Gitopadesha is narrated
here in the following eighteen chapters that depict the different paths to
salvation: karma, sankhya, bhakti, jnyana, dhyana, and finally, sharanagatim- total surrender to Lord, i.e., Ishvara pranidana. As a prelude to this upadesham in the Battlefield, it is
stated that the wise Minister Sanjaya is asked by the blind king Dhrutarashtra as to
what is happening in the Battlefield where his sons have arrived to fight.
In
fact, the Lord offers to give sight, divine chakshus, to the blind King so that he can see
for himself; but, the King, having known the behaviour of his children, refuses to
see (the reality). Moreover, he knew very well the consequences of this war, as also, afraid that all his sons would be killed (evil destroyed) at the end! However, Sanjaya is given the divine insight antardrushti (divya chakhus)
so that he can see not only the happenings, but even the plans, designs, and thoughts going on in the
minds of the warriors!
The readers are advised here to note the symbolism and the inner meaning of the words and keep in mind the spiritual aspect of the Gita as the yogopanishat and brahmajnyan till the end.
1.
ARJUNA VISHADA YOGA
[ARJUNA FEELS
SAD AND RELUCTANT TO FIGHT]
The narration of the Great War of Righteousness, dharma yuddha starts as
a running commentary with the Blind King asking his Minister Sanjaya to tell
him what is going on on the Battlefield. Sanjay tells everything about the
armies and the experts in warfare, the prominent personalities, and the call
for the fight with the sounding of Bugles. But, surprisingly, nothing of the subsequent war,
but the turmoil in Arjuna’s mind is depicted later as Vishadayoga here.
The prelude to the Great War is well known. The Kouravas refuse to part
with let alone five villages, not even the space of a tip of the pin! Finally,
it was decided to fight out and resolve the conflict arising out of the
reluctance of Kauravas to part with the Pandava’s legitimate share of the
Kingdom. The Pandavas selected Krishna on their side while the Kauravas got
Krishna’s army. The two armies consisting 400 000 men on foot, elephants,
horses, and the like gathered in the open field of Kurukshetra outside
Hastinapura (present Delhi). The war drums and bugles sounded the declaration
of the war. It was earlier decided to fight only between sunrise and sunset;
all war activities stopped at the sunset as soon as the last bugle sounded
declaring the close of fight for the day. The wounded and the dead are shifted
out. Medical aid was given to wounded soldiers. Next day’s strategy was worked
out during the night, and soldiers slept in the tents specially erected for
them while the animals were given fodder and water. All these are important
details that go to show the moral, ethical and orderly functioning. There were
no civilian bombings! It is astonishing that the war went on for Eighteen days
and the Bhagavad-Gita was concluded on the Eighteenth day.
Sanjaya goes on describing the events of the day along with the sayings
of Krishna to Arjuna and this is what is revealed by Suka Muni son of Vedavyasa
to King Parikshit who expressed doubts about the wisdom of the sages and their
sayings as well as the ways of thinking and the wrong deeds of kings and
commons. Arjuna wanted to have a look at the armies on either side and
requested his Charioteer Krishna to take him to the middle of the battle field.
When, the chariot came to the open space and stopped between the two sides,
Arjuna looked at the Kaurava army that consist of Bheeshmacharya, his
Grandfather as the Commander-in Chief, and his revered teacher Guru Dronacharya
leading the Kauravas. A thought occurred in his mind that, ‘all these people
would be killed in this war and he would be instrumental to this evil deed’. He
thought, “It would be a great sin if he kills the Kauravas, his cousins with
whom he lived, studied, and has grown up in the Palace, dined and played
together. Now, he has to fight them and there will be blood-shed of innocent
men on both sides.” Suddenly, he thought of the futility of all this foolish
war that leads to destruction and loss of life. He became philosophical. He had
seen what life is in the forests during exile. He thought, after all, what is
it he is going to gain from all this? What man needs is a some food, cloth and
shelter and it is not a great thing; of what use is this grand palace and life
of luxury when it costs life of innocent soldiers that make their family
ruined, their children become orphans, and their womenfolk become destitute and
take to immoral ways to survive. All these things could be prevented from
withdrawing the armies. Moreover, I will be the cause of this and it is a great
sin. So, Arjuna decided to quit. He told Krishna, “Let us stop this war. It is
of no use to fight, kill and win the war to enjoy the fruits of sin.” He altogether forgot that, the battle had
already been declared started with the conches and bugles sounded and drums
were making loud sound along with the war cries of the soldiers. Thus, the
dialogue starts, as reported by the Commentator Sanjay to Blind King
Dhrutarashtra, father of the Kauravas, who wanted to know what is going on in
the Battlefield.
