The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2: 

The Path of Knowledge (Part I – Shlokas 1 – 38)

Sanjaya said, “Arjuna was overwhelmed with pity and despondency. His eyes were agitated and filled with tears. Lord Madhusudan (Shri Krishna) told the following things to Arjuna.” (1)

Shri Krishna said, “O Arjuna! How come this delusion has covered your mind at this critical time? Neither this attitude is fitting for a noble person, nor does it give honor to a person, nor does it take one to heaven. (2)

O Partha (Arjuna)! Don’t be a coward! It does not befit you. Remove this low-level weakness from your heart and stand up! You are actually the scorcher of enemies.” (3)

Arjuna said, “O Madhusudan (Shri Krishna)! In war, how can I shoot arrows at the grandsire Bhishma and my teacher Drona? They are worthy of worship. (4)

I think it is better for me to live on alms than to kill these respectable teachers. By killing them, I will only enjoy in this world the wealth and objects of desires filled with their blood. (5)

We do not know which is better for us: to fight or not to fight. We do not know who will win at the end. And we do not wish to live by killing our cousins, the sons of Dhritarashtra, who are in the opposite army. (6)

My mind has been possessed by pity and I am really confused about my duty. Please tell me what is good for me in this situation. I take refuge at your feet. I am your student. Please guide me. (7)

Even if I become a king of a large prosperous kingdom without any enemy or obtain the lordship over the gods in heaven, I do not see a way to overcome the sorrow which burns up my senses.” (8)

Sanjaya said, “O King Dhritarashtra! Having said this, Arjuna, who is the scorcher of enemies, told Shri Krishna that “I will not fight.” and sat quietly. (9)

Then, Shri Krishna, in the middle of two armies, told the grief-stricken Arjuna the following things with a smile.” (10)

(Note: Shri Krishna is a great teacher and a guide. It is interesting to know how in various ways he explains to Arjuna why it is good for him to perform his duty. First, he explains from the philosophical (Atman) point of view. We also can learn from these teachings why we should continue to perform our responsibility in critical situations.)

Shri Krishna said, “You are grieving for the people who should not be grieved for. You talk like a wise person, but the wise do not grieve for the living or those who are not living. (11)

It is not true that these kings, you, or I were not living in the past nor not living in the future.  Wise people are always aware that the soul (Atman) of an individual gets another body after death just as an individual in one’s own body goes through stages like childhood, adulthood and old age. (12-13)

O Son of Kunti (Arjuna)! Because of the contact of the senses with their objects, one feels heat and cold and joy and sorrow. These dualities always come and go. They are temporary. O Bharata (Arjuna)! You have to endure them. (14)

O the Best among the Human Beings (Arjuna)! Knowing this cause of joy and sorrow, a wise person does not get disturbed. Thus, such a wise person, remaining calm in joy and sorrow, is fit to realize the immortality of the soul (Atman). (15)

The wise people who have realized the Ultimate Reality (the Highest Truth) have observed that ‘the unreal does not exist and the Real never perishes.’ (16)

The One (Brahman) which pervades the whole universe is Imperishable. No one can destroy this Imperishable. The bodies of human beings are perishable, but the Atman residing within is imperishable and incomprehensible. Therefore, O Bharata (Arjuna)! You must perform your duty as a soldier to fight. Both types of people, one who thinks that ‘I kill the Atman’ and the one who thinks that ‘The Atman is being killed,’ do not know that the Atman does not kill and does not get killed. (17-18-19)

This Atman was never born and It never dies. It is not that at some point the Atman is born and then It dies. This Atman is birth-less, eternal, and ancient. This Atman does not die when the body dies. (20)

O Partha (Arjuna)! If one knows that the Atman is imperishable, eternal, unborn, and immutable, how then can that person think that he/she slays or is the cause for another to slay? (21)

(Note: One should not misinterpret these teachings as a justification to kill anyone. That kind of interpretation is completely wrong and distorted. Shri Krishna had made all efforts to stop the war, but the Pandavas (and in particular Arjuna) were forced to fight for their survival and they had no other choice left. We always have to keep in mind this situation when we read these teachings. On the other hand, the deeper understanding that the Atman is imperishable may help us in carrying out our responsibility in various situations.)

As we get rid of worn-out clothes and put on new clothes, the Jivatma (the embodied Atman) gets rid of the old body and put on a new body. (22)

The Atman is Imperishable. Weapons cannot destroy the Atman, fire cannot burn It, water cannot drown It and the wind cannot blow It.  (23)

The Atman can neither be destroyed, nor be burnt, nor be drowned, and nor be blown. The Atman is eternal, all-pervading, immovable, unchangeable and ancient. This Atman is said to be Un-manifest, beyond comprehension, and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing Atman the way it has been described, you should not grieve.  (24-25)

(Note: Now in the next two shlokas, Shri Krishna talks from the layman’s point of view and then again goes back to the philosophy of the Ultimate Reality of the Atman.)

