In the first sloka of Gita Dhitarashra asks Sanjay
Dharmakhetre kurushetre samaveta yuyutsava
Mamakah pandavaschaiva kim kurvat sanjaya...B.g.Ch-1.Sloka-1
Dhritrashtr said, ‘‘Assembled at Kurukshetr, at Dharmkshetr, and eager for combat, O Sanjay, what did my and Pandu’s sons do?”
Dhritrashtr is the very image of ignorance; and Sanjay is the embodiment of self-restraint. Ignorance lurks at the core of the objective, the outward-looking, mind. With his mind enveloped in darkness, Dhritrashtr is blind since birth, but he sees and hears through Sanjay, the epitome of self-control. He knows that God alone is real, but as long as his infatuation for Duryodhan (the form of worldly illusion) born from ignorance lasts, his inner eye will be focused on the Kaurav.
Here The human body is a field for combat. When there is abundance of divinity in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr ( field of dharm ), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr
when it is infested with demoniacal powers.
The sphere of birth and death, of that which is evolved from a previous source or prakriti (nature) is Kurukshetr, whereas the sphere of righteous impulses which guide the Self to God, the highest spiritual reality, is Dharmkshetr.
The two forces that are fighting in this shetr are the
1. Pious or good things which are born from pandu (symbol of piety; he is the one in whom virtue is awakened) who are called Pandavs
2. The kauravs who represent the demonic qualities present in the human like moha(craving for earthly joys) etc who are born from Dhitarastra (who represents ignorance, that is why he is presented as blind from birth).
So, The body itself is a field, a ring or an arena. The forces that clash on this field are twofold, the godly and the ungodly, the divine and the devilish, the offspring of Pandu and those of Dhritrashtr, the forces that are congenial to the essentially divine character of the Self and those which offend and demean it.
That the body is the shetr that Gita is talking about becomes more clear from 13 th chapter where lord Krishna says
Idam sarairam kaunteya shetr mityavidiyate
Etad yo vetti tang prahu shetragya iti tatvida....B.G..CHAP 13...SLOKA.1
The Lord said, This body is, O son of Kunti, a battlefield (kshetr) and the men who know it (kshetragya) are called wise because they have grown spiritually dexterous by perceiving its essence. When the body is only one, how can there be two spheres- Dharmkshetr and Kurukshetr-in it? In truth, within the one body there exist two distinct, primeval instincts. There is first the pioustreasure of divinity that provides access to the Supreme Spirit who stands for the most sublime dharm. On the other hand, there are the demoniacal impulses made up of impiety which lead a man to accept the mortal world as real. When there is abundance of divinity
in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr (field of dharm), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr when it is dominated by devilish forces.
In the 5th and 6th sloka of the same chapter he goes on to descrive the constituents of the shetr
“Speaking briefly, mutable physical body is the aggregate of the five elements, ego, intellect, even the unmanifest, the ten sense organs, mind and the five objects of sense, as well as desire, malice, pleasure and pain, and intelligence and fortitude.”..B.G...CHAPTER13..SLOKA 5 & SLOKA 6
The enemy that Arjuna has to actually slay is clearly stated in the 42nd sloka of 4 th chapter
“So, O Bharat, dwell in yog and stand up to cut down this irresolution that has entered into your heart because of ignorance with the steel of knowledge.’’...B.G...CHAPTER 4...SLOKA...42
Arjun has to fight. But the enemy-irresolution-is within his own heart, not outside. When we proceed on the way of devotion and contemplation, it is but natural that feelings of doubt and passion will arise as obstacles before us. These enemies launch a fearful assault. To fight them and overcome them, through the destruction
of uncertainties by the practice of the ordained yagya, is the war that Arjun has to wage, and the result of this war for him will be absolute peace and victory after which there is no possibility of defeat.
The the battle is fought inside is also clear when Arjuna says that
‘‘I do not see that obtaining an undisputed and profitable dominion over the whole earth or, (for that matter) even lordship over the gods, can cure the grief that is wearing out my senses.’’
.......B.G...CHAPTER 2...SLOKA...8.
And krishna replies
“Rise up with determination for the war because if you diein it you will attain to heaven and, if you win, you will attain to the most exalted glory.’’.......B.G...CHAPTER 2...SLOKA...37.
By this statement lord Krishn, the accomplished teacher, tells him that even if the time allotted to his
body expires in the course of the war and he does not succeed in reaching his goal, imbued with divine riches he will gain an existence in Swar, the changeless and eternal. If, on the other hand, he succeeds in the struggle while his temporal body is still alive, he will achieve the sublimity of God and thus attain to the state of the
highest glory.
So. Its is clear from the verses that the war is to fought within the body where one has to fight the demons within to enjoy the state of brahman and then union with the paramatma........om tatsat.
