BG2.41

With prayers to Thiruppann Alwar, who was born in Urayur we start today’s lecture. In the Alwars’ hierarchy, this Alwar was the 9^th Alwar. He was born in the Pann community [community known for singing] and so he imposed restriction on him that he would never set his feet in the Srirangam temple. So, he would sing in praise on Sri Ranganatha, from outside the temple on the banks of the river, in a melodious voice. Once, a Brahmin, Loka Saranga Muni, who was engaged in the sacred work of serving the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum, came to the river to fetch water. There this Alwar was singing. Muni wanted the Alwar to move away so that he could get into the river and take water. But the Alwar was so much involved in the singing that he did not notice Muni and so he kept on singing. Not understanding Alwar’s bhakthi, Muni made gestures and threatened the Alwar and asked him to move away. The Alwar, now coming back to his senses, recognized he was an impediment and quickly moved away. Muni after taking water in the pot reached the temple, but could not open the doors. Frightened at this, the Muni pleaded to the Lord as to what was the blunder he had committed which had caused the Lord to be angry and not letting the doors open. Muni understood that he had insulted the Alwar and was directed by the Lord to bring the Alwar to the sanctum sanctorum. Muni rushed back to the river and falling at the feet of the Alwar requested him to come into the temple. But the Alwar politely refused to enter the temple. Finally, Muni carried the Alwar on his shoulders and brought him near the Lord. Seeing the magnificent halls and towers in the temple the Alwar finally had a feast of view of the Lord at very close quarters. Enamored by the beauty of the Lord, his experience flowed as beautiful hymns, describing the beauty of the Lord from the Feet to the Head. This compilation is called Amalanadhipiran and has ten hymns. These form part of the first thousand songs in the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam [compilation of the sacred four thousand hymns]. Every organ of the Lord is described in boundless beauty. He ends the poem with the words that after seeing the Lord as Sri Krishna, his eyes would see nothing else. This historical picture of Loka Saranga Muni carrying the Alwar on his shoulders can be viewed here. From this Alwar’s sannidhi we will see the 37^th sloka.

hato va prapsyasi svargam
jitva va bhoksyase mahim
tasmad uttistha kaunteya
yuddhaya krta-niscayah

"O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore get up and fight with determination."

Sri Krishna says either way this fight will benefit Arjuna. If Arjuna loses the battle and is killed, he is certain to get the heavens and enjoy in the other world. In case he wins and gets back the kingdom, then he will enjoy the regal perquisites. and be happy in this world. So by fighting this war enjoyment is guaranteed. On the contrary, by abandoning fight he could go to forests for living, as told by Arjuna earlier. For discarding his people and not fighting for dharma, he will be engulfed in papa or sins. Living in the forests and begging for food is a disgraceful life. If Arjuna starves to avoid begging, he would die soon and after death, he is certain to reach hell or naraka. Thus suffering is assured here as well as in the other world. Sri Krishna enquires whether Arjuna was doubtful about victory if he chose to fight. Arjuna says that he has absolute confidence in his capability and the prowess of his Gandipa. So, then why this hesitation, Sri Krishna asks. By winning, he is sure to establish righteous rule and keep his subjects happy. This also would entitle him heaven or swarga after death. Therefore, Arjuna should get up and get ready to fight. Sri Krishna addresses him as Son of Kunti, His aunt. Kunti, being born as a Kshatriya, has given birth to only noble warriors. Kshatriya mothers, it is said, give birth to dead sons, meaning sons who will not be afraid of facing death in battles. So, by fighting he will add fame to his mother. Our country, in the past, was invaded by the great Alexander and king Purushothama or Porus opposed this invasion but was defeated. When the king Porus in captivity was brought before, Alexander appreciated the bravery of the king. But here both the personalities were good-natured. In the case of Arjuna, it was not so. Similarly, in the Tamil literature, we have seen poetess Avvaiyar was able to halt the fight between two Tamil kings, because both were prepared to heed sensible advice. Even in the case of emperor Asoka, he embraced non-violence after vanquishing his enemy. So, all these point to Arjuna getting ready and fight the war. The word tasmat – therefore- means that Arjuna should not mistake dharma yuddha as adharma and fight. Uthishta means get up with firm feet on the ground. This newfound compassion for his relatives was not seen earlier. The Pandavas were undergoing the agyatha vasam or living incognito for a year in the kingdom of Virata. At that time Karna, Duchasana and others stole away the cattle. War broke between the Kauravas and the Virata king. At that time, Arjuna in the disguise of an eunuch, launched mohini asthram [which will faint the opponents]. Arjuna grabbed all the garments of the fainted opponents and gave them to the Prince of Virata and advised him to tell his father, the King, that he defeated the Kauravas. We may wonder how the same Arjuna did not hesitate to fight then. At that incident, there was no necessity to kill Bheeshma or Drona. It was a war to recover the cattle stolen away; it was not a decisive war as it is now. Arjuna, thus, now hesitates and so Sri Krishna is encouraging him to fight. Tomorrow we will see the 38^th sloka, which is the start of the eagerly awaited, karma yoga. Karma yoga has to be followed by every one of us in our daily life, so it is an important topic. .

