Chapter 18 Shloka 73

अर्जुन उवाच

नष्टो मोह: स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत।

स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देह: करिष्ये वचनं तव।।७३।।

Arjuna spoke thus to the Lord:

My ignorance has been quelled through Your Grace.

My memory has been revived.

Therefore I am now free of doubt

and I will do as You say!

Chapter 18 Shloka 73

अर्जुन उवाच

नष्टो मोह: स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत।

स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देह: करिष्ये वचनं तव।।७३।।

Arjuna spoke thus to the Lord:

My ignorance has been quelled through Your Grace. My memory has been revived. Therefore I am now free of doubt and I will do as You say!

My little one, first understand once again the connotation of moha.

1. Moha is loss of consciousness.

2. Moha is unconsciousness.

3. Moha causes an indistinct haziness of understanding.

4. Moha is dwelling in the inanimate.

5. Moha is blindness.

6. Due to the presence of moha:

–  one is unable to perceive the Truth;

–  one cannot understand the Truth;

–  illusions are created;

–  an individual takes support of false principles;

–  an individual cannot gain a correct perspective of reality;

–  man begins to project his own mental aberrations on the other;

–  a man is unable to even know himself;

–  one cannot even understand or recognise the truth about the other;

–  one considers oneself to be the most superior.

7. Moha blinds a person towards himself as well as towards the other.

8. Illusion and delusion are both offsprings of moha.

9. Moha causes mistrust even of oneself.

10. Moha causes an individual to live in delusion.

11. Moha causes an individual to renounce what is real and live in an imaginary world.

My little Abha, in other words:

1. To imagine truth in falsehood is the consequence of moha.

2. To imagine falsehood in Truth is also the consequence of moha.

3. Wandering in delusion is another name for moha.

4. Moha gives birth to the delusive intellect.

5. Maya, or the cosmic illusion, is another facet of moha.

6. Ignorance is another name for moha.

7. Impurity of heart and mind is caused by moha.

The birth of moha

The individual’s first moha or delusive attachment is with himself. Alternatively it could be said that when the body idea takes birth in the individual, moha is simultaneously born. Attachment to the body veils the vision of the individual.

Thereafter, that individual:

–  perceives the world through the body-self;

–  perceives the universe through the mind.

This gross body blinds the individual completely.

1. One who is thus bound by the body cannot identify with the Atma Self.

2. The body is created by the threefold energy of Prakriti and is imbued with the three attributes.

3. The sense organs are the ‘enjoyers’ who are constantly revelling in likes and dislikes.

4. The mind is the servitor of its likes.

5. It begins to believe that what it likes is in fact superior.

6. It is continually engaged in the attainment of its likes and is prepared to do anything – right or wrong, to procure the object of its likes. It constantly justifies its actions as well.

Due to attachment to the body-self, man:

a) is always out to prove his body, mind and intellect unit to be superior and correct;

b) continually tries to conceal the lacunae of his body, mind and intellect unit;

c) makes every endeavour to expiate himself from every sin and prove himself blameless through argumentative justification.

The consequences of the body idea

1. Greed, anger, desire, moha, egoity – all these arise due to attachment with the body-self.

2. Attachment to renown and fear of ignominy persist because of the predominance of the body idea.

3. Attachment to victory or fear of defeat are the result of attachment with the body idea.

4. The feeling of meum is the consequence of the body idea.

5. Friends and enemies are in relation to the body-self.

6. Duality also arises due to the body idea.

7. Remorse, mental aberrations, anxiety, agony – all these occur due to attachment to the body.

8. Attachment and aversion are also on account of the body.

When this attachment is with the body, then one’s inner vision perceives this external world through the glasses of the inanimate body and the mind. Thereafter,

a) whatever one perceives or understands is coloured by the hues of one’s mental concepts;

b) every decision taken by the intellect has to first stand the test of whether it is conducive to the happiness of the body-self or not;

c) whatever that individual says can never be said in complete self forgetfulness;

d) selfishness predominates.

All this happens on account of the body related intellect and because of the pre-eminence of one’s individual entity.

Such an individual:

a) cannot remain sincere to his duty;

b) turns away from his duty;

c) instead of performing his duty, makes excuses to escape from his duty;

d) instead of performing his duty, takes the support of his inabilities in order to escape from his duty.

What is the knowledge which the Lord imparted to Arjuna?

The Lord pointed out the chasm between the Atma and the body-self.

