Bhagavad-Gita

By J. M. Dasa

Chapter 2

Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna devastated by emotions, and confused about his duty at this critical juncture, Madhusudhana spoke the following words.

My dear Arjuna, where did you pick up these contaminated ideas? However genuine your emotions, for a khsatriya to go weak-kneed at an hour of crisis, can only be interpreted as fear, and bring him terrible infamy. Besides, khsatriyas talk of dying on the battlefield and attaining higher planets. Not of killing and being killed. Oh, Arjuna, do not yield to this degrading feebleness! This is non-Aryan talk and not becoming of one who knows the Vedic concept of life. It does not become of you; immediately give up this petty weakness of heart and arise, Oh chastiser of the enemy!

However, Arjuna was too far gone into grieving and unaffected by these cutting words. Indeed, he was overwhelmed by all his mundane or earthy relationships. His concern was how he could dare counter-attack Beeshma and Dhrona with his arrows, his elders, his teachers, who were worthy of his worship. It would be better to live in this world by begging and if I do manage to kill by gurus, then everything we enjoy will be taint with their blood. At the same time, there they are, standing before us, ready for battle. I do not know which is better. Conquer them or be conquered by them. However, you are right. A miserly weakness has overcome me. I am bewildered and confused about my duty. Please consider me your disciple and instruct me. I can find no other means of driving away this grief – it is drying up my senses –and I doubt that it will be dispelled even if I win a prosperous kingdom with sovereignty like the demigods. There now, I am rambling as well. I think I shall not fight. Saying this, Arjuna fell silent. All this was relayed by Sanjaya to the blind Dhrtarastra, who presumably was elated to hear that Arjuna was overcome with a debilitating compassion and refusing to fight.

Seeing Arjuna so dejected, and unaffected by his earlier appeal to his khsatriya spirit and sense of duty, the Supreme Lord decided to present the whole subject in a philosophical light.

Arjuna, he said, while speaking learned words, you are moaning for that which is not worthy of grief. The wise, lament neither for the living, nor for the dead. Remember, Arjuna, we are all eternal beings. Never was there a time when any of us, including you, me, and all the kings gathered here, not exist, nor in the future shall we ever cease to be.

As regards death, it is easily explained. An embodied soul continually passes from one body to another even in one life. Do you not know that? From an infant’s body it moves on to that of a boy’s, then on to that of a youth, and finally to that of an old man. Of course, we perceive it as growth. But the child’s body does not balloon out to that of an adult. It is imperceptibly replaced with a bigger model. (Science will vouchsafe for that. Growth, in reality is, an imperceptibly replacement of body parts with bigger models at a cellular level.) That is transmigration right there!

At death, the soul simply passes on into another body, only this time it discards the pervious one.

Oh son of Kunti, the happiness, distress, come and go like the winter and summer season. They arise from sense perception and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. Indeed, if you can master this with equipoise, then certainly you are eligible for liberation.

The wise have discerned two separate substances in nature. One is perishable, the other imperishable. The body is made of the first, whereas that which pervades the entire body is of the second, and is ordinarily referred to as the soul, is of the second imperishable substance. The body will perish, but the real being within, is indestructible, immeasurable and eternal. You cannot kill the soul, nor incidentally can the soul kill anybody.

The soul or souls do not come into being at a given point in time. It is never generated. It is ever existing, immutable and primeval. So, Arjuna, knowing this, how can you talk of killing anyone or being killed?
Just as a person puts on a new set of clothes, discarding old and useless ones, the soul accepts a new body, discarding the old and useless one. The souls cannot be cut to pieces, nor burned or moistened by water or withered by wind. It is unbreakable and insoluble as well. Indeed, it is constant and eternally the same. It is also said that the soul is invisible and inconceivable. Knowing all this, you should not grieve for the body. Even if you think that he soul always born and always dies, there is still no reason for you to lament simply because for one who is born, death is certain, and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, there is point in lamenting or neglecting one’s duty. Even if you see the larger, cosmic picture – living entities being unmanifest in the beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated – there is still no cause for lamentation.

Truly, the soul is amazing. Some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, but of course, there are some, who even after hearing all about it, cannot understand.

Oh descendant of Bharata, he who resides in the body can never be slain. Therefore, you need not grieve for anyone. Instead, considering your specific duty as a khsatriya, there is no better engagement for you other that to do your duty and fight without hesitation. Happy are those khsatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought. For according to the Vedas, death on the battlefield means instant transfer to heavenly planets. If on the other hand, you do not perform you duty to fight, then you will certainly incur sin. You will furthermore loose your reputation as a fighter. People will speak of infamy and that will be worst that death for you. Indeed, all the great generals who have highly esteemed your name will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only. They will thing you insignificant. Your enemies will laugh at you, describe you in many unkind words, and deride your abilities. Can you think of anything more painful?