But, it should be remembered that this war of Mahabharata is only an
excuse; it is a sort of plot to come to the climax of the drama of life, drama
of existence, the whole drama enacted by the dolls tied with strings; it is ‘kathputhli’ in the hands of the Lord.
This episode in Mahabharata is just the real material world, a world of objects
of desire, insatiable and thus, frustrating. Whoever runs after this illusory
world will be deluded. It is certain that nothing can be gained in this mad,
mad rush towards acquisition of name, fame, wealth, etc and soon all these will
come to naught when death stares at the face and asks, “What is it you are
doing here?”
So Arjuna was indeed, right. But here is Krishna who reminds him of his
duties. One cannot run away from the battlefield, Kurukshetra, before the
assigned work is accomplished in full. It will be unwise to take to Sanyas in
the middle of life, when time is not ripe yet. There is an orderly way of
reaching to the goal. In the beginning of life, it is Karma and all the accrued
fruits of past actions (‘prarabdha’)
should be spent and, then no new fruits of action should be allowed to accrue
(sanchita) again and become a prarabdha.
There is this tendency of the seeds to sprout and grow into huge trees that
again produce innumerable fruits and seeds in turn.
Further, the desire of all sorts, including that of God-Realization,
Self-Realization, ‘Fulfillment’, Jnyan, etc. should be dropped. One should
reach the state of contentment (trupti) and disinterestedness (‘nirliptata’),
and may be, even a sort of aversion to objective world (pratyahara). Existing
on ‘Self’, happy and contented, with an awareness of what he/she is, is the
wisdom of sages. One should not ever think of anything but God and rejoice
in His ‘sankeertana’, dhyan, and silence; he/she should fill the mind-space
with his memory. Then everything becomes very clear. The principle is here that “one is either
here engaged in the mundane, or there in the paramarthic.’; we are here because we are not there.
So,
Krishna says:
“Always
think of Me and do your duty, leave the rest to Me.” “Be a brave soldier, a
dheera, and face life as it comes. Do not run away from the Battlefield, Kuru
Kshetra- your responsibilities.”
The main Text of Bhagavad-Gita (adapted from the commentary on the
Bhagavad-Gita by Revered Swamy Shivananda of Hrishikesh) starts thus:
Dhritarashtra
asked Sanjaya, “What is going on in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?
What are the sons of Pandu, as also, my children doing in the holy Battlefield
Dharma Kshetra of Kurukshetra? [1]
Sanjaya replied, O Dhritarashtra, I am seeing that:
“King Duryodhana, having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in
battlefield, approached his teacher Dronacharya and said:
“O Revered Teacher, I am looking at this mighty army of the sons of
Pandu with your beloved wise disciple and the brave son of Drupada leading the
army consisting of the heroes, mighty archers. They are all accomplished
soldiers of great archery; equal in battle to Bheema and Arjuna, Yuyudhana,
Virata and Drupada, of the great chariot mighty warriors, “Drushtaketu,
Chekitana and the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, and Kuntibhoja and Saibya, the
best of men, “The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of
Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi, all of great
chariots (great heroes). [2-6]
“Know also, O Revered –most amongst the Brahmana, the names of those who
are the most distinguished amongst our Kurus, the leaders of my army! These I
name to thee for thy information-
“Thyself and Bheeshma, and Karna and Kripa, the victorious in war;
Asvatthama, Vikarna, and Jayadratha, the son of Somadatta” and also many other
heroes who have given up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons
and missiles, all well skilled in battle.
