Metaphysics By Marilynn Stark
Sound and Light: Gita
Shri Bhagacan Uvaca
BHAGAVAD GITA
एषा तेऽभिहिता सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां श्रृणु।
बुद्ध्यायुक्तो यया पार्थ कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि ।।2.39।।
eshA tebhihitA sAnkhye buddhir yoge tvimAm SRNu
buddhyA yukto yayA pArtha karma bandham prahAsyasi 2|39
O, Arjuna, you may cast off the bondage of Karma through endowment with wisdom now, since you have indeed heard the wisdom of jnana yoga as already declared unto thee.
The entire life of the human individual, jIvanmukta, can be regarded for the nature of the self as according to its attribute of being constrained unto action of some sort. Whether this action is for maintenance of the physical body in the relative, physical world, or whether it is action that owes itself to a conscientious, caring discernment of mind in concert with what appears to be a cognitive choice and will through moral righteousness, Krishna will address the question of Arjuna. For Arjuna is not in agreement with taking action on the battlefield with a weapon or mind to hurt anyone whatsoever, putting down his bow and refusing to fight whilst his mind is indeed so baffled as to righteousness of any would-be contention.
Notice how the Gita is founded upon a moral dilemma of what is right versus what is wrong in the mind of Arjuna. Quickly, it should be remembered that if the Gita is here for us to consult as a guide, a preceptor, to our own choice of action in daily life, then we can learn from Arjuna’s realization that it is unknown to him whether to fight or not on the great battlefield of the civil war before him. He feels it would be safer to take no action unless Krishna himself can address his moral duty as it might pertain to this situation of war and so persuade him to take part. Should Arjuna lift his weapon, his bow, in the universal sense of a righteousness that might still be retained if he does so? Or should Arjuna stay on the safe side of inaction in this instance in which he finds himself. He is indeed torn apart and despondent since those on the battlefield are a part of his living memory and life. How can he become their enemy and go forth as the great and skilled warrior that he is?
Life is a constant string, a concatenation of choices to be made for the individual. If we can tune our ears to the lessons given by Krishna to Arjuna, then we may gain a better insight as to how to live better and to keep our consciences clear. After all, Arjuna is fighting with himself to keep his own conscience clear. With a clear conscience the mind remains in the hallowed mode of one-pointedness that is born of proper discrimination — the simple ability to tell right from wrong and to apply this differentiation to actions. The mind is the battlefield. The metaphorical sense of the Gita wherein a real historical battlefield is portrayed becomes instructive to all of us in modern times as we strive to do well in our duties and to live in happy accord with all that is right and good for ourselves and for others. Life ahead looks sunny and bright and is filled with hopes and aspirations. No properly enlightened individual truly wants to fill the path ahead in life with problems born of having done the wrong thing in a larger sense of wrongdoing, nor even in the more trivial sense of wrongdoing in the perspective of a simple day in the life. Thus to keep the conscience clear, to stay on the right side of the self as an individual engaged in harmony with all that is born of goodness and propriety, is the equivalent of a massive algorithm for happiness and for favorable results in the perspective of karmic law.