Verse 2.5: I consider it far better to live in this world by begging alms than to slay these venerable elders. For by killing these gurus, I would only enjoy pleasures tainted with their blood and driven by desire for gain.
Commentary: From this verse, it appears that the words spoken by the Lord in the second and third verses are now taking effect within Arjuna. This leads Arjuna to think: "Knowing that killing elders such as Bhishma and Drona is not righteous, the Lord is still commanding me to fight without any doubt. Therefore, the misunderstanding must lie somewhere in my own perception!" Hence, Arjuna does not speak with the same agitation as in the previous verse, but rather speaks with some hesitation.
"Without killing the gurus... even alms in this world" — Arjuna now begins by presenting his own side, saying: "If I do not fight against revered ones like Bhishma and Drona, then Duryodhana alone will not fight me either. Thus, if the war does not take place, I will not gain the kingdom, which will cause me suffering. My livelihood will also become difficult. I may even have to adopt the forbidden practice of begging for a Kshatriya to sustain my life. Yet, compared to killing the gurus, I consider even that painful life of begging to be superior."
The phrase "in this world" implies that although begging for alms will bring me disgrace and condemnation in this world, it is still better than killing the gurus.
The word "even" indicates that for me, both killing the gurus and begging are forbidden. However, between these two, killing the gurus appears more forbidden to me.
"By killing... pleasures tainted with blood" — Now, turning his attention to the Lord's words, Arjuna says: "If I fight according to Your command, then as a consequence of killing the gurus in battle, I will only enjoy pleasures soaked in their blood and driven primarily by desire for wealth. I will only obtain enjoyments. How can liberation or peace be attained through such enjoyments?"
A question may arise here: Since elders like Bhishma and Drona were bound to the Kauravas through wealth, could the term "desirous of gain" be taken as an adjective for "gurus"? The answer is that interpreting it as "gurus desirous of gain" is not appropriate. The reason is that venerable elders like Bhishma and Drona were not desirous of wealth. They were recipients of Duryodhana's maintenance; they had partaken of his food. Therefore, considering it their duty not to abandon Duryodhana at the time of war, they stood on the side of the Kauravas.
Secondly, Arjuna has used the term "venerable" for Bhishma and Drona. How can such noble-hearted ones be described as desirous of gain? The meaning is that those who are venerable cannot be desirous of gain, and those who are desirous of gain cannot be venerable. Hence, here the term "desirous of gain" can only be an adjective for "pleasures."
Special Point:
The Lord, in the second and third verses, had commanded Arjuna to rise and fight, abandoning cowardice, solely from the perspective of his welfare. However, Arjuna understood the opposite—he thought that the Lord was commanding him to fight out of desire for enjoying the kingdom. Initially, Arjuna had only one position—not to fight—due to which he had laid down his bow and arrows and sat in the chariot's midst, overwhelmed with grief (1.47). But the position of fighting arose only from the Lord's words. The implication is that Arjuna's sentiment was: "We know dharma, but Duryodhana and others do not; hence, they are ready to fight out of greed for wealth and kingdom." Now, Arjuna says the same about himself: "If I too fight according to Your command, then as a result, I will only obtain wealth and kingdom stained with the blood of the gurus!" Thus, Arjuna sees only evil in fighting.
Evil that comes in the form of evil is easy to remove. But evil that comes in the form of goodness is very difficult to eradicate. For example, when Ravana appeared before Sita and Kalanemi before Hanuman, they could not recognize them because both were disguised as ascetics. In Arjuna's view, performing the duty of fighting is evil, and not fighting is good. That is, in Arjuna's mind, the evil of abandoning duty has come disguised as the goodness of dharma (non-violence). This evil of abandoning duty does not appear to him as evil because within him there is attachment to the bodies. Hence, to remove this evil, the Lord has to exert great effort and it takes time.
In present-day society, under the pretext of unity, attempts are being made to erase the boundaries of varna and ashrama. This evil, coming in the guise of the goodness of unity, does not appear as evil. Consequently, no attention is paid to how much degradation and demonic tendencies will arise in people as a result of erasing the boundaries of varna and ashrama. Similarly, under the pretext of wealth, people do not recognize faults such as falsehood, deceit, dishonesty, fraud, betrayal, etc., as faults. Here, in Arjuna, evil has come in the form of dharma: "How can we kill venerable beings like Bhishma and Drona? For we are knowers of dharma." The meaning is that what Arjuna considers good is actually evil; but because it is perceived as good, it does not appear as evil.
Connection: The Lord's words possess such uniqueness that they are gradually influencing Arjuna, causing increasing doubt in his decision not to fight. In such a state, Arjuna speaks—
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