Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 2

na chaitvidmaha kataranno gareeyo
yadvaa jayeema yadi vaa no jayeyuhu |
yaaneva hatvaa na jijeevishaamstevasthitaaha
pramukhe dhaartaraashtraaha || 6 ||
 
To conquer them, or to be conquered by them, I do not know which is the better of the two. Dhritraashtra's kinsmen, after killing whom we certainly don't wish to live, stand here before us.
 
na cha : do not
vidmaha : know
naha : for us
katarat : of two which is
gareeyaha : better
te yat-vaa : whether
jayem : conquer them
yadi-vaa : or
naha : we
jayeyuhu: they conquer us
yaan : whom
eva : certainly
hatvaa : by killing
na jijeevishaa-maha : we don't wish to live
eva : certainly
asthitaaha : standing here
pramukhe : opposite us
dhaartaraashtraaha : Dhritaraashtra's kinsmen
 
Here we see Arjuna move away from the all-or-nothing position of "I will not fight". His hardline position morphed into a dilemma. And the dilemma was as follows: "Should I or should I not fight? I do not know which is correct." This question is the fundamental question that provoked the message of the Gita that we shall see very shortly.
 
We face questions like this all the time - this was alluded to in an earlier post. A boss may like an employee, but the business will tank if he does not fire the employee. Should he fire him or not? Questions like this arise all the time. Life is nothing but a series of actions driven by the day-to-day decisions we take.
 
Here's another important point. Arjuna's teachers and elders were revered and respected by him, they gave him pleasure, but here they were in front of him, ready to kill him. Similarly, behind every pleasure-filled person, experience or object we encounter in life lies its negative aspect. This is an interesting insight about life. It is rare to find people, experiences or objects that give us pleasure all of the time.  Here's an example that resonates with us: a new house that was a source of joy in the beginning, will cause grief when one has to pay for its maintenance.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 2

guroonahatvaa hi mahaanubhaavaan shreyo bhoktum bhaikshyamapeeha loke |
hatvaarthakaamaamstu guroonohaiva bhunjeeya bhoogaanrudhirapradigdhaan || 5 ||
 
I will not kill my revered teachers, because in this world, I would prefer to partake of food received through alms, rather than enjoy the blood-stained worldly pleasures derived from killing my teachers.
 
guroon : teacher
ahatvaa : not kill
hi : because
mahaanubhaava : respected, revered
shreyaha : better
bhoktum : partake
bhaikshyam : donated food
api : even
iha : this
loke : world
hatvaa: kill
artha-kaamaan : worldly pleasures
tu : then
eva : only
bhunjeeya : partake
bhoogaan : enjoyments
rudhira-pradigdhaan : blood-stained
 
This verse and the next few verses may seem similar to the ones we saw in the last chapter, but upon closer inspection, there are subtle differences. Arjuna's panic attack has ended, and his emotional state has become somewhat normal. The change in Arjuna's attitude is also indicated by the change in meter - we notice that this shloka, and some of the forthcoming shlokas, have a longer meter.
 
What remains, though, is a tinge of the victim attitude, indicated in the statement that he would prefer begging to hurting his teachers. But what is positive here is that Arjuna is slowly opening up to logical reasoning, since he is no longer under the influence of the panic attack, and his agitations have subsided.
 
The lesson here is that we cannot have a sane conversation with someone in a charged emotional state, their mind has to calm down somewhat in order to create room for logic.
 
In this shloka, Arjuna is still holding on to the position that he will definitely not kill his kinsmen. But as his emotional state calms down, we shall see him begin to question that position.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 2

Arjuna uvaacha
katham bheeshmamaham sankhye dronam cha madhusoodana |
ishubhihi prati yotsyami poojaarhaavarisoodana || 4 ||
 
How can I, O Madhusoodana, fight against Bheeshma and Drona with arrows? Both of them are worthy of worship, O Arisoodhana!
 
katham : how
bheeshmam : Bheeshma
aham : I
sankhye : in battle
dronam : Drona
cha : and
madhusoodana : O Madhusoodana
ishubhihi : with arrows
prati : with
yotsyami : fight
poojaahow : worthy of worship
ari-soodana : O Arisoodana
 
Shri Krishna's words jolted Arjuna out of his panic attack and brought him to a state where he was ready to have a conversation. Since Arjuna's arguments from the previous chapter remained unanswered, hence he continued to insist on relinquishing the war.
 
