THE BATTLE FIELD IN THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Perhaps Krishna surveys the battle-field for a while and feels that the battle-field is not there without; it is actually within every man. The battle-field without is the externalization of the battle-field within. So Krishna tells Arjuna that the body is the actual field. Arjuna sought to survey the battle- field of Kurukshetra. Krishna asks Arjuna to scan his own being.
That adds a new level of meaning to what Krishna has already said. The Five Brothers are the five senses. The Hundred Brothers are their enemies. They stand for the sense objects without in the worldly life. They also symbolize the thousand desires in the deep mind of the being. The senses are not ready to comply with the desires of the mind. The mind is the blind king Dhritarastra. The desires as well as the senses are his children. The desires are however his own children. Their externalizations are the sense-objects. The five senses are reluctant to fulfill the desire of the mind. So they are king’s nephews. Such is the state of mind of a person who is much advanced in spiritual deliberations. But still his mind cherishes worldly desires. Very naturally the senses that have already developed a tendency of exploring inward have been excommunicated by the mind. With us, the worldly men, the mind wishes to break away from worldly pleasures, but the flesh is weak. But here is a seeker whose flesh is strong and not ready to relent to the call of the world; his mind has nevertheless been very weak all on a sudden. This happens to great saints often. So the senses fight the desires against the will of the mind. The desires being thwarted are in a fury. And the crucial time is come when the austere habits of the sense get an opportunity to fight the desires once for all. Right at this moment one of the senses take pity on the desires. It is symbolized by Arjuna. The argument is that the senses my as well do two things at the same time. They may explore the inner mind. Again they may let the desires fulfill themselves to an extent. This happens sometimes with great sages also. They feel that a little concession to the worldly objects may do no harm. But one cannot eat the cake and have it too. Once upon a time there was a king who left his palace and wives for a life of a recluse in the woods. There he found a posthumous deer calf; he took pity on that. This pity and love for the helpless animal engrossed his whole being and he lost all contact with the higher self. In his next birth he was born a deer.
So when Arjuna takes pity on the enemies of the senses Krishna, the wise man, symbolic of the enlightened part of the unconscious mind, warns Arjuna.
The battle-field at Kurukshetra has two opposite camps prepared to take the field. Krishna does not participate in the war. He is the knower.
In the same way Krishna is the higher self in everyman who does not participate in the war between the self and the desire; but Krishna observes everything and knows every minute details of the battle.
The infinite universe could be equally likened to a body. There also the eternal Armageddon between the powers of darkness and light rages. Krishna does not participate in the conflict. He is the knower who observes it minutely.
What is body or the field? That which is subject to change is the field. Since the knower does not take part in the struggles in the body, it is natural that the knower is not subject to change. The knower is eternal and changeless.
The body or the field is subject to change because it is not a simple substance. Its first component is Nature. This Nature is primordial. It is made of three qualities, positive, negative and neutral. These three qualities exist in everybody. Where the negative quality is predominant we find inert bodies like stones, rocks etc. Among men who are lethargic and dull-witted have negative qualities dominant in them. The positive qualities indicate movement and activity. Statesmen, entrepreneurs and the like have more positive qualities in them. Men who are active and yet who do not have ambitions possess more neutral qualities. Although these qualities themselves remain in everything, a large part of them are changed into intellect. Just as there is intellect in an individual, so also there is the intellect of the universe. It is the creator god of the universe. It is from the intellect that the senses of self or ego is born. Ego is sine qua no with every particular thing. If I try to imagine that there is not “I” in me, it will seem that my body, mind, senses are disintegrating. Both ego and intellect are of three types in accordance with the quality that dominates them. The ego in which neutral quality is prominent is evolved into mind and five organs of perception and the five organs of action. The ego in which negative quality is more makes the five finer elements exist. Everything have some space in it. That is ether. Everything has its own temperature. That is fire. The ego in which positive quality is more, gives rise to mind, the five organs of perception in sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and the five organs of action in the tongue, feet, hands and the organs of evacuation and sex. The world object of perception has the five essences in the essence of sound, touch, colour, taste and smell corresponding to the five senses.
Besides these, desire, hatred, weal and woe, the body, consciousness and fortitude, with their evolutes create the field. Thus to put it in the tabular form, the constituents of the field are;
Nature
Intellect
Ego
Mind
The five senses of perception
The five senses of action
The five essences of sense objects
The five fine elements
Desire and Hatred
Weal and Woe
Body and consciousness
Fortitude.
