Gita 18.74 The Gita describes a mahatama and makes its hearer into a mahatma

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 18.74 Here he is speaking in this way. In this way, he is saying, I have heard. What have I heard? The conversation.
The conversation between the two great souls, Vasudev and Partham. I have heard. It is astonishing.
It is so wonderful that it is Romaharshanam. It is causing my hair to stand up. Romaharshanam.
Harsha is jubilation. Roma is hair. So, when the hair stands up in jubilation, that is what is being talked about here.
Ityaham. So, from 74 to 78 are verses that Sanjay speaks expressing his feelings, his thoughts, his feelings after hearing the Gita. So, we could say this is the conclusion which is spoken by the narrator, not by the speaker.
Just like if we have a class, sometimes there might be a, if we have a talk or a program, we might have MC for the program. And that MC introduces the speaker and then when the talk is over, the MC speaks the final words. So, similarly here, Sanjay is playing that role, speaking the final words and as compared to the total 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita, out of which almost all of, majority of them are spoken by Krishna.
Here, he is concluding in his five verses. Ityaham. In this way, in this way, this is what I heard.
So, Sanjay is in Hastinapur with with Rashtra whereas the war is happening in Kurukshetra and that is where also the power of the issue is, that is where the Bhagavad Gita is also spoken. The extremely extraordinary and elevated, exalted conversation is spoken over there. Now, Parthasya cha Mahatmanah.
Mahatma is a great soul and Krishna is using Mahatmanah, plural over here to refer to two great souls. In this way, that which is a conversation between two great souls, I heard it. On hearing it, I have now moved forwards in my life.
But, this is not just another experience that one has and one moves on. It is a life transforming experience. For most of us, we operate with our senses and if our senses can be extended, say, if we can see behind a wall to someone and see what they are doing there, that would just be interesting.
If we could hear, could see and hear what is spoken say, at another place far away, that would be interesting. But, if we could, on the other hand, not only have extraordinary perception, capacity to perceive, but, but also, what was perceived was also extraordinary. That means that sometimes there is a reality TV in which people’s routine lives are depicted.
But, after some time, it just becomes boring if nothing exciting happens. If we are spying on someone and then we see them doing extraordinary things, then there is not much excitement in it. Afterwards, it becomes boring.
But, if we have a telescope, binoculars or a telescope, some device by which we can see somebody in a distant place and then what we see them doing is also extraordinary, then it becomes more noteworthy. So, he had the extraordinary ability to hear and see like by a mystic television. What is happening far away? But, not only was the capacity to perceive extraordinary, but the object that is perceived was also extraordinary.
In this case, what was perceived was the saṃvādaṃ maśhrauṣaṃ we heard this conversation, adbhutam rao maharshanam is an extraordinary conversation. Generally, for two people, to have a conversation is nothing extraordinary. But, for two people, to have a conversation just before a war and significance becomes much more.
But, for the two of them to have a conversation just before a war, and if that completely changes the disposition of one of them, that’s even more extraordinary. And, if while changing the disposition of one of them, there is an enormous amount of fidelity as an extraordinary content within it. there is a fidelity in terms of everything is being replied as, is conveyed as it is by Sanjay.
But, the fidelity in terms of the accuracy of reproduction of content. But, the content itself is special. It is not just some pep talk by which one of them is inspired to do the bidding of the other person.
But, it is a profoundly empowering, transforming conversation that has ramifications which are universal. A conversation that every single person who hears it can benefit from it. It is a question about Dharma.
What is Dharma? What is duty? And, how can duty be perceived in a way that is holistic, that is beneficial for that answer is the need of everyone. So, Bhagavad Gita goes to our deepest identity to provide us direction amidst our darkest dilemmas. So, external situations are very difficult for us when it is very difficult to decide what is to be done, what is not to be done.
At that time, if we could have a means by which somebody could learn and imply and improve themselves. Such universal principles are spoken by Krishna in this message. And, the result of this is he is saying that both of them are Mahatmas.
The word Mahatma literally means Maha Atma. Atma, a soul who is great. This is, at a literal level, it doesn’t make sense because the soul is not great, the soul is tiny.
The Bhagavad Gita indicates that the soul is so small as to be immeasurable, aprameyasya. Other scriptures give us an indication of how small and they say that it is as small as say, Keshagra Shatabhagasya Shatadhakalpidasya It is as small as the tip of a hair. One ten thousandth tip of a hair.
So, the point is that the soul is very small. So, then what does Mahatma mean? It is the Atma that becomes great by great actions. And the greatest action is the action that is in harmony with the greatest soul.
The Bhagavad Gita reveals how Krishna is a Mahatma because he is the greatest soul, he is the super soul, he is the supreme being, he is the being from whom everything has emanated. So, referring to Krishna as a Mahatma is fine, but referring to Arjuna as Mahatma, Krishna has defined Mahatma earlier as One who with no distraction focuses wholeheartedly on absorption of Krishna, one pointed attention, that person is a Mahatma. One who wholeheartedly surrenders to Krishna, that is that is a person who surrenders wholeheartedly to Krishna, knowing him to be everything, that is a Mahatma.
So, the Bhagavad Gita not only describes that Arjuna is Mahatma, but also we see on hearing the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna gives up all other conceptions and surrenders to Krishna. Listen, Krishna is everything. Whatever Krishna tells me to do, that is the most auspicious course of action for me.
So, thus the Bhagavad Gita not only describes a Mahatma, but also directs, empowers, inspires Arjuna to become a Mahatma. And thus Sanjay is feeling extremely fortunate to hear this conversation between the two Mahatmas. And that fortune he will speak in the next verse.