Last month I promised you Krishna's answer to Arjuna's plea.  

 

At this point it might be worth mentioning, as the professors do, that the Bhagavad Gita is a book that deserves a modern reading.  In other words, this is not a story about whether or not to kill your relatives, but a story which provides a metaphoric setting for the many moral dilemmas we face in our lives, where our family duty is in conflict with our social duty, or in some other way we feel torn between two compelling courses of action, both of which have unpleasant consequences.  We could be struggling with requests from our two sisters to take sides in a family feud, or we could be wondering whether to report the immoral actions of a coworker.  Arjuna doesn't want to make the hard choice to get involved, but Krishna says he must.

 

Krishna gives Arjuna two paths to follow, to give his life meaning as he pursues his social duty.  The first is advice on the manner in which Arjuna should perform his duty.  He should give it his best shot without being attached to success as the outcome.  This is very eastern advice, in my opinion, recalling the Tao.  Act in accord with nature and trust that nature will take care of the outcome and consequences.  Because Arjuna is an archer, Krishna tells him to aim his arrow with care, but once the arrow is released, do not worry whether it reaches its target.  Because Arjuna is about to fight, I think the advice about ignoring the outcome is meant more poetically than literally.  I think he means for us to trust that the outcome will be the right outcome, whether it's the outcome we intended or not.

 

But action alone is insufficient:

 

Do any actions you must do,

since action is better than inaction;

even the existence of your body 

depends on necessary actions.

 

BUT...

 

The whole world becomes a slave

to its own activity, Arjuna:

if you want to be truly free,

perform all actions as worship.

 

The second path is the path of devotion.  Worship Krishna, because he is not just one god among the many of the Hindu pantheon, but the sum of all things.  Arjuna, having discovered that his charioteer is a god, asks to hear more about Krishna's divinity.  He responds:

 

All right, Arjuna: I will tell you

a few of my manifestations,

the most glorious ones; for infinite 

are the forms in which I appear.

 

I am the Self, Arjuna,

seated in the heart of all beings:

I am the beginning and the life span

of beings, and their end as well.

 

Of the sky gods, I am Vishnu;

of the heavenly lights, the sun;

Marichi, chief of the wind gods;

among stars, I am the moon;

 

of the Vedas, I am the hymns;

Indra among the gods;

the mind among the six senses;

the consciousness of all beings;

 

of the storm gods, I am Shiva;

of the demigods, Kubera;

Agni among the bright gods;

and Meru, highest of mountains.

 

This vision of divinity is again eastern in flavor, because it is all-encompassing.  Krishna continues for many dozens of verses, naming his embodiment in all things.  There is nothing outside his reach.

 

Whatever in this world is excellent

and glows with intelligence or beauty - 

be sure that it has its source 

in a fragment of my divine splendor.

 

But what need is there for all these

details? Just know that I am,

and that I support the whole universe 

with a single fragment of myself.

 

[translation by Stephen Mitchell]

 

The message of the Bhagavad Gita is that there are two paths to follow in order to find meaning in your life.  Fulfill your social duty with conscientious attention to detail and with insouciance for the outcome, and fill your days with devotion of the infinite divinity that everywhere surrounds you.

 

I felt a great sense of homecoming upon hearing this advice.  I have struggled to find meaning in my social role, and these two answers fit well inside me.

 

But even then, I did not feel quite complete.  I would suggest that we need one more path in order to feel that we are living meaningful lives.  Of course we need our social and family roles.  Of course we need to celebrate the infinite in the everything.  But we also need to create.  We need one personal activity that has nothing to do with duty and that is not selfless but is selfish.  We need to have something personal, whether we garden or cook or paint or make music or play sports or video games.  

 

Three paths, that's my proposal today.  How do these paths sit with you?