“Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.” (Bhagavad-gita, 18.78)

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यत्र योगेश्वर: कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धर:
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम

yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo
yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir
dhruvā nītir matir mama

It is highly revered. It effortlessly breaches the boundaries of border, language, culture, and even time.  The work itself describes the history.  It is like the book comes packaged with an accompanying chain-of-custody slip.  As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes, the knowledge descends.  It is not ascending in the way of materialistic knowledge, which seems to keep searching and searching, digging and digging, proclaiming victories in the name of progress, but still struggling to explain the meaning to it all.  Eventually, time runs out.  There is a virtual passing of the baton, so to speak, such that future entrants to the competition may be able to continue the progress.  Alas, they suffer from the same defect, which is the conundrum known as birth and death.

आ-ब्रह्म-भुवनाल् लोकाः
पुनर् आवर्तिनो ऽर्जुन
माम् उपेत्य तु कौन्तेय
पुनर् जन्म न विद्यते

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
punar āvartino ‘rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

The text of which we speak is Bhagavad-gita.  Nestled within the work of epic length known as Mahabharata, this is a relaying of a conversation that took place on a battlefield.  The setting hints at a narrative involving the exchanging of blows, releasing of arrows from a bow, and strategizing and rethinking of tactics for marching towards a military victory.  Instead, what unfolds is inquiry into the nature of life itself.  Just why are we here?  Why do we suffer?  What is our true identity?  Arjuna asks the questions.  Krishna provides the answers.

In this light, someone may ask the following questions.  Just when is it appropriate to read Bhagavad-gita?  Is there an ideal setting?  Is there a recommended age for a person to first open the book?  Is it the amount of time that passes since birth or is there a kind of rite of passage that serves as qualification?

In our attempt to respond to the inquiries, we present the following review of hypothetical situations.  Some are polar opposites of one another.  They are endpoints in duality.  We might even drift between the groups.  We are in the first category today and in the second tomorrow.  In each case, Bhagavad-gita is appropriate.  More than something to rely upon, it is our trusted friend and guide, should we approach in the same manner as Arjuna.

1. Happy

“Honestly, I have nothing to complain about.  I am not upset with anyone.  You shouldn’t hold on to grudges for too long.  It will eat you up inside.  I love seeing the bright, welcoming sun rising in the morning.  Not that my happiness depends on the weather.  I take pleasure in even the cold of winter.  In our part of the world this year, there was this one big snowstorm that left a lasting impression.  That is because the temperatures immediately dropped below freezing.  They stayed that way for several weeks, meaning that the snow turned into ice, causing trouble on the roads.  I was fine, either way. You can get used to anything.”

2. Sad

“Honestly, I cannot find happiness in anything.  I am always down.  I experience a kind of perpetual depression.  I would never wish this upon anyone.  I see no meaning in anything that I do.  I see other people passing away.  I wonder what they have to show for it.  What was the purpose to their time on earth?  If that is how I feel about others, what does that say about me?  I am just going through the motions, and for what?  To feed myself?  The animals can do that already, and they aren’t depressed.  Do you see what I mean?”

3. Succeeding

“I am doing fairly well in business.  I am living comfortably.  I am not trailing my peers.  Everything I touch turns to gold.  I am finally in the position to dictate.  I am not weak.  I do not have to beg from others.  Rather, others approach me.  Shamelessly and repeatedly, always asking for things, but I do not mind.  I would much rather be where I am now than in their shoes.”

4. Failing

“At this point, I am ready to give up.  Why even try anymore?  Every time I make an attempt, it ends in failure.  Colossal and tragic, at that.  I would rather someone else try.  I am content with sitting on the sidelines.  I am so accustomed to failing that I know of no other outcome.  What a horrible way to live.”

5. Grieving

It is in this area that we might be on the receiving end of a puzzling question.  Someone wants to know if devotees of Krishna, who themselves try to follow the teachings of Bhagavad-gita, have any advice for a trauma victim.  For someone suffering from grief, who feels as if they are on the wrong side of a mountain, wanting to cross over.  For someone who cannot get over the loss of a loved one or a tragedy that struck at the worst time.  Is there something within the bhakti-yoga tradition to help?

The question is striking given the fact that Bhagavad-gita begins with the premise of grief.  Through safely succumbing to the energy known as yogamaya, Arjuna has kindly alighted the path towards grief based only on a potential.  If comparing to the world of investing, it would be like worrying over an unrealized loss.  The shares have not been sold yet.  Their value has not even plummeted, but Arjuna is concerned, nonetheless.  He sees grief in triumph.  He sees sadness in victory.  He sees loss in gain.

It is the opinion of the wise that this place is itself a home of grief.  Goswami Tulsidas combines two Sanskrit words to give a better idea.  This world, full of duality, is shokadhama.  It is an abode of grief.  We all begin with the premise of loss, though we fail to notice.  Shastra, which presents the eternally relevant science of self-realization, is for identifying the guaranteed loss, for making sense of it, and for finding a way out.  There is a better situation.  There is a higher realm to reach.

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

In Closing:

From Gita take relief,
Because starting with grief.

In the future Arjuna to see,
Sad in victory to be.

Applying life experience across,
How ocean of misery to cross?

Krishna with the answers in hand,
Since highest authority to command.

Categories: the five

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