Take the First Step : Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati

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05/10/2018
Srimad Bhagavad Gita : Chapter -1

The Gita begins with a chapter on the Yoga of Arjuna’s despondency or Vishaad Yoga. Its backdrop is the Mahabharata war with both armies facing each other. Arjuna wants to survey the scene of war. He requests the Lord to position his chariot in the middle of the battlefield. Faced with his family on both sides, his dilemma begins. His emotions get the better of him and he is confused about his duties. This is our problem… the problem of all humanity and Arjuna is our representative.

Literally the title of the chapter - Vishaad Yoga means the Yoga of sorrow. All sorrow would not qualify for this title, because per se, sorrow is not yoga. Only that sorrow which, yokes us to or propels us towards Bhagwan, our goal, is yoga. It is that grief which ignites in us a thirst or jignasa for the Lord, simultaneously removing our mind from things of the world! It is the kind of grief that had also engulfed Lord Buddha. It is the sorrow that overwhelmed Lord Rama.

Sri Krishna is Arjuna’s friend, the embodiment of love and compassion. In His immense compassion He becomes Arjuna’s charioteer. He is there to guide him and to impart to him, this vast Knowledge of the Gita. This reveals the close relationship between the devotee and the Lord and the great compassion He has for his devotees. Our spiritual journey begins when we surrender ourselves at the Lord’s feet. In applying the dust of His feet to our lives, we receive a great blessing. It is this blessing that we have to understand and remember.

The Lord speaks only one word, “pashya – see”. With that He announces His presence in our lives. He touches an inner chord.

The dust represents our unshakable faith in the Scriptures. It provides a release from all our sorrows and confusion. It is the very foundation of the Bhagawad Gita. It clarifies our understanding of the structure on which the Gita stands. Chapter 1, is like the dust on the Lord’s feet.

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