Bluishmuse

Arjuna, who was a very courageous warrior started having a mental breakdown, as illustrated in the earlier verses in chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Geeta. He continues to put forth all kinds of arguments against the war after a complete logical analysis from his perspective. Chapter 1, Verses 38 and 39 Arjuna said: "Their thoughts are overpowered by greed and even though they see no wrong in destroying their relatives or no sin in making their friends suffer; O Janardhana (Krishna), why should we who can clearly see the crime in killing the kith and kin, not turn away from this sin?" Arjuna is indicating that wiser and nobler people should know better. For example, if a drunkard friend behaves nastily when drunk, we forgive him; Similarly, in this situation, he is arguing that Pandavas who know better should not be sinning by killing their relatives. Chapter 1, Verse 40 "When a family is destroyed, its traditions also perish, and due to the destruction of spirituality/

In the last few verses , Sanjaya has narrated the mental state of the two armies vividly. He takes Arjuna and Duryodhana as examples to demonstrate the state of mind on both sides. On one side, he shows how Duryodhana is so fearful looking at the enemy, and in contrast, Arjuna is so courageous that he wants to go forward and take a closer look at the enemy. Chapter 1, Verses 24 and 25 Sanjaya said to (Bhārata) Dhritarashtra, Thus addressed by Gudākesha (Arjuna), Hrishīkesha (Sri Krishna) having drawn the excellent chariot between the two armies, in the presence of Bheeshma, Drona, and all other kings, he said: "O Partha (Arjuna), behold all these descendants of Kuru gathered here." Dhritarashtra is referred to as Bhārata as he is from the lineage of King Bharat. Arjuna is referred to as Gudākesha, meaning one who has conquered sleep (or laziness). Sri Krishna is referred to as Hrishīkesha, meaning who is the Lord of the senses. Arjuna is also referred to as Partha, meanin

When someone is not following the righteous path with his heart full of viciousness, all sorts of doubts creep up. That is what happened to Duryodhana when he went to his teacher Drona and spoke those unnecessary words in the previous verses . He was perhaps trying to give himself confidence and was expecting Drona to reassure him. But Drona remained silent throughout. Chapter 1, Verse 12 The old and experienced man in Kuru Dynasty, Bheeshma, blew his conch Simhanādam loudly, giving happiness and confidence to his army. Having listened to Duryodhana and seeing Drona standing quietly without responding, Bheeshma knew that if he let Duryodhana continue to talk, he would be demotivating others in the army. So he went ahead and blew his conch (named Simhanādam) to give joy and confidence to his army. Although Bheeshma did this seeing the mental condition of Duryodhana, the Kauravas became the aggressors officially starting the war through this act. Chapter 1, Verse 13 After Bheeshma b

The Bhagavad Geeta starts with Dhritarashtra (the blind King) asking his charioteer and advisor Sanjaya, to narrate what was occurring on the battlefield at Kurukshetra. Sanjaya had been granted the divine vision by Sage Vyasa to see what was going on at Kurukshetra. Sanjaya plays the role of a journalist to Dhritarashtra. Since the King was blind by birth, Sanjaya had to be explicit and descriptive in his narration, to allow the King to understand and feel the exact happenings on the battlefield. Chapter 1, Verse 1 Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya what his sons and the Pandavas who have assembled with the desire to wage a war, did in Kurukshetra? Dhritarashtra is not only physically blind but also blinded by his attachment to his sons, which paved for the war, so to say. Dhritarashtra himself allowed all the atrocities and injustices that his son Duryodhana committed against the Pandavas. Because of his blind love for his son, he did not utter a word against Duryodhana, while his son wa

Wishing you and your family a joyous Deepavali. May your hearts and homes be filled with light forever. This Deepavali, I'm inviting light by creating space to focus on what is more meaningful to me.  Once in a while, it is wise to pause and ponder about what we are spending our time and efforts on. Are the actions we are performing taking us towards or away from whatever goals we have set for ourselves? Are we seeing light or are we digging ourselves into a deeper and darker hole we have dug up unintentionally little by little? Are we having a clear mind to pursue what matters to us? Or are we consumed with following our habitual patterns with no time to reflect upon and work towards our goals? When we clutter our homes, it's difficult for us to find something that we need at any moment. Similarly, when we clutter our minds, there is no space for the light of our inner wisdom to guide our actions in the right way to make ourselves and others around us happy. When I started Blu

Gītā Dhyānam is done before the study of the Bhagavad Geeta traditionally. This was composed by  Madhusudana Sarasvati , who was a philosopher in Advaita Vedānta. The nine Dhyāna Ślokās are chanted (meditated upon) as a prayer and invocation to the highest to prepare our mind and intellect to be ready for the study. The purpose of a prayer or invocation is to attune both head and heart to the higher with respect (mat-paraḥ) and love (mat-cittaḥ). When both love and respect come together (devotion), we are able to focus and receive the profound wisdom from the sacred study. Verse 1   ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयम् व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीम् अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम्   ॥ १ ॥ Om pārthāya pratibodhitāṃ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaṃ vyāsena grathitāṃ purāṇa-muninā madhye mahābhāratam advaitāmṛta-varṣiṇīṃ bhagavatīm-aṣṭādaśādhyāyinīṃ amba tvām-anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gīte bhava-dveṣiṇīm  ॥ 1 ॥ Salutat