Arjuna Falters🔗

1.19 This tumultuous sounding of the conches reverberated in the sky and the earth, and shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra.

1.20 Then, seated in his chariot, which bore the flag of Hanuman,

Arjuna lifted his bow, fixed his arrows and looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra spoke to Krishna.

1.21, 1.22 Arjuna said:

O Infallible One, please position my chariot between the two armies and let me see the warmongers gathered here with whom I must wage this battle.

When Bhishma sounded his conch, it invited in return the resounding response of the conches of the Pandava warriors. There is no mention by Sanjaya that Bhishma's conch or the accompanying sounds of drums and trumpets from the Kaurava army caused any concern amongst the Pandava army.

What he says now is different. With the roar of the conches of the Pandava warriors, led by Krishna and Arjuna, Sanjaya says that the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra were shattered.

The words used here are significant. He says that the blowing of the conches created vibrations in the sky and upon the earth. The conches of the Pandava princes and the great warriors were not mere musical instruments. They were imbued with divine presence. The sound that they produced when activated by their owners, to whom they were gifted by celestial beings, were filled with great spiritual power. They were in fact mantra, or sacred sounds, which created powerful vibrations affecting the environment. That is the uproar Sanjaya was talking about.

In the Hindu epics, one hears of references to weapons called 'astra'. An astra was not a physical weapon. It was a thought or a word that was given enormous power by its creator to destroy. These were mantra that created vibrations or energy forces to destroy, the same as a nuclear device. Metaphorically speaking, these are meditative techniques to destroy the saṁskāras or engraved memories that resided within the individual.

At a later stage in the Mahabharata war, when the Kaurava army had been routed, one of the remaining warriors, Ashvatthama, son of Drona, in revenge and out of despair, released the Brahmāstra, deadliest of all the astras. It is said that the Brahmāstra was like a nuclear weapon, capable of delivering terrible heat and destruction and which could bring at least 12 years of famine to the land. Brahmāstra was a weapon that was obtained from Brahma, the Creator, after severe penances by Ashvatthama.

Arjuna countered the Brahmāstra with Pashupatāstra, which he had obtained from Shiva. To prevent massive damage to the world, both warriors were advised to retract their weapons. While Arjuna could and did retract his astra, Ashvatthama could not. It is said that Krishna received the Brahmāstra as his own before it could do any damage.

The conches that the Pandava warriors used were not meant to destroy physically, but they were clearly successful in destroying the fantasies that the Kaurava princes nurtured in their minds. The purpose of sounding conches was to set the stage for the battle and to define its boundaries. They were clearly successful in establishing these boundaries. The Pandava princes and warriors had the comfort of knowing that they were doing what was right, both in their own hearts and minds and in the eyes of God, since they had the support of Krishna Himself. The Kaurava princes were afraid. All that motivated them was greed and envy. They did not have divine purpose as their motivation.

We should remember that Sanjaya was able to see far beyond the superficial responses of individuals on the battlefield. With his powerful ājñā, third eye vision, Sanjaya was able to fathom the subconscious and unravel the deep emotions and responses of the warriors. Whatever may have been the perceived reaction of the Kaurava army to the response from the Pandava warriors, Sanjaya concludes that the Kaurava princes were demoralized.

The armies went face-to-face. They were in military formation. The conches had sounded in anticipation. The warriors on both sides were waiting for their commanders to signal the first move in offense.

Arjuna was at the forefront of the Pandava army. He had blown his conch, Devadatta, at the same time as Krishna. Arjuna had taken up his divine bow Gāṇḍīva, and had fixed the arrow to the bow. However, instead of releasing the arrow, Arjuna looked at the Kaurava army amassed in front of him, with all the Kaurava princes, his cousins, facing him. He then addressed Krishna, his friend, mentor, divine guide and charioteer.

Arjuna’s chariot as we saw earlier was a gift from Agni, the fire god. The chariot flew the flag of Hanuman, the monkey god, son of the wind god Vayu, and the close confidante and disciple of Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu prior to Krishna.

The fire god Agni had requested Krishna’s help when Indra, Chief of the demigods threatened to quench his fire with rain. Krishna, accompanied by Arjuna, helped him by offering a forest that Agni could consume. Very pleased with this help, Agni gifted Arjuna with the Gāṇḍīva bow, a team of four horses, a chariot and two inexhaustible quivers and armor.

