“Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad­-gita, 18.63)

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इति ते ज्ञानम् आख्यातं
गुह्याद् गुह्यतरं मया
विमृश्यैतद् अशेषेण
यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु

iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ
guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā
vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa
yathecchasi tathā kuru

“I hate to break it to you, but I detect a hint of arrogance in your presentation. Especially in the case of comparative study, which you outwardly try to avoid but subtly still invoke. You give off this aura of superiority, like your religion is better than all the rest, even though you claim to not require a change in identification, affiliation, or even attendance. That is to say, if someone is going to their church right now, there is no reason to stop going. They can practice bhakti-yoga simultaneously. There is no overlap.

“The obvious area of criticism is agreed upon by even the followers. You know, that whole threat about being condemned to hell. Forever. No second chances. You better surrender to the savior right now. You better proclaim loudly and proudly. Well, not too much pride, since you have to acknowledge that you are a lowly sinner. The person in the street aggressively shoves this agenda in your face. They are not subtle about the options. If you don’t agree to their demands, you are doomed.

“Whereas in Krishna consciousness, there is no such reliance on dogmatic insistence. Okay, but there is still the concluding verse of Bhagavad-gita, where Krishna recommends to Arjuna total surrender. Every other kind of dharma, which is like religion, should be abandoned. Just rely on Krishna. He will take care of everything.”

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

“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)

“Is that not the same thing as what people criticize? Do you not see the similarity? If someone doesn’t surrender to Krishna, they are doomed. They will have no hope in life. Even the worshipers of the devas, the gods of the heavenly region, are less intelligent, you see. Even within the supposedly friendly confines of the Hindu tradition, you have to make the decision to limit your worship. Stay with Krishna or one of His Vishnu-tattva expansions. Only then can you win liberation. How do you claim to be open-minded, then?”

Though quickly becoming a relic of the past, in dealings with an honest medical professional there is something known as “informed consent.” Every medical intervention carries some risks. Even something purchased over the counter at the local pharmacy might have a contraindication based on the medication a person currently takes. Their age, diet, or troubles experienced in the past might also get in the way. Every option has its positive points and its negative consequences.

The person recommending the medical intervention should inform the patient of the possible outcomes. For instance, in the United States of America today there is an injection of a vitamin into a newborn that actually carries a “black box” warning from the manufacturer. There might be complications, up to and including death, if the injection is done intravenously or intramuscularly. You might be asking, how will this medical provider administer the injection? Why, intramuscularly, of course, since that is the recommendation of the medical board overseeing care for children. The injection is supposed to prevent against a brain bleed issue in the newborn, which is rare. The logical person then wonders what is more prevalent, the injuries from the injection or the brain bleed. Good luck getting an answer.

In the case of informed consent, the guardian of the child weighs the pros and the cons. This way, when they give consent for the injection, they are informed. Otherwise, they are being cheated. They are not being told every option that is on the table. If something should go wrong, the guardian is responsible, even though they were never told about the potential negative consequences.

We indeed find the recommendation for surrender at the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita, but that is after a thorough presentation from the teacher. Shri Krishna goes through the different options. He covers the three modes of nature. He covers the different paths of life. He takes questions from the disciple. Arjuna does not have to sit there like a rock and only absorb information. The student can respond accordingly. They can ask for difficult points to be further clarified, such as when Krishna revealed that Bhagavad-gita was actually spoken to the sun-god at the beginning of the creation.

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)

Arjuna sees the virat-rupa. This is the universal form. This is like the visual evidence of Divinity. Krishna revealed the virat-rupa. Though something that exists, that can be seen, and that can be identified, the universal form is still something like an impersonal conception. It is God as the complete whole. It is God as the entire universe and more. It is God as the complete collection of material and spiritual fragments.

Arjuna must be a good student, since he comes to the realization that there is choice. He understands that God can be worshiped through the impersonal path, leading to Brahman realization, or through the personal path, in surrendering to Krishna. Arjuna asks which path is better. It is not that one path is necessarily wrong or invalid. There are the two paths, which means that there cannot be anything resembling the concern of dogmatic insistence raised above.

अर्जुन उवाच
एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते
ये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमा:

arjuna uvāca
evaṁ satata-yuktā ye
bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate
ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ
teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ

“Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect: those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?” (Bhagavad-gita, 12.1)

Moreover, at the end of the conversation the choice is up to Arjuna. This same choice is there for everyone. We can go along as we have been, spinning on the wheel of suffering known as samsara-chakra. We can travel from birth to birth, in a variety of species, trying to enjoy the senses. We can be up one day and down the next. We can be happy at one moment and depressed the next. The other way is to be free of a material body altogether, assuming a nature similar to Krishna’s. We do this by always thinking of Him and maintaining that connection in consciousness through to the time of death.

अन्त-काले च माम् एव
स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्
यः प्रयाति स मद्-भावं
याति नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

In Closing:

Place in fire to earn,
For eternity to burn.

If not surrendering now,
But Gita different how?

Because every possibility covered,
And virat-rupa discovered.

Choice for Arjuna to make,
Blessed the personal path to take.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, medicine, poem, poems, poetry, science