Bhagavad gita summarized through Arjuna’s 17 questions

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Jai! The Bhagavad Gita, as you know, is a book of questions and answers.
So we’ll go over quickly the 17 questions in the Bhagavad Gita that are primarily questions and I’ll focus on one question which will guide us about how we can pursue this balance and what it means. So on the occasion of Gita Jayanti, we had a series of 18 classes on the Bhagavad Gita. So different devotees spoke, I spoke quite a few classes.
So I’m continuing that today. So let’s begin. So we… Okay.
So here we have the Gita itself begins with a question. Hare Krishna! Jai! Thank you. So today I was preparing for this Bhagavad Gita class.
I was remembering the Atharva classes that you were giving. That was the time when I got some taste for the Bhagavad Gita. So whatever I speak is like Vrindan Das Thakur offering something to Krishna Das Kairava Sorry Krishna Das Kairava Swami offering something to Vrindan Das Thakur.
So the 17 questions in the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita begins with Arjuna’s dilemma. Prachamitvam dharmasamudhachetaha So that is the underlying question that leads to the entire discussion of the Gita.
Dharma in this context is what is the right thing to do? What should I do? Should I fight or should I not fight? So in answering those questions, when Krishna makes different points, Arjuna asks different questions. So when Krishna describes the Nishkama Karma Yogi, then Arjuna asks what are the characteristics of that Nishkama Karma Yogi? So that is the second question which comes in 2.54. Then when Krishna concludes by talking about how Nishkama Karma Yogi is very shanta. So shanti madhi gacchati.
Then Arjuna gets confused because Krishna is talking about inner shanti and Arjuna is thinking about outer shanti. So inner peace and outer peace. So he says Krishna, if you want peace, why are you asking me to fight? So that is the reason for this 3rd chapter, 1st and 2nd verses.
This is the question. What do you exactly want me to do? Fight or renounce? And then again Krishna talks about how we should perform work with detachment. Krishna talks about Karma Yoga which culminates in Bhakti Yoga.
But he emphasizes the Nishkama aspect of Karma Yoga. Then Arjuna asks towards the end of the 3rd chapter that okay, we may understand this is my duty but what is it that diverts us from duty? What is it that deviates us from the right thing to do? So one thing is that we don’t know what is the right thing to do. That requires intelligence we can say.
To know what is the right thing to do. But even after we know what is the right thing to do, it’s not easy to do the right thing. So what is it that deviates us? And Krishna answers that is Kama.
And that is the 3rd question. The 336. Then Krishna answers this.
Krishna says that Kama is Nityavairi. It is that Kama doesn’t specifically refer only to lust. It refers to any kind of selfish or self-destructive desires.
Then Krishna says how throughout history, since the dawn of time, I have provided a system of knowledge by which one can counter Kama. So Jnana to help us counter Kama. So the Jnana itself doesn’t counter Kama but Jnana about the process of Yoga by which you can counter Kama.
And Krishna says that I gave this knowledge at the dawn of creation to Suryadev. Then at that point Arjuna said hey, wait a minute. Suryadev is much much senior to you.
So how did you speak to him? So that is the question in the 4th chapter. Then after that Krishna now talks a little bit more about Jnana. So initially he has introduced the concept of Karma Yoga but then he goes deeper into what is the Jnana that can help Karma to become Yoga.
We are all doing activity but how can we do activity in the mood of selflessness? For that we need Jnana. So that Jnana Krishna gives. But then at the end of the 4th chapter Krishna talks about, therefore Arjuna you should fight.
Now this may seem to be like a clue, okay, Krishna wants Arjuna to fight. But what Krishna does is therefore you fight with the sword of knowledge. And so in the entire chapter Krishna has not used any word about Yuddha.
Krishna has said go to Guru and surrender and get knowledge. So Arjuna starts thinking should I be fighting or should I be going to find a Guru? What should I be doing? So again in the 5th chapter he asks Krishna what do you want me to do actually? Which is better? Is it action that is better or renunciation that is better? Then Krishna describes the process of Karma Yoga in greater detail. Here it is Karma Yoga with the foundation of Jnana much more clearly delineated.
