[Advaita-l] Why Arjuna?

[Navin Rajaram]

Jaldhar H. Vyas wrote:

>The era of the Mahabharata contained great sages like Vyasa, great
>warriors like Bhishma, wise statesmen like Vidura, and bhaktas of the
>calibre of Narada.  Yet the truths of the Gita were revealed by Krishna
>Bhagavan to Arjuna.  Why him of all people?
>
>  
>
Hari Om,

Arjuna's situation prior to the battle is symbolic of most humans caught 
in the karmic vortex. It is true that Sri Krishna could have chosen to 
impart this sort of education to anyone amongst the multitude of 
warriors,sages of the time. If we consider Arjuna's situation for a 
moment, it seems that here is a human who is adept and skilled and the 
best in his art in every which way possible. However, inspite of having 
attained perfection in the material sense, this man was weakened by 
attachment and false identification of himself as the cause and effect.

Had the education been imparted to someone like Bhishma who had already 
avowed celibacy or Narada who was already a great devotee, the message 
conveyed would have probably been restricted in its import. With someone 
like Arjuna as the listener, most of us mortals might find it easier to 
identify with the message and go about implementing it in our daily lives.

Hari Om,
Navin