Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Minor Religious Systems v2.c12.64

v2.c12.64

Chapter II. Arjuna is reluctant to fight because it involves the destruction of his near and revered relatives and of other men. Bhagavat endeavours to remove the reluctance by speaking of the eternity and indestructibility of the human soul. Here are two stanzas which occur, with a variation in one of the lines, in the Kaṭha-Upaniṣad. Then to fight is spoken of as the duty of a Kṣatriya for whom there is no other good than a just fight. This mode of thinking is characterised as being Sāṃkhya, and the Yoga mode then follows. The condition of mind in the Yoga mode is a determined will. Those who according to the precepts of the Veda perform rites for the fulfilment of various desires can not have a determined steadfast will. For attaining such a will one should think only of the deed to be done and not of the fruits to be derived from it. With a concentrated mind and without any attachment to other objects one should devote oneself to the deed alone. By such devotion to acts with a determined will man finally attains inflexibility of will (becomes sthitaprajña), and all his desires being uprooted, he attains complete serenity of soul or the Brāhmī condition. When he is in this condition at the time of death, he obtains quiescence in Brahman. This comes to the same doctrine as that stated in the Kaṭha and Bṛhadāraṇyaka-Upaniṣads, that when all desires in the heart are uprooted, the mortal becomes immortal and attains to Brahman¹. The discipline, however, prescribed for the attainment of this end is not simply moral, but religious also, since it is stated that after having controlled the senses which render the mind restless, a man should devote himself to Bhagavat.