Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Poised for battle -Chapter 1 -Verse 1














Dhritarashtra Uvacha:

Dharmakshethre Kurukshethre Samaveta Yuyutsavaha
Mamakah Pandavashchaiva Kimakurvatha Sanjaya?


Dhritarashtra is blind. He is the personification of the ignorant mind, torn by desires and confusion. He cannot hence see the reality. Since he cannot perceive the truth, he sits in the camp of Adharma - as the father of the Kauravas.

For one who cannot see, he needs the guidance of Sanjaya, his charioteer, to narrate the events of the Mahabharatha war. Sanjaya is also the one who sees the truth. Hence he tried to mediate between the Pandavas and the Kauravas to peacefully settle the dispute, but failed.

Dharma has many meanings. The predominant one though is sustenance. Kshethra means place. The Bhagavad Gita is the essence of the Mahabharatha epic. The essence of the epic story is the same essence of our life too. Dharmakshethra is this being of the five koshas or sheaths - Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vignanamaya and Anandamaya Kosha - the layers of the body made of food, energy, mind, intellect and bliss.

A text like the Bhagavad Gita, is like the Himalayas. Each time you go deeper and deeper into it, the pearls of wisdom can reveal newer insights and meanings. So, dispelling doubts that it is just a part of an epic story, we can delve deep into this treasure trove and emerge with subtle truths from the mine of consciousness.

The five koshas of each individual are the five koshas of all humans, of existence put together. Dharmakshethra hence is the whole Universe and all that happens in it. The base for this Dharmakshethra is the planet Earth, since we live on this spaceship.

Kurukshethra is the battlefield of the descendants of the Kuru clan, the Kauravas. But in our context her, it refers to the battlefield in the Dharmakshethra. In this being of ours - individual and collective, where dharma or the natural order prevails, there can be a battle of forces once in a while, when it turns into a Kurukshethra - battlefield.

Samaveta means the equally poised forces. Where is the equality here between an army of five members - the Pandavas and of the hundred brothers of the Kauravas? Well, this is a beautiful instance to show that might is not in mere numbers, but the quality of contemplation within.

The Kauravas represent the mind which is torn by distress, anger, jealousy, hatred, frustration and many chaotic emotions. Hundred is just an approximate representation for the different qualities of the mind expressed by the sons of Dhritarashtra.

The Pandavas are just five. When the five organs of perception are lost in the happenings of the world, they become the Kauravas and wreak havoc on others and on themselves too. But the same five organs, when they turn inward and depend solely on the unseen force called consciousness - Sri Krishna, victory is on their side.

Yuyutsavaha means to be desirous of fighting. Though they may be cousins, friends or members of the family - when arrayed in the opposite camps in the battlefield, fighting is the order and there is no running away. Life goes on smoothly each day. But there may be occasions when the unexpected happens and it is time to take hard decisions.

Then one has to act and be in the present moment - the most important quality in the battlefield. A moment missed in the now means death. When the moment comes, one has to be ready to face challenges head on, with courage and wisdom.

Mamakaha: Dhritarashtra is referring to his sons and the Pandavaha to the Pandavas and asks Sanjaya to narrate to him what they did after positioning themselves against each other. Dhritarashtra comes through as a wavering mind, torn by his guilt for neglecting the Pandavas, his brother's sons and his blind love for his sons failing to act against their grave misdemeanourin many instances.

Thogh he is incapable, he harbours great anger towards Bhima, for killing his son in the battlefield and attempts to kill him in a feigned loving embrace. A blind mind cannot see the truth, how much ever it may try. It needs to surrender to the wisdom of one who can see and in this case, it is Sanjaya who also has ben endowed with the divine vision like Arjuna.

An important point to note in the Bhagavad Gita is that - all the different characters here do not refer to different people. So all the fights among people about tracing the descendants of the Pandava and the Kaurava races to date are farcical. The Kaurava is you, the Pandava is you, the Dhritarashtra is you, the Sanjaya is you and eventually the clear intellect of Sri Krishna - acting with poise in the battlefield, submerged in the consciousness of divine wisdom is also You!

The Bhagavad Gita is a journey from a mind torn by confusion to a consciousness which shows the light for life in a dark world.

- Swahilya Shambhavi.

2 comments:

Love so be it said...

"The Bhagavad Gita is a journey from a mind torn by confusion to a consciousness which shows the light for life in a dark world".

Is interesting and this blog comes to me as if sent it from Heaven :-).

Thank you for writting, I am starting to read it, let´s see how is the journey.

Swahilya Shambhavi said...

Welcome Love!
The Bhagavad Gita for sure will touch your life in a blissful and blessing way.
Namaste.