Krishna on attachments....

[ajay00]

Originally Posted by Shivani Devi

Namaste.

When talking about the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna and attachments, the whole Mahabharata must be taken in entirety and also in context.

When Krishna drove Arjuna's chariot between the two armies on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna saw all of his friends and relations on both sides, about to do battle....Arjuna was rather impartial...he really did not want this war to eventuate and yet, it was his job to sound the conch shell to start it....but he didn't want to see his brothers killing his cousins (and vice versa)..his Uncles fighting each other...and so Arjuna just dropped his bow and basically said "I can't do this...I am outta here".

That is when Lord Krishna taught the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna...basically instructing him to give up all attachments and give up all the love he has for people and perform his duty as per Dharma and Karma.

I wonder how many nowdays can give up love and attachments to all friends and family members? I bet there is no-one.

Aum Namah Shivaya

This is well-stated.

Duty transcends likes and dislikes.

A judge must be impartial if he has to pass a judgement on his own son in court for an alleged crime, and cannot let his emotional attachment to his son detract him from his duty. If he let his emotions get in the way of his work, he will be creating karma for himself.

A doctor will similarly incur karma if he does not administer medical aid to his patient in time and instead went to see a movie of his favorite star.

Similarly Arjuna would have incurred karma for himself if he had not fought in the war and shirked his duties.

It takes self-awareness to properly understand one's duties and execute it well. As Arjuna's mind was restless, he was unable to do the same. Krishna helped Arjuna in this regard patiently to get rid of his emotional blinkers, compose himself, and be prepared to perform his duties.