BG2.40

We are at the Sri Kamalavalli Nachiyar Temple at Urayur. Sri Ranganatha arrives here in the Tamil month of Panguni and on the 6^th day of the festival graces the devotees along with Sri Kamalavalli Nachiyar. Sri Mahalakshmi, from Sri Vaikuntam, incarnated as Sri Kamalavalli, the daughter of Nanada Chola king. The name Kamala is a very distinguished . The three syllables ‘ka’, ‘ma’ and ‘la’ make the name Kamala. ‘Ka’ indicates the Almighty and ‘ma’ indicates us, the jeevatma. ‘La’ indicates the give and take process. So, on one side the God, Paramatma is there and on the other side all the souls, atman are here. Sri Kamalavalli Nachiyar acts as a bridge between these two entities. Ignorance and limited wisdom we have and Sri Thayar gives s the knowledge and takes us to the Lord. Thus the significance of the syllable ‘la’ is represented by Sri Thayar. We are now just in front of this temple. She is the ruling deity here and Sri Namperumal visits as Sri Azhagiya Manavalan. We will see the 36^th sloka now. These three slokas –35^th, 36^th and 37^th- tell us where one should not show compassion. When Sri Krishna tells that others are going to talk ill of his valor, Arjuna asks how and why anybody should think badly of his valor:

avacya-vadams ca bahun
vadisyanti tavahitah
nindantas tava samarthyam
tato duhkhataram nu kim

"Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?"

There cannot be more distressing than these bad persons talking ill of Arjuna. They would describe him as spineless and a coward. Abuses, which cannot be listened to will be hurled at him. Those abuses also will be plenty. These words are going to be spoken by people, who always think ill of him. One can tolerate abuses from one’s parents or teachers or friends with good intentions. But in the case of those who are waiting for us to fall, we have to be very cautious. We can rely on people who are outspoken, but with people who are scheming, we have to be extremely careful. Arjuna should have by this time understood how Duryodana and others are dishonest and scheming. Bheeshma and Drona will not talk ill of Arjuna but these bad people are going to talk without hesitation. Arjuna can never tolerate anyone making any adverse remarks on his bow, Gandipa. Once he tried to kill his own elder brother Yudhishtra for a criticsm of his weapon. These wicked persons are going to denigrate Arjuna’s weapon. Will he tolerate that? They are going to belittle his competence. Those remarks will be awful and will frustrate the listener. If Duryodana or Karna abuses Arjuna and the listener is Bheeshma or Drona, such frustration is understandable. But the abuses will be so severe that if Duryodana ridicules Arjuna’s valor, Karna would close his ears and will be unable to bear the abuses or vice versa. There cannot be more distressing to Arjuna. This may make him angry and fight to stop this bad propaganda. This will make further adverse comments from all saying that Arjuna fought not a dharma battle, but just because he was abused. Arjuna is wondering how Sri Krishna can advise him not to run away from the war. Sri Krishna also ran away from war. Sri Krishna was born in Gokulam and after ten years, He lived in Mathura for some years. But King Jarasanda invaded Mathura several times. Seventeen times he invaded and Sri Krishna defeated him every time. Sri Krishna requested His brother Sri Balarama, to go to west seashore and reclaim land from the sea and establish a new city of Dwaraka. Sri Balarama did not agree. When next time Jarasanda invaded Mathura, Sri Krishna ran away from Mathura. Arjuna remembered this incident. But there are two main differences in the two incidents. Firstly, rules, which we follow, cannot be applied on the Lord. Secondly, Sri Krishna had vanquished Jarasanda several times and He was merely acting as though He was running away from Jarasanda out of fear. Here, for Arjuna this is the first time to fight with these people. So, how can he run away and compare this with Sri Krishna’s action? There are two neighboring countries, one powerful and the other weak. The weak country harasses the powerful one. Normally the powerful country ignores. But persistent such troubles would make one day the powerful country to pull-up and warn its neighbor. Our country has this culture and never it has initiated war against its neighbors. But once war is declared it has fought valiantly. This is what Gita or Upanishads preaches.

