Gita study Mumbai 2012- 01.27-46 Giving up horizontal relationship for vertical relationship

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
We start with the 2nd section of Bhagavad Gita, 1st chapter, verse 1.27 onwards. So the 1st section was talking about Saimya Koyeksha Yoga Observing the Ardha Yoga and the 2nd section talks about the consequence of this observation that is Arjuna Kshatriya Yoga. TAN SAIKSHYA SUKHANTEYA SARVAN BARGO NAVASTHITAN DUPAYA PARAYA BISHTO NISHIDANIDHA VAKRAMIYE So TAN SAIKSHYA, TAN means all those.
SAIKSHYA means these. So Kaunteya, Arjuna saw them. What happened to them was, he saw that they are all SARVAN BARGO NAVASTHITAN So now I can’t go any further.
And by that DUPAYA PARAYA BISHTO So DUPAYA here means compassion. PARAYA, another word, PARAYA can mean trans-individual. But in this case, Shatrughna Upanishad the performance is of trans-individual.
But it’s overpowering. So PARAYA means so strong that it overpowers him. Because something is trans-individual it can overpower us.
Because something is so strong, something should overwhelm us. So Arjuna is overwhelmed by DUPAYA PARAYA BISHTO and NISHIDANIDHA VAKRAMIYE. He starts slandering because of that.
So SARVAN BARGO NAVASTHITAN So who are all these bandhus over here? I’ll describe. So who are these Pitamaha here? Adhvishma is the most important among them. Then yesterday I mentioned about Purushrava and Somadatta.
So Somadatta is also like an elder. So Purushrava is like his equal. Somadatta is also like his father figure for him.
Acharya is Drona as well as Trapacharya. Matulal and Bratul. So Matulal is my daughter-in-law.
Shalya, correct. Bratul is all the Kauravas are there. They are his brothers.
Putran, Kauravas. Duryodhana’s son is named Lakshmana. Like that there are many other sons he had.
Then Pautran. So now grandsons, what is being referred to over here? Actually, as we know, Prabhupada’s sons are almost 120 years old. So they also had their ransom of the Siddhis.
Sakhims refers to people like Ashwaghama. He was a close friend. Krutavarman was also his close friend.
And Shashural, Surudesh, Jaipur. Now we know. Surudha, actually many of these people were there as well.
Shalya would of course drift. Shalya was coming for the battle and when he was coming for the battle, along the way, Duryodhana made very nice reception for the Jews. Along the way for staying and for taking care.
But he told the soldiers not to leave. Who will take care of these? They served him very nicely. And then when he served him very nicely, he became very happy and he says, you know, whoever has a… that person will arrange such nice accommodation and grants for me.
You know, I will offer my full service to you. And he was thinking, actually it’s a Vishnu with the Jews. And at that moment, Duryodhana just really came along.
He said, I don’t need anything. So please, help me with the war. And Shalya came and gave him praise.
Gave him praise. But, he said that, I have given my word, so I will fulfil. He was quite disappointed.
And he went to… He said, okay. I will explain, I will explain to everyone. Shalya is actually the brother of Martin.
So, in that sense, there was a matter of being… matter of being Pandavas. So, he goes there. Is this Shalya or Shalya? I think it’s Shalya.
Shalya. Shalya is a person who attacks Krishna in Dwarka. He gets a… He gets a… Invisible place, by which you can call Shiva.
And he comes and attacks Dwarka quite fiercely. So, then he comes and tells his wife, Krishna’s father, and he tells Vishnu what has happened, how he is treated. Vishnu is disappointed, but he says that, please bless us.
And then, he also says that, I am sure, in the last battle, among the last battles, it will be Karna and Arjuna. At that time, Shalya… Shalya is not only a very powerful warrior, he is also a very strict charioteer. So, he says, in the last few days, he is a charioteer.
At that time, you can network by discouraging Karna. So, disheartened Karna. So, Shalya, if it happens, there has to be something, I have to put it.
And then, this is 17th, 16th day, there is a battle. Karna, mentally, defeats everyone, all the Pandava brothers, in battle. He might be almost defeated, but enough.
Bhima and Karna had several encounters in the battle. And sometimes, Bhima is… Bhima gets the upper hand and Karna gets the upper hand. But, on the 17th day, at the start of the battle, Karna goes to Arjuna and he says, actually, I am equal to Arjuna in everything, and I am superior also.
But, there is one way, in which, Arjuna is faster, and that is, he has the expert charioteer. And I need an expert charioteer, if I am to do it. And, he says, please ask, I will become a charioteer.
Arjuna is shocked at this request. First of all, most of the war has been filled now, and it is… it is… it was a dismaying prospect for him to think that one of his foremost charioteers, another warrior, is going to become a charioteer. And he said, he was a very respectable man, how would he agree to do a charioteer to someone, and that too for a Suta Putra.
So then, Karna says, this is what I have been in the same shape of it. Karna insists on it. And then, he goes and he speaks very flattering words to Arjuna, and then he says, I need one charioteer for you.
And then he tells, can you become a charioteer for me? And then, so I have an insight, you know, for such a request, I should kill you right now. If I don’t do it, it is an insight to me. Do you think I am any lesser warrior than him? You tell me, I will kill whatever warrior he can kill and move.
He says, at the very least, I am going to leave the army and go away. I cannot do this insight. So, Duryodhana’s political mind starts working over him.
He says, actually, no, no, I don’t consider you in any way lesser than any other warrior on this battlefield. In fact, the greatest warrior in this whole assembly is Krishna. And Krishna has taken the role of charioteer for me.
Similarly, I consider you the greatest warrior over him. And, just as Keshava has taken this role, I am requesting you to take this replete role instead of me. I don’t want to discriminate you.
So, then, he has a comparison with Krishna and he becomes a little classified. And then, he also thinks that this is the way I can serve you the students. So, then, he becomes a charioteer and as they are going along, Karna starts shouting, all soldiers, tell me where is Arjuna? Who was telling me the whereabouts of Arjuna? I was given my handsome reward.
So, Karna tells him, no need to reach the reward, you’ll find me sleeping. So, Karna gets a little let out. And then, he starts, today I will kill Arjuna.