And then Karma Yoga involves engagement in the world. Eventually when one has pacified the mind substantially, one can renounce the world. And that’s the 6th chapter Krishna talks about Dhyana Yoga.
And Dhyana Yoga centers a lot on managing the mind. So after hearing this process Arjuna feels hey, this process is not practical for me. The mind is very difficult to control.
So actually after hearing this process about Dhyana Yoga Arjuna has two questions, two reservations. One is this process is controlling the mind is extremely difficult. So then Krishna is reassuring.
He says it’s difficult but it’s possible if you follow the right process. Krishna doesn’t tell here what the right process is. There is like a Bhagavad Gita is like a, you know, you have a treasure hunt.
So there are clues given. Oh you go in this direction, go in this direction, this direction. So it’s like that.
So in the 6th chapter Krishna says if you follow the right process then you can attain success. Then Arjuna has another question. Okay, but how long will success take? What if I run out of time? What if I die before I can attain spiritual success? And then Krishna answers by talking about how spiritual growth is never lost.
Talks about how it will continue on. It will stay with us and it will move forward in the next life. So then this is where the 6th chapter ends.
And in one sense till now Krishna has been talking about Nishkam and Anasakti, Virakti and suddenly the tone changes in the 7th chapter. Krishna begins the 7th chapter not with Anasakti but Asakti. But Asakti to Krishna.
So this is what our Acharya says. The transition from Karma Yoga to Bhakti Yoga. So 7th chapter describes Bhakti Yoga.
And then sometimes when a speaker is giving a class at that time they may deliberately make some points which should raise a question. And if nobody asks a question, that means the audience is absent. They may be mentally absent or they may be physically absent also.
If you are on Zoom you don’t know who is there. So Krishna he drops 6 terms out of no context in one sense. So He drops those terms.
And then in one sense he is checking. Will Arjuna ask about this? So in one sense most of those terms they are not referred to before or after. Only for those 4-5 verses.
2 verses in the last 8th chapter and 2 verses in the 3-4 verses, sorry 2 verses in the 7th chapter and 4 verses in the 8th chapter. Of course there is a whole in the Upanishads Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva, Adiyajna are elaborate subject. And Krishna is very terse.
He just gives one verse definition. Not even one verse, one fourth of a verse definition at times. And many Gita commentators have actually they have a lot of challenges explaining what Krishna is trying to say over there.
But Krishna focuses on what is relevant. See that is the expertise of Krishna. Sometimes what happens, a speaker is giving a class and the audience ask some tangential question.
So then what do you do? So generally I used to say that can we stick to questions on the topic. So I was in Australia, New Zealand, especially New Zealand. So there the devotees told me never say something like this.
It is because actually we often use, you see western people are all western. But every country has its own distinctive culture. So Americans are like on the top of the world.
They are very aggressive, very in your face. But Australia if you consider, Australians are in your face only in cricket. They will sledge and do all kinds of things.
But otherwise they are very laid back. So the organizers told me if an Australian asks a question, if it is in the middle of the class, see that as an encouraging sign. See that they are actually being involved.
They are interested enough and courageous enough to ask a question. So then even if the question is tangential, it depends on the speaker’s expertise to get the discussion back on track. So answer the question slightly and then come back on track.
So in one sense here Krishna only takes the discussion on a tangent. But then he brings it back. So he brings points which are in one sense tangential to the Gita.
But then in that the last point that is, because Arjuna is on a battlefield. Death can happen anytime literally speaking. But on a battlefield death is much more real.
Just one bullet away at any time. One arrow or one sword away. So Krishna focuses on Antakaal.
That is the 8th chapter. That is where actually Krishna answers Arjuna’s question. He is talking about Dhyana Yoga and he says the right process will help you to control the mind.
But in the 8th chapter Krishna contrasts Dhyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga and there is only one verse in the Gita where Krishna says this process is easy. That is in the Tatsyam Sulabha Partha. So Sulabha easily obtained and that is talking about Bhakti Yoga.
