Gita Jayanti talk – Appreciating the Gita’s message by contemplating the starting and ending names of Arjuna and Krishna

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
On this very auspicious occasion commemorating the time when Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, I will speak today on how the names that Krishna and Arjuna use for each other signify the essential message of the Gita. The Gita’s essential message is actually a call for love. Krishna is revealing his love to Arjuna and he is calling Arjuna to return that love.
There is lot of philosophy, there is lot of battlefield context but beyond it all, Krishna is focussing on he is revealing his love and he is inviting Arjuna to love him back. So, the last verse that Krishna speaks to Arjuna is in 18.72 So, Arjuna, have you heard attentively? Have you heard with one pointed attention? And by this, if you had heard like this, what will happen? The ignorance and the illusion within your heart will be destroyed. So, has it been destroyed, O Arjuna? But he uses the word specifically, Dhananjaya.
Dhananjaya is the winner of wealth. So, in the last word that Krishna speaks to Arjuna, he refers to Arjuna by his name O winner of wealth. The Bhagavad Gita was spoken on a war field where wealth was at stake, where the prosperous kingdom that the Pandavas had acquired practically spanning the whole world, at least sovereignty over the world, even if not immediate rule, that was at stake.
But the Bhagavad Gita is not talking about that wealth. Dhananjaya, Arjuna is enriched by the Bhagavad Gita’s message with the supreme wealth of wisdom. Knowledge is, wealth is valuable.
But if you don’t know what to do with the wealth, the wealth itself can become a cause of misery. Recently in America, I met a young boy who got an inheritance of a million dollars from his grandmother. And that was a time when he got into, he was just getting into drug addiction, drugs.
And with that million dollars, he squandered the whole wealth in just less than a year. And he ended up in a, nearly losing his life because of a drug overdose and he had to be in a rehabilitation centre. So, our wealth does not make us happy or rather happiness is determined not by how much money we have, is not determined by the wealth we have.
Our happiness is determined by what we do with what we have. So, money is definitely important. But more important is the knowledge of what to do with the wealth.
So, Krishna gives Arjuna the knowledge which actually makes him truly wealthy, which enables him to use whatever wealth he has, whatever wealth he is going to have properly. So, it’s said that some people are wise and some are otherwise. So, the Bhagavad Gita helps us to move from being otherwise to wise.
So, it can enrich all of us with that wealth of wisdom. So, the purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is to enrich all of us. So, the last verse is about Arjuna, winner of wealth.
Have you won the wealth of wisdom which the Bhagavad Gita has given to you? We’ll see what this progressively revealed in the Gita. So, if we move back to the context, a war is being fought. And in this setting of the Gita where it starts with Dhritarashtra asking Sanjaya, what is happening on the battlefield? And then Sanjaya starts describing.
So, Duryodhana initially describes the armies on both the sides. He says, who are the stronger generals on this side? Who are the stronger generals on that side? He lists various generals but he completely forgets Krishna. He mentions even people like Jaidrath who is not a very formidable general.
He mentions even people like Dhrishtadyumna and others who are not really big generals. But he mentions all of them but he forgets Krishna. This is the material mentality.
Now, Krishna because he is a non-combatant, Krishna has chosen not to raise weapons. So, Duryodhana thinks that he is a non-entity. He is irrelevant.
But the later Kurukshetra war will reveal how Krishna despite being a non-combatant actually plays a role more important than even the most important combatants. Because he guides Arjuna at the right times to make the right decisions. So, the materialistic mentality which is typified by Duryodhana indicates that it feels, how does God matter? God doesn’t matter.
What is God going to do? Even if you worship God, what is He going to do? If you chant His holy names, what are you going to get by it? Are you going to get some money for it? How much are you going to earn from it? So, the materially quantifiable attitude that is there in the materialistic world view that is typified by Duryodhana. So, in the first 10 verses when Duryodhana is speaking, he mentions everyone but he doesn’t mention Krishna. So, Krishna enters into the Bhagavad Gita in the 14th verse.
So, if we have a movie, sometimes in movies or novels there is a back story. Something before the main event starts as described. So, the first 13 verses of the first chapter are like the back story and then the camera focusses on the two main characters who are going to, whose conversation is going to dominate the whole book.
Suppose in a movie, the hero enters. Often the entry of the hero is quite dramatic. Suppose, you know, somebody, say there is a heroine who is being molested and suddenly she is screaming for help and suddenly you hear the screeching of brakes and then the camera shifts.
