The Supreme Personality of Godhead can even give Himself to the devotee. One who does not know Him is under the spell of illusion; he does not become a devotee, but a servitor of māyā. Arjuna, however, after hearing Bhagavad-gītā from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, became free from all illusion. He could understand that Kṛṣṇa was not only his friend but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And he understood Kṛṣṇa factually. So to study Bhagavad-gītā is to understand Kṛṣṇa factually. When a person is in full knowledge, he naturally surrenders to Kṛṣṇa. When Arjuna understood that it was Kṛṣṇa’s plan to reduce the unnecessary increase of population, he agreed to fight according to Kṛṣṇa’s desire. He again took up his weapons – his arrows and bow – to fight under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 74
संजय उवाच
इत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मनः ।
संवादमिममश्रौषमद्भुतं रोमहर्षणम् ।। 74 ।।
sañjaya uvāca
ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya
pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ
saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam
adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam
sañjayaḥ uvāca – Sañjaya said; iti – thus; aham – I; vāsudevasya – of Kṛṣṇa; pārthasya – and Arjuna; ca – also; mahā-ātmanaḥ – of the great soul; saṁvādam – discussion; imam – this; aśrauṣam – have heard; adbhutam – wonderful; roma-harṣaṇam – making the hair stand on end.
Sañjaya said: Thus have I heard the conversation of two great souls, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. And so wonderful is that message that my hair is standing on end.
In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, Dhṛtarāṣṭra inquired from his secretary Sañjaya, “What happened on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra?” The entire study was related to the heart of Sañjaya by the grace of his spiritual master, Vyāsa. He thus explained the theme of the battlefield. The conversation was wonderful because such an important conversation between two great souls had never taken place before and would not take place again. It was wonderful because the Supreme Personality of Godhead was speaking about Himself and His energies to the living entity, Arjuna, a great devotee of the Lord. If we follow in the footsteps of Arjuna to understand Kṛṣṇa, then our life will be happy and successful. Sañjaya realized this, and as he began to understand it, he related the conversation to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Now it is concluded that wherever there is Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, there is victory.
TEXT 75
व्यासप्रसादात्श्रुतवानेतद्गुह्यमहं परम् ।
योगं योगेश्वरात्कृष्णात्साक्षात्कथयतः स्वयम् ।। 75 ।।
vyāsa-prasādāc chrutavān
etad guhyam ahaṁ param
yogaṁ yogeśvarāt kṛṣṇāt
sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam
vyāsa-prasādāt – by the mercy of Vyāsadeva; śrutavān – have heard; etat – this; guhyam – confidential; aham – I; param – the supreme; yogam – mysticism; yoga-īśvarāt – from the master of all mysticism; kṛṣṇāt – from Kṛṣṇa; sākṣāt – directly; kathayataḥ – speaking; svayam – personally.
By the mercy of Vyāsa, I have heard these most confidential talks directly from the master of all mysticism, Kṛṣṇa, who was speaking personally to Arjuna.
Vyāsa was the spiritual master of Sañjaya, and Sañjaya admits that it was by Vyāsa’s mercy that he could understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that one has to understand Kṛṣṇa not directly but through the medium of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the transparent medium, although it is true that the experience is still direct. This is the mystery of the disciplic succession. When the spiritual master is bona fide, then one can hear Bhagavad-gītā directly, as Arjuna heard it. There are many mystics and yogīs all over the world, but Kṛṣṇa is the master of all yoga systems. Kṛṣṇa’s instruction is explicitly stated in Bhagavad-gītā – surrender unto Kṛṣṇa. One who does so is the topmost yogī. This is confirmed in the last verse of the Sixth Chapter. Yoginām api sarveṣām.
Nārada is the direct disciple of Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master of Vyāsa. Therefore Vyāsa is as bona fide as Arjuna because he comes in the disciplic succession, and Sañjaya is the direct disciple of Vyāsa. Therefore by the grace of Vyāsa, Sañjaya’s senses were purified, and he could see and hear Kṛṣṇa directly. One who directly hears Kṛṣṇa can understand this confidential knowledge. If one does not come to the disciplic succession, he cannot hear Kṛṣṇa; therefore his knowledge is always imperfect, at least as far as understanding Bhagavad-gītā is concerned.
In Bhagavad-gītā, all the yoga systems – karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga – are explained. Kṛṣṇa is the master of all such mysticism. It is to be understood, however, that as Arjuna was fortunate enough to understand Kṛṣṇa directly, so, by the grace of Vyāsa, Sañjaya was also able to hear Kṛṣṇa directly. Actually there is no difference between hearing directly from Kṛṣṇa and hearing directly from Kṛṣṇa via a bona fide spiritual master like Vyāsa. The spiritual master is the representative of Vyāsadeva also. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, on the birthday of the spiritual master the disciples conduct the ceremony called Vyāsa-pūjā.
