[Advaita-l] Re: Why Arjuna?

[Aditya Varun Chadha]

Greetings,

Thanks for the reference from the gItA: 

> "This is what I believe and what I have
> told you. Now you do what you want to do"

This removes any doubt about what kRSNa wants us to understand, that
although He can guide us, it is upto us to make the final decisions.
So hopefully the stand that Sruti takes in this regard is clear (that
free will exists within the bounds of mithyA)

Actually, even the belief in "destiny" can be reconciled with the
belief in "free will" by saying that what kRSNa "decides" is seen as
"destiny" by mithyA-bound creatures like us and arjuna, and what we
"decide" is seen as "free will".

If we go by the above logic, then the question "why arjuna?" can be
addressed by saying that it was the result of a combination of
"decisions" made both by arjuna and kRSNa.

the Causes are the decisions made by us and also those made by God,
and the Effects are the choices that arise because of those decisions.
Deciding on one choice out of the many that arise thus causes more
choices to appear, and this cycle continues within mithyA.

But then again, the cycle itself is mithyA. It is like trying to
explain a "Zero" with the help of a "positive" and a "negetive", which
is a circular and thus somewhat useless approach (the futility of
"Trying" to understand brAhmaN). hehe, But I love this mental exercise
:-)

The question "Why arjuna" can indeed be reduced to "why me?" as one of
our fellow members has pointed out. kRSNa in some sense Himself shows
us the Truth every time we read the gItA. It is upto us to comprehend
this truth. So asking "why is kRSNa telling me something through the
gItA" reduces to "why am I curious enough to be reading the gItA?" The
same question applies to arjuna, "why was he doubtful enough to *put
aside the task at hand* and ask kRSNa?"

The answers to the above question one can try to answer by considering
the intricate causes and effects that are narrated in the mahAbhArata,
but this would be an endless quest. Maybe sometimes the proverb "aam
khao, ped mat gino" (eat the mangoes, don't count the trees) does make
sense. But this leaves the mind's desires unfulfilled.

To end my cyclic ramblings, one thing I believe in without any doubt is this: 

Answer the question "Why am I curious?" and you will have answered
"why arjuna?", but to answer this question fully is no less than
understanding, realising and Being the advaita of Atman and brAhmaN.

Why arjuna? Because he was curious. Why was he curious? For the same
reason that You are curious. Why am I curious? Because the curiousity
is in your very nature. What is my nature? tat tvam asi.

A U M .

On 5/2/05, tatha gat <tathagat79 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Adityaji,
> 
> I guess what you are asking is do we have free will or
> not. I think that we definitely have free will and
> that is what makes things so interesting. I also know
> that this is, in the end, a matter of belief for I am
> not aware of any conclusive "proof" either way. But,
> an example that I always like is the following -
> Suppose you ask me to pick a number between 1 and
> 30,000 ..  and I pick .. 6782. Now I *believe* this is
> truely a random choice. There was no predestined chain
> of events that led me to pick this particular number.
> 
> I cannot quote exact sources, but I believe that
> shruti says that we do have free will - either to
> harmoniously take part in the Lord's lila or not. To
> me, one nice verse in the Gita is somewhere in the
> very end of the 18th chapter, where Krishna, in
> essence, says, "This is what I believe and what I have
> told you. Now you do what you want to do". This
> position, imho, is very unique in any scripture.
> 
> -Mayuresh.
> 
> > But then, maybe all that happens (even
> > the 'illusion of
> > chance') is just how it is "supposed to happen".
> > Maybe within mithyA
> > (created universe) all that happens is simply
> > inevitable. that in
> > retrospect we see choices, but in real time no such
> > thing really
> > exists. But surely in brAhmaN-hood this question
> > itself does not
> > arise.
> >
> > What does the gItA and Sruti in general have to say
> > about this?
> >
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> 
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> 
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> 


-- 
Aditya Varun Chadha
adichad at gmail.com
Mobile: +91 98 400 76411
Home:  +91 11 2431 4486