1. He explained about the destructibility of the body-self.

2. He imparted knowledge about the immortality of the Atma.

3. He explained the mysteries of the attributes.

4. He enjoined Arjuna to renounce attachment, moha, meum etc.

5. He explained the connotation of offering one’s body-self in charity for the service of the other.

6. He explained the process of mental endurance.

7. He showed Arjuna the path of imbuing one’s life with the spirit of yagya.

8. He imparted the message of divine qualities.

9. He explained the Omnipresence of the Atma.

10. He then spoke of the attributes of the Gunatit.

11. He bade Arjuna inculcate the qualities of divinity.

12. He explained the secret of the intellect of equanimity.

13. Having said all this, He instructed Arjuna to relinquish his knowledge based on attachment, moha and false principles, and to prepare to engage in battle.

Look my little one,

1. The Lord also explained sanyas.

2. He clarified the method whereby Arjuna could attain the Supreme.

3. He specified the method of living one’s life the way the Lord would have lived it.

4. He gave proof of divine love.

5. He spoke of His own adherence to duty.

6. He spoke of His own indifference to self.

7. He told Arjuna about selflessness.

8. Having explained all this, He also related the method of attaining union with Himself.

9. Having explained all this, He taught Arjuna how to become like Him.

Then He enjoined, “Engage in war! This is your supreme dharma. This is your duty.”

What did Arjuna learn from the Lord?

Arjuna came to know that:

1. He was not the body and that the body idea was a mere illusion.

2. Hence attachment with the attributes is delusion.

3. Doership is sheer delusion.

4. Egoistic pride in the attributes is sheer delusion.

5. To blame or censure another is an act of delusion.

6. This entire world is engaged in a game enacted within the Atma Self.

7. The Atma is immortal, the body will inevitably perish.

8. The renunciation of duty is not proper.

9. Selfless deeds are the most superior types of deeds.

10. A life of yagya is the highest sanyas.

11. The Lord Himself takes birth for the protection of the saintly. It is the duty of the renunciate to protect the good and those who engage in meritorious and elevated deeds.

12. It is one’s duty, with total objectivity of purpose, to stake one’s life for the protection of the Truth.

13. It is indeed one’s dharma to war with the evil and those who support evil – no matter if they are one’s closest relations.

What was the cause of Arjuna’s dilemma regarding his duty?

Arjuna knew not where his duty lay because:

a) he was attached to his noble qualities;

b) he was attached to his relations, friends and associates;

c) he was beset by feelings of meum;

d) he did not understand the fact that it is the qualities that interact and thus perform actions.

The Lord’s instruction made it clear to him that:

1. One must not bother about victory and defeat.

2. Acclaim and insult, loss and gain – all these have no meaning whatsoever.

3. In fact this body-self is meaningless.

4. This mind, too, is meaningless.

5. The intellect should identify with the other.

Qualities necessary for spiritual practice or sadhana

1. One must be devoid of that intellect which is subjugated to the body.

2. One must be rid of the idea of doership.

3. One must be devoid of the idea of enjoyership.

4. One must be free of the body idea.

5. There must be complete selflessness in one’s actions.

6. One must not initiate any projects for oneself.

7. One must be completely indifferent towards oneself and one must uphold one’s duty towards the other.

8. Divine qualities must flow from us where others are concerned.

9. One’s life must be lived for the protection of others:

–  That is, one’s life must be for the protection of the weak.

–  The protection of those who are replete with divine qualities should be the aim of one’s life.

–  The protection of the saintly from the evil is the dharma of the renunciate; therefore it must be done.

Having understood all this, Arjuna said:

1. My moha has been destroyed.

2. I have again recollected my duty, which I had hitherto forgotten.

3. I have now remembered my dharma, which I had lost sight of.

The consequences of attaining the zenith of knowledge

Having reached the zenith of knowledge, man becomes acquainted with his natural dharma in his ordinary, day to day life.

1. He spontaneously becomes devoid of attachment to his body.

2. A temperament that engages in selfless actions in daily life, emerges from within.

3. Being devoid of attachment to the body-self, he abstains from the initiation of any action or project.

4. He becomes indifferent to himself since he is devoid of body attachment.

5. He becomes indifferent to his reputation and good name since he is no longer attached to his body-self.

When this happens, then he is not troubled by such conflicting thoughts as:

1. ‘What shall I do?’ or ‘What shall I not do?’

2. ‘Why should I do this’ or ‘Why should I not do it?’

3. ‘I will do this’ or ‘I will not do it’.

4. ‘I am superior’ or ‘I am inferior’.

Such a one is untouched by attachment to nivritti or pravritti. He is indifferent to all these.

Then he engages himself with shrewdness and with an attitude of impartiality in whatever situation confronts him. Being indifferent towards himself, he is established in his Atma Essence.

Arjuna’s problem was solved when the Lord Himself explained everything to him at length. Arjuna’s doubts whether he should engage in this war or not, were eradicated. He understood what he must do.

So he said:

1. Now I am devoid of doubts.

2. Now I am decided as to the course of my action.

3. Now I am established in my natural temperament.

4. Now I have understood what You have said.

5. Now I shall do exactly as You have said. I shall fight this war!