Contents Of Gita Summarized
TEXT 1
सञ्जय उवाच
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम्।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः॥१॥
TRANSLATION
"Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusudana, Krsna, spoke the following words."
PURPORT
Material compassion, lamentation and tears are all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization. The word "Madhusudana" is significant in this verse.
Lord Krsna killed the demon Madhu, and now Arjuna wanted Krsna to kill the demon of misunderstanding that had overtaken him in the discharge of his duty. No one knows where compassion should be applied.
Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outward dress-the gross material body.
One who does not know this laments for the outward dress is called a sudra, or one who laments unnecessarily. Arjun was a ksatriya, and this conduct was not expected from him. Lord Krsna, however, can dissipate the lamentation of the ignorant man, and for this purpose the Bhagavad-gita was sung by Him.
This chapter instructs us in self-realization by an analytical study of the material body and the spirit soul, as explained by the supreme authority, Lord Sri Krsna. This realization is possible when one works without attachment to fruitive results and is situated in the fixed conception of the real self.
TEXT 2
श्रीभगवानुवाच
कुतस्तवा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम्।
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वग्र्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन॥२॥
TRANSLATION
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy."
PURPORT
Krsna and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical. Therefore Lord Krsna is referred to as Bhagavan throughout the Gita. Bhagavan is the ultimate in the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding, namely Brahman, or the impersonal all-pervasive spirit; Paramatma, or the localized aspect of the Supreme within the heart of all living entities; and Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam(1.2.11) this conception of the Absolute Truth is explained thus:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
"The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding by the knower of the Absolute Truth, and all of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth are expressed as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan."
These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun, which also has three different aspects, namely the sunshine, the suns' surface and the sun planet itself.
One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary student. One who understand the sun's surface is further advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is the highest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply understanding the sunshine-its universal pervasiveness and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature-may be compared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth.
The student who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to knowledge of the Paramatma feature of the Absolute Truth. And the student who can enter into the heart of the sun planet is compared to those who realize the personal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Therefore, the bhaktas, or the transcendentalists who have realized the Bhagavan feature of the Absolute Truth, are the topmost transcendentalists, although all students who are engaged in the study of the Absolute Truth are engaged in the same subject matter.
The sunshine, the sun disc and the inner affairs of the sun planet cannot be separated from one another, and yet the students of the three different phases are not in the same category.
The Sanskrit word bhagavan is explained by the great authority Parasara Muni, the father of Vyasadeva. The Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is called Bhagavan.
There are many persons who are very rich, very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned, and very much detached, but no one can claim that he possesses all riches, all strength etc., entirely.
Only Krsna can claim this because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No living entity, including Brahma, Lord Siva, or Narayana, can possess opulences as fully as Krsna.
Therefore it is concluded in the Brahma-samhita by Lord Brahma himself that Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personailty of Godhead. No one is equal to or above Him. He is the primeval Lord, or Bhagavan, known as Govinda, and He is the supreme causes of all causes:
isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam
"There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavan, but Krsna is the supreme because none can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the causes of all causes." (Brahma-samhita 5.1)
In the Bhagavatam also there is a list of many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Krsna is described as the original Personality of Godhead, from whom many, many incarnations and Personalities of Godhead expand:
ete camsa-kalah pumsah
krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
indrari-vyakulam lokam
mrdayanti yuge yuge
"All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself." (Bhag.1.3.28)
Therefore, Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the source of both the Supersoul and the impersonal Brahman.
In the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna's lamentation for his kinsmen is certainly unbecoming, and therefore. Krsna expressed His surprise with the word kutah, "wherefrom". Such impurities were never expected from a person belonging to the civilized class of men known as Aryans.
The word Aryan is applicable to persons who know the value of life and have a civilization based on spiritual realization. Persons who are led by the material conception of life do not know that the aim of life is realization of the Absolute Truth, Visnu, or Bhagavan, and they are captivated by the external features of the material world, and therefore they do not know what liberation is.
Persons who have no knowledge of liberation from material bondage are called non-Aryans. Although Arjuna was a ksatriya, he was deviating from his prescribed duties by declining to fight. This act of cowardice is described as befitting the non-Aryans. Such deviation from duty does not help one in the progress of spiritual life, nor does it even give one the opportunity to become famous in this world. Lord Krsna did not approve of the so-called compassion of Arjuna for his kinsmen.
TEXT 3
कॢैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते।
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यत्त्कोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप॥३॥
TRANSLATION
"O son of Prtha, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy."
PURPORT
Arjuna was addressed as the son of Prtha, who happened to be the sister of Krsna's father Vasudeva. Therefore, Arjuna had a blood realtionship with Krsna. If the son of a ksatriya declines to fight, he is the ksatriya in name only, and if the son of a brahmana acts impiously, he is the brahmana in name only. Such ksatriyas and brahmanas are unworthy son of a ksatriya. Arjuna was the most intimate friend of Krsna, and Krsna was directly guiding him on the chariot; but in spite of all these credits, if Arjuna abandoned the battle he would be committing as infamous act.