There is a sports car which just slams to a hole and then the door opens and then the hero springs out and maybe they show the feet of the hero. He is wearing some boots and then the screen moves upward, upward, upward and then you see the face of the hero. So, it’s a dramatic entry.
Similarly, in the Bhagavad Gita how does Krishna enter? It starts with describing the car, the chariot. This car has got white, shining white horses. So, camera goes to the horses and then it shows It’s a magnificent chariot.
And then There is Madhava, Krishna and there is Pandava, that is Arjuna. The names which are chosen for them are also very poetic and alliterative. Madhava and Pandava, both of them end with Ava sounds.
So, Madhava, Pandava, Shaiva, They are doing, what are they doing? They are blowing the conch shells, indicating the beginning of the war. So, normally we would expect the hero will either be a person who drives in. He is expert in driving and rushing into the scene.
Or, if the hero is a very important person, then the hero is driven by a chauffeur. And there is a prince or a king or somebody like that. The chauffeur opens the door, comes out and then opens the door for the hero.
Krishna is the supreme hero. But how is he presented in the Bhagavad Gita? He is not the person driven by a chauffeur. He is the chauffeur.
So, that is the sweetness of this revelation of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. That he is actually the charioteer of Arjuna. He is the servant of his devotees.
Although Krishna will soon take the position of a teacher. But in his position in the past time, as depicted in the Bhagavad Gita, he is the servant. So, this is the endearing vision of God.
Not some God who sits up high in the clouds, passes judgement on everyone. Here Krishna descends in the world to be one among us and to help us by offering us whatever is required. So, Krishna is the charioteer at the start of the Gita and from the charioteer, he becomes a counsellor.
When he shifts from the role of a charioteer to a counsellor, in both cases, he is serving. That is, Bhakta Saraswati Thakur says that the Lord is devoted to those who are devoted to him. That just as the devotees want to serve the Lord, the Lord wants to serve his devotees.
And then the next verse again refers to Arjuna by the name Pandava, sorry, by the name Dhananjaya. So, it’s described in 1.14 that they both blew their conscience. Now, the focus will shift.
Okay, which is the conscience that they are doing? So, then it is said that Pancha Janyam Hrishikesho Deva Dattam Dhananjaya Poundram Dadmau Mahashankam Bhima Karma Vrukodarah It said that, actually Pancha Janya, Krishna blew the conscience Pancha Janya and Arjuna blew the conscience Deva Dattam. Both of them had their conscience which had their names particularly. And then Bhima had his own conscience Poundram Dadmau Mahashankam.
Bhima was huge in body and his conscience was also huge. So, he blew that huge conscience, Mahashankam. Bhima Karma Vrukodarah It’s interesting over here the name is transposed to an adjective over here.
So, Bhima is his name. But here, it is Bhima Karma, one who does great work. And the name used to refer to him is Vrukodarah.
Vruka, udara is belly. Vruka refers to a wolf. Now, wolf bellied means what? Vrukodarah.
It said that a wolf is voracious. It eats a lot. So, similarly, Bhima used to eat a lot.
Normally, if we refer to somebody as somebody who eats a lot that’s not a particularly charitable reference. We may say that somebody is a glutton. He eats a lot.
But here, when Bhima is referred to as Vrukodarah, it is referring not so much to the fact that he ate a lot but rather that he had the capacity to assimilate a lot of food by which he had a lot of energy. So, he was able to do Bhima Karma. He was able to do great work because he could have great energy.
So, 14 and 15 is the place where the vision, where the camera focusses on Krishna and Arjuna. Of course, there is one verse before that where Arjuna is mentioned. When Duryodhana is assessing the forces on his side as well as on the other side, he says there are Atrashura, Maheshwasha, Bhima, Arjuna, Samayudhi.
He says here there are great soldiers like Bhima and Arjuna. And so that is the first reference to Arjuna. But then the camera is not focused on him so much.
It is focused on Duryodhana. He is assessing. These people are like this.
These people are like this. Who is better? And then the first words that Arjuna speaks they contain a name of Krishna which is also present in the last word that Arjuna speaks. So, the first word that Arjuna speaks is in 1.21, 20, 23.
He starts speaking. Depending on the way the words are numbered, sometimes the numbering is different. But he says Senayorubhayor madde Rathamsthapayame achyuta Yavadetanniriksheham Yodhukamana Arjuna plays Krishna Achyuta Please place my chariot between the two chariots.
Between the two armies so that I can observe who has assembled on the other side to fight. So, while referring to Krishna, he refers to him by the name Achyuta. Achyuta means one who never fails.
