Dear All,
Having covered the essence
of the second chapter verses dealing with SELF, we move on to the next part -
Dharma or action / duties.
Verse 31
Swadharmam api chaavekshya
na vikampitum arhasi;
Dharmyaaddhi yuddhaacchreyo'nyat
Dharmyaaddhi yuddhaacchreyo'nyat
kshatriyasya na vidyate.
Further, having regard to
your own duty, you should not waver, for there is nothing higher for a
Kshatriya than a righteous war.
Having established the fact that it is not
intelligent to lament about the soul of any living entity, Lord Krishna
subsequently responds to Arjuna’s supplication on what is in his highest good
with the word Swadharma or principles of righteousness.
Lord
Krishna is emphasizing this to Arjuna so that he will follow his duty as a
kshatriya and act like a warrior.
For, to
act contrary and hesitate is not in accordance with kshatriya code
according to Vedic scriptures and such a deviation by Arjuna, would be
considered an act of unrighteousness.
What then
is duty? Righteousness is duty which is not separate from those who are righteous.
For a kshatriya there is nothing more welcome than the opportunity to fight a
battle to protect righteousness.
Swa-dharma is one’s duty as an
individual, in accordance with the Vedas. There are two kinds of swa-dharmas, or prescribed duties for the individual —
spiritual duties and material duties.
Since a
vast majority of humankind does not possess this spiritual perspective, the
Vedas also prescribe duties for those who see themselves as the body. These
duties are defined according to one’s āśhram (station in life), and varṇa (occupation). They
are mundane duties.
This distinction between spiritual duties and material duties needs to be kept in mind while understanding the Bhagwad Gita and the Vedic philosophy at large.
By
occupation, Arjun was a warrior, and so his occupational duty as a warrior was
to fight for the protection of righteousness. Sri Krishna is calling this swa-dharma, or prescribed duty at the bodily level.
Krishna tells Arjuna to
fulfil his duty as a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya’s obligation is to uphold
righteousness, protect the good and ensure that justice prevails. Here is a war
that has come to Arjuna unsought. He must display courage, valour and skill.
Instead Arjuna is focusing on extraneous issues and getting overpowered by
emotion.
Now, let us try to get
deeper into this SWADHARMA in spiritual sense.
In Spiritual sense, SWA+DHARMA = Dharma of SELF or ATMA DHARMA.
For example, every nation
has its written constitution. We have our constitution in India.
So, all the legislative
laws and decisions have to be in a way that they are within the framework of
the constitution. Many a times, laws are challenged in court. In such
situations, court decides whether the concerned law is in accordance with the
constitution. If the law is within the constitution, it is upheld otherwise,
court declares the law as invalid and it is struck down.
So, Atmadharma means - “You
shall do nothing, which is against the nature of Atma”.
We all know the story of
Sibi Chakravarthy. Once a pigeon seeks refuge in Sibi, saying that it is being
chased by an eagle. When the eagle comes, Sibi warns the eagle to leave the pigeon
alone.
The eagle then challenges
Sibi and says,
“O King, you are known to strictly adhere to Dharma. I too follow my own Dharma which is to survive by hunting. You are interfering in my dharma.
You may be right in
following your dharma to protect the one (pigeon) who has sought refuge
but how about my dharma? Are you not obstructing my dharma?”
The story goes that King
Sibi honors the Dharma of the eagle and offers to the eagle flesh from his own
body, equal in weight to that of the pigeon.
Paradharma of duty at
physical level changes from person to person and in fact, for the same person
himself depending upon which ashram he is in. His duties are different in his
childhood, in his youth, as a householder etc.
However, irrespective of
the varnas, irrespective of diversities in human beings, ATMA DHARMA is
the same for one and all.
Continued…
Love.
