BG 01.28 drstvemam sva-janam krsna... cited

Expressions researched:
"drstvemam sva-janam krsna" |"mukham ca parisusyati" |"sidanti mama gatrani" |"yuyutsum samupasthitam"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 1.28, Translation and Purport:

Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.

Any man who has genuine devotion to the Lord has all the good qualities which are found in godly persons or in the demigods, whereas the nondevotee, however advanced he may be in material qualifications by education and culture, lacks in godly qualities. As such, Arjuna, just after seeing his kinsmen, friends and relatives on the battlefield, was at once overwhelmed by compassion for them who had so decided to fight amongst themselves. As far as his soldiers were concerned, he was sympathetic from the beginning, but he felt compassion even for the soldiers of the opposite party, foreseeing their imminent death. And while he was so thinking, the limbs of his body began to quiver, and his mouth became dry. He was more or less astonished to see their fighting spirit. Practically the whole community, all blood relatives of Arjuna, had come to fight with him. This overwhelmed a kind devotee like Arjuna. Although it is not mentioned here, still one can easily imagine that not only were Arjuna's bodily limbs quivering and his mouth drying up, but he was also crying out of compassion. Such symptoms in Arjuna were not due to weakness but to his softheartedness, a characteristic of a pure devotee of the Lord. It is said therefore:

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā

sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ

harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā

mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

"One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy." (SB 5.18.12)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.28-29 -- London, July 22, 1973:

Pradyumna (leads chanting, etc.):

arjuna uvāca

dṛṣṭvemaṁ svajanaṁ kṛṣṇa

yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam

sīdanti mama gātrāṇi

mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati

(BG 1.28)

vepathuś ca śarīre me

roma-harṣaś ca jāyate

gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt

tvak caiva paridahyate

(BG 1.29)

Translation: "Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up. My whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. My bow Gāṇḍīva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning."

Prabhupāda: So dṛṣṭvā imaṁ svajanam. Arjuna is a great warrior, fighter, and for a kṣatriya to kill one is not very difficult task. The kṣatriyas are trained up. Hunting. Hunting is allowed for the kṣatriyas. Just like medical practitioners, they are trained up how to practice surgical operation on dead body. It is not possible to, of course, for a gentleman, to push knife in someone's body. It is naturally very difficult thing. Rogues and thieves, they can stab. So as the doctors, medical men, surgeons are trained up to operate their knife on the dead body to see where are the nerves, similarly, kṣatriyas are also allowed for being trained how to kill. Kṣatriya means... Kṣat. Kṣat means injury. And tra means trāyate, saves. A kṣatriya has to save the citizens from being injured by others. He is called kṣatriya. Brāhmaṇa means one who knows brahma, the supreme. So brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. These divisions are there according to quality. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). By guṇa. Guṇa means quality. And karma means actual operation of the guṇa.

So Arjuna was a kṣatriya, trained up by Droṇācārya how to kill. This is the... Nonviolence is not the business of the kṣatriya. That is cowardice. They are taught how to become violent. Otherwise, they cannot rule over. Formerly the judgement was given by the king, immediately finished. Not go to the court and wait for the judgement for ten years. In the meantime everything is finished. Not like that. Anything, there was regularly, the king used to sit in his assembly, and all the criminals, culprits, they were judged by the king himself. Sometimes the king had to kill personally with the sword. Even in European countries, the royal orders were trained up. Nowadays it is constitutional, democratic government. The king has no power. But this is not good for the people. The democracy is a farce. At least, I do not like it. Because so many rascals, simply by getting votes, go to the government, and what do they know how to rule over? Therefore, at the present moment, all over the world there is no good government. There is no good government. The America was considered to have very good government. Now we can see the behavior of Mr. Nixon. It is not possible. Formerly the kṣatriyas, they were trained up how to govern. They were trained up by military men, just like Droṇācārya trained Arjuna, Duryodhana. All the royal princes were trained up how to kill. Not only killing, also, according to śāstra, how to rule over. The king's business is to see that everyone in the country, they are properly employed and engaged in his own business. That is king's business. There was no question of unemployment. This is government's first business. Because if a person is unemployed, then the devil's workshop. Devil's, work... If he hasn't got to do anything... That is being done now. Rich man's son, he hasn't got to do anything, so his brain is devil's workshop. They are manufacturing so many "isms." But everyone should be engaged. This is government's first business to see. A brāhmaṇa is engaged as a brāhmaṇa, a kṣatriya is engaged as kṣatriya.

