Relevance of the Bhagavad-Gita
Doctrines Today
The Bhagavad-Gita is of immense value in the present-day context of
unrest and misery prevalent everywhere. It is especially important in a
situation like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bhagavad-Gita deals with
the epic war of Mahabharata, the ‘War of Righteousness’, the Dharma Yuddha.
Here, the Lord implores the unwilling warrior Arjuna to take up the arms and
fight injustice. But why is this war the question? Although it was treated
as a war between the cousins- the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the Kauravas
refused to give back the Kingdom after the Pandavas returned from their exile.
The underlying philosophy of this war is altogether different! One may ask the
same question why is this war in Iraq? Why was that war in Afghanistan? Also, why
this war in Africa- Ethiopia bombing on Somalia (to fight Islamic onslaughts?)!
And, why such wars are waged? Who is fighting with whom and who are the victors
and who are the vanquished? First, of all, who is the enemy? The answers to
these questions are not very simple. In fact, the enemy in most of the cases is
not well defined at all. If anybody declares a war, both the parties fighting
the war become each other’s enemy; hence, both are enemies! Similarly, why the
war is declared is not very clear in most of the cases like that of the war in
Iraq. America and its allies declared war on Iraq due to the fear that weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) were there hidden in Iraq and it was a threat to
global peace. Since the immediate enemy was not found, it was declared a war
against an ‘unknown enemy’! The hunt is going on even to this day to find out
this hidden enemy. Is this enemy hiding elsewhere in the Mountains of
Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Elsewhere? No body knows that. Anyway, the war is
almost over and the dead bodies are still coming back here in California and to
other places. There are people dying in the streets of Baghdad. Sill the guns
are fired and innocent lives are lost.
In the very first Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna asks Arjuna not
to run away from the battlefield like a coward and take up the arms and fight
the injustice. In the case of USA the catastrophic strike on the World Trade
centre, the tallest building in New York housing thousands of workers was hit
by suicide bombers with the Jet Plane crashing into it. Any person who owns the
responsibility of safeguarding the security, freedom of the Nation and its
people cannot keep quiet under this sort of threat. So there was the decision
to fight. But, the question here is, again, that of fighting whom? And,
fighting is due to the fear of losing freedom- losing the hard-earned freedom
after the Great American War of Independence. ‘Eternal vigilance is the price
of liberty’. No price is too small to preserve the national security.
It is quite natural and important to preserve and protect the freedom.
Safeguarding the security of the country as a nation (of multitude of
nationals) of immigrants who have come here, with great hope and aspirations to
make a home away from home is important.
The United States of America is a small world by itself. No other
country can boast of such a freedom that the US offers! The founders of the US
Constitution have built in a strong Rule of Law; in fact the people, have
struggled very hard to build a nation of immigrants in to a homogeneous,
well-guarded, rich and prosperous nation, that too with equity and social
justice. It is, in deed, with great sacrifice of some great Americans that such
a freedom is delivered to the people in a vast country. It has managed very
diligently its resources and has promoted the welfare of its people. This may
seem to others as a Capitalist bully and a Big-Brother attitude to exploit
resources from other parts of the world. History speaks a lot about the way things
have moved since the early times. Ultimately, it is people’s wish that prevails
in a democractic system.
One must appreciate that ‘the problems of USA’ today, are not only that
of the US Government, but these are the problems of the entire world. ‘USA
suffering’ is not just the US citizens suffering, but it is the English, the
Mexican, the German, the Spanish, the Korean and the Vietnamese, the
Philippines, the Indians and the African-born American settlers; rather, it is
all those who have made their homes here that suffer when USA suffers! In a
way, the whole world suffers if the USA suffers for USA is a Nation of
immigrants. In fact, what is this country’s wealth today? ‘Dollar is God’ here
and it is written on every Dollar Bill. The ‘faith’ here is the ‘faith’ of the
people in a strong democracy, hard work and honesty. It is their faith in a
strong Federal system of governance that can promote their welfare and protect
them. In fact, every nation in the world should offer freedom and security of
the highest order to live and work in peace and prosper well within the Rule of
Law.
So, it is obvious that the USA and its allies went to the war with other
nations where the governments act against the interest of the people’s liberty
and freedom.
But, what is the real cause of the war? It is not still known whether it
is a few misguided youth who formed the terrorist groups, hide and attack, and
cause terror; or, simply it is some nation that holds on to dogmatic religious
faith, give shelter and protect the terrorist Organizations; or, still simply,
may be, it is some selfish rulers who want their own aggrandizement, promotion
of self-interests and amass wealth, and corner resources to the detriment of
the nation’s progress, or something else that is yet to be found out.
Thus, whatever the reason, the
war is inevitable. It is a war against injustice, dharma yuddha. It is a war against the unknown enemy say, greed,
anger, fear, and desire. It is a war against the crooked nature of man. The war
starts in the Mind of man first and is executed later in the battlefield. Who
kills whom is immaterial here. War is a war everything is fair here.
