Well, then, is this path — performing one’s duties with the sole purpose of pleasing Bhagavān — an easy journey? Śrīkṛṣṇa himself was uncertain about it. Bhagavān is not in front of our eyes; dharma is not in front of our eyes either. Performing our duties only for the sake of Bhagavān or for dharma — single-minded devotion to our duty without even an iota of selfishness — is difficult.
dhyānābhyāsa-vaśīkṛtena manasā tannirguṇaṃ niṣkriyaṃ
jyotiḥ kiñcana yogino yadi paraṃ paśyanti paśyantu te ।
asmākaṃ tu tadeva locana-camatkārāya bhūyāc-ciraṃ
kālindī-pulinodare kimapi yan-nīlaṃ maho dhāvati ॥
dhyānāhbyāsadè tattvamaṃ hṛdayadoḻ tāṃ-ā nirākāramaṃ
kāṇalk-appoḍè kāṇge yogivarar-āṃ sāmānyar-èmmakṣig-ā ।
veṇu-svāna-sudhā-prasādi yamunā-kuñjodara-āmodi me-
ghānīla-dyuti nāṭyavāḍuge sadā nāṃ dhanyar-ā līleyiṃ ॥
Śrī Kṛṣna was satisfied with this entreaty; Arjuna had been put on the path; his internal transformation was complete. Bhagavān felt certain that Arjuna was ready to perform the requisite deeds.
mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍha-bhāvo
dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ ghoram īdṛṃ mamedam |
vyapeta-bhīḥ prīta-manāḥ punas tvaṃ
tad eva me rūpam idaṃ prapaśya ||BG 11.49
Here, by “divine eyes” we do not need to imagine a pair of extra-physical eyes with their own eyeballs and eyelids. It is enough to think that Bhagavān endowed the eye with the ability to behold divine effulgence. This is what we have to understand - when we pray to Īśvara for a boon, we need to ask for the requisite strength to bear and control the blessing. Our desires know no limits and make us forget what is suitable and what is not. If Bhagavān gives us what we deserve, we’re dissatisfied.
āvudò viśvarahasyaṃ
jīvāṃgaṇakiḻidu janada sukhaduḥkheccā-|
dyāveśadi sahabhāgivò-
lāvirbhavisidudu kṛṣṇananènipa vicitram ||
This strange thing called Kṛṣṇa
a cosmic conundrum,
having entered the jīva’s playground,
Has manifested itself
As a partner to people
In their pleasures, sorrows and desires.
Arjuna’s mind is gaining maturity. Didn’t Bhagavān say –
dadāmi buddhi-yogam...
BG 10.10
nija-mahimeyan-īśaṃ tā-
n-ajan-avyayan-aprameya-navaviliptaṃ meṇ ।
tri-jagad-vyāptaṃ śaktaṃ
bhajanīyaṃ kāmyaneṃbudaṃ baṇṇisuvam ॥
Īśvara, the birthless, imperishable,
immeasurable, unattached,
pervader of all the three worlds, and powerful,
describes his own glory and
shows how he can be praised and loved.
Those who follow the āsurī form of prakṛti delude and waste themselves.
moghāśā moghakarmāṇo moghajñānā vicetasaḥ
BG9.12
The rākṣasas are cruel and unscrupulous. For them, their bodies are their self and bodily pleasures are the greatest happiness. Naraka and repeated births in lowly creatures are their fate.
7. "Mamātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ" : Brahma-consciousness is the cause of a jīva's rise and fall. The term bhāvanaḥ can variously mean birth, existence, sustenance, or control. Brahma has embedded the seed of Ṛta (Cosmic order) and dharma in human nature. Ṛta is the law in creation. "Deeds beget appropriate rewards and a jīva has to experience them" is the cosmic law of ṛta. The practical application of ṛta in life is dharma.
4. Now on to "na matsthāni bhūtāni". Was it not said earlier that matsthāni bhūtāni (all objects are in me)? But when we analyse reality, the objects do not exist in me; but only appear to be in me. Brahma is the substratum for that appearance. A traveller sees flowing water at a distance. But it is nothing other than a mirage. It is only a phenomenon; not an actual stream. That false appearance is created by a combination of sand, sunlight, and distance.