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Geeta Chapter 2 Verse 2

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 2

कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् ।
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन ॥२-२॥

Kutastva Kashmal idam Vishame samupasthitam
anaryajustam asvargyam a kirtikaram arjuna ॥ 2-2 ॥

Transliteration

Lord Krishna admonishes Arjuna thus... in state of war and facing the enemy, how could Arjuna, the chieftain of Pandava army get besotted with those in the Army camp, notwithstanding even if they were closely related to him! It was time to fight the enemy head-on than expressing cowardice. He was not alone in the fight; he represented the whole Pandava clan. He should think of welfare of all on his side than his relationship with the sworn enemy... Kauravas!

As per Krishna... such an unbecoming attitude did not fare well with people in high position, kings and chieftain's who had a responsibility towards their countrymen. In present circumstances Arjuna must uphold dignity of all and must not act in an unmanly unchaste manner that reflects on his character, his ability to fight the enemy head-on!

Furthermore, by not fighting the enemy Arjuna could not expect going to swarga (heaven) after death! In Hinduism scriptures... swarga heaven has been termed a place where people with only a positive residual balance of karma go after death of material body. Also, an act of cowardice would not bring praise to mighty Arjuna. None would hail Arjuna as a hero if he failed to fight the arch enemy Kauravas. Krishna expected Arjuna to uphold Dharma (righteousness) at all costs.

The Explanation

Bhagavan Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: for what reason thy fail to fight the enemy! All have gathered to fight war of Mahabharata. At this point there was no going back. The enemy... Kauravas were fully prepared to fight the battle. In the circumstances... how could Arjuna feign ignorance and express cowardice in eyes of enemy! When facing the enemy head-on... our duty was to fight the enemy to the best of our capability. Our relationship (infatuation) with them at this stage of war could never be concern of any.

As Arjuna represented the Pandava camp... it was his duty to uphold moral and spiritual values for which Pandavas were recognized all over. No form of Moha (attachment) towards those in the Army could compel Arjuna not to fight the war. If the Kaurava camp consisted of his maternal grandfather Bhishma Pitamah, guru Dronacharya... lots of close relatives and friends... this could not be reason enough to abandon the war. If the other camp was fully prepared to fight, Arjuna must pick arms and defeat the enemy.

Krishna admonishing Arjuna hints towards fighting war of Dharma (righteousness). For Krishna... it was meaningless to mention to Arjuna again and again that Krishna himself represents Dharma (righteousness) in the fight against adharma (lawlessness). Bhagwan Krishna was an avatar of his era (God manifest in human form)... a saviour, messiah! This fact was also evident to Arjuna but for the love of his senior family members, close relatives and friends... Arjuna wanted to quit the war.

Arjuna also realized that bloodbath that was to follow the Mahabharata war would result in meaningless deaths of innocents galore. He never wanted to become a sinner in eyes of God Almighty. This indirectly indicates Arjuna undermining authority of Krishna who was nothing more but Lord of Dharma (righteousness) on mother earth. When Arjuna fully believed in Lord Krishna... where was the cause for worry! As per scriptures of Hinduism... when confronting enemy, none should venture into gullible thoughts that led astray.

As per Krishna, Arjuna must focus entirely on outcome of war, instead of venturing into a world of illusion! Confronted with an enemy that had betrayed bitterly... we must put all our intelligentsia and strength to test. How could a Pandava prince believe in Kauravas in a battlefield prepared for war! When his maternal grandfather Bhishma Pitamah and Guru Dronacharya supported Kaurava prince Duryodhana, all feelings of guilt and Moha must vanish in totality. The Pandava army looked forward to Arjuna to win the war.

In times of war, when chieftain of the Army behaves cowardly... then plight of soldiers and innocent civilians is a guess. Krishna who was charioteer of Arjuna had full faith in the capabilities of Arjuna. Prime reason... why teachings of Bhagavad Gita in the battle of Mahabharata were conveyed to Arjuna and Arjuna alone! Wanting to convince Arjuna to fight the battle... Krishna badly admonishes Arjuna stating in clear words that his behavior was totally unbecoming of a noble person like Arjuna who belonged to reputed Pandava clan.

Stated in simple words... Arjuna was Arjuna only because his compatriots, soldiers and countrymen thought so. It was behavior of Arjuna that made him so, a civilized warrior and statesman! Under no pretext could Arjuna avoid fighting the war. As Arjuna represented Pandava clan that stood for Dharma (righteousness)... he was duty-bound to fight adharma (lawlessness) in troubled times. When Krishna himself had failed to convince Kauravas not to fight a battle with Pandavas... with what authority could Arjuna withdraw himself? Arjuna's sacrifice would also not mean the enemy abandoning the war.

Krishna told Arjuna that it was below his dignity not to fight the enemy in times of war. Arjuna... who was upholder of Dharma (righteousness) must reflect his righteous character in the battlefield. By withdrawing from war, he would send wrong signal to the enemy camp. Such a situation would only demoralize the entire Pandava clan. For the sake of his motherland, innocent citizens and soldiers... he must prepare himself to fight, no matter what the result! Arjuna on other hand was cent percent certain of winning the war. But his imagination of killing his brethren brought a feeling of pity, deep compassion (daya bhava).

