Bhagavad Gita

Our welfare begins when we become serious, and accept that guru-sevā and vaisnava-sevā are the wealth of our life. By carefully taking up the step-by-step process given by Mahāprabhu and preached by the Guru-varga, starting with mantra-mayī-upāsanā and naturally progressing to svārasikī-upāsanā, we can attain svarūpa-siddhi. If we do not start from the beginning and adhere to the preliminary rules of sādhana, then we cannot hope to become eligible for mānasī-sevā. We must have the mood of ‘do or die’ and carry out our sevā to Guru and Vaiṣṇavas with this determination. Seeing that we have strong faith and desire for service, Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas will shower us with blessings. They are waiting to see our faith and desire. If we can please them and cause their hearts to melt, then what is attained by millions of lives of sādhana can be achieved in a moment…

At that time, they think that their real dharma is to maintain the body and serve the body, but this is a temporary situation and is not the eternal dharma of the soul. We have forgotten that. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa gave His svarūpa-śakti through singing this gītā, liberating the living entities from false ego and understanding. By endeavoring to follow this Bhagavad-gītā; the teachings of Kṛṣṇa, one can be liberated from all false attachment and illusion in this world. One will become established in that dharma, form and nature of the soul. Kṛṣṇa instructed Arjuna, “Becoming established in knowledge of the soul, follow your duty and fight. Their bodies will be destroyed, but not their souls. You have no fault. I am instructing you to do this.” When a person who has knowledge of the soul performs his duty, he cannot be affected by sin. On the other hand, if one does not follow his duty, then sin will come to him…

The soul has no birth or death and can never be destroyed. The dharma of the body should not be considered that of the soul, and the food of the body should not be considered food for the soul. The suffering of the body is not the suffering of the soul. Also, following the dharma of the body or maintaining the body is not helpful to the soul. Materially-minded people think that worship of the body is the same as worship of the soul. Krishna has therefore manifested this Bhagavad-gita to instruct people on the truth of the soul. Inside the gita, God invested all His potency. He gave svarupa-sakti, wanting to bring the living entities self-conception up from the nature of the body to that of the soul. This is called gita, meaning the manifestation of svarupa-sakti. By doing kirtana of this Gita, one will achieve liberation from the material world with its attachments and conceptions. One will get liberation from all these temporary things. Therefore Krishna gave all the sakti through His song of the gita. By this method, he brought Arjuna out of the contamination of maya…

The dharma of the body; rules and regulations of the body is on one side, and on the other there are the rules and regulations of the soul and its dharma. That which is truth cannot be destroyed, and that which is temporary is naturally destroyed. It cannot be protected. If one tries to protect the body by keeping it in a safe box, a deep freezer or in the best hospital with the best doctors and surgeons to protect it, the body will not last. Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna, “The dharma of the body is not the dharma of the soul. The body has many fires and desires, but none are the desires of the soul. The soul is another thing. Therefore, don’t follow the nature and urges of the body – follow the soul…”

Arjuna says, “How can I give up this lamentation? I do not understand. My senses are controlling me, so please give me shelter Prabhu. I see that even if I attain everything, I will not be able to be happy. I performed so much austerity and training and I engaged in combat with such great personalities as Lord Śiva and Indra, but this illusory attachment, moha is a great enemy and I cannot defeat it.” When this moha comes, it is a very dangerous moment for people. People cannot conquer it. Arjuna is such a great fighter and personality, but by meeting with his so-called family and blood relatives, he became attached to them and could not overcome his moha. Arjuna previously had a relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a dear friend, therefore he could come back to Him. Now he says, “I am your disciple, no longer your friend. Please help me and kill this enemy of my anarthas…”

Dhṛtarāṣṭra now saw that Arjuna had become renounced at heart. He thought, “Now my sons will get the kingdom without any opposition.” He became very glad at heart. Sanjaya referred to Kṛṣṇa as Madhusudana, because he had killed the Madhu demon. Kṛṣṇa is therefore referred to herein as Madhusudana to imply that He will destroy the lamentation, sorrow and bad attachment Arjuna is suffering from. Arjuna was weak and uncontrolled as if attacked and defeated by demons. On one side there are demons, and on the other side there are devotees, associates of God. How then can one understand who is a demon and who is a saint? By associating with whom does one slip a way from God and devotion? This implies that I have been arrested by demons and their demonic tendencies. Arjuna had already some relationship with Kṛṣṇa, therefore he prayed to Him…

When the conditioned souls have lost everything and are in the most dire condition, Kṛṣṇa helps them by sharing His six opulences. If His devotees are very poor and suffering, Kṛṣṇa will give wealth. Then they think, “Oh God is helping me.” If they are weak or devoid of any strength, God will give the power to come back to Him. If no one respects or likes them, God will make them famous. God will give a portion of His glory and make whoever He so desires glorious. Then people will respect that person and he will think, “I now am a great personality.” God may give śrī; beauty, meaning all good qualities. God also gives spiritual knowledge to defeat everything mundane. Then one will understand what is good and bad for him. If God doesn’t give strength, energy and good intelligence then one will never understand that what he has done is bad for him. If God bestows spiritual knowledge, one will understand what is bad and will not act wrongly or go to wrong places…

“Even if the fully-armed sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield, that would be more auspicious for me.” Arjuna said, “I will not fight. The sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra may come and kill me and I will not resist. I would rather give up my life than fight.” Arjuna was prepared to leave the world. He had the great fortune to be with Kṛṣṇa as His dear friend, but now he has become very weak, devoid of strength and intelligence. Why was his position like this? There is only one reason. He was considering his grandfather, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Krpacarya, Droṇācārya, the brothers of Duryodhana and the young wives of the Kauravas. They would all become widows; their husbands dead. This was such a large family of the Kauravas standing opposed to the Pandavas…

If anyone loses his brain, becoming completely crazy, seeing someone in front of him he thinks, “This person is not helpful for me, I will tell him my conception and change him.” Arjuna even wanted to change Kṛṣṇa, and make Him follow his own advice and conception. He wanted Kṛṣṇa to speak favorably according to his own desire, he did not seek to know who Kṛṣṇa really was. If anyone takes up bad association, his intelligence will be lost or defeated by that wicked company. Then, similar to how crazy people always think they are truthful and speak the truth, and they want all others to hear them and follow their desires, intending to be helpful to them, Arjuna did not realize that if anyone does not follow sanātana-dharma or any rules and regulations they are foolish and crazy. Because of his attachment to them, Arjuna also became deluded by their misconceptions, thus he spoke to Kṛṣṇa so many things. He said, “You are Govinda, you are Madhusudana, You are Janārdana…”