“The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.” (Bhagavad-gita, 9.1)

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श्री-भगवान् उवाच
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं
प्रवक्ष्याम्य् अनसूयवे
ज्ञानं विज्ञान-सहितं
यज् ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसे ऽशुभात्

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ
pravakṣyāmy anasūyave
jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ
yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ‘śubhāt

1. Now you are telling me?

“Really, bro? You are revealing all of this to me, now? What gives? Why were you holding back this entire time? Not cool at all. I can’t believe you just sat here watching me suffer. I even shed a tear or two. You only smiled and called me names. I will not forget this.”

2. Can you fight this war for me?

“Wow, so you are pretty powerful, huh? It appears that everyone is subordinate to you. In that case, can you go ahead and take care of this war for me? What is the purpose of my fighting? You already have sufficient might. What are you saving it for? Use it.”

3. Why didn’t you tell me about the future?

“I was sitting here terrified about what would take place going forward. Meanwhile, you knew everything. You had the information the entire time. You kept it to yourself. What good is that going to do anyone?”

4. I might just be hallucinating

“I don’t know, man. This must be a manifestation of my grief. I must really be out of it if I am suddenly seeing the entire universe in front of me. This is kind of fun, though. Let’s see how long it lasts. This will be one amazing story to tell others.”

5. But where is the evidence?

“Okay, so I see what is supposed to be outer space. I can identify the various planets. I get a clear picture of the many devas. There are now faces corresponding to the names. I guess it wasn’t a waste to worship them this entire time. But where is the evidence? I need proof that you are Almighty. I am not seeing that. Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?”

…

न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षु: पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्

na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum
anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā
divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ
paśya me yogam aiśvaram

“But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.8)

One of the potential secondary layers of study of Bhagavad-gita, if looking for a deep-dive or extended deliberation for understanding, is the qualification of the student. Bhagavad-gita is basically a conversation between a teacher and a disciple. Interestingly, the relationship was not that way at the beginning; there was an abrupt transition that took place.

Arjuna made the call. He essentially waved the white flag of surrender. The confidential nature to the dealings was important because a visible white flag in those circumstances would otherwise have devastating and long-lasting implications. This was a battlefield, after all. Countless participants had assembled. If accurately depicted on screen in the modern day, computer technology would be required in order to fill up the space. There were too many of the best fighters there to keep track of.

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः
पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः
यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्‍चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे
शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्

kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ
yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi tan me
śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.7)

Arjuna surrendered in terms of making a decision. He gave up the fight to deliberate on his own on what to do. He was unsure of himself. He was previously prepared to fight. That is why he arrived on the battlefield ready to go. But the moment got the better of him. He could not fathom the long-term consequences to the action [kriya] that was about to take place.

Arjuna surrendered to Krishna, who was otherwise set to only drive the chariot. Imagine reserving a rideshare pickup and then starting something like a counseling session with the driver on the way to the destination. You expect them to solve not only your current problems but the very reason for living itself. You put full faith and trust in them.

Fortunately, Krishna was no ordinary driver. As He was approached in a humble manner, where the student was eager to listen, to learn, and to implement the recommendations offered to him, Krishna was more than happy to oblige. Within that conversation, Krishna even revealed the four general categories of people who approach Him. One of those is the distressed, and Arjuna was clearly in that condition.

चतुर्-विधा भजन्ते मां
जनाः सुकृतिनो ऽर्जुन
आर्तो जिज्ञासुर् अर्थार्थी
ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ

catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ
janāḥ sukṛtino ‘rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī
jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

“O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.16)

Arjuna was qualified because he was not envious. This might appear to be a strange qualification to highlight, but it gets to the heart of the matter of the continued association with material nature, which as a collective energy is known as prakriti. The living being meets with good and evil, guna and dosha, amongst various species due precisely to association with that prakriti.

पुरुषः प्रकृति-स्थो हि
भुङ्क्ते प्रकृति-जान् गुणान्
कारणं गुण-सङ्गो ऽस्य
सद्-असद्-योनि-जन्मसु

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ‘sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.22)

Karma configures the association. Karma is fruitive activity, and the trigger to karma is kama, which is material desire. Kama is rooted in enviousness. We can only have kama when we are forgetful of the supreme standing of the Almighty. We can only have kama when we forget that God is the greatest well-wishing friend, with whom competition is not required

भोक्तारं यज्ञ-तपसां
सर्व-लोक-महेश्वरम्
सुहृदं सर्व-भूतानां
ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिम् ऋच्छति

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.29)

The lack of enviousness [anasuyave] not only qualified Arjuna to receive wisdom appropriate to the situation and future calamities, but it also made Arjuna eligible to see the virat-rupa. This is like the entire collective put into a single image. All three dimensions are involved, and there is also a time element.

The virat-rupa is the very empirical evidence that the nonbelievers insist upon, but the tricky part is that without the lack of envy there is no value to this evidence. A hardened cynic can dismiss anything that is placed before them. They can blame God for having not stepped up before. They are in the mentality of taker instead of giver. They only want to exploit.

Someone like Arjuna is never envious of Krishna, and so he benefits not only from the vision of the virat-rupa but also the assurance of continued protection. The devotees never perish. Even if they should leave this world, if their life appears to be cut short, their connection to transcendence remains, as strong as Arjuna’s resolve in the Bharata War.

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा
शश्वच्-छान्तिं निगच्छति
कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि
न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति

kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi
na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati

“He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.31)

In Closing:

Despite singing the saddest song,
Resolve in that war strong.

Because to guru submitting,
Doubts and fears about quitting.

Lack of envy the key,
Thus true evidence could see.

In virat-rupa showing,
Krishna as God knowing.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, virat rupa