The Bhagavad Gita (5 page)

29-30  “‘My arms and legs feel heavy, Krishna. My mouth is dry and my hair stands on end — and my body is
shaking. See!’ Arjuna holds out his hand and even he is surprised at the forcefulness of his tremors. He clears his throat and continues, ‘I can hardly hold my bow. My skin burns all over. My mind whirls. I can barely stand up. What is happening to me?’ ”

31-32  With this indication of Arjuna’s weakness, a slight smile formed on the old king’s face. Sanjaya noticed it and continued his account. “Arjuna takes a deep breath and speaks, ‘I see bad omens for our side, Krishna. I can’t see any good coming from slaying my relatives. This is unlike our earlier days of glory, Krishna, old friend. Now I don’t desire victory, or a kingdom, or pleasures. Of what use are they? Of what use is life, Krishna?

33-35  “‘It is for the sake of the people on our side — our own teachers, relatives, and allies — that we seek the pleasures of victory and kingdom. Here they are in battle gear ready to give up their property and even their lives. It’s all so useless, Krishna. Even though these enemies want to kill me, I don’t want to kill them — not even for the kingship of the whole world or even the heavens. If these great prizes hold no interest for me, why should I wage a bloody war for this paltry kingdom?

36-37  “‘I would be forever ashamed, Krishna, if I were to kill my kith and kin. I could never find any satisfaction in such slaughter. Though their bows are drawn to kill, to slay these people would be a sin. So what if they’re evil? They’re my relatives. How could I ever again be happy?

38-39  “‘I know they are overcome with greed. And I know they are blind to the evil in all their treachery. But does that justify my being blind too?

40-41  “‘Old friend,’ Arjuna continues to Krishna, ‘when a family declines, its traditions are destroyed, and the entire family loses its sense of oneness. Without unity, the women get corrupted, and with the decline of women the world is plunged into chaos.

42-45  “‘Social turmoil is hell, Krishna, for the family, for the destroyers of the family, and for the whole society. It is said that those who destroy family unity have to live in hell. Ah! And yet here am I, goaded by greed, ready to kill my own kinsmen!

46  “‘Krishna, if those same relations attack me and kill me, unresisting and unarmed on this battlefield, so be it. Death would be better for me!’”

47   At those final, labored words of Arjuna, Sanjaya stopped his commentary for a moment and then told the blind old king what he saw. “Now, the great warrior Prince Arjuna, overcome by anguish in the middle of the battlefield, slumps to his chariot seat and flings his bow and arrows to the floor of the chariot.”

  1  Arjuna’s eyes were burning with tears of compassion and confusion. The blind old king was rejoicing, thinking an easy victory was at hand. Sanjaya continued his straightforward report of the distant battlefield:

  2  As Krishna watches the once-brave warrior prince plunge into pitiable weakness His normally soft eyes become steely, and He speaks. “Arjuna, where does all this despair come from? This egoistic self-indulgence at a time of crisis is shameful and unworthy of you. You are a highly evolved, cultured man who is supposed to live a truth-based life, a life of
dharma.
And yet your
confused mind is unbalanced and would not know truth if it hit you over the head.

  3 “I know you are astounded at My lack of commiseration, but you must not yield to this feebleness! Truth and right can never be obtained by the weak. You are a great warrior, a proven winner. Cast off this faintheartedness. Stand up, O scorcher of enemies!”

4-5  Arjuna interrupts: “I can’t believe you’re telling me to fight!” He shakes his head as though trying to clear his mind. Krishna sits quietly. Arjuna breathes deeply and blurts, “How?” The word hangs in the air between them. “How?” he repeats, “How can I
not
be weak, Krishna? For me to attack Bhishma, who has been like a grandfather to me, and assault my beloved former teacher Drona, would be wrong! I should revere these elders, not shoot at them. I don’t want a blood-smeared victory.

6  “If I kill them, I would not care to live, Krishna. It would be better to be killed myself. Ah,” he mutters ruefully, “I don’t know which way to turn. Either way, winning or losing this battle, I lose.”

7-8  “I’m utterly confused,” Arjuna continues, “as to what is my duty. I can’t think of any remedy for this awful grief that has dried up my energy, Krishna. If I were to gain great wealth and power, what would that prove? I’m asking you to help me, not to just tell me to go out and fight. I beg you to tell me what I should do. I am your pupil; be my teacher, my
guru.
I take refuge in you and surrender to you. Please instruct me, beloved Krishna, show me the way.”

9    The great warrior-prince, who has never known retreat, slips deeper into his dark dejection. He mumbles, “I shall not fight,” and becomes silent.

10   Now that Arjuna has submitted himself as a pupil, Krishna transforms into His true role as the Divine Teacher. He tightens the reins in His hand, looks long into the crestfallen warrior’s eyes, and begins to speak.

11  “You may grieve sincerely, Arjuna, but it is without cause. Your words may seem wise, but the truly wise one grieves neither for the living nor the dead!

12  “There has never been a time when I, or you, or any of these kings and soldiers here did not exist — and there will never be a time when we cease to exist. Physical bodies appear and disappear, but not the
Atma
(the soul, the life force) that lives within them.

13  “This life force comes and dwells in a body for a while. While therein, it experiences infancy, childhood, youth, and old age, and then, upon death, passes eventually to a new body. Changes such as death pertain to the body, not the
Atma.
The wise person does not get caught up in the delusion that he or she is this body, Arjuna. This delusion is the very definition
of ego.

