# 13: Bhagavad Gita Class by Swami Tadatmananda - Ch.2 Verses 29-36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8PJCvJ1Qk

[01:02] Good.
[01:04] Welcome to our weekly Bhagavad Gita class.
[01:07] We'll continue today in chapter two.
[01:09] We'll begin as always with some recitation.
[01:12] As I'm reciting, please glance at the meanings.
[01:15] So, the meaning is in your mind when you repeat after me.
[01:20] Verse 26.
[05:40] We'll start stop there.
[05:42] Nice to get these verses in our ear a little bit.
[05:45] And let's return to where we left off.
[05:49] We've concluded our prior verse with um our prior class with verse 28.
[05:56] And just to set the context from the from verse 11 onwards in chapter two, Shri Krishna begins his upadesha, his spiritual teaching to Arjuna.
[06:10] And he begins by saying, Arjuna, you there is no reason for you to grieve.
[06:16] And then he goes on to give a number of reasons for that Arjuna has no need to grieve.
[06:22] The first reason, of course, is that while many bodies will fall dead on the battlefield, nothing will happen to Atma.
[06:31] The true self of each person will be utterly unaffected by the bloodshed on the battlefield.
[06:41] Then we saw in the last class, Shri Krishna shifted to a second reason for Arjuna not to grieve.
[06:48] And that first reason was with regard to the Atma, Satchidananda, your true self.
[06:59] Second reason was from the standpoint of the Sukshma Sharira, the subtle body, that which enlivens the physical body.
[07:09] And as we discussed in some detail, should not be confused in any way at all with Atma.
[07:16] Atma and Sukshma Sharira are two entirely different realities.
[07:22] So, that Sukshma Sharira at the time of death detaches itself from the physical body, travels on driven by the forces of karma and takes a new body.
[07:32] That's what this last verse said, verse 28.
[07:34] Avyaktadini Bhutani, all those Sukshma Shariras are.
[07:42] At first unmanifest, Vyaktamadyani, and then they acquire physical bodies and become Vyakta, manifest, and Avyakta Nidhanani Eva.
[07:59] Nidhanani, finally in the end, all of those Sukshma Shariras again become Avyakta, unmanifest, when the bodies die and the Sukshma Shariras travel on.
[08:11] So, this is the second of actually three reasons Shri Krishna's got he gives Arjuna that he shouldn't grieve.
[08:21] We have a little bit more on the Sukshma Sharira, and then we'll see the third reason in just a couple more verses.
[08:29] Okay, with that introduction, we'll pick up the thread with this verse with the longer meter.
[09:18] Ashcharyavat is something really amazing, amazing because of its rarity, and that's the context here.
[09:30] The rarity of this wisdom being imparted by Shri Krishna to Arjuna.
[09:34] Arjuna didn't understand properly that nothing would happen to Atma when the bodies fall on the battlefield.
[09:47] Arjuna did not understand that the Sukshma Sharira of each person would travel on at the time of death.
[09:55] This is not always well understood.
[09:59] You may understand very well, but the majority of people have not had the opportunity that you and I have had to explore these teachings very thoroughly.
[10:15] So, for that reason, these teachings and this wisdom is considered rare.
[10:17] Here the word.
[10:21] Ashcharyavat, which means better translation is amazing.
[10:27] But amazing in the context of it being exceedingly rare.
[10:32] And that's what Shri Krishna comments on.
[10:34] He says, "Ashcharyavat, it is amazing."
[10:38] It is exceedingly rare.
[10:42] What is it?
[10:42] What is exceedingly rare?
[10:45] That kashchit, that someone pashyati should see enam, this one.
[10:55] This one could refer to atma, could also refer to sukshma sharira.
[11:00] And here there's no reason, no need to differentiate.
[11:05] The enam, this atma or this sukshma sharira, recognizing which there's no reason to grieve at the time of death.
[11:15] And pashyati, kashchit pashyati, someone sees, but sees not in a physical sense.
[11:22] But in a more metaphorical sense.
[11:25] See in the sense of to know, like when we say in English, "Do you see what I mean?"
[11:31] You can't see a meaning.
[11:34] It's a very common metaphorical usage, I think in all languages, including Sanskrit here.
[11:38] So, kashchit pashyati, it's amazing that someone should see this truth, that someone should recognize this fact.
[11:46] And who were those that discovered this truth in the first place?
[11:55] The ancient rishis.
[11:57] In fact, very appropriately, those ancient rishis are called mantra drashtarah, literally the seers of the mantras.
[12:07] You've probably read some place, the ancient seers.
[12:12] Seers in the sense that they could see what others could not see, they could discover what others could not discover.
[12:20] So, this first line refers to the.
[12:23] Ancient rishis.
[12:23] How amazing it is and how rare it is that those rishis that made this discovery, those rishis themselves were exceedingly rare.
[12:36] Not only were the rishis rare, but uh, in the second line, ashcharyavat, it is amazing.
[12:41] It is exceedingly rare.
[12:45] What is exceedingly rare?
[12:48] At the end of the second line, cha, and anyaha.
[12:53] It's exceedingly rare that others, tathaiva, in the same manner, vadati, should speak.
[13:01] First line, pashyati, should see, should discover.
[13:07] Second line, vadati, speak.
[13:07] So, it's exceedingly rare that others should speak in the sense of should teach what the ancient rishis discovered.
