(1) Sañjaya
said:
"Seeing
his friend in
pain and moved to desperation, the devil's despair
spoke the following
words:
(2) The great soul said: 'This
is really not the
time to give it up Arjuna. This doesn't befit you
at all. This is the
way of losers who never make for a better world,
it's a disgrace
really! Arjuna, get yourself together! (3) Do not
give in to such a
weakness of heart, it leads to nothing but
madness, so stand and engage
in the battle, get over your fear of death!'
(4) Arjuna retorted: 'How can
I launch an attack
on Bhîshma and master Drona, they are honorable
men of great
standing! What would I then be oh devil's despair?
(5) Wouldn't it be
better to live for the rest of my life on charity
than to bring those
high and respectable gentlemen down, even though
they, as leaders and
teachers, want the kingdom of heaven on earth? I'm
not going to get my
hands dirty on matters like these, that's way
beyond anything
honorable! (6) And what if - their defeating us is
as good as our
defeating them. I wouldn't want to live to the
victory of either of us,
no way, in whatever position we would end up in
relation to uncle
Dhritarâshthra. (7) With my fear and fright, I ask
you, confused
within on what to do, what would be the ideal
compromise to all of us?
Confide it to me, instruct me on this and accept
me as your pupil so to
say. (8) I'm at a loss in figuring out what to do,
on how to proceed
from here; how can I not be desperate and lame,
wishing for an
undisputed position on earth or even the supreme
of a set of angel
wings?' "
(9) Secretary Sañjaya said:
"Thus
addressing the sense master, he who had proven
himself stronger than
sleep and used to be the terror of his opponents
said: 'I give up, I
won't engage', and next fell silent. (10) Oh
descendant of Bharata,
then, right there between the opposing armies of
the family gathered
for the battle, the sense master with a smile
spoke the following words.
(11) The master of happiness
said: 'Don't be sad
over that what doesn't deserve such an emotional
commitment; with all
your words so educated you should, whether you win
or lose the battle,
being a wise man, not be moved in any such way.
(12) Listen, yesterday
I existed and so I will tomorrow, and so it is
with you, and with all
these important people here. (13) In your lifetime
you change from a
child into a youngster and from a youngster into a
grown man; but,
honestly, did that make you a different person?
(14) What the senses
tell you, oh son of aunt Kuntî, in the sense of
pain and
happiness, comes and goes like summer and winter.
Such things don't
last, just take it like a man, oh son of the
Kurus. (15) He who's not
upset in this, oh best of them all, he who is
equal and steady in
distress and happiness, is the man fit for the
job.
(16) So don't expect anything
durable from outer
appearances, nor think that the person you stay
within will ever come
to an end; and this is what the greatest scholars
confirm in their
studies on the subject. (17) Just keep in mind
that what there is in
all states of your physical existence as a
constant factor, that that
self, cannot perish or be defeated by anybody.
(18) All these material
bodies are perishable, while the indestructible
and immeasurable one
that is embodied is called eternal; and therefore
fight, oh son of the
noble line of Bharata. (19) Anyone who says that
that self of yours can
kill any essential self of someone else or can be
killed by others, is
in either position out of his wits; you can't
really kill anyone, nor
can anyone kill you really. (20) So, to be clear:
actually you never
began living nor will you ever stop living; you
never took birth, nor
will you ever really die. Just the same you don't
reincarnate either in
that sense; the soul as it is, is never born, is
eternal and constant.
It's in existence from the first day of creation
and it never ends when
the body ends. (21) Once you realize that that
soul we talk about is
indestructible and everlasting, without any change
or birth, how then,
oh son of Prithâ, could you cause anyone's death
or be killed
yourself? (22) Wearing your body and the ego along
with it like a
garment, you can change them just as easily, and
thus you can end a
life and pick up a new one as you like. (23) That
what you really are
cannot drop apart, fry, drown or wither away. (24)
You are unbreakable,
you can't burn up or dissolve; you're everlasting,
you reach wherever
you want, you'll stay your same self always,
nobody can touch you as
such and you've always been that way, and that's
that.
(25) Considering this real self
of yours that can't
be seen really, that can't even be conceived
really, nor undergo any
change really, you should know that it thus is
nothing for you to worry
or despair about. (26) And even if you'd
reincarnate and die again, oh
man of power, never worry about it. (27) He who
dies will certainly be
born again, just as the one born will die again of
course; such
irrevocable facts do not deserve any worry, that
you should know. (28)
Each and every one is, oh descendant of Bharata,
to begin with a
nobody,
then he or she is known and then he or she is
forgotten again, so why
worry when it's all like this? (29) This soul is
by some seen as
amazing, some speak about it as amazing, and some
know it as amazing,
while still others never come to understand what
this real self all
means. (30) This soul, this owner of each his
body, never perishes, oh
son of the dynasty, and thus you shouldn't be
troubled about anybody.
(31) And, concerning your
duties in the battle, I
must say that you must always stand your ground to
serve God, your
actual quality, virtue and righteousness, in the
first place, that is
the very best thing a ruler can do. (32) Oh son of
aunt Prithâ,
praise yourself as a ruler happy to find opposition in
battle, for that
offers you the opportunity to excel and make
yourself known. (33) So
defend your interest as if it concerned God
Himself, for if you fail to
serve your own nature with Him you'll be nothing
but a profiteer
without any self-respect. (34) Not engaging you'll
lose your reputation,
and to an honorable man that is something far
worse than death. (35)
Your comrades on the battlefield, all thinking
highly of you, will
write you off as a loser, if you back-off now out
of fear. (36)
They'll gossip and deride your ability, and you
know how painful that
is. (37) Consider it this way; you either lose
with honor, or you win
the battle adding to your repute; so, stand and be
sure in this choice,
oh son of Kuntî! (38) Whether the outcome is to be
happy or
unhappy, whether it is to your advantage or
disadvantage, whether you
win or lose, you'll never be making a wrong move
if you engage in this
fight being equanimous with this in mind!'
Modern
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Ch
2a
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Ch 2