Krishna also tells Arjuna that as per apparent belief... by not fighting the enemy he would not go to Swarga (heaven)... celestial abode, after death of body! If actions of Arjuna were unbecoming of a warrior chieftain, then most likely Arjuna would find a place in hell (Naraka). If this was acceptable to Arjuna, then Lord Krishna had nothing more to say! Krishna knew well that by admonishing Arjuna again and again, he would compel Arjuna to rise and fight the enemy! By acting coward, Arjuna could never undermine his religion of uplifting Dharma (righteousness) all the time. Situation warranted that Krishna trick Arjuna into fighting the enemy head-on.

Krishna also says to Arjuna... shying away from fighting just war of Dharma (righteousness) could never result in bringing fame to Pandava clan. For a king, for a warrior chieftain... glory, praise, name and fame should be everything. If one indulged in Dharma (righteousness) all the time... glory and fame follow automatically. Arjuna running away from war would only bring infamy, disrepute and disrespect to whole Pandava clan. For the deeds of one... the whole community would suffer! How could Arjuna, an individual be cause of such an act of infamy! One must never indulge in an act that tarnishes image of whole family, entire community.

Krishna says to Arjuna... an upright King would always fight for dignity and self-respect. An act of cowardice was not a sign of good warrior. Just because maternal grandfather Bhishma Pitamah and mentor Guru Dronacharya sided with Kaurava clan... Was not sufficient reason to forego the war! Krishna wanted to emphasize upon Arjuna merits of winning this war of Dharma (righteousness) at all costs. This was also the call of day. To root out evil from society, to slay demoniac forces, Arjuna indulging in an upright war was warranted by society at large. The responsibility of entire Pandava clan rested on shoulders of Arjuna. At this juncture... he just could not withdraw self from perils of war with Kauravas.

Krishna also exhorts Arjuna to fight the enemy than face mudslinging by masses. Those dissenting with his behavior would make all-out efforts to malign reputation of Arjuna. Those who feared talking against Arjuna, would openly portray his cowardice in battlefield... canvassing against him adversely. No amount of convincing by Arjuna would improve his belittled image. Arjuna would finally become a subject of condemnation all over. The image of Pandavas as a whole would get sullied in the process, with the blame squarely resting on Arjuna. This would also be a direct challenge to his valor... equanimity!

Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 verse 2 conveys a very vital spiritual meaning to mankind at large. It is beyond doubt that teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita were an allegory to explain fundamental nature of human beings. At any given moment of time within every human being continues an ongoing war between righteous and evil forces of nature! The negative was all the time clashing with positive. For human beings to manifest destiny, win over life... our defeating negative tendencies within forever was mandated by God Almighty.

If we were to succeed in spiritual life... we had to establish absolute control over five senses and mind. The Kaurava clan represents negative forces that keep working within us all the time. To counter these negative forces of our individual nature, we had to follow self righteous principles of life all the time. Unless we were truthful in life... we would never succeed in overpowering these negative forces of nature. Krishna is truth embodied, having a form! Unless we were truthful to our true inner self, we could never be truthful to others... mankind at large!

Our true inner self was our soul atman, the spirit within! If we desire removing dross impurities within our soul atman, our establishing absolute control over five senses and mind was an absolute must. In this game of life... there were no shortcuts! At every stage of life... our soul atman, the spirit within came to our rescue as did Krishna to Arjuna! By remaining truthful all the time... human beings can master any goal of life. When Krishna (our true inner self) all the time supports us... how can negative forces of nature overpower us!

The earthly bondages result from Moha (extreme emotional attachment) that we had towards our near and dear ones. For reaching our true inner self... for realizing God, for reaching stage of self realization... God realization, cutting across shackles of Moha was mandated by God Almighty. Moha (attachments) towards our own was logical in physical manifest world but on spiritual plane... we just could not continue with spiritual journey until we cut all strains of Moha existing within us. In the spiritual world, bondages of earthly life carried no meaning!

The message of Lord Krishna in bhagavad gita chapter 2 verse 2 was loud and clear. Refrain from accumulating more and more negative karma on spiritual path. This would retard our spiritual progress. If we were to succeed in spiritual life, if we were to reach God in present life time... establishing total control over five senses and mind was an absolute must. Establishing control over five senses and mind was the most difficult chapter in life of a spiritual aspirant. It was only by practicing truthfulness, one slowly paced ahead in spiritual life.

The best part of life is... powers of Lord Krishna were all the time available to us in times of need. We only had to play a righteous role to reach our true inner self... our soul atman, the spirit within! We had to be righteous (follower of dharma) at each and every stage of life... if we were to reach God in present life! God was as near to a king... as to a commoner on the street. The essence of life laid in understanding cosmic principles of life expressed in scriptures of Hinduism. If we ever wanted to reach God in present life... it could only be through teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads.

People world over searched for God in temples, churches and mosques. How many truly searched for God in their heart?

Ever since six years of age... I have believed in God existing in my heart. By remaining truthful throughout life... I could hear sweet small inner voice of my soul atman that always prompted me on right path! 25 years of yoga meditation... I finally reached God in the wee hours of third of Aug 1993 at 37 years of age. This is my last manifestation on mother earth... 8.4 millionth manifestation! Nowhere to go further... moment I leave my mortal frame, I shall but attain salvation moksha forever! Having reached stage of self realization, god realization... contents of Srimad Bhagavad Gita have become like ABCD to me. It was as if I had dictated contents of sacred Bhagavad Gita in one of my previous manifestations.

God help those who recognize these inner truths of life early... that to reach God, our establishing absolute control over five senses and mind was the call of day.

Commentary by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani"... The Man who Realized God in 1993 - Aug 28, 2014

Geeta Chapter 2 Verse 1 Geeta Chapter 2 Verse 3

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