Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

First, it was the perfect field to explain transmigration of the soul and the science of action and duty in relation to spiritual advancement in life.
For the people that says Krishna and His devotees were violent, take into consideration they were warriors and the wars were of a different kind at that time.
No innocent member of society was injured as the battles took place off the populated areas. And the political differences were not affecting the society at large.

Thank you very much Prabhu Mishra for initiating the answer in the rightmost manner. I also have a similar version, which is as below:
It was the requirement of the time and no other time would have been better than this. Lord Krishna was not a preacher, rather a friend of Arjuna and hence would not preach Arjuna for the sake of preaching. Here Lord Krishna represents God and Arjuna represents men like us, who is a bewildered and sorrowing Atma. Let us not call this a battlefield as no where in Gita(chapter one), it has been called a battlefield(yuddhakshetra) rather it has been said as Dharmakshetra(and no other than Dhritarashtra says this). Dharmakshetra means- sacredfield where right ways of thoughts and actions are inacted. Though Dhritrashtra says that there are people with desire of war(yuyutsava- desire of war First chapter, first shloka). Here the Lord explained only the laws of war that is the Kshatriyadharma and the place was most appropriate.
I would rather like to have the views of other bhaktas and devotees also!
Neelima Ghosh

Krishna does not "represent" God, He is God.

The battlefield where the battle took place happened to be a dharmakshetra. Drtarashtra was very worried, as Srila Prabhupada explained in his purports that the battle was about to take place at a dharmaksetra, because that could advance the rightful cause of the Pandavas.

If you follow reading the next chapter of the Mahabharata (of which Bhagavad-gita is but one), the battle ensued and got millions of people killed on it.

Krishna did not explained the laws of war, but the transcendental knowledge raja vidya raja guhyam (means the king of confidential knowledge, not the knowledge for kings) for all varnas and ashramas and all Humanity.

Neelima Ghosh, where did you get that explanation or conclusions from?

Im sure there are several reasons why the Gita was spoken on the battlefield as Krishna is expert and perfectly chooses His venue.

One point that came up recently is that Krishna describes in Gita how He is not affected by work nor does He have any material duties (being Bhagavan) yet he still engages in work to set an example for us. He drives this point home by taking the lowly occupation of charioteer for his dear friend Arjuna.

In other words, He is beyond Varnasrama being transcendental to the modes of nature, yet He still works within the system (although elusively and interchangeably - sometimes as Vaisya, Ksatriya or in this case Sudra (chariot driver))

Hare krishna and Hari Bol
Thank you very much Prabhu Mishra for correcting me. YES, LORD KRISHNA IS GOD.
Prabhu Abhiram- These are not my explanations, inferences or conclusions. The first chapter of Gita is crystal clear.
Neelima Ghosh

[quote][cite] Neelima Ghosh:[/cite]Hare krishna and Hari Bol
Thank you very much Prabhu Mishra for correcting me. YES, LORD KRISHNA IS GOD.
Prabhu Abhiram- These are not my explanations, inferences or conclusions. The first chapter of Gita is crystal clear.
Neelima Ghosh[/quote]

Dear Neelima,

Which Gita are you reading?
There are so many bogus Gitas on the market!

Hare Krishna and Hari Bol
With all due regards to GITA AS IT IS by Shrila Prabhupad, I have referred to the original Shri Madbhagawat Gita, a part of the great renowned epic Mahabharat. In fact Shril Prabhupad had also referred to that only while explaining its importance to the entire world.
It is true that the purpose of asembly at Kurukshetra(Dharmakshetra) was an ensuing war but nowhere in Shrimadbhagwatgita the word battlefield(equivalent Sanskrit- Yuddhakshetra) has been mentioned( I may be corrected if I am wrong). Shrila Prabhupad has referred to the word battlefield in his purport only to make non-Sanskrit people to understand the implications. The Gita does use the word Dharmyam Sangramam(2/33) i.e.war for dharma, and asking Arjuna to win over his enemies and yudhyaswa(11/34) means attack.
I do agree with Prabhu Mishras version that-
"Krishna did not explain the laws of war, but the transcendental knowledge raj- vidya raj-guhyam (means the king of confidential knowledge, not the knowledge for kings) for all varnas and ashramas and all Humanity".
I am sure that all the devotees agree that "Gita As It Is" cannot be a mirror image of "Gita Yathayath"

One answer to the question could be: Even in the midst of the greatest imaginable calamity and injustice known to mankind, this knowledge is what we should strive to recall. What are some of the other answers youve heard Amalagaura prabhu?

Krishna has spoken the Gita in other environments too. For example, the Uddhava-gita spoken in private in the city of Prabhash, or the Anu-gita spoken in a royal mansion amongst Krishnas friends and relatives. In all of these Krishna speaks essentially the same teaching. I find the Anu-gita is especially interesting. It starts with Arjuna saying, (paraphrased) "You taught me such wonderful things just before the battle, but Ive forgotten them. Please tell me again." Krishna then chastises Arjuna for his poor memory and says (paraphrased), "I cant repeat exactly what I said to you then, but Ill tell you the same thing in another way." The first lesson Krishna imparts is that we have experienced so many mothers and fathers in countless lifetimes, have been extremely happy and extremely sad in countless lifetimes, lived in heaven and lived in hell for countless lifetimes. Take refuge in the Supreme, end this cycle and go to the place where you do not have to undergo this cycle anymore.

what in the world is Gita Yathayath? we as followers of Srila Prabhupada are advised by him to read Bhagavad gita As It is. See how many mistaken interpretarions we have cleared so far in this thread, and we are westerners. Thank you, Srila Prabhupada!!!