Listen to me Oh son of Kunti, either you will be killed and attain the heavenly planets or you will win and enjoy an earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up, and fight with determination. Just do go ahead and fight for the sake of fighting, without considering loss or gain, victory or defeat. For, by so doing, you will never incur sin.

Right, now that it has come up, let us look at it from the ‘sin’ perspective. Until now, I have described this knowledge to in a straightforward logical manner. Listen now, while I explain it in terms of working without incurring sin. You have been mentioning incurring sin several times, so, allow me give you a comprehensive picture.

Now, ordinarily, you do anything and an equal amount of reaction will rub off on to you. That action that will garner terrible reaction is what is termed as ‘sinful’ action. The idea therefore is to work or perform actions without incurring reactions. Why so? Because, the problem with reactions is that it binds you to this world. It drags you back, causes you to be born again to enjoy or to suffer your reactions. That is right. Even good reaction is actually detrimental simply because it will cause you to take birth again, to enjoy your rewards and that is risky because once you are back, there is a high likely hood of even inadvertently committing actions that may bare heavy reactions. Since the scheme is escape from this life as it is impermanent, and offers nothing but miseries, death and diseases, both good and bad reactions have to be shunned.

I am going to describe to you a process whereby you go about your activities without incurring reaction. This is a simple form of yoga called ‘Buddhi yoga.’
First things first. In this type of yoga, there is no loss or diminution. What is more, a little advancement on this path can actually save you from the greatest danger. In other words, even if you manage to take only a few steps on this pathway, you will not snowball into hell. This is because this is indeed the prescribed antidote for removing reaction. Look at it this way. Every action here reaps willy-nilly a reaction. That is right. Even an innocuous one will be evaluated, and an exacting measure of reaction, often times, seemingly disproportionate will be added to your account. Therefore, there must be an equally uncomplicated means of getting rid off a lot of accumulated reaction as well. There is, and this is that pathway.

But you have to be resolute in purpose, and be very determined if you want to succeed. Incidentally, this pathway is described in the Vedas. If however you go looking for it in the Vedas, you would more likely get attracted to another pathway prescribed therein. Here fruitive activities are prescribed, by performing which you reap wonderful results. It is quite simple really. There are rules, and if you know the rules, you can pick you way through it just as easily as a lawyer can walk you through loopholes in the law. Of course, these are not loopholes, but genuine freebees so to speak ‘that can get you stuff.’ For example, there are various activities that you can perform that would garner you wealth, power, a better birth, and even get you to heavenly planets. If you lack determination, and are attached to worldly pleasures, you will most probably take to that path and not the one I am about to describe.
Actually, the Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three mode of material nature. And the path I have indicated is requires one to be transcendental to these three modes. Rise clean above it, and focus on not being disturbed by dualities such as heat-cold, happiness-distress, pleasure-pain, etc. Frankly, the Vedas can be bewildering, and only one who knows the purpose behind it can really unlock its mystery.

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are actually not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results. Those who want to enjoy the fruit of their activities are misers.
But this does not mean that you abandon your duty. Instead, perform it with equipoise and abandon all attachment to success or failure.

Another very important point, Oh Dhananjaya is, keep as far away as possible from all abominable activities. Such activities attract massive amounts of sin. If for example you lead a licentious live (as is fashionable today), you are unwisely burdening yourself with a terrible amount of reaction that will drag you into the deepest regions of hell. You should absolutely not get involved in such activities.

Engaged thus, a man can rid himself of all reactions both good and bad in this life. Many sages have liberated themselves from the cycle of birth and death by this simple process. Basically, you have to know that action is binding, best therefore to perform action that does not bind. Initially, there will be some difficulty. You have to rise above the illusion of a glamorous world and furthermore not fall into the flowery ‘karma-kanda’ traps of the Vedas. If finally you have indeed managed to meet the above-mentioned requirements, you can be said to be self-realized.

Arjuna, now quite attentive, makes a query. What are the symptoms of such a Buddhi yogi? How does he speak, how does he sit, how does he walk? The Supreme Lord replied: When a person gives up all varieties of sense gratification, which arises due to the mind’s incessant search for pleasures, and is unruffled and satisfied in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness. One who is not disturbed amidst threefold miseries, elated when happy, morose when sad, and free from consequent fear and anger, is a successful Buddhi yogi. One who is unaffected by whatever his karma metes out to him in his current life, be it good or evil, neither praising it or despising it, came be recognized as a successful Buddhi yogi. One who is able to withdraw his senses from the sense objects as a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, is a Buddhi yogi.

