​Mahabharata 1 – Bhishma – Misunderstood by the world, understood by Krishna

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Thank all of you for coming today evening and I will be discussing on the topic of fascinating Mahabharata characters and as mentioned I will talk about Bhishma today and I will be focussing not on the whole life I have actually done a online course a series of 75 talks on the Mahabharata which are available on YouTube and there I have spoken almost 10 lectures on Bhishma So today I will focus on in this series of talks I will take one incident from each character’s life and focus on that and other incidents I will mention them briefly to the extent they they illumine what is happening in this particular incident So for Bhishma I will speak primarily on about the events in the 10th day of the Kurukshetra war the 9th and the 10th days Now before that Bhishma is a character who embodies the the essence of the Mahabharata Every scripture has a particular driving force So for example the Bhagavatam its driving force is the question what is the duty of a person about to die The Ramayana is driving force of the question that Valmiki asked Narada Muni What are the characteristics of an ideal person The driving question of the Mahabharata is What is Dharma What is Dharma you know that is actually the driving question of the Bhagavad Gita also When the Bhagavad Gita starts or rather when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna, if Arjuna had simply asked should I fight or should I not fight Krishna could have given one or two word answer, fight or don’t fight and that would have been the end of it But Krishna was asked by Arjuna in 2.7 Prachyamitvam Dharmasammudhachetaha Karpanyadoshopahasvabhava Prachyamitvam Dharmasammudhachetaha Yashreyasya nishyatam Bruhi tanme Shishyas teham shadhimam Tvam prapannam So I have overcome my miserly weakness I don’t know what I should be doing So its interesting, normally when you think of weakness somebody says I have become weak Normally that means, somebody tells please lift this luggage, I can’t lift it, I am very weak Normally we think of weakness in terms of physical weakness But here Arjuna is saying I am overcome by weakness and thus I am not able to decide what is my duty So here this is the weakness of confusion We all have energy, but when we are confused then we have energy but we don’t know which way to go Its like if we are driving to a particular place where we have not gone before and we come to a fork Now our car has fuel still, we are not sure which way to go, we will not move forward The problem is not the lack of energy, the problem is the lack of clarity The car has energy but though the car has energy the driver does not have clarity and that’s why the driver does not know what to do Arjuna was a warrior, he had the capacity to fight, and yet he did not know what to do at that particular point So actually that quest for dharma what is one’s duty that is the defining question that all characters in the Mahabharata are trying to find out and to a large extent, our life is also about that If we consider dharma simply as some big book encyclopaedia of law codes which exists somewhere and every time I have to take a decision I have to recollect what does law code say and then try to decide what to do That is not exactly dharma Dharma is more like a compass Dharma itself has many meanings dharma in the Mahabharata is right action so it has many meanings in this case the meaning is right action so what is the right action it is not simply determined by trying to do a match between our decision and some scriptural code scriptural codes are important but real life situations are very complex so what the scripture does is when we study the scripture it is our inner compass gets activated and by that compass we learn how to act and how not to act so in general there is something which is called as a ladder of abstraction this is a concept from literature literary theory which I will apply to the Mahabharata and this I will be using throughout our sessions in future and actually we also use it regularly but I will just make it more specific generally if you consider ladder of abstraction abstract means something which is general so somebody may say at abstract level patriotism is inspiring so ok but somebody else may say I am inspired by how Bhagat Singh gave up his life for the sake of the country so Bhagat Singh or any other patriot we may say they are specific examples patriotism is abstract concept so if you consider ladder of abstraction at the top of it is the abstract concept or principle at the bottom of it is the specific person or specific incident so now when we study scripture the scripture contains specific incidents and if that is what we look at scripture for then scripture will simply be a be a historical tale ok this happened at that time that happened at that time and that’s how things went out and we can study scripture at that level also it is a nice story entertaining story, exciting story, thrilling story and most often nowadays many of the epics are televised as serials so they are depicted as entertaining stories so here it’s just something happened long ago, some people think it’s historical some people think it’s mythological but basically they take it for their just for some nice entertainment nice stories to hear now by this attitude we limit the learning value very much, there is much to learn how do we learn from scripture from the scripture gives specific incidents, from that specific incidents we move up the ladder of abstraction to the universal principle, the principles are abstract actions are specific so from the specific situation, specific actions we move up to the universal principle and once we understand the universal principle we again come down the ladder of abstraction and then we observe, ok how does this principle apply now in today’s time, so I look at scripture ok what is the incident over there from there I move up the ladder of abstraction what is the principle over here and then I come down again what is the application of that principle now, so from specific to universal back to specific that is how we move up and down the ladder of abstraction and to the extent we do that to that extent scripture actually becomes relevant actually Prabhupada was expert in doing this so for example in 15.6 in the Bhagavad Gita he says Krishna is describing the spiritual world Sanskrit of the verses that abode is not illumined by the sun Sanskrit of the verses not the moon Sanskrit of the verses nor by fire now Sri Prabhupada in a translation adds electricity That abode is not illumined by the sun, the moon, fire or electricity.
Now a critical scholar may say, where is the electricity over here? There is no mention of electricity. So what is Shila Prabhupada doing over here? See, Prabhupada himself told that his books are his devotional ecstasies. So his purpose was to not just give a grammatically precise rendition of scripture.
For him, scripture was a living book. And he wanted to show people how it is relevant to their lives, how it is to be lived. So Krishna is giving this point, that it is not illumined by the sun, moon or fire.
Now what is the point of Krishna over here? The point is that the spiritual world is self-luminous. It does not require any external source of luminosity. And this becomes clear just six verses later when Krishna is describing the material world in 15.12. And there he mentions those exact three items.
He says, the sun, the moon and fire, these three which illumine the world, they come from me. So here what is Krishna saying? Taking the same three examples, but he is saying, they illumine the world. So Krishna is drawing a contrast between the material world and the spiritual world, where the essential point is not to make a list of sources of light.
Essential point is to convey that the spiritual world does not depend on any external source of illumination, whereas the material world does. Actually Prabhupada is writing for a modern audience, for most of whom the primary source of illumination is not actually sun, moon or fire. For most of them the primary source of illumination is electricity.
For most of, you know, if we are working indoors, then sometimes it becomes very clouded outside, sun goes back, we don’t even realise it because we don’t notice it. So Prabhupada is making the essential point intelligible to us. That’s how when he is adding electricity, what is he doing? There is a specific list given in the scripture, that is at the bottom of the ladder of abstraction.
Sun, moon, fire. But you go up there, essential principle, at the top of the ladder of abstraction. What is that? Essential principle is, the spiritual world does not require any external source of illumination.
And Prabhupada comes down the ladder of abstraction to today’s world. But what is the specific application? Today’s world, the primary source of illumination is electricity. So Prabhupada adds that over there and says, the spiritual world does not require electricity.
That there is no electricity in the spiritual world. It does not depend on electricity. So this is how, now Prabhupada is doing all this just by adding one word in the translation.
So he is making scripture relevant for us. And the Mahabharata’s actual benefit comes when we understand this principle. Arjuna’s specific situation is, should I fight, should I not fight? From there, Arjuna doesn’t stick to that specific situation.
He asks the question, what is dharma? What is the duty of a person? And from there, he comes down to the universal question, what is dharma? And then that question resonates with us also. What is the duty for us? What is it that we are to do or what is it we are not to do? And exploring how this question becomes extremely demanding for different characters, that’s what we will essentially be doing over the next few sessions. Now in the case of Bhishma, there are several defining incidents in his life.
The background is that he actually was born on earth but he went to heavens. His mother Ganga took him to heaven. And he was trained both in warfare and scripture knowledge by the celestials.
And then he came back when he was fully prepared. So, he was extraordinarily, an unparalleled warrior. He was so powerful in war that in the heavens when he had gone, Parashuram had trained him.
But when he came here, he fought with Parashuram or Parashuram challenged him and he could not refuse. Actually, he bested Parashuram. So, he became so powerful that nobody could match him.
And thereafter he, so he was extremely qualified in every way to be the king. He was scripturally learned, he was martially unparalleled. At the same time, for the sake of his father, he gave up his claim to kingdom.
So, that was his renunciation. Bhoga and Aishwarya are the two primary sources of attraction in this world. Aishwarya is wealth and opulence.
Bhoga is sense enjoyment. And actually, Kshatriyas do have this abundantly. They have it.
Of course, they do it in a dharmic way, but they have it. And Bhishma was extraordinary in the sense that he, despite being a Kshatriya, to some extent gave up both. Now, he accepted the vow of celibacy, means he gave up Bhoga and he renounced his claim to kingship.
He gave up Aishwarya. He lived in royal opulence, but now every setting creates a certain kind of mentality. If I go to a dark room where there are 4-5 beds, very inviting and comfortable, and I sit down to study over there.
It’s extremely difficult because that environment has a particular setting. So Bhishma, if he wanted to be a celibate, he had gone to the forest and lived as a sage. That would have been easier.
