Sharanagati

“O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas, to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.”[1]

This verse is an advice to kshatrias; they are the fighters, or we can say – the knights. Is there any knights here in this room? Secret knights? The time of the knights is over. This type of people is very much missing – who live in austerity, who are very powerful, very much dedicated and always ready to help others. By the divine connection he takes the power to help the human beings.

Now we are living in a very special age, when we think that without the divine connection we can resolve the questions or problems. Therefore kshatriyas are missing these days. We want to use technical equipment or we want to use some other type of energy like machines or money to resolve the problems. But we should not forget that ultimately blessings are coming from divine contact. May be we are not kshatriyas in the original or classical sense, but if I would ask: “Is there any fighters in this room?” then more people would apply: “Yes, I am ready to fight for some good cause, for my cause.” But without the divine connection, from a knight you will become an insignificant street-fighter. Therefore we should not forget about this divine contact. We can be kshatriyas in the symbolic sense also – fighters for the truth. Not fighters for our own interests, but fighters for the truth.

What is the duty of a fighter? Obviously this is fight. But fight for some higher principle. Actually this is the signal or the quality of a saint – that he is ready to dedicate his life to some higher purpose. This is a very important definition: the saint is ready to dedicate himself for a higher purpose. The sacred fighter is ready to sacrifice even his life for the spiritual benefit of others. If a kshatriya, or a fighter, dies in the battle… There are two options: either he wins – then he gets everything; or he dies – then he achieves heaven.

For a kshatriya it is enough to die once – for perfection. Dying on the battlefield – achieving heaven. But there is another caste, there is another group of people – this is called the bramins. And the bramins have to die many times. Because their progress is not just this simple transaction: I die and I achieve. No, they have to die for the lower level of consciousness and they have to progress. All the steps that they are making – this is a kind of death, death for lower and rebirth for higher. In that sense we are all bramins also: we have to die for the limited and we have to take birth for the higher causes.

The bramin ultimately fights with himself. He wants to win over himself. In the holy scriptures it is said that the greatest loss is gain. And the greatest victory is against ourselves. If somebody knows, he is intelligent; if somebody understands, he is wise. If somebody overcomes others, he is powerful; if somebody wins over himself, he is a…? Hero.

So, we all should become kshatriyas, heroes, bramins  and many other qualities we should achieve. If we are symbolic fighters, if we want to overcome our own shortcomings, then we should risk so many things. So, this is about being a kshatriya – we should fight our shortcomings. And we should fight for some sacred goal.

But then this verse says: the kshatriyas should be happy to fight! So do not lament: “I am full of bad conditionings, I am full of bad habits, I am full of shortcomings.” At least we have some enemies to fight! At least we can be engaged in our spiritual progress. These shortcomings and difficulties are for our own benefit. And these fighting opportunities come unexpected. Sometimes we think that we had gained one battle and we think: “Ah, this is peace.” But all of a sudden, unexpectedly, some other attack is coming. And then you might lose your temper: “Ah, again!” No, you should be happy that you are provided a chance to show your dedicated power again.

So we should be happy if another chance is provided for us to make some progress. Please, remember this verse not only when your things are going smooth, but when unseen difficulties are coming to you. When you feel: “I had enough!” Then you should remember: “Ah, I should be happy that I am given a chance to fight for the spiritual benefit.” And then extra energy will come to you.