help them. But in today’s time, people underestimate them and refuse to seek guidance and help because of their ego or of feeling ashamed or embarrassed about what they will think.”
Lord Krishna then said to Arjuna, “Do you remember what happened to you on the battlefield of Kurukshetra? You too were feeling sad, depressed and refused to fight after seeing your blood relatives on the battlefield. Similarly we all feel compassion towards our loved ones and when problems arise we don’t understand what to do, we feel devastated we loose hope and give up. We even refuse to get up and fight for ourselves. So my dearest friend all you need to do is think positive and be determined to find solutions to your problems.”
Everyone in the session looked dumbfounded after hearing this story. I looked at Shikha and first time saw her smile. This made me really happy.
Here comes another life lesson.
**Lesson No: 4 Remember everyone has problems. Discuss your problems with your loved ones. Look for solutions. Never let go the person whom you love.
Arjuna Surrenders To Lord Krishna
“Let’s move on to the next chapter. Chapter 2 has 72 shlokas. I request each participant to read two shlokas each that is translated in English.” Everyone started reading one after the other.
Contents of the Gita Summarized
Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusudana, Krishna, spoke the following words.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all appropriate to a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to disgrace.
O son of Pritha, do not surrender to this degrading inability to take action. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.
Arjuna said: O killer of enemies, O killer of Madhu, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?
It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted with blood.
Nor do we know which is better conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhritarashtra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield.
Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of pitiful weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.
I can find no means to drive away this grief, which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to get rid of it even if I win a prosperous, unbeaten kingdom on earth with supreme power like the demigods in heaven.
Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Krishna, “Govinda, I shall not fight,” and fell silent.
O descendant of Bharata, at that time Krishna, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise cry neither for the living nor for the dead.
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.
As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not confused by such a change.
O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and sorrow, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense awareness, O descendant of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and sorrow and is steady in both is certainly eligible for freedom.
Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the material body there is no permanence, and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.
That which spreads through the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.
The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
Neither he who thinks the living entity is the killer nor he who thinks it has killed is in knowledge, for the self [soul] kills not nor is killed.
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing and original. He is not killed when the body is killed.
O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and permanent kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor dried by the wind.
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
It is said that the soul is invisible, unimaginable and permanent. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.
If, however, you think that the soul is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to moan, O mighty-armed.
For one who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not moan.
All created beings are invisible in their beginning, visible in their temporary state, and invisible again when they are destroyed. So what need is there for sorrow?
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.
O descendant of Bharata, he who lives in the body can never be killed. Therefore, you need not grieve for any living being.
Considering
