How does the Gita begin ?

Dear Chitvish mam
I am here again to post very late..
I am really excited to read all your posts.. (but not in the sequence though)..

In this topic, how Gita began.. I just wanted to point out some of my understandings and the discussions that I had with a friend, who is more of a Guru to us..

1. Arujun is the best example that can be given for a person with true bakthi. Why is it so??
God himself was so moved by his bakthi, that HE came down as his charioteer.. and more that that is that HE was sitting near the feet of Arjun.. (chariotter sits below in the front of the king and this can be seen clearly in all the photos) would we ever think of keeping even his photo near our feet or for that matter even on the ground?

2. Arjun, had a disturbed mind and disturbance in the mind will not give a clear vission. This was the same Arjun who said that "I can only see the birds eye", says that he wants to know who are his targets, as if he never knew who were his targets...

There were many other discussions and understandings just in the first chapter...
To add more,was your short and sweet description...

Thanks a lot again Mam.

 

Dear Mam
I am reading the Gita for quite few months now,and love to understand or get more meanings from the verses...
These are the understanding I got after reading commentaries from various authors and after the discussions I had with my Guru. I would like to get more insight on this.


1. This whole Gita was recited in the battlefield. People are all ready to shoot their arrows on the opposite party. They have all assembled there with the mindset "DO or DIE". We can understand the tension that would have been prevailing there. And yet, they were waiting and none interrupted while the Lord was reciting the Gita. Gita if said continuously would take at least 2 hrs to complete.


2.

dhṛtarāṣṭrauvāca
dharma-kṣetrekuru-kṣetresamavetāyuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kimakurvatasañjaya



Dhrtarastra said Dharma Ksetre - Kuru-Ksetre.

Kuruksetre, the field in which the battle is about to happen, is the field for righteousness. That’s why it is said Dharma-Ksetre.
Indirectly, it is also said that, only the dharma stands in this field and hence only dharma will win.


There is also another view to this…
Ksetra means body (place where actions take happen).


DharmaKsetre:
Dharma – Highest righteous act, which is self-realization. Jivatma, Paramathma & the five elements will be the result of self-realization. Pandavas are five elements – space,air,fire,water,earth.

So, the parts or elements in the material body that are associated with Dharma are on one side.


Kuruksetra:
Kuru means actions - The five senses of action and five senses of perception. These ten senses are moving in ten directions (wavering mind) and the result is hundred distractions of mind. Distractions that make us act against the dharma.

The hundred distractions are on the other side.


yuyutsavah - desired to fight..


There is always a fight that happens in the body to do the highest righteous act against the distraction of mind as the pandavas and the Lord are fighting against the hundred kurus.


3.
sañjayauvāca
dṛṣṭvātu pāṇḍavānīkaḿ vyūḍhaḿ duryodhanas tadā
ācāryamupasańgamyarājāvacanamabravīt



King Duruyodhana after seeing the military arrangement of pandavas, went to the commander Dhronoacharya, because of his fear seeing the seriousness in the situation.


Even a King has to take the advice of the commander. Similarly people also should also have a guru to guide them.


And when it comes to the fight for the dharma, use the intellect as the commander. Intellect should be well nourished and this is achieved only when it get in contact with the Guru. Guru - A person who shows the right direction.


In the next few verses, Duruyodhana says who are there in his army and warns about the people who are there with Pandavas. This is like, when a child sees that his friend has got a toy that works using remote control, knows it is not owning anything of that sort, but still tells his friend, my father has bought me a water gun, and so & so, just to cover up his missing things. Its like when we are entering the examination hall, we are in fear, and yet we tell ourself I have studied this and that...

 

The counchshells were all sounded and all are ready for the war..
At this juncture, Arjuna says he wants to see who his targets are....

Is this right, to say this after the war has begun?

It is like saying let me just see the answer of some question after the examination has begun!!!!