Day 232: Krishna’s Teachings to Arjuna

 Day 232: Krishna’s Teachings to Arjuna

Arjuna's Despondency
Krishna and Arjuna play the roles of ordinary humans. When Arjuna sees his kinsmen on both sides of the battlefield, he becomes despondent and refuses to fight. At this moment, Krishna imparts the highest wisdom to Arjuna, leading to his spiritual awakening.

Arjuna is distressed at the thought of fighting his relatives and teachers. He is filled with sorrow and confusion, questioning the purpose of the battle. At this critical juncture, Krishna begins to enlighten Arjuna with profound spiritual wisdom.

Understanding the Self
Krishna explains that the self is eternal and neither born nor dies. It is not killed when the body is killed. Ignorance lies in thinking that the self can kill or be killed. The infinite self, subtler than space, cannot be destroyed. Arjuna is advised to realize that he is unborn and eternal.

Krishna tells Arjuna that the self is not the doer of actions. It is the egotistic and ignorant person who thinks, "I do this," whereas all actions are merely expressions of the infinite consciousness. The wise perform actions without attachment, purely for self-purification.

Krishna further elaborates that the self is untainted and of the nature of pure consciousness. It is infinite and unmanifest, beyond birth and death. Arjuna is advised to see the self in all beings and all beings in the self.

Ego and Doership
Krishna advises Arjuna to abandon egotistic notions such as “I am the doer” or “this is mine.” These misconceptions lead to suffering. Actions are merely expressions of the infinite consciousness, and the wise perform actions without attachment, purely for self-purification. The yogis perform actions by their mind and senses for self-purification. Those who are free from the ego-sense and the sense of possession, and who are equanimous in pleasure and pain, are not bound by their actions.

Krishna explains that the ego-sense creates the illusion of doership. The eyes see, the ears hear, the skin feels, and the tongue tastes, but there is no 'I' in these actions. The mind entertains various notions, but the 'I' assumes doership and suffers. The wise understand that the self is not the doer and remains unattached to actions.