BHAGVAD GITA CHAPTER-2

BHAGVAD GITA

Chapter 2: Transcendental Knowledge

Sanjaya said: Lord Krishna spoke these words to Arjuna whose eyes were tearful and sad, and who was confused and very sorry. (2.01)

Lord Krishna said: How did sadness come to you at this time? This is not fit for a noble man. It is shameful, and it does not lead one to heaven, O Arjuna. (2.02)

Do not become weak, O Arjuna, because it does not suit you. Shake off this weakness of your heart and get up for the battle. (2.03)

Arjuna said: How shall I strike Bheeshma and Drona with arrows in battle? They are worthy of my respect. (2.04)

It would be better, indeed, to live by begging in this world than to kill these noble gurus, because, by killing them I would enjoy wealth and pleasures polluted with theirs blood. (2.05)

I do not know which alternative .to fight or to quit . is better for us, nor do we know whether we shall conquer them or they will conquer us. We should not even wish to live after killing our own cousins who are standing in front of us. (2.06)

My senses have become weak due to sympathy, and my mind is confused about my Dharma. I request You to tell me, definitely, what is better for me. I am Your disciple, and depend on You. (2.07)

I do not see how by gaining wealth and kingdom on this earth, or even lordship over the gods will remove the sorrow that is drying up my senses? (2.08)

Sanjaya said: O King, after speaking like this to Lord Krishna, the mighty Arjuna said to Krishna: I shall not fight, and became silent. (2.09)

O King, Lord Krishna, as if smiling, spoke these words to unhappy Arjuna in the midst of the two armies. (2.10)

Lord Krishna said: You grieve for those who are not worthy of grief, and yet speak the words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead. (2.11)

There was never a time when I, you, or these kings did not exist; nor shall we ever cease to exist in the future. (2.12)

Just as the Atma gets a childhood body, a youth body, and an old age body during this life, similarly Jeevatma  acquires another body after death. The wise are not worried about death. (2.13)

The contacts of the senses with the sense objects give rise to the feelings of heat and cold, and pain and pleasure. They come and go and are temporary. Therefore, one should learn to face them bravely. (2.14)

A calm person, who is not bothered by these feelings and remains balanced in pain and pleasure, becomes fit for nirvana, O Arjuna. (2.15)

The Atma always exists and the  body has a Mithyu. The reality of these two is indeed certainly seen by the seers of truth. (2.16)

The Spirit by whom this entire universe is filled with, is indestructible. No one can destroy the Spirit. (2.17)

Physical bodies of the everlasting, permanent, and mysterious soul are temporary. Therefore, fight, O Arjuna. (2.18)

The one who thinks that Atma is a slayer, and the one who thinks that Atma is slain, both are ignorant, because Atma neither slays nor is slain. (2.19)

Atma always exists. It is neither born nor does it die at any time. It is unborn, endless, permanent and ageless. The Atma is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. (2.20)

O Arjuna, how can a person . who knows that the Atma is permanent, beginningless, endless, unborn, and indestructible . kill anyone or cause anyone to be killed? (2.21)

Just as a person puts on new clothes after discarding the old ones, similarly individual soul takes new bodies after giving up the old bodies. (2.22)

Weapons do not cut this Atma, fire does not burn it, water does not make it wet, and the wind does not make it dry. (2.23)

This Atma cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried up by any other means. It is permanent, unchanging, immovable, and ageless. (2.24)

Atma is said to be beginningless, unthinkable, and unchanging. Knowing this Atma as such you should not grieve. (2.25)

If you think that this physical body always takes birth and dies, even then, O Arjuna, you should not feel sad like this. (2.26)

Because, death is certain for the one who is born, and birth is sure for the one who dies. Therefore, you should not feel sorry for the unavoidable. (2.27)

All beings are invisible to our eyes before birth and after death. They become visible between the birth and the death only. What is there to grieve about? (2.28)

Some look upon this Atma as a wonder, another describes it as wonderful, and others hear of it as a wonder. Even after hearing about it no one really knows what the spirit is? (2.29)

O Arjuna, the Atma that dwells inside the body of all beings never dies. Therefore, you should not mourn for any body. (2.30)

Also considering your duty as a soldier you should not hesitate. Because there is nothing better for a warrior than doing his duty by fighting a war. (2.31)

Only the fortunate warriors, O Arjuna, get such an opportunity for a just war that is like an open door to heaven for a warrior. (2.32)

If you will not fight this battle of good over the evil, you will fail in your duty, lose your reputation, and incur sin by not doing your duty. (2.33)

People will talk about your disgrace forever. To the honored, dishonor is worse than death. (2.34)

The people will think that you have left the battle out of fear. Those who have greatly honored you will lose respect for you. (2.35)

Your enemies will speak many bad words and ridicule your ability for ever. What could be more painful to you than this? (2.36)

You will go to heaven if killed in the line of duty, or you will enjoy the kingdom if you win. Therefore, get up with a firm determination to fight, O Arjuna. (2.37)

Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike, do your duty. By doing your duty this way, you will not incur any sin. (2.38)

The wisdom of AtmaJnana has been given to you. Now listen to the wisdom of Karma-yoga. By practicing which you will free yourself from the bondage of Karma. (2.39)

In Karma-yoga no effort is ever wasted and it is safe to practice. Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from great fear of birth and death. (2.40)

