Wisdom, Love, Mercy

Bhagavad-Gita Second Chapter

Part Two: The Path of the Wise

by Michael Dolan/B.V. Mahayogi

Buddhi, Bhakti, Prasada

Wisdom, Love, Mercy

Kṛṣṇa has explained that proper wisdom (Buddhi)   leads to dedication, bhakti. One who is properly situated in divine love can expect the mercy of the Lord. “And one who has achieved such mercy, (prasāda) will no longer be bound by the material condition. The miseries of this world cannot touch him. His soul is filled with bliss. This is true wisdom.”

“On the other hand, without such wisdom, one can have neither controlled mind nor steady intelligence. He shall never find peace.”[i]

Arjuna is arguing for peace. But Kṛṣṇa points out that shying away from a struggle does not bring peace. Addressing a conflict with serenity, firmly fixed in dedication and unattached to the results, one may find peace in action. But inaction is no guarantee of peace. The hero who resists the call to action will find that his endeavours end in disaster. Arjuna must act, but he must do so without attachment to any result. Acting in dedication he will find true peace and harmony. This is the essential message of the second chapter of the Gita.

“Without wisdom and a controlled mind there can never be any peace. And how can there be happiness without peace? The mind shall be upset by the senses just as a boat on the water is tossed by the wind. And so the uncontrolled mind carries away the intelligence. Remember that the mind must be restrained from sensual passions and material attachments even while acting. This is proper intelligence. To act otherwise is darkness.

"Those who are fixed in darkness think themselves illuminated, but one man’s day is another’s night. What is night for fools is dawn for the self-controlled, even as fools awaken in darkness, the sage sleeps. Therefore, one who is undisturbed by constant passion can alone realize peace. Desires come and go like rivers that flow to the sea. But one who is not moved by such currents can achieve peace where those who strive to satisfy their desires can never have peace. You want peace, Arjuna, but you cannot have peace by satisfying your wish for happy family life. You must dedicate yourself here or you will never have peace."

"Remember that one who is free from passion, who gives up attachment and ownership can find real peace without ego. This is the way of divine life. One who attains such wisdom is free from illusion. So fixed in wisdom even at the time of death, one may achieve divine mercy and enter into the kingdom of God."

In summary, the second chapter of the Gita is really an introduction to the more detailed teachings given later. Here, Kṛṣṇa concludes his introduction by emphasizing both spiritual wisdom (buddhi) and working without attachment to the fruits of one’s labor (karma-yoga) .

He explains that by coupling proper vision and dedication in one’s work, gradually one will come to the point of divine love and realize the mercy of God (prasada).

Kṛṣṇa has also stressed the importance of developing a proper intelligence and controlling the mind and senses. This will help Arjuna in confronting the conflict. The end of the chapter focuses on the importance of mental peace and positive immortality or nirvana in the Kingdom of God--not actual fight on the battlefield where mortality reigns. The main point of the Gita is metaphysical, following the Upanishads. It differs from the heroic themes of the Mahabharata, themes of heroes, war, and honor. Kṛṣṇa does not argue against the ideas of karma and dharma given in the ordinary ethical scriptures.

Kṛṣṇa is not telling Arjuna to sit and meditate. He advocates a work ethic which is not void of a “religious” outlook but based on a higher conception--the idea that our true dharma is our spiritual self-interest.

Conclusions

In conclusion,  the Second Chapter of The Gita is not merely a “pep-talk” meant to inspire Arjuna to bloody battle. Kṛṣṇa aims first at “soul healing.”

His words of comfort to Arjuna are not easy platitudes to spur a warrior into action. He asks Arjuna to deeply contemplate the eternal nature of the self and then act without attachment, dedicating himself to the Supreme. While it may appear on the surface that Kṛṣṇa is advocating war, there is a deep metaphor at work here. Conflict is a part of human life. We all face crises on a daily basis on the battle field of life. The Kurukṣetra war which is the setting of the Gita is undoubtedly a powerful one, but even more important to us is the daily battle we must face with ourselves. It is in that struggle that we must learn to control mind and senses and seek a higher meaning in life.

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[i] प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिर् अस्योपजायते

प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्य् आशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते २.६५

नास्ति बुद्धिर् अयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना

न चाभावयतः शान्तिर् अशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् २.६६.

इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन् मनोनुविधीयते

तद् अस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर् नावम् इवाम्भसि २.६७

तस्माद् यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः

इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस् तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता २.६८

या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी

यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः २.६९

आपूर्यमाणम् अचलप्रतिष्ठं

समुद्रम् आपः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्

तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे

स शान्तिम् आप्नोति न कामकामी २.७०

विहाय कामान् यः सर्वान् पुमांश् चरति निःस्पृहः

निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शान्तिम् अधिगच्छ्हति २.७१

एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति

स्थित्वास्याम् अन्तकालेपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् ऋच्छति २.७२

prasāde sarvaduḥkhānāṃ hānir asyopajāyate

prasannacetaso hy āśu buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate 2.65

nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā

na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham 2.66.

indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan manonuvidhīyate

tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi 2.67

tasmād yasya mahābāho nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ

indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā 2.68

yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī

yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ 2.69

āpūryamāṇam acalapratiṣṭhaṃ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat

tadvat kāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāmakāmī 2.70

vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāṃś carati niḥspṛhaḥ

nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchhati 2.71

eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṃ prāpya vimuhyati

sthitvāsyām antakālepi brahmanirvāṇam ṛcchati 2.72

Arjuna's Moral Crisis

Bhagavad-Gita Second Chapter

Part Two: The Path of the Wise

by Michael Dolan/B.V. Mahayogi

A Moment of Weakness

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As he faces a great moment of crisis, Arjuna has succumbed to grief and cowardice. He cannot face the struggle. In his moment of weakness, Arjuna is clinging to the conventions of morality. He is using the arguments of scriptures as a shield to keep from doing his duty. Now, he has asked about the symptoms of a wise man.  But he is interested in wisdom from a materialistic point of view.  Many people construe the idea of wisdom as something like "street smarts," or the practical way to profit in this material world. From this point of view the most cynical of cheats is really "wise," since he knows how to exploit others. But this sort of wisdom is based entirely on attachment to the goods and passions of this world.

Detachment

Kṛṣṇa, on the other hand,  has emphasized detachment from the material condition. Arjuna’s weakness is based on attachment. He faces a moral crisis, but cannot act. His struggle represents our own in important ways: it is the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. It has often been said “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” We know what is in our own spiritual interest, but we fail to act, weakened by material attachment.

Kṛṣṇa reminds Arjuna, then, of his spiritual nature. Arjuna disguises his attachment by appealing to the Vedas, to dharma. He wants to claim some religious purpose for his inaction and cowardice. Kṛṣṇa points out that all this is temporary. The soul is eternal. A wise man understands this and does his duty accordingly, without attachment to the results. Arjuna wants to control the outcome, but Kṛṣṇa tells him it is in God’s hands. Effectively he tells him, “Control yourself; don’t try to control the environment.”

Control Yourself, not the Environment

This is really the sum and substance of his advice in the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita. “Don’t try to control the environment; it is beyond your power. Control yourself; that is possible for you. That is the only possibility you have for freedom. Try that and automatically, the environment will become your friend.”

This is not an exercise in the dry stoicism of Marcus Aurelius and the Romans. Renunciation is another kind of trap as Kṛṣṇa will explain later. We are not to hate the world or the things of this world. Neither is this the so-called “fatalism” of the Hindus, where inaction follows the jaded understanding that everything is an illusion. Arjuna is to act--and to act powerfully, but with nonattachment.

Right vision and right understanding are the basis of this nonattachment. Right vision and wisdom mean to understand one’s position as eternal atma subordinate to Supreme atma. This is the primordial truth that Kṛṣṇa inculcates throughout the second chapter. But once one has achieved proper vision--the wisdom of buddhi-yoga--detached action should follow along with sense control.

Uncontrolled, the mind and senses will lead one astray. Animals behave according to the caprice of mind and senses. But human beings guided by wisdom should strive for a higher truth--that of the atma. Those who have such vision will act accordingly.

Kṛṣṇa warns Arjuna that he should not be guided by material attachment to the mind and senses, but through higher wisdom.

“The wise yogis withdraw the senses from their passions just as the turtle withdraws his limbs within his shell. Remember, Arjuna-- The senses are strong and their passions can charm the hearts and minds of the learned. The wise control these sensual impulses and fix their minds in the spirit, by meditation on divinity, God Himself. While avoiding sensual pleasure a realized soul will discover a higher pleasure in dedication and divine love.” [1]

Kṛṣṇa reminds Arjuna of His divinity, concluding, “So it is that one who learns to control his senses in this manner, dedicating himself to Me, is truly wise in the science of the atma.”

“Contemplate divinity. Otherwise, while contemplating sensual pleasures one becomes attached to such ideas. From material attachment, desires come. Unfulfilled desire provokes anger in the heart. Anger generates illusion and forgetfulness of who we are. We lose our purposes and fall further into madness. You must use the wisdom I have taught you to practice purposeful detachment. If you can understand these principles as I have explained them, you will become free from both exploitation and renunciation of this world. This wisdom will give you strength and enlightenment, and there is no doubt you will attain not only spiritual peace, but the mercy of God.”[2]

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[1] यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोङ्गानीव सर्वशः इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस् तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता २.५८

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः रसवर्जं रसोप्य् अस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते २.५९

यततो ह्य् अपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः २.६०

तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः

वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता २.६१

yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmoṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ

indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā 2.58

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ

rasavarjaṃ rasopy asya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate 2.59

yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ

indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṃ manaḥ 2.60

tāni sarvāṇi saṃyamya yukta āsīta matparaḥ

vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā 2.61

[2] तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः

वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता २.६१

ध्यायतो विषयान् पुंसः सङ्गस् तेषूपजायते

सङ्गात् सञ्जायते कामः कामात् क्रोधोभिजायते २.६२

क्रोधाद् भवति संमोहः संमोहात्

स्मृतिविभ्रमः

स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात् प्रणश्यति

२.६३

रागद्वेषविमुक्तैस् तु विषयान् इन्द्रियैश् चरन्

आत्मवश्यैर् विधेयात्मा प्रसादम् अधिगच्छति २.६४

tāni sarvāṇi saṃyamya yukta āsīta matparaḥ

vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā 2.61

dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate

saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodhobhijāyate 2.62

krodhād bhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ

smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati

2.63

rāgadveṣavimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran

ātmavaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati 2.64