BG2.13

We will continue with yesterday’s lecture. From the 12^th sloka Sri Krishna starts sermonizing. So we can regard all the slokas of first Chapter and the first 11 slokas of 2^nd Chapter as one part. Arjuna exhibited his misunderstanding of soul and body and thought that he is destroying Bheeshma and Drona. In Sanskrit language one word can give several meanings and several words can mean same thing; but they have to be judiciously used. Sareeram and Deham refer to body but have different connotations. We see a person after, say, 10 years and that person has become thinner and weak. So we enquire why his body has become weak and thin. Here, as per the dhathu or root, to indicate diminishing nature we have to use the word sareeram. On the other hand, suppose we see a person looking fatter or bigger than what we saw him some years back, we express that the body has grown. Here, it is apt to use the word Deham which indicates growth. But in both cases the soul or atman remains in tact. So change is the nature of body and anything that changes is not permanent. Thus the body is destroyable whereas the soul never changes and so is indestructible. Six types of changes are attributed to the body. This is called shad bhava vikaram in Sanskrit. The six characteristics are, exist, birth or originate, change, grow, decay and destroy. Why should we regard soul as different? Our actual life itself is an example to demonstrate body and soul are different. A person dies and the body of the person never moves or speaks. Just a few minutes back ‘something’ was there which made the body to move or speak, but now that ‘something’ has disappeared from the body and it remains static. That ‘something’ is soul or atman. Our organs, mind and brain are all not souls. The soul resides in the lotus bud like heart. It is always awake and is fully intellect. When we sleep, all our organs are inactive. Mind and brain also are dormant. We are not aware what was happening when we slept. So everything in our body is inactive. But the soul is active even during our sleep. After a sleep, the person is able to recall whatever happened before he went to sleep. A person says he had a good and comfortable sleep. How does he know it when his entire mind, brain and all organs were all inactive? That is why it is said that the soul is always awake and is intellect. A person is there. He was born as a child. Then he becomes a brother. After sometime, he gets married and so he becomes a husband. Later, he becomes a father. Sometimes later, he also becomes a grandfather. He says ‘ I was a child’, ‘I was a brother’, ‘I was a grandfather’, etc. If we tabulate these sayings as below:

I ******CHILD

I ******BROTHER

I ******HUSBAND

I ******FATHER

I ******GRANDFATHER

We can see that while the title on the right changes, the left ‘I’ remains constant. The changing titles denote the body and the constant ‘I’ is soul. Arjuna is confused on this and mistakes body as soul. Just like a chain is made of a metal or a cloth is made of cotton, our body is made by the combination of the five bhoothas or ‘elements’. These are space, air, fire, water and earth. This combination gives the body its nature of changing and never being permanent. We can store water in a pot for some weeks. Similarly we can store rava or sooji and salt for some months without these items getting spoiled. But when we mix these in certain proportions to cook an item we eat called upma, it gets spoiled in a few hours. So also is our body. On the contrary, the soul is not made of any combinations and it remains pure and has the qualities of intelligent and blissful. That is gyana and ananda.

BG2.12

The Eleventh sloka of Chapter 2, starts with the words of Sri Krishna:

sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam
prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca
nanusocanti panditah

“ Bhagavan [Sri Krishna] said [to Arjuna]: you speak like a learned and at the same time your words show ignorance”

