Why does Srila Prabhupada sometimes praise Arjuna’s soft-heartedness as saintly, yet at other times criticize it as weakness?
Transcript
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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors. Thank you. So, why does Prabhupada sometimes say that Arjuna is attached and sometimes say he is soft-hearted? See, that is because scripture can be approached at different levels. So, I, in my Ramayan book, I talk about these four levels. L-E-A-D-I-U-S. Scripture can be approached at a literal level. Literal level is a story. We learn the story and the story because it is about Lord Ram, Lord Krishna. The story is exciting. The story is purifying. But it is a pious form of entertainment. Like this Mahavatar Narasimha movie had come. Now people who go and watch movies, they watch this movie also. It is dramatically depicted, they watch it. It is an entertaining movie. For them, the primary thing is not that it is a movie about God. It is good entertainment. So, that is pious entertainment at a literal level. Then scripture can also be approached at the ethical level. Ethical level is where we consider what is right and what is wrong. Then some sections in scripture can be approached at the allegorical level. That means there is something symbolized over there. Like Ravan symbolizes lust. The six children of Devaki who were killed before Balram and Krishna were born, they symbolize the six Anarthas. And then there is a devotional level. At the devotional level, we see everything as the Leela of the Lord. It is all the Lord’s arrangement to pursue His pastimes, to take His pastimes ahead, to reciprocate love, to demonstrate something. These are very different levels. And I could go elaborately. I have a whole class on this topic about how Prabhupada and Acharya used different ways of looking at this. But suffice it to say that, coming to your particular example, at the devotional level, Prabhupada may say that Arjuna’s illusion was created by Krishna. So that the Bhagavad Gita could be spoken. That means everything is the arrangement of the Lord. That’s the devotional level. But then if we look at it from that way, then there is nothing practically to learn for us. Who did right? Who did wrong? And what are right actions? What are wrong actions? We can’t learn much from that. So, devotional level is an important level. But there are other levels also. So, much of the commentary of the Acharyas is at the ethical level. Now, when we are talking at the ethical level, we have to be very careful. These are very great characters. And it is not for us to judge. This person is right. This person is wrong. So, at the ethical level, we focus not so much on who is right. We don’t focus on that so much as on what is right. What is the right course of action. So, when Prabhupada takes this perspective, coming to your specific point, Prabhupada is helping us learn the maximum lessons from scripture. So, primarily in the first chapter, Prabhupada talks about how Arjuna is thoughtful. Arjuna is not just rushing into action. Arjuna is deliberating his choices. And such a person who is deliberating his choices is a fit candidate for enlightenment. And thus, he will receive the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita. So, there are commentators, as Madhusudana Saraswati says, the whole purpose of the first chapter is to demonstrate Arjuna’s qualification for receiving the Gita’s knowledge. Now, his specific reasoning might be wrong. But he is doing reasoning. He is not just impulsive. Okay, I have been told to fight, let me fight. Is this right choice, wrong choice? He is thinking seriously. So, Prabhupada says, we should not want to hurt others. Like you said, Prabhupada says, be soft hearted. We should not want to hurt others. We should not just do whatever action situation calls us to do. We should be thinking about our action. So, the thoughtfulness is good. So, Prabhupada is teaching us that lesson of thoughtfulness. Now, as soon as the second chapter starts, where Arjuna is in tears, samtatha krupaya vishtham ashtupurna kulekshanam, from there onwards Prabhupada shifts the focus. He says, tears are a sign of ignorance. Ignorance and attachment. This ignorance and attachment are associated with the bodily conception of life. And we are spiritual beings. So, Krishna will give the knowledge that will lift Arjuna and lift all of us out of this ignorance. So, there Prabhupada is teaching us a different lesson. That lesson is that our sentimentality, when our emotions control us, we need to develop our knowledge, we need to develop our intelligence. And we need to take decisions based not on attachments, but based on the wisdom that we have. So, there is a different lesson being taught over there. So, we are not judging Arjuna personally. So, is Arjuna a good person, is an attached person or a soft hearted person? Well, it could be both. But the point is, rather than thinking that he is a character with whom we can judge, we see that what is it that I can learn. In certain situations, I should learn to be soft hearted. In certain situations, when I am becoming attached and that’s preventing me from making good choices, let me not be attached.