Commentary on the Bhagavadgita : 51-5. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Thursday, November 10, 2022. 07:30.

Discourse-51. The Eighteenth Chapter Concludes: The Bhagavadgita Concludes-5.

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The Bhagavadgita was told by Sanjaya to Dhritarashtra, right from the beginning, because Dhritarashtra was the person who raised the question, “What is happening in the battlefield of Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra? What are my children doing? What are the Pandava children doing?”

In answer to that, Sanjaya started recounting the entire history of the war, and he ended by saying, “Bhishma fell.”

“O Bhishma fell? Tell me everything. I am very much disturbed by hearing it.” Dhritarashtra wanted to know all that was happening.

Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa came and said, “If you want to see all things by yourself, I shall bless you with a vision with which, from this room in the palace, you will be able to see everything that is taking place in the yuddha-bhumi. Would you like to see that? I shall bless you with that vision.”

Dhritarashtra said, “I do not want to see this kind of horror. I shall be satisfied if someone tells me what is happening.”

So Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa blessed Sanjaya with divine vision. He could see everything that was taking place. Not only that, he could also know what anybody was thinking in their mind. There were millions of people on the battlefield, and Sanjaya could know what each one was thinking at what time, apart from what they were doing.

Such a person, Sanjaya, now speaks : 

"Ityahaṁ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ, 

saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam adbhutaṁ romaharṣaṇam." (18.74): 

“My hair stands on end when I speak this, when I recount this great story of the Mahabharata. This conversation between Krishna and Arjuna—this miraculous, hair-raising, marvellous, tremendous conversation between Sri Krishna and Arjuna—I have come to know fully by the grace of Vyasa.”

Vyāsaprasādād (18.75): 

“I came to know by the grace of Vyasa.” Chrutavān etad guhyam ahaṁ param: “This secret of secrets, which others could not know. Nobody knew what Sri Krishna was speaking. Nothing was known to other people, but I know everything because of the blessing I received from Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa. I am elated. I am in a state of rapture because of the vision of the yoga of Bhagavan Sri Krishna.”

 Yogaṁ yogeśvarāt kṛṣṇāt sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam: 

“The greatest Yogesvara Himself is teaching yoga. What can be a greater blessing than to listen to that conversation? The greatest Yogesvara is teaching yoga, and I have listened to that. I consider this as a great blessing from Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa.”

"Rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya saṁvādam imam adbhutam, 

keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ." (18.76): 

“I smile within myself. I am in a state of horripilation again and again by remembering again and again this wondrous conversation of Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Marvellous, I should say. There is no other word to describe this.” Adbhutam: “Wondrous is that conversation.”

"Tac ca saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya rūpam atyadbhutaṁ hareḥ, 

vismayo me mahān rājan hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ." (18.77): 

“Remembering again that Visvarupa, I could see it, which others could not see. I could behold that terror-striking Cosmic Form by the blessing of Sri Vyasa. Remembering it now, again and again, that miraculous Form of Sri Hari, I am really stunned. I am stupefied when even remembering it. I am highly elated that I had the blessing of having this vision of the Supreme Universal Virat, which nobody else could see.”

"Yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanurdharaḥ, 

tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama."(18.78). 

Wherever is Sri Krishna, and wherever is Arjuna—Sri Krishna, the Master of yoga, and Arjuna, the wielder of the bow—wherever these are seated in one chariot, there is prosperity, victory, happiness, and firm qualities. Whenever Bhishma was accosted and asked who will win finally, he used to say yataḥ kṛṣṇas tato jayaḥ: “Wherever is Krishna, there is victory.” Yato dharmas tataḥ kṛṣṇo yataḥ kṛṣṇas tato jayaḥ, or in another way, yataḥ kṛṣṇas tato dharmo yato dharma tato jayaḥ: “Wherever is dharma, there is Krishna; and wherever is Krishna, there is dharma; and wherever is Krishna, and hence dharma, there is victory certainly.” Bhishma said this, to the chagrin of Duryodhana, who showed a wry face and went from there saying, “I don't depend on you people. I have others, like Karna.”

Sri Krishna represents divine grace, cosmic power, eternity operating in all temporality; and Arjuna represents humanity, the essence of mankind, the essence of human effort, the essence of aspiration, the essence of movement towards God. Arjuna is the specimen of the human individual, and gandiva dhanush is the instrument of action. It can be a fountain pen in the case of a writer, it can be a pickaxe in the case of a labourer, it can be a needle in the case of a doctor—anything can be considered as an instrument of action. It is symbolic of the manner in which one engages himself or herself in action. That is symbolised in Arjuna with the gandiva dhanush in hand. And every one of us is an Arjuna holding a gandiva dhanush in the sense that we are individuals with a destiny ahead of us, which we have to achieve with hard effort and with rightly motivated action.

But merely human effort will not work. There is a necessity for its being backed by Universal Grace. The Pandavas, including Arjuna, were not lacking in effort. They had the highest, strongest and the most virulent weapons in their hands. But they could not have moved persons like Bhishma, Drona and Karna even an inch but for the miraculous, subtle, unknown operation of divinity in the form of Bhagavan Sri Krishna and all the gods.

Therefore, effort is very necessary. The Bhagavadgita tells us again and again: 

“Do work! Do not be idle! Do not resort to inaction! Always be active! But be motivated to do righteous action.” Even then, it was necessary to reveal the Cosmic Form of God. Where is the need for the glorification of God's power in Chapters Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten and Eleven if mere action is sufficient, and karma yoga is all, and the consciousness of righteousness in the performance of duty can liberate us? If that is the case, there is no necessity for the other chapters of the Bhagavadgita, such as the Visvarupa Darshana.

God's grace has to be there behind every effort. There is a joint action taking place between the individual and God. That is symbolised by Arjuna and Krishna seated in one chariot. That is Ishvara and jiva in this very body. They are working together like two birds perched on the same tree, as it is said.

“Wherever this unity of purpose between God and man is achieved fully, and they are working in harmony, one not conflicting with the other's motive, there shall be victory, there shall be prosperity, there shall be glory, and perfect quality. This is my opinion,” says Sanjaya.

Om tatsaditi śrīmad bhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre, 

śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvāde mokṣasaṁnyāsayogo nāma aṣṭādaśo´dhyāyaḥ.

Hari Om Tat Sat

Sri Krishna Bhagavan ki jai!

END.

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