One who is not fallible. The unfailing lord is the first reference to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. So, to Krishna by Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita.
And the last words that Arjuna speaks, the last words that Krishna speaks was 18.72. In response, Arjuna speaks one word. That is 18.73. And there also he uses Achyuta. And he says Mashto mohasmute labdha, twatprasadam maya achyuta, thito smigata sandheha karishe vachanam tava So, mashto moha.
That my moha has been destroyed. How has it happened? Smute labdha. Because my illusion has been destroyed.
Not that I learned something new. But that which I had known, I had forgotten. I am now recollecting it once again.
Smute labdha. And how has it happened? Twatprasadam maya achyuta. Oh Achyuta, oh lord, it has happened by your mercy.
Thito smigata sandheha. And I become firmly situated. My doubts have been dispelled.
And then the result of it all is karishe vachanam tava I will do your will. This is surrender of Krishna to Arjuna. Of Arjuna to Krishna when he says I will do your will.
So, at the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna starts by referring to Krishna as Achyuta. Oh Krishna, please take my chariot in between. And at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna is telling Arjuna, sorry, Arjuna is telling Krishna, in both cases that, I will surrender to you.
So, Krishna in both cases is Achyuta. He is always the unfailing lord. But, what Arjuna tells Krishna to do initially, that leads to Arjuna getting into illusion.
Arjuna’s chariot comes in between the two armies and when he comes over there, he starts saying, oh, there are all my relatives, my loved ones, my venerable ones who are there. How can I fight against them? And thinking like this, he goes into illusion. And he says, I can’t fight.
I can’t fight. I give up. mayyot chaiti govindam uktvā tu śrīm bhavoham.
The remaining first chapter describes various reasons why Arjuna says, I will not fight. The second chapter, ninth verse says, mayyot chaiti govindam. Krishna, I will not fight.
And he became silent. So, the Bhagavad Gita’s specific context, we can go into the technicalities to understand why Arjuna became disheartened to fight and why it was necessary for Arjuna to fight. Why Krishna told him to fight.
But more importantly, if you understand the principle over here. The principle is, Arjuna, in three continuous verses, in 1.21, 22, 23, is repeatedly saying to Krishna, I want to see. I want to see.
yotsimanan aveksheham I want to see with my eyes who has come to fight. dhārtarāṣṭasya durbuddhe yuddhe priyajikirṣava, who has come to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra. But again and again, he is insisting on seeing.
So, the Bhagavad Gita’s overarching message is that the eyes, seeing with the eyes takes us into illusion. And Arjuna, when he hears, and by that he learns, he comes out of illusion. So, the eyes are often the pathway to illusion and the ears are the pathway to freedom from illusion, to enlightenment.
Of course, if we consider the eyes, not literally, but they refer to the senses, to pratyaksha pramana. When we rely only on our eyes, on our senses and try to acquire knowledge, then we will get deluded. But when we rely on shabda pramana, on hearing from Krishna, hearing from the representatives of Krishna, and that will free us from illusion.
If we look at the world around us, we will see so many reasons to not practise bhakti. Oh, there are so many pleasures in the world. Why should I give up those pleasures and practise bhakti? I am practising bhakti and there are so many problems in my life.
Why should I still keep practising bhakti? What is the use of it? So, broadly speaking, the things that may divert us from Krishna bhakti can fall in two categories. There is temptations and there are tribulations. Temptations means, oh, there is so much enjoyable out there.
Just give up this chanting Hare Krishna. Give up practise bhakti. Give up Krishna and just go out and enjoy.
So temptations may divert us and similarly tribulations may divert us. Tribulations means that oh, there is this problem, there is that problem. I have to deal with this problem and Krishna is not helping.
Why should I continue like this? So temptations and tribulations both can divert us from the path of Krishna bhakti and both temptations and tribulations are experienced through the eyes, through the senses. So, now this is not to deny that there are pleasures in the world which can seem very alluring and there can be problems in life which are very disturbing. But the Bhagavad Gita gives us a higher vision of reality.
If you consider the progressive vision, see Arjuna’s consciousness is at the level of the body. He knows about the soul. He lives in a culture where everybody knows about the soul.
But that knowledge has gone to the background of his awareness. So knowledge that is at the background of our mind, that is not of much use to us. Knowledge is meant to be like a weapon.
