The kurukshetra of Daily Life-2
Bhagvat Gita is the actual talk between the confused Arjuna and his Charioteer Lord Krishna in the battle field.The Pandavas were leading a huge army in a righteous cause against their own cousins, the Kauravas, also with a huge army. Arjuna was the biggest hero and he gazed from his chariot at the two armies, he suddenly lost his will to fight. He was afraid. Afraid not only of losing his own life, but also for the lives of his “fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, fathers-in-law, and friends.” Because this was a war within a family. He had loved ones in both armies. Arjuna dropped his bow and arrows and collapsed on the floor of his chariot, sobbing.
Arjuna’s heroism will not consist only of strength but, more importantly, of an inner struggle with himself. Arjuna, turns out, is meant to be a part of my mind and your mind and everybody’s mind. The real enemy of Arjuna was his mind rather than the soldiers on the other side. We are faced with the same situation. Our own mind is the greatest enemy, which is constantly tricking us into thinking that life is all about material enjoyment and sense gratification. Every day we are faced with decisions, which will affect our future.
Arjuna’s struggle is our daily struggle over the base, the serene over the angry, the courageous over the fearful. We all have Kurukshetras within us. Life is full of calamities and anxiety. Ignorance, materialism, lust, greed, and violence, represents the soldiers on the opposing side in our war. Thus everyday is a battle with ignorance, materialism, lust, greed, and angerThe Kauravas, the evil cousins, are the negative states of mind – anger, hatred, greed, vanity, envy, arrogance, fear and so forth.Krukshetra is the battlefield of our own minds, every day.. If we can win the daily battles for some time then we have entered into spiritual life and the war over ignorance.
The battle of Mahabharata is raging within us! Our ignorance (avidyaa) is King Dhritarashtra! The individual soul is Arjuna! The In-Dweller dwelling in our heart is Lord Krishna, the charioteer! The body is our chariot! The senses (indriyaas) are the horses. Our ego, pride, greed, hypocrisy, lust, jealousy, likes & dislikes, etc. are our dire enemies!
In order for us to win our war, we need the same knowledge that Arjuna was given by Lord Krishna. Krishna teaches us how to make our minds calm so that we can go on with life whenever it seems to overwhelm us. By understanding the Bhagavad-Gita, the decisions we make in everyday life will alter our lives for the better and the result will be peace and happiness even in this life