Those who are sincere seekers desire only Self-realization, but desires of others are endless and too many, O Arjuna. (2.41)

The misguided ones who delight in the melodious chanting of the Vedas . without understanding the spiritual meaning or purport . think there is nothing else in the Vedas except the rituals for the sole purpose of obtaining heavenly pleasures. (2.42)

They are dominated by material desires and consider going to heaven as the highest goal of life. They engage in specific rituals for the sake of material prosperity and enjoyment. Rebirth is the result of their action. (2.43)

Those who are full of material desires perform various specific rituals for the attainment of pleasure and power, and think going to heaven as the highest goal of life. The rebirth is the fruit of rituals. (2.43)

The firm goal of Self-realization is not formed in the minds of those who are attached to sense-pleasures and power; and whose vision is blinded by ritualistic activities for fulfillment of material desires. (2.44)

A portion of the Vedas deal with three Gunas or modes of material nature. Become unaffected by the pairs of opposites such as joy and sorrows, remain calm and free from thoughts of getting more wealth and saving it. Rise above the three Gunas, and always remain soul-conscious that you are not this body, but the soul inside the body. (2.45)

To a Self-realized person the Vedas are as useful as a small well when a huge lake becomes available. (2.46)

You have Adhikara over doing your individual duty only, but no control or claim over the results. To enjoy the fruits of work should not be your only motive. You should never be inactive either. (2.47)

Do your duty to the best of your ability, O Arjuna, with your mind attached to the Lord. Give up worry and selfish attachment to the results, and remain calm in both success and failure. The calmness of mind is the fruit of NishkamaKarma-yoga. (2.48)

Work done with selfish motives is very inferior to the selfless service or Karma-yoga. Therefore be a Karma-yogi, O Arjuna. Those who work only to enjoy the fruits of their labor remain mostly unhappy, because no one has control over the results. (2.49)

A Karma-yogi gets freedom from both vice and virtue in this life itself. Therefore, practice Karma-yoga. Working to the best of one's abilities without getting attached to the fruits of work is called Nishkama Karma-yoga. (2.50)

Karma-yogis enjoy mental peace by giving up attachment to the fruits of work. They are freed from the bondage of rebirth and attain the blissful divine state. (2.51)

When the cover of ignorance is removed by Self-knowledge, you will become unconcerned to what you have known and what remains to be known from the scriptures. (2.52)

When your intellect . that is confused by different conflicting opinions and the ritualistic doctrines . shall stay steady and firm with the Self, then you shall attain Self-realization. (2.53)

Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the marks of a Self-realized person whose mind and intellect are steady and merged in super conscious state? How does such a person speak? How does such a person behave? (2.54)

Lord Krishna said: When one is completely free from all desires and is satisfied in the Self by the joy of knowing the Self, then one is called a Self-realized or an enlightened person. (2.55)

A person is called an enlightened whose mind is not disturbed by difficulty, who does not go after sense pleasures, and who is completely free from attachment, fear, and anger. (2.56)

The mind and intellect become steady in a person who is not attached to anything, who is neither excited by getting desired results nor disturbed by undesired results. (2.57)

When one can completely withdraw the senses from sense objects, as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into the shell for protection from harm, then the intellect of such a person is considered steady. (2.58)

The desire for sensual pleasures diminishes if one abstains from sense enjoyment, but the thirst for sense enjoyment remains in subtle form. The thirst also disappears from the one who has known the Supreme. (2.59)

Restless senses, O Arjuna, forcibly carry away the mind of even a wise person striving for perfection. (2.60)

One should sit with mind firmly focused on Me as the Supreme goal after bringing the senses under control. One’s intellect becomes steady when one’s senses are under control. (2.61)

One develops attachment to sense objects by thinking about sense objects. Desire for sense objects comes from attachment to sense objects, and anger comes from unfulfilled desires. (2.62)

Delusion or deception arises from anger. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is deluded. One falls down from the right path when reasoning is destroyed. (2.63)

A disciplined person . enjoying sense objects with senses that are under control and free from likes and dislikes ,attains peace. (2.64)

All sorrows are destroyed upon becoming peaceful. The mind and intellect of such a peaceful person soon become steady and united with the Supreme. (2.65)

There is no Self-knowledge for those who are not united with the Supreme. Without Self-knowledge there is no peace; and without peace there can be no happiness. (2.66)

When mind is controlled by restless senses, it steals away the intellect as a storm takes away a boat on the sea from its destination . the spiritual shore of peace and happiness. (2.67)

Therefore, O Arjuna, one's intellect becomes steady when senses are controlled by the intellect, and are not under control of their mind and sense objects. (2.68)

A yogi is aware of Atma about which others are unaware. A yogi is unaware of the experience of sense objects about which others are aware. (2.69)

One attains peace when all desires disappear from the mind without creating any mental disturbance, just as river waters disappear the ocean without creating any disturbance. One who desires material objects is never peaceful. (2.70)

One who controls all desires and becomes free from longing and the feeling of 'I' and 'my' attains peace. (2.71)

O Arjuna, this is the Brahmi or super-conscious state of mind. Attaining this state, one is no longer confused. Gaining this state, even at the end of one's life, a person attains the goal of human life and becomes one with the Supreme. (2.72)