Krishna uses this specific metaphor also in 4.42 when he says तस्मादः ज्यानसं भूतं रिच्तं ज्यानासीन आत्मनः चित्वैनं सम्शयं योगं आतिष्ट आतिष्ट भारता Therefore arise with the sword of knowledge, slash aside the ignorance that is deluding you and arise and fight equipped with knowledge. So Krishna is saying ज्यानासीन the sword of knowledge. Now, if a warrior has gone to the war field and suddenly the enemy attacks.
And the warrior says, wait, wait, wait, I have not got my weapons, let me go to my tent, get my weapons and I will fight with you. The enemy is not going to stop, the enemy will attack and slaughter. So a weapon in the tent is of no use to the warrior in the fight.
The weapon has to be by the warrior. Similarly for us, if knowledge is simply in the head or in the books. Yes, I know this verse, I know that verse.
That is not of much use. We need the knowledge with us when we need it. So when either temptations come or tribulations come, we have to deal with them practically also.
But first of all we have to make sure that they don’t delude us. They don’t divert us from the path of Krishna Bhakti. And for that we need knowledge.
When the temptations or tribulations, they start distorting our vision. We start thinking that this is more important, that is more important. And we get distracted from Krishna Bhakti.
So then at that time we need knowledge. No, this is not more important. I will deal with it, but I will not at the cost of my Krishna Bhakti.
So that knowledge, Arjuna has the knowledge of the soul. In fact, in one of the later verses of the first chapter, 1.42-43, he talks about, he says that actually Krishna, if I fight and kill my relatives, he says, I have heard that those who destroy the family members, those who cause the destruction of the dynasty, they go to hell forever. So now who is going to go to hell? The body is going to die.
He is saying that, how can I kill them? So he understands there is something which stays on after death and that will go to hell. So in an implicit sense he knows about the soul. But knowledge that is simply at the background, that is not figuring prominently in the way he is looking at the world.
Sometimes, yes, I know, I know spiritual happiness is what is real, but this is what I want right now. I want this worldly happiness. I want this.
I want that. So if the knowledge is simply in the head, then that is not of much use. We have to have the knowledge so that we apply it in our lives.
Once a doctor was giving a talk. A doctor spoke elaborately about how potatoes are very bad for health. This is the problem with potato.
This is the problem for potato. This is the problem with potato. And after that talk, when there was lunch, there was potato squash over there.
So now when the servers were serving, they thought what to do? We will not serve at least the doctor. Then they served everyone else. And when they didn’t serve the doctor, the doctor said, why are you not serving? He says, no, but you said just now in your talk that potato is bad.
He says, that is for the talk. I want to eat right now. Sometimes we can speak a lot, but we leave it for speaking, not for applying.
Sometimes when we say knowledge is at the background, sometimes we have to guide someone else. Now we start speaking such wisdom. You should do like this, don’t do like this, tolerate this, be humble, be this, be that.
But when it comes to ourselves, because we just forget it all. We just get like amnesia. So that knowledge, one of the thought exercises that mindfulness talks about is that you try to envision that there are two persons.
There is one person, there is a counsellor, and there is a counsellee. But imagine that both of them are you. And then the counsellor is counselling the counsellee.
So actually this kind of splitting of our self into two. Krishna talks about this in the Bhagavad Gita itself in 6.5 when he states that elevate the self with the self, don’t degrade the self with the self. Self is the friend of the self and the self is the enemy of the self.
In 6.5 he says that so what does it mean? How can we elevate the self with the self? That means that I look at myself. So there is the observer self and there is the observed self. And then I am feeling like shouting at this person.
So if I can just say, shouting will only make things worse. So let me act in a way that will calm me down, that will help address the issue, not aggravate the issue. So if we learn to look at ourselves and then that means there is observer self and there is observed self.
Conceptually, if I am sitting right now, okay, I can look at myself and think okay, how am I expressing myself? I cannot literally come out of myself but I can think okay, maybe I am speaking too fast, maybe I am speaking too much complicated concepts. If I am too caught in doing what I am doing, I may not be able to perceive myself. But in mode of goodness, we can become absorbed in what we are doing and also we can become distanced and detached from what we are doing.
We have that much control over our consciousness. So when I want to get into a thing, I will get into it completely. But when I need to, I will distance myself and observe how am I doing this.
So both this level of control over our consciousness comes when we are in the mode of goodness. So when we observe ourselves, just as we give advice to others, we try to give that advice to ourselves. If it is difficult to give advice to ourselves, then give advice to the mind.
And that’s why many of the Vaishnav poets do. Oh mind, you are so fearful. Just don’t worry about this fear, that fear, that fear.
Just focus on Krishna. Focus on Krishna. Remember Krishna.