Dharmakhetre kurushetre samaveta yuyutsava
Mamakah pandavaschaiva kim kurvat sanjaya...B.g.Ch-1.Sloka-1
Dhritrashtr said, ‘‘Assembled at Kurukshetr, at Dharmkshetr, and eager for combat, O Sanjay, what did my and Pandu’s sons do?”
Dhritrashtr is the very image of ignorance; and Sanjay is the embodiment of self-restraint. Ignorance lurks at the core of the objective, the outward-looking, mind. With his mind enveloped in darkness, Dhritrashtr is blind since birth, but he sees and hears through Sanjay, the epitome of self-control. He knows that God alone is real, but as long as his infatuation for Duryodhan (the form of worldly illusion) born from ignorance lasts, his inner eye will be focused on the Kaurav.
Here The human body is a field for combat. When there is abundance of divinity in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr ( field of dharm ), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr
when it is infested with demoniacal powers.
The sphere of birth and death, of that which is evolved from a previous source or prakriti (nature) is Kurukshetr, whereas the sphere of righteous impulses which guide the Self to God, the highest spiritual reality, is Dharmkshetr.
The two forces that are fighting in this shetr are the
1. Pious or good things which are born from pandu (symbol of piety; he is the one in whom virtue is awakened) who are called Pandavs
2. The kauravs who represent the demonic qualities present in the human like moha(craving for earthly joys) etc who are born from Dhitarastra (who represents ignorance, that is why he is presented as blind from birth).
So, The body itself is a field, a ring or an arena. The forces that clash on this field are twofold, the godly and the ungodly, the divine and the devilish, the offspring of Pandu and those of Dhritrashtr, the forces that are congenial to the essentially divine character of the Self and those which offend and demean it.
That the body is the shetr that Gita is talking about becomes more clear from 13 th chapter where lord Krishna says
Idam sarairam kaunteya shetr mityavidiyate
Etad yo vetti tang prahu shetragya iti tatvida....B.G..CHAP 13...SLOKA.1
The Lord said, This body is, O son of Kunti, a battlefield (kshetr) and the men who know it (kshetragya) are called wise because they have grown spiritually dexterous by perceiving its essence. When the body is only one, how can there be two spheres- Dharmkshetr and Kurukshetr-in it? In truth, within the one body there exist two distinct, primeval instincts. There is first the pioustreasure of divinity that provides access to the Supreme Spirit who stands for the most sublime dharm. On the other hand, there are the demoniacal impulses made up of impiety which lead a man to accept the mortal world as real. When there is abundance of divinity
in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr (field of dharm), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr when it is dominated by devilish forces.
In the 5th and 6th sloka of the same chapter he goes on to descrive the constituents of the shetr
“Speaking briefly, mutable physical body is the aggregate of the five elements, ego, intellect, even the unmanifest, the ten sense organs, mind and the five objects of sense, as well as desire, malice, pleasure and pain, and intelligence and fortitude.”..B.G...CHAPTER13..SLOKA 5 & SLOKA 6
The enemy that Arjuna has to actually slay is clearly stated in the 42nd sloka of 4 th chapter
“So, O Bharat, dwell in yog and stand up to cut down this irresolution that has entered into your heart because of ignorance with the steel of knowledge.’’...B.G...CHAPTER 4...SLOKA...42
Arjun has to fight. But the enemy-irresolution-is within his own heart, not outside. When we proceed on the way of devotion and contemplation, it is but natural that feelings of doubt and passion will arise as obstacles before us. These enemies launch a fearful assault. To fight them and overcome them, through the destruction
of uncertainties by the practice of the ordained yagya, is the war that Arjun has to wage, and the result of this war for him will be absolute peace and victory after which there is no possibility of defeat.
The the battle is fought inside is also clear when Arjuna says that
‘‘I do not see that obtaining an undisputed and profitable dominion over the whole earth or, (for that matter) even lordship over the gods, can cure the grief that is wearing out my senses.’’
.......B.G...CHAPTER 2...SLOKA...8.
And krishna replies
“Rise up with determination for the war because if you diein it you will attain to heaven and, if you win, you will attain to the most exalted glory.’’.......B.G...CHAPTER 2...SLOKA...37.
By this statement lord Krishn, the accomplished teacher, tells him that even if the time allotted to his
body expires in the course of the war and he does not succeed in reaching his goal, imbued with divine riches he will gain an existence in Swar, the changeless and eternal. If, on the other hand, he succeeds in the struggle while his temporal body is still alive, he will achieve the sublimity of God and thus attain to the state of the
highest glory.
So. Its is clear from the verses that the war is to fought within the body where one has to fight the demons within to enjoy the state of brahman and then union with the paramatma........om tatsat.
No comments:
Post a Comment