Gita 02.38 – To reconcile the Gita’s contradictions, recognize the multi-level nature of its discussions

Ahead of you and therefore become determined and fight, oh Arjuna.

This verse marks one of the many challenging shift in levels in the Bhagavad Gita that make it puzzling and bewildering for the unguided readers. The previous section from 2.31 to 2.37 talk at the level of Karmakand. This section is talking at the level of Karma Yoga and the considerations, the calculations are quite different at these two levels.

And that is why it is important to recognize that the Bhagavad Gita, although it is one conversation, it is at different levels and without looking at the multilevel nature of the Gita, one will go into multiple confusions and if one thinks one understands the Gita, then one will see multiple contradictions and one may reject the Gita and one may even blaspheme the Gita, criticize the Gita for being incoherent. So, what is the contradiction in this context that is created by the multilevel nature of the message of the Gita? In this verse, Krishna is telling, sukhe, dukhe, same, kritva, be equipoised amidst happiness and distress. Similarly, be equipoised amidst gain and loss and victory and defeat.

Tato yudhaya yujyasva. Therefore, fight for the sake of fighting. Naivam paapam avapsisi.

If you do like this, you will not get any paap, you will not get any sinful reaction. So, we will look at this theme of being equipoised amidst happiness and distress more in detail in future verses. But here, let us focus on the more generic theme of how we all need to recognize the multiple levels in the Gita, if you want to understand the Gita.

Previous verse was talking about how Arjuna, you will get so much dukha, kato dukkha tarannu dukhim. What can be more painful for you? That was what was taught in 36th verse. And the implicit idea is that if something is so painful, why would you do it? You would not do it.

So, avoiding the painful is a natural common sense action. So, if something is painful, often there is no need even to tell that it has to be avoided. Just stating that it is painful, even a person with basic common sense will avoid it.

So, after having said that this is going to be painful and therefore you should not do this, now suddenly Krishna is telling that be equipoised amidst happiness and distress. Sukhe dukhe same krtva. So, dukha tarannu, Krishna has even used the same word.

Dukha, that was used in 2.36 as something to be avoided. And now, the same word dukha is used in 2.38 to talk about something which you should be equipoised towards. Same krtva.

Now, after talking about it, he says, labha labhau jaya jayau. So, whether you get profit or loss or victory or defeat, now do not consider these calculations at all. So, now we may, actually Krishna had talked earlier about how, you know, just the previous verse, he talked about how there will be labha both ways for you.

If you die in the war, you will get the labha going to swarga. And in fact, Krishna had used again the similar word, labhante yuddha midrisham. That the word labha is related with the labhante.

So, to gain such a battle itself is a gain because swarga dwaram upavritam, a battle like this, opens the door to heaven and therefore, sukhena should be happy. Kshatriyas would be happy to get a battle like this. But you are not being happy.

Why is that? So, again, the point here is that Krishna is telling Arjuna to rise to higher level. What is that higher level? There is the knowledge of the soul which is implicit in karmakanda. That if one is going, karmakanda is basically the idea that one can do religion to improve oneself materially.

So, yes, we want to enjoy and the shastra will tell us that rise to heavens. And by rising to heavens, we will enjoy more over there. So, at the level of karmakanda, shastra does not reject the enjoy mentality, but regulate the enjoy mentality within the precincts of dharma and rewards it if one does dharmic activities.

And by this, one actually develops faith in dharma. And gradually one wants to move from apara dharma, lower, apara is lower or material dharma. One wants to rise towards para dharma, that is spiritual dharma.

So, now, Arjuna is being asked over here that he has been talking at this level, Krishna and Arjuna have been talking at that level of apara dharma. But gradually, if we truly understand that we are not the body or the soul, then we understand that material things cannot actually satisfy us. To be truly satisfied, we need spiritual things.

And the ultimate spiritual thing is spiritual love for Krishna. And now the Bhagavad Gita is gradually moving towards that level. Spiritual love for Krishna is the ultimate thing, because that brings the ultimate happiness and that takes us to the highest spiritual reality, which is Krishna and his abode.

Now, the journey towards relishing spiritual emotions begins by distancing oneself from material emotions. Just like if somebody is watching the TV and is caught in the movie in the TV. Now, there might be a good friend sitting next by wanting to talk with the person who is watching the TV.

But if that person is not paying any attention to his friend and is caught watching the TV, then that person cannot relish the emotions of friendship with that friend, the emotions associated with friendship, the reciprocation of emotions, the joy thereof. So, the way to relish that friendship is to turn the eyes away from the TV and talk with the friend. Now, of course, we may say, oh, two friends can watch the TV together and enjoy the program also.

But suppose that program, the friend suppose has something much more important to talk and that television is an interaction, is a distraction at that time. And then the person who wants to have friendship and enjoys friendship has to stop watching the TV. So, like that, we are Atma and our consciousness is projected into the body and through the body into the outer world.

So, this we will talk about when we come to 13.22 and 13.23 in the Bhagavad Gita. That Purusha, the soul becomes Prakriti Sthohi, becomes situated in Prakriti. Why? Bhukti, because of the desire to enjoy Prakriti Jaan Gunaan, the products of material nature.

So, just like a person consciously lets one's consciousness get locked in the TV, lodged and locked in the TV, because that person wants to enjoy watching the movie, enjoying whatever is going to be displayed in the movie. And because of that bhok, bhunkte, because of the desire to enjoy, one gets entangled. And then Karanam Guna Sangosya, So, one goes through a panorama of emotions, which have nothing to do with one's real life, because one's consciousness is lodged and locked in the TV.

Similarly, when the soul's consciousness is lodged and locked in the body, then the soul experiences many material emotions. And overall, although there is, we say Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, sometimes happiness, sometimes distress. Actually, there is predominantly distress at the material level.

And there is old age, there is disease, there is death, there is predominantly distress. And that distress cannot be overcome very easily. So, therefore, it cannot be overcome actually at all at the material level.

So, we only have to rise to the spiritual level and then we may be able to deal with that distress. So, Krishna is being told, Krishna is telling Arjuna over here, that now don't just consider the soul as something incidental, which will go to the heaven so that one can continue material happiness. Rather, the soul is something essential.

The soul is a real you. And the soul's happiness is at the spiritual level. And you are meant to delight in that happiness.

And for that, for relishing happiness at the level of the soul, you have to distance yourself from emotions at the level of the body. And that is why he is telling over here, be equal poised. And specifically, Krishna, now Krishna will talk about spiritual emotions positively much later.

Arjuna's primary consideration here is, or at least one of his major hesitations in not fighting was papa. So, Krishna is going to tell him that actually, you can avoid all material entanglement entirely by acting with detachment. To yudha yudhisva, fight for the sake of fighting.

This idea of doing the duty for the sake of duty, that we will discuss later in the verses of this chapter, when we go into more into Karma Yoga. But here, the point is, do your duty without getting emotionally entangled in its results. And if you are not emotionally entangled, you will not get karmically entangled also.

So, Krishna will address Arjuna's anxiety, Arjuna's concern, his fear about, won't I get karmic reactions by fighting? So, Krishna is addressing this at a higher level at the beginning of the level of Karma Yoga. And he says that the way to address it is by working with detachment. So, the contradiction between the calculations in 2.37 and 38 are because of the ascension of the discussion, ascension means to rise upward, ascent, the ascension of a discussion to a higher, more spiritual level.

And by knowing about this multi-level structure of the Gita's discussion, we can avoid thinking that the Gita is incoherent, but rather see the deeper progressive.