Yog of Knowledge and Action
Chapter 4, Verse 4
arjuna uvāca
aparaṁ bhavato janma
paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ
katham etad vijānīyāṁ
tvam ādau proktavān iti
Arjuna says: The Sun-god was one of the first-born beings (the ancestor of
the Solar dynasty) and You are only now born into the world; how am I to
comprehend that You declared it to him in the beginning of time?
Arjuna knows that Krishna is not just a normal human being, that He is not an ordinary person. He knows that Krishna is God Himself, the Supreme Brahman, the Ultimate, the beginning of all, from which everything came. Arjuna is not stupid. He knows this. But he wants the Lord Himself to reveal it to him. He wants to hear it directly from God’s own lips. He already knows about the glory of Vasudeva Krishna, and about all the demons Krishna killed in his childhood. Also, before the war, there was a Rajasuya Yagna to crown Yudhishtir King. Shishupala offended Krishna during the ceremony, and Krishna liberated him by cutting off his head. Why did I use the word ‘liberated’? Because if one is killed by the Lord, one fully attains Him: when the Avatar Himself comes and completely kills one’s ignorance, one merges into Him.
Here Krishna is telling Arjuna, “I existed before the Sun-god.” Arjuna is expressing his eagerness to understand and he wonders, “Ah, really? How can this be? You are the son of Vasudeva. Everybody here knows You; so how can it be that You have given this knowledge to the Sun-god who was the first-born, the first being who was manifested from God? This means that You are Narayana Himself!” When Krishna says, “I gave this supreme knowledge to the Sun-god,” it is as if He has said, “I am Narayana Himself. I am not this Vasudeva Krishna who you see here in front of you. This Vasudeva Krishna is just an image which has been veiled by My own Prakriti, by My own Maya.”
During the Rajasuya Yagna, when Yudhishtir became the King and Shishupala was killed, Bhishma revealed the secret of Vasudeva Krishna to Arjuna – who He was in reality. Bhishma said, “Don’t take this friend of yours, Krishna, to be just a normal human being. This Vasudeva Krishna is Narayana Himself incarnated. Even if He acts very human, going from one place to another, eating, drinking, singing, chanting, and doing everything with you, don’t take Him to be a human, because He’s not a human being. He’s God Himself incarnated. Don’t be blinded by the senses. Don’t be blinded by the mind that makes you see Him as a mere human.” Even Shakuni knew about Krishna’s true identity. But because the Kauravas were so attached to the outside reality, they didn’t want to accept it. They only saw Krishna as an opponent, due to the ignorance of their minds.
Arjuna has seen Krishna in all His glory, but he wants to hear it from Krishna Himself. It’s like when you have the feeling inside of you that someone is your Guru. You know it in your mind, and it’s clear! But it is only confirmed the moment the Guru Himself reveals it. That’s why one should ask the Guru, because one’s feeling can be deluded and bring one into confusion. Sometimes, at the beginning, people have a strong feeling and say, “Oh, this is my path! I feel it, I feel it, I feel it!” But then, in the middle of the path, they let go. They go downhill or they go elsewhere, like shoppers. They jump from one place to the other, because they are not ready. But if one commits to one Guru, and the Guru has confirmed it and given further
instructions, then surrender! That’s the only thing that one can do.
Here it is the same thing. Arjuna says, “I have heard about the greatness of Lord Krishna. I have seen it, but I want to hear the shabda. I want to hear it from His own mouth. Let me act as if I am stupid. I choose to play this role. Let me pretend that there is a doubt in my mind.” It appears that in his mind, there is a general doubt: like everybody has doubts in life – especially at the beginning when one meets one’s Master.
One may have this deep feeling inside of oneself, “Yes I am surrendering.” But then after that, one becomes so accustomed to the Master, that the way one sees the Master changes and one thinks, “The Master is my friend, I can do whatever I want.” No. The Master always stays the Master. The disciple always stays the disciple.
Here Arjuna is playing this role for the benefit of everybody. Later on, Krishna will reveal to him, “I made you do this.” So Arjuna asks this question: “It is well-known that you were born only a few years ago, as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. How then is it possible that you have given this knowledge to Surya Narayana?” He is showing that even if the Guru tells something to the disciple, if the disciple is not fully surrendered, he will not accept it, he will have doubts. And in the state of doubt, how can one advance? Arjuna is not asking arrogantly, but with humility, “There is a doubt inside of me. Please remove it. Because I can’t understand just with my mind when you say that you have given the knowledge to the Sun-god. Clarify this for me.”
When Krishna says, “I gave it to the Sun-god,” He means, “I existed even before creation: this whole creation is due to My own Will.” He is talking about His divine state, His true aspect which is Narayana Himself. In the Bible, when Jesus is asked, “Who are you?” He answers, “I existed before Abraham himself.” He means, “It was Me who was talking to Abraham.”
Bhagavad Gita