But to live in the kingdom and do that was extremely difficult. And he did that because he wanted to do his duty to his dynasty. The duty was that although he renounced the claim to kingship, but he felt that I have to protect whoever is the king.
And at that moment when he took a vow, he said that I will never claim the kingdom, nor will I have any heirs who will claim the kingdom. But I will be the protector of the kingdom. I will be the protector of the ruling king.
Now when he took that vow, at that time he basically was thinking primarily in terms of his father Shantanu marrying again and then having a son who might become the king and he would protect him. And his father at that time when he heard this, he was astonished by his self-sacrificing attitude. And he blessed him with Iccha Mrityu.
And so that vow which was taken contextually in large sense that I won’t be a competitor for the throne but rather I will be a protector of the throne. At that time he could hardly have conceived that eventually somebody like Duryodhana will grab the throne. Dhritarashtra was a very weak king.
And even when Dhritarashtra was more or less situated as a king, it was Duryodhana who was having power. In India before the present government, there was one person on the chair and another person in power. So the situation in the Kuru kingdom was something similar.
Dhritarashtra was officially the king. But because Dhritarashtra was attached to Duryodhana, so if some of you want to come ahead, you can come ahead also. The room is becoming packed.
I don’t need such a big table here. You can move it aside also if required. This can be moved back.
We don’t need this. So Bhishma tried his best to make Dhritarashtra cease. To make Duryodhana cease.
But they were just too attached. Duryodhana was too arrogant and Dhritarashtra was too attached. So for Bhishma it was extremely painful to see what his own nephews had to go through.
Not exactly his nephews. They were his grandsons. So initially when they came and then they were sent by Dhritarashtra to Varnavat.
And there the attempt was made to burn them alive. And they, it appeared as if they had died over there. So eventually when Arjuna won the hand of Duryodhana, of Draupadi, sorry, and then at that time it was Bhishma who forcefully canvassed for their cause.
He said, he came to Dhritarashtra and said, okay, don’t you know what the citizens are speaking about us? They are saying we had the innocent sons, the orphan sons of Pandu killed. So and ever since the Pandavas were refuted to be killed in the fire, I feel ashamed to show my face in public. Now we have been thoroughly disgraced, we have been reviled.
And he says, now is your opportunity to save face. Invite the Pandavas back. Give them their rightful share of the kingdom.
In this way the bad reputation that you have got, okay, it will be saved. He speaks very forcefully. And this is one occasion where Dhritarashtra overrides the opinion of Duryodhana.
And Duryodhana says, let the Pandavas stay out. But on Bhishma’s forceful persuasion of Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra gets them back. But even when he gets them back, still, I think you may have to come ahead.
Your devotees are coming still. Actually you can move this aside if you want. You want to move this aside? If more people come, it will become a problem.
Better move it aside now. Can you move it somewhere? You can just give one chair. One chair you can take here.
So, still Dhritarashtra’s deviousness comes into play. He invites the Pandavas back. And he says, I’ll give you half the kingdom.
But he gives them the barren half of the kingdom. He gives them Khandava Prastha, which by Krishna’s mercy becomes Indira Prastha. And then the Pandavas perform the Rajasuya Yajna.
Bhishma is delighted to see the glory of their dynasty has manifested through the glory of the Pandavas. But Duryodhana is rabidly envious. And then he conspires to have a gambling match, a rigged gambling match, in which Draupadi is just honoured and the Pandavas are dispossessed of everything.
Now here we will discuss this gambling match later in one of the talks. We will discuss it primarily from the perspective of Draupadi. In this gambling match, all the great heroes are there.
Bhima, Arjuna, Bhishma, Karna, all of them are there. Among them all, the character who emerges brightest through this whole incident is actually Draupadi. She is dishonoured but she emerges the most honourable through this incident.
And the character who emerges darkest through it is Karna. I’ll talk about this specific incident later. But suffice it to say at this point that in that incident, the Lord arranges for everyone to be orchestrated in such a way that ultimately it is demonstrated that we have no protector except Krishna.
So there are so many warriors and they are all meant to be protectors but then they all become constrained, bound by situation. And they are unable to decide. And Bhishma also, it’s a very strong, he also emerges as a dark character, not an active villainous character but as a passive witness to a villainy.
And then the Pandavas are exiled and when the Pandavas come back, Bhishma forcefully canvasses that the Pandavas’ kingdom should be returned to them. In fact, when they decide to attack Virat, at that time an Arjuna comes in the garb of Brihanalla. By the way, I am assuming all of you know the basic story of the Mahabharata.
Am I right in this assumption? I’ll tell some part of the story which are relevant for us. But this class will primarily be an analysis of the story. So those parts of the story which are not so well known, then I will elaborate them.
But if you find any particular part of the story unknown, please feel free to raise your hand. I can elaborate that part if required. So Arjuna, when he comes in the garb of a eunuch and then he is spotted.
So Bhishma recognises, this is Arjuna. And he says, by my calculations, the one year of Agyatvas is over. And Duryodhana is so adamant.
He says, no, I have also calculated. I also know mathematics. And he says, the one year is not over.
So Madhvacharya in his Mahabharata gives an analysis. We have different calendars. We have the Western Gregorian calendar which we use.
We have a Sanskrit calendar which has different months. So there are different calendars. And from different perspectives, there can be a debate.
But the calendar that was used mainstream at that time, by that calendar, that calendar was what Bhishma was using. And the Pandavas had actually completed their exile. So at that time, Bhishma warns that you will not be able to win against Partha.
And his prophecy comes true. Although he fights, Partha overcomes him also at that particular time. Then when the war is about to start, Bhishma does his best to try to persuade Duryodhana that you will not be able to win against the Pandavas.
And despite his repeatedly telling so, Duryodhana is completely obstinate. So he says, no, I will not yield even enough land that is there to pierce the tip of a needle through. At that time Bhishma is furious.
In fact, before Krishna comes as Shanti Doodh, at that time there are various proposals what to do. So when Krishna is going to come, they all know Krishna is a very powerful character. So and at this particular point, it has not yet been decided that Krishna will not be raising weapons.
That comes later. So at this point when Krishna comes as Shanti Doodh, Dhritarashtra suggests that, you know, let us offer a lavish reception to Keshava. The Mahabharata usually refers to Krishna by the name Keshava.
And by that we will, such a lavish reception that we will win him over. And then if he comes over by our side, then our cause will be won. Duryodhana says, I don’t, we can try it.
I don’t think Keshava can be won over like that. I have a better plan. Let us arrest him.
If we can arrest him, he is a major player. It’s like say, you know, there is a major India-Pakistan cricket match. And just before the Pakistan cricket match, say Pakistan sends some terrorists and kidnaps Virat Kohli.
There with the main batsman and captain not there, the team will be in disarray. That is Duryodhana’s plan. He says, if we have, if we have Krishna arrested, then we will be able to easily win over the Pandavas.
At that time Bhishma gets furious. He says, what you are speaking should not even be contemplated. According to all codes of morality, no, a messenger should never be arrested.
And what then to speak of an exalted person like Keshava, who is not just an ordinary messenger. He is a supreme being. Just by thought alone you will be destroyed.
He says, I will no longer stay in an assembly where such a thought is being entertained. And he walks out, just walks out in fury. And then later on, eventually when the war is about to start, at that time Bhishma is made the commander because he is the natural commander of the Kaurava army.
And he becomes a commander over here and he is bound by a vow. Why does Bhishma fight on the side of the Kauravas? He is bound by the old vow that I will always be the protector of the Kuru kingdom, of the Kuru ruler. And Dhritarashtra Duryodhana happened to be the Kuru ruler at that time.
He is bound by that vow. At a spiritual level, we will see what is demonstrated through his action over here. But Bhishma fights forcefully.
And he fights forcefully and in the first day itself, Bhishma fights so fiercely and Arjuna just doesn’t have the heart to fight against Bhishma. See, Arjuna is the warrior who can match Bhishma, excel Bhishma also. And earlier Arjuna has bested Bhishma in the Virat Yudha.
But at that time, Arjuna had the element of surprise on his side. The Kauravas were not expecting Bhishma. Sorry, the Kauravas were not expecting Arjuna over there.
And also Arjuna at that time had no intention to kill the Kauravas. No, that was just a war in which, it was just a battle of skills. But he knew, in this war, you know, there is one party would not come back from the war.
There is going to be a war to death. So Bhishma fought fiercely. And so severe was the devastation that Bhishma wrecked in the Pandava camp on the first day, that on the first evening Yudhishthir said, Oh Partha, he came to Keshava, Oh Keshava, I think I should renounce this war.
No one can match Bhishma. It is impossible to fight against him and by trying to fight, we will simply go to disaster. Let me give up my claim to the kingdom.
Let me renounce the world. So actually Yudhishthir, I don’t know whether we will get to discuss Yudhishthir, his character. Yudhishthir is a Kshatriya, but is more in the mode of a Brahmana.
