Gita 2-11
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मूलम्
श्रीभगवानुवाच
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ||२-११||
Meaning
शब्दार्थाः (Word for word)
श्रीभगवान् -- The Blessed Lord (Sri Krishna); उवाच -- said; अशोच्यान् -- that which should not be grieved for; अन्वशोचः -- grieve; त्वम् -- you; प्रज्ञावादान् -- (seemingly) wise words; च -- also; भाषसे -- speak; गतासून् -- the dead (lit. those whose vital breaths have left); अगतासून् -- the living (lit. those whose vital breaths have not left);; च -- and; न -- not; अनुशोचन्ति -- they grieve; पण्डिताः -- wise people;
अन्वयः (Word order)
श्रीभगवान् उवाच "त्वम् अशोच्यान् अन्वशोचः, प्रज्ञावादान् भाषसे च । पण्डिताः गतासून् अगतासून् च नानुशोचन्ति
अनुवादः (Translation)
The Blessed Lord said -- "You grieve for that which is not worthy of grieving and also speak (seemingly) wise words. Wise men grieve neither for those who live nor for those who have passed away."
Notes
Bhagavad Ramanuja and Swami Ramsukhdasji both interpret the first half of this verse similarly. They say that Arjuna's grief arises out of not understanding the difference between आत्मन् and अनात्मन् . The former, due to its permanent and non-changing nature ought not to be grieved and the latter, due to its ever changing and perishable nature ought not to be grieved either, as its change and destruction is but expected. BRam emphasizes his point from the previous verse once more and says that the right way for Arjuna to fight the war would be to do so without hankering for the fruits for that would lead a removal of this delusion. Arjuna, according to both of them is confused because while he hints at a permanent soul by lamenting that the forefathers will fall, he also seems to shy away from doing his duty for fear of causing death to his near and dear ones.
BRam interprets गतासून् to be the bodies and अगतासून् to be the souls. This is not, however, literal.
RSDji adds that the right place in our thoughts for the living is to think about our duties towards them by making sure of their livelihood, maintenance, etc. Similarly, those who have passed away should be thought about in the context of doing our duties towards them -- paying off their debts, doing religious rites for them, etc. In either case, worry (चिन्ता ) has no place; Reflection, cogitation विचार should be done. RSDji says that चिन्ता destroys proper विचार .
Sri Krishna Premi pointed out in a lecture that Krishna's discourse begins with अशोच्यान् and ends with मा शुचः [ Verse 18.66]. One of the primary aims of Gita is, hence, the destruction of sorrow.
RSDji also mentions the above similarity and says that the root cause of sorrow is the misunderstanding of our relationship with our bodies, our relatives, etc -- we behave as if we are related to them whereas the reality is that they are forever leaving us. Similarly, we misunderstand our relationship to our selves and God -- we do not realize that they are forever unchanging and are our true "relatives". According to RSDji, until someone firmly understands this, there will be no progress in his or her साधन .
Practice Notes
None.