That is 8.14. That is where he answers that question. Then after that, now it is fascinating that how sometimes Krishna speaks, goes to a new chapter without any questions from Arjuna also. So Krishna is speaking about Bhakti Yoga.
In the 8th chapter he concludes that and he eagerly goes forward and continues about Bhakti Yoga in the 9th chapter. And he continues about Bhakti Yoga in the 10th chapter. And that is where the Chatu Shloki comes in.
Now in one sense after the Chatu Shloki Arjuna speaks that I accept what you say. You are Parambrahma, Parambdhama, Sarvam Itadratamanya. I accept everything.
So in one sense we can analyze that if we consider the Bhagavad Gita to be like a class it is driven by a particular question. But the Bhagavad Gita as a class ends by the 10th chapter. And after that our question answers after the class.
why I am putting it that way although it is between only one person one teacher and one student but it is somewhat difficult to find the link between one question and another question. Just like if an audience is asking a question if you try to find out, okay this question was asked after this question was asked. Is there a link between the two questions? Well not necessarily.
Isn’t it different people may be thinking different things in their mind? Or the same person may also have different questions in their mind which they are just asking one after the other. So the 10th question this 10th chapter question is the 7th question. That is what we will be focusing on in our class.
I will just complete the Bhagavad Gita over you quickly. So here Krishna speaks in the Chatur Shloki Bhagavad Gita about how the great devotees they are completely absorbed in Krishna. They discuss about Krishna.
They delight in discussing about Krishna. So now Arjuna says that hey there is nothing about the fighting a war over here. And by now he is clear that Krishna wants him to fight a war.
Krishna has told us so many times. He is clear that he wants him to fight a war. So then Arjuna asks okay and how can I remember you in this world? He told me the great devotees remember me.
He also told me to fight. So ma manusmara yudhyaja. So how do I remember you in this world? And that is where Krishna introduced the concept of vibhuti.
We will discuss what vibhuti is. And then towards the end of the vibhuti Krishna explains that I sustain the whole world by just one fraction of myself. So then Arjuna asks can you please reveal that vision of how you sustain the world, how you contain the world.
So in one sense what Arjuna has spoken earlier what Krishna has spoken earlier So now Arjuna says please please show me your opulence in a form not just the knowledge of how you exist throughout the world, how you pervade the world, how you contain the world. But I want to see that. And then Krishna shows the it is technically called.
So many times when devotees ask something from Krishna it is you know what is that saying that beware of your desires they may be fulfilled. So what happens is that Krishna he says yes I will show you the vishwaroopa but I will show you something more. Something which you have not seen.
Something which no one has seen. Something which has never been seen I will show you. So see what happened like earlier I said the questioner may have a particular purpose in asking the question.
But the teacher has a particular purpose in giving the class and giving the answer also. So the expert teacher what he does is answers the question but also continues the purpose. So Krishna shows the vishwaroopa to Arjuna.
But Krishna also shows something extra and that is the kaalroopa. The vishwaroopa has shown many times before. Whom has he shown earlier vishwaroopa? Duryodhan.
He has also shown to Madhuri Shodha. Thank you. He also shows after the war to Uttangarishi.
But none of them he shows the kaalroopa. Now why does he show the kaalroopa? Arjuna is hesitant should I fight or should I not fight? So Krishna wants to show Arjuna that it is not you who are causing the death of all these people. By their actions they are meant to die.
So that is why Krishna shows this vishwaroopa, this kaalroopa within the vishwaroopa. And Arjuna is observing and he is he is marveling at the So I can’t see the beginning, I can’t see the middle, I can’t see the end. I am seeing everywhere your vishwaroopa.
And he knows he has heard about the vishwaroopa but suddenly he starts seeing something quite ghastly. He sees teeth coming out of the mouth and then there are the warriors entering into the mouth and the warrior’s head is clashing against the teeth. means the best part of the body is the head.
means smashing apart. And then that the vishwaroopa is actually taking out his tongue and licking the blood that is coming out. What is this? So he asks Who? Who are you? So it is like, even when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna, he says But when he sees the vishwaroopa, that becomes bhavan.