He said, you know, braggers keep blowing for empty words. But so many times there were battles and he had never succeeded against Arjuna. Many people have this idea that Karna was not only virtuous, but he was also, he was actually better than Arjuna in power, in archery.
But, if you look at the history, one of the evidences is that Arjuna was superior, which are unruly battles between his propriety Virat. Virat at that time, Arjuna was alone and everybody was there. But, not just Karna, all the Maharajas were there.
Of course, Karna had this excuse, Karna did not take a Shakti couple at that time. Because, somehow he was, he didn’t expect to meet Arjuna. So, you know, he just regretted that mistake.
If I had my Shakti, I would have settled the whole issue at that time. Any other times? When the Gandharvas had attacks, when they had gone to Saurav, made fun of the Pandavas, taunting their wealth and contrasting their wealth with the poverty of the Pandavas, the Gandharvas came and arrested Duryodhana. They told Duryodhana, get out of here.
Duryodhana then soldiers were attacking him. Karna was there amongst the attackers. So, Duryodhana was defeated by Karna.
So, the Gandharvas defeated Karna and then the Gandharvas were defeated by Arjuna. Similarly, when Dronacharya would ask for a Guru Dakshina, Dronacharya asked him, well, he said, please defeat the Drupada and take another Drupada. So, all the Pandavas were out to go together.
So, at that time, Duryodhana said, please go and defeat this. So, Arjuna said, let them go. So, Duryodhana went along and because Duryodhana had so much trust in Karna, he took Karna also with him.
So, at that time, Drupada army defeated all of them and then Arjuna defeated Drupada army and the Pandavas. So, actually, if you look at the history, it’s not that Karna was more powerful than Arjuna. Which was his contest? Good question.
It’s possible. See, if it was there, the competition between Karna and Drupada that bad or better than Arjuna. See, it links to the Mahabharata that I have read.
There are different presentations of the Mahabharata but they are not substantially different. And only competition or the competitive encounters that happen between them is in two places. One is the Mahabharata and another is the Mahabharata.
So, the competition between the Mahabharata and the Mahabharata is the competition between So, the competition between the Mahabharata and the is the competition between And the competition between Drupada and Drupada is the between Drupada and Drupada but the So, he does everything that Arjuna does equally. Then after that, he says, can I have a direct confrontation with Arjuna? So, Arjuna grabs his phone. As soon as he has seen it, he feels the need to curve that and as soon as he goes in, he sees Karna.
He says, this is my phone you have been calling. Arjuna, through him I will be able to come back, otherwise there is no hope for it. So, before that there had been a duel between Bhima and Arjuna.
And that had become too earnest. So, Kripa and Svatthama came in and stopped them. So, then Arjuna was immediately ready and Drona was not.
So, then Kripa said, ask them directly. Duels can only be among equals. You need to know who you are.
What is your dynasty? What are your antecedents? We know Arjuna’s antecedents. And that time, Radhe, who is the father, Adhirata, who is the person called adopted Karna, who comes along and he embraces Karna for showing him the infidelities. And then when they see it, oh, he is actually a Sutaputra.
So, at that time, Drona sees Arjuna and he says, just see his prowess. He says, he is not a Sutaputra. I am sure he is a Kshatriya.
And then he gives a speech. Actually, caste is not that word. Caste is by quality.
Where he says, if you think that he is not a Kshatriya, I will make him a Kshatriya by tonight. He says, I will give him a marriage. And then Karna was completely imitated by that.
It sold out to Duryodhana because it is a moment of dishonour. Karna has saved, Karna’s honour has been saved by Duryodhana. But what Karna doesn’t realise is that Duryodhana is going to use him as a puppet for Kumbhari’s evil schemes.
So, at that time, the Abhishek is initially performed. And as the battle is due, it is about to start, the sun sets at that time. And then the battle begins again.
Second confrontation happens. Hyderabad is vanquished. Hyderabad is vanquished.
The Kshatriyas come and exhibit their prowess in front of them. They see that Karna has come along. And the Abhishek says that Magister will not marry Duryodhana.
So Karna feels very insulted by that. And then afterwards, when all the Kshatriyas have failed, then Arjuna comes forward. When Arjuna comes forward, he goes down to the Kshatriya clan, to Drupada and he says, is a Brahmana allowed to compete in this battle? So, Drupada looks curiously.
This is a very well-fitting Brahmana. So, it is surely a Brahmana that was obedient to the Kshatriyas in the beginning. So, surely a Brahmana will compete.
So, all the other Brahmanas that are there, they start discussing. Some of them say, this young Brahmana, by seeing Draupadi, he has lost his senses and has become lustful. That’s why he is trying to compete in Kshatriya’s contest.
He will disgrace the whole Brahmana race. And other Brahmanas say, no, no, just see how powerful he is. He will actually bring all the Kshatriyas to defeat.
So, then as they are discussing, Arjuna picks up the bowstring and shoots it up. And he shoots the target and Draupadi comes and garlands him. At that time, all the Kshatriyas become outraged.
And they say that Drupada has arranged this whole thing to dishonour us. He makes God out of us and they start attacking him. And as they are about to attack Drupada, then Yudhisthira comes.
As they are about to go around Draupadi, Arjuna, Yudhisthira tells Arjuna, when you are about to go, there is a path ahead of you. So, you need to protect it. So, he says, you and Bhima need to protect it.
So, Bhima runs there and there is a big sword in front of him. So, he is about to uproot it. So, Yudhisthira catches him.
He says, you and Bhima, use some other ordinary weapon. If you uproot that tree, everybody will know who you are. And it will not be wise for us to reveal our identity.
Then he takes a bow and arrow. And then, there is again a battle between Karna and Arjuna. And at that time, Karna sees that I cannot overpower him.
He doesn’t know he is Arjuna. The point is, he is not able to overpower him. So, as far as this particular incident is concerned, I know there are no other encounters that actually take place between them.
Sometimes, Karna has been unduly, what shall we say, romanticised. He has been, maybe it was greater below than what he actually is. So, at least what I have studied, I have not found anything.