Your fears will go away. So there are many beautiful prayers where this kind of division is created between us and the troublemaker within us. The mind may be troublemaker.
The tongue may be the troublemaker. The tongue may want to gossip a lot. There is a prayer where Kulashekhar Maharaj says that, Oh tongue, I stand in front of you with folded hands.
He says that, That Speaking about Krishna is like a flow of nectar. Oh tongue, why do you want to speak about anything else? I, with folded hands, I beg before you. Please speak about Krishna.
So, like that, the point I was making over here is, we have knowledge with us. But that knowledge often goes to the background. And we use it to guide others.
But it doesn’t, it’s not available for us to guide ourselves. So, Srila Prabhupada says in a lecture that, when we surrender to Krishna, when we take initiation, that is the time when we make Krishna the charioteer of our life. Just like Arjuna had Krishna as his charioteer.
Similarly, we make Krishna the charioteer. That means that we let Krishna guide us. If we consider chariot body analogy, that is there, we have the famous picture in that the chariot is like the body.
What are the horses? The senses. What is the mind? The brains. And who is the charioteer? The intelligence.
The soul is the passenger. So, now if we compare the Bhagavad Gita’s setting of a chariot in which Krishna is the charioteer and we consider chariot body metaphor, where the intelligence is the charioteer. So, to make Krishna our charioteer means to make Krishna our intelligence.
To make our intelligence based on Krishna’s words. When we do that, then we will be able to observe and act wisely. The chain of command in a chariot should be that the charioteer controls the horses.
Not that the horses pull the charioteer and the chariot. So, if the horses pull the chariot and the charioteer, then the horses may say, there is a fruit over there, I want to eat it. Go off the road and knock everything down.
Turn upside down, injure everyone. So, for us, the chain of command should be intelligence controls the senses. Intelligence directs the senses.
Not that the senses drag the intelligence and the soul. So, this empowerment of our intelligence happens by the study of the Bhagavad Gita. So, what happens to Arjuna is he has the knowledge of the soul, but that is in the background.
And that doesn’t come prominently in his reasoning. So, Arjuna’s vision is at the level of the body. From the level of the body, Krishna shifts his vision to the level of the soul.
And from the soul, he shifts the vision to the whole. The whole is the absolute truth of whom Krishna is a part, of whom all of us are parts. So, the first six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita are talking primarily about how you are not the body, you are the soul.
So, we detach from worldly ups and downs. They don’t really matter. They will come, they will go.
Tolerate them. But from the seventh chapter, Krishna shifts his focus not so much on detachment, but on attachment. Like the very first verse of the Bhagavad Gita in the seventh chapter, 7.1 is Now here, how by practising yoga, you can make your mind attached to me.
So, essentially, one way of spiritual advancement is by detachment from that which is a source of misery. The other way of spiritual advancement is by cultivating attachment to that which is a source of happiness. So, at one level, the two can go in parallel.
If I’m carrying a heavy stone, which is draining me, and somebody is giving me a jewel box, which is going to enrich me, then I can do it in two steps. I can just let go of the stone and then I can go and pick up the jewel box. The other is, if I just move my hand towards the jewel box and I focus on trying to catch hold of it, automatically, my fingers will open up and as my fingers open up, the stone will fall away, and I move towards the jewel box, I pick it up.
So, this can be a two-step process or it can be a one-step process. So, most of the yoga processes, Karma Yoga, Gyan Yoga, Ashtang Yoga, Dhyan Yoga, all of them make it a two-step process. First, detachment from matter and then, after that, we understand what is the ultimate reality and focus on that ultimate reality.
But Bhakti Yoga makes it a one-step process. The focus on attachment to Krishna, and if I focus on attachment to Krishna, detachment from matter will automatically come. The middle six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita talk about Krishna, His greatness, His sweetness, His supremacy, His divinity, and the purpose of this is actually to attract the human heart to Krishna.
There is a Gita commentator who says that Krishna has no humility. He is such egoistic. He says, whatever is good in everyone, it all comes from me.
The best of everything is me. He says, what is this? But actually, if we see, if we think that Krishna is having any ego, then just look at the context of the Gita. He is in the charioteer’s position.
What egoistic person will be ready to become a chauffeur for anyone else? So when Krishna is speaking, everything attractive comes from me. That is not out of ego. That is simply what is necessary for Arjuna’s elevation.
Suppose the patient who has come to a doctor, and the doctor is telling, take this medicine. But the patient starts saying, but I went to that doctor and the doctor said that. And the patient, I went to that doctor and the doctor said that.