[13:18] First line refers to the ancient rishis.
[13:23] Second line refers to all of our gurus, all of our teachers, the lineage of teachers.
[13:31] So, first line, how amazing it is that these ancient rishis discovered this truth.
[13:36] Second line, how amazing it is that our that generation after generation of gurus, teachers, continue to vadati, continue to teach the same wisdom.
[13:51] Third line, ashcharyavat, third time, amazing it is, how rare it is that, in the middle of the line, anyaha, others, shrinoti, should hear, backing up enam.
[14:06] You see, breaking up the words, ashcharyavat, cha, enam.
[14:13] Enam like in the first line, this one.
[14:16] This atma or this sukshma sharira, this truth.
[14:21] So, the third line says, "How amazing it
[14:24] Is, how rare it is that others, anyaha shrinoti, should hear this teaching and should understand this teaching.
[14:33] The third line, of course, is referring to students.
[14:36] First line, rishis.
[14:36] Second line, gurus.
[14:40] Third line, students.
[14:40] Who shrinoti, who hear.
[14:45] Then the fourth line is the in a at they call it the kicker.
[14:50] What is the kicker?
[14:50] The kicker means something surprising.
[14:54] Uh, fourth line, shrutva, breaking the words apart, shrutva, api enam.
[15:01] And shrutva, uh, we have to get the last line.
[15:06] Let the well, shrutva api enam, and having api, even shrutva, having heard enam, having heard this, so there are others, others who, uh, last word, kashchit, and.
[15:24] There is still someone, some others, other some students will say.
[15:30] Kashchit, some student, shrutva api enam, having heard this teaching taught from by a guru, na veda, but doesn't understand.
[15:45] But very nice, the succession.
[15:49] Amazing that rishis that the rishis discovered it.
[15:52] Second line, amazing, rare it is that the gurus teach this.
[15:57] Third line, rare it is that a student has an opportunity to hear it.
[16:03] Fourth line, which is the little joke, it's not amazing.
[16:08] It's not a notice the word ashcharyavat is not present in the fourth line because it's not amazing at all that some students hear this teaching and na veda, they don't understand, they don't get it.
[16:23] And so, the not really a joke.
[16:27] But it's amazing that the rishis taught it, that the rishis discovered it.
[16:32] Amazing that the gurus teach it.
[16:35] Amazing that that we can learn these teachings, but it's not amazing.
[16:40] It's not surprising at all that so many people hear this teaching and they don't get it.
[16:48] Why is it not amazing?
[16:52] This is a big and important topic we'll just touch upon very, uh, very briefly here.
[16:59] These teachings are able to impart knowledge to you only if you are ready to receive this knowledge, only if you are a prepared student.
[17:10] This prepared student is an important term.
[17:14] The Sanskrit term you should know is adhikari.
[17:21] Adhikari in this context means a prepared student.
[17:24] We're not speaking Hindi now, so we're not talking about somebody.
[17:29] Who's in charge as it would mean in Hindi.
[17:32] In this context as a Sanskrit word here, adhikari means qualified student or prepared student.
[17:42] And if you are not an adhikari, if you're not a prepared student, excuse me, you could hear this taught by the best teacher available, you won't get it if you are not adequately prepared.
[17:57] An example I've given in many classes, I'll give it one more time.
[18:01] Um, when I was, uh, in college, I I had to study calculus, in fact.
[18:08] A lot of I think four semesters of calculus.
[18:12] And so, based on that, I made up a story about a student in the, uh, calculus class, first first year calculus class.
[18:21] And the student attends every class, takes copious notes, does all of this, comes to the end of the semester, the student student writes the exam and gets.
[18:32] Zero points on the exam.
[18:37] How is that possible?
[18:38] Well, it's certainly possible because this student never studied algebra, which is a prerequisite, never studied geometry and trigonometry, which are prerequisites.
[18:50] This student was still struggling with long division.
[18:56] Not a prepared student.
[18:56] Therefore, even though he attended the classes, nothing went in.
[19:02] So, for that reason, the last line refers to the one who lacks the state of being an adhikari, a qualified student.
[19:15] And it's not surprising at all.
[19:15] There are so many and they don't get it.
[19:17] Okay, continuing.
[19:24] Dehi nityam avadhyo'yam.
[19:31] Dehe sarvasya bharata.
[19:38] Tasmat sarvani bhutani.
[19:47] Natvam shochitum arhasi.
[19:55] This verse really concludes a discussion that began with verse 11.
[20:01] Beginning with verse 11, Shri Krishna began teaching Arjuna that he didn't need to grieve because nothing happens to Atma at the time of death and a sukshma sharira travels on at the time of death.
[20:16] Therefore, with regard to dehi, remember I gave that expression?
[20:19] Deha is body.
[20:24] Dehi is one who possesses a body or one who is dwelling within the body.
[20:33] As the indweller.
[20:35] Of the body, dehi can refer to Atma.
[20:39] Dehi can also refer to sukshma sharira.
[20:43] In this context, it doesn't make any difference because from both standpoints, Arjuna is told there's no reason to grieve.
[20:53] So, actually the better interpretation here is dehi referring to Atma.
[21:01] Perhaps it could mean either Atma or sukshma sharira, but I think uh Atma is the better meaning here because of the adjectives that follow.
