Daily Readings from the Works of Swami Venkatesananda


Song of God (Bhagavad Gita) Chapter 2: 9-10

January 19, 2021

saṁjaya uvᾱca
™evam uktvᾱ hṛṣīkeśaṁ guḍᾱkeśaḥ paraṁtapaḥ
na yotsya iti govindam uktvᾱ tῡṣṇīṁ babhῡva ha (II-9)

™tam uvᾱca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasann iva bhᾱrata
senayor ubhayor madhye viṣīdantam idaṁ vacaḥ (II-10)

II/9. Saṅjaya said: Having spoken thus to the Lord, Arjuna,
the destroyer of foes, said to Kṛṣṇa, “I will not fight,” and
became silent.

II/10. To him who was despondent in the midst of the two
armies, Krishna, as if smiling, O Dhṛtarāṣṭra, spoke these words:

Swamiji's Commentary


     It is strange what ignorance and delusion can do to man. Arjuna was ‘the destroyer of foes’. He could fight with lord Śiva himself! He was afraid of none – men, angels or demons. Yet, here he is, despondent and effeminately weeping right in the middle of the two armies, just in that situation where a warrior loves to be and is born to be; in the very situation that is ideal for him to demonstrate his valour and his chivalry; right at his post of sacred duty.

     We often complain of lack of opportunities. We blame our fate and curse our neighbors. We are displeased with everyone else, men and gods! But we fail to realize that not they but our own spiritual ignorance and delusion are our real enemies.

     So long as this delusion is not removed and the ignorance overcome, we shall refuse to utilize the opportunity even if the Lord himself offers it to us. We will bluntly tell him, as Arjuna said: “I will not fight the inner foes.” In the darkness of self-imposed ignorance the foes seem to be friends, the closed eyes refuse to see the inner light and we continue to be the slaves of the tyrant known as egoism, weeping and wailing, unwilling to give up the sources of our sorrows and unable to endure their torment.

     If we have the right attitude of surrender to God, and if we prayerfully approach him, he will, without the least delay and in a pleasant way, impart the highest wisdom to us, dispelling ignorance and delusion once and for all. He is the light within each one of us.

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