Srila Prabhupada’s 1972 Bhagavad Gita As It Is Lecture notes: Part 1.2
Part 1.2: Lecture notes on some verses of Chapter 1 of the Macmillan Bhagavad Gita As It Is 1972 original unrevised non-adulterated Edition
1. BG 1.4-5-LONDON – July 10, 1973
Srila Prabhupada clears the doubts by explaining how the mentioning of great fighters of Mahabharata is also in relationship with Krsna
Translation: “Here in this army there are many heroic bowmen equal in fighting to Bhīma and Arjuna; there are also great fighters like Yuyudhāna, Virāṭa and Drupada.”
Srila Prabhupāda: Hmm. So all these heroes are mentioned not only in this verse, in several other verses also. So people may ask that “By mentioning these great fighter, what spiritual progress we make? Because we are meant for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, so by chanting the names of these great fighters, what do we gain?” The question may be raised there. But the thing is that nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe: whenever there is connection with Kṛṣṇa, that also becomes Kṛṣṇa.
This is a subtle form of philosophical understanding. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. If there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa . . . therefore the sahajiyās, they do not read Bhagavad-gītā. They say, “We have nothing to do with Bhagavad-gītā.” They jump over to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā, as if Kṛṣṇa is connected with rāsa-līlā and not with this līlā. They make distinction. Kṛṣṇa’s this fighting līlā, pastimes, and the rāsa-līlā pastime, they are all the same, because Kṛṣṇa is the center. Kṛṣṇa being center, whatever in connection with Kṛṣṇa is there, that becomes also Kṛṣṇa. This is the idea.
How to use everything in Krsna’s service? anāsaktasya viṣayānyathārham upayuñjataḥnirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandheyuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255)
This is the instruction of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
So just like we, in propagating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have to deal with money or persons who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, outsider. We have to deal with them. But when we go to outsider or when we deal with money, there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-sambandha. So Rūpa Gosvāmī has distinguished the . . .
prāpañcikatayā buddhyāhari-sambandhi-vastunaḥmumukṣubhiḥ parityāgophalgu vairāgyaṁ kathyate(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256)
Prāpañcika means material. So prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. Everything has got connection with Kṛṣṇa because ultimately everything is Kṛṣṇa’s energy.
The material world is also manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Bhūmir āpo ‘nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4), you’ll find. Material world means these five elements, gross and subtle. Earth, water, air, fire, sky, these are gross. And mind, intelligence and ego, these are subtle. These elements, material elements, Kṛṣṇa says, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā: “These material elements, they are separated, but they are My energy. They are My energy.” The same example: Just like cloud. Cloud is created by the sun. It is sun’s energy which creates the cloud. You know. By temperature the seawater is evaporated, forms into gas. That is cloud. So cloud is created by the energy of the sun, but when there is cloud you cannot see the sun; sun is covered. Similarly, material energy is Kṛṣṇa’s energy. But when you become covered by this material energy, you do not see Kṛṣṇa. This is the position.
So we have to use our intelligence. That is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ, mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgaḥ. Mumukṣu, especially the Māyāvādīs, who are after liberation, to merge into the existence of the Supreme, mumukṣu, mokṣa, they, Māyāvāda, they say: “Everything is māyā.” Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: “This world is false, only Brahman is reality.” But we say that why the jagat, the world, should be false if it is coming from the reality? We do not agree with them. We do not accept that this world is false. No.
We can say: “It is temporary manifestation.” But it is not false. Why it is false? We are living in this house. If somebody, some rascal, says, “It is false,” why false? We are utilizing this house. We are utilizing this microphone. We are utilizing the Dictaphone. Why it is false? There is sambandha. There is relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Anything material, made of earth, water, fire, air, they are Kṛṣṇa’s energies. Therefore there is direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And if Kṛṣṇa is reality, why His energy should be false? No. We must know how to utilize it.
So similarly, in this battlefield, Kṛṣṇa is there, and all the living entities . . . Some of them are soldiers, some of them are commander-in-chief, some of them this, that— or the chariot or the ground—everything Kṛṣṇa’s energy. So if we remember that everything is manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, there is no question of materialism. It is all spiritual energy. So nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. So we have to use them for Kṛṣṇa.Understanding multiple energies of KrsnaHere all of of them have gathered. This is another Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Kṛṣṇa appears, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). He wanted to kill all the demons. That is another side of His business. As one side, paritrāṇāya sādhūnām, to give protection to the devotees, the other side is to vanquish all the demons. Just like if you want to grow paddy on the field, so first of all you have to destroy all the unwanted weeds. Then you grow the seeds, it will come out nicely.
So these two things are required, destruction and construction. Both the things are Kṛṣṇa’s activities or different energies. So you cannot accept one thing, giving up the other side. We have to understand that both sides, they are working as different manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8, Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). In the Vedas it is said that the Absolute has got multi-energies. So one energy is working in one way, another energy is working another way. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. Just like here also, when we do something, we require varieties of energies to make that thing perfect.
