Gober Gas: Metaphysical Methane Experiments

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 34

2009-06-19T23:12:00.000+05:30

The Brahma of Screw-Ups

Know thou that action comes from Brahma, and Brahma proceeds from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading (Brahma) ever rests in sacrifice.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 3, ver 15

This is one of those particularly meaningless verses of the Bhagavad Gita, though in one of the essays here we give it a novel interpretation. A very interesting aspect of this verse is that it is not clear in which sense Krishna uses the word Brahma here. There are two Brahmas in Hinduism, one is the creator God, Brahma, one of the Hindu trinity of Gods, and the other is the Supreme Brahman, an abstract principle denoting the ultimate reality of the universe. Only the Brahman is known as the imperishable, all-pervading reality, and the trinity God Brahma has nothing particularly to do with It. Just a few verses before, Krishna talks about the Prajapati Brahma, the creator God, so we would suppose this verse is referring to him, but then it brings Brahman into the mix, and mixes it up! Leave alone trying to make any meaning of this verse, we don’t know which Brahma Krishna is talking about in the first place! Just in case people start arguing that this verse actually refers to the absolute Brahman, I would like to point out that the Absolute does not proceed from anywhere!

One unique thing, among many other unique things, that the Bhagavad Gita did was to create a hybrid of Upanishadic and Puranic approaches to religion. These are the two major streams associated with popular Hinduism. The first stream is the philosophic and mystical stream flowing from the Upanishads. The second and vastly more popular one has its roots in the mythology and the Bhakti philosophy of the Puranas. The mythology of these Puranas is supposed to be of a vaguely semi-symbolic nature, reflecting the Bhakti or devotional/dualistic philosophy. The bhakti philosophy shares some good amount of common ground with the non-dualistic philosophy of Vedanta, nevertheless these are two totally different outlooks of the world, one is rational, intellectual and scientific, the other is superstitious, idol-worshiping, hugely derivative and totally idiotic, albeit with enormous appeal to the masses.

The common people back then as well as now usually wouldn’t even know the name of the God of the Upanishads, the Brahman. Even I myself first came across this name for the ultimate Truth in Vedanta only when I was in college, and took good time to digest it. It was rather shocking to realize that I had been Hindu all my life and didn't know the name of its real God, quite apart from the silly hosts of its pantheon. Although I had previously heard the term ‘Brahm’ in the recitations of the Bhagavad Gita, I confused the term with 'Brahma' – the creator God of Hindu trinity, nonetheless not the supreme all-powerful one as in other religions. Although Brahman and Brahma are both looked upon as the creative power from which the universe originated, these two are completely different and should not be confused. Regardless, the confusion happens naturally in the general perception owing to identical names.

Brahma, although he is supposed to have created the world is treated almost equal to much lesser gods such as Indra, the god of heaven. As can be seen in this verse that is sung in praise of Krishna sometimes at the inception of the recitation of the Bhagavad Gita, “Salutations to that God whom Brahma, Indra, Varuna, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns….” Brahma is a very impotent God, and is considered far inferior to Shiva and Vishnu, the other two of the trinity. Imagine, being the Creator of the Universe, he has to stand in queue and sing praises of Krishna! I don’t know if this kind of nauseating palaver makes any kind of sense to anyone.

The tendency toward mix-up between Brahma and Brahma can also be clearly seen in a very familiar invocation prayer to the Guru:

Gururbrahma gururvishnurgururdevo maheshwarah;

Guruh saakshaat param brahma tasmai shree gurave namah.

Guru is the creator (Brahma); Guru is the preserver (Vishnu); Guru is the destroyer (Maheshvara); Guru is verily the Supreme Absolute. To that Guru we prostrate.

This Brahma and that Brahma are not related, in fact the Absolute Brahman is related to none of the trinity. He, or rather It, belongs to a different thought system, almost a different tradition from the predominantly mythological religion that fabricated the Hindu trinity and a whole lot of inane stories around them. Now, the Absolute Brahm is absolutely everything that exists, because nothing exists which is not him. Even a stone lying by the roadside is the Brahm, so what is the point in equating Guru to the Brahm particularly? But such inanities are regular accepted parts of the popular Hindu culture that does not even attempt to distinguish between the essential and the grossly drossy. We can hold the Bhagavad Gita responsible for spreading such and much more confusion.

Hinduism is the most philosophical of religions, or is supposed to be so, but it has ended up by being a religion whose followers are the most thoughtless among the followers of all the other major religions. A devout Christian would ponder once in a while about metaphysical issues, heaven, hell, etc., even a Muslim would do so, I suppose. But a typical devout Hindu just goes to the temple, worships Krishna or Siva, and performs others religious rites from time to time, that’s about it! All religions stifle thinking, but ancient mythology-based religions do so in a more direct and unapologetic manner, in the case of Hinduism it tends to brazenly suppress the great thoughts and insights that have flowered right in the midst of its being. The confusion between Brahm and Brahma is not just a coincidence, it is very much indicative of the overlaying of the mythological religion on the mystical religion, suppressing it, stifling it, almost killing it.

Brahm and Brahma are confused anyway, but to spice up things a little bit, the topmost, priestly class of the Hindu society are called Brahmanas! In another totally ridiculous verse in the Gita, Krishna suggests a possible reason for this,

“Om Tat Sat”: this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were created formerly the Brahmanas, the Vedas and the sacrifices.

Chap 17, 23

So from the Brahman come Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the sacrifices. But wait a minute, don’t everything else in the universe originate from the Brahman too? The general idea of Krishna seems to be just prattle away any kind of nonsense that comes to mind as long as you can slip it inside holy sounding Sanskrit verses. ‘Om Tat Sat’ — ‘Om That Truth’ — is a powerful Vedantic concept, but what Krishna does is put it in a crappy mess which is a monstrously shameless propaganda advocating the special divine status of the supercilious Brahmin caste. I have never seen this kind of prostitution of philosophy anywhere, and it is simply inconceivable anywhere except in the Gita! In one line you talk of mystical philosophy, in the very next line, you carry out nonsensical propaganda and link it to the previous line! What can I call it except whoring brazenness!

This second sentence simply has no meaning of any kind, quite apart from the ridiculousness of its basic proposition. Let’s imagine, a Brahmana is performing a sacrificial ritual chanting the Vedas; the Vedas were obviously codified by Veda Vyasa from among a rampant mess of texts available during his time, so they couldn’t have come from the supreme Brahman; the sacrifice is being performed by the Brahmana, it has come just now into being, it didn’t surely originate formerly from the Brahman directly, and the Brahmana himself originated from his mother a few decades ago, he was not formerly created by the Brahman either! This is the kind of mess the Bhagavad Gita is! However, interestingly, if we substitute the creator God Brahma to the Brahman, in the contextual background of this second line, implying all these three emanated from the creator God Brahma, it would make some sense at least; we would then take it in a pictorial, symbolic sense which is the level at which Puranic literature functions, and not in a literal sense of the first statement, which says that Om Tat Sat is a direct indication towards the Brahman. Why Krishna bungles so much between one Brahma and the other and creates a botch out of it is a mystery!

Obviously, Krishna likes to simply screw everything up in his characteristic style. But he is not just content with it. He wants more. Screwing something up is different from screwing something directly, which is what Krishna seems to be more interested in! So although Krishna acknowledges the Brahman to be the supreme reality of the universe at many places in the Gita, in most other verses he seems to say ‘Screw you!’ to the Brahman and refers to himself as the supreme reality of the universe! Further, the trinity God Brahma is referred to as ‘the Lord’ by Arjuna in a verse, while just a few verses down he refers to Krishna as ‘the Lord’!

To top it all, Krishna directly confesses that he has been screwing Brahma for a long time, (though in a slightly more pious language):

Whatever forms are produced, O Arjuna, in any womb whatsoever, the great Brahma is their womb and I am the seed-giving father.

Chap 14, ver 4

Carry on, Lord!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 33

2009-06-18T16:25:00.002+05:30

Dungeon Forever

Neither doth the sun illumine there, nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My supreme abode.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 15, ver 6

The supreme abode of the Lord doesn’t seem to be such a hot and happening realm! It sounds more like a cold, clammy, dark, dreadful, claustrophobic dungeon in the most god-forsaken place in the universe, or maybe it is a hell hole outside the universe, God only knows where exactly! But even he may not know what makes this place so attractive and appealing to all those millions of devout Hindus who down through the ages made it the supreme destination of their life journey! These pious souls single-mindedly worked their way towards the supreme goal, preventing themselves from being allured by all the light, joy and poetry of our seemingly ordinary world. Why? What was the call of the Dungeon? Even God may not really have a good idea about the power of advertising and propaganda, but indeed it is very great. With the right kind of publicity, you can make an absolute rotten hell seem like a glorious paradise, and a more or less heavenly planet — which is our earth — seem like a hell of perpetual suffering!

Milton said in his Paradise Lost,

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.

This mind of man could be a dangerously messed-up place indeed, and unfortunately in most cases is. Thanks in large part to centuries of religious propaganda, people have simply lost all sense of basic discrimination. They look down in contempt upon the joys, all the beauty and wonder of this world, and they long for totally imaginary heaven where everything would be fixed and permanent. If you would by any chance enter Krishna’s supreme abode, you would be nicely and permanently fixed up there, for sure!

People have this strange thing against impermanency — again more of an outcome of religious indoctrination than a natural sensibility. All the beauty of this world, however beautiful it may be, is temporal, impermanent, perishable. Fie on this world and its beauty! But even if you get a dungeon in the other world, it is permanent, it is blessed, so it ought to be keenly sought after! In the Eastern religions, the other worlds though they are very long-lasting are impermanent too, so they wouldn’t do either. So the supreme abode is Nirvana land. The ever-lasting bliss of Moksha or Nirvana — which is fine, I have nothing against Nirvana, but why be so dead set against this world, this is after all the creation of the Lord too, whatever is in here is a manifestation of the divine power too. Why contemn, spurn and disparage this world while desperately longing for something totally unknown, which could be a huge dungeon for all we know, at least going by Krishna’s beautiful description of it here, perhaps the best he could come up with. No sun, no moon, no fire, no return! Exactly! Oh how much we are all fed up with these transient things like the sun and the moon, constantly changing, which are there today and gone tomorrow. We want to be alive forever and we want to enjoy something permanent and unchanging. A cold, dark, eternal dungeon would serve us really well!

Only extremely idiotic and blind people are capable of not seeing the infinite beauty and poetic exuberance of our own world. But thousands of years of religious and cultural conditioning have made man’s minds totally dull, dark, blunted out. Then you give the people an ideal to strive to reach, and no matter how stupid it may be, a Christian heaven, or a Muslim heaven, or Krishna’s supreme abode, people would begin to direct all their yearning towards it. You just have to say something is the supreme abode and slip your statement into an authoritative holy scripture, millions of idiots will start supremely longing for it, with implicit faith, irrespective of how much of an absolute nightmare it may appear to be on the very face of it. The impressionability and gullibility of human mind are terrible things, the abysmal depths to which human minds can sink can be very scary to ponder over. “Look into the abyss, and the abyss would look back at you,” said Nietzsche. The abyss of the human mind, though, may not look back at you. It is a dark and dead, bottomless pit of nothingness. It seems like men are simply programmable machines, they don’t seem to have any soul or intelligence of their own. Disassemble a robot and try to find a soul therein, you wouldn’t find any. Peer into the abyss of the human mind however much you want, you will get no response from it. And per chance if you slip into it you are likely to land up in this supreme abode of Sri Krishna, at the very bottom!

Meanwhile the whole world would be basking in the light of the sun, making merry under the moon, dancing around the fire under the stars of the night! Would you like to return? Sorry, you cannot! The path to the supreme abode is strictly one way, and you have already arrived. Now you can only sit rot in that eternally dark dungeon, thinking nostalgically of the glorious light of the world, which too is incidentally the Lord himself.

That light which residing in the sun, illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that light to be Mine.

Chap 15, ver 12

Whether the light is Krishna’s or not, it does not matter. Really it belongs to those who are capable of enjoying it. This whole fantastically beautiful universe is given to us, we own it, and we owe to it our allegiance, not to some sick stupid heaven emanating from lackluster imagination of religious folks. This world is ours for the taking. Yet we distrust it, disparage it and dismiss it, and long for the supreme abode, the dungeon forever!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 32

2009-06-14T11:22:00.000+05:30

Mammon-Ra

Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith—that (same) faith of his I make firm and unflinching.

Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that (form), and from it he obtains his desire, these being verily ordained by Me (alone).

Bhagavad Gita, chap 7, 21,22

The first of these two verses is a very famous one. Normally people would think that Krishna, in the spirit of Hindu tolerance, is sanctioning the worship of any other Hindu god/God, or maybe, stretching it a bit, the worship of any other god/God of any other religion. Gober swamijis and other enlightened souls would generally laud this verse for the liberality and generosity of Krishna, and would emphasize the point that it is the attitude of single-minded devotion that is more important, whatever be the object of the prayer. Definitely sounds like a very broad-minded and enlightened approach to religion.

However, if we look at the context of this verse we would better understand the sense of Krishna. This segment begins with the following stunning declaration by Krishna:

Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna! They are the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise, O lord of the Bharatas!

Chap 7, ver 16

First of all, this statement is scandalous, and then it is too nonsensical. We will look at the nonsense part first. People generally associate virtue with wisdom. But good that Krishna associates it with seeking of knowledge also. At the same time, he also calls the distressed people virtuous, as if being distressed is a virtue in itself! If so, 99.9% population of the earth is instantly virtuefied! And not only that, seekers of wealth are among the four kinds of virtuous persons. Therefore, if you are seeking money and if you are distressed, and it is difficult to imagine a person who is not, then you are doubly virtuous! I myself consider me fitting in all the four categories, therefore my virtue should be of quadruple efficacy! Whether I have that much virtue or not, Krishna seems to have hundred times the dumbness of an ordinary man!

Interestingly, when we look a little deeper, these four categories seem to match the four-fold caste system. The wise would correspond to the Brahmins, obviously. Now Kshatriyas were always after wealth and power, so they would fit the ‘seeker of wealth’ class. Next are Vaishyas, men of commerce, business and enterprise. We would normally imagine these people to be seekers of wealth, but in those days Kings had absolute power, they would straightaway plunder any surplus wealth they saw in their land, or in neighboring lands too for that matter. So the business men really did not have much incentive to accumulate wealth. However, since they had to produce utilitarian goods and services, unlike Brahmins and Kshatriyas who simply battened themselves on the other two classes, they had to depend on knowledge and skills. So they would fit the ‘seeker of knowledge’ category. And then there are the labor classes, these are of course the perpetually ‘distressed’ folks, forever toiling and forever struggling to make ends meet. Also note that the Brahmins are not called ‘seekers of wisdom’ by Krishna, they are just denoted as the wise — meaning what? Meaning they are born wise or naturally grow wise, without any particular seeking! That was the prevalent notion in those days.

Now when Krishna talks about the virtuous people who fall into the following four categories — please note he doesn’t say the virtuous people among the following four categories, which is the interpretation gober swamis would like to make usually — he is not saying that by default all the wise people and the seekers of wealth worship Krishna. There is a seeker of wealth in Russia, and another seeker of wealth in Brazil, they would have never heard of Krishna even, so obviously that is not the sense Krishna meant. He means that whoever is seeking wealth, whoever is worshipping wealth, is worshipping Me (Him) only in the form of wealth, though unbeknownst to himself. By the same token, whoever is distressed, automatically not only becomes virtuous but also pious! And also noble, to boot! For Krishna adds in the verse that follows:

Noble indeed are all these; but I deem the wise man as My very Self; for, steadfast in mind, he is established in Me alone as the supreme goal.

Chap 7, ver 18

So all the four categories are noble, by definition. If you are after accumulating money, no matter what means you are following or how crooked you are, Krishna deems you noble. Yes of course, the born-wise people are more dear to Krishna but the seekers of wealth are not far behind, they are just next in the line. In practical terms it would make little difference. Krishna is saying all pursuit of wealth, legal, illegal, criminal, murderous, just all pursuit of wealth is inherently virtuous, noble, and is a sacred form of religion, indirectly worshiping Himself.

This is the import of

Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith—…in the worship of that (form)… he obtains his desire, these being verily ordained by Me (alone).

Form means money, form means power, form means greed, form means lust, just about anything. The keyword is ‘whatsoever’! However, people who worship money are the most dear to the Lord, they come second only to the born-wise Brahmins. And since not many born-wise Brahmins are around these days, we may consider that people who worship money are the Lord’s most preferred type of devotees! What a good news for you and me!

Normally we think that religion and money are antagonistic. But here is a religion which not only sanctions and sanctifies pursuit of money, but virtually makes the lusting after wealth the highest form of prayer! Such a notion would have been absolutely scandalous in any other religion and culture. But in India anything goes! Also, Krishna could boldly come forth and make such radical statements because he has apparently absolutely no concern for making the silliest of contradictions! Earlier in the Bhagavad Gita, he keeps saying that desire has to be shunned, greed has to be given up, and not only that but one has to renounce all work in the expectation of a reward. Later on in the Gita he would say, all wealthy people would be cast in hell forever and ever. But here he says relentless pursuit of wealth, in any way, and by any means, simply unqualified, is noble, virtuous, and a great way, if not the greatest way, of worshipping Himself! It is not just a question of contradictions, Krishna has absolutely no clue of what he is talking about! Total dementia. This is all just senseless dribble, that dribbled, dribbled, dribbled and collected into a muddle and then a puddle, and then a lake, and then a stream and then a river, and finally into an ocean! Imagine hundreds and hundreds of gober swamijis commenting and extolling such utterly nonsensical and scandalous verses for centuries and centuries, imagine the infinite hollowness of it all! Sometimes I wonder — is there any God really, or is the universe under the governance of some ridiculous Beelzebub character?

In the end, we append a shocking, stunning, revealing, sensational, scandalous exposition of this religion of mammon, by — guess whom? None other than that foremost disciple of Lord Krishna, Arjuna himself! Arjuna is also the most fit person to present this exposition, since his is not just a theoretical knowledge, he has lived and practiced all of what he says to the utmost degree. He has systematically looted and plundered people for years on end, so we can be sure that what all he preaches, this man has lived it all. As a small introduction to the very long exposition of Arjuna, I would like to remind the readers that a poplular epithet of Arjuna, and one which comes frequently in the Gita itself, is Dhananjaya. It is generally translated as ‘winner of wealth’. In one episode during his exile, Arjuna himself haughtily explains the meaning of this epithet, along with several others, to a curious listener:

Arjuna said, 'They called me Dhananjaya because I lived in the midst of wealth, having subjugated all the countries and taking away their treasures. They called me Vijaya because when I go out to battle with invincible kings, I never return (from the field) without vanquishing them. I am called Swetavahana because…”

And now to the great discourse on the religion of money given by Arjuna to his elder brother Yudhishthira who suddenly seems to have lost his fascination for wealth and kingdom after the war, having killed most of his kinsmen and letting many others, including his own sons, die. Technically speaking, this episode occurs after the Bhagavad Gita event that occurs at the beginning of the war, though since the Bhagavad Gita had not been added to the Mahabharata corpus by then, there is not a single reference to the Gita or to Krishna in general. Arjuna sermonizes Yudhishthira on the virtues of wealth, unabashedly saying that all that matters in life, and all that one should forever seek, is money!

Here comes:

…That, however, which has been called the religion of royalty depends entirely on wealth. One who robs another of wealth, robs him of his religion as well. Who amongst us, therefore, O king, would forgive an act of spoliation that is practised on us? It is seen that a poor man, even when he stands near, is accused falsely. Poverty is a state of sinfulness. It behoveth thee not to applaud poverty, therefore. The man that is fallen, O king, grieveth, as also he that is poor. I do not see the difference between a fallen man and a poor man. All kinds of meritorious acts flow from the possession of great wealth like a mountain. From wealth spring all religious acts, all pleasures, and heaven itself, O king! Without wealth, a man cannot find the very means of sustaining his life. The acts of a person who, possessed of little intelligence, suffers himself to be divested of wealth, are all dried up like shallow streams in the summer season. He that has wealth has friends. He that has wealth has kinsmen. He that has wealth is regarded as a true man in the world. He that has wealth is regarded as a learned man. If a person who hath no wealth desires to achieve a particular purpose, he meets with failure. Wealth brings about accessions of wealth, like elephants capturing (wild) elephants. Religious acts, pleasures, joy, courage, wrath, learning, and sense of dignity, all these proceed from wealth, O king! From wealth one acquires family honour. From wealth, one's religious merit increases. He that is without wealth hath neither this world, nor the next, O best of men! The man that hath no wealth succeeds not in performing religious acts, for these latter spring from wealth, like rivers from a mountain. He that is lean in respect of (his possession of) steeds (horses) and kine(cows) and servants and guests, is truly lean and not he whose limbs alone are so. Judge truly, O king, and look at the conduct of the gods and the Danavas. O king, do the gods ever wish for anything else than the slaughter of their kinsmen (the Asuras)? If the appropriation of wealth belonging to others be not regarded as righteous, how, O monarch, will kings practise virtue on this earth? Learned men have, in the Vedas, laid down this conclusion. The learned have laid it down that kings should live, reciting every day the three Vedas, seeking to acquire wealth, and carefully performing sacrifices with the wealth thus acquired. The gods, through internecine quarrels, have obtained footing in heaven. When, the very gods have won their prosperity through internecine quarrels, what fault can there be in such quarrels? The gods, thou seest, act in this way. The eternal precepts of the Vedas also sanction it. To learn, teach, sacrifice, and assist at other's sacrifices,—these are our principal duties. The wealth that kings take from others becomes the means of their prosperity. We never see wealth that has been earned without doing some injury to others. It is even thus that kings conquer this world. Having conquered, they call that wealth theirs, just as sons speak of the wealth of their sires as their own. The royal sages that have gone to heaven have declared this to be the duty of kings. Like water flowing on every direction from a swollen ocean, that wealth runs on every direction from the treasuries of kings.

And now Arjuna insinuates that he is ready to go on another plundering campaign and rob whatever wealth that is left in the nation after the devastating war, and offer it all to the feet of Yudhishthira so that he can do another sacrifice. This sacrifice is a slightly alternative version of the Rajasooya Sacrifice performed by Yudhishthira long before the war, and is called Ashwamedha or the Horse Sacrifice:

This earth formerly belonged to king Dilipa, Nahusha, Amvarisha, and Mandhatri. She now belongs to thee! A great sacrifice, therefore, with profuse presents of every kind and requiring a vast heap of the earth's produce, awaits thee. If thou dost not perform that sacrifice, O king, then the sins of this kingdom shall all be thine. Those subjects whose king performs a horse-sacrifice with profuse presents, become all cleansed and sanctified by beholding the ablutions at the end of the sacrifice. Mahadeva (Siva) himself, of universal form, in a great sacrifice requiring libations of all kinds of flesh, poured all creatures as sacrificial libations and then his own self. Eternal is this auspicious path. Its fruits are never destroyed. This is the great path called Dasaratha. Abandoning it, O king, to what other path wouldst thou betake thyself?'

Yudhishthira however is not so easily convinced. He jumps back in style.

Yudhishthira said, 'For a little while, O Arjuna, concentrate thy attention and fix thy mind and hearing on thy inner soul. If thou listenest to my words in such a frame of mind, they will meet with thy approbation. Abandoning all worldly pleasures, I shall betake myself to that path which is trod by the righteous. I shall not, for thy sake, tread along the path thou recommendest. If thou askest me what path is auspicious that one should tread alone, I shall tell thee. If thou dost not desire to ask me, I shall yet, unasked by thee, tell thee of it…

Yudhishthira tells many interesting things indeed. However, the central points of his speech are:

…Without conversing with anybody, I shall assume the outward form of a blind and deaf idiot, while living in contentment and deriving happiness from my own soul… Restraining all my senses, I shall always be of a cheerful face… Regardless of whither I may proceed, I shall not look behind. Divesting myself of desire and wrath, and turning my gaze inwards, I shall go on, casting off pride of soul and body…

For a change, Yudhishhthira himself is talking some good sense. However, it only incenses everyone around. How saintly, sagely, and Gita-like is Yudhishthria! No one tries to understand him though, although he is extremely adamant on his standpoint. Everybody attacks him one after another. And then comes Draupadi’s turn. She thinks Yudhishthira has literally gone crazy:

…Having slain many thousands of kings possessed of active prowess, I see, O monarch, that through thy folly thou art about to make that feat futile. They whose eldest brother becomes mad, have all to follow him in madness. Through thy madness, O king, all the Pandavas are about to become mad. If, O monarch, these thy brothers were in their senses, they would then have immured thee with all unbelievers (in a prison) and taken upon themselves the government of the earth. That person who from dullness of intellect acts in this way never succeeds in winning prosperity. The man that treads along the path of madness should be subjected to medical treatment by the aid of incense and collyrium, of drugs applied through the nose, and of other medicines….

Seems like some of these techniques of treating the insane were imported from Egypt. But Draupadi is right! Only, not just Yudhishthira but everyone of them, including and especially Krishna and Vyasa should be put in a mental hospital and subjected to treatment by the aid of collyrium and drugs applied through nose! What will gober swamijis do then — I wonder!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 31

2009-06-13T23:20:00.001+05:30

Foul Hell

Bewildered by many a fancy, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 16, ver 16

In the chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna discusses divine nature and demonical nature. He says people who are after money and wealth are people of demoniac nature! Wait, that's not it, the real thing is coming. Krishna says these demoniac souls don't recognize the God who is in themselves and others, they even hate or envy that God. So Krishna at least gives them that much, that they too are God, they too have God within themselves. What follows is the most bizarre statement in the history of holy scriptures, a non sequitur non pareil. He says he throws all such people into hell again and again, and not only that but he makes sure that every time they sink into lower and lower hells until they get down into the lowest and forever rot there. All this because they were after some pleasure and wealth! What were the Pandavas after anyway? Why were they bent upon destroying the known world if not for a little pleasure, raja-bhoga, the pleasures of the kingdom? But even this is not the point. Man, Krishna, you are supposed to be the God of the Universe, you should talk more logically. Even if people with demoniac nature have the same God within them as the greatest of saints, shouldn't they be given an opportunity to express the God within themselves? But no, Krishna says he will personally see to it that they only sink ever lower, forever and ever, Amen!

We have to read the original passages to get the real feel of them. First the verses which describe people with demoniac nature:

Giving themselves over to immeasurable cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of lust as their highest aim, and feeling sure that that is all; bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by unlawful means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment. “This has been gained by me today; this desire I shall obtain; this is mine and this wealth too shall be mine in future.” “This has been gained by me today; this desire I shall obtain; this is mine and this wealth too shall be mine in future.” “I am rich and born in a noble family. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice. I will give charity. I will rejoice,”—thus, deluded by ignorance, bewildered by many a fancy, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell.

chap 16, ver 11-16

So basically that covers all the ambitious and successful people of the world! Much of the foregoing description would fit 80 percent of humanity, hopes, desires and all that. And I have only provided a partial quote, many other characteristics are mentioned before and after this passage. So almost everyone alive would be possessing some or other of these qualities. Also, giving charity has now joined the club of most abominable sins! This is flash news!

In a very well-known and oft-quoted passage in one of the earlier chapters, Arjuna asks Krishna about what would be the lot of those yogis who have practiced a lot but couldn't achieve perfection before their death. Krishna says not to worry, all those striving souls are born into rich families where they would get better opportunity to work out their yoga and reach perfection. Now here he says, all the people born into rich families are demons! But even this is okay, the clincher comes now.

...the worst among men in the world,

— meaning, 99.9999% of the present-day population, everyone except the very devout ISKCON members

I hurl all these evil-doers for ever into the wombs of demons only. Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded birth after birth, not attaining Me, they thus fall, O Arjuna, into a condition still lower than that!

Ver 19,20

So you are born into a rich family and feel happy and proud of yourself, that's it, you are a gone case, gone for eternity! The God of the Universe will do everything in his power to ensure that you go into hell and a deeper hell after that. There have been so many idiotic Gods around, from Marduk and Yahweh onwards, but this Krishna beats them all by far! This is the worst imaginable God there is, and if we have a God like this who needs a Satan? This one passage, two verses, should have been enough to utterly debunk Krishna, to make people throw the Bhagavad Gita into the garbage. That would have definitely been the case if people had anything like brains. If one single crime (not that there aren't others) like permanently incapacitating Ekalavya is enough to repudiate all Arjuna's greatness, imagined or real, as we have argued in an earlier essay, this one sentence of Krishna is enough for us to discredit all of his self-proclaimed divinity and confiscate the God label from him. Really, all of us sinners with perfectly human qualities like lust, greed, anger, pride should unite and throw Krishna into a demoniac womb. That should teach him a lesson! Whether there is a foul hell or not, the earth has been fouled up because of people like this!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 30

2009-06-11T10:18:00.002+05:30

Black Hole God

As moths hurriedly rush into a blazing fire for (their own) destruction, so also these creatures hurriedly rush into Thy mouths for (their own) destruction.

Thou lickest up, devouring all the worlds on every side with Thy flaming mouths. Thy fierce rays, filling the whole world with radiance, are burning, O Vishnu!

Bhagavad Gita, chap 11, ver 29,30

Generally, the word most commonly associated with the word ‘God’ is ‘creation’, as in God and his Creation. We think of God as this infinite creative force of the universe. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is just the other way round. This God is the God of destruction. He is the mighty all-devouring destructive force of the world, and he seems to be constantly hungry like a devil. And like the Devil himself, he seems to be especially fond of feasting upon human souls!

We would normally think of God as the eternal source of all beauty, goodness, harmony and light of the world we see around us. ‘Light’ again is a word that is closely associated with God. For example, in the Old Testament, God creates light at the very beginning of his Creation. In the Bhagavad Gita too, there is light all around the God. However, this is a light not associated with life and creation, but with death and destruction. As is the case with the dazzling radiance of a nuclear explosion! No wonder, the father of the atom bomb thought of the Bhagavad Gita verses when he first witnessed the bomb exploding. One would have expected that he would think of hell-fire, but no, he thought of the God of the Bhagavad Gita! Figures!

If the splendour of a thousand suns were to blaze out at once (simultaneously) in the sky, that would be the splendour of that mighty Being (great soul).

chap 11, ver 12

That is the main verse that reportedly passed through Robert Oppenheimer’s mind while he stood and gazed upon the world’s first atomic explosion. The brilliance of thousand suns could be an apt metaphor for a nuclear explosion, but to describe the glory of the Supreme Being, it would fall pathetically short. More than a billion nuclear bombs worth of explosions are going on inside the sun every second! Still, a thousand suns is the paltriest of phenomena, going by the standards of today’s astronomy. Arjuna could have at least said, a million suns or a billion suns — hundred crore suns — for a slightly more appropriate comparison. The Mahabharata normally uses numbers extremely liberally, but we see a strange niggardliness in some of the key verses of the Gita, in relation to God. For that matter, I could have easily gone for a trillion suns! Though that too is not really much, hardly a couple of galaxies put together.

To compare the light of any number of suns put together with the light of the Supreme Being is an utterly meaningless endeavor. Perhaps the indefinite adjective ‘countless’ would be more fitting. So picture these thousand or ten thousand or countless suns. It is not a static picture. Imagine hordes of these suns being ripped apart and sucked into a super massive black hole (SMB), as one generally found at the centre of a galaxy. There is intense luminosity all around, brilliantly-lit colossally violent activity, spread across light years. But at the center is of it all is the heart of darkness, the great dark abyss. The God of the Bhagavad Gita is like that fathomless nothingness; not in any mystical, philosophical sense, just in a sense to inspire raw horror, infinite horror!

Arjuna is naturally terrified senseless upon seeing the real form of his God, as he does here in the chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.

The space between the earth and the heaven and all the quarters are filled by Thee alone; having seen this, Thy wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled Being!

ver 20

Just visualize a huge black hole ominously drifting towards our solar system, already visible as a massive object in our skies. Time to tremble and remember God! But unfortunately, the three worlds did not get to see this terrible vision of God, therefore they couldn’t have trembled, as Arjuna says. He alone saw it because he was provided with the special vision needed for it, nonetheless he must have been trembling enough for all the three worlds put together. Imagine this warrior who never knew anything like fear his whole life, even when he was in the most frightful of situations. On one occasion he was fighting singlehandedly 30 million demons who were attacking him from all sides (what I was saying about the Mahabharata being liberal with numbers)! He handled the situation with the greatest aplomb and emerged a victor. He never experienced the minutest quiver of fear in his long career as the supreme warrior constantly facing fearsome enemies. But now, seeing the form of God, he is all of a sudden shaking like the earthquake at the end of the world, absolutely scared out of his wits. This vision he beheld in his mind’s eye is something for which he was not prepared at all.

Having beheld Thy immeasurable form with many mouths and eyes, O mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs, and fearful with many teeth, the worlds are terrified and so am I!

ver 23

Just a super massive black hole personified this Black Hole God is! Notice that the stomach and the teeth seem to be the more prominent parts, with the mouths, arms, eyes simply being in the service of the stomach! Grind and chomp and swallow, grind and chomp and swallow! But again Arjuna alone is affected by this terrifying cosmic spectacle, the world is simply going about its business as usual, though Arjuna seems to think the worlds are terrified along with himself. Apparently, he is barely cognizant of his circumstances. He is in a deep delirious state actually. Arjuna is so delirious that the thought never occurs to him that this could all be just an illusion, a hallucination. Perhaps he could have simply shaken it off, if he wanted, simply by intending it and moving about. When you alone are seeing something and the others around you are not, and also you are seeing very weird sorts of things, that is the time you should get the suspicion that this could all be just a hallucination. However, it is a catch-22 situation of course! If you had that much awareness to realize that this could all be just a hallucination, you wouldn’t be hallucinating in the first place. So we can’t blame Arjuna. He is simply stuck in a bad, bad dream, a horrendous nightmare. Alas, this greatest of warriors is now crouching and cowering in abject terror!

On seeing Thee (the Cosmic Form) touching the sky, shining in many colours, with mouths wide open, with large, fiery eyes, I am terrified at heart and find neither courage nor peace, O Vishnu!

Having seen Thy mouths, fearful with teeth, blazing like the fires of cosmic dissolution, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace. Have mercy, O Lord of the gods! O abode of the universe!

ver 24, 25

He is apparently going through a pure vision of hell! And he is thinking he is seeing God, to boot! If God is this hell, then where is any hope? Still, it could be a little comforting that as of now he is only viewing various kinds of beings and objects sucked helplessly into the countless mouths of God, standing aside. For how long, though? He too could get caught up in the fearful influx at any time.

All the sons of Dhritarashtra with the hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and Karna, with the chief among all our warriors, they hurriedly enter into Thy mouths with terrible teeth and fearful to behold. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth, with their heads crushed to powder. Verily, just as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, even so these heroes of the world of men enter Thy flaming mouths.

ver 26-28

It could be Arjuna’s turn any time! The terrifying thought must have been there all the time at the back of Arjuna’s mind, even as his being is being churned in the throes of a deathly delirium! These dangerous hallucinations could have simply ended up by stopping the heartbeat of the brave warrior, and killing him. That would have been a pity!

But it is Arjuna himself who brought this plight upon himself, out of totally unnecessary curiosity. How could he have known, though! At the outset he simply asks Krishna, perhaps thinking it would give him a nice break from Krishna’s monotonous chatter about this yoga and that yoga:

…I wish to see Thy Divine Form! If Thou, O Lord, thinkest it possible for me to see it, do Thou, then, O Lord of the Yogis, show me Thy imperishable Self!

ver 3,4

But is this the divine form or demoniac form that he gets to see? Arjuna, through sheer happenstance, evokes the ‘imperishable self’ of the Lord. He could have called for the glorious self or the awe-inspiring self or something like that, but just prompted by ill-begotten luck, he utters the word ‘imperishable self’. The Lord took it seriously, He must have thought for a moment, how to give the impression of being imperishable. ‘Glorious’, we can imagine, ‘awe-inspiring’ we can imagine, but ‘imperishable’ how? Because no matter how great and glorious something is, we can still imagine its destruction. Only death itself is indestructible, imperishable. That is the moment when Krishna must have struck upon this concept of Black Hole God, all-devouring, with death and destruction dancing the dance of doom all around, and himself causing it, himself absorbing it.