This doctor says, actually all those doctors were trained by me only. They are all my students. If that is a fact that all the doctors were trained by this doctor, then telling that fact is not out of ego.
That is to encourage the patient to focus. Take the medicine now. Don’t worry about what others have said.
Focus on taking the medicine. So similarly, when Krishna tells, okay, this path leads to this destination. This path leads to this destination.
This object is attractive like this. That object is attractive like this. But all that attractiveness comes from me.
The purpose is to inspire Arjuna to practise bhakti. Krishna is not speaking his greatness because he is bragging. Krishna is speaking about his greatness to inspire Arjuna to focus on him.
So in a sense, the Bhagavad Gita reveals that greater than Krishna is bhakti for Krishna. Because as the Bhagavatam says in Brahmaji’s prayers, that that Lord who is unconquerable gets conquered by devotion. So Krishna is not glorifying himself in Bhagavad Gita.
He is glorifying the path of devotion. And for glorifying the path of devotion, he also glorifies the object of devotion. And he happens to be the object of devotion.
So it is not self-glorification. It is for the purpose of glorification of the path of devotion that he speaks about his own glories. So the vision of Krishna shifts from the body, the Bhagavad Gita shifts Arjuna’s vision from the body to the soul and ultimately to Krishna.
And that way, the vision rises upwards, upwards, upwards. As it rises upwards, Arjuna starts seeing that despite whatever anxiety, whatever misery that might be there at the material level, there is security at the spiritual level. Krishna is always in control and Krishna is always our well-wisher.
So we all will face reversals in our life. And when problems come, when we pursue them with our senses, when we contemplate on them with our minds, the problems seem to become worse and worse. What happens is that there is a particular problem, the more we think about it, the problem seems to become bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
And okay, what if I lose my job? Or if I lose my job, then where will I stay? Or if I can’t stay, I’ll be on the streets. On the streets, how will I take care of my children? This will happen, that will happen. So the mind starts showing us a free horror movie.
And this horror movie of the mind, we are not the spectators, we are the victims. So if we just keep looking ahead with our mind and senses, then we will get deluded. But the Bhagavad Gita raises our vision up.
Yes, there may be uncertainty in this world, but at the level of spiritual reality, there is certainty. And that certainty will help Arjuna to, will give us some calmness, some clarity by which to focus and to act properly. So I’ll conclude with one last point.
I was speaking at one, I had gone to one Hindu programme for speaking on the Bhagavad Gita, on Gita Jayanti. And there were some kids who were reciting the Bhagavad Gita at that time. And they recited some selected verses from the Gita.
So then they came towards the end of the recitation and they started reciting, 18.66. And they recited, sarva-adharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇa-vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣeṣyā vimāśu ca So, what is the problem? Yeah, so they made sarva-dharmān parityajya to sarva-adharmān parityajya. Krishna is saying give up all religions but they say give up all irreligion. So then I asked them, why have you made it sarva-dharmān? It is dharmān.
He says, no, no, no, actually he said that, if we consider Krishna is God, He is the protector of dharma. Why will He tell anyone to give up dharma? In fact, He Himself has said in 4.8 that, I come to establish dharma. dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya So, how can He tell anyone to give up dharma? So, they quoted some Gita commentator.
He said that, over the years when the Gita was written down again and again, so there was some transcriber of the Gita who forgot to put the ā. So, originally it was sarva-dharmān parityajya but somebody forgot to put the ā and now, we are putting the ā back. Now, if you see, the Gita is, even by religious scholars, it is considered to be one of the stablest books. Because it is a short book, only 700 verses, so it has been preserved by many traditions who have had their commentaries on the Gita.
And even if you go to Shankaracharya’s Gita, his commentary is there, thousand years ago, there is no change, all the verses are the same. So, it is very unlikely that something like that will have happened. But more importantly, if we see the context of the Gita, sarva-adharmān doesn’t make sense over here.
What makes sense is sarva-dharmān. Why? Because Arjuna was already anagha, he was a virtuous person, he was a sinless person. He was not contemplating adharma at all.
For him, it was not that some temptation was alluring him and he had to resist that temptation, telling him that is adharma, don’t do it. Arjuna was a dharmic person. And if you see the start of the Bhagavad Gita, his conflict was between two dharmas.
Dharma, the word dharma is multivalent, it can have many different meanings. So, its ultimate meaning is that or in the context of Bhagavad Gita, in this context, its meaning is duty. So, Arjuna had his kshatriya dharma and he had his kula dharma.