So what is the difference between tvam and bhavan? It’s like, you know, somebody will call in English there is no difference in second person pronouns. You. It’s only you.
But in Hindi we have tu and aap. So we might pick up a phone kaun hai tu? And maybe it’s our boss. So the tu becomes aap.
So like that, tvam becomes bhavan. When he sees this vishwaroopa. But another interesting thing is he has already identified that this is the vishwaroopa.
But then still he is asking, who are you? And it is that actually, when he is seeing the vishwaroopa he is not seeing Krishna. Krishna shows the vishwaroopa in one sense. The whole battlefield itself and Krishna on the battlefield becomes unmanifested.
That’s why he is not asking Krishna, who is that? There is no Krishna for him to see. So he is seeing So he has already identified the vishwaroopa. Then why is he asking, who are you? So it’s like, suppose we are just going for a walk with a friend and we have known that friend for many years and suddenly some thugs pounce upon us.
And then our friend suddenly exhibits some martial art moves and all those 10 thugs are knocked down on the ground. Who are you? So when we see some unknown dimension in a known person, then we ask, who are you? Sometimes a person behaves like this. A person is very introvert and very reclusive and suddenly that person says, yeah, I’ll come to your party, I’ll come to your yatra, I’ll come to your this.
Who are you? And what have you done to my introvert friend? Where has he gone? So when we see something new in somebody familiar, we ask, what is this? Who are you? So that is the question. Arjuna knows that this is vishwaroopa but this kala dimension he has not seen. And that is why, what is Krishna’s answer? When, who are you? He doesn’t say, I am vishwaroopa.
He says, I am kaalosmi lokakshayakrutapravuddho. Kaalosmi. Time I am.
Now time does all three things. Time creates, time maintains and time destroys. But specifically on the war field, time has come to destroy and therefore kaalosmi lokakshayakrutapravuddho.
I have come to destroy the worlds. And then, this is the only section in the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna offers prayers. You know, this is, he is seeing the viratroopa and he offers prayers.
After that, that chapter ends and then Arjuna, as I said, the moral of the question and answer session is going on now. So Arjuna has a question that, at the end of the eleventh chapter, after Krishna shows the viratroopa, he shows that, he again shows the vishwaroopa and then he comes back to his vibhuja, krishna roopa. And he says, this krishna roopa is the rarest.
The viratroopa is rare to see but krishna roopa is the rarest to see. sudurdarshamidam roopam devapyasya roopasya nityam nityam darshanakamsina devatas, long proceeds roopa. So that is the end of the eleventh chapter.
So at that time, Arjuna has a question, okay, you just said that the form that pervades all of existence materially, the form that contains your manifestation, that contains all of existence materially, that is subordinate to your personal manifestation. Then what about your manifestation that pervades all of existence spiritually? Which is the spiritual all-pervasive manifestation? Brahman. So which is higher? Is that higher or is your personal manifestation higher? And krishna very categorically declares that it is a personal manifestation that is higher.
Tesham aham samudarta. Not only is the personal manifestation higher, worshipping the personal manifestation is also better for us. Because that personal divinity intervenes and uplifts us.
So then that ends the twelfth chapter. And then at this point, again, now, the most difficult to trace link between a question and what comes before that is the thirteenth chapter. Thirteenth chapter, Arjuna suddenly asks a question, that kshetra kshetra gna, purusha purvakrti.
Now there is nothing about kshetra kshetra purusha prakriti in any of the previous chapters, at least the previous chapters. So as I said, this is Arjuna asking questions he has already had. See, Arjuna was, they were existing at a time when the sankhya philosophy was very widespread.
And so now Krishna has heard, Arjuna has heard what Krishna has spoken and Arjuna wants to know, okay, in what you have explained just now, how does the sankhya worldview fit in? So just like we may have heard something, say we maybe, somebody might be very devoted to nationalism and we talk about parabhakti. Okay, how does nationalism relate with parabhakti? So I know something, how does it fit with that? So that’s why when Arjuna is asking about six terms, he’s not only asking about those six terms, he’s asking about the worldview underlying those six terms. So Krishna explains those six terms and then next chapter he introduces three modes of material nature.
