment