Gita Overview (3)

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Happy Karthik.
Happy Karthik to all of you. Thank you very much. So on the Kaurav side the commander is Bhishma.
But Duryodhana does not go to Bhishma. He is going to Dronacharya. Because he suspects about the commitments of both these personalities.
He is doubtful about the commitment of Dronacharya and Bhishma. So what he does is he goes to Dronacharya because Dronacharya is a Brahmana and he is an Acharya. So he goes to the teacher to consult.
And while going there he will also talk about Bhishma. And that way he will try to balance both of them. And especially he sees that the military has been arranged very nicely and he wants to incite Dronacharya for that.
And that’s why he chooses Dronacharya and not Bhishma. So what are the words that he speaks? So now interestingly here, so there is no Duryodhana in the Bhagavad Gita. So he is just speaking those words.
So sarcasm. Sarcasm. Sometimes when we want to incite a person into action then somebody is very lazy.
We are doing this work so fast. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would also do that. Oh you have cleaned so nicely.
That person would become embarrassed. So he is saying, Tavashishena is your disciple who is working against you now. The enemy which you have to fight has been arranged by your disciple.
So the implication is that as a Brahmana you think you will be impartial but that impartiality got you into trouble. So don’t be impartial now. You are on my side.
Fight wholeheartedly for my sake. And especially we know he has enmity with Drupada. So therefore he is not just using the word Drupada putre.
And he starts doing an assessment. He will first assess, as is described over there, first he will assess the forces on the Pandava side and then on his own side. So again he brings the word Drupada.
Just to incite Drupada. And then he compares all of them to Bhima and Arjuna. So for him he is afraid of Bhima and he knows Arjuna is the most formidable warrior.
So he compares others with these two people. And who are the people from which you do not know is Satyaki. Satyaki is a student of Arjuna.
He is one of the Yadus. So the Yadu army fights. The whole Sena goes to the Kaurava side.
Krishna comes to the Pandava side. But the individuals, Satyaki comes with Krishna. And Krithavarman is a friend of the Kauravas.
So he goes to the Kauravas. He is not exactly a friend of the Kauravas but because the army is going there, he has to go there. So apart from these two personalities, none of the Yadus are fighting.
The leaders are not fighting in the war. Satyaki, Yudhana is on this side. Krithavarman is on that side.
And when they start fighting, because for him the greatest danger is Bhima and Arjuna, he compares everyone with them. Now he does not focus on Arjuna because he knows his goal is to inspire inside Dronacharya to fight. And Dronacharya already has too much affection towards Arjuna.
So he does not harp on Arjuna, but he compares others with Arjuna. And then he goes forward and he says, So it’s interesting, if you see the Krishna book, Krishna has been killing demons right from his childhood. There are so many demons coming and Krishna kills Kamsa.
And now, at this time, Krishna has come from Mathura to Dwarka. He is Dwarkadheesh. And after killing so many demons also, still there are so many kings who are ready to be on Duryodhana’s side.
And that’s why Duryodhana’s army is bigger than Pandava’s army. Janasandha has been killed, and all of them have been killed. But in spite of that, even in the time of Krishna, so many demoniac kings were there.
So the nature of this world, because Kali Yuga was about to start, the adharma was very very high. So he will give a few names on his side, on the opposite side, then he will come to his own side. So now, So Maharatha refers to one charioteer who can fight at one time with 100,000 charioteers.
Ardharatha is one who can fight with 60,000 chariot warriors. Ratha is one who can fight with one chariot warrior. And Ardharatha is one who can not fight with even one chariot warrior.
So at the start of the battle, Bhishma, when he is told to assist the two parties, he calls Karna as Ardharatha. And Karna is incensed. Now everybody knows this is not true, but Bhishma sees that Karna is very arrogant.
Just to cut down his arrogance, he says that. And Karna gets so angry, he says, I will not fight. I will not fight as long as Bhishma is here, because if I fight and win the war, Bhishma will get the credit.
So then, it is interesting, now after this war, he will bring Karna. Although Karna is not there on the battlefield and he is assessing the army, but Karna is very much in the mind of Duryodhana. Because he knows Karna is, he is not sure about how much committed Bhishma and Drona are.
But he knows Karna is 100% committed. So although Karna is not there on the battlefield, Karna is there in his mind. And he is comparing here, he comes to his own side now.
So now he wants to encourage Dronacharya by saying, first he wants to incite him by saying, see all the warriors are there, but don’t think anybody is left on my side also. So he starts describing his warriors now. Asmakam tu vishishtaye, tanvibodha dvijyottama, nayakam tanyaksya, sanyartham tantra vice.
Vijyottama, he is referring to Dronacharya as the best of the brahmanas. Because he again wants to encourage him. Sanyarthama.
Sanyar refers to, as we know, noun. Sanyar refers to that which so every battle, every warrior has a particular symbol, a particular code by which he can be identified. So Sanyarthama, I am going to give you the information of the different warriors now.
And then he starts speaking. Now he has a crisis. Because he is thinking, Bhishma is the senior most and Bhishma is the commander.
So whose name should I start first with? If I start with, if I write in front of Dronacharya, and if I mention Bhishma first, Drona might feel offended. But if I don’t speak Bhishma first, will Bhishma be offended? He thinks no. Dronacharya is a brahmana.
Therefore he will not be offended. So he speaks Drona first and then he speaks Bhishma. Bhavan Bhishmasya Karanasya, Dronacharya Swami Temjaya, Ashramama Vikarmasya, So, as I said, because Karna is already in his mind, so first he thinks about these two, and as soon as these two are over, he thinks of Karna.
But actually there is another much more senior person there. That is Kripa. So therefore, now he has to make up.
So he gives an adjective to describe Kripa. Krupascha Samitim Jayaha. He is always victorious.
He tries to balance out. And further he goes on to say, Ashwatthama Vikaranasya. Now, as you know, Ashwatthama, he is trying to please Dronacharya.
So he talks about two relatives of his, Kripa and Ashwatthama. Now, Vikarna is not a very dedicated, not a very formidable warrior. But he is afraid.
Why is he afraid? Because Vikarna was only one of the hundred Kaurava brothers who objected when Draupadi was being disrobed. When Draupadi challenged the assembly, nobody spoke. But Vikarna spoke.
He said, this is unjust. And Karna shot him down. So he was afraid that he might defect over.
So according to the codes of war, during the battle, nobody can defect after the battle has started. But before the battle starts, one party can go to the other side. So just after this gets over, the Bhagavad Gita gets over, Yudhishthira will make an announcement.
So all of you know that the cause for which I am fighting is righteous. If any of you want to give up and come to the cause of righteousness, I welcome you with open arms. At that time, Yudhishthira emerges from there.
Yudhishthira is the son of Dhritarashtra through a maidservant. So he is the half-brother of the Kauravas. He is not mentioned over here.
But that defection happens. Actually, it is Yudhishthira who does the funeral rites for the Kauravas. Because the whole generation is killed.
Practically speaking, all the hundred sons are killed and their sons are also killed in the rites. Yudhishthira alone remains. So because he is afraid that Vikarna might defect, so although Vikarna is not in that calibre, he mentions Vikarna.
Saumadatti. Saumadatti is Bhurishrava, son of Saumadatta. He is also a very formidable warrior.
He was killed by Arjuna. First he was wounded by Arjuna and killed by Satyaki on the 13th day when they killed Jayadratha. So now he speaks.
There are many others also. So then he goes, generalises. Anye cha bahava shoora, madarthe chakta jeevita, nana shastra praharana, sarve yudha visharata.
So nana shastra praharana. They are expert, he is equipped for expert. Visharata, the expert in fighting.
So actually, sometimes Saraswati speaks to the demons to pronounce the truth. So what is he saying? Actually, grammatically speaking, what he is saying, chakta jeevita. So chakta is the past tense in grammar.
They have given up their life for my sake. Actually, what he wants to say is, they are ready to give their life for my sake. They are so dedicated to me.
So he is trying to say that you should also be dedicated like them. But Saraswati, they have answered this and next is the chakta jeevita. They have given up their life for me.
And Vishwanath Chitra Thakur says that Krishna will, in the 11th chapter, 33rd verse, when he gives the vishwaroopadarshan, he says, all of them are killed by me already only. So he correlates this. Because they are already killed, Krishna speaks that later, but now Saraswati speaks this to him.
They are ready to give up their life, but he speaks indirectly, they have given up their life for me. And then, after giving this comparison, he gives a summary of their two forces. This was a very interesting insight of something which we will encounter repeatedly in our study and apparent contradiction between the acharyas.
We will come to that. Yes. So, now the word pariyapta and apariyapta.
So the word pariyapta can mean two things. One is limited and unlimited. Or one can be sufficient and insufficient.
So when the prefix O comes in Sanskrit, it can magnify or it can oppose. Both ways it can happen. So now, Prabhupada follows mostly Baldevidya Bhushan.
Prabhupada dedicates his commentary also to Baldevidya Bhushan, the Gita Bhushan commentary. So Prabhupada translates this as, our strength is immeasurable, it is unlimited. Now Chakravarti Pariksit is exactly opposite.
He says, our strength is insufficient and their strength is sufficient. So now, why is there this apparent difference? Actually, Baldevidya Bhushan is a Dattavacharya. And Vishwanath Chittagong is a Rafikacharya.
So in the background, in our sampradaya, before she left Prabhupada, three main acharyas have commented in the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is quoted extensively by Jiyugoswami Nisandhar Baj and it is also talked about occasionally by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his discussions. Although Chaitanya Mahaprabhu focusses more on Bhagavatam.
So the first acharya to write a complete commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur. So he wrote his commentary called Sarartha Darshini. Then after that Baldevidya Bhushan wrote the Gita Bhushan.
So Baldevidya Bhushan wrote two commentaries, Sarartha Darshini and Sarartha Varshini. Sarartha Varshini is his Bhagavata commentary. Sarartha Darshini is his Bhagavatam commentary.
Now, after him, Bhaktisanta Thakur wrote two commentaries. Although he did not comment on all the verses, either at the beginning or at the end. So one is Gita Ranjan and the second is Sikranjan.
And Bhaktisanta Thakur personally did not comment on the Bhagavata. But Shri Prabhupada commented and he dedicated the Bhagavata to Baldevidya Bhushan. Now if we see, Prabhupada did not comment on Brahma Samhita because he said that my spiritual master has already commented and it will be Marada Adhikrama.
But we see Baldevidya Bhushan is like the direct disciple of Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur and still Baldevidya Bhushan also comments on the Gita. And if we look at it, the two Gitas, they appear to be quite different. Yes, he occasionally refers, but not very frequently does he refer to Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur’s in his commentary, Baldevidya Bhushan.
Because according to time, place, circumstance. So we know historically that Baldevidya Bhushan had to defend the Gaudiya Sampradaya when it was challenged in which place? Jaipur. Jaipur, yes.
When the deities were, Radharani was separated from Krishna from the altar because of the effect of the Ramanandis. So now in the traditional Vedic scholarly circles, for any Sampradaya to be established as authoritative, that Sampradaya’s teachers should write commentaries on three books. These are called the Prasthanatraya.
Prasthan is like the pillar or the foundation. So Traya is three. So the Prasthanatraya is Shruti, it’s basically Vedanta Sutra, Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad.
So Vedanta Sutra, Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad. So in our Sampradaya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says the natural commentary on Vedanta Sutra is Srimad Bhagavatam. There’s no need to write any other commentary.
But by the time, so that’s why none of our Acharyas wrote the commentary before Baldevidya Bhushan. But when this was, when this argument was presented by Baldevidya Bhushan to the Ramanandis, Ramanandis, this is just your excuse. You don’t have any commentary, that’s why you’re saying like this.
They said, no, we can write a commentary. So then, because he had to establish the Gauri Sampradaya as authoritative, he wrote commentaries on Vedanta Sutra, which is Govinda Vashya. He wrote a commentary on Bhagavad Gita also, Gita Bhushan.
And he wrote a commentary on the 10 principles of Upanishad also. So that way, because he had to establish a Siddhanta, so he wrote his commentary. Now, Baldevidya Bhushan is focussing more on Tattva, philosophical truth.
And Vishwanath also talks about Tattva, but he focusses more on Rasa. So, from Tattva point of view, from the factual point of view, Bhishma is much more powerful. He’s far more experienced.
He’s far more expert. And he has so much counsel. He has so much, you know, he has actually been trained by Parshuram.
So Bhishma, from the military veiler point, military skill and military veiler point of view, Bhishma is more powerful. That’s why, guided by Bhishma, our strength is immeasurable. That’s what Baldevidya Bhushan says.
Now, what Vishwanath Tendulkar says is, that yes, actually one’s fighting performance will be determined not just by one’s fighting skills, but by one’s fighting spirit. And as far as the fighting spirit is concerned, Bhishma’s heart is not there in the war. Because Bhishma loves the Pandavas.
And had it not been for, had it not been for the strange quirk of faith by which he took a vow that I will always serve the ruling king of the Kuruvangas, he would not be there on the Kaurava side. But he has to be there. So, because he loves the Pandavas, he knows their cause is just, so his heart is not there so much in the war.
And that’s why in the Mahabharata, repeatedly, Duryodhana comes and tries to incite Bhishma to fight. On the other hand, what about Bhishma? His heart was there in the war from 14 years. He has been wanting for the war to start.
And because his heart is fully there in the war, that’s why he says that their strength is greater. So, their aparayaptam would mean immeasurable. So, from sattva point of view, what Baldevidya Bhushan says and what Prabhupada follows is that Bhishma’s side is greater.
Because Bhishma is more experienced. From Rasa point of view, because Bhima has more fighting spirit, so he is greater. So, that’s why sometimes there may be some apparent contradiction in the Acharyas.
But the Acharyas have one purpose. Just like there is a difference of opinion between, say, Bhima and, are you interested in Bhima? What to do with Ashwathama? But both of them have the purpose of serving Krishna. But there is a difference of opinion between Bhima and Duryodhana of what to do.
One is demoniac and other is a devotee. So, there is a difference. So, like that, different Acharyas may give different interpretation in certain verses.
But they are all common in the purpose of glorifying Krishna. But when a Mayavadi gives a commentary, actually they are completely minimising Krishna. Therefore, their purpose is very different.
And now, after glorifying Bhishma, now he thinks that, oh, Bhishma, certainly he is the senior most warrior, but because we don’t know how committed he will be, he says that, yes, we have to make sure that others also protect him. So, if we take that Bhima’s commitment is lacking, then it means others have to make sure that if Bhima doesn’t fight voluntarily, you should fight. Or if you say that Bhishma is our most important warrior, then we have to make sure that the enemy doesn’t attack and kill him.
Because then our whole plan will be devastated. So, all of us should protect him. That’s what the next verse comes.
Now, when Bhishma is at rest, in two verses, Bhishma gets tired. What is all this politicking going on? It’s enough now. Let’s start the matter.
So, he starts growing his conscience. So, consciousness for the warriors, just like certain businessmen sport their own cars, or certain cricketers have their own bags. So, all warriors have their own weapons, but the start of the war is inaugurated by the conscience.
Everybody has their own conscience. So, Bhishma, on one side, he’s fed up with Duryodhana. On the other side, he also, you know, he’s my grandson, so I have to encourage him.
So, he blows his conscience. Now, I invoke the fighting spirit in Duryodhana, and the fight is about to start. And then it’s described how everybody else also starts.
So, actually, Sanskrit and, as we know, English, the languages originated from the Greek and the Roman languages. And the Greek and Roman originally came from Sanskrit. You know, when the Kali Yuga started off, many of the kings from India went out, especially in the time of Parashuram, they started going out.
And Kali Yuga started, the rule of the Indian monarch, emperor got loosened, so they got disconnected. There are remarkable linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and Greek and Roman. So, tumulo is related with a tumultus.
So, there are some indications we’ll get throughout the Gita like this. Now, the focus shifts. The first time, there is a focus on Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
And a very beautiful entry of Krishna is there. So, sometimes in a movie, when the hero is making his first entry, they’ll show his car moving, the brakes squeal, and then you show the legs coming out, and then you see the camera moving upward, upward, and then you see the hero. Like that, when he’s describing Krishna, how it is, a beautiful white horse is there.
And then behind the white horse is a magnificent chariot is there. And then, who’s there in the chariot? Madhava Pandavasya. There is Krishna and there is Arjuna.
But the striking contrast is that the hero is not the warrior, he is the charioteer. The hero is there, you have a hero, that doesn’t happen in the movie, the hero is not a shopper of somebody else. But Krishna is like that.
Actually, same entry is there even in the Bhagavatam. Krishna enters in the Bhagavatam in the 7th chapter, son of Dronacharya. And there also, he is the charioteer of Arjuna.
And this is the Bhaktavatsal mode. And he describes, of course, because both of them are the lord and the devotee, there Krishna is described to be transcendental. So, from the other side, the call of war comes out, so they also respond with the call of war.
And now I’ll describe how the different Pandavas start responding when they are particularly conscious. So, Krishna and Arjuna are described first time. Interestingly, you see, Yudhishthira, although he is righteous, he is not the most powerful of all the warriors.
And that’s why while assessing them, Duryodhana does not even mention Yudhishthira. And even while the focus goes to the Pandavas, first it’s Krishna and Arjuna, then it is Bhima, and after that, Yudhishthira will come. Actually, when Kunti is supposed to get sons, so Pandu gives his logic.
He first asks, you know, now my son is supposed to become my successor. So, I want a son who will be very, very righteous. Therefore, you go to Dharmaraja and get a son who is righteous.
When you get the son, and then he thinks, yes, righteousness is very important, but righteousness alone is not enough. You know, a Kshatriya should also have strength. Therefore, please give me one more son who will be extremely strong.
And he gets Bhima. But then he starts thinking that, you know, for a Kshatriya, just strength alone is also not enough. One has to have skill.
One has to have expertise. So, give me a son who will have tremendous skill. And then he gets Arjuna.
Again, of course, you know, so he finishes his desires over there. Then Madhuri comes and says, what about me? You don’t have to give any sons to me. Then he gets two more sons, one who is a very expert horseman, and the second is one who is an expert speaker.
So, that way, he gets five sons with five different qualities. So, as far as the battle is concerned, after Bhima and Arjuna mentioned, now after this, you will have Yudhishthira being mentioned. But now Bhima has a special adjective, what is that? Bhrukodara.
So, udara is belly. Bhruka is very heavy or strong or powerful. So, his belly will work overtime.
So, we know that, we have this Virjalekha that she is throwing, isn’t it? Bhima said, you know, I can’t fast. He went to Vyasadeva and he said, I can’t fast. He said, no, you have to fast.
Manikatha, he said, no, I can’t fast. He said, therefore, at least make some arrangement. I cannot fast every week, every fortnight.
He said, once a year you fast. And you get the full credit for all of that. So, Bhima, he had a huge appetite.
At the same time, Prabhupada, very carefully qualified, he was not only a huge eater, but he was also a huge worker, performer of herculean tasks. So, Prabhupada would say that, sometimes he would overeat and Prabhupada, Prabhupada would eat so much. Prabhupada said, if you eat too much, don’t go to sleep after eating.
Work hard and you will digest all the food. But generally, it’s easy to do the first part. Second part is not so easy.
Actually, when the Kauravas would, when the Pandavas were in the first Agnyasvas, first Vanvas, after the Varnavas were burnt. So, actually, Bhima would carry all the Pandavas. He would just run out and everybody else would get tired because he had so much, you know, he would eat so much.
It was not that he was heavy and unwieldy. He was very strong and very powerful because his weight had tremendous reserve energy. So, everybody else would get exhausted, but still he had reserve energy.
And he would carry the four Kauravas brothers, four Pandavas brothers as well as Kunti. He would just run through the forest. So, he would perform herculean deeds.
So, now after this time, now he goes to the other. He is a very powerful warrior and his role will come up later as we know. Now, I will describe all these warriors.
So, how it was? When the Kauravas blow their conchshells, the effect was that there was a huge amount of noise. But there is no effect on the Pandavas. When the Pandavas speak, blow their conchshells, it’s not just a huge noise.
That noise is described and the effect of that sound is described in the next verse. So, they got a heart attack. So, normally when we go for Mangala Aarti, you know, if we have not reached the temple hall when the conchshell blow, we get a heart attack.
So, those who are inside the temple hall are the Pandavas. They are happy with the conchshell blow. Those who are not yet reached, they are the Kauravas.
So, now, over here, moreover the assessment of the forces had got over. Now, let us see what happens after that. Yes.
So, Kapi is bhaja. Bhaja is flag. Kapi is monkey.
So, now, every warrior has his own flag. It’s called a standard. So, every warrior has his own standard.
And from far away, even if one is not able to see who is the warrior in the chariot, just by noticing the standard, one knows who it is. So, Arjuna had a monkey standard. And when Bhima and Hanuman met in Badrikashram, in the mountainous area, at the request of Bhima, Hanuman decided to manifest himself through the symbol of the monkey.
So, was there actually Hanuman there or not? Yes, Hanuman decided to manifest himself. And actually when Duryodhana sees for the first time, he says, that standard, that monkey appears to be alive. How is it alive? It does not appear to be alive.
It is actually alive. And especially when the war would start, Hanuman promises Bhima that, by my roaring, I will strike terror in the hearts of the Kauravas. So, you know, they see that there are so many warriors here, but this roaring sound, where is it coming from? Because there is no monkey on their side and Hanuman is not like ordinary monkey also.
His roaring is thunderous. So, although he does not actively participate in the war, but he is there to encourage the Pandavas and to demoralise the Kauravas. So, he does that.
So, because Hanuman was on the victorious side and the Lord was also there, at that time Lord Ram. So, now it is an indication that he is going to be victorious. And he describes that, he is holding his bow and the bow is raised for fighting.
But at that time, Vishikesha, the word used to describe Krishna is Vishikesha. He is the controller of the senses. So, both Bhandavidya and Vishikesha would describe that when Krishna came to this world, you know, he exhibited his pastimes and by beholding those pastimes, everybody would get liberated.
But Krishna was thinking, what about those souls who are not present right now? How will they get liberated? For them, I should teach the path of Dharma. I should teach them the path of Dharma. I have to speak the message of Dharma.
And therefore, by the will of Krishna, Arjuna goes into illusion. Therefore, Rishikesha, Rishikesha is the controller of the senses. So, Arjuna’s senses get into delusion by the will of Krishna.
So, here Mahipatya refers to Uttarashtra. Mahi is earth, Patya is nothing. Okay, this is what he spoke.
So, what did he speak? So now, you never fail in delivering your devotee, in protecting your devotee. So now, Arjuna also knows. So, we can see Arjuna’s situation from two perspectives.
One is that actually he is going into illusion by Krishna’s will. But still, even if it is by Krishna’s will, there is a process by which the illusion happens. So, Arjuna knows, I am making an extraordinary request because the conch shells are being blown and the water should start.
Now, instead of sending arrows on the opposite side, what is the meaning of sending the child in between? Therefore, therefore it is Achyuta. He knows that I am going to ask you for something which is extraordinary. But I know you never fail to satisfy your devotee.
You are infallible. Therefore, Achyuta. Please follow, do what I am telling you.
What does he say? I want to go in the middle of Senairubhar Madhya. So, Krishna wonders, why do you want to place it there? So, he says, I want to see. I want to see.
And he says, I want to see. I want to observe. So, Krishna says to Arjuna, now Krishna’s realisation goes into the mind of Krishna and Arjuna.
Krishna tells Arjuna, Arjuna, you are not a spectator meant to see the two sides. You are a warrior meant to fight. What is this? He asks you to go in between.
He says, no, no, I want to see who it is fighting because I want to understand. Actually, the Pandavas never wanted the war. And he says, I want to see how much, who are the people who have gone on this evil-minded Dhritarashtra side.
So, let me discuss in the next verse. So, now who can be so, we all know Dhritarashtra’s son is evil, but who are the people who are there on his side, who are also evil like him? I want to see that. You have some questions? Yeah, as soon as the conch shells were blown, he said, please take us in between.
So, what happened was that when suddenly the chariots started coming in between, Bhishma observed. Bhishma was surprised, Dronacharya was surprised, Duryodhana was surprised and they waited to see what is happening. Because in one sense, the war was something which none of the Pandavas did not want it and the commander like Bhishma also said, I don’t want it.
Is there some last minute chance of peace or something? What is the matter? So, he waited. And then eventually he described that when they start having an earnest conversation, Arjuna will put aside his bow and surrender and Bhishma will stop. So, then that’s why for almost one hour or so, they stopped.
Because as long as Bhishma is the commander, generally the codes of law, war codes are not broken. Almost everybody follows the war codes, even on the Kauravas’ side. But once Bhishma falls, then all sorts of immoral things start happening.
The biggest immoral thing is the killing of Abhimanyu. And once that happens, even the Pandavas don’t care then. Of course, whatever the Pandavas do is not immoral, it is trans-moral.
For the pleasure of Krishna, it is transcendental morality. But still, from the material point of view, it may seem to be immoral. But till Bhishma is in command, Bhishma is very, very strict.
He follows all the codes of morality. And that’s why Bhishma has to stop. And that’s why, although the war is about to start, everything is ready, but still the war doesn’t start.
So, now Sanjay is speaking. So, now, because, see how it is, the narration is two-fold. In 11th chapter you will see this.
In Krishna Yaga, Vishwaroopa Darshan. So, first Krishna tells Arjuna, this is what you will see. And then, so the narration, this Krishna and Arjuna, Krishna does here, you will see this.
And then the narration goes backwards. And Sanjay says to Dhritarashtra, this is what Arjuna is seeing. And the narration goes further inwards and then Arjuna says, this is what I am seeing.
So, the Vishwaroopa is described three times. So, first by Krishna, second by Sanjaya and third by Arjuna. So, basically, whatever is done to help us get a clear understanding of the action, that is done.
So, now in one sense, it was, although it was throughout Sanjay speaking, but now Arjuna was speaking. So, the action had gone to between Arjuna and Krishna. Now it goes backwards.
Now Sanjay tells, okay, what is going to happen? He told, move it ahead. So, now what happens? So, the narrator goes backwards. So, Sanjay is speaking now.
So, now who is, Mahabharata is a conversation between two people. Who is that? Does anyone know? The sage Vaishampayan is describing it to Janmaijay. Janmaijay is the son of Parshit Maharaj.
Yes. Janmaijay is describing. This whole thing is described by Vaishampayan.
So, they are having this conversation and it is described over here. So, now what does Sanjay speak? So, Krishna is Vishikesha and Arjuna is called as Gudakesha. Now Gudakesha has many meanings.
The one meaning which Prabhupada refers to is that Guda is ignorance or darkness. So, all of us know that story. Now Arjuna, one night, the candle blew off when he was taking food.
Arjuna thought, I can still take food. He thought, oh, if I can take food, then why can’t I fight? Because he was practising even at night. So, he had conquered sleep by his dedication.
Because he knew, eventually, I have to fight for the service of the Lord. So, he had conquered sleep. Now Vishwanath Chakravarti has another meaning of Gudakesha.
He says, Guda refers to jaggery, jaggery. And he says, Gudakesha. So, like we have the word Keshava.
So, there K refers to Brahma. Isha refers to Shiva. And A, Gudakesha.
A refers to Vishnu. So, he says, Gudakesha means one who gives the jaggery to Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Gudakesha.
So, why he refers to it this way? Because he says, the form of Krishna is so attractive and Krishna’s pastimes are so enchanting that everybody gets enchanted. So, what is the enchantment here? And we see that in the Tantra. In the Tantra, actually, everybody is enchanted.
There is the Brahma Vimohana Deela offering, Brahmaji offers prayers. There is the Banasura incident offering, Shivaji offers prayers. And we have the kidnapping of the Brahmana’s son, offering Mahavishnu offers prayers.
So, that is there in the Bhagavatam. So, he is describing that this particular incident is two fold. First is that Supreme Lord, who is in control of everyone, first of all he has become the charioteer of a devotee.
That itself is amazing, you see. And more amazing is that, now that person who has become charioteer is now going to become the instructor. Normally, if you want some counselling or some philosophical discussion, we don’t go to our driver.
We will go to somebody senior to us. So, that Krishna becomes the driver is amazing. And then that driver becomes a philosopher and gives instruction.
So, such an extraordinary pastime is about to happen. That is why this pastime, Krishna by his behaviour or Arjuna, rather, by being such a wonderful devotee that by his devotion, the nectar of the Bhagavad Gita is going to manifest. And that nectar is going to be released even by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
That’s why here Arjuna is referred to as Gudakesha. So, tapai tratottamam, the best of the Rathas. It is called the best of the Rathas because it was given by Agni.
You know, all of you know the story of Agni. When in the Indraprastha area, Khandavaprastha, Agni wanted to burn. So, when Indra was not allowing it to be burnt, that fire to be burnt, that forest to be burnt.
So, when he allowed it to be burnt, Agni said, I will give you a chariot which will not get burnt, which will move like fire everywhere and which will never be burnt by fire. So, that’s why the word is Rathottamam. Now, what happens after that? Krishna does something very, you know, actually when the soul desires to go into illusion, Krishna arranges the exact illusion that will put the soul into illusion.
So, just like we say, maya knows our weaknesses. So, whenever if we have particular weakness and maya will exactly send the attack in that weakness only. So, now Arjuna is going to see the battle, see the opponents, but now the weakest or the weakest link in his heart, most affectionate people on the upper side are the Bhishma and Drona.
So, Krishna takes his chariot right in front of them. That’s what happens. So, see again.
Just see. You want to see? Please see now. So, now here, this is like the last verse.
From this verse to the next verse, the transition will happen. So, Arjuna is doing Saini Niriksha. The next verse also he is doing Saini Niriksha and the power of Dhritarashtra, for Duryodhana when the Saini Niriksha is done, it just activates his political intelligence.
But the same Saini Niriksha on Arjuna has some other effect. That is the transition. So, we did not specifically go through these three sections, but it’s more or less obvious.
We have the, how both sides are prepared for war and then they described how, for the Pandavas, there are signs of victory. It starts from the description of how the conscious are transcendental, how the conscious cause the shattering of the heart, how there is Kapidvaja, how there is Athottama and then Krishna as Bhaktavatsala is described. So, this is all in Saini Niriksha Yoga.
Now, what happens after that? Now, let’s see what is the effect on. So, now it’s very interesting, the Bhagavata setting, it illustrates how that by pratyaksha, by over-reliance on pratyaksha pramana, even a great soul like Arjuna can get build up. So, what is, although Krishna is there next to him, but instead of asking for Krishna, he says, I want to see Iksha.
And just see the instant effect. Earlier, before he actually went and saw, before he goes in the middle of the battlefield, he is saying, I want to see those who are dhartarastra se durbuddhe, yudhe pre chikhir chava, who are those who are assisting the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra. But as soon as he goes inside and sees, he doesn’t see them as evil-minded.
He sees them as, oh, they are my grandfathers, they are my brother-in-laws, they are my sons, they are my grandsons, they are my brothers. So, the whole bodily conception starts overpowering him. So, actually, the Bhagavata setting illustrates, the next three verses illustrate the effect of pratyaksha.
And then after that, Arjuna starts to use Hanuman. And the end result of pratyaksha and Hanuman is vilap, lamentation. So, that’s what happens.
When we rely too much on pratyaksha and Hanuman, pratyaksha and Hanuman can be used. If we rely too much on that, then we will become discouraged in our devotional service. If we rely too much on pratyaksha, we think, you know, how can we ever preach Krishna consciousness? So much opposition is there.
If we rely too much on pratyaksha, the sense of objects are so much and so tempting, how can I keep resisting? And then we start doing Hanuman. Actually, this is Kali Yuga only. And Kali Yuga as it is, people are going to become materialistic.
How can I alone fight against maya? And, you know, we will start justifying. So, what happens? Pratyaksha and Hanuman mislead a person. So, now, from here onwards, the effect, Arjuna’s vilap starts.
Arjuna vishada yoga. So, here, it’s more clearly made out. They are saravan bandhun.
All of them are relatives. They are all my bandhu. And what happens? Krupaya paraya vishta.
So, krupaya is compassion. Now, paraya can refer to transcendental or it can refer to overpowering. That he is overpowered by the compassion or he has got transcendental compassion.
Now, is Arjuna’s compassion transcendental? No, it is not transcendental because he is getting overpowered by the bodily compassion. So, the point here is, he is overpowered by the compassion. And vishi is done.
He starts lamenting and he starts speaking. What does he speak? So, now, here, Arjuna starts getting what in modern language we call an emotional breakdown. So, what happens to him? He gets overwhelmed.
My mouth is drying up. So, let us see what happens further. Vepa trishtya sharire me, Roma harishatya jayate, Gandhi vamkram sate hatha, krupaya paraya jayate.
So, he is describing all these symptoms and Prabhupada explains that trishtya Roma, that hair standing on end. So, this can happen because of ecstasy, it can happen about fear. In Arjuna’s case, it is because of fear, fear of imminent destruction.
Trishtya Roma will be described at the end of the 11th chapter also. There it is about wonder and he is the Vishwaroopa. Now, here, after describing the physical symptoms, now the physical effects, now he goes further to describe the emotional effect.
Deeper, what is happening? nitya-sakno me avasthaatum, brahmati vachame manah, nimittani chakashyami, viparikani krishavah. I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself and my mind is reeling.
I see only causes of misfortune, O Krishna, killer of Keshi, demon. Without knowing that one’s self-interest is in Vishnu, conditions are attracted by bodily sensations, hoping to be happy in such situations. The words nimittani and viparikani are significant.
When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, why am I here? Why am I here? Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. So, basically, Arjuna starts seeing his situation as a lose-lose situation.
Modern terminology has win-win, lose-lose, win-lose, lose-win, whatever. So, he is lose-lose and he will explain how it is a lose-lose option. And basically, what happens? When a person starts thinking, what should I do? Either this or that.
And this also is going to cause me suffering, this also is going to cause me. What to do? Therefore, a person just gets completely frustrated. And when people get frustrated, what nowadays people do is commit suicide sometimes.
So, actually, it all begins because one is seeing only from one’s perspective. What is there in it for me? And if he looks from a selfish perspective, both ways he will see there is loss. And he will describe what is the loss.
And the word nimitta can refer to cause or nimitta can refer to instrument or science. So, nimitta, I can see actually inauspiciousness. For a kshatriya to feel his weapon slipping away is inauspicious.
For him to feel his mouth drying up. For a kshatriya to be fearful, like in the 1st Candlestick Prabhupada says, when a warrior is going away, for the woman to cry is inauspicious at that time. So, like that for a kshatriya, to see himself becoming weak is considered inauspicious.
So, he is saying, I am seeing all this viparita nimitta, this is not very good. So, this viparita nimitta, if it affects on himself, he is feeling alarmed by that. Viparita nimitta is also, if he is looking in the future, he thinks, oh, whatever I fight, I am not going to gain in any way.
And how he feels he is not going to gain, he starts describing. So, the bhagavata historically is one particular incident that happened 5000 years ago. But the principle is eternal.
And the principle is that at the material level of life, sooner or later, everybody becomes frustrated. Everybody becomes frustrated. Whatever we do, we find that this doesn’t lead to any solution.
That I do this or do that. So, then at that time, the bhagavata actually raises Arjuna’s consciousness to help him to see from a higher perspective. Let’s see what sort of reasoning Arjuna gives now.
So, as we know, Arjuna has his five main reasons for not fighting, which I mentioned. Compassion is what he feels initially. And he feels, why shouldn’t we just kill them? Why have so much bloodshed? Let’s avoid it.
After all, they are my relatives. So, actually, when maya comes, for a serious devotee, maya doesn’t come directly as a sense of gratification. Because a serious devotee does not fall for a sense of gratification.
You know how maya came to Bhagavat Maharaj also? Actually, compassion. His baby is dying. This baby here is dying.
Save him. For mother Sita, if he had come as a demon, proposing to her, he would never have accepted. He came as a saint.
So, Arjuna, initially, the emotion is compassion. From compassion, it starts going down, down. Once the lower modes catch us, they keep dragging us downward.
First reason is, why should we fight? Why should we have so much bloodshed? Even if we have the bloodshed, how will I enjoy? So, his next reason comes up now. How can I possibly… So, here, what benefit will I get? He’s saying, if I kill them, all the people with whom I could possibly share my enjoyment. Imagine somebody comes first in this class.
You know, you become a topper in the university. But he’s told, we’ll make you a topper in the university, but you’re not allowed to tell anyone that you’re the topper. So, what is the use of being a topper? Because, you know, material things are enjoyable only when they bring us some social glory.
You know, even when a boy gets a girlfriend or something, you know, it’s one thing to enjoy with the girlfriend. The other thing is, show everyone else, I have got a girlfriend. There is a parade around.
So, material enjoyment, actually, is not so much in the enjoyment. It is more in the appreciation or the envy that one causes through that. So, otherwise, like there was one car advertisement, I saw, you know, purchase this car and enjoy the envy in your neighbour’s eyes.
So, enjoy the envy in your neighbour’s eyes. So, actually, ultimately, all enjoyment is based on relationships. Alone, we cannot enjoy.
So, Arjuna is thinking, all those with whom I could enjoy, if they are all gone, how will I possibly enjoy? If it is Pitamah, my grandfather, Bhishma, when, Bhishma was very happy when Arjuna would excel in his archery and he would encourage him. So, later on, it is described in the Mahabharata that when they are about to go for the last meeting with Bhishma, and Bhishma is going to give them instructions and eventually depart. At that time, Arjuna tells Bhishma, what face will I show to Bhishma? You know, Bhishma, this was the same person, I thought, arrows, but he was the person, you know, when I was a small child, I would come and sit on his lap, and I would play with his beard, and he says, father, father, and he would touch my hair, and he says, child, I am not your father, I am your father’s father.
So, you know, he, for Arjuna, is a virtuous person. So, he is thinking, what can I enjoy if all the people whom I love, with whom I would like to share, just like if we do some preaching, and after doing our preaching, we would like to take those devotees, and invite them, senior devotees to do the preaching, or take the devotees whom we are preaching to, to some programme, where senior devotees can also give their guidance to them. Now, that’s one level where it’s spiritual, but at the material level also, all material enjoyment is based on relationship.
We say, I cannot enjoy. That’s the second reason. Now, he goes further and gives the third reason after that.
So, of course, the definition of Vatatayina from Vastu Smriti, he says, Agni Dogara Dashchai Vashastra Pane Dhana Paha, Kshetra Dara Paha Rasha Sad Eteya Vatatayina. The arsonist, one who, now you can tell, how the Kauravas are actually Vatatayinas. The arsonist, arsonist is one who burns by setting fire.
That’s Varanavad they try to do. One who poisons others. Yeah, Duryodhana tried to poison Bhima.
One who attacks with weapons. Right now they are attacking, but before also once. At the end, although they were not prepared for Vastu, they had attacked at that time.
Then the thief. Yeah, through gambling they had taken away their weapons. So, the stealer of property.
Yeah, both thief and stealer of property are more or less the same thing. Thief means one who takes wealth, property, especially if he has to land. So, by gambling they took both of them.
And the stealer of one’s wife. So, basically, in the Vedic culture, violence is not encouraged, but it is not discouraged also when it is necessary. So, if somebody is a lawbreaker, somebody is an aggressor, then violence against that person is desirable.
For two reasons. One is that violence becomes an immediate reaction, a karmic reaction, especially when it is administered by a king representing God. Then his karmic reaction gets over there only.
And secondly, it becomes a good example for society to see. Yes, lawbreakers are punished. Now, in modern society they have the idea that we can’t give life, so how can we take life? So, we should not kill others.
But not having capital punishment, what is the end result of that? The end result is that the prisoners have to be maintained. You know, the prisoners have to be maintained in the jail and who is going to maintain the prisoners in the jail? So, you know, say somebody’s family member is killed by some criminal, that criminal is in jail, and that same murdered person’s family has to pay taxes to maintain the murderer afterwards. So, ultimately the prisoners, where are they maintained by? By the taxes of common people.
So, it is such a silly application of the principle of compassion. That misdirected compassion. That somebody who has murdered a relative, the relatives have to pay taxes to eventually maintain that very murderer.
So, that’s why atataina, the aggressors are allowed to be killed. But here, when aggressors are killed, there is no sin involved in that. But Arjuna is saying that, yes, atataina can be killed, but atatainas who are our own relatives, they cannot be killed.
So, actually, for Arjuna, essentially, there is a conflict between two dharmas. There is a kula dharma and kshatriya dharma. According to kula dharma, family values, one should always protect one’s family members.
And one should not attack or punish or ever kill one’s family members. So, kula dharma says one should protect one’s kula. And kshatriya dharma says that one should kill the aggressors.
So, for Arjuna, this is the conflict. Arjuna is not just a coward who is chickening out from a fight. No, he is thinking, now what should I do? So, he is saying, yes, from kshatriya dharma point of view, killing atataina is not going to give power.
But paapam eva ashtaya dasamah, still we will get power. Why? Sattva itan atataina, because these atataina are swajanam. They are our own people.
So, at this level, both sides of the argument are right. Kshatriya dharma, he should kill. Kula dharma, he should not kill.
And what is Arjuna’s answer? Arjuna tells him, sarva dharmaan paritthich. You know, forget your kshatriya dharma, forget your kula dharma, just do what I am supposed to do. So, he is teaching the para dharma.
So, as long as the para dharma is not known, the apara dharma is there. But the apara dharma can lead to conflict sometimes. So, he says, because they are swajanam, how can I kill them? So, if I kill them, I will be overcome by sin.