Prabhuji, Bhagwat Gita As It Is is in English and Bhagwat Gita Yathayath/Yatharup is the replica in Indian Regional dialect - Hindi Devanagari. This sacred book is available in at least eleven languages today. I can since read English, Bengali, Hindi(Devanagari), Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Oriya Indian Regional languages, I could compare two of these. These are all in fact replicas but certainly cannot be the mirror image. Hari Bol.

This is the quote from the book " Essence of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Iskcon Youth Forum(I.Y.F) Pune

"There is a significance for why the Bhagavad Gita was spoken on a battlefield. Life is a struggle, just like a battle.Our survival also is crucial as Arjunas position in the battlefield. Bhagavad Gita is for those who want to tackle the battle of life. Bhagavad Gita was spoken for everyone one us, to deliver us from ignorance. Bhagavad Gita is a panacea for all problems of life in any age" [page 15].

[quote][cite] kumara_faith:[/cite]This is the quote from the book " Essence of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Iskcon Youth Forum(I.Y.F) Pune

"There is a significance for why the Bhagavad Gita was spoken on a battlefield. Life is a struggle, just like a battle.Our survival also is crucial as Arjunas position in the battlefield. Bhagavad Gita is for those who want to tackle the battle of life. Bhagavad Gita was spoken for everyone one us, to deliver us from ignorance. Bhagavad Gita is a panacea for all problems of life in any age" [page 15].[/quote]

I have been looking for this book and another one they put out about preaching. Do you know where to find them?

I once heard about how Srila Prabhupada teased his disciples,saying to those who doubt about Krsnas existenceEven if Krsna doesnt exist,still,we have the best food,best friends,best philosophy etc"
Most atheists believe that all religions are concocted so as to guide people towards more civilised way of living,according to places and circumstances.
As humans are constantly quarrelling with each other in this material world,its good to know for what reason we are doing so:the muslims,for 72 virgins,christians to be with Jesus in paradise,and vaisnavas to become a gopi in Krsnaloka.
Still,Gita and can be used by demons to promote their selfish interests,just like Sai Baba is doing,claiming hes an incarnation of Krsna!
Prabhupadas Gita as it is, put us back in our original position of servants of the Lord,in all details!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Regarding those 72 virgins there are various explanations. An interesting one is that they actually represent nadis.

--

The Myth of 72 Virgins and Vedic Yoga Proposition

Swadesh Kumar Bose

Those of us, who have known something about the Islamic hoaxes, should
agree that the unseen promise of a set of 72 beautiful celestial
virgins alias Hooris kept for true Muslim male in his after life is a
major motivator of those fidayein jihadists throughout the planet.
However, going through the Vedic Yoga books, I am transformed into a
doubting Thomas of that Islamic fable. Before expressing my view on
the topic, I want to clarify that I am a scholar neither in Yoga nor
of Hindu Philosophy.

As an amateur, I have been attached myself to the noble cause of Hindu
renaissance for some time. In my quest to find out the root of Islamic
customs, I came by the special Puja issue of a tiny magazine "OMKAR",
published by the Ramananda Math. In that magazine, Swami Kalikananda
Giri wrote an excellent piece of article under the caption of "Nadir
Tan" (Attraction of Nadis). The revered Swamiji explained that there
were 72000 Nadis in our body. Those Nadis have been doing their jobs
in incessant manner. A Sadhaka (devoted person) feels the joy, only
when the Jeevatma makes a conscious connection (Ramana) with
Paramatma. Through this action, the "Chit" power of a Sadhaka
increases beyond normal level. Actually, a Yogi cleans his (her) Nadis
through a systematic way. These are called the rules of Sadhana. After
the cleansing of Nadis, the Jeevatma of the Yogi is purified to the
level of ever-purified Paramatma. This phenomenon is called the mating
of Jeevatma and Paramatma. In other word s, the intercourse of Shiva
and Shakti or Radha and Krishna etc. are nothing but the different
editions of the same thing.

In the pre-Islamic Arabia, the land was a great place of Shaiva and
Shakti worship. Numerous Yogic scriptures loudly declare this fact.
Muhammad himself was born in priest lineage of Kaaba Temple.
Naturally, he was aware of the Yogic practices in Hira Mountain. He
knew it very well that; the Arabic people had much faith in the
traditional wisdom of Yoga Shastras. Therefore, his clever mind fond
an easy way to drive those gullible least-conscious Arabians out of
their ancestral spiritualism by distorting the noble truth. In his
task in building up a faithful army he had to announce that, every
martyr or duty bound Muslim would get the reward from Allah. Do not we
know that, sexual pleasure is the cheap cause of waging war?

--

My conclusion after comparing these different paradises is that they are all one - Goloka.

Isnt VEDA previous post worth of a new question?

Hare Krishna.

Please check out my blog for a piece on Krishna, Creation, Maya, Realization, Bliss, etc.

http://chirpy-cynic.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/09/god-is-who-bliss-is-where.htm

Copy-paste the above link in your browser for complete article. I could have added it here, but its a bit long. Hare Krishna :)

Some of the points mentioned by Neelima have their own validity.

Dharma kshetra is the plane of spirituality. Kuru kshetra is the plane of action.

The next word samaveta generally translated as assembled is also very interesting as sama means equal and vetta means knower.

Similarly the word yuyutsavah can be taken as yu yu utsavah, where the word yu is for yunjann and utsavah means festival, hence yuytsavah can be taken as joining the celebration.

mamakah means mine

pandavah also means one who is pure...

Hence the first verse can also be taken to mean...."On the spiritual plane, on the plane of action, all are equal, rejoicing in the celebration. Everyone is mine, everyone is pure......

Hari Bol.