snapshot.in.net
"Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke the following words."
The transition from Arjuna's grief to the beginning of divine intervention.
"The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life."
Krishna questions Arjuna's sudden loss of strength in the face of duty.
"O son of Pritha, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy."
A powerful call to action, urging the removal of internal fear and doubt.
"Arjuna said: O killer of enemies, O killer of Madhu, how can I counter-attack with arrows in battle men like Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?"
Arjuna expresses his moral dilemma regarding fighting his elders and teachers.
"It would be better to live in this world by begging than to enjoy life by killing these noble elders. Even if we kill them, our spoils will be tainted with blood."
Arjuna argues that a life of poverty is superior to wealth gained through violence against kin.
"We do not even know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. The sons of Dhritarashtra, whom we should not wish to live after killing, are now standing before us."
Arjuna expresses total confusion about victory and the value of life after war.
"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me."
The pivotal moment where Arjuna officially accepts Krishna as his Guru.
"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth."
Arjuna realizes that material success cannot solve deep existential suffering.
"Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Krishna, 'Govinda, I shall not fight,' and fell silent."
Arjuna surrenders to silence after declaring his refusal to participate in the battle.
"O descendant of Bharata, at that time Krishna, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grieving Arjuna."
The Gita truly begins here as Krishna smiles before delivering the ultimate wisdom.
"The Supreme Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead."
The introduction to the concept of the eternal Soul and the folly of physical attachment.
"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."
Krishna affirms the immortality and eternal nature of individual consciousness.
"As the embodied soul continuously 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 bewildered by such a change."
Understanding reincarnation as a natural progression of the soul.
"O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons."
Teaching the necessity of tolerance toward the temporary dualities of life.
"O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation."
Equanimity (Samah) is established as the prerequisite for immortality.
"Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent (the material body) there is no endurance and of the eternal (the soul) there is no change."
Distinguishing between the 'Real' (Unchanging) and the 'Unreal' (Changing).
"That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul."
The soul is described as the all-pervading, indestructible reality.
"The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata."
Krishna concludes that since the soul cannot die, Arjuna should fulfill his warrior duty.
"Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain."
The soul is beyond the actions of killing or being killed.
"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."
One of the most famous verses defining the absolute eternity of the Self.
"O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?"
A rhetorical question reinforcing that knowledge of the soul removes the sin of action.
"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 iconic analogy of clothes for the transmigration of the soul.
"The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."
The soul is beyond the reach of the four material elements.
"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."
Further attributes of the soul: All-pervading and immovable.
"It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body."
Krishna urges Arjuna to stop grieving based on the metaphysical reality of the Self.
"If, however, you think that the soul is perpetually born and always dies, still you have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed."
Krishna presents a logical argument even from a materialistic viewpoint.
"One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to be born again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."
Accepting the inevitability of death as a part of the cosmic cycle.
"All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what is the need for lamentation?"
Life is a brief manifestation between two states of invisibility.
"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."
The soul is a mystery that transcends ordinary perception.
"O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being."
Final summary of the Sankhya (analytical) section regarding the soul.
"Considering your specific duty as a Kshatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; so there is no need for hesitation."
Transition to Swadharma (personal duty) and social responsibility.
"O Partha, happy are the Kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets."
War for a righteous cause is seen as a rare opportunity for a warrior.
"If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter."
The consequence of avoiding duty is both sin and loss of honor.
"People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death."
Krishna appeals to Arjuna's sense of social standing and pride.
"The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant."
Arjuna's compassion would be misread as cowardice by his peers.
"Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?"
Highlighting the psychological pain of being ridiculed by adversaries.
"O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy a worldly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight."
The 'Win-Win' logic: Duty leads to success in either world.
"Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat—and by so doing you shall never incur sin."
The seed of Nishkama Karma: acting without attachment to results.
"Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study. Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results."
Switching from the theory of the Soul to the practice of Yoga.
"In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear."
Spiritual progress is permanent and never lost, unlike material efforts.
"Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."
Single-minded focus vs. scattered desires.
"Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets."
Warning against being misled by rituals intended only for material gain.
"In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, the resolute determination for devotional service does not take place."
Attachment prevents the stability of the intellect (Samadhi).
"The Vedas deal mainly with the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self."
The call to transcend the Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas).
"All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them."
Realized knowledge makes complex rituals redundant.
"You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."
The central pillar of the Gita: Action without attachment to outcome.
"Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga."
Defining Yoga as 'Samatvam' or evenness of mind.
"O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers."
Fruitive action is considered inferior to action guided by intelligence.
"A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, which is the art of all work."
Yoga is defined here as 'Karmasu Kaushalam'—skill in action.
"By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death."
The path to the 'state beyond all sorrow'.
"When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard."
Realization leads to independence from dogma and scripture.
"When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas, and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then you will have attained the divine consciousness."
The definition of a stable mind in communion with the Divine.
"Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in transcendence? How does he speak, and how does he sit? How does he walk?"
Arjuna asks for the practical characteristics of a self-realized person (Sthitaprajna).
"The Supreme Lord said: O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness."
The first characteristic of the wise: inner satisfaction independent of external desires.
"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."
Emotional stability through the removal of attachment, fear, and anger.
"In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge."
Freedom from the duality of like and dislike.
"One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness."
The analogy of the tortoise for sensory control.
"The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness."
Suppression vs. sublimation: Only a 'higher taste' can truly end material desire.
"The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them."
A warning about the power of the senses to overwhelm logic.
"One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence."
The solution: focusing the controlled mind on the Divine.
"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises."
The ladder of downfall: how a single thought leads to ruin.
"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool."
The completion of the 'downward spiral' caused by uncontrolled emotion.
"But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord."
Attaining peace by interacting with the world without personal agenda.
"For one thus satisfied, the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established."
Mental peace leads to an unwavering intellect.
"One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?"
The logical chain: Connection -> Intelligence -> Peace -> Happiness.
"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's intelligence."
The danger of letting the mind follow even a single wandering sense.
"Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence."
Reinforcement of sensory restraint as the path to wisdom.
"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."
The inverse relationship between material and spiritual awareness.
"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace."
Desires enter the mind of the wise without affecting their inner stillness.
"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace."
The state of 'Nir-ego' and 'Nir-ownership' as the doorway to peace.
"That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God."
The final conclusion of Chapter 2: The attainment of Brahma-Nirvana.