Just as Arjuna was attached to his ‘good name’, his virtuous demeanour and what he considered to be his lofty knowledge, a spiritual aspirant must realise that these are the very considerations which weaken his resolve and prove to be a formidable obstacle.
#SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA SHLOKA SKIN#
The aspirant who seeks to embark on his sadhana – spiritual practice – must perceive both these within himself with absolute clarity and integrity, thus reducing his chances of an internal trauma such as Arjuna faced when he cried out to Lord Krishna, “My Gandiva (bow) is dropping from my hands! My skin is burning and my mind is reeling! I can stand no more!” The spectre of a fearsome battle between Truth and its allies, the humane and divine attributes, and the untruth with its allies, the inhuman and demonical tendencies, looms ahead. He must become aware of the power of the negative forces, most predominantly his attachment, and gain the strength to tear asunder this bondage to facilitate his progress on the spiritual path. He must pre-view his aides, enemies and his own positive and negative tendencies.
Just as Arjuna observes the battlefield and readies himself for war, the spiritual seeker must objectively observe the path he should take. This scripture acquaints the struggling aspirant of spirituality with the arena of his spiritual endeavour. How is the story of Arjuna relevant to the common man today? Pujya Ma has dealt abundantly with this subject in the first chapter of this book, which She always describes as extremely important. The Spiritual Relevance of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita today He looked agonisingly towards his divine friend, Lord of Dwarka, who had offered to become his charioteer in this great war, and beseeched Him, “Pray take my chariot into the midst of the battlefield, so that I may witness all with greater clarity.” So began the glorious dialogue constituting the substance of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, which has been the beaconlight of many a spiritual seeker. How could his nobility permit him to lift arms against the very people he had so far served with humility? Arjuna saw before him, in the enemy lines, his Grandsire Bhishma Pitamah, his revered teachers Guru Dronacharya and Kripacharya, and several other venerable and cherished relations, for whom he harboured great regard. The Pandavas were courageous and adept at warfare and the victors of several battles in the past. This war had been forced upon them by the Kauravas who wanted to eliminate them. So deep was the Pandavas’ respect and love for their elders, that they could not contemplate a war, even for a kingship which was rightfully theirs. The Pandavas, on the other hand, were noble and virtuous.
The Kauravas were notorious for the atrocities they perpetrated.
#SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA SHLOKA FULL#
Duryodhana, taking full advantage of his father’s blind attachment to him and leading his brothers on a mission of hatred and contempt for the Pandavas, made several attempts to kill their cousins, in order to clear his accession to the throne of Hastinapur. Since then, Arjuna and his brothers Yudhishthir, Bhima, Nakula and Sahdev, had borne innumerable humiliations heaped upon them by Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhritrashtra. Arjuna now recalled the many occasions when they had quietly yielded to the countless injustices meted out to them by the Kauravas – their cousins, sons of their blind uncle Dhritrashtra, since the latter assumed kingship after the death of their own father, Pandu, in self exile. He and his brothers, the virtuous Pandavas, had not wanted this war. A renowned archer, the favourite pupil of the great Guru Dronacharya and victor of many a war, Arjuna was now beset by utter helplessness and despair. As the war clouds gathered around him, Arjuna stood in the midst of the battlefield at Kurukshetra, distressed and perplexed.
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