So Bhima and Yudhishthir are actually studies in contrast. As you know, Yudhishthir is almost like looking for every reason to avoid a fight. And Bhima is looking for every reason to pick a fight.
Both of them follow Dharma, but even though they follow Dharma, there is no stereotype over there. Every one of them is a distinct individual. So at that time Krishna consoles Yudhishthir.
He says, Okay, ups and downs keep happening in any battle. So today is a bad day for you. Perceive and do not lose heart.
You know, you are on the side of Dharma and you will be victorious. So the war goes on. On the second day, the Pandavas gain the upper hand.
On the sixth day, the Pandavas wreak havoc. From the Pandavas side, Ghatotkach, he starts wreaking havoc in the Kaurava camp. And then Duryodhana comes to fight and stop Ghatotkach.
And Ghatotkach wounds Duryodhana. And Ghatotkach would have killed Duryodhana over there. But Ghatotkach wants Bhima to honour his vow.
And that’s why he does not kill Duryodhana. And then that day Bhima also goes on a rampage. And right in front of Duryodhana’s eyes, more than a dozen of his brothers are killed.
Duryodhana comes to fight with Bhima. And Bhima completely knocks Duryodhana down unconscious. So it’s a defeat cum humiliation.
He said, I’ll kill Bhima. But he was defeated both by Bhima and Bhima’s son also on the same day. So at that time, that evening, every evening the two forces, they meet in their assemblies and they discuss the day’s events.
So here Duryodhana is in a very sober mood. He’s wounded. He’s wounded physically.
His ego, his pride is also wounded over here. So he comes and says, Oh Bhishma, how is it that when I have warriors like you, Drona, Kripa, you who have never been defeated in war, when I have warriors like you, how is it that we are losing this war? So at that time, Bhishma feels compassion for Duryodhana and he says, Oh Duryodhana, I have been crying myself hoarse trying to explain to you the reality. Yet for your good, I’ll explain it again today to you.
The Pandavas are the gods who have descended on this world. And Krishna is the supreme Vishnu. When I was in the heavens at that time, Narada Muni had come there and he told a story about how when the demons would populate the earth.
At that time, the Vishnu would descend in human form. That descent of Vishnu is Krishna. Oh Duryodhana, even if you had the whole army of the demons and army of gods with all the best commanders on your side, still they all would be defeated by Keshava alone.
The side on which Keshava is, victory for that side is guaranteed. And that is what is happening in this war. On hearing this, Duryodhana becomes sober.
He tells, please tell me more about Keshava. And Bhishma is jubilant and he speaks Krishna Katha. He tells about Krishna’s miraculous birth and how Krishna killed so many demons.
So this is the section in the Mahabharata where the Bhagavatam’s 10th canto, first 40 chapters are summarised. How Krishna kills Putana, Agasur, Bakasur, how Krishna lifts Govardhan and how Krishna comes and kills Kamsa. So, from the Mahabharata’s perspective, Krishna is like a mysterious character.
So here his glories are directly talked about. And finally, for a long time, Bhishma speaks Krishna Katha to Duryodhana. And then Duryodhana goes back to his tent that night.
And as he is lying down to sleep, he thinks, Krishna, Krishna, is he really God? Maybe if he is God, there is no harm in offering obeisances to him. So he offers obeisances to Krishna and then goes to sleep. But the next morning when he wakes up, again his attachment covers his intelligence.
He says, even if Krishna is God, I will not give up the kingdom. So, but at that time Bhishma actually speaks Krishna Katha to him. And Bhishma tries his very best to illumine, to enlighten Duryodhana.
Now on the ninth day, again on the eighth day, the Pandavas face a severe, the Kauravas face a severe reversal. And that night, Duryodhana gets incensed. So he comes to Bhishma and he says, O Grandsire, he said, I have made you the commander of my army.
And there is no warrior who can match you. And yet in your commandership, my forces are being slaughtered. Please, I depend on you for protection.
And then, you know, he is like softening himself and then he comes in for the kill. And he says, if out of affection for the Pandavas, you are no longer favourable to me, if you are going to be partial to the Pandavas, and because of that you are going to fight softly, then please step down from the commandership. Let Karna become the commander.
He has promised me that he will wipe out the Pandavas in just one day. This is, for a Kshatriya, it’s an ultimate insult. Say like, now say in India, Indian cricket captaincy is in a stage of transition.
Now we have an older captain and we have a younger captain. So suppose, you know, somebody else goes and tells the older captain, you know, you are not playing well, you step down and we will have the new captain. Now the transition has to happen sometime.
But it has to be done in a dignified way. It’s not that publicly you disgrace a person and then have him replaced. But this is what Duryodhana does.
So Bhishma is furious. He says, right now on my body, you can see the wounds that are there because I have been fighting for your cause. But oh wicked prince, because of your attachment, you revile those who work for your good.
What do you think that son of Suta will do that I cannot do? Still, if you think I am fighting partially, that I am fighting weakly because of partiality towards the Pandavas, I take a vow. He sits down in meditation. Takes out five arrows, sits down in meditation and invests those five arrows with mystic power.
And he says, these five arrows will tomorrow kill the five Pandavas. Now actually Bhishma right at the start of the war, he said that I will fight for you but I will not kill the Pandavas because they are my own blood. They are also the descendants of this dynasty.
So now he gets so angry, he says I will kill the five Pandavas. So here why is Bhishma doing this? Now when Bhishma takes this vow, he is actually doing this. At one level it may seem he has become angry.
Duryodhana incited him and Duryodhana was thinking mission successful. That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to incite Bhishma so that Bhishma would fight fiercely.
Somebody said that mission was successful. But actually what was Bhishma thinking? Bhishma was thinking that Krishna is surely going to protect the Pandavas. So tomorrow I will get to see the Leela of Krishna by which he will be able to protect the Pandavas.
So what Leela will Krishna perform? So at one level it is that Bhishma seems to be acting antagonistically out of anger. But for those who know the heart, Bhavagrahi, they understand that what is his intention? His intention is to demonstrate to the world the extraordinary love of Krishna for his devotees. And Krishna does exactly that.
That evening when they are all about to retire for the night, so Krishna tells Arjuna, Arjuna you have one more thing to do today. What is it? Just go to Duryodhana’s camp and ask him for five arrows. So what happens is Bhishma has those five arrows and says tomorrow these five arrows will kill the five Pandavas.
So now Duryodhana, he is so possessive. He says give those five arrows to me. I will keep them safe.
Now Bhishma has invested those arrows with his potency and Bhishma is going to use those arrows. Now what is he thinking? Bhishma can’t protect those arrows. So it is just his extreme lack of trust in others.
And because of that he says give me those arrows. And when he says give me those arrows, Bhishma understands. This is how Krishna is going to act.
So long ago at one time the Gandharvas had arrested Duryodhana and Arjuna had come and defeated the Gandharvas and had released Duryodhana. So at that time Duryodhana had told Arjuna that oh Partha what charity do you want? What can I give you? So at that time Arjuna said I don’t want anything now. In future if I need anything I will ask you.
So actually Arjuna had no intention of asking anything. But Krishna told Arjuna now is the time to ask. And Duryodhana is about to take rest in his camp and Arjuna comes there.
And Duryodhana is surprised. Oh Partha, welcome. What can I do for you? Although there is a lot of antagonism between the two of them but still there is also the courtesy.
Somebody has come as a guest. What can I do for you? Now Duryodhana says oh Partha if you want the kingdom I will give the kingdom to you. Now when Duryodhana says this, Duryodhana knows that Arjuna will never ask for the kingdom.
Because it’s all a matter of Kshatriya pride. And Arjuna doesn’t fall for this. He says oh Duryodhana the time for giving the kingdom is already gone.
It had come when Krishna had come to you. Now you will no longer have the right to give the kingdom. We will take the kingdom from you.
But he says I want something else from you. He says yes. Do you remember that at the time the Gandharvas were defeated? At that time you had given me a bhaal.
And Duryodhana literally shrinks in shame. It was like for a person to remember once you are defeated. He says yes.
At that time you had promised that you will give me something. Yes, what can I give you? He says I believe you have five arrows. Duryodhana is shocked.
He says how could he even know about it? It was a top secret meeting. He starts thinking who are the spies who leaked this. He had met with Duryodhana, he had met with Bhishma in his tent and dismissed all the guards at that time.
So nobody could have heard this. So he says oh yes I will give the arrows. He gives the arrows.
And then he says that oh Duryodhana, as Arjuna is going, Arjuna just takes the arrows, thanks him and goes. Arjuna tell me who told you about these arrows? So Arjuna just looks back, Krishna and walks away. He just bangs his face in frustration.
That Krishna, how could he have known? There is no possibility of leakage of your top secret information. That Krishna, he must be God. Otherwise how could he have known this? Then the next morning Bhishma is about to start the fight.
