[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Re: Bhagavad Gita - As it actually is | Sanatana Dharma | Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada & Bhakti | Sringeri

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Apr 17, 2025 at 2:04 AM Kalyan Chakravarthy <
kalyanchakravarthy2021 at gmail.com> wrote:

> It appears to me that the 2 pandit-jis in the discussion seem to be making
> an artificial distinction between avataara-Krishna and Ishwara-Krishna,
> which again brings the theory of 2 Krishna-s.
>
> However, a look at Gita indicates otherwise. There is only one Krishna.
>
> स एवायं मया तेऽद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः।
> भक्तोऽसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम्।।4.3।।
>
> 4.3 That ancient Yoga itself, which is this, has been taught to you by Me
> today, considering that you are My devotee and friend, For, this (Yoga) is
> a profound secret.
>
> Here, Ishwara-Krishna is Acharya-Krishna (the one who is teaching Arjuna)
> is equated with Arjuna's friend, who is avataara-Krishna. This verse
> conclusively shows there is only one Krishna.
>


Namaste

We have to consider these words of Bhagavan as reply to Arjuna's question:
अपरं भवतो जन्म परं जन्म विवस्वतः ।
कथमेतद्विजानीयां त्वमादौ प्रोक्तवानिति ॥ ४ ॥ 4.4
अपरम् अर्वाक् वसुदेवगृहे भवतो जन्म । परं पूर्वं सर्गादौ जन्म उत्पत्तिः
विवस्वतः आदित्यस्य । तत् कथम् एतत् विजानीयाम् अविरुद्धार्थतया, यः त्वमेव
आदौ प्रोक्तवान् इमं योगं स एव इदानीं मह्यं प्रोक्तवानसि इति ॥ ४ ॥
Arjuna asks: Vivasvaan was there before. You have taken birth now. How can
we understand that it was You who taught that yoga to vivasvan? In the
Bhashya it is said: in vasudeva's house you were born now, in this janma.
Bhagavan replies:
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन ।
तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ॥ ५ ॥ 4.5
Many have been the births/lives/bodies that have come and gone for you and
for me.
Bhashya: बहूनि मे मम व्यतीतानि अतिक्रान्तानि जन्मानि तव च हे अर्जुन ।
atikrAntNani = they have gone, passed away.
In the second chapter:
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः ।
न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम् ॥ १२ ॥
Bhagavan counts himself, that is, his body, Arjuna's and all other people
in the battlefield. And says: we have all been before this body birth and
will be after this body has gone too.

Now taking all the above we have to conclude: Since Bhagavan himself says
that 'many bodies of mine have come and gone', the avatara sharirams are
not eternal. In Advaita, we do accept a nitya Ishwara, who has no niyata,
default, body. That Ishwara is a saguna nirakara tattvam. For specific
purposes it can take bodies and when the purpose is over that body
disappears. This appearance and disappearance are what to be seen as coming
and going of the avatara shariram on the words of Bhagavan himself. Just
like there is a nitya jiva/Atman Arjuna, there is a nitya/Atma Ishwara.
Arjuna's arjuna body is incidental, so is Ishwara's Krishna body.

Thus it would have to be understood as: There is One nitya Ishwara and many
(anitya) Krishna, etc. bodies. It is in this sense one would talk of 'Two
Krishna-s'.  At least in Advaita, this is how it is.

Om Tat Sat
subbu

>
> Best Regards
> On Friday, 11 April 2025 at 11:02:43 pm UTC+5:30 v.subrahmanian wrote:
>
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRholdfu_GM
>>
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