O Mighty Armed Arjuna! Even if you think that this Atman is born with the body and dies with it, you should not grieve, because whatever is born dies and whatever dies is born again, and you cannot do anything about it. (26-27)

All beings were un-manifested before their birth and again become un-manifested after death. They manifest only in the middle. In this situation, what is there to grieve about?  (28)

Some look on this Atman as a wonder; some speak of It as a wonder; some hear about It as a wonder; still others, though hearing, do not understand It at all. (29)

O Bharata (Arjuna)! The Atman which dwells in all bodies is Imperishable. Therefore, you should not grieve for any being. (30)

(Note: In the next six shlokas, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna why it is good for him to perform his responsibilities as a trained warrior from the practical point of view.)

You should not waver from your responsibility as a warrior on the battlefield knowing that the war is unpleasant. For a warrior, there is nothing better than to die fighting for a righteous cause. (31)

O Partha (Arjuna)! Only blessed warriors get such unsought war opening a gate to heaven. On the other hand, if you do not fight this righteous war, then you will incur sin by forsaking your responsibility and honor. (32-33)

If you do not fight, then for years people will talk about your infamy. For an honorable person, dishonor is more painful than death. The great warriors will think that you have run away from the battlefield due to fear.  Also those, who have high regard for you as a warrior, will look down upon you. (34-35)

Your enemies and ill-wishers will make degrading comments about your lack of strength and vigor to fight a war.  Nothing will be more painful than to listen to these remarks.  (36)

If you get killed fighting a war for the righteous cause, then you will go to heaven and if you win, then you will enjoy a large kingdom. Therefore, O Son of Kunti (Arjuna)! Arise and resolve to fight. (37)

Consider the pairs of opposites like pain and pleasure, benefit and loss, and victory or defeat as different stages of life. They are not different from the absolute point of view. Be ready to perform your duty as a warrior to fight. By doing this you will not incur any sin. (38)

End of Gita Chapter two Part I.

(Note: In the year of 1973, at my graduate school, City University of New York, I was talking to couple of classmates about India and Indian culture. In that conversation Bhagavad Gita came up as a topic of discussion. I remembered one classmate said, “Oh! Bhagavad Gita! Is that about an archer who did not want to fight a war and God (Krishna) told him to fight the war?” I just smiled and asked the classmate whether he knew about the reason for the war, the circumstances which led to the war, and the efforts made by Krishna to prevent the war? He did not know any of this.

I told him that Shri Krishna went to the opposite party (King Duryodhana’s court) as a peace-making messenger to prevent the war.  Duryoudhana walked out of the court, insulting Krishna. Even though Pandavas deserved half of the kingdom, Duryodhana said that Pandavas would have to fight even for a piece land that fits on the tip of a blade of grass. Shri Krishna went to Duryodhana’s father, who simply said that his son (Duryodhana) did not listen to him. Shri Krishna went to Bhishma and Drona to prevent the war. Bhishma and Drona both knew that this was an unrighteous war, but they had been bound by their obligations. Thus, Shri Krishna made all his efforts to prevent the war, but he failed. He came back with a heavy heart to tell Pandavas that they had no choice left but to go to war. Moreover, I told my classmate how despite the various ways in which Duryodhana and his cousins tried to kill the Pandavas, the Pandavas were able to survive. Duryodhana cheated the Pandavas and took away their kingdom, with the goal to destroy the righteous Pandavas; just see how much they had to suffer in their lives!  Arjuna was the Pandavas’ main hope to survive.

Another important point is that the teachings of Upanishads were given in Ashramas, which were like universities in wooded areas. All the Upanishads’ teachings were related to the fundamental questions of life, like, ‘What is the purpose of life (if there is any)?’, ‘What is my true identity?’, ‘What is my relationship with others?’, ‘What is the nature and the purpose of the universe?’, ‘What is the goal of a human life?’. The Upanishads give answers to all these questions. But, these answers are philosophical answers. How to practice these thoughts in our day-to-day life is very important. That is why Bhagavad Gita is most important. Shri Krishna told Arjuna how to apply the teachings of the Upanishads in the critical time of his life. With Arjuna, we can learn how to apply Bhagavad Gita’s teachings in the critical time of our life. What could be more critical in our life than Arjuna’s situation In the middle of the battle-field where he was forced to fight with his own relatives? Bhagavad Gita teach us very practical ideas such as, ‘How to live in the world keeping our mind balanced?’, ‘How to acquire the highest knowledge and unbroken bliss while living in the world?’, ‘What are the values we can practice in our life?’, ‘How to love all unselfishly?’ and many others.)

(Thanks to Sonali Tatapudy and Rushil Desai for editing this post.)