Arjuna uses the words "slayer of the demon Madhu" and "slayer of foes" to address Shri Krishna, hinting that it is easy to slay evil individuals but difficult to slay one's kinsmen. The fundamental problem still remained unsolved, which is that Arjuna was still holding on to the familial and teacher-student relationships in the context of a battlefield. But on the Kaurava side, Bheeshma and Drona viewed Arjuna as an enemy and not as a student or a family member. They were not under any delusion like Arjuna was.
 
Can we relate this to an example from our lives? Think of a father and mother who have brought up their children, and like any responsible parents, guided them as to what was right and what was wrong. When the children grow into adults, they now possess the ability to think for themselves, and on occasion will consult their parents on decisions that they need help with.
 
But, similar to Arjuna's attachment to his elders, if the parents still hold on to the relationship that existed when their children were young, the children would not consider that to be appropriate behaviour and then this could impact the relationship with their parents.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 2

klaibyam maa sma gamah paartha naitattvayyupapadyate |
kshudram hridayadaurbalyam tyaktvotishtha parantapa || 3 ||


Don't yield to this effeminate behaviour, O Paartha, it is not worthy of you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O scorcher of foes!

klaibyam : effeminate
maa sma gamah : do not yield
paartha : O son of Prithaa
etat: this
tvavi : in you
na : not
upapadyate : not worthy
kshudram : petty
hridaya: heart
daurbalyam : weakness
tyaktva : cast off
uttishtha : arise
paran-tapa : O scorcher of foes
 
Shri Krishna, an expert motivational speaker, used a "carrot and stick" approach towards Arjuna here. Let's first look at the stick or negative aspect, followed by the carrot or positive aspect.
 
One of the worst things you can call a warrior is effeminate. Even young boys playing sports will get upset when someone says 'Hey! You throw the ball like a girl!". So imagine how Arjuna felt when Shri Krishna called him effeminate. Moreover, using the adjective weak-hearted to describe Arjuna was another jolt to the usually courageous and lion-hearted warrior.
 
But Shri Krishna also appealed to Arjuna's better qualities. By addressing him as "Paartha", he reminded Arjuna of his esteemed and respected mother Prithaa (Kunti), and how she would feel if Arjuna shirked away from war. Shri Krishna also reminded Arjuna of his battle prowess, that he was called a "scorcher of foes".
 
The final point in this shloka is the powerful Sanskrit word "utthishta", meaning arise, which evokes Swami Vivekananda's famous statement "Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached!'. Arjuna is instructed not just to arise physically, but also to lift his mind from the depths of delusion to a higher plane of intelligence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 2

Shri Bhagavaan uvaacha
kutastvaa kashmalamidam vishame samupasthitam |
anaaryajusthamasvargyamakeertikaramarjuna || 2 ||
 
Shri Bhagavaan said:
From where has this weakness arisen, at this inconvenient time? It is not noble, nor will it get you to heaven, not will it earn you valour, O Arjuna.
 
kutaha : from where
tvaa : you
kashmalam : weakness, impurity
idam : this
vishame : inconvenient time
samupasthitam: arisen
anaarya : non-noble
justham : accept
asvargyam : non-heavenly
akeertikaram : non-valourous
arjuna : Arjuna
 
So finally we get to hear Shri Krishna speak in the Gita. But what he said was not what Arjuna expected at all.
 
