The Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 2
The Eternal Reality of the Soul's Immortality
On 5th July 2020, my dear Dad passed away and moved on to the next realm. The Bhagavad Gita, a book sacred to Hinduism, was by far his most cherished text and he studied it up to the very end. In his memory, I am committing to write 18 pieces - one for each chapter - and will attempt to capture the essence of this great text. No prior knowledge of Hinduism is necessary and I shall steer clear of jargon as much as possible. If you haven’t already, do subscribe below to get all the pieces straight to your inbox.
A quick recap
In Chapter 1 we saw Arjuna - the master archer - placed in a huge moral dilemma as he was about to wage war against his cousins. He wondered what good could possibly come of the situation. He pondered out loud to Lord Krishna his cousin, who had also agreed to be his charioteer for the battle.
Chapter 2 - The Eternal Reality of the Soul’s Immortality
Krishna looks at Arjuna who is filled with despair and tells him that despair and despondency in times of crisis is not noble, and is a barrier to attain salvation. He urges him to not yield to such weakness and rise to the occasion.
But Arjuna is not convinced just yet.
“How can I fight against opponents who are actually worthy of worship? I think it is better off living my life as a beggar rather than to kill great souls.”
“I have no clue as to what is better - whether they should conquer us, or whether we should conquer them? At this moment I feel that if I kill, I shall not care to live.”
With increasing despair he continues on to Krishna and says that he is overcome by weakness and his mind is full of confusion. In surrender he says:
“What is the remedy for the grief that drains my senses? Please show me the path that is good for me. I will not fight.”
The Union (“Yoga”) of a Number (“Sankhya”) of Realities
Krishna lets out a smile and begins to speak to the grief stricken Arjuna.
“Your grief is unnecessary. The wise grieve neither for the living, nor the dead. There has never been a time when all of us here have not existed, nor will there be a time when we cease to exist.”
“The Soul (also referred to as Consciousness), dwells in the body and goes through stages like childhood, youth and old age. Death is just another stage for the Soul and it passes on to another body. A wise person is not confused by these mere changes.”
“When the sense organs come into contact with the objects of sensation we experience cold or heat or pleasure or pain. These are temporary and should be endured with patience. A wise person is one who is unaffected by these and to whom pleasure and pain are the same.”
Krishna goes on to state that that which is subject to change is not ultimately real or eternal - and conversely - that which is real, is neither temporary nor subject to change.
“Realize that the underlying Consciousness that pervades all is indestructible and incomprehensible - it is only the body that is said to have an end. The Soul is neither born, nor does It die. Having existed in the past it will never cease to be. The Soul can never be cut or burnt, not made wet or dried. It is eternal and everlasting.”
“Death is inevitable for the living and Birth is inevitable for the Dead. Therefore there is no point grieving over the unavoidable. This is true for all beings in the Universe. Thus there is no need to grieve for any being as the Soul is eternal.”
Arjuna was a “Kshatriya”, a social order associated with warriorhood. Krishna points our that for a Kshatriya, there is nothing more noble than to fight for righteousness (see Dharma).
“If you do not involve yourself in this righteous warfare you will dishonour your Dharma, lose your reputation and in the process incur Sin. People will dishonour you, and for a man of honour, dishonour is worse than death. If you are killed in battle, you will attain Heaven. If you are victorious - you will rule Earth.”
“Engage yourself fully in the battle considering pleasure and pain, profit and loss, victory and defeat - all to mean the same. This is the righteous way”
Freedom from the Bondage of Work - Karma Yoga
Krishna continues:
“In the above endeavour (engaging yourself fully), there is never any wasted effort, nor is there failure. Practising righteousness (Dharma) protects you from fear. On the path of Dharma you should be firm and pointed in the right direction, otherwise you will be easily distracted.”
Krishna then mentions the Vedas (a large body of religious texts in Hinduism).