If I am overcome by sin, how can I have possibility? Krishna says, yes, they are relatives, but they are greedy people. You know, they are completely contaminated by greed. Therefore, you should kill them.
So, Arjuna refutes this by saying, yes, they will be contaminated by greed, but at least we are intelligent. If they will be contaminated, why should we act in the same contaminated way? So, he tries to counter further. So, when Arjuna’s argument is countered or objected to by Krishna by saying, yes, but they are greedy, he says, at least we should see the consequences.
And then he comes to the… So, we can see at least that what is going to happen. We are not going to kill. Now, there is a very interesting discussion, very similar to the setting in the Udyog Parva.
The Udyog Parva is the Parva which comes before the Vishnu Parva. There, several sages and other elderly persons try to come to persuade Duryodhana to avoid the war. And there also the conflict is between Kula Dharma and Kshatriya Dharma.
So, at that time, Duryodhana says, actually Kshatriya Dharma is more important. You know, the kingdom is entrusted to me and I have to take care of it. And if they want it, they have to fight.
So, now here Arjuna, there is a very similar parallel between the Mahabharata. But here, so there, there is no Krishna. So, there Duryodhana sticks to his Kshatriya Dharma.
But here, Krishna will not just let Arjuna stay in either Kula Dharma or Kshatriya Dharma. Krishna will elevate Arjuna’s consciousness. But here he is saying that, how can we fight? Because we will lose everything.
And at least we can see the consequences. They can’t see, we can see. And because we can see, so we should not act in this way.
So, what does he say after this? What is this? What is he saying? What, what, we can see. What is that we can see? That he will describe in the next 3-4 verses. Kulakshaya pranashyanti, kula dharma sanatana, dharme nashke kulam krishnam, dharmo bhiva vatyauta.
If any points are unclear, please feel free to ask questions. We will have time for question and answer at the end also. But if in the flow some questions are there, you can feel free to ask.
So, now he is saying, kulakshaya pranashyanti. So, two things he is saying, when the kulakshaya, when we kill all these people, Kshatriyas, the kula will be destroyed. And then what will happen? The kula dharma will get finished off.
Now, interestingly, Arjuna is using the word sanatana, eternal. Actually, nothing in the material world is eternal. Nothing in the material world is eternal.
But he is thinking, eternal family tradition. Eternal family tradition. Actually, the family is not eternal, the tradition is not eternal.
But he is saying, kula dharma sanatana, just like sometimes parents say. You know, if you don’t get married, your wife becomes a brahmachari, and you are our only son, how will our kula go on? Our kula has been going on for so long. So, the idea is, actually nothing is eternal in this world.
So, the nature, Krishna will tell in the 16th chapter afterwards, One of the characteristics of illusion is that, one thinks that temporary to be eternal. So, the family tradition is not eternal. But Arjuna is thinking it to be eternal.
When dharma is destroyed, adharma will rise. Now, how will adharma rise? He describes in the next verse. adharmābhivād-kṛṣṇa-duṣyanti-kula-striyā śiṣya-duṣyā-śubhārṣuṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkara varṇa-saṅkara So, actually, this shows Arjuna’s depth of thought, even in this situation.
Although he is overcome by emotions, he has not just become emotionally irrational. He is not just shouting, sometimes if ordinary people become angry or repressed, they start being completely irrational. Arjuna is still thinking in a far-sighted and relatively mature way.
But what he is missing out is the essential point that we are not the body or the soul. At the level of the body, he is talking very reasonably. He is saying that if the kṣatriyas are not protected, if the kṣatriyas are not there, then the women will get contaminated.
When the women get contaminated, there will be varṇa-saṅkara. So, now, this purport of Śrīla Prabhupāda is sometimes, especially in the western society, considered to be very volatile. Because Prabhupāda says women are not less intelligent and should not be trusted.
And, of course, Prabhupāda never treated his women disciples as less intelligent. But Prabhupāda used the word less intelligent in the sense that, actually, in general, women are more emotional than rational. When they are more emotional than rational, they get attached to material things very easily.
And for them to realise that we are not the body or the soul is very difficult. So, because it is so difficult for them to realise, so they need dharma to keep themselves engaged. Otherwise, they are very prone to be quickly degraded.
And in the western society, that we will discuss about this more in the 16th chapter, but this whole concept of varṇa-saṅkara is practically seen nowadays. You know, actually, in America now, in America and Europe, more children are born outside marriage than inside marriage. More children are born outside marriage.
So, it’s all, they do illicit connections and they have children. And the children, not only are the, like we have, which is the story in the Mahabharata, in the Bhāgavatam, which describes how improper contact leads to dangerous progeny. Nitya and Kashyapa are uniting at an inappropriate time.
Actually, both of them are not ordinary samsaric ideas. Kashyapa is a great sage. But even great personalities uniting at an inappropriate time can lead to disastrous consequences.
Now, what to speak of two materialistic people uniting at an entirely arbitrary time. So, we see, actually, as compared to even 1950s, 1960s, the society that is there in America is far, far more degraded. Degraded in the sense that, so, you know, I just, yesterday I gave a seminar to our Utkarsh boys.
So, we may say that there is technology, there are mobiles, and there are cell phones, there are laptops, and there is internet, fast cars, it’s there. So, from the technological point of view, there may be improvement. But from the social point of view, since 1960 to 2000, what has happened in America, according to them, according to American statistics themselves, what has happened, the divorce rate has increased three times.
The violent crime rate has increased four times. The number of prisoners has increased five times. The number of children born outside marriage has increased six times.
The number, the amount of living together, relationships has increased seven times. And the amount of depression has increased more than ten times. So, where is the happiness? Where is, and if you see, in American society, they don’t even consider drinking and smoking to be bad.
So, those statistics are far apart. So, they are already there. But even statistics which they can appreciate, whether divorce rate has doubled, the criminal population, the violent crimes have tripled, the crime, the prisoners have increased four times.
It’s all ultimately starting from improper regulation of the sexuality in society. When the sexuality is not, when the sexual relationships are not regulated properly, then the whole degradation starts. So, actually, what happened, most of you know about Bill Clinton.
You know, he had some sort of illicit contact. And then the opposite party, they started blaming, you know, he should resign, he should resign, he should resign. So, he did not resign anyway.
But within three years, subsequent to such a result, that out of the six people who were accusing, who were charging him to resign, all six of them themselves had illicit relationships. And they also had children. So, actually, practically speaking, in Kali Yuga, what to speak of being a Ugrumachari? Even being a regulated person in the household life is difficult.
So, it all begins because, and after the 1950s, when the Prabhupada was going to the West, at that time, the whole concept of concept of sexual relationships was changed completely. So, basically, what happened in the 1940s and 1950s, the tobacco market, they realised that we have reached a saturation now. Because, till the First World War and after that, around 1910, 1920, nobody knew about the harmful effects of tobacco.
And they were suppressing it all. They were suppressing it all. And after that, when the data came out, then they started appealing to the daredevilish trick amount.
Come on. Yes, it can cause cancer, but no one can enjoy it. It will cause cancer to others, not to you.
Enjoy. And many people fell to that. But then they realised that we have reached a saturation.
So, in something like 1990, around the Second World War time, little before that or something like that, they decided that there is only one way we can expand our market. And that is by tapping women. 50% of the population has not tapped till now.
And how do you… Now, women would never smoke till then. Because smoking was considered to be a typically masculine thing to do. And then they made, at that time, the major American tobacco market, they made a special thin cigarette.
And then they said that this is a female cigarette. And on the American Independence Day march, they got some 15 of the most popular women in America. They were also there on the march.
And at the most visible point in the march, they told them, when photographs were there, cameras, videos were there, they told them, flash out the cigarette. And they all started smoking. And it became so much hyped, because it was Independence Day, thousands of people are watching live, and so many cameras were there.
And all of those women were paid to… When they were asked, why is smoking so liberating? He says, that was the time when they wanted to appeal to the emotion of liberalisation. Women are suppressed, women are oppressed, repressed. So, this is liberating.
Now, actually, from the around 1890s to 1900s, turn of the century, before that, all the advertisements were appealing to the rational interests of the person. This product is so efficient. This product is so good.
This product is so cheap. Therefore, take it. But from the 19th century, towards the turn of the 20th century, and especially after the First World War, they realised that by appealing to the intelligence of people, you can’t persuade them to purchase much.