BG2.39

Sriranga mangala nidhim karuna nivasam

Sri Venkatadri shikaralaya kalamegam

Sri Hasthisaila sikarojwala parijatham

Srisannamami sirasa Yadhusaila deepam

In the Sri Vaishnava sampradayam, certain temples are regarded as important. Among them are Srirangam, Thirumala, Kanchipurama and Thirunarayanapuram. Srirangam is also named Bhuloka Vaikuntam. Here Sri Ranganatha, Sri Namperumal, Sri Azhagiya Manavalan is gracing. Manavalan in Tamil means son in law. So here He is Handsome Son in law. He has married Sri Ranga Nachiyar in Srirangam, Sri Kamalavalli Nachiyar in Urayur and Sri Serakulavalli Nachiyar, daughter of Sri Kulasekara Alwar. Every year on three specific days Sri Namperumal along with these three consorts [each on one day] graces the devotees. This festival is called seththi utsavam. Sri Kamalavalli appeared in Urayur, from where we are going to see today’s 35^th sloka. Urayur is also called Nichulapuri. Here Sri Kamalavalli appeared and married Sri Namperumal. This place also is the birthplace of Thiruppann Alwar. Long ago this was the capital of Chola kingdom. Sri Kamalavalli was the daughter of Nanda Chola, a descendant of King Dharma Varma. Even today on the sixth day festival in the Tamil month Panguni [March-April], Sri Namperumal arrives from Srirangam and graces the devotees along with Sri Kamalavalli Nachiyar. This is a spectacular sight and from that Mantapam [hall] we will see the 35^th sloka. The following three slokas are, asthana sneham as described by the Acharya Alavandar, where Arjuna is showing compassion at the wrong place. In these three slokas Sri Krishna reveals the defects and bad effects occurring by showing compassion to wicked Duryodana and others. Now, 34^th sloka:

bhayad ranad uparatam
mamsyante tvam maha-rathah
yesham ca tvam bahu-mato
bhutva yasyasi laghavam

"The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you irrelevant."

Arjuna is surprised that he will lose his reputation if he showed compassion. Thirukkural says [in inna seidarai..] that we are to return good deeds only to our enemies who have done bad things for us. Despite, Duryodana’s bad designs, therefore, should not Arjuna return love and compassion? By doing so will not Arjuna’s reputation spread further? We have seen that a person who sacrifices his comforts for the sake of betterment of his country or village or society, is held in high esteem. By lowering their lives, many of our forefathers got independence, and they have achieved fame. Sri Krishna replies that Arjuna may abandon the war on compassionate grounds, but these great warriors –maharathas- like Duryodana, Karna and others will think that Arjuna has withdrawn from the war out of fear. One should show love to deserving persons. Arjuna’s enemies are waiting for a chance when he would slip and falter. Though Duryodana and others have been scheming to grab the kingdom, none ever found fault with Arjuna’s valor and courage. They always regarded his bravery in high esteem. But now if he did not fight, not merely they will grab the kingdom but will also start a smear campaign and malign Arjuna’s reputation. They will conclude that it will be easy and simple – laghavam- to defeat Arjuna. They will decide that Arjuna came to the battlefield but on seeing the enemies and the large army, became nervous and ran away as a coward. Ramanuja gives an eloquent explanation. An enemy may not attach importance for one running away. But if that one happens to be a valiant enemy, then gossip will start and abuses will be heaped on that one. This compassion and love, Arjuna could have exhibited before the war began. That would have been appreciated. There is a subtle difference between compassion and cowardice. A person who bears all insults with patience is termed incompetent. Such ill reputes from great warriors like Duryodana will be accepted by the public also. Even if Bheeshma and Drona may appreciate Arjuna’s intentions, it is of no consequence. His real enemies are Duryodana and others, and they will malign Arjuna’s fame all over and bring disgrace to him. Arjuna can neither disregard this bad publicity, because he is no ordinary person and his people expect him to protect them. He should never be a cause for adharma. We should thus understand to differentiate between mercy and patience on one hand and incompetence and cowardice on the other.

