Monday, 25 March 2024

1 First Chapter: Verse 47 Arjun Viṣhād Yog (Arjuna’s Lamentation)

 ఈ భాగము తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.

सञ्जय उवाच |
एवमुक्त्वार्जुन: सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत्
|
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानस:
||1-47||

sañjaya uvācha
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśhat
visṛijya sa-śharaṁ chāpaṁ śhoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ
(1-47)

 

purport: Sanjay, describing the situation in the war zone (Kurukshetra), narrated that Arjuna, after speaking and presenting numerous reasons for his resignation from the battle, had laid down his bow and arrows. He then slumped into the seat of his chariot, his mind consumed by distress and engulfed in sorrow.

Explanation: A comparable situation unfolds in Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Like Arjuna, Hamlet hesitates, unable to decide on his course of action. He spends a significant amount of time grappling with his duty, torn between conflicting choices.

1 First Chapter: Verses 32, 32 Arjun Viṣhād Yog (Arjuna’s Lamentation)

 ఈ భాగము తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.

अर्जुन उवाच |

न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च |
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा
|| 1-32||


येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगा: सुखानि च
|
त इमेऽवस्थिता युद्धे प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा धनानि च
||1-33||

Arjun uvācha

na kāṅkṣhe vijayaṁ kṛiṣhṇa na cha rājyaṁ sukhāni cha
kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā
(1-32)


yeṣhām arthe kāṅkṣhitaṁ no rājyaṁ bhogāḥ sukhāni cha
ta ime ’vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni cha
(1-33)

 

Purport: Arjuna voiced, "Krishna, I have no desire for victory in this war or the pleasures of kingship. A life of royal luxuries holds no appeal for me. Reflect on all those we seek to gain dominion, pleasures, and happiness for—our teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, their children, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, and other relatives. The very individuals for whom we covet these prizes, are ready to face us, risking their lives and worldly possessions."   

Explanation:

  1. Possessions such as kingdom, pleasure, and happiness are all relative. However, when there are no more relatives left after the war, these notions cannot be compared to anyone else. Therefore, Arjuna concludes that they are all ultimately in vain.
  2. Throughout the last five thousand years, thousands of wars have been fought. As Bertrand Russell aptly put it, "War doesn't determine who's right, it determines who's left." Regardless of the context, one undeniable truth persists: the common man bears the brunt of war's brutality. Such conflicts often bring out the most primal and animalistic tendencies within us, serving as a stark reminder of the barbarity inherent in mankind. Regrettably, even in contemporary times, these tendencies persist, reflecting the unfortunate continuation of such behaviors.
  3. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it – George Santayana (Spanish Thinker)

1 Chapter verse 1: Arjun Viṣhād Yog (Arjuna’s Lamentation)

                              ఈ భాగము తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.                                                           

                                                धृतराष्ट्र उवाच |

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः |
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय
||1-1||

dhṛitarāśhtra uvācha
dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāśhchaiva kimakurvata sañjaya

Purport: Dhritarashtra inquired “O Sanjay, after gathering on the hallowed grounds of Kurukshetra with the intent to engage in battle, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?”

Explanation: Dhritarashtra, whose name signifies one who bears the kingdom as his body, could have potentially prevented the war of Kurukshetra had he treated all subjects in the kingdom equally. 

The Bhagavad Gita begins with the portrayal of King Dhritarashtra, who, having succumbed to delusion, forsaken his equanimity, and abandoned his judgment, questions Sanjay about the activities of both his own people (मामकाः māmakāḥ = Kauravas) and the Pandavas, who stood prepared for battle on the fields of Kurukshetra. The message of the Bhagavad Gita is direct and condensed.

2.      Let us consider the following saying from Hitopadesh (हितोपदेश्).

अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्। 
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्॥

{Meaning: The narrow-minded claim, "This is mine, that is theirs," while the enlightened understand that the entire world constitutes one family.}

Dhritarashtra is a highly learned king. Through this poem Great Ved Vyasji is demonstrating that when emotions control our minds, everyone behaves the same way.

3. The Bhagavad Gita highlights that all problems in the world stem from the conditioned judgment of ownership—this is mine and that is yours. It offers profound insights into the sense of division between our perception and ultimate truth. 

1.0 Introduction Chapter One: Arjun Viṣhād Yog (Arjuna’s Lamentation)

ఈ భాగము తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి. 

Real liberation comes from not glossing over or repressing painful states, but only from experiencing them to the full.  

Carl Gustav Jung

 

You must be wondering why the Author Sage Veda Vyasa started the chapter with Arjun Viṣhād Yog. In general, humans are very proud. We naturally do not listen to others. Only time when we listen to others is when we have exhausted all other avenues, and we don’t see any other way. This naturally happens to people in distress.

