A Study of the Bhagavadgita : 2-4: Swami Krishnananda.

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Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF), research wing of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Adi Sankara Nilayam, Veliyanad, Eranakulam, India, Kerala

Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF)

Day 4 at Vedanta Unveiled Camp

The day was enriched with enlightening sessions and new launches.

Swamini Vimalananda explored the concept of totality and individuality, emphasising the presence of Consciousness in all manifestations of life. Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda expounded on the concept that God is all-pervading—present everywhere—yet often unseen. This is because we are not introduced to Him. Once we come to know Him, we will see Him and Him alone. Swami Advayananda's session highlighted the omnipresence of absolute Truth and the importance of a pure mind for its Realisation.

The day witnessed notable releases: Swamini Vimalananda released the pen drive of Panchadashi Chapter 9, presenting the first copy to Prof. P. Geervani. The title is also available on Shravana Mangalam. Participants attended the virtual launch of 'Chinmaya Parichay' by Pujya Swami Swaroopananda During the evening session, Pujya Guruji released the Svadhyaya Series Course on Upanishad Ganga.

The Paduka Puja and the Chuttuvilakku completed the day with spiritual depth and tranquillity.

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Tuesday, 28 Nov 2023 07:06.

Chapter 2: The Background of the Bhagavadgita - 4.

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Now, the question of doing or not doing is not an easy state of affairs. It was not possible even for a wise, very cultured individual such as Arjuna to make a decision as to what is to be done and what is not to be done. He did not know exactly what was before him. Many a time we do things under the impression that those things are expected of us, but the consequences are not always before our eyes. We are blinded, to some extent, as regards the results that follow from our action. It is the expectation of the Gita that your deeds, your expectations, your performances, the works that you do, should be guided by a central principle. What that central principle is will be told to you gradually during the course of the discourse. There is a gradational ascent of the teaching which culminates later on at a point when you will be face to face with the most stimulating fact that nothing can be done unless it is cosmically involved.

This world of righteousness and action, Dharmakshetra and Kurukshetra, is the field where the Pandavas and the Kauravas girt up their loins for the Mahabharata war, as it is called. You perhaps know the background of the story of the Mahabharata. There were, in ancient times, certain ruling princes, cousin brothers, usually called the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra and Pandu were brotheIt was in Indraprastha that Yudhishthira, virtually having been installed as an independent king, wished to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, which means to say that he expected the other rulers nearby to be vassals paying tribute to him, and he would be the emperor par excellence. Due to Yudhishthira's reputation of goodness, virtue and greatness, all the kings participated in this sacrifice and offered tribute to him. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for this grand sacrifice, gold and silver flowed from all directions, and the wealth of Yudhishthira could not be counted.

Because Dhritarashtra was blind, he was not considered fit to rule the kingdom. Pandu was to rule. But as fate would have it, Pandu died prematurely and Dhritarashtra had to be installed as king though he was blind and otherwise unfit. The children of Pandu were called the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra therefore, being the king, found himself practically unable to handle the affairs of the state, and the powers virtually went to the hand of his eldest son, Duryodhana. The eldest of the Pandavas was Yudhishthira, and his brothers were Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva; they were five in number. The sons of Dhritarashtra were one hundred, and he had a daughter also, making one hundred and one.

Right from the beginning of childhood there was a feud between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The Kauravas constituted the children of Dhritarashtra; the Pandavas were these five brothers. Right from early childhood there was animosity on the part of the Kauravas, especially Duryodhana, in respect of the Pandavas. They tried their best to see that the Pandavas were annihilated. They poisoned them, tried to burn their house, drove them out, and many such things were done. Somehow or other, the Pandavas did not die; they survived.

The Pandavas married Draupadi, the daughter of King Draupada, and it was at this time that the Kauravas learned that the Pandavas had not died. Though Duryodhana had hatched a plan to burn them alive in their house made of a combustible material, this plan somehow did not succeed. When Dhritarashtra came to know that the Pandavas were still alive, and Bhishma, the moral leader of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, also came to know of this fact, he ordered the invitation of the Pandavas and saw that they were installed in a proper place and had their own independent estate to rule – a place called Khandavprastha, which later on became known as Indraprastha.

It was in Indraprastha that Yudhishthira, virtually having been installed as an independent king, wished to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, which means to say that he expected the other rulers nearby to be vassals paying tribute to him, and he would be the emperor par excellence. Due to Yudhishthira's reputation of goodness, virtue and greatness, all the kings participated in this sacrifice and offered tribute to him. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for this grand sacrifice, gold and silver flowed from all directions, and the wealth of Yudhishthira could not be counted.

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To be continued

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