175. Virtues of Nimitta-matra
K rishna shows Arjuna a glimpse of the future where the warriors are entering the mouth of death and says that Arjuna is merely a nimitta-maatra (an instrument in His hand). Krishna further clarifies that even without Arjuna, none of them will survive and hence he should fight without stress. The journey from ‘senses centred’ ahankaar to ‘ Paramatma centred’ nimitta-maatra is a tough one. The natural questions are, how to achieve it and what are the indicators of progress. Nimitta-maatra is an internal state, not a skill that can be mastered. One easy way to attain it is to have clear visuals of inevitable death, as Arjuna had, which is called memento mori. Secondly, painful (helpless and miserable) situations can give us glimpses of nimitta-maatra , but the pleasure (success or victory) situations can give us a long lasting one especially when used with awareness and gratitude. Nimitta-maatra is t he most effective antidote to ahankaar , the sense of personal do...