Chapter 1 Shloka 43

दोषैरेतै: कुलघ्नानां वर्णसंकरकारकै:।

उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्मा: कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वता:।।४३।।

Look little one! Arjuna continues to sermonise,

while Bhagwan Krishna is all attention!

These faults of the varna sankar cause the destruction

of the ancient familial dharma and the dharma of

the entire clan  of even the destroyers of the family.

Chapter 1 Shloka 43

दोषैरेतै: कुलघ्नानां वर्णसंकरकारकै:।

उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्मा: कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वता:।।४३।।

Look little one! Arjuna continues to sermonise, while Bhagwan Krishna is all attention!

These faults of the varna sankar cause the destruction of the ancient familial dharma and the dharma of the entire clan of even the destroyers of the family.

The society and the varna sankar – the augmenter of sin and adharma

First Arjuna stated that the varna sankar leads the destroyers of families as well as the entire family into hell. Now he adds that such a one destroys age old family traditions as well as the dharma of the whole dynasty and race. Devoid of any familial dharma themselves, they degrade the dharma of other family members and persuade those who follow them to destroy the traditional dharma of their lineage as well. Thus the dharma of the whole race is destroyed.

A family is made of persons related to each other and the community is an aggregate of several such families. Even one illegitimate offspring in a family can bring his family to ruin. If he becomes strong he could even spoil the offspring of other families, making them wicked and sinful. This is how sin increases and flourishes.

1. Sin brings unhappiness to countless homes;

2. Sin shatters homes to complete destruction;

3. Sin robs the family of the principles of Truth;

4. It steals the divine treasures of justice, goodwill and righteous behaviour.

Thus do divine qualities disappear from one’s life. This is precisely what happened in this case too.

1. First of all, Duryodhana, the epitome of hatred, vice and oppression, became the king;

2. His blind father Dhritrashtra became an abettor to this crime;

3. The Truth loving Bhishma Pitamah also stood by them, bound in the grip of moha;

4. Dronacharya and Kripacharya, well versed in the Vedas and other scriptures, also sided with them;

5. Several other educated scholars, kings and ministers gave Duryodhana their support.

Together they were all responsible for the destruction of many families, they snatched away all that was good and true from many followers of the Truth, forgetting the greatness and honour of their family name. All these relations, elders, Gurus and subjects who thus aided Duryodhana, were actually equal sinners and equally responsible for the destruction of their entire race. All this was the result of a mental varna sankar.

The destruction of such sinners is in fact the correct course of action – or else sin will inevitably increase and thrive. One must either find the means of preventing the sin, or else the sinner must be destroyed. Arjuna quoted the right theory but applied it wrongly. An earnest seeker also makes the same mistake. It is his duty to put a stop to the sins committed in his own home and not to turn away his eyes from them. The seeker wishing to do sadhana must establish justice and dharma.

The establishment of dharma

Dharma can be established on a firm footing if the ruler of the state abides by that dharma. Peace and happiness are born of an attitude of divinity, and not of wealth or material pleasures. The dharma of the family and race can be protected when sadhus and the virtuous become warriors and destroy the sinful oppressors.

The same principle applies to the mind. When the mind is turbulent:

a) it takes the support of knowledge to prove its innocence;

b) it attempts to project falsehood as the Truth;

c) the intellect then does not remain unbiased. It begins to take sides and inevitably supports its likes. It cannot see the Truth and repeatedly tries to prove the false to be true.

Therefore, O sadhak! One must remain extremely vigilant until the intellect is firm and stable.

1. Even if the Lord Himself stands before you, realisation of the Truth can still evade you.

2. Even the Truth loving aspirant may persist in quoting knowledge to the Lord Himself, if he is in the grip of attachment.

3. His attachment persuades him to find excuses for self protection.

4. He who considers himself to be a sadhu also tries to prove the Lord wrong and even speaks against the Lord’s life and actions!

5. He takes the support of scriptural tenets and knowledge to prove himself right.

6. He manages to avoid facing the situation and yet escape any blame.

7. He wishes to be acclaimed as righteous by his own mind and by the world.

The sadhak, knowing this, should take heed. Arjuna was in the presence of Lord Krishna Himself – the Embodiment of knowledge and the proof of that knowledge in practice! Arjuna himself was also replete with divine attributes and great in his own right. He was an unconquerable warrior, strong and fearless. Yet he, too, was swayed from the path of Truth. He could not understand knowledge in its true perspective and falling into the grip of illusion was waylaid in the path of his duty. The Lord Himself had to explain to him and plead with a person of his intellectual calibre! Arjuna began to misuse knowledge, giving it wrong meanings to suit his mental concepts. He, too, was beset by dilemmas, perils and doubts.

Now let us consider our own case!

1. What will become of people like us?

2. Who will explain to us?

3. Who will lend our intellect the strength of understanding?

4. Who will deliver us from illusion?

5. When moha begins to destroy us, who will then be our saviour by lending the support of vivek or a practical understanding of the Truth?

A sadhak should understand the path of Truth through this conversation of Arjuna. Seeing Arjuna’s plight, he should be forewarned and become vigilant about his own attitude.