Om Namo
Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!
The Guru Speaks but the Questions continue!
Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga
Seeing Arjuna shedding tears of anguish and
suffering misery, Krishna looks at him with kindness and speaks thus;
“Oh Arjuna! How did you get yourself into this
state of misery? You are doing something which doesn’t suit a person of your
stature. This kind of misery is for the ignorant. This deprives you of the path
to heaven and glory”
“At this critical juncture, when the bugle of
war is blown, how could you fall into this dishonorable state of delusion? Don’t
lose your courage and valor. Please get rid of this mental paralysis which doesn’t
befit you. Pick up your bow and arrow and get ready to fight”
Krishna, like an inspirational speaker tries
to motivate his Subject. But the Arjuna’s misery was deep-rooted. He needed a
thorough cleansing of his thought process and mind. He speaks out his mind
thus;
“Oh Krishna! The most venerable Bheeshma and
Dronacharya are lined up against me. How could I shoot my arrows at them in the
war?”
“Isn’t it preferable to live out of eating
alms, rather than living in luxury that comes out of killing the most revered
Gurus and family elders? Won’t that wealth and luxuries be stained by their
blood? How could I enjoy such wealth happily?”
“Moreover, the result of war is always governed
by Destiny. No one can tell who finally wins or who gets vanquished. It’s also not
clear to me which way I will be better off! Such great people like Bheeshma and
Dronacharya, who I can’t even dream of killing and living thereafter, are standing
in front of me ready for war.”
“Oh Krishna! I am caught in a mental vacuum
and am not able to judge which is in my best interest. Please guide me out of
this debilitating ignorance. I take refuge under you. Kindly treat me like your
disciple, clarify my doubts, direct the course of action and lead me out of
this darkness”
“Oh Krishna! Even though this war leads to
control of a kingdom that is free from enemies and confers heavenly glory, even
that thought is also not comforting enough to help me come out of the profound
grief that is debilitating my limbs. I don’t think I can fight this war”. Saying
so, he remained still.
If we see, all these questions look very
genuine and speak of the state of mind of someone however competent he is, when
faced with a grave situation. Initially Arjuna thought what he was doing was
right and started giving his own reasons. But seeing Krishna’s silence, he decided
to take refuge under Krishna, completely surrendered to him and pleaded for his
kind counsel.
This speaks the role of a mentor or the right
Guru. The Guru understands the state of our mind and through his wise counsel,
makes us realise the ‘Big Picture’ and guides us on to the right path of
action. But this needs our complete surrender and faith in his wisdom.
As Arjuna surrendered to him, it’s now the
duty of the Guru to show him the light. Let’s see how Krishna starts handling
the situation in the coming blogs.
***
This is so true in real life as well.. There are times when you are just stuck and do not know what to do and most of the ppl are not as lucky as Arjuna in being blessed by a great mentor and ppl end up doing things which they shouldn't be doing.
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