Understanding The Bhagavad Gita - Chapter One: Inner Warfare

Hi,

Welcome.

In this series of episodes,

I would like to go through the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita is a very known spiritual text and I am reading the book by C.

Radhakrishnan,

So I am going to be basing myself a little bit on the interpretations made by the author.

Every chapter of the Gita is on a different type of yoga,

And yoga means literally being together.

And so the chapters evolve from dealing with severe grief to sublime happiness.

And a quote from the book,

From C.

Radhakrishnan is even the worst crisis may well prove a blessing as it can lead us to resolve inner turmoil and unite us with our true selves.

The Gita shows us the way to this transformation.

Chapter 1.

Yoga of Arjuna's Vishada,

Which could be translated as Arjuna being together with grief,

Or our being together with Arjuna's grief.

And the first chapter presents a talented warrior,

Arjuna,

Who is in tormenting conflict with himself.

Two great armies are arrayed against each other in the battlefield.

The war is about to begin and Arjuna,

The great warrior,

Finds himself unable to fight.

Against him stand his own people and revered teachers.

And meanwhile,

Back in the palace,

The blind old king is anxiously waiting for reports from the battlefield from Sanjaha.

And Sanjaha could be translated as he who has the power of vision to see beyond space.

And so this in contrast to the king who is blind,

Who has actually a lack of vision.

The Kauravas are his sons and they are fighting a decisive war against the Pandavas,

The children of his brother.

And he has been supporting the injustice against the Pandavas and this makes him responsible for the war.

And so the blindness of the king is actually a symbol for the fact that the basis of all violence is a minor division,

And its fuel is ignorance or blindness,

A lack of vision.

In viewing one separate from the rest of the world,

There is a desire to acquire and possess every material thing for oneself.

And so the king has been supportive of that and in this way he is blind.

The arrangement of the two armies in the battlefield is that on the one hand you have warriors with names meaning goodness and light in the shape of a lotus flower.

And lotus actually represents non-attachment and a state of enlightenment.

And on the other hand,

There is the side representing evil and injustice and they stand in an eagle formation.

An eagle is the bird of prey.

And so it's also interesting to know that the caste system was prevalent at the time.

And so the caste system actually means that certain traits are actually imposed without considering the natural predispositions of people and legitimized those who gave up occupations matching their natural predispositions to gain riches and seats of power.

And so Drona,

He's actually leading the army of evil forces.

He is actually someone supposed to teach Brahmavidya.

Brahmavidya is the highest spiritual knowledge,

Not the art of warfare.

But it was vengeance that turned Drona into an instructor of warfare.

And now he is leading the Kaurava army.

The Kaurava army has been formed by negotiations,

Coercions and unhealthy alliances and is not entirely an army based on loyalty.

In the initial dialogue of the Gita,

Duryodhana,

Who is the tyrant,

He is at the head of the Kaurava's army.

He is manipulating Drona,

He is talking to Drona and he is making sure that Drona is willing to fight to the fullest to protect Bhisma.

Bhisma is the commander and Bhisma's mere presence can instill fear in the hearts of even the most powerful of fighters.

Bhisma fights on Duryodhana's side,

Owing to custom,

Owing to tradition,

Yet Duryodhana fears that in his heart Bhisma is on the side of the Pandavas.

And it is fear that generates the tendency to frighten and thus,

According to the Gita,

Fear has to be outlived the first.

Duryodhana in his heart is unsure of the outcome of the war and he is afraid.

And so he wants everybody to protect Bhisma,

The most frightening presence on his side.

The start of the battle gets signalled.

The main feature of the battle instruments blared forth from the Kaurava army is the absence of any synchronization.

On the other hand,

The sounds made by the conscious from the opposite,

Virtuous side are musical in harmony.

This refers to the fact that a pure tune is a wave radiating straight from the pulse of a well-balanced life.

Synchronization of such tunes makes a beautiful composition,

Representing the union of like forces.

Harmony can be brought only by giving in,

Not by standing apart,

Not by greed,

Force or violence.

And so Arjuna,

The warrior,

Asks Krishna,

And Krishna represents the soul.

Arjuna asks Krishna to bring his chariot in the midst of the two armies.

Arjuna is a person of noble birth and he is part of the fighter's cast.

There is a monkey symbol on his chariot and this represents Arjuna's mind turning restless,

Though soon thereafter acquiring great strength and determination.

This is comparable with the prowess of Hanuman,

Part of the Vanara clan.

The word Vanara,

Vana means forest,

Nara means humans,

So it's actually a being resembling a monkey,

Though highly intellectual.

And this actually is on Arjuna's chariot,

And kind of refers to intellectual being on the one hand,

But having maybe a bit of a monkey mind on the other.

And so Arjuna believes that he is the fighter who would decide the fate of the war.