His kshatriya dharma was as a martial guardian of society, he had to fight against those who were attackers, aggressors, who were disruptors of society. But he was also a Kurunandan, he was a member of the Kuru dynasty and he had a kula dharma. He had a duty to his dynasty that he protect his dynasty, protect those who are relatives.
Now, what does one do if the aggressors happen to be one’s relatives? That was his dharma sankat. So, should I follow my kshatriya dharma or should I follow my kula dharma? Kshatriya dharma, if I follow, I’ll have to fight. If I follow the kula dharma, I should not fight.
And that’s why when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna, the question he asks is, Oh Arjuna, Oh Krishna, please tell me what is dharma? What is my essential duty? How am I meant to act? So, this question is universal. What is the right course of action? We will all face many different perplexities in our life at different times. And the Bhagavad Gita’s answer is, act out of love.
Act out of loving intention to serve Krishna and to serve everyone in relationship with Krishna. When Krishna is saying, He is telling, Oh, you are confused about this dharma, that dharma. Just avoid that confusion.
Understand that the purpose of all dharma, the perfection of all dharma, is to surrender to Maam Ekam Sharanam Rajyam. So, surrender to me. And if you do that, then if there is, even if there is some sinful reaction that comes, I will protect you from it.
So, for us, sometimes, we have to understand, we are not the body, we are the soul. And we have to act at the level of the soul. But how do we act at the level of the soul? Okay, what does it mean? What do I do practically? Actually, to act at the level of the soul means to understand that our defining identity is that we are servants of Krishna.
So, Krishna tells Arjuna that as a servant of Krishna, as my servant, you are a Kshatriya. As my servant, you are a Kurnandana. Now, see how best you can serve.
So, in life, often we will be pulled in different directions by different roles. This service pulls me in this direction, this service pulls me in that direction. What should I do? What should I not do? So, at that time, if we return to our spiritual identity, that I am a servant of Krishna, then nothing will shake us.
If I define myself as a successful businessman, and suddenly the stock market collapses and I lose my business, then who am I? If I am defining myself in terms of my business, then the loss of the business can devastate me. If I define myself as a successful surgeon, and my hand gets paralysed, then who am I? We all have various functional identities in the world which depend on our roles or on our relationships. If I define myself as the mother of someone, and somehow I lose my child, then what am I living for? If I define myself as the spouse of someone, and there is some disruption in the relationship, I lose my partner, then what am I living for? If we define ourselves in terms of any of our relationships, or in terms of any of our roles, then we will set ourselves up for frustration.
But the Bhagavad Gita’s essential message is we define ourselves in that understanding that I am a servant of Krishna, and as a servant of Krishna, I will take up different roles, I will take up different responsibilities, and these are all services. Some services may work out, some services may not work out. Prabhupada, once a Mataji disciple wrote to him and said, Prabhupada, everywhere there are problems.
Among devotees there are misunderstandings. My family members, my relatives, they are troubling me, telling me give up bhakti. What should I do? I am feeling very discouraged.
Prabhupada wrote back to her saying that we function at a platform beyond discouragement. What that means is that if you understand that I am a servant of Krishna and we function at that level, then okay, some services may not work out. Sometimes many services may not work out but by functioning at the level of servant of Krishna, we won’t be shaken by whatever doesn’t work out.
We will stay confident. So the knowledge that enriches Arjuna with wisdom is the knowledge that I am a servant of Krishna. At the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna’s bow is cast aside.
I can’t fight. By the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna’s bow is picked up. I will fight.
So how has this happened? This has happened because Arjuna’s vision has shifted, not ahead, who is here but to Krishna. Krishna, you are my eternal lord. You are my eternal well-wisher.
I am your eternal servant. I will serve you. And I am fighting as a means to serve you.
So when life’s ups and downs dishearten us, it is like we put aside our bow. Krishna, I can’t do it. I give up.
But when we hear the message of the Gita, again our morale will be restored and we will take up our bow in readiness to fight, to face whatever life sends our way. We will be able to fight it in a mood of service to Krishna. So this is the enduring gift that the Bhagavad Gita can give us.
By raising our vision to see Krishna’s love for us and to see our action in the world as a reciprocation of love with him. No matter what ups and downs we face in life, we will stay determined to serve Krishna. Just as Arjuna’s morale was restored, similarly, our morale can also be restored by hearing and understanding, internalising the message of the Bhagavad Gita.
So I’ll summarise. I spoke today about how the significance of the starting and the final addresses of Krishna and Arjuna. So the last address Krishna uses for Arjuna is Dhananjaya.