“This army of ours marshaled by Grand Sire Bhishmacharya is
insufficient, whereas their army, marshaled by Bheema, is sufficient. “Therefore,
all of you be, stationed in your respective positions in the several divisions
of the army and protect Bhishmacharya first. ” His glorious grandsire,
Commander-in -Chief, in order to cheer Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas,
now roared like a lion and blew his conch. Then (following Bheeshma), conches
and kettle-drums, tabors, drums and cow-horns blared forth quite suddenly (from
the side of the Kauravas); and the sound was tremendous. Then also, Madhava (Krishna),
and the son of Pandu (Arjuna), seated in their magnificent chariot yoked with
white horses, blew their divine conches. Hrishikesa blew the “Panchajanya” and
Arjuna blew the “Devadatta”, and Bheema, the doer of terrible deeds, blew the
great conch, “Paundra”. Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew the “Anantavijaya”;
and Sahadeva and Nakula blew the “Manipushpaka” and “Sughosha” conches. The
king of Kashi, an excellent archer, Shikhandi, the mighty car-warrior,
Dhrustadyumna and Virata and Satyaki, the unconquered, Drupada and the sons of
Draupadi, O Lord of the Earth, and the son of Subhadra, the mighty-armed, all
blew their respective bugles and conches! These are all symbolic of qualities of the people.. The tumultuous sound rent the hearts of
Dhritarashtra party, making both heaven and earth resound. [12 -19]
Incidentally, these characters are introduced here in order to explain
the nature of this world of names and forms and functions. These are
representative characters that stand for special skills acquired by virtue of
sanskar, impressions, education and training in worldly life devoid of
spiritual awakening. Each one is exhibiting his prowess in front of Krishna!
The war is only an excuse. It helps us to remind ourselves of the
delusion.
Sanjaya continues:
“Then, seeing all these soldiers of Dhritarashtra army standing arrayed
and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the Pandava in his Chariot
with the flag ensigned with Hanuman,
took up his bow and said to Krishna,
O Achyuta, the Lord of the Earth! [20] “Place my chariot in the middle
of the two armies so that I may see who all are here, and know with whom I must
fight in this battle. I want to see all those who are assembled here to fight,
wishing to please in battle Duryodhana, the evil-minded in front of Bheeshma
and Drona. [21-25].
Hrishikesha i.e., Lord Krishna, led the best of the chariots, with
Himself at the seat of the ‘Sarathi’ (driver’s seat), to the centre of the
Battlefield as per Arjuna’s request.
This is indicative of a person’s situation in life that prompts him/her
to take a look at the state of affairs by self-introspection, contemplation,
and try to get control of the situation when things seem to go beyond his
understanding and control. A person gets into problems because of lack of
clarity, due to ignorance, or lack of knowledge of ‘reality of the situation’.
It is a dilemma- “to be, or not to be”, like that of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s
drama, ’Hamlet’.
The Lord said:
“O Arjuna, behold now all these Kurus gathered together!” Then Arjuna
beheld there stationed, grandfathers and fathers, teachers, maternal uncles,
brothers, sons, grandsons and friends, too. He saw fathers-in-law and friends
also in both armies. The son of Kunti—Arjuna—seeing all these kinsmen standing
arrayed, spoke thus sorrowfully, filled with deep pity. [26-27]
Arjuna said:
O Krishna, seeing these (people) standing in line, my kinsmen eager to
fight, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched up, my body quivers and my hairs
stand on end! The (bow) “Gandiva” slips
from my hand and my skin burns all over; I am unable even to stand, my mind is
reeling, as it were. And, I see adverse omens, O Kesava! I do not see any good
in killing my kinsmen in battle. For, I desire neither victory, nor pleasures
nor kingdoms! Of what avail is a dominion to us, O Krishna, or pleasures or
even life? Those for whose sake we desire kingdoms, enjoyments and pleasures,
stand here in battle, having renounced life and wealth. Teachers, fathers, sons
and also grandfathers, grandsons, fathers-in-law, maternal uncles,
brothers-in-law and relatives- these I
do not wish to kill, though they kill me, O Krishna, even for the sake of
dominion over the three worlds, leave alone killing them for the sake of the
Kingdom!. By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure can be ours, O
Janardhana? Only sin will accrue by killing these felons. Therefore, we should
not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for, how can we be happy by
killing our own people, O Madhava (Krishna)?