And there are many stories which have been added to the Ramayana, which are actually not in the Ramayana. So, maybe this is one of the stories. There is a book called Udyghe, which makes Karna into a hero.
But not all of it is actually based on Mahabharata. A lot of it is a sort of misinterpretation of the Mahabharata. So, maybe we will find out the source.
At least, as far as I know, there is no other source for this particular incident. There are no other encounters between them directly. So, anyway, the point we were discussing was that.
That is how Karna is discouraged by Kali. So, now, all these are our relatives, all these are our friends. And on the last day, on the tenth morning, or the ninth evening, when the Pandavas go to Vishnu to ask, How can we kill him? And Vishnu tells them that Kali will be the instrument.
So, as he is coming back, Arjuna tells Krishna, How can I kill Vishnu? How can I kill my grandfather? This is like my childhood. After playing, when I would come home, I would climb on his laps and soil his clothes. I would play with his beard and say, Father, father.
And he would ponder my hair and say, Boy, I am not your father. I am your father’s father. So, Arjuna would play with his beard and say, How can I fight with them? And then, he starts speaking to Arjuna.
He starts speaking, let us see what he speaks. Arjuna says, So, So, Dhrishtve ma, Dhrishtve ma, these Dhrishtvas, I see, Swajanam, they are all my friends. So he is describing what is the physical effects of their seeing and along with that he is also describing the mental effects.
So when you are overcome by emotions, well emotions affect the body also. So, Sridhanti mamata atrani, unkham japadi shushti. My mouth is drying up and my limbs are trembling.
So actually Prabhupada explained all this. There is ashtavika that happens also. But these intense emotions can happen because of material things, it can happen because of spiritual things.
Emotions are the sort of transit between the soul and the gross body. They happen in the primal, the two things happen in the mind. So the emotions can be related to the soul or the emotions can be related to the body.
So the two forms of emotions are expressed in between the two. So, initially when Indraprabha and Lakshmana sees Bharat coming along, he thinks Bharat has come to attack and kill us. And he is very angry.
He says, today I will kill Bharat. And then Lord Ram completely deflates and rises. Actually, Bharat’s love for me is more than his love for me.
He says, Bharat has offended you, you should forgive him out of your love for him and for me. And somehow in a sense, a bit of sentiment, he decided to come with me. But now you are finding Bharat’s life very austere and you are taking out the frustration on Bharat.
Then, I will tell Bharat that he will stay in the forest and you can go and do whatever you want. So, Lord Ram completely deflates. And then actually we see how much Bharat’s love for Ram.
After all this, it happens. Then Lakshmana asks Ram, Ram, Ram, why do I get so angry? Why do I get so angry? So, Lord Ram, Indraprabha, Indraprabha, Indraprabha, Indraprabha, Indraprabha, Indraprabha, Indraprabha Lakshmana is a sentiment. Lakshmana is a sentiment.
So, now Lakshmana started thinking, he says, I look forward, how I look forward. So, is it bad to be sentimental? That time, Lord Ram gave a very beautiful speech. He says, no, sentiments are beautiful.
Sentiments are the ornaments of life. But our sentiments should help us to go towards Dharma and not coming to it. So, we don’t deny emotions.
Our emotions should take us towards Dharma and not away from Dharma. Sentiments are the ornaments of life. Sentiments should take us towards Dharma and not away from Dharma.
So, how can sentiments take us away from Dharma? For example, if a man becomes attracted to a woman and there is no proper connection, then he says, I feel love. He is giving us, but he says, it’s love. Then two sentiments can take a person away from the path.
Similarly, if you want to become a brahmachari, then we have some emotions towards our parents. The sentiments are natural. But, now there is a categorical difference between, say, the attraction to the opposite sex and the emotion for the parents.
The emotion for the parents is not at all sinful. The attraction to the opposite sex, especially if it’s outside marriage, it can be sinful. But still, the attraction to the parents can become a distraction from our devoting ourselves to Supreme Lord’s service.
So, at that time, we don’t deny these emotions. But, we deny the meaning of our meaning. So, therefore, here what Arjuna is experiencing is mundane emotions.
So, mundane doesn’t necessarily mean wrong. So, there is nothing wrong about our attachment to our parents. It is not anything moral.
But, it is. It is not spiritual. It is not spiritual.
Did I mention earlier about the love between parents and children? No. So, actually speaking, Mishra Prabhupada writes in the second chants that the love of the parents for the offspring is there in all species. And, it is natural and necessary.
But, it is not spiritual. Natural and necessary, but not spiritual. What does that mean? That actually, it is created by nature.
Every species, generally, when the offspring are born, the offspring, at least for a few months or a few days or more, are dependent on their parents. And, without that care of the parents, they will not live. So, it is necessary for their biological functioning.
And, interestingly, among all species, the human offspring is most dependent on its parents. Human offspring is most dependent. Of course, all offspring are dependent.
But, the human offspring is practically entirely helpless. Even the birds that are born, the mother has to come and feed them. Or, you know, kangaroos are there.
They carry their offspring in the pouch type of structure that is there on the chest. So, it is natural and necessary. There is a beaver bird.
Beaver bird. So, this bird, it has a proper programme of family to take care of its children. So, whenever the she-bird is to lay eggs, before that, they find out a good following and bring it.
And, then both the beaver and she-bird start bringing clay and twigs and leaves to cover it up properly. And, when the covering is mostly done, the she-bird goes inside and lays the eggs over it. And, when she goes inside, then she sits and hatches the eggs.
And, during that time, the beaver goes around and there will be a small hole through which the beaver can drop food. And, it is not so big that a snake or some other predator will come inside. They need to be quite strong so that nobody else can come inside.
And, then gradually, the eggs hatch and the little bird nests. And, as the little bird nests grow, they also need food. So, the little bird works harder and harder, flying faster and getting more food, getting more and more.
And, then finally, the little bird gets exhausted and tells his wife, you have to take a job, come out. So, he doesn’t say that, but that’s what effectively it is. And, then they break the opening, open it and come out.
And, both of them seal it together and both of them start searching for food. And, both of them search and they get the food and they drop it inside the hollow. And, now inside the hollow, there are bird nests who are born at different times.