[21:09] So, that dehi, that indwelling true self, sachchidananda Atma, that indwelling self is nityam, eternal, unborn, uncreated, and unchanging.
[21:29] Sukshma sharira changes.
[21:32] The dehi, the nityam, eternal in the sense of.
[21:35] Unchanging, definitely refers to Atma, not sukshma sharira.
[21:41] So, that indwelling self is nityam, eternal, avadyaha, indestructible, can not be killed.
[21:49] Ayam, this one.
[21:53] This one that dehe, in the body, sarvasya, of all people, of all beings, the one I am I am dehi, this indwelling self who dwells dehe in the bodies, sarvasya, of all people, is nityam, eternal, and avadyaha, indestructible, Bharata, oh Arjuna, oh descendant of King Bharat, tasmat, therefore, and here's the conclusion.
[22:25] Winding things up at the discussion that began with verse 11, tasmat, therefore, Arjuna, uh in the second in the final line.
[22:36] Twam, you na arhasi, you have no reason shochitum to grieve.
[22:46] There is no reason for you to grieve.
[22:49] You should not grieve.
[22:53] Sarvani bhutani, in the third line, for all beings, for all these warriors who are about to fall on the battlefield.
[23:01] Remember the context.
[23:04] This is the morning of the first of the 18 days of battle.
[23:07] No one has died yet, but shortly after this dialogue is over, thousands and tens of thousands or more will die in that battlefield.
[23:21] So, uh uh Shri Krishna concludes this subject matter.
[23:23] Therefore, Arjuna, there is no reason for you to mourn.
[23:29] Now, we're going to see a another shift of context.
[23:33] We said that Shri Krishna said back in verse 11,
[23:38] There's no reason for you to mourn.
[23:41] Then he gave the first reason because Atma, nothing happens to Atma at the time of death.
[23:48] And with second reason for the sukshma sharira, sharira, sukshma sharira travels at the time of death.
[23:54] So, for those two reasons, there's no reason to mourn.
[23:56] And now comes a third reason.
[24:02] And third and last of the uh reasons given in this uh in the second chapter.
[24:08] Svadharman api cha vekshya svadharman api cha vekshya na vikampitum arhasi na vikampitum arhasi dharmyad yuddhat shreyo nyatah dharmyad yuddhat shreyo nyatah kshatriyasya na vidyate kshatriyasya na vidyate.
[24:39] Svadharman api cha api cha, and also.
[24:47] Avekshya, having in view, avekshya, keeping in view, with respect to svadharman, your svadharma, your duties, your own duties.
[25:03] Avekshya, with regard to your own duties, api cha, also with regard to your own duties, Arjuna, na vikampitum arhasi.
[25:13] Uh na arhasi, you should not vikampitum, you shouldn't waver.
[25:17] You shouldn't vacillate.
[25:20] You shouldn't be indecisive about fighting this war.
[25:25] The fact is Arjuna has to fight this war.
[25:30] So, with first reason that Arjuna shouldn't grieve was with regard to Atma.
[25:37] Second reason was with with regard to sukshma.
[25:40] sharira. Third reason now is with regard
[25:43] to svadharma, Arjuna's duties. Why?
[25:49] Dharmat hi, you have to break the words
[25:52] apart. Oh, what a mess. Dharmat hi
[25:56] yuddhat
[25:57] shreyas
[25:59] anyatah, breaking the words apart.
[26:03] Dharmat hi yuddhat shreyas
[26:07] anyatah. So, the hi means because.
[26:11] So, fir- first half, Shri Krishna says
[26:14] you shouldn't have any doubts with
[26:16] regard to your svadharma.
[26:18] Hi, in the third line, because
[26:22] annyat shreyas,
[26:25] anything better
[26:27] yuddhat than a war, but not any war,
[26:32] dharmat, dharmyat,
[26:35] yuddhat. Dharmya means a dharmic war,
[26:41] dharmyat yuddhat, anything better than a
[26:45] righteous war.
[26:48] Remember we, at the very beginning of
[26:50] our study,
[26:51] if we were careful to define a righteous
[26:56] war, a dharma yuddha, and we gave a very
[27:00] specific reason, a very specific
[27:04] definition. Definition was a dharma
[27:07] yuddha is a war in which not fighting
[27:11] the war has worse consequences than
[27:15] fighting the war.
[27:17] This Mahabharata war was a dharma
[27:20] yuddha. For Arjuna not to fight the war,
[27:24] which would have left led to the loss of
[27:27] the the Pandavas, would definitely have
[27:30] lost that war if Arjuna did not fight.
[27:33] So,
[27:34] if Arjuna failed to fight, the
[27:37] consequences would have been worse. So,
[27:42] uh but Shri Krishna now says
[27:44] that with regard to your own duties,
[27:47] you should also fight the war. That's
[27:50] the third reason for not not vacillating
[27:55] about fighting the war. Why? Because
[27:58] anya shreyaha, anything better than
[28:02] dharmyad
[28:04] yuddhat, anything better than a
[28:05] righteous war war, na vidyate, doesn't
[28:08] exist. There is nothing better than a
[28:11] righteous war
[28:13] kshatriyasya. This is the important
[28:16] word. For a kshatriya. Please don't
[28:19] leave that word out cuz if you do, then
[28:22] you say there's nothing better than a
[28:23] righteous war. War is still war,
[28:26] righteous or unrighteous. War is
[28:29] horrible.