Though they, with intelligence overpowered by greed, see no evil in the
destruction of families, and no sin in hostility to friends, why should not we,
who clearly see evil in the destruction of a family, learn to turn away from
this sin, O Janardhana? Ignorance of the law is no excuse and wanton sinful
conduct is a crime unworthy of knowledgeable people. In the destruction of a
family, the immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on the destruction
of spirituality, impiety overcomes the whole family. [28-40]
It is interesting to note here, that the warrior class (or the ruling
clan) called the Kshatriya is similar to Brahmins in respect of performance of
certain daily rituals. They perform ‘trikaala sandhya’ and worship Sun-god.
During their exile, the Pandavas had lot of time to take to spiritual exercise
like Dhyan / Meditation and contemplation on their duties, etc. Thus they are
well-versed in certain yogic practices. They do know the significance of Yoga
Sutra and follow them. Hence, whatever Krishna tells Arjuna is short and simple
(as if by way of reminding him). Dharma, in a sense, pertains to the Vedic
rituals and routine prescribed duties and ceremonies practiced by the family
(in accordance with scriptural injunctions).
Arjuna continues-
O Varshneya Son of Vruhney (belonging to
Vrushney dynasty), Krishna, with the death of the father, husband, or son in
this warfare, by prevalence of impiety, the women of the family become destitute,
corrupt and lose their virtue; they becoming corrupted, there arises varna
sankara, and purity (of race) is lost (intermingling of castes and conflicting
cultural traditions and faiths). Confusion and dereliction of ordained duties
and dharma of prescribed castes leads one to hell. Neglect of duties and
performance of rituals will lead to downfall; the souls of departed elders and
forefathers fall from heavens, and suffer due to deprivations (the offerings of
rice-ball and water in the annual ritual of death ceremony). By the neglect of
duty and evil deeds like the war which destroys the family cause confusion
among people of different castes and the neglect of eternal religious rites.
[41-43].
O Janardana, I have heard that, those men, in whose families the
religious practices have been destroyed, inevitably have to dwell in hell for
an unknown period! Alas! We are involved in a great sin in that we are prepared
to kill our kinsmen through greed for the pleasures of a kingdom. Instead, it
would be better for me if the armed sons of Dhritarashtra kill me in this
battle, unresisting and unarmed [44-47].
At best what one gets after the conquest is the ‘Preyas’ which gives a
momentary happiness or a temporary relief from problems and that is not a
permanent solution to problems of life. What one needs is ‘Shreyas’ or eternal
happiness, Mukti, Salvation, and immortality. This cannot be obtained from war.
Having thus spoken in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna, put down his
bow and arrow, sat down on the seat of the chariot with his mind overwhelmed
with sorrow.
Now, before we conclude this First Chapter in which Arjuna expresses his
sadness at the prospect of the war, it is very important to note two things: one
is the fulfillment of duty that brings ‘shreyas’ and the other the ugly fall
out of the war. First one is very important. It brings happiness, contentment
of fulfilling one’s duty irrespective of the consequence, fruits of action. The
second one is equally important, in the sense that, the class consciousness and
the ordained duty go together. It is not different class, caste groups or
persons of different avocations that we mean by castes in India. It is the
nature of man, the temperament, attitude, desire and the function one chooses
to fulfill his desire. The same person may be a Brahmin in the morning,
performing his daily Vedic rituals, and go to his business to earn his
lively-hood, money in business as a Vysya or to the fields to grow food as a
Shudra; the former uses his skills in transaction of money and the latter in
using his muscle power. Everybody becomes a Kshatriya when it comes to fight to
protect himself in self-preservation, or protect others when in dire threat to
life and property. Thus, no separate class conflicts are involved in this. In
one single family, there may be several children performing business,
administration of law and order, teaching or cultivation of ancestral
agricultural lands. But, over time, this specialization of functions and
segregation by function led to serious class distinction and now, politicians
are using this as an instrument to get popularity and votes in the name of
equity and justice, socialism, and all sorts of political gimmicks.