So, the eggs that have hatched earlier, those bird nests are bigger. The eggs that have hatched later, the bird nests are smaller. So, now these bird nests are there and naturally, when the food is dropped from outside, the bigger bird nests get the food first.
And, amazingly, those bigger bird nests don’t drop the food. They take the food and give it to the smaller bird nests first. And, after the smaller bird nests are fed, then they eat it themselves.
So, this is such an amazing family care and family planning and nonsense. Now, in my sense, it’s touching to their heart. But, is there any spiritual about it? No.
It is not spiritual because it’s the environment in the body. And, it is once an appropriate period of the spirit. But, at the same time, it is not spiritually uplifting in the body to the spiritual child.
Certainly, when the parents take care of the children, that is natural and necessary. It is a religious mission. But, in and of itself, it is not spiritual.
The mother will say that, you know, I took care of you for nine months in my home. Yes, the mother will do that. But, the mother actually doesn’t know how she took care of you.
Oh my God, I am not taking care of you. This is arranged by nature. I will say, I fed you my breast milk.
Yes, that is true. But, the mother did not manufacture the breast milk. No, it is same law, we send a child into the womb and brought the child over to the womb.
That law also arranged for the breast to be segregated in the breast within the womb. So, now the woman is only in the post pregnancy period where the woman can have the children but sometimes they don’t have. It is not a man-made mission that you can do.
So, it is a ritual in that aspect that comes with God. So, as devotees, we recognise what our parents have done for us. At the same time, we also recognise that our parents are ultimately instruments for Krishna.
So, it is Krishna who has offered his love to us through our parents. And we are grateful to the parents for having their hand in our love. Ultimately, we can understand that that love has come through Krishna and has to be accomplished.
So, it also means that we also need to serve as parents and love that love. For example, you need to surrender to Krishna directly. That’s why that verse is there.
So, what does it mean? Actually, it’s not just the parents in the Vedic culture. We have three deaths. There are deaths to the parents, deaths to the ancestors, deaths to the Rishis and deaths to the Vedas.
So, we repay the debt to the parents or the ancestors by the Vedic culture. We repay the debts to the Vedas that are found in the Vedas and we repay the debt to the Rishis by studying the scriptures of the Srimad Bhagavatam. So, you feel they were Rishis.
Now, there are multiple categories. For instance, if this was a talk of Devan Rishis, Devan Rishis are the primary. After Devan Rishis, there are four Latin characters.
And after that, there are relatives. So, only these three are primary. And we have debts to all of them.
But what is sarvātmānāya śaraṇaṁ śaraṇaṁ? If one surrenders to Supreme Lord, then one becomes free from all this. Why? Because actually speaking, who are those who are offering us anything? The Devas are offering us spiritual facilities. The Rishis are offering us knowledge.
The parents are offering us our body and quality care. All of them are offering it from they are getting it from Krishna. So, if we are not serving the souls, then it is important for us to serve the instrument.
When the soul is Krishna and Krishna is Benedict Diva, so the instruments. So, the instruments are parents, the instruments are the Rishis, the instruments are the Devas. So, now if we are not serving the souls, then it is essential, it is dispensable to serve the instruments.
Because in this world there is reciprocation. If somebody does something for me, I have to do something for others. So, if Krishna is here, we can visualise a vertical relationship with Krishna and a horizontal relationship with everyone else.
So, we have these two relationships, the vertical relationship with Krishna and the horizontal relationship with everyone else in this world. And in this horizontal relationship, there are parents and superiors. And then some of us, our brothers are older, they may marry, they may have their children, so we are like uncles, so then we have nieces and nephews.
So, these are the five elements. But all these are other Shiva’s like us. So, in that sense, our relationship doesn’t fall down.
And when this falls down, the relationship is important for us to reciprocate. So, if a parent does something for us, we have to do something for them. But the ultimate purpose of the horizontal relationships is to strengthen the vertical relationship.
So, when the Hindus used to say, what is the actual meaning of that? Now, obviously, everybody has no mother and father. So, if all of them are gods, there will be someone who kills those gods. So, and then there are different fathers and fathers who have different opinions.
So, there is a conflict among gods. Isn’t it? So, literally speaking, this verse does not have a complete meaning. The mother and father one, that is what it means is that actually, when the mother and father are helping sons, which is usually not the case, that they are acting as the representatives of God.
And in that sense, they are God. So, the ideal situation is that the horizontal relationship strengthens the vertical relationship. Then, sometimes you may see some devotees have children, and this small child is coming, and father comes and offers obeisances.
The child says, what is my father doing? The child comes and offers obeisances. When he offers obeisances, he doesn’t know what to do. He thinks it is father.
If father gets up, he also gets up. So, what is happening over there? Right? The son understands that, oh, I should follow my father, and by following the father, he is also getting devotion. So, the horizontal relationship strengthens our vertical relationship.
That is the ideal situation. Now, there are situations in which the horizontal relationship may obstruct our vertical relationship. And in that time, the horizontal relationship needs to be centralised.
There are some examples of scriptures of personalities who sacrificed, who gave up, right, arranged a horizontal relationship for the sake of the vertical relationship. Ramanuja, how? He gave up his wife. But, did he exactly give up his wife? He had rejected her officially.
Prahlad Maharaj, a direct example, Prahlad Maharaj actually went directly against his father. Yes, Prahlad Maharaj, now, Shukracharya can be called spiritual master, but accurately speaking, he was always a priest. And priest is also a representative of God.
He went against him. So, we have an example of explicit rejection for the sake of God. Now, Dasharatha may not have rejected her, but still he had to abide by her word.
He said, yes, I have given you my word, I will do my work, I will do what you say. But, henceforth, I have no relationship with you. I have rejected my wife.
So, we have the example of some father relationship. Then, the priest and the apostle relationship. Vibhishan and Rao, they are very good.
Actually, older brother was concerned, one seems to be a representative of God, representative of father, and father is a representative of God. So, he rejected that relationship. These are examples.