[28:31] So, here the keyword is kshatriyasya.
[28:35] For a kshatriya, from Arjuna's personal
[28:40] standpoint, as a kshatriya, as a member
[28:43] of the warrior cast, from that very
[28:46] specific
[28:48] perspective, Shri Krishna says there's
[28:51] nothing better than a righteous war.
[28:55] Why? And he's going to explain why
[28:59] in the coming
[29:02] one
[29:03] in the coming verses.
[29:05] Really, in the next verse. Yeah, next
[29:07] verse will right away will give. So, why
[29:10] is it that Shri Krishna can say to
[29:12] Arjuna, there's nothing better for you
[29:15] as a kshatriya, there's nothing better
[29:17] than a righteous war? Why?
[29:20] Yadrcchaya
[29:22] chopapannam
[29:24] yadrcchaya
[29:25] chopapannam
[29:27] svargadvaram
[29:29] apavrtam
[29:31] svargadvaram
[29:33] apavrtam
[29:35] sukhina kshatriyah partha sukhina
[29:40] kshatriyah
[29:41] partha labhante yuddham idrsham labhante
[29:48] yuddham idrsham.
[29:53] Yadrcchaya
[29:55] ca upapannam. Separate those words. Ca,
[29:59] and
[30:01] upapannam. This is referring to the war,
[30:04] the battle.
[30:05] This war, which is upapannam,
[30:08] which is gained, which is
[30:12] that which you possess is upapannam. And
[30:15] Arjuna possesses this war, yadrcchaya,
[30:21] by chance.
[30:25] That
[30:26] that which is
[30:29] upapannam,
[30:30] acquired, yadrcchaya,
[30:33] due to good fortune would be a good
[30:36] translation here. Yeah, a battle gained
[30:38] by good fortune. That's a nice
[30:39] translation.
[30:41] This battle, which is gained by your
[30:44] good fortune, is svargadvaram
[30:48] apavrtam.
[30:49] It is a dvaram, a doorway to svarga, to
[30:54] heaven, which is apavrtam,
[30:57] which is wide open. It is a wide open
[31:01] gate or doorway to heaven.
[31:05] Now, how can a battle
[31:08] a war be a gateway to heaven? Well,
[31:12] first of all, it's not a gateway to
[31:14] heaven for everyone, but it is
[31:17] for a kshatriya
[31:20] who is fulfilling his dharma.
[31:24] And here's actually the commentator
[31:26] makes a very interesting observation
[31:28] here.
[31:29] He says, "If you do a lot of rituals in
[31:33] your lifetime,
[31:35] you will accumulate a huge amount of
[31:38] punya, good karmas, which will determine
[31:41] that you will definitely go to heaven.
[31:43] If you do so many rituals, you can
[31:46] accumulate enough good karma that it is
[31:49] virtually guaranteed that you'll go to
[31:52] to heaven. But,
[31:54] you have to wait until you die
[31:58] to go to heaven." This is the
[32:00] commentator's observation, and he says,
[32:03] "For a kshatriya, dying in a battle is
[32:06] better than doing all these rituals.
[32:09] Why? By fighting the war, you're
[32:12] accumulating good karma. Just like by
[32:14] doing the rituals, this other fellow was
[32:17] accumulating good karmas. For the
[32:20] kshatriya,
[32:21] by fighting the war, by doing svadharma,
[32:25] by fulfilling your duties, you are
[32:27] accumulating good karmas, and then you
[32:30] don't have to wait because you're
[32:32] probably going to die right there and
[32:35] then on the battlefield." This is the
[32:37] commentator's
[32:39] perspective.
[32:40] So, in that sense,
[32:42] uh this battle gained by by your good
[32:46] fortune is an open gate to heaven. It's
[32:50] better than a lifetime of rituals.
[32:53] And he continues uh Shri Krishna
[32:55] continues
[32:56] uh Partha, oh son of Kunti, uh
[33:01] Pritha is one of the names for Kunti,
[33:03] son of Kunti, Arjuna. Oh Arjuna,
[33:07] kshatriyah,
[33:09] warriors, members of the kshatriya
[33:12] uh cast, are sukhinah, are happy.
[33:17] They are happy. Why? Labhante,
[33:20] because having gained
[33:23] those kshatriyas are happy because
[33:25] labhante, they gain yuddham, a battle,
[33:30] idrsham, of this kind. Of this kind
[33:34] means a dharma
[33:36] Excuse me, a dharma yuddha, a righteous
[33:39] war. A war in which, by fighting, those
[33:43] kshatriyas can
[33:45] fulfill their duties,
[33:48] but and by fulfilling their duties, they
[33:51] accumulate good karma, and if they
[33:54] should happen to die on the battlefield,
[33:56] their good karmas will take them to
[33:59] heaven.
[34:01] Now,
[34:02] with some interesting verses.
[34:05] Athac cet tvam imam dharmyam,
[34:08] athac cet tvam imam dharmyam,
[34:11] sangramam
[34:13] na karishyasi,
[34:15] sangramam
[34:17] na karishyasi,
[34:19] tatha svadharmam kirtim ca, tatha
[34:24] svadharmam kirtim ca, hitva papam
[34:29] avapsyasi,
[34:30] hitva papam avapsyasi.
