Gudakesa- conqueror of sleep and ignorance.

Kåñëa is goloka eva nivasaty akhilätma-bhütaù [Bs. 5.37]. Ätma-bhüta. This ätma-bhüta is Håñékeça. He is giving intelligence. The more you become purified, the more you get direct instruction from Håñékeça. This is the point. So how you can become purified? Purified means no more influenced by the modes of material nature. That is explained: guòäkeça. Guòäka éça. Guòäka means darkness, and éça. When you become master of this material world, or material senses. This material world means material senses. That's all. So if you become master of the material senses, then you become guòäkeça. Therefore Arjuna is described here as guòäkeça. Arjuna... Don't take Arjuna that he was mistaken. No, he cannot be. How he can be? He is constantly with Kåñëa. How he can be misdirected? No. That is not possible.

You can become immediately out of the scope of mäyä if you always remain surrendered to Kåñëa. Mäyä will not touch you. Just like if you remain always in the sunshine, there is no question of night. Nowadays it is very easy. If you simply drive your plane on the western side, you'll never get night. You just round about. Yes. Just like it is materially possible. You drive your plane simply on the western side. Start your plane in the morning and go to the western side and don't stop it. You go on for three, four, as many days as you like. You'll never get night. This is practical. Similarly, if you keep always with Kåñëa, you are guòäkeça, you will never get darkness. Or mäyä will not touch you. This is Kåñëa consciousness. So try to become Guòäkeça.

As soon as Arjuna asked Him, senayor ubhayor madhye rathaà sthäpaya me 'cyuta [Bg. 1.21], immediately He carried out the order and He knew why he wants. He wanted to see, "With whom I have to fight, my friends and relatives." He's hesitating. So why this ignorance of Arjuna, the question may be. Arjuna is guòäkeça. He is above this material world. How he is being affected by his so-called relatives and kinsmen? He was hesitating to fight on this principle, that "They are my relatives. They are my kinsmen. They are my family members." He was always thinking. Therefore Kåñëa knew it. So he has become so family-wise infected. But he is guòäkeça. How it is possible? He is above all these things. Yes, he is above all these things. By Kåñëa's desire, he is playing like that, ordinary man. Otherwise, how Bhagavad-gétä will come? Kåñëa cannot talk with ordinary person. Kåñëa cannot fight with ordinary person. Even the demons, when they come, just like Hiraëyäkña, Hiraëyakaçipu. They were Jaya-Vijaya in the Vaikuëöha world. So they came here, and Kåñëa asked them, that "If you become My enemy, then within three births you will come back. And if you remain friend, then seven births." So they preferred, "Oh, I shall become Your enemy, Sir, so that I can come back again after three births." So why? That Kåñëa has all the propensities. Just like we sometimes want to fight, mock fight. So in the Vaikuëöha world there cannot be any fight. So because Kåñëa wanted to exercise His fighting spirit, He sent His devotee. He became enemy and He fought. So you have to understand Kåñëa in that way, as Håñékeça. He knows that unless Arjuna becomes affected family-wise, how Bhagavad-gétä will be there? Therefore although Guòäkeça, Arjuna, is above darkness, still, by the will of Kåñëa, Håñékeça, he played just like ordinary man, affected with his family affection.

BG 1.24-25, lect., London, July, 20, 1973

So Kåñëa's order must be final. If He says then everything is all right. So here Arjuna's position is: Kåñëa has already arranged the battle, and he knows that Kåñëa wants this battle; still, he says that yadi mäm apratikäram, he decides in his own way. This is called mäyä. He knows what is Kåñëa's desire, and still, he is speaking his own philosophy. That means Arjuna is placing himself on the position of ordinary man. Ordinary man does not know what is Kåñëa and what is Kåñëa's desire, and he manufactures his own philosophy and thoughts. That is ordinary man. But Arjuna, he is always friend of Kåñëa, constant friend. His name is Gudakesa, above all darkness. Certainly he must be. One who is Kåñëa's friend directly, how there can be ignorance? There cannot be. Then why Arjuna is playing that part? He knows Kåñëa's desire; still, he says that yadi mäm apratikäram açastram çastra-päëayaù. And no... Tan me kñemataraà bhavet. He is playing like that. Because without Arjuna's playing like that, how this Bhagavad-gétä will come? This is just like playing on the stage. One very rich man, he is, in a drama, he is playing the part of a very poor man. But actually, he is not poor man. But in the stage he is playing the part of a poor man. Similarly, Arjuna is not bewildered, but for the time being he appears to be bewildered by Kåñëa's mäyä, because Kåñëa wants to speak Bhagavad-gétä, for the benefit of the whole world, that what is spiritual knowledge.

