The great war fought at Kurukshetra to decide the right of claim

War had to be declared. This is the great war fought at Kurukshetra to decide the right of claim. The hundred Kouravas, Bhisma, Drona, Asvasthama, etc.; were on the other. Krishna did not actually fight. He was charioteer of Arjuna and hence He is called Parathasarathy. Krishna was very impartial. He gave his army to kouravas and himself offered to serve the Pandavas.

The Kouravas and the Pandava armies arrayed themselves for the war. The Kouravas planned their attacks under the supervision of Bhisma, and under Bhima’s management the Pandavas army marched into formation. Arjuna asked Krishna to drive his chariot into the heart of battlefield, into the no-man’s land between two forces, so that he could get a clear view of all. He was bubbling over with the war-spirit. He faced his enemy forces…….but there he saw not his enemies but his revered grand-sire Bhisma, his beloved teacher Drona , and his dear and near kinsmen and friends. He felt a growing weakness in his heart. He lost his enthusiasm to fight. He turned to Krishna and told him clearly that he did not wish to fight against his seniors, friends and cousins to win a paltry kingdom. How can he enjoy the luxuries and the glories of a kingdom won by spilling the blood of so many of his relatives and friends!

When Arjuna refused to fight, Krishna gave him good advice

When Arjuna refused to fight, Krishna gave him good advice. Enlightening him upon where his duty lay. Its essence was active conquest of evil and not passive resistance to it. Arjuna was a different person altogether after he had tasted this spiritual Elixir. It cured not only his weakness but revived his spirits. This marvelous advice is Bhagvad Geeta, which gives in a nut shell, the essence of the vast and deep learning enshrined in the scriptures.

The advice was obviously given by Krishna to Arjuna in a battle-field. But it is not in any sense narrow in its scope. It is a universal guide, meant for the entire humanity, in all climes, for all times, irrespective of age, sex caste and creed. It was applicable in the age of Puranas, i.e. Dwapar Yuga in Bharat varsha in the case of Arjuna at he Kurukshetra war . It is equally applicable in the Kali Yuga, in any place on the globe, now and for ever, to every individual young or old, man or women.

We are the dual personality of good and bad. We must conquer the evil and cultivate good in us. Strave the Demon and feed the God. How? For instance, if you are angry and want to smash the nose and break the chin of your friend, you may raise your hand ….but…pause a moment……and remember what Geeta says..make a rapid review of Geeta and then proceed. You shall find it easier and wiser to smash his entire being more effectively and with less effort and procure him as a slave till death, by shaking hand with him. Patience ,forgiveness,friendship that is what geeta teaches us.So don’t do anything rashly in haste. Then you may come to suffer and regret. Always see wheather Geeta offers any solution. Follow Geeta-instructions.

The duty of Arjuna, a Kshatriya prince is to conquer his enemies. The duty of students is to study, acquire pure, faultless learning. The duty of a cobbler is to mend shoes well: and of a butcher to supply meat to the needy. Well, Geeta teaches us to discharge our duties, to put our whole heart into them, regardless of outcome. Evidently then there would be no such word as “failure” in our life.

Bhagavad Geeta is a practical guide

Bhagavad Geeta is a practical guide. It teaches the art of living this life in harmony with the spiritual one. It teaches the art of self-discipline and self-perfection. Man is a synthesis of Matter and Spirit and nobody can afford to ignore the one in order to perfect the other. We have to blend them in proper proportions, assigning their due importance to both. Geeta is really a treasure-house of most precious pearls of wisdom.It offers a solution to all our personal problems, though they vary in nature from individual to individual. There lies the simple beauty of Geeta.

Lord’s Song Divine is in the form of dialogue,between two characters, Arjuna and Krishna –Nara and Narayana—wherein Nara symbolizes man, and Narayana represents the Refuge of man, God. The god directs and guides the dejected ,depressed, helpless and erring man along the right path.This struggle in man between himself and the Lord of his heart and ultimately the Lord coming to his rescue when he surrenders to him are quite common in every day life. But generally we fail to notice the play of god in our day-to-day activities.

