“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

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada places repeated emphasis on the word “devotee.” The original Sanskrit is bhakta. You see, only the bhakta can understand God, as He is. This is not speculation on the part of the acharya. This is not some cleverly concocted principle that conveniently facilitates a steady flow of followers, to potentially turn into disciples who give prestige to a movement, to keep it relevant and active, like a well-oiled machine, steaming into the distant future.

The justification can be found in Bhagavad-gita itself. Shri Krishna specifically states that a person can only understand Him if they are following devotion, bhakti. Any other pathway has difficulties, has pitfalls, and lacks a complete picture of the very meaning to an Almighty Being. This is not to say that there is sole reliance on dogmatic insistence. Any person can make any claim. Any person can hold up a book and insist that others follow. Those who fail to fall in line then become the sinners, and the sinners are to be shunned. This is because the sinners are doomed, you see. They refused to accept the book and the savior that book describes.

भक्त्या माम् अभिजानाति
यावान् यश् चास्मि तत्त्वतः
ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा
विशते तद्-अनन्तरम्

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram

“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.55)

To rise above blind sentiment, Bhagavad-gita covers every angle of vision into the nature of an existence. The entire presentation is like a science. It takes many years before someone receives the honor of a degree from a prestigious university. They require even more time to develop a reputation within the field, based on how they use the formal education they received. The science of self-realization can take just as long for proper assimilation, but Bhagavad-gita covers the basics.

At the end of the day, there will be some faith extended. This is a non-negotiable requirement to success in the life experience. We already trust so much on a given day that we tend to overlook just how much we rely upon others. When passing through an intersection on the road. When receiving reports of the upcoming weather. While signing up for direct deposit through the payroll system of the employer.

If there is no way around the requirement for extending faith, it would make sense to assess the different options. Who are the people considered trustworthy? What kind of person should be our guide? With the question of accepting Shri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there are two extremes in terms of character. Studying each case, we can judge for ourselves.

1. Someone like Duryodhana

In this instance, we have someone with a long rap sheet. They are expert at deception. They attempted to murder several individuals in various ways. Feeding the victim poison through a cake. Sending a group of people to live in a house that was intentionally built to easily burn to the ground. Literally stealing property that belonged to others. Utilizing whatever means were necessary to achieve the desired end, which was securing a kingdom.

These are different truths tied to the historical figure known as Duryodhana. He is someone we might trust. He is an influential personality, after all. What does he say about Krishna? Well, one time, he actually attempted to bind the son of Yashoda, who was an adult at the time. Yashoda only previously succeeded because Krishna finally gave sanction. This was during Krishna’s childhood. The ropes that were repeatedly two-finger-widths short of joining together finally were long enough to bind the naughty Krishna to a mortar. For that exchange, Krishna earned the named Damodara.

“She gathered more ropes from the house and added to it, but at the end she found the same shortage. In this way, she connected all the ropes available at home, but when the final knot was added, she saw that it was still two inches too short. Mother Yashoda was smiling, but she was astonished. How was it happening?” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 9)

Duryodhana failed at binding an adult Krishna, who was playing the role of mediator in trying to avoid a serious military conflict. Setting aside success or failure for the moment, we judge the intention. Duryodhana was the kind of person who wanted to embarrass his adversaries through egregious violations of etiquette. Instead of shooting the messenger, Duryodhana wanted to tie him up.

2. Someone like Arjuna

In this instance, we have another person with a long list of attributes and activity to their name. Arjuna was known as the great bow warrior of his time. He won the self-choice contest for marrying the queen named Draupadi. Arjuna won that contest by doing something practically impossible. He pierced the eye of a fish while having only a vision of its reflection. Arjuna proved why people sometimes refer to him as Savyasachin.

“Savyasachin refers to one who can shoot arrows very expertly in the field; thus Arjuna is addressed as an expert warrior capable of delivering arrows to kill his enemies.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 11.33 Purport)

While one person is greedy and has no end to their desires, Arjuna is known as Dhananjaya. He is the conqueror of wealth. He is known as Gudakesha since sleep is not something which controls him. Arjuna has control over the senses. All in all, he is a nice person. He does not intend to do harm to others. Even if others are deserving of it, if they are due for punishment in the system of righteousness, dharma, Arjuna still feels bad about having to injure others.

What is Arjuna’s opinion of Krishna? Arjuna says that Krishna is the Supreme Lord. Some might say this is due to sentiment, where the feelings are based on a close friendship, but Arjuna gives support to the claim. He says that other people of high repute, such as Narada and Vyasa, also take Krishna as God. Arjuna approaches Krishna for assistance. Arjuna takes Krishna to be the adi-guru, or the first teacher.

In Closing:

At the end of the day,
Some faith at play.

Where trust to extend,
For assistance to lend.

For proper conclusion to reach,
Assess the qualities of each.

With Duryodhana of wicked mind,
Or Arjuna brave and kind?

Categories: the two

Tags: arjuna, atheism, bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, poem, poems, poetry, religion