You have to appeal to the emotions of the people. So, all the advertisements you see today, there is no intelligence in the advertisements. It’s all emotions.
So, they appealed to the emotions, and because all these leading women, they said that smoking is liberating. That irrational emotion took over, and women started smoking. It’s liberating.
And nobody asked how smoking is leading to liberalisation of women. So, this is a practical example of how the advertising can completely be builder. And from that time onwards, women started throwing out what they felt were the repressive social factors.
They started coming out in the public, and from that time, American society has just gone down terribly. And as American society is coming to India, the same thing is happening in India also. So, actually, it’s not a question of blaming women or blaming men.
But society is made in such a way, like the butter-fire analogy is given. Now, why the butter-fire analogy is given? It’s not that, you know, fire, why do you burn the butter? Butter, why do you get melted by the fire? That’s not the point. The point is what? That the butter and the fire should be kept separate.
So, the butter should be kept very far away, and the fire should be, you know, fire is very dangerous. So, depict both in such a way that they keep away from each other. So, somebody has to work in human society.
So, the people who work will be men. That’s how it traditionally has been. And that doesn’t mean the women are repressed.
They have other alternative roles to play. And they did a survey of 100 serial killers of America. Those people who have killed more than 25 persons.
One person has killed more than 25 persons. And he’s not like a gang member. He’s just a, what they call it as a psychopath.
A psychic killer. And all these 25 people, they found, they did not come from a family which is a normal nuclear family with mother and father. They did not have, the father and mother were not together.
They did not get the love of the mother and father. And especially the mother did not emotionally support the child. So, they say we want to have the career.
But then a whole generation gets ruined by that. So, Prabhupada’s statements, we have to understand the broader social context. It may be true that sometimes women have been exploited.
And that should not be. But the point is everybody has their role in society. So, Prabhupada is the first Acharya.
If you look at Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur or Baldevidya Bhushan, none of the previous Acharyas gave social commentary. Now, Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur was the time when the Mughals were breaking around in Rindavan. But he does not write anything about Islam as commentary.
Because he is giving a spiritual perspective and he is writing to scholars. You know, scholars of other Acharyas. Prabhupada is the first Acharya who gives social commentary.
Social commentary means, he shows how spiritual issues matter. How scriptural verses can be related with our day-to-day situation. But Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur also did not do so much of that.
Because Prabhupada was speaking in a culture which was entirely different. So, he had to tell about the social implications of the current values and the social implications of the Vedic values. So, when we see the broader social context, then we can explain to people in a way that doesn’t put off people.
Sometimes people may just say, and why you say that women are less intelligent? What is this? Modern feminists don’t even allow that. And in the Christian religion, the feminists are so aggressive that the feminists, certain denominations of Christianity will change the Bible only. Wherever God said, the pronoun for God should be he, it’s a he slash she said.
Why should God be male? He slash she said. In New York, they have made a big statue of Jesus. And they say, if Jesus is the representative of God, why should he be male? So, they have made Jesus with breasts and genitals.
And female genitals. You know, it’s so crazy. Imposing the male sex, the abundant sexuality on divine.
And then some people said, how can you portray God as she? So, then they found a solution. Typical Mayavadi solution. Use it.
God said, it said. So, actually, the modern society has completely gone haywire. And all started because of irrational passions.
The Prabhupada, so what Arjuna is describing, that what will happen is, Varana Sankara. So, we see Varana Sankara even in Kaliva. So much Varana Sankara, especially those who are born improperly, nurtured improperly, then they become chaos in society.
Sankaro Narakayaiva Kula Gnanam Kulasyacha Patanti Pitaro Yaysha Gupta Pindo Dakakriya Sankaro Narakayaiva Sankaro Narakayaiva So, actually, when the dharma is destroyed, it is not only those who are destroyed, they suffer, but those who destroy also suffer. Because dharma protects everyone. Dharma is destroyed, those who are supporting dharma are destroyed, those who are destroying dharma are also destroyed.
That’s why I said Kula Gnanam Kulasyacha. Both of them. And because the Mahabharata is primarily at the Karmakand level, the Mahabharata primarily teaches Karmakand, and the Vaishnavas can reveal to us how it is also showing bhakti.
So, in Karmakand, doing Pindadan is considered vitally important. In fact, you will see in the Mahabharata, if a king does not have a son, one of his concerns is who will rule the world. The second concern is who will do Pinda for him.
So, Arjuna is thinking that if no one will do Pinda, then the ancestors will not be able to maintain their destination and they will fall. So, he is thinking very much in terms of dharma only. Arjuna is not just emotionally choked up, in a mundane, modern sense.
He is still thinking in a farsighted way. He is farsighted, but not farsighted enough. Doshai Retai Kula Gnana Varna Sankara Karakai Utsadhyante Jati Dharma Kula Dharma Ashtashashrata So, actually, dharma supports not only the spiritual growth, but even the material growth.
You know, when Machiavelli came to India, he writes in one of his letters, Machiavelli is one of the governor-general of British India, he says, I have travelled over the length and breadth of India. This is just in the 19th century. So, he says, I have not seen a single beggar anywhere in India.
I have not seen a single beggar. Can we now imagine India without beggars? It’s difficult. So, if dharma is there, dharma leads to even material welfare.
That’s what he is saying, that all the material welfare, social welfare schemes will be destroyed by dharma. Utsadhyante Jati Dharma Kula Dharma Doshai Retai Kula Gnana Varna Sankara Karakai Utsadhyante Jati Dharma This is a rhetorical unit. Nobody stays in Naraka forever.
But here, Arjuna wants to drive home the point. So long. So, never, Nityabhadra is not eternally bound.
In the sense of forever. It means for a very, very long time. For a very long time, somebody has to stay in Naraka.
And he is saying that, it’s not just my opinion, this is what I have heard. So, he has heard from the great sages and other spiritual authorities. For example, you destroy dharma.
So, how can I be the destroyer of dharma? So, this fear of sinful reactions, by which he will have to go to hell. He is destroying the traditions in this life, and going to hell in the next life. So, now he starts lamenting.
He says, how can I act so shamefully? Aho, batamahatpapam kartum vyavasitavayam yadrajya-dukha-lobhena hantum yadrajya-dukha-lobhena So, now, for the first time, Arjuna is using the plural to refer to himself. Vayam. Earlier, he has used it occasionally.
So, he is saying that, I and all my Pandava brothers, and especially I and you, how can we fight like this? So, he is giving his reasoning, and he is trying to get Krishna also on his side. Yes, how can we fight? Allah, how are we about to fight if we are not impelled by greed like this? No, no, we cannot fight like this. And then, Krishna says, if you don’t fight, it’s not that if you become compassionate, they will also become compassionate.
They will not become compassionate. They are going to kill you. So, actually, Prabhupada will quote here, in the next chapter also, he says, non-violence for a Kshatriya may be just a matter of strategy, but it’s not a matter of principle.
Sometimes, a Kshatriya may decide, this institution is not good to fight, so let’s strike a deal. But, non-violence is never a matter of principle. Mahatma Gandhi is revered as the apostle of non-violence.
Now, certainly, his aspects of being a celibate, living a simple life, he is promoting a cottage-based industry, that is good, but non-violence as a matter of principle doesn’t work. Prabhupada said that, actually, India won independence not because of Gandhi, it was because of the Indian Army’s rebellion, Subhash Chandra Bose. But, there was a movie, sort of sarcastic movie made about Gandhi, which was banned in India, it was called Eight Minutes, after.
So, what was the movie? They basically showed that Nathuram Bose shot and killed Gandhi. And, after he fell, that Gandhi had persuaded the whole country with his philosophy of non-violence, that nobody decided to do anything. And, Nathuram Bose shot Gandhi and went away, coolly.
Everybody stood there like that, doing nothing. So, the idea was that there are certain situations when violence is absolutely essential. So, you know, if somebody has killed Gandhi, obviously, the nation will have to kill him.
Of course, whether that was right or wrong, that’s a whole different issue. We are not going to get into that. But, the point is, Prabhupada also had to face this, when he was in America.
He said, you know, how can God cause war? You know, God should bring peace, peace, peace. And, especially because the Vietnam War was going on at that time, and youth were being forced into that. So, Prabhupada was so brilliant.
There was one Goldsmith. He was a lawyer. He was the only respectable person coming for Prabhupada’s role.
Others were all hippies. So, Prabhupada was giving a class and at that time he said, Swamiji, but how can God cause, how can God impel war? So, Prabhupada asked, what’s wrong? No, God should bring about peace. Prabhupada asked him, what is your definition of peace? Peace means no war.
