18/08/2014
Happy Janmashtmi/Happy Birthday Krishna
India has gained freedom "from". There is a second level to freedom. Freedom "for" the Ideals. The world is still aspiring to have that freedom. The Gita provides some clues on how to find it...
The Symbolism of Krishna and Arjuna going into Battle
The archetypal meaning of the poem is that within each of us a battle rages between selfish impulses that ignore the claims of justice and mercy and a realization that ultimately we are all connected in a unity that embraces all humanity and the whole world (Theosophical Society). Krishna is the superconscious mind and the higher self. Arjuna is our conscious and subconscious minds. The chariot is the body. The horses are the five senses.
Arjuna cannot comprehend the big picture of the battlefield of life and must listen to commands from Krishna, the over soul, in order to be effective in the bigger story. Only Krishna, the higher self, can reign in the horses, which are our sensory pleasures. If the sensory pleasures are left in the hands of Arjuna, the mind, they will gallop wildly out of control, and the purpose of life itself will be lost.
Arjuna must remain aware of the battlefield. In awareness, he will triumph over lower desires and win the war. The war is for the cause of living in justice, freedom, peace, and love. He must allow Krishna, the divine aspect of himself to keep a tight hold on the reigns of the five senses. He must simultaneously hear Krishna’s directives to him.
The Soul, or Krishna, is steering the conscious mind and the body, the chariot, out of becoming distracted in small battles, and into winning the war – and finding meaning in Life.
