SHUBHA JANMASHTAMI ! THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN KRISHNA AND ARJUN
Let us give to the world purity. Let us lend holiness to the world. At the sanctum sanctorum of our being let us touch the Lord and emerge immortal. Jai Janmashtami !
The eternal flautist plays on the eternal flute His eternal melody and draws in the scattered herd on the banks of the eternal Yamuna. The hour draws near and our ears are brimful with the call of the Lord. I come, my Lord, I come to Thee, just the crossing of the Yamuna.
It is the midnight hour and all is silence. Hark ! the baby cries, laughs, weeps, sings in alternate moods. The Lord has descended.
Evil has done the world a world of good. It has drawn in the Lord to the divine play.
Once more is it time for the Lord to manifest Himself in human form. Amidst the decadence of the times when man has usurped the kingdom of the Divine in an illegitimate way, it is time for the Lord to set His house to order.
THE DIALOGUE :
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The forces of evil are arrayed against us, O Vaasudev, and, yet, I can scarce hold the Gaandiv. My relatives I refuse to kill. ...Arjun
Cast off this cowardice, O mighty scion of the Kurus, and fight. Ill doth this faintness of heart befit thee. Arise and win fame. Destroy evil and free the earth of this scourge as thy duty demands. ...Krishna
How on earth may I strike at those who have nursed and nurtured me in my boyhood, who have been dearer than life itself, my grandsire, uncles, cousins, nephews, friends, and the venerable preceptor who taught me the very art of archery? It is better by far that I renounce and live a hermit's life than to engage in this fratricidal battle that shall bring ruin to my race. ...Arjun
This is, verily, delusion that has overcome you, O mighty-armed one. This is disgraceful demeanour from a warrior trained for life for this hour when the call of duty beckons him to defend the dharma. Posterity will remember you as a renegade, a coward who cowered in fear when faced with the might of the enemy. Now listen to this music of the soul and fight. ... Krishna
What joy shall be there, O Keshav, even if we emerge victorious from this deadly war? Husbands will be martyred and widows will wail. Children shall be orphaned and parents rendered childless. The warrior class destroyed en masse, enemies shall strike at our doors and carry off the women. A dangerous mixture of varnas shall be the result and civilisation will decline. Of what avail is such a war? ... Arjun
None kills, O winner of wealth. None is killed in turn. This Atman neither kills nor is is killed. Undying, immortal it abides in the innermost cavity of the heart. The seer of all phenomena, the witness, it abides in resplendent Self-glory. ... Krishna
What is the duty then? O Madhusudan, I entreat Thee to tell me. ... Arjun
So it has been since time immemorial this demarcation of duty. For thee, a kshatriya, it has been assigned by the sages of yore to fight for the preservation of the dharma, for the braahman to renounce desire and practise austerity to preserve the clarity of conception among humanity of the Secret Word, the Om, for the vaishya to exchange the commodities for social upkeep and for the shudra to uphold the foundation of civilisation through his labour. Thus has each been designated his duty and each shall perform such for the harmonious maintenance of society with the liberation of the soul from the bondage of work the eventual goal. Arise, therefore, and perform thy duty. ... Krishna
But how does one disengage from work then? ... Arjun
By detached performance of work, O Kaunteya, can one free oneself from the shackles of work. This work binds and this work frees, too. And this work is unavoidable, for even to live is to work, to breathe is to work, to think, to feel, to desire, to abstain from it, all these are so many manifestations of what is called work in various phases of phenomenal reality. Therefore, learn to perform work the right way, with concentration and without attachment to result. Such work shall free thee, O son of Indra, and such work calls thee to fight. Resist evil for that is thy warrior's dharma. ... Krishna
Tell me more, Vaasudev, Thou who knoweth it all, instruct me in this secret of the Veda. ... Arjun
This Atman, the indwelling Spirit in all, is the imperishable one. Weapons cannot cleave It, fire cannot burn It, water cannot wet It and air cannot dry It. Immutable, indestructible, imperishable It lies as the substratum of relativity, the Absolute Self in each one and the Absolute Self of countless universes. Men who have known this Supreme Reality abide in Its bliss, free, fearless, shorn of selfishness and desire, living lights amidst this world of delusive darkness. ... Krishna
How do they move through life? How is their behaviour, demeanour, attitude, action? O, best of the Yadavs, enlighten me through Thy grace. ... Arjun