Once, when Bhima was walking through a forest, he found an old frail monkey lying on his path. Bhima asked the monkey to move and give him way. The monkey pleaded that it was too weak to move and suggested Bhima shift him. Bhima first tried to pick up the monkey’s tail with his fingers. When the tail would not budge, he tried harder. Even with all his might Bhima, who was known to have the strength of eight thousand elephants, could not move the monkey’s tail even an inch! Bhima understood that this was no ordinary monkey, and so paid respects by saluting the monkey, and asked its identity.

The monkey revealed itself as Hanuman, who as another son of the wind god, was in fact Bhima’s brother. Hanuman blessed Bhima saying that he would be with the Pandava princes at all times, and that he himself would ride upon Arjuna’s flag, on his chariot.

It is said that wherever Hanuman is, Rama is present. Therefore Arjuna is accompanied not only by Krishna, but also by His earlier incarnation Rama! Arjuna and the Pandava princes were twice blessed!

For the first time in this scripture, Arjuna speaks. Arjuna is not the mere hero of Mahabharata in this Gita scripture. He is the embodiment of all humanity. He is nara, the human aspect of Narayana, Lord Vishnu, who in turn is Krishna. Krishna and Arjuna, as Narayana and nara, as the Divine and mortal, is the theme that runs throughout Bhagavad Gita and also much of the epic Mahabharata.

'Infallible One,' said Arjuna to his friend and mentor, 'Please take me to a vantage point between the two armies so that I can see for myself who I am fighting with. Let me see who is assembled here on this battlefield. Who has taken up arms to fight, and who are those I must be prepared to fight. Krishna, please show me,' he says. 'Show me who I must vanquish.'

Arjuna already knew to the last man, each one who was on that battlefield at Kurukshetra. He had no confusion about whom he was fighting and whom he had to face. All these decisions, the changing of loyalties, the dropouts, all these happened in the days before the war. The negotiations had all come to an end; the lines had been drawn very clearly, even if unwillingly in some cases.

It made no sense at all for Arjuna to ask Krishna at this last minute to show him clearly who he was fighting against. It was as if he was hoping that at the last minute something would occur to change the course of events. If that were to happen, he knew that it could only take place through the grace of his charioteer, friend and guide.

It is as if Arjuna was making a desperate plea to Krishna, 'Please show me something that I do not know. Show me something that You alone know, Oh Infallible Divine. Take me there, where You will, and show me.'

Q: Swamiji, conches, mantra and astra, all these seem so unreal in this modern age of science and technology. Even the mālā (rosary) with your picture worn by your followers seems to build a cult-like environment. I would like to believe, but much that I have learned is contradictory. Please help me understand.

This is an honest question. Your question comes from a genuine struggle between what you have been taught to believe and what you are now seeing and hearing, which seems so totally different.

Science and technology are not in opposition to spirituality. Some scientists and technologists may be opposed, but the concepts are not. Einstein, one of the world's greatest scientists, said that the last step in science is the first step in spirituality. He had discovered the link between matter and energy, and this was being used for destructive purposes. He moved towards spiritual literature for solace and read the Veda and Upaniṣad.

The very first verse of the first Upaniṣad declares:

Science and spirituality are congruent when we understand that we do not have to make choices between them. They are not merely parallel paths but congruent and identical. Thousands of years ago enlightened masters knew what is being discovered today. They looked within. Today, scientists look out into the world. That is the difference.

Even fifty years ago people would have laughed if they had been told that atomic and sub-atomic particles behaved differently at different times. This would have been like shaking the foundations of science. Science stated that matter and energy were different and could not occupy the same space at the same time.

This is what you have been taught since childhood, is it not? But this is proven to be untrue by the scientific community today. These scientists, who have been brave enough to challenge that assumption with research, have come forward with data that proves the truth of our physical world. These are the scientists at the forefront of quantum physics and molecular biology, the most advanced frontiers of science and technology today.

Quantum physicists have found for years now that sub-atomic particles do not behave in any predictable manner. You cannot say anything certain about them. The same particle being observed in the same time and space by two different scientists appears to be in a different state depending upon who is watching it!

The Hindu philosopher and enlightened master Adi Shankaracharya said the same thing a thousand years ago. ‘Nothing is real,’ he said. ‘Everything is relative.’ The interaction between the observer, observed and the observation decided what would be perceived. He stated that the truth reveals itself when all three, that is the observing person, the observed object or event and the sense of observation, collapse into one experience, and all three become congruent. That is the only reality, which is the reality beyond illusion, which he termed māyā.

Māyā, the word sounds exotic. It means ‘that which is not.’ What is not real but appears to be real is māyā, illusion.

