The bond between Bhagwan (God) and Bhakta
(devotee) is of the highest quality. A Bhakta may
reprimand Bhagwan; but Bhagwan is always
ready to fulfill every demand of true Bhaktas, be
it Namdev, Kabir, Gajraj (mythological elephant
trapped in the mouth of a crocodile) or Draupadi.
The story of saint Namdev is well-known.
Namdev reprimanded Bhagwan for not stopping
the temple priests from evicting him from the
temple’s courtyard where he was singing bhajans
(devotional songs) facing Bhagwan’s idol and
staying silent through his ordeal. Namdev got
angry and went on the back of the temple and
started singing again. Bhagwan couldn’t tolerate
this insult and uneasiness of this true Bhakta and
He turned the door of the temple towards the
other side where Namdev was standing, so that
Namdev could sing facing his Bhagwan as before.
All the temples in Pandharpur face east; only this
temple faces west and amply demonstrates the
glory of Bhakta. This is the relationship between
Bhagwan and Bhakta. However, the relationship
of Guru (teacher) and shishya (disciple) is
different. A Guru makes his disciple work very
hard to achieve worthiness, and the Guru’s
method is similar to the strenuous processing of
a cotton carder, which works on a tangled mass
of cotton to create fine, organized threads that are
useful for various purposes. This relationship is
different from blood relations. The best examples
of how Guru awakens discipleship may be
found in first, second, eleventh, seventeenth and
eighteenth chapters of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. In
fact, the entire Gita is a textbook for awakening
true discipleship.
Lord Krishna was Arjuna’s closest companion
and also a close relative. The Lord was present
when Arjuna married Draupadi. Lord Krishna’s
sister, Subhadra, was also married to Arjuna.
Arjuna’s mother, Kunti, was Sri Krishna’s aunt
(Bua), which also made them cousins, apart
from being brothers-in-law (sale-bahnoi). Lord
Krishna was with Arjuna when the Pandavas
were in exile. They also fought several wars
together; but the emotional bond between them
was only that of companions – friends – brothers.
The bond of Guru – disciple was not developed so
far. The author of the Gita, Sage Veda Vyasa, has
tried to develop this emotion by generating the
state of melancholy in the Arjuna’s mind. Arjuna
was certainly aware of the Yogeshwar form of
Lord Krishna; but he was so disconsolate and
melancholic, as he had to fight his own near-and-
dear relatives, that he was unable to recognize
Lord Krishna as the Supreme Teacher, or Yogiraj
(the greatest of Yogis).
We, the Pragya Parijans, have also been in
a similar state of mind. We too know revered
Gurudev very well, but do not consider him to be
the messenger of God. We cherish fond memories
of his association with us as a mesmeric person
who fulfilled our hearts’ desires, as a spiritual
parent, a guide and an adviser. But we are not
ready to accept that he is the same Yogeshwar,
Pragyavatar (divine incarnation of righteous
intellect), a representative of God, and a Sadguru
- who has been revered more than Govinda by
the scriptures. Our state of minds is not very
different from that of Arjuna. However, if we too
can reach that ultimate state of melancholy (as
vividly described by Sage Veda Vyasa in Srimad
Bhagavad Gita), then our Sadguru, Pandit
Shriram Sharma, Acharya, too would appear
in front of us. We will have to understand our
Guru from the Sharanagati Bhav (the emotion
of total surrender), because it is this emotion
that is capable of transforming all the chemistry,
the physical structure, and each and every pore
of the disciple. If we, the disciples, wish to be
like Arjuna, then we will have to reach that state
of melancholy and surrender everything to our
Gurudev. We will have to abandon all our desires.
This is the specialty of this first chapter of the
Gita that Arjuna asks the questions and then
answers them himself. Lord Krishna does not get
an opportunity to speak in this chapter. Arjuna
presents arguments that appear reasonable to
him to defend his unwillingness to fight the war.
This happens when someone finds it difficult to
perform a good deed or behave conscientiously,
and then he or she attempts to contradict accepted
ethical principles. Arjuna is scholarly, prudent,
and famous for being a talented and formidable
archer of his time. Among Pandavas, there is
no one better than Arjuna. The person, who can
qualify for leadership role in the present times,
has to be like Arjuna, and not like Yudhishthira,
Bheema, Nakula, or Sahadeva. In fact, Arjuna is
a representative of the entire humanity. He is also
a representative of all the disciples. The message
that Yogeshwar Lord Krishna imparted to Arjuna,
after considering his melancholic state (described
in this first chapter), is eternal, and relevant to all
the true disciples even today.