Proud Warrior Prince Arjun is the greatest archer. He would not be heeding to a great advice. Therefore, he has to be brought to the knees before he can digest the great advice of Krishna.

As Arjun’s chariot enters the war zone, he wished to see who all he has to fight. On Observing his opponents, many great warriors, all are his close relatives, great sorrow descends on Arjun.  and he starts lamenting the war and its consequences. Unable to cope with the imagined colossal loss in the about to rage war, with tears roll down on Arjun’s cheeks, A good part of the Chapter 1 is dedicated to Arjun’s lamentation. and we are not going into these details.

In our current psychological state, we often resist change actively. This resistance may stem from a fear of losing the pleasures we currently enjoy or a desire to avoid the additional sorrow that a changed scenario could bring. Our experience of pain or pleasure is influenced by our internal resistance to change. 

Arjun (though a prince and greatly skilled in archery) in the entire Bhagavad Gita represents common man and his inclinations.


Sunday, 1 March 2020

Why read Bhagavad Gita?

Bhagavad Gita
अकर्तारं स पश्यति  Still Mind Perceives the Truth



Why read Bhagavad Gita?

In the present modern world, almost every person is endowed with comforts unheard ever before in the history of mankind. And still, there are many who feel that money and power are the only known solutions to make them happy. Yet people are not happy and are at loggerheads with each other. This clealry shows we are all in confusion. so was Arjun, the principal archer on Padava's side. 

Pandavas wanted to claim their part of the empire from Kauravas. However, Duryodhan, the principal antagonist, denies all their  demands and war breaks out. Just before the war commences, Arjun breaksdown lamenting the consequences of war.

2. Then Krishna, the godhead, helps Arjun to understand  that the war or any other activity that is going in this universe, keep happening despite ones liking or otherwise. But as an individual, its for Arjun to comprehend it appropriately. That's central idea of Bhagavad Gita. See the verse below.


3. Complete essense of Gita is captured in a single sloka.

श्रीभगवानुवाच |
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: ||(6-5)||

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

Purport : Godhead said unto Arjun!! through the power of your mind, uplift, not degrade yourself. The mind (depending on usage) can be the friend or the enemy of thy self.

Here Krishna emphasized that onus is on Arjun to improve; not on the god to make him better. 

4. Bhagavad Gita's appeal is universal and it addresses its message directly to the reader. Intensity of Bhagavad Gita can be felt almost through its 700+ stanzas. Basically it asks the reader to explore, however it doesn't subscribe any particular  action (in mind), but asks the reader to ponder. it has many path breaking verses, one of which I am presenting below.

5.  Godhead explaining what is appropriate action to Arjun 

श्रीभगवानुवाच |
कर्मण्यकर्म य: पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म य: |
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्त: कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् || 4-18||



karmaṇyakarma yaḥ paśhyed akarmaṇi cha karma yaḥ
sa buddhimān manuṣhyeṣhu sa yuktaḥ kṛitsna-karma-kṛit


Purport : Goghead said unto Arjun!! Those who see action in inaction and inaction in action are truly wise amongst humans. Although performing various actions, they are true yogis.

We are all reactive to the environment. This reaction produces the rippling effect and the reuslt is the present state of affairs. In this verse, Godhead implies that true action is observing one's own reaction, not any impulsive action.  This verse apprears more like modern  paradoxical statement!! Similar idea was echoed by J Krishnamurti as below.

 _Our minds are tortured, our minds after twisted because we are making such  tremendous efforts to live, to act, to think. Effort in any form must be distortion. *The moment there is effort to be aware, it is not awareness. When attention is an effort it is inattention*_ . (You are the World by Jiddu Krishnamurti)

Therefore, the views expressed in Bhagavad Gita are very contemporary and relevant. 

6. Most of our knowledge (not scientific or tehcnical or geographical knowledge, but the psychological impressions) we carry is secondary, (not first hand). This secondary knowledge encompasses all the activities of human existence. Thus it offers considerable resistance for change. We are afraid of leaving this knowledge. That's the the bottom line drawn by Bhagavad Gita. It questions the basis of our understanding of this world. It encourages you to discover the ultimate, by decloging your thinking. 


7. Every man is unique. Therefore, attempting an universal solution is impossible. Thus Bhagavad Gita leaves the duty of finding the path to salvation on the reader by declaring "तत: पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूय:" tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ (15-4, after overcoming the influence of the wrong knowledge)  you shall search that path by which you shall not come back to this world  again....    This Verse (sloka) is  not only highlight to the great book but also proves it is rather revolutionary in its ideas, even to this day. 



8. The purpose of this blog is enunciate understanding espoused in Gita in simple language for non specialist readers. During these explanations, I shall be taking cues from great poets/authors like Shakesphere, Vemana, Potana, Annamayya, Ramadasu