Character Sketch

• Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.

• Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.

• Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

• Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.

act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?

Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

athaitad apy aśakto'si kartuṁ madyogamāśritaḥ I sarvakarma-phalatyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān

If you are not able to work even this way, surrendering unto Me, give up all the results of your actions to Me without ego.

You must fix your mind upon Me alone.

If you are not able to work even this way, surrendering unto Me, give up all the results of your actions to Me without ego.

Kṛṣṇa gives various possibilities to Arjuna, one after another. His compassion for Arjuna's spiritual evolution knows no limits. He never gives up on Arjuna. 'If you cannot do this, do that. And if you cannot do that, at least do this,' Kṛṣṇa continues. In the last four verses, He continuously gives options to Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa says, 'Fix your mind upon Me alone.

Live in Me.' Then He felt that He had to give Arjuna an option, in case Arjuna could not succeed. 'If you cannot fix your mind upon Me, steadily practice and practice again,' He advised. He relented further, 'If you cannot do this repetitive practice, if this is too much for you, then work on My mission. Whatever you do, do it for Me.' Kṛṣṇa now says, 'If you are unable to do even this, which is work for My sake, then just abandon your ego and turn over the results of your actions to Me, sarva-karma-phala tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān (12.11).'

Kṛṣṇa relents from His standpoint that Arjuna should work only on those activities that are Kṛṣṇa's. He feels that there may be conditions that may prevent Arjuna from devoting all his time only to those activities that are Kṛṣṇa's. See how relevant Kṛṣṇa's advice is, even by today's standards. None of us can hope to sit idle and be taken care of. We must do something to occupy ourselves. In our day-to-day reality of life, not all may be able to work on God's mission alone, all the time.

We may be able to spend only some time on activities that are selfless activities that benefit humanity overall, and activities that are spiritual.

we need to spend a lot of time on activities that are of material benefit to us and to others related to us. Nothing is lost, assures Kṛṣṇa, and He provides the bridge between material pursuits and spiritual pursuits. Kṛṣṇa brings in the core concept of the Gītā, that of 'renunciation'.

He says, 'Do what you must do with an attitude of surrender to Me and sacrifice the results of your actions to Me, with complete control over yourself, your ego.' We feel responsible for the results of our actions. Whether we succeed or fail in what we do, either proud and happy, or guilty and sad, our ego makes us feel responsible.

We identify ourselves with what we do and the results of what we do. Kṛṣṇa says, 'If you cannot do whatever else I have told you to do, do this. Drop your ego. Drop the fruits of your actions and renounce them to Me.' The freedom that results from what Kṛṣṇa advises is true liberation.

Once we realize that we no longer are the masters of our destiny, decision makers of the results of our actions, we feel a weight lifting off our shoulders. It is He who is now responsible for the results of our action. We still are the 'doers', but no longer the 'owners.' One may wonder, how can I succeed in this rat race? Remember that even if you are the winner in this rat race, you are still only a rat!

It is an illusion of our minds that we decide the results of our actions. It is pure fantasy to believe that we decide the result of our actions. We cannot even guarantee that we will survive our next breath. Our life is not in our hands. What arrogance, therefore, to imagine that activities in the outer world are subject to our control! There is a power higher than us that decides the results of our actions. Once we realize this and start believing in the wisdom of that higher power, strange and mystical things happen to us.

We just need to let the Universe, Kṛṣṇa, the Divine, decide what is best for the rest of humanity and us.

Let us surrender the results of all that we do to this sacred power. Whatever then happens to us is for the good, for our good and the good of everyone in this Universe. We are surrendering to the cosmic power that surrounds us. Without Its grace we cannot live or take our next breath. Say, 'Do what you think is best for me' with deep completion and see what happens. Not merely does the end goal materialize, but an immense spiritual relief will overtake you. 'Renounce unto Me,' says Kṛṣṇa, 'surrender yourself to Me, and I shall liberate you.'

Impress upon the students that we can bridge the gap between our material pursuits and our spiritual pursuits by adopting an attitude of renunciation and surrender of the results of all our actions to God.

• ❖ Is it possible to devote all of one's time on spiritual activities?
• ❖ Is it possible to give up material pursuits altogether?
• ❖ How will we sustain ourselves if we do not engage in worldly activities?
• ❖ How can we engage in worldly activities with surrender to Krishna?
• ❖ What does it mean to be detached from the results of our actions?