The Lord of the Yogis promptly bestows upon Arjuna the divine vision to behold his cosmic form, using his Yogic powers. But if he could grant the divine vision, he could surely induce all the hallucinations to go along with it. So that explains everything. And Arjuna gets trapped in this infernal vision of the Black Hole God, which nearly kills his very soul. He survives. But this man would never rebel again. Krishna’s purpose is served. All his argumentation with Arjuna perhaps did not seem to be doing much work, so Krishna ingeniously used the opportunity of displaying his cosmic form to utterly quash Arjuna’s being. Emerging from the experience, Arjuna wouldn’t be able to think even for a long time to come.

Black holes are dead stars. Though they are technically dead, they could be the most violent, destructive forces of the universe. Black holes are also the most imperishable objects in the universe. After a hundred billion years from now, when all the galaxies, stars and planets would have disintegrated, all matter annihilated, black holes would still be thriving, and they would reign supreme then, even though they would have nothing to feed upon. Our universe would have become a black hole universe. But it could be a black hole universe right now, albeit in quite a different sense.

The thing is, mathematically speaking, black holes are places where all laws of physics break down, where the chain of cause and effect itself is severed, where the fabric of space and time is crushed into a singularity. In a purely scientific sense, just about anything can happen inside a black hole! There is no law, no logic to things anymore. Black holes are called space-time singularities. And our universe itself took birth from a singularity event called Big Bang. Some scientists try to see a connection here and speculate that this whole universe we have around us could be a vast black hole. We could be actually living and moving inside a black hole, which perhaps formed in a regular fashion upon the death of a star in the parent universe. Of course this universe of ours is full of order and harmony, so it may be difficult for us to believe that we could be living inside a black hole, where theoretically everything just goes berserk. Still, our universe is a fantastically weird place, and black holes are fantastically weird places too. Though scientists tend to conceive of our universe in a framework of order, elegance and complexity, when we shift the focus and look at the world of human affairs, we see the dance of pure chaos. There seems to be no logic or reason to things anymore. It seems like anything at all could happen in this realm, and all sorts of surreal and bizarre things do happen too.

To me, the fact that a book like the Bhagavad Gita, with its Black Hole God and black hole metaphysics, could become the holiest scripture of an entire religion and a nation for thousands of years, is proof enough that we are living inside a black hole. An awfully awfully weird black hole universe!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 29

2009-06-10T12:40:00.006+05:30

Everlasting Shame

But, if thou wilt not fight in this righteous war, then, having abandoned thine duty and fame, thou shalt incur sin.

People, too, will recount thy everlasting dishonour; and to one who has been honoured, dishonour is worse than death.

Bhagavad Gita, Chap 2, ver 33,34

The Mahabharata war was not a righteous war, as Krishna claims; it was a devious war. The Bhagavad Gita is not a sublime philosophy, as people generally think; it is something of a not-so-subtle subterfuge. The Bhagavad Gita is a Trojan horse, only much more insidious.

Ancient Troy was a great city. As recounted by Virgil in his Aeneid, the Greeks dissemble to give up their ten-year brutal siege of the city of Troy, and appear to have sailed back home. Released from long years of grueling standoff, the Trojans step out of their fortressed territory, breathe free at last, and survey their battered shores. They descry some ships receding over the horizon, and then lay eyes on a mysterious gigantic wooden horse standing tall on the sea-coast. To anyone with an iota of common sense the very first thought that could have occurred in such a situation, upon catching sight of this building-sized enigmatical equine, is that there could very well be soldiers cached inside it. After all, the Trojans were out to inspect if their coastline had been fully cleared up, danger could be lurking about anywhere. Even if a very small number of Greek warriors got to infiltrate their city, the retreating Greek armies could double back and Troy would be highly assailable this time. It was a situation where people ought to have exercised extreme caution. But no, they are already in a party mood, brimming with gaiety. Children rollick around the horse, men and women forgather close to it whispering among themselves, while the puzzled King Priam consults his advisors as to what this beastly colossus could be. Presently, some people sight a Greek soldier trudging along in dejection from far away, appearing to be a frustrated deserter. They approach him and upon inquiring learn that this horse is an offering to the goddess Athena. The faker professes that worshipping it would bring them prosperity. And so the unsuspecting folks merrily haul the monstrously heavy horse into their city and set it up in their temple. They dance, drink and celebrate late into the night. When everyone has succumbed to drunken stupor or fallen asleep, Odysseus and a couple of hundred other Greek warriors cooped up inside the beast’s belly break free and promptly set about to slaughter the whole quiescent, hapless town.

Whether it really happened or not, this is a most ridiculous story. How could anyone be so gullible and stupid as to lug in the enemy onto the altar of their temple, fancying to venerate it with religious fervor? Manifestly, the Trojan horse was conceived by ninnyhammers who hadn’t an iota of simple horse sense — imagine the Trojans getting hold of the chintzy ruse and somehow sealing up the horse and sinking it into the bottom of the Aegean sea! Regardless, the Greeks did no dishonorable thing in pursuing this stratagem, they were simply desperate and were discharging their duty to the best of their ability, striving for victory and fame by hook or by crook, but it is a shame that the Trojans who so bravely withstood the Greek onslaught for a decade, suddenly decayed in their brains, forsook all their wits at the last moment and embraced the sanguinary adversary; offering themselves to be unceremoniously sacrificed to the Greek goddess of war, Athena, who later became the goddess of heroic endeavor, and finally morphed into the goddess of wisdom! It is a shame too, an everlasting shame, that Indians dragged in this small section of the Mahabharata — subversively inserted into the epic at a much later date — into their temples, homes and hearths and began worshipping it as a goddess. A goddess of war and cunning transmogrified once again into a goddess of heroic endeavor and wisdom!

A prayer invoking the goddess of the Bhagavad Gita, which often appears preambling the main scripture, goes like this:

Om. O Bhagavad Gita, with which Partha was illumined by Lord Narayana Himself, and which was composed within the Mahabharata by the ancient sage, Vyasa, O Divine Mother, the destroyer of rebirth, the showerer of the nectar of Advaita, and consisting of eighteen discourses—upon Thee, O Gita, O affectionate Mother, I meditate!

The Bhagavad Gita by its own declaration and by common consent is regarded as the essence of the Upanishads, Hindu sacred texts that spasmodically roll out nuggets of the truly empyrean philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. People generally regard the Bhagavad Gita as the supreme expression of Advaita. The doctrine of Advaita is the doctrine of non-dualism which proclaims that whatever exists is only one Being and one soul. Standing in sharp contrast to Advaita are the devotional philosophies of Dvaita and Vishistadvaita, dualism and qualified monism, which posit a separation between the individual soul and God. While Vishistadvaita grants that the individual soul can eventually merge into God, Dvaita doesn’t even allow for that much. And the Bhagavad Gita, rather oddly, is rallied around and hailed equally by all these three sharply divergent paths.

This is a central paradox in regard to the Bhagavad Gita, it is the principal text of both the Advaita philosophy of Hinduism and the Dvaita cult though these two are antithetical to each other. Normally, this is glibly explained away by pointing out that each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita focuses on a particular approach to God, therefore the book can be construed as an attempt at synthesizing various schools and paths. But that’s nonsense. Spiritual leaders of various sects have written extensive commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, and it is generally assumed that each of them emphasized those particular verses which resonated with their line of philosophy and interpreted the scripture in ways that suited them better. There does exist some small scope for varying interpretations, nevertheless the overall drift of the Bhagavad Gita is quite unambiguous — it is a thoroughgoing ISKCON document, i.e., a manifesto of Dvaita / Vaishnava sect.

Vaishnavism is a grossly idolatrous creed that has nothing to do with any philosophy in any philosophical sense. Krishna goes on exhorting Arjuna, ‘Love me, worship me, believe in me, know me as the supreme God, offer everything to me, consecrate your work to me, seek only to come to me and you will come to me,’ ad nauseam. There is nothing but this in the whole of the Bhagavad Gita. From this way and that, Krishna comes again and again to the same point, ‘Love Me, worship Me, take refuge in Me, do whatever I say, and you will reach to the supreme goal, which is Me again!’ Even the very last concluding verse of the Gita asseverates the same thing:

Sarvadharmaan parityajya maamekam sharanam vraja;

Aham twaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa shuchah.

Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone;

I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.

chap 18, ver 66

‘Dharma’ is a bouncy, multifaceted term which can mean anything — duty, religiousness, righteousness, virtue, nature, whatever. In effect, Krishna is saying, commit all the sins you want and forget everything else, just take refuge in me, and I will take good care of you for all eternity! That is the final and in fact the only message of the Gita, clear and straightforward. Where in Hades is Advaita in this? How on earth could this book have been regarded as the principal text of Hinduism, and placed right next to the lofty Upanishads? It is just because Krishna couldn't go on reprising ‘Love me, worship me, take refuge in me,’ for 18 chapters continuously that he brings in this thing and that thing now and then, here and there, to break the monotony. But there is no equivocation whatsoever in the main thrust of the Gita. Certainly there are good many references to Advaita in the book, but on the whole there is no enunciation of any great philosophy here, nor anything like psychological insight or profound spirituality. Yet, a priori, everyone considers it to be the crowning manifestation of perennial philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita's insightfulness, sublimity, practical relevance have been lauded by swamijis, pundits, scholars, followers and non-followers alike down through the ages. I am just flabbergasted.

One of the Gita's most famous commentaries is by Adi Shankaracharya, the great ninth-century expounder of the Advaita school of Vedanta, and the Gita is surprisingly often associated with Advaita and Vedanta, the philosophical core of Hinduism, whereas there is really not much of anything like that in the book. What is mostly there is quite its antithesis. How could this possibly be, how could such a fantastically blatant scam be perpetrated upon billions of people down the centuries?

The story of Trojan horse can give us some succor here, it shows us that people can be infinitely dumb, they can bring in something which should be shunned like the plague, right into their hearths and their very hearts, place it in the sanctum sanctorum and idolize it. ‘O mother goddess, O source of infinite life, O dispeller of eternal darkness!’ — it goes on. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of mind warfare. Verses from it have contrived to slink in and sink into the minds of millions of people, destroying their intelligence! Troy just perished overnight. It was an instantaneous death. But it had been a long, long night for India. India kept perishing and perishing for ages. It is perpetual ignominy, everlasting dishonor, shame unending.

“You can't fool all the people all the time,” goes the adage. The Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial, is an incontrovertible testimony that indeed you can fool all the people all the time! Not just counting Indians, but Emerson, Thoreau, Aldous Huxley, Einstein, and so on, the list of world luminaries who spoke in lavish praise of this book is simply surprising. Here is this pure hogwash, which appears to me more like a funny parody of a scripture than any kind of real thing, and great intellects all the world over have gone on waxing seriously poetic about it. It is unbelievable, and what a shame too! I haven't so far come across any intellectual or spiritual person who talks about the Gita and does not regard it in high esteem. Not even a small reservation, not a single negative comment, generally speaking. The Lord and his Cosmic Wisdom have fooled so many wise people who are not otherwise likely to be fooled! And here I am, Swami Gober always at your service, attempting to deconstruct this holiest of holies (as well as the phoniest of phonies), verse by verse, and demolish it. Freedom of mind, open space to think, grow and explore! I hope my readers would appreciate the uniqueness and intrepidity of my humble undertaking.

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 28

2009-06-08T11:10:00.002+05:30

Time, the Destroyer of Worlds

I am the mighty world-destroying Time, now engaged in destroying the worlds. Even without thee, none of the warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 11, ver 32

Let’s see. As per the latest evidence we have, time started 13.7 billion years ago with an event called Big Bang. Even if the concept of a single point of origin for all space and time were to turn out to be wrong, the basic theme of modern cosmology would still remain: the grand evolution of the universe across vast time scales. Time has been creating worlds since the past several billion years and it would continue to do so for several more to come. The cosmos has been continuously evolving in complexity, unfolding beauty, harmony and order. Time is the magnificent creator of worlds, not the mighty destroyer of the worlds! Yes, time would go into destruction mode, but that's over a hundred billion years from now, when entropy shall take over the universe. But it seems like Krishna wouldn’t have it that way! The Lord of the Universe seems to be too eager to destroy, destroy, destroy!

And what a blubbering prophecy from someone who claims to be Time himself, and in the same line! This is amazingly ridiculous! ‘None of the warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live,’ proclaims Krishna. However, not one, not two, but three warriors of the enemy side survive the holocaust of the Mahabharata war. Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma. These are no minor, negligible characters either, the former two being among Arjuna’s prime targets. Ashwatthama was capable of singlehandedly destroying the whole world, if it came to that, for he possessed such super weapons. In fact, after the war is officially over, there is an episode where Krishna himself urges both Arjuna and Ashwatthama to retract the celestial missiles they hurled against each other in uncontrollable fury, reminding them of the huge collateral damage that would take place. But here in this verse Krishna asserts none of the warriors gathered on the enemy front would survive the war! This has got to be the only prediction in the history of prophecy which, though made in retrospect long after the event, got it all wrong! The Bhagavad Gita was written several centuries after the Mahabharata rose into popularity; instead of raving crazy like this, couldn’t the author of the Gita have had a little respect for the writing profession and checked up on basic facts? I think no amount of simple-minded dumbness could have been capable of achieving such a feat as getting a simple post-event prophecy so screwed up! This is nothing but sheer delusive mania. It is lunacy for the sake of lunacy, out of pure contempt and malevolence for basic human intelligence.

Lord Krishna is not only supremely delusional, he is frightfully evil. He gives away his intentions himself in this verse and the two verses following it.

Therefore, stand up and obtain fame. Conquer the enemies and enjoy the unrivalled kingdom. Verily, they have already been slain by Me; be thou a mere instrument, O Arjuna!

Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna and all the other courageous warriors—these have already been slain by Me; do thou kill; be not distressed with fear; fight and thou shalt conquer thy enemies in battle.

Chap 11, ver 33, 34

Everyone is going to be destroyed except the five Pandava warriors, and these five are his stooges anyway! And the incentives he offers to Arjuna to merrily participate in the all-out destruction rampage are so pathetic: fame, and enjoyment of kingdom! And this same world-teacher has been exhorting in all the preceding chapters that a wise man should not care for enjoyments of this world, should have no desires, no lust, even heat and cold should have no effect on him, he should merely do his duty and die! But now, enjoy the kingdom of abundance, and fame, oh wow! Bhagavad Gita is so full of this type of trashy tripe, it is appalling, grievously appalling! Krishna first dishes out all that wise-sounding stoic philosophy, indifference to everything, equanimity in all circumstances, living only to practice virtue, and finally here it all comes down to fame and enjoyment, eh!! That too with everyone all around dead! What a purely psychopathic fantasy!

“Be thou a mere instrument,” says Krishna. Instrument to what? Of course, to the destruction of the world! Krishna, however, did not want to just destroy the world in any old manner. His fantasy could have been to stand aside and behold it all, to take delight in it, overseeing it like an overlord and rave delusionally while the destruction is being carried out by his.. er.. ‘instruments’! This is a form of mental illness, rare but extremely serious and highly dangerous. Krishna could have made such a good James Bond villain really! He is the megalomaniac self-proclaimed super being of the universe, who simply wants to destroy everyone with any iota of power or skill in the world, save his subordinates and servants and devotees, so that he could shine resplendent as the sole all-powerful living entity in the world! Even if that world was mostly a cemetery. And of course, he could then indulge in his raas-leela or orgy sport with his 16,000 damsels amidst all that glorious graveyard desolation!

Sri Krishna had it all planned up, the war was about to commence, but at the last moment, like a poor pitiful fellow jolted out of a long hypnotic stupor, perhaps induced by Krishna himself, Arjuna surveys the battlefield and realizes the entire pointlessness of this war. He himself says, just as a victim or subject of some hypnotic experiment would upon waking: where am I, what the hell is happening, it is so unbelievable we have brought the situation to this! A true moment of clarity seems to have dawned on Arjuna. But Krishna is there right next to him to take care of it! In fact Krishna must have positioned himself as the charioteer of Arjuna precisely in order to avert such a disaster. Krishna at first just touches upon Vedanta and appeals to the self-image of Arjuna. 'The Atman never dies. Nobody ever kills nor is ever killed. Besides, O mighty warrior, you are the brave one, what will people think if you run away now. You are born a Kshatriya, you should never hesitate when it comes to killing people. You are the exterminator, O Parantapa, O scorcher of foes,’ and so on. But Arjuna is really not convinced with both the arguments. At this point, Krishna really gets desperate, this Arjuna could undo all of his nefarious scheme! Darn all those bugles and conches and a dozen other blowing instruments that went off all at once at the commencement of the war, breaking Arjuna’s thick soul slumber!

Krishna, in all his devious divine innocence, had led everyone up to this war, both by commission and omission, action and inaction, inaction in action, action in inaction. After the war, Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas, rightly realizes this and damns Krishna and his entire race of people to total destruction, which eventually comes true. This lady Gandhari, owing to decades of blindfolding herself, has earned so much merit, it seems, that cashing on that good karma she could muster enough power to destroy the whole world if she wanted. Krishna tries very much not to let her wrath fall on the Pandavas, in the aftermath of the war, and succeeds in it. And he could have stopped the curse he himself attracted from her from taking effect if only he wanted. But it appears like by this time, Krishna simply got addicted to killing and destruction! So even the prospect of his own people and race being utterly wiped out must have seemed too exciting to him! He only appears too glad to receive the curse from Gandhari, and he does it in casual nonchalance as is his characteristic style! Some of the people standing by his side though are aghast, but Krishna explains to them, the Yadava race is incapable of being destroyed by anyone, so it has to self-destruct which is where Gandhari’s curse comes in handy! Now the question is, what is the need of wantonly destroying a race of his people, his own people, in the first place?

All this, though, would unfold much later. Right now Krishna is in a greater crisis, facing the prospect of non-destruction! His whole ambition seems to be thwarted by Arjuna’s unexpected reaction. He has to somehow manage Arjuna. He hits upon an interesting strategy. To begin with, Arjuna is a nitwit and a highly gullible person, notwithstanding his legendary prowess as a warrior. Naturally, Arjuna’s deep desire would be to show to the world that he too is a knowledgeable and intelligent guy, not just good at flinging arrows. Krishna exploits this weakness, he just all at once and without any warning pours down upon Arjuna all kinds of little bits of knowledge he (Krishna) has gathered about various schools of Indian philosophy, Yoga, Vedanta, Sankhya, Mimansa, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, mishes mashes everything up, all sorts of things, utterly irrelevant to the situation at hand, simply to get Arjuna overwhelmed. Now Arjuna is diverted from his own deep mental quandary of a while ago, he is not understanding one thing of what Krishna is saying, and why he is saying, but if he confessed as much he may appear like a nitwit, therefore he keeps popping in one or two questions here and there, just to appear like he is following at least something of what Krishna is saying (a neat strategy which I myself used to practice sometimes in my college).

Krishna's tactic is simply to overawe Arjuna into submission, not to make him understand anything (as if Krishna himself understood anything of what he was saying)! Krishna has only to give to Arjuna the impression of being someone who knows all the sublime things in the world. But going further than that, he actually succeeds in creating the image of being the Supreme God himself -- from the fourth chapter on when Arjuna slips into a more vulnerable state of mind. Krishna uses all kinds of terms, duty, renunciation, action, fire, knowledge, yagna, Brahman, Manu, equanimity, dog, pundit, whatever, it is just a veritable bedlam. As expected, Arjuna is utterly perplexed, not only at the quantity of information pouring forth at him and its totally unexpected onslaught, but the very metaphysical nature of it, a side of things to which he has not been previously exposed. All of what Krishna says seems only to be targeted at creating confusion and more confusion in the already confused mind of Arjuna, and nothing more.

Arjuna has no guts to tell it on the face to Krishna, “O Lord, you are driving me nuts with all these irrelevant philosophical palaverings, we can discuss all this philosophy later on at leisure if you will, can we just stick to the situation for now?” Still, he keeps protesting sometimes “I am confused, O Krishna, I am not really getting what you are saying, you are saying this, and you are saying that, I can't make much out of it. Please enlighten me.” This is exactly what Krishna intended, of course. He promptly leads Arjuna into more and more confusion, until Arjuna breaks down mentally, he stops all protesting, he totally agrees now “O Krishna, you are the Supreme Brahman, the God of gods, the one, infinite, eternal reality of the universe, I see all this so clearly. All my doubts are cleared, my perplexity washed away!” Ah finally! In fact, Arjuna has such a powerful mental breakdown that he starts experiencing profound hallucinations, of innumerable mouths, innumerable legs, innumerable stomachs, dancing all around, without a beginning, a middle and an end! And Krishna gently leads Arjuna's hallucinations to serve his own ends.

The rest of the Bhagvad Gita, after chapter 11 from which the above verses are quoted, is obviously an interpolation, dealing with totally inane topics like different kinds of foods, demonic nature and divine nature, and all kinds of more nonsense, except for one out-of-place highly meaningful chapter, dealing with the concepts of kshetra and kshetragna one ('field' and 'field-knower'). Anyway, the war takes place and the rest is history or myth, according to one's belief. Everyone dies, the Pandavas rule for a little time and they die too, and Krishna’s race is wiped out as predicted, and the Mahabharata ends.

People come, people go, they create a lot of fuss in between. And horrendous wars of course have been happening all through human history. The Mahabharata war may have been particularly devastating and tragic, particularly senseless and pointless, but then there was not much worth preserving in the society of that time either. So we can perhaps see this war as an opportunity for a new beginning. In fact, I regard the Second World War itself, however much suffering it caused, to be a great impetus to progress and civilization. This greatest war of all time was of course totally caused by just one man, Adolf Hitler. So in a way, though it may seem very awkward to put it so, I love Hitler for what he has done! A riddle worth pondering: So why not Krishna? Krishna was much better than Hitler, he was not even working to promote any selfish motives, sticking true to his teachings — how rare is that! He was causing destruction for the sake of destruction alone, not seeking any fruits thereof! Going by traditional accounts, that was the mission of his life, the purpose to fulfill which he was born. He was sent on earth to bring a whole age called Dwapara Yuga to a great climactic end, so that a new age could begin, the Kali Yuga. Whether he was acting out his own psychopathic fantasies, or whether he was the agent of some higher forces, he ushered in the age of modernity. Though it was only at a great cost, perhaps it was worth it all. Hinduism has this tremendous insight into the nature of things, and realizes that destruction is as important as creation, that they are complementary and form a cycle. Viewed in this light, Krishna’s sins may be condoned, and in fact I may have even begun to love this guy, if not for the simple fact that through the Bhagavad Gita the impact of his actions spread far beyond his own age. That he was responsible in causing so much destruction which brought an entire age to its end could be acceptable, but the real issue here is that he did not allow creativity to happen in the age that followed it.

It would seem as if Krishna didn't simply desire to end the then existing world but all future civilization too, to the extent possible. All the teachings of Gita appear to be working towards this end. Any civilization is built on work, lots of work. Work needs motivation, as a body needs food and rocket needs fuel! And the central teaching of Gita is “You have only right to work, but not to the fruits thereof.” This is what you tell to a slave, a bonded labor, right? Yours is only to work and not to desire for the outcome of it. A slave works mechanically, like a karma yogin, simply because he has no other option, and this is the only way of life he can lead. Civilization means mastery, but Krishna seems very much like wanting to inculcate a slave mentality in us, a whole nation of people. Civilization is based on work, and passion for work, but who would ever be interested to work like a slave? Gita intends to take away all initiative, all incentive, all motivation, all dignity of work. It actually replaces the concept of action and work, karma, with that of duty, dharma. You work because you are required to work, for the sake of righteousness! In one stroke, man loses freedom, life loses meaning!

Further, ego is the basis of all creativity, innovation, achievement, as the author Ayn Rand goes on pounding again and again. But Sri Krishna desperately seeks to undermine the ego. He keeps harping, “you are merely an instrument, a nimitta-maatra.” You have no free will even. All civilization is built on intelligence. But simply to accept the totally confused mess of Gita to be a holy book, leave alone the holiest of all scriptures, demands a radical degradation of intelligence. The whole mental capacity of this nation (India) had gone down the drain simply in the futile effort to make sense of Gita's muddle.

It was and is almost mandatory for any spiritual personage that appears on the scene to comment on Gita. In the past few decades, the trend particularly caught up. Osho himself gave Hindi discourses on Gita amounting to eight thick volumes. I have seen at least thirty swamijis and lady swamijis doing Gita Gyan Yagna, that is, commenting on Gita, in my own city in all these years. Some famous swamijis seem to be doing only this thing, going from town to town in India, in between flying to Chicago and California, and doing Gyan Yagna continuously, year in year out. These people are simplifying the Gita to the mass, but see, perhaps relativity can be simplified, quantum mechanics can be simplified, but how can you simplify something like the Bhagavad Gita which has no meaning to start with? But the swamis deftly follow Krishna's original strategy, confuse the people, confuse the people, until out of sheer desperation, they are forced to give up their intellects and are driven into an illusion of understanding.

India only inherited heap loads of junk from the age of the Mahabharata and the times that preceded it, in the form of its religion and culture. Nothing valuable came from so much of India’s unknown history, except for one thing, its mystical philosophy of Vedanta. This much was enough, though, to take the new age to such heights of civilization as could have never been imagined before. Powered by Vedanta, our own world could have touched the dimension of infinity. But the Bhagavad Gita crudely subverted and sabotaged the Vedantic outlook to life. This is the greatest damage Krishna did. He could have become Time and destroyed the worlds as much as he liked, to his heart’s content, but he had no right to destroy a beautiful world-view that brings out the infinite divinity and eternal splendor inside man.

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 27

2009-06-04T22:23:00.008+05:30

One-pointed Determination

Here, O joy of the Kurus, there is a single one-pointed determination!

Many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the irresolute.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 2, ver 41

The Bhagavad Gita portrays Arjuna as fickle-minded and irresolute. It makes it sound as if Arjuna was somehow dragged into the war, willy-nilly, but seeing so many of his own dear relatives and friends arrayed at the enemy front, he suddenly realized the perversion and folly of this great family conflict. But Arjuna and everyone else of course knew exactly who was going to fight with whom, nothing that Arjuna saw at the battle line was unexpected in the least. They all had known what was to come for quite sometime. The readers of the Bhagavad Gita would be aware of this much, but they generally don't know for how long time. People think that when the stipulated period of exile was over, the Pandavas began negotiations to regain their kingdom but Duryodhana was unwilling to give it back to them, and hence the war was necessitated. Most people believe that the Pandavas committed themselves to the war just one or two months before that first day of the battle on the field of Kurukshetra. It was a rushed affair and Arjuna didn't have much time to think through, and that is the reason why only when he was on the battlefield, surveying the scope of the enemy side, that he could realize the enormity of this mistake. And therefore he wanted to quit or wanted the war that had just commenced to stop. This scenario is not wholly outside the limits of plausibility. The main thing wrong with it is that it is purely based on ignorance and propaganda. The facts are totally different. Once again they expose the scam of the gober swamijis and the sham of the Bhagavad Gita, at least of its context. However it is not difficult to extrapolate from the context to the content.

There is a famous story. Back in the days when Dronacharya was teaching the Pandava and Kaurava children, he thought to take a test of his pupils on one occasion. He placed a toy bird high on a distant tree, and asked the children to take aim at the bird's head. Yudhishthira gets the chance first. After he has set his aim Drona asks him what exactly is in his sight, whether he is able to view the bird, the tree, the master and the brothers. Yudhishthira answers in the affirmative. Drona is disappointed, cancels Yudhishthira's shot and calls the next one in the line. One after another all the children give the same answer, and receive the same treatment. At last, it is Arjuna's turn. Drona puts the same question. Arjuna says, I only see the bird, but not the tree or anything else. Then Drona asks him to describe the bird. Arjuna says, I can't see the full bird either, just the head.

At these words of Arjuna, the hair (on Drona's body) stood on end from delight. He then said to Partha, 'Shoot.' And the latter instantly let fly (his arrow) and with his sharp shaft speedily struck off the head of the vulture on the tree and brought it down to the ground. No sooner was the deed done than Drona clasped Phalguna to his bosom...

Arjuna's concentration is almost psychotic -- obsessive, compulsive. The surroundings and the whole world simply disappear. When Arjuna is focused, his mind is shut off except for that narrow line of focus, and the world all around is shut out. Once Arjuna sets his mind to something, that becomes his only world for the relevant frame of time, be it a small-range target or a long range goal. As the focus becomes directed, the contextual details become blurred into a white haze. Arjuna is the ace of aces in archery, his power of concentration is legendary. There is absolutely no scope for wavering or distraction in such a mind as Arjuna's. His attention has to be totally sharp, utterly steady, free from the impact of the minutest quivering. And archery is not some sport or skill for Arjuna, it is his whole being. The moment the target is set, there is no more looking hither and thither, neither looking back. The arrow is already released mentally, it cannot turn back. (Though, in theory, celestial missiles can be retracted.) Arjuna possessed this kind of extremely trained mind that tended to work with machine-like precision and utmost efficiency. Does this guy appear like he could possibly be fickle-minded, shifty, shaky to any degree under any circumstances? In theory, yes, there could be certain circumstances which could make anyone feel shaky, but the Mahabharata war is anything but that. It is almost like this huge destiny thing that was awaiting everyone in the epic, one towards which most of the major characters have been working for years and decades.

And of all the characters it is Arjuna alone that has been unrelentingly pursuing this goal — with burning indignation and one-pointed determination. Not just for the past couple of years, but for over a decade now. Arjuna is a man on a mission. His objective: to eliminate the top Kuru warriors, who themselves possess legendary prowess. And he went to great lengths, to Himalayas, and then to heaven itself and back, seeking to fulfill the greatest mission of his life. Many of those who read the Bhagavad Gita are generally incognizant of such a fact crucially pertinent to its context.

It all begins during that conversation of the Pandavas at the forest hermitage briefly alluded to in the previous post. Arjuna seems to be absent at the scene, Draupadi is speaking with Yudhishthira, trying to provoke his anger, instigating him to take the initiative to war. She concludes by saying:

That Kshatriya, O son of Pritha, who discovereth not his energy when the opportunity cometh, is ever disregarded by all creatures! Therefore, O king, thou shouldst not extend thy forgiveness to the foe. Indeed, with thy energy, without doubt, thou mayst slay them all!

Now you know where Krishna got inspiration for some of his lines! Compare:

Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Arjuna, who are called upon to fight in such a battle that comes of itself as an open door to heaven!

...People, too, will recount thy everlasting dishonour; and to one who has been honoured, dishonour is worse than death.

Bhagavad Gita, Chap 2, ver 32, 34

At first Yudhishthira is not moved in the least, he harangues back at Draupadi extolling the virtues of keeping anger at bay and cultivating forgiveness.

...Men of learning and of true insight call him to be possessed of force of character who by his wisdom can suppress his risen wrath. O thou of fair hips, the angry man seeth not things in their true light... The ignorant always regard anger as equivalent to energy. Wrath, however hath been given to man for the destruction of the world. The man, therefore, who wisheth to behave properly, must ever forsake anger.

The 'fair hips' is by the way a reference to Draupadi. Compare:

From anger comes delusion; from delusion the loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination he perishes.

Gita, chap 2, ver 63

Yudhishthira goes on for scores of verses more praising forgiveness, saying forgiveness is Brahma, forgiveness is sacrifice, the whole universe is sustained by forgiveness and so on. In the first place there is nothing to forgive, their kingdom has been taken away from them in an entirely legal manner, and they are in the forest entirely of their own accord. But a born hypocrite like Yudhishthira cannot be expected to admit this, even if he himself realized as much. Then, like Krishna does in the Bhagavad Gita, Draupadi brings in all philosophy, metaphysics, God, man, fate, into the talk.

The Supreme Lord and Ordainer of all ordaineth everything in respect of the weal and woe, the happiness and misery, of all creatures, even prior to their births guided by the acts of each, which are even like a seed (destined to sprout forth into the tree of life). O hero amongst men, as a wooden doll is made to move its limbs by the wire-puller, so are creatures made to work by the Lord of all. O Bharata, like space that covereth every object, God, pervading every creature, ordaineth its weal or woe. Like a bird tied with a string, every creature is dependent on God. Every one is subject to God and none else. No one can be his own ordainer. Like a pearl on its string, or a bull held fast by the cord passing through its nose, or a tree fallen from the bank into the middle of the stream, every creature followeth the command of the Creator, because imbued with His Spirit and because established in Him.

Cf:

All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest aspect; all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them. Nor do beings exist in Me (in reality): behold My divine Yoga, supporting all beings, but not dwelling in them, is My Self, the efficient cause of beings.

Gita, Chap 9, ver 4,5

At least Draupadi is simpler, clearer, does not bumble, confuse and then contradict herself in the same line! (‘all being exist in me, … nor do being exist in Me’)

Towards the end of her metaphysical discourse, Draupadi adds an interesting twist:

Beholding superior and well-behaved and modest persons persecuted, while the sinful are happy, I am sorely troubled. Beholding this thy distress and the prosperity of Suyodhana, I do not speak highly of the Great Ordainer who suffereth such inequality! O sir, what fruits doth the Great Ordainer reap by granting prosperity to Dhritarashtra's son who transgresseth the ordinances, who is crooked and covetous, and who injureth virtue and religion!

Why do the good people seem to suffer all the time while the evil people seem to be having a gala party? This is the great question Job puts to God in the Bible, and one that even Bhagavad Gita doesn't answer!

Yudhishthira, however, tries to answer it in his own way. But he is simply outraged at Draupadi's blasphemy and he is infuriated that a woman dare preach him philosophy. He doesn't show it openly though. He says it's only a fool who thinks in such a way, it's only a sinful wretch who believes such and such things, and so on, making references to Draupadi's foregoing speech.

Yudhishthira now launches a panegyric on virtue, says virtue is everything, virtue is all that he cares for, nothing else matters in the least, not kingdoms, not wealth, not life itself. Nobody can ever conceive him of doing anything which is not conducive to virtue (except gambling and staking kingdom, brothers, wife and children, presumably). Draupadi tries to defend herself a little, and then goes off into an even deeper and lengthier Dharma talk than before. Again interesting resemblances with the Bhagavad Gita, especially the Karma Yoga sections. Then Bhima jumps into the conversation and starts provoking and insulting Yudhishthira, supporting Draupadi and expressing his own anguish.

It could be slightly amusing to see Bhima, the duh-duh dufus hulk, talking so coherently and at such length:

Afflicted with the vows, thy cry is Religion! Religion! Hast thou from despair been deprived of thy manliness?

Compare with the very first verses of Krishna in the Gita:

Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha! It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart. Stand up, O scorcher of foes!

Gita, chap 2, ver 3

Bhima continues:

Cowards alone, unable to win back their prosperity, cherish despair, which is fruitless and destructive of one's purposes. Thou hast ability and eyes. Thou seest that manliness dwelleth in us. It is because thou hast adopted a life of peace that thou feelest not this distress. These Dhritarashtras regard us who are forgiving, as really incompetent. This, O king, grieveth me more than death in battle. If we all die in fair fight without turning our backs on the foe, even that would be better than this exile, for then we should obtain regions of bliss in the other world. Or, if, O bull of the Bharata race, having slain them all, we acquire the entire earth, that would be prosperity worth the trial. We who ever adhere to the customs of our order, who ever desire grand achievements, who wish to avenge our wrongs, have this for our bounden duty. Our kingdom wrested from us, if we engage in battle, our deeds when known to the world will procure for us fame and not slander.

Compare:

Further, having regard to thy own duty, thou shouldst not waver, for there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.

