(6) The two inseparable friends

अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः

अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥

Then why does a man incur sin Krishna,

 forced as it were against his own will?

Arjuna was again lost in the flow of thoughts that rushed through his struggling mind! He looked at the calm face of his dearest friend! Krishna now looked like a stranger! He had never known that his fun-loving frolicking friend had a serious personality behind the mask of playfulness! What sort of thoughts would fill that ‘thoughtless mind’?

Even with such close proximity, he had failed to fathom the ‘enlightened heart’ of his friend! He only thought of him as given to materialistic pleasures like himself; but never as a Great Yogi in disguise!

Arjuna shivered a little! He trembled as it were in that ‘benign presence’! He could not help comparing his own meaningless life with that of this ‘Great Yogi’! He had an irresistible urge to fall at the dark lotus-feet of this ‘Great God’ and drench them with his tears; cry out like a child; weep aloud; rest his head on his lap and close his tired eyes ; embrace him and pour out all his troubled thoughts and wet his shoulders as of a long-lost ‘father’;! But how can a courageous archer like him break down and cry like an ignorant child? He can’t show his inner weakness to others like this! He bit his lips hard till some blood trickled out. He swallowed his tears; sighed deeply; cleared his throat; and questioned- “Krishna! Tell me then for what reason does a man commit sins?”

Was there a tremor in his voice? He hoped his friend did not notice it!  He actually wanted to ask- “Why am I not like you?”  

Krishna did not hear! He was far far away! His face shone with a luster akin to that of a temple idol shining in the light of the dimly burning oil lamp.

Arjuna felt a light shiver in his heart; he did not feel like disturbing his friend’s ‘serene mood’. He did not speak any more.

The whole world seemed still at that moment. Time had stopped as it were.

Everything was silent. Even the birds forgot to make the usual chirping noises.

A red flower from the creeper above fell on Krishna’s bosom. The Sage woke up as if suddenly brought back to his senses. 

“Did you ask something, my friend?” A compassionate voice questioned.

God had descended down!

Arjuna still hesitating repeated the question. He actually felt that he was too weak an

intellect compared to his philosopher-friend unfit even for a conversation with the Great Yogi! He bent his head down in embarrassment. His hands fiddled with the pebbles on the ground nervously.

Suddenly –

He was held in tight embrace by two muscular hands. He -the great ‘wielder of Gaandiva bow’ broke down! Tears from his eyes bathed the dark chest of his friend!

How long….? Who kept count of the time? Time and space had vanished in that sacred union of the ‘God and the Devotee’! Silence reigned supreme!

Silence! Silence! Silence!

Was it a child on the mother’s lap? Was it a wife in the secure arms of her beloved?

Was it a friend in friend’s arms? Or was it a ‘man’ held by ‘God’?

काम​ एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः

महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येन​मिह वैरिणम् ॥

Know that this desire (with the other name of) this hatred,

   produced by the quality of Rajas,

which is insatiable and leads one towards sinful acts,

is the real enemy.

“My friend!” Krishna continued his discourse.

“The problem with everybody in this world is their failure to control their innermost desires. Pretending to be scholars, diplomats, politicians, teachers etc. - these masked men and women suppress even the simplest of their desires and act as if nothing in the world ever bothers them;  but with the ‘fire of frustration’ burning deep within their hearts -they escape into materialistic pleasures.”

Arjuna, now slightly relaxed sat on the grassy ground leaning on the trunk of the huge tree. He had washed his face in the cool waters in the nearby stream. He felt life was not so bad at all; with such a friend nothing was impossible to achieve; even the Highest knowledge of Brahman was as easy as eating these fruits, which his friend had produced from nowhere! As the sweet juice of the fruits soothed his parched throat, Krishna’s enchanting voice entered his ears drenching his parched heart! A shadow of a smile lingered on his face now. He attentively listened to his friend’s discourse.

Krishna was lying down on a smooth rock nearby. The tree waved its umpteen branches and fanned the ‘tired God’ like a loyal servant. Krishna’s head rested on one of his hands. The other hand played with some fallen twig nearby.

He continued his speech:

 “Only when the man nurtures the ‘child’ in him and becomes one with nature can he ever raise to the ‘state of God’! Of course, vicious desires indeed lead a man towards his downfall. Know Arjuna, that this Universe is an illusory tree rising out of the divinity and ‘devolving’ downwards into infinite branches of ignorance and giving out countless fruits of unending desires. The only way to get rid of such wicked desires, is to take the ‘Sword of Knowledge’ and cut off the head of ‘illusory tree of the Universe’

mercilessly. Man must learn to act like a human, not an animal ….…….!”

***

 Arjuna with effort controlled his yawn. The monotonous discourse was lulling him to sleep. He was not able to concentrate on the high-sounding words of his friend. He fidgeted restlessly. His eye lids closed unknown to him.

His mind withdrew its countless arms and became silent in its own shell. He heard no more. His mind had lost its grip on reality.

Suddenly, a shower of cool flowers drowned him. He woke up with as a start. He heard a laughter echoing in all the quarters of the universe. He opened his eyes as if from sleep. He saw his friend picking up handful of flowers from the ground. Again he felt a shower of the cool flowers chilling his body. Krishna was laughing aloud like a child. More and more flowers dashed against Arjuna; now with more force. Arjuna could not control himself anymore. A smile lighted up his face as he looked at the childish prank of his grown up friend. The ‘child’ in him woke up unknown to him.

He pushed away the heap of flowers which were up to his neck and got up as if in annoyance.

He pounced on the dark man like a tiger. For the next few minutes, the Kadamba tree watched silently the friendly wrestling match between this unique pair.

Dusty petals flew here and there as the two friends rolled on the ground punching each other in friendly abandon. Their resounding laughter filled the quarters. The battle ground was forgotten completely. They had time-travelled. They were young boys wrestling under the supervision of their strict teacher BalaRaama. Sweat flowed profusely from their bodies. They rolled on the ground like children. A fresh wind blew showering some more fragrant flowers on their persons. It was as if the tree was applauding their manly sport! Its branches waved as if inviting them to rest under its cool shadows!

Time passed on.

Krishna was resting his head on the lap of his friend, as Arjuna leaned on the ever-friendly trunk of the tree. Arjuna was caressing the dark curly hair of his friend. Both their eyes were closed. Silence prevailed.

Time stood still!

***