Already here we're seeing that his ego is actually standing in the way.

He's maybe believing that he is more important and his role more important than it actually is.

Arjuna is a student of Brahmavidya,

The study of the essence of being and true becoming.

And students have to first estimate the strength and depth of inappropriate desires and uncontrolled passions they have to conquer.

And here already is why I,

As a psychologist by the way,

Find this text so inspiring and interesting,

Because it's really a guide in how to deal with these desires,

These thoughts,

These feelings that are so overwhelming and that we all kind of have to conquer at some point.

And so Krishna places the chariot in the midst and Arjuna sees all warriors,

Beginning with Bhisma and Drona.

At a philosophical level,

What is shown is the symbolic representation of the huge assembly of disturbing passions,

Beginning with Kama,

Greed or lust,

And Krodha,

Anger.

And so he's actually being confronted with his own emotions and instincts,

Greed,

Lust,

Anger.

The one seeing Arjuna and the one showing Krishna can be considered of two parts within Arjuna himself.

The former,

Arjuna,

Is the mind intellect and the latter,

Krishna,

Is his true self or his soul.

But what Arjuna sees is fathers,

Grandfathers,

Teachers,

Maternal uncles,

Brothers,

Sons,

Grandsons,

And friends in both armies.

Seeing all his relatives,

He became filled with compassion.

In symbolic terms,

Or the symbolic representation of this,

Is the predicament of a person's attempt to identify with his true self.

So he will see all these parts of himself,

He will see all these instincts and thoughts and feelings,

And he will become filled with compassion because an initiate to Brahmavidya may also find primitive emotions as insecurity,

Sensual cravings,

Arrogance,

Jealousy,

To be his close relatives.

It would be very hard to take a distance from these.

And he may feel that devoid of these emotions,

His life would be rendered aimless or worthless.

This is because he is deeply attached to them by his instincts,

Impressions about himself,

And habits.

I am this,

We will say.

This is my way of life.

These are my pleasures.

These are my likes.

This is who I am.

Without them,

What for should one live anyway?

So this is something very recognizable,

I think,

For a lot of my clients,

For me myself,

For a lot of people,

That we will often find ourselves in a sort of battle,

And we want to change,

We want to change our habits,

But in a way we don't,

Because they feel so close to us,

They feel so known,

And it can fill us with grief,

The idea that we should distance ourselves from them,

That we are not defined by them.

And so Arjuna has faced the Kauravas before,

And he has defeated them,

But this time he knows that it's a fight to the last,

And to win the war,

All on the other side,

Including Bhisma and Drona,

Will have to be killed.

Arjuna says to Krishna he doesn't want to win,

Nor does he want any kingdom,

Object of pleasures,

Or riches.

He doesn't see the use of being alive after they are killed.

And the same argument is often raised by patients in an addiction center.

I should know,

Because I've worked in one,

But it's actually the author,

Radhakrishnan,

Who's pointing it out in the book that this actually resembles a person with an addiction who says,

I don't want any job,

I don't want any money,

What's the use of all those,

I don't care about those.

And you know,

It seems like a noble standpoint,

It's a bit like Arjuna here in the war,

It seems very noble on the first side,

That he doesn't want to kill his relatives and his teachers,

Yes of course,

But he's actually using it as an excuse to not take up this very hard,

This very painful duty,

Which is a bit like an addict,

Like they know it's,

It's,

It's bullshit actually to say it,

Like they know it's important for them to overcome these cravings,

To overcome these bad habits,

And they're using this actually as an excuse.

And if one is to acquire Brahmavidya,

This war has to be won,

Because unless all restlessness and enslavement within oneself is overcome,

The nature of one's true self cannot be perceived,

Known and experienced.

And so Arjuna's thinking is actually flawed,

As it wasn't for enjoying any kingdom or any riches that the Pandavas got ready for war.

The war became inevitable,

As it was the only just path left,

And it was never Arjuna's choice.

Arjuna's feeling of self-importance has made him visualize the entire war as his own doing,

And his responsibility.

And so inflated ego is the biggest obstacle for anyone out to find their true selves.

If Arjuna doesn't fight,

Injustice will prevail.

Human society will be ransacked by evil forces.

Or at the philosophical level,

If we don't overcome our impulses,

They will stand in the way of discovering our true self,

And they will continue to dominate our lives.

An relatable question for a lot of us would be,

How to discard those deep passions of craving,

Rage and hatred,

Which run in the family and have been running in the family for a long long time,

And are now inherited by me.

A heavy burden for all of us,

Because we're all filled with these intergenerational patterns,

And it's not easy to fight those and to change those.

And so Arjuna indirectly reveals that actually maybe a part of his motive does have in it an element of craving for personal gain.

Attachment to the outcome damages our efficiency and diminishes the chance for self-realization.