Geeta is a poem in eighteen chapters, containing 701 stanzas. The philosophy preached in these lyrical stanzas constitutes the Bharat Culture , the time honored culture of Indian fore-fathers, the very glory of nation-India.

The Bhagawad Gita or the song of the Lord,

The Gita is comparable to a bouquet made of the most beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Upanishads. No better commentary on the Vedas has been written or can be written so far other than by the Bhagawad Gita. The knowledge of the Atma and liberation of the conditioned consciousness or jivahood is the highest aim of the Gita. The central idea of the Gita is to remain calm and steadfast in all circumstances, with one`s body,mind and intellect centred at the Divine altar.The Gita avers that the goal of the humans is to realize oneness with the Supreme being. Work, work, work day and night ,says the Gita. The goal of mankind is to attain true Knowledge and attaining freedom while living. The knowledge of the Self -the highest destiny of man, is the ultimate goal. Divinity is present in each and every being . The goal of life is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling/ conquering the play of the gunas viz., Satva, Rajas and Tamas.
The Bhagawad Gita or the song of the Lord, brings the Vedik truths from the caves of Himalaya into the active fields of political life in Mahabharata and into the tensions of an imminent war between cousins. On the eve of the war,Arjuna was under the stress of delusion and got shattered in his mental balance and seemed to have lost his capacity to act with right discrimination. Lord Krishna took in hand the despondent mind of Arjuna for treatment with Vedik Truths. The Lord declared the new message of the Gita, which,as you all know is nothing but a reinterpretation of the ancient wisdom of the Upanishads , with proper emphasis upon vital concepts which had got distorted. If the Upanishads are the text book of the philosophical principles discussing man(jiva), world(prapancha) and God(Iswara), the Bhagawad Gita, is a handbook of instructions as to how every human being can live the subtle philosophical principles of Vedanta in the day-to-day world and be a true citizen of the nation. The Gita is not addressed to to the physical entity in Arjuna but to the mental and intellectual constitution of that heroic prince. Gita is not just a message of action but a message of living. And Gita is not a book for casual reading or appreciation. One of the several assertions of the Lord in the Gita is that Niskamya karma (desireless activity) without egoism would purify man`s inner nature and help him to evolve more and more to the status of a God-man. If we try to digest properly the implications of the Gita`s advice in the light of the Vedik lore, it becomes amply clear how actions performed without ego-centric desires purge the mind of its vasanas (deep-seated impressions) and make it increasingly subtle and pure in its sadhana for attaining the Infinite. It has been stated that the Gita is one of the most authoratitive sources of Hindu doctorine and ethics, and is accepted as such by Hindus of all denominations. A study of even selected verses from the Gita, accompanied by earnest thinking or churning of the mind about those selected verses, will enable us to understand the religion of our forefathers, which is the background of all the noble philosophy, art,literature and civilization that we have inherited. To take the battle of Kurukshetra literally and to interpret all that is said in the Gita in the light of the developments and utterances leading to the war, would not lead one to understand the Gita correctly; rather it would lead him to an erronous understanding. It is true that the teachings in the Gita are of universal validity and would also be applicable to the Mahabharata scene and must help to solve Arjuna`s delusion and doubts. We fail to understand the teachings in the right perspective when we are obsessed with the particular scene in Mahabharata and thereby we seek to interpret the general by the particular. We should forget the battle- scene when we study the Gita as a scripture of Sanatana Dharma.

Only a Bhakta can understand Gita

We all know that, before advising Srimad Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna, Bhagavan Sri Krishna had asked Arjuna to kneel down in front of Bhagavan and become His Bhakta . It means that only a Bhakta can understand Gita .

Our beloved AchAryas say :

Shree Ramanujacharya , " The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Bhagavan Krishna to Arjuna, to reveal the science of *Bhakti* ( devotion) to Bhagavan , which is the essence of spiritual knowledge. Bhagavan Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development , yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity " .

Shree Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, " The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigration of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that, they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that, knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained . On studying the third chapter it is apparent that, acts of righteousness are also of high priority . If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter, we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto Bhagavan Sri Krishna ".

Shree Madhavacharya, " The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata as ghee is the essence of milk and polien is the essence of flowers " .

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!! !