1:36: Only guilt will cleave to us by killing these aggressors, therefore we are not justified in slaying the sons of Dhritarashtra. Indeed, how can we attain happiness by murdering our relations and relatives, O Madhava [Krsna]?Arjuna was a morally upright person of great conviction and devotion to Dharma (Divine Law) and what he was now ordered to do seemed to violate everything he knew to be true! His convictions of personal piety was such that he refused to violate them at any cost! This is a righteous trait! To stand on ones convictions is a mark of a true saint. He continues to make his case to the Lord:
1:37, 38: Although these [Kauravas] do not see their fault - their minds being overpowered by greed - the destruction of families and the oppression of friends is a crime!
Why should we, who know the sin of destroying a dynasty, not cease from this crime, O Janardana [Krsna]?
Having considered the matter objectively Arjuna has rightly concluded that the Kauravas are in the wrong. Dharma, the Laws of Righteousness, dictate that their plans to denigrate the Bharata Empire must be opposed! As a warrior it falls to him to stand even if alone against this looming tyranny. Yet he wonders if opposing them is the correct course of action considering the likely results of doing so. Likewise we may at times wonder if opposing evil and standing for righteousness will be too costly. Perhaps it is wiser we consider to go along with the majority rather than risk standing alone with our convictions. Yet in his heart of hearts Arjuna knows the answer to this and so do we, but he continues to make his case:
1:39-42: With the destruction of a family its noble traditions perish. When its eternal rites and religious principles are destroyed the whole dynasty is overtaken by irreligion.
O Krsna, irreligion having become prevalent the women of the family become adulterated. When the women become corrupt, O descendant of Vrishni, caste confusion is generated.
Such confusion brings to hell the slayers of the family and the family itself. Then the ancestors are deprived of their sacrificial offerings of rice cakes and water and hence they also fall.
By such faults on the part of the destroyers of the family, caste confusion leads to the devastation of caste religious traditions as well as the eternal family traditions.
Bear in mind that this dialogue took place almost 6000 years ago. Back then there existed a structured global society based on the Varnashram System. This social system guided the global society by recognizing four basic types of people. Each of these varnas or classes were honored for their natural qualifications and beneficial roles in society. As Arjuna here fears however, in time the loss of a spiritual center led to this system being manipulated and turned into the reprehensible system of virtual slavery -- largely based on birth, race and skin color -- that we today know as the Caste System. In time the four varnas were further subdivided in order to micromanage the lives of the community. Everything one did had varna overtones and restrictions and the people were largely imprisoned by the very system that once granted them freedom and direction. Today the government of Bharata (India) and most of its religious and secular leaders are working to disassemble what remains of this failed ancient system.
The Four Varnas:
- Brahmins (intelligentsia, priests, scholars, teachers)
- Kshatriyas (warriors, nobility)
- Vaishyas (merchants, farmers),
- Sudras (tradesmen, artisans, craftsmen, workers, service providers)
Without a true spiritual center societies fail and become systems of abusive power to the detriment of their citizens and all who enter into their sphere of influence. This was Arjuna's concern as he contemplated the outcome of this war.
1:43-45: We have heard, O Janardana [Krsna], that those who spoil family traditions have hell as their eternal abode.
Alas, due to greed for royal pleasures we have determined to commit a great sin and are prepared to kill our own relatives.
Even if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, should kill me unarmed and without resistance in battle, for me, that would be better.
The Sanatana Dharma or "Universal Truth" which is the actual name of the umbrella faith known collectively as Hinduism, is an incredibly diverse path. Part of what Sri Krsna will offer us in His Gita is an insight into this diverse system. As we go through the Gita (which is the most widely accepted of all Hindu Scriptures) I should acknowledge that my biases will lean toward a school of Hindu thought known as Gaudiya (Bengali) Vaisnavism, in large part as inspired by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) although not entirely. In this verse Arjuna refers to the dangers of Hell. In this regard he refers to Sri Krsna as Janardana, "the chastiser of wicked men." This is important because the Hindu conception of Hell is not a place of eternal punishment as in some other religious systems but rather as a place of just chastisement. The word hell, narake, suggests falling into a unclean situation, into an abhorrent condition of being. this can be a mental state of anxiety and depression, it can mean taking birth in one of the lower planetary systems where existence is painful and sorrow common. Life is eternal, but suffering is not. Arjuna says that those who engage in greed, abusive behavior and the like are sowing the seeds of their suffering by the immutable laws of Karma (cause and effect), Dharma (Divine Law) and Marga (the course taken by the living beings as result).
How, Arjuna asks the Lord, can he be required to take actions that will doubtless lead to such horrendous results!
1:46: Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken, his mind overwhelmed with grief on the battlefield, Arjuna sat down in his chariot and dropped his bow and arrows.
Here ends chapter one. Of the Gitabhasya of Jagannatha Prakasa
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