Sri Krishna refers to Pundit, which means learned. It is not mere worldly knowledge, but the person possessing the knowledge about body and soul is referred to as pundit He is also called a vedanhi. Like a pundit, Arjuna appears to know the difference between soul [atman] and body [sareeram]. But he also says words, which show that he thinks both atman and sareeram are same. Asu means prana or imperishable. Gathasu means perishable or without asu or only body without soul. Agathasu is opposite of gathasu or with asu or prana, which means the body with soul. Pundits know about the destroyable and the indestroyable. Let us see whether Arjuna acts like a pundit. When he says that he did not want to destroy a family or dynasty, as that will result in the pithrus [deceased forefathers’ souls] falling down from their world [pithrulok], he seems to be aware that when a person dies his soul departs to distant world and only the body remains and so the body and soul are not one and the same. At the same time, when Arjuna says he does not want to kill Bheeshma or Drona, he seems to be not aware that he is only killing the bodies of Bheeshma, Drona and that he can not harm the souls residing in those bodies. Names are there to denote bodies only. So here Arjuna behaves like uneducated. The word ‘ I ‘ normally denotes the soul while the word ‘my’ indicates body. This is commonly seen in our conversations. Also when someone says ‘I’ he invariably points his finger to the heart and not to any other part of the body. According to the Vedas in a Lotus bud structure the soul resides in the heart. The soul is very small and atomic in size. We say ‘my book’ and the word ‘my’ clearly indicates that the book is different from the soul ‘I’. Similarly when a person says ‘my head’ we should understand that the ‘head’ referred to is not ‘I’. Thus all parts of the body or the entire body do not represent the soul ‘I’. We have also seen that persons losing organs like fingers, etc. live and these also indicate that body and soul are not the same. If body and soul were one, we should say ‘ I head is aching’ and not ‘my head is aching’. But it is common to see that in our daily routines we are regarding the soul and the body as separate entities, knowingly or unknowingly.

BG 2.11

Today’s lecture also is from the Thirukkannamangai Perumal temple. Just as we would like to see our image in the mirror, God also wants to see His image. The Vedas act as a mirror reflecting the true image of the God. His vehicle Garuda is described as Veda Swaroopy or a personification of Vedas. That is a reason Garuda is in front of God in all temples. The Garuda has some importance in this temple and devotees believe that the Garuda here with Amrit Kalash or pot containing the fluid for immortality, will grant all the requests prayed for. The Garuda idol is always draped in a 9 yards checkered sari. The God here grants all boons and now we shall see what He is going to grant Arjuna.

Sanjaya continues:

tam uvaca hrishikeshah
prahasann iva bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye
visidantam idam vacah

“ Oh! Bhaaratha [Dhridharashtra] standing in between the two armies, Hrishikesa [Sri Krishna] with a smile spoke these words to the grieved [Arjuna]”

Arjuna, determined as he is, not to fight, looks for advice from Sri Krishna and He is going to speak in the next 600 or so slokas the essence of life. Sanjaya is narrating the happenings in the battlefield. He sees Sri Krishna smiling. The smile has several interpretations. Firstly, it is a sarcastic one at the behavior of Arjuna. The war is about to begin at any moment and both sides have blown their conches as a mark of their readiness to start the fight. At that time Arjuna tells he is heartbroken to fight. Though he wants to avoid war out of sympathy for his kith and kin, the world will think that he is withdrawing out of fear. He is also exhibiting his contradictory actions. When Draupathi was humiliated in the assembly hall, Arjuna burst like a volcano to kill the Kauravas and now he says he is feeling compassion. Next, the smile on Sri Krishna’s face also could mean the lecture He is going to deliver. If a lecturer wants proper attendance from the listeners, he has to put up a welcome face. The great Acharya Sri Parasara Bhattar, seeing the twin dimples on the Sri Namperumal idol, used to say that He appeared as though to say something. Next, the smile also signifies the toy Arjuna in the hands of Sri Krishna. Before the war commenced, Sri Krishna was sent as an emissary to explore the possibility of stopping the war. Then He was requested to participate in the war as Arjuna’s chariot driver. Now Arjuna is at His feet requesting for advice. Also Sanjaya is narrating the incident and hints to Dhridharashtra that the smile is actually a deception to the disaster that awaited the Kuru dynasty. The smile could also mean the great philosophy to be delivered to the World at large and using Arjuna as a ploy. He is smiling because through the forthcoming words so many ideas like way of life etc. are going to be told. This Sri Krishna is trying to tell with a body language, which Arjuna was fortunate to witness.

