YOGA OF ARJUNA’S DILEMMA

By

Dr. R. J. Kalpana Ph.D

Visvaayudha October 2024

vasudevasutaḿ devaḿ kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam

devakī-paramānandaḿ kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagadgurum

I bow down to Sri Krishna, who is the Master of the Universe, beloved son of Vasudeva, who vanquished Kamsa and Chanura, who brings immense joy to his mother, Devaki.

Pranams from Dr. R J Kalpana, Welcome to the study of The Bhagavad Gita.

The first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is titled, Arjuna Vishada Yoga – the yoga of Arjuna’s dilemma. Now, we must ask ourselves the question, why Yoga? What has yoga to do with Arjuna’s dilemma?

Let us understand the meaning of the word Yoga: yog means merger and a means the Divine. We will see in Chapter X Vibhuti Yoga where Shri Krishna identifies Himself with all manner of things and one of them is “In letters I am A;” the Akara of AUM. Therefore, Yoga is defined as merger with the Divine. All the pranayamas and asanas are merely means to an end and not the end in itself.

The title gives us the first clue that Arjuna’s Dilemma will lead to merger with the Divine.

In order to answer the question of what has yoga to do with Arjuna’s dilemma, let us understand what is Arjuna’s dilemma. Let us cast a glance upon the events that led to the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Two sets of cousins with equal rights to govern the kingdom competed, negotiated with terms set at the lowest and yet, reconciliation was not to be and so, gathering around them friends and families, they faced each other on the battlefield. Every warrior worth his salt found himself on that fateful day arrayed for or against Arjuna on the Kurukshetra. Every king brought his army from every corner of the world to fight for or against Dharma.

Arjuna isn’t singular in his dilemma and yet, what is his dilemma? It is his inability to war against his extended family, members with whom he grew up from childhood. Aren’t we all faced with this dilemma? Broken relationships, families torn apart because of properties, greed, ego and laughingly we dismiss the tragedy of lack of communication from one generation to another as generation gap. It is a dilemma that we all face in the battlefields of our lives when we are confronted with situations, with choices. When we are forced to deliberate, to act and to face the question are our actions in line with the principles of Dharma. There is a certain universality to Arjuna’s dilemma. It is no longer an individual dilemma but the dilemma of humanity as a whole.

Therefore, when we listen to Shri Krishna’s clarion call to war; we understand that there is a deeper spiritual significance to that call. When Shri Krishna admonishes Arjuna to behave like a warrior, a Kshatriya and to lift up his weapons; for those who think this is merely a family feud are missing the point.

This is not the clarion call to fight against one’s family but its the call of the Supreme Lord of the universe to remind humanity of its goal – the singular purpose of coming to earth, of being born a human. Not to indulge in sense pleasures, not to amass wealth, property, children but to work towards expanding one’s consciousness to superconscious state.

To take the leap necessarily from animal to human to Divine – from instinct to intellect to intuition. To undertake the transition willingly from animalistic behaviour to humane behaviour and finally, to become Divine – the real goal of human life.

In light of which, Shri Krishna’s message becomes even more pertinent. There has never been a doubt about the universal nature of the Bhagavad Gita. In every generation, in every culture, in every time period people have foresworn to the self-transformative nature of the Bhagavad Gita. The edifice of their very existence relied heavily on the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita stood tall like a lighthouse beacon guiding weary souls towards their goal, warning them of the shoals of temptation and the breaker reefs of samskaras – the little suitcase of past impressions of likes and dislikes that we all carry. True liberation can be attained only when our suitcase is emptied of its samskaras.

The first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita opens up with a sloka from the blind king, Dhrithrashtra, who enquires of Sanjaya, the royal advisor, “Sanjaya, gathered on this sacred field of Dharma and the field of Kurus, eager to wage war, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?”

We studied Dharma in an earlier essay; now let us look at the word Kurukshetra – the field of Kurus. In Satapatha Brahmana and other sacred texts it is mentioned that Agni, Indra, Brahma performed severe austerities there as did King Kuru from whose lineage the Pandavas and the Kauravas descended. As a consequence of such penance, the very land became so sacred that to die there is to attain liberation from human birth and to reach higher celestial realms.

That is the reason why of all the tracts of land available for the war, Kurukshetra was chosen especially, so that the warriors who lost their lives in battle can be liberated from the cycle of human birth and death.

Arjuna is overwhelmed at the sight of his family, his friends, his relatives, his teachers; all arrayed in battle formation in front of him. His famed bow, Gandiva, slips from his nerveless fingers and he is overcome by fear and anxiety.

From sloka 29 to 46, Arjuna goes on to present his argument as to why he shouldn’t wage war against his family. Arjuna coherently and comprehensively lists all the negative fallout of the act of war. He starts by declaring that he neither covets fame nor kingdoms nor pleasures and then goes on to present the corollary as to what does kingdoms matter when lives will be lost and there won’t be anyone alive to enjoy the very kingdom that is at stake here.

Beautifully, Arjuna further elucidates how family traditions disappear with the destruction of families. The transfer of knowledge from one generation to another does not take place and children lack the pride and stability of their culture. Men and women lose their moral compass and immorality takes hold of society. The race falls into disrepute and our ancestors also fall because no longer do we perform the rites meant for their well-being.

Thus, the first chapter comes to an end with an eloquent plea from Arjuna regarding the dilemma he faces in the face of the upcoming battle with his cousins.

yogeśaṁ(m) saccidānandaṁ(v̐), vāsudevaṁ(v̐) vrajapriyam,

dharmasaṁsthāpakaṁ(v̐) vīraṁ(ṅ), kṛṣṇaṁ(v̐) vande jagadgurum

I bow to the Master of Yoga, who is the beloved son of Vasudeva, the brave warrior who established Dharma, the spiritual guru of the world.

OM ŚRĪKṚṢṆĀRPAṆAMASTU Note: The talks can be accessed on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@kalpanarj3101