Even though it is written here in the past tense, I feel Kṛṣṇa should always be addressed in the present tense. He is still relevant, present to each of us today. We cannot say, ‘Kṛṣṇa was’ but ‘Kṛṣṇa is’, not ‘Kṛṣṇa said’ but ‘Kṛṣṇa says.’

Once again, having lamented about what he is being forced to do, and not wishing to do what he is expected to do, Arjuna, like a petulant child sits down saying, ‘Govinda, I am not going to fight, na yotsya iti govindam (2.9).’ It is as if Arjuna is waiting to be persuaded. He is seeking an explanation. Kṛṣṇa says to him gently and smilingly, ‘While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief – aśocyān anvāśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead – gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ (2.11).’

The words that you use to enrich yourself, will only come out to enrich others.

Again, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna’s incompletion directly, ‘O Arjuna! You speak as if you are intelligent, enlightened, prajñā-vādāṁś.’ You speak the words without having experienced them. Therefore, your words do not carry conviction. Your emotion, your being, shows that you are not enlightened, that you have not understood. A truly enlightened person will never worry for the living or the dead.’ If you worry for somebody living or dead, you cannot be an intelligent person. What is death and life after all? There are thousands, rather millions, who have lived and gone.

See the brilliance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa! He is so soaked in the space of completion. The moment Kṛṣṇa opens His mouth, the first truth that comes out from Him is Sāṅkhya Yogaḥ. I can be sure that Kṛṣṇa is filled with Kapila.

Kṛṣṇa is the greatest follower of Sāṅkhya Yogaḥ. Please understand, when you are in a crisis, the first few words you utter are the words with which you solve your own problem. When somebody asks you for advice, what comes up first? The words that you use to enrich yourself, will only come out to enrich others. Understand, if suddenly, if I am forced to solve a problem, the first solution that will come out of my mind will be the solution or philosophy with which I am solving my own problems.

So, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself is not a bhakti yogi. Bhakti yoga comes only from His archives. From His table, only Sāṅkhya Yoga comes. You may be a master of the books that you have in the archives, but the books you have on your table have mastered you! That is why they are occupying your table. They are master for you.

Please listen! I can be sure that Kṛṣṇa is more shocked than Arjuna because He has never seen this dimension of Arjuna—shivering, shaking! It was a shock even for Kṛṣṇa when Arjuna drops his Gāṇḍiva bow and says, ‘I am not interested in fighting!’ Kṛṣṇa has never seen this powerless, weak side of Arjuna.

See, trusting Arjuna, He went all the way as a peace ambassador to the assembly of Kauravas. The great war of Mahābhārat was the first World War because at that time, the whole of humanity, fifty-four deśas (countries) were divided into two parts. The whole world was participating. Either you are on the side of Duryodhana, the Kaurava clan or on the side of Arjuna, the Pāṇḍava clan. And suddenly, Arjuna is saying, ‘I am not waging the war!’ How will you handle this? How Kṛṣṇa feels! Everyone knows Kṛṣṇa may not be in the front, but He is running the whole show, the whole war play! So, Kṛṣṇa is completely cornered now. He has to solve Arjuna’s problem.

The first idea with which Kṛṣṇa is sorting out Arjuna’s problem is Sāṅkhya Yoga. This means Kṛṣṇa Himself was practicing Sāṅkhya Yoga. He is a person established in the knowledge of completion!

It is important to understand the rules of Existence, of the Divine. Only the ignorant worry about people who are living or dead. A truly intelligent person does not bother about death.

Often people ask me, ‘How was the Universe created? Was it by Brahma, as Hindu scriptures say? From my personal experience, I say to them what Buddha said thousands of years ago based on His personal perception. ‘The Universe,’ Buddha said, ‘has neither been created nor will it ever be destroyed. It always has been.’ The Universe created itself. It is the creation that embodies the creator and results in what has been created. Our questions regarding the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ of what happens around us arise only when they threaten us. These questions, these issues about the morality of the Universe, spring forth only when our ego, our identity is threatened, when our life is threatened.

The creator is also the destroyer. What is created will be destroyed. We have no agreement with God that when we are born we will be assured of so many years of life along with the knowledge of the timing and nature of our death. When you truly realize your Self, when you are complete, enlightened, you will be aware of when you will die and how you will die. It will then make no difference to you whether your body is alive or dead. Living and dying are no longer issues in which you feel you need to play a part. They are progressions of nature and being enlightened and complete, you flow with Nature.

We are just playing with words when we talk about karma and destiny, saying that they are responsible for everything that happens to us. Let me tell you this: We are responsible for everything that happens in and around us. We are responsible for what we do. It is a misrepresentation of Nature’s law of responsibilism to blame nature for what happens to us.

When you take responsibility for how you think and feel, instead of leaving the responsibility to destiny, society, media and others, if you take the responsibility, you can awaken your inner power of leadership, you can make your non-mechanical parts of the brain to function. Listen! When you don’t take responsibility, others take it on their own and make you a follower. Society and all other power-hungry people who are interested in controlling you, take the responsibility for your body, mind and brain if you don’t take the responsibility. Some people question, ‘Is it fair that we are held responsible for what we did in another lifetime and are not even aware of now?’ What do we know of fairness except what we determine to be fair out of our own selfishness?

It is possible to be conscious of previous births; it is even possible to have a conscious birth, coming into this world fully conscious and aware. For that to happen, we need to drop our root thought pattern and merge with Nature. We need to responsibly surrender our existence to Nature. When we do so, Nature responds and opens up. Listen, when you take responsibility for all the happenings in and around you, a new energy and a new possibility opens up in you. The first step to realize the divine in you is to take responsibility. Decide whether you are reason or not, you are taking responsibility for all happenings in and around you, because it is affecting you!

source: chapter 2, Bhagavadgita Decoded