In the ancient Hindu epic called the Mahabharata, the Pandavas, five brothers who epitomize good, go to battle against their one hundred cousins, the Kauravas, the forces of evil. Before the battle Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, hesitates to fight against friends and relations. Sri Krishna then expounds his philosophy, which came to be known as the Bhagavad Gita. In Light Fire and Darkness, Arjuna becomes the devotee and Sri Krishna becomes the divine voice. Chapters 1 and 11 are spoken by the devotee and the rest of the text is the divine message.
This is not a translation of the Bhagavad Gita. This is a modernized version. I am not a scholar of Sanskrit and in this work I have not used any Sanskrit words, nor have I linked it in any way to Hindu philosophy. I have tried to write in a way that is likely to appeal to one not familiar with vedic culture.
Dhiru Desai, May 14 1987, Memphis, USA
CHAPTER 1 – THE DILEMMA
“I face a dilemma,
Lord, please guide me.
This battle is for truth
against evil.
It is not of my choice
but forced on me.
My duty is to fight,
but I have no will;
for facing me are friends
and relations.
Seeing them I shudder,
my limbs go numb,
my head reels, my hands sweat,
and my weapon
slips away as my ears fill
with a deadly hum.
I do not seek kingdoms,
no bloodstained crown.
I do not want pleasure
From burning pyres.
Those for whom I seek happiness
may not be around.
What joy is there in killing
one’s kith and kin?
I must slay those
who side with evil.
But I prefer the life
of a hermit,
than to sit on a throne
smeared with the blood
and stained with the tears
of near and dear ones.”
CHAPTER 2 – A GARMENT TO DISCARD
Sentiments cloud
your reason,
do not be weak.
The wise do not
rejoice or mourn
over birth and death,
for they know that:
the soul is not born,
it does not die,
it feels neither
heat nor cold,
pain nor pleasure.
You have no birth
but are born
again and again;
you have no death
but will die
again and again.
One who is born
must die, and
one who dies
is born again.
The body is
a mere garment
which the soul
outgrows and discards
to wear a new one.
Truth is eternal,
falsehood must perish.
Your duty
is to battle
with love for truth.
Desist now and you will
Invite contempt and evil.
Seek not the yield
of your labour.
One who cares not for reward
Remains untainted.
Such a person is determined,
And of one mind.
The indecisive
is of many minds,
filled with fantasy,
and conflicting desires.
One who is content
and defies desire,
one who is untouched
by pain and pleasure,
who is free from passion
envy and emotion,
and who is fair and just
regardless of result,
is the wise and steadfast
philosopher and saint.
The tortoise recoils
into its shell
at the sight of strangers;
similarly let desires be
strangers to you.
Conquer appetite,
not through repression,
but by surrender
of yourself to me.
Let not the winds of desire
blow your boat
off its course.
Pursuit of pleasure
starts with attachment
and leads to lust;
unfulfilled lust
arouses anger,
causes confusion
and this results
in loss of self-respect,
eclipse of reason
and self-destruction.
Control your mind and senses
and you achieve serenity.
Your sorrows will disappear.
You will be composed
and able to meditate.
When the world sleeps
the wise are awake.
An ocean remains undisturbed
even though many rivers
rush into it; so must you
be calm and undistracted.
Be selfless
And without pride
and you shall find peace.