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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 the
scriptures 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 horrors
of war and lead an easy life of aSamnyāsi, 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.
2. The 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 KarmaYoga
of 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 mind
should 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.