[34:34] The next several verses, Shri Krishna
[34:37] uses an interesting tactic to con- to
[34:41] convince Arjuna to fight. The tactic is
[34:44] to consider the consequences
[34:47] if he doesn't fight. The consequences of
[34:51] failing to fulfill his svadharma, his
[34:55] duties as a warrior. And that's what he
[34:58] says. Athac cet, cet, if, atha, now. So,
[35:03] this now is setting up this in the I
[35:06] think three, four verses about if you
[35:08] don't fight. Cet, if
[35:11] tvam, you,
[35:14] tvam, you in the middle of the first
[35:16] line, you, Arjuna, second line, na
[35:19] karishyasi,
[35:20] if you do not do, if you do not engage
[35:24] yourself, engage yourself in what? Imam,
[35:29] this dharmyam,
[35:31] righteous, sangramam,
[35:35] battle.
[35:36] In this righteous battle, na karishyasi,
[35:41] if you do not engage yourself in this
[35:44] battle, Arjuna, tatha,
[35:47] in the third line, then what will be the
[35:50] consequences?
[35:51] Svadharma kirtim ca hitva,
[35:55] hitva, giving up, forfeiting, forfeiting
[36:00] what? Svadharma, the fulfillment of your
[36:03] own duties, kirtim ca, and fame, the
[36:08] fame of being a glorious
[36:11] uh warrior on the battlefield, both of
[36:14] these, hitva, abandoning them both,
[36:18] papam, sin, avapsyasi,
[36:22] you will gain.
[36:25] Papam avapsyasi, Arjuna, you will gain
[36:28] sin, hitva, having abandoned svadharma,
[36:33] your own duties, and
[36:36] kirtim ca hitva. He's making a reference
[36:39] to the fact that if Arjuna fails to
[36:42] fight,
[36:44] the consequences are twofold. There's an
[36:46] immediate consequence and a later
[36:49] consequence.
[36:51] The immediate consequence is the word
[36:54] kirtim hitva, abandoning fame, giving up
[36:59] fame, which means if Arjuna fails to
[37:02] fight,
[37:03] he'll become the opposite of famous,
[37:06] infamous.
[37:08] And Shri Krishna's going to talk about
[37:10] that in the next verse. So, Arjuna's
[37:13] going to be despised
[37:15] by all these mighty warriors if he
[37:17] abandons the battlefield, and that is
[37:20] the first of two consequences, a
[37:23] consequence that happens immediately,
[37:25] right there and then on the battlefield.
[37:28] Then there's a second consequence, a
[37:31] delayed consequence, and that is
[37:34] hitva svadharma, having given up his own
[37:38] dharma, having failed to
[37:42] to carry out his own duties, papam
[37:46] avapsyasi, Arjuna, you will incur sin,
[37:50] and having incurred that sin, you will
[37:53] suffer consequences later, karmic
[37:56] consequences later, either later in this
[37:59] life or in the next life. So, here Shri
[38:03] Krishna's pointing out two consequences,
[38:06] an immediate consequence of of losing
[38:10] fame, glory, and a later consequence of
[38:14] acquiring sin, which will, according to
[38:18] the laws of karma, cause Arjuna to
[38:20] suffer later in later in this life or in
[38:24] the next.
[38:26] Now, Shri Krishna's going to elaborate
[38:28] on this loss of fame, the immediate
[38:31] consequence.
[38:33] Akirtim capi bhutani,
[38:37] akirtim capi bhutani,
[38:41] kathayishyanti
[38:43] te vyayam, kathayishyanti
[38:46] te vyayam, sambhavitasya
[38:50] ca kirtir,
[38:52] sambhavitasya
[38:54] ca kirtir,
[38:56] maranad atiricyate,
[38:59] maranad atiricyate.
[39:08] Bhutani,
[39:10] end of the first line, end.
[39:12] Uh ca api, and also
[39:15] bhutani, literally creatures, but in
[39:19] this context, people. Bhutani, people,
[39:22] second line, kathayishyanti,
[39:26] good for our Sanskrit uh
[39:29] uh students,
[39:30] uh future tense, will say. Bhutani,
[39:35] people, kathayishyanti,
[39:37] will say,
[39:40] will talk about
[39:42] te, your, go back to the top. Akirtim.
[39:47] Kirti is fame.
[39:49] Akirti
[39:51] infamy.
[39:52] When a great warrior walks away from the
[39:55] battlefield, remember Arjuna's
[39:58] in back in chapter one, Arjuna was ready
[40:00] to walk away from the battlefield and go
[40:04] live in a cave up in the Himalayas. So,
[40:07] Arjuna is
[40:08] considering abandoning the battlefield.
[40:13] So, therefore and and if he leaves the
[40:16] battlefield with all the warriors
[40:19] watching him,
[40:21] what will they think?
[40:23] What will they say?
[40:25] So, bhutani all people katayashyanti
[40:29] will talk about te akirtim. They'll talk
[40:33] about your infamy. Te avyayam
[40:37] akirtim. Your unceasing
[40:41] infamy. Your terrible infamy. Or they'll
[40:45] talk avyayam.
[40:47] And you can't really take it as a
[40:48] participle. Then my translation here is
[40:50] forever. Forever is a
[40:54] is an adverb. Technically, that can't be
[40:56] an adverb. So,
[40:59] the translation here is is not correct.