Arjuna's own passions are arrayed to harm him,

And although they might have the support of habit and tradition,

The decision,

Even if I die,

I cannot resist these,

Is wrong.

Right in a way,

But they are killing you,

And so you have to fight them.

It's your responsibility to actually fight and overcome them,

As hard as it might be.

And so what Arjuna starts to do,

Actually,

At a given point in the dialogue,

Is he suddenly starts to pass the responsibility onto God.

And a lot of people will do that,

Actually.

They'll say,

My cravings and habits,

Even if they are detrimental to my health,

They're completely natural,

And so let God undo them.

So this is also kind of bullshit in a way,

Like we're not taking our own personal responsibility and we're using God,

So to speak,

And saying,

Oh,

It's up to God to undo me of them.

It's not up to God,

It's up to us.

And so Arjuna also reveals that maybe his idea of enjoyment is limited to the physical and the earthly.

In the internal world,

One could ask,

How will I get happiness if I destroy my pleasures,

Cravings,

And ego,

If I destroy the way that I'm used to finding,

Sort of speak,

Happiness?

How am I supposed to find it without those?

They are my closest relatives.

My happiness depends on them.

He points out that as they are controlled by greed,

The opposite side,

The Kauravas,

As they are controlled by greed,

They cannot visualize the sin they are about to perpetrate by hurting their friends,

Destroying their kin.

Be it so,

But we are the good sides,

The Pandavas,

We are well aware of the consequences.

And so again,

The symbolic part of this is,

If the cravings that ruin me do not know what they are doing,

Then they should be left free.

Well,

This,

Of course,

Like if you look at it from a distance,

It's,

You know,

Again,

Like he's putting forth all these arguments and maybe at a first sight,

You could say,

Yeah,

Sure,

Maybe he's right.

But actually,

No,

These are all points that are not really good points to make.

It's not because they are unaware of the fact that what they are doing is evil,

That they should not be stopped.

That makes no sense.

And so Arjuna then goes on and describes the untoward event of the fall of his clan.

And he refers to Krishna as a descendant of the Vrishni clan.

And Vrishni actually means one who does not believe in any religion.

So again,

To point out,

This is not a religious text,

It's a spiritual text.

And so the symbolism behind Arjuna describing the potential fall of his clan is that when the path of wrong action corrupts our mind,

Malformed progeny in the form of wrong ideas and concepts are born.

So if we act in a wrong way,

We will start to think in a wrong way and this will become spiral.

And Arjuna reasons that he cannot fight injustice as it might decimate the clan and harm the system.

It shows out that Arjuna's mind is using these superstitions,

Is using these outdated traditions to not have to take up his responsibility,

To not have to do this enormous,

Painful and hard task.

Superstitious beliefs,

By the way,

This is pointed out by the author,

Are misinterpretations of ancient knowledge.

It's often us reading a spiritual text and taking it much too literally and missing the metaphor.

But so Arjuna's reasoning is an example of how one will search,

Often very desperately,

For logical justifications to escape from a painful reality.

So that's actually what Arjuna is doing and that's what a lot of us will often do.

A person venturing to establish control over his bad habits and unhealthy emotions may get ensnared by similar justifications.

And so it's very important,

I think this is very important knowledge to take with you,

Like your mind will often really tell you storylines and give you all sorts of justifications to just keep on doing what you're doing.

But if you keep on doing what you're doing,

How can you ever expect a different result?

And so Arjuna is still governed by his ego.

He views himself as the key factor in the war and feels he is solely responsible for all the violence and death to come.

The first obstacle in the path towards self-realization is this blown up I.

It makes one feel separate from the universe and bigger than actual,

And it masks one true self.

Evolution happens when deviation overtakes heredity.

A desirable deviation demands negation of a part of our heredity.

A more refined sense of justice is due.

So if we keep following our traditions,

If we keep following our heredity,

We cannot evolve.

That's actually the point being made.

So sometimes we need to dare actually to to deviate,

To do something different.

Arjuna then,

Full of grief,

Slumped in his chariot,

Deserting his bow together with his arrow.

And so the Gita here points out like Arjuna can actually never be at peace with his decision because a voice deep within himself is telling him it's not right.

And so to conclude this first chapter,

The author points out that misery,

Grief and depression are the products of this internal conflict.

It is like cancer eating into the vitals of the mind,

Destroying it from within.

There is only one way to treat this kind of cancer.

It's to know your real self and know how to get answers from your real self.

In the next chapter,

Chapter 2,

Krishna will be there to guide Arjuna and to talk to him and so he will make contact with his real self.

He's so filled with grief that at a certain point he just realizes that he's stuck.

No matter all the logic,

So to speak,

All the logical arguments that his mind is putting forth,

He's never really truly at peace.

He's feeling that something is not right.

And so I hope to see you again in the next chapter.

Namaste.