Archives

"First the battle of life. Let the virtue in you vanquish the vice. Lead a dharmic life, true to your nature or svadharma based on self-control and complete surrender to the Lord. The Divinity within is your ever-available guide. Attuning yourself to it, do your job as splendidly as you can. Everyone is obliged to wage the Mahabharatha war in and through his life."

This is the succinct theme of the Bhagavad Gita which prompted Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda to choose the Gita as an important text for his Jnana Yagnas.

"Yield not to unmanliness, O son of Partha - it does not behove you a man of prowess. Cast off this faint heartedness and wake up," was the message to Arjuna when he was in a dilemma whether to fight the Kurukshetra war or flee the battlefield. This is the great battle for an inner victory and the yearning cry of the embodies soul ready to give up the battle of life. It is afraid of the annihilation of its desires and its near and dear ones. It is heard trembling and doubting.

In times of crisis when man is tortured by doubt and conflict of duties, he becomes helpless. It is then that he turns to God for light and guidance as Arjuna did when he was torn between winning the war and killing his own people. This is not merely an incident where a lesson is taught; it is an allegory referring to the eternal struggle that man faces between the righteous aspirations and his unrighteous desires.

Let us pause to gloss over the story leading to the Gita.

The great battle for the Kingdom between the Pandavas and Kauravas was declared. Lord Sri Krishna was Arjuna's Charioteer who in the beginning drove up to the battle lines so that they may survey the battle array. On seeing his own kingsmen poised for battle on the enemy ranks Arjuna was deeply disturbed - was he to fight and kill his relatives or was he to flee the battlefield was his dilemma. It was at this crucial moment that Lord Sri Krishna inspired Arjuna with the teaching immortalised as the Bhagavad Gita.

Life is full of problems and is a veritable battlefield where man often faces Arjuna's dilemma. He is unable to discern his course of action and is unequal to the challenges of the situation. He realises his inadequacy and prays for knowledge and strength. Now comes the Eternal Voice of the Lord, which speaks of the imperishable nature of the soul and the perishable nature of the body. In this body we pass from childhood to youth old age and death: finally death that begins another cycle creates a new residence for the soul.

This is the inevitable cycle of birth and re-birth. But in this changing cycle the soul is unchanging and real: It is Unborn, Eternal, Changeless and Ancient," says the Lord.

Having convinced of the immortality of the soul, the Lord calls him to action, "Perform your duty renouncing the fruits of action with your heart fixed on the Supreme Lord. You have the right to work but for work-sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work."

The Lord now calls him to another form of action, an action in the form of a deep prayer and meditation - a prayer of silence. In silence the vision of God as seen in all things in creation, especially so, in whatever is beautiful and good, is revealed. He is now blessed with the Vishvarupa Dharishnam - the Cosmic form of the Lord. Seeing this form he felt calm and composed with an infinite love and adoration to God. This is the symbolic companionship of Arjuna and Lord Sri Krishna. God appears as man, as the friend of the struggling Soul - the Charioteer Sri Krishna steering Arjuna through turbulent times. "Dedicate all your action to Him and worship Him and Him alone," are the ineffable words to Arjuna.

In the midst of the opposing forces, the din of the war drums and with a deeply perturbed and agitated Arjuna, the Lord remains calm and collected holding the reins of his horses. This is a beautiful example which shows us how we should live in this strife torn world, face life calmly and be unattached like the lotus leaf on water.

The Kurukshetra war is constantly taking place in each one of us. It is not just a war that was fought several millennia ago but in the subtle form - the Sukshma Rupa, the war rages within us all the time. The five Pandavas and the hundred Kauravas fought for the kingship of Hastinapura, where they were born, nurtured and trained. In life, the five good qualities of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa are constantly at war with the many evil qualities numbering perhaps around hundred or more. Both these qualities are related to each other because of their common origin but being opposed to each other, they become the disputants for the kingship of the Heart and the Atman is the Charioteer helping to eradicate unrighteousness.

To help us to make our home a better place to live in, we in Sri Lanka are gifted to have Swami Tejomayananda, the Head of the Chinmaya Mission, to conduct a Jnana Yagna on the Vision of the Gita from August 26th - 30th, 2003 at the Ramakrishna Hall.

Sivanandini Duraiswamy, Chinmaya Mission, Sri Lanka.

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager