2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion

In this context Arjuna says, I am concerned because my relatives will not be there with me, and I will be the cause of their death.

BG 2.11 to 2.13 -> Shankya philosophy and the indestructible nature soul is discussed. Arjuna counters, if I fight my relative will be killed, Krishna says don’t live on bodily conception, practice of dharma will never cause any harm.

BG 2.14

matra-sparsas tu kaunteya

sitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah

agamapayino ‘nityas

tams titikshasva bharata

SYNONYMS

matra-sparsah — sensory perception; tu — only; kaunteya — O son of Kunti; sita — winter; ushna — summer; sukha — happiness; duhkha — and pain; dah — giving; agama — appearing; apayinah — disappearing; anityah — nonpermanent; tan — all of them; titikshasva — just try to tolerate; bharata — O descendant of the Bharata dynasty.

TRANSLATION

O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

matra-sparsah, contact of senses with the sense object; tu kaunteya, Krishna is referring to Arjuna by a form which is connected with his body, kaunteya and bharata. So it is paradoxical; as in the previous 3 verses, bodily conception is condemned.

First one, was: O Arjuna you are speaking learned words, but your emotions are showing that you are uneducated. Then, the next verse says, we are all eternal. The 13th verse says, that there is something within the body (Dehi) which is eternal–the soul that will occupy another body, so how to understand this?

There are multiple levels of understanding. Kaunteya refers to as son of Kunti. Kunti is a great devotee: Bharata, descendent of Bharat dynasty—they were great devotees in Bahrata Dynasty. So these addresses become spiritual. So, here Krishna is reminding Arjuna that he is in the dynasty of great devotees who were enlightened and realized. So he should not think on a bodily conception, instead consider for the greater good of human society based on the principles of dharma.

Similarly in next verse 2.15 we have, yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete, puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha (best among Purusas). Likewise, later in BG we have deha bhritamvara–that one is best among those who have acquired bodies. So we may say that, this is completely body conception isn’t it? Not exactly, the point here is that Arjuna’s spiritual conception is initiated and sustained through such references of his great ancestry.

The point is to enable Arjuna to move onwards on the spiritual path. Similarly, to motivate someone positively, we need not pinch the false ego, nor inflate the false ego; but pat the false ego. As Krishna did here, Oh! Arjuna, you belong to a great family, now act in a great way.

So matra-sparsas, what is matra-sparsas, sparsas is contact; matra is sense object—material things which comprise sense objects. So matra-sparsas refers to the contact with the material senses. So sense objects in contact with the material senses can cause various duality, sitoshna heat-cold, sukha-duhkha happiness-distress. Now, one should understand that this is agamapayino ‘nityas, there is beginning and ending of such things. Therefore it is temporary so one should tolerate it tams titikshasva bharata.

When leeches stick with the body, they suck the blood. Even if you pull them apart, they will not come out. But once their quota for blood is filled they will leave. In case of leech, we can do as per the needful to remove it. But sometime it is difficult to detach it due to high risk of infection. In such cases, all we can do is tolerate and let it fall off naturally. So Krishna is saying, agamapayino ‘nityas; everything has a beginning, and an ending. It is temporary. Like sometimes it becomes too hot or it rains too much, what does one do at such times? Some people might get frustrated or irritated, so will that change nature? Most likely, it will only hamper our productivity levels. So tolerate it. Tolerance is not considered good in today’s world. It is thought that, if we tolerate, it is a sign of impotence. So we use the word tolerance in different ways. Then it is used in the media. In the media and today’s culture, tolerance is used with respect to religious tolerance.

Here in BG we are talking about different kinds of tolerance, not religious tolerance. In today’s world the thinking is we should not interfere in anyone’s religious practice, we should tolerate those. Everyone has the right to have their beliefs and they will act accordingly. This idea of tolerance is important.

Tolerance in BG: not that we become impotent, we allow things to happen, but we keep our priorities fixed. This (Bhakti related activities) is important for me; and we put time, energy, heart in doing it. When we want to do our activities (bhakti related) several other things start popping up, and we fail to engage in devotion activities such as mantra meditation, as we get distracted. The biggest battle in life is to ensure we do not get distracted from our ability to insulate ourselves from surrounding distractions. Thus, it enables us to stay focused. At material level things will keep changing; as heat and cold, happiness and distress so on and so forth, other things like old age, youth, childhood too will come and go. We should not get carried away by them. Just stay focused tams titikshasva bharata.

So tolerance is not impotence, but vigilance to keep our energies focused on the important. As it will keep us focused. The affirming statement such as, “This is what I am going to do, and other things I will not be doing” reflects the state of inner focus. But tolerance doesn’t mean that we let others step on us, and we think that I have to be tolerant. That’s like, letting others abuse us, which is self-inflicted violence.

What is the fruit of tolerance? Tolerance is not weakness, it is not that let others use us, nor that others step on us. Ultimately tolerance is to make us spiritually advanced, and how will we do that, unless we are focused?

That’s the principal objective of this verse which focuses on tolerating the tolerable, so that our focus on the ultimate doesn’t get affected. And the most essential aspect of human life are the spiritual activities which require a greater degree of inner focus. Thus, developing tolerance helps us to resist temporary dualities of nature and enhance our focus on spiritual activities.