Chapter 1 Shloka 30

गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात् त्वक् चैव परिदह्यते।

न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मन:।।३०।।

Now Arjuna said to Lord Krishna:

The Gandiva is dropping from my hands,

my skin is burning, my mind is whirling,

and I can stand no longer.

Chapter 1 Shloka 30

गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात् त्वक् चैव परिदह्यते।

न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मन:।। ३०।।

Now Arjuna said to Lord Krishna:

The Gandiva is dropping from my hands, my skin is burning, my mind is whirling, and I can stand no longer.

Little one, such a plight occurs when one has to oppose one’s near and dear ones to whom one is attached.

1. It is difficult to break a relationship where one is very attached.

2. It is difficult to harm those whom one has considered and respected as great.

3. It is very difficult to ignore one’s deep rooted concepts.

4. It is difficult to wage a war against one’s own Guru or Preceptor.

5. It is very difficult for one who is a benign model of learning, practised in life, to go towards his swaroop, transcending all such attributes.

6. How can one fling away the ideals and basic principles that one has been upholding all one’s life? Those decisions which one takes after considered thought are difficult to put aside.

7. A sadhak does not find it easy to relinquish a certain mode of behaviour that has earned him goodwill.

8. It is difficult to change one’s basic trend of mental thought, intellectual or natural attributes.

9. To renounce one’s mode of interacting which has earned one the epithet of a sadhu or dharmatma is not easy, especially when one believes that mode to be correct and true.

One’s mind is naturally disturbed when faced with such a situation. This is the mistake a sadhak generally makes.

The difficulties of a sadhak

a) A sadhak imbued with divine attributes becomes attached to the luminescence of Truth.

b) He becomes attached to his own qualities and therefore fears to take the next step to a higher state.

c) The ‘I’ still exists and the thought ‘I am this or that’ is prevalent.

d) He is attached to knowledge, to his virtuous nature and saintly demeanour. He therefore retains no friendship with the wicked and debased.

e) He watches his every step since he is afraid of defame; this too is a kind of ignorance – a form of moha.

Such considerations weaken a sadhak’s resolve and prove to be a formidable obstacle on the spiritual path. Arjuna was in a similar predicament. Faced with this great trial, he became disturbed; the Gandiva slipped from his hands and he succumbed to his anguish like a coward.

Sanyas

Sanyas does not indicate any withdrawal from the situation. Sanyas indicates self-forgetfulness. Such an individual is awake to the world and ever asleep or silent towards himself. Little one! The Form and Essence – roop and swaroop of sanyas, love, detachment, compassion, wisdom and the absence of the idea ‘I am the body’, are very different from each other. The swaroop is one’s internal state. The external manifestation, the roop, is different.

The roop of one who is established in the swaroop

One who abides in the Supreme Essence can never have any fixed mode of action or behaviour. His every act will depend on the requirement or mental state of any person or situation that comes before him at that given time. His complete indifference towards himself will be evident in his every word, deed and interaction. It is a state which others find very difficult to understand. In order to reach it, the sadhak has to practice the inculcation of divine qualities in his life. Little one, in order to establish oneself in the swaroop, self-forgetfulness is imperative. The method lies in the practice of yagya, tapas and daan, that is in selfless giving, emotional forbearance and generosity.