BG2.10

We will today see the 9^th sloka from the same Thirukkannamangai temple:

sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva hrishikesham
gudakeshah parantapah
na yotsya iti govindam
uktva tusnim babhuva ha

“ Sanjaya told [Dhridhrashtra]. Having said thus, Gudakesa [Arjuna] told Sri Hrishikesa [Sri Krishna] ‘Govinda! I will not fight’ and became silent, what a surprise!”

Arjuna has told his reasoning for not fighting. All the relatives, friends and teachers have assembled and he could not fight with them. Killing relatives and annihilating a dynasty or family is a sin, which will lead to eradication of kula dharma and so take him to hell. Enjoyment cannot be with blood stained hands. Even if the enemy camp was ready, killing near ones is sin. The very sight of these people ready to fight dries up his senses. Even if a prosperous, entire world or heaven is offered to rule, Arjuna can never think of fighting. Having given out his mind so elaborately, Arjuna takes asylum at Sri Krishna and stops talking with a final say that he will not fight. Sanjaya, who is narrating alive the happenings on the battlefield to King Dhridharashtra, exclaims with the word ‘ha’. Because he is surprised that a great warrior Arjuna is declaring he will not fight. Sanjaya refers to Arjuna as Gudakesa or the one who has conquered sleep and laziness, the hallmarks of Tamas quality. Arjuna is not tired or feeling weak to fight. Nor is he cowardly and afraid to fight.That is why the word paranthapa or the one who burns the enemies is used by Sanjaya.But out of shear sympathy for those arrayed against, he is refusing to fight. In the last sloka Arjuna tells Sri Krishna, that his sensual organs are all dried up at the sight of his loved ones in the opposite camp. So, significantly, Sanjaya denotes Sri Krishna with the epithet Hrishikesa or the Conqueror of the organs [both sensual and active]. We have to understand that God is the prime mover behind all the organs functioning in our body. Arjuna tells Sri Krishna that he is not going to fight. He addresses Him as Govinda. This word implies three meanings. Sri Andal in her Thiruppavai repeats this name of the Lord in the 27^th [koodarai vellum], 28^th [karavaigal pinsenru] and 29^th [chitran chirukalai] pasurams. Govinda means Protector of cows. It also means protector of the earth. And, it can also mean protector of souls. In this temple the Lord is called Bha[k]tharavi Perumal, which means He is the Aavi or Soul of the devotees. It seems the Lord prefers cow herding to being the Leader of all the gods or residing in Sri Vaikuntam. Sri Andal says karavaigal pin senru, which is going behind the cows. The cows do not say to Sri Krishna, Who is following them, not to come behind them. In fact, He is in every soul and follows as the inner conscience and directs. But if we say to Him that He need not follow and we will go our own way, He lets us go and we get entangled into all types of situations. On the other hand, if we allow Him to follow us or direct us, we are assured of proper destiny. So here Arjuna calls Him Govinda and wants Him to direct in the right path

BG2.9

Dieties	Bhakthavatsalapperumal, Abisheka Vallith Thayar
Theerthangal	Darshana Pushkarini
Vimanam	Udhbala Vimanam
Mangalasasanam	Thirumangaiazhwar
Direction and Posture	Standing Posture and East-faced.
Travel Base	Thiruvaarur
Access to the temple	About 4 miles from Thiruvaroor Station.
Features	There was found a bee-hive in the sanctum sanctorum of the Goddess for many years but not now.

The Moolavar of this kshetram is Bakthavatsala Permal. He also known as Bhaktaraavi perumal. The Moolavar is giving his seva in standing posture with his face facing the east. Prathyaksham for Lord Varuna and Romasa Munivar.This temple lies in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu. It is about 25 kms from Kumbakonam, 15 kms from Thirucherai[Sri Saranatha Perumal temple] and 4 kms Northwest from Thiruvarur Railway station. Bus facility and facility to stay are also available.