[41:02] Unceasing infamy would be a better
[41:05] translation here.
[41:07] And
[41:08] Shri Krishna continues. Sambhavitasya
[41:12] cha akirtim cha and sambhavitasya
[41:20] for someone who is famous like you,
[41:23] Arjuna. And Arjuna is famous. Amongst
[41:27] all the warriors on the battlefield,
[41:30] there are, you know, maybe several dozen
[41:33] who are really really famous,
[41:36] well-known. And Arjuna is certainly
[41:39] one of the most well-known amongst all
[41:42] the warriors. So, sambhavitasya for
[41:45] someone who is famous, for someone who
[41:47] is highly regarded, honorable. That's a
[41:50] good translation. For someone who's
[41:52] highly regarded akirtir
[41:57] uh dis- the opposite of
[41:59] fame is infamy or here disgrace is a
[42:02] nice translation. Disgrace
[42:05] maranat atirichyate
[42:08] Disgrace is atirichyate
[42:11] is worse than maranat than death.
[42:16] For someone who is highly regarded
[42:19] infamy is worse than death.
[42:24] Now, we we have to understand the
[42:27] context. Arjuna is not an ordinary
[42:29] person like you and me. Arjuna is a
[42:32] famous warrior and famous people are
[42:35] held to a different standard.
[42:38] Um
[42:38] you know, if if there's a
[42:40] if a big politician
[42:43] a big politician is expected to act in
[42:46] politically wise ways. Or if there's a
[42:49] famous I don't know if this is a good
[42:51] metaphor,
[42:53] but actors in Bollywood and Hollywood
[42:56] are famous, too. Maybe the point is
[42:59] being famous they're always under public
[43:03] scrutiny.
[43:05] What a politician does is subject to
[43:07] public scrutiny. What actors and
[43:10] actresses do is subject to public scru-
[43:14] scrutiny. And when these famous people
[43:18] rise very high, this there's a saying,
[43:22] the higher you rise
[43:25] the further you can fall.
[43:28] So, someone who's come up very high in
[43:32] life stands to lose a lot through this
[43:37] public
[43:39] uh shaming, we'll call it, public
[43:41] shaming. So, if they do something wrong,
[43:44] if a very important person makes a
[43:47] mistake, if an insignificant person
[43:50] makes a mistake,
[43:52] who cares?
[43:54] If a beggar on the street
[43:56] makes a mistake,
[43:59] it
[44:00] no one really cares. No one notices. But
[44:03] when a very famous person, a highly
[44:06] regarded person makes a mistake,
[44:09] everyone notices and there is what's
[44:12] called public shaming of that person.
[44:17] The higher you go, the further you have
[44:19] to fall. Interesting argument for
[44:22] argument for not
[44:24] rising so high in life. All right.
[44:28] bhayad ranad uparatam
[44:31] bhayad ranad uparatam
[44:34] mansyante tvam maharathah
[44:39] mansyante tvam maharathah
[44:43] yesham chatvam
[44:46] bahu mato yesham chatvam bahu mato
[44:51] bhutva yasyasi laghavam
[44:55] bhutva yasyasi laghavam
[45:01] The commentator introduces this verse by
[45:04] by making an argument. Suppose Arjuna
[45:08] feels that okay, so a lot of people will
[45:12] criticize me. Arjuna is thinking, if I
[45:15] leave the battlefield, many people will
[45:18] criticize me. But those who know me,
[45:23] especially my own family members, they
[45:25] will know
[45:27] that I left the battlefield out of
[45:29] compassion
[45:31] and not out of fear.
[45:34] So, consider, if Arjuna leaves the
[45:37] battlefield, what will it look like? To
[45:40] most of the most warriors, it'll look
[45:43] like Arjuna left out of fear. And that's
[45:46] the point that Shri Krishna is making
[45:48] here. He says,
[45:50] and and and the point is
[45:53] everyone, even his even warriors on his
[45:57] own side, not not only his enemies will
[46:00] think he left out of fear,
[46:02] but even his own compatriots,
[46:05] the Kaurava warriors, will also think he
[46:08] left out of fear.
[46:10] Shri Krishna says here in the second
[46:12] line, maharathah,
[46:15] the great warriors, can mean generals,
[46:18] the leaders, but maharathah, the great
[46:22] warriors
[46:23] mansyante
[46:26] will think, will consider tvam you,
[46:30] Arjuna. All the great warriors out here
[46:33] on the battlefield mansyante will
[46:36] consider tvam you, Arjuna, will consider
[46:39] that you in the end of the first line,
[46:41] you uparatam
[46:44] you withdrew
[46:47] ranat from the battle. You withdrew You
[46:51] withdrew from the battle bhayat.
[46:55] Due to bhaya, due to fear.
[47:00] Those warriors aren't going to think
[47:02] that Arjuna left because of compassion.
[47:05] Remember, that's what he felt in the uh
[47:08] in the first chapter when he looked
[47:10] across the battlefield for the first
[47:11] time and he saw all of his beloved
[47:14] family members on the battlefield on
[47:16] both sides that would die in the battle.
[47:20] Arjuna was filled with pity and
[47:22] compassion,
[47:23] not fear.
[47:25] Not fear. We discussed that at some
[47:27] length.