Krishna makes one point very clear that, “He alone exists and none else;
He is the Best as well as, what is called the worst in all- among the various
class and castes.” There is nothing good
or bad and everything exists in the Mind of man. He says, “Arjuna, you need not
very about all these mixing of races, purity, and Vedic rituals to promote the
departed souls to heavens, etc.” He assures that He will take care of
everything of those who trust Him and look to Him for guidance. What more is needed?
Thus, in the Upanishads of the glorious
Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue
between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the first discourse entitled: “Arjuna
vishadayoga-“The Yoga of Reluctance to Fight and Despondency of Arjuna”.
Thus, Krishna goes on speaking about the secrets of evolution, the truth
about the Soul, and the nature of existence and all relationships, and the same
are elaborately dealt with in the later yoga chapters independently.
Now, as to time and space, it
is very interesting to note that the Lord says that, “He is beyond these
constraints’; He is free.” What the science tells us is also the same
dimensions and perspectives. The dimensions of time and space merge in Mind and
the Mind merges in Consciousness; this Consciousness merges in the Soul which,
finally merges in the supreme Soul. For that matter, when the individual soul
merges in the supreme Soul or the jeevatma merges in Paramatma, the ‘Unity
Consciousness’ is attained and nothing exists but the supreme
Consciousness. This is what Krishna means, when He says that, “I only exist;
and nothing exists beside Me.”
Krishna, the Absolute Abstract at the one extreme side of the expanding
universe is thus, connected to the relative concrete Arjuna, here. Thus, the
Absolute Abstract Parabrahman and the Relative concrete are one; “Atma eva brahman”. Arjuna (Nara) and Krishna (Narayana) are the same; and only Krishna
knows who He is and Arjuna does not who he is, and tells him so*.
When it comes to Mahabharata War, ordinarily, the very concept of
fighting the evil and restoring righteousness is open to question. We have seen
the Second World War 1939-44) and heard about the First World War (1918-23) and
many others in the past. Whatever the reason, including restoring Dharma, or
for the cause of one’s religious ‘faith’, fighting a war is ruled out by any
sensible humanitarian society. The war in Iraq at present, and the wars that
the US fought in Viet Nam, Korea, Afghanistan, the Indo-China or the ones like
the Sino-Indian and the Indo-Pakistan wars and the routine border skirmishes
threatening an imminent war, are all open to review. Any war in the near future
would be global conflagration ending in nuclear disaster. Such a day is not far
off unless sanity is restored in the minds of war-mongering rulers. Normally
people do not war and do not fight wars; it is the governments and politics
that engage in wars putting people’s lives to risk.
In Bhagavad-Gita, war seen is an inevitable evil. Krishna says, Arjuna,
you wanted the war and have come to the Battlefield. I am only the Charioteer.
As you know I tried my best to pursue the Kauravas, but failed. Once you have
entered the Battlefield, do not run away from your responsibility. The cost of
omission will be higher than the cost of commission. Dereliction of duty will
have worst consequences than that of performing the action. ‘A stitch in time
saves nine’. This is an eye opener to our present day rulers. Right action at the
right time is ‘Ritam’ and it goes with Dharma and Satyam, the Truth. Perform
your duty and leave the rest to God. This will solve many unforeseen problems.
Fight a war, only if it is inevitable.
In another sense, war is a conflict that arises between two persons or
two parties when there is no proper understanding and co-operation. It is due
to lack of knowledge. The enemy is not the other person. It is the inner self;
conquer your inner enemy; the ‘avidya’, moudhya or ignorance. The mind is responsible
for it is not using its skill /koushala in action. It is not using its
discretion and discrimination skills. It is clouded by moha/attachment, raga
/attraction and dvesha, krodha, greed and avarice and such other qualities.
