The Essence of the Gospel of the Bhagavadgita - 5. Swami Krishnananda.

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Sunday 02, June 2024 07:00.
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Scriptures
The Essence of the Gospel of the Bhagavadgita -5.
Swami Krishnananda
(Spoken at a conference in Delhi on December 27, 1973.)

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Duryodhana chose the active fierce army rather than Krishna who would do nothing, who would only be a liability in the palace of Duryodhana. Why do you want a man who will do nothing? You have only to feed him for nothing. “Well,” said Krishna, “Duryodhana, you want the army? It is here. It is yours.”

Jubilantly Duryodhana walked out with the pride of gaining victory then and there. “Arjuna is a fool,” thought Duryodhana. “I have got the butter, and he has only got the chaff out of it.”

After Duryodhana left, Krishna turned to Arjuna. “What do you want now?”

Arjuna replied, “I want nothing but yourself.”

“What is the matter with you? Have you not been fooled? He has taken away whatever is useful, and you are choosing Me, who will be of no use to you.” Sri Krishna's reaction was very interesting. Arjuna was being tested, and this choice is before us also. Do we want Krishna, the Being that will not act, or do we want the forces of the world which will vigorously act? What do we want? We can choose between the two. But we are all Duryodhanas mostly, choosing only the active forces which will bring immediate results even if we are going to be doomed later on. This is what happens to us when we ask for the wealth of the world, when we ask for long life, when we ask for wife and children, position and status in society, promotion and what not—all the glory of this transient earth. This was Duryodhana's choice and it is, unfortunately, the choice of many a man in this world.

But the wise and humble Arjuna chose that Being, the kutastha-nitya, that which will not move but which will make everything else move. The sun does not move; the planets move. But who makes the planets move? The immovable sun exerts such a pull and pressure upon the planets that they are kept in their position. Bhayād asyāgnis tapati, bhayāt tapati sūryaḥ (K.U. 2.3.3): “The sun shines and fire burns on account of the fear of this inimitable Being,” says the Upanishad. Its mere existence is a command. The very existence of the sun is an urge to action. We are alive here because of the sun shining above. The sun does not speak to us, he does not move his finger, he does not tell anything, he does not proclaim himself; he never speaks of his glory, but everything moves and acts and its life is maintained and sustained by the energy that emanates from the body of the sun. Sri Krishna's mere presence in the chariot of Arjuna was enough to control and direct the destiny of all the forces on either side. And the knowledge of this stupendous background behind all the activities of the world is the sankhya that Bhagavan Sri Krishna refers to in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavadgita. The implementation of this knowledge in practical life is the yoga that he speaks of. Sāṃkhyayogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ (BG 5.4): “Sankhya and yoga are one and the same thing,” says the Lord. From the point of view of the Bhagavadgita, knowledge and action mean one and the same thing. Knowledge set in motion is called action, and action becoming self-conscious is called knowledge. The expression of philosophy in practical life is called religion; religion becoming self-conscious is called philosophy. Such is the quintessential teaching of Bhagavan Sri Krishna to Arjuna, to man, to every one of us. Are we going to choose knowledge or are we going to choose the material glamour of this transitory world?

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Continued

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