Yesterday, during the discussion, a question was raised : Why Arjuna did not raise his 'objection to war' earlier? Also, why did only Arjuna raise these questions - why not Bheeshma or Yudhisthira or others equally qualified?
One quick answer is : It was Bhagawan's will that Arjuna should ask the question.
Another, on a more 'worldly' plane : When Arjuna asked Krishna to drive the chariot to the middle of the battle field so that he can 'see' whom he has to fight, Arjuna (symbolically) detached himself from 'his' people and from his 'enemies'. For once, he stood alone, neutral with only Bhagawan as his companion. It is a poignant moment when he suddenly realized his relationship with those whom he will be fighting-to-kill is almost equivalent to those whom he is defending. This overwhelmed his 'rational' thinking and brought out an emotional outburst. In my opinion, anyone of the stalwarts (Bheeshma etc.), if placed in similar situation would have responded similarly...
Relevance to our lives: We too on rare occasions stand alone in the 'battlefield' (Dharma-kshetra) of our lives. This aloneness is NOT loneliness - instead it is a moment of epiphany, and often result life-changing decisions that subtly affect our thought process. We certainly do not look forward to such moments because it shakes our beliefs from the core and forces us to reassess what we have taken to be truth. The presence and oneness with the Divine in such moments is palpable.
Regards,
Gopal
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As mentioned on an earlier post, prior to taking part in this discussion group, my response to the first chapter of the Gita had been to skim over it in a hurry to get to the "real" message of the work. I didn't really understand who all of the characters were, and though I am certainly still deepening my understanding of each of their significance, I at least now have a general understanding of each character's role. This has had a definite impact on my level of understanding.
These are my feelings. In the first chapter, Arjuna is given the opportunity to detach from his identity (that of a warrior and one of the Pandavas) and is able to see the oneness in humankind. Through this "identity crisis" he gains the understanding that those he will be fighting are members of his family, people he obviously cares about. This has led me to reflect on many of my own personal battles (some smaller than others) with members of my own family over beliefs...and to take it one step closer, my personal battles (some bigger than others) with my-"self" (vs. Self).
The greatest realizations for me however, came not only from reading the Gita, but also through the experiences provided by the environment in which I was reading the Gita. There is something fascinating about exploring scripture in a context in which you have such little identity. My identity is strongly rooted in being a Christian, in being a mother, in being a West Texan, in being a musician, in being a teacher, in being a career woman, and the list goes on. The pinnacle experience of chapter one occurred for me during the Bhajan in which I sang "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya." Some may remember that I was crying through the whole discussion that night. I was overwhelmed...here I was...a girl from West Texas...raised on Amazing Grace and Silent Night...singing Hindu devotional songs in Lubbock, Texas of all places...with people I hardly know...and words I barely understand...and yet I know that it's right...it's alright...these people are just like me...they want to know God...to be with God...and wow...God is right here. And I realized in that moment, a small dose of what Arjuna must have felt.
From there I went on to enjoy my perceived "lack of identity" within the group for several discussions until I was confronted with a question regarding American history. "Lisa can tell us...she's an American." I was suddenly injected with a large painful dose of identity. Whoa...I'm American...I should know this answer...if I don't know the answer what will they think of me...why am I thinking about that...it's so ego centered...now I'm watching my ego...they are waiting for an answer...all I can feel is that I'm American and I don't know how to answer this question...I don't like this...I should know more about American History...but I spent my time practicing music not studying history...that's no excuse...be quiet...breath...be quiet...thank you God, they've moved on. ("I" sure appeared a lot in that inner dialogue.) Obviously, I have an identity within any group whether I think I do or not and I will potentially spend lifetimes trying to escape it. Perhaps having an "I"-dentity crisis, as Arjuna did, is a first step in opening one's self to understanding the true nature of God.
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