नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत ।
स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव ॥ १८.७३ ॥

naṣṭo moha: smṛtir-labdhā tvat-prasādān-mayācyuta |
sthito’smi gata-sandeha: kariṣye vacanam tava || 18.73 ||

Dispelling delusion – the purpose of the Teaching

The sole object of Bhagavad Gita is to treat the mind and dissolve all its emotional stiflings. It equally deals with the questions and riddles of the intelligence. Once these two are over, nothing will be there to deal with or address within our inner personality. Bodily disorders are for medicinal science to deal with. Spirituality and philosophy have the aim of dealing with the invisible, subjective constituents of the mind and intelligence.

Arjuna and Krishna together have accomplished this subtle, inner, complex task effectively. Now it is for Arjuna to answer Krishna, with the same directness and fullness:

By your grace, Krishna, my delusion is dispelled; I have regained my memory; I stand stable with doubts dissolved. I shall do as you say.

Arjuna’s reply is equally to the point. In fact, it is amazingly relevant and brief, yet conclusive. He first states that his delusion has gone. Arjuna does not refer to any kind of grief or suffering now. Krishna’s words of instruction and Arjuna’s sensitive reception are enlightening, redeeming and fulfilling. It is verily a knowledge dialogue that transpired between them.

The Grace of the Guru

In the end, Arjuna clearly confesses that he is not the earlier individual, but quite poised and self-seated. “My delusion has dissolved, I have got back my memory and gained clarity and self-assessment. All this is due to your grace alone”, says Arjuna.

Grace, its place and purpose, is a subject discussed and debated by devotees and seekers. Often it leaves an indefinite picture in their minds. Here the seeker has a clear direction in the matter.

We generally look for grace, thinking that the supreme Reality, the Lord, is the one to bestow it. All religious efforts are to propitiate the Lord. In return, what the devotees look for is His pleasure and grace. What is that grace, the devotees generally think about and look fondly for?

Is not the Lord a concept of our own mind? We see the world around, by dint of our senses. On the basis of this sensory perception, the complexity and appalling nature it presents, our mind begins to wonder about what lies beyond as the cause of this grand display. It then is inclined to formulate ideas of a supreme Power and Lord. The mind cherishes to look to its supreme-ness in an effort to ensure life’s welfare and fulfillment. In that strain it also feels like propitiating the Lord, so that He would be pleased and would bestow all the bounties yearned for.

Is not the whole religious domain ruled thus by ignorance and delusion? That is why, though millions of religious devotees are there, they do not succeed in getting any tangible inner ascent and fulfillment.

What was the plight of Arjuna, and what did he seek under its impact! And now, after the short dialogue with Krishna, what does he feel, what has he gained? Are not these clear watchwords for devotees and seekers alike? Is this not grace itself?

Our body was born at a time, governed by the laws, processes and cycles set in motion by Nature. Nothing in this world or our life is a very special or exclusive event. Many beings get born – humans too. As was one’s birth, so will be his or her life thereafter. The life will move on, marching ahead under these laws and processes. One day, the body will fall. To think of anything ultra-special about this oft-occurring birth and death, and consequently the life tenure in between, is itself an aberration, a distortion of knowledge.

Free of all doubts, regaining stability, Arjuna says he would do what Krishna asked him to. The “I” in Arjuna seems to have receded, giving room to Krishna and his instruction. He answers: “Your words have given me resolve. I do not have anything specially or additionally to say or do!”

What an ease, facility, advantage! This is what every seeker should aim at. Act we always have to, under Nature and its three guṇas. Any kind of deliberate option is more a discussion, a debate, than any meaningful proposition. By our own growth, the tendencies acquired by then, both by inheritance and from environments, our activities would have their trend or course. It is foul play of the mind and intelligence that brings havoc and disharmony in the matter.

All fear, doubt and indecision Arjuna felt in his mind, have subsided. He is now prepared to do what he came for. “I shall act according to your advice” is Arjuna’s declaration.

What is this advice?

The question in Arjuna’s mind was about death and killing. Krishna’s answer to this is that there is no death at all for anyone – equally so, there is no birth too. To think of death is a sheer fallacy. This insight comes only by probing into the spiritual presence that enlivens the body. Enquiry into the Soul alone can redress the problem and agitation caused by death. So Krishna’s first words of advice are: “Gain the knowledge of the immortal Soul”, and overcome all anxiety, agitation and doubts of the mind.

“Having done this, do what you have come here for – namely, fight!” Tasmād yudhyasva are the words Krishna repeated (2.18, 37, 38). Krishna also said many times that grief is uncalled for. Arjuna should not grieve at all over anything whatsoever (2.11, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30).

Applied in the context of human life as a whole, these words imply that we should not think of condemning or withdrawing from our usual activities, come what may. In striving well lies human dignity and fulfillment. While doing so, we should not be lamenting for anything at all. Instead we must find full joy and harmony, in everything.

The whole dialogue thus derives an eternal relevance and utility. It discusses the problems of the mind and intelligence and offers a full solution to them all, as evidenced by Arjuna in the end. And this makes the dialogue a full-fledged spiritual and philosophical gospel of universal dimension. That is why it has been read, re-read, explained, interpreted and disseminated ever since with matchless fidelity, zeal and fervour by ascetics, scholars and Knowers.