Let's look at the kind of words Shri Krishna used.  They were not words of kindness. They were not words of sympathy or support. They were tough, provocative words meant to shake Arjuna out of his deluded state of mind. They were intended to inform Arjuna that his assessment of this situation, and his plan of exiting from the situation, were totally incorrect and invalid.
 
Moreover, rule number one in communication skills training is "tailor the message to the audience". We see that here. Arjuna is a tough warrior, and tough talk is the only language he understands. An analogy would be a coach providing directions to a player in the middle of a football game. He would use tough talk, not sympathetic talk.
 
Shri Krishna also highlights another point here, that the timing of Arjuna's fall into sorrow is not appropriate. If he did want to express any emotion towards his kinsmen, he had a lot of time to do so prior to the battle. Once in battle, this behaviour was unwarranted.
 
Footnotes
1. In the rest of the Gita, Shri Krishna is addressed as "Bhagavaan". Bhagavaan means the one who is endowed with "bhagas" or divine attributes: wealth, virtue, glory, might, knowledge and dispassion.
2. The second verse is one long word composed of several shorter words. In Sanskrit, words are joined together using a system of rules called "sandhi". It is not necessary to learn the sandhi rules since most commentaries dissect long words into their components. We are fortunate to leverage their efforts here.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 2

Sanjaya uvaacha
tam tathaa kripayaavishtamashrupoornaakulekshanam |
vishidantamidam vaakyamuvaacha madhusoodanaha || 1 ||
 
To him who was possessed with grief and pity, and having tear-filled, confused eyes, Madhusoodana spoke these words.
 
tam : Towards him(Arjuna)
tathaa : that
kripayaa : pity
aavishtam : possessed
ashru-poorna : tear-filled
aakula : confused
ikshanam : eyes
vishidantam : grief-stricken
vaakyam : words
uvaacha : spoke
madhusoodanaha : Madhusoodana
 
Sanjaya opens this chapter painting a vivid portrait of Arjuna's state: the world's mightiest warrior struck by grief and actually crying. The poetic phrase "confused eyes" probably alludes to Arjuna not being able to see right from wrong i.e. his viveka was suppressed.
 
Moreover, this state has affected Arjuna's entire personality - physically because he had tears, emotionally because he was struck with grief and pity, and intellectually because he was confused about what to do and what not to do.
 
Shri Krishna is referred again here as Madhusoodana. This name can be interpreted a couple of ways. In the Puraanas, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Hayagriva to kill the demon Madhu, hence he is known as Madhusoodana. This means that Sanjaya, through his divine vision, knew that Shri Krishna was connected to Lord Vishnu. Another interpretation of the name Madhusoodana is one who slays honey. Honey is a metaphor for the ego, which can be extremely sweet for someone who does not know all the nefarious things that it is capable of.

Introduction to Chapter 2

We are about to begin our journey into the second chapter of the Gita. Let us take this opportunity to orient ourselves, so that we can get the most out of our journey.
 
The second chapter is an extremely important chapter, perhaps the most important chapter of the Gita. It is long and contains most of the oft-quotes verses of the Gita. It also introduces most of the key themes of the Gita at a high level. The rest of the Gita picks up these themes and elaborates on them. Therefore there is a variety of topics that we shall get to see in the second chapter.
 
Looking back at the first chapter, we can see that it covered topics that any person could easily identify with. The second chapter will be different in this respect. It will tackle a mix of the practical as well as the spiritual, because the Gita treats both aspects as integral to living life correctly.
 
The second chapter will also introduce abstract concepts that may initially seem unfamiliar and hard to understand. The attitude here should be like the person who is visiting a prominent art gallery for the first time. You will see landscapes as well as modern art. The first time you come across modern art you may not understand it, but slowly through exposure and repetition, you begin to appreciate its nuances.
 
We will begin chapter 2 where chapter 1 left us, in the battlefield, where Arjuna had discarded his weapons.