Therefore Krsna said that such an attitude in Arjuna did not fit his personality. Arjuna might argue that he would give up the battle on the grounds of his magnanimous attitude for the most respectable Bhisma, and his relatives, but Krsna considered that sort of magnanimity mere weakness of heart.
Such false magnanimity was not approved by any authority. Therefore, such magnanimity or so-called nonciolence should be given up by persons like Arjuna under the direct guidance of Krsna.
TEXT 4
अर्जुन उवाच
कथं भीष्ममहं संख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूधन।
इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन॥४॥
TRANSLATION
"Arjuna said: O killer of enemies, O killer of Madhu, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhisma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?"
PURPORT
Respectable superiors like Bhisma the grandfather and Dronacarya the teacher are always worshipable. Even if they attack, they should not be counterattacked.
It is general etiquette that superiors are not to be offered even a verbal fight. Even if they are sometimes harsh in behavior, they should not be harshly treated.
Then, how is it possible for Arjuna to counterattack them? Would Krsna ever attack His own grandfather, Ugrasena, or His teacher, Sandipani Muni? There were some of the arguments offered by Arjuna to Krsna.
TEXT 5
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान
श्रेयो भोत्कुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके।
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान्रूधिरप्रदिग्धान्॥५॥
TRANSLATION
"It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are y teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted with blood."
PURPORT
According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhisma and Drona were obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial assistance, although they should not have accepted such a position simply on financial considerations. Under the circumstances, they have lost the respectablity of teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with blood.
TEXT 6
न चैतव्दिद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो
यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः।
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-
स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः॥६॥
TRANSLATION
"Nor do we know which is better--conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhrtarastra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield."
PURPORT
Arjuna did not know whether he should fight and risk unnecessary violence, although fighting is the duty of the ksatriyas, or whether he should refrain and live by begging. If he did not conquer the enemy, begging would be his only means of subsistence. Nor was there certainty of victory, because either side might emerge victorious.
Even if victory awaited them (and their cause was justified), still, if the sons of Dhrtarastra died in battle, it would be very difficult to live in their absence.
Under the circumstances, that would be another kind of defeat for them. All these considerations by Arjuna definitely proved that not only was he a great devotee of the Lord but he was also highly enlightened and had complete control over his mind and senses.
His desire to live by begging, although he was born in the royal household, is another sign of detachment. He was virtuous, as these qualities, combined with his faith in the words of instruction of Sri Krsna (his spiritual master), indicate. It is concluded that Arjuna was quite fit for liberation. Unless, the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation. Arjuna was competent in all these attributes, over and above his enormous attributes in his material relationships.
TEXT 7
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः
पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः।
यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्र्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे
शिष्यस्तेऽहं शधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्॥७॥
TRANSLATION
"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition, I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me."
PURPORT
By nature's own way the complete system of material activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. In every step there is perplexity, and therefore it behooves one to approach a bona fide spiritual master who can give one proper guidance for executing the purpose of life.
All Vedic literatures advise us to approach a bona fide spiritual master to get free from the perplexities of life, which happen without our desire. They are like a forest fire that somehow blazes without being set by anyone. Similarly, the world situation is such that perplexities but should approach a spiritual master. This is the purport of this verse.
Who is the man in material perplexities? It is he who does not understand the problems of life. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.8.10) the perplexed man is described as follows: yo va etad aksaram gargy aviditvasmal lokat praiti sa krpanah. "He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of life as a human and who thus quits this world like the cats and dogs, without understanding the science of self-realization."
This human form of life is a most valuable asset for the living entity who can utilize it for solving the problems of life; therefore, one who does not utilize this opportunity properly is a miser. On the other hand, there is the brahmana, or he who is intelligent enough to utilize this body to solve all the problems of life. Ya etad aksaram gargi viditvasmal lokat praiti sa brahmanah.
The krpanas, or miserly persons, waste their time in being overly affectionate for family, society, country, etc., in the material conception of life. One is often attached to family life, namely to wife, children and other members, on the basis of "skin disease."
The krpanas thinks that he is able to protect his family members from death; or the krpana thinks that his family or society can save him from the verge of death. Such family attachment can be found even in the lower animals, who take care of children also. Being intelligent, Arjuna could understand that his affection for family members and his wish to protect them from death were the causes of his perplexities.
Although he could understand that his duty to fight was awaiting him, still on account of miserly weakness, he could not discharge thee duties. He is therefore asking Lord Krsna, the supreme spiritual master, to make a definite solution. He offers himself to Krsna as a disciple.
He wants to stop friendly talks. Talks between the master and the disciple are serious, and now Arjuna wants to talk very seriously before the recognized spiritual master. Krsna is therefore the originial spiritual master of the science of Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna understands the Bhagavad-gita is stated in the Gita itself. And yet foolish mundane scholars explain that one need not submit to Krsna as a person, but to "the unborn within Krsna." There is no difference between Krsna's within and without. And one who has no sense of this understanding is the greatest fool in trying to understand Bhagavad-gita.