So these six terms, they’re answered in 13th chapter. Then as a part of sankhya, see generally when a person asks a question, you can answer the specific question or you can answer the and address the underlying intent in that question. So Arjuna is not interested in just terms over there.
Although he’s asking about terms, he doesn’t have to apply for an exam where he has to give definition of those terms. Those terms are indication of his desire to know about the underlying worldview. So Krishna explains a fundamental element of that sankhya worldview and that is the modes.
And then when Krishna speaks about the modes, Arjuna actually has a question. The modes are binding us, the modes are entangling us. Then how do we go beyond the modes? How can we know who has gone beyond the modes? So that we can follow the example.
And there, from the 13th chapter onwards this is the jnana section of the Bhagavad Gita. The first verse 1 to 6 is karma section, 7 to 12 is direct bhakti and 13 to 18 is jnana section. So in that section, what happens is Krishna tells Arjuna that how through jnana you can come towards bhakti.
That’s why in the 14th chapter also Krishna says, the modes are entangling, but the way out of the modes is māṁ ca yo vichāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate. So bhakti-yoga he emphasizes. Then at the end of the 14th chapter Krishna, that question is answered, but Krishna continues speaking, explain the sankhya worldview from another perspective, that is the upside down tree, that is the 15th chapter.
And then after he describes this 15th chapter there also he brings in bhakti quite categorically. After that he talks about, okay, what are the bottom and top parts of the tree, that is the daiva and asura sampada. And so in the 15th and 16th chapter there are no questions.
And at the end of the 16th chapter what happens Krishna talks about two extremes. That those who yaha śāstra vidyam utsrujya vartate kāmakārataḥ. So he talks about those who reject śāstra and act according to kāma, that is the asuri.
And then those who follow śāstra and regulate their kāma, tasmād śāstram pramāṇam. So he talks about these two categories. So the Arjuna says what about those who are in between? yaha śāstra vidyam utsrujya vartate Å›raddhāyānvitah teṣāṁ niṣṭhātu kākṛṣṇa sattva-māhau rajas-tamaḥ So it’s like, generally education begins with black and white.
Like if somebody wants to teach a child about colors, okay, this is black, this is white, they are easy to recognize. But if a child, all that a child recognizes is black and white and never comes to learn shades of grey, then the child’s education will be incomplete. But if you start with shades of grey only, you know this is light grey, this is dark grey, oh really, child will get confused.
So you start with black and white and then bring in shades of grey. So that’s what, Krishna starts with black and white and then Arjuna asks questions about shades of grey. And then Krishna says, okay, then how do you know what is the level of faith of those who are not necessarily following śāstra? So this is, he says that look at how they live.
Look at how they live. And how we live can be seen by what they eat, what kind of sacrifices they do, what kind of charity they give, what kind of austerities they perform. Now here when Krishna talks about yagya, dāna, tapa, it is not just specific rituals.
It is in general, how does one belong to the universe. So broadly speaking, dāna refers to how one belongs to human society. Are we just taking from human society or also given to human society? Yagya refers to how we belong to the universe.
We are taking so much from the universe. What are we doing in return for the universe? And tapa, in one sense, refers to how we belong to the body. We are living in the body, but are we simply using the body for gratification or also engaging in some discipline for the health of the body? Then at the end, 18th chapter is the last question.
So here, in one sense, this is a summary. Arjuna wants to get a conclusive understanding. That is, I want to know about the tattva of tyāga and vairāgya.
That is, what is the actual truth of renunciation and of the renounced order? Truth Prabhupāda translates as purpose. What is the truth? What is the true purpose of those things? These are the 18 questions in the Bhagavad Gita. This is a quick overview of the Bhagavad Gita.
So in answering the 18 questions, Krishna actually does an overview of the entire Bhagavad Gita. It starts from Karma Yoga, which is described from verses 2 to 48. 49 to 53, he talks about Jnana Yoga.
And then 54 to 72, he talks about Bhakti Yoga. So that’s why the 18th chapter is also called as a summary of the Bhagavad Gita.