How many countries existed 5000 years ago? What is the meaning of Mahabharata?
Translation: “There are also great, heroic, powerful fighters like Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, Kāśirāja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Śaibya.”
Prabhupāda: Practically in the Battle of Kurukṣetra great personalities, warriors, from all parts of the world they came and joined. Some of them joined with this party and others joined with the other party. So far we have studied . . . just like Śaibya, he belonged to Śibya. So all these personalities, we did not get their full description, it would enhance the pages. But these big personalities, we have got their information. There is a book, The Personalities of Mahābhārata. Bhagavad-gītā is part of Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata means greater India. Mahā means greater, and bhārata means India.
So this whole planet was Bhārata-varṣa. There was only one flag. The whole planet was being ruled by one king. That is the king of this Hastināpura. The fight is that who would be the king, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or Duryodhana. But a king . . . it is not a democraty; it is monarchy. So Kṛṣṇa is deciding, “No, Duryodhana is unfit. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is fit.” This is Kṛṣṇa’s desire. Therefore this fight is there. Kurukṣetra, Kṛṣṇa wanted to wipe out all unwanted demons from the face of the world and enthrone Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, because he is the exact representative of Kṛṣṇa.
Democracy or dictatorship?So monarchy or dictatorship is welcome. Now the Communist, they want dictatorship. That is welcome, provided that particular dictator is trained like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Not that simply by votes of some rascal population one becomes dictatorship, another rascal comes, another big rascal comes. Just like in the Communist country the Stalin was their dictator, and in the historical record it is said that he is the greatest criminal in the history of the world. Greatest criminal. He would not tolerate anyone going against him. As soon as he finds that, “This man is going against me,” immediately call him, “Now here is poison and here is resignation.” Or kill him. “You take poison or I shall kill you.” This was his policy. In this way he killed so many enemies. He not only killed the czar family. So his business was killing. Not that kind of dictatorship wanted. Dictatorship wanted that by his direction the citizens will be so happy that even they will not have any anxiety. Adhayo vyadhayaḥ.Krsna’s killing and protecting are the same
So this battlefield, because Kṛṣṇa wanted to kill them, and the result was—you will find in the Bhagavad-gītā—they all attained svarūpa. Anyone who was killed, who died in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, in the presence of Kṛṣṇa, they all attained their original, constitutional position, spiritual form. They all went back to home, back to Godhead, everyone. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is Absolute. Either His killing or His protecting, it is all the same. You don’t think that Kṛṣṇa is killing. No. If anyone is killed by Kṛṣṇa, he immediately gets liberation: the liberation for which great, great saintly persons, sages, they undergo severe austerities for life after life, simply by being killed, he gets that.
So by becoming Kṛṣṇa’s enemy, one gets this benefit, just think over if you become Kṛṣṇa’s friend, what is the benefit. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādīs, they are after liberation. So this liberation is granted even to the enemies of Kṛṣṇa. They are also enemies. The Māyāvādīs, they are also enemies. Kṛṣṇe aparādhī. They are offender to Kṛṣṇa because they do not accept the form of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are offender.
So everything studied in relationship with Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect knowledge, and that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. So it is not that like sahajiyās that we are interested with Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa dance, not with this fighting in the battlefields of Kurukṣetra. This is sahajiyā-bhāva. This is not wanted.
2. BG 1.6-7-LONDON – July 11, 1973
Explanation of Maha-ratha
Srila Prabhupāda: So formerly, five thousand years ago, the same system, military—ordinary soldiers, then the captain, then the commander, the commander-in-chief—as there are gradation in the modern age, the same thing was there. But mahā-ratha, they had good qualification. Mahā-ratha means alone he could fight with many other charioteers. They are called ati-ratha, mahā-ratha. There are different grades of fighters.How are the children named after their parents?So, so far Pāṇḍavas are concerned, their son . . . Saubhadra . . . Saubhadra means Abhimanyu, Subhadrā’s son. Because he was Subhadrā’s son, his name was Saubhadra. Draupadī’s son, they are called Draupadeya. In Sanskrit, just like bhaginī, sister, bhaginī, her son is called bhāgineya, nephews. So there is link. As soon as we speak Saubhadra, that means Subhadrā’s son. Subhadrā’s son, he was only sixteen years old at that time. He was married with Uttarā, the daughter of Mahārāja Virāṭa. So they were all mahā-rathas, ordinary . . . not ordinary fighters. This Abhimanyu was killed by conspiracy by seven commander-in-chief. Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Droṇācārya, Aśvatthāmā, they all surrounded him, and they did not allow him to come out. They were very experienced commanders.
One should take calculation of the opposing elements, or the enemy’s side.Then Duryodhana, first of all he pointed out the military strength of the opposite side. This is intelligence. One should take calculation of the opposing elements, or the enemy’s side. In fighting the first thing is to take estimation of the enemy’s side, how much they are strong, how they have arraigned. Then one should calculate how to counteract, how to fight with them. This is intelligence. Without taking any calculation of the other side, if you are not prepared, then how you can become victorious?