Isn’t that obvious? You are looking at everyone as if this is a stupid question. Prabhupada said, even if there is no war, there will be thousands of things that will disturb your peace. So, he says, peace is not possible in this world.
What Krishna is telling us is not a mundane war or mundane peace. What Krishna talks about is the peace of the heart. Peace of the heart, when the heart comes in harmony with Krishna.
So, Bhagavad Gita is not talking about an ordinary war, basically. There is one Hindu commentator who wrote on the Bhagavad Gita, we Indians, we Hindus have not followed the Bhagavad Gita and that is why India is suffering. If Indians had followed the Bhagavad Gita, you know, as soon as Pakistan was bombed, we would attack and destroy Pakistan.
Then we would have been true followers of Bhagavad Gita. Krishna told Arjuna to fight. So, we should all have fought also.
So, actually, the Bhagavad Gita was always a respected book but during the independence time, it became a popular book. Why popular? Because all the independence leaders, because the Christians had their Bible, a handy book, small book relatively speaking, New Testament, and Muslims had their Quran. Hindus had no one book.
You know, somebody has their Shiv Purana, somebody has their Bhagavatam, somebody has their Upanishads. So, they decided, we need one book which can unify everyone and they decided to read the Bhagavad Gita. So, it’s interesting, practically all the political leaders, like Gandhi, Tilak, all of them, Aurobindo, all of them wrote their political commentaries when they were in jail.
You know, especially, you know, basically in jail you don’t have anything to do. Especially Gandhi and Tilak, they prided themselves on the fact that, you know, we did not refer to any traditional commentaries while reading the Bhagavad Gita. We did not refer to anything.
So, you know, there is reading from a book and there is reading into a book. Reading into a book means what? There is something in my mind and I find that inside the book. So, it’s not I am not reading to see what the book will tell me, I am reading to see what I can find inside the book.
So, some of the political leaders, it’s not that nationalism is wrong, it’s not that India should not fight Pakistan. If it’s required, it can do that. But that war is not the essential message of the Bhagavad Gita.
Bhagavad Gita is something far higher. So, there were these political leaders, they said that actually, very interesting, that they said actually, you know, Dharma has to be re-established and Dharma has to be destroyed. So, actually, the Adharma is this British rule.
And Avatar of Krishna that has come, you know what is that? That is the Indian National Congress. The Congress is the Avatar and this Congress will uproot the Adharma and we are following the Bhagavad Gita. There are Indian national leaders who wrote commentaries like this.
So, no wonder Prabhupada was angry, you know. Prabhupada will say, Bhagavad Gita as it is. As I say that, suppose, you know, sometimes, if you have, say, some devotee giving a class and the audience is mostly Hindi.
So, you have a speaker who is speaking in English and the translator is translating in Hindi. But, suppose we have a situation where nobody in the audience knows Hindi. So, I do the translation and translation is a very difficult service, in public especially.
Because all those who know both the languages, they are all testing how accurately you translate. They hear this because otherwise, you know, what is the engagement for them? They have already heard first. They have already heard what the speaker has spoken.
So, when it is being repeated, what is there to engage them? They have to assess whether it is correct or not. That’s why it is very difficult. But, the point is, imagine a situation where nobody in the audience knows English and the speaker is speaking in English and the translator is supposed to translate that and speak in Hindi.
But, suppose the translator starts giving his own lecture. If the speaker is speaking something, the translator is doing something else. And everybody thinks, oh, the translation is only going on.
In that audience, one person is there. Hey, what are you doing? You are not speaking what he is speaking. You are not translating properly.
Don’t disturb. Be peaceful. Be calm.
It is a very peaceful atmosphere. This is not peaceful. This is nonsense.
So, what happens is, Prabhupada is like that. Many people say, why does Prabhupada criticise so many people? But, Krishna is speaking the Bhagavad Gita and all these commentators, what they are doing is, they are speaking something else only. And most people don’t know what is Bhagavad Gita.
Whatever you say, that is Bhagavad Gita. So, Prabhupada is one Acharya who knows actually what is Bhagavad Gita. This is not Bhagavad Gita.
Now, everybody has a right to propagate their philosophy. That, we agree. Even in the Vedic times also, there were Atheists, there were Materialists, there were Charvak Munis.
But Charvak Muni never wrote a commentary on Bhagavad Gita. So, the point is, Prabhupada would say that, okay, you want to spread your own philosophy, spread your philosophy, but don’t claim that this philosophy is based on Bhagavad Gita. So, that is the essential problem because people don’t know.
Common people are completely ignorant about Bhagavad Gita. Therefore, anybody who speaks anything on Bhagavad Gita, people accept that. They say, oh, Bhagavad Gita is speaking, then it must be true.
So, even Nehru in his autobiography writes that, actually, I can never understand why people bow in front of stone and wood. And I have never found the idea of God as having any practical utility. But, in a religious country like India, knowing a few Sanskrit verses and being able to quote from the Sanskrit books is very useful.
That’s why I do this. We are so explicitly atheistic. But most other commentators, most other Indian leaders are not like that.
They were very implicit. They had no faith in Krishna, but they would take the name of Krishna and try to get credibility for themselves. That was the problem.
Now, Arjuna is saying that, actually speaking, if we don’t… Krishna tells him that, if you don’t fight, then what will you do? You will lose. You will be killed ruthlessly. So, Arjuna is saying, dying is better.
Unarmed and unresisting. Two things. No weapons and not even a fighting spirit.
I will not fight at all. Let me be killed. And why is he saying Ashastra? Because in the next verse, he will put down his Ashastra.
He will put down his Gandiva. So, Shara and Chapa is bow and arrow. He puts him aside.
So, actually, Arjuna’s bow represents the determination of the soul to serve Krishna. So, what happens by over-reliance on protection of Hanuman? He becomes disheartened. The imagery is also very significant.
The last verse of the Bhagavad Gita is what? So, he has again picked up the bow. So, actually, at the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna puts aside. I cannot fight.
At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, he picks up his bow and is ready to fight. So, like that, for us also it happens that by protection of Hanuman, we lose our determination. I cannot serve.
I cannot go on like this. But then, when we hear Shabda, when we hear the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, that rejuvenates our determination. And then we also become determined to fight.
So, when the first initiation ceremony took place, Prabhupada told the devotees that from now on, whatever happens, you should never lament. Because Krishna has taken the reins of your life chariot. Now that you have taken the centre of a spiritual master, it’s like all of our body is like a chariot.
Normally, we say that the chariot is the intelligence. But when we surrender to a spiritual master, the spiritual master’s words become our intelligence. That means Krishna becomes our intelligence.
So, Prabhupada told that Krishna, you have handed the reins of your chariot to Krishna. And therefore, there is no reason for you to lament. Krishna will take care of everything.
So, actually, Krishna was at the chariot of Arjuna. But Arjuna is rejected. Now, we will see from the next chapter onwards.
So, how Arjuna, one by one, all these arguments are refuted by Krishna. So, the three arguments will be refuted in the next chapter itself. The last argument will be refuted in the third chapter.
And the final argument, which is the fifth reason for not fighting, will be indecision. Which will come in the sixth verse of the next chapter. That will be refuted at the end of the Bhagavad Gita.
In the sixth verse, Krishna will be saying, Arjuna will say, I don’t know what to do. What is better, I don’t know. Then, in 18.73, Arjuna replies, I’ll do what you say.
There, and this way, Krishna will systematically answer specifically Arjuna’s questions and Krishna will do one thing more. Because Arjuna is confused about Kula Dharma and Kshatriya Dharma. So, all the different kinds of Dharma that are there in the Vedic culture, Krishna will briefly explain them, hierarchise them, and show how Bhakti is the highest.
So, because Arjuna has to choose a particular path. That’s why Bhagavad Gita is the most practical book. The kind of dramatic setting that the Bhagavad Gita has, no other book has.
Quran was not spoken on the battlefield. Bible was not spoken on the battlefield. Or the Bodhisattva, or whatever other, no other scripture is so deeply philosophical at the same time so eminently practical.
So, it is deep philosophy about the practical course of action. So, how Arjuna’s different questions will be answered, we’ll discuss in tomorrow’s class. Thank you very much.
Shri Krishna Bhagavan Ki Shri Bhagavad Gita Ki Tomorrow we’ll try to complete his 30th verse. Because there one section ends about the Atma. And the Karmakant section will start after that.
So, if you feel this speech was a little fast.