Summary Of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1

The message of the first chapter of the Gita is this: The root cause of all sorrow and suffering in this world is our inability to deal with conflict. The sooner we recognize this universal truth, the sooner we can progress in our personal, professional, and ultimately, spiritual journeys. That is why the Gita is not taught to Arjuna in a remote ashram somewhere in the Himalayas amidst chirping birds and rolling meadows. It is taught in the middle of a gruesome battle with swords clanging, trumpets roaring and soldiers screaming.

We experience conflict at three levels - physical, mental and spiritual. At the physical level, conflict is everywhere. Atoms collide against atoms. Weeds take over carefully manicured flowers. Packs of wolves fight for control of territory. And we humans have disagreements with children, siblings, spouses, bosses, co-workers, states and countries. To deal with conflict, we need to learn how to act in this world, including, what to say in each of these situations.

How we conduct ourselves in physical conflict is largely dependent on the state of our minds. Our minds are also always in conflict, primarily between our rational side and our ego. Human beings have evolved to a point where they have the power to control and transcend the primitive urges and impulses that control most animals. These primal urges constitute the ego, the part of our mind that oversimplifies and exaggerates situations, and shuts off the rational part of our mind that can think logically and clearly.

Arjuna’s rational mind was clear – he was a warrior, and he entered the battlefield to fight a war against the enemy for a just cause. But, upon seeing his family on the other side, his ego – the primitive side of his mind – rose up and took control. It made him say, how can I ever kill my family? How can I ever kill my teacher? The inability to reconcile this conflict in his mind led to his mental breakdown in the middle of the battlefield. He literally did not know which side of the battle he was on, and being unable to decide, he wanted to quit. His mind immediately began to rationalize his decision to quit, as seen in the speech he gave to Shri Krishna about how unjust the war was.

So we have seen that conflict at the physical level, and at the mental level, is pervasive. It is an integral part of life. We cannot escape it. There's nothing new here. What's unique about the Gita is its perspective on how we should deal these two levels of conflict. The clue lies in verses 21 and 22, where Shri Krishna positions Arjuna literally in the middle of the two armies, a point from which Arjuna can see his dearest teachers and relatives stationed on the other side of the battlefield, which immediately triggers another conflict - not physical, not mental, but one of identity.

Arjuna now thinks: Who am I? Am I the warrior fighting for a just cause? Or am I the beloved student of my teacher? If I am a warrior, I should be in the Pandava army. If I am a beloved student, I should be in the Kaurava army. But I am both. So what should I do? Since I don't know how to reconcile my identity, let me quit - it is the easiest option I have.

In his speech to Shri Krishna, Arjuna used logic, God and religion to justify his quitting the battle. This is what many of us to - we run away from our conflicts, and use logic, God, religion, and a whole host of rationalizations to justify our quitting to ourselves, and to others. But at the root of it lies our identity crisis. We don't know who we truly are, and therefore, don't know which path to pursue.

This crisis of identity is the third type of conflict, the spiritual conflict. Unless we know who we are, what God (or a higher power) is, and what our relationship to that God is, we will never be able to completely resolve all of our physical and mental conflicts. This is the central theme of the first chapter.

The second chapter contains Shri Krishna's response to Arjuna's conflicts, and a summary of the entire Gita, which addresses all three conflicts. It explains in detail as to how we can deal with all three of them, so that we can put an end to sorrow and anxiety at their root.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 1

Sanjaya uvaacha
evamuktaarjunaha samkhye rathopastha upaavishat |
visrujya sasharam chaapam shokasamvignamaanasaha || 47 ||
 
Having said these words in the battlefield, Arjun sat in the center of his chariot, casting off his weapons, his mind disturbed with sorrow.
 
evam : thus
uktva : having said
arjunaha : Arjun
samkhya : on the battlefield
rath : chariot
upasthaha : centre
upaavishat : sat
visrujya : cast out
sasharam : with arrows
chaapam : and bow
shoka : sorrow
samvignam : disturbed
maanasaha : mind
 
Arjuna ended his rant in this verse, which is the final verse in Chapter 1. His body language reflects his state of mind as he threw away his weapons and sat down on his chariot, in the midst of the battlefield. Sanjay the narrator took over here, and possibly gave a glimmer of hope to Dhritraashtra, who was hoping that this action of Arjuna could end the war even before it began.
 