People laughed at this. ‘I can wound you now. I can kill you now. Is that not real?’ they asked. No, it is not; not from the perspective of reality that the great inner scientists discovered.

You can destroy what you see as my body. Nothing of my energy is destroyed or even affected. Matter moves into the plane of energy. That is all. But as long as you feel bound in the material plane and cannot see or feel beyond that plane, this will not make any sense to you. The same way, it would make no sense to a Newtonian scientist if a quantum physicist were to explain the phenomena of a sub-atomic particle behaving differently to different observers in the same time and space dimension.

To most of us, our conditioning is what is real. What we have learned all these years, what we have been told by others since childhood is real. If the information comes from an authority, we are prepared to trust. It becomes our truth, our value system and belief. These value systems and beliefs collectively are what Shankara and other enlightened ṛṣis called saṁskāras, our conditioned, unconscious memories. Today's neuroscientists accept that this is what drives all our decisions and actions, and not our logical and rational mind as we have been led to believe.

As long as we live with the illusion that we control our lives, we live in suffering. So long as we think that by some logical process we arrive at the decisions we make, based upon which we act, based upon which things happen, not only are we steeped in total ignorance but we suffer deeply as well. Less than ten percent of our mind behaves in a conscious manner that we can follow; the rest of it is the deep unconscious, instinctively pulling us along.

We are driven by an instinct that is primal. The reptilian brain stores memories of a million years and controls us at times of physical danger. We have no control whatsoever over this. We cannot prevent ourselves from fleeing from a danger that seems too great to handle. We cannot prevent ourselves from attacking a danger that seems surmountable. We cannot stop ourselves from getting excited sexually when we perceive the right opportunity to procreate.

Our unconscious brain operates much faster and more reliably than the conscious part. That is the only reason we are still alive. We are alive not because of ourselves, but in spite of ourselves!

Science and technology are tools. As long as we use them as tools, they can enhance our lives. Once we allow them to dictate our lives and our beliefs, we are in danger. We are in far greater danger than if we were to believe a self styled holy man!

Let me explain the significance of conches, mantra and astra...! One thing you need to understand. All these scriptures and purāṇa, the epics, are about truths and not facts. There is a major difference between these two - truth and fact. Fact is historical and measurable. Facts are bound in three dimensions as well as in time and space. Truth is beyond these dimensions. Truth is about awareness. Truth is about consciousness.

While giving bread and wine, Jesus said, 'Eat my body and drink my blood.' These are truths, absolute truths coming from an enlightened being. These are not facts as you interpret them. They are metaphorical truths from a master who lived beyond His physical boundary, to whom every being, living or non-living, was an extension of His own spirit. If you do not understand that, and make His words into a ritual, it becomes meaningless as it has become today.

We have lost the key to metaphorical truths. That is why rituals that are steeped in truth have degenerated into superstitions and mechanical repetitive actions. If you were to eat every morsel as if you were consuming the energy of Christ and drink every sip of water as the energy of Christ, you would never need to step into a church in your life again. You will be steeped in Christ consciousness. You would be another Christ!

That is what truths are about. The sound of the conches of these great warriors, especially Krishna and Arjuna, was not mere sound. These were cosmic vibrations, vibrations that keep the universe alive and functional. That was the purpose of blowing these conches in temples and at prayer. They help us resonate with the energy vibrations of the universe. They are meant to tune us to the vibration of pure cosmic energy.

So it is with mantras, the chants with sacred syllables. The sounds of the mantras create vibrations within you that help you get in tune with the cosmic energy. You need not even understand the meaning of the chants. However, the pronunciation and rhythm are important. They can quickly raise your energy, and a number of scientific experiments conducted for many years now have substantiated this. Your health - physically, psychologically and emotionally, improve and your material life also improves as a result.

Astra, the mystical weapons, actually existed. These weapons were not physical or material. They were powerfully focused thoughts of a trained master who could create and destroy using the energy of these thoughts. The power of intention is now a widely researched field and dozens of books have been written based on scientific experiments in this field. Hindu yogis as well as Chinese and Japanese masters have shown that by merely focusing their thoughts, they can throw a person many feet away and can move objects to any distance. Parlor tricks such as bending spoons with the power of thought are an extension of this, and millions of people have experienced such powers.

Can you guarantee that a person will continue to breathe in the next moment? You can state a probability, but never the certainty. That is what intelligent scientists have found today. They say that you can only talk about the probability of an event even in this material world, never with certainty.

The whole concept of what we were taught as science has now been turned around. Science is not about guaranteed repeatability. It is about the probability of repeatability. That is all. A low probability of repetition does not mean that an event is not scientific. Even if it happens once and we are able to verify its authenticity, it is no longer a fantasy, it is a scientific reality.