So they are all assembled. Bhishma turns to Duryodhana. Oh Duryodhana, please give me the arrows.
And Duryodhana is so embarrassed, he is cursing himself. Why did I take the arrows from Bhishma? Because if he had allowed the arrows to stay with Bhishma, then Arjuna could not have asked Bhishma for the arrows. The obligation to give something in charity was of Duryodhana.
He was cursing himself. Then he tells what happened. And Bhishma started smiling.
He knew Krishna would do something. This is what Krishna did. He is delighted.
At that time Duryodhana even says, Oh Bhishma, please sit in meditation again and invest that power in five other arrows. So Bhishma starts laughing and he says, Oh Duryodhana, it’s not so easy. He said, my lifelong asceticism, I had invested into those arrows.
I cannot do that again. Duryodhana is completely crestfallen. But you are my commander.
You must do something. Otherwise our army will be defeated. So now at this point, Bhishma decides, I want to see some further pastimes of Krishna.
So he says, what I’ll do is, by tonight either I will kill Arjuna or I will cause Krishna to lift his weapons. To lift a weapon for protecting Arjuna. So that day Bhishma fights like never before.
Just breaking havoc in the Pandava camp. Arjuna is fighting. But Arjuna is fighting half-heartedly.
This is his grandsire. How can he fight against him? Now he is restrained by his affection for Bhishma. Whereas Bhishma is animated by his excitement to see how Krishna is going to protect Arjuna.
And as Bhishma’s fearsome attack is coming more and more, it becomes clear that the Pandava army will get wiped out. Arjuna will soon be killed. The way the attack is coming.
When Krishna becomes pensive. Krishna is on the chariot of Arjuna. And Krishna starts thinking what to do.
Arjuna is watching. Krishna has disappeared. What happened? Now Krishna was on the chariot.
And Krishna suddenly jumps off the chariot. He says, I have to take things in my hand. I have to stop Bhishma.
I cannot see my devotee Arjuna getting killed. And Krishna just gets off his chariot and looks around. And he wants to have some weapon.
Now at this point he looks around and sees a wheel. He rushes towards that wheel and picks up the wheel. Now normally a wheel is not a weapon.
But for Vishnu, a wheel is a weapon. He is his Sudarshan chakra. So this weapon, this chakra reminds Krishna of that chakra.
But Krishna is so filled with anxiety at that time, that Krishna does not think of summoning the Sudarshan chakra. He has told Daruka before, Daruka is his charioteer, that you stay close to the war field. If my Pandavas get into danger, then I will myself raise weapons.
But at this point he has so much anxiety, that he just doesn’t think of either calling Sudarshan chakra or Daruka. Just runs around and picks up that chariot wheel. And starts charging towards Bhishma.
All around, all the action stops over there. Such a stunning event, because for a Kshatriya, the word of honour is more than one’s life. And Krishna has picked up a weapon.
Everybody stops. And Krishna starts charging towards Bhishma and is furious. He says, oh Bhishma, you are the root of the evil that is this war.
When a king goes on the wrong course, it is the duty of the minister to stop the king. You have failed in your duty and that is why you deserve to die. Krishna is furious and is charging towards Bhishma.
Now Bhishma is delighted actually. And he puts down his bow. And he says, oh Keshava, what you say is right.
I tried my best, but Dhritarashtra heard only the words of Duryodhana, not mine. If you think that I am a wrongdoer, oh Keshava, please come and kill me. To die at your hands is the perfection of my life.
And Krishna is charging towards Bhishma. And as he is charging, his angavastha slips off, his hair gets dishevelled. And he is running towards.
Now when we see, whenever Krishna uses the Sudarshan Chakra, he doesn’t run towards the enemy. He sends the Sudarshan Chakra. Shishupala is blaspheming him.
He sends the Sudarshan Chakra and kills him. So here, why does Krishna run towards Bhishma? Krishna, he can hurl the Chakra with sufficient force that it can kill any target. So Krishna is so anxious that he doesn’t want to take any chances.
It’s like if we shoot someone from a distance, we might miss the goal. You go close, point blank and shoot. Then there is guarantee that we will actually get the person down.
So Krishna is thinking, I want to go right next to Bhishma and then send this Chakra to him. Send this wheel to him. He is running, charging towards.
As he is charging. Bhishma, he remembers this later and he says, Just as a lion charges towards an elephant in fury, like that you, O Lord, charge towards me. You, your Uttari fell off.
Svanigamapahaya. Svanigamapahaya. You gave up your own word for the protection of your devotee’s word.
For the protection of your devotee rather. So now Arjuna, when he sees this, he is mortified. He says, Krishna, stop.
Because Arjuna is concerned for Krishna’s reputation. He says, Krishna has taken a vow, he will not lift a weapon and now he has lifted a weapon. It’s all because of me.
So Arjuna shouts to Krishna, Krishna, I will fight. I will fight, I will kill Bhishma, stop. But Krishna is so blinded by anger and concern that he just doesn’t hear.
Arjuna jumps off his chariot and starts running after Bhishma. Bhishma has almost gone half way across, sorry, running towards Krishna. Krishna has gone half way across the distance.
When people fight with bow and arrow, they are not very close to each other. With sword and mace they are close to each other. Bow and arrow, they are a little far away.
So there is a significant distance. Krishna has gone half the distance. Arjuna is running, shouting at Krishna.
And still Krishna doesn’t hear. Finally Arjuna takes a long jump. Jumps across and he just falls at the feet of Krishna.
And he catches the thigh of Krishna with his hands. And Krishna is so angry that Krishna just keeps running and drags Arjuna along. Arjuna is shouting, Krishna, stop.
But Krishna doesn’t hear. So finally Arjuna takes his huge Kshatriya feet. He raises them up.
He is being dragged along the ground. He raises his feet and then crashes them on the ground. When he crashes them on the ground, that creates a hole in the ground.
So powerful is his feet. And then as they create a hole, his legs go inside that hole. And his legs get stuck over there.
And then as Krishna is running, because Arjuna’s feet are inside that hole, Arjuna is holding on to Krishna. Krishna can’t run. And then Krishna almost comes out of his trance.
He is completely focused on Bhishma. Arjuna shouts, Krishna, don’t fight. Tomorrow I will kill Bhishma.
I will kill Bhishma. By this time the sun sets. And then they return back.
And Bhishma considers this the most cherished moment of his life. He says, later on we will come to that part. But here they go back.
At that time, that night when they are going back, Arjuna tells Krishna, Arjuna has taken a vow to kill Bhishma. But still he is thinking, he says, Oh Krishna, how can I possibly kill Bhishma? He says, you know, he was the person when after playing in the mud I would come back and I would climb on his lap and soil his dhoti and I would play with his beard and I would say, father, father and he would ruffle my hair and he would say, oh child, I am not your father. I am the father of your father.
He says, how can I kill that Bhishma? So Krishna says, oh Arjuna, this is not the time to be sentimental. If you do not kill him, I will kill him. Then the next day Arjuna becomes sober.
And Arjuna fights furiously. And that is the day when eventually, with the help of Shikhandi, Bhishma is felled. Now Bhishma has the capacity for Iccha Mrityu.
That’s the benediction that he has given. And if you see, most of his peers have died long ago. But Bhishma saw so much Adharma.
You know, he saw Yudhishthira becoming so attached. He saw the Pandavas, so many atrocities being performed against them. He says, this is a miserable world.
Most of the times, when do we get renunciation? I just want to get rid of this world. I want to go to Krishna. We get that when we experience a lot of misery in this world.
Now Bhishma, if he had that option, he could have left his body at any time. And why did he live through all these atrocities? Why did he watch them all? Because he had faith. And eventually, he will see the success of Dharma.
And he was waiting and watching to see the Pandavas coronated, to see Dharma established. And thus on the 10th day he fell, but he stayed on. Amidst extreme pain, he lived on.
And then, eventually the war got over. Bhishma was on the sidelines. And then, when the Pandavas won, after that, when Yudhishthira still had again some attack of conscience.
It was actually an attack of pseudo-conscience. Conscience is that takes us towards the right path. But pseudo-conscience is that which seems to be right, but is not actually right.
And in this way, when he had that, he actually, at that time, Krishna decided to reveal to the world the glory of his pure devotee Bhishma. And what was his glory? It was that although he was in such great pain, because his whole body was lacerated with arrows. And not just the arrows had gone through his body, but the arrows were still in his body.
And normally, when somebody is wounded with a bullet, the standard procedure is to actually take out the bullet. Take out the bullet, so that at least the infection or the further deterioration doesn’t happen. So, Duryodhana had got his physicians.
When Bhishma fell, Duryodhana had got all his physicians. And he said that, no, we will treat you. So, Bhishma said, oh, no, Kaurava.
The time for all this is over. I don’t need any of this anymore. He said, even at that time, he told these priests who had come.
