Despite being born blind, Dhritarashtra had a foresight of what was going to happen in the war, which according to him, was not in the favour of his sons. He asked Sanjay, what was going on in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Sanjay started to elaborate the stalwarts who were glorifying the spirit of the war, just by being present there in the battlefield. He was naming the warriors, the princes, the kings of various provinces, who chose one of the two sides. The two sides, which were equal in strength and might. There was only one equality. The Lord was with the Pandavas. In fact, he is not a warrior himself. He is just the charioteer - the charioteer of prince Arjun.
Arjun, seeing his own relatives, friends and family on the other side of the battlefield, is looking very perplexed at the thought of loosing some of the family members. The Kurus were also his family. Wherever he was seeing, he could only find fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons and friends with only one difference - their chosen side.
Arjun would better be killed than kill. His Gandiva is slipping from his hand, as if it doesn't wish to do what it is destined to do. Partha, the perplexed prince asked the Lord Krishna, how could he fight his kinsmen. How could he raise his Gandiva against his grandfathers. He is surprised to see the cost of worldly pleasure, wealth and the greatest of all sins, desire.
The indecisive Arjun asks his charioteer, the Lord, as to how can he commit such a sin even after knowing that he was committing a sin against those, who were unaware of their sins. Arjun knew that only his Lord could show him the right direction.
The Lord smiled and looked up at Arjun. He said, "What are you saying, Partha? Such shameful things from you at this crucial hour of decision making. "
But Arjun was still convinced that this killing would only be taking away several innocent disoriented lives. Suddenly, Lord Krishna said to Arjun, "You are mourning for those who are not to be mourned for. Although you are talking like a wise man, you have forgotten that the soul is immortal, invincible. You cannot defeat it. Just like we change our clothes when it gets dirty, the soul leaves the corrupt body and finds another one, and sustains in that as long as the body does not corrupt itself with desires of the worldly things. Those, that you call your kinsmen, have polluted themselves in the desire for a better existence. But these men are only fooling themselves."
Madhava continued as Arjun stared at his demeanour in honour, "Kaunteya, my friend, if you speak of the honour of your being, then there is no better honour for a Kshatriya like you than fighting a righteous war. The people from the learned classes are filled with the desire of a paradise, beyond the scope of their present lives. These are unwise men wasting their value in rituals that only strengthens their desire and not lessens it. They do not attain salvation. Those who act are those who live their destined lives dutifully and possess the real wisdom, my dear Bharata."
The Lord continued, "It is futile to seek the goodness of the fruit as long as you have not really planted and cared for the growing tree. So, Kaunteya, it is your duty that matters. Do not focus on the results your duty should yield."
As, Arjun thought that the fog was slowly clearing from his path, the Lord stared at him and said, "Confusion does not suit the armour of a warrior, Partha. Renouncing the worries of the results can only bring true happiness, that too when you stop hankering after it. Just satiate yourself in your duties. Go ahead and fight those who are wrong, for that is your duty."
Arjun, again boggled as before, asked, "Then Keshav, my Lord, who could actually sit on the throne of the enlightened? There seems not one, who can be so perfect."
The Lord replied, "One who is calm in the sorrows and unmoved by pleasure, fear or anger, he is the epitome of perfection. He, only can attain the salvation. When you attain inner purity, you feel no sorrow, no pain and no fear. One who has the knowledge, true wisdom, is superior to all."
Arjun, confused between the two pinnacles of knowledge and actions asks the Lord which the superior of the two was? "If you say, that knowledge and wisdom leads to the superior being than action, then why do you encourage me to do an action that I loath to perform."
"Dear Arjun, my brother, son of the great Kunti, you can not just refuse to the actions that were chained to you as your destiny. You do not attain liberation from the chains of destiny by just refusing to act. Our nature, the inherent being prohibits us from remaining actionless. So even acquiring knowledge and wisdom is an activity you need to perform. You just can not achieve one without the other, because action is better than the illusive inaction, that, which you feel, is going to lead to your paradise. Those who think of their own food, are sinners. The food that helps grow other creatures are grown by the rains. The rains come from some sacrifice. This sacrifice is holy, righteous."
The Lord grinned at the convinced face of Arjun and said, "Look at me. I have nothing to achieve, no laurels to win. Yet I act to perform my duty. If I refused my actions, the existence would stop. Everybody would just follow my inactivity and be inactive themselves. Your senses are your biggest sinners. They urge you to further your desires."
Arjun asked, "Then my Lord, is it that our attachment to something that brings about the greatest detachment possible? What exactly is the thing that drives a man to such sinful existence?"
The Lord answered, "It is the greatest good in you that drives you to your greatest evil, Partha. Passion, which leads to your goals, eventually makes you greedy. Even if you use your passion for gaining pious virtues like wisdom and knowledge. It is really your action that stands out, whether your performance was good or bad."