Yeah, Harish and Mahalakshmi, they actually rejected the father’s instructions so that they could pull out the instructions. So, they sacrificed the horizontal relationship. So, three, not exactly, because that relationship was already in tatters.
Because of what one had done. The relationship was already in tatters. And they were already enemies.
So, there is no need to sacrifice in that case. Kshatrish Kumar also, it’s a good example. Yes, they actually met.
Their husband somehow opposed them. Of course, Krishna told him, go back and the way for you to serve me is by appearing gently. So, Anandamayi, who says that actually, Krishna did not want to disturb the minds of people and he said that he was a Vaishyan and for the Vedic tradition there cannot be any relation between Brahman and Vaishyan.
So, they told him, go back and serve me. The Gopis, of course. Gopis left everything else for the sake of Krishna.
Of course, we can say that they are transcendental. Not all Gopis were transcendental. Among the Gopis also there were Dalgopis who were eternal associates.
Other Gopis, some Gopis were Apsaras and some Gopis were Rishis. She rejected her brother, everyone. Raghunath Goswami was a very good example.
A lot of examples we got. Sarvambhattacharya? Sarvambhattacharya did not go back. Yeah, right.
That’s quite a big thing to say that let my daughter become a Veda. This is too much. For a father, that is like that is the worst nightmare for a for a woman for the daughter to become a Veda.
So, let’s list this. How did Uttarastra reject? Who rejected whom? Let him speak. So, they left the Pandavas.
Only thing is that it is already time for vanaprastha for them. So, in that sense, it is not exactly a sacrifice. Rejection.
Tea or milk? It’s true. Chetan Mahaprabhu rejected his wife and children. So, let’s first focus on rejected relationships.
So, father, son, all that we have. We have Prahlad Maharaj. Any other examples? Daksha’s sons, Harishwas and Pahulashwas.
Harishwas and Pahulashwas. And we have Chhatushkumaras. Then, any others? Raghunatha Prabhupada also we can put there.
One thing, Raghunatha Prabhupada was already married. So, he gave up practically all relationships. We’ll put him in another category.
And Raghunatha Prabhupada, again, the relationship had already, his father in law had already rejected him. So, in that sense, not explicitly rejected, but always allowed him to sit on that. So, a brother, older brother, younger brother is Vidura.
He never rejected Thiruviknaam for Indrashtra. But he did not sign with him also. there was no explicit rejection directly.
In fact, one of the reasons is his vision went to the Kauravas, went to the Lord Rama’s side. But Vidura did not fight on the side of the Kauravas. Because the only person in the Mahabharata was not Indrashtra, but Vidura.
So, Vidura had directly been an instrument in the death of his sons. Indrashtra would have been so infused that he would not have been able to listen to Vidura. And, that’s why, Vidura still had hope that Indrashtra can be in his form.
So, he realised that his present attachments are preventing him from hearing him. But, later on, his sons are destroying him here. So, when he comes back, he would not have been able to hear from anybody who has been a part of his sons’ death.
But, he was able to hear from Vidura. Then, loudly, Angad M.P. Sutriva, actually, Vaghi instructed him. Actually, Vaghi has a complete change of heart after he is killed by the arrow.
So, he tells Angad, he tells Vipassa Ram, that, I did evil. Vishwendra is here. Arjun, Vidura can do more evil.
And, Lord Ram answers him. And, he has a complete change of heart by that. Lord Ram’s arrow has actually purified his heart.
Then, he tells that, let Sugriva’s anger for my misdeed to not make him victimise Tara or Angad. And, then, he tells Tara is very expert. She will do it.
But, let Sugriva not neglect her good counsel. Then, he tells Angad see Sugriva like me and serve Sugriva. So, actually, he completely sort of, and he tells Tara also, you live under the so, he basically tries to patch up all the relationships that are there.
Then, priest and what is it? Yajima. Is there a word in English for Yajima? Not master. He is not the master.
Okay, ghost is good enough. Shukracharya and Pravinaraj. Then, husband, wife.
So, here on the right side is the one who sacrifices the relationship. So, here we have the Yajni, Pramana, Tattis and we have the Gopis also. And, he has Yaksa.
Bharat Maharaj victim Kai Kai. Okay. See, here what we are talking about is somebody doing something to go closer to God and for that sake giving up the relationship.
In the case of Kai Kai, she had already done something wrong. So, in one sense, it was in these relationships Now, Vibhishan, I can say on the side of Rama, for him, he would not have gone closer. So, it is not that Dasharatha went closer to Rama by then.
They were already invaded. So, but when the horoscope has been something wrong, they rejected that. There is a slight difference.
But still, it is similar. Then, I would put it like family and man. So, here you can put Bharat Maharaj you can put.
Bharat Maharaj is a Bhagavata. He is here for the sake of the absolute truth. Then we have Raghunatha Goswami and Lord Lord Lord Buddha.
He did not develop He became enlightened, but what he taught was not exactly devotion. So, there is no vertical relationship over there. Lord Jagannath is correct.
Lakshmana also, yeah. Actually, we can put many others. Lakshmana and Bharat also we can put partially in this.
But Lakshmana, yeah. He did not exactly reject. He has suspended that relationship.
So, that he could serve Prabhupadi. Prabhupadi, of course. In one sense, we could put everybody who has taken the noun sort of we can put it there.
So, the defining principle here is, not that we are hard hearted. Not that we don’t pay any attention for our lives. But that there is a higher motivation.
And there is a Shastra prescribed for this. So, actually speaking if the horizontal relationship can be used to further the vertical relationship then it is not necessary to build the horizontal relationship. But in most cases, it doesn’t happen that much.
So, that’s why we don’t necessarily reject the horizontal relationship. It’s not that we are going in a forest where the parents will never be able to see us and we will never be able to see the forest. We will never be able to see the parents.
We are also not suspending the relationship. And over a period of time many brahmacharis’ parents also become devotees. Because they actually see that they have a particular preconception about what brahmachari life is.
They think my son has become good for nothing. He’s just going to do everything and he’s going to become a papa and he’s going to become this and that. They have such an idea.
So, because of that they put them down. But actually over a period of time they see that their sons and daughters have been obstructed in life and many of them become normally devoted devotees. They become appreciative also.
So, now here what is happening to Arjuna is that his horizontal relationships are obstructing him in his vertical relationship. So, he becomes over-competent in relationships. And here you can see the word related with eyes comes several times.
See here, I read Dhrishtvayam has come in the 28th verse. Before that, he says Samikshya came in 27th verse. Before that, Apashya came in the 26th verse.
Then Krishna told Arjuna, Apashya is down 25th verse. Four times it has come. Then here before that he himself says Avekshevam, I want this good time.
Then Vivekshevam, six times. So, six times is see, see, see. I want to see, I want to see.
Krishna says, see. And he says, I am seeing. So, basically the Bhagavad Gita illustrates through its setting how Pratyaksha Pramana could certainly be achieved.
Actually, Krishna is right next to Arjuna. Like that, the Lord is like there in all hearts. But instead of taking wisdom from the Lord, he decides, I will rely on Pratyaksha.
I will see and I will try to learn. I will assess by seeing. Then, we go into devotion.
So, you see that the general Pratyaksha takes us into devotion and Shabda brings us out of devotion. So, generally if you rely too much on the eyes, even in our society basically, if you rely on the eyes, there is so much pleasure in this world. There is so much enjoyment.
Generally speaking, maya comes in through the eyes, Krishna comes in through the ears. It’s not exclusive. Krishna can come in.
Maya can also come in through the ears. There is so much gossip. There is so much blasphemy that comes in.
And when we take darshan, Krishna can also come in through the eyes. But there are broad patterns of this. So, here we see the Bhagavad Gita illustrates this.
By over-reliance on the eyes, one goes into illusion. And by taking shelter of the ears, one comes out of illusion. Now, when one goes into illusion, that doesn’t mean one immediately gives up on morality and integrity.
It’s a gradual process. So, it is not that we don’t use our eyes. But Daksha Pramana has to be involved.
Daksha Pramana should be subordinated to Shabda. But Daksha Pramana should be harmonised with Shabda. That means, if Shabda is telling, there is no happiness in this world.
And if we see some person, you know, we may see India win the World Cup and all the cricketers are so happy, all the fans are so happy, they’re jumping and dancing and all that. And then, we see that people are happy. So, when there is a sort of mismatch between Daksha and Shabda, then, what we need to do is we need to understand that actually, this is just an exception.
It doesn’t occur then, but even then there is only a little bit of happiness in this world. There is Sukha also, but that Sukha is a part of the whole. Sukha is what binds this world.
There is a little happiness in this world. So, when we see some person with the eyes and we hear the other person, we need to understand that actually, this is just an exception. This is just an exception.
So, what happens is, we subordinate perfection to Shabda. But what do these people want? They hear this wonderful place of misery. You know, this person seems to be very pessimistic.
We got frustrations in this life, that’s why we rejected everything. I don’t have such frustrations. So, what they try to do is they focus on Pratyeksha and they try to compartmentalise Shabda religion.
You know, maybe these people know these scriptures also. They don’t read these scriptures. They don’t know these scriptures.
They are very pessimistic. They are very pessimistic. So, for them, Pratyeksha becomes like a big set and they make Shabda a sub-set religion.
Therefore, devotees Shabda is a super-set. And Pratyeksha becomes a sub-set religion. I read this Shabda, we accept.
We understand this is just a temporary emotion. In the case of Arjuna, what is happening? He is seeing Pratyeksha as a sub-set. And now, he is going to do reasoning using Shabda based on that.
He is going to quote scriptures also. Scriptures say like this. What is primary reliance is on Pratyeksha.
Now, see what is happening? First it was Pratyeksha. And now, he will do Arjuna. He will start doing his own speculative reasoning about why he should not write.
Let’s move forward. So, he starts physical symptoms. What are the symptoms? What are the symptoms of Pratyeksha? So, being Pratyeksha all my hands are still there.
No Maharsha still there. No Maharsha. My hair are standing on end.
There is lot of ecstasy. There is lot of agony. Intense emotions involved.
It’s Gandhi. Gandhi was sleeping from my hand. Talks were going on.
My skin was burning. Actually, for a warrior this This karpal is like his life and Arjuna even made a vow that he will never incite malarkey. But Sarkamsa says Sarkamsa is causing him to give up his life.
So you can get an indication of how much overwhelmed he is. Now how does Arjuna interpret this? Shaklomi Avasthakam Brahmadev Chabhe Manah Vimitam Chubhashyami Viparitam Keshavati So Shaklomi Avasthakam Brahmadev Chabhe Manah My mind is wandering. Brahmadev Chabhe Manah My mind is very rapidly spinning around.
I become dizzy and I can’t think clearly. So Vimitam means cause or Vimitam can also be an instrument. So the word can have both Vimitam and Chubhashyami Viparitam and Keshavati.
So cause means he says I see only cause of disaster over here. I fight, I suffer. Now with your reasoning Arjuna feels that I am trapped but I lose to the situation.
If I win still I lose, if I lose still I lose. So he says I have seen the causes of disaster of Vimitam. And Vimitam can also be an instrument.
So for a warrior there is the whole science of omens. Auspicious and inauspicious omens. For example in the first cantata from the Bhagavatam when Lord Krishna disappears, then Yudhishthira Maharaj sees various inauspicious omens.
So that describes in the first cantata and this is Lord Krishna. So similarly when Lord Krishna is determined to departing from Hastinapura to Dwaraka in the 9th chapter. At that time the women try to separate their ears.
Because the ears when a person is departing are certainly inauspicious. So now this auspicious and inauspicious is strongly indicative of what is going to happen in the future. So it is said that when Supriya and Lord Ram joined hands and this has come into a little fight and received their friendship.
So at that time the left sides of Vali and Brahma twitched. So for the left side and the right side Sita also twitched. So the twitching of the left side for a male is considered to be inauspicious.
The twitching of the left side for a female is considered to be auspicious. So there are all these omens. Now people may say all this is just blind superstition or things like that.
But the point is there is something much more to nature than what we can understand. And currently when scientists try to predict earthquakes they have sophisticated seismographs, seismographic sensors but still they can’t predict precisely. They can say this area is vulnerable to earthquakes.