Actually, the brahmanas would also do Ayurveda at that time. These venerable ones who have come, give them abundant rewards and ask them to leave. I do not need them anymore.
So, he allowed those arrows to stay in his body. And through it all, he was remembering Krishna. Sometimes, when problems come in our life, we become very fearful.
We become very resentful. We become very frustrated. No one likes problems.
That’s natural. But when problems come, we can see that we are doing our best, but the problem is not going away. Still, it’s going on.
And we can see that as an opportunity to discover how tough bhakti can make us. Normally, that problem would crush us. But if we take shelter of Krishna, we will be able to deal with that problem steadily.
And we will discover that within us, we have stores of resilience, of strength that we did not know we had. So, rather than getting overwhelmed by problems, we can say, let me see this problem as an opportunity to discover how tough I can become by the mercy of Krishna. We don’t have to go out and embrace problems.
But if problems come by their own accord, we shouldn’t think that Krishna is not there for helping me. Krishna is there. When problems come in our life, we can have two responses.
One is, I am doing so much bhakti and still Krishna is having problems in his life. Maybe Krishna doesn’t exist only. Or Krishna doesn’t care.
And then we give up our bhakti. So, that is one attitude. And many of us may take that attitude sometimes.
Or at least a thought may come in our mind. But the other attitude is, that when problems come in our life, we think, actually, Krishna has already told in scripture, this world is a place of misery. Now, I am experiencing that this world is a place of misery.
Thus, I am seeing that what Krishna has said is true. So, our faith in Krishna’s words can increase when the problems come. Now, the important thing is, scripture doesn’t tell us just that this world is filled with problems.
And leave it at that. The same verse, if we see that same verse 8.15 which we often quote in the Bhagavad Gita, that those who worship me, they do not come to this material world which is temporary and miserable, but they attain my eternal abode. If you see the thrust of this verse, the thrust of this verse is not that this world is a place of misery.
That’s just like a passing fact. The thrust of the verse is, those who become devoted to me, they don’t come to this world. They will get out of this world.
It’s like, the way to understand the mood of this verse is, like there is a hospital filled with sick people. Because there is a big epidemic. And there are so many patients who are sick.
And a doctor comes and tells. Now, those who take this treatment, they will not have to stay in this hospital. Which is so miserable over here.
So, the point of the doctor is what? Not that this hospital is miserable or this is miserable. The point is, take the treatment. So, one truth of scripture is that this world is a place of misery.
Another truth of scripture is that, by taking shelter of Krishna, we can tolerate and transcend the misery. So, when problems come in our life, we can see this. Now, I have realised one truth of scripture.
That this world is a place of misery. Let me try now to realise the second truth of scripture. Second truth of scripture is, that by absorption of Krishna, I can tolerate and I can transcend misery.
So, that way, when problems come, rather than making us disheartened, they can make us more determined to practise bhakti. More determined to take shelter of Krishna. And then we will discover, yes, how much toughness Krishna bhakti can give us.
A problem which would have caused us to crumble, if we had not been practising Krishna bhakti, we can stay upright by the strength of Krishna bhakti. So, this is what Bhishma demonstrates. Those arrows are tormenting him.
But by his absorption in Krishna, he tolerates and transcends that pain. And not only does he transcend that pain, rather, at that point, Krishna arranges for a supreme glorification. What is that? That when Yudhishthir is disconsolate, thinking that I am guilty, thinking that I am responsible for this massive bloodshed.
It is my desire for a kingdom which caused it. And therefore, I should renounce this kingdom and I should go to the forest. Things like this, at that time, what does Bhishma tell him? Nobody is able to console Yudhishthir.
Gyasa is not able to console, Narada is not able to console, nobody is able to console. Even Krishna himself is not able to pacify Yudhishthir. At that time, he tells him, come to Bhishma.
And it’s amazing, when Bhishma comes in, when Pandavas come in front of Bhishma, what is the first sentence that Bhishma speaks? It’s like, we go to a hospital, maybe a hospice, where somebody is terminally sick, they are soon going to die. The whole atmosphere is sober over there. Sombre, not just sober, sombre.
Sombre means very sad. And there, normally we will go and ask the patient, how are you feeling? And instead of that, as soon as Bhishma sees the Pandavas, what does he ask? He says, how unfortunate it is, how unjust it is, how sad it is, that you, who are so dharmic, had to go through so much suffering. So, this is the consciousness of a devotee.
He is not thinking, I am suffering so much. He is thinking, oh, you suffered so much. Not thinking about oneself at all.
Actually, you know, self-consciousness is the shortcut to misery. If I just think about myself, then what happens when I think about myself is, that I just become miserable. Because when I am thinking about myself, at that time, we have to admit that, you know, we have so many limitations.
There are so many things which we want to do and they don’t work out. So, if I am thinking about myself most of the time, it’s hard for our ego to accept it. But actually, I am not a very satisfactory object of thought.
Either I don’t do things right or right things don’t happen to me. Whichever way it is, if I am always thinking about myself, I will be dissatisfied. I will be miserable.
So, self-consciousness is actually the shortcut to misery. So, the purpose of bhakti is also to come out of self-consciousness, to come to Krishna consciousness. The more we think about others, how can I serve others? How can I assist others? How can I do this? How can I do that for others? When we come out of self-consciousness, then our problems go down.
We don’t get so obsessed by those problems. So, Bhishma is demonstrating that how extraordinary, how terrible it is that you have to suffer like this. There is a whole series of verses over there.
There are more beautiful verses. That itself can be a whole class. But I will focus on the thread of thought over there.
What is the thread of thought over there? He says that all this happened by Providence, by the will of Providence. And we cannot understand the will of Providence. But the will of Providence is benevolent.
God is good. If we do his will, then we will understand it in due course. And for this purpose, Bhishma gives his own example.
He says, तथापेकान्तः भक्तेशु पश्यभूपानु कंपितं यन्मेशुन्स्तयजतः साक्षात् कृष्णो धर्शनमागतः So he says that, एकान्तः भक्तेशु, I am his unalloyed devotee. And just see, पश्यभूपा, भूपा is okay. Just see how merciful is this Lord to his unalloyed devotee.
That यन्मेशुन्स्तयजतः, when I am about to give up this life, give up this body, साक्षात् कृष्णो धर्शनमागतः, Krishna has Himself come to give darshan. Now, at this point, we may think, how can somebody say, I am a pure devotee? Isn’t that arrogant? Somebody comes along and says, I am a pure devotee, offer obeisances. नौपंचां धन्डवाता, we would consider that to be arrogant.
So, what is Bhishma doing when he is saying, I am an unalloyed devotee? Devotees don’t want glories for themselves. But, if to glorify bhakti, they have to glorify themselves, they do that. That means, that here the thrust of Bhishma’s argument is not that I am a pure devotee.
Every statement has an emphasis. And, you know, you can just twist the statement and the whole emphasis changes. So, you know, if somebody had done something immoral in the past, or something wrong in the past, and now we want to mention that, or the way we mention it, it can make a big difference, you know.
He had some problems in the past, but he is stable now. This is one way of saying it. The other way of saying, same thing.
He is stable now, but he had problems in the past. So, with just a subtle change of order, what happens, the whole emphasis is changed. In the first case, he is stable now, he is reliable now.
Now, hey, he may appear reliable, but he is not. So, what happens is, here the emphasis is not that I am a pure devotee. It says, just see how the Lord has rewarded his pure devotee.
That he has himself come to Kimdarshan. So, the emphasis is, the point, the thread of the argument there is, that, oh Yudhishthir, you also act as a pure devotee. And you will also be rewarded.
So, don’t hesitate. Even if the call of your duty is very difficult, stick to that duty. And Bhishma gives his own example.
What was his unalloyed devotion? Now, for a devotee, devotee wants to serve the Lord. But Bhishma had to fight against Krishna. Bhishma had to shoot arrows at Arjuna.
By shooting arrows at Arjuna, some of his arrows went and hit Krishna also. The Kshatriya code is that you don’t attack the charioteer, usually. But sometimes, as a matter of strategy, the charioteer may be attacked.
And it is the warrior’s duty to protect the charioteer. Sometimes, the charioteer would get attacked. So, he had to do that.
Now, why did he do that? Because the Vaishnavacharyas explain that, actually, Krishna inspired Bhishma from within his heart, that you demonstrate a lesson. What is that lesson? That no matter how virtuous somebody is, no matter how heroic somebody is, no matter how learned somebody is, if that person goes against Dharma, that person will be defeated. So, Bhishma was virtuous.
He had taken the vow of celibacy. He was learned. He had learned from Brihaspati himself when he was in the heavens.
He was heroic. He was an unparalleled warrior. But even if a person is so qualified in all ways, if that person goes against the cause of Dharma, he will be defeated.
And Bhishma chose to accept this service. He chose to accept the misunderstanding that would come. People will think, you know, he was so attached, that he did not understand what is Dharma.