BG2.38

Today’s lecture is from the Sri Kattazhagiya Singar sannidhi on the east of the main temple in Srirangam. The Sri Nrusimha Avatar is special, as it depicted an impossible combination of man and lion. But the Lord brought this impossible in real life to save Sri Prahalada, the child bhaktha or devotee. The main deity Sri LakshmiNarasimha is gracing the devotees in this temple. The idol is a large one here and has four arms, ears pointing to sky, wide open mouth bubbling with rolling laughter, eyebrows reaching head and mouth wide open like a cave. In the upper two arms He is carrying conch and discus. Carrying flower, the right lower arm is blessing the devotees and the left lower arm is hugging Sri Lakshmi, Who is seated on His left lap. She is also blessing the devotees. Why Sri Narasimha is in Srirangam? Wild elephants used to come to this place and causing trouble to the devotees. This is indicated in the Puranas. So, to protect the temple and the devotees, Sri LakshmiNrusimha appeared here. These details of this ancient temple are found in Puranas. Yet another specialty is there about this temple. Swami Pillai Lokacharya, one among the great Sri Vaishnava Acharyas, and who had composed in Tamil eighteen commentaries on Thirumanthram, Dvayam and Charamaslokam, stayed here and propagated the main principles of Sharanagathi or Ultimate Surrender at the feet of the Lord. From such a famous place we will see the 34^th sloka. If a person dies, the body is cremated and reduced to handful of ash. He might have been a great person and loved by all. Yet, the body is never preserved. Even in Srimad Ramayana, the body of king Dasaratha was preserved in oil tub, as it took time for Bharatha to arrive at Ayodhya and none else was available to cremate. But, we remember the person who lived all these days. We praise the deceased person’s noble qualities. If his body was only his life, then as we dispose off the body, his life also should have been reduced to dust. Whereas, we kindly remember for many years the person and his good deeds. Even today we fondly remember the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. We remember the Pasurams of Alwars, ithihasa, purana, Gita and many more. The originators of all these are not there today, yet their fame or kirti is always remembered. So, if a person has acquired good name, he should be afraid to lose it and make all efforts to preserve that name. No mean action should be initiated which would erase the good name. But, Arjuna is suffering from a confused thinking. His brave and steadfast qualities have earned him fame all over. None should do any thing that may spoil this reputation. Nammalwar, in the guise of sweetheart [Nayaki bhavam] dispatches a bird as a messenger to the Lord. She [Nammalwar] tells the bird that the bird should convey to the Lord that having deserted her [Nammalwar], the Lord should renounce His name Narayana. Narayana means sarvarakshaka or protector of all. If, she [Nammalwar] is pining for the Lord and He does not come to protect her, how can that name suit Him? Hearing this complaint, the Lord immediately arrives and graces Nammalwar. [Thiruvaimozhi 1.4]. So everyone makes all out effort to retain reputation. But Arjuna seems to be in a trauma. Though Arjuna might have abandoned the war on compassion grounds, the layman and smaller people would gossip that Arjuna out of fear ran away from the war. If great people like Bheeshma and Drona hurl such insults at him, they could be tolerated. But obscure persons, who do not know even to carry a bow, will blame Arjuna’s valor. Hell may be better than such a disgrace. This is the essence of 34^th sloka:

akirtim capi bhutani
kathayisyanti te ’vyayam
sambhavitasya cakirtir
maranad atiricyate

"Creatures will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death."