Perhaps Krishna surveys the battle-field for a while and feels that the battle-field is not there without; it is actually within every man. The battle-field without is the externalization of the battle-field within. So Krishna tells Arjuna that the body is the actual field. Arjuna sought to survey the battle- field of Kurukshetra. Krishna asks Arjuna to scan his own being.
That adds a new level of meaning to what Krishna has already said. The Five Brothers are the five senses. The Hundred Brothers are their enemies. They stand for the sense objects without in the worldly life. They also symbolize the thousand desires in the deep mind of the being. The senses are not ready to comply with the desires of the mind. The mind is the blind king Dhritarastra. The desires as well as the senses are his children. The desires are however his own children. Their externalizations are the sense-objects. The five senses are reluctant to fulfill the desire of the mind. So they are king’s nephews. Such is the state of mind of a person who is much advanced in spiritual deliberations. But still his mind cherishes worldly desires. Very naturally the senses that have already developed a tendency of exploring inward have been excommunicated by the mind. With us, the worldly men, the mind wishes to break away from worldly pleasures, but the flesh is weak. But here is a seeker whose flesh is strong and not ready to relent to the call of the world; his mind has nevertheless been very weak all on a sudden. This happens to great saints often. So the senses fight the desires against the will of the mind. The desires being thwarted are in a fury. And the crucial time is come when the austere habits of the sense get an opportunity to fight the desires once for all. Right at this moment one of the senses take pity on the desires. It is symbolized by Arjuna. The argument is that the senses my as well do two things at the same time. They may explore the inner mind. Again they may let the desires fulfill themselves to an extent. This happens sometimes with great sages also. They feel that a little concession to the worldly objects may do no harm. But one cannot eat the cake and have it too. Once upon a time there was a king who left his palace and wives for a life of a recluse in the woods. There he found a posthumous deer calf; he took pity on that. This pity and love for the helpless animal engrossed his whole being and he lost all contact with the higher self. In his next birth he was born a deer.
So when Arjuna takes pity on the enemies of the senses Krishna, the wise man, symbolic of the enlightened part of the unconscious mind, warns Arjuna.
The battle-field at Kurukshetra has two opposite camps prepared to take the field. Krishna does not participate in the war. He is the knower.
In the same way Krishna is the higher self in everyman who does not participate in the war between the self and the desire; but Krishna observes everything and knows every minute details of the battle.
The infinite universe could be equally likened to a body. There also the eternal Armageddon between the powers of darkness and light rages. Krishna does not participate in the conflict. He is the knower who observes it minutely.
What is body or the field? That which is subject to change is the field. Since the knower does not take part in the struggles in the body, it is natural that the knower is not subject to change. The knower is eternal and changeless.
The body or the field is subject to change because it is not a simple substance. Its first component is Nature. This Nature is primordial. It is made of three qualities, positive, negative and neutral. These three qualities exist in everybody. Where the negative quality is predominant we find inert bodies like stones, rocks etc. Among men who are lethargic and dull-witted have negative qualities dominant in them. The positive qualities indicate movement and activity. Statesmen, entrepreneurs and the like have more positive qualities in them. Men who are active and yet who do not have ambitions possess more neutral qualities. Although these qualities themselves remain in everything, a large part of them are changed into intellect. Just as there is intellect in an individual, so also there is the intellect of the universe. It is the creator god of the universe. It is from the intellect that the senses of self or ego is born. Ego is sine qua no with every particular thing. If I try to imagine that there is not “I” in me, it will seem that my body, mind, senses are disintegrating. Both ego and intellect are of three types in accordance with the quality that dominates them. The ego in which neutral quality is prominent is evolved into mind and five organs of perception and the five organs of action. The ego in which negative quality is more makes the five finer elements exist. Everything have some space in it. That is ether. Everything has its own temperature. That is fire. The ego in which positive quality is more, gives rise to mind, the five organs of perception in sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and the five organs of action in the tongue, feet, hands and the organs of evacuation and sex. The world object of perception has the five essences in the essence of sound, touch, colour, taste and smell corresponding to the five senses.
Besides these, desire, hatred, weal and woe, the body, consciousness and fortitude, with their evolutes create the field. Thus to put it in the tabular form, the constituents of the field are;
Nature
Intellect
Ego
Mind
The five senses of perception
The five senses of action
The five essences of sense objects
The five fine elements
Desire and Hatred
Weal and Woe
Body and consciousness
Fortitude.
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