Arjuna's Duty - The Perfection of Occupational Service
The Bhagavad-gītā presents a profound exploration of human responsibility and spiritual surrender. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Arjuna's hesitation on the battlefield serves as the perfect setting for Lord Kṛṣṇa to teach the world how ordinary occupational duties can be transformed into perfect devotional service when executed without material attachment and for the pleasure of the Supreme.
The Illusion of False Compassion
When confronted with his opposing relatives, Arjuna's sense of duty collapsed under the weight of material affection. As Śrīla Prabhupāda points out, Arjuna's desire to stop the war was not rooted in advanced spiritual realization, but in a false, bodily compassion driven by the subtle desire for his own peaceful sense gratification.
- Arjuna wanted to satisfy his senses by refraining from fighting with his relatives, but Krsna spoke to him to convince him to execute his duty for the satisfaction of the Supreme.
- Forgetting his prime duty, he (Arjuna) wanted to cease fighting, because he thought that by not killing his relatives and kinsmen he would be happier than by enjoying the kingdom after conquering his cousins and brothers, the sons of Dhrtarastra.
- Arjuna was hesitating to fight, "How can I kill my nephew, my brother, my grandfather," and so on, so on. So Krsna was instructing him that, - It is your duty. As a ksatriya, when there is battle, you should fight. You should not deviate from your duty.
- Arjuna, you are being carried away by your material affection, and you are hesitating to execute your duty. This is not good. - Anarya-justam - This is befitting for the anarya, non-Aryan.
The Occupational Duty of a Kṣatriya
Vedic society is scientifically organized so that everyone makes spiritual progress by executing their specific occupational duties. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that Kṛṣṇa strictly warned Arjuna not to artificially imitate the nonviolent duties of a brāhmaṇa, but to act boldly according to his nature as a kṣatriya.
- Arjuna was a military man, and born of the nature of the ksatriya. Therefore his natural duty was to fight. But, due to false ego, he was fearing that by killing his teacher, grandfather and friends, there would be sinful reactions.
- Krsna says (to Arjuna) that - Don't try to imitate the business of a sannyasi or a Brahmin. You are ksatriya. You . . . your duty is to fight, so you should follow your own prescribed duty. Don't try to imitate others.
- He (Arjuna) wanted to become nonviolent in the discharge of his specific duty. For a ksatriya to be in the battlefield and to become nonviolent is the philosophy of fools.
- If he (Arjuna) abandoned the battle (of Kuruksetra), he would not only neglect his specific duty as a ksatriya, but he would lose all his fame and good name and thus prepare his royal road to hell.
Detachment and Equanimity in Yoga
To act without incurring karmic reactions, one must change their consciousness, not their occupation. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the true practice of yoga taught by Lord Kṛṣṇa is to perform one's unavoidable duties with complete detachment, unaffected by the eventual success or failure of the endeavor.
- Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga. Bhagavad-gita 2.48.
- Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
- One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your (Arjuna) duty, you should not lament.
- The Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, advises Marshal Arjuna in the following words: O Arjuna, you must always do your duty. To do something is far better than to do nothing. You cannot even secure your everyday sustenance without doing any work.
The Ultimate Perfection of Duty
When an occupational duty is performed for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, it transcends the material plane entirely. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that Arjuna achieved the absolute perfection of life because he subordinated his personal desires and agreed to fight solely as an instrument of the Supreme Lord.
- Being a pure devotee he (Arjuna) agreed to fight on God's instruction because he came to his senses and realized that satisfaction of God at the cost of his own satisfaction was his prime duty. He became akama. That is the perfect stage of a living being.
- Arjuna's prescribed duty was to fight, and the perfection of his fighting was tested by the satisfaction of Krsna. Krsna wanted him to fight, and when he fought for the satisfaction of the Lord, that was the perfection of his professional devotional duty.
- He (Arjuna) said that although he could get a kingdom by fighting with his relatives, he did not want to fight with them. But when he was ordered by Krsna and convinced by the teachings of Bhagavad-gita that his duty was to satisfy Krsna, then he fought.
- Arjuna, you should always think of Me (Krsna), and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt.
Conclusion
As Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully concludes, the conflict faced by Arjuna represents the universal struggle of the conditioned soul attempting to balance material affection with absolute spiritual responsibility. Arjuna's initial instinct to abandon his duty was a symptom of illusion, dressed up as piety, because it neglected the supreme will of the Lord. However, by accepting the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna learned that artificially renouncing one's prescribed occupation is the path of a fool. True renunciation and perfect yoga mean executing one's worldly duty with a completely detached mind, offering all the results to Kṛṣṇa. By overcoming his false compassion and agreeing to fight on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna demonstrated the ultimate perfection of life: utilizing one's natural abilities and occupational duties as a means of unalloyed devotional service.
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