But they can’t say when the earthquake will come. Exactly. But there has been time and again documented that animals seem to have some senses by which they can predict earthquakes.
That means suddenly the animals will become the dog will become sober, the deer will start behaving very strangely and normal people will stop. And in general domestic animals there will be some sort of sixth sense by which they can predict an earthquake. And although scientists say that there is no way that they will unlike the brain of the dog or the cat there are no seismographic sensors in their brains.
So at a continual level there is no way they can sense. But still they can see the facts and they are able to sense. So if there is a permitted observation that means that something similar happens.
So currently there is a serious proposal going on that in earthquake prone areas where the domestic animals can be monitored on a regular basis. And in that case they use the predictor for earthquakes. Although the mainstream scientific community is still sceptical about it but there are a significant number of scientists who are ready to adapt it for pragmatic purposes.
Because it’s a predictor that works. Now how it works they don’t know. But it works.
So the basic point of Homans is that there is more to the universe than what physics tells us. And there is such a connection to the universe by which certain things happen in certain ways. So we don’t over rely on the Homans but we don’t reject the principal Homans also.
As devotees we don’t have to bother too much. If I was walking on the street and some black cat went along the way now yes it may be a sign of an auspiciousness but if we are engaging in contemplation of auspiciousness we don’t have to worry about it. At the same time we don’t deny or reject the superstition.
There may be many things within the tradition that might be superstitious. But that doesn’t mean the whole phenomena of Homans is superstitious. So Arjuna is not thinking that actually I have become so emotional because of which all these symptoms are coming.
He thinks, oh some auspiciousness happened that’s why these symptoms are coming. But it’s not such a question. Ashutosh Prabhupada is a very good performer of this verse and he says that actually everybody is self-interested.
And because everybody is self-interested that’s why they are thinking why am I here. So ultimately if we are only self-interested what is there in it for me? That is the major calculation that people use for deciding things in life. Then we will come to a situation where we will find that nothing will be for me either this way or that way.
And once we come to that situation then we will feel frustrated. And then this frustration becomes extreme. It becomes depression, it becomes suicide all the time.
If we are self-centred then every time when I will come back either option is just frustration. The solution Ashutosh Prabhupada explains is to give up self-centredness. To actually become Krishna centred.
When we do that then we can learn to go beyond this. This is one of the many purports over here. When a man seeks only frustration, he thinks why am I here? Everybody is interested in himself and his own interest.
Nobody is interested in the Supreme Self. And the Bhagavad Gita says that Krishna is paraphrased in that way. He finds a real self-interest like Vishnu and Krishna.
So as a devotee, what is there in it for me as a devotee? What is there in it for Krishna? How can I serve Krishna in this situation? And once we have that attitude then no situation is frustrated. Because in every situation there is always some way we can understand Krishna. We may not serve Krishna in the way that is measurable for us.
But still some self-restriction can go on. Let’s move forward. We have a particular verse to cover.
So now as soon as you are thinking I am thinking long term. I am thinking of Krishna. I am not interested in looking at a short term.
I am thinking long term. Actually my question is how can that be? So he is thinking long term but he is not thinking his long term is not long term. His real long term is eternal long term.
He is not thinking of that person. He is thinking of who he sees. What long term is next generation.
Sometimes when somebody wants to become Karmachari he will say you should think long term. You are younger now. You may have some passion.
You may not need to continue this. Who will take care of you? This, this, this. But if you don’t think, you will die.
Who is going to take care of you after death? So Arjuna is thinking that he is thinking long term. But his long term is not long enough. And he says actually if I lose all my relatives I don’t want kingdom.
I don’t want Rajya. Now this was the transition from this verse to the second verse. Second verse is what? First was compassion.
Second is enjoyment. How can I enjoy all my relatives? Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda Veda What pleasure can I get? If those people whom I want to fight they all want to die, that is a sorrow of life. Even if they want to kill me, let them kill me.
And I did not kill them for the sake of the three worlds, what to speak of this world? So Janatana. Janatana can be Janatana or Jana-ardhana. for he protects the people who are his citizens, I want to destroy his enemies.
He says, you are going to protect him, why are you destroying his enemies? He says, you are the giver of pleasure to censors, why are you calling a drive of my censors? But Krishna has his pleasure to censors not by rectifying Raghupati directly, but by purifying and increasing the censors’ service. So his country’s religion is self-sacrifice. Now you use the next reason.
As he is thinking of the red-lidded king, he says, there is actually a reason for this. How can anything be sukhya for Mahadeva? Mahadeva refers to the law of the cause of fortune. So you say, why are you calling misfortune? Actually, the law is all good.
The law never causes misfortune to anyone. But he is thinking from his perspective that Krishna, however, never brings misfortune to anyone. To say nothing of his devotee.
Rajanai is thinking from that point of view that misfortune. Now there is a small concept of aata-taina. Aata means stretched.
Taina is both. Those who come to be stretched both. Those who are aggressors.
Aata-taina. So they can be killed. And there are these kinds of aggressors that are talked about in the Satpadram and other literature.
And all of them said that there is no sin in the world of killing. So somebody comes to kill me. And in self-defence I kill somebody.
And I call it the modern law. I cannot be held liable for murder. Because I have acted in self-defence.
So same way the aata-taina over those six kinds of people. One who comes to kill. One who tries to carry on one’s wife.
One who destroys, sets fire to one’s house. Poisons. They try to kill him.
Okay, we are going to do it this way. So they try to steal their property. So how does the power do that? Gambling.
Have you seen the wife? No. They are trying to kill. Raksha.
Raksha is the object. Now the war ensues directly. And what is this? Poison.
One tries to poison, one tries to burn the house. So basically, those who try to attack, to counter them, when we act, that is not considered to be a sin. So Krishna… Arjuna knows this.
That killing aata-taina is not a problem. But since there is basically… Arjuna is getting a crisis. And this is the worst crisis in the next chapter.
But he is thinking, I don’t know if I should be killed. But actually, if there was a relative, if there was a relative, then shouldn’t they be killed? You know, if a brother slaps his brother. Now that is not the same as a thief coming and slapping a person in the house.
So if a family member is acting like this, then shouldn’t he be killed? He says, no, I shouldn’t be killed. So actually, he is using his logic. There is a moral conflict and there is an ethical conflict.
Moral conflict means there are two sides in it. One side is moral, the other side is immoral. Like say, if somebody is attracted to a woman for a relationship.
Now that is, one side is moral, one side is immoral. That is a moral crisis. Ethical crisis means both sides are moral.
But which is the higher moral crisis? So for example, if somebody wants to come from New Zealand, and that time the parents say, oh, there are so many problems in my life, you have to take care of us, and this and that, and the son’s heart gets torn in that. What should I do? So now, going back to the home, it’s not wrong morally in that situation. This is also one kind of morality.
So at that point, one has to understand which is the superior morality. Which is the higher morality. So ethical crisis is a crisis of choice between two morally valid options.
Whereas moral crisis is a choice between a morally valid and a morally and an immoral option. So what Arjuna is thinking, this is an ethical crisis. Now, in one sense, it’s morally valid to kill the adversaries.
In another sense, it’s morally valid to not kill the relatives. So there are two morally valid options. And if you choose among two morally valid options, one leads to not just morality, one leads to the essence and purpose of morality.
And that is what the Bhagavad Gita teaches. The essence and purpose of morality will be devotion to Krishna. So ethical crisis is the choice between two morally valid options.
And to be able to decide which is the higher morality, one needs to know the essence and purpose of morality. What is morality ultimately meant for? We’ll discuss about this more tomorrow. Let’s move forward.
So now, he’s studying. And I’m going to tell you the third reason, simple reactions. The fourth reason is destruction of family traditions.
… … … … … So now, Krishna may tell Arjuna that see, if you don’t kill them, they are not going to kill you. So if they are ready to sacrifice their relationships to others, why can’t you sacrifice? He says, no. Even if they can’t see, they are no more the chetasa.
… … … … … … … … … why should we not restrain from power? So, Arjuna is trying to occupy a higher moral ground over here. Yes, they will be acting in modality, but why should we act in modality? Kulakshaya kutam dosha. We can see, Arjuna, I can see, Kalyani, I can see how this will be cleaned.
That’s the number three. Now this scene will not be cleaned by a single knowledge. Now the next verse is described, what is this kulakshaya kutam dosha? What is the fault of destroying the Kula? Kulakshaya narshanthi.
Kulakshaya narshanthi. Kuladharma sanatana. Kulakshaya narshanthi.
Kulakshaya narshanthi. Kulakshaya narshanthi. Kulakshaya narshanthi.
To destroy a Kulla one way or other the libation results in Varana Asanth. He says but Varadantra Janthidharma and Kuladharma both are destroyed. Kuladharma is narrow one particular dynasty exists there.
And a dynasty belongs to a particular So both are destroyed. So actually in the Vedic tradition there are dharmas. So if a person is a Kshatriya, then this dharma is very important to charity for him.
So it is like that. Both the Kulu dharma level are being destroyed. And then we will quote.
Actually I have heard, I am not sure if I can speak to the best. So Narake Niyatam Vaso. That one which I said earlier will be Naraka.
Now interestingly the idea of Naraka indicates that Arjuna knows I am not the Lord of the Universe. Otherwise who will be Naraka? So then why is it calculated like this? Actually there can be the knowledge of the soul but still the conception of life can go on. One may think that.
In Russia one says, in America you can say, you are not the body, you are the soul. So you are not your body, you are the soul. So then one person asks question, if I am not my body, then whose body am I? If I am not my body, whose body am I? The conclusion is, I am my body.
So if I am not my body, then whose body am I? So Narake, Naraka comes and says, you are soul. So then he indicates that you are Kshatriya, you are the soul. You know about this.
But their idea is, I am the body and I have a soul. So some corner of me, in some part is surveillance and that is the soul. So actually, although Arjuna is exhibiting the knowledge that I am not the body and soul, predominantly it is the material conception of life.
And within the material conception of life, the soul will have to go to heaven. It is not a spiritual conception. We will discuss about this more tomorrow.
But he says, I am Kshatriya, I have heard. So what is happening? Within this Samtyaksha Arman, he is giving an answer to Shabda Vastu. Yes, Shabda Vastu, I have heard.
I have heard what? And the person will look at him like this. And then he says, he is concluding. He says, I have not partitioned with you.
What a great Mahatma! He is alas. What a great Siddhant to meet you. For what? Alas, alas.
For the sake of just some loyal happiness, we have written our own reviews. Then he gives his review. He says, Krishna has said that if you want to fight, then fight.
Then I am going to have the compassionate ideas. So, he has given this in his own words. He has given, So, that is better.
What is better? Even if I am Ashastra, I am Apavikara, without weapons and without resistance, And Shastrapana, they come with burning hands, they come with weapons in their hands and they kill me. I think that is a fight. Because if I fight, I will get sick.
And that gives us a conclusion that I will not fight. Must be a good conclusion. Very positive.
Sanjay Upadhyay, Sanjay Upadhyay, Vipamukthvaryu Sankhye, Vipamukthvaryu Sankhye, Dhanobhastu Pavishya, Vishuddhiya Sasyadachapam, Vishuddhiya Sasyadachapam, Kshobhya Samvidhamanasaham. So this is the first level answer of Sanjay to Krishna. What happened? What did he do this? He gave up this.
Vishuddhiya Sasyadachapam. So Shara is bow and Japa is arrow and Japa is bow and arrow. What side is bow and arrow? I don’t know.
New York City. New York City bow and arrow. It will come in the next chapter.
But here it is saying Dhanobhastu Pavishya. Sanjay Upadhyay was standing but he sat down. And he did not physically sat down.
Kshobhya Samvidhamanasaham. So in the next chapter we will discuss how Krishna answers these questions. So at the end of the first chapter Arjuna and Vishala are invoked.
Arjuna’s lamentations. And Arjuna has given reasons why they are not right. And Krishna has answered those reasons.
Thank you very much.