The great car-warriors will think that thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear; and thou wilt be lightly held by them who have thought much of thee.

Thy enemies also, cavilling at thy power, will speak many abusive words. What is more painful than this!

Slain, thou wilt obtain heaven; victorious, thou wilt enjoy the earth; therefore, stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight!

chap 2, ver 31, 35, 36, 37

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna's speech fails to have any impact on Arjuna at this stage. Arjuna still sits there dumb as a dodo, keeping on listening. But interestingly Bhima's speech in the Mahabharata turns out to be much more effective. It has almost a magical effect on Yudhishthira, who simply forgets his long sermons of a while ago, forgets all about virtue, forgiveness, scriptures, heaven and all that, almost instantly!

First a stunning admission by Yudhishthira:

I cannot reproach thee for thy torturing me thus by piercing me with thy arrowy words. From my folly alone hath this calamity come against you. I sought to cast the dice desiring to snatch from Dhritarashtra's son his kingdom with the sovereignty. It was therefore that, that cunning gambler—Suvala's son—played against me on behalf of Suyodhana. Sakuni, a native of the hilly country, is exceedingly artful. Casting the dice in the presence of the assembly, unacquainted as I am with artifices of any kind, he vanquished me artfully.

He finally admits to his naked covetousness, boundless greed, and exceeding stupidity that landed them all in this trouble. Now since he has acknowledged all these stupid and sinful things within himself, he must have realized that it wouldn't be a big deal if he sank a little more into sinfulness. Yes, now vengeance is just fine, forgiveness and virtue can go to dogs! Still, he has some vestigial qualms. Yudhisththira says to Bhima, we have suffered so much anyway, let's just wait a few more years and see. It takes a little more cajoling from Bhima for Yudhishthira to give a full green signal. But there are some major difficulties. Yudhishthira gets into practical matters now.

Hear from me something about what, proud of thy might, O Bhima, and led away by thy restlessness, thou thinkest should be immediately begun. Bhurisravas, Sala, the mighty Jarasandha, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, the mighty son of Drona, Dhritarashtra's sons—Duryodhana and others—so difficult of being vanquished, are all accomplished in arms and ever ready for battle with us. Those kings and chiefs of the earth also who have been injured by us, have all adopted the side of the Kauravas, and are bound by ties of affection to them. O Bharata, they are engaged in seeking the good of Duryodhana and not of us. With full treasures and aided by large forces, they will certainly strive their best in battle....

So it all boils down to this! Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Ashwatthama — how to conquer these four people? (Jarasandha and some others that Yudhisthira mentions are dead by now anyway.) These Pandava guys, with Arjuna at the helm, have previously injured a great number of kings, and stole much wealth from them in the spirit of debauched wantonness. They could all come against them in a pack. All that talk on virtue and forgiveness a little while earlier was just a sham, Yudhishthira simply had a practical issue in mind. It is extremely difficult to fight with the enemy, so put on the garb of virtue and feint forgiveness! What a neat strategy! But his brother Bhima simply wouldn't let him peacefully practice his virtue. So the truth is finally prized out of Yudhisthira!

Yudhishthira goes on for a good while more describing the formidable might of the enemy. Now a hilarious reaction from Bhima, kinda cute:

Hearing these words of Yudhishthira, the impetuous Bhima became alarmed, and forbore from speaking anything.

Imagine Bhima sitting mum, helpless!

It cannot simply be in the very nature of things! And so Vyasa, knowing that his intervention is immediately required, appears on the scene exactly at the same instant, not a moment before, not a moment later! The Pandavas receive him warmly. And Vyasa speaks:

O, Yudhishthira, O thou of mighty arms, knowing by spiritual insight what is passing in thy heart, I have come to thee, O thou bull among men! The fear that is in thy heart, arising from Bhishma, and Drona, and Kripa, and Karna, and Drona's son, and prince Duryodhana, and Dussasana, I will dispell, O slayer of all foes, by means of an act enjoined by the ordinance. Hearing it from me, accomplish it thou with patience, and having accomplished it, O king, quell this fever of thine soon.

The author of the story himself is on the side of the Pandavas. What more do they need! Still, the author doesn't seem to have any intention of finishing the story quickly, so the path to victory becomes an arduous one. Vyasa takes Yudhishthira to the side and says:

O best of the Bharatas, the time is come for thy prosperity, when, indeed Dhananjaya—that son of Pritha—will slay all thy foes in battle. Uttered by me and like unto success personified, accept from me this knowledge called Pratismriti that I impart to thee, knowing thou art capable of receiving it. Receiving it (from thee), Arjuna will be able to accomplish his desire.

The Mahabharata war is entirely Arjuna's battle. The rest of the warriors on the Pandava side are mere accessories to Arjuna. Just in the way Drona set him a shooting target back in the days of childhood, Vyasa himself sets Arjuna a target now. Yudhishthira would soon instruct this secret technique called Pratismriti, whatever it is, to Arjuna and from then on Arjuna would essentially be seeing only thing in his mind's eye: the heads of Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Ashwatthama, and Duryodhana. The author of the Bhagavad Gita, though, is clueless and completely out of sync and Vyasa and his storyline! He just rudely barges in and inserts whatever nonsense he wants, making Arjuna speak whatever nonsense!

On the occasion imparting this knowledge of Pratismriti to Arjuna, Yudhishthira says to him:

O Bharata, the whole science of arms dwelleth in Bhishma, and Drona, and Kripa, and Karna, and Drona's son. They fully know all sorts of Brahma and celestial and human and Vayavya weapons, together with the modes of using and warding them off... Thou alone art our sole refuge. On thee resteth a great burden. I shall, therefore, O chastiser of all foes, tell thee what thou art to do now. I have obtained a science from Krishna Dwaipayana (Vyasa). Used by thee, that science will expose the whole universe to thee. O child, attentively receive thou that science from me, and in due time (by its aid) attain thou the grace of the celestials. And, O bull of the Bharata race, devote thyself to fierce asceticism. Armed with the bow and sword, and cased in mail, betake thyself to austerities and good vows, and go thou northwards, O child, without giving way to anybody. O Dhananjaya, all celestial weapons are with Indra. The celestials, from fear of Vritra, imparted at the time all their might to Sakra. Gathered together in one place, thou wilt obtain all weapons. Go thou unto Sakra, he will give thee all his weapons.

For some strange reason, Yudhishthira advices Arjuna to perform austerities garbed in fully military uniform! Maybe the armor and weapons would constantly remind him of the battlefield. So the plan is to procure all the weapons of the gods in order to fell the foe, kill all the Kaurava warriors. Arjuna sets himself to the task right away and heads for the Himalayas to practice severe asceticism. At the moment of departure, Draupadi once again reminds him that Duryodhana called her 'cow' in front of everyone in the court assembly! Meanwhile Indra/Sakra himself comes to know of Arjuna's bold mission. When Arjuna is on his way deep in the mountains, Indra meets him. The god of heaven grants a boon to Arjuna. Arjuna of course seeks the knowledge of the secret celestial weapons. Indra tries to dissuade him saying what is the need for weapons when Arjuna can ask for all the pleasures and prosperity of the world. But no, Arjuna doesn't want anything to do with any such things. He could have asked Indra to have a most splendorous city erected in the forest and then they could have raised a whole kingdom around it! But no that would have been a creative and useful thing, not of particular appeal to a warrior like Arjuna. Arjuna knows only how to shoot arrows and kill people, and he has now got the greatest opportunity to fulfill the very raison d'etre of his life. He is not going to spoil it just like that. What he wants is vengeance, vengeance and nothing else. See what he says to Indra:

Thus addressed, Dhananjaya replied unto him of a thousand eyes, saying, 'I desire not regions of bliss, nor objects of enjoyment, nor the state of a celestial; what is this talk about happiness? O chief of the celestials, I do not desire the prosperity of all the gods. Having left my brothers behind me in the forest, and without avenging myself on the foe, shall I incur the opprobrium for all ages of all the world.

Indra gets the point. He advises him to meditate on Lord Siva first. Arjuna proceeds ahead and finds an ideal spot to practice his austerities.

And the mighty warrior, beholding those rivers of sacred and pure and delicious water and their charming banks, became highly delighted. And the delighted Arjuna of fierce energy and high soul then devoted himself to rigid austerities in that delightful and woody region. Clad in rags made of grass and furnished with a black deerskin and a stick, he commenced to eat withered leaves fallen upon the ground. And he passed the first month, by eating fruits at the interval of three nights; and the second by eating at the interval of the six nights; and the third by eating at the interval of a fortnight. When the fourth month came, that best of the Bharatas—the strong-armed son of Pandu—began to subsist on air alone. With arms upraised and leaning upon nothing and standing on the tips of his toes, he continued his austerities. And the illustrious hero's locks, in consequence of frequent bathing took the hue of lightning or the lotus.

He was eating once in a fortnight, and then stopped eating altogether. Most of the time he was standing on his toes, with his hands arched above his head in fervid prayer. It went on for years. And all this for what? To kill Bhishma, Drona and others! Does this fellow bear any remote resemblance to the one in the Bhagavad Gita, who upon seeing Bhishma and Drona seems to have suddenly remembered that they are his own grandfather and teacher?

Siva finally appears to Arjuna, and Arjuna asks him the boon:

O illustrious god having the bull for thy sign, if thou wilt grant me my desire, I ask of thee, O lord that fierce celestial weapon wielded by thee and called Brahmasira—that weapon of terrific prowess which destroyeth, at the end of the Yuga the entire universe—that weapon by the help of which, O god of gods, I may under thy grace, obtain victory in the terrible conflict which shall take place between myself (on one side), and Karna and Bhishma and Kripa and Drona (on the other) —that weapon by which I may consume in battle Danavas and Rakshasas and evil spirits and Pisachas and Gandharvas and Nagas—that weapon which when hurled with Mantras produceth darts by thousands and fierce-looking maces and arrows like snakes of virulent poison, and by means of which I may fight with Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Karna of ever abusive tongue, O illustrious destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga, even this is my foremost desire, viz., that I may be able to fight with them and obtain success.

In the above passage, Arjuna repeats twice the names of Bhishma, Karna and his former teachers Drona and Kripa! Imagine the rage boiling within! Shiva says to Arjuna that the weapon Brahmasira cannot be dispensed (Ashwatthama gets his hands on it somehow), but he may take away Shiva's favorite weapon called Pasupata. He says nobody in all the universe possesses something like this, and nobody in the worlds can resist it. He also warns Arjuna that an unwarranted usage of this weapon could lead to the destruction of the whole universe.

And at the moment when Arjuna receives the weapon from Shiva,

...the whole earth, with its mountains and woods and trees and seas and forests and villages and towns and mines, trembled. And the sounds of conchs and drums and trumpets by thousands began to be heard. And at that moment hurricanes and whirlwinds began to blow. And the gods and the Danavas beheld that terrible weapon in its embodied form stay by the side of Arjuna of immeasurable energy. And whatever of evil there had been in the body of Phalguna of immeasurable energy was all dispelled by the touch of the three-eyed deity.

Arjuna is now armed with the most terrible weapon in the whole universe, set ready to wreak vengeance on the Kauravas. With this weapon, he could destroy the vast Kaurava army in a single stroke if he so desired. But that doesn't sound like much fun, he wanted to fight, defeat and kill! Therefore, to obtain other celestial weapons but of far lesser magnitude, he turns towards various gods. Since Siva manifested himself before Arjuna, all the lesser gods promptly follow suit and in fact all of them land around Arjuna all at once. Arjuna is overjoyed.

The god Yama says to Arjuna,

O sinless one, by thee shall be vanquished in battle the highly virtuous grandsire of the Kurus—Bhishma of great energy—who is born of the Vasus. Thou shalt also defeat all the Kshatriyas of fiery energy commanded by the son of Bharadwaja in battle... And, O son of the Kuru race, O Dhananjaya, thou shalt also slay Karna of fierce prowess, who is even a portion of my father Surya, of energy celebrated throughout the worlds.

Yama is blessing Arjuna to kill his own half-brother! The gods Yama, Varuna, and Kubera bestow upon Arjuna mighty weapons. Then Indra takes Arjuna to heaven. Instead of squandering his time in having great fun in the heaven, Arjuna is fiercely committed to his weapons training here also! No break, no respite — until he sees the heads of Bhishma, Drona and others falling down! To achieve more flexibility in wielding the weapons, he also learns classical dance during his long stay at heaven. Seeing his son keenly learning all the martial arts, Indra gets the idea that it is better if Arjuna also became 'conversant with the arts of acquitting one's self in female company.' He sends Urvasi, the chief of Apsaras, to see Arjuna. But Arjuna is in no mood for all this now. He just wants to see the heads roll down and nothing else. He gives some excuse to Urvasi and sends her back unceremoniously.

Arjuna's continues with his intense training regime, relentlessly honing his skills. Meanwhile, down on earth, the Pandavas are passing their time in the forest and going on pilgrimages. During one of these tours, Yudhishthira meets a sage, and intimates him of the great plan of destruction and Arjuna's central role in it:

Not inferior unto Indra and fully competent (for the task), I have sent that son of a god to see the lord of the celestials and obtain weapons from him. Bhishma and Drona are Atirathas. Kripa and the son of Drona are invincible; these mighty warriors have been installed by Dhritarashtra's son in the command of his army. All these are versed in the Vedas, are heroic, and possessed of the knowledge of every weapon. Endued with great strength, these always desire to encounter Arjuna in fight. And Karna also of the Suta caste is a mighty warrior versed in celestial weapons... Urged by the sons of Dhritarashtra even as the wind urgeth the fire, Karna like unto the all-consuming fire at the end of the Yuga that is sent by Death himself, will, without doubt, consume my troops like unto a heap of straw. Only that mighty mass of clouds called Arjuna, aided by Krishna like unto a powerful wind, with celestial weapon representing its fierce lightning, the white steeds, the rows of white cranes coursing underneath and the unbearable Gandiva, the rainbow ahead, is capable of extinguishing the blazing flame represented by Karna by means of its arrowy showers let off with unflagging steadiness. That conqueror of hostile cities, Vibhatsu (Arjuna), will, without doubt, succeed in obtaining from Indra himself all the celestial weapons with their fullness and life. Alone he is equal, I think, unto them all. Otherwise it is impossible (for us) to vanquish in fight all those foes, who have attained to eminent success in all their purposes. We shall behold Arjuna, that repressor of foes, fully equipped with celestial weapons, for Vibhatsu having once undertaken a task, never, droopeth under its weight.

Thats Arjuna — once undertaken a task, never droopeth under its weight! If only the drooping dropsy-stricken author of the Bhagavad Gita did some homework before he set out to write the greatest scripture of Hinduism! Dropsy, by the way, is water accumulating in a part of the body. This anonymous author of the Gita must have accumulated water all over in his brain, that explains why his Arjuna is all watery, watery, wishy-washy, and his Bhagavad Gita is such a damp squib!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 26

2009-06-03T01:29:00.004+05:30

Taint of Pity

My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity, my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee: tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct me who has taken refuge in Thee.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 2, ver 7

This lamentation of Arjuna sets off the great teaching of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. It gives Krishna the license to go on rambling and raving about whatever would come into his mind. Countless gober swamijis have meticulously examined and extensively elaborated upon this great conversation between Krishna and Arjuna in the Gita, but always consistently missing the obvious. When one is trying to focus on the depth, there is a greater likelihood for one to simply overlook the obvious. But even otherwise, people seem to have an uncanny ability to miss the obvious. As Sherlock Holmes put it: "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." This is the pitfall we will try to keep away from in our own explorations of the Gita.

What does Arjuna say in this verse? 'Taint of Pity'! And what does what Arjuna says say? Many interesting things. To begin with, pity is a taint — such condemnation! Let's suppose, a forlorn, destitute child who may not have eaten for two days is begging at the traffic signal on the road. Automobiles pass by. Many would feel a little pity for the child, whether they give the child any change or not. Some others wouldn't feel anything at all, either because they have grown completely insensitive or simply because they generally don't have any capacity to feel or think about anything but themselves. And then there could be a guy who may sense some pity stirring up in him, he would then become gravely concerned — not about the child but about himself! 'What is happening to me, I shouldn't be feeling this sort of thing. This is ridiculous.' Arjuna seems to be this last type. Otherwise rarely would anyone feel pity and then feel uneasy or guilty about it. What a blot on my normally spotless character!

Arjuna has obviously never before in his life felt anything like pity, particularly not during any battlefield situations. And he has been continually involved in all types of gory fights, scenes of terrible carnage. In such battlefields, people's limbs would be torn off, heads would be smashed, bodies would be smeared in a thick ooze of blood. Maimed, mangled, mutilated, pierced and lacerated bodies would be lying about everywhere writhing in agony. In general, places of large-scale armed conflict, say, like Gettysburg and other areas in the American Civil War, are crucibles of extreme torment and misery. We would think that not to feel any kind of emotion for numberless innocent suffering souls strewn all around would be humanly impossible. True, soldiers fighting the battle have to be highly desensitized to their own and others' suffering, but it is difficult for us to conceive people who cannot experience any kind of human sympathy whatsoever, just moving about like machines and constantly killing other humans, least perturbed by any emotion. Because deep down it's our capacity to feel that makes us human. And yet Arjuna is typically such a perfect inhuman monster. It is a question of immaculate perfection, and right now he has become aware that he is falling from his habitual levels of efficiency.

On the other hand, if Arjuna was indeed susceptible to some degree of compassion – let's just assume it could be – he would have only complained to his buddy, “O Krishna, I am feeling overpowered by pity,” implying, 'yes, I do feel this emotion to some degree or other in this type of situations but it usually only stays in the background whereas now it is taking over me.' Instead, Arjuna says, in conclusion to a long speech, “I am overpowered by the taint of pity.” The actual word Arjuna uses, or put in the mouth of Arjuna by the Gita author, is 'dosha' or flaw. "This despicable defect that seems to be arising in my otherwise flawless character – how to get rid of it, O Krishna?" This is the nature of Arjuna's plight. Arjuna is less bothered about all the warriors gathered on the field, and more worried about himself, and the way Arjuna puts it tells certain things about himself. Gober swamiji's always invariably portray Arjuna as an archetypal human being, prey to human emotions and a deep sense of attachment. This is pure nonsense. Arjuna is what we would consider a creature totally alien to most of the normal human sensibilities. In other words, he is a monster, someone like Hitler or Stalin.

Suppose Hitler was on a sudden undeclared inspection to one of his concentration camps, and seeing the actual conditions of the place, the way tens of thousands of people are being treated and working like pigs, if he were to feel the faintest tingling of compassion somewhere in his mind — how would he react to it? Would he try to alleviate the conditions of the concentration camp ever so slightly? Not likely. Rather, he would be alarmed by what's happening to himself. He would immediately cut short the visit, return to Berlin, call Himmler and his other advisers, and discuss the matter seriously with them. Unknown to many people, Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler was also well-versed in all kinds of occult and esoteric matters. He was actually the head of a whole division of Nazi researchers investigating esoteric philosophies of the East and the West. Himmler would have been well familiar with the Bhagavad Gita and would have offered a copy of this Aryan sacred text to his leader, saying, “Three thousand years ago, Mein Fuehrer, a great and noble warrior just like you, by name Arjuna, once felt a twinge of conscience. But fortunately he had an Aryan god by his side, who by elaborating upon philosophy and metaphysics relevant in such situations put his conscience to rest and made him an efficient and praiseworthy killing machine again.

"Look at how Krishna urges Arjuna, Mein Fuehrer. 'Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha! It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart. Stand up, O scorcher of foes!' Compassion is a serious weakness of heart, Mein Fuehrer. Compassion in great souls like you equates to impotence, something that has to be avoided at all costs. Arjuna was a scorcher of foes, Mein Fuehrer, but so are you. You are a little advanced, that's all. You literally burn people, roasting them alive in stoves, and not just your foes who may have done some harm to you directly or indirectly, but all kinds of people, millions of them about whom you wouldn't be knowing anything personally, you just scorch them all down to death. You are a far superior being to Arjuna. Still, pity may arise on its own, being a widely prevalent human tendency, but you should learn to be completely untouched by it. You see, Mein Fuehrer, you are different from your body and mind. If you practice meditation and spirituality, you would realize these things for yourself. Please read the Bhagavad Gita, Mein Fuehrer. And if you have any doubts, call me up." Hitler, of course, would be immensely pleased to have found a solution to all his moral and spiritual dilemmas, and thereupon would set about to ravish the Bhagavad Gita with great delight!

Thank God, any such scenario didn't come to pass! If indeed the Bhagavad Gita fell into the hands of Hitler, it would have been far worse than a couple of nuclear bombs coming into his possession. A major weakness with Hitler was that he didn't have any God. Although he went to Churches sometimes and endorsed Christianity (I think he had some tie-ups with the Pope), there was no way for him to accept the only begotten son of the Jewish God to be his savior. In Krishna, Hitler would have found the perfect 100% Aryan God, a God after his own heart, someone whom he could zealously follow and worship! And then no force in the world could have stopped the Nazi war machine that went rolling on relentlessly, inspired by a divine philosophy and empowered by divine zeal. The whole world would be Nazified, and the Bhagavad Gita would be made the official Bible for the entire society, revered and studied in schools, colleges, offices, clubs and all such places worldwide. Now imagine a whole world full of emotionless people, unmoved in pain and pleasure, dispassionate, deathly poised, perfectly indifferent to outer circumstances, totally nonattached and free from human bonds and relationships, in perfect control of their minds, utterly insensitive to any suffering they may see around in the world, highly disregardful of all life both human or animals; millions and billions of such people, working for the ubiquitous all-powerful Nazi party, without seeking the fruits — that would be the ultimate nightmare! Of course humanity in us cannot be totally quashed, in all probability there would be underground movements, singing anthems resembling that famous Pink Floyd song:

We don't need no Bhagavad Gita

We don't need no thought control

..It's just another brick in the wall.

...You're just another brick in the wall.

But nothing would come out of these movements, not at least for the next thousand, two thousand years.

As we can see, just a little stirring of human emotion in the non-existent heart of someone like Hitler can lead to devastating consequences. It is simply something which shouldn't be there. That is the reason Arjuna became so terribly agitated. All the guys who gathered that day on the Kurukshetra were just a few seconds away from a full head-on clash with each other, but then Arjuna says to Krishna ‘Wait a minute,’ — all the proceedings are instantly suspended, we must assume — ‘What the heck was that, Krishna, I felt for a moment some emotion which I think is pity. This is pure insanity, maybe I am losing my mind or something, please bring me back to senses, my normal self. I simply cannot go to war, unless this base emotion is totally purged out of me!’

And so Krishna begins his crash psychotherapy program on Arjuna. It is something with an interesting twist though! In a normal psychotherapy session, the client would sit there on the couch blabbering whatever nonsense occurred to his mind, while the psychoanalyst would be seated next to him, most of the time calmly listening, just now and then putting questions or offering comments or insights. In the Bhagavad Gita-type of psychotherapy, it's the doctor who goes on pouring out all kinds of nonsense, while the patient keeps listening to him patiently trying to make the least interruption! Our mental doctor seems to have the least insight into what exactly is ailing his patient, what sort of a remedy does it require. Arjuna just says ‘I am thy disciple, instruct me in whichever way you please’ — that's all Krishna needed. It is a fantasy come true! Nobody ever approached him like that in his whole life, people would ask for some free advice now and then, but nothing full-blown like this. This is a golden opportunity, perhaps Krishna has been reading some books of late, this is the perfect occasion to show off his learning and wisdom! Doesn't matter even if they were in the midst of a great battle. If he missed this opportunity maybe he would never ever get one again!

In his eagerness and delight to play the mental doctor, Krishna just misses the whole point. He begins with saying stupid things like ‘Nobody ever dies, only the bodies perish, the soul goes to another body.’ Wow, what a revelation! He makes these statements as if he has been sitting in the laboratory for the past 30 years and made all these fabulous discoveries about life and existence. While the simple fact is that every kid in every street in those days knew about reincarnation. It was just in the air. The theory of reincarnation has always been an intrinsic part of the very core of Indian religion and culture. And as for Arjuna, just over an year earlier, he returned from a 5-year long trip to heaven, his dad's place; not even an absolute idiot would think that Arjuna was some kind of materialist who believed that the whole person dies, with all the mind and interiority, when the body dies. If Krishna was any less pretentious and less bogus, he would have asked Arjuna ‘Arjuna, you know that nobody ever dies, they either go to heaven or reincarnate or attain nirvana, so why are you grieving so much over the possible deaths of these people?” Nothing like that. Krishna seems to be in a terrible rush to appropriate all the teachings and discoveries of the sanatana dharma — 'the eternal religion', the Hindu name for the Hindu religion — and present them to the posterity as his own. And what an awfully sloppy way of presentation at that!

The ego, intellect, Karma, reincarnation, Nature, Maya, Atman, Brahman: there is this beautiful and elegant conceptual edifice of Hindu philosophy, Krishna seems to just bumble in with a massive sledge hammer in his hand, knocking all about the place like a maniac, shouting 'Kill, destroy'! He just erodes away the integrity of this majestic structure in every way, big and small. And with all this whamming, whacking, whopping — the din and the tumult — Arjuna's shaken mind is even more shook up.

At the outset, Arjuna had a little confusion in his mind. Krishna takes a very radical and innovative approach to it. He doesn't go for a solution, he goes for dissolution! There seems to be a tacit understanding between Krishna and Arjuna: ‘You see, Arjuna, this confusion has arisen in your mind. Mind always causes confusion. We have to eradicate this confusion at its root. Let's do one thing, let's just annihilate your mind. It is so simple to go about it really. You just sit there and listen to me attentively, I will be speaking to you so many nonsensical things which nevertheless seem to make so much deep sense, and in just trying to figure them out, your mind will enter into such terrible confusion that it will simply implode, like a building collapsing upon itself. When that happens you just give me an indication saying that all your doubts are utterly wiped out, we shall then proceed to the battle.’ When one comes to think of it, Krishna has really a deeper logic to his ways. Sometimes we can make it out, sometimes we can't. But, after all, Krishna is the Maha Yogi!

One of the basic things I can't make out is, even if Krishna was a Maha Yogi, a purported fact in which our gober swamijis seem to always exult in, what gave him the right to discuss esoteric knowledge with an avowed psychopath and terrorist like Arjuna? This man Arjuna is much worse than a Hitler. Let me explain. All the top warriors present there like Bhishma, Drona, Karna – they would have all felt some sadness at the slaughter that was going to take place, while the remaining lesser warriors and soldiers would have experienced more of a fear for their own lives. Perhaps even Hitler would have experienced some human concern if he were in that situation. But Arjuna didn't feel any kind of pity whatsoever, that much is certain! Yes, Arjuna keeps talking about pity, and the most glaring fact that stares you in the face, one which all the thousands of gober swamijis and billions of general readers of the Bhagavad Gita down through the centuries completely missed, is that Arjuna expresses compassion only for his uncles, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, teachers — he sees just these people! There are millions and millions of others on the battlefield, totally innocent people, who have nothing to do with all this nonsense, who simply joined the army to make a little livelihood, who were forcibly drawn into this guaranteed death trap, who are all definitely going to be ripped apart by swords or crushed by elephants or things like that, but Arjuna hasn't the slightest, the very least of least, concern for them. It simply doesn't occur to him at all. Now, isn't that surprising? It is not for me, but what totally surprises me is that everyone so utterly missed this most obvious thing! Millions of people, billions of people, scores of generations, altogether!

In the first chapter Arjuna goes on defending his position from various angles, but not a verse, not a single passing reference to the only real thing that is happening there. Millions of warriors and soldiers are going to die, millions of families would go to ruin, and Arjuna very well knows that, but all that he is so desperately concerned about is the destruction of his own family and relatives! Some pity, some human emotion! It is as if Hitler visited that concentration camp and felt pity – exclusively – for all his SS officers lashing the Jews and driving them to work: god how much work these few officers must be doing day and night managing these tens of thousands of animals! Hitler's heart is moved! Arjuna's pity is like that. It is as bogus as Krishna's divinity! Most people present there would have experienced pity or fear or both in various degrees, and not just for their own family members and friends. But they didn't all come down with it, paralyzed. Arjuna did. What's different about Arjuna? The difference is this, what really caught Arjuna is not any kind of compassion, in the first place.

Let's consider another illustration. Say, two men went to meet someone. Of these two guys, one is the normal variety, and one is a long-practicing yogi. They enter the house and see the picture of a sexy model in a bikini on a calendar there. The normal guy is maybe slightly amused and aroused, and hardly pays it much attention. But our yogi has been practicing celibacy in a locked up room for twenty years now. He is under the impression that he achieved perfect celibacy, he could even stop the practice any of these days and declare himself to be a siddha. This yogi sees the calendar and there is a sudden, tremendous emotional upheaval in him. He might even literally collapse on the floor on the spot. What happened? He may not have been overpowered by a sudden high voltage spike of years of suppressed lust. He may have been only slightly aroused by the poster girl, just like the other guy. But that was enough to shatter his self-image instantly! This is what happened in the case of Arjuna, he was not overcome by pity or sorrow themselves, he was broken within when his self-image shattered. Pity, even if it is only exclusively for one's relatives in a situation of global disaster, had no place in Arjuna's scheme of things. His world-view itself shattered! He was bewildered. Pity has little to do with it, it was just the initial trigger, much happened immediately after it surfaced. His precious self-image itself cracked up.

Even to begin with, this so-labeled pity is not any kind of concern for the lives of others. It is Arjuna's concern with himself. The ego — 'me' — is erected on the foundation of 'mine'. All these relatives and friends are those who boost and bolster one's ego. Without them being around, and in such large numbers, a massive ego like that of Arjuna would seriously dwindle away. He would still have position, wealth, and power to support his ego, but it would be a dull affair, the liveliness would have gone. He asks Krishna 'how can we be happy by killing our own people?' But then, he knew for several years now that there would be a final battle and he would be killing his own kinsmen, so what's new? Suddenly the realization must have dawned on him that without his relatives, his life itself would become empty. The pity that Arjuna felt was really self-pity, and that is all he has the capacity to feel really. And he knew he would overcome even that, after all the mind of a greedy killing machine like him shouldn't have any place even for self-pity.

If Arjuna was moved by any genuine emotion or concern, he would have said to Krishna something like ‘Okay Krishna, enough is enough. We can't go ahead with this kind of stupid meaningless war. We made a big mistake bringing things this far. But it is still not too late. Let's immediately stop this war, turn back and deliberate upon the options open to us.’ Something mature and decisive like this. But no, what Arjuna does is, he says ‘Oh I am feeling deep sorrow and pity for my relatives, I will not fight,’ and he sits down and stays put. Compare "I will not fight" which is what Arjuna says with "Let's stop this war," which is what he should have said. Arjuna has no real intention of stopping the war, he is just sulking, inviting Krishna to coax and cajole him! He is like a 7-year-old kid, his parents are going to the cinema, he wants to go too, but he wants buttered popcorn and ice cream in the interval, and his mother says no, he begins to sulk, "I will not go to the movie." He sits down and stays put. Now some deal has to be negotiated between his mom and him. Arjuna is like that, Krishna has to simply say, "There is lot of buttered popcorn and ice cream in store for you, Arjuna, even after the war, even after the whole population has been wiped out. Just give up your sense of attachment and your ego, and then you can enjoy the pleasures of kingdom till you die, and after that you can go to heaven and enjoy. It is just enjoyment and enjoyment for you, stop all worrying."

Notice Arjuna's imperative request to Krishna in the verse we are discussing. "I ask thee: tell me decisively what is good for me." It is not the good of the country he is concerned about, it is not the good of the society, not what is good for the posterity — all these can go to hell. 'What is good for me' — that's all that matters! No matter how you pull and push Arjuna, no matter in what situation you keep him, you cannot simply make him think beyond 'What is in it for me, what is good for me?" And for thousands of years countless idiots have attributed buddha-like compassion to this psycho. "Oh how human Arjuna is, how quintessentially human, what a sensitive heart Arjuna has, he is willing to sacrifice his own life for the lives of his relatives!"

For decades now, researchers have wondered what is the fundamental difference between psychopaths and normal human beings. The root causes are of course still being studied, but symptomatically serial killers and other psychos have one most essential trait in their character which distinguishes them. These people are, owing to some defect in their brains, utterly incapable of feeling any thing at all for others. My own theory is that the reason why these people usually subject fellow humans, especially innocent young girls, to unspeakable tortures before finally finally killing them and relieving them of their misery, is that these people are seeking to feel human emotions. Perhaps the great torture they inflict on their victims is only carried out in the vain hope that this may stir some pity or compassion within themselves. Then they would know that they too are human beings, not just soulless killing machines. Through killing others they perhaps hope that the concentrated life essence escaping from their dying victims would resonate with something akin within themselves. They would then be able to feel they are alive and human. Because the life and humanity within us happens only in resonance with other fellow beings. When that passion and compassion disappear in us, the humanity in us dies, our soul itself dies. We become psychos, monsters, always hungry for something, crazy for something, perpetrating atrocities, but never getting what we want. Arjuna is a psycho, but still maybe he has some little humanity left in him, he can feel some pity even if only for his own relatives. Krishna's task is to shrink his head and turn him into a perfect psycho — detached, calm, collected, perfectly composed, unruffled in all circumstances, executing the task at hand with machine-like efficiency! You take a look at terrorists, psychos and villains portrayed in Hollywood movies, you will find a majority of them fitting this description! — at least until the last segment of the movie which is when they begin to panic and unravel!

This is the verse following our topic verse, and coming just before where Arjuna says "I will not fight" and Krishna takes off:

I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth or lordship over the gods.

chap 2, ver 9

To attain prosperous and unrivaled dominion on earth and lordship over the gods — that seems to be the big idea. Previously, just a while before, Arjuna was saying he didn't wish to kill the people "...even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds, leave alone killing them for the sake of the earth!" A few verses thereafter he remarks what a sin it is "to kill our kinsmen through greed for the pleasures of a kingdom." Pleasures, kingdoms, power, dominion, this theme seems to be the only big thing running in Arjuna's mind. He doesn't even pretend he started this war for the sake of righteousness, or to promote good in the society, or something like that. As we know, all terrorists fight for a higher cause whatever it is, whether it is valid or not, whether it is just a façade or genuine. However, the only cause that Arjuna can think of, the only cause that would be renounced should he give up on this war, is his power, his glory, his pleasure, his dominion. Now, his dad is the lord of gods, so he may have been secretly hoping he would inherit the lordship of gods too someday!

But alas, this overwhelming sorrow has whelmed over him now! There is an interesting point here. Please note that when you are very sad or very happy you wouldn't be too self-conscious of your own state of being. You simply forget yourself. Say, if you win Rs.10,000 in some lottery, surely you could say to your friend, "Wow, I got lucky, I won 10,000 rupees, I am so happy." But if you were to win 10 crore rupees, the idea of your happiness wouldn't even occur to you, at least for a good amount of time. Ten crore rupees simply goes far beyond you, whether you are lucky, or happy, the thought itself wouldn't occur to you. You would be in state of dizzy euphoria. Similarly if your child is ill, and you are talking to a friend on the phone, you may say 'I really feel so sad, I am just helpless." But if your child has died, you wouldn't call up your friend and tell him how sorrowful you are, how shocked you are, right? That would look ridiculous! Maybe it would take a month for you to become even aware that you are sad. But Arjuna is highly conscious of himself right at the moment, oh this pity, oh this sorrow, oh this pity, oh this sorrow! Thank God, at least he doesn't say my pity, my sorrow!

