Gita 18.78 The Gita’s purpose is not just to proclaim God’s position but primarily to transform man’s disposition

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors. Bhagavad Gita 18.78 yatra yogeshwara krishno yatra partha dhanurdhara tatra shrir vijayo bhutir thruvani tirma tirma ma So Krishna speaks here, so Sanjay speaks here, the concluding verse of the Bhagavad Gita. Here he states yatra yogeshwara krishno. Wherever there is the supreme mystic yogeshwara Krishna, yatra partha dhanurdhara and wherever there is Arjuna who is the wielder of the bow, tatra shrir vijayo bhutir, there, there will be opulence, there will be victory, there will be great power. thruvani tirma tirma ma And there will be morality. This is my opinion. Now, it’s interesting that the Bhagavad Gita, which is the word of God, concludes with the opinion of man. Sanjay is the transmitter of the message of the Bhagavad Gita as was spoken by Krishna and as was seen by him because of blessings given by Vyasadeva. Vyasa prasada shrutvan Because of Vyasa’s mercy that he is able to hear this message. So, what exactly does it mean when he says this is my opinion? Shouldn’t he be concluding with God’s opinion? This is God’s declaration, if it is God’s word. Actually, Krishna is omnipotent. Krishna’s word is also infallibly true. But what is required for the thrust of the Bhagavad Gita is not God’s position, but our disposition. That God is supreme, but are we disposed to serve him? Are we having a disposition of devotion towards him? That question, that discussion is the thrust of the Bhagavad Gita. So, to understand God’s glory, to understand that wherever there is Krishna, there will be victory. If we get that understanding, then we are successful in our spiritual journey. Then we are progressive in moving towards Krishna and attaining our life’s perfection. Sanjay has got this understanding that harmonizing human disposition with the divine intention is life’s perfection. And that perfection is attained by both Arjuna and Sanjay. Arjuna attains it in the sense that he agrees to do Krishna’s will. And Sanjay attains that in the sense that he declares that this is my opinion. So, our opinions are not to be abandoned because we are individuals. We have free will, we have desires, we have intelligence and we also have our opinions. So, just as we are not meant to reject our desires, similarly we are not meant to reject our opinions. But just as we need to harmonize our desires with Krishna’s desires, we need to find a place for our desires within Krishna’s desires or we make Krishna’s desires our desires. Similarly, in some cases we make Krishna’s opinion as our opinion. And in some cases we find a place for our opinion within Krishna’s opinion. That means we understand that this is Krishna’s position. Krishna’s position may not be one that ultimately Krishna is omnipotent, Krishna’s plan is supreme. But Krishna has different specific roles for different people within his broad plan. And his plan is also dynamic and reciprocal. So, if our desire, our intention, if our opinion is harmonized with Krishna’s by being accommodated within his broad plan, then that is our perfection. Just like if an orchestra is going on, sometimes the director may tell us you just play this role. Or if we want to play some other role, we discuss with the director or the orchestra master and we find a role that fits within the orchestra. So, the individual initiative and expertise of each musician is not to be given up, but it is to be harmonized with the overall plan and purpose of the orchestra. The same applies with respect to our relationship with Krishna. And when Sanjay says, matir mama, this is my opinion, that means he is telling that, he is indicating that he has become convinced about Krishna’s supremacy and about the victory of those who are on the side of Krishna, that is Arjuna. So, the Bhagavad Gita began with an inquiry from Dhritarashtra, kimakurvata sanjaya, O Sanjay, what did they do? What did the Kauravas and the Pandavas do? The question was literal, but its import was deeper, that what happened on the battlefield? Who is going to win? So, that unasked question is being answered indirectly. The Bhagavad Gita offers an implicit answer to an implicit question. The implicit answer is that wherever there is the Yogeshwar Krishna and wherever there is the Dhanurdhar Arjuna, there will be victory there. That means Krishna is stating that, sorry Sanjay is stating that Pandavas are going to be victorious. And the names Yogeshwar and Dhanurdhar are also significant. The word Yogeshwar was used earlier in the 11th chapter when Krishna displayed his universal form. Maha Yogeshwaro Hare. So, Lord Hare displayed his magnificent, his enormous mystical power by displaying the universal form. And in that revelation of universal form, the Lord had displayed how all the opponents had been destroyed. They were all entering into the mouth, all devouring mouth of the Virata Rupa. And the call to Arjuna was Nimitta Matram Bhavasavya Saachi. Just become an instrument of Arjuna. So, here when Arjuna has agreed to become an instrument, when Krishna told him Karishye Vachinam Tava, when Arjuna responds to Krishna’s call by Karishye Vachinam Tava, then he is basically accepting the instruction of Nimitta Matram Bhavasavya Saachi. Become my instrument. And that Arjuna’s readiness to become an instrument of Krishna is conveyed by the imagery over here. Yatra Partha Dhanur Dharah. Dhanur Dharah refers to Arjuna who is the wielder of the bow. That means Arjuna who had put aside his bow in disappointment, in rejection, in confusion at the start of the Gita, has now picked up his bow in readiness to fight. And that is Arjuna’s harmonization of his individual will with the divine will. And as was displayed by the Virata Rupa, the previous verse, the second last verse is pointing to the remembrance by Sanjaya of the Virata Rupa. Tatya samsmatya samsmatya. Rupamatya dhutam hare hai. Vishmayo me mahan. Rajan. Vishyam ichi punha punha. So that form, that majestic form of Krishna which he saw as the Vishwaroopa, in that form he also saw Bhishmam chadronam jayadracham cha. Sarvam sahasam. So all these warriors are entering into the mouth of the Vishwaroopa. This is what has been seen by Sanjaya in the Vishwaroopa. And he is basically repeating that, reiterating that in his conclusion that just as Krishna has shown that the side where he is is going to be victorious, that is being conveyed over here. Tatra shreer vichayo bhuteer. There there will be victory, there there will be morality, there there will be great prowess. There there will be wealth, everything auspicious will reside over there. Thus the Bhagavad Gita reveals to us with a conclusion, with a declaration, with a proclamation that when the human will is harmonized with the divine will, then that is where perfection resides. This message can give all of us unending inspiration when we face our particular struggles which may cause us confusion or dejection. We can rise to them, through them by the Gita’s wisdom, to determination and ultimate success in life’s many battles by harmonizing our will with divine will. Thank you.