Today’s lecture is from Thirkkannamangai, one of the 108 Divya Desam and one of the five Sri Krishna Kshetrams. The Divine marriage of Sri Narayana and Sri MahaLakshmi is believed to have been held here and so this place is also called Krishna Mangala Kshetram. The Lord here has Sri Perumpurakkadal and Sri Batharaavi Perumal as Divine names. His Consort is called Sri Abhishekavalli Thayar. Garuda is prominent here. Long ago when the milky ocean was churned, Sri Lakshmi appeared. She wanted to marry the Lord, Vishnu, but felt shy to get married in front of all the crores of gods [Devas]. So the Divine couple selected this quiet place for the marriage. She did penance at the banks of the temple tank- Darsana Pushkarini- and the Lord fixed an auspicious date for the marriage. But here also the gods arrived to witness this Divine event. They took the forms of honeybees and had a glimpse of the marriage. Even today one can see bee hive in the Thayar sannidhi. Thirumangai Alwar has composed eleven hymns in praise of the Lord here. The lecture is from the banks of Darsana Pushkarini, a mere sight of which absolved the Moon god from his sins.

In the last sloka Arjuna submitted himself at the feet of Sri Krishna, Who thought why not Arjuna select his own remedy and solve his predicament. The 8^th sloka details Arjuna’s reply:

na hi prapasyami mamapanudyad
yac chokam ucchosanam indriyanam
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham
rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam

"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is burning up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth with sovereignty or one like in heaven."

Arjuna sees his beloved ones like Bheeshma and Drona on the enemy camp ready to fight and this sight dries his sensual organs like eyes and tongue. He is engulfed in anguish and finds no cure. Our forefathers convey us a great lesson here. One hears the words chithai [pyre] and chinthanai [brooding]. Chithai or a pyre is used in the cremation grounds for burning dead bodies. Whereas, chinthanai or brooding will burn out a living person. Here brooding burns Arjuna. Once sage Narada met sage Sanatkumara and requested him that though Narada had mastered all available literature but wanted Sanatkumara to preach him that which will dispel his anguish and sorrow. In reply Sanatkumara asked Narada to first tell what all he knew. Narada started telling his knowledge in the Vedas, Upanishads, all types of Shastras, etc. Sanatkumara said that Narada had studied all and there was nothing, which could be preached to Narada. This gave the hint to Narada, that he had merely studied all these without practicing or understanding the inner significance of these literatures. Worry lines appear on the forehead. But a person who has understood the God will have no such lines on the forehead. Thus Sanatkumara dispelled Narada’s worries. So one should never get worried. Hanuman, when dispatched for searching Sri Sita was wondering why Sri Rama was so worried at the loss of a mere wife. Being a bachelor, Hanuman might not have understood the role of a wife. But the same Hanuman, when saw Sri Sita, then wondered how Sri Rama was still alive after losing such a noble and righteous wife. Here, Valmiki the author of Srimad Ramayana, observes that no enemy on earth could ever kill Sri Rama and only worry had the power. Arjuna, therefore feels thoroughly handicapped by his worries, and seeks help from Sri Krishna. It was opined by Sri Krishna that no distress is there which remains forever. Even death of a dear one is forgotten after a few days or when a happier incident is encountered. So if Arjuna got back his kingdom, this grief of killing the relatives will vanish. But Arjuna says that all the so called happiness one may get by acquiring a kingdom, like music, dance, food, etc., will remind him these sins he is to commit and make him miserable. Perhaps a small kingdom, or one with enemies around or one that is stuck by poverty and famine may cause worries for the rulers. So Arjuna qualifies that even if the entire world was reigned, with no enemies and totally prosperous, will never clear him of his grief. Further, he says that even if he gains the control of the heavenly kingdom, he is unable to find the way to dispel his grief.

