श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता: || 11||
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase
gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Lord said; aśhochyān—not worthy of grief; anvaśhochaḥ—are mourning; tvam—you; prajñā-vādān—words of wisdom; cha—and; bhāṣhase—speaking; gata āsūn—the dead; agata asūn—the living; cha—and; na—never; anuśhochanti—lament; paṇḍitāḥ—the wise
Translation:
The Lord said: O Arjuna! You grieve for those for whom there need be no sorrow, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise do not grieve for the dead or living.
Commentary:
The teaching of the Gita starts from this Sloka. So in the Gita-Sastra, this verse is regarded as the seed or source (Bija). Just as the whole tree is involved in the seed, the whole of the `Gita Sastra’ is implied in this Sloka.
The message of the Gita starts with the word ‘Asochyan’ and ends with the words ‘ma suchah’ (do not grieve). So it appears that the main purpose of the Gita teaching is “the removal of sorrow.”
Those who should not be grieved for: Every object in the world has five aspects: (1) existence, (2) light, (3) joy, (4) name, and (5) form. Of these, the first three -existence, light, and joy (sat, chit, ananda) are real and eternal. The later two, name and form (nama and rupa) are unreal and transitory. The first three constitute the real nature of man, and not name and form. But such is the power of ignorance (`avidya’) that man sees, knows and clings to the later two only – namely name and form. The first three are not directly seen, though they are experienced every moment of life. Thus, if we analyse and go a little deeper into the real nature of man, we find that it is indestructible and eternal. Only the later two go on continuously changing from time to time. Therefore, since the real man is eternal, one need not weep and wail for the modifications of name and form which he observes in life and death. When the real man is deathless, for whom should we grieve, and for what? That is the Lord’s position.
Words of wisdom: Intellectual arguments are conceived by Buddhi, by which power man comes to decisions after due consideration. But the intellect is finite. It operates within a limited range. It cannot go beyond the Buddhi. Buddhi and the intellect are parts of nature, and they are subject to errors and mistakes in their concepts and conclusions. But it is different with men who have crossed the border land of the intellect and entered the realm of Atma – the superconscious state. He alone knows and speaks the truth. Arjuna did not attain that state. So he measures every thing with the yardstick of his own deluded intellect. His arguments not to fight the battle are of this nature. Lord Krishna dismisses them all in one suggestive phrase (Prajnavadah) and proceeds to state the ultimate position.
The wise: Ordinarily a Pandit is one who is well-versed in the languages and literature, poetry and scripture, logic and oratory. But the Lord here gives a new definition for the word. He is a pandit who grieves not either for the living or the dead.
Again in the 4th Chapter, Pandit is described as one who has burnt up all actions in the fire of ‘Jnana‘. And again in the 5th Chapter, the Pandit is described as one who looks upon all with an equal eye.
So the word should be understood in the higher sense of a man of wisdom. It is necessary that besides mere learning and book-knowledge he should attain the knowledge of Atma and receive the grace of God.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
There is a conflict in Arjuna’s heart between his emotionalism and his duty. The nearer we are to [beasts and] birds, the more we are in the hells of emotion. We call it love. It is self-hypnotization. We are under the control of our [emotions] like animals. A cow can sacrifice its life for its young. Every animal can. What of that? It is not the blind, birdlike emotion that leads to perfection. … [To reach] the eternal consciousness, that is the goal of man! There emotion has no place, nor sentimentalism, nor anything that belongs to the senses — only the light of pure reason. [There] man stands as spirit. Now, Arjuna is under the control of this emotionalism. He is not what he should be — a great self-controlled, enlightened sage working through the eternal light of reason. He has become like an animal, like a baby, just letting his heart carry away his brain, making a fool of himself and trying to cover his weakness with the flowery names of “love” and so on. Krishna sees through that. Arjuna talks like a man of little learning and brings out many reasons, but at the same time he talks the language of a fool. “The sage is not sorry for those that are living nor for those that die.”[Source]
Even forgiveness, if weak and passive, is not true: fight is better. Forgive when you could bring legions of angels to the victory. Krishna, the charioteer of Arjuna, hears him say, “Let us forgive our enemies”, and answers, “You speak the words of wise men, but you are not a wise man, but a coward”. As a lotus-leaf, living in the water yet untouched by it, so should the soul be in the world. This is a battlefield, fight your way out. Life in this world is an attempt to see God. Make your life a manifestation of will strengthened by renunciation.[Source]
The wise man, having realised Atman as dwelling within impermanent bodies but Itself bodiless, vast and all- pervading, does not grieve. (Katha Upanishad 1.2.22).
People meet and depart in this world as two pieces of wood flowing down the river come together and then separate from each other (Mahabharata 12.174.15).
Question: Who is a Pandit?
Answer: He who does not grieve for the living or the dead or for any object in the world is a pandit.
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