A common space for harmonic peacemakers

VIII: 1

Chapter Eight

A Way to Freedom

Verse 1

Arjuna asks,

"What is freedom, O Purushottam?
What is this Self that you speak of?
What is the true nature of action,
The nature of this relative world
And of the individual person?"

Srila Prabhupada:

Arjuna addresses Krishna as Purushottam, Supreme Person, indicating that he is consciously posing these questions not simply to a friend, but to the Lord of the Universe with the recognition that Krishna is the supreme authority.

Sri Aurobindo:

Krishna closes chapter seven by saying in so many words...

I, the Purushottam, who am above all the things of the world must yet be sought and known through those very things and by means of their relations. This is a complete way for the human consciousness to find a path back to me.

The terms that Krishna used were not at first quite clear to Arjuna. Therefore, the student at once asks for their elucidation. Krishna will answer very briefly. Nowhere does he linger with purely metaphysical explanations. He sheds only so much light and in such a way as to make the truth just seizable enough for the student to proceed on to experience.

[Too much metaphysical explanation often makes us miss the trees for the forest. Dwelling disproportionately on the things of the world often makes us miss the forest for the trees. May we tread that elusive balance beam where we're in the world and simultaneously not of the world.]