[47:28] But if he were to walk away from the
[47:30] battlefield, he's in the chariot right
[47:32] now with Shri Krishna. If he gets out of
[47:34] the chariot and walks away,
[47:37] everyone is going to think he left the
[47:39] battlefield. Why? Arjuna uparatam
[47:43] withdrew ranat from the battle bhayat
[47:48] due to fear. Everyone will conclude.
[47:52] Yesham cha in the third line, cha and
[47:56] yesham
[47:58] amongst those, for those
[48:01] tvam bahu mataha bhutva
[48:05] tvam you, Arjuna bhutva having become
[48:10] bahu mataha highly regarded, highly
[48:14] esteemed
[48:15] for you, Arjuna, you having become
[48:18] highly esteemed yesham amongst all these
[48:22] warriors, having become highly esteemed
[48:26] amongst all these warriors
[48:29] yasyasi
[48:31] you will go laghavam. It's a idiom. Ya
[48:36] laghavam means lightness. Literally, you
[48:39] will go to lightness. And then you can't
[48:42] take that literally. It's a metaphor.
[48:45] You will be considered insignificant.
[48:49] You'll be thought of as a lightweight,
[48:52] as someone who who was cowardly.
[48:56] Cowardly and left the battle. Cowardly
[48:59] is a nice way to translate that idiom.
[49:01] Yasyasi laghavam, you will be taken
[49:04] lightly. You will be considered
[49:07] cowardly.
[49:09] Okay.
[49:10] Then
[49:13] further about about the uh
[49:16] people watching Arjuna leave the
[49:19] battlefield and what will they say?
[49:21] avachyavadansh
[49:24] cha bahun avachyavadansh
[49:27] cha bahun vadishyanti tavahitaha
[49:32] vadishyanti tavahitaha
[49:36] nindantastav
[49:53] So
[49:54] the commentator
[49:55] imagines Arjuna's state of mind and
[49:58] suppose Arjuna is thinking
[50:01] that even if
[50:03] even if my own Kaurava army considers me
[50:08] to be cowardly
[50:10] suppose Arjuna has this thought at least
[50:14] the
[50:15] the
[50:16] um
[50:18] In fact excuse me I've been actually
[50:19] mistakenly using Kauravas when I meant
[50:22] Pandavas.
[50:24] Arjuna's compatriots are the Pandavas
[50:27] and I think I misspoke once or twice
[50:29] before when I incorrectly used Kaurava
[50:33] to refer to Arjuna's side. Arjuna of
[50:35] course belongs to the Pandava army.
[50:38] um
[50:39] So now suppose the Pandavas
[50:43] consider Arjuna to be cowardly for
[50:46] leaving the battle but maybe Arjuna
[50:49] might think well at least the Kauravas
[50:52] his enemies his enemies will be
[50:55] relieved.
[50:57] Why will his enemies be relieved if
[50:59] Arjuna doesn't fight the enemies will be
[51:02] relieved because now they have a chance
[51:04] to win. With Arjuna fighting they have
[51:07] virtually no chance of winning but if
[51:10] Arjuna leaves the battlefield the
[51:12] Kauravas will be delighted because now
[51:14] they have a chance to win and here
[51:18] Shri Krishna says
[51:20] no way.
[51:21] He says in the second line
[51:24] and tava ahitaha
[51:27] tava your ahitaha ahita is a word for
[51:32] enemy.
[51:33] Tava ahitaha your enemies
[51:37] your enemies your detractors okay but
[51:40] enemies is better. Your enemies
[51:43] vadishyanti
[51:45] will say will say what avachavada
[51:52] avavadan
[51:53] words bahun many words which are avachya
[51:59] words that shouldn't be spoken words
[52:01] that words that you can't use in a
[52:03] Mahabharata words that we can't use in
[52:06] normal dialogue all those nasty dirty
[52:10] foul words that we can't speak. He says
[52:13] even his his enemies the the Kauravas
[52:17] they may be relieved that Arjuna is not
[52:20] fighting but they're not going to speak
[52:23] highly of Arjuna because they're still
[52:26] going to consider him a coward. Yes they
[52:30] will be relieved
[52:32] that Arjuna's leaving the battlefield
[52:35] but his enemies will still consider
[52:38] Arjuna to be a coward and he says
[52:43] tava in the third line tava samartya
[52:47] nindantaha nindantaha
[52:51] um
[52:52] uh
[52:53] curse
[52:54] not cursing belittling okay um
[52:59] belittling putting down is a common
[53:02] expression nindantaha
[53:05] putting down tava samartyam
[53:08] tava your samartyam
[53:12] your capabilities
[53:14] belittling your capabilities
[53:17] means seeing Arjuna this mighty warrior
[53:21] as a weak coward.
[53:25] So seeing Arjuna as a weak coward even
[53:28] the enemies enemies even though they're
[53:31] relieved they will curse Arjuna with all
[53:36] these nasty words. Remember they're
[53:38] mighty warriors. Mighty warriors are not
[53:41] going to accept weakness from another
[53:46] warrior like Arjuna so therefore they
[53:49] will curse him and belittle his his
[53:52] greatness.
[53:53] tatataha dukhataram nukem
[53:58] uh
[54:01] tatataha tatataha dukhataram worse than
[54:05] that nukem what what could be worse than
[54:10] that to be
[54:12] to be cursed by your enemies in this
[54:16] way. Now but but we have a few minutes
[54:19] before we conclude and there's an
[54:20] important point we need to put it make
[54:23] here.
[54:24] So here Shri Krishna is making the
[54:26] argument about
[54:29] what other people will say and there's a
[54:32] problem here.
[54:35] When our decisions
[54:39] are based on what others will think and
[54:42] say
[54:44] we may or may not make the right
[54:45] decisions based on what others think and
[54:49] what others say. So let's get the
[54:51] context very clearly here. Shri
[54:54] Krishna's primary instruction to Arjuna
[54:57] is
[54:58] do your duty.
[55:01] svakarma
[55:02] svadharma is the word used here.
[55:05] Svadharma your own duties Arjuna you
[55:08] must fulfill. That's the primary
[55:11] argument. Then secondarily
[55:15] Shri Krishna goes on to say if you
[55:17] fulfill your your duties you'll be
[55:20] praised.
[55:22] And if you don't fulfill your duties you
[55:24] will be cursed. That's really secondary
[55:27] right? The primary argument here is do
[55:31] your duty that's what you're supposed to
[55:33] do and also you get to go to heaven by
[55:36] the way.
[55:37] But remember the the that's the latter
[55:41] consequence is going to heaven but the
[55:45] initial consequence of doing the right
[55:47] thing svadharma is praise. So if Arjuna
[55:52] fulfills his duties he'll be praised. If
[55:55] he fails to fulfill his duties he won't
[55:58] be praised. But now here's here's
[56:02] here's the point I want to make.
[56:04] Suppose
[56:07] by following dharma so Arjuna is going
[56:11] to follow dharma and he'll be praised
[56:13] for that.
[56:14] Suppose you're you find yourself in a
[56:17] situation that if you follow dharma
[56:21] you'll be criticized.
[56:24] Does that happen?
[56:26] Sure it happens. There are plenty of
[56:29] times if you follow dharma you'll be
[56:31] criticized. I give some common examples.
[56:34] um
[56:36] In India nowadays dowry is a is a big
[56:39] deal and people are waking up to the
[56:42] fact that this dowry system is highly
[56:44] abusive.
[56:46] So suppose a family decides we're not
[56:48] going to accept dowry we're not going to
[56:51] request it we're not going to to give it
[56:54] what it whatever it is.
[56:57] By taking that position you're following
[57:00] dharma
[57:02] but that may make you subject to
[57:05] criticism
[57:07] by other old-fashioned
[57:10] Hindus
[57:12] and others.
[57:13] So that's an example by following dharma
[57:16] you may be criticized you should do it
[57:18] anyway follow dharma regardless of the
[57:21] criticism of others. Maybe a better
[57:23] example um
[57:26] com In fact commonly now in India in
[57:28] this country a family with with a
[57:31] marriageable son or daughter
[57:34] the son or daughter they will agree to
[57:36] have the son or daughter marry someone
[57:40] who is outside of their cast or even
[57:43] outside of their religion non-Hindu.
[57:46] the the son or daughter says says I very
[57:50] much love this person I want to marry
[57:53] this person please give me your
[57:55] permission even though this person is
[57:57] not in our cast or even though this
[57:59] person is not in our religion please
[58:02] give me permission and it's difficult
[58:04] for parents. I acknowledge that it can
[58:06] be very difficult for some parents to
[58:09] make this decision
[58:11] but the right decision
[58:13] is to say yes and to allow your son or
[58:17] daughter to marry the person they love.
[58:21] But
[58:22] and and I would say without doubt that
[58:26] is following dharma.
[58:29] But the good example by following dharma
[58:33] these parents then become subject to the
[58:35] criticism of so many others because
[58:38] their son or daughter is marrying
[58:40] marrying someone that others consider
[58:44] unacceptable.
[58:46] Who
[58:47] Who cares if others consider the person
[58:51] unacceptable?
[58:53] What matters is what's acceptable to
[58:57] you.
[58:58] And what's ultimately acceptable is
[59:01] following dharma.
[59:04] And here following dharma
[59:07] even if you're criticized for it.
[59:12] And this is different than Arjuna's
[59:13] situation. If Arjuna follows dharma
[59:17] he'll be praised for it.
[59:20] But there are situations in life that by
[59:22] following dharma you are criticized and
[59:25] condemned for following dharma.
[59:28] If you
[59:30] sacrifice your principles
[59:33] because of what other people will think
[59:36] and say.
[59:39] That's sad.
[59:41] To give up your principles because of
[59:43] what other people will say.
[59:45] But how
[59:48] strong it is, how wonderful it is when
[59:50] you hold tight to your principles, when
[59:54] you do what is right, when you follow
[59:56] Dharma regardless of other people's
[01:00:00] opinions. Just a side comment, it's not
[01:00:03] Arjuna's situation, but it's relevant.
[01:00:08] Okay, we'll conclude here.
[01:00:10] Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
[01:00:15] Sarve Santu Niramayah
[01:00:19] Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu
[01:00:23] Ma Kashchid Duhkha Bhag Bhavet
[01:00:28] Asato Ma Sadgamaya
[01:00:31] Tamaso Ma
[01:00:35] Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya
[01:00:39] Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi
[01:00:45] Om
[01:00:47] Tat Sat