Geeta Dhara – Gurukul

1.16 -“King Yudhisthir, the son of Kunti, blew the conch Anantvijay, whereas Nakul and Sahdev blew their conches Sughosh and Manipushpak.”
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King Yudhisthir blows the conch Anantvijay (endless conquest). Kunti is the very image of dutifulness; and Yudhisthir, the embodiment of dharm (natural piety). If one’s adherence to dharm is steady, Anantvijay will bring about the absorption of the Self in the boundless God. The one who is firm in battle is Yudhisthir: one who is unshaken by conflicts between Self and the material world-between the body and the transcendental Soul, and to whom the essence of the sphere of action has been revealed. He is enabled eventually, by God who alone is real, ceaseless, and immutable, to overcome all the contradictions.

Nakul, who is a symbol of restraint, blows the conch named Sughosh. As restraint grows firmer, evil is subdued and the dominance of righteousness is proclaimed. Sahdev, the adherer to truth, blows on the conch which bears the name of Manipushpak. Sages have described each breath as a precious ruby. “What a pity that we squander the jewels of our breath on idle gossip!” One kind of satsang is the moral discourse we hear from noble men, but the real spiritual discourse is internal. According to Sri Krishn, Self alone is true and eternal. True satsang comes about when the mind reins itself in from all externals and dwells with the Self. This adherence to truth is cultivated by incessant reflection, meditation, and samadhi.

The more joy one feels in dwelling with the one reality, the more restraint one gains over each breath, the mind, and the instruments by which objects of sense affect the Self. The day they are totally restrained is the day when we are absorbed in the ultimate essence.Providing, like a good instrument, harmonious accompaniment to the song of the Self is true satsang.

The physical ruby is hard, but the jewel of breath is even more tender than a flower. Flowers fall and wither soon after they bloom, and we can never say that we shall live until the next breath. But if there is true adherence to the Self, it leads us to realize the highest goal through providing control over each breath. There is nothing to proclaim beyond this, although each device is helpful in traversing a certain stretch of the path of spiritual perfection.

1.17-1.18-“The King of Kashi, a great bowman, Shikhandi who dwells in the Supreme Spirit, the unvanquished Dhristdyumn, Virat and Satyaki, Drupad and the sons of Draupadi, and Subhadra’s son of powerful arms (Abhimanyu), all blew, O lord of the earth, their own conches.”

The sacred city of Kashi is an emblem of the sacredness that resides in the physical body. When a man withdraws his mind and sense organs from all physical things and concentrates on the Self within his body, he is privileged to merge with and dwell within God. The body which is capable of such a union is Kashi. The Supreme Spirit dwells in and pervades every single body. So “parmeshwasah” here means dwelling in the Supreme Spirit rather than a “mighty warrior”.

Shikhandi represents the rejection of shikha-sutr (sacred signs traditionally worn by Hindus). There are people who believe they have achieved renunciation just because they have got their heads shaved clean, cast away their sacred threads, and stopped lighting fire. But they are mistaken, for, as a matter of fact, shikha symbolizes a goal which has to be attained, and sutr the merits of action in a previous existence (sanskar). The chain of sanskar is intact so long as God has yet to be realized. How can there be true renunciation till the moment of that fulfillment? Till then we are only wayfarers. Delusion subsides only when the desired God is attained and the merits of previous deeds are reduced to nothing.

So it is Shikhandi who proves to be the undoing of Bheeshm, the image of delusion and self-deception. Shikhandi represents the unique quality that is essential for the man who chooses the path of reflection, a truly mighty fighter on his side.

Dhristdyumn, the steadfast mind that treasures faith in the universal, immutable divinity, and Virat, capable of perceiving the omnipresence of the great God, are the main constituents of sacred excellence. Satyaki is truthfulness. There can never be a fall from piety as long as there is truthfulness or the desire to ponder over truth, it always protects us from being routed in the war between spirit and matter.

Drupad, representing the ideal of consistency and steadfastness in the performance of duty, the five sons of meditation-like Draupadi, symbols of compassion, tenderness, beauty, and spiritual repose, who are all great warriors providing assistance to the quest for the desired goal, and the long-armed Abhimanyu, all blow their separate conches. “Arm” is a symbol of the sphere of action. When the mind is freed from fear, its reach is immensely enlarged.

