GITA 1.2

GITA 1.2
paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthayasambhavami yuge yuge    (Gita 4.8)

This is a beautiful sloka from Sri Krishna. He says that He appears in every yuga (a large division of ages) to protect the good, destroy evil and rescue and establish dharma. Though the Lord has had many Incarnations, we normally glorify Ten Avatars (Dasavatar). Every Avatar is unique and great. But in Sri Krishna Avatar, tenets were preached to improve our lives. Sri Krishna is also known as Sri Gitacharya. He preached Gita by mingling among ordinary people.  Veda Vyasa wrote the epic Mahabharata, which is considered as the Fifth Veda. It has the same superiority as the other Four Vedas - Rig, Yajur. Sama and Atarvana. It has about 125,000 slokas. Compare this with Srimad Ramayana (24,000 slokas) and Srimad Bhagavatam (18,000 slokas). Sage Parashara, father of Vyasa, tells his disciple Maitreya in praise of Vyasa that only Vyasa could compose such a great epic. It is said that what is found in Mahabharata can be found elsewhere also; and, what is not found in Mahabharata can not be found anywhere! With our limited life and knowledge, it is very difficult to study Mahabharata and understand and refine our lives. So, our elders tried to filter the essence of Mahabharata and have prescribed Gita and Vishnu Sahasranamam. With the aid of these two as two eyes, we can refine our life. Gita is what Sri Krishna preached and Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam is about Sri Krishna as told by Bheeshma. Both assist our lives. It is said that Purusha sooktam in Vedas, Manu smriti in smritis, Vishnu Puranam among Puranas and Gita in Mahabharata are most important. Sri Krishna has gifted us Gita incorporating all the essence of all Upanishads. Though there will be many Sanskrit slokas in the lectures, one need not be scared for want of knowledge in Sanskrit, as many scholars have translated them for our benefit. If we are sincere in our attempts we can easily understand all. The Cowherd, Sri Krishna, milked the cows, Upanishads, using Arjuna as a calf, and got us milk, Gita! In fact, Gita is also called Gitopanishad! Since the milk from a cow is not only to its calf but for everyone, Gita was not preached only for Arjuna but for our benefits also. Arjuna was a mere motive for the Lord to deliver Gita. 

Gita was preached to remove Arjuna's anxiety and not to induce him to fight. When one was in predicament as what to do, these tenets came up to do the right and establish dharma. When we are in dilemma, this will be remedy. 

We know how Srimad Ramyana originated. Valmiki was in forest and after a bath in river Tamasa, saw two birds (male and female) on the branch of a tree. Suddenly, one bird was shot down by an arrow by a hunter.  Valmiki was distressed at this sight and out of anger cursed the hunter with all bad things in life. "Manishada pratishtatum samagah sashvatisamah yat krouncha mithunadekam sokam avadhim kama mohitam" are his words. Then he was sitting in his hermitage, when Sri Narada met him. When Narada enquired reason for his sorrow, Valmiki said that he cursed the hunter with words but formed in beautiful poetic metre. But with the blessings of Brahma and Narada, he composed the great Srimad Ramayana. His sorrow (at the sight of the bird being killed) came out as a poem. Sorrow gave birth to a great epic. But here, to dispel the sorrow (of Arjuna), Gita was born!

Keikeyi's maid servant Mantara, went to the balcony and saw the preparations for the coronation of Sri Rama, next day. She was irritated and went to Keikeyi and told that Keikeyi was betrayed by not crowning her son Bharata. For that Keikeyi replied that she did not see any difference between Sri Rama and Bharata. But Mantara slowly changed Keikeyi's mind and so she demanded from Dasarata, coronation for Bharata. Dasarata tried to reason out with Keikeyi, but of no avail. This mind change brought about the entire epic of Ramayana. Similarly, an anxious Arjuna was reluctant ti fight his own kith and kin. If Sri Krishna had agreed we would not have got Gita. 

How long did Sri Krishna preach? Can it be possible to preach in a battlefield, when both armies had assembled to fight each other? So, how did they converse? Was it oral or mental conversation? 

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