Bhagavad-Gita Explained
Chapter Two:
Atma-jñāna
by Michael Dolan/B.V. Mahayogi
As the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna continues, Arjuna is worried about what to do. Faced with imminent war, he wants to know, what is his ethical position?
We all face similar decisions on a daily basis. What is right and what is wrong? Western philosophy calls this "ethics." In terms of Western religion it is sin or piety. In the law there is legal and illegal action. In society it is right and wrong, good and bad. What is right or wrong seems to be in flux according to culture. Some say it is all relative.
Western thinking relies on its philosophical and religious traditions as a kind of yardstick by which it measures foreign theologies and mythologies. Even comparative religious studies force us to see other points of view through the lens of Western thinkers.
And yet the East has quite a distinct point of view. The Mahabharata, for instance, is filled with discussions about karma and dharma, but the ideas are quite different from Western views on good and evil. Christianity, for example, pretends that we have only one life to live, and that any mistaken actions can lead one to eternal damnation in hell. This doctrine of eternal damnation is considered essential by the founders of the Catholic Church. The soul is also not necessarily eternal. Eternal life is contingent on acceptance of Christ as one's personal savior. The Eastern way is distinct. In Western terms we talk about ethical action and religious duty, but in Eastern terms these are called karma and dharma.
But even before touching on such practical matters as right action, karma and dharma, Krishna's first teaching to Arjuna is ontological. His discussion on the soul has transcendental importance. Before talking about karma, Krishna explains that the soul is eternal--in spite of one´s religious preference. It is the constitutional nature of atma. Before discussion dharma at the level of ethics, Krishna tells us about the dharma of the soul itself. Dharma really means "what sustains us" "what holds a thing together." We might say that the dharma of sugar is to be sweet. If sugar has no sweetness it is no longer sugar. So what is the dharma of the soul: eternal existence in bliss--sat-cit-ananda.
But Arjuna is worried about what holds society together. He´s not concerned with spirituality. He wants to understand dharma in terms of duty. If "what we do," "what we live for," sustains us and holds us together, Arjunaw ants to know what to do and how to live. He fails to see the importance of Krishna´s teaching about the soul. Talk about the soul is abstract. He wants some concret advice, not ontological abstraction.
What is karma and what is dharma, then?
Ordinarily we think of karma in terms of a negative reaction, but karma is not mere reaction, it is the entire range of action--cause, effect, and consequences. Action or karma may be ethical or unethical, good or bad according to whether such action is in keeping with duty, the laws of society, scriptural conventions or cultural norms and traditions.
The dichotomy is an age-old one. Plato insisted on the ideal world where Aristotle was focused on the practical world. In Rafael's masterpiece, "The School of Athens," we see an older, wiser Plato pointing to the heavens as his disciple Aristotle signals palms down that we must stay grounded on Earth.
As Krishna teaches that one cannot control the environment by force, one must first master one's own spiritual development, Arjuna argues for an ethical position in this world. As we shall see, the two are not mutually exclusive. But a healthy guru-disciple relationship should have room for discussion as we can see by the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.
But as a teacher Krishna is not insensitive to the needs of his student. Anticipating his argument, Krishna returns to the ethical problem of how to act.
Having explained that the soul is eternal and cannot be slain, Krishna points out that there is no need for any lamentation. Grief is natural, but Arjuna can grieve later. He must do his duty as a warrior for he is bound to act--in fact nothing will give him greater glory than to die in battle, or greater infamy than to shrink from action. This will be the true ethical position for Arjuna and the best karmic action.
There is some superficiality here as we shall see later. Duty or dharma has a deeper meaning. Duty to family, society and country may help one find perfection by following a code of conduct. But there is a much higher aspect of dharma--duty to one's own spiritual self-interest. So before entering into a discussion on one's material duty, Krishna teaches that spiritual awareness comes first.
Dharma, then, has a twofold aspect: our relative duty to family, society, country and the traditional codes of conduct--and absolute duty to one's own self and to God Himself.
Arjuna has a practical dilemma. He is no so interested in so much ontological discussion. He wants to limit the debate to a discussion of more relative values.
In that setting, Krishna advises him, "Do your duty as a soldier." But Krishna is pointing out the need for a deeper understanding: "Know thyself first as spirit, as atma, as eternal soul."
All other action must be predicated on this wisdom.