And he thought that his Dharma was to protect the Kauravas. But his Dharma should have been, he should have joined Krishna’s side. That was the side of Dharma.
So, actually, that means, if one level of Dharma is to protect one’s dynasty, the other level of Dharma is to actually, to fight on the side of those who are on Dharma. So, it may seem to the world that instead of sticking to the side of Dharma, he chose a lower duty. The duty is to stick to the side of Dharma.
The other duty is to stick to one’s dynasty. This is a lower duty. So, it may seem to the world that Bhishma chose to fight on the side of the Kauravas because of choosing a lower duty.
But actually, Bhishma chose a higher duty. Higher duty is, whatever will please Krishna. And Krishna was pleased by him, pleased with him by his fighting on the side of the Kauravas.
And Krishna’s pleasure was not known to the world. Nobody knew really why Bhishma was fighting on the side of the Kauravas. And at the end, Krishna revealed by coming himself before Bhishma and giving his darshan to him.
And thus, not only was his last moment successful, but even before that, even before that what happened? He asked Bhishma, Yudhishthira, when he was consoled by Bhishma’s words, do your duty and the Lord will reward you. Be unflinching. Even if you feel your duty is difficult, still do your duty.
Yudhishthira understood. Now I am thinking that ruling the kingdom is difficult. Is it a difficult duty? Just consider how much of a difficult duty did Bhishma do? My difficulty is nothing.
My difficulty is nothing. Usually what happens is, when we have a problem, if it’s like me and the problem, me and the problem, if that’s all that is there, then the problem develops a mystic power. And the problem starts becoming bigger and bigger and bigger.
I feel I am so small, this problem is so big. But actually when we come out of ourselves, instead of thinking of me and my problem, instead of that, I come out and look at others. And meet with others and we find that there are so many people who have such much bigger problems than what we have.
So if you look at the world, there are people who are starving, there are people who are terminally sick, there are people who are targeted by terrorist violence, people who are refugees. So many people who have far far bigger problems than what we have. Just come out of the cocoon of our own little world and look beyond.
Then what happens is, our problem we start seeing in perspective. So Yudhishthira says, what’s my problem? Bhishma went through so much for the service of the Lord, let me also go through it. And he stays determined.
And then, now Yudhishthira has decided to do his duty, Yudhishthira takes this opportunity to seek counsel from Bhishma. And then Bhishma speaks on Raj Dharma. And actually, the instructions that Bhishma gives are so encyclopaedic.
Like if you consider the whole Mahabharata story to be one book. You know, right from the ancestors of the Pandavas down to the end of the life of the Pandavas. If all that is one book, that book will be actually only one half of the instructions that Bhishma gives to Yudhishthira.
There are two Parvas in the Mahabharata. There is the Shanti Parva and the Anushasan Parva. These two are filled with Bhishma’s instructions to Yudhishthira.
And then after that, after he has finished all his instructions, then, So Bhishma prays, I withdraw my consciousness from everything else. I fix my consciousness on you, O Lord. And then in the presence of the Lord, glorifying the Lord, he departs.
And thus he attains the supreme success. So Bhishma has become the exemplar of how we can have an ideal death. Right in the presence of the Lord.
Actually death at one level is a tragedy. And Bhishma’s death could be a painful tragedy. It pierces by arrows for so long.
But it is glorious because he is absorbed in Krishna. So Bhishma’s life demonstrates what is Dharma. Ultimately Dharma is devotion to Krishna.
And in the cause of devotion to Krishna, sometimes we may make wrong choices. Sometimes we may be thought of as having made wrong choices, although we have not made wrong choices. But if internally we have fixed the intention to serve Krishna, ultimately we will be redeemed.
And that is what the Lord demonstrates through the character of Bhishma. So I’ll summarise. I talked about when we study the epics, if we just see them as stories, we learn something, get some entertainment from it.
But if we use the ladder of abstraction, that means go from the specific incidents in the story, specific situations in the story to the universal principles. And then see how those universal principles apply in our life. So go from the specific to the abstract, that is going up the ladder of abstraction.
And come down from the abstract to the specific. Come down. Then we will learn practically how it is relevant for us.
Talk about how Prabhupada adds electricity in the translation of 15.6. That is, he is actually making the verse, essential message intelligible to us. And in Bhishma’s character, every book has its own defining question, driving question. In the Mahabharata, the driving question is, what is dharma? That is Bhishma’s driving question also.
And that question is relevant for all of us. What is our duty? What are we to do in life? How are we to make decisions? And Bhishma had quite an extraordinary sacrifice, which he gave. He renounced family life, in the sense that he decided not to marry.
And he renounced his claim to kingdom. But he stayed there out of duty to protect. And he was bound by that vow, and because of which he had to fight on the side of the Kauravas.
But throughout it all, he tried his best to get the Kauravas on the right course. Because of him, Dhritarashtra gave half of the kingdom. And he, when he fought, he repeatedly tried to warn Dhritarashtra.
Dhritarashtra heard about Krishna’s glories from Bhishma. And eventually, he seems to act out of anger, antagonistically, saying, I’ll kill the Pandavas. It was actually to demonstrate how Krishna’s great love for his devotees, to get Krishna to demonstrate that love, by acting in some extraordinary ways.
That happened on the 8th night, and that also happened on the 9th evening. First, when Krishna, arranged by his omniscience, to know and get Arjuna to get the five arrows. And on the 9th evening, Krishna picking up his own bow.
So, Bhishma had Iccha-mrityu and he could have left his life at any moment. But he lived on, seeing all the sufferings that the Pandavas went through. And he lived on even with the pain of the arrows in his body.
Why? Because he had faith that dharma will be successful. I want to see the triumph of dharma. I want to see the glory of the Pandavas.
So, he tolerated and transcended the pain of the arrows in his body by absorption in Krishna. So, when problems come in our life, we can see, this is proving the truthfulness of Krishna’s words, which are, this world is a place of misery. Now, the second half of Krishna’s words is, by absorption in him, we can transcend misery.
So, let me absorb myself in Krishna. So, we can see unavoidable problems, there is an opportunity to discover how tough Krishna Bhakti can actually make us in facing problems. And then Bhishma’s moment of glory came when, at the moment of, when he was in his arrow bed in great pain, he got to counsel Yudhishthira.
And what even the greatest sages and God himself were not able to do, Bhishma did. Bhishma starts by shifting the focus, because not about self-consciousness, is a shortcut to misery. And he gets out of his self-consciousness.
Oh, how much you have suffered. And he says, the Lord’s plan is inconceivable, but it is always benevolent. Stick to his service, and you will realise how it is.
For that, he gives an example of himself. I was a pure devotee, what was his pure devotion? Even though he was misunderstood, that he chose a lower dharma, he was attached to the kingdom, he chose a lower dharma, he accepted that, because that was what the Lord wanted him to teach. To demonstrate that, no matter how virtuous, heroic, learned a person, maybe if they fight against dharma, they will be defeated.
So he accepted that being misunderstood by the world. And that, although the world misunderstood him, Krishna understood him. And Krishna revealed that at the end of his life.
When Krishna himself came, and revealed his learning to the whole world, and then revealed his own version. For that, Bhishma, after giving encyclopaedic instructions, departed successfully from this world. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. So, are there any questions? Yes, please.
Hare Krishna, I have actually many questions. Yeah, please. Yeah, sure.
Is dharma the same in all ages? The word dharma has many meanings. Broadly speaking, we can talk about dharma at two levels. There is paradharma and there is aparadharma.
So, aparadharma is the dharma, spiritual duty or spiritual nature, we could say. See, the word dharma is actually non-translatable. So, duty means something which is external and I have to do it.
When I come in a country, I have to pay taxes to this country. If I go to some other country, I will pay taxes to that country. If I go to a place which is a tax heaven, I may not have to pay any taxes also.
The idea of duty is something which is actually very external, but I have to do it. Whereas dharma is actually related with nature. That which is intrinsic to us, the activities that harmonise us with our intrinsic nature, they are what is called dharma.
So, at a fundamental definitional level, dharma is our inalienable nature. Srila Prabhupada mentions this in the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita. That without which we would not be we, that is dharma.
So, that which makes me, me, that is dharma. And what is it that makes us, us? We are all conscious beings. And our defining characteristic is that whatever we do in life, we want to love and be loved.
And love means to serve. And we love someone, we want to please that person. So, to love and serve is our essential dharma.
Now, there is dharma and there is sanatana dharma. Sanatana dharma is the eternal nature. So, in this world, we love our family members, we love our children, we love our parents.
All that is a part of beauty. But this is not eternal. The sanatana dharma is the soul’s nature to love the sanatana person.
That is Krishna, God. So, at the highest level, dharma is the actions of loving and serving Krishna. That is the essential eternal nature.
So, that is our nature. But right now we are covered. So, that which is natural for us does not seem natural right now.
