Commentary introduction to Chapter 6

Then Samjaya said to the King (Dhritarashtra),

“Hear (about) the Path of Yoga Lord Krishna preached to Arjuna. We the guests, have indeed arrived just in time, when Narayan made Arjuna break his fast (of ignorance) by regaling him with the rich dishes consisting of the nectar of Brahman knowledge. Just look at the happy stroke of luck! A thirsty one, given a cup of water, should, just as he takes it, find it metamorphosed into nectar! The same has happened to us and we have, without effort, secured in our grip the knowledge of Supreme Brahman.”

At this Dhritarashtra said, “I never asked you about these things!”

Samjaya understood the King’s inner mind for it was perturbed on account of his love for his sons. Samjaya smiled at this and exclaimed that the old man had got deluded by paternal affection. Otherwise, how could he fail to appreciate the beautiful dialogtie between Lord Krishna and Arjuna? How could a person, born blind, know what light is? Samjaya however flinched from speaking the plain truth, lest the king would feel offended. For himself Samjaya was happy in his own mind by listening to the perfect dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. With his heart elated at the joyful satisfaction, Samjaya now goes on with the narration, with great reverence, of what took place in the dialogue. Chapter Six of Gita displays the grand theme of superb beauty, for therein one sees the abiding essence of truth, extracted and fixed beyond doubt. Just as ambrosia was secured as the very essence of all gems coming out of the churning of the ocean of milk, in that way this Chapter Six is the very refined extract of the Philosophy contained in Gita: or (it is) the utmost limit of the ocean of wisdom; or it opens the rich treasure of the grandeur of Yoga. Herein lies the resting place of the Primeval, the final source of things, on which the Divine word of the Vedas, is hushed into eternal silence, and from it issues forth the sprouting of the creeping plant of the wisdom of the Gita. To it, I now give the excellence of beautiful words and so, you do hear attentively. Unadorned and artless indeed are my Marathi words, but skill and art of diction will be so charming and bewitching that it will excel in taste even the sweetness of nectar itself. The delicacy of the words will make the very soft melodies of music look poor, or the charm of fragrance will pale before the phrases. The eloquence is of such sweet taste that the very ears put forth tongues, while all the senses quarrel for its mastery. By nature “words” belong to the sense of hearing; yet the tongue claims, as her own object, the eloquence of the words, in taste. Fragrance is the object of smell, but the fragrance of my Marathi words would charm the sense of smell.

Note one more marvellous thing; the very diction of measured verses will be a rich feast to the eyes, so that they would shout in joy, “Here is the very mine of the beauty of composition”, and when a complete utterance bursts into meaning, the mind will rush out to clasp the “words” in full embrace. Thus the senses will scramble for their own enjoyment, but the “words” will please all in equal measure, as the sun gives life and vitality to the entire universe. So unusually deep are the “words” in meaning for those who are adept in the art of such words, that they will disclose the very gem allsatisfying ‘Chintamani’. Enough of this now. In this literary work, I am indeed dishing up to the spiritually hungry, a meal consisting of the nectar of Brahman-knowledge. And he alone enjoys the feast, who shutting out the senses, steals away the dish and relishes it in the ever-burning steady light of the knowledge of the Self. Oh hearers, you must enjoy this experience with self-luminous power of your mind, without resorting to the ears. Peel off the husk of words to be united in spirit with the absolute essence of Brahman, and then you live eternally in happiness ever-lasting. The dialogue would bear fruit only if the hearers became so delicately sensitive to its meaning. Otherwise this sermon would all mean the tale told by the dumb to the deaf. Enough of this now; it is unnecessary to plead, by uttering cautions, to my hearers so plainly, since they are naturally adepts in this lore, being enamoured only of the highest self and self-less acts.

Only those shall savour this high theme, who spurn and renounce all pleasures here, in this life, and the heaven, for their love for the knowledge of the Almighty: none else will be able to enjoy the sweet taste of the subject. The crow cannot sense the moon; even so, the ignorant or the vulgar cannot have the wits of this truth. Moonlight is food for the bird Chakora; so only the wise men shall find their abode of rest in the Gita. For the ignorant, it is quite a strange land. Therefore, there is nothing more to be said on this. The occasion prompted these words and may the saints and high souls pardon them. Now I turn to what Shriranga said (to Arjuna). That talk is difficult to grasp and so beyond the power of words: Yet, the grace of my master shall be my light to see the truth. What is beyond the senses may be made accessible without senses—if the power of knowledge of the super-sensible be commanded. Should a Parīs luckily come to hand, one would surely extract gold from iron, which is beyond the power of alchemy. In that way, my Teacher’s grace is on me and what is there that is attempted and not realized? And 1 say, that Teacher’s grace in abundance is mine. For that reason, I expound the secret meaning: (I) shall give visible form to the invisible and shall make the senses enjoy all that is beyond them. Now the One who is called “Bhagavanta [Bhagavanta]”, Divine Supreme Person, the ultimate fount of all—the six transcendent excellences, such as—glory, grandeur, kindness, omniscience, passionlessness, and the majesty—the best friend of the pious men spoke thus—“Oh Arjuna, be now attentive”.