Right from the very beginning, he is completely aware of what is happening to himself in great detail! His very first sentence in the Bhagavad Gita is "My limbs fail and my mouth is parched up, my body quivers and my hairs stand on end!" Do you ever see people speaking like this? Suppose you are living in the countryside and an airplane carrying 50 passengers just crashed in your neighborhood. You run to the scene. It is an emergency situation, there are still some passengers alive who need to be rescued. Would you immediately get into action or would you stand by at the fringes and strike up a conversation with another loafer like you, saying how sad you feel, how overcome by pity you are, how sorrow is burning up your senses! Man, that would be so pathetically ridiculous! Remember, Arjuna is in an emergency situation. If he really panicked, he would have set out to do something about it, not just stand there prattling pure nonsense with Krishna. He would have immediately gestured and called up Yudhisthira's chariot to talk to him first. "Look bro, I have changed my mind." It would be an instinctive reaction, just like you go and fetch water when you see fire. But Arjuna just stands there and describes in great detail, blow by blow, what all is happening to him, all the thoughts occurring to him. "The (bow) Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns all over; I am unable even to stand, my mind is reeling, as it were." As it were, indeed!

Another interesting point. Even this fake pity and fake sorrow of Arjuna is ridiculously misplaced. To begin with he feels pity exclusively for that section of the opponent's army, as if all the relatives on his own wouldn't be dying, freaking idiot! The primary objects of his pity are Bhishma and Drona, two invincible warriors who cannot simply even die except out of their own volition! Both are old, Bhishma is supposedly over 250 years old by then! Even the rest of his friends and relatives on the opposing side have come here completely of their own accord, what to feel pity for them? They could have as well opted out of this nonsensical war, everyone on either side must have really boycotted this stupid war, just like Balarama, Krishna's brother, did. But no, they have all come to the war voluntarily, courting death with great delight. So let them die. What to feel pity about them? If anything, one should feel pity for their wives and children, they are the ones who would pay the heavy price for this colossal folly! But again the most obvious thought doesn't simply occur to our hero, it invariably escapes all those who read the Bhagavad Gita as well!

To get a better feel of this nonsensical drama of Arjuna's despondency, it would help if we contrast it to Draupadi's pity for Arjuna in a scene elsewhere in the Mahabharata. There is not much of a contrast though for the stupidity is the same in both the cases. This episode takes place in the forest. The Pandavas have just lost the gambling match and are set up in the forest. One evening they sit under the trees, chatting. Draupadi keeps trying to provoke their anger and self-pity, addressing Yudhishthira this way:

Beholding that Arjuna that tiger among men worshipped by both the celestials and the Danavas so anxious, why, O king, dost thou not feel indignant? I grieve, O Bharata, that thy wrath doth not blaze up at sight of that son of Pritha in exile, that prince who deserveth not such distress and who hath been brought up in every luxury!

And Arjuna is not in the least bit distressed or anxious himself! In the first place, Arjuna is there in the forest entirely of his own accord, he could have easily refused to be a part of the whole nonsense of the gambling match, but he didn't. So he is suffering, though not much really. They are living in a nice big hermitage there in the lap of Mother Nature, in a beautiful forest, surrounded by trees, birds and animals, with forty personal attendants, along with the company and services of scores of others Brahmins. Not only are they able to look after their every need, they are still doing a lot of charity, distributing gold coins to the Brahmins every day. But it is true, 'every luxury' is not present in the forest, and so Draupadi is grievously grieved for the sake of Arjuna! Nothing short of all the luxuries in the world will do for the hero, or else it is such a tragedy, isn't it! She continues:

Why doth not thy wrath blaze up at sight of that Arjuna in exile, who, on a single car, hath vanquished celestials and men and serpents? Why, O king, doth not thy wrath blaze up at sight of that Arjuna in exile who, honoured with offerings of cars and vehicles of various forms and horses and elephants, forcibly took from the kings of the earth their treasures, who is the chastiser of all foes, and who at one impetus can throw full five hundred arrows?

Okay, so Arjuna forcibly took all the treasures from the kings of the earth, looted them left and right, pillaged, murdered, destroyed, caused havoc wherever he went, even after the kings worshipped him and honored him with ritual offerings! (We have looked into this story in detail in an earlier essay). Such great and noble deeds Arjuna did! Such a great warrior he is, able to kill a couple of hundred people in one stroke! Yet this is the reward he got! How cruel fate is! Draupadi is naturally wailing and complaining to Yudhisthira, trying to elicit some human reaction from him.

This entire Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita thing is so bogus that it never ceases to amaze me how all the millions of people who read these could so totally miss it, this very essence of bogusness! Arjuna is not alone, there are a whole bunch of psychopaths here, and Krishna tops the list! Arjuna and the others are forgivable to some extent though. Yes, they brought on a great destructive war, devastated a nation and a civilization, still the society recovered in time. But what Krishna did is unforgivable, he corrupted the single greatest, transcendental achievement of Indian culture. He brought in the great philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga into the putrefying mass and fetid mess of the Mahabharata and muddled everything up.

Fortunately there are still some texts which retain that original flavor of these philosophies. If you want Yoga, you can still go to Patanjali Yoga Sutras. If you want Vedanta, you can still go to Ashtavakra Gita. And by any chance if you want total confusion, mess, muddle and nonsense, you come to... well you know where!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 25

2009-05-31T00:08:00.005+05:30

A Dreadful River of Blood

Therefore, devote thyself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.

- The Bhagavad Gita

Or could it be that yoga is sloppiness in action? Bloody sloppiness! Incredibly bloody sloppiness! All that the (anonymous) author of the Gita had to do was bring together materials available, compile them and present them in a coherent and interesting manner. The Bhagavad Gita was simply meant to be a popularizer of certain streams of philosophy that ran in ancient Indian thought. Perhaps this was the only piece of real, original work that the unknown person who wrote the Gita did in his whole life. He must have had plenty of time too, we may presume. But the way he messed it all up is totally unbelievable. It is as if this guy had only a day or two to do the job and he just put in whatever nonsense he wanted, in whichever ridiculous way he wanted.

If the people who read the Bhagavad Gita down through the ages had any kind of commonsense or the least general knowledge they would have fallen on the ground in convulsions just to shake off the incredulity that has taken over them — on reading the first two-three pages of the book. Billions of people read the Bhagavad Gita, and hundreds of gober swamijis went on giving elaborate commentaries on it, and yet somehow not a single person has been able to feel the sense of ridiculousness that hits you in the face the moment you start reading the Gita. And I am not talking about the ridiculous battlefield backdrop or anything like that, these are known issues and gently evaded, and we can perhaps take them for granted in the spirit of tolerance. Quite a few Gita readers would also normally sense the incongruity of Arjuna drooping off in his chariot, benumbed and bewildered. It appears to be a highly artificial story contrivance, yet not something that cannot be surmounted with a little exercise of suspension of belief. We could indeed take it for granted if that was all there is to it. However there is much more to it, and that's what turns the whole of Bhagavad Gita's famous context into a sham, and the Bhagavad Gita itself into baloney.

Apparently the author of the Bhagavad Gita, the one who goes on talking about perfection and excellence in work, didn't read the Mahabharata, the work to which he was going to append his own hack job. He doesn't seem to have had even rudimentary knowledge of the Mahabharata. Neither do gober swamijis seem to have ever bothered to read even children's Mahabharata. They go on talking about the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, and Arjuna all their lives, but it wouldn't have occurred to them to take a few hours off and read the story of these characters as presented in the Mahabharata. Even if the swamijis ever accidentally did that, the new knowledge would be conveniently ignored, for obvious reasons. And they would continue portraying Arjuna's despondency, his pitiful quandary, and the compassion that rent his heart in the most soul-stirring language, as usual.

Billions of people knew, and millions still know both the basic story outline of the Mahabharata as well as the setting of the Bhagavad gita, but nobody has ever bothered to put 2 and 2 together and ask the most obvious question: How come Arjuna seems to have grave qualms about fighting with his teachers and relatives when he was battling these same people tooth and nail in a most ferocious encounter exactly six months earlier?

Everyone who knows a little about the Mahabharata knows that the Pandavas lost the dice game and as per the conditions of the wager had to spend 12 years in the forest and one additional year incognito. And everyone also knows that they spent the incognito year disguised as employees in the court of King Virata. People who have slightly deeper knowledge would be aware of the main events that took place in the Virata Parva. During this one year, Arjuna turned himself into a eunuch and taught classical dance to the king's daughter. Towards the end of this episode, Duryodhana, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and others attack King Virata to steal some cows, and Arjuna goes to stop them singlehandedly. A deadly battle ensues. After being routed by Arjuna, the Kaurava camp flees the scene. This is not some fancy episode pushed into the Mahabharata in later centuries, as indeed is the Bhagavad Gita, but is integral to the central story.

Let me first cite the contextual theme of the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna asks Krishna to take his chariot into the open space in between the two armies.

Sanjaya said:

Being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krishna, having stationed that best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies, in front of Bhishma and Drona and all the rulers of the earth, said: “O Arjuna, behold now all these Kurus gathered together!”

Then Arjuna beheld there stationed, grandfathers and fathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends, too.

(He saw) fathers-in-law and friends also in both armies. The son of Kunti—Arjuna—seeing all these kinsmen standing arrayed, spoke thus sorrowfully, filled with deep pity.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 1, ver 24-27

How, O Madhusudana, shall I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?

Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I kill them, even in this world all my enjoyments of wealth and desires will be stained with (their) blood.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 2, ver 4,5

And now we will move to the macabre event that happened hardly six months earlier.

Here I present excerpts from Arjuna's encounter with his teachers and elders. First, Kripacharya, the first and most revered teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas:

...Then announcing his own name, Arjuna powerfully blew that best of conchs called Devadatta, of loud blare. And blown on the field of battle by the mighty Jishnu (Arjuna), the blare of that conch was heard like the splitting of a mountain.

... Thereupon that heroic and intrepid and mighty car-warrior, Saradwat's son Kripa, endued with strength and prowess, waxing wroth at Arjuna, and unable to bear that sound and eager for fight, took up his own sea-begotten conch and blew it vehemently.

...And those mighty car-warriors, equal unto two suns, standing opposed to each other, shone like two masses of autumnal clouds. Then Saradwat's son quickly pierced Partha, that slayer of hostile heroes, with ten swift and whetted arrows capable of entering into the very vitals. And Pritha's son also, on his part, drawing that foremost of weapons, the Gandiva, celebrated over the world, shot innumerable iron-arrows, all capable of penetrating into the very core of the body.

...And sorely afflicted by those whetted arrows resembling flames of fire, Kripa waxed wroth and quickly afflicting the high-souled Partha of immeasurable prowess with ten thousand shafts, set up on the field of battle a loud roar. Then the heroic Arjuna quickly pierced the four steeds of his adversary with four fatal arrows shot from the Gandiva, sharp and straight, and furnished with golden wings.

This is foul play. Only when a warrior gets desperate to save his life would he resort to killing his opponent's horses or his charioteer.

…Then regaining his proper place, Gautama (Kripa) quickly pierced Savyasachin with ten arrows furnished with feathers of the Kanka bird. Then with a crescent-shaped arrow of keen edge, Partha cut off Kripa's bow and leathern fences. And soon Partha cut off Kripa's coat of mail also by means of arrows capable of penetrating the very vitals, but he did not wound his person. And divested of his coat of mail, his body resembled that of a serpent which hath in season cast off its slough. And as soon as his bow had been cut off by Partha, Gautama took up another and stringed it in a trice. And strange to say, that bow of him was also cut off by Kunti's son, by means of straight shafts.

...Partha, however, quickly cut them into fragments by means of ten keen-edged shafts, and endued with great energy, the son of Pritha then, inflamed with wrath on the field of battle, discharged three and ten arrows whetted on stone and resembling flames of fire. And with one of these he cut off the yoke of his adversary's car, and with four pierced his four steeds, and with the sixth he severed the head of his antagonist's car-driver from off his body.

Arjuna is getting desperate here, killing a poor defenseless charioteer. Kripa could have retaliated by killing Arjuna's charioteer, but he must have considered it below his dignity.

Then with his bow cut off, his car broken, his steeds slain, his car-driver killed, Kripa leapt down and taking up a mace quickly hurled it at Arjuna. But that heavy and polished mace hurled by Kripa was sent back along its course, struck by means of Arjuna's arrows. And then the warriors (of Kripa's division), desirous of rescuing wrathful son of Saradwat encountered Partha from all sides and covered him with their arrows.

We can see clearly that this is no drill or mock fight, as people very often wrongly imagine it to be. It is as ferocious an armed encounter as any in the final war, also filled with good doses of foul play and treachery, Arjuna is killing horses and charioteers, while his opponents would be soon attacking him many at a time. Kripa's men take away their seriously wounded leader away from the battle scene.

Now we move to Arjuna's one-on-one with Drona, his illustrious weapons instructor.

...And Drona also rushed towards the impetuously advancing Partha, the son of Pandu,—that foremost of car-warriors, —like an infuriate elephant rushing towards an infuriate compeer. And the son of Bharadwaja then blew his conch whose blare resembled that of a hundred trumpets. And at that sound the whole army become agitated like the sea in a tempest.

...And that mighty car-warrior Partha, possessed of great prowess and filled with joy upon reaching Drona's car on his own, saluted the preceptor. And that slayer of hostile heroes, the mighty armed son of Kunti, then addressed Drona in an humble and sweet tone, saying, 'Having completed our exile in the woods, we are now desirous of avenging our wrongs. Even invincible in battle, it doth not behove thee to be angry with us. O sinless one, I will not strike thee unless thou strikest me first. Even this is my intention. It behoveth thee to act as thou choosest.' Thus addressed Drona discharged at him more than twenty arrows.

This is how Arjuna would behave, not like that wuss in the Bhagavad Gita! He salutes his teacher and expresses his intention not to make the first strike. Fair enough.

But the light-handed Partha cut them off before they could reach him. And at this, the mighty Drona, displaying his lightness of hand in the use of weapons, covered Partha's car with a thousand arrows. And desirous of angering, Partha, that hero of immeasurable soul, then covered his steeds of silvery whiteness with arrows whetted on stone and winged with the feathers of the Kanka bird. And when the battle between Drona and Kiritin thus commenced, both of them discharging in the encounter arrows of blazing splendour, both well-known for their achievements, both equal to the wind itself in speed, both conversant with celestial weapons, and both endued with mighty energy, began shooting clouds of arrows to bewilder the royal Kshatriyas.

So the to and fro goes on for sometime, constantly intensifying. Since ordinary weapons don't seem to turn the advantage to either side, the master and the disciple engage in a clash with celestial weapons. Another gentle reminder that this is a real battle, very real.

And Bharadwaja's son (Drona) fought on with Falguna (Arjuna), resisting with his own the celestial weapons shot by the former. And the fight that took place between those enraged lions among men, incapable of bearing each other, was like unto encounter between the gods and the Danavas. And the son of Pandu repeatedly baffled with his own, the Aindra, the Vayavya, and the Agneya weapons that were shot by Drona. And discharging keen shafts, those mighty bowmen, by their arrowy showers completely covered the sky and made a wide expanse of shade. And then the arrows shot by Arjuna, falling on the bodies of hostile warriors, produced the crash of thunderbolt. Elephants, cars, and horses, bathed in blood, looked like Kinsuka trees crowned with flowers. And in that encounter between Drona and Arjuna, beholding the field covered with arms decked with bangles, and gorgeously-attired car-warriors, and coats of mail variegated with gold, and with banners lying scattered all about, and with warriors slain by means of Partha's arrows, the Kuru host became panic-stricken.

‘…Field covered with arms decked in bangles…” As I have been saying, this is an all-out battle, hundreds of soldiers dying all around, just from the force of Arjuna's super weapons. Drona of course doesn't die in this encounter, but neither does he get killed in the final war. He would only be made to commit suicide by the Pandavas through cunning and deceit.

Drona finally manages to escape with the aid of his son Ashwatthama:

…And waxing wroth, he (Ashwatthama) rushed towards Partha, and discharged at him an arrowy shower like a heavy down-pour by the cloud. And turning his steeds towards Drona's son, Partha gave Drona an opportunity to leave the field. And thereupon the latter, wounded in that terrible encounter, and his mail and banner gone sped away by the aid of swift horses.

Then Arjuna fights Ashwatthama and Karna together.

...And inflamed with ire and desirous of slaying Karna, that bull of the Kuru race stared at him with rolling eyes. And beholding Partha turn away from Aswatthaman's side, the Kuru warriors discharged thousands of arrows on Arjuna. And the mighty-armed Dhananjaya (Arjuna), that conqueror of foes, leaving Drona's son, all on a sudden rushed towards Karna.

Arjuna plays foul again, killing the horses of Karna:

And Vibhatsu (Arjuna) slew the steeds of Karna by means of sharp and tough arrows shot from the bow-string drawn to the ear, and deprived of life they dropped down on the ground. And taking another sharp and blazing arrow endued with great energy, the mighty son of Kunti pierced the breast of Karna. And that arrow, cleaving through his mail, penetrated into his body. And at this, Karna's vision was obscured and his senses left him. And regaining consciousness, he felt a great pain, and leaving the combat fled in a northerly direction.

And now the encounter with Bhishma. But at this juncture, we see an interesting reaction from Prince Uttara, the charioteer of Arjuna, which gives us an idea how ferocious the battle is.

Thereupon, beholding that mighty host thronged with cars and horses and elephants, Uttara, sorely pierced with arrows, said, 'O hero, I am no longer able to guide thy excellent steeds. My spirits droop and my mind is exceedingly bewildered. All the directions seem to be whirling before my eyes in consequence of the energy of the celestial weapons used by thee and the Kurus. I have been deprived of my senses by the stench of fat and blood and flesh. Beholding all this, from terror my mind is, as it were, cleft in twain. Never before had I beheld such a muster of horses in battle. And at the flapping of fences, and the blare of conchs, the leonine roars made by the warriors and the shrieks of elephants, and the twang of the Gandiva resembling the thunder, I have, O hero, been so stupefied that I have been deprived of both hearing and memory.

But Arjuna emboldens him. Arjuna says to his charioteer, just prior to the encounter with Bhishma, the following words:

...And I shall cause a dreadful river (of death) to flow today towards the other world with blood for its waters and cars for its eddies, and elephants for its crocodiles. I shall today, with my straight arrows, extirpate the Kuru forest having hands and feet and heads and backs and arms for the branches of its trees. Alone, bow in hand, vanquishing the Kuru host, a hundred paths shall open before me like those of a forest in conflagration. Struck by me thou shalt today behold the Kuru army moving round and round like a wheel (unable to fly off the field). I shall show thee today my excellent training in arrows and weapons. Stay thou on my car firmly, whether the ground be smooth or uneven...

Uttara proceeds towards Bhishma:

Thus assured by Savyasachin, the son of Virata (Uttara) penetrated into that fierce array of cars protected by Bhishma. The son of Ganga (Bhishma), however, of fierce deeds, cheerfully withstood the mighty-armed hero advancing from desire of vanquishing the heroes in battle. Jishnu, then, confronting Bhishma, cut off his standard clean off at the roots by shooting a gold-decked arrow pierced by which it fell to the ground. And at this, four mighty warriors, Dussasana and Vikarna and Dussaha and Vivingsati, skilled in weapons and endued with great energy, and all decked with handsome garlands and ornaments, rushed towards that terrible bowman. And advancing towards Vibhatsu (Arjuna) —that fierce archer, these all encompassed him around.

It goes on like this. From hereon Arjuna is being attacked by numerous warriors and soldiers at once. In between the narrative of the fighting there is an interesting description of the battlefield by Vyasa:

...[H]aving struck terror into that host and routed those mighty car-warriors, that foremost of victors, ranged on the field. And the son of Pandu then created on the field of battle a dreadful river of blood, with waving billows, like unto the river of death that is created by Time at the end of the Yuga, having the dishevelled hair of the dead and the dying for its floating moss and straw, with bows and arrows for its boats, fierce in the extreme and having flesh and animal juices for its mire. And coats of mail and turbans floated thick on its surface. And elephants constituted its alligators and the cars its rafts. And marrow and fat and blood constituted its currents.

The battle with Bhishma has only begun. It goes on for quite some time and in the end Bhishma is wounded and knocked unconscious:

Meanwhile, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, assailed Arjuna on the left side, while that drawer of the bow with either hands was on the point of piercing him. And at this, Vibhatsu (Arjuna), laughing aloud, cut off with an arrow of keen edge and furnished with vulturine wings, the bow of Bhishma, that hero of solar effulgence. And then Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, pierced Bhishma in the breast with ten shafts although the latter was contending with all his prowess. And sorely afflicted with pain Ganga's son of mighty arms and irresistible in battle, stood for a long time leaning on the pole of his car. And beholding him deprived of consciousness the driver of his car-steeds, calling to mind the instructions about protecting the warriors when in a swoon, led him away for safety.

Finally, a bloody encounter with Duryodhana takes place.

And all this fearsome carnage and bloodbath for what? Just to protect some thousands of cows grazing in the outskirts of the city from falling into the hands of the thieving Kauravas. An ally of Duryodhana had a score to settle with King Virata, and hearing the news of the death of Kichaka, the formidable army commander of the king Virata (in the hands of Bhima), all of them decided to set out to inflict loss on King Virata, scarcely knowing that the Pandavas were with the king. The invading party gets the nastiest shock of their lives.

A most interesting thing that happens at this battle is that after Arjuna singlehandedly does away with all the top warriors, there are still hundreds and thousands of soldiers left. Arjuna then uses a weapon called 'sammohanastra' — or 'Hypnotizing weapon'. Perhaps it sprays something into the air, and all the members of the enemy side fall unconscious. If Arjuna even had the slightest qualm about fighting and killing his teacher and his grandfather, he could have used this weapon at the beginning of the battle itself, knocking all the warriors unconscious and then could have made away with their weapons. Upon waking, the Kauravas would have had no option but to turn back. However, it's obvious that Arjuna's didn't have the slightest twinge of conscience in fighting with his own teachers and relatives. What happened at the battle scene here was not a game, not a rehearsal, but a brutal no-holds-barred fight to kill. The only difference between here and the Kurukshetra war is that here escaping seems to be a valid option, while there in the final battle it wouldn't be.

A big question is why didn't Arjuna use the sammohanastra in the final battle of Kurukshetra? The Pandavas could have won the war in the most nonviolent, quick and efficient manner if Arjuna used this and other such nonlethal weapons, which he possessed in plenty. Sometimes when this battle episode at the end of the Virataparva is rendered into popular versions such as movies or comics, they show Arjuna using the mass hypnotizing weapon at the very outset of the battle, in order to prevent people from getting some obvious questions, and thereby help preserve the sanctity of Bhagavad Gita. But if such was the case indeed, it would lead only to another obvious question: why didn't Arjuna do that same thing in the final battle itself and save a whole nation from self-destructing itself?

The Bhagavad Gita setting is an obvious sham, but the Mahabharata war itself is a big farce. And in between sham and farce, the author of the Bhagavad Gita talks about yoga and Vedanta in a burlesque, vaudeville style! That is what is skill in action! Let us devote ourselves to it! Let us devote ourselves to nonsense, to bloody nonsense, of all kinds!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 24

2009-05-29T18:22:00.003+05:30

The Chinese Connection

Thy right is to work only, but never with its fruits; let not the fruits of actions be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 2, ver 47

Work and not expect fruits? Definitely sounds fishy! The French have an interesting word for ‘fishy’, they say ‘chinois’, meaning chinese! Whatever could be the connection between fishy and chinese, in our present context it could make some sense.

One of the principal reasons that the Bhagavad Gita has been so popular over the past hundred years and became much more popular in the recent decades is that it has been perceived to be advocating a doctrine of excellence at work, promoting efficiency. The Gita is not just a manual of meditation and metaphysics but a practical guide of how to live and work and accomplish great things in our day-to-day world, people would like to believe so. This is an inconceivably ridiculous notion, prima facie. It is as if someone who doesn't even know how to drive a car wrote a book on how to win at Formula 1 racing! At its best, this book gives some scanty general advice like ‘Go fast, go always fast, don't look to the right, don't look to left, always keep your mind on what is straight ahead of you,’ and people thought these are the coolest tips ever to enable you to win an F1! Worse, the book actually dispenses plenty of advice which if you really followed you would end up in a massive car wreck killing yourself and others. There are all kinds of idiots in our world, but nobody is so suicidally dumb to carry out such absurd guidelines. Nevertheless, everybody would make an ideal of it. Ideally — people would think — we should go and crash our cars, that is the greatest glory of F1, it is not just aoubt winning or losing. It is simply that we don't have the courage yet to do so, or the philosophical maturity! Right!

This whole Bhagavad Gita thing is such a mind-bending scam that it is difficult to believe such a thing was actually pulled off! I don't understand this deepest compulsion people experience within themselves to become the lowliest of suckers! And this is a syndrome affecting not one or two isolated cases here and there but billions and billions of people, if we have to go by the numbers of Gita-worshippers, Gita-enthusiasts and Gita-endorsers that have been around through all time.

In the twentieth century and the more recent decades, the Gita has been increasingly projected as a philosophy of work and a path to success, excellence, achievement, and fulfillment. Is this a practical joke or a farce or a scam, I can't exactly make out. If a Nazi wrote a book on work and excellence, I would perfectly understand. The accomplishment of Nazis is just tremendous. In just one decade they turned a desperate, crumbling nation into the mightiest power of the world. What Hitler and his party managed to achieve is simply stupendous and nothing short of miraculous. So, if some aide of Hitler wrote a memoir-type document outlining the work philosophy of Nazis, that would have definitely been something to look out for. But here, with the Bhagavad Gita, the case is totally opposite. Indians were a people who built nothing, who aspired for nothing, who achieved nothing, at least in the 'outside world'. It would be sheer nonsense for any historical figure of India to write a treatise on work and success! They could have written a whole treatise on the art of shirking, that much I can give, but not on the art of working – it is simply not conceivable.

India simply didn't have any proper concept of work, work was after all something lower classes such as Sudras and Vaishyas did, and what were servant-maids for? As we have seen in a previous post, the characters in the Mahabharata apparently maintained enormous legions of female slaves. These are the people who did all or most of the work necessary to keep the wheels of the society rolling. And these are the people who wouldn't definitely read the Bhagavad Gita, to imbibe its philosophy of work. Nor was there any need for them, and thank God they didn't either!

Those people who were involved in the making of the Bhagavad Gita, and those who would traditionally read it and worship it, the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas, these people were complete strangers to the concept of work. They never produced anything useful, leave alone anything impressive or inspiring. They just lived off on other people's labor and productivity. And Kshatriyas even went on recklessly plundering and destroying whatever other people produced through long and tedious effort! That was the full time occupation of Kshatriyas after all, to loot in the name of acquiring wealth and destroy in the name of protecting. Of course, even to organize stupid and evil wars you need to put in a great deal of work, as we see in the case of the Nazis. But battles and wars in the context of historical India were nothing like battles we see in the Second World War, they were not even like the ancient Greek-Persian wars for that matter, they didn't need massive loads of innovation and ingenuity. The wars of India were just routine, drab, dull affairs of getting people mindlessly massacred, nothing more.

If people put any work into even their wars really, they would have been concerned about the efficiency factor, and a quest to improve efficiency would have led to invention and innovation. The most simple logic is that when people start working, they would start thinking about factors such as input, output and efficiency. The idea behind any work is to minimize the input and maximize the output, so this idea inevitably drives innovation. When we look at the virtually zero levels of innovation in ancient India, we can definitely deduce from that fact how much work they really did and what great results they achieved. Still some amount of innovation must have gone on, however stagnant the society may have been. But even that much of innovation would have been made by artisans and craftsmen and other people of working and enterprising classes whose intelligence was systematically stultified in the oppressive social structure. And then many other innovations would have been copied from abroad. But actually these people were too lazy to even copy from others effectively.

China invented the crossbow centuries before the Common Era. Now, the characters in the Mahabharata lived and died with their bows and arrows and maces. They simply didn't know anything else except wielding these weapons and killing people. The leap of imagination that is required to turn a bow into a crossbow is not much, but the effectiveness increases dramatically. Still, not only did people at the time of the Mahabharata invent the crossbow, people couldn't even copy it from China in the later centuries. India never used a crossbow in its warfare although it is a most simple, powerful, and deadly instrument. And as for the maces, I don't know what kind of weapon they are, there is simply no word of 'gada' in English, and what is denoted by the word 'mace' in English is some club-like instrument only remotely resembling a gada. This instrument is unique to ancient mythological India, it appears to be an incredibly crude and cumbersome weapon, the whole energy of its wielder would be exhausted in carrying it about on his shoulders constantly. Just tote a 3-year-old child for an hour or so, and you will know how much energy it drains. A person with a sleek sword could easily cut the wielder of a gada into two before he could even lift the thing from his shoulders and ply it about! Krishna was also one of top gadadharis, or wielders of gada, in the Mahabharata although he is not associated with this instrument in the popular imagination but with his trademark Vishnu chakra.

What this other instrument, referred to in English as simply discus, is — no one has an idea exactly. Apparently, it required no skill on the part of its wielder to use the weapon. It was a fully automatic tool, enabled with artificial intelligence, which could find its target all by its own and return to the owner. There are umpteen supernatural and celestial weapons such as this mentioned in the Mahabharata, all gifts from gods and never produced indigenously. Now, if these people had the slightest work culture or affinity to work, they would have been interested in the mechanisms of these weapons, they would have investigated the scope of producing them in more numbers and equipping the generals of the armies with such fabulous devices so that much more could be accomplished by much less. However, we see absolutely no such thing, and not even the most meager descriptions of any mechanisms of non-conventional or even conventional weapons are given in the Mahabharata, which otherwise luxuriates in long-winded descriptions of all kinds. For example, it goes on for three pages elaborating the genealogical history of Arjuna's renowned bow 'Gandiva', but it doesn't say exactly what makes it stand apart.

Only primitive tribal people can go on working at the same level of innovation for thousands of years. If there was even enough intelligence, imagination and creativity in the society to produce a literary masterpiece such as the Mahabharata, progress and innovation would necessarily follow whether at a relatively slow or a faster pace. The fact that there was no advancing technology, no progress and innovation in the Indian society is an indication not to the fact that these people didn't have any imagination — for they had plenty, witness the music, dance, sculpture and other arts of India — it is an indication to the fact that they simply didn't have any concept of work. You only need innovation when you desire to reduce the work load, but these people were not doing any work in the first place, the work was being done by the labor and tradesmen classes whose intelligence and imagination were ruthlessly suppressed so that these benumbed people wouldn't feel the burden of work whose fruits were mostly snatched away by the upper classes. And thus, from such a weird society and such cruelly immature people emanates a guide on how to work and how to achieve success! And people of the 21st century continue to in awe of it! There doesn't seem to be an end to the ridiculousness that people can allow themselves to wallow in gay abandon!

Sun Tzu wrote the masterpiece 'The Art of War'. If somebody like that from China wrote a treatise entitled 'The Art of Work,' it would have made some good sense. People in ancient China definitely knew what work was, and that country could have really made enormous leaps of progress and led the whole world, had it not been for the continuous brutal wars that totally eroded the resources and resourcefulness of its society. In India, although a whole class of people probably constituting 15-20% of the population was devoted to warfare, the levels of warring were nowhere near the intolerable levels experienced in the ancient Chinese society. This is owing to the widely prevalent spiritual ethos of ancient India, which tried to promulgate some kind of higher values of life. So there was some stability and a good solid social base, and yet the society couldn't simply ever take off, for the simple reason that these people didn't have a concept of work. For instance, work — by definition — involves the notion of results. Work, in scientific terms, means to move an object from position A to position B. But Krishna says, forget about the results, they are none of your concern, just remove B from the equation, you just keep pushing the object, and God will take care of your results! This nonsense was so graciously accepted by everyone, because no one was moving anything in the first place with a sense of purpose. No wonder India became a slave nation! They had to be forced to shake off their lethargy and start moving things. Also, slaves only push the objects, positions A and B are decided by the masters! The Bhagavad Gita was a deliberate effort to take off the basic minimum intelligence out of a whole nation that had been already denuded of things like common sense, reason, ambition and aspiration.

Here I want a radical proposal in this connection, albeit slightly tongue-in-cheek. Really, I feel Krishna was an agent working for China! How else do you explain all the sudden, enormous wealth in the small backwater country of cowherds as soon as Krishna started ruling it! Krishna must have been trained as a Chinese agent for a long time. And look at the sheer efficiency of his work! He pulled off one fantastic job in utterly debilitating the backbone and spirit of a vast nation of people for thousands of years! There was no way in hell any Indian acting on his own could have mustered up such efficiency. The whole Mahabharata war and Operation Bhagavad Gita was masterminded by the Chinese. Such simplicity and efficiency! I stand in total awe at the Chinese elegance. No crude invasions across the border, no killing, no butchering. They simply let Indians do all that for themselves. Krishna must have really worked for 20-30 years as a Chinese agent, with the sole purpose of skillfully bringing about wholesale ruin and destruction upon India, so that after he was done with his task the Chinese could gently come in and take over the land. "Karmanyekadahikarasye maaphaleshu kadachana" — you have only the right to act, never to the fruits thereof — but yes of course, the fruits belong to the Chinese! Get it? Krishna did execute his karma perfectly, he managed to bring utter extinction upon all the royal classes of India in one fell swoop. The fruits of his action belonged to his Chinese masters, only they couldn't pluck them in time. It would have indeed been a jiffy for any Chinese army to enter India and occupy it in the aftermath of the great war and turn the whole of the population that survived it into slaves. But for some strange reason they didn't and Krishna too died in the meantime.

The Chinese always wanted to rule over the whole of Asia, though not as much as the Japanese during the time of the Second World War, so how come they totally spared India that was just nudging them from below? The fact is that they didn't, they only tried to be a little innovative and creative, planning to take over the country in style. The work somehow simply failed at the last stages of its completion. I have a feeling that this conspiracy goes very deep. For example, look at the genealogy list that occurs right at the beginning of the Mahabharata story:

Vaisampayana said, 'Hear then, O monarch, as I recite in full the auspicious account of thy own race just as I had heard it from Dwaipayana (Vyasa) before. Daksha begat Aditi, and Aditi begat Vivaswat, and Vivaswat begat Manu, and Manu begat Ha and Ha begat Pururavas. And Pururavas begat Ayus, and Ayus begat Nahusha, and Nahusha begat Yayati...

Now read the annotated version of it from Wikipedia:

Daksha begat Aditi (one of the 13 great mothers in the ancient world), and Aditi begat Vivaswat, Vivaswat (belonging to the Solar Dynasty) begat Manu, and Manu begat Ha and Ha begat Pururavas. (In another reference Pururavas is mentioned as the son of Ila, the daughter of Manu. Hence he was called Pururavas-Aila. A sage named Budha (Vudha) of Lunar Dynasty who came from a northern region into ancient India to practice asceticism is mentioned as his father. Some historians link Ila with the Ili river in central Asia. The name Ha is thought of to be of Chinese origin). Pururavas begat Ayus (in an Apsara lady (a female Gandharva) ).

Some historians link Ha with the Haha, Huhu Gandharvas.

'Ha' most definitely sounds Chinese, the guy himself must have been Chinese! Ma'ha' Bharata! And he comes right after Manu, the great patriarch of Indian culture, the law-giver of Hinduism. Also, maybe the Gandharvas themselves had a Chinese connection, the Gandharva Kingdom in the epic India map is located in the direction of China and close. 'Ila' related Ili river in Central Asia, i.e., Mongolia? A sage came into India from northern regions? Chinese?

Next in the genealogy comes Yadu who gives rise the Yadava line and the Paurava line which eventually lead to Krishna and the Pandavas respectively. Another fact, to which I adverted to a few essays earlier, is that when Arjuna goes into the northern regions on his looting missions, he manages to go deep into Himalayas somehow with all his army, but strictly keeps away from entering into China. Why? Why shouldn't China be even touched? Or even if not through the Himalayas, through which there may have been no passage, Arjuna could have forayed through the routine sea-passage. If Arjuna was so desperate for booty, and tradesmen were going to and fro between China and India all the time, why was not Arjuna even tempted to try? Maybe some explicit directive from Krishna to keep off?