So, an example is given that sugarcane juice is sweet, but a person has jaundice, that time it doesn’t seem sweet. So, what is to be done? Still they are told, take the sugarcane juice, by which it will become, you will get cured and then the sweetness will become manifest. So, that which is natural for us to love and serve Krishna, that doesn’t seem natural right now.
So, then there is sadhana bhakti. There is a process of sadhana basically. In sadhana, we have certain duties which we do as a matter of discipline.
So, if my original nature is to love and serve Krishna, but right now that nature is not there. I get attracted to many other things in the world. So, those set of activities that purify me and that redirect my love towards Krishna, they are my dharma.
Now, this is paradharma. This is the superior or spiritual nature. Now, the word dharma is something which is like between duty and nature.
It is the duty that helps us return to our nature. To love Krishna is my nature, but right now I don’t feel it like my nature. So, the duty, the dutiful execution of those activities by which my nature will become manifest, that is dharma.
So, the paradharma is to love and serve Krishna and that is revived by the activities of sadhana bhakti which we do. So, paradharma in that sense is sadhana bhakti. So, along with that there is aparadharma.
Now, aparadharma is our duties while we are living in the world. See, we are on a journey to Krishna. Our life is like a pilgrimage.
It’s a multi-life journey in which we are meant to reach Krishna ultimately. And while we are going towards Krishna, we also have to live in this world. And by living in this world, we have to function harmoniously.
And there are duties. So, there are duties to family, there are duties to nation, there are duties to our dynasty, there are duties to our society. All those are also important.
Now, they are aparadharma. That is spiritual, this is non-spiritual or material. Now, among them, the spiritual is more important but the material also is important.
So, the paradharma is that which enables us to activate our natural love for Krishna. The aparadharma is that which enables us to live harmoniously while we are doing that activation. To live harmoniously and contribute constructively in this world.
So, now specific as far as the paradharma is concerned, now how that love will be activated. There are different processes recommended for that. Like if you go to a doctor, now if somebody has got cough, there can be 100 medicines for cough.
But if there is a particular place where there is also a particular disease that is rampant, another disease that is rampant, and cough can lead very quickly to that. The doctor will tell, okay at this point, there are many medicines but you take this medicine. This is what will work for you best.
So, like that there are many mantras, there are many processes of sadhana that are given in the scriptures and which will work best, that varies from age to age. So, dharma in the sense of activities that direct us towards loving Krishna, that is a universal principle. But specific, which activities will most efficaciously direct our love towards Krishna, that will vary.
So, in Kali Yuga, it is said that Kalau tad hari ki itthanath. In Kali Yuga, glorifying Lord Hari, chanting His holy name, speaking His glories, that is a yuga dharma. And if we practise this yuga dharma, then we can become absorbed in higher consciousness.
And our love for Krishna will become activated and we will attain liberation. So, in previous ages, there were other dharmas. So, the specific activity that will activate our eternal nature, that varies.
So, in that sense, the specific practise of dharma varies. But the principle of dharma that is redirecting, activating our eternal nature, that remains unvarying. And does, is dharma practical in this age? Dharma is actually never easy.
It is, even in time of Mahabharata, the whole Mahabharata story is based on how difficult it is to choose dharma. So, Bhishma had a difficult choice. Yudhishthira had a difficult choice.
He had to fight against his relatives, to slay his relatives. Karna had a difficult choice. So, there are difficult choices which you have to make.
So, dharma in that sense is never easy. So, there are difficulties and we have to go through those difficulties to make right choices. Now, making right choices involves two things.
First is knowledge and second is willpower. So, now there are two kinds of, you could say, dilemmas or crisis. There is a moral dilemma and there is an ethical dilemma.
Sometimes we use the word morals and ethics as interchangeable. But they are not exactly interchangeable. Moral dilemma is when I have two choices, one of which is moral and the other is immoral.
And I have to choose between the two. So, here what I need is moral strength, strength of character. So, for example, if, say, there are hundreds of examples.
Suppose a doctor can make more money by getting a patient go through more tests. Now, there is more money will come by that. But in going through all the more tests, the patient may have to, patient may suffer more.
The treatment will not start fast enough. This requires the moral strength to resist the temptation of money. So, this is moral crisis.
So, in this case, we require moral strength. But ethical crisis means there are two choices or ethical dilemma. The two choices, both of them are moral.
But which is the higher morality? That is difficult to decide. So, for example, somebody may say, I always speak the truth. That’s a good thing.
But suppose there is a riot going on and there are some rioters who are chasing our friend. Our friend comes and hides in our house. And then the rioters knock at our door.
Is he there here? What do I do with it? So, one moral thing to do is to speak the truth. Another moral thing to do is to protect somebody’s life. So, at this point, it’s not just a matter of moral willpower, moral strength of willpower.
Here, one has to have subtle intelligence to understand that both are moral principles. But which is a higher moral principle? So, the Mahabharata often has this kind of crisis. Where in a moral dilemmas, not moral dilemmas, but ethical dilemmas.
And at that time, one has to make a wise choice. And that requires going into subtleties to understand not just the principles of morality. But to understand the relative importance of the principles of morality.
So, usually the way we learn to practise dharma is by associating with those who are living according to dharma. So, dharma is more caught than taught. Taught means somebody gives instruction.
This is right, this is wrong. That is important. But it is caught.
Caught means when we observe others living. This is how this is to be done. This is not what is to be done.
So, actually, if we are not in the association of those who are trying to live according to dharma, dharma will seem very difficult to practise. So, if we live with materialistic people, living spiritually will seem almost impossible. But if we are living with or at least associating with spiritually minded people, then living spiritually becomes possible.
Not just possible, it actually becomes relishable. We find higher happiness. So, dharma is actually never easy to practise.
In the modern times, materialism is far more. Materialistic temptations are a lot. And that’s why it is easy to get carried away by those temptations.
But even now, Krishna is there in our hearts and Krishna wants us to make right choices. And if we strive to make the right choices, then Krishna will give us the guidance about how to execute those right choices in our situation. So, by association of devotees and by our sincere intention to try to serve Krishna, we can move forward in our lives and choose to act dharmically even when it is difficult.
And even if we make sometimes wrong choices, that is okay. It is not that nobody expects us to be a perfectionist. It is that suppose sometimes we make a wrong decision.
As soon as we realise that this is wrong, we come back on the right track. Like I am supposed to go like this, go off this way. Oh, I have gone off track.
I come back again. So, we may veer off course sometimes. But even if we veer off course, there are specific decisions and there is a generic intention.
Generic means overall intention. So, if my overall intention is to serve Krishna, my overall intention is to contribute in a positive way in life, in a mood of service, then even if my specific decisions go wrong, the generic intention is what counts. And then we will realise, dhāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam yena mām upayānti te.
Krishna says in 10.10 in the Bhagavad Gita, that I will give you the intelligence by which you can come to me. So, either we will be able to make the right decision in the beginning itself or even if we make a wrong decision, we will realise it. This is wrong.
If we associate with devotees, we consult devotees, they will also guide us. Maybe instead of acting this way, you could have acted this way. Yeah, future I will take care of this.
So, by the association of devotees, by sincerity, by practising bhakti. So, see, there are major dharmic decisions. Now, there are big decisions if we… By big decisions I mean decisions where things are clear.
This is right and this is wrong. If at that time I make the right choice, then by that I am showing Krishna that I want to be guided. And then Krishna will guide us when things are difficult to decide.
But when things are easy to decide, at that time itself we make wrong choices. Then we are showing Krishna that I don’t want to be guided. Krishna says, okay, you don’t want to be guided, stay confused.
Actually, to stay confused is also in one sense good. Worse than being confused is to be wrong and to think that I am right. You know, is to rationalise what I am doing.
So, we will all face situations where dharma will be very difficult to decide. But there are many situations in our life when things are more or less clear. This is what I should be doing in this situation.
And if we act dharmically when it is clear for us, then Krishna will guide us to act dharmically when it is not so clear for us. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. So, the question is that it is said that Duryodhana also saw partial manifestation of the universal form that Arjuna saw on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
When was this? And what was the partial form? Actually, this Vishwaroopa refers to the time when Krishna came as Shanti Doodh. And Duryodhana tried to arrest Krishna. So, at that time, Krishna just laughed.
Oh, Duryodhana, you want to arrest me? Just arrest me. Come. And Krishna manifested a huge form.
It was so blinding that everybody just fell back in fear and horror. And they all got overwhelmed. So, that was the time, there is a detailed description of the universal form given.
How the devatas were on the shoulders of Krishna, on his sides, his body, everywhere they were there. So, this was the time when Duryodhana saw the form. Now, when Krishna revealed the universal form to Arjuna, at that time he says, He says, He says that here you will see the whole world and you will see whatever else you want to see also.
So, this is 11.5678 when he is describing the universal form. So, the point of that verse is that Krishna shows Arjuna the universal form not only in his pervasion of space, but also in expansion in time. So, the universe basically has two things.
