Today’s subject is “The Message of Bhagavad-gītā”. You must have heard the name “Gītā”. It is universally adored. Everybody knows it. But the difficulty is this: there are thousands of commentaries on the Gītā, and in these commentaries the commentators have expressed their own views. They all have different views and ordinary people are confused about the actual message of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.

The speaker of the Gītā is the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Only those who have entered into the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa can understand the real implication and significance of His sayings and the purpose of His speech and advice. Outside people cannot understand.

But, in India, and also outside India, you will find many people who say, “We do not believe Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord because He took birth and, therefore, he was an ordinary human being. He may have many powers, perhaps even superhuman powers. He may even be a great politician, a great diplomat. But he is still only a human being.”

Even those who have gone through the Gītā may sometimes speak like this. It is most astounding. When I ask them, “Have you gone through the Gītā?” the reply is, “Oh, yes.” I ask them, “How? If you have gone through the Gītā, then you should accept the teachings of the Gītā.”

Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā:

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
(Bhagavad-gītā, 7.7)

“There is nothing superior to Me (mattaḥ).” With emphasis, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that He is the Supreme Lord. We read the Gītā, but we do not believe the teachings of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Why is this? “Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat, kiñcid asti dhanañjaya, mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ, sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva”: “Nothing is separate from Me. Everything exists inseparably within Me, just as gems are inseparable when strung on a thread.”

ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ
bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mām abhijānanti
tattvenātaś cyavanti te
(Bhagavad-gītā, 9.24)

“I am the only Master and the only Enjoyer of all yajñās (sacrifices).” “Ahaṁ”: “I am the Only One.” “Ahaṁ hi”: “Certainly, surely I am.” “I” denotes a person. “Na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te”: “Those who do not believe this are detached from reality.”

There are many other ślokas in the Gītā substantiating Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva samanvitāḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 10.8)

“I am the cause of all creation, the origin of all things.” “Ahaṁ”: "I" and “mattaḥ”: “from Me” do not signify an impersonal God. Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, “Sarvam pravartate”: “All are set into action by My initiative and imparted power.”

brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham
amṛtasyāvyayasya ca
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasyaikāntikasya ca
(Bhagavad-gītā, 14.27)

“Brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham”: “I am the cause of the impersonal, formless God (Brahman).” That impersonal, formless God is the halo of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own light, emanating from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. Pratiṣṭhā means “foundation”. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the foundation of Brahman. “Amṛtasyāvyayasya ca”: He is the foundation of amṛta (ambrosia), the foundation of avyaya (imperishability) and the foundation of śāśvata (eternity). He is also the object of vraja-prema, one-pointed pure love and devotion, as exemplified by the inhabitants of Vraja-dhāma.

Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. How can we know the Supreme Lord? Without His grace, no one can know Him. If anybody says, “Yes, I can know Him,” then he will be equal to or greater than the Supreme Lord. But the Supreme Lord, Infinite and Absolute, is One. Nothing can be outside the Infinite. If you say, “This flower is outside the Infinite,” then the Infinite becomes finite. Even a particle of dust cannot be outside the Infinite, or the Absolute will lose His position. The Absolute is One. The only way to get Him is to take absolute shelter at His lotus feet and to act according to His will. There is no other way to get Him except by means of exclusive, pure devotion.

Therefore, only those who have surrendered to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who have access to the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, can understand the implication and significance of His teachings. Those without knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who have not submitted to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, how can they know? They may write many commentaries, but they cannot comprehend the actual significance of the teachings of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Seeing the sad plight of the conditioned souls of this world, the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, out of compassion, sent His own men—Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura—to the world to rescue the fallen souls. Śrīla Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura, through his entourage, extended His grace all over the world. They were very powerful spiritual personalities. They refuted all anti-devotional contentions by means of sound reasoning and scriptural evidence. Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura has written his commentary on the significance of the teachings of the Gītā. If we go through his writings, we shall come to know the real implication of the teachings of the Gītā.

