Bhagavad Gita- 108 Talks by Swami Sandeep Chaithanya

3. The war of Kurukshetra is the dharma/adharma conflict in the individual mind.

Bhagavad Gita guides us in developing introspection within our mind in recognizing righteous and unrighteous thoughts. Gita should not be approached on the basis of mere history and geography. If we observe closely in the light of scriptural knowledge, we can realize that the war of Kurukshetra is happening subtly in our own mind. Gita starts with the word “dharma” and ends with the word “mama”. Study of Gita must be an inquiry into “mama dharma- my dharma”. Then we can find the characters of Mahabharatha within in ourselves. The blind king Dhritarashtra represents the mind that refuses to see things properly. A flower can be observed in different ways. Some may look at it as an object to make money by selling it. For a poet, seeing a flower may open up a beautiful world of imagination.

The ‘dhritarashtra’ state in people has polluted the whole of Kerala. When the Panmana Ashram and the Bishop house at Neyyattinkara were attacked, there were huge protests all over Kerala. But when a baby was infected recently with aids virus due to the incompetence of the government blood bank, no one raised any voice. This mental state - ‘dhritarashtra state’ indicates that the ‘religion’ as it is practiced now, is hindering the progress of the society. The prevailing ‘dhritarashtra’ state of affairs makes us conclude that we can live peacefully if there are no temples or churches!