A grace bestowed from the heavens (Reflections on 'Gnyana- yoga')

 

Week 6, chapter 2 shlokas 24-37

 

Free from the cycle of birth and death, free of any labels and is purest. It (the atma- tattwa) cannot be drowned, burnt, or dried up. It is actionless and one ‘eternal constant’.

It cannot be found through arguing and cannot be estimated/ measured. It is flawless and omnipresent and is always desired by the yogies.

Krishna talks about birth, death, and rebirth and the cycle of life and death.

Now in the shloka 28, Krishna talks about the formless nature of existence—that every being who is born is formless before his birth. And after the birth, they take a form and attain a rhythm (laya). After attaining laya, they cannot change their form but will acquire an unexpressed state of their own being. All the visuals they encounter between birth and death are like a dream while they exist in that form. All the form and visuals, all the matter is the influence of Maya—is Maya itself.

He talks about the existence of this omnipresent tattwa in the form of vibrations (Chaitanya- Swaroop) (shloka 30).

Next point that Shri Krishna is highlighting is, ‘Swadharma’-- the dharma of the being. Or the righteous duty of the being. Here the word ‘swa’ is quite interesting as I ponder a little longer over the meaning, as the word ‘swa’ may suggest various identification that we carry during our lifetime.

Krishna says that if one follows ‘swadharma’, he shall overcome his shortcomings (doshas) and he will be free from any sin. But one must keep in mind to be detached with the outcome of their actions.

As Arjuna is a warrior, the greatest duty- his dharma is to perform the war. To have a heart free from cunningness (kapata) and with such a clean heart- sly the enemies.

One beautiful thing that I noticed in these shlokas was when Krishna says that this war is not a misfortune, but a grace bestowed on him from the heavens and that this war has come to him as a result of his ‘punyas’ of the previous life. And turning his back towards the war is only going to destroy his glory and will be a sin to do so. 

He might not participate in the war but the Kauravas (who are always scared of Arjuna otherwise) will still find him and kill him as they will never understand his compassion and pure intentions and for a warrior like him, inviting this kind of death is a great misfortune. Even if he is saved, what use such life would be? It would be worse than death.

Thus, Shri Krishna sums up the ‘Gnyana- yoga’ (yoga attained through the enlightened knowledge- Gnyana). He tells Arjuna to free his mind from the outcome of the war and perform his duty in the present moment. He also talks about ‘acceptance’. To accept whatever is the outcome with equal detachment. To not be satisfied with pleasures and to not be upset in sorrows. To not think about victory or defeat/ death, but to perform the righteous duty of a warrior and accept the outcome. And this way there is no blemish that will come upon him or his clan.

p.s. more I read Gyaneshwari, more I feel at a disadvantage by not having the knowledge of Marathi language. As the original text of Gyaneshwari is written in Marathi and is in lyrical form.