You asked about the mālā, the necklace. These mālā carry the cosmic energy. They are like batteries that recharge you when you need the energy. There is no need to blindly believe this. We can use scientific instruments and show that they radiate energy. When a person wearing these mālā meditates, he or she charges these batteries further. These are inexhaustible sources of psychic energy supply to a person. You need not believe in them; they will still work. They will heal you.

When a person is in tune with me, has faith in me, specifically if that person has been initiated by me, they can communicate with me through the mālā. I call the mālā my cell phone! Any number of people will testify to this. Again, this is not blind belief. There is scientific evidence to back such phenomena of thought exchange. They call it Zero Point Field in Quantum Physics. My mālā is just an instrument that makes this happen.

The mālā is a psychic defense. In many cultures around the world, people believe that others can harm them through their thoughts, black magic, etc. Yes, this can happen when your psychic defenses are down, and when you allow someone to enter your psychic field. My mālā is your defense.

What I am about to tell you now is a real life incident, in a Western country.

In 2005 and 2006, a number of people from the French colony of Guadeloupe, in the West Indies started coming to our classes. Many French people came for the discourses and started wearing the mālā.

A divorced lady who was living with her young son reported this incident in France. One night she woke up from sleep and it was as if someone was telling her to put on her clothes. She put on a dress and went back to sleep.

She woke up to the sight of a man holding a knife standing at her bedside. Instinctively she held up the mālā in defense. This man tried to stab her, but he could not move. He seemed suddenly paralyzed!

Meanwhile, the son woke up and came into the room. Seeing him, the intruder turned to him and wounded him. As they were struggling, the mother once again held up her mālā, and the intruder was paralyzed again. Eventually the intruder jumped out of an open window. The lady reported this to the police.

After a day or two, the police called her to identify a person who may have been her attacker. When she went to identify the person, and he saw her, he cowered and complained to the police that she was a witch with supernatural powers and he did not want to mess around with her again!

The mālā is made from special organic material. rudrākṣa mālā is strung with rudrākṣa - the seed of a tree that grows in Nepal and Indonesia. The word rudrākṣa means ‘tears of Rudra, or Shiva.’ From time immemorial these seeds have been prized in India and parts of Asia as sacred and healing. The other type of mālā is the red sandalwood mālā. Both of these are energizing and good for your mind-body system, especially since they have passed through the hands of an enlightened master. They work on your throat and heart energy centers, the viśuddhi and anāhata cakras, which means they work on your thyroid and thymus glands. Your growth and immune functions are boosted.

In recent times I have also been giving energized copper bracelets for protection. These too are for physical, psychological and psychic protection. Made of specially treated copper, they benefit many who have arthritic and rheumatic complaints. I am sure that over time, all of these will be scientifically validated. They are based on vedic principles, which are scientific in nature.

You mentioned cults. Cults are led by fear and greed. Though they claim to be alternatives to other institutions, cults themselves are bondages. And although my form is worshipped in all our ashrams, if you know our institution well enough, you know that at every level there are strict injunctions to move away from my form into the formless. All our meditation techniques and teachings are based on the formless. People are free to move in and out as they want. The form is used as the first step in your journey.

I always tell people, ‘Once you have come into the ashram gates, you are always with me. Whenever you wish to leave physically, you are free to go. You will go with my blessings. Many people who have left for one reason or another will tell you that. They come and go, but they always come again with joy to see me. This cannot happen in a cult; you are bound hand and foot.

Each of you has a path. You have your own path to awareness and liberation. Those in whose path I play a role seek me out and I am there for them. Sometimes things turn out differently and even if I am your master, this may not be the right time. So you may move away. I see that happen with regret, only because I know that your spirit longs for that liberation. It will suffer as it leaves the body. But there is little I can do. Your transformation is in your hands.

There are so many Westerners who come to the ashram. Why should they come from all over the world while many Indians and Hindus, far more familiar with the background of my teachings, hesitate? This is not because Westerners are gullible. They come because there is a connection; there is a spiritual connection that brings them. I am here to fulfill and liberate them so that they need not suffer another birth again.

We provide free boarding, lodging and all facilities to those interested in spending a year with us learning about the vedic culture. If you do not find it a good fit, it is your choice to leave. There is no pressure either to come in or to stay.

All I teach you is to experience the truth for yourself, and not to simply believe anyone's words, even mine. When you experience the truth, it is your truth. That is the truth that liberates you and no one can ever take away from you.