So Sanjay addresses Dhritrashtr and acquaints him with how the chiefs of the Pandav army have made their proclamations with their conches. Each one of them is a prerequisite of the skill of traversing a certain length of the way to spiritual emancipation. Their observance is necessary and that is why they are enumerated in detail. However, there is, after these preliminary stages, that stretch of the path which is beyond the perceiving mind and intellect. This is the length along which one is enabled to travel only by the blessedness of the great awakening within the Self. He stands up from the Self as vision and is self-evident.

1.19-“The loud tumult, reverberating through heaven and earth, pierced the hearts of Dhritrashtr’s sons.”

The great tumult, echoing through heaven and earth, rends the hearts of Dhritrashtr’s sons. There is the Pandav army, too, but the hearts that are rent are only those of Dhritrashtr’s sons. When the manna of Panchjanya, made up of true knowledge, realization of the infinite, destruction of evil, and affirmation of piety, begins to flow, theKaurav hearts with their unrighteous and outward-looking impulses cannot but be rent. Their power wanes by and by. And if the process meets with success, infatuation ceases to exist altogether.

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“Humble Wishes” 

1.6 -“The valorous Yudhmanyu, the mighty Uttmauj, Saubhadr, ant Draupadi’s five sons, all great warriors.”

The heroic Yudhmanyu of warlike temper; Uttmauj with the spirit of abandon that flows from sacred excellence;Abhimanyu (Saubhadr), Subhadra’s son, with a mind without fear because it is propped up by righteousness, and the five sons of Draupadi who herself is a form of discernment of the divine, all are great warriors named tenderness, beauty, compassion, spiritual repose and consistency. All of them are noted for their ability to traverse the path of spiritual fulfillment with perfect skill.

Duryodhan thus enumerates to his teacher about a score of names from the side of the Pandav, which represent some vital principles of divine excellence. Although the monarch of impulses that are alien to the essentially spiritual character of the Self, it is ignorance (attachment) that first motivates us to strive for the realization of the treasure of divinity.

As for his own side, Duryodhan dwells on it but briefly. Had it been an actual, external war, he would have given an elaborate account of his army. But only a few perversions are cited, for they have to be conquered and they are destructible. There are mentioned only about half a dozen of these, at the heart of all of which there yet dwells an unworldly propensity.

1.7 -“Be it known to you, O the worthiest of the twice-born (Brahmins), the names of those who are most eminent amongst us, the chiefs of our army; these I now name for your information.”

“The worthiest of the twice-born.” That is how Duryodhan addresses his teacher Dronacharya before he introduces to him the chiefs of his army. “The worthiest of the twice-born” would hardly be an appropriate term of address for a commander-in-chief if the war were a physical, external war. In fact, the Geeta dwells upon the conflict between contradictory innate impulses, upon the dual conduct which is Dronacharya. The world of matter exists and there is duality if we are even in the least isolated from God. However, the urge, too, for overcoming this duality of object-spirit is derived first from the teacher Dronacharya. It is imperfect knowledge that induces the hunger for enlightenment.

It is now time to have a look at the leaders of the impulses which are hostile to the essentially sacred character of the Self.

1.8 –” Your venerable self, Bheeshm and Karn, and also Kripa-victor in wars, Ashwatthama and Vikarn, as well as Saumdutti (Bhurishrawa, son of Somdutt).”

The commander-in-chief is Dronacharya himself, symbolizing dual conduct. And then there is the grandsire Bheeshm, the very image of delusion. Delusion is the fountainhead of deviation from the ideal state. Since it survives till the very end, delusion is the grandsire. The whole army has perished, but Bheeshm yet lives on. He lies unconscious on his bed of arrows and still continues to breathe. Like Bheeshm, too, are Karn, a betrayer of the sacred character of Self, and the conquering warrior Kripacharya. Kripacharya represents the act of compassion by the seeker in the state before Self-realization. God is the mine of compassion and the sage attains to the same state after fulfillment. But during the period up to accomplishment, so long as the worshipper is removed from God and God is removed from him, when the uncongenial impulses are still alive and strong, and he is besieged by delusion-if the seeker feels compassion at this stage, he is destroyed. For acting with pity, Sita had to undergo penance in Lanka for years.