Śrī Saṅkarācārya has written this glorification at the end of the Gītā:

gītā su-gītā kartavyā
kim anyaiḥ śāstra-vistaraiḥ
yā svayaṁ padmanābhasya
mukha-padmād-viniḥsṛtā
(Śrī Saṅkarācārya’s Gītā-māhātmyam, 4)

“The Gītā should be rightly read with one-pointed devotion, for the satisfaction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. No other scripture is necessary if one takes shelter of the Gītā. The Gītā emerges from the holy lips of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is one with Him.” It is not material sound. In material sound, you will find that the thing referred to by a sound is different from the sound itself. If you utter, “Water, water, water,” the water-word is not the water-thing. The word “water” refers to a thing understood to be water. In this world you will find a difference between the word “water” and the object referred to by the word “water”. But Kṛṣṇa and the Name of Kṛṣṇa are one and the same. Gītā and Kṛṣṇa are identical. So, by taking shelter of the Gītā we can come in contact with Kṛṣṇa. We have gone through the contents of the Gītā, we have read the Gītā but, despite this, we still have no devotion to Kṛṣṇa. This is not actual reading. If we actually read the Gītā, we will obtain devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

As was stated earlier, without the grace of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we cannot know the significance of the teachings of the Gītā. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed us on this point. During His visit to South India, He encountered a brāhmaṇa at the Raṅganātha Temple who used to read the Gītā daily with great devotion. The brāhmaṇa had no knowledge of Sanskrit. As such, he committed mistakes in pronunciation. Many pandits (religious scholars) also used to visit the temple. When they heard this brāhmaṇa reading the Gītā and committing mistakes, they objected thus:

"Why are you reading the Gītā? First, you should learn Sanskrit. Learn to pronounce Sanskrit correctly, then read it."

But he did not pay heed to any of the remarks made by these people and, with rapt attention, he would read the Gītā from beginning to end. Eventually, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to visit the Raṅganātha Temple and saw the brāhmaṇa reading the Gītā with great concentration and devotion. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was greatly attracted by this brāhmaṇa. He stood at the back of the temple, listening attentively. After completing his reading of the Gītā, the brāhmaṇa stood up and saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Extraordinary Divine Personality, Who was tall, with arms down to His knees and a golden complexion. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu expressed His satisfaction, “I am very glad to hear your recitation of the Gītā.”

The brāhmaṇa said, “I have no right to read the Gītā, but it is the order of my divine master. He said, ‘You should read the Gītā completely, from beginning to end, and only after that may you take any food.’ I cannot understand any of the verses because I have no knowledge of Sanskrit.”

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “You say that you do not understand the Gītā, but while you were reading the Gītā you were weeping. Tears were flowing from your eyes—why? If you did not understand the Gītā, why were you weeping?”

The brāhmaṇa replied, “I have never divulged my heart to anyone, but You are a divine personality. It is not good to conceal my heart before You. It is true, I do not understand the Gītā but, while I read the Gītā, I see before me the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, working as a servant, having been subdued by the devotion of Arjuna. He is the Supreme Lord, the Lord of all lords, the Lord of infinite brahmāṇdas and infinite vaikuṇṭhas. Seeing His Bhakta-Vātsalya Mūrti (His form of profound affection for His devotee), I cannot control the flow of tears from my eyes. It happens spontaneously. It is very surprising that the Supreme Lord is working as a driver and His devotee is giving Him orders!”

senayor ubhayor madhye
rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta
(Bhagavad-gītā, 1.21)

Arjuna said to Kṛṣṇa, “O Acyuta, place my chariot in front of the armed forces of the rival warring factions.”

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to the brāhmaṇa with great assertion, “Your reading of the Gītā is crowned with success, as you have devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”

Many people have distorted the teachings of the Gītā to fulfill a vile mentality. Once, a younger godbrother of our Guru Mahārāja, Pūjyapāda Bhakti Kumud Śānta Gosvāmi Mahārāja, went to Kashmir during the time of the British administration. At that time, the Mahārāja of Kashmir was Hari Siṁha. He arranged a meeting, including Svāmījī as one of the royal guests. The invitees were all dignitaries, rich people, and many of them owned tea gardens. The Mahārāja of Kashmir also owned tea gardens. Our śikṣā guru, Pūjyapāda Śānta Mahārāja, is a very spirited person. He does not hesitate to tell the truth. In his speech, he said emphatically, “Those who are virtuous should not commit sins. They should not gamble, they should not engage in illicit connections with women, they should not slaughter animals and they should not take intoxicants of any kind, including even tea.”