That is also one of the first addresses in 1.15, the Bhagavad Gita uses. So a winner of wealth. So Krishna is going to enrich Arjuna through the message of the Gita with the wealth of wisdom.
The knowledge that will enable him to use all the resources including wealth. So our happiness doesn’t depend on what we have, it depends on what we do with what we have. And what is this enriching wisdom that Krishna offers? Arjuna, at the start of the Gita, is overwhelmed by illusion.
So the eyes take us into illusion, the ears take us out of illusion. And Krishna’s sweetness is seen even in the Bhagavad Gita setting itself. Although he is God, he is playing the role of a chauffeur for his charioteer, for his devotee.
And he is serving Arjuna as a charioteer and then he serves Arjuna as a counsellor. So the materialistic vision may think that I don’t see Krishna, what does Krishna do? I do things, people do things. The materialist, like Duryodhana, he sees Krishna as a non-combatant and a non-entity.
But actually, Krishna was the guider of all the combatants. Similarly, rather than rejecting Krishna’s role, we see the centrality of Krishna’s role in spiritual vision. So in the beginning, the chain of command, the first word that Arjuna uses to refer to Krishna is Achyuta in 1.21 and also the last word is Achyuta.
So Krishna is always unfailing. But still Arjuna goes into illusion because in the beginning, Krishna, Arjuna is envisioning Krishna, the chain of command as from Arjuna to Krishna. I will give the order, Krishna you follow my order.
Take the chariot in between. But trying to do our own desires, especially in defiance of Krishna’s desires, that leads to illusion. But by the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna has understood the right chain of command.
He says, Karishe Vachinam Tava, I will do your will. So then, Arjuna’s illusion is dispelled. So in the chariot body metaphor, we want to make Krishna our charioteer.
Doesn’t mean we make him our servant, but rather we give him the role of our intelligence and we let him guide us. The chain of command should be not the horses drag the chariot, but the charioteer guide the chariot. Similarly, Krishna’s words are meant to guide us.
So the Bhagavad Gita raises Arjuna’s vision from the body to the soul to Krishna. Arjuna had knowledge of the soul, but that was at the background. So similarly for us, we may have spiritual knowledge, but if that is like a weapon in the tent, it will not be of any use in the fight.
The knowledge should be accessible to us. And for that we need to hear it regularly and then this knowledge will act like a sword and temptations or tribulations can distract us from Krishna. And when we have the spiritual knowledge in the foreground of our consciousness, then we will resist both these distractions.
So the essential knowledge is not just that we are souls. It is that our defining identity is we are servants of Krishna. Arjuna had a dharma sankat.
Is the Kula Dharma or the Kshatriya Dharma superior? And Krishna told him that the Bhagavad Dharma, the Bhakti Dharma, that you are a servant of Krishna, that is your defining identity and based on that you see all your other roles. When we become discouraged in life, it is primarily because we identify with some of our roles or our relationships and we define ourselves in those terms and when there is frustration, we feel disheartened. But if we identify ourselves in terms of our vertical relationship with Krishna, Krishna I am your eternal servant and you are my eternal well-wisher, then no matter what ups and downs come, we will not be discouraged.
We will stay confident because we will be enriched with wisdom. Ananjaya. And just as Arjuna who was disheartened became enthused lifting up his bow by the end of the Gita, similarly we too can become enlivened by hearing the message of the Gita.
So, let us pray on Gita Jayanti that Krishna who is present in our hearts become our charioteer. That he guide us in our life’s journey to make wise decisions in accordance with his wisdom and thus we can move closer and closer to him. He is doing services, making contributions in the world externally and internally advancing towards him.
Let’s conclude with a prayer to Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna. He says that Prapanna Parijataya, that lord, he is the shelter giver, like an unfading Parijata tree for those who surrender to him. Prapanna Parijataya and that lord in eternal position, Totravitrayi Kapane, he has got a stick to control the horses, like a whip or something, instrument to control the horses.
But that same lord who had a chariot stick to control the horses, now Gyanamudraya. In order to give instruction to Arjuna, he has become Gyanamudraya. And what is he giving? Gitaamrutaduhe.
He is giving the nectar of the Gita. To that lord Krishna I offer my obeisances. Shri Krishna Bhagwan ki, Shri Bhagwat Gita ki, Shri Gita Jayanti Mahamahotsav ki, Shreela Prabhupada ki, Gaurabhakta Vrindaki, Mithai Gaur Prema Gandhi.
We have time.