“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34)

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मन्-मना भव मद्-भक्तो
मद्-याजी मां नमस्कुरु
माम् एवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवम्
आत्मानं मत्-परायणः

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

Is there formality amongst friends? They are equals, after all. That is the basis for friendships. If one person is superior, respected, and resembling a dignitary, then how can someone of a different status feel comfortable around them? If the two played together on the same team, sat in the same classroom at school, or worked alongside each other at the office, then it would make sense to feel some comradery. But what if your close friend happens to be the most important being of all, who is the source of everything? How would you treat that friend? How would you behave around them?

Consider the following story. Of late, you have frequented a youth sports facility. You are bringing your child there a few times a week, to learn a particular sport. This place has kindly provided a comfortable viewing area, such that you are separated from the children but can still see what is going on. Your child can see you too, and they look up every now and then to make sure you are paying attention.

The visits take place an hour or so prior to the usual time that your family eats dinner. Sometimes, the hunger gets the better of you, and so you walk over to the nearby vending machine. You don’t always pick the same item. Sometimes, it is candy. Other times, it is potato chips. Soda and juice are also available. On one particular visit, the machine gets stuck. After entering sufficient payment and pressing the correct buttons, you see your item just dangling, waiting to fall. Except, it won’t. You bang and bang away at the machine. You start cursing to yourself. You are mad at everyone and everything. How could this machine do this to you? How could they break the sacred contract? You put in the money. You made your selection. They have failed to deliver on their end of the bargain.

The machine in this case is an order supplier. It presents a visual listing of the items for exchange. Simply make sufficient payment and you get what you want. It is not surprising that the same viewpoint would apply towards the Almighty at the introductory level. After all, we are only approaching Him because of His ability. He can do things. He can make stuff happen. He must have created the entire universe, after all. That is pretty significant. He can surely handle my latest problem. It is not like He would lose anything in the proposal.

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)

The conclusion to the narrative of the Bhagavad-gita delivery to Arjuna presents a different picture. The beginning appears headed for an outcome similar to our story above. You have the person in distress. Someone requires assistance. Someone is unsure of himself. Arjuna does not know what to do. His hesitation is so strong that it feels like an external force has overcome him. In fact, it is his own mind. In contemplating the different options and the potential futures they portend, Arjuna feels so lost that he drops his weapons.

सञ्जय उवाच
एवम् उक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये
रथोपस्थ उपाविशत्
विसृज्य स-शरं चापं
शोक-संविग्न-मानसः

sañjaya uvāca
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye
rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ
śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ

“Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.” (Bhagavad-gita, 1.46)

The problem is that he needs those weapons. Arjuna arrived on the battlefield of Kurukshetra not as a spectator or a neutral observer. He was to be an active participant. He was to be the main attraction. His side was counting on him to bring them across the finish line, to achieve victory and regain the kingdom that was previously stolen from them. This was the worst time to show hesitation.

No problem, as Krishna was there. Arjuna knew someone was there to help. Krishna had proven Himself capable on many previous occasions. If stuck in the immature view of Divinity, Arjuna could simply have pressed a button. Sufficient payment was already there in the form of friendship. Arjuna was already dear to Krishna. It was Arjuna’s chariot that Krishna chose to steer. It was Arjuna’s chariot that was flying the flag of the revered Hanuman.

अथ व्यवस्थितान् दृष्ट्वा
धार्तराष्ट्रान् कपि-ध्वजः
प्रवृत्ते शस्त्र-सम्पाते
धनुर् उद्यम्य पाण्डवः
हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यम्
इदम् आह मही-पते

atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā
dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte
dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ
hṛṣīkeśaṁ tadā vākyam
idam āha mahī-pate

“O King, at that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, who was seated in his chariot, his flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows, looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra. O King, Arjuna then spoke to Hrishikesha [Krishna] these words:” (Bhagavad-gita, 1.20)

Krishna stepped up to the occasion. Krishna rescued Arjuna. How, exactly? Not through an item dispensed from a machine. Not through some magic touch. Not through dropping a physical weapon on the enemies. Rather, Krishna transferred sound. The sound contained wisdom. That wisdom was as timeless as Krishna Himself. That wisdom would inspire Arjuna to proceed along the path of dharma. That wisdom would lead the devotee towards the proper outcome, with a consciousness properly aligned with transcendence.

During their conversation, Arjuna did make one small request. He asked to see the virat-rupa. This was the vision of the entire cosmic manifestation. This was simply for his own desire, which would simultaneously satisfy any future skeptics on the matter. Anyone who would doubt the authenticity to the presentation could be assured by the universal form displayed to Arjuna. That virat-rupa was something Arjuna knew about. The vision did not take him by surprise.

Still, it was Arjuna who essentially worked out his own issues. Krishna did not fight for Arjuna. Krishna did not make any visible changes to the fighting configuration. It was sound delivered to the great bow-warrior that meant everything. That same sound passes down to the modern day, and it can rescue me in the same way, provided I carry a similar level of trust.

In Closing:

If with vending machine view,
Then applying to Arjuna too.

Simply a button could press,
And the problem to address.

With Krishna solution giving,
And with resolution living.

But instead simply words to hear,
To process for understanding clear.

Categories: bhagavad-gita

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, friendship, poem, poems, poetry