All World
Gayatri Pariwar

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.