BG 1.45-46, lect., London, 1 August, 1973

Therefore Arjuna is called Guòäkeça. He is master of... He is also, when he likes. He is not a coward, but he is compassionate because he is devotee. Because he is devotee of Kåñëa... Anyone who becomes a devotee of Kåñëa, all the good qualities manifest in his body. Yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty akiïcanä sarvair guëais tatra samäsate suräù [SB 5.18.12 ]. All godly qualities. So Arjuna, he is also... Otherwise how he can become intimate friend of Kåñëa unless of the same position? Friendship becomes very strong when both the friends (are) on equal level: same age, same education, same prestige, same beauty. The more similarity of position, then the friendship is there, strong. So Arjuna is also on the same level of Kåñëa. Just like if somebody becomes friend of the president, friend of the king or queen. So he is not ordinary man. He must be of the same position.

BG 2.9, lect., London, August 15, 1973

Arjuna is addressed, "Guòäkeça." He conquered over sleeping. To conquer over sleeping is the success of life, not to be servant of sleeping. That is not required. That is for the conditioned soul. Nidrayä hriyate naktam. For conditioned soul. Therefore we have to practice. Nidrähära-vihärakädi-vijitau. Çré-gauräìga-guëänuvarëana-vidhau çraddhä-samåddhy-anvitau, nidrähära-vihärakädi-vijitau cätyanta-dénau ca yau. This is the description of the gosvämés. Rüpa Gosvämé used to sleep generally one and half hour only. And that is also sometimes not sleeping. That is the description in the Caitanya-caritämåta.

SB 2.1.3, lect., Delhi, Nov.6, 1973

Guòäkeça means one who has conquered sleep. Sleeping means mäyä, or darkness. Just like in sleeping you do not know where you are, similarly, a person who is in the darkness... Everyone is, in this material condition of life, everyone is in darkness. He does not know wherefrom he has come, what for he has come, what he has to do, and where he is going next. All these questions are darkness for him. So anyone who has conquered over this darkness, he is called guòäkeça. So Arjuna did it. He knew, by the grace of Kåñëa; therefore his another name is Guòäkeça. Everyone is in darkness.

Lecture Excerpt, Montreal, July 20, 1968

1. Abhidheya: Performing devotional service:

Bhakti is not laziness. If somebody thinks that "The bhaktas are lazy fellows and they are out of the worldly activity," that is mistake. It is mistake. Änukülyena kåñëänu-çélanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. Kåñëa says personally, yat karoñi yaj juhoñi dadäsi yat tapasyasi yat kuruñva mad-arpaëam: "Come on! Do it for Me." That is bhakti.. He does not say that "You become a lazy fellow, give up your occupational duty, and sleep, and snore, and become a great devotee." No. He never says. He says that "You are attached to this kind of work. All right, do it, but the result you give Me," that is bhakti. "Arjuna, you are a military man. All right, I ask you to fight. You become a fighter and become My devotee." Bhakto 'si priyo 'si me [Bg. 4.3]. Just see. What is that? He was not chanting Hare Kåñëa. But Kåñëa says, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: "You are very dear friend and My devotee." Did he go on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra... So not that imitation. Of course, ultimate is always be absorbed in glorifying the Lord, but not in the beginning. In the beginning you must work very hard; you come to the stage of pure devotional platform. Then you can fully engage yourself meditation or chanting.

Arrival Talk, Aligarh, October, 9, 1976

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