The Bhagavad Gita - Krishna Speaks With Prince Arjuna - Extra Mythology

myths are not stories that are untrue rather they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record which serve as a foundation to a culture 5 000 years ago in ancient india the royal lineage came into conflict over who should ascend to the throne two sets of cousins each believed they were the rightful heirs on one side the pandavas consisting of five noble brothers on the other the karuvas the hundred sons of a blind regent unable to agree on a ruler through peaceful means the factions go to war with the battle lines drawn and the armies mustered it seems impossible to tell which side will win but the pandavas have some special help [Music] the battlefield was a fearsome sight to behold drums beat conch shells blared and lords and kings shouted orders elephants adorned in gold trumpeted amidst gleaming chariots with each convoy the size of a small city armored glittering with embedded gems blazed like fire in a rainbow of battle standards but as the two mighty forces stood ready for war the pandava prince arjuna faltered for when he looked out at the two armies he did not see foot soldiers and archers and charioteers but fathers grandfathers teachers sons and friends but arjuna is not alone alongside him disguised in the form of a mortal companion and charioteer stands the god krishna arjuna tells krishna that when he sees his family ready for war his knees go weak and he can't stop shaking there is conflict in his very being as a prince he wants nothing more than to fight and win but as a man he can't see what good can come from killing his own family he drops his weapons and weeps and krishna cannot help but laugh this is precisely why he's come to this battlefield to guide arjuna to a higher path a smile on his lips krishna explains that there is a divine self eternal and untouched by the physical world it is never born and it never dies and it is not killed when the body is killed just as we change clothes the divine self changes bodies so arjuna should not worry about fighting his family for their true essence cannot be killed and seeing how this wisdom begins to calm arjuna krishna continues revealing many more truths about the universe he explains that those who make sacrifices in their life simply to gain pleasures in the afterlife are misguided the ultimate spiritual pursuit he says should be to detach oneself from material things and dedicate oneself to their dharma their inherent nature in the universe and arjuna's duty krishna points out is that of a warrior his purpose in life is to fight for what is right now at this point arjuna admittedly is a little overwhelmed and tries to wrap his head around it but how can you demand that i act if you believe that enlightenment comes from detaching myself from my actions knowing this question was coming krishna tells him that he must not act for his own personal gain but for the welfare of the world desire he explains is the obstacle to seeing this which invades our senses and clouds our intellect then krishna mentions that he's incarnated on the earth for a reason and whenever there is an imbalance in the universe krsna says he manifests himself there and it was after all of these knowledge bombs that his body was dropping that arjuna started getting an inkling that something otherworldly might be up so he boldly asks krishna who he really is krishna responds that his current form is made of the five elements earth fire water air and space as well as mind intellect and ego you know earthly mortal things but he also has a higher nature a true cosmic form planets spin in the heavens the seasons change there is an unseen force that makes things happen and krishna is that force he is the heat in fire the thought of thinkers the splendor in the splendid of animals he is the lion of birds he is garuda his true being is formless and infinite arjuna's mind having been so thoroughly blown at this point then asks krishna if he can see this true cosmic form krishna agrees but due to the fact that arjuna's eyes are bound to the physical world krishna gives him divine vision so that he can truly see blazing like a thousand suns arjuna sees infinite mouths eyes and limbs shining with jewels draped in celestial robes thousands of arms raising thousands of divine weapons and a body anointed with the perfume of the gods krsna's eyes were the sun and moon and all of space and time beyond heaven and earth were filled by the body of krishna and terrifyingly arjuna could see all of the enemy soldiers on the very battlefield where they stood rushing into krishna's many fanged mouths to die previously arjuna had worried about the battle because of the consequences but krishna showed him that the battle was already over and his enemies have already been slain krishna had already accomplished everything and it was simply up to arjuna to act according to his dharma on the spot arjuna bows and swears fealty to krishna then due to him missing his human friend and frankly being terrified of this new form he requests the return of the visage of the man he knew before i see would you mind going back to your old body four limbs is plenty returning to the form of his old gentle self krishna then implores arjuna once more to fight but also reminds him that ultimately the choice is his alone upon hearing this ultimate mystery arjuna feels his fear to spell knowing now of the becoming and unbecoming of all creatures and trusting in the divinity of his companion helping actualize his dharma he is ready to fight arjuna squares his shoulders takes a deep breath and looks deep inside himself he considers all that he has learned from krishna and then looks outward to the resplendent battlefield the sights and sounds returning to him yes he is a warrior and a prince this is where he belongs and so confident in who he was and his role in the universe arjuna led his troops into battle with newfound wisdom leading the way and complete faith in his heart the bhagavad-gita is a beautiful complex text that serves as a central scripture for the hindu faith and while we couldn't possibly have encapsulated the whole thing in a single episode we hope that this tale inspired you to go check it out more thoroughly for yourself and if you're looking for a like-minded community to discuss it with please consider joining our patron discord and keep the conversation going yeah and there's also that best of both worlds details are in the description below and we'll see you next time we see you ahmed zion turk alicia bramble casey muscha dominic valenciana gunner clovis kyle murgatroyd and o reals thanks so much for being legendary [Music] [Applause] patrons [Music] you

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Views: 304,684

Rating: 4.897418 out of 5

Keywords: Extra credits, extra mythology, extra credits mythology, bhagavad gita, krishna, arjuna, krishna and arjuna, mahabharata, hindu mythology, hindu myths, indian mythology, indian myths, lord krishna, arjun

Id: G28qHASOtE8

Length: 7min 24sec (444 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 30 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/chiraagnataraj]

There's a really interesting, alternative framing of the Mahabharata through the Kauravas' eyes called Ajaya (Book 1, Book 2) that I highly recommend :)