”Transcend these Gunas, Arjuna”, says Krishna. “tasmadyogi bhavaarjunaa”;
and further, he says,” yoginaam bhrahmaabhavati saarathi”, meaning,
“For the self-controlled, the Lord guides as a charioteer’. ‘Kill
the Mind or control it.’ The entire Karmayoga Rahasya teaches only one principle:
“Do your duty with
intelligence and tact / koushala in such a way that it will release you from
bondage, discharge from your obligations and set you free.” When all
actions- past and present, are bound to bring more fruits of action- prarabdha
karma phala and the sanchita karma phala, that bind us to this mrutyu
lok,’/ the Earth, how to perform action without accruing its recurring ‘germ
cells’? The secret of ‘performing action without inviting its fruits’
is further explained in the technique of Karma koushala, the ‘nishkama
karma’/ ‘Self-less Service’ i.e., the Karmayoga as defined by Krishna. “Karmasu
yoga koushalah”is the definition of ‘Yoga’, given by Lord Shree Krishna. Here, Karma Yoga makes it very clear
that there is no bondage / karma bandhana for a yogin since he has already
crossed the threshold and transcends the grip of the gunas / qualities, and he
is a sthitaprajnya. Then, Arjuna asks him the meaning and definition of
a Yogi
SthitaprajnyasyakAbhasha samAdhistasya KEshava .. . .
sthithadheerkimaduchyate? |
A yogi is one who has developed the sense of
equanimity by the skillful use of discretion, discrimination and wisdom. He has
crossed the state of duality and has attained ‘unity’ state of Consciousness.
In a sense, he has attained the state of ‘Unity Consciousness’ /
‘Samyuktaprajnya’. He alone exists and, nothing else exists for him. He
does not run after the world since he knows that the world is an extension of his
Self; the world exists within his Self. For him, there is no concept of good or
evil. He does not see anything wrong in this world. He sees things as they
are and there is no problem what so ever! He knows that all the elements
that go to make the compounds and the objects of perception are by themselves
subtle and subject to change. He knows the Reality of Existence. He is
one with the Lord, and says ‘I am That’ / “So Ham”. He is free He
is like Hamsa, a Parama Hamsa. He is free and he does not depend on anything
external for his existence; he is pure, as pure as purity is. He has crossed
the ocean of dualities of the objective world, the ‘Sansar’; he is the ‘Sthitaprajnya’.
He has no qualms about the dualities of worldly existence since he has attained
to ‘Ekatvam”. He only exists and nothing else! He has realized the principle of
“Tat tvam asi” and says, “I am Bhrahm’; and there is nothing
wrong in that! It is the Atman declaring to itself as “Brahman” not the
individual Jiva that is saying aham brahmasmi here.
When a person attains to purity of that highest order, he gets a clear
picture of this transitory, ever changing, world of names, forms and functions.
He sees the entire objective world as a cosmic drama. He attaches no value to
the things, events of this illusory world and he rests peacefully with his
eternal Self. He is the ‘jeevan mukta’; and he becomes a ‘videha
mukta’ at the appropriate time. He is immortal. This state of supreme Bliss
can be experienced by anybody, anytime! The Bhagavad-Gita shows the way. It is
‘Yoga darshan’,’ Pathway to God’.
In the
opening remarks of Krishna, He speaks of Immortality of the Soul and teaches
Karma yoga. It is oriented to action /Karma and renunciation of fruits of
action as Nirasakti yoga. Here, the action or Karma refers to the Vedic rituals
that were prevalent during the Vedic Period of Dvapara Yuga. Generally, the
Vedic rituals include Yajnya, yaaga, homa havna etc to propitiate the Gods. It
is with Sankalp or desire that the devotees perform these actions. So, Krishna
says, any action karma done with desire /sankalp carries with it the fruits of
action. So the desire is t the root of the tree of fruits of action that allows
the tree grows; the more the fertile ground of desire, more the gregarious
growth and plenty are the fruits bitter and sweet. The tree, its growth bearing
fruits and the multitude of seeds and further sprouts and growth go on
incessantly and life becomes an eternal bondage. This profuse growth is due to
the ignorance, avidya. It leads to bondage. It is the desire that is the cause.
