March 2000 

On the Field of Dharma 

From Maharishi's Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita 

Dhritarashtra said: Assembled on the field of Dharma, O Sanjaya, on the field of the Kurus, eager to fight, what did my people and the Pandavas do?     —Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter I, verse 1

Maharishi’s commentary on the first verse of the Bhagavad-Gita presents the role of dharma in maintaining equilibrium between the creative and destructive forces in life, and introduces the setting for this classic of Vedic Literature.

‘Dharma’ is that invincible power of nature which upholds existence. It maintains evolution and forms the very basis of cosmic life. It supports all that is helpful for evolution and discourages all that is opposed to it.

Dharma is that which promotes worldly prosperity and spiritual free-dom. In order to understand the role of dharma in life, we have to consider the mechanics of evolution.

When life evolves from one state to another, the first state is dissolved and the second brought into existence. In other words, the process of evolution is carried out under the influence of two opposing forces—one to destroy the first state and the other to give rise to a second state. These creative and destructive forces working in harmony with one another maintain life and spin the wheel of evolution. Dharma maintains equilibrium between them. By maintaining equilibrium between opposing cosmic forces, dharma safe-guards existence and upholds the path of evolution, the path of righteousness.

Man’s life is so highly evolved that he enjoys freedom of action in nature. This enables him to live in any way he of pain and suffering. desires, either for good or for evil. As he behaves, so he receives. When the good increases in life and the positive forces tend to overbalance the normal state of existence, then the process of dharma, restoring equilibrium, results in feelings of happiness in the heart and satisfaction in the mind. In the same way, when evil increases in life and the negative forces predominate, the power of dharma, restoring the balance, produces sensations.

Life is as we want it—either suffering or joy. When we allow the positive and negative forces to remain in their normal state of equilibrium, we live through normal periods of life. Assisting the growth of negative forces results in suffering; when we help the positive forces to increase we share the joy of life. ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’, expresses the role of dharma in practical life.

Calamities, crises and catastrophes in a community or country are caused by the increase of negative forces resulting from the evil deeds of a majority of their people. A high degree of concentration of negative forces, without positive forces to balance them, ends in suffering and destruction of life. Similarly, a high degree of concentration of positive forces fails to maintain life in its normal state. The life of an individual under the influence of increasing positive forces enters into a field of increasing happiness and is eventually transformed into bliss-consciousness, in which state it gains the status of cosmic existence, eternal life.

In this way, we find that the increase of negative forces ends in passivity or extinction of life, whereas the increase of positive forces results in life eternal. Our individual life moves backwards and forwards automatically as we direct it under the influence of dharma. Positive and negative forces, as we develop them, play their role on the field of dharma and shape the destiny of life.

The two armies of the Kauravas and Pandavas on the battlefield of Kurukshetra represent the negative and positive forces on the field of dharma. This is what made Dhritarashtra say: ‘Assembled on the field of Dharma, on the field of the Kurus’.

Dhritarashtra, as an old experienced head of the royal family, knows that the battlefield of Kurukshetra lying within the Dharmakshetra, the land between the rivers Yamuna and Saraswati, always maintains its sanctity and brings victory to the righteous.

He is anxious to hear details of the happenings and curious to find out whether the good influence of the land has had any effect on the destructive tendencies of his evil-minded sons; or whether it stimulated the righteousness of the Pandavas and encouraged them to forgive the evildoers.

This is the only time that Dhritarashtra speaks in the text of the Bhagavad-Gita. He only appears in order to ask this question. The ‘Kurus’ are the members of the Kuru family, a leading clan of the time. ‘The field of the Kurus’ is a vast plain near Hastinapur in the neighborhood of Delhi. As it belonged to the Kurus at the time of this battle it is called Kurukshetra.

‘My people and the Pandavas’: Dhritarashtra was the blind king of the Kuru family. His younger brother Pandu was managing the affairs of the kingdom for him. When Pandu died, Dhritarashtra wanted to give the reins of the kingdom to Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five sons of Pandu, who was called Dharmaraj, the embodiment of righteousness, for his noble qualities; but Duryodhana, the eldest of the hundred evil-minded sons of Dhritarashtra, by trick and treachery secured the throne for himself and began attempting to destroy Yudhishthira and his four brothers.

Lord Krishna, as head of the Yadava clan, tried to bring about a reconciliation between the cousins; but when all his attempts failed and the treachery of Duryodhana continued and increased, war between the Kauravas and Pandavas became inevitable. It brought kings and warriors from all over the globe to take sides, according to the level of their consciousness, with the righteous Pandavas or the evil-minded Kauravas. The good and evil of the whole world formed the two armies. Lord Krishna’s main mission, which was to destroy evil and give protection to righteousness, had been simplified.

‘Sanjaya’ is the charioteer of the blind king Dhritarashtra. The word, however, means one who has conquered the senses and the mind. Sanjaya was asked to narrate the details of the battle because he was clairvoyant and clairaudient and at the same time impartial. The whole of the Bhagavad-Gita is Sanjaya’s answer to Dhritarashtra.

The Bhagavad-Gita records the discourse between Lord Krishna and the great warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is a precious part of the Mahabharata, a classic of Vedic Literature. Maharishi’s translation and commentary on the first six chapters are rich in the knowledge of consciousness, and filled with practical advice for living life in fulfillment.

This book is available from Maharishi University of Management Press. Call  800-831-6523 or visit www.mum.edu/press.