Arjuna counters this with another argument. Let anybody talk about him anyway they like. In the same Mahabharatha, at another place it is told that one should strive and somehow live. Then only, there will be opportunities to do good in the future . So, Arjuna is in a quandary. Whether to somehow live or fight to retain reputation, even if in the process, he dies. Sri Krishna replies that saving one’s life is no doubt the priority. But that is for the ordinary people. Whereas, for a person of great repute, with the famous Gandipa bow and as the well known cousin of Sri Krishna, notoriety by running away from fight is not befitting. Death is preferred to such akirti or ill fame. Thus Sri Krishna advises the necessity of valor and wisdom. Sri Krishna is preaching viveka or wisdom and here, we have Sri Nrusimha inducing bravery.

BG2.37

In Upadesa Rathnamalai, Swami Manavala Mamuni praises Sri Andal as She appeared on this earth only for the benefit of the devotees. Sri Andal has a sannidhi in the west of Srirangam temple. This is popularly known as veli andal [outer Andal] sannidhi [as against ull andal or inner Andal sannidhi]. This temple is associated with Sri Andal’s marriage with Lord Sri Ranganatha. Periyalwar brought up Andal and She was absorbed in Sri Krishna’s child plays. She imagined being His Wife only and saw Sri Krishna in Lord Ranganatha. She desired to offer Herself to the Lord. This was reflected in Her thirty poems of Thiruppavai and 143 poems of Nachiyar Thirumozhi. Recognizing Her love, the Lord sent His palanquin and a message to Her father to bring Her from Srivilliputhur to Srirangam. Perialwar happily carried out the order of the Lord and brought Sri Andal to Srirangam. At that time they stayed in this place only. They bathed in the [south] Kaveri behind this temple and with bridal makeup She went to the Sanctum Sanctorum and grasping the Holy feet of the Lord She disappeared and went in unison with the Lord. We are at this temple for today’s lecture and a visitor can see the portrait of this incident. Sri Andal is seated and gracing the devotees from this temple with a grand crown, the right hand in ahvahana [beckoning] posture, left hand in blessing [the devotees] posture, right leg folded and left leg stretched. Yearly twice Sri Namperumal arrives at this temple and exchanges garlands. One, on the 18^th day of Tamil month Adi [Padhinettam Perukku] and the other on the 6^th day of Panguni Uthram festival, when Sri Namperumal comes from Uraiyur. The great Acharya Annan Swamigal mutt manages this temple. Since Sri Krishna is delighted at hearing the name of Sri Andal, it is our fortune to listen to Gita from this spot.

In the last two slokas Sri Krishna advised Arjuna that he should not slip from his kshatriya dharma, which paves the way for the eternal bliss at Sri Vaikuntam. In the coming two slokas, He describes what consequences will accrue if he fails to uphold the Kshatriya duty. By listing the difficulties and sorrows he would encounter if he slipped from his expected duty, Sri Krishna is encouraging him to fight. In any act we have to state the benefits by doing that and the ill effects by not doing. By judging both one has to conclude to perform an action. Now sloka 33:

atha cet tvam imam dharmyam
sangramam na karishyasi
tatah sva-dharmam kirtim ca
hitva papam avapsyasi

"If, however, you do not perform your duty of fighting for dharma, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and lose your reputation as a fighter."