These living-free persons, the Jivanmuktas, move and act like ordinary beings but every act of theirs is free of the vice of attachment, shorn of the selfish claims of desire and geared to the good of the world. They incessantly work for the welfare of all but without a trace of egotism besmirching their effort for the uplift of the world order. Their actions are untainted with aught of this earth and breed no reaction that can bind. Ever-free, they dwell as living pilgrimages dispelling the darkness in human hearts, for theirs is a giving that knows no return. These are my dearest who claim nothing as their own save the love of the Lord who resides in the cavity of the heart. And there are those as well who dwell in the realm of the Absolute and behold this universe as a panoramic dream of name and form. Such an altitude is not for all to attain and men come to grief, more often than not, attempting it. A few aspire and fewer still climb to the summit of non-dual realisation that frees forever. Even such abide in Me who am the Atman. Such are the sages of the earth who have renounced all work as they lie in the repose of the Self. ... Krishna
Which of all these paths is supreme, O Supreme Lord of the universe? Is action best or inaction? I am confounded by this dual discourse of Thine. Tell me for certain where lies the supreme dharma? ... Arjun
Renunciation is one and action another and, yet, of the two the path of action is better, for none can abstain a moment from action. If, I, O Arjun, were to abstain from work one moment, what would the state of the universe be? Even to abstain from action is an act. Renunciation, austerity, abstinence from work are all so many modes of work in so many phases of the inward movement. Each one is assigned his duty as per his station in life and must perform them in a dispassionate manner. Thus shall no attachment stain action nor reaction by way of further work breed in the receptacle of the mind. Act, therefore, with fullest freedom, focus and fervour but free of attachment to effect, for the effect will for sure come but will remain beyond your domain of dominance. What is to be done must be done but in wise dispassion born of intrinsic detachment. Concentrate thy forces, physical and mental, to rise to the spiritual and cast off this earthly yoke that binds thee ever in misapprehension of the Truth and in misreading of life thereof. Rise to the Self within to emerge free of selfishness. Then fight, O scourge of thy foes ! ... Krishna
My doubts will not leave me. They assail me at this hour of supreme test. O Vaasudev, be gracious and deliver me from this predicament. I hear what you say but cannot determine my course of action, ill-formed as my judgement is as of now. ... Arjun
Now see My cosmic form. Here is the seed of creation, here life rolls unto eventual death and destruction. The trinity of creation, preservation and annihilation flow in unending cycles through the vast infinitude of time and space. Behold in Me this vast universe and countless universes rising and falling in wavelike succession. Behold in Me the gods and the goddesses, the demons, the asuras, the yakshas, the gandharvas, the nagas, the flora and fauna of the earth, rising from within Me, abiding in Me for the while, then perishing in Me unto their eventual destination. Behold death dancing everywhere. All that you see are living, are dead already in the womb of unfolding time, in the depths of futurity. Behold, I am the Lord and I dispense justice ever. These warriors, these perpetrators of evil are dead already by My command. Now be My instrument and send them where they belong. ... Krishna
O Lord, restrain Thy universal form for I am unable to witness it any longer. Thy terrible form frightens me. Manifest once more Thy friendly visage that I am used to beholding. I shall do Thy bidding as Thou command. Now restore Thyself to Thy earthly form, the affable one I have ever known. My Lord, I am at Thy mercy. Thou, in Thy unbounded grace, have revealed to me Thy eternal form. Now my doubts have been laid to rest. Grace me with Thy beloved finite form again. ... Arjun
Cast aside all other aspirations and take refuge in Me. I shall deliver thee from ignorance and sin. Whosoever takes refuge in Me is forever safe. Even if one slips from grace after having performed devotions and austerities, he is not scattered as a cloud in a gale. His merits carry over to a future birth and he is reborn with all past pure tendencies in a wholesome environment for furtherance of his spiritual journey. A bit of good deeds dispels from the doer great fear. So, act in virtue and act free of fear to destroy the evil assembled in front of you. ... Krishna
I bow down to Thy will, my Lord ! ... Arjun
Written by Sugata Bose
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