Chapter 2 - Gita
Jay: If Arjuna felt so kind-hearted for everyone he was supposed to kill in the war, how could he go out and fight, Grandma?
Grandma: That is exactly what Arjuna asked Lord Krishna. He said: “How shall I strike my grandfather, my guru, and all other relatives with arrows in battle? They are worthy of my respect” (Gita 2.04).
Arjuna had a good point. In Vedic culture, gurus, the elderly, honorable persons, and
all other superiors are to be respected. But thescriptures also say that anyone who acts
wrongly or unlawfully against you or others,
or anyone who supports such deeds, should no longer be respected, but punished.
Arjuna was confused about his duty and asked guidance from Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna then instructed him on the true knowledge of Atmā and the physical body.
Jay: What is Atmā, Grandma?
Grandma: Atmā is also called the Spirit, or the soul. Atmā is never born, never dies, and is everlasting. Our body takes birth and dies, but not Atmā. Atmā supports the body. Without Atmā, the body becomes dead. Atmā supplies the power to our body, mind, and senses, just as air burns and supports fire. Weapons cannotcut Atmā, fire cannot burn it, wind cannot dryit, and water cannot make it wet. Therefore, we should not grieve over death of the body because the Atmā inside the body never dies (Gita 2.23-24).
Jay: What is the difference between Atmā (Spirit), soul, and body Grandma?
Grandma: One and the same Atmā dwells inside all bodies. Our body changes with time.
Our old-age body is different from our childhood body. But Atmā does not change. Atmā
takes a childhood body, a youth body, and an old-age body during this life, then takes another body after death (Gita 2.13). The Sanskrit word Atmā is translated as Spirit in English. Spirit is universal and all pervading. The English word spirit or soul also means the Spirit residing in individual bodies. In Sanskrit language, we call this individual soul Jivātmā or Jiva (also spelled as Jeeva). If Spirit is compared to a forest, the individual soul (spiritor Jiva) can be compared to the tree in the forest. The body is called a garment of Atmā. Just as we get rid of an old, worn-out garment and put on a new one, similarly, Atmā gets rid of the old body and takes a new one after
death. So death is like changing the garment of Atmā (Gita 2.22). All beings are visible between birth and death; they can’t be seen before birth or after death and remain in their invisible form (Gita 2.28). Therefore, we should not grieve over death of the body. We are not the body. We are Atmā with a body. Death just means our soul passes from one body to another new body.
Jay: Then why did Arjuna grieve over deaths of loved ones on the battlefield?
Why didn’t he want to fight?
Grandma: Arjuna was a very tough warrior, Jay, but he wanted to run away from the horror of war and lead an easy life of a Samnyāsi, a wandering hermit. Lord Krishna taught us to face the battle of life by giving Arjuna the beautiful science of KarmaYoga, the art of peaceful and prosperous living. Chapter 3 of the Gita tells us more about this.
Arjuna was worried about the results of the war, but Lord Krishna asks us to do our duty without worrying too much about the results, such as gain and loss, victory and defeat, success and failure. If you are constantly worried about the results of your studies, you will not be able to put your heart and soul into them for fear of failure.
Jay: But Grandma, how could Arjuna fight his best if he wasn’t fighting to win and gain something?
Grandma: Arjuna must fight to win, but he should not weaken his will by worrying about the result while he is fighting. He should put all his attention and energy into every minute of the fight. That energy is what will bring the greatest result. Lord Krishna tells us that we have full control over our action, but no control over the results of our action (Gita 2.47). Harry Bhalla says: A farmer has control over how he works his land, yet no control over the harvest. But he cannot expect a harvest if he does not work his land with best effort and with tools he has. We should do our best at the present moment and let the future take care of itself.
Jay: Could you tell me more about thesecret of success as told by Krishna to Arjuna?
Grandma: We should be so completely absorbed in work or study as to become unaware
of everything else, even of its results. To achieve the best results from what we do, we
should be focused on the action with undivided
attention.
Action should be done sincerely without
worrying about its results. The results ofthe action will be greater if we put all attention
and energy into the action itself and do not allow our energy to be diverted by thinking of results. The result will depend on energy put into action. We are asked not to worry about results during the course of action. This does not mean that we should not care about results. But we should not expect only positive results all the time. The secret of living a meaningful life is to be very active, and do our best without thinking of our own selfish motives or even the results. A Self-realized person works for the good of all.
Jay: What is a Self-realized person like, Grandma?
Grandma: A Self-realized person is a perfect person, Jay. Lord Krishna tells us the mind of a perfect person is not shaken by difficulties, does not run after pleasures, is free from fear, desire, greed, and attachment, and has control over mind and senses (Gita 2.56). A Self-realized person does not get angry, is peaceful and happy.
Jay: How can we keep from gettingangry, Grandma?
Grandma: We get angry if our desire is not fulfilled (Gita 2.62). So the best way to control anger is to control or limit our desires. We should not want too many things. Desires begin in the mind, so we should control our mind. If we don’t control our mind, we drift like a ship without its rudder. The desire for pleasure takes one to the dark alley of sin, gets us in trouble, and prevents our progress (Gita 2.67). As a student, you should set a higher goal for yourself than pleasure. Put forth your best effort and concentrate on your studies. Arjuna was a very good example of such concentration. Here is a story about him.
2The Graduation Test
Guru Drona was the military teacher for both the Kauravas and the Pāndavas. At the end of their military training came final examination time. Drona put a wooden eagle on the branch of a nearby tree. Nobody knew it was just a doll. It looked like a real eagle. To pass the graduation test, every one of the students was supposed to cut off the eagle’s head with one arrow.
Guru Drona first asked Yudhisthira, theminded attention and put your whole heart and
mind into it. This is the main theme of KarmaYogaof the Gita and the secret of success in anything you do. A word for the youth from Swami Vivekananda: “Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mindshould be only on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In India boys and girls are taught to do this”.
Chapter 2 Summary: Lord Krishna taught us, through Arjuna, the difference between Atmā and body. We are Atmā with a body. Atmā is unborn and indestructible. One and the same Atmā dwells inside all bodies, human or nonhuman. Thus we are all connected with each other. We should do our duty to the best of our ability without worrying about success or failure. We must learn from our failures and go forward without letting our failures defeat us. To become a perfect person, we need tocontrol or limit our desires.