Sri Krishna uses the words dharmyam sangraman, which means fight performed righteously. This war is for establishing dharma, it is to be performed legally and the outcome also is for dharma, a high objective. Since Arjuna, desirous of preservation of dharma, this is a holy and upright war. The word sangramam is used instead of yudhdham. Yudhdham means it could start even next day or after. But sangramam means that is already started and when both sides are aligned and ready to fight. Peace efforts could have been initiated before start of a fight but not after it had started. Such efforts before the fight began would be appreciated; but after it had started any such efforts would be branded as act of cowardice. So Sri Krishna cautions that if Arjuna decided to withdraw from the war, he will be defamed and then he would also be slipping from his expected dharma, resulting in sins or papa to accumulate. So by abandoning the fight he will fail in his swadharmam, that is his duty as Kshatriya to fight, and lose kirti or fame. Even if he does not care for the fame, sins or papa will accrue for slipping from swadharma. Sri Krishna lists the two, swadharma and kirti, as necessities for life in this world and in the nether world. Without a reputation it is of no use in this world. Thiruvalluvar in his Thirukkural says [in thonrir pugazhodu] that if one is born he should be famous, otherwise, is better to be unborn. For a hero like Arjuna defame is a great loss. Arjuna felt that even if he loses fame here, he would lead an austere life by living in forests and reach heaven after death. Sri Krishna with a smile repudiated that also as Arjuna after abandoning his swadharma and leaving in a lurch his brothers and the subjects, will never reach heavens. Thus defame will destroy dhrushta palam or perceivable results. Abandoning swadharma will destroy adhrushta palam or unperceivable results [in nether worlds]. Apart from these, papa will accrue which will destine him to meaner births. So by not fighting, Arjuna will lose pleasures in this and nether worlds and with accumulated papa will be born in disgraceful births. Therefore, this is a lesson for all of us not to abandon our swadharma. We can visualize two destinations: one, happiness in this life and the other is happiness after death in this world. For reaching Moksha after death to have eternal happiness we have a choise between performing Bhakthi yoga and sharanagathi [surrender]. For doing bhakthi yoga one should do the karma yoga that is follow swadharma. So in Arjuna’s case if he abandoned his swadharma, he cannot do karma yoga and so cannot follow bhakthi yoga and consequently, no eternal happiness. To get happiness in this life one has to do punya. Punya will accrue only if one follows dharma. That means one has to perform his duties or swadharma. So, Arjuna may not get the pleasures in this world also. Arguing that he can correct in the future also will not hold good as the sins or papa will engulf and no scope for doing punya in the future. Abide by swadharma is what is advocated.

BG2.36

Today the lecture is from the south Uthra street. [Yesterday due to problem in the cable-distributing place I cold not listen to the lecture and so I am unable to reproduce what was lectured. But it appears the lecture was about sloka 31 which is reproduced here with the meaning as given in the text, for the sake of continuity.

sva-dharmam api caveksya
na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyad dhi yuddhac chreyo ’nyat
kshatriyasya na vidyate

"Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation."]

Arjuna was born as a kshatriya and their duty was to protect dharma by proper rule of the country and so it was his duty to fight and establish dharma, so advised Sri Krishna. We have to see now the 32^nd sloka. We should not think that Sri Krishna is simply inducing Arjuna to fight and so repeatedly, Sri Krishna tells the nobility of Arjuna’s duty. We are at the Sri Kandhadai Ramanuja Muni mutt. He was a kshatriya and we will be amazed at the antecedents of this person. He was the elder brother of the king in the Chaluva dynasty in the 15^th century. When he was in Ayodhya meditating on Sri Rama, gold coins with Sri Rama’s image showered on him. He thought this might have been done by Sri Anjaneya and so he went to Badrikashram in search of Sri Hanuman. Sri Ranganatha had gifted a thaniyan [introductory sloka on an Acharya] on Swami Sri Manavala Mamuni. It is the well known “srIsailesha dayaapaatram dIbhaktyAdi gunArnavam |
YatIndrapravanam vande ramyajAmAtram munim ||” He heard one half of this thaniyan and he decided to have a darshan of Swami Manavala Mamuni and so he started his journey down south. When he reached Thiruppathy, Swami Manavala Mamuni passed away in Srirangam and so he was deprived of meeting Swami Manavala Mamuni. But he still came to Srirangam and associated with Sri Annan Swami who was a disciple of Swami Manavala Mamuni. From that time he was known as Kandhadai Ramanuja Muni. He was assigned an important duty in the temple affairs. He was staying in the same place where a disciple of Sri Ramanuja, Pillai Urangavalli Dasan, lived. Even today this mutt has a sanyasin jeer. Pillai Urangavalli Dasar functioned as a bodyguard for Lord Sri Ranaganatha. He used to wear an apron and carry a sword in his waist and walk in the front of any procession of the Lord. That noble work is carried out by the mutt jeer now also. He also is authorized to put the final seal on the lock when daily the temple doors are closed. He involved himself in the service of God after completing his duties as a kshatriya. Because duty also is service to God. This is what Sri Krishna is trying to make Arjuna understand. Now the 32^nd sloka:

yadrcchaya copapannam
svarga-dvaram apavrtam
sukhinah kshatriyah partha
labhante yuddham idrsam

"O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them unhindered the doors of the heavenly planets."