Now you people know why I am so vehemently fighting to expose the sham of the Bhagavad Gita. Today, India and China are vying for world economic supremacy. As Indians, it is our bounden duty to work and show some results, and take our country on the path of progress. But in our subconscious is still the impact of that conditioning implanted through centuries of Bhagavad Gita propaganda: yours is only the right to work, but not to the fruits thereof, yours is only the right to work, but not to the fruits thereof... (the fruits belong to the Chinese!) We may not be aware of any inveterate susceptibility to lethargy and sloppiness that infiltrated our collective minds thousands of years ago, but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t have any insidious impact on our work culture still. We have to learn to consciously and deliberately reclaim our minds from countless generations of treacherous cultural conditioning, and we have to learn to claim the fruits of our work! Tearing off copies of the Bhagavad Gita into bits and pieces — although merely a symbolic gesture — and allocating the mess of paper crumbs to the dustbin can definitely help.

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 23

2009-05-29T12:04:00.004+05:30

An Equal Eye

Sages look with an equal eye on a Brahmin endowed with learning and humility,
on a cow, on an elephant, and even on a dog and an outcaste.

Bhagavad Gita, Chap 5, Ver 18

Alternative translation:

The wise look with equal vision upon a gentle and learned brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a chandala.

Yeah, yeah, we see how much equality!

The Brahmin comes first in the list, of course, and is affectionately attributed two noble traits, learning and humility! So much humility to be found with the Brahmins really, and as for their learning, om tapakkataya svaha, om dabakkadaya svaha, om labakkalaya svaha!

The rest of the members in the list don't get any attributes. Cow is the most sacred animal to the Hindus, because it gives ghee which can all be poured into the fire and turned into vapor in sacrificial rites performed by the Brahmins. So the cow comes next, second only to the Brahmins. Next comes elephant, an animal very crucial in battles of those times. Then comes the dog, of no particular use, just can make a good pet sometimes, and can come in handy on some special occasions like hunting. Last, and least of the least, comes the untouchable — a human being, but even below dogs! And this verse is preaching equality!

One would normally expect chandala to be mentioned next to Brahmana, before the list moves into the domain of animals. But no, that would have been an outrage, to put the highest cast and the casteless together. There is simply no limit to the inhumanity and hypocrisy of these spiritual gurus! And then the untouchable, or the outcaste, or the chandala, is not even called as much in the original verse. Brahmins get two great extra attributes, actually three, because the original verse says, 'rich in learning and humility', but the untouchables don't even get a name. Krishna just refers to them as dog-eaters! Such absolute, monstrous contempt for fellow human beings! And they didn't do you any harm. Actually, these are the people without whose incessant labor the society couldn't run for one day, while getting rid of the Brahmins would have only made everything more smooth and efficient!

Dog-eaters? I’ve never even heard of even African Zulu tribes eating dogs as staple diet! Pure, vicious contempt and a sly effort to portray fellow-human beings as unthinkable monsters. Even if they ate dogs sometimes, it would have been surely only to ward off total starvation, because most of the food was being consumed by these fat, pot-bellied Brahmins, and the leftovers would be thrown to dogs. The untouchables were not allowed to be even seen in the premises. Perhaps in the nights they would secretly slip in and eat any crumbs left after the dogs have licked up their share. Acute hunger pangs could have driven some of them to kill dogs sometimes, what could they do, they couldn't kill cows, right? If they did, they would be burnt alive! So some person sometime must have eaten a dog, and whoever came to know this found another nice name for the outcastes: dog-eaters! It is not just derogation or deprivation, these people were dehumanized to no end, methodically and systematically. Even in a verse preaching humility, wisdom, equality, Krishna doesn't miss the chance to derogate and dehumanize them!

The words 'the wise' and 'sages' in the verse is also a very loose translation. The original word is pandit, which means learned. And what have these people learned? To treat fellow humans like total scum and then preach Vedanta! It is a tragedy that millions and millions of human beings down the ages were punctiliously looked down upon as being below the lowest of animals. But it is disaster that one of the highest of philosophies conceived by the human mind, Vedanta, has fallen into the hands of these pandit-scoundrels.

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 22

2009-05-29T09:40:00.005+05:30

Women and Gold

For, taking refuge in Me, they also, who, O Arjuna, may be of sinful birth—
women, Vaisyas as well as Sudras—attain the Supreme Goal!

How much more easily then the holy Brahmins and devoted royal saints (attain the goal);
having obtained this impermanent and unhappy world, do thou worship Me.

The Bhagavad Gita, Chap 9, Ver 32, 33

So women are of sinful birth! As well as all kinds of workers, business men, entrepreneurs, most of the general population! The only people of virtuous births are priests — Brahmins — and royal saints, meaning saintly royals, meaning noble Kshatriyas.

No wonder then that Yudhishthira — to reinstate whom this whole Mahabharata war is being fought — maintained hundreds of thousands of slave women! Take that number again: hundreds of thousands! He had so much gold, he could afford to. He had so much virtue, but he wanted more. Let's find the facts and figures in Draupadi's own words, here Draupadi is recollecting the past glories of Yudhishthira before their exile:

Alas, that Yudhishthira, who was daily waited upon by a thousand sages of ascetic merit, versed in the Vedas and having every desire gratified, as his courtiers, —that Yudhishthira who maintained eighty-eight thousands of domestic Snatakas with thirty maid-servants assigned unto each, as also ten thousand yatis not accepting anything in gift and with vital seed drawn up, —alas, even that mighty king now liveth in such guise.

Okay, normally the characters of the Mahabharata exaggerate figures heavily, impelled as they are by Veda Vyasa's delirious imagination. For instance they would say, 'hundreds of thousands' for 'hundreds'. But here Draupadi is giving precise numbers, so there is a greater likelihood of them to being true. Yudhishthira and his brothers plundered the wealth of the country in blitzkrieg looting and pillaging campaigns, and what they were doing with all that wealth is this. Earning virtue by feeding everyday nearly a hundred thousand Brahmins, gratifying their every desire, and allotting thirty maid servants to a majority of them! This is a huge number of enslaved women! Women, after all, are of sinful birth, the only occupation they seem to fit is that of servant maid or bonded labor!

Elsewhere in the epic, Draupadi corroborates the numbers. Notice that there is little deviation.

Formerly, eight thousand Brahmanas were daily fed in the palace of Yudhishthira from off plates of gold. And eighty thousand Brahmanas also of the Snataka sect leading domestic lives were entertained by Yudhishthira with thirty serving-maids assigned to each. Besides these, ten thousand yatis with the vital seed drawn up, had their pure food carried unto them in plates of gold. All these Brahamanas that were the utterers of the Veda, I used to worship duly with food, drink, and raiment taken from stores only after a portion thereof had been dedicated to the Viswadeva.

Continuing her description, Draupadi comes to the female slaves personally attending on Yudhishthira. The number of them is not ten, not twenty nor thirty, not hundred, not two hundred, not a thousand, not two thousand, not ten thousand, not twenty thousand, but a hundred thousand, or more likely two hundred thousand!

The illustrious son of Kunti had a hundred thousand well-dressed serving-maids with bracelets on arms and golden ornaments on necks, and decked with costly garlands and wreaths and gold in profusion, and sprinkled with sandal paste. And adorned with jewels and gold they were all skilled in singing and dancing. ...I knew the names and features of all those girls, as also what they are and what they were, and what they did not. Kunti's son of great intelligence had also a hundred thousand maid-servants who daily used to feed guests, with plates of gold in their hands.

A hundred thousand for singing and dancing, and a hundred thousand more for serving the guests!

We get further corroboration of Draupadi's figures from a speech of Duryodhana addressed to his father after he had witnessed Yudhishthira's new-found wealth for himself.

And amongst men of all orders I beheld not a single one in the mansion of Yudhishthira that had not food and drink and ornaments. And eighty-eight thousands of Snataka Brahmanas leading domestic lives, all supported by Yudhishthira, with thirty serving-girls given unto each, gratified by the king, always pray with complacent hearts for the destruction of his foes. And ten thousands of other ascetics with vital seed drawn up, daily eat of golden plates in Yudhishthira's palace. And, O king, Yajnaseni (Draupadi), without having eaten herself, daily seeth whether everybody, including even the deformed and the dwarfs, hath eaten or not. And, O Bharata, only two do not pay tribute unto the son of Kunti, viz., the Panchalas in consequence of their relationship by marriage, and the Andhakas and Vrishnis in consequence of their friendship.

88,000 X 30 is by the way over 26 lakhs or 2.6 millions — of slave women, of sinful birth, all at one place. And all in the service of utterly useless holy Brahmins, who knew nothing but eating and enjoying the services of their slave women besides the usual chanting of gibberish mantras, people who didn't generate one ounce of wealth. These are the people, Krishna says, would attain to Him most easily! I think they have already attained Him, the Supreme Goal!

All these holy Brahmins were being looked after by the plundered gold and regular tributes from all over the country. Ah those golden times, but thank God they didn’t last for ever! This unhappy and impermanent world, deplores Krishna. If it were up to Krishna I think he would have allotted hundred slave women to each Brahmin, lakhs of them, and made the girls serve the holy men for all eternity.

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 21

2009-05-29T08:22:00.009+05:30

Enlightenment through Murder

He who is ever free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by (good or evil), though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound (by the action).

The Bhagavad Gita, chap 18, ver 17

Alternative translations:

He who is free from self-sense, whose understanding is not sullied, though he slay these people, he slays not nor is he bound (by his actions)

Even if he kills living beings, he who is free from the ego of being the doer, and whose intelligence is not attached to the fruits of karma, does not in reality kill, nor does he become bound by the result of his actions.

1) So, firstly, your intelligence and understanding have to be pure, untainted by notions of good and bad. Leave all your discrimination behind. Or try at least!

2) Then you should be free of any sense of individual responsibility for doing your actions. You are prompted, as it were, by impulses that go much deeper than your ego and your sense of self.

3) When you are in this heightened state of consciousness, you can go and kill anyone as you please. In popular fiction and reportedly in reality as well, murderers seem to experience this heightened sense of alertness just before killing someone, where all their senses come extraordinarily alive, and they feel this animalistic vitality throbbing inside them. That is the right frame of mind, you have transcended your petty ego. You are in contact with the cosmos!

4) The pain experienced by your victims does not matter. Their humiliation doesn’t matter. Their deaths do not matter. The sorrow of their relatives does not matter. What matters is your spirit. You have to kill in the right spirit. In case you couldn’t manage to kill in the proper spirit the first few times, keep practicing till you achieve perfection!

5) Above all, you should not murder with a view to selfish gain. Be sure that you do the murders without any motivation, for no reason at all, just random, gratuitous, wanton murders where even you are not benefited. Consider them as a sacrifice to the Lord, or a little activity you have undertaken to spread positive spiritual vibrations across the world!

6) You should view yourself as merely an instrument in the hands of higher forces. Then even if you kill you will not be held responsible for your actions. Nor in fact would your actions bind you, they would in fact liberate you!

7) You have in reality killed no one, you have only killed your ego. Those whom the world thinks you have killed would be nicely reborn, so that is not an issue at all. However, in the constant exercise of practicing killing without bringing in your ego, you would have transcended birth and death. And thus, you bring enlightenment into this world.

8) Meditation and murder go hand in hand. This is the central doctrine of the Bhagavad Gita, the doctrine of enlightenment through murder. Go Arjuna, leave your mind and ego behind, and kill people, and again and again kill people, and consecrate all your actions to Me.

9) All the accused people standing in the dock in Indian courtrooms are required to take on oath on the Bhagavad Gita before making their testimony. Why? Because the Bhagavad Gita assures you can commit any crime at all, in full freedom, as long as you see to it that your mind is pure, it sees the Lord everywhere.

10) You don’t see any connection? Your understanding may be sullied still, keep practicing purity in thought and actions! You will arrive!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 20

2009-05-28T16:47:00.006+05:30

Destruction of Discrimination

When a man thinks of the objects, attachment to them arises;
from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises.

From anger comes delusion; from delusion the loss of memory;
from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination;
from the destruction of discrimination he perishes.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Ver 62, 63

Therefore don't think of objects! And as whenever you start thinking there is some object in that thought, don't think at all, and you will have perfect discrimination! The entire stupid, delusive logic of the Bhagavad Gita is like this. Just please read again the two verses quoted above, they don't make absolutely any kind of sense at any level. First of all, desire is not born out of attachment, attachment is born out of desire! Krishna says, “from desire anger arises” as if it was an inevitability! From desire, anger can arise, not that desire always must lead to anger. Then: 'From anger comes delusion'! Then: 'From delusion, loss of memory, from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination'! This is just one big raving loony fest!

However, just the last point made in the verses is definitely true: from the ‘destruction of discrimination’ a man perishes! The deluded people of India without absolutely any sense of discrimination between the right and the wrong, the good and the bad, the worthy and the unworthy, the lofty and the base were worshiping trashy books such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Mahabharata for all the ages, and in consequence they heaped ruin upon themselves. What a country India had been, what great achievements, and then the discovery of zero which aptly sums it all up! But naturally, how can you possibly achieve anything when you are not properly allowed to even think about anything? For, if you even start thinking, you will go mad — the Bhagavad Gita says so! Thought leads to attachment, attachment leads to my foot, my foot leads to the drainage, and I fall into it!

Right!

The Bhagavad Gita is such a total mess, the Mahabharata is such a total mess, India all through its history had been such a total mess, simply because people had this tendency of horribly mixing everything up. They confuse everything for everything else and the result is a gigantesque muddle. There is absolutely no application of thought, no logical analysis, not an inkling of discernment or discrimination of any kind! The particular kind of confusion of logic that happened in the case of the Bhagavad Gita among the Hindus goes this way: the Bhagavad Gita is the utterance of the Lord God of the Universe, therefore whatever is written therein must be the absolute truth, no matter how insanely preposterous it may sound. And therefore people have been eating this putrid junk for ages thinking it is the divine prasada of the Lord. They completely lost any ability to think, they lost their senses, they lost all sense of discrimination, and even if they did not perish apparently, deep down all human-like intelligence in them completely died!

It is not just an issue of the Bhagavad Gita. Broadly speaking, the problem exists with whole of spirituality. There is a fundamental logical confusion at the heart of our general notion of spirituality. It is what has been alluded to in the previous essay. 'Fire can burn down the house, therefore fire will burn down the house, therefore avoid fire at all costs'. The Bhagavad Gita only takes this type of logic to its heights, and then from there goes off on a tangent into the realm of lunacy gone berserk. It is really uncanny to see how often the Bhagavad Gita sounds like a parody of itself, as in the verses quoted above. They seem to be making a mockery of spirituality, and yet they have always been sanctified and revered as the very essence of spiritual wisdom.

Leave alone wisdom, these people of the Mahabharata in general did not possess the slightest faculty of logical thinking, of the level we would expect from even a six or seven year old. Krishna doesn't give any illustration of his silly, ridiculous statements, but at least let me here provide a good and clear illustration of what I mean.

The Bhagavad Gita happened at the commencement of the Mahabharata war. As it is the case with any huge, complex event, there are certain key moments that led to it. And if people behaved slightly differently at these crucial points, it wouldn't have come all the way to the final battleground confrontation. Of all the turning points that paved the way to the war, one of the most pivotal is when Vidura approaches Yudhishthira as an emissary from Duryodhana inviting him to a game of dice. If we take a look at Yudhishthira's speech, we will know what kind of absolute imbeciles we are dealing with here, insane people, deluded people, peope utterly devoid of any common sense.

First Vidura makes the proposal:

The king of the Kurus hath commanded me to enquire after thy peace and prosperity, and to ask thee to repair to Hastinapore with thy brothers and to say, after beholding king Dhritarashtra's newly erected palace, whether that one is equal to thy own. Repairing thither, O son of Pritha, with thy brothers, enjoy ye in that mansion and sit to a friendly match at dice. We shall be glad if thou goest, as the Kurus have already arrived there. And thou wilt see there those gamblers and cheats that the illustrious king Dhritarashtra hath already brought thither. It is for this, O king, that I have come hither. Let the king's command be approved by thee.

Yudhishthira was just invited to see a newly erected mansion, and since this place seems to have a gambling den, interact with the other people present there through a few games of dice. It is a perfectly innocuous proposal. Playing cards, chess or dice-games are a nice way of interacting with people and socializing, and far better than drinking. These games are just like any other games or sports, the only difference with cards and dice is that they involve a high element of chance. Although betting can and does go with all kinds of games, cards and dice are most associated with gambling, as we can see in casinos. However gambling while playing cards or dice is entirely optional, as is the magnitude of gambling. However, our characters seem to have absolutely no notion of such simple, self-evident facts.

Yudhishthira said,--'O Kshatta (Vidura), if we sit to a match at dice, we may quarrel. What man is there, who knowing all this, will consent to gamble? What dost thou think fit for us? We all are obedient to thy counsels.'

"Vidura said,--'I know that gambling is the root of misery, and I strove to dissuade the king from it. The king, however, hath sent me to thee. Having known all this, O learned one, do what is beneficial.

First of all, Yudhishthira was only invited to play dice, not to gamble, and both are not the same at all! Yudhishthira says, 'we may quarrel' – what is the need of quarreling in playing a simple game? But if there is some scope of quarrel, you can always have umpires! Nothing to it! Now Vidura takes the lunacy to the next level. He says gambling is the root of misery! If you indulge in anything excessively that is what leads to misery, it has nothing to do with gambling per se. You can always play a board game with friends and enjoy it nicely, without any need of laying bets. But if you have some extra money and you want to make things slightly more exciting, you can bet a Rs.100 and Rs.200 and have a nice game or two. It all depends on the money you can spare. If Rs.100 is all you have, surely you wouldn't want to take the risk and face the likelihood of starvation! Gambling is perfectly safe if you know how to act within your limits, and if you don't know how to act within your limits anything you do can be dangerous!

"Yudhishthira said,--'Besides the sons of Dhritarashtra what other dishonest gamblers are there ready for play? Tell us, O Vidura, who they are and with whom we shall have to play, staking hundreds upon hundreds of our possessions.'

This man Yudhishthira has already completely taken leave of all senses. Has it been anywhere said that he had to stake hundreds and hundreds of his possessions? He was just invited to play a simple dice game since he was so extremely fond of playing it! It was simply a way of socializing. There was absolutely no need to gamble, and he couldn't logically gamble either, for all the money of the king’s treasury is meant to be spent on people and not be wasted in personal indulgences of the king. And even if laying bets was a formality, he could perfectly lay bets within limits and come off unscathed even if he lost all the deals. See how these pathologically delusive people have already made a nice and normal thing like playing a dice game, with or without betting, into a monstrous evil? This is a common form of propaganda and one liberally employed in the Bhagavad Gita. You can turn anything into evil, and you can turn the whole beautiful world into evil, and that's exactly what they have done in traditional spirituality. Being interested in the world is the root of all misery, so just turn your back from everything, shut yourself in a room and contemplate on Lord Krishna!

I have a friend who is an expert in finance. Once we met in a shop and he noticed me using a credit card at the billing counter. He was simply aghast! He told me, ‘Let me give you an advice, cancel all your credit cards right away. You will be a much more happy man in the long run.’ He obviously saw the credit card as a most evil thing. Later on I learnt there are certain holy people in India who don’t touch credit cards under all circumstances! This is so utterly ridiculous. Credit card is a beautiful innovation, all the parties stand to gain through it, the consumer, the bank, and the shop! But there are some idiots who can’t simply stay within their limits, they abuse the credit card and pay a hefty price for it in the form of interests, and then further abuse it calling it an instrument in the hands of Satan! That is just what happened in the matter of gambling, it is a perfectly good form of recreation, it could make bland, pointless things like a stupid dice game exciting. But ingrates blame even such a simple, beautiful innovation! It is true that large sections of lower middle class population should be ideally kept away from alcohol, gambling, credit cards and such, because the men of these sections have hardly any self-control or sense of discrimination. But Yudhishthira, and the other characters of the Mahabharata are from royal classes. It is slightly weird to see them talking and behaving like total imbeciles. This is the logic of these people: just play a few dice games and your ruin is near. This is exactly the logic of the Bhagavad Gita too, just give a little way to desire and you are on your way to perdition! It is not even right to call these people imbeciles, what imbeciles are to normal people, these people are to imbeciles! It is just that there is no word for it yet in our languages!

Incidentally, even if Yudhishthira put at stake hundreds and hundreds of his possessions and lost them all, it wouldn't have even made a dent in his wealth. The Pandavas had just systematically plundered the whole subcontinent and amassed enough gold to last generations upon generations. Yudhishthira could comfortably stake hundreds or thousands of his possessions, but nobody asked him to stake his kingdom itself! However, as we can see through his speech, this person was totally delusive, had absolutely no idea of what he was talking or what he was doing, just like his mentor Lord Krishna!

Anyway, Vidura answers to Yudhishthira's query saying Shakuni and so many other kings are also gathered there, naming them. Then Yudhishthira says

'It would seem then that some of the most desperate and terrible gamblers always depending upon deceit are there. This whole universe, however, is at the will of its Maker, under the control of fate. It is not free. O learned one, I do not desire, at the command of king Dhritarashtra to engage myself in gambling. The father always wisheth to benefit his son. Thou art our master, O Vidura. Tell me what is proper for us. Unwilling as I am to gamble, I will not do so, if the wicked Sakuni doth not summon me to it in the Sabha. If, however, he challengeth me, I will never refuse. For that, as settled, is my eternal vow.’

‘Wicked Sakuni’, and he did not even do one thing yet! He is just skilled at playing dice, and that makes him automatically wicked! As we shall see in the essays to come, it is to destroy such people, perhaps basically any people with any skill, that Lord Krishna takes birth on this earth from time to time! Yudhishthira has absolutely no skill at anything, that automatically makes him the most virtuous person of course! But wait a minute, Yudhishthira also brings in the universe, God and other metaphysical concepts, exactly the way Sri Krishna does in Gita. These people don't have the intelligence of a second grade child, but they keep bringing in God and universe at the least opportunity, along with many nonsensical concepts like fate! And the crooked logic perpetuates itself like that. Yudhishthira says, “If it is an invitation I will not come, but if it is a challenge, I cannot refuse!” What is challenge in playing a stupid dice game anyway? It is like I am going to commit suicide, and I invite Yudhishthira to join me and kill himself. He says, if it is merely an invitation I will not come, but if it is a challenge, I cannot refuse, it is my eternal vow! Man, you are an eternal cow, did you know that!

And now Yudhishthira goes into a complete metaphysical mode, pure Bhagavad Gita style:

'Like some brilliant body falling before the eyes, Fate depriveth us of reason, and man, tied as it were with a cord, submitteth to the sway of Providence,' saying this, king Yudhishthira, that chastiser of the foe, set out with Kshatta, without deliberating upon that summons from Dhritarashtra. [Italics in the original!]

He was just invited for a friendly dice game! And he starts formulating universal laws of gravitation in the manner of Sir Isaac Newton! He brings in fate, God, man, reason, providence, free-falling body, luminosity, optics, cord, pendulum, Galileo and everything! Do these people have any kind of sanity or normalcy at all? Freaking bunch of delusive idiots! And the biggest of them all comes now. Lo and behold! Enter Sri Krishna.

The fateful dice game is over. The Pandavas have lost everything and are in the forest. Then comes Krishna to visit them and apologize to Yudhishthira.

Vasudeva said, “O lord of earth, if I had been present at Dwaraka, then, O king, this evil would not have befallen thee! And, O irrepressible one, coming unto the gambling-match, even if uninvited by the son of Amvika (Dhritarashtra), or Duryodhana, or by the other Kauravas, I would have prevented the game from taking place, by showing its many evils, summoning to my aid Bhishma and Drona and Kripa, and Vahlika! O exalted one, for thy sake I would have told the son of Vichitravirya--O foremost of monarchs, let thy sons have nothing to do with dice!--I would have shown the many evils (of dice) through which thou hast fallen into such distress and the son of Virasena was formerly deprived of his kingdom! O king, unthought of evils befall a man from dice!

Yeah, yeah! But Sir Krishna, permit me the audacity to slightly correct you there: unthought of evils befall a man from thoughtlessness, the kind of which you yourself display most abundantly, not from a simple silly thing such as a die! Continueth Lord Krishna:

“I would have described how a man once engaged in the game continueth to play (from desire of victory). Women, dice, hunting and drinking to which people become addicted in consequence of temptation, have been regarded as the four evils that deprive a man of prosperity.

Why on earth would a man losing the game continuously be willing to further humiliate and damage himself! How freaking dumb are you? How many games do you need to lose in a row to understand that you cannot beat your opponent! Women don't deprive a man of prosperity, nor does playing dice game or cards or snakes and ladders or scrabble, nor does drinking, nor hunting! It is total foolishness, and doing totally foolish things such as reading the Mahabharata and worshiping the Bhagavad Gita that has deprived this whole nation of prosperity for thousands of years and made it into a slave nation! Notice again, Krishna too doesn't know the difference between gambling and dice-game! Bummer! These are the people who talk about soul, God, eternity, time, karma and what have you! Our lord is not done yet though:

“And those versed in the Sastras are of opinion that evils attend upon all these. They also that are addicted to dice know all its evils. O thou of mighty arms, appearing before the son of Amvika, I would have pointed out that through dice men in a day lose their possessions, and fall into distress, and are deprived of their untasted wealth, and exchange harsh words! O perpetuator of the Kuru race, I would have pointed out these and other attendant evils! If he had accepted my words thus addressed, the welfare of the Kurus as also virtue itself would both have been secured! And, O foremost of kings, if he had rejected my gentle counsels offered as medicine, then, O best of the Bharata race, I would have compelled him by force! And, if those who wait at his court, professing to be his friends but in reality his foes, had supported him, then I would have slain them all, along with those gamblers, there present!”

Slain them all, really that is the only thing Krishna really seems to know! Just see, he goes on speaking nonstop like this, but it just doesn't occur to him that the one and only thing he had to do was advice Yudhishthira not to exceed the stakes beyond a certain tolerable point. What an absolutely simple matter, and what a horrible, unimaginable, infinite mess they make of it!

In the end, a juicy quote from the Bhagavad Gita, the only place in this scripture where gambling is mentioned -- and in what glorious terms!

I am the gambling of the fraudulent; I am the splendour of the splendid; I am victory;
I am determination (of those who are determined); I am the goodness of the good.

Chap. 10, ver. 36

I am the idiocy of the idiots, I am the stupidity of the stupid idiots, I am the jerkiness of the jerks, I am the lurkiness of the lurks, I am the quirkiness of the quirks!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 19

2009-05-27T11:30:00.006+05:30

All-sinful Desire

Arjuna said:

But impelled by what does man commit sin, though against his wishes,
O Varshneya (Krishna), constrained, as it were, by force?

The Blessed Lord said:

It is desire, it is anger born of the quality of Rajas (Passion), all-sinful and all-devouring;
know this as the foe here (in this world).

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Ver 36, 37

What prompts sin? The tritest possible question in a religious context! Christianity is a whole religion based on the concept of sin, and according to its theology we are already in sin whether we do anything or not. Sin has happened when Adam and Eve ate the apple in the Garden of Eden, instigated by the devil. Humanity is born in sin. The only way out of sin is to believe in the truth that Jesus is the only begotten son of God, and that he has incarnated on the earth and died on the cross to wash all our sins away with his blood. The greatest sin in the Christian religion is not to believe in the Sonship of Jesus, so by implication the greatest driver of sin would be common sense! Impelled by rationality men commit sin, O Arjuna!

The glory of Hinduism is that it stays clear of all this type of nonsense that usually fills religious doctrines. Hinduism is the world's first and world's only scientific and rational religion (we may consider Buddhism as an offshoot of Hinduism for the present purposes). But this rationality and philosophy-based Hinduism is Hinduism as it exists at its core. Once we start moving away from the Vedantic essence of the Hindu religion, we start getting into all kinds of nonsense not so fundamentally different from Christianity or a myriad other superstitious religions. The problem with the Bhagavad Gita is that it poses to be an expression of the Vedantic philosophy, and yet what it actually preaches and how it presents it is just a lot of bunk.

The Bhagavad Gita is devious, dangerous, insidious and invidious in the extreme!

The only sin according to Vedanta is ignorance, ignorance of one's self. According to Christianity, it is knowledge. At first Christianity seems to have got it all reversed, the apple that Adam ate and caused his fall is the Fruit of Knowledge. The first thing that happens when Adam and Eve eat the apple is that they become conscious of themselves. There arises discrimination between I and thou, as well as between good and evil. A greater awareness seems to be the origin of all sin in Christianity, while in the Hindu philosophy it would be the source of all virtue. However, interestingly, there is no fundamental opposition between these two seemingly antithetical viewpoints. Christianity — or rather Judaism since the Old Testament is properly a Jewish scripture — got it right too, for a change! Through the first glimmerings of self-awareness, man rises above the level of animals which lack self-awareness. But this rise is a fall too, man falls away from the bliss and beatitude of pure Nature. The most fundamental quality that differentiates us from animals is our self-awareness. It is our agony, but it is our ecstasy too. It is the cause of so much of our suffering, but it is also the reason behind all our greatness, achievement, joy and wisdom.

Self-awareness, as it exists in humans, is a highly imperfect state of disequilibrium, a half-half condition. Christianity, or rather Christian mysticism properly speaking, sees the knowledge side of it, while Vedanta, which can be considered as Hindu mysticism, sees the ignorance side of it. Knowledge is the culprit according to Christianity, but ignorance according to Vedanta. Obviously, the solution to human condition is not to slide back into the stage of animal and get rid of our capacity to know, but to enhance our self-awareness and knowledge so that we can eat from the tree of life become gods ourselves.

And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever"— therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Gen 3:22, 23

To eat from the tree of life, eternal life, is to become immortal. That is the goal of Vedanta, as well of all spirituality. This eternal life is already within us, and a maturing of self-awareness is what brings us to this realization. There is no way to reach to this perfection of self-awareness, however, without being expelled from the Garden of Eden first, and therefore the Christian God did the right thing, cruel and evil as he may seem!

As long as we are away from this state of self-realization we live in a state of 'sin', to put it that way. And so much of what we do can be regarded as 'sinful' as well. But, from a purely spiritual point of view, there is really no such thing as sin, there is only ignorance. We live in a state of ignorance, as a consequence we suffer and make others suffer. Temporarily we can try to alleviate this suffering by the cultivation of qualities and the practice of actions that can be categorized under virtue, but this is only a vague and tentative solution. Moreover, settling in virtue and getting stuck in it, thinking that it is all there is to spirituality or religion, can in fact have grave detrimental consequences. So, generally, spirituality doesn't concern itself much with such slippery concepts as sin and virtue which belong more to the realm of morality and don't have good practical utility in any scientific approach to inner truths. Value judgments based on sin and virtue parameters properly belong to the 'thou shalt not’ type of primitive moralistic religions which may be useful in a social setting but don't help us to reach that goal of all spirituality, true self-awareness.

That is the reason Arjuna's query sounds crude and trite, appearing as it is in a text that is supposed to be deeply philosophical and spiritual. But of course, the Bhagavad Gita is neither of these in reality, and therefore instead of dismissing Arjuna's question saying something like “Don't think in terms of sin and virtue, O Arjuna, think in terms of ignorance and awareness,” Krishna only helps Arjuna to get further embroiled. He gives the tritest answer possible in the Hindu context: desire and anger, the enemies!

Anger can be seen as a reaction to frustrated desire, therefore is just a corollary. Desire is the most fundamental defining attribute of human beings – and not of any other creatures. Animals have needs, not desires. However a human being is essentially nothing but a bundle of desires, when we view it that way. Desire again is connected to our state of partial self-awareness. If we had no self-awareness and continued to exist in the Garden of Eden, we would have had no desires. And again when we reach the state of full awareness, we would find ourselves in a state of non-desiring. So desire is actually more of a symptom than a cause of our fallen condition.

Desire definitely has its problems, but desire has tremendous glory too. Our desire is what urges us to move towards ever greater heights and greater joys of existence. And even to reach to that goal of full and total self-awareness we have to be spurred by a substantial quantum of desire. Shunning desire, we don't automatically reach perfection and become gods, but in all likelihood we would turn back into vegetating animals that we once were.

All of the rather sophisticated religions of the world, and especially Hinduism and Buddhism, heavily stress on the notion of eschewing desire, as if desire is the biggest evil and sin. This is a total perversion and goes against the truths discovered in the deeper philosophical investigations of these same religions. Nothing good comes out of suppressing desire, or even anger, or any other emotion, we only end up accumulating sickness and perversion. Health lies in us learning to express our desire in proper ways that are conducive to the growth of our being. Desire is the basic motive force of our existence. Killing desire kills the very vitality of our being, it dries up the life juice flowing in us. And that has what has indeed happened, thanks to great spiritual treatises such as the Bhagavad Gita. They have misled a whole nation of people into near-perdition, and now in the recent decades since the time some growth has started to happen, these texts are responsible for causing large sections of people to be alienated from religion. Because of stupid books such as the Bhagavad Gita, the younger generations have become very averse to anything to do with spiritual matters in general. India was a most spiritual country and it was the most lethargic and the shoddiest of them all too. Now that we intend to do some progress and go somewhere, people are naturally wary to get themselves into the great gushing slush of spirituality. Such wrong perceptions of spirituality are unfortunate, since the true meaning and scope of human existence is lost as long as we don’t discover the spiritual dimension of existence.

The Bhagavad Gita has indeed had a most subversive and pernicious influence on the mind of this nation. Krishna goes on in the next several verses to elaborate on the theme of desire, but he just doesn't help our understanding anywhere, it is just harping and carping on the same point offering absolutely no inspiration or insight. It all boils down to a Moses-style commandment, “Thou shalt not desire.” And since without desiring even day-to-day living is not possible, this can be translated as “Thou shalt content thyself with a strict minimum of desires.” What a way to suppress the whole motivational force of a nation for hundreds of generations! The havoc this type of philosophy wreaked on our country is simply inconceivable.

As fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo by the amnion, so is this enveloped by that. (Ver. 38)

O Arjuna, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise in the form of desire, which is unappeasable as fire! (Ver. 39)

The senses, mind and intellect are said to be its seat; through these it deludes the embodied by veiling his wisdom. (Ver. 40)

Therefore, O best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), controlling the senses first, do thou kill this sinful thing (desire), the destroyer of knowledge and realisation! (Ver. 41)

Desire is the foe, the only foe in this world, kill it! Desire is the all-destructive fire, extinguish it. Desire is the dust on the mirror, wipe it off. Desire is the pall of death covering wisdom, shake it off! The whole thing is a relentless onslaught on desire, poor thing desire, and it has done so much good to humanity! Desire / passion / zeal is so much like fire, it can certainly be destructive but it is what has kick-started the whole ascent of mankind from the level of beasts in the jungle! And if it were left to our spiritual leaders, they would perhaps gladly take us all back to the jungle once again where we all can happily wallow in darkness and dirt, ah the Garden of Eden! Suicidal maniacs, atavistic loonies – these great spiritual leaders of the mankind are!

Why so much bad blood with desire, when it is obviously the light of our lives, the heat of our hearths, the great benefactor of mankind? This is not some pet perversion of Krishna, it is there more or less in all the other religions as we have remarked earlier – can we even conceive of a religion that encourages healthy desire and ambition? And just as Christianity is totally based on the concept of sin, Buddhism is totally based on the concept of desire, trishna — how to eliminate it? One wonders, what is the basis of all this perversion? It is actually an extremely simple logic gone a little awry that ended up creating this enormous mess.

