यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥ १८.७८ ॥

yatra yogeśvara: kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanurdhara: |
tatra śrīr-vijayo bhūtir-dhruvā nītir-matir-mama || 18.78 ||

The victory of the Teacher and the taught

All this is the evaluation and appreciation of the dialogue. Sañjaya has something more conclusive to say. It is a verdict, a prophecy, he makes on the basis of what he saw, heard and understood from the whole episode, the circumstances in which it transpired and the effects and after-effects it produced:

Wherever is the Master Yogin, Krishna, along with the wielder of the bow, Arjuna, there will prevail prosperity, victory, glory and the ultimate righteousness. This is my firm conviction.

He describes Krishna as Yogeśvara. What does this denote? The whole discussion is about yoga. Each chapter is named after one particular kind of yoga. Altogether there are 18 chapters and hence 18 yoga pursuits too. Yoga literally means the path or process to unite the mind with the Soul, the mind’s own essence. Obviously the yoga, union, is in the level of Consciousness, which causes thoughts, feelings, memory and knowledge.

Abiding in Consciousness is yoga

All these inner creations are generally regarded as different from each other. But with spiritual prudence, when the seeker examines his own within, the working of his mind and intelligence, the revelation is bound to be different.

Is thought different from the thinker or thinking substance? Is the ‘seer’ different from ‘seeing’? Where is the object seen? Does any object we perceive through the senses ever get into our body to remain there? The senses always remain where they are, and the objects they perceive also remain where they are. In reality, no contact, much less a union, takes place externally between them.

Through the senses, it is the inner Consciousness that forms impressions of objects. Impression is of Consciousness, in itself, with no content other than its own. Though we call it an object impression, it is a formation or ‘becoming’ of the Subject consciousness alone. In forming such impressions, Consciousness does not change into any other substance.

In truth, Consciousness never becomes anything else. Its powers are such that it can cause imprints on itself. None of the imprints has a separate content, substance or entity. It is all Consciousness alone, whether you call it the ‘Subject’ or the ‘object’.

Thus, the thought and the thinker are the same. Does not every thought subside in the thinker, or thinking substance every time, making all ideas of separateness between them a sheer fallacy? It is thus a yoga of the thought and the thinking substance. Thinker is only a reference, a name or identity, not a substance at all.

Likewise all that is produced in the mind can be united with the mind itself. Knowledge, doubt, memory, feeling, etc. get joined with or dissolved into their own source. This is the yoga that seekers should strive to realize. It is more a knowledge-based process than any material or energial eventuality.

Sañjaya is so impressed with Krishna’s mastery in dealing with the subject of Yoga, that he calls him Yogeśvara, the Lord of Yoga. There is uniqueness about the whole presentation. It is not renunciational, but involvemental. The test of yoga is the excellence in action, yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam (2.50). Krishna says: “Dissolve grief, doubt, fear and oscillation; and then fight with stability and poise, tasmād yudhyasva bhārata” (2.18).

Wherever such a Krishna, the Yogeśvara, is there along with Arjuna, the illustrious warrior, with his bow raised, both together personifying the blending of wisdom with action, says Sañjaya, there will abide prosperity and welfare. Sañjaya adds that victory, glory and propriety will also reign.

Human life becomes worthy and fulfilling with timely action on the one hand and the excellence of spiritual wisdom on the other. Krishna here signifies the spiritual proficiency, clarity and enrichment. Arjuna denotes the courage, readiness and excellence in action. Both have to be in close conjunction. Only then human life becomes meaningful, creative, vibrant and fulfilling. This is a verdict Sañjaya gives for the entire world. People have to reflect upon this very deeply, to understand and imbibe its import.

Creation is full of activity and vibration. There is no place for inactivity or idleness at all. While animals are given to their respective instinctive behaviour, humans are expected to apply discrimination and prudence (viveka) in every matter. Dharma (righteousness) is an outcome viveka constantly elicits, compels. Governed by it, we have evolved dharma, artha, kāma and moksha – the four-fold purushārtha or the object of human pursuit.

It is not enough if we are active and striving. Spiritual evaluation and sublimity must underline whatever we think, speak and do. This conjunction is very important. That is what Sañjaya alludes to by referring to the Krishna-Arjuna complement.

Krishna embodies the excellence of spiritual wisdom, and Arjuna the powerful Hand of Administration. Administrators may have, at times, to resort to very stern steps, invariably stifling to the mind and emotions, and confusing to the intelligence and rationality, as the Kurukṣetra scene illustrates. The knowledge or experience of the Administrator alone will not be adequate to deal with such complex situations. The result will be a grave quagmire and debility.

The only redress in all such contexts will be the deep, all-assimilative and all-resolving spiritual wisdom, which Krishna amply displays. It is evident that only when graced by the unique sublimity of spiritual excellence, can Administration function effectively, free from mental or moral stifling and enfeeblement. In contending the deleterious and promoting the beneficial, astute discretion, inner strength and vision are indispensable, as we find in the case of Arjuna himself. This is as true today as it was over 5000 years ago, during the Mahābhārata war.