BG2.8

We will be listening to the Gita lecture in front of the Raja [Main] Gopuram of Sri Sowriraja Perumal temple. Alwar in his hymns on this place speaks of many such gopurams like the one now present. It is believed that there were seven such gopurams and seven surrounding walls [madhil in Tamil]. The outer most walls were near Thirumalarayan Pattinam near the seashore. But some unscrupulous persons went on demolishing the walls. Unable to bear this erosion of the precious symbol of culture, the Arayar- one who sings the Alwar’s hymns, with cymbals in hand to beat rhythm, and dances in front of the Lord in temples- protested before the Lord. The Lord remained calm with that charming smile. The Arayar was angry and asked the Lord was it a mere toy the Bow, Sarnga, He held. The Lord remained still calm and the Arayar perturbed, threw the cymbals at the Lord and they hit Him on the face and made a scar on His face, which can be seen even now. But the Lord pleases His devotees by heeding to their prayers and so immediately arrows were rained on the enemies and they were all driven away. The Lord never lets down those who take refuge at His feet. Arjuna does the same in the 7^th sloka we are to see today.

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah
prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me
shishyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

”Taken over by the cowardice and losing my bravery, I ask you to tell me for certain what is upright for me. I am your desciple surrendered unto you”

From this it is clear that only the Supreme Being can remove a person’s perpetual ignorance. This is what Alwar also declares in his hymns. Just as a river moves toward a distant ocean or jus as a lotus blossoms at the sight of a distant Sun, the wisdom of the soul [jeevatma] will yearn for enlightenment from the Supreme Being [Paramatma]. So the Alwar advises his mind to surrender unto the beloved of Mother Lakshmi, the dweller in Lotus. Unlike human nature to offer materials such as flowers or fruits to gain favours from others, to get His grace all one needs is to surrender unto Him. While the soul is groping in darkness, He is shining with brilliance, the soul is slave and He is the Master and with this attitude Arjuna falls at the feet of Sri Krishna. He says he is suffering from karpanya dosha- a defect of a kripana. Sage Yagnavalkya says the one who has not attained the knowledge of the Supreme Being is called a kripana. Ignorance of the knowledge of God or the relationship between one’s soul and Paramatma, will not make a person learned even if he has acquired thousands of various other subjects, says Swami Vedanta Desika. Arjuna says he is affected by this karpanya dosha. Because of this he has lost his courage. The Thaithriyopanishad says that as one approaches God, he gets courage and one who withdraws from Him loses courage. If we realize God in ourselves, we get motivated to do things. On the other hand virakthi or nirvedam or frustration leads to retardation. Hanuman searched for Mother Sri Sita all over Lanka and when he was frustrated, suddenly he remembered Sri Rama. Sri Rama gave Hanuman His Ring to be handed over to Sri Sita and so, how can His words fail? So he got enthused and also removed the feeling that he was searching Sri Sita and corrected that feeling by the wisdom that Sri Sita Herself will show up and successfully complete his mission. Immediately, Hanuman spotted Sri Sita. One should dismiss the thought that one is doing but realize that it is God Who gets actions done for that one. This does not mean that one should practice idling or remain inactive; but take all out efforts with the realization that He is the prime mover behind one’s actions. This leads to humility. So now Arjuna surrenders to Sri Krishna for remedy, like a person resorting to the family doctor who knows the history of the patient and so could suggest the right remedy. And who else is better equipped than Sri Krishna, Who after all is Arjuna’s cousin and Who knows Arjuna too well? Sometimes we also approach elders and seek their advice, but later act according to our wishes. To dispel that thought in Sri Krishna, Arjuna says he is His sishya or disciple and so will obey and act according to His guidance.

