Arjuna said Why Me? Krishna said only You!

A tale of friendship, in this world and beyond.

While the Bhagavad Gita is considered by many as the preamble for the ways of life about duty, dharma, righteousness, and spirituality, it also encapsulates a beautiful bond between Lord Krishna and the mighty warrior Arjuna.

Why did Krishna choose Arjuna as the recipient of the knowledge of the Gita?

Is it because of Arjuna’s unwavering devotion or because he was a faithful companion? Was it because Arjuna was a relative who was moved by Krishna’s counsel? But so was King Yudhishthira. Was it because at the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna threw away his bow and asked the Lord in a pitiable tone, “Why do you engage me in this terrible work?”

The Lord answered, “I have revealed this ancient and forgotten Yoga to you this day because you are my intimate friend and devotee.”

This highlights a close and endearing relationship. Arjuna was Krishna’s brother, his closest friend, and the husband of his sister Subhadra. Above all, Arjuna embodied in himself a devotee and a friend.

A devotee, in most sense, brings to mind a teacher-disciple relationship. Love, obedience, respect and blind devotion form its spine. What about friendship? A friend may not always show respect. They joke and have fun, use endearing terms, taunt each other or make undue demands. They may act according to the other’s advice out of admiration for their wisdom and knowledge, but they are not always obedient in blind faith. They argue, express doubt, and even protest at times.

“The first lesson in friendship is to relinquish fear, a complete self-surrender; the second is to abandon all outward show of respect. Love is its first and last word.” Sri Aurobindo

Friendship encompasses all other relationships.

To begin with, the teacher-disciple relationship. Arjuna, a true disciple, confesses at the commencement of the discourse, “You are my best well-wisher and friend; in whom else shall I take refuge? I have lost my power of thought, I am frightened by the weight of responsibility, I am swayed by doubts as to what I should do, I am overwhelmed by acute sorrow. You save me, give me advice. I leave in your hands all responsibility for my welfare in this world and beyond.”

Friendship encompasses the relationship between a mother and child. Krishna, older and superior in wisdom, loves Arjuna, the less enlightened one, with care and protection, lifts him in his hands, and guides him through danger and evil. Manifesting his motherly love, Krishna reaffirms his friendship with Arjuna.

Friendship also encompasses the keenness and acute joy of conjugal love. Friends crave each other’s companionship, pine at separation, are delighted at an endearing touch, and have an understanding that none other but only the two can fathom.

Arjuna was not an ascetic or a philosopher; neither was he a Brahmin who vowed non-violence. In the context of the Bhagavad Gita, Vyasa was the greatest in spiritual knowledge, Bhishma in all kinds of worldly knowledge, Yudhishthira in saintliness and laws of governing a nation, and as a mighty warrior with inborn strength and courage, his eldest brother Karna was the supreme. Yet it was Arjuna who received the knowledge of the Gita as he personified the qualities of self-surrender, “I surrender in your hands my fate”. With this, the Lord becomes his teacher, companion, and above all, a friend taking over all responsibility in this world and the next, if the next exists.

Friendship is not about messages, wishes or cards. It is a feeling… it is a bond…that has existed in our hearts since times immemorial. And it will continue in this world which exists, and in the world which will exist hereafter.