The tea garden owners were thunderstruck upon hearing this. They thought that they had committed a mistake by inviting Svāmījī and said, “We are advertising tea, and Svāmījī has come to destroy our business!”

One of the tea garden owners came to Svāmījī and said, " Svāmījī! You have spoken against tea, but it is glorified in the Gītā."

Svāmījī said, "I have gone through the Gītā several times. I have not seen it."

"Yes, it is there."

In India, the word for “tea” is “ca” (pronounced ‘cha’). The tea garden owner showed Śānta Mahārāja a specific verse from the Gītā:

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
(Bhagavad-gītā, 15.15)

“‘In the form of “ca”, “tea”, I have entered into the heart of every jīvā (living entity).’ And lastly, Kṛṣṇa Himself says, ‘I am ca’ (cāham), meaning, ‘I am tea.’”

This is certainly not the meaning. The meaning has been twisted here to serve an ulterior motive. This sort of commentary will misguide the reader and be of no benefit. In the Sanskrit language, the word “ca” means “and”, not “tea” as it does in certain modern Indian languages. The real meaning of this verse is, “I reside in the heart of every living being as the Indwelling God. The living being’s memory and knowledge, previous precepts and concepts as well as forgetfulness of these things, have all come from Me. All the Vedas substantiate Me as the only object to be known. I am the author of the Vedānta (vedānta-kṛd), and I am versed in the Vedas (veda-vid)."

The Gītā is part of the Mahābhārata. Vaiśampāyana Ṛṣī narrated the infatuation and mourning of Arjuna to Janmejaya in the Bhīṣma-parva of the Mahābhārata. Sañjaya obtained a boon from Vyāsadeva Muni that he would be able to see the events unfolding at the site of the battle of Kurukṣetra, so as to narrate the same to Dhṛtarāṣṭra:

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya
(Bhagavad-gītā, 1.1)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra asked Sañjaya, “My sons, Duryodhana and others, the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and others, assembled in the holy place of Kurukṣetra with the desire to wage war. What did they do?”

Viśvanātha Cakravartī has said in his commentary: “They have come with the desire to fight—they will fight. This much is unquestionable. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra had some doubt about this: ‘Kurukṣetra is a holy place, and the Pāṇḍavas are naturally religious-minded. They will accept an agreement or treaty but my sons may not accept. However, by the influence of Kurukṣetra, their minds may change, so there may be a peace agreement.’ That doubt was in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s mind, so he asked Sañjaya what they did. But, inwardly, he was thinking, ‘If there is no war, then our sons will be in danger from the Pāṇḍavas throughout their lives. So it is better that there should be a fight.’”

As per the desire of Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa placed the chariot before the Kauravas (the army led by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons). Shivering, Arjuna was bewildered to see all his relatives before him. He saw in front of him his paternal grandfather, Bhīṣma, his guru, Droṇācārya, as well as his paternal uncles, brothers-in-law, kith and kin. He became perplexed and thought, “All have come to sacrifice their lives. If I win the kingdom by killing them, I shall not be happy. Let them kill me; I shall not fight.” He set aside his legendary, powerful bow, Gāṇḍīva.

Upon seeing the infatuation of Arjuna and his reluctance to fight, Śrī Kṛṣṇa reproached him, saying:

kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
akīrti-karam arjuna
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.2)

“O Arjuna! How have you become so infatuated at this most critical juncture in front of the hostile opponents on the battlefield? This may be befitting to a non-Aryan, but this sort of deliberation of yours at this stage is unwarranted. This will deter you from attaining celestial prosperity and will also destroy your name and fame.”

klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha
naitat tvayy upapadyate
kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ
tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.3)

“O Pārtha (son of Pṛthā, or Kuntī-devī)! You should not become impotent. It does not befit you. Shake off your weakness of heart, rise up and be ready to fight. You are capable of crushing the enemy.”

aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca
nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.11)

“You are speaking to me as though you were a very learned person, but you are mourning for that which is undeserved. The wise do not mourn either for those who are born or for those who are dead, because ātmā (the real self) is eternal, having no birth or death.”

dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.13)

“A corporeal living entity undergoes transformations of his body—childhood, youth and infirmity. Death is also a kind of transformation. The wise do not become deluded by this.”

