Listener: Sir, you said Krishna got the right to poke his nose(…) But when we study the text, we find that Krishna also poked the nose only when the other person sought his advice, moreover surrendered to him. So, till that time he was tolerant. I am just stretching the argument a little far. So that means his love only aroused when he realized the other person’s mind got activated that he felt the need for his interference. Because there is a couplet that Duryodhana sat on his head side. So that means one has to have Viveka (discretion) to seek Krishna.
So my question is, “Does love remain tolerant if not called for? It is not love then, it is service.”
Acharya Prashant: Facts do not really support this. Was Arjun really prepared to surrender? Even till the 3rd chapter or the 4th chapter, Arjun is putting up a great deal of resistance. In fact, in one Shloka (couplet), he explicitly says to Krishna that sometimes you are saying that Karma Sanyaas is better, sometimes you are saying Karma Yoga is better. Why are you confusing me?
L: “Tell me clearly.”(Arjun)
AP: “Not only tell me clearly. If Karma Sanyaas is so good, then why are you pushing me in all this?”, So, it is not as if Arjun is coming to Krishna like a surrendered devotee. At one point Krishna has to display his magnified form to Arjun just to convince him, ‘just to convince him’. Even after the entire narration of Bhagwat Gita, Arjun is still not fully convinced, he is not prepared to fight Bhishma, for example.