One need not go after war. But only the fortunate kings get spontaneous opportunities to fight a war to establish righteousness or dharma. This war is such a one and has already started. This He says is unhindered path for heaven. Here, swarga is not the one among Bhu. Buva and Suva. Arjuna does not need the 3^rd of these but, surrendering at the feet of Sri Krishna, he wants the Vaikunta and that is indicated by the word swarga. The path to that swarga has many obstructions and rebirths. This war will remove all those obstacles and yield Moksha. This war has come as unsought and spontaneously. So, because this duty will yield Moksha, he should fight. Before we engage ourselves in any work we will have to see these points:

· Is this legally allowed?

· After starting the work, will there be need for any unlawful activities?

· Is the objective a virtuous one or evil?

· Is there precedence by elders?

These four points are required to be examined before we embark on any activity. In the present context, the fighting of this war has to answer all these questions. Fighting is legally permitted. But it has to be a righteous war. Sri Andal indicates this in Her 11^th pasuram of Thiruppavai- katrukkaravai kanangal…It is one of the poems to wake up friends. This friend is the daughter of a great hero. What type of hero? Sri Andal says ‘setrar thiral azhiya senru seru cheyyum kutromonrillada”. She does not say fighting is bad. But during the fight one should be blemishless. That is he will not wait for the enemy to come to his place and, just as encountering a lion in his den, he will go to enemy’s camp and fight. During fight never will he run away. He will not fight when the enemy is unarmed or resting. If one goes against these three qualities, then he is not fighting rightly. So fighting as such is not a sin, but unrighteous wars are wrong. Here we can note the marked difference in the wars in various times. We have Kritha yug, Thretha yug and Dwapara yug. In Kritha yug the Lord took five Avatars or incarnations- Matsya, Koorma, Varaha, Sri Nrusimha and Vamana. In none of these He lead any army to fight anyone. All were mere duels with individuals or none was killed. In the next yug, Thretha yug, Sri Rama went with a battalion to Lanka to fight with Ravana. This war lasted seven days and there was not a single incident of illegal methods to fight. Now in Dwapara yug, Sri Krishna says it is a righteous war and asks Arjuna to fight. But in this war only a single unarmed person, Abimanyu, was killed by a multiple enemies. Bheeshma was killed using Shikandi as a cover. Drona was killed by Dhrishtadyumna, when Drona was unarmed. Karna was killed when his Armour was taken away and when his chariot wheels got trapped in the mud. Are all these righteous methods? So, dharma changes as times change but still the yuga dharma was followed. Even if the opponent wages an illegal war, Arjuna has to fight a righteous war. Any activity, for a very noble objective, is also considered noble. If one jumps from a tall tower to get into the Guinness book of World records, it is applauded. But if the same person from the same tower wants to jump to commit suicide, he is arrested and found guilty. Thus same action is treated differently, as objectives are different. A person observing fast on ekadashi or for the freedom of his country is appreciated. Same person if he fasts to commit suicide, he will be arrested. So, no action as such is condemned, but examined for what objective it was performed. In Thirukkural in the poem poimayum.., it is said that even a lie for a noble cause is treated as truth. Therefore, only fortunate kings with punya will get this type of opportunities to fight and Arjuna should fight.

