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7. My being is over powered by cowardice; my understanding is confused as to duty. I ask Thee. Tell me for certain which is better. I am Thy disciple; pray instruct me, who has sought refuse in Thee.
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As long as man wallows in his own pride and greatness he has no chance to come face to face with God. There is no hope for him to establish any positive and active relationship with the divine. He stands alone in life to fight bitter battles against his own selfish dreams and desires, false nature and ignorance who refuses to acknowledge divine interference in human affairs.
When faced with some adversity or insurmountable difficulty, he either succumbs meekly to his own inner fears and cowardice or flaps his wings blindly like a bird caught in the net till he is tired and exhausted. The pride and arrogance of his ego stands between him and the possible freedom like a serpent that guards the cave of some hidden monster. The ego's pride is the barrier that prevents the possibility of any meaningful dialogue between man and God.
But the stupidity cannot continue for long, for the creative intelligence to continue its onward march and fulfill the purpose of creation. A time will definitely come in the life of every individual when he becomes fully aware of the folly of his life and the hazards of his poisonous pride, the vulnerability of his incompleteness and helplessness against the invading and marauding forces of the external world.
Unwittingly and unexpectedly he brings himself into the eye of such great difficulties that his ordinary knowledge and intelligence fail to provide him with necessary solutions. The world becomes a difficult place to live, a source of constant tyranny, threat and instability. Life, which was so alluring and tempting till yesterday, suddenly unravels its hideous and grotesque nature.
All his knowledge, resources and experience in which he had such immense faith and great pride, lose their merit and stand meekly like soldiers defeated in war. Faced with insurmountable problems, he either loses faith in himself and succumbs to his inner fears or surrenders to some external material force that may drag him further into the difficulties of life or, fortunately some times, turns to the Divine for necessary help and guidance
It is this last possibility that makes suffering, logically and theologically, so essential and appealing for spiritual transformation. There is no doubt that for awakening of the soul to become true and fruitful, man has to first awaken himself from his old and familiar habits and movements of life and admit to himself first and then before God the true nature of his consciousness, his limitations, vulnerability, stupidity and ignorance.
Without this confession and acknowledgement no escape and salvation are possible for any human being from his limited, egoistic and finite existence. Any other approach would only increase his suffering and drive him further and further away from the possibility of any peaceful existence and hopeful solution.
Basic self-honesty is therefore a fundamental requirement for the spiritual transformation. It is when we admit to ourselves, our inner selves, our mistakes and foibles without any veil of deception and turn to the divine for help that we can truly hope to gain entrance into the spiritual world. Arjuna has now reached this stage.
He has realized his true limitations, the futility of his knowledge and position in society and his comprehensive failure to deal with his inner suffering on his own terms. Like all true devotees of exceptional qualities he felt the urgent need for divine guidance and help.
Despite of the fact that he is a great warrior he has honestly confessed his inner cowardice that is lurking behind his courage like a shadow. Overwhelmed by the desire to learn, he has shown true humility and sought the refuge of Sri Krishna. God responds readily to the true call of a sincere devotee and He is bound to respond to the call of Arjuna.
Commentary by Jayaram V
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