Before we begin with Chapter 2....

 

Before we begin with Chapter 2 of Bhagavad Geeta there is something you should know. 

It is here that we enter into the real Gita. It is from here that Bhagavan or God, Narayana starts speaking and singing the Gitopanishad into the listening of Nara Arjuna, and through Arjuna into the listening of the whole of humanity. Until now Krishna was speaking as a man, as Vasudeva Krishna, in His human form, but it is only from here that Krishna sings as Parabrahma Krishna, in His divine state as Bhagavan, the universal Krishna.

In the first chapter, Krishna does not say a word to interrupt Arjuna. He allows Arjuna to speak fully into His listening for one whole chapter of Arjunavishad Yoga. He keeps quiet, even on seeing the depth of Arjuna’s confusion and depression. He consciously analyzes the root of Arjuna’s thoughts, his root thoughts patterns to determine the platform of powerlessness upon which Arjuna is standing. Look in! When was the last time you really listened to your own words? We never ever really listen, either to ourselves or to others. When you really start listening to yourself, you will naturally become more aware of the words you give to yourself and others.

Please listen, the moment you start talking to somebody, when you don’t have listening, you start coming to your own conclusion even before the information is cognized in you, either by rejecting that person or taking that person as a big threat. Both will lead you to suffering. That is why the very first step of Hindu spiritual practice is Shravana, Integrated Listening. It is possible to become a successful businessman just by studying the first few chapters of Gita. You can reach the peak possibility of your profession and of your life just by learning the art of integrated listening from Sri Krishna.

When you experience the words you utter to you and to others as the extension of your life, they directly affect you. When the words uttered by you are not listened to, the completion is disturbed. I tell you, if the person to whom you are talking to is not in the space of listening, the ideas you want to express will never be delivered. It may lead to an argument, but it may never lead to intelligence transfer. Listen! Information transfer is argument. Intelligence transfer is Listening. In arguments, information can be transferred, but never intelligence. Only in integrated listening can intelligence be transferred.

On the Kurukṣetra battlefield Krishna delivers the Gita to Arjuna. People who have the rationality to compute time may wonder, ‘Arjuna spoke for so long. Now Krishna speaks for so long. How is it possible for these two to hold such a long conversation in the middle of a battlefield? Wasn’t Duryodhana fed up or didn’t he think that this was a good opportunity to get rid of Arjuna and Krishna?’ 

That’s how the logical, unaware mind thinks. Such a mind cannot conceive the possibility that a conversation can indeed take place in silence, in the space of pure listening. 

Understand, pure listening happens only when you start listening into your listening. At the higher level of communication, in the pure space of listening your mind needs to be still to allow the grace to move in. Only with completion inside, you can even listen at this moment. 

Understand, in the state of incompletion, you don’t listen! You act like you’re listening, but you don’t listen! You act like you’re seeing, but you don’t see! It is very important.