Vishwamitr fell from grace because he felt tenderness at such a stage. Maharshi Patanjali, the preceptor of yog-aphorism, has expressed a similar view. “Attainments made, through perfect meditation are indeed attainments, but they are also as formidable obstacles in the way of the endeavour of the individual Soul for identification with the Supreme Spirit as sensual desire, anger, greed, and delusion.” Goswami Tulsidas has said, “O Garud, manifold are obstacles built up by maya when we strive to unravel the knots of properties of nature-mere distortions of truth. Attainment of sanctity elevates, but the mind conjures up one temptation after another.” 

The illusory maya obstructs in many ways. It brings men accomplishments and untold wealth, and even turns them into holy beings. If a being of such accomplishment just passes by, even a dying man is revived. Notwithstanding the recovery of the patient, however, the seeker shall be destroyed if he regards the cure as his own achievement. Instead of one sickness a thousand maladies will swarm upon his mind, the process of reverent contemplation of the divine will be interrupted, and he will so stray from the right path that the world of matter overwhelms him. If the goal is distant and the seeker feels compassion, this one act alone is sufficient to result in the debacle of his whole army. So he has to be on his guard against the feeling of compassion until the moment of final attainment, although at the same time it is also true that compassion is the hallmark of a saint. But before ultimate fulfillment, compassion is the mightiest warrior among the evil, demoniacal impulses. It is thus that Ashwatthama is an image of inordinate attachment, Vikarn of indecision, and Bhurishrawa of perplexity and confusion.They are all chiefs of the outward flowing current of life.

1.9- “And (there are) many other skilled warriors, too, equipped with numerous arms, who have forsaken hope of life for my sake.”

And many other valiant warriors are resolved, Duryodhan intimates to Dronacharya, to fight for his sake even at the cost of their life. But there is no precise enumeration of them. Duryodhan then points out the innate qualities with which each of the two armies is fortified.

1.10- “Our army defended by Bheeshm is unconquerable, while their army defended by Bheem is easy to vanquish.”

Duryodhan’s army, “defended” by Bheeshm, is invincible, whereas the opposing army of the Pandav, “defended” by Bheem, is easy to conquer. The use of ambiguous puns such as a paryaptam and aparyaptam is itself a sign of Duryodhan’s doubtful state of mind. So we have to look carefully at the power that Bheeshm represents on which all the Kaurav hopes rest, as well as the quality symbolized by Bheem which the Pandav-endowed with the treasure of divinity-rely upon. Duryodhan then gives his final estimate of the situation.

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“Humble Wishes” 

1.1-“Assembled at Kurukshetr, at Dharmkshetr, and eager for combat, O Sanjay, what did my and Pandu’s sons do?”

Dhritrashtr is the very image of ignorance; and Sanjay is the embodiment of self-restraint. Ignorance lurks at the core of the objective, the outward-looking, mind. With his mind enveloped in darkness, Dhritrashtr is blind since birth, but he sees and hears through Sanjay, the epitome of self-control.

He knows that God alone is real, but as long as his infatuation for Duryodhan born from ignorance lasts, his inner eye will be focused on the Kaurav, who symbolize the ungodly forces of negative, sinful impulses .

Dharm is a field for combat. When there is abundance of divinity in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr ( field of dharm ), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr when it is infested with demoniacal powers. Kuru means “do;” the word is an imperative. As Sri Krishn has said, “Driven by the three properties born out of prakriti (nature) man is compelled to act; without action he cannot even live for a moment.” These properties, virtue,ignorance, and passion, compel him to act. Even in sleep action does not cease, for it is the necessary sustenance for the body. The three properties bind men, from the level of gods to that of the lowest creatures such as worms. So long as the material world and its properties are, kuru must be. Therefore, the sphere of birth and death, of that which is evolved from a previous source or prakriti (nature) is Kurukshetr, whereas the sphere of righteous impulses which guide the Self to God, the highest spiritual reality, is Dharmkshetr.