Lecture on BG 1.28-29 -- London, July 22, 1973:

So Arjuna was not a coward. He was a competent warrior. But still, dehātma-buddhi, the bodily concept of life is so strong... That Arjuna admits, dṛṣṭvā tu svajanaṁ kṛṣṇa: (BG 1.28) "My dear Kṛṣṇa, I have to kill my own men." What is that "own men"? "Own men" means this bodily relationship. Why others are not own men? Everyone is own men. Because everyone is Kṛṣṇa's son. So when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he can see everyone own men. And when he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he simply sees own men where there is bodily relationship. This is the defect. They are advertising, humanitarian work, philanthropic work, communism, this "ism," but when there is question of bodily relationship, immediately everything is changed. You know, the Communist country, the Khruschev was driven out because he was patronizing his own men. That was the defect. So you can advertise that "I am for everyone," but there is affection for own men. Nepotism. Nepotism. It's called nepotism. So many big, big leaders. Our Jawaharhal Nehru, he was sending his own men as ambassador. Vijaya Lakshmi, a woman, she was being sent as ambassador. She was high commissioner here. So this "own men" question is very prominent everywhere.

So Arjuna is a great warrior. He could fight all the soldiers, all the fighting men, yuyutsu. The other party, they were also, they were assembled, yuyutsu, with fighting spirit. Other men, even they are not fighting spirit, we can kill very easily. But own men, although they are fighting spirit, still he hesitates. Because own men. So this "own-menship," in relationship with the body, is the barrier for spiritual understanding. So long this conception of life will exist, that "I am this body, and anyone who is related with this body, they are my own men, kinsmen, relatives..." This conception of life is the greatest barrier for advancing in spiritual consciousness. Therefore the Vedic civilization is so planned that one has to give up this rascal "own men" conception. That is the vairāgya. It is called vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya. Two things required in human life: knowledge and vairāgya, detachment. The attachment increases. First of all, it increases. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). This whole world is based on sex life. A man has got attraction for woman; a woman has got attraction for man. This is nature's bondage. Shackle. And when they are actually united, either by the father, mother, or by their own way, that shackle, that attraction, increases. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. Hṛdaya-granthim. Knot in the heart. "She is my wife." "He is my husband." Of course, now that knot is very slack. Formerly it was very strong because the woman was not allowed to mix with any other man, and the man was also not allowed with any other woman. This intermingling has slackened even that knot, hṛdaya-granthim. Therefore, even trifle cases, quarrel between husband and wife, there is divorce. Because that unity is not very strong now. That is good. Some way or other, it is slackened. So this "own-menship" comes from bodily concept of life.

Lecture on BG 1.28-29 -- London, July 22, 1973:

So Arjuna is preparing the ground, how to receive the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. Because spiritual instruction will begin to separate the soul from the body. Unless one understands that there is a soul different from this body, there is no spiritual education. This is the basic principle. If you do not understand what is soul, what is spirit soul, then where is spiritual education? So Arjuna was affected. He says frankly, dṛṣṭvā tu svajanaṁ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam: (BG 1.28) "What is this? I have to kill my own men." Svajanam. Svajanam means own men. "No, no." Sīdanti mama gātrāṇi: "Oh, I am shivering." Mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati: "My mouth is being dried up." We have got this experience. When there is danger, these things happen, so many symptoms.

vepathuś ca śarīre me

roma-harṣaś ca jāyate

gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt

tvak caiva paridahyate

(BG 1.29)

As these things, these symptoms, different transformations of bodily constitution, appear in times of danger, similarly such symptoms appear in times of spiritual bliss. That is called aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra (CC Antya 14.99), eight kinds of transformation of the body. So there is so many reserve energies within our body. They become manifest in due course of time when the mind and intelligence work in different ways. This is the study, how things appear. It is appearing from intelligence, mind. The soul is there and the intelligence and mind creating the situation of the bodily symptoms. Therefore body or the senses are not all. The modern education, they think this body is everything. No. Real study is body means the senses. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ. On gross vision we see this body. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ (BG 3.42). But the bodily symptoms are acting because the mind is there. And mind is working because the intelligence is there. And the intelligence is working because the soul is there. (aside:) You can stand.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 6, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So our, this institution, that is our ambition, that we are giving, trying to give facilities, at least to some intending person, especially retired person, to take advantage of this institution. As far as possible live, for we have got rooms like that. Live there and take little prasādam and fully devote time how to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is success of life. So it is authorized by the śāstras, pañcāś ordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Therefore you'll find still. But now the things have changed that every holy places there are so many men retired. (break)

Pradyumna: (chanting Sanskrit to Bhagavad-gītā 1.28) (break)

Prabhupāda: "...with my family member shall come to fight with me, so what shall I say, that I have to kill my nephew, I have to kill my brother, I have to kill my grandfather, this is the fight? No, no I am not going to fight. Let them all fight." That is natural. So read it.

Pradyumna:

vepathuś ca śarīre me

roma-harṣaś ca jāyate

gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt

tvak caiva paridahyate

(BG 1.29)

Prabhupāda: "So how can I kill my brother and nephew and others, family members? So my bow is dropping." Go on.