This desire is due to lack of knowledge of the self. Hence, it is necessary to cut this tree of
ignorance and prevent further spread of its seeds from fruits of action. In
order to cut this tree knowledge as a sharp axe becomes necessary. This
knowledge is a secret called Brahm Vidya. Krishna reveals this secret to us
through Arjuna. It brings out the immortality of the Soul that can be attained
by renunciation of fruits of action. In fact, Krishna asks Arjuna to become a
yogi. He says, “Tasmad yogirbhava Arjuna”; “Therefore, Practice
‘Dharana’/ contemplation and Dhyana. Contemplate on Me and ‘Me alone’; focus
all your attention on Me”; chant my name day and night 24/7 all the year round.
I will redeem you from all this ignorance, avidya, dualities, repeated births
and bondage”, says Krishna. Meditation is the key to emancipation.
Thus, the secret of becoming a jnyani,
Yogi, the enlightened one is the central theme of the Bhagavad-Gita. Be compassionate, control your senses- withdraw them from their outward going
tendency and turn them within, to focus on the Self. a brief description of this
yogabhyasa is given in the [For this
yoga anushthana one has to adopt the Shandilya Yoga Sutra or the Patanjali yoga
sutra].
There are divergent views on this issue
of ‘Renunciation’. The Vedic concept of renunciation is different. There are
well-laid paths to redemption or salvation for both the house-holders and the
ascetics. Sanyasa Marga or the Path of Renunciation is a very rigid secluded
way of life and its rues and regulations are laid down in the Aranyakas of the
Upanishads. The Brahmanakas are prescribed for the householders and the
Aranyakas are for the monks and nuns, those who opt for more rigid practices of
dhyan and tapas. One cannot sit in Samadhi state of transcendental meditation
in a householder’s position since it involves responsibilities- family and
social. Moreover, it is not advisable to take to Sanyas /Renunciation at an
early stage in life. The first verse of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra clearly states
that one should take to Yoga only after fulfilling all family and social
responsibilities.
Therefore, the assumption that anybody can take to the path of
renunciation is wrong. Either you can be here or there at any time. It is true
that one cannot be in family way of life and perform the Vedic rituals for
emancipation with steadfastness and citta ekaagrta. One has to undergo rigorous
spiritual practices for thousands of years! It is only after a long spiritual
practice that Mind comes under the control and one becomes a yogi. This
tantalizing objective world of fantasy is sensate, highly corruptive, and
captivating and it is not possible for ordinary people to get rid of the
magnetic clutch of the worldly enjoyments- involving sight, smell, taste, talks
and sounds, as well as the pleasure of the flesh and touch. Man seeks pleasure
and profit everywhere. It is difficult to wean him away from the world of
desire and action.
The Bhagavad-Gita is very clear about
the purpose of Yoga. Yoga, here, is for emancipation, Mukti. It is not for
better enjoyment of health and wealth, as it is practised today. There is no
harm in practising yoga for health and peace and prosperity since it is also
one of the aims of Yoga. But, those who want to get released from the shackles
or bondage of sansar, or those who want to cross the ocean of misery of sansar,
have to go to the extreme path of Renunciation, Sanyas. No body asks any body
to run away from a home of comfort, hearth and pleasure, and security to an
unknown realm of Renunciation where not even this emancipation is assured. It
is at the sweet will and pleasure of the person that this path of emancipation
is undertaken and the path is full of boulders and thorns and there is no sense
of direction here. There is no alternative but to take to this route if one
wants Salvation. Krishna advocates this path to Arjuna and teaches him the 'sanyasayogavidya’. I am indebted to Swami Shivananda and Paramahansa Yogananda for the rendering of the Texts and commentaries given here.