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yam purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.20)

“Jīvātmā has neither birth nor death. He is not reborn and experiences no growth. He is unborn and eternal. He always exists in the past, present and future. He is ancient but always fresh. When the body is killed, ātmā is not slain.”

mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin
(Bhagavad-gītā, 11.33)

“O Savyasācin (O Ambidextrous One—Arjuna, who is expert in shooting arrows with the left hand), I have already killed everyone. You are only an instrument in this. Shake off the false conception that you are the killer.”

Then Arjuna thought, “I spoke about virtue, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa is dissatisfied. He has reproached me. Perhaps I am wrong in my discernment of truth and falsehood.”

kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ
yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi tan me
śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam
(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.7)

Arjuna said, “I have lost my natural valor. I am bewildered and cannot ascertain what is right and what is wrong. I submit to you. I am your disciple. Please advise me regarding my eternal welfare.”

Arjuna had taken shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Then, Kṛṣṇa, acting as guru, began to advise Arjuna and, via Arjuna, all the conditioned souls of the world. Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave various instructions in the Gītā befitting the competency or ability of individual souls. He gave advice about karma (the path of performing correct action), jñāna (the path of knowledge), yoga (the path of austerity and meditation) and bhakti (the path of pure devotion). But, if we go through the Gītā thoroughly and carefully, we will find that, ultimately, Kṛṣṇa takes all to bhakti (devotion).

Kṛṣṇa first extols the virtues of karma and inspires everyone to engage in it:

na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api
jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt
(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.5)

“No one can remain without karma (action) for even a moment.”

niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ
karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ
śarīra-yātrāpi ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.8)

“Always perform karma (i.e., nityā-karma, or eternal karma, as enjoined in the scriptures). Doing karma (performing one’s duty) is better than not doing karma (not performing one’s duty), as no one can sustain his or her body without karma (work or action). There are three kinds of karma: karma, akarma and vikarma. Karma is the performance of actions or duties enjoined by the Vedas, akarma is abstinence from actions or duties enjoined by the Vedas and vikarma is the performance of actions or duties prohibited by the Vedas. Actual doers of karma in the world are very rare. Kṛṣṇa has recommended karma but, ultimately, He is taking us to bhakti:

yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra
loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya
mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara
(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.9)

"Perform karma for Yajña.” “Yajña vai viṣṇurti śrute.” In śruti śāstra, Viṣṇu is described as Yajña and one of His names is Yajña. “Yad idaṁ viśvaṁ vyapnotiti viṣṇuḥ”: “Viṣṇu is the all-pervading Supreme Lord, Complete Reality.” If we perform any action for the Supreme Lord, Complete Reality (pūrṇa), we will not fall into bondage. If we perform action for any part, separate from the Whole, we will fall into bondage. “Oṁ tat sat.” The Supreme Lord is tat, transcendental: that which cannot be comprehended by gross and subtle material senses.

We should perform actions for the Supreme Lord without any desire for the fruits of those actions. To perform any action for the Supreme Lord is bhakti, devotion. By inspiring a person to do karma, Kṛṣṇa takes the karmī (the doer) to bhakti.

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks about jñāna, He extols it thusly:

na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ
pavitram iha vidyate
tat svayaṁ yoga-saṁsiddhaḥ
kālenātmani vindati
(Bhagavad-gītā, 4.38)

“There is nothing so sanctified as jñāna.”

yathaidhāṁsi samiddho ’gnir
bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva karmāṇi
bhasma-sāt kurute tathā
(Bhagavad-gītā, 4.37)

“As a blazing fire burns wood, reducing it to ashes, so too does jñāna destroy all kinds of karma, reducing it to ashes.” Karma is initiated by the false ego of the doer.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.27)

“The jīvās, being enveloped by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord, which consists of three primal qualities or guṇas [sattvas: goodness, rajas: passion and tamas: ignorance], misunderstand these qualities to be the body and wrongly think themselves to be the doers.” When sattva-guṇa predominates, we become sāttvika; if rajo-guṇa predominates, rājasika; and, if tamo-guṇa predominates, tāmasika. As per the color of the false ego, karma is also of three colors (white, red and black).

The jñānīs (those who practice the path of knowledge) strive for self-realization. So all karma (deluded activity) emerging from the material ego is destroyed by jñāna (proper knowledge). But, by recommending jñāna, Kṛṣṇa is ultimately taking us to bhakti.

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ pradadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 7.19)

“After many births, the proponents of jñāna-mārga [the path of knowledge] take absolute shelter of Me, Vāsudeva. Such a saint who sees everything in relation to Vāsudeva is rarely to be found.”

When their knowledge has reached the stage of maturity, jñānīs can understand that no one can know God without His grace. As there is no one equal to or greater than Śrī Kṛṣṇa, no one can attain Him without His grace.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Himself, has pronounced a comparative judgment in regard to this in the Gītā:

tapasvibhyo ’dhiko yogī
jñānibhyo ’pi mato ’dhikaḥ
karmibhyaś cādhiko yogī
tasmād yogī bhavārjuna

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 6.46-47)

“O Arjuna! Become a yogī, as a yogī is superior to a hermit who practices severe austerities. The yogī [the worshipper of Paramātmā] is superior to the jñānī [the worshipper of formless Brahman], and is naturally, supremely superior to the karmī [one who performs actions enjoined by the scriptures for mundane benefit]. Among all kinds of yogīs, one who, while concentrating his mind on Me, worships Me—My eternal, transcendental form—with firm faith and devotion is the highest yogī. Hence, the bhakti-yogī is the highest among yogīs.”

yasmāt kṣaram atīto ’ham
akṣarād api cottamaḥ
ato ’smi loke vede ca
prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 15.18)

“As I am beyond kṣara [the individual soul] and am supremely superior to akṣara [Brahman and Paramātmā], I am renowned in this world as Puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality. This is corroborated by all the Vedas.”

Arjuna had certainly been listening to Kṛṣṇa's instructions, yet Kṛṣṇa now says, “Hear Me” (“śṛṇu me”). Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to emphasize that Arjuna should pay special attention to His next pronouncement:

sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ
śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ
iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti
tato vakṣyāmi te hitam
(Bhagavad-gītā, 18.64)

“O Arjuna, even if you have been unmindful of my instructions thus far, it will not be so detrimental to you, but you should hear Me now with great care and attention. As you are My most beloved, I am telling you this topmost secret of all secrets, My supreme commandment, for your eternal welfare.”

This is the highest instruction that Śrī Kṛṣṇa has given to all the conditioned souls of the world for their eternal welfare, via Arjuna:

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me
(Bhagavad-gītā, 18.65)

“Devote your mind to Me. If it is difficult to devote your mind to Me, just serve Me—engage your senses in My service. If this is also not possible, just worship Me. If even that is not possible, then take absolute shelter of Me. I promise you, surely, you will attain Me.”

In spite of this, Arjuna was oscillating and could not decide what to do. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa gave these final directions:

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā, 18.66)

“Relinquish all My previous spiritual instructions about dharma [the relative duties of varṇa and āśrama as enjoined by the Vedas] and take absolute shelter of Me. I shall rescue you from all sins. Do not be overwhelmed by grief.”

According to the Gītā (7.4-5), the physical, gross body (composed of earth, water, fire, air and sky) and the subtle body (composed of mind, intelligence and perverted ego) are the outcome of the aparā potency (inferior material energy) of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The real self, ātmā, is the outcome of the parā potency (superior spiritual energy) of the Supreme Lord. Body, mind and ātmā all belong to Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It is the duty of all individual spirit souls to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Arjuna said:

naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā
tvat-prasādān mayācyuta
sthito ’smi gata-sandehaḥ
kariṣye vacanaṁ tava
(Bhagavad-gītā, 18.73)

“O Acyuta, by Your grace my bewilderment has now been removed. I have remembered that I am Your servant, and all my doubts have been dispelled. I have come to learn that submission to You is the eternal, highest function of each and every individual soul. I shall do whatever You order me to do!”

And then the fight begins. But Arjuna’s fight is for devotion!