Now, the senses may be restricted from sense enjoyment, but the taste for enjoyment cannot be surgically removed. Therefore, he needs to experience higher non-binding taste to engage his mind. The senses are indeed very strong and impetuous, Oh Arjuna that they will forcibly carry away the mind of even a very determined man endeavoring to control them. The only way out is keep the senses under control and fix ones consciousness upon Me.
By contemplating upon the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them. His attachment grows into lust, and lust often burst forth as anger. Anger leads to delusion, which in turn leads to memory loss. This indeed is the chain of events that makes one forget and falls back to committing sinful activities yet again.

A person freed from attachment and detachment or aversion, and able to control his senses, through regulative principles can obtain the mercy of the Lord. For one thus situated, the three-fold miseries exists no longer. In such a satisfied consciousness, one’s intelligence is seen to shine through. However if transcendental intelligence fails to shine through, then there cannot be steady mind, without with there cannot be peace. Without peace can one every hope for happiness?

As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind dwells can carry away a man’s intelligence. Therefore, the key is to restrain the senses from sense objects. The operative word here is restriction. A Buddhi yogi should do exactly the opposite to what the common men do. What is day should be night for the determined sage. In plain terms, steer clear from sense objects. Be not disturbed by desire. Do not try to satisfy every passing desire. Then only can peace be attained. If one is situated thus situated, then even at the hour of death he can enter the spiritual realm.

PHILOSOPHICAL SUMMARY
You are not the body, but a person residing in a specific type of body. What you do best is transmigrate from one body to another. Transmigration is not a question of whether your religion endorses it or not. It is a reality of life. And if you have trouble believing it, consider this. You transmigrate from a body to body even as you read. Your infant body did not balloon out to become the adult you currently are. This too was accomplished by transmigration. You transmigrated imperceptibly from an infant’s body to a youth’s, from a youth’s to an adult’s and so on. Even science will vouchsafe for that. The cell in the body are replaced almost in its entirety every seven years or so.

If transmigration is indeed the name of the game, then would we have a say as to where it is that we will transmigrate? But of course! That is what we crying hoarse here about!

Now that you are in on the game, you might better appreciate the term ‘yoga’ which is what the endeavors designed to tweak the transmigration process is called. The chapter goes on to briefly examine a few yoga options and some thumb rules of the game.

Thumb Rule One: For heaven’s sake take at least a few steps down the spiritual enquiry road. Reason: because it will then signal to the cosmic consciousness that you are at least endeavoring, and therefore will allow you to continue to transmigrate in the human specie. Do not make that move, they you are open to the grave danger of being regurgitated by the system and be made to be born into a lower specie. In short, a step or two of yoga will stop you from regression in the evolution process. Incidentally, the term yoga being referred to here do not refer to the exercise regime designed to tone the body and which is popular in the western world. It is actually all about bettering the consciousness.

Thumb Rule Two: For heaven’s sake, steer clear of all abominable activities. Here is something your really do not need on your resume. It is bad enough being judged and awarded a new body based on the mundane activates that you carry out just to stay alive and earn your daily bread. But add abominable activities to that and it is good bye to human form of life for a cool million years. There is no dearth of abominable bodies to choose from ranging from toilet flies in Toledo, to body worms in Botswana. Do not think that a fortunate life now, with ample wealth, good fortune and good looks is a guarantee that all will be well the next time around. On the contrary, if the going is good now in your current life, then the chance are you will swing downwards in the next. Which is why this world is called a world of duality. Here heat is followed by cold. Happiness by distress. Good times by bad. Be aware.

WHAT YOU COULD TAKE HOME FROM THIS CHAPTER
Resolve to follow the two thumb rules recommended in this chapter. Reading the Bhagavad-Gita and get an overview of the philosophy of life it prescribes. Consider making it your book of choice on all matters spiritual. This would take care of thumb rule one.

Too much is at stake to assume that your current brand of religion and its attendant scriptures offers the same quality of insights. Do not hesitate to give that one up. Remember, this is not a political issue nor is it a question of being politically correct. There is a general feeling that any and every religion is on par. Not true. This would be like a village boy foolishly thinking that his makeshift school is right up there with Harvard or Yale. Some religions are in fact not religions at all but more of institutions offering pointers in social service, morality, etc. Others may have had a kernel of truth at one point in time but now even that has gone rancid beyond redemption.

Thumb rule two requires you to steer clear off abominable activities. Most of us already have this on top of our list. However, you may want to examine hidden, work related activities just to make sure. Are you inadvertently a party to abominable activities? Do you, for example, work in a slaughterhouse or are employed in a firm that slyly exploit some living entity? If so, ask for a transfer, or better still, move to a job with a less severe karma baggage.