Convinced with the ideals and morals of the charioteer, the young prince, Arjun, listened to the Panchajanya being blown as his carriage moved ahead.
Sanjay started to elaborate the stalwarts who were glorifying the spirit of the war, just by being present there in the battlefield. He was naming the warriors, the princes, the kings of various provinces, who chose one of the two sides. The two sides, which were equal in strength and might. There was only one equality. The Lord was with the Pandavas. In fact, he is not a warrior himself. He is just the charioteer - the charioteer of prince Arjun.
Arjun, seeing his own relatives, friends and family on the other side of the battlefield, is looking very perplexed at the thought of loosing some of the family members. The Kurus were also his family. Wherever he was seeing, he could only find fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons and friends with only one difference - their chosen side.
Arjun would better be killed than kill. His Gandiva is slipping from his hand, as if it doesn't wish to do what it is destined to do. Partha, the perplexed prince asked the Lord Krishna, how could he fight his kinsmen. How could he raise his Gandiva against his grandfathers. He is surprised to see the cost of worldly pleasure, wealth and the greatest of all sins, desire.
The indecisive Arjun asks his charioteer, the Lord, as to how can he commit such a sin even after knowing that he was committing a sin against those, who were unaware of their sins. Arjun knew that only his Lord could show him the right direction.
The Lord smiled and looked up at Arjun. He said, "What are you saying, Partha? Such shameful things from you at this crucial hour of decision making. "
But Arjun was still convinced that this killing would only be taking away several innocent disoriented lives. Suddenly, Lord Krishna said to Arjun, "You are mourning for those who are not to be mourned for. Although you are talking like a wise man, you have forgotten that the soul is immortal, invincible. You cannot defeat it. Just like we change our clothes when it gets dirty, the soul leaves the corrupt body and finds another one, and sustains in that as long as the body does not corrupt itself with desires of the worldly things. Those, that you call your kinsmen, have polluted themselves in the desire for a better existence. But these men are only fooling themselves."
Madhava continued as Arjun stared at his demeanour in honour, "Kaunteya, my friend, if you speak of the honour of your being, then there is no better honour for a Kshatriya like you than fighting a righteous war. The people from the learned classes are filled with the desire of a paradise, beyond the scope of their present lives. These are unwise men wasting their value in rituals that only strengthens their desire and not lessens it. They do not attain salvation. Those who act are those who live their destined lives dutifully and possess the real wisdom, my dear Bharata."
The Lord continued, "It is futile to seek the goodness of the fruit as long as you have not really planted and cared for the growing tree. So, Kaunteya, it is your duty that matters. Do not focus on the results your duty should yield."
As, Arjun thought that the fog was slowly clearing from his path, the Lord stared at him and said, "Confusion does not suit the armour of a warrior, Partha. Renouncing the worries of the results can only bring true happiness, that too when you stop hankering after it. Just satiate yourself in your duties. Go ahead and fight those who are wrong, for that is your duty."
Arjun, again boggled as before, asked, "Then Keshav, my Lord, who could actually sit on the throne of the enlightened? There seems not one, who can be so perfect."
The Lord replied, "One who is calm in the sorrows and unmoved by pleasure, fear or anger, he is the epitome of perfection. He, only can attain the salvation. When you attain inner purity, you feel no sorrow, no pain and no fear. One who has the knowledge, true wisdom, is superior to all."
Arjun, confused between the two pinnacles of knowledge and actions asks the Lord which the superior of the two was? "If you say, that knowledge and wisdom leads to the superior being than action, then why do you encourage me to do an action that I loath to perform."
"Dear Arjun, my brother, son of the great Kunti, you can not just refuse to the actions that were chained to you as your destiny. You do not attain liberation from the chains of destiny by just refusing to act. Our nature, the inherent being prohibits us from remaining actionless. So even acquiring knowledge and wisdom is an activity you need to perform. You just can not achieve one without the other, because action is better than the illusive inaction, that, which you feel, is going to lead to your paradise. Those who think of their own food, are sinners. The food that helps grow other creatures are grown by the rains. The rains come from some sacrifice. This sacrifice is holy, righteous."
The Lord grinned at the convinced face of Arjun and said, "Look at me. I have nothing to achieve, no laurels to win. Yet I act to perform my duty. If I refused my actions, the existence would stop. Everybody would just follow my inactivity and be inactive themselves. Your senses are your biggest sinners. They urge you to further your desires."
Arjun asked, "Then my Lord, is it that our attachment to something that brings about the greatest detachment possible? What exactly is the thing that drives a man to such sinful existence?"
The Lord answered, "It is the greatest good in you that drives you to your greatest evil, Partha. Passion, which leads to your goals, eventually makes you greedy. Even if you use your passion for gaining pious virtues like wisdom and knowledge. It is really your action that stands out, whether your performance was good or bad."
Convinced with the ideals and morals of the charioteer, the young prince, Arjun, listened to the Panchajanya being blown as his carriage moved ahead.
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