TEXT 76
राजन्संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य संवादमिममद्भुतम् ।
केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं हृष्यामि च मुहुर्मुहुः ।। 76 ।।
rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
saṁvādam imam adbhutam
keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ
hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ
rājan – O King; saṁsmṛtya – remembering; saṁsmṛtya – remembering; saṁvādam – message; imam – this; adbhutam – wonderful; keśava – of Lord Kṛṣṇa; arjunayoḥ – and Arjuna; puṇyam – pious; hṛṣyāmi – I am taking pleasure; ca – also; muhuḥ muhuḥ – repeatedly.
O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.
The understanding of Bhagavad-gītā is so transcendental that anyone who becomes conversant with the topics of Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa becomes righteous and he cannot forget such talks. This is the transcendental position of spiritual life. In other words, one who hears the Gītā from the right source, directly from Kṛṣṇa, attains full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The result of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that one becomes increasingly enlightened, and he enjoys life with a thrill, not only for some time, but at every moment.
TEXT 77
तच्च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपमत्यद्भुतं हरेः ।
विस्मयो मे महान्राजन्हृष्यामि च पुनः पुनः ।। 77 ।।
tac ca saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
rūpam aty-adbhutaṁ hareḥ
vismayo me mahān rājan
hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ
tat – that; ca – also; saṁsmṛtya – remembering; saṁsmṛtya – remembering; rūpam – form; ati – greatly; adbhutam – wonderful; hareḥ – of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vismayaḥ – wonder; me – my; mahān – great; rājan – O King; hṛṣyāmi – I am enjoying; ca – also; punaḥ punaḥ – repeatedly.
O King, as I remember the wonderful form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, I am struck with wonder more and more, and I rejoice again and again.
It appears that Sañjaya also, by the grace of Vyāsa, could see the universal form Kṛṣṇa exhibited to Arjuna. It is, of course, said that Lord Kṛṣṇa had never exhibited such a form before. It was exhibited to Arjuna only, yet some great devotees could also see the universal form of Kṛṣṇa when it was shown to Arjuna, and Vyāsa was one of them. He is one of the great devotees of the Lord, and he is considered to be a powerful incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Vyāsa disclosed this to his disciple Sañjaya, who remembered that wonderful form of Kṛṣṇa exhibited to Arjuna and enjoyed it repeatedly.
TEXT 78
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ।। 78 ।।
yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo
yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir
dhruvā nītir matir mama
yatra – where; yoga-īśvaraḥ – the master of mysticism; kṛṣṇaḥ – Lord Kṛṣṇa; yatra – where; pārthaḥ – the son of Pṛthā; dhanuḥ-dharaḥ – the carrier of the bow and arrow; tatra – there; śrīḥ – opulence; vijayaḥ – victory; bhūtiḥ – exceptional power; dhruvā – certain; nītiḥ – morality; matiḥ mama – my opinion.
Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.
The Bhagavad-gītā began with an inquiry of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s. He was hopeful of the victory of his sons, assisted by great warriors like Bhīṣma, Droṇa and Karṇa. He was hopeful that the victory would be on his side. But after describing the scene on the battlefield, Sañjaya told the King, “You are thinking of victory, but my opinion is that where Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are present, there will be all good fortune.” He directly confirmed that Dhṛtarāṣṭra could not expect victory for his side. Victory was certain for the side of Arjuna because Kṛṣṇa was there. Kṛṣṇa’s acceptance of the post of charioteer for Arjuna was an exhibition of another opulence. Kṛṣṇa is full of all opulences, and renunciation is one of them. There are many instances of such renunciation, for Kṛṣṇa is also the master of renunciation.
The fight was actually between Duryodhana and Yudhiṣṭhira. Arjuna was fighting on behalf of his elder brother, Yudhiṣṭhira. Because Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna were on the side of Yudhiṣṭhira, Yudhiṣṭhira’s victory was certain. The battle was to decide who would rule the world, and Sañjaya predicted that the power would be transferred to Yudhiṣṭhira. It is also predicted here that Yudhiṣṭhira, after gaining victory in this battle, would flourish more and more because not only was he righteous and pious but he was also a strict moralist. He never spoke a lie during his life.
There are many less intelligent persons who take Bhagavad-gītā to be a discussion of topics between two friends on a battlefield. But such