The most fundamental spiritual discovery, whether in Vedanta or any other stream of mysticism, is the discovery of the nature of consciousness. As our self-awareness matures, we become conscious of our consciousness and we would discover for ourselves the infinite treasures of it. Religion is nothing but pursuit of happiness, as is life in general. And the logic of religion is a completely valid one, we have to seek such a happiness that can really last, a happiness that has great depth and substance to it, radically unlike the common variety we find in this world. Generally, exoteric religions project this happiness unto a totally imaginary heaven, but when we look into the essential mystic paths of these same religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, we find that they all point to the common and central truth. That truth is, to put it in the words of Jesus: the kingdom of heaven is within you. This heaven within is the state of pure unbounded consciousness. This is the goal of mysticism and spirituality and to reach a goal, of course, you need desire! In other words, consciousness is the only thing to be desired, whereas in our lives we are investing the fire of our desire into attaining so many other objects, perishable, transient goods. At the same time we are totally neglecting greater treasures which lie within ourselves. There is a further dichotomy here, all the objects of our desires are far from where we are in the here and now, whereas our consciousness is present in its full force right in the here and now, though we may not perceive it as such. So desires, and in fact, all thoughts and emotions, have external objects as their focus, whereas in order to be able to reach the purity of consciousness we have to learn to the change the orientation of our focus from without to within.

So far, the theory is fine. But the way to go about is not through suppression of desire, thought and emotions, to kill all humanity in us; rather it is simply through growing in our understanding and through practicing awareness. You don't have to kill desires to enhance awareness, simply work on expanding awareness and most of our petty desires would evaporate by themselves automatically. It is purely a logical, mechanical, scientific process, and all the religions of the world have screwed it up to the extent that barely anything of the original sense is retained.

The Bhagavad Gita, interestingly, adds a most intriguing new dimension to all this nonsense. Let me broach this matter in this manner. We know Jesus used to frequent prostitutes to spread the good tidings among them too. But how would it be if it were known, nay mentioned somewhere in the Bible itself that Jesus himself ran a network of brothels! Would people have ever venerated Jesus regardless? Would whatever he said have retained credibility still? Strange as it may seem to believe, in Krishna's case whatever he did or did not do seems to have absolutely no effect on the way people regard him! He remains ever beloved, the supreme object of all our affections, prayers and worship.

It’s time to have some fun with Krishna! Once Arjuna was visiting Krishna during the last leg of an all India trip. There was some festival in Krishna's town.

When that delightful festival of immense grandeur commenced, Vasudeva (Krishna) and Partha (Arjuna) went about, together, beholding everything around. While wandering there, they saw the handsome daughter of Vasudeva (Krishna’s father), Bhadra by name, decked with every ornament, in the midst of her maids. As soon as Arjuna beheld her he was possessed by the god of desire.

Arjuna saw Subhadra, Krishna's sister, for the first time and was smitten with desire. Did Krishna advice him to extinguish desire, to kill the foe, to nip it in the bud? No way! Too, Arjuna already had one official wife and a couple of other secret wives. Look at the way Krishna fuels his desire:

Then Krishna, observing Partha contemplate her with absorbed attention, said with a smile, 'How is this? Can the heart of one that rangeth the woods be agitated by the god of desire? This is my sister, O Partha, and the uterine sister of Sarana. Blest be thou, her name is Bhadra and she is the favourite daughter of my father. Tell me if thy heart is fixed upon her, for I shall then speak to my father myself.'

How sweet! Forget the Bhagavad Gita for a moment, it is good to see these buffoons Krishna and Arjuna behaving somewhat normally. Pity that normalcy is such a short-lived phenomenon in our world!

Arjuna answered, 'She is Vasudeva's daughter and Vasudeva's sister; endued with so much beauty, whom can she not fascinate? If this thy sister, this maid of the Vrishni race, becometh my wife, truly may I win prosperity in everything. Tell me, O Janardana, by what means I may obtain her. To get her I will achieve anything that is achievable by man.'

Well spoken, Arjuna! You are my man! Unfortunately, it doesn't take more than two seconds now for things to degenerate chaotically.

Vasudeva answered, 'O bull amongst men, self-choice hath been ordained for the marriage of Kshatriyas. But that is doubtful (in its consequences), O Partha, as we do not know this girl's temper and disposition. In the case of Kshatriyas that are brave, a forcible abduction for purposes of marriage is applauded, as the learned have said. Therefore O Arjuna, carry away this my beautiful sister by force, for who knows what she may do at a self-choice.'

There you have it! Krishna is advising Arjuna to kidnap his own sister and marry her, and giving some dharma talk to boot! Subhadra was about to have a swayamvara ceremony where she could choose the man of her liking. Normally in a situation like this, we would expect Krishna to approach and try to convince her to marry Arjuna. Or more appropriately, Krishna could have advised Arjuna to woo and win her. But, evidently, Krishna saw such an action to be below both his and Arjuna's dignity.

The message is this: you feel a desire for an object or a person, just spirit it or them away – that is the spirit! Don't bother about anything else, least of all the wishes of the person in question or the wishes of the persons to whom the object or the person belongs to. Krishna is really a full-blooded goon! He should become the official god of all the underground mafias of the world, especially of Mumbai! This is exactly the scene you can expect to see in a Bollywood gangster movie. The guy says to the Bhai, “Bhai, I am starting to like this particular girl.” The Bhai is so very pleased and asks “Okay we will lift her up and bring her to you tonight, you want to rape her, you rape, you want to marry her, you marry! Do whatever you want with her.” The only difference here is that Arjuna doesn't need any assistance from Krishna in lifting up things!

Then Dhananjaya... ascertaining that the maiden had gone to the Raivataka hill, obtained the assent of Vasudeva also, after having settled in consultation with him all that required to be done. Then that bull of Bharata's race, that foremost of men, with Krishna's assent, riding in his well-built car of gold equipped with rows of small bells and with every kind of weapon and the clatter of whose wheels resembled the roar of the clouds and whose splendour was like unto that of a blazing fire and which struck terror into the hearts of all foes and unto which were yoked the steeds Saivya and Sugriva, himself accoutred in mail and armed with sword and his fingers encased in leathern gloves, set out, as it were, on a hunting expedition.

Hunting expedition! These people are really barbarians who can understand only the language of hunting, capturing, stealing, killing — even in matters of love!

Meanwhile Subhadra, having paid her homage unto that prince of hills, Raivataka and having worshipped the deities and made the Brahmanas utter benedictions upon her, and having also walked round the hill, was coming towards Dwaravati. The son of Kunti, afflicted with the shafts of the god of desire, suddenly rushed towards that Yadava girl of faultless features and forcibly took her into his car. Having seized that girl of sweet smiles, that tiger among men proceeded in his car of gold towards his own city (Indraprastha).

So Arjuna swoops her up and takes off to his home town. Meanwhile all hell breaks loose at Krishna's palace, hundreds of warriors under the charge of Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother, get ready to bring her back. But seeing the Krishna does not seem to be least bit angry nor in a hurry to go, they ask him the reason. Krishna is ready with another dharma talk:

Gudakesa (he of the curly hair), by what he hath done, hath not insulted our family. He hath without doubt, rather enhanced our respect. Partha knoweth that we of the Satwata race are never mercenary. The son of Pandu also regardeth a self-choice as doubtful in its results. Who also would approve of accepting a bride in gift as if she were an animal? What man again is there on earth that would sell his offspring? I think Arjuna, seeing these faults in all the other methods took the maiden away by force, according to the ordinance... Partha as a warrior is well-known; and his lightness of hand is well-known. Who shall be equal to him? Even this is my opinion: go ye cheerfully after Dhananjaya and by conciliation stop him and bring him back. If Partha goes to his city after having vanquished us by force, our fame will be gone. There is no disgrace, however, in conciliation.

'Mercenary' here means greedy; had Subhadra's folks been mercenary, Arjuna could have bought her off from them. Krishna's logic is a piece of heavenly delight, of the same luminous quality as can be seen at many places in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is saying that since Arjuna could not depend on the fickle wishes of the girl, or maybe she is in love with some other guy, and since he could not possibly pay her family some money and take her off – she is not an animal, right? – he had to abduct her forcibly! In the end though, it is threat of force that nails the argument. If you try to stop Arjuna, he will defeat you, and maybe kill hundreds of people unnecessarily in the process. So better go soft on Arjuna and let him marry Subhadra as he wishes. The last part of the argument definitely works. Everybody realizes that that is only the right and proper thing to do. Of course Arjuna's actions are completely justified! And I think gober swamijis too are completely justified in considering Sri Krishna as the wisest philosopher that ever lived. Justified too are millions and billions of common people who have worshiped the Bhagavad Gita as song of God.

Arjuna said:

But impelled by what does man commit sin, though against his wishes,
O Varshneya (Krishna), constrained, as it were, by force?

The Blessed Lord said:

It is desire, it is anger born of the quality of Rajas, all-sinful and all-devouring;
know this as the foe here (in this world).

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 18

2009-05-26T19:42:00.005+05:30

The Highest

There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Arjuna!
All this is strung on Me as clusters of gems on a string.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, verse 7

The two central mysteries of the Bhagavad Gita are 1) Why does Krishna so irrationally and compulsively keep pushing Arjuna to kill, kill, kill as many people as possible, kill one and all without discrimination, freely and generously? And 2) Why does Krishna keep saying things like I am the highest, I am at the top of everything, no one can know my true nature, and so on? It seems like Krishna feels very lowly deep down, he appears to suffer from an infernal inferiority complex, and no matter how many times he says 'Nothing whatsoever is higher than Me', he just doesn't seem to be really satisfied. At the same time, Krishna seems to be a prey to an absolutely irresistible urge to get vast numbers of people killed and massacred for no understandable reason at all.

Is there any connection between these two? Is there a serious psychological disease that underlies these two broad set of symptoms? Maybe there is or maybe not, but we have just solved the puzzle in the best way we can. And until much more solid and stronger scientific evidence is brought up, if ever, this stands as the most plausible explanation, the brilliant final solution to the Bhagavad Gita! We shall now narrate the stunning truths we have unearthed, and we will do it in the original story layout. As a bonus we will also find out the reason behind Yudhishthira's maniacal obsession with the stupid dice-game, which is what lies at the root of this whole Mahabharata war business. We also suggest a possible deeper reason for why Duryodhana and his cohorts were so compelled to disrobe Draupaudi publicly on that fateful day of dice game, and make her weep and cry and curse, all of which is a more direct cause of the Mahabharata war. We will also suggest a deeper reason behind the seemingly inexplicable nervous collapse of Arjuna at the crucial point of the inception of the war, his going weak in the limbs, his trembling like a leaf, all of which is what gets the Bhagavad Gita business rolling. Two key puzzles plus three bonuses, five in all, solved in a single master stroke!

The following episode takes place in the capital city of Panchala, Drupada's kingdom. Pandavas arrive at the city to attend Draupadi's swayamvara, the ceremony of choosing the bridegroom. Arjuna succeeds in winning the contest and takes Draupadi away. He goes with her to a humble residence where Pandavas are put up, disguised as Brahmins. Then they decide to become all five of them husbands to Draupadi. Next day King Drupada visits the Pandava place and finds out that to his relief the Pandavas are not Brahmins but some Kshatriyas in disguise. He decides to conduct a formal ceremonial wedding between Arjuna and his daughter, but to his dismay finds that all the Pandavas intend to marry Draupadi together. The king is totally scandalized — what kind of nonsense is this! Is this not a sin, a morally abhorrent practice? Yudhishthira, however, does not concur. He at first says, exactly as we would expect: 'Dharma is subtle'!

O monarch, morality is subtle. We do not know its course. Let us follow the way trodden by the illustrious ones of former ages. My tongue never uttered an untruth. My heart also never turneth to what is sinful. My mother commandeth so; and my heart also approveth of it. Therefore, O king, that is quite conformable to virtue. Act according to it, without any scruples. Entertain no fear, O king, about this matter.

In other words, this is Yudhishthira's defense: it is very difficult to judge the true ways of morality, so we should put our judgments aside. I am a great moralistic person, and if my heart approves of something, then it should be necessarily in accordance with the ways of morality. Besides, my mother herself asked us all to marry Draupadi, so this is definitely auspicious!

A decisive argument! King Drupada, however, does not buy it. He seems really upset and infuriated. He is not even in a position to argue, he leaves his son, Draupadi's brother Drishtadyumna, with the Pandavas to settle the matter and is about to go when Veda Vyasa himself appears on the scene. Being himself the author of the whole epic, he has this tendency to pop in exactly at the moment whenever his services are needed. And King Drupada brings up the topic:

A little after, the son of Prishata in sweet accents asked the illustrious Rishi about the wedding of his daughter. And he said, 'How, O illustrious one, can one woman become the wife of many men without being defiled by sin? O, tell me truly all about this.' Hearing these words Vyasa replied, 'This practice, O king, being opposed to usage and the Vedas, hath become obsolete. I desire, however, to hear what the opinion of each of you is upon this matter.

It has become obsolete, but in more virtuous times of distant past it must have been vigorously practiced! After being asked by Vyasa for their individual opinions on this matter, Drupada condemns it and Drishtadyumna, already under the sway of Yudhishthira, says 'the ways of morality are subtle'. Yudhishthira goes on the defensive and tries to confer a stronger validity to the seemingly scandalous proposal of the Pandavas, by citing precedents.

My tongue never uttereth an untruth and my heart never inclineth to what is sinful. When my heart approveth of it, it can never be sinful. I have heard in the Purana that a lady of name Jatila, the foremost of all virtuous women belonging to the race of Gotama had married seven Rishis. So also an ascetic's daughter, born of a tree, had in former times united herself in marriage with ten brothers all bearing the same name of Prachetas and who were all of souls exalted by asceticism. O foremost of all that are acquainted with the rules of morality, it is said that obedience to superior is ever meritorious. Amongst all superiors, it is well-known that the mother is the foremost. Even she hath commanded us to enjoy Draupadi as we do anything obtained as alms. It is for this, O best of Brahmanas, that I regard the (proposed) act as virtuous.

Yudhishthira is sticking to the authority of his mother. Vyasa listens to them all and then he does an interesting thing. He says since only King Drupada seems to have a serious objection, he would talk to him in private and convince him of the virtue of polyandry. However, he wouldn't actually do so and would only provide Drupada with some background information which justifies polyandry only in regard to the present situation. Both of them move to the adjacent room and secure the door, while the rest are kept in waiting. Hopefully, no eavesdropping. Then Vyasa dives into a long flashback which by its end incidentally solves the entire puzzle of Krishna's seriously wacky ways. Here is the story, please follow it carefully:

Vyasa continued, 'In days of yore, the celestials had once commenced a grand sacrifice in the forest of Naimisha. At that sacrifice, O king, Yama (the Lord of Death), the son of Vivaswat, became the slayer of the devoted animals. Yama, thus employed in that sacrifice, did not (during that period), O king, kill a single human being. Death being suspended in the world, the number of human beings increased very greatly. Then Soma and Sakra and Varuna and Kuvera, the Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Vasus, the twin Aswins,-- these and other celestials went unto Prajapati, the Creator of the universe. Struck with fear for the increase of the human population of the world they addressed the Master of creation and said, 'Alarmed, O lord, at the increase of human beings on earth, we come to thee for relief. Indeed, we crave thy protection.'

Prajapati was the obsolete God of the earliest Vedas, but around the time of the Mahabharata referred to the god Brahma. And this Vivaswat, the father of Yama, is the Sun god. He comes in the Bhagavad Gita once when Krishna proclaims, “I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.” So the story now is that the Grim Reaper got busy for a very long time at some sacrifice performed by the celestials, keeping away from human populations for a good while. The other celestials, the main lot, got alarmed at this development since humans stopped dying and their populations on the earth multiplied unchecked. They should have simply gone to these other celestials that are undertaking the accursed sacrifice and urged or commanded them to stop the stupid thing and free Mr Yama, the god of death. If only they followed such a most simple and obvious course of action, believe me, we would have been spared of all this Mahabharata nonsense, the Pandavas, the polyandry, Krishna, the Bhagavad Gita, murder, mayhem, relentless killing, and never ceasing spewing of nonsense! Alas!

Anyway, Prajapati assures them that the sacrifice would be over in some time, and Yama would get active once again. Our worried celestial lot, still worried, proceed to the place of the grand sacrifice but still don't do any pleading or persuading; they just stand in waiting at the hem of the forest. Meanwhile, Indra or Sakra, the leader of the worried celestials, notice a golden lotus drifting down the Bagirathi river flowing nearby. He travels along the upstream of the river and comes across a beautiful woman weeping. He asks her who she is and why she is weeping. She doesn't give any answer but says, “Please follow me, and you will know the reason for my weeping.”

Curiously, the reason for her weeping would not be revealed, but she seems to be just a bait to lure Indra into a deadly trap! Indra follows her and they go a long way deep into Himalayas. Normally Indra is very much acquainted with Siva, the Supreme God of the Universe whose abode is at Himalayas. But in this tale Siva is obviously intent upon framing and trapping Indra, so he and his consort Parvati sit there in the mountains somewhere, operating undercover, disguised as beautiful youths and playing the ludo-type dice game, a nice pastime. So our mysterious stranger woman, all the time continuously weeping, leads Indra all the way up to these guys. Indra is standing there, but the handsome youthful pair don't even so much as turn their heads, engrossed as they are in their exciting game. That's the limit, Indra goes into a rage and seeking to attract their attention, asserts “I am the Lord of the Universe.” Just that uttering seals his fate, or almost! The real Lord of the Universe then slowly raises his head and casts a look at Indra, and something about that look, Indra is literally petrified. He stands there motionless until Siva and Parvati, in their assumed forms, finish the dice game.

When the game at dice was over, Isana (Siva) addressing the weeping woman said, 'Bring Sakra hither, for I shall soon so deal with him that pride may not again enter his heart.' As soon as Sakra was touched by that woman, the chief of the celestials with limbs paralysed by that touch, fell down on the earth. The illustrious Isana of fierce energy then said unto him, 'Act not, O Sakra, ever again in this way. Remove this huge stone, for thy strength and energy are immeasurable, and enter the hole (it will disclose) where await some others possessing the splendour of the sun and who are all like unto thee.'

Now the story is becoming a bit clearer. Obviously even this Lord of the Universe, Siva or Isana as he is called here, is a Hollywood-type psycho who seems to have a little hobby, among others, of kidnapping great and proud leaders of gods and casting them into the dungeon for eternity! The weeping woman is definitely his accomplice acting as a ploy to trap these people. The whole thing is a deadly setup! And Indra fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Indra, then, on removing that stone, beheld a cave in the breast of that king of mountains, within which were four others resembling himself. Beholding their plight, Sakra became seized with grief and exclaimed, 'Shall I be even like these?' Then the god Girisha (Siva), looking full at Indra with expanded eyes, said in anger, 'O thou of a hundred sacrifices, enter this cave without loss of time, for thou hast from folly insulted me.' Thus addressed by the lord Isana, the chief of the celestials, in consequence of that terrible imprecation, was deeply pained, and with limbs weakened by fear trembled like the wind-shaken leaf of a Himalayan fig.

So Indra is about to be consigned to the dungeon where he could repent his pride and folly for all eternity in the company of four of his illustrious predecessors. Indra instantly takes an abjectly groveling stance as a final desperate measure to save his neck.

And cursed unexpectedly by the god owning a bull for his vehicle, Indra, with joined hands and shaking from head to foot, addressed that fierce god of multi-form manifestations, saving, 'Thou art, O Bhava, the over-looker of the infinite Universe!' Hearing these words the God of fiery energy smiled and said, 'Those that are of disposition like thine never obtain my grace. These others (within the cave) had at one time been like thee. Enter thou this cave, therefore, and lie there for some time. The fate of you all shall certainly be the same...

Our Lord of the Universe seems to be of stern disposition and doesn't seem to be moved in the least by Indra's pathetic pleas. Yet he has already changed his mind. He is not locking up Indra for all eternity, but only just for a little time, maybe a few hundred years.

Siva must have realized that although Indra was proud and haughty, he was at present on a noble mission to get large numbers of human beings urgently killed. And therefore, Indra would be spared, and fortunately along with him, the remaining four Indras would also be pardoned and given a chance to prove their usefulness to the universe. At this time the number one problem of the universe was how to get humans killed in massive droves so that the equilibrium could be restored. Siva, however, knows that Yama would be back in service shortly and there is no need to worry too much. Siva, being the Lord of Cosmic Death and Destruction, is of course the boss of Yama.

Still, Siva hatches a plan which is not an immediate solution to the problem at hand, for there is no need for one, but a generalized solution for a generalized problem of existence, which is however in line with the prevailing major problem of the time. Simply put, Siva gets the idea of sending all the five Indras to incarnate on the earth and kill as many human beings as possible in their incarnated life times. Presumably, the more they kill the greater would be their pardon! Siva says to the five captured Indras:

All of you shall have to take your birth in the world of men, where, having achieved many difficult feats and slaying a large number of men, ye shall again by the merits of your respective deeds, regain the valued region of Indra. Ye shall accomplish all I have said and much more besides, of other kinds of work.

Other kinds of work, indeed, but the main work is to kill people, slaying a large number of men!

The Indras agree, only too glad at the prospect of freedom, whether they personally enjoy killing or not. They propose some small terms of their own, and solemnly affirm their resolve to kill as many men as they can in their lives, not only with human weapons but with celestial ones too:

Then those Indras shorn of their glory said, 'We shall go from our celestial regions even unto the region of men where salvation is ordained to be difficult of acquisition. But let the gods Dharma, Vayu, Maghavat, and the twin Aswins beget us upon our would-be mother. Fighting with men by means of both celestial and human weapons, we shall again come back into the region of Indra.'

In addition, our own incumbent Indra makes an extra stipulation to which Siva fortunately agrees. Indra must have seen that Siva is much cooled down now and seems a bit lenient since he didn't object to those birth terms proposed by them. So he goes one step further and says,

'Instead of going myself, I shall, with a portion of my energy, create from myself a person for the accomplishment of the task (thou assignest) to form the fifth among these!'

Indra is virtually asking for his freedom. A few moments of tension... And lo, the wish is granted! Siva can be very kind really when he gets into the mood. Maybe too kind actually, for he offers to recompense for their services in other ways too:

And the illustrious god of the formidable bow, from his kindness, granted unto the five Indras the desire they cherished. And he also appointed that woman of extraordinary beauty, who was none else than celestial Sri (goddess of grace) herself, to be their common wife in the world of men.

A perfect plan. These five Indras would lie with the goddess of grace every night, get thoroughly rejuvenated, and go about killing people during the day. (Although in reality it doesn't turn out to be exactly like that. The Pandavas would spend their whole time with her for several years, and then go on a killing spree all around the country full time for several more years, as we have seen in an earlier essay. Yudhishthira though is too addicted with his dice-game, he can't be expected to leave the palace for too long, maybe all he kills are ants and mosquitoes!)

There is more to the story. But so far it explains us many things already. First and most obviously, why Krishna so desperately urges Arjuna to become a killing machine. Because all the Pandavas were born only to do that, kill people. And they took their orders from none other Siva himself, the Supreme Lord. The foolish arguments Krishna presents, that the soul is immortal and so on, are really so much bunk, the true reason is to be found in this story! So finally the puzzle is solved!

Next thing is Arjuna's seemingly inexplicably nervous breakdown. Here is this warrior of warriors, the warrior supreme, the infinite and eternal warrior, and the unthinkable happens! Just at the sight of the battle frontline he goes pzzzt! How on earth could such a thing happen! Notice in our story how Indra was totally witless and benumbed, shaking and trembling from head to toe just moments before Arjuna's intellectual conception. Only slightly recovering from his paroxysm of fright, Indra takes a spiritual portion of his being and consecrates it to become Arjuna. This shaking and trembling therefore became Arjuna's seed tendency, the deepest instinct of his being, which was conveniently suppressed throughout his life, that is, until the final battle commenced. Arjuna never knew he had this shaking and trembling deep inside him and he himself is caught by a nasty surprise. The guilt that Arjuna displays at the outset of the Bhagavad Gita is really the reaction to all the sudden upsurge of strange emotions within himself, and he didn't know what to make of what anymore. But surely Krishna would have had an idea of the real reason behind Arjuna's cracking up. All he had to calm Arjuna for a few moments and the inner turmoil would have subsided all by itself. There was no need of any arguments and especially of elaborately discussing any doctrines and philosophies at all. But Krishna had his own personal agenda to promote, so he simply took the opportunity! Chapter after chapter of the Bhagavad Gita spewed forth!

We normal people are just mostly random beings. But great ones such as Arjuna, Krishna, Yudhishthira, Draupadi, these are all born with a purpose — they are the so-called Karana Janmas. We people are just conceived physically. Though they too are conceived physically (Draupadi though was not even that), they are conceived mentally first. So the particular emotion predominant in the mind at the moment of their mental conception becomes a deep tendency in their being.

Now in the case of Yudhishthira, there are these four ex-Indras, one of them became Yudhishthira. But notice what happened or what could have happened just at the moment when Yudhishthira was mentally formulated. The stone door to the dungeon was opened after ages and all the four Indras saw daylight in a long time. And one of these guys must have been particularly touched with the sight of Siva and Parvati playing the dice-game in a beautiful icy landscape with the majestic Himalayan peaks as the backdrop. The scene stuck deep inside him and created a deep desire. He must have sinfully thought to himself, “To hell with this business of killing people, and anyway people are just slaves in the hands of time, I will kill time itself directly by constantly engaging in this most interesting activity of playing the dice-game.” So there were two fundamental impressions at the moment of Yudhishthira's mental conception. The desire to play the dice game and a deep sense of sin, since the thought that occurred to this one of the ex-Indras was going directly against Siva's commands for each of them to incarnate and strive to kill as many people as possible. That is the reason whenever Yudhishthira starts talking he preambles it by saying he is the most virtuous guy on the earth, a person by definition incapable of committing anything wrong or sinful. This is how the compensation principle of psychology works! And whenever he gets the least opportunity, Yudhishthira of course takes out the dice board that he secretly carries with himself and starts playing with himself!

Another thing we notice in the story is the perpetually weeping lady, the lady of the golden lotus! She of course goes on to become Draupadi. But at the moment when Draupadi was mentally conceived, the lady had been crying nonstop for several days by then. So this tendency to cry and weep, especially with devious intentions and a deadly agenda to bring ruin upon some guy, is the deepest tendency at the core of Draupadi's being. But there is a strong conflict here too just as in the case of Arjuna. Draupadi was a strong woman, not prone to tears and crying at all. However, her inmost tendency was to cry and weep. Any guy around with a little human sympathy towards Draupadi would have noticed it whenever he looked into her eyes, a subliminal signal saying “Make me cry, make me cry.” Arjuna took some cognizance of this fact. In fact, he went away from Draupadi for twelve years, deliberately, for no reason at all, and this is the only instance in his whole life where he went directly against his elder brother Yudhishthira's wishes. During his long peregrinations, he married several princesses and had a lot of fun setting up families here and there. This was also a long hiatus from his previously constant killing program. All this of course is his little idea to make Draupadi cry. And to add a final touch, he marries Krishna's sister Subhadra and brings her home at the end of this 12-year self-imposed exile. Draupadi cries, and cries a lot, but it doesn't last for long unfortunately. Draupadi and Subhadra soon become friends and they have a jolly good time together. Arjuna's long efforts have gone in vain.

But then there is another guy, actually the one with most human sensitivity among the whole lot in the epic, Arjuna's cousin, Duryodhana. Now, whenever he was face to face with his sister-in-law and looking at her, he would have got this compelling hypnotic message, with invisible lights going on and off between them: “Make me cry, make me cry.” Duryodhana was puzzled, he didn't know what was happening and what to make of it. He was a chivalrous guy, not the type who would make women cry. So there is again a conflict here. However, a deep moral unease was growing in his being and Duryodhana had to do something about it. And this is exactly the reason why, despite his deep moral compunctions, he was driven to cheat the incredibly fatuous Yudhishthira at the dice-game and steal from the Pandavas their kingdom and everything. Duryodhana's moral purity was perfectly unassailable, he was doing it all only to help someone fulfill the deepest potential of their being, not to harm them in any way. Moreover, the Pandavas had already killed everyone they could kill in the role of kings, now losing the kingdom if they moved around in the villages and forests, they could get better opportunities to kill more number of people and a whole variety of them. But then Duryodhana must have realized at some subconscious level that this wouldn't really work. Draupadi might cry for a day or two, just as in the episode of Subhdra, but she would recover in no time, and all the great effort would go in vain. That is the reason Duryodhana had to resort to desperate measures.

After the Pandavas lose the dice-game and lose everything they have, Duryodhana gets Draupadi publicly dragged into the court, and in front of everyone he lets his brother Dushasana disrobe her. Yet he really doesn't want to humiliate his own sister-in-law for whom he has the utmost respect! So he calls his brother aside before the big 'Draupadi Cheer Haran' drama, and instructs him just to pretend as if he were pulling the saree of Draupadi, making the gripping arms slide along the saree's tail, but not really pulling it off. Dushashana plays his role well, and Draupadi, oh my God, starts crying, really for the first time in her life! She doesn't realize that Dushashana is only pretending, and that her saree is not really coming off.

Just to add some realistic effect, Dushashana has stashed up one or two sarees under his own vest, and he appears to be pulling the saree with one hand and while with the other hand he keeps pulling out the saree hidden under his vest inch by inch. Many of those present are of course singlemindedly staring at Draupadi's exposed body in deep concern, while some other prudish folks have turned their heads away, and thus no one notices the simple trick being played by Dushashana. Draupadi herself has closed her eyes, busily praying to Sri Krishna. It is mentioned in most versions of the Mahabharata that a huge number of sarees of all colors piled up next to Dushashana. Now, if Krishna or some God were protecting Draupadi as is commonly presumed and made her saree infinitely long, the whole pile of cloth would consist of the same saree, same color, but what was happening is that Dushashana was pretending to tug at Draupadi's original saree, and a saree of another color is piling up at the other end! From time to time, maybe, Dushashana would go inside for a small break and replenish his secret stash of sarees, and thus the drama went on for a long time. This episode would have grave consequences. Draupadi went on crying for the next thirteen years, and then ended up making millions of other women cry for the loss of their husbands and sons in the mighty war. Mission fulfilled!

There is just one enigma remaining now, that of Krishna's terrible inferiority complex which can be really considered as the engine of the entire Bhagavad Gita. To solve this one, we have to go back to the story. After the great plan to incarnate on the earth and decimate large populations was agreed upon by all the parties gathered on that day in the Himalayas, just to fulfill the formality of Siva's curse the old Indras get back into the dungeon for a few hundred more years along with their new inmate. Meanwhile our lady of grace takes several incarnations on the earth, just as a preparation, while managing to get a boon from Siva himself or someone else in each of her lives to get five mighty and virtuous husbands in some future birth. At the appropriate time when the populations of the earth seem to be thriving and prospering, Siva releases the Indras and together all of them go to Vishnu-loka, the abode of Vishnu, to get a formal approval from Vishnu. Vishnu is also the Supreme God of the Universe, we can regard Siva and Vishnu as two CEO's for this company called Universe, and so it is better to get the approval of the other CEO too.

Accompanied by all those Indras, the god Isana then went unto Narayana of immeasurable energy, the Infinite, the Immaterial, the Uncreate, the Old, the Eternal, and the Spirit of these universes without limits. Narayana approved of everything.

Science has discovered the concept of multiple universes only as recently as 30 years ago, while the same is alluded to in the Mahabharata of 3000 years ago! Now you know that we are dealing with some sophisticated material here and not just some cock-and-bull stories as in other epics and mythologies!

Those Indras then were born in the world of men. And Hari (Narayana) took up two hairs from his body, one of which hairs was black and the other white. And those two hairs entered the wombs of two of the Yadu race, by name Devaki and Rohini. And one of these hairs viz., that which was white, became Valadeva. And the hair that was black was born as Kesava's self, Krishna. And those Indras of old who had been confined in the cave on the Himavat are none else than the sons of Pandu, endued with great energy. And Arjuna amongst the Pandavas, called also Savyasachin (using both hands with equal dexterity) is a portion of Sakra.

There you have it all, the ultimate secret of Krishna's birth! Balarama, Krishna's brother, and Krishna are 8th and 9th incarnations of Vishnu respectively. God somehow seems to be losing interest in the affairs of humankind, so instead of coming down himself or sending a luminous ball of his divine aura he just cast two piddling hairs in the direction of the earth! This is perhaps from where, the English idiom, 'not care two straws' originated! At least, thank God, God didn't spit in the direction of earth two times, with those spits turning into avatars, because in that case both the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita would have been much more furious!

Hairs are actually dead cells of the body though they consist a full complement of DNA. How would you feel if you came to know that you were not born from you father in a regular manner, from the very essence of his blood, but were born from just a skin flake of his or falling hair of his? Wouldn't you feel depressed? Wouldn't you feel dejected? Wouldn't you feel unwanted, lowly, insignificant? Maybe you would even want to take it out on the whole world to prove that you are somebody. It is only natural, and Krishna did just that! He just wanted to tell the world that he belonged to very high position, higher than which nothing existed. He is not even the Godhead, he is even higher, the top central hair on the head of God! And hence the Bhagavad Gita, the crowning achievement of wisdom of Godhead.

This story is of course corroborated by similar accounts in Vishnu Purana and some other scriptures, though the reason why the reason why Indra and other gods approach Vishnu is different there in.

When we study the Bhagavad Gita in the light of the new knowledge we have gained on Krishna's origins, it would make much more sense!

To wrap up our story though, Vyasa bestows divine vision upon Drupada so that he can see the true natures of the Pandavas and his own daughter for himself. Drupada does it and becomes mighty pleased:

[Then] that sacred Brahmana Vyasa of generous deeds, by means of his ascetic power, granted celestial sight unto the king. Thereupon the king beheld all the Pandavas endued with their former bodies. And the king saw them possessed of celestial bodies, with golden crowns and celestial garlands, and each resembling Indra himself, with complexions radiant as fire or the sun, and decked with every ornament, and handsome, and youthful, with broad chests and statures measuring about five cubits. Endued with every accomplishment, and decked with celestial robes of great beauty and fragrant garlands of excellent making the king beheld them as so many three-eyed gods (Mahadeva), or Vasus, or Rudras, or Adityas themselves. And observing the Pandavas in the forms of those Indras of old, and Arjuna also in the form of Indra sprung from Sakra himself, king Drupada was highly pleased. And the monarch wondered much on beholding that manifestation of celestial power under deep disguise. The king looking at his daughter, that foremost of women endued with great beauty, like unto a celestial damsel and possessed of the splendour of fire or the moon, regarded her as the worthy wife of those celestial beings, for her beauty, splendour and fame.

Cool!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 17

2009-05-24T23:58:00.009+05:30

Fierce Deed

...[T]hese ruined souls of small intellects and fierce deeds, come forth as enemies of the world for its destruction.

Bhagavad Gita, chapter 16, verse 9

Long before the Mahabharata war, and sometime before Arjuna's and Bhima's looting campaigns described in the previous essay...

The sweet-speeched Yudhishthira of great intelligence never uttered anything that was improper or untrue or unbearable or disagreeable. The best of monarchs of the Bharata race, endued with great energy, passed his days happily for the welfare of all as his own. His brothers also bringing by their energy other kings under their sway, passed their days in happiness, without a foe to disturb their peace.

Bringing other kings under their sway, of course through force, violence, domination, threats and constant coercion, is the Pandava idea of happiness and peace!

Still, as we can all understand, peace of any kind can get routine and boring after sometime, what is needed is something more fun. And Arjuna had an idea to spice things up.

After a few days, Vibhatsu (Arjuna), addressing Krishna, said, 'The summer days have set in, O Krishna! Therefore, let us go to the banks of the Yamuna. O slayer of Madhu, sporting there in the company of friends, we will, O Janardana, return in the evening.’ Thereupon Vasudeva said, 'O son of Kunti, this is also my wish. Let us, O Partha, sport in the waters as we please, in the company of friends.'

Cool! A rare glimpse into the human side of these guys, to the extent something like that is present. Incidentally, 'friends' here means buxom curvaceous nymphets!