BG2.7

Today the lecture is from the same temple vimanam [the Dome above sanctum sanctorum]. A mere sight of this vimanam will give the same happiness as in Sri Vaikuntam. This Vimanam is called Utpalavataka Vimanam, which means no attachment to one’s body. That is one will have everlasting devotion to the Supreme Being. Below this dome resides the complete splendor of Sri Sowriraja Perumal. The Lord declares Sharanya Mukundatwam here. Sri Nammalwar dedicates the 9th Decade 10th Thiruvaimozhi all the ten hymns in praise of Thirukkannapuram.In one of those hymns says that ‘saranamagum than thaal adaindavarkellam maranamanal vaikundam kodukkum piran’. Those who had earlier surrendered to Him are granted Vaikuntam [the eternal bliss from where no rebirths for the soul]. This is called sharanya mukundatwam. Thirumangai Alwar has sung 100 songs in praise of this temple. A unique feature of this Vimanam is that this cannot be seen anywhere from the ground, because it is surrounded by walls on all four sides. But if one wants to have a glimpse then one has to climb up to the terrace and then only the Vimanam will be visible. Now on the terrace near the Vimanam, we will see the 6^th sloka:

na caitad vidmah kataran no gariyo
yad va jayema yadi va no jayeyuh
yan eva hatva na jijivisamas
te ’vasthitah pramukhe dhartarastrah

” [Uncertainity in the battle and so] whether winning or losing is better for us. When not interested to live by killing these children of Dhridhrashtra, the same persons are arrayed against us”. Bhagavat Gita has a reputation that a recitation of a chapter or half of it or a sloka in a chapter or half or even quarter of a sloka will accumulate punya. This is to emphasize that every word in this sacred text is rich and brimming with significance.

The first half of this sloka tells Arjuna’s predicament. Though Sri Krishna is of the opinion that the Pandavas will be victorious, practical knowledge tells that the result in any war is uncertain. Also he is in a quandary whether winning the enemies is good or not. While happiness may be there, after winning Arjuna will also face the bloodstains in their future. Instead of killing the teachers and the relatives, it looks better to abandon the battle and live on begging. So he is caught in a dharma sankatam. This happens when one is caught in a situation not knowing which decision would be wiser. Not killing teachers is a dharma; at the same time fighting a battle also is a Kshatriya dharma. Besides he is not sure of winning. In the latter half of the sloka, Arjuna argues with an assumption. He could assume victory will be his. But the persons, whom he does not wish to kill and wipe out a dynasty, are all prepared to fight with and kill the Pandavas. This is the same as a defeat in the battle. This can be explained by some examples. A father scolds the child not to wander about and get bad health, which will prevent the child from attending the ensuing examinations. The child never listens and so the father is angry and beats severely the child for disobeyance. The child cries and develops fever and as a result of this the child is unable to attend the examinations. The father is in a quandary similar to Arjuna’s plight. The father does not know whether he did the correct thing.

Or, in another example, one’s friend is a drunkard and any amount of advice does not correct him. Once the one and his friend take to a betting that the friend will not drink at least for twelve days. If the friend does not drink for twelve days he will be declared victorious, otherwise the one will be declared triumphant. The friend is unable to control his urge and so after four days he starts drinking. Now the one has won the bet; but can he be happy on that. His idea was to stop the friend from drinking and on that count he is defeated. This is the position akin to Arjuna’s.

Yet another example from Srimad Ramayana. Sri Rama is in Chitrakoot and Lakshmana spots Bharatha coming with troops and thinks that Bharatha has come to drive away or kill Sri Rama and so prepares to go and fight with Bharatha. Sri Rama stops him saying that Bharatha is not of that nature and he is coming to request Sri Rama to return and take over the kingdom. Continuing Sri Rama says that even if Lakshmana’s assumption was right, Sri Rama will consider having been killed by Bharatha the moment He realizes Bharatha’s such intention. That will be a breach of trust Sri Rama has on Bharatha.

Arjuna therefore feels that there was no use in fighting when the near and dear are all arrayed to fight.