Bhagavadgita -Radhakrishnan 63

The Bhagavadgita -S. Radhakrishnan

CHAPTER 1 The Hesitation and Despondency of Arjuna The Question Dhartarastra uvaca 1. dharmaksetre kuruksetre samaveta yuyutsavah mamakah pandavas cai 'va kim akurvata sameaya Dhrtarastra said : (1) In the field of righteousness, the field of the Rums, when my people and the sons of Pandu had gathered together, eager for battle, what did they do, 0 Samjaya ? dharmaksctre: in the field of righteousness. The quality of deciding what is right or dharma is special to man. Hunger, sleep, fear and sex are common to men and animals. What distinguishes men from animals is the knowledge of right and wrong. The world is dharmaksetra, the battleground for a moral struggle. The decisive issue lies in the hearts of men wherthe battles are fought daily and hourly. The ascent from earth to heaven, from suffering to spirit, is through the path of dharrna. Even in our corporeal existence, through the practice of dharma, we can reach up to safety where every difficulty culminates in joy The world is dharmaksetra, the nursery of saints where the sacred flame of spirit is never permitted to go out It is said to be karmabhumi where we work out our karma and fulfil the purpose of soul-making. The aim of the Gita is not so much to teach a theory as to enforce practice, dharma. We cannot separate in theory what is not separable in life. The duties of civic and social life provide religion with its tasks and opportunities. Dharma. is what promotes vorldly prosperity and spiritual freedom.