Then, having consulted thus with each other, Partha and Govinda, with Yudhishthira's leave, set out, surrounded by friends. Reaching a fine spot (on the banks of the Yamuna) suitable for purposes of pleasure, overgrown with numerous tall trees and covered with several high mansions that made the place look like the celestial city and within which had been collected for Krishna and Partha numerous costly and well-flavoured viands and drinks and other articles of enjoyment and floral wreaths and various perfumes, the party entered without delay the inner apartments adorned with many precious gems of pure rays.

High mansions adorned with precious gems in the deep woods? Vyasa cannot obviously write a single passage without bringing in high doses of exaggeration and some good amount of bluffing. But, wherever possible, we should go into the spirit of things rather than be stymied by factual incongruity.

Now comes a beautiful, soft passage, so sensuous, one of its kind in the entire epic:

Entering those apartments, everybody, O Bharata, began to sport, according to his pleasure. The women of the party, all of full rotund hips and deep bosoms and handsome eyes, and gait unsteady with wine began to sport there at the command of Krishna and Partha. Some amongst the women sported as they liked in the woods, some in the waters, and some within the mansions, as directed by Partha and Govinda. Draupadi and Subhadra, exhilarated with wine, began to give away unto the women so sporting, their costly robes and ornaments. And some amongst those women began to dance in joy, and some began to sing; and some amongst them began to laugh and jest, and some to drink excellent wines. Some began to obstruct one another's progress and some to fight with one another, and to discourse with one another in private. Those mansions and the woods, filled with the charming music of flutes and guitars and kettledrums, became the scene of Prosperity personified.

Almost an orgy! That too, with wives and sisters present! A degree of exaggeration is involved, but we can easily catch the mood of bacchanalian effervescence.

As idyllic as it all may seem to us, our warriors must have nonetheless already become real blasé with this sort jolly picnic orgies, they needed something solid, manly, their kind of fun. They needed orgies of different kind, blood, shrieks, cries, death dancing all around in naked fury. Wine and women, wine and women — it could get so tame after a while.

We often see in Hollywood horror movies, they begin with a nice jaunt where a couple of hunks and sexy chicks in skimpy outfits go to a secluded spot far beyond the city limits, and there would be a nicely furnished building there, tranquil, halcyon, just a bit or sometimes maybe more than a bit spooky. First 20 minutes of the movie, there would be some chatter, some kissing and petting, one or two couples would go into rooms. But slowly the atmosphere grows ominous. It would take hardly the next 20 minutes for a fabulous dream situation to turn into a total nightmare. The monster has crept in.

In the fantastic horror story we are going recount, not one but two monsters are present. Extremely powerful, dangerous and merciless type. There have been so been so many horror movies, especially on this picnic formula, but our story is somewhat different. There are movies too where one of the guys who is with the group on the outing turns psycho, but there have been no movies where the guys who go to the picnic turn into monsters and let absolute hell loose on the peaceful environs of the place they are at.

When such was the state of things there, Arjuna and Vasudeva went to a certain charming spot (in those woods) not far from the place where the others were. O monarch, the high-souled Krishna, and that subjugator of hostile cities, viz., Arjuna, going thither, sat down upon two very costly seats. Vasudeva and Partha amused themselves there with discoursing upon many past achievements of prowess and other topics.

See, there are gorgeous damsels present all over, and later in the evening they’d have to go back, but these guys don't seem keen at all about the naked and semi-naked girls frisking about. They prefer to discuss whom they have killed in the past, which cities they have destroyed, whom they have subjugated, whom they have humiliated and such other topics! And then these two heroes seem so itching to show their prowess again. Just as you guessed it, they turn lucky! Opportunity comes in the form of a Brahmana accosting them.

Unto Vasudeva and Dhananjaya happily sitting there like the Aswins in heaven, a certain Brahmana came. The Brahmana that came there looked like a tall Sala tree. His complexion was like unto molten gold; his beard was bright yellow tinged with green; and the height and the thickness of the body were in just proportion.

Now this Brahmana turns out to be Agni, the god of fire himself. In those days the tradition was that any Brahmana could approach a king or a Kshatriya and ask for anything, and the king would be obligated to try to fulfill the wishes of his solicitor. This god in the guise of a Brahmana says he has a voracious appetite and he needs something to eat. And then he says, he is Agni and need to burn the whole forest down. But some forces are trying to stop him.

Know that I am Agni! Give me that food which suiteth me. This forest of Khandava is always protected by Indra. And as it is protected by the illustrious one, I always fail to consume it. In that forest dwelleth, with his followers and family, a Naga, called Takshaka, who is the friend of Indra. It is for him that the wielder of the thunderbolt protecteth this forest. Many other creatures also are thus protected here for the sake of Takshaka. Desiring to consume the forest I succeed not in my attempts in consequence of Indra's prowess. Beholding me blazing forth, he always poureth upon me water from the clouds. Therefore, I succeed not in consuming the forest of Khandava, although I desire very much to do so. I have now come to you—you who are both skilled in weapons! If you help me I will surely consume this forest: for even this is the food that is desired by me! As ye are conversant with excellent weapons, I pray you to prevent those showers from descending and any of the creatures from escaping, when I begin to consume this forest!

Nagas are the serpent beings. And Takashaka is a big shot, one of the three great serpents of Indian mythology. Indra, the god of heaven, is none other than Arjuna's real father, it's no secret either. This is a supernatural horror thriller, so better get used to all the other worldly elements.

Agni chose this particular forest over any other forest in the world most probably because this is a very lush, thriving jungle superabundant in life. There are all kinds of animals in it in hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands, including large elephants. What is most striking here is that Arjuna and Krishna don't pose the slightest hint of a question to Agni — why does he want to commit this most cruel act of burning up millions of innocent living creatures alive? No questions, no doubts, no misgivings, and it is as if they were just waiting for a chance like this for a long time. Agni had only to ask and they jump upon it with childish glee. This was the kind of fun they were looking for anyway. Unnecessary curiosity could spoil it.

If Agni told them he had to consume living people instead of just animals, and therefore had to burn down a major city, I am sure Krishna and Arjuna would have been even more delighted. They would have just pounced upon the city and slaughtered all its innocent people left and right and thrown them in the fire, exactly in the manner they would mercilessly butcher all the bewildered creatures of the Khandava forest trying desperately to escape this horrible fire. We will get into that actual part the story in a short while.

Some metaphysics before we get on with the narrative. The word 'sacrifice' is used widely in the Bhagavad Gita. In its most direct sense, this word refers to a common ritual performed the Brahmanas where they sit around a central fire, pouring ghee and other libations into it, while chanting mantras. During the Vedic times, this form of ritual was very frequently performed and was the center of gravity during all religious occasions. In the later times, the concept of sacrifice took on a more symbolic significance. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is is generally used in the sense of consecrated work, used as an offering to God. That is understandable, but there is a small segment in the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita which presents some rather quizzical verses on the theme of sacrifice. Generally people can make only a very vague sense of them or none at all. However, in the context of our present story, these verses seem to make for a more sharply outlined meaning.

The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of sacrifice; do thou, therefore, O son of Kunti, perform action for that sake (for sacrifice) alone, free from attachment!

Bhagavad Gita, chap 3 ver 9

Consecrated work. Our heroes in the story are about to perform a great sacrifice with great enthusiasm. Krishna’s penchant for work as sacrifice is understandable, but still not very clear.

The thing that is most lacking in the Bhagavad Gita are examples. Although Krishna gives us a little simile here and there, like the tortoise retracting limbs into its shell, or a steady candle flame in windless space, the acute dearth of more detailed illustrations in the Gita is a source of great confusion. Krishna usually just makes a vague statement and we don't know what he intended to say and how he wants us to understand it. But sometimes if we look into the Mahabharata epic we do find some good stories with rich narratives, characters and emotions to illustrate the verses of the Gita.

The verse following the one quoted above:

The Creator, having in the beginning of creation created mankind together with sacrifice, said: “By this shall ye propagate; let this be the milch cow of your desires (the cow which yields the desired objects)”.

ver 10

Although illustrations would help, we cannot still make anything out of this peculiar type of purely lunatic statements, even after we try to go through some seemingly related stories in the main epic! Even so, maybe we can find a possible explanation for why Krishna says such a thing. In the colossal clash of the titans we are going to witness shortly, there would be a hail of heavy stones from the heavens upon Krishna and Arjuna, maybe some of these stones did hit the two causing them some brain damage, especially to Krishna. Any kind of head injuries can have unpredictable consequences. There is no wonder if people who sustain a head injury, even if not that serious, sometimes suddenly get a screw loosened and blabber things like this, 'the Creator created mankind together with sacrifice'! However, this doesn't sound like a slight dementia, this sounds like serious dementia, a ripened form. It must have been a real tough fight at the Khandava forest, one which seems to have had a lasting effect on Krishna. We will come to the scene of fight in a moment.

Some more verses from the Song Celestial:

With this do ye nourish the gods, and may the gods nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain to the highest good.

ver 11

Yes, it's all between you and the gods. All the innumerable lower creatures and lesser beings can as well be burnt down to bones and ashes. Really, this lofty philosophy or religion of the Gita doesn't sound too much advanced over 'hoola, hoola, batunga, batunga' totem religions of African tribes. Always please gods, placate their insatiable appetites. Kill and sacrificel animals, children, women, slaves, prisoners of war, just about anybody or anything you can, in the greatest numbers!

The gods, nourished by the sacrifice, will give you the desired objects. So, he who enjoys the objects given by the gods without offering (in return) to them, is verily a thief.

ver 12

After hearing the fire god's proposal, all Arjuna says is, ‘Ok, but this is a big challenge. I need all kinds of special weapons, especially a quiver that contains an inexhaustible supply of arrows and a heavenly chariot.’ He gets all these wishes granted and Krishna too gets his famous discus too from Agni. The god is not yet nourished though, he would soon be, and how!

The righteous, who eat of the remnants of the sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but those sinful ones who cook food (only) for their own sake, verily eat sin.

ver 13

Back there at the picnic spot, the girls are cooking for themselves alone and eating, that is so selfish and sinful. Krishna and Arjuna, on the other hand, would give millions of animals and birds as sacrifice to the fire god, and only then partake of some of that sanctified food. Remnants of sacrifice, holy!

From food come forth beings, and from rain food is produced; from sacrifice arises rain, and sacrifice is born of action.

ver 14

This is a very famous verse of the scripture, though nobody ever understands it. It also sounds vaguely like a double entendre! In sum it says, from action come forth beings, and we do know from what kind of action beings come forth. We don’t need Krishna to tell it to us, adding a lot more confusion in between. However, there could be a deeper meaning.

Interestingly, not only does the story of the Mahabharata illuminate the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, it works the other way too. Now we know why Krishna and Arjuna so readily accepted Agni's proposal without a moment's wavering. It's because they know that their action will create a massive sacrifice, and this sacrifice would bring rains and abundance in their kingdom, and from rains food is produced which would bring forth new life! A deeply life-affirmative philosophy Gita has! So you must read the narrative that we are going to present presently in this light.

Know thou that action comes from Brahma, and Brahma proceeds from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading (Brahma) ever rests in sacrifice.

ver 15

Where did this guy Brahma come from? Oh, he is one of the Hindu trinity of gods, he is the one who first advised Agni to consume the Khandava forest, when Agni approached him complaining of dyspepsia, after having consumed excessive ghee libations. Agni tries to follow Brahma's prescription but is thwarted again and again in his effort. He approaches Brahma again and this time Brahma says “There are these two fellows on the earth who are the incarnation of two deities called Nara and Narayana, they will help you.” Nara and Narayana is another long story, but simply put they refer to Arjuna and Krishna. So Brahma praised Arjuna and Krishna back then, and in the Gita Krishna may be just returning the favor by praising Brahma. He who ‘proceeds from the Imperishable.’

We learn all this flashback of Agni in a nested narrative. Krishna and Arjuna of course are the least interested to know any reasons, or to work out any alternative solutions, or to consider mitigating the suffering of the animals and birds involved. They give a damn! They were just looking for a jolly romp and they got it, what the heck do they care about the millions of birds and animals that would die ghastly deaths engulfed in flames.

Suppose you are a billionaire; your child comes to you and asks for a million dollars, and you say to him, I don't have a pen, get me a pen, he brings a nice beautiful pen to you, and you write him a million dollar check. Simple. No questions asked. Why such extravagant spending, why does he need it, is it for a valid purpose, is it worth spending a million dollars, is there a way to do it with much less? What the heck do you care, you have heaps of money lying with you. Similarly, as huge an affair it may seem to us, for mighty warriors like Krishna and Arjuna all this is a very small thing. Just their idea of a small picnic. They just got their trademark super weapons from Agni, the rest are all inconsequential matters.

He who does not follow the wheel thus set revolving, who is of sinful life, rejoicing in the senses, he lives in vain, O Arjuna!

ver 16

The senses, sure! That is exactly the reason Krishna and Arjuna deserted all those scores of young hot ones with 'deep bosoms' and 'full rotund hips', all of them lolling about in a highly sensual and intoxicated mood, and are come hither in search of doing welfare to the world. Rejoicing in the senses means living in the moment, living for the moment — this is so mean, selfish and sinful.

The wheel that needs to be set revolving is the wheel of birth and death. The main idea conveyed in the Gita is: Feel free to kill any creature any time, any creature that is born, because then it will be born again and the wheel is set revolving. Nice metaphysics.

This is actually Krishna's fundamental refrain in the Gita, ‘Kill all the warriors gathered here, relatives or non-relatives, just like we killed all those dumb animals in the forest that day, millions of them, ruthlessly, indiscriminately, O Arjuna, because no one really ever dies, and these people have all lived long enough in this life. They will die and be born afresh, so that life stays young, fresh, vibrant, innocent.’ As we can see, the Bhagavad Gita is the very acme of an optimistic outlook towards life.

On that note we will now proceed to the action part of this episode called Khadava-dahana (the burning down of Khandava), the action that leads to sacrifice, which leads to rain, which leads to food, which leads to life, which leads to blah!

So Arjuna and Krishna get their unique, gorgeous weapons and they feel quite confident to take on the task. Arjuna says to Agni:

'O Pavaka (Agni), while Hrishikesa (Krishna), endued with abundant energy, moves on the field of battle with this discus in hand, there is nothing in the three worlds that he will not be able to consume by hurling this weapon. Having obtained the bow Gandiva and this couple of inexhaustible quivers I also am ready to conquer in battle the three worlds. Therefore, O lord, blaze thou forth as thou likest, surrounding this large forest on every side. We are quite able to help thee.'

And thus the scene is set.

Thus addressed both by Dasarha and Arjuna, the illustrious god then put forth his most energetic form, and prepared to consume the forest. Surrounding it on all sides with his seven flames, he began to consume the forest of Khandava, exhibiting his all-consuming form like that at the end of the Yuga (cycle). And surrounding that forest and catching it from all sides with a roar like that of the clouds, Agni made every creature within it tremble. And that burning forest then looked resplendent like the king of mountains, Meru, blazing with the rays of the sun fallen thereupon.

Not too bad. The description of the carnage that follows, however, is very graphic. You are warned! But first a couple of verses from the Gita. These are different from the sacrificial context cited a little earlier and occur before the topic verse quoted at the outset. The Lord is listing some of the qualities of people possessed of divine nature

Nonviolence, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty... forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride—these belong to one born in a divine state, O Arjuna!

chapter 16, ver 2,3

Now let’s try to see some of these qualities reflected in the actions of our deadly duo.

Then those foremost of car-warriors (Krishna and Arjuna), riding in their cars and placing themselves on opposite sides of that forest, began a great slaughter, on all sides, of the creatures dwelling in Khandava. At whatever point any of the creatures residing in Khandava could be seen attempting to escape, thither rushed those mighty heroes (to prevent its flight). Indeed those two excellent cars seemed to be but one, and the two warriors also therein but one individual. And while the forest was burning, hundreds and thousands of living creatures, uttering frightful yells, began to run about in all directions. Some had particular limbs burnt, some were scorched with excessive heat, and some came out, and some ran about from fear. And some clasping their children and some their parents and brothers, died calmly without, from excess of affection, being able to abandon these that were dear to them. And many there were who biting their nether lips rose upwards and soon fell whirling into the blazing element below. And some were seen to roll on the ground with wings, eyes, and feet scorched and burnt. These creatures were all seen to perish there almost soon enough. The tanks and ponds within that forest, heated by the fire around, began to boil; the fishes and the tortoises in them were all seen to perish. During that great slaughter of living creatures in that forest, the burning bodies of various animals looked as if fire itself had assumed many forms. The birds that took wings to escape from that conflagration were pierced by Arjuna with his shafts, and cut into pieces, they fell down into the burning element below. Pierced all over with Arjuna's shafts, the birds dropped down into the burning forest, uttering loud cries. The denizens of the forest, struck with those shafts, began to roar and yell. The clamour they raised was like unto the frightful uproar heard during the churning of the ocean (in days of yore). The mighty flames of the blazing fire reaching the firmament, caused great anxiety to the celestials themselves.

Nonviolence… peacefulness… compassion towards beings… gentleness… fortitude… purity…

How illuminating illustrations of the Bhagavad Gita verses can you find in the Mahabharata sometimes!

But a question: How did the warriors' chariots ply about in a thick jungle full of large trees? And since horses are normally very scared of fire and wouldn't budge forward at the sight of fire, how did the chariots' horses muster courage to move at all in a forest raging with terrible fire, in that raging inferno on the earth? ‘Logical thinking’ is not listed in any of the qualities attributed to divine natures, so perhaps we need not too much concern ourselves with it for the moment!

And now the focus shifts to the heavens, and a direct confrontation between Agni and Indra ensues.

Then all the illustrious dwellers in heaven went in a body unto him of a hundred sacrifices and thousand eyes, viz., their chief, that grinder of Asuras. Approaching Indra, the celestials said, 'Why, O lord of immortals, doth Agni burn these creatures below? Hath the time come for the destruction of the world?' Hearing these words of the gods, and himself beholding what Agni was doing, the slayer of Vritra set out for the protection of the forest of Khandava. And Vasava, the chief of the celestials soon covering the sky with masses of clouds of every kind began to shower upon the burning forest. Those masses of clouds by hundreds and thousands, commanded by Indra began to pour rain upon Khandava in showers thick as the flag-staffs of battle-cars. But the showers were all dried up in the sky itself by the heat of the fire and could not, therefore, reach the fire at all! Then the slayer of Namuchi, getting angry with Agni, collected huge masses of clouds and caused them to yield a heavy downpour. Then with the flames contending with those heavy showers, and with masses of clouds overhead, that forest, filled with smoke and flashes of lightning, became terrible to behold.

The next scene is that of the mighty encounter between the mighty father and the mightier son.

Then Vibhatsu (Arjuna), the son of Pandu, invoking his excellent weapons, prevented that shower of rain by Indra, by means of a shower of his own weapons. And Arjuna of immeasurable soul soon covered the forest of Khandava with innumerable arrows like the moon covering the atmosphere with a thick fog.

Yes, fog comes from the moon. But then ‘scientific thinking’ is not in the list of the divine qualities either, so perhaps we may ignore such statements for the moment.

Caught in between the clash of heaven and earth and dying miserably are poor snakes, among a host of other creatures. A poignant portrayal of ruthless oppression and violence:

When the sky above that forest was thus covered with the arrows of Arjuna no living creature could then escape from below. And it so happened that while that forest was burning, Takshaka, the chief of the Nagas, was not there, having gone at that time to the field of Kurukshetra. But Aswasena, the mighty son of Takshaka, was there. He made great efforts to escape from that fire; but confined by Arjuna's shafts he succeeded not in finding a way. It was then that his mother, the daughter of a snake, determined to save him by swallowing him first. His mother first swallowed his head and then was swallowing his tail. And desirous of saving her son, the sea-snake rose (up from the earth) while still employed in swallowing her son's tail. But Arjuna as soon as he beheld her escaping, severed her head from her body by means of a sharp and keen-edged arrow. Indra saw all this, and desiring to save his friend's son, the wielder of the thunderbolt, by raising a violent wind, deprived Arjuna of consciousness. During those few moments, Aswasena succeeded in effecting his escape. Beholding that manifestation of the power of illusion, and deceived by that snake, Arjuna was much enraged. He forthwith cut every animal seeking to escape by the skies, into two, three, or more pieces. And Vibhatsu in anger, and Agni, and Vasudeva also, cursed the snake that had escaped so deceitfully, saying, 'Never shalt thou be famous!'

Absence of anger... absence of crookedness... compassion towards beings... modesty... forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride—

And Jishnu (Arjuna) remembering the deception practised upon him, became angry, and covering the firmament with a cloud of arrows, sought to fight with him of a thousand eyes. The chief of the celestials also, seeing Arjuna in anger, sought to fight with him, and hurled his own fierce weapons, covering the wide expanse of the firmament. Then the winds, making a loud roar and agitating all the oceans, brought together masses of clouds in the sky, charged with torrents of rain. Those masses of clouds began to vomit thunder and terrible flashes of lightning charged with the thunderclap. Then Arjuna possessing a knowledge of means, hurled the excellent weapon called Vayavya with proper mantras to dispel those clouds. With that weapon the energy and force of Indra's thunderbolt and of those clouds were destroyed. And the torrents of rain with which those clouds were charged were all dried up, and the lightning that played amongst them was also destroyed. Within a moment the sky was cleared of dust and darkness, and a delicious, cool breeze began to blow and the disc of the sun resumed its normal state. Then the eater of clarified butter (Agni), glad because none could baffle him, assumed various forms, and sprinkled over with the fat exuded by the bodies of creatures, blazed forth with all his flames, filling the universe with his roar. Then numerous birds of the Garuda tribe bearing excellent feathers, beholding that the forest was protected by Krishna and Arjuna, descended filled with pride, from the upper skies, desirous of striking those heroes with their thunderlike wings, beaks and claws. Innumerable Nagas also, with faces emitting fire descending from high, approached Arjuna, vomiting the most virulent poison all the while. Beholding them approach, Arjuna cut them into pieces by means of arrows steeped in the fire of his own wrath. Then those birds and snakes, deprived of life, fell into the burning element below. And there came also, desirous of battle, innumerable Asuras with Gandharvas and Yakshas and Rakshasas and Nagas sending forth terrific yells. Armed with machines vomiting from their throats (mouths?) iron balls and bullets, and catapults for propelling huge stones, and rockets, they approached to strike Krishna and Partha, their energy and strength increased by wrath. But though they rained a perfect shower of weapons, Vibhatsu, addressing them reproachfully, struck off their heads with his own sharp arrows. That slayer of foes, Krishna, also, endued with great energy, made a great slaughter of the Daitya and the Danava with his discus. Many Asuras of immeasurable might, pierced with Krishna's arrows and smitten with the force of his discus, became motionless like waifs and strays stranded on the bank by the violence of the waves. Then Sakra (Indra) the lord of the celestials, riding on his white elephant, rushed at those heroes, and taking up his thunderbolt which could never go in vain, hurled it with great force.

Indra's thunderbolt or vajrayudha is a very famous weapon in Indian mythology but it doesn't work against our deadly duo. The fight continues like that for some more time. And then Vyasa makes a puzzling but revealing statement in the narrative:

The Munis who were witnessing the battle from the skies, beholding the celestials defeated by Madhava and Arjuna, were filled with wonder. Sakra also repeatedly witnessing their prowess in battle, became exceedingly gratified, and once more rushed to the assault.

Gratified? Oh yes, Arjuna is after all Indra's own son. To hell with all those snakes and birds and countless other tortured, mangled, and butchered creatures all roasted alive. Their lives, their pain and suffering, are not of any real concern. The main thing that is of interest is the display of Arjuna's and Krishna's combined might! Note that the munis, the holy men, witnessing from above are not shocked or outraged, they are filled with wonder! If ever the Third World War would take place, there would be a global shower of nuclear bombs, and the rishis and munis watching the earth from the skies would be filled with exceeding wonder and gladness, 'Oh, what a great might have men achieved, what display of power and fury'! And Agni's hunger would of course be fully and finally satiated then, when he would have consumed the whole earth, though Arjuna and Krishna may not be around to facilitate his fury this time around.

The chastiser of Paka (Indra) then caused a heavy shower of stones, desiring to ascertain the prowess of Arjuna who was able to draw the bow even with his left hand. Arjuna, in great wrath, dispelled with his arrows that thick shower. Then he of a hundred sacrifices beholding that shower baffled, once more caused a thicker shower of stones. But the son of the chastiser of Paka (viz., Arjuna) gratified his father by baffling that shower also with his swift arrows. Then Sakra, desirous of smiting down the son of Pandu, tore up with his hands a large peak from Mandara, with tall trees on it, and hurled it against him. But Arjuna divided that mountain-peak into a thousand pieces by his swift-going and fire-mouthed arrows. The fragments of that mountain, in falling through the skies, looked as if the sun and the moon and the planets, displaced from their positions fell down on earth. That huge peak fell down upon that forest and by its fall killed numerous living creatures that dwelt in Khandava.

So these guys are playing cozy father and son games, while countless innocent creatures are being crushed to death below. Meanwhile, in the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has now switched over to describing demoniacal natures

... There are two types of beings in this world—the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the demoniacal! The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity nor right conduct nor truth is found in them.

chapter 16, ver 6, 7

The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from! It couldn’t have been put better. Now, more of purity, right conduct and truth in action at the infernal pell-mell of a jungle, where scorched animals — utterly helpless — are dying their wretched deaths:

Then the inhabitants of the forest of Khandava, the Danavas and Rakshasas and Nagas and wolves and bears and other wild animals, and elephants with rent temples, and tigers, and lions with manes and deer and buffaloes by hundreds, and birds, and various other creatures, frightened at the falling stones and extremely anxious, began to fly in all directions. They saw the forest (burning all around) and Krishna and Arjuna also ready with their weapons. Frightened at the terrible sounds that were audible there those creatures lost their power of movement. Beholding the forest burning in innumerable places and Krishna also ready to smite them down with his weapons, they all set up a frightful roar. With that terrible clamour as also with the roar of fire, the whole welkin resounded, as it were, with the voice of portentous clouds. Kesava of dark hue and mighty arms, in order to compass their destruction, hurled at them his large and fierce discus resplendent with its own energy. The forest-dwellers including the Danavas and the Rakshasas, afflicted by that weapon, were cut in hundreds of pieces and fell unto the mouth of Agni. Mangled by Krishna's discus, the Asuras were besmeared with blood and fat and looked like evening clouds. And he of the Vrishni race (Krishna) moved able like death itself, slaying Pisachas and birds and Nagas and other creatures by thousands. The discus itself, repeatedly hurled from the hands of Krishna, that slayer of all foes, came back to his hands after slaughtering numberless creatures. The face and form of Krishna— that soul of every created thing—became fierce to behold while he was thus employed in the slaughter of the Pisachas, Nagas and Rakshasas. No one among the celestials, who had mustered there could vanquish in battle Krishna and Arjuna. When the celestials saw that they could not protect that forest from the might of Krishna and Arjuna by extinguishing that conflagration, they retired from the scene. Then he of a hundred sacrifices (Indra), beholding the immortals retreat, became filled with joy and applauded Krishna and Arjuna.

Krishna, the soul of every created thing! How can we ever forget that! And at the near-end of it, Indra is extremely delighted with his son's incomparable performance. He comes down to earth, and gives many more super weapons as boons to Arjuna, along with his blessings. Freed from the distraction of Indra and his cohort, Arjuna and Krishna go on a concentrated final round of butchering, and deliver the compassionate coup-de-grace to the dying forest and its inhabitants. This is certainly not something to be refrained from. When you have begun something, you have to finish it. Our heroes, imbued with divine nature, set about to do it with a leonine roar!

Then those heroes, Vasudeva and Arjuna, when they saw the chief of the celestials retreat accompanied by all the gods, set up a leonine roar. And Kesava and Arjuna, after Indra had left the scene, became exceedingly glad. Those heroes then fearlessly assisted at the conflagration of the forest. Arjuna scattered the celestials like the wind scattering the clouds, and slew with showers of his arrows, numberless creatures that dwelt in Khandava. Cut off by Arjuna's arrows, no one amongst the innumerable creatures could escape from the burning forest. Far from fighting with him, none amongst even the strongest creatures mustered there could look at Arjuna whose weapons were never futile. Sometimes piercing hundred creatures with one shaft and sometimes a single creature with hundred shafts, Arjuna moved about in his car. The creatures themselves, deprived of life, began to fall into the mouth of Agni (god of fire), struck down as it were by death itself. On the banks of rivers or on uneven plains or on crematoriums, go where they did, the creatures (dwelling in Khandava) found no ease, for wherever they sought shelter there they were afflicted by the heat. And hosts of creatures roared in pain, and elephants and deer and wolves set up cries of affliction. At that sound the fishes of the Ganges and the sea, and the various tribes of Vidyadharas dwelling in that forest all became frightened. Let alone battling with them, no one, could even gaze at Arjuna and Janardana of dark hue. Hari slew with his discus those Rakshasas and Danavas and Nagas that rushed at him in bands. Of huge bodies, their heads and trunks were cut off by the swift motion of the discus, and deprived of life they fell down into the blazing fire. Gratified with large quantities of flesh, blood, and fat, the flames rose up to a great height without a curling wreath of smoke. Hutasana (fire-god) with blazing and coppery eyes, and flaming tongue and large mouth, and the hair on the crown of his head all fiery, drinking, with the help of Krishna and Arjuna, that nectar-like stream of animal fat, became filled with joy. Gratified greatly, Agni derived much happiness.

The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity nor right conduct nor truth is found in them. ...[T]hese ruined souls of small intellects and fierce deeds, come forth as enemies of the world for its destruction. Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance...

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 16

2009-05-23T17:51:00.007+05:30

A for Arjuna, B for Bhima, C for Conquer, D for Destroy

And I am all-devouring death, and prosperity of those who are to be prosperous…

Bhagavad Gita, chap 10, ver 34

You have all heard of Genghis Khan, the world conqueror. Now hear about Arjuna Khan! The following narrative is set in those relatively mellow peaceful days long before the chaos and tumult of the Mahabharata war, when the Pandavas were enjoying their 'fair share' of the Kuru kingdom, called Indraprastha or Khandavaprastha.

And the Pandavas passed their days, continuing to gladden the heart of Draupadi.

Oh, oh! That seems to be the main thing they were doing. If only they could be content doing that all the time!

And at that time, whatever was proper and consistent with virtue, pleasure, and profit, continued to be properly executed by king Yudhishthira in the exercise of his duties of protecting his subjects.

Protecting the subjects involves a great deal of pleasure and profit! ‘…proper and consistent with virtue, pleasure and profit…’, yes, consistency — right and proper!

Arjuna, having obtained that best of bows and that couple of inexhaustible quivers and that car and flag-staff, as also that assembly-house, addressing Yudhishthira said,—

All these he obtained in reward for instantly wiping out a huge forest area and slaughtering millions of creatures inhabiting it, a grand escapade in which Arjuna is joined by Krishna. Except for the assembly-house, all these things were presented by the god of fire who was allowed to feast upon the forest under Arjuna's supervision without being put out by the forest dwellers.

"Bow, weapons, great energy, allies, territory, fame, army-those, O king, difficult of acquisition however desirable, have all been obtained by me.

Possessions, possessions, possessions! Acquire, acquire, acquire!

I think, therefore, that what should now be done is for the swelling up of our treasury.

Okay, go on, loot, pillage, plunder! This is the time-honored custom after all for swelling up of treasuries. The powerful have always trampled upon the powerless, and moreover this is in strict accordance with the prescripts of dharma.

I desire, O best of monarchs, to make the kings (of the earth) pay tributes to us.

As I was saying, loot! steal and rob in the open day light, O best of thieves! And kill all the people who come in your way. Don't forget to do your duty always as prescribed by the rules of dharma.

I desire to set out, in an auspicious moment of a holy day of the moon under a favourable constellation for the conquest of the direction that is presided over by the Lord of treasures (viz. the North)."

If Arjuna went any norther, he would have met the ancestors of Huns and Mongols, which could have been a classic encounter!

King Yudhishthira the just, hearing these words of Dhananjaya, replied unto him in a grave and collected tone, saying, —"O bull of the Bharata race, set thou out, having made holy Brahmanas utter benedictions on thee, to plunge thy enemies in sorrow and to fill thy friend with joy.

Only a trained eye like that of Swami Gober can read this type of tricky texts properly! 'Plunge thy enemies in sorrow'! — fine. Notice 'enemies' is plural, and 'friend' is singular. In other words, everybody is an enemy, and there is only one friend, yes you guessed it, Krishna!

In fact, when Arjuna got all those weapons as a boon from Agni, the god of fire, Krishna asked the god only one boon, that their friendship may last forever! An interesting fact when you juxtapose it with the Gita admonitions of Krishna for Arjuna to kill relatives, teachers, friends, foes alike since such relationships do not hold any substance, and live practicing non-attachment.

Victory, O son of Pritha, will surely be thine, and thou wilt surely obtain thy desires fulfilled."

Fulfill your desires, O son of Pritha. That is the only thing that matters in the world, from the beginning to the end! Other people, their lives and their happiness — all these can go down to dust. Just you and your megalomaniac desires of wealth and power and the dominion of the whole earth!

Thus addressed, Arjuna, surrounded by a large host, set out in that celestial car of wonderful achievements he had obtained from Agni. And Bhimasena also, and those bull among men, the twins, dismissed with affection by Yudhishthira the just set out, each at the head of a large army. And Arjuna, the son of the chastiser of Paka (Indra, the god of heaven) then brought under subjugation that direction (the North) which was presided over by the Lord of treasures.

This Lord of treasures is Kubera, the Bill Gates of those times, and who has forever become the icon of wealth in Indian mythology. So Arjuna was going in the right direction! Meanwhile,

And Bhimasena overcame by force the East and Sahadeva the South, and Nakula, acquainted with all the weapons, conquered the West. Thus while his brothers were so employed, the exalted king Yudhishthira the just stayed within Khandavaprastha in the enjoyment of great affluence in the midst of friends and relatives.

Great affluence, and we do know where it came from, where it is all coming from!

Arjuna has just commenced his campaign of plunder. He conquers a king called Bhagadatta and proceeds further north.

That bull amongst men, that son of Kunti, then conquered the mountainous tracts and their outskirts, as also the hilly regions. And having conquered all the mountains and the kings that reigned there, and bringing them under his sway, he exacted tributes from all. And winning the affections of those kings and uniting himself with them, he next marched against Vrihanta, the king of Uluka, making this earth tremble with the sound of his drums, the clatter of his chariot-wheels, and the roar of the elephants in his train.

Earth trembling! Genghis Khan! Genghis Khan! Genghis Khan! Er, sorry — Arjuna Khan! Arjuna Khan! Arjuna Khan!

Vrihanta, however, quickly coming out of his city followed by his army consisting of four kinds of troops, gave battle to Falguna (Arjuna). And the fight that took place between Vrihanta and Dhananjaya was terrible. It so happened that Vrihanta was unable to bear the prowess of the son of Pandu. Then that invincible king of the mountainous region regarding the son of Kunti irresistible, approached him with all his wealth. Arjuna snatched out the kingdom from Vrihanta, but having made peace with him marched, accompanied by that king, against Senavindu whom he soon expelled from his kingdom. After this he subjugated Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas, and the kings of those countries and peoples. Hereafter at the command of Yudhishthira, Arjuna did not move from the city of Senavindu but sent his troops only and brought under his sway those five countries and peoples. For Arjuna, having arrived at Devaprastha, the city of Senavindu, took up his quarters there with his army consisting of four kinds of forces. Thence, surrounded by the kings and the peoples he had subjugated, the hero marched against king Viswagaswa—that bull of Puru's race. Having vanquished in battle the brave mountaineers, who were all great warriors, the son of Pandu then occupied with the help of his troops, the town protected by the Puru king. Having vanquished in battle the Puru king, as also the robber tribes, of the mountains, the son of Pandu brought under his sway the seven tribes called Utsava-sanketa.

