Compared to the challenges of life we face, for eg, a project deadline, traffic, sore back, etc, the challenges Arjuna was facing were ENORMOUS - he was fighting a war in which he was on the far outnumbered side and a big chunk of responsibility of winning the war was on him; and more importantly, to win, he has to KILL his Pitamaha Bhishma, Guru Drona, cousins, many relatives and friends. Realising this challenge, Arjuna lost all confidence and essentially gave up. From that nadir, after the Gitopadesha (advice of Gita), Arjuna NEVER had any self doubt even for a moment throughout the war and won it. So Gita helped someone who had utterly given up mentally. And is Gita a specific answer to Arjuna's problems alone? No, it is a generic guide on life and how to attain your life goals.
So, why not?
But I will be honest, reading the Gita was not a walk in the park. I am still in the 2nd chapter after 4 months. It is quite deep and the concepts are quite hard to grasp for me. Hopefully, I can put down my thoughts and understandings into this blog and come back to that summary later. I sincerely hope I cover all the 18 chapters!
Gita Dhyanam (Invocation to the Gita) is usually prefixed to the Gita, even though it is not part of the Gita. One of my favourite verse (4) from that is:
Sarvopanishado gavo Doghda gopalanandana
Pardho valsa sudheer bhoktha Dugdham geethamrutham mahath
Sarvopanishado gavo = all upanishads are cows
Doghda gopalanandana = milkman is Krishna
Pardho valsa = arjuna is disciple
sudheer bhoktha = those who have consumed (it) are wise
Dugdham geethamrutham mahath = the great elixir milk is Gita
Chapter 1: Arjunavishadayoga:
The Gita starts with description of the war scene, and Arjuna asks his charioteer Krishna to take him to the middle of the 2 sides. He observes the opposite army, and gives these arguments (along with the verse number where these arguments are presented):
- How can there be greatness (sreyas) in killing relatives (swajana) 1:31
- What is the use of material pleasures (bhoga) (after winning the war) 1:32
- The people in the opposite army are exactly the people I would have loved to serve (they are friends and relatives) 1:33-34
- Killing is a sin (paapam) 1:36
- How can we be happy after killing relatives (swajana) 1.37
- Kulakshayam (thinning of families (kulam), due to the death of so many people in the war) will cause dharmanaasham (destruction of Dharma [2]) 1.40-44
- It looks like I have to kill swajana for kingdom, is kingdom so important? 1.45
With these arguments, Arjuna feels helpless, loses the will to fight, drops his weapons and sits in his chariot. And thus ends the 1st chapter - Arjunavishadayoga. Gita starts with Vishada (distress) of Arjuna, because the beginning of knowledge is the feeling of incompleteness. Even in "Yoga Vasishta", Guru Vasishta tells his student Sreeram, that the first step towards knowledge is the acceptance of our ignorance. Only when we realise we lack something, can knowledge enter our minds. Arjuna didnt know what to do next, and that is when he was ready to get the knowledge of Gita.
Notes:
[1] I am unable to find an online version of this book, I believe the English version is this.
[2] Dharma is a key concept in the Indian religions, repeatedly mentioned in many Indian scriptures, including the Gita, but it doesn't have a good translation to English or other Western Languages. Rough translations are "the right way of living", "duty", "the most fundamental character".
Disclaimer:
I am not an expert in any of - Sanskrit, Gita, Malayalam, Advaitha Philosophy, Hinduism. This is just my interpretation and summary of the Malayalam translation of Chinmayananda's English translation and commentary of Gita! If you have read Gita and understood differently, please let me know in comments, I am more than happy to discuss.
