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Here we continue our detailed study of the second chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. At Arjuna’s request, Kṛṣṇa has brought the chariot between the two armies. But when Arjuna sees all his relatives on the other side, ready to fight to the death over the succession of the kingdom, he loses heart and declares that he will not fight. Now Kṛṣṇa begins His reply.

klaibyam ma sma gamah partha
naitat tvayy upapadyate
ksudram hrdaya-daurbalyam
tyaktvottistha parantapa

“O son of Prtha, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.3]

Here Bhagavan, Kṛṣṇa, is encouraging Arjuna, ksudram hrdaya-daurbalyam. “Conquer this weakness of heart. For a ksatriya, a great king and warrior like you, to speak like that, ‘No no, I cannot kill my kinsmen. I am giving up my weapons,’ this is weakness, cowardice. Why are you doing all this nonsense?” Ksudram hrdaya-daurbalyam. “This kind of compassion, giving up your duty as a ksatriya, is simply weakness of the heart. It has no meaning.”

Klaibyam ma sma gamah partha naitat tvayy upapadyate. “Especially for you. You are My friend. What will people say? So give up this weakness of the heart and uttistha, stand up, take courage.” So just see how Kṛṣṇa is inducing Arjuna to fight. The Vedic ksatriya culture was such that a warrior would prefer to be killed on the battlefield rather than surrender, what to speak of giving up his weapons and running from the fight.

What Arjuna was proposing was unheard of, impossible, ridiculous; it would make him the laughingstock of the entire Vedic Empire. But people are so ignorant of the Vedic ksatriya tradition that they sometimes criticize that “Kṛṣṇa is provoking Arjuna. Arjuna is trying to be religious, nonviolent, and Kṛṣṇa is encouraging him to fight.”

This attitude is called jada-darsana. Jada-darsana means material vision. Actually jada means retarded, idiot. Only an idiot would think that Arjuna was actually afraid of fighting. Arjuna was the greatest warrior in the world. If Arjuna was hesitating to fight, there must have been some very important purpose behind it. This purpose was to get Kṛṣṇa to speak Bhagavad-gita. So who was provoking whom?

Therefore the Esoteric Teaching says,

atah sri-Kṛṣṇa-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah

“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.234]

Sri-Kṛṣṇa-namadi. We can get in touch with Kṛṣṇa by chanting His name, Hare Kṛṣṇa or om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. That is the beginning of our connection with Kṛṣṇa. Namadi. So sastra says, atah sri-Kṛṣṇa-namadi. Adi means beginning. Spiritual life begins with controlling the tongue. Become vegetarian and chant the Holy Name of God, Kṛṣṇa, Govinda or Vasudeva.

In material consciousness we have no connection with Kṛṣṇa. But if we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra, or the dvadasaksara-mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, immediately our consciousness begins to change and our opportunity to contact Kṛṣṇa begins. This chanting process has to be practiced for some time. Not that I chant once or twice, and immediately realize Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible unless one is already very advanced from a previous lifetime.

So sri-Kṛṣṇa-namadi. Nama means name. But devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is not only chanting the Holy Name. Adi, that is the beginning, but to attain the pinnacle of self-realization, we also have to worship His transcendental form, glorify His transcendental activities. And so many other things.

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam

“Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23]

So sravanam kirtanam, glorifying or describing about Kṛṣṇa, is the beginning of devotional service. Then there is Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful transcendental form, rupa means form. Nama-rupa-lila: lila means pastimes; guna means quality; sanga means His entourage, his personal associates; all these aspects of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance are transcendental. Nothing connected with Kṛṣṇa is material.

But unless one knows the difference between material and spiritual, and can recognize the spiritual energy when we encounter it, we will not be able to appreciate Kṛṣṇa. Here’s that sloka again:

atah sri-Kṛṣṇa-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah

“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.234]

Na bhaved grahyam indriyaih. By our ordinary material senses we cannot understand Sri Kṛṣṇa’s name, His form, His pastimes, qualities or entourage. If we rely on our bodily senses, we will mistake all these things for material objects. Therefore transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth is required, and that knowledge also comes from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa speaks Bhagavad-gita to enlighten us. The first item of transcendental knowledge is the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa: Vasudeva, Govinda and so many more.

We are hearing Kṛṣṇa’s Holy Name through aural reception, but in material consciousness or without purification, we cannot really hear His Name. Of course, by continuously or regularly hearing the Holy Name over time, gradually our sense of hearing will be purified. But we have to help.

Just like if I want to ignite a fire, so I must help by drying the wood. The wood will very soon catch fire if it is kept dry. Similarly, simply chanting will always help us. It will take time. But if we chant regularly every day, then our hearing and mind will become purified very quickly.

Ordinary materialistic people cannot understand the behavior of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. They are viewing Kṛṣṇa and His devotees through ordinary material senses, therefore they mistake Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, pastimes and so forth for material objects. They will also mistake Kṛṣṇa’s devotee, a Vaiṣṇava, for an ordinary material person. That is also stated in the Esoteric Teaching.

vaisnavera kriya mudra vijneha na bujhaya

“The activities of a pure Vaiṣṇava cannot be understood even by a learned scholar in the material world.”

Whatever a Vaiṣṇava is doing, even the most expert and intelligent man cannot understand why he is doing it unless he is also self-realized. Therefore we should not try to imitate the activities of higher authorities, but we have to follow the instructions, the spiritual injunctions, given by the higher authorities.

Kṛṣṇa is encouraging Arjuna to fight. That does not mean we can also do that, incite people to violence or fighting. No: that will be immoral. It is not up to us to determine the appropriate use of military force. That is not part of our engagement as spiritual students. Spiritual students are supposed to be nonviolent. Nonviolence is part of the qualification for a spiritual student.

But for Kṛṣṇa it is not immoral. Whatever Kṛṣṇa does is good, because He is all-good. God is perfect; therefore whatever He does or says is good for everyone concerned, and we should accept it. Even if we don’t understand because of our material conditioning, whatever He is doing is all-good.

And whatever I am doing without my spiritual authority’s order, is all bad. Kṛṣṇa does not require any order from anyone else. Isvarah paramah Kṛṣṇah [Brahma-samhita 5.1]. He is the supreme controller. He does not require anyone’s instruction. Whatever He does is perfect.

But it is not appropriate to study Kṛṣṇa in our own way, without the guidance of a self-realized master Teacher. Kṛṣṇa is not subject to your examination or your test. He is above all. He is transcendent. Therefore those who do not have transcendental vision misunderstand Kṛṣṇa as a material person, and they miss all the benefit that comes from properly approaching and serving Him.