Phew! Rob, rob, rob, Kill, kill, kill! Kill and conquer one and all, subjugate the big fish as well as the small fry, anyone in sight, anyone at all!

That bull of the Kshatriya race then defeated the brave Kshatriyas of Kashmira and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs. Then the Trigartas, the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various other Kshatriyas advanced against the son of Pandu. That Prince of the Kuru race then took the delightful town of Avisari, and then brought under his sway Rochamana ruling in Uraga.

'Delightful town'! A happy place of peace and prosperity? Okay, attack it, go on a rampage, pillage, plunder, ruin everyone's lives for decades to come!

Then the son of Indra (Arjuna), putting forth his might, pressed the delightful town of Singhapura that was well-protected with various weapons. Then Arjuna, that bull amongst the son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked the regions called Suhma and Sumala. Then the son of Indra, endued with great prowess, after pressing them with great force, brought the Valhikas always difficult of being vanquished, under his sway. Then Falguna, the son of Pandu, taking with him a select force, defeated the Daradas along with the Kambojas.

This Kamboja was near modern-day Afghanistan. Gandhara, the kingdom of Gandhari and Sakuni, was right within Afghanistan.

Then the exalted son of Indra vanquished the robber tribes that dwelt in the north-eastern frontier and those also that dwelt in the woods. And the son of Indra also subjugated the allied tribes of the Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas. And the battle with the Rishikas was fierce in the extreme. Indeed, the fight that took place between them and the son of Pritha was equal to that between the gods and the Asuras in which Taraka (the wife of Vrihaspati) had become the cause of so much slaughter.

A gentle reference to all the carnage that is taking place! But the fight of Robber vs robber would have made for an excellent sight! Arjuna is moving eastwards now, back from Afghanistan

And defeating the Rishikas in the field of battle, Arjuna took from them as tribute eight horses that were of the colour of the parrot's breast, as also other horses of the hues of the peacock, born in northern and other climes and endued with high speed. At last having conquered all the Himalayas and the Nishkuta mountains, that bull among men, arriving at the White mountains, encamped on its breast.

The eight-horses part of the tribute is only a symbolic one. Those horses would have been followed by a great deal of other booty. I think half of his army (wherever did he get this army in the first place or were they mercenaries?) would have been occupied with carrying the enormous hoarding of loot by now.

[T]hat heroic and foremost of the Pandavas endued with great energy, crossing the White mountains, subjugated the country of the Limpurushas ruled by Durmaputra, after a collision involving a great slaughter of Kshatriyas, and brought the region under his complete sway. Having reduced that country, the son of Indra (Arjuna) with a collected mind marched at the head of his troops to the country called Harataka, ruled by the Guhakas. Subjugating them by a policy of conciliation, the Kuru prince beheld (in that region) that excellent of lakes called Manasa and various other lakes and tanks sacred to the Rishis. And the exalted prince having arrived at the lake Manasa conquered the regions ruled by the Gandharvas that lay around the Harataka territories. Here the conqueror took, as tribute from the country, numerous excellent horses called Tittiri, Kalmasha, Manduka. At last the son of the slayer of Paka, arriving in the country of North Harivarsha desired to conquer it.

Again horses are a symbolic reference, they don't constitute the whole of the booty. The Manasa lake, the holy Manas Sarovar! Considered by Hindus to be the most pristine spot on the earth. Arjuna must have dropped a few beheaded bodies profusely oozing blood in that lake too!

Now he has come to the center of the Himalayas, ravaging the whole of a vast, pure, pristine, sacred territory. China was somehow off limits, but had he entered into China, it would have been riproaring fun! Here deep in the Himalayas, he enters into the territories of gods, and manages to plunder them too!

Thereupon certain frontier-guards of huge bodies and endued with great strength and energy, coming to him with gallant hearts, said, 'O son of Pritha, this country can be never conquered by thee. If thou seekest thy good, return hence. He that entereth this region, if human, is sure to perish. We have been gratified with thee; O hero, thy conquests have been enough. Nor is anything to be seen here, O Arjuna, that may be conquered by thee. The Northern Kurus live here. There cannot be war here. Even if thou enterest it, thou will not be able to behold anything, for with human eyes nothing can be seen here. If, however thou seekest anything else, O Bharata tell us, O tiger among men, so that we may do thy bidding. Thus addressed by them, Arjuna smilingly addressing them, said, —'I desire the acquisition of the imperial dignity by Yudhishthira the just, of great intelligence. If your land is shut against human beings, I shall not enter it. Let something be paid unto Yudhishthira by ye as tribute.’ Hearing these words of Arjuna, they gave him as tribute many cloths and ornaments of celestial make, silks of celestial texture and skins of celestial origin.

‘Yudhisthira the just, of great intelligence’ — this must be the joke of the century, but then the Mahabharata is full of such jokes! So Arjuna is saying, ‘We are just and non-violent people. We don't intend to harm or kill anyone. All we desire is some wealth. Just pay us lots of tribute and we will go our way, we will not bother you. But if you don't pay, I have some special weapons made only to destroy celestial beings and I may feel like using them now.’ And then he obtained many goods with a 'Made in heaven' tag! But think about it, they would have actually been made in hell, not in heaven! Can anyone imagine factories and sweatshops in the heaven? What the heck is hell for, anyway?

It was thus that tiger among men subjugated the countries that lay to the North, having fought numberless battles with both Kshatriya and robber tribes. And having vanquished the chiefs and brought them under his sway he exacted from them much wealth, various gems and jewels, the horses of the species called Tittiri and Kalmasha, as also those of the colour of the parrot's wings and those that were like the peacocks in hue and all endued with the speed of the wind. And surrounded by a large army consisting of the four kinds of forces, the hero came back to the excellent city of Sakraprastha (Indraprastha). And Partha offered the whole of that wealth, together with the animals he had brought, unto Yudhishthira the just. And commanded by the monarch, the hero retired to a chamber of the palace for rest.

That's all for now, folks. See you next time!

I was just kidding, there is a lot more coming right away!

[I]n the meantime, Bhimasena also endued with great energy, having obtained the assent of Yudhishthira the just marched towards the eastern direction. And the tiger among the Bharatas, possessed of great valour and ever increasing the sorrows of his foes, was accompanied by a mighty host with the full complement of elephants and horses and cars, well-armed and capable of crushing all hostile kingdoms. That tiger among men, the son of Pandu, going first into the great country of the Panchalas, began by various means to conciliate that tribe. Then that hero, that bull of the Bharata race, within a short time, vanquished the Gandakas and the Videhas. That exalted one then subjugated the Dasarnas. There in the country of the Dasarnas, the king called Sudharman with his bare arms fought a fierce battle with Bhimasena. And Bhimasena, beholding that feat of the illustrious king, appointed the mighty Sudharman as the first in command of his forces. Then Bhima of terrible prowess marched towards the east, causing the earth itself to tremble with the tread of the mighty host that followed him. Then that hero who in strength was the foremost of all strong men defeated in battle Rochamana, the king of Aswamedha, at the head of all his troops. And the son of Kunti, having vanquished that monarch by performing feats that excelled in fierceness, subjugated the eastern region. Then that prince of the Kuru race, endued with great prowess going into the country of Pulinda in the south, brought Sukumara and the king Sumitra under his sway. Then that bull in the Bharata race, at the command of Yudhishthira the just marched against Sisupala of great energy. The king of Chedi, hearing of the intentions of the son of Pandu, came out of his city. And that chastiser of all foes then received the son of Pritha with respect. Then those bulls of the Chedi and the Kuru lines, thus met together, enquired after each other's welfare. Then the king of Chedi offered his kingdom unto Bhima and said smilingly, —'O sinless one, upon what art thou bent?' And Bhima thereupon represented unto him the intentions of king Yudhishthira. And Bhima dwelt there, O king, for thirty nights, duly entertained by Sisupala.

A small break.....

And here we go again.

And after this he set out from Chedi with his troops and vehicles. that chastiser of all foes then vanquished king Srenimat of the country of Kumara, and then Vrihadvala, the king of Kosala. Then the foremost of the sons of Pandu, by performing feats excelling in fierceness, defeated the virtuous and mighty king Dirghayaghna of Ayodhya. And the exalted one then subjugated the country of Gopalakaksha and the northern Kosalas and also the king of Mallas. And the mighty one, arriving then in the moist region at the foot of the Himalayas soon brought the whole country under his sway. And that bull of Bharata race brought under control in this way diverse countries. And endued with great energy and in strength the foremost of all strong men, the son of Pandu next conquered the country of Bhallata, as also the mountain of Suktimanta that was by the side of Bhallata. Then Bhima of terrible prowess and long arms, vanquishing in battle the unretreating Suvahu the king of Kasi, brought him under complete sway. Then that bull among the sons of Pandu overcame in battle, by sheer force, the great king Kratha reigning in the region lying about Suparsa. Then the hero of great energy vanquished the Matsya and the powerful Maladas and the country called Pasubhumi that was without fear or oppression of any kind. And the long-armed hero then, coming from that land, conquered Madahara, Mahidara, and the Somadheyas, and turned his steps towards the north. And the mighty son of Kunti then subjugated, by sheer force, the country called Vatsabhumi, and the king of the Bhargas, as also the ruler of the Nishadas and Manimat and numerous other kings…

Although Bhima is not taking any break, let us take a short break here and let Bhima continue with his conquests. Now we catch him towards the end of his bloody itinerary.

And the son of Pandu then slew in a fierce encounter, by the strength of his arms, the mighty king who dwelt in Madagiri. And the Pandava then, O king, subjugated in battle those strong and brave heroes of fierce prowess, viz., the heroic and mighty Vasudeva, the king of Pundra and king Mahaujah who reigned in Kausika-kachchha, and then attacked the king of Vanga. And having vanquished Samudrasena and king Chandrasena and Tamralipta, and also the king of the Karvatas and the ruler of the Suhmas, as also the kings that dwelt on the sea-shore, that bull among the Bharatas then conquered all Mlechchha tribes. The mighty son of the wind-god having thus conquered various countries, and exacting tributes from them all advanced towards Lohity. And the son of Pandu then made all the Mlechchha kings dwelling in the marshy regions on the sea-coast, pay tributes and various kinds of wealth, and sandal wood and aloes, and clothes and gems, and pearls and blankets and gold and silver and valuable corals. The Mlechchha kings showered upon the illustrious son of Kunti a thick downpour of wealth consisting of coins and gems counted by hundreds of millions. Then returning to Indraprastha, Bhima of terrible prowess offered the whole of that wealth unto king Yudhisthira the just.

Hundreds of millions of gold and silver coins and gems! Mission accomplished!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 15

2009-05-22T06:14:00.008+05:30

Of Rats and Men

His glorious grandsire (Bhishma), the eldest of the Kauravas, in order to cheer Duryodhana, now roared like a lion and blew his conch.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 1, ver 12

I would like to cheer Duryodhana too. Three cheers to the much-maligned, much-misunderstood, tragic anti-hero! Let me begin with an interesting, illuminating detour.

In the mid-1930's the Great Britain was in a strong, widespread pacifist mood. It was a most bizarre sentiment, especially on the part of the world-conquering Britain. It was as if a magician swept his magic wand all over the island nation and turned everyone into a staunch pacifist, bland, foolish, radiating benign smiles. Across the English Channel, Hitler was vigorously ramping up Germany's military might, he was most openly preparing for a great aggression. But nobody took any notice! America had a policy of non-intervention and just wouldn't bother to look into the European scene. And in England, both the government and the citizens were just sleep-walking living in a fool's paradise, believing everything was just fine, hunky-dory, all sunshine and smiles. In that seemingly balmy weather that prevailed in England, only one man in the whole country could sense the gathering storm, a storm that would ravage England and Europe and leave a whole continent in shambles. Winston Churchill, not yet prime minister, was running from pillar to post trying to convince the authorities that Hitler was an evil man, that he had most nefarious intentions on Europe, that it was time for England to counteract Hitler's rise, and prepare for a war. Nobody would listen to him for a long time and he was labeled a warmonger, but slowly Germany's stance became too obvious for anyone to ignore. However by then it was too late for England, because it hadn't adequate time for preparations and had to suffer massive casualties in German blitzkriegs. The city of London became a sitting duck, mercilessly battered and pounded by German Luftwaffe for weeks and months.

Around this time Churchill became the prime minister and did his best to motivate the nation to strike back without giving into depression and despondency. Seeming like a strong and confident Winston Churchill, Sri Krishna too urges the drooping Arjuna into action, Krishna reminds him his call of duty, stirs him up, and compels him to fight the righteous war for the sake of the country, for the sake of humanity. This is how the gober swamijis invariably portray the context of the Gita. So naturally no one sees anything wrong with Krishna's response, and even I wouldn't have been able to see any if indeed this were the case. Just like I am a fan of Winston Churchill, I would have been a fan of Krishna too.

But the question is, was Duryodhana a Hitler, the evil-minded aggressor, bent on subduing the whole world and proclaiming himself the world-conqueror? What if Duryodhana didn't have an iota of resemblance to Hitler, and further, what if it was Krishna and the Pandavas who had much in common with Hitler? How would we regard the Gita then? Would we still worship it or would we tear each page of it and feed it to the shredder?

First and foremost, let's look at it from the angle of the subjects of the kingdom. There is no report of any injustice or oppression in Duryodhana's reign. In fact Duryodhana's father, Dhritarashtra, was still the king, and Duryodhana was only slated to be the next ruler though he himself has a grown-up son by now. Dhritharastra was physically blind and even if he were not, it wouldn't have made much difference; he would have just as much depended on his prime minister, Vidura, for running the kingdom. This man Vidura is regarded as the embodiment of virtue and wisdom, and according to Vyasa, was literally and not just symbolically, the incarnation of the Lord of Dharma. Also, Vidura and Dhritharashtra had the same biological father, they were therefore half-brothers and quite intimate with each other. In those days the society was massively less complex than today's society, people themselves were much simpler, crime was only at the margins. The king was only a symbolic figurehead although he had the absolute power; the one who was in charge of running all the day-to-day affairs of the state is the prime minister. In many places in the Bhagavad Gita and throughout the Mahabharata we see kingship always being associated with luxury, pleasure, power and status, and that's all that it meant, besides waging wars or defending the people from aggressors. Running the government was just a chore delegated to the prime minister and his coterie. Besides, the Kuru kingdom was a small state, perhaps slightly larger than Switzerland, and the actual populated portions of it are much smaller.

Now let me reveal to you the most important fact about the Mahabharata war. Really all those gober swamijis who call this war the righteous war should stop eating food and start eating mud, or even better, some tasty cow dung! Krishna was in the habit of eating mud anyway. Remember the famous story when Krishna as a small child eats mud? His mother Yashoda gives him spanking and opens his mouth to make him regurgitate it, when suddenly she starts seeing a kaleidoscope of Hubble Space Telescope images of planets, stars and galaxies, all in 3D, panoramic view inside Krishna's little mouth. This means symbolically that this kid is going to grow up and spew nonsense of cosmic proportions! The whole freaking righteous, glorious Mahabharata war is absolutely for nothing – it is the same prime minister before the war and after the war, our man Vidura! He is the one appointed by Yudhishthira after the victory.

The war wouldn't have made the least difference to the subjects of the kingdom, except that after the war they would be in much diminished number, with all the able-bodied young men gone. Many wives would have been gone too, as long as they didn't have children to look after; the satanic practice of Sati was very much in vogue. In fact, the mother of the last two Pandavas committed a Sati, so it was a common practice for devoted wives to go and burn themselves alive on the funeral pyre of their husbands. And all the widowed women would be very much encouraged to honor this custom even if they had children to look after, because India was a country of love and affection and big families, and the children could be looked after by their aunts with just as much care as they would be by their mothers. In all, this whole colossal destruction, this horrendously gruesome tragedy of the Mahabharata war, was absolutely for nothing in practical terms, except for vastly decreasing the already scarce population. Righteous war, indeed!

And there is much more. Not only Duryodhana had no trace of evil or wickedness, Krishna and the Pandavas had plenty. Duryodhana was not even doing so much as raping any women who fell into his sight and may have looked rather comely. But Krishna was most probably doing that, although without too much violence I hope. Krishna once found a huge collection of girls in the harem of a king he defeated, and did he release the girls? No, he made them into his harem! Krishna was an inveterate womanizer, and who knows how many women he must have slept with, whether on a voluntary basis or by use of force.

Another interesting comparison to Hitler. It is well known that the Fuehrer had no friends or intimate confidantes. Friendship is what brings out a very essential aspect of humanity in us. Duryodhana went out of his way to make Karna, a person apparently born in a lower caste, as his best friend for life, constantly by his side, a guy whom the Pandavas and even the elder Bhishma always saw as only fit for humiliation. And the Pandavas had no friends. Krishna can be seen as a friend, but he was their first cousin and so doesn't count. When they were studying under Drona, the Pandavas and the Kauravas had a great number of princes of other neighboring kingdoms for company. But Arjuna did not make one friend. He saw Ekalavya, a fellow who could equal him in talents and capacity, and got him promptly destroyed whereas they could have been the best of friends. And then there was Ashwatthama, the son of Drona, around the same age as Arjuna, and same skills, talents and tendencies. If Drona had a daughter, Arjuna would have definitely married her, but he wouldn't even be friends with Drona's brilliant son. Ashwatthama was as brilliant a warrior as Arjuna, but his character is so wasted in the Mahabharata, it’s a pity.

Such characteristics give an insight into what kind of people the Pandavas really were. They — or just the middle two of the five Pandavas — were not only superhuman in their strength and abilities, but strangely inhuman in many personality traits, again a fact which reminds one of Hitler. For one thing, they shared with Hitler the monstrous Aryan contempt towards people of lower castes / different racial origin. Witness the cold-blooded manner in which they burn alive six innocent people of a lower caste visiting them as guests without the slightest moral compunction. These dark-skinned people of lower caste were in fact people of a different racial origin, the indigenous people who lived in India since before the Aryan conquest.

Next, bad habits and serious addictions. Of all the Kauravas and Pandavas, who was it that had a bad habit, a virulent, incorrigible, seriously damaging, and potentially even more damaging addiction at that? It was Yudhishthira, not Duryodhana! This Krishna and his vast harem of gober swamijis — for they are all his lovers, aren't they? — are so keen and desperate about reinstating Yudhishthira as the king, a guy who has utterly no self-respect, no dignity, no sense of most basic human values, and who completely takes leave of all his senses when he is playing the dice-game, and he doesn't miss a single chance to indulge in this form of gambling either! All other arguments are totally unnecessary to decide whether the Mahabharata war was a righteous one, a just one, or not; anybody who has an IQ above 30 (alas that the gober swamijis don't even seem to measure up to this parameter) can see for himself that this Yudhishthira is not even fit to be called a pig, he is just the worst of human scumbags that ever existed. A guy who can sell off his kingdom, his brothers and his wife – seriously I don't think there is any person alive on this planet, including the gober swamijis, who can honestly say this person is in any way fit to be a ruler of people. Yet down through the history everybody has always thought of him as the most ideal ruler, second only to Sri Rama! Now go figure!

Coming to the other aspects of Duryodhana's character, granted that he is slightly dumb, but name one major character in the Mahabharata who is not dumber! He is often seen plotting and scheming against the Pandavas, I see absolutely nothing wrong in it. The Pandavas are stronger and more powerful people, they pose a threat to the kingdom and to Duryodhana's whole life and career and his very family lineage. He has to get rid of them, but they wouldn't go away, neither can he eliminate them directly, so he is forced to use his limited brain and come up with some strategies. That is what anyone in his place would have done.

And then, Duryodhana is portrayed as egoistic and jealous. Both of these qualities can be healthy and positive, egoism is way of self-assertion, and jealousy is discontentment with status quo. Jealousy fuels ambition, and ambition can exist in a good sense or a bad sense. There is nothing wrong in Duryodhana's jealousy and ambitiousness which after all amounted only to guard the kingdom that is rightfully his, but I see everything wrong in the jealousy and ambitiousness of the Pandavas. This Yudhishthira, as utterly moronic as he may seem, is surprisingly a total megalomaniac just like Hitler. And just like Hitler he wanted to subdue every head of state around the place, and assert his supremacy all over the known world.

Here I have to make a mention of an interesting episode. Originally, Dhritharashtra gives the Pandavas a half of the kingdom just as they desired. They take some fifteen years to develop and consolidate it. At this point, Arjuna and Krishna indulge in a bizarre antic. They just burn off a huge tract of forest, covering almost half of their part of the kingdom. In those days burning off a forest is not a sin like it is in our own times, but the way they do it is most reprehensible. They do it in a single stroke, set the whole forest on fire with some super weapons Arjuna possesses, burning alive and killing all the denizens of the forests, animals, humans, and non-human supernatural beings. Exactly the indiscriminate genocide modus operandi one would expect from Hitler. When some of these denizens try to put up a fight, both Krishna and Arjuna slaughter them. One of these denizens is a renowed architect of the rakshasas, the so-called demons. The deadly duo would have killed him too, but he surrends and for sparing him his life, he later builds the Pandavas a magnificent magical palace.

Now sitting on the throne in his new dazzling palace, Yudhishthira suddenly feels a virtuous urge springing up in him, the urge to conquer the whole world! All he has to go about it is his two superman brothers — Arjuna and Bhima, since he himself doesn't know how to fight. He is very doubtful whether they would be able to manage it, subdue every king in the land, loot the country, and make off with great booties! The only difference between Hitler and Yudhishthira type of looting is that when looting any country Hitler would pay special attention to art works since he had an artistic soul, but the Pandavas are boors and barbarians, hardly educated beyond reading and writing. So they would be just happy with gold, gems, weapons and such. They went on such a plundering campaign once before, as did their father, but what Yudhishthira intends now is something on a much larger scale. He wants to perform the Rajasooya Yagna (literally, King-Jealousy Sacrifice), which would be formally accomplished only if every king of the land submitted to his supremacy! He urgently summons Krishna to get his advice, and Krishna of course says, ‘Go ahead, loot all you can, now there is enough space in our kingdom to store all the booty, and there is not a soul in the whole world who could vanquish the combined might of Arjuna and Bhima.’

In the England of 1930's, people were somehow magically lulled into complacency, they simply refused to see the fact that an evil monster was rising to power in their neighboring country and could possibly be setting about to destroy the whole world. As weird as it may seem, that is nothing compared to the situation in India where for thousands of years people simply refused to see the evil and utter lunacy of Krishna and the Pandavas. To the contrary, they went on worshiping and idolizing them. I remember watching in a Hitler movie, the Fuehrer is in his underground bunker at the end of his days, his secretary asks him, why does he really hate the Jews. And Hitler confesses, he has nothing against the Jews, it is simply that people need something or somebody to hate, the enemy has to be created to foster national integrity and to project the ruling power as the good guys. It is all just propaganda. And then Hitler says, if Jews were not around, he could have launched a propaganda campaign against the rats (the bunker was presumably infested with rats).

Duryodhana was just an unfortunate rat, a victim of propaganda by Krishna- Vyasa- gober swamiji nexus. After all the thousands of years, there is just one man who has the guts to expose this conspiracy: yours truly, Swami Gober!

Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 14

2009-05-21T05:50:00.008+05:30

Frame Freeze

In the middle of the two armies, place my chariot, O Krishna, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight when the battle begins.

For I desire to observe those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle Duryodhana, the evil-minded.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 1, 21-23

Evil-minded Duryodhana, indeed! Duryodhana is really the linchpin of all the events leading up to the Mahabharata war, and his essential evil consists in desiring to be left in peace, so that he could rule his kingdom without being constantly pestered by his cousins, the Pandavas. Hastinapura is really a small kingdom, the Pandavas could have just let Duryodhana be, and with all their immense talents they could have done so many tremendously more interesting things than rule a petty kingdom which they deviously claimed to be their inheritance.

Arjuna and Bheema, the top two Pandavas, are born adventurers, they could only thrive in wandering about, encountering dangerous situations, displaying their superhuman might in dauntless exploits and so on. Their legendary prowess and whole lives would be so wasted when circumscribed to ruling a small lackluster kingdom, or actually just half of it, because even the Pandava claim is only for a half of it. In the Kuru kingdom, only its capital city Hastinapura is of any prominence. Partitioning this small state into left-Hastinapura and right-non-Hastinapura territories would let the Pandavas have nothing more than a large piece of unpopulated barren wasteland and a forest. If they so much wanted to rule a kingdom of their own they could have obtained such large tracts of wastelands and wooded areas in a hundred different places around the country in those days when the population was so sparse. For one thing, Arjuna could have married any number of princesses and could have easily obtained some sizable territories as grants from his fathers-in-law. Look at it in any way, there is absolutely no reason for the Pandavas to pick a dogged fight to death with Duryodhana for a silly piece of land, and that too under a patently fraudulent pretext.

But Krishna couldn't have it that way. He needed a dummy evil monarch who could be destroyed by him or with his aid in a spectacular fashion so that he could proclaim to the world that he is the supreme manifestation of the Godhead come here on the Earth to destroy the evil and establish the law of righteousness, which is what he does in the Bhagavad Gita. As we have seen in the previous two essays, this is the traditional Hindu concept of avatar or messiah, and Krishna had to conform to it to confirm his divine avatar status. To each his lunacy! And so Duryodhana becomes the perfect fall guy. Instead of advising the Pandavas to find more useful and interesting things to do in life, Krishna perpetually goads them to get their share of the patrimony – presumed to be theirs purely on an invalid basis – thereby instigating Duryodhana who otherwise seems to be a perfectly nice gentleman. We must not forget that Duryodhana's best friend, aide and advisor is Karna, the unacknowledged elder brother of Yudhishthira himself, and the son of Sun god, a really virtuous character given to charity and compassion.

But even at the cusp of the Mahabharata war when Arjuna expresses his desire to get out of this total and absolute insanity, of killing his own brothers and uncles and most beloved teachers, leave alone letting millions of other uninvolved people slaughtered like sheep and cows, all for a piddling kingdom in and around which there would be no able-bodied man left after the war, Krishna just doesn't let him go. He keeps goading, coaxing and cajoling Arjuna to go ahead and kill everyone ruthlessly. And since he doesn't have any valid reasons to convince Arjuna on rational grounds, Krishna resorts to bringing in all kinds of totally irrelevant philosophies just to bamboozle Arjuna's mind and push him into yielding. ‘Oh I don't know any of this philosophy and Krishna seems to know the whole stuff, definitely he is the wiser one of us, so what he says must be correct!’ The whole of the Bhagavad Gita is delivered with the purpose of cowing Arjuna into submission and make him abandon his individual will, reason and discernment.

Whether the Mahabharata story and the war really happened we don’t know. Even if something like it really happened in the 2^nd millennium BCE, it must have been something on a much smaller scale, exaggerated in the epic beyond recognition. The Bhagavad Gita is of course absolutely a fiction, for the simple and most obvious reason that there simply was no time for it to happen. Unless we assume that Krishna could have simply frozen the frame all around him and slipped out of the time stream for several long hours along with Arjuna. After finishing the great Bhagavad Gita discourse that would have lasted a whole day in the regular time, they would have returned back to the familiar time dimension and unfrozen the scene. Without bringing in such weird explanations that belong to the realm of science fiction, it would be absurd to attribute any historical reality to the entire Bhagavad Gita episode. We could have dismissed the Bhagavad Gita as a stupid crowning piece of a stupid epic, but we cannot do so because of the crucial philosophical component of this episode. The Bhagavad Gita stands or falls by the quality and nature of its philosophical worth, quite apart from all the story that it is part of. Everybody realizes this much and they think that the Bhagavad Gita stands, and rises, and soars. Whereas we say it falls and falls badly and led an entire nation to its fall.

Krishna's bizarre coercive tactic in the Bhagavad Gita of pulling a reluctant, remorseful Arjuna into the war is an infinitely shameless way of trivializing philosophy, all philosophies, irrespective of the type of philosophy and its intrinsic worth. Even Nazi philosophy can be afforded more dignity than Krishna's base motives, at least the Nazi doctrines are straightforward in their intentions. Nazi philosophy says, Aryans are the superior race and all the other peoples of the earth have to be exterminated to create a better future for mankind. Whereas if put the same philosophy in the mouth of Krishna, in addition to being something dangerous, it would become something very dangerous. Let’s imagine Krishna were propagandizing for Hitler, he would be addressing a group of Nazi soldiers and saying or sing something like:

‘All people have the same soul and the same infinite, imperishable reality in them, so dying or killing doesn’t matter in the least. But, soldier, you are an instrument of Herr Fuehrer, so just do your duty, fulfill your dachshund (or some crappy German name for dharma). Don't worry about all the millions of Jews and Poles and Slavs that are going to be subjected to unspeakable tortures in the concentration camps, pain is just an ephemeral sensation. The only reality is Atman (this is a word of direct Germanic origin — believe it or not — the word for 'to breathe' in German is Atmen), and the nature of this Atman is supreme ecstasy. All the extreme suffering experienced by inmates of the concentration camps would not make the slightest dent in the eternal bliss of the Atman. Millions of emaciated people would be lined up naked and gassed to death or burnt in stoves, again nothing to be particularly concerned about because it is the same soul that lives in us or in them, and if some of us end up alive that is more than enough for the Atman to manifest its eternal radiance. We will live the life for them, for all the dead ones, and we will live it more gloriously after attaining victory in the war! Herr Fuehrer is a wise man, working day and night for the welfare of the world. So just follow his directives without a question in your mind or a doubt in your heart or a prick in your conscience. Rise up, O Reichs soldier, cast away this mean-spiritedness and narrow-mindedness. Think of the bigger picture, the grander scheme of things, the Reichs Millennium that is going to dawn upon humanity. Do unflinching service to your father land and mother tongue, sacrifice your own personal selfish life if need be for a greater cause. And now to the next chapter: Karmen Joga.’

There is not a shred of logical, rational, moral or philosophical validity in Krishna's devious purposes which prompted him to deliver his clueless arguments in favor of fighting in the Bhagavad Gita, packing in heck of more bunk. And it is not just a question of the Gita. For over 1500 years, gober swami after gober swami, such a huge pile of gober swamijis and great philosophers alike went on commenting on the Bhagavad Gita and extolling Krishna and Krishna's eternal wisdom in every possible way. No one has ever had the guts or simple common sense to question the basic premise on which the Bhagavad Gita is based. I often wonder seriously if we are living in a civilized society or in a loony bin full of pathological nutcracks. To think that it is into the hands of these loonies that the great philosophy of Vedanta has fallen — the immense tragic irony of it!

The raison d'etre both of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita is based on a monumental, and at the same time the silliest, distortion of a simple, straightforward rule: primogeniture. The eldest son inherits the kingdom, and that has always been the tradition. It is not that the Pandavas wanted to challenge it or reform it either. As followers of sordidly suffocating rigid moral law, they are in fact very strict adherents to it, yet when it comes to craftily wresting the kingdom from Duryodhana, they simply pretend such a rule doesn't exist and replace it with a totally idiotic new rule: fair share. This 'fair share' concept is such preposterous nonsense, the abysmal ridiculousness of which is impossible to fathom.

There is one Pandava father and one Kaurava father and they didn't divide the kingdom between themselves in the name of fair share, because such a thing was never heard of in the first place. But then the Pandavas enter the scene. By hook or crook, the grandsire Bhishma makes the Pandava eldest, Yudhishthira, to be the heir-apparent to the entire kingdom. When this was done none of the Pandavas raised the argument of fair share. Yudhishthira was only too glad and unctuously smug to take over the entire kingdom and didn't bother to give Duryodhana his fair share!

But what must have happened is that after the lac house incident examined in detail in an earlier essay here, Pandavas go roaming about the country and it is at this time that they meet their cousin Krishna for the first time. This “fair share” idea seems to have been planted in the Pandava minds by Krishna. Like all highly spiritual beings, Krishna knows that all the people we see all around us are in fact unconscious entities though they could appear to be perfectly alert and awake. And since they are deeply asleep, Krishna knows that people can be most easily manipulated and misled. So the Pandavas return to Hastinapura and start clamoring for their fair share now, although they themselves most strictly adhere to primogeniture within themselves. When the Pandavas get their fair share, would they divide it among themselves into five pieces? Most certainly not. The whole kingdom would be inherited by Yudhisthira and then by his eldest son after him. So what fair share? Whence fair share?

A point to be noted here is that even if Arjuna's eldest son is older than Yudhishthira's eldest son, it is Yudhisthira's eldest son who would inherit the kingdom and not Arjuna's. (One interesting observation: they are all non-stop sleeping with Draupadi, and they all share family resemblances, so how to tell whose son is who!) Bhima's line and Arjuna's lines are simply closed unless something happens to Yudhisthira's offspring or Yudhisthira himself voluntarily decides to confer kingdom on a more capable person of his choice. However, Yudhisthira initially becomes the heir-apparent to Hastinapura by manipulating this rule. They change the rule book, just for the time being, and argue that the eldest of the second son, i.e., Yudhishthira, gets to inherit the kingdom if he is older than the eldest of the first son, which is Duryodhana. Thus Yudhishthira becomes officially nominated for kingship, yet the Pandavas are not happy since they would have to wait decades for Dhritharashtra to pass away and for Yudhisthira to become the king. And because of the eagerness of the Pandavas to assume kingship and the reluctance of Duryodhana to be so easily sidestepped and thrown away like so much junk, many stories happen. And after a series of escapades that follow the lac house incident, the Pandavas end up marrying Draupadi and return to Hastinapura and petition for partition.

They would have realized that it would be difficult for them to take over the full kingdom with Duryodhana being around. And that is when the argument of fair share mysteriously emerges from nowhere. The most puzzling thing about it is, no one around objects to this nonsensical notion of wantonly, whimsically partitioning the kingdom. Suppose Vichitravirya, the official though not biological grandfather of the Pandavas and Kauravas, had a couple of more wives and the sage Vyasa impregnated them all on Vichitravirya's behalf, producing in all, say, 10 more sons. Would the Pandavas liked to have the kingdom divided into 12 pieces? Fair share, eh?

Nobody, just nobody, points out the fallacy and lunacy of the Pandava claim, neither in the epic itself nor in the real world. So it is not just a question of countless gober swamijis and the pundits who have written libraries and commented on the Mahabharata or the Gita, it is an entire nation down through the history spanning hundreds and thousands of years, billions of people! Not a single person pointed out that the Pandava's claim is absurd and immoral whereas a second-grade child reading the Mahabharata for Children could have so easily seen through the hollowness of the Pandava deception.

These are the kinds of things that got me interested in the Mahabharata and the Gita, it is not just a matter of a national epic, or the literature or the spirituality or the holy scriptures and such. This has deep relevance to much broader things like human civilization and the nature of human mind. Does the human mind have no lower limit to which it can sink to, can it just go on sinking and sinking without any innate mechanism that can make it rebound after a point? It gets scary when you look at India and the world in the context of the Mahabharata or the Bhagavad Gita – it seems like people can perpetually wallow neck-deep in a morass of sickening nonsense and still appear to lead normal lives in a normal society!

Everybody automatically thought and thinks the Pandavas are deprived of their fair share of the kingdom by the evil-minded Duryodhana, and hence the whole Mahabharata war! Oh what a great injustice has been done to such noble and virtuous people. 'Automatically' is the key word here. It seems like people are just automatons who or which run through programming. Programming means propaganda, brainwashing. You can spoon-feed just about any putrid dung into people's brains and they will swallow it all without the slightest retching sensation, and would feel amply nourished, radiating a soft spiritual glow thereafter. This is all so scary indeed! It is as if the frame froze at some moment in history just when civilization was about to start and we slipped out of time into an alternate, bizarre reality where just about any nonsense could happen. Vedanta says that the whole world of space and time is maya, illusion, but our particular world seems to be a maya within a maya! If mighty superhuman warriors like Krishna, Arjuna, Bhima, Karna and Duryodhana didn’t waste their whole talent and lives in fighting petty, useless wars, they could have perhaps helped us in shattering this frozen frame of alternative reality inside which we seem to have badly stuck, who knows for how long.