BHAGAVAD GEETA – 1 : Swami Advayanandaji
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Chapter-1.
“Yoga of Arjuna’s Despondency”
Sri Veda Vyasaji
Discourse – 1 (47 Slokas)
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Saturday, April 22, 2023. 07:00.
Post - 1.
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THE GEETA FITTINGLY STARTS with the person who has the power at any moment
to call off the war – King Dhritarashtra himself. He is physically blind; not only so, in his
character he is intellectually blind, too, having a strong unreasonable bias for his sons. And
above all, he shows himself to be spiritually blind. This widespread “blindness” is the first
thing we note as we go into the opening Chapter. All these forms of blindness rule him out
to be a fit King.
There is a ‘Dhritarashtra-element’ in each one of us.
He is that deluded being within who cannot see the Truth from the untruth; who
beholds everything from his own, narrow perspective in life. If he is given the status of ‘King’
of our being, we at once invite conflict into our life – a conflict that is bound to result in
turmoil within us that is symbolized in the Mahabharata War.
Text 23 of the Sandeepany series traces the run-up of events recorded in the
Mahabharata that led to the Mahabharata War. This is essential reading prior to reading
the Bhagavad Geeta. Included with Text 23 is the Geeta Dhyanam, composed by Sri
Madhusudana Saraswati, which beautifully describes the meditative attitude we should
have when approaching the study of this sacred book. Through a series of exquisite similes,
the Dhyanam provides a picturesque view of the purpose of a book like the Geeta.
The first and foremost among the similes is that of the cow representing all the Upanishads;
Krishna is the milker of the cows;
the Geeta is the milk;
and Arjuna (the seeker)
is the calf who drinks its fill of milk from the caring hands of Krishna!
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1.1 THE CONVERSATIONALISTS
(Slokas - 1-2, 2 No.)
Slokam - 1: Dhritarashtra’s Bias
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Dhritarashtra Uvaacha: Dhritarashtra said:
1
Dharmakshetre kurukshetre = On the holy plane of Kurukshetra,
2
samavetaah yuyutsavah; = assembled there together, desirous to fight,
3
maamakaah paandavaah cha eva = my people and also the sons of Pandu –
4
kim akurvata Sanjaya. = what did they do there, O Sanjaya?
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1-2
The opening words of the Geeta present before us the scene of a battlefield. On
the plains of Kurukshetra in northern India about 150 km due north from New Delhi, a tragic
family feud is to be brought to a climax in open warfare. Holy earth is to become witness of
a blood-chilling war between the forces of darkness and the forces of Light.
3
“My people” tells us of Dhritarashtra’s undisguised bias for his sons. No matter
what they do, they are always right to him. He supports them, even though sometimes he
has to use diplomacy to do it. Mamata or “mineness” is not a kingly quality to have. The
Pandavas are not a part of his ‘my’.
4
There are always two sides in a conflict – it is “we” against “they”. When the one
harmonious creation of God is brutally divided into these two groups, war is inevitable.
The Scene from Dhritarashtra’s Lounge :
These are the only words uttered by King Dhritarashtra in the whole Geeta. Unlike
Arjuna who interacts with the Lord throughout the Geeta, Dhritarashtra, after uttering this
sentence, simply sits back in his comfortable palace lounge and switches on his TV to
Sanjaya News Network, sipping coffee and nibbling his chips all day.
To him, it is like watching a football match: He regards his sons, the hundred
Kauravas, as the favourites to win this war; the Pandavas are merely the underdogs. A
football fan does not care to check out which team is more talented, which has worked
harder at practice, which team deserves to win, etc. He just wants to see his team win. So it
is with Dhritarashtra. The build-up to the battle seems not to interest him. The moral
grounds that led to the war are of no concern to him. He only wants to see his sons win!
What are the moral issues? This is what the Introductory text is all about. In eighteen
dramatic episodes are covered the full details of what exactly transpired that made War
inevitable. The Pandavas had brought their claim down to just a piece of ground to lay their
heads on. Even that was refused by the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana, leader of
the Kauravas. The Kauravas had effectively concluded that their Pandava cousins had no
right to be on this planet and had to be swiftly despatched from it by the only method they
knew – War.
Some of the War Statistics :
As a background it may help to know the following statistics of the two armies
assembled on the battlefield:
The Pandavas were composed of 7 Akshavinis; the Kauravas of 11 Akshavinis. An
Akshavini is a fighting unit made up of the following elements:
i) 21,870 chariots;
ii) 21,870 elephants;
iii) 65,610 cavalry;
iv) 109,350 infantry.
The ratio of these four is 1:1:3:5. All these make up 1 Akshavini. Dhritarashtra
considers this comparison sufficient to conclude that the Kauravas are a stronger army.
Quantity is all that matters. To a football fan, a team reduced to 10 men cannot win; to
Dhritarashtra, war is only a game of numbers. He does not see quality or morality. Nor does
he see that the Lord Krishna Himself is on the side of the Pandavas. Due to His promise not
to take part in the actual fighting, He is perhaps considered insignificant in terms of strength
by Dhritarashtra.
*****
Next
Slokam - 2: Sanjaya – Reporter of the Visible & Invisible
To be continued
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