The beginning of the Gita highlights a very
extraordinary situation. There is a generation gap
between Arjuna and King Dhritarashtra. Both
are confused due to attachment to near and dear
ones. One cannot take any decision in the state of
grief or excessive attachment. Arjuna is watching
his close relatives standing in front of him in
the battlefield. Dhritarashtra too is watching his
relatives through the divine eyes of Sanjaya.
Even then there is difference between the
attachments of the two observers. If Dhritarashtra
is excessively blinded by attachment, Arjuna
is perplexed. Dhritarashtra represents malice
whereas Arjuna embodies dedication. Due to
Dhritarashtra, many families are on the verge
of disaster in Mahabharata war. However,
Arjuna has come as the key to transform Bharat
into Maha-Bharat by destroying the evil forces
currently in power. That is why Lord Krishna
has chosen only Arjuna for the sermon of the
Gita in order to teach him Karma Yoga (the
discipline of selfless action). Arjuna alone is the
deserving candidate to receive this knowledge.
This is why the Lord created the extreme state
of melancholy in His friend and devotee Arjuna.
Today there are thousands of Dhritarashtras in
our society; it is the time for them to take up
the task of social service, but they are not ready
to quit that quagmire of blind attachment to the
near and dear ones.
Right from the beginning, the Gita presents very
strange scenes. It is a battleground of Kurukshetra.
Sanjaya starts narrating from the second shloka:
Drushtwa tu pandavanikam vyudam
uryodhanstada |
Aachryamupsangamya raja vachanabravit ||
(1/2)
Pashyaitam panduputranamacharya mahati
chamum |
Vyudam drupadputrena tav shishyena dheemata ||
(1/3)
Meaning: Sanjaya said – “Then King Duryodhana,
after watching the military phalanx of Pandavas
went to Dronacharya and said – ‘O respected
teacher, behold the great army of the sons of
Pandu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent
disciple, the son of Drupada (Dhrishtadyumna)’.
There is mystery hidden in both these shlokas that
acquaints us of the psychology of Duryodhana.
Why did Duryodhana approach Dronacharya
and not someone else? Why did he take the
name of Dhrishtadyumna – why not some other
warrior? It is because, King Drupada was not on
good terms with Dronacharya. So he performed
a yagya to get a son (Dhrishtadyumna) who
could kill Dronacharya. So Duryodhana incited
Dronacharya by saying ‘see how nicely the army
phalanx has been arranged by your disciple, who
has taken birth to kill you. So you should become
more vigilant and strong that he and his army may
not kill you.’ By saying this, Duryodhana fanned
the flames of enmity in the mind of Dronacharya,
so that the latter would fight the war with more
valor. After this he mentions the names of all
the important warriors in the Pandavas’ army,
referring to Abhimanyu and Draupadi’s five sons,
so that Dronacharya’s anger does not subside.
Then Duryodhana talks about the warriors on his
side and in the tenth shloka foretells the verdict of
the war. He says –
Aparyaptam tadasmakam balam
bhishmabhirakshitam |
Paryaptam twidmetesham balam
bhimabhirakshitam ||
(1/10)
Meaning: “Protected by Bhishma Pitamah, our
army is invincible; and protected by Bheema,
the army of other side is easy to conquer.” In
the eyes of Duryodhana, Bheema is the lone
protector. He is so proud of his eleven akshauhini
[1] army that it appears to him invincible and the
opponent Bheema appears as a loser. It is this
overconfidence and foolishness that becomes the
cause of his downfall. Perhaps, Duryodhana’s
disregard of the main characters, Lord Krishna
and Arjuna, led him towards his own destruction.
Duryodhana’s mind is filled with malice towards
Bheema and hence what he sees everywhere is
Bheema with his deadly weapon Gada (or mace).
He regards Lord Krishna as an ordinary person,
a gwala (milkman) – a mere charioteer of Arjuna
– although he had paid a price for insulting this
‘ordinary’ person before. Had Duryodhana not
underestimated his opponents, he would have
probably fought the war honestly. But he did
not, and that is why he lost and died in the end.
This Gita chapter of Mahabharata is a must-
read because it gives us a vision to develop our
conscience – it inspires us to tread the holistic
path in this battle called life.
[To be continued]
Notes:
1. An akshauhini is described in the Mahabharata
as a battle formation consisting of 21,870
chariots (Sanskrit ratha); 21,870 elephants;
65,610 cavalry and 109,350 infantry as per
the Mahabharata (Adi Parva 2.15-23). The
ratio is 1 chariot: 1, elephant: 3, cavalry: 5
infantry soldiers.
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