BG2.35

Thirumangai Alwar has made a poem on the Dasavathara [Ten Avatarss]. Today we are at the famous Dasavathara sannidhi temple on the North side of the Srirangam temple. The lecture is from the Thirumangai Alwar, the last of the Alwars, sannidhi. Thirumangai Alwar stayed here and did all the great works like construction of the mandapam [hall], prakaram [corridor], etc. This Alwar sought some boons from Sri Ranganatha. One of them was that He should grace in all the ten avatars here. Accordingly, the Lord is in this temple in Matsya [Fish], Koorma [Turtle], Varaha [Boar], Nrusimha [Lion-Man], Vamana [Dwarf], ParashuRama, SriRama, Bala Rama, Sri Krishna and Kalki forms, depicting the Dasavathara. The Alwar’s personal vigraha [icon] Sri Lakshmi Narayana Moorthy is also gracing the devotees from this temple. We mentioned that from this place the Alwar carried out a number of sacred constructions in the Sri Ranganatha temple. The Dasavathara Sannidhi temple is maintained and administered capably by the head of Sri Ahobila Mutt, Srimad Azhagiyasingar Jeer Swami. The 44^th Jeer of Ahobila Mutt had an opportunity, like Thirumangai Alwar, to construct the southern Raja Gopuram [Main Tower] from this place. This was a magnificent work and it will not be out of proportion to say this Jeer continued the works of the Alwar. The present Jeer, 45^th in sequence, also has carried out a number of sacred works in Ahobilam [in Andhra Pradesh] and Patashala [educational institution] in Selaiyur [near Chennai]. Recently the 81^st birthday celebrations of the present Jeer was held here. All these happened because of the significance and sanctity of this place [Srirangam]. Sri Vedantha Desika has composed hymns on the Dasavatara. While each Avatar required thousands of hymns to describe the splendor of each Avatar, Desika described each Avatar in a single sloka. Not content with that he further compressed the glory of all the ten avatars in a single sloka. Just behind this temple is the Thirumangai Alwar Padithurai where, as requested by the Alwar, moksham is granted to those whose last rites are performed here. In such a sacred place, Dasavatara Sannidhi, we will see the 30^th sloka:

dehi nityam avadhyo ’yam
dehe sarvasya bharata
tasmat sarvani bhutani
na tvam socitum arhasi

"O descendant of Bharata, atman dwelling in the body can never be slain. Even when all bodies of all creatures destroy. Therefore you are not eligible to grieve ."

‘Na tvam socitum arhasi’ this means , therefore you are not entitled to grieve. This phrase will repeat at many places. As a reply to why for this, is each sloka. This sloka may hint that all the bodies have a single soul. It is not so. Every creature has an atman. So the full meaning is whichever body is destroyed, the soul dwelling in that body is not destroyed. This sloka is the consequence of a doubt in Arjuna. It is conceded that body or deham perishes. But the doubt is about atman. We see many things and persons in this world. Nothing is identical with another. Even our bodies change regularly. The intellect or knowledge varies from person to person. There is difference in the experience of joy or sorrow from person to person. Thus there is diversity in all we see. So, is it possible that some atmans are eternal and some others are perishables? In this world no two are identical, experiences are not the same, so how souls alone can all have the same identity? What if this doubt is not cleared? If this were true, it is possible that the atman of Bheeshma and Drona could be destroyable and so by killing them, Arjuna will be guilty of annihilating atman. To remove this doubt only Sri Krishna tells that the atman or dehi in every body or deham is eternal. We are witnessing changes on the body but the soul remains the same. To understand this we should examine closely our daily habits and experiences. We see variety of persons. Some are fair, some black, some tall, some short, some females, some males, some animals, etc. but all these differences do not change our habits. One may be a millionaire and another a poor. But both see with their eyes only and hear with their ears. There is no difference in these functions. Educated or illiterate, one has to eat with his mouth only. So, God has not permitted any difference in certain basic functions. We eat varieties of food and vegetables. They remain so till what we eat reaches the throat. After this the body assimilates them as protein, vitamin or carbohydrates. This is scientific fact. We do not eat as such fat or proteins. So, all differences are in the external appearance only, such as brinjal [butter fruit] or lady’s finger [okra]. The body, however, takes only the essence. So, only those, which appear different, are all destroyed and atman, which is identical in every creature, is eternal. So Arjuna need not to worry that he may be destroying a destroyable atman. Also another thing Sri Krishna draws the attention of Arjuna is that he need not to worry that he may be killing Bheeshma, but he cannot kill any creature. By this we may hesitate whether we should be sympathetic to our relatives and help them. That is not the message here. In fact mere merry making in a happy occasion or shed tears along with the grieved ones is not real help. If we distinguish atman from body, then we can be of real help to not merely our relatives but to everyone suffering. Relatives are body related. Only a perspective that all atmans are same can make us render help to all. That is why in any calamity, there are some persons who concentrate on the things to do and do not go emotional. Such duty minded persons are of real help.