SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA: 2.8. Swami Advayananda.

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Tuesday 25, March 2025, 11:30.
BHAGAVAD GEETA 2-6.
Discourse 2 | Yoga of the Supreme Self - (72 Slogas) 
2.2   ARJUNA ON THE DEFENSIVE 
(Slogas 4-10,   7 No.)
Slogam- 8: The Sacrifice that Ends Sorrow
Swami  Advayananda.

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Slogam- 8: The Sacrifice that Ends Sorrow:

1. Na hi prapashyaami mama apanudyaat =   I do not see the removal of my 

2. yat shokam ucchhah ushanam indriyaanaam; = grief, which intensely burns my senses, 

3. avaapya bhoomau asapatnam riddham =  by attaining unrivalled prosperity on Earth 

4. raajyam suraanaam api cha adhipatyam. =  or dominion and lordship over the Gods. 

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This slogam focuses on the price that Arjuna is prepared to pay for being guided by Sri Krishna out of Sorrow or Despondency as it is named in the Geeta. To be freed from sorrow the price is immaterial. Even the world’s billionnaires know what it costs to be relieved of pain. Arjuna makes a sacrifice that few in this world would dare to make.

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 The relief of the despondency of Arjuna is not a physical problem. It is not even a mental problem. The most prosperous kingdom on earth together with access to every imaginable pleasure in quality and quantity is being wagered for relief from this sorrow.

Arjuna’s father was the Lord of Heaven. Taking over Indra’s job would have been like  continuing the ‘family businesses for him! But Arjuna is not keen on Lordship in heaven. He is  not interested in such things for they will increase his sorrow. This is no ordinary sorrow; indeed, it is the sorrow of being bound to cosmic delusion. That is what makes it a Yoga. 

The Birth of the Bhagavad Geeta:

 The sorrow Arjuna feels is so intense it has the proportions of being close to birth pangs.

 Would that not be a most appropriate simile in this situation? These are Arjuna’s last words on this subject. It is a moment pregnant with expectation, a moment that could turn over his whole life, a moment that is poised to change the spiritual history of all mankind. 

Arjuna’s despondency represents the despondency of all mankind of all ages. 

The battlefield has become a “maternity ward” for a while, with Arjuna feeling the pangs of labour. In a few minutes, the great Bhagavad Geeta is to be born through him to the world in the very midst of a battlefield! 

The birth of a scripture rarely gets more dramatic than this! 

The Antidote for Sorrow is Knowledge  Kaarpanya was the word used in the previous verse for “pity”. Now it is Shokam or “sorrow”. What is the antidote for sorrow? 

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 If joy were the antidote, why would Arjuna cast aside all the joys that the world is able to give? Not even heavenly Lordship attracts Arjuna. He asks Krishna to relieve him of this sorrow, which means he has the faith that He is able to do so. And what can Krishna give him in the middle of the battlefield?  

The answer is Knowledge.

Knowledge is the only antidote for sorrow. It can get rid of sorrow once and for all.  That is what Sri Krishna does in the message He is about to deliver through Arjuna to the world – the Bhagavad Geeta. 

Acharyaji grew eloquent on this theme, showing us how dear knowledge is to his heart: “When a person tries to put an end to sorrow through joy, he is a pleasure-seeker

 When he tries to put an end to it through knowledge, he is a Truth-seeker.!"

Again, Acharyaji went into Arjuna’s mind: “Krishna, I trust you, I know you will not dowse my sorrow with something superficial. You are the only one who can give me a lasting solution, something that will be for my long-term good.” 

Thus is Krishna entrusted with the responsibility of building Arjuna’s spiritual life. 

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Next

Slogam - 9: “I Will Not Fight” 

Continued

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