Let us reflect upon the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, in preparation for the second chapter. Arjuna, ready for war, under the influence of his ego and mind, became weak when Shri Krishna moved the chariot in between the Paandava and Kaurava armies.
 
Now, we may never face a war in our lifetime, but we will undoubtedly face conflicts in life where we lose our mental equipoise, and need guidance on what the right course of action is. Death of a loved one, hard economic conditions, issues with family members or friends, a bad boss, a stressful job - life is full of conflict-ridden situations.
 
This chapter is called "Arjuna Vishaada Yoga", or the Yoga of Arjuna's dejection. We will delve deeper into the meaning of the word Yoga later, but for now, let's assume that it means technique or method that shows how one should conduct oneself in a life situation.
 
So why is Arjuna's dejection called a technique or a method? Let's take an example. Assume you own a car, and ever since you owned the car for about 10 years or so. You have never had an accident, and you never had the need to get a car insurance policy. But one fine day, you drive into your neighbour's car, and end up owing him a gigantic sum of money. From that day onwards, you will never ever drive a car without insurance. So, what this means is that you had to pass through an extremely difficult situation in order to gain the knowledge that insurance is important.
 
Similarly, Arjuna had to pass through an extremely difficult life situation which jolted him so much that it made him realize that he was missing something essential. He did not know how to conduct himself in such a difficult situation. Fortunately for him, Shri Krishna was right there to provide him that instruction. But without passing through that tough life situation, he never would have realized the need for such an instruction. Therefore, just like any other chapter in the Gita, this chapter is also a Yoga, or a method, of how to conduct one's life correctly.
 
Each chapter of the Gita concludes with a sentence that acts as a marker signifying the end of the chapter. These traditions were followed as a means to make memorization easier, among other things. Every end-of-chapter market contains the phrase "Shri-Krishna-Arjuna-Samvade" which means "a dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna".
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade arjunavishaadayogo naama prathamodhyaayaha || 1 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 46, Chapter 1

yadi maamaprateekaaramashastram shasktrapaanayaha |
dhaartaraashtraa rane hanyustanme kshemataram bhavet || 46 ||
 
Even if I, unarmed and non-resistant, am killed in war by the sons of Dhritraasthra, who are armed with weapons, this will be beneficial for me.
 
yadi : even if
maama : I
aprateekaaram : non-resistant
ashastram : unarmed
shastra : weapons
paaneyaha : in hand
dhaartaraashtraa : sons of Dhritaraashtra
rane : in war
hanyuh : kill
tat : that
me : for me
kshemataram : beneficial
bhavet : will be
 
This is the final statement uttered by Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita. It shows the extent of delusion in Arjuna's mind, as he morphed from a mighty warrior into a pathetic, weak, helpless individual. Arjuna was desperately looking to escape the difficult situation he found himself in, and so his mind came up with all kinds of arguments to justify this escape, including making the escape "beneficial".
 
Let us revisit our friend Mr. X. He has been laid off due to the recession, and has been out of work for 3 months. He has not interviewed in over 2 weeks now. As time goes by, his confidence begins to weaken. If his mind cannot maintain equanimity, it will lead him down a path similar to Arjuna's fall. He begins to think that there's no point in applying for more jobs since there aren't any, and even if he gets an interview call, he has to compete with more qualified candidates. Therefore, there's no point even trying. In fact, it's better to stay at home and do nothing because there's no point applying for a job in a bad economy. Just look at how his mind has generated perverse logic to preserve the ego.
 
There's another point to note here : Shri Krishna kept quiet throughout Arjuna's rant. He wanted Arjuna to expel every perverse argument out of his system, in preparation for the teaching of the Gita.