Sri Krishna has preached:“This body is itself, O Arjun, a battlefield, and one who conquers it grows spiritually dexterous by perceiving its essence.” He then elaborates the structure of this “battlefield,” sphere of action constituted of ten perceptors, the objective and the subjective mind, the ego, the five elements, and the three properties. The body itself is a field, a ring or an arena. The forces that clash on this field are twofold, the godly and the ungodly, the divine and the devilish, the offspring of Pandu and those of Dhritrashtr, the forces that are congenial to the essentially divine character of the Self and those which offend and demean it.

The clue to the mystery of the conflict between the opposed impulses begins to be seen when one turns for enlightenment to an exalted sage who has enriched himself with worship and meditation. This field belongs to one who realizes its essence, and the war fought on it is the only real war.

History is crowded with wars of the world, but the victors in these wars have but sought in vain for a permanent conquest. These wars were nothing beyond acts of retribution. True victory lies in subduing matter and in perceiving, as well as becoming one with, the Supreme Spirit that transcends it.This is the only conquest in which there is no prospect of defeat.This is true salvation after which there are no fetters of birth and death.The mind lying in the abyss of ignorance perceives through one who has mastered the mind and the senses, and thus knows what has transpired on the battlefield, where fighters include even those who have known its reality. Vision is ever in proportion to mastery of the mind and the senses.

1.2 – Sanjay said, “At the time, after having seen the Pandav army standing in battle array, King Duryodhan approached his teacher Dronacharya and spoke thus.”

Dual conduct itself is Dronacharya. When awareness dawns that we are alienated from God there arises in the heart an acute hunger far the attainment of that exalted Spirit. Only then do we set out to seek a an accomplished teacher, a realized sage (Guru) Between the two opposed impulses, this awareness is the first initiator into wisdom, although the teacher of ultimate excellence will be Yogeshwar Krishn himself, an adept in yog. King Duryodhan,an embodiment of excessive attachment to worldly objects, goes to his teacher. Attachment is at the root of all griefs, indeed their sovereign. It tempts one away from the spiritual treasure and so it is named Duryodhan. Only the Soul property is the stable property and it is attachment which generates impurity in it. It draws one to the material world. But it also provides the primary motive for enlightenment. 

Inquisitiveness is possible only as long as there is attachment, or else only the impeccable Spirit remains. So, after having seen the Pandav army arrayed, that is, after having glimpsed the righteous impulses that are in tune with the Self, Duryodhan, a victim of attachment, goes to his teacher Dronacharya .

1.3 – “Behold, O master, this massive army of Pandu’s sons marshalled in battle formation by your wise pupil, the son of Drupad (Dhristdyumn).”

Dhristdyumn, the son of Drupad, is the steadfast mind that treasures faith in the universal, immutable reality. He is thus the master, the type, of righteous impulses that lead to selfless activity in a spirit of egoless reverence to spiritual divinity. “Not means but the determination of mind needs to be firm.”

1.4 – “Here in the army are many valiant archers, Yuyudhan, Virat and the great martial commander Drupad, who are a worthy match for the brave Arjun and Bheem, and…”

This army is composed of those who can guide souls to the Supreme Spirit, like Bheem who is an embodiment of resolute sentiment, the image of tender devotion Arjun, and many other valiant warriors such as Satyaki, endowed with goodness, Virat and the great warrior leader Drupad, symbolizing consistency and steadfastness on the path of spirituality.

1.5 – “Dhrishtketu, Chekitan, and the mighty King of Kashi, as well as Purujeet and Kuntibhoj, and Shaibya, the unparalleled among me and…”

Dhrishtketu, the steadfast-in-duty, Chekitan, who can rein in his straying thought and concentrate it on the Supreme Spirit. The King of the holy city of Kashi, an emblem of the sacredness that resides within the world of the body. Purujeet, the one who obtains victory over matter in all its forms-gross, subtle, and instrumental.Kuntibhoj, who conquers world life by doing what is worthy of doing. Then Shaibya, of virtuous conduct.

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“Humble Wishes”