BG (1968) Preface
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
PREFACE:
SETTING THE SCENE
THE BHAGAVAD GITA IS a battlefield dialogue between Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Arjuna, His friend, devotee, and disciple. The dialogue consists of seven hundred verses, in which the Lord brings Arjuna from the dark bewilderment of material consciousness to the stage of serene and joyful enlightenment regarding everything—literally.
Krishna's purpose in coming into this world is nicely described in the Fourth Chapter, and there is no need to go over that here. But a note regarding the activities of Krishna and Arjuna, explaining how They came to be on that battlefield, ought to be quite helpful to the reader whose knowledge of Vedic literature is scant or nil. That literature is the most extensive, comprehensive, scientifically precise and ancient scriptural material now existing in the world. It presents the paths of knowledge of the Absolute Truth in all aspects and from all angles of vision, clearly and elaborately.
Srila Vyasadeva is an incarnation of God Who appeared on earth at about the same time as Krishna, the Original Person. Vyasadeva's purpose was to reconstruct and compile the Vedic wisdom so that it could be understood by the people of the coming age—the Kali Yuga, or Age of Quarrel. It is to Vyasadeva that we can attribute all the Vedic knowledge now in existence, for it was He Who put it into writing. The people of previous times having the capacity for perfect memory of such topics, writing was until then unnecessary.
Part of Vyasadeva's work includes The Mahabharata, a chronicle of events leading up to the initiation of the Age of Kali. "Mahabharata" means, literally, "Great Bharata," Bharata being a ruler of the world during a now forgotten past epoch. The Mahabharata traces not only the doings of Bharata the Great, but of his descendants as well, coming ultimately down to the story of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, the sons of King Vichitravirya. Now, Dhritarashtra was the elder son, but he was born blind, and so the throne that otherwise would have been his devolved upon his younger brother, Pandu. Pandu had five sons—Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva; and Dhritarashtra had a hundred, chief amongst whom was Duryodhana, a great politician and administrator.
Dhritarashtra never came to accept his brother's pre-eminence over him, and he raised his sons with the determination that they—and not Pandu's offspring—should someday reign over the world. Duryodhana and his many brothers thus grew to manhood in possession of their father's ambitions, his pride, and his greed. What's more, Pandu died at an early age, and his five boys came under the guardianship of Dhritarashtra, his other brother Vidura, and the venerated "grandfather" of the clan, Bhisma. Dhritarashtra plotted against the lives of the Pandavas (the sons of Pandu) and their mother Pritha, also called Kunti. But the blind conspirator's plans were foiled by a variety of people and circumstances: chiefly the saintly intervention of Vidura, and the loving protection of Krishna, Kunti's Nephew, thus also a Relative.
Now, the warrior-politicians of that time were called Kshatriyas, and they lived by a code of chivalry, much as the warrior class of Europe did only recently. Part of the Kshatriya code forbade them to turn away from a challenge to a fight—or to a gambling match. In this way, ultimately, the brilliant Duryodhana was able to cheat the five brothers of their kingdom, their wife Droupadi—and even their freedom, forcing them to spend twelve years hiding. When this time was up, the Pandavas returned to the court of Duryodhana and asked him to grant them some kind of administrative post—for it was also part of the Kshatriya code that a warrior might not enter into service or business, but must make his living as a ruler of some kind. The Pandavas were willing to accept a village each from their now magnificent cousin, but Duryodhana had no mercy or regard for them. He informed them that he couldn't spare so much as enough land in which to drive a needle.
Thus rebuked, Arjuna and his brothers resorted to arms, and a global war of tremendous scope was initiated. Yudhisthira was the eldest of the Pandavas, and it was to place him upon the throne—or to oppose him—that great warriors from all the corners of the earth assembled. According to Vedic sources, the Battle of Kurukshetra lasted for eighteen days, and took the unimaginable toll of 640 million lives! This becomes somewhat more comprehensible when we recognize that the Vedic civilization was a highly advanced society, possessed not only of nuclear weapons more subtle than ours today, but also of air, water, and psychic weapons of devastating power.
As the armies were gathering, Sri Krishna, Cousin to both sides in the fight, attempted to mediate on behalf of the Pandavas, but He found Duryodhana determined to rule the world in his own way, and anxious to be done forever with these bothersome men, whose very existence challenged his right to the crown.
Whereas the Pandavas, pure devotees of the Lord and men of the highest moral stature, recognized Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Dhritarashtra's sons had no such qualifications, and no such powers of recognition. Yet Krishna offered to participate in the war according to the desire of the antagonists. As God, He would not Personally take a hand; but whoever so desired might avail himself of Krishna's army—and the other side could have Krishna Himself, as an advisor and helper. Duryodhana, the genius politician, snatched at the armed forces of his Cousin, while Yudhisthira was equally anxious to have Krishna Himself.
In this way, Krishna became the Charioteer of Arjuna, taking it upon Himself to drive the fabled bowman's chariot. This brings us up to the point at which The Bhagavad Gita begins, with the armies arrayed and ready for combat, and Dhritarashtra anxiously inquiring of his secretary Samjaya, "What did they do?"
The scene is set, with only the need for a brief note regarding this translation and the accompanying commentary:
The general pattern in translating The Bhagavad Gita into English—followed by so many writers of so many such works—is to brush aside the Personality of Krishna in order to make room for the translator's own concepts and philosophies. The history of The Mahabharata is taken as quaint mythology, and Krishna becomes a poetic device, an instrument for the presentation of some anonymous genius' concepts, or at best a historical minor personage. But the Person Krishna is both the goal and the substance of The Gita, so far as The Gita speaks of Itself. This translation, then, and the commentary which accompanies it, has as its purpose the determination to direct the reader to Krishna, rather than away from Him. In this, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's work is unique among all the translations and commentaries available in this language. Unique also is the fact that The Bhagavad Gita is thus made wholly consistent and comprehensible. Krishna being the Speaker of The Gita, and Its ultimate goal as well, this is necessarily the only translation that can present this great scripture in Its true terms.
My special thanks are due to my God-brothers Sri Hayagriva Das Brahmachary (Howard Wheeler, M.A.) for his assistance in polishing the manuscript and to Sri Brahmananda Das Brahmachary (Bruce Scharf) for arranging publication, and my thanks are due to Mr. James O. Wade of The Macmillan Company, New York, for his willing co-operation in presenting this great contribution of our beloved Spiritual Master.
| RAYARAMA DAS BRAHMACHARY (Raymond Marais) Editor |
16 August 1968
Janmastami (Appearance Day of Lord Krishna)
Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple
26 Second Avenue
New York, N.Y.