“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

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सर्व-धर्मान् परित्यज्य
माम् एकं शरणं व्रज
अहं त्वां सर्व-पापेभ्यो
मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

It is a little unsettling, for sure. Such things should not happen. When they do occur, the loss of life is tragic. The injury is regrettable. The terror from the experience itself coupled with the heartache, sadness, and loneliness from the loss are difficult to ponder. Of all the places in the world for tragedy to strike, how could it happen here? Of all the people to be affected, how could they fall in the path of destruction? Is there no sanctuary? Is there no safe place left in this world?

The event in question is something bad occurring within a place designated as sacred. A tirtha, as it is known in Sanskrit, sees pilgrims migrating to the area. Both on festival days sprinkled throughout the calendar year and basic residence, the idea is to facilitate remembrance. Places like Vrindavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Ayodhya, and Puri have a direct relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known by names such as Bhagavan, Rama, Krishna, and Purushottama.

The expectation is elevation. I am doing the right thing by visiting such places. It is hallowed ground, after all. Even if I am full of material desires, at least I have found my way to a place that promotes transcendence. I am trying. I am full of faults, otherwise. I have no other hope, but it is okay, since at least there are explicit promises to reference.

Does not Shri Krishna Himself give assurance to the bow-warrior Arjuna? Is there not that specific shloka from Bhagavad-gita which sums up the entirety of the presentation? Take shelter in Krishna. Forget everything else. The Supreme Lord will take care of everything. He even asks Arjuna to boldly declare that the devotees never perish.

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)

To have a misunderstanding in this area makes sense, as the distressed are known to approach the Supreme Lord. If we were to create categories for analyzing the people that proceed towards Krishna with some interest in mind, then the distressed would be one of those categories. In the following exercise, we attempt to clarify the concluding promise from Krishna. We see just exactly what is not promised, before revisiting the precise Sanskrit terms used to get a clearer picture of what someone like Arjuna should expect.

1. Personal safety

“Surrender unto me and everything will be taken care of. You are known to the world as Savyasachin. You are the greatest bow-fighter. Since you have taken proper shelter, it is like you will have this virtual protective armor, stronger than the physical armor you are currently wearing. Arrows released from the enemy will bounce off your body. You will never be harmed. It is like you will become unbreakable.”

“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)

2. Perpetual happiness

“You are distressed right now. That is the impetus for your inquiry. The basis of our conversation is your hesitation. Since you are surrendering to me, forget all of your troubles. You will never be in distress again. You will always be happy. Just ponder that for a moment. What the world is searching after, this perpetual sunshine, will be your way of life, moving forward.”

मात्रा-स्पर्शास् तु कौन्तेय
शीतोष्ण-सुख-दुःख-दाः
आगमापायिनो ऽनित्यास्
तांस् तितिक्षस्व भारत

mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ‘nityās
tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata

“O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.14)

3. Guarantee of outcomes

“Surrender unto me and every outcome you desire will manifest. You will become satya-sankalpa. Just by thinking of victory, you will overcome your opponents. There will be no reason to fear defeat. Everything will take care of itself. The events will play out exactly as you plan them.”

4. Recovered memory

“Surrender unto me and you can finally trace out your history. Those many experiences you forgot. The past lifetimes that only I can remember. Where you were, what you were doing, and in what type of body you inhabited. These will be revealed to you. No longer will you have to guess about your past.”

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि
जन्मानि तव चार्जुन
तान्य् अहं वेद सर्वाणि
न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

“The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.5)

5. A spotless reputation

“Surrender unto me and no one will ever say anything negative about you. Enjoy a public image free of blemishes. Everyone will sing your praises, at all times of the day. You will never have to hear harsh words or absorb a stinging rebuke. I will make sure that everyone is favorable to you, at all times.”

…

Krishna did not promise any of the above. The actual basis for their conversation, as preserved in the Sanskrit work of epic length known as Mahabharata, is the hesitancy from Arjuna over possibly doing the wrong thing. He was concerned that fighting in the war would be adharma. He was not so concerned with winning and losing. He was not desperate for attention, honor, distinction, and victory. He was not obsessed with having a kingdom to rule over.

Was fighting actually adharma? Was it the wrong thing to take up arms against respected members on the other side, like Bhishma and Drona? Would it not be horrible for women to become widows, to have no one to look after them? Would not the family itself break down after the departure of the man of the household, who would be killed in battle? Would not Arjuna and his brothers be responsible for the sadness, the decline in safety, and the promotion of immorality due to the lack of proper role models in society?

It is these very concerns that Krishna promises to account for. These concerns are different kinds of punishments for going against dharma. Arjuna was not thinking clearly. He had flipped the script, so to speak. It was dharma to fight. It was dharma to protect others from injury, as he was a kshatriya by work, by birth, and by qualities.

शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर् दाक्ष्यं
युद्धे चाप्य् अपलायनम्
दानम् ईश्वर-भावश् च
क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभाव-जम्

śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ
yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam
dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca
kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the kshatriyas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.43)

Krishna promises to protect against any sinful reaction resulting from surrendering everything to Krishna. This is the insurance, if you will, in the voluntarily accepted policy of living a life of yajna, of offering every action for the benefit of the highest object of worship. It is not that everything will necessarily go smoothly. There will be defeats. There will be losses. There will be low moments. There will be association with the elements of material nature.

यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.27)

Someone like Arjuna will be protected from concerns over missed responsibilities. Skipping this ritual and that will not harm him. Worshiping Krishna exclusively will not incur negative karma in the future. There might still be results to experience, based on past work. If I failed to pay the electric bill last month, the service might shut off today or tomorrow. Even if I now have enough money. Even if my financials are squared away. I won’t lapse again in the future, but for now I am vulnerable to suffering based on my past actions.

महात्मानस् तु मां पार्थ
दैवीं प्रकृतिम् आश्रिताः
भजन्त्य् अनन्य-मनसो
ज्ञात्वा भूतादिम् अव्ययम्

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.13)

The mahatmas, who are great souls, are under the protection of a different kind of energy. Their long-term outlook is accounted for, but they still might have variety in their experiences in the manifest realm. Arjuna ended up succeeding in the Bharata War, but he later had an embarrassing defeat against men of lesser ability. Arjuna was a surrendered soul in both cases. He was under Krishna’s protection. Krishna guides the devotee along the path that is best for them.

In Closing:

Proceed strong in vow,
I’ll take care of everything now.

Those other paths considering,
Just by surrender delivering.

If any negatives to incur,
In me to defer.

Just work for duty’s sake,
And success in devotion take.

Categories: the five

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