Einstein talked about space-time. Space is length, width, height and then there is time. So, the universal form at one level shows Krishna’s pervasion of space.
I don’t see any beginning, middle or end. It’s all pervading. That is the vishwaroopar, at one level.
Whatever else you want to see, I’ll show also. What does it mean? Naturally, when a warrior is fighting a war, warrior wants to know whether I’ll be winning or I’ll be losing. So, Krishna shows him the future and that future is shown through the kaalaroopa.
The kaalaroopa is, it’s actually, if you look at it carefully, that Arjuna tells Krishna, Please show me universal form. That’s verses 1 to 4 of the 11th chapter. In verses 5 to 8, Krishna tells Arjuna, I’m going to show you the universal form.
And then, Sanjay describes the universal form from verses 9 to 13. 14th verse, Arjuna’s reaction is described. And Arjuna, from 15th verse onwards till the 31st verse, describes what he’s seeing.
And right in the beginning, he identifies this is the universal form. Pashyami Vishweshwara Vishwaroopa. He says, I’m seeing the Vishwaroopa.
But then, the same Arjuna, in the 31st verse asks, Aakhyahime ko bhavanugra roopo. He says, Vigyatam ichchami bhavantam aadyam nahi prajanami tava pravaktim. He says, Who are you? Aakhyahime ko bhavanugra roopo.
And just the previous verse, he says, he’s referring to it as Vishnu. He says, so he’s saying this is Vishnu, and he’s asking, Who are you? So now, what is the meaning of this question? Now, if I meet someone, and I tell, Aniruddha Prabhu, who are you? It doesn’t make any sense. If I’m telling his name, why am I asking, who are you? So what this means is that, if I know someone, but I’m seeing a completely different feature of that person.
Now, I know someone to be a very ordinary, gentle person. And suddenly, they start speaking like a scholar. Who are you? He asks like that.
So like that, Arjuna knows about the universal form. The universal form has been described in scripture, and Arjuna knows about it, and he’s seeing it. But within the universal form, he sees the Kaala roopa.
The form of destruction. And in that form, he sees how the Kauravas are entering into the mouth. Amihitvam Dhritarashtra se putraha.
Sarve sahivani yo. So, I’m seeing Dhritarashtra’s sons and all the warriors, they’re all entering into the mouth. So this he has not seen before.
When Krishna showed Arjuna the Duryodhana, the Vishwa roopa, he has shown how he pervades the universe. But the time aspect, how they’re going to be destroyed, that was not shown earlier. So this is what the special feature was shown by Krishna to Arjuna.
And that was not shown by Krishna to Duryodhana. And regarding the other question of where other people on the Kurukshetra battlefield able to see Krishna’s Vishwa roopa, were they able to hear the Bhagavad Gita? In 11.8, Krishna says that divyam dadamite chakshu pasyame yogam aishwaram. I am giving you divine eyes by which you will be able to see this form of mine.
So, actually in the Kurukshetra warfare itself, nobody else was able to see the form. Because it was a special form revealed to Krishna by Arjuna. Revealed to Arjuna by Krishna.
So as far as the remaining warriors were concerned, they were cultured warriors. So when Krishna and Arjuna were talking, they waited at that time. And this conversation was going on.
They were all impatient but they were waiting. Bhishma when he saw Krishna and Arjuna discussing, already the conscience had been blown. And then they were about to start fighting.
But when he saw Krishna and Arjuna discussing, stopped. So they all waited. None of them could hear the conversation because senayor ubhayor madhahe ratham sthapay me achyuta.
They were in between the two armies. So Prabhupada writes that the conversation was held in public view. And this means that it was meant for everyone.
But this does not mean that necessarily everyone was hearing it. The point Prabhupada makes is that it was a conversation which was meant for everyone. At that particular point, however, it was not that everyone was able to hear it.
At that particular point of time, Krishna and Arjuna were speaking to each other. Thank you. So shall we stop? We have time or shall we stop? Just wait a minute.
8.30. How much time should we go on? Or should we stop here? Okay, fine. Can you put a charger? It’s getting disorganised. Yeah.
My question is, did Krishna already know that Bhishma and Arjuna both are true devotees? And they both are on different sides. So did he ever felt confused like whom should I actually support? Okay. So did Krishna ever feel confused about whom to support? That two of his pure devotees, Arjuna and Bhishma are fighting with each other.
Actually Krishna supported both. Although externally it appears that Krishna helped Arjuna to win, but Krishna helped Bhishma to win also. Bhishma’s death was an eternal victory.
And not only that, even at that particular point, Bhishma’s vow was either I will kill Arjuna or I will make Krishna raise his weapon. So what did Krishna do? Krishna ensured that Bhishma’s word was held true. And he held the word true how? By raising a weapon.
So in that sense, Krishna by raising the weapon not only protected Arjuna’s life, he also protected Bhishma’s word. So that way actually Krishna worked for both his pure devotees. But because Bhishma was fighting on the side of Adharma at that particular time, so he had to die.
Arjuna was fighting on the side of Dharma. Krishna had come to establish Dharma. Krishna helped Arjuna win.
So in the immediate context of the war, it may appear that Krishna favoured Arjuna and not Bhishma. But from the ultimate perspective, he blessed both. He supported both.
Yes. I guess we could say litmus test or something we could use a kind of barometer to assess if we’re balancing both the Aparadharma and the Aparadharma in our daily life. So this kind of the instructions that we have given by Guru and Shastra versus our just day-to-day upholding our material commitments.
OK. So how can we balance our material commitments with our spiritual instructions which we receive? The first thing is that we shouldn’t see them as absolutely separate or conflicting. They may appear to be conflicting in terms of the demands on our time.
OK. Sometime I have some some work to do at home. There’s a programme in the temple.
And those terms, they will be competing. But actually in purpose, both involve the same essential thing. The essential thing is that actually I am meant to serve.
So I can serve Krishna directly by coming to the temple, by attending satsang, by chanting his holy names. And I can serve Krishna by taking care of my family members, by doing my job. All that can be done in the mood of service.
Now, the mood of service may not last for long, will not last for long if we do not do activities directly connected with Krishna. That means if I’m only doing my home activities and my professional responsibilities, I may think I’m doing it for Krishna, but without that direct contact with Krishna, that intention to serve will become more and more vague, more and more intangible. And we’ll be doing things for our own gratification rather than Krishna’s service.
So we do need regular, direct devotional contact with Krishna. By coming to the temple, by studying scripture, by attending programme, by let’s say ABCD, association books, chanting, deity worship. We need this directly.
Having done that, so we have to have some basic level of commitment to the devotional activities. Now what that basic level is, that can vary from person to person, situation to situation. But when that basic commitment is there, then there is flexibility in terms of sometimes we may focus more on our material life because that is what is required.
Sometimes we may focus more on spiritual life because there is more opportunity there at that time. So it is like if I’m going on the road, say I came from where I’m staying here to the temple, the traffic is a lot, I’ll come slowly. If the traffic is not there, I can come faster.
So similarly, our intention is to move towards Krishna. But sometimes the traffic or traffic in our material life may become a lot. At that time we slow down.
But our intention is to still keep moving forwards. Now the test is really when the traffic has slowed down, we shouldn’t be creating traffic. To stay slow.
There are activities which are essential to do for our material life. But when they are not there, we ourselves create engagements. Say I have to go here, I have to do that, I have to do that, even when they are not essential.
So if when it is essential, we do things, that’s fine. But when it is not essential, at that time we need to shift and focus on Krishna. And again, this also we learn by experience.
It’s not that something which is rigid thing which we all should be knowing or will always be knowing. It’s that we learn by experience. You know, last time I did that.
But basically, learning Dharma is, it is as simple and as difficult as learning how much to eat. Because ultimately no one can tell us. If people get into, you are over eating or you are not eating enough, people may tell us.
But you know, I know how much I need to eat. And sometimes I may eat too much, sometimes I may eat too little. And then we are back on course.
Just as usually, you know, it is rare that people eat too less. Most of the problems we eat too much. So in Ayurveda, the principle is that if you have a doubt, whether you should eat or should not eat, you should not eat.
Because when you are hungry, there is no doubt only at that time. I have to eat. When will I eat? But once I say, should I take one more or should I not take one more? That means already the body is signalling to us, it’s enough.
So just as in general, although there is extreme possible of both eating too much and eating too little, the usual tendency is to eat too much. So like that, the usual tendency of our life is to gravitate towards too much material life. Too much engage in material life.
So we need to guard ourselves against that. And by regular association with devotees, especially by associating with devotees who are also in similar situations like us, and they have gone through similar situations, we can take their guidance and learn. Okay, maybe in this situation I need to focus more, but later on I can adjust.
Now I am getting too much involved in this. So it’s all a matter of learning by experience. Learning with intelligence and learning with experience.
Does that answer your question? Thank you very much. So, thank you so much. I was amazed.
This is just a preview of what is going to come.