This is sane proposal, that is, upayan cintayet prajño apayan ca cintayet. A prajña, a intelligent man, not only think of the bright side on this business, or this fight, or this any . . . so many things we have to deal with. Simply we should not calculate the brighter side. There is darker side also. We should always think, “If there is some thief, if there is some rogue, they cheat us, then what precaution I am going to take?” This is intelligence. If I simply calculate that “In this business I will make so much profit,” in the meantime, somebody comes and cheats me and go away, then . . . therefore upayan cintayet prajña apayan ca cintayet. Darker side also should be thought of. That is intelligence. Just like they are doing. After calculating the darker side—enemy means darker side: “They can defeat me at any moment,” that is darker side.
So after calculating their strength, then Duryodhana is speaking about his own strength, asmākaṁ tu viśiṣṭā ye. Viśiṣṭā; not to speak of the ordinary soldiers. They’re viśiṣṭā. Viśiṣṭā means who are specifically to be mentioned, high officers. Asmākaṁ tu viśiṣṭā ye tān nibodha dvijottama. He was in commander-in-chief. For eighteen days there was fight, and one after another, a commander chief was killed. And sixty-four crores of men were killed in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. And the battle was finished within eighteen days, not lingering for some years. No. Fight to the best capacity and finish the business.Krsna consciousness should be all pervadingSomebody was criticizing me that, “Swāmījī, you are introducing this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, people are becoming coward. They simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” So I replied that, “You will see the power of Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in due course of time.” He required . . . because there were two battles in India: the battle between Rāvaṇa and Rāma, Rāma-Rāvaṇa, the battle of Rāmāyaṇa; and another battle was Battle of Kurukṣetra. And in these two battles the hero was Vaiṣṇava and Viṣṇu. In the Rāma-Rāvaṇa battle Lord Rāmacandra was there and His devotee Hanumān, Vajrāṅgajī. Similarly, in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Kṛṣṇa was there, and His devotee Arjuna was there.
So Vaiṣṇavas, they do not simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. If there is need, they can fight under the guidance of Viṣṇu and become victorious. A Vaiṣṇava’s one qualification is . . . out of twenty-six qualifications, one qualification is dakṣa, expert. If there is need of fighting, they can fight like very expert. That is also needed. Kṛṣṇa’s . . . Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not mean one-sided.
Kṛṣṇa as all-pervading, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement also should be all-pervading. It should touch everything, even politics, sociology, everything, if required. That is the aim. Because Kṛṣṇa’s mission is, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). There is two mission: not only to give protection to the devotees, but also to kill the demons. To kill the demons, that is one side.
So the devotees of Kṛṣṇa should be trained up both ways: not only to give protection to the devotees, to give them encouragement, but if need be, they should be prepared to kill the demons. That is Vaiṣṇavism. It is not cowardism. It is not cowardism. When need be. Generally, a Vaiṣṇava is non-violent. Just like Arjuna. In the beginning he was non-violent, Vaiṣṇava. He said: “Kṛṣṇa, what is the use of this fighting? Let them enjoy.” So by nature he was non-violent, but he was induced by Kṛṣṇa to become violent that, “Your non-violence will not help. You become violent. You kill them. I want.” So if Kṛṣṇa wants, we shall be prepared to become violent also. And Kṛṣṇa, that is open secret, that paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). Two business of Kṛṣṇa, two side.
Devotees should be trained up in both waysSo those who are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, they should be trained up both ways, they should be prepared. But generally, there is no question of becoming violent unnecessarily. As the modern politicians, unnecessarily they declare war, a Vaiṣṇava does not do so. No. Unnecessarily, there is no need of war. When it was completely impossible to settle up the things between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas, then Kṛṣṇa said, “All right, then there must be fight.” When Duryodhana declined to spare even a portion of land holding the sūcyagra, the point of a needle . . . he refused that, “I cannot spare even so much land which can hold the point of a needle.” Then the war was declared. There is no question of settlement.
Otherwise, Kṛṣṇa requested that, “These five Pāṇḍavas, they are kṣatriyas. They cannot become merchant or brāhmaṇa.” Brāhmaṇa’s profession is paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigrahaḥ. Brāhmaṇa can take charity from others. A sannyāsī can take charity from others. Not a kṣatriya or a gṛhastha. No. That is not allowed. “So they are kṣatriyas; they cannot take the profession of a brāhmaṇa, neither they can take the profession of a mercantile man, business man.
They must have some land so that rule over, take taxation. And that is their living means. So spare only five villages to these five brothers and settle up.” But Duryodhana replied, “No, Sir. What to speak of five villages, we cannot spare even so much land which can hold the point of needle.” Then the war was declared. So Vaiṣṇava, they are non-violent. But if need be, they can become violent for Kṛṣṇa’s sake. This is the Battle of Kuruksetra.