Character Sketch
- Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.
- Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.
- Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.
- Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world.
Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.
Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.
Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.
Character Sketch act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.
conflict-free way.
simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,
Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?
Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'
The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'
arjuna uvāca jyāyasī cetkarmaṇaste matā buddhirjanārdana tatkiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśava
Arjuna says: O Janārdana, O Keśava, Why do You make me engage in this terrible war if You think that knowledge is superior to action?
Anything that talks about one and only one solution is born out of survival instinct, never out of inspiration. Arjuna is asking for a single instruction, Kṛṣṇa only gives inspiration vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena buddhiṁ mohayasīva me tadekaṁ vada niścitya yena śreyohamāpnuyām
My intelligence is confused by Your conflicting words. Tell me clearly what is best for me
Arjuna is a kṣatriya, a warrior, he wants a clear instruction. But the destination is not important; the journey is. The goal is not important; the path is.
śrībhagavānuvāca loke'smindvividhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha jñānayogena sāṁkhyānāṁ karmayogena yoginām
The Lord says, 'O sinless Arjuna, as I said before, in this world there are two paths; Self knowledge for the intellectual and the path of action of the knowing
Arjuna is a kṣatriya, a warrior, he wants a clear instruction. But the destination is not important; the journey is. The goal is not important; the path is.
na karmaṇāmanārambhānnaiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo'śnute na ca sannyasanādeva siddhiṁ samadhigacchati
A person does not attain freedom from action by abstaining from work, nor does he attain fulfillment by giving up action
Abstaining from work or moving away from work cannot give you freedom from action. To have freedom from action, your inner space needs to be purified, your inner space needs to be the space of completion
Arjuna is asking for a single instruction from Kṛiṣṇa, he says, 'Tell me clearly what is best for me?' By asking for a clear instruction, he can hold Kṛiṣṇa responsible for his own inauthenticity and escape the responsibility for his actions.
Understand that asking for a single instruction itself is from violence. And if the single instruction is given, that is encouraging your violence., only inspiration should be given. This is the beauty of Hinduism!
No single instruction can work because the root pattern of asking for a single instruction is violence.
Why? Because we feel either we should be alive or the other person should be alive.
The mentality of fighting and violence always excludes. The root of the problem should be solved.
Anything that talks about one and only one solution is born out of survival instinct, never out of inspiration. Arjuna is a kṣatriya, a warrior. Arjuna is uncomfortable when he is not in action; when he has no clearly defined purpose and motivated instructions before him.v
Some goal is always put in front of you. The so-called goals in material life or spiritual life continuously make you feel you are not good enough.
We are always greedy for more. We continuously pursue material goals. As a result, we never relax within ourselves.
Continuously running, thinking there is some purpose to life, a man's whole being will be in a state of tension, conditioned to running out of compulsion, never out of completion.
Root thought pattern is nothing but this first social conditioning, this strong conditioning which imbalances you from your purposelessness space and gives birth to the mind, the idea that there is some purpose to life !
Life has no purpose. Even if you achieve whatever you want, you can't take it with you. You can't carry even a single dollar when you leave. Nothing will come with you.
Purpose is different from meaning. When the word 'meaning' is said, living itself becomes meaningful. Come to this present moment of completion and the path itself is meaningful. For the man who works just for his salary, only payday will be a beautiful day. He will be happy only on that day. He sells 29 days every month for that one day of happiness. Not that you 'can't take your salary.' But let it not be the only goal in your life.
Kṛṣṇa says, let your inner space not be contaminated by the purpose of life. When you close your eyes, what comes into your mind is your inner space. By nature, your inner space is the space of completion, it is filled with energy; your inner space, what you refer to as ātman, spirit or soul, is filled with blissful energy.
The more you empty yourself of goals or incompletions, the more the space for completion and bliss.
For example, this room is filled with space. The more furniture you put in it, the more space will leave this room. This room is filled with the energy of ether. The more furniture you bring in, the more ether will be pushed out; the lesser will be the ether energy.
In the outer space, if you furnish your home, it will look very nice. But if you furnish your inner space, it will look very ugly. You need to empty your inside, which is filled with unnecessary furniture. Completion will clear out all unnecessary things from your inner space. It will get you all that you need in the outer world. Don't furnish your inner space. Let your inner space be empty. It will be filled with completion, pūrṇatva. It will be filled with bliss! The only goal in your life.
The more complete inner space you create, the more blissful your life will be. That is what Kṛṣṇa means by saying, 'Don't be attached to results.'
If you are complete and blissful, you will never disturb others. If you are unhappy, naturally you will vomit that violence on others.
Purpose can be fulfilled, but through purpose, your life can never be fulfilled. When you carry purposes in your life, you are not living; purposes are living through you, that's all.
In your childhood somebody gives you some purpose like, 'You should become a lawyer or a doctor.' You are given a purpose and that purpose is fulfilled through your life, but you will never feel fulfilled or complete.
Always, people who are active in the outer world know the techniques to achieve success in the outer world.
People who are active in the inner world know the techniques to achieve success in the inner world But Kṛṣṇa knows both! He is the only Master who is an enlightened man and a king as well. He knows how to achieve total success in the outer world and in the inner world. He shows you how to furnish your outer space with enriching, and how to keep your inner space empty with completion. That is life in totality.
Only Kṛṣṇa can give a complete solution for practical spiritual living.
Kṛṣṇa gives immediate solutions, permanent solutions. Only Kṛṣṇa's solution is useful for people who are living a regular lifestyle. Abstaining from work or moving away from work cannot give you freedom from action. To have freedom from action, your inner space needs to be purified.
You need to remove the furniture of incompletions from your complete inner space. Renouncing furniture in the outer world is not going to help you. Only removing furniture from the inner world is going to enrich you.
Building your own identity to the peak possibility and renouncing the identity built on purpose. authenticity in action is the strategy plan for your life.
Renouncing your identity in the inner space, or emptying your inner space and creating the space of completion is the real thing to be achieved.
That is what Kṛṣṇa says here. Once you have renounced in the inner space, it doesn't matter what you do in the outer world. Nothing will touch you.
Let children understand that knowledge of the self is the supreme path to Enlightenment. Help the children understand the difference between having goals and purpose and the incompletions they create, and having meaning in life For the children to understand the difference between filling the inner space and filling the outer space.
- ❖ If Kṛṣṇa had given Arjuna a single instruction, what would it have allowed Arjuna to do?
- ❖ What is the difference between giving an instruction and giving inspiration?
- ❖ Instead of giving a single instruction, what should be solved?
- ❖ What is a root thought pattern?
- ❖ If life has no meaning, what does it have?
- ❖ What can contaminate our inner space?
- ❖ What is the natural state of our inner space?
- ❖ What is lost when you bring more and more furniture into a room?
- ❖ What is lost when you bring more and more goals and incompletions into your inner space?
- ❖ How can you have freedom from action?
- ❖ What is authenticity?