Sweating profusely, mouth parched, the mighty Arjuna stands in the battlefield. The Gandiv has fallen from his trembling hands. Arrayed on both sides of the battlefield, are those, he holds closest to his heart. Grandfather, gurus, uncles , cousins , friends of his youth and childhood. Now, he would have to unleash his fearsome weaponry against them. Kill them and watch them die painful deaths.
My predicament is not as terrible as that of Arjuna, yet I suffer too. I am a prisoner of my mind, locked in by illusion. I run after a thousand desires but my thirst never quenches. I toss helplessly on the waves that rise in my mind. Waves of joy, sorrow, love, hatred, anger, jealousy,greed, repentance. I am tormented by fears and wracked by worries. I dance like a puppet to the play of emotions.. How long will you watch me make a complete fool of myself, Dark Lord of Vrindavan? Will Your play never end?
With the effulgence of a thousand suns , the splendorous form towers into the sky. Adorned with garlands , anointed with heavenly perfumes , armed with divine weapons, He appears before the awestruck Pandava prince. Countless worlds, suns, moons and stars swirl within the immeasurable vastness of the God of Gods. Millions of faces, hands and bodies stretch into the distance. There is no beginning, middle or end. Gods and sages are entering Him with folded hands, singing hymns of peace and praise. All the sons of Dhritarashtra, all the kings and warriors are hurtling into the terrible jaws. Some are stuck between the teeth with their heads smashed. As rivers enter the sea, as moths enter the flame. so are these men entering the blazing mouths, only to be destroyed. Krishna, the Primeval Lord, straddles the space between heaven and earth.
Arjuna holds his bow with a steady hand. His doubts dispelled, he knows now, what he has to do. He knows that he can neither kill nor be killed. He just has to do what his Kshatriya dharma tells him to do. He has to kill those who have already been killed by the Lord , as all powerful Time. He is an instrument, one of the innumerable beings who are constantly arising from and merging into the Absolute Bliss.
Grant me the Celestial Eye, O Lord! Reveal Your Truth to me. So that, like Your beloved friend Arjuna, I too, can break free from my self inflicted misery.
Joy,Sorrow,Love,Hate,Greed,envy,repentance....everything is necessary,Rwitoja, for what is life but a classroom handing out personalised workbooks according to the pupil's degree of evolution ? Unless experienced, nothing can be overcome. We need to pass through many classrooms, learning new lessons, re-learning the forgotten, evolving by degrees towards the Ideal.The Dark Lord of Vrindavan dint fight Arjuna's battles for him.
ReplyDeleteTo know that there are stains and lacunae is the first step towards cleaning up and repairing .We will ultimately make ourselves worthy of reaching His portal where His Truth, we are told, stands self revealing.Having that faith itself may illuminate the path for us.
The Dark Lord of Vrindavan, the Kaarunya -Sindhu, keeps watching - not that our making fools of ourselves entertains him - but much like a mother swelling in pride at the first stumbling steps of her toddler.
You are right,Yosee, that all feelings and emotions have to neccessarily be experienced. But as one awakens, and sees even faint glimmerings of the Truth, it becomes more and more difficult to bear the shackles of ignorance.It is similar to the self loathing, regret(the word in Hindi and Bengali is 'glani') experienced by an addict.He knows, that when he succumbs to his addiction,he creates unneccessary and futile suffering for himself.Yet, he is helpless to prevent it.I know my running after desires is futile,yetI cannot stop myself and am forced to experience the bitter after effects of idulgence.Even a tiny glimmer of light makes one chafe against the bondage of darkness.The slightest hope of freedom, makes slavery unbearable.The longing to break free becomes more and more powerful.Its as if one's head is held under water and one is struggling to breathe.
ReplyDeleteKrishna did not fight Arjuna's battles but He was always there to help.The biggest help was the granting of the vision of the Universal Form. It was this which finally convinced Arjuna to fight.This is my favourite chapter in Gita. I go back to it again and again.For me, it is a graphic illustration of the Truth. As I battle my own self, I seek His help too.
In tghe Eighties 'I' read Krishna also say in the same Gita that because of 'maya' everyone feels His presence within oneself, whereas in reality all are present within Him! And, 'I' then recalled that in my childhood 'I' had come across the story regarding Mother Yashoda seeing in child Krishna's mouth the whole universe! And, thus 'I' could realise that the ancient Hindus have conveyed the 'Truth' of the 'creation' (as well as 'destruction') indirectly, even for the benefit of the common man who is otherwise bogged down by the routine day-to-day life, considering it as the truth...
ReplyDeleteJC Joshi
Mashi, please also read Chapters 2 and 3 of Srimad Bhagvad Gita and extracts from Holy Bible
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