“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.” (Bhagavad-gita, 10.12-13)

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अर्जुन उवाच
परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान् ।
पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजं विभुम् ॥
आहुस्त्वामृषय: सर्वे देवर्षिर्नारदस्तथा ।
असितो देवलो व्यास: स्वयं चैव ब्रवीषि मे ॥

arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma
pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam
ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum

āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve
devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ
svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me

1. It is okay to think about others

“I came to a realization recently. It was the result of contemplating an appropriate response to a particular question. People sometimes ask if parenting is difficult. If you have become a parent for the first time, if you recently started carrying the extra responsibility of managing a household with young children, has the transition been particularly taxing, straining, stressful, and the like? As if the changes to my appearance didn’t already give away the answer!

“Of course, people react differently. Sometimes, there is no difference at all. The husband continues to enjoy life, as per usual. It is the duty of the wife to manage the house, you see. The husband can continue to work in the office without interruption, spend time with friends, hit the golf course on the weekends, watch television at home, and relax whenever there is free time.

“For other people, the struggle is real. They are always questioning themselves. They are constantly assessing, wondering if they are doing a good job. Parenting is more difficult than anything they had ever imagined. They cannot believe the stress. It is like they are always trying to outrun an oncoming train.

“It hit me that the difference in the two situations is the burden which people accept. The new responsibilities are difficult for the one person precisely because they care. They have a vested interest. Life is pretty easy if you don’t care about right and wrong, if you leave everything up to others.

“That is one thing I appreciate about Arjuna. He really cared about others. He was worried about bad things happening as a result of the Bharata War. He had compassion for his enemies. I know that Krishna mildly chastised him for this, on the basis that the compassion was potentially a diversion from dharma, but I think the concern reflects well on Arjuna. It shows just what a kindhearted person he is.”

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
कुतस् त्वा कश्मलम् इदं
विषमे समुपस्थितम्
अनार्य-जुष्टम् अस्वर्ग्यम्
अकीर्ति-करम् अर्जुन

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
akīrti-karam arjuna

“The Supreme Person [Bhagavan] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.2)

2. It is okay to ask for help

“I appreciate that someone as great as Arjuna is not too proud to take an honest assessment of the situation. He is the greatest bow-warrior in the world. You see athletes and honored celebrities carry around their accomplishments with them. The number of trophies they have won might be imprinted on the shoes they wear at a particular event. They insist upon being formally introduced as the winner of this or the winner of that.

“Arjuna never did that; as far as I know. Other people honored him with different names, like Dhananjaya and Savyasachin, but I never got the impression that Arjuna was overly proud. He asked for help during a difficult moment. He approached someone else for guidance.

“That is not easy, especially when so many people might be envious. Arjuna was fortunate to have a great well-wisher nearby. Shri Krishna was not envious, and so He would never use Arjuna’s supposed weakness against him.”

3. It is okay to ask questions

“I appreciate that Arjuna was not afraid to give it back to Krishna, on occasion. If there were logical inconsistencies, if there were truths that did not make sense, if there were blatant contradictions, Arjuna felt comfortable in voicing concerns.

‘One minute you are telling me to work and the next you are telling me about renunciation. You are telling me about speaking the same wisdom to the sun-god, but how can you possibly be that old? You describe the impersonal and the personal, and so which one should I worship?’

“Because of Arjuna’s candidness, though in the role of disciple, the person who hears Bhagavad-gita benefits so much. They at least get explanations to resolve the contradictions. I admit that those topics are difficult to understand, but those questions show just how intelligent Arjuna is.”

4. It is okay to regret past behavior

“In the course of their conversation, Krishna eventually reveals His standing as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is something Arjuna already knew, but it was an understanding he did not necessarily carry with him at all times.

“From this point of reference, Arjuna immediately regretted past actions, particularly in the informality to their dealings. This is something that I can appreciate, because I regret so much of my behavior from my childhood. I understand that adults tend to appreciate the honesty of children, the lack of formality, and the general enthusiasm for life, but I still feel bad. This is because I appreciate those adults so much for what they did, and many of them are no longer in this world.”

5. How to properly praise the Supreme Personality of Godhead

“If a person ever wonders why Vedic literature is so vast and complex, it is because people of all levels of ability continue to praise the Supreme Lord. Since their words of appreciation are beautifully put together, they sometimes get recorded for others to consult, review, and appreciate.

“We know Bhagavad-gita, which is sung by Krishna, but there are so many other gitas. These are various songs describing different philosophical teachings and also the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord.

“Arjuna is not particularly known for composing any gitas, but his praise of Krishna within Bhagavad-gita is amazing. He manages to follow etiquette in the process, in referencing authority figures like Vyasa and Narada within his praise. Arjuna does this as a form of substantiation, to prove that he is not merely speculating. If anyone wants to conduct a factcheck, they know where to go. Arjuna’s ideas on the greatness of Krishna are shared by others.”

In Closing:

Showing weakness not afraid,
Words of trusted guide obeyed.

And also with questions to return,
For proper meaning to learn.

And how to appropriately praise,
Words of permanent impression stays.

From Arjuna’s example the best,
Guidance and relating to the rest.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhagavad-gita, god, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, religion