Inference:
This activity gives them an opportunity to re-live that particular incident. This helps them to be aware of the thoughts which lead them to the negative things in life.
Completion is the space and state where you will be totally connected with life and with people in your life in the present moment without any limiting, restraining influence of the past happening in your life. In many instances, our incompletions may rise due to the feeling of guilt, as such the activities above is structured to help drop such life-negative emotions and move forward in a more complete and positive space to manifest the life we desire.
utsannakula dharmāṇāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ janārdana narake 'niyataṃ vāso bhavatītyanuśuśruma
O Janārdana, we hear that those who have lost family traditions dwell in hell for an indefinite period of time
Gītā is about surrendering the past and the future incompletions to the present and experiencing completion.
aho bata mahat pāpaṃ kartuṃ vyavasitā vayaṃ yad rājya sukha lobhena hantuṃ svajanam udyatāḥ
Alas, we are prepared to commit greatly sinful acts of killing our kinsmen, driven by the desire to enjoy royal Happiness
Eternal happiness that constantly flows as bliss is always within.
yadi mām apratīkāram aśastraṃ śastrapāṇayaḥ dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyuḥ tan me kṣemataraṃ bhavet
It would be better if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, armed with weapons, killed me in battle while I am unarmed and Unresisting
If you imbibe even a little of Bhagavad Gītā, if you drink even a drop of Gaṅgā water, if you think even once about that great Master Śrī Kṛṣṇa, you will never have to face death.
sañjaya uvāca evam uktvārjunaḥ saṃkhye rathopastha upāviśat visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ
Sañjaya said: Arjuna, whose mind was agitated by grief on the battle field, having spoken thus, cast aside his bow along with the arrow and sat down at the rear portion of the chariot
The essence of the Gītā is living in the space of completion in the present moment.
Arjuna was ready to give up. He was all set to run away from the battlefield and escape from the reality of his duty. He had convinced himself through his own illusory arguments that what he had embarked upon was pure evil and therefore he wanted no part of it. He said, 'I am ready to lay down my arms. Let Duryodhana and his men kill me.' Arjuna's desperation arose from his dilemma, which was becoming more extreme by the minute.
Arjuna was an intelligent man accustomed to the light of clarity but was now in darkness. He was torn between his duty as a ksatriya prince and the scriptural codes of morality. Arjuna's distress was complete. He sat down, unable to bear the weight of his emotions. He put down his bow and arrows, which signified that he was out of the battle.
Arjuna's delusion was complete. He was as far away from reality and intelligent action as he could possibly get. The greatest warrior of his time, the greatest of men, was in the depths of despair due to his inner turmoil. The conflict between his upbringing and value systems, his samskaras and what he was about to do by waging war against his kinsmen had reduced him to a pitiable wreck who now abandoned his weapons and collapsed inside his chariot. At this point,
Arjuna was no example of a true ksatriya. Arjuna was now a true example of mankind. He was being human. He was experiencing the deep conflict between the unconscious patterns that were driving him and the reality of what he ought to do. The darkness that surrounded Arjuna at this stage was māyā, the illusion that prevents all human beings from perceiving the truth of Reality that pervades all our experiences.
Ya ma iti maya, that which is not real but appears as absolute is maya. Maya is not unreal in the sense that it does not exist. Maya truly exists as reality. It veils, it covers Reality, the ultimate Truth. Had Arjuna been Krsna, had Arjuna been enlightened, he would not have been tormented by the play of his maya.
Had Arjuna been a Duryodhana or even a Bhima whose individual consciousness was not awakened, he would have accepted the maya without question and again not been tormented by it. But, Arjuna is intelligent. He is partially awakened, a seeker. He is in the presence of the greatest of all masters. He is struggling to rid himself of his maya and seeks clarity.
It is Arjuna's ego that created the maya in him. His own along with his conviction that he should preserve his lineage - all these factors created the illusion in him that he was something other than who he was. These created the doubt in him that he should do something other than what he was there to do.
All of us come into this world with no identity. As we grow we collect labels describing ourselves. We become so associated with the labels and their accessories that we forget who we really are. Our life is then about seeking fulfillment in the wrong places. We search for happiness in the external world because that is where we have been taught to look for fulfillment. We have not learned how to look within and experience it. Eternal happiness that constantly flows as bliss is always within you and not in material possessions, relationships or selfish philanthropy. It is a state of no-mind that you experience within yourself.
To help the child understand the battle scene and the dilemma Arjuna was facing by having to destroy his kinsmen
- 1. What is the meaning of being a ksatriya as described in this chapter?
- 2. What do you understand by maya?
- 3. Why is Arjuna feeling desperate to leave the battlefield?