This is the first post in a series titled ‘The Bhagavad Gita’, a chapter by chapter short summary and explanation of all the chapters of the ancient hindu sacred book containing key knowledge for the development of the soul.
For those of you unfamiliar with the drama, there are two main characters: Krishna, secretly a hindu avatar (incarnation of a God—like the Christ) who serves Arjuna, the noble and brave Prince of the Pandavas.
The Pandavas were one of two kingdoms in the Empire. The other Kingdom were the Kuravas–who had recently decided to conquer the Pandavas to steal their riches and have ultimate power. The Pandavas have decided to fight them to the death. On the eve of the first day, Arjuna sits in his chariot facing the Kuravas in the middle of the battlefield, and Krishna, serving as charioteer, sits by his side.
Arjuna looks at the people who are his cousins, uncles, friends, and brothers of the soul, all of them who turned against him, and all of a sudden his heart breaks. He can’t kill all these people that he knows and loves. Wouldn’t it be better to let them have control over the entire Empire, rather than engage in a war that will certainly end with their complete destruction? Wouldn’t it be better to give them the power that they crave rather than kill them all?
So he says to Krishna, ‘I will not fight.’
And kneels, defeated, by the side of his servant.
The Pandavas are a Kingdom of truth and nobility, and they represent inner virtue. The Kuravas are a Kingdom of lust and pleasure, and they represent desire. Arjuna is the representative of the person who is sincere in his quest for higher knowledge and who is ennobling his soul to the point where he is ready to reach higher stages of spiritual development, but his attachment to desire him back.
Desire comes in many shapes and forms. Addiction is a form of desire; our body or soul craves the substance or situation it has become dependent on, whether it be drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, or whatever. Another form of desire is hunger for power. This usually manifests in people willing to behave in such a way as to lie, cheat, and betray their way to the top.
Arjuna is confronted with his attachment to the Kuravas, or rather, his attachment to desire, and decides to give up. Bear in mind that if the Pandavas are defeated, the whole empire would plunge into the worst kind of corruption.
He tells Krishna he won’t fight for his Kingdom, even though he’s their Prince and they’re the good guys. And he decides not to fight because he remembers how close he once was to the poor little evil power hungry Kuravas.
Just as we remember how good it felt when we got high the last time, or whatever our dirt is.
This is attachment of the worst kind: When we are attached to what is enslaving us, instead of setting us free.
Krishna looks down upon Arjuna, whom he has known since he was a boy, and his response is Golden.
So Golden, in fact, it deserves to be quoted… as it will be in the continuation of this post… The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2.
If you liked this post and are interested in finding more spiritually inspirational material, you might like the post My Favorite Quotes, a list of my favorite spiritual quotes and a brief explanation about the meaning of it and the life of its authors.