“People get lost in rituals and the flowery words of the Vedas - they are desirous of sense gratification and an opulent life. Those whose minds are constantly swayed by the pursuit of pleasure and power are incapable of following the Path of the Supreme. The Vedas describe the three types of qualities (see Guna) - one should seek to transcend these qualities, be balanced and self controlled. Be free from all dualities (e.g happiness and sadness, pleasure and pain) and drop the concern of being established and to acquire for the Self.”
“You have the right only to work - never to seek the fruits of your work. You should never engage in action for the sake of rewards, nor at the same time should you be inactive. Perform your Duty without attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity of the mind is called Yoga.”
“Action performed with attachment to the result is inferior to action performed with equanimity of the mind. A person who is motivated by the fruits of action and is anxious about the outcome of his work, is miserly. A person with equanimity is free from this anxiety. Yoga is the art of proper action.”
“When you have given up attachment to the fruits of your action and your intellect has passed beyond the forest of delusion - not perplexed by procedural and ritual injunction - then you will be in the state of perfect composure (see Samadhi) and attain Yoga - the state of Union with one’s own true Nature.”
The Blueprint of an Ideal Being
Arjuna having listened to Krishna, wonders out loud:
“What is the language of someone whose wisdom is steady and is established in perfect composure? What would one whose intelligence is steady speak about, how would he sit or move?”
Krishna responds with some useful guidelines:
“One has to be satisfied in the Self without going after desires of the mind. One whose mind is not agitated by grief or does not yearn for pleasure - who is free from desire, fear and anger, such a person is called a Sage of firm wisdom. A person not bound by selfish attachments, neither overjoyed by the good nor dejected by the bad is poised in wisdom. Just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs - a person who withdraws his senses at will is said to be rooted in wisdom. Sometimes people, especially seekers abstain from sense objects but still long and yearn for them.”
“The turbulent senses can sweep away the mind of the person seeking Self-Realization. With the senses under control one should be in union with one self and focus on the Supreme. Such a person is truly wise. Thinking about sensory objects leads to attachment - from attachment springs desire - unfulfilled desires cause anger - anger causes delusion and a mind that is deluded is unable to discern. Thus one is ruined. When you control the senses beyond both attraction and aversion, you control the mind and root it firmly in the Self. The mind that is unsteady is not wise - with an unsteady mind there is no peace and when there is no peace, how can there be happiness?”
“When the mind gets gets tempted and distracted by the wandering senses it steals the ability to discriminate, just like a wayward wind at sea causes a boat to drift away. A person is poised and firmly established in wisdom when his senses are restrained from the sense objects. Just like the rivers flowing into the ocean cannot disturb the stillness of the ocean, the mind of a Yogi is not swayed by desires and senses and remains still and serene.
Krishna concludes to Arjuna:
“A person who gives up ‘me’ and ‘I’, and who abandons desires and attachment to material wealth attains peace. This is the Supreme State and is free of delusion. The Nirvana of the Ultimate Reality (see Brahman).”
Parting Thoughts
This is a pretty intense chapter and is said to be a summary of key concepts from the Bhagavad Gita, that are expanded upon in further chapters. With my Dad’s recent passing, the passages around the Eternal nature of the Soul were comforting.
With respect to having a calm and composed outlook, I found some similarities to Stoicism (well worth a look into if you haven’t come across it already).
I was also drawn to the parts around not being attached to the fruits of your effort - your duty is to do your best and not be attached to the outcome. This was one of my Dad’s favourite bits and he mentioned this to me constantly.
Lastly if you want some further insight into Sankhya Yoga - I enjoyed this article while I was doing my research.
Deepak
Looking forward to further chapters.
Also, a trivial complain, you used the word "discriminate" (Latin, discriminare "to divide, separate"), which has negative connotations today. I suggest a neutral term like "discern" ( discernere "distinguish, perceive, sift/sieve") is better in this case for the casual audience.
I appreciate the place this effort is coming from. Your presentation is honest and it was a thoroughly good read.
Thank you, and keep sharing.