14  “Arjuna, the contact of bodily senses with objects and attractions in the world creates feelings like sorrow or happiness, and sensations like heat or cold. But these are impermanent, transitory, coming and going like passing clouds. Just endure them patiently and bravely; learn to be unaffected by them.

15  “The serene person, unaffected by these worldly feelings and sensations, is the same in pain and pleasure,
and does not allow him- or herself to get disturbed or sidetracked.
This
is the person fit for immortality. Realize this and assert your strength, Arjuna. Do not identify your True Self merely with your mortal body.

16  
“Real,
as used in spirituality, means that which is eternal, never changing, indestructible. This is the very definition of ‘Reality.’ That which is Real never ceases to be. Anything that is impermanent, even if it lasts a very long time and seems durable, eventually changes and thus does not have true Reality. The wise ones understand the difference between the Real and the not-Real. When you fully understand this profound fact, you will have attained the zenith of all knowledge.

“One’s body, according to this logic, is not Real. And yet, there is something that dwells within the body that is Real: the
Atma —
which is existence itself; awareness, pure consciousness.

17  “Get to know this Reality. It pervades the entire cosmos and is unchanging and indestructible. No power can affect it. No one can change the changeless.

“This
Atma,
Arjuna, is like space or sky. Clouds appear in the sky but their presence does not cause the sky to grow apart to make room for them. In the same manner, the
Atma
(the True Self Within) remains ever itself. Things of the material universe come and go, appear and disappear, but the
Atma
never changes.

18  “Only the body is mortal. Only the body will come to an end. But the
Atma,
which is the True Self Within, is immortal, and will never come to an end. So fight, O Warrior!

19  “You talk about killing or being killed; know that the body may be killed but the indwelling Reality (the
Atma)
can never be. To say that one person slays and the other is slain may be correct from a physical worldly standpoint, but it is not the Reality of the matter.

20  “The
Atma,
this Real us, was never born, nor will it ever die. In fact, this eternal Reality within is never destroyed; it never undergoes any changes. When your ego takes over and you erroneously identify your self with the body, you feel that physical death is death to the self, and that is frightening. But the Self
(Atma)
can never be ‘killed.’ When the body is slain the
Atma
remains unaffected.

21  “The one who understands this hard-to-grasp principle of
Atma —
the True Self Within that is eternal, indestructible, and changeless — realizes that at this level of comprehension there is no ‘slaying’ and no ‘causing another to slay.’

22  “As a person sheds a worn-out garment, the dweller within the body casts aside its time-worn human frame and dons a new one.

23-24  “The Indweller — the Self,
Atma —
remains unaffected by all worldly changes. It is not wounded by weapons, burned by fire, dried out by wind, or wet by water. This indwelling Self is all-pervading (which means it is everywhere). It is also eternal and changeless because it is beyond the worldly dimension of time — time has no access to it.

 “Arjuna, the cessation of your present pain and sorrow will depend on how well you overcome your ignorance of your True Self that lives within you.”

25  “It is not easy — as I said, Arjuna — to fathom this mysterious concept of the True Self. Everything else in the world changes. Every creature, rock, blade of grass, human being, element, or component of any kind changes. Only the
Atma
never changes! Because it is never modified it is termed
immutable.
Because it is invisible, has no form, and cannot be heard, smelled, or touched, it is termed
unmanifested.
Because the human mind cannot perceive or conceive it, it is said to be
unknowable.
Why grieve over a Self that is immutable, unmanifested, and unknowable?”

26-27  Krishna lets those ideas sink in, and then continues. “Even if you do choose to see yourself as a worldly body that dies, why suffer this anguish? Your despondency steals your strength. Death is inevitable for all the living. You know that death is certain in all of nature, so why mourn that which is natural? Nothing — absolutely nothing — in nature is permanent.

28  “All beings are temporary. Before birth, they are unmanifested (nonmaterialized). At birth they become manifested. At their end they again become unmanifested. What is there in all this to grieve over? Grieving over the temporary just uses up your energy and holds back your spiritual growth.

29  “No one really understands the
Atma,
Arjuna. One person sees it as wondrous, another speaks of its glory, others say it is strange, and there are many who listen but do not comprehend it at all. Very few even think of inquiring into what is beyond this physical world.

30  “I am well aware that I have veered into high philosophy, but you must understand that all beings,
whether called ‘friend’ or ‘enemy,’ have this indestructible
Atma
within. You must be poised above this debilitating sorrow of yours.”

31  “One’s personal duty in life (one’s
sva-dharma)
should be viewed as one’s responsibility to his or her highest Self, the
Atma.
This ultrahigh level of duty carries with it the requirement that one
never
does anything that is contrary to this True Self Within. And even if you consider your
sva-dharma
more narrowly from the standpoint of being true to your profession, you should not hesitate to fight. For a warrior, war against evil, greed, cruelty, hate, and jealousy is the highest duty.

32  “The tide of fortune comes in but rarely. This war is a great, unsolicited opportunity for you to fight for righteousness; for a warrior this is no less than a free pass to heaven. Therefore, rejoice, Arjuna. Be happy. This is your opportune moment!

33  “But if you do not fight this battle of good over evil, you will fail in both your worldly duty and in your duty to your very Self. You will violate your
sva-dharma.
Not doing the right thing when it is required is worse than doing the wrong thing.

34  “If you do not do your duty the tale of your dishonor will be repeated endlessly. For a man of honor to go down in history as dishonorable is a fate worse than death. Ordinary human beings naturally strive to preserve their lives, but the warrior has a different way. Warriors must be ever ready not merely to safeguard, but to sacrifice their lives for a cause. Knowingly surrendering your life to an ideal increases your glory.