Mythologically and historically, too, it is the same old story when it
comes to that of Kamsa- who killed all innocent children born to ward of the
one (Krishna) that would kill him from the womb of his sister Devaki. It is the
same story with that of Hiranya Kashipu who tormented his own son Prahlada who
adored the Lord of the Universe just because the latter had killed his demoniac
brother Hiranyaksha. It is the same story with King Ravana of Lanka who
kidnapped Sita wife of Rama just because he was ridiculed and laughed at during
the Sita Svayamvar. Ravana fell down unable to lift the hefty Bow of the
contest and all those who were there laughed at him. This shame became the
cause of the war of Ramayana. Finally, Rama killed Ravana in the battle. Again,
it is the same old story with every war fought here since the beginning of the
life on earth. Who is right and who is wrong is an eternal question in all
these misadventures and only the Bhagavad-Gita will answer it. If both the
victor and the vanquished were right in fighting the war, whatever the reason
put forth, both are wrong, if it is to gain a small selfish end. Both the
parties are right when it is to establish righteousness, put down the
atrocities of the wicked, and establish order, truth and justice.
But, the secret lies elsewhere. It is with the quality, the nature, the attitude
and behaviour of man. Born as a mortal, these questions of right and wrong, good
and bad, joy and sorrow, happiness and unhappiness, etc. are all eternal
dualities that know no solution unless one imbibes the doctrines of the
Bhagavad-Gita. This secret is revealed by Krishna to all of us, in the guise of
the name of Arjuna. ‘Duality’ is the quality of the Earth and its
inhabitants. All are endowed with these
qualities- good and bad and one or the other takes an upper hand at times and
whenever man becomes wicked and a terror, the Lord would descend to earth and
assume human form (Avatars) to fight the evil. But, the evil is not outside of
man but it is within man himself; that is the problem. Man has to fight with
himself; he has to fight with his own Self, his Conscience, with the good and
bad consequences of his own decisions! Much worse, he does not know what is
right and wrong. What appears right, a momentous decision may turn out to be
wrong with disastrous consequences, as well. Nobody is perfect in this respect.
Any body is bound to commit mistake. But the secret of success is the larger
interest that the decision covers. He has to nip the tendency of submitting to
the inkling selfish desires in the bud to prevent catastrophic consequences.
So, he must be aware that the Lord stands there as the sakshin- Witnessing self,
and silently observes the fight between the ignorant Jiva- Lower Self, and the
enlightened Higher Mind within Man.
In all the above circumstances, two important causes of war stand out
significant. One is the fear- the fear of ‘losing’- losing life, wealth,
freedom, etc. And, the other is desire- the desire to promote one’s own
faith, belief, greed, etc. Fear and desire are the keys. Once fear and desire
are removed from the hearts of men, everything would be right. Hence, the war
is necessary to fight the evil; it is an inevitable evil. Krishna implores
Arjuna to fight for justice. Ultimately, it is only truth, and “only ‘Truth’
prevails” [“Satyam eva Jayate”].
Do these imploring of Krishna
apply to the leaders of the terrorist camps who use the innocent men to fight
the so-called Non-Believers (of faith), as well as, the non-believers in
terrorism as the suitable solution (to fight for their cause)? And do these
imploring of Krishna apply to those who want to drive some sanity to those
minds who advocate fundamentalism, dogmatism and fanaticism in the name
of superiority of their own Religion and God? Do these apply to all those who
fight an economic war- of aggression, and want to establish a sound ecological,
ethnological, economic, social, and political climate, as well?
In a way, the recent war in Iraq in which the Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD that were not found!) was the bone of contention and the
United States of America and England took active role in it. As a consequence
of the war there was a heated argument and uproar in political circles and the
consequent public opinion forced the key partners in the War and their
Governments to a rethinking and retrace their foot-steps. This forms a strong
emotional background to write this small book. The question whether the war
declared on an unseen enemy is right? Is the loss of life of young men
in this war justified? Why should innocent women and children suffer due to
this justified or unjustified War? Moreover, the incessant arrival of the dead
bodies from Iraq here in California and the wailing of women and children cursing
God for their fate, has also significantly contributed to the firm decision to
go ahead and search for a permanent solution to these problems. In fact, these
problems must be troubling all the conscientious minds ever since the war broke
out.
A brief summary of the Bhagavad-Gita given here will provide suitable
solution to all our problems. It is the “Science of the Eternal”. The Teachings
of Krishna” are not only Spiritual and Philosophical but rational and
Scientific as well. These sayings of the Lord are the eternal Truth and hold
valid for all times. It is to reiterate the Commandments of the Lord that this
humble attempt is made here.
It is in a way, the “Bhagavad-Gita Re-visited” after the Iraq
War and it is the First edition of the Twenty-first Century. Who are the
victors and who are the vanquished in this War? To answer this question, one
has to read this version of “Secret Technique of Emancipation”,
i.e., Mukti Yoga Rahasya of the Bhagavad-Gita. The answer is
found in the very fist Chapter.
Much water has flown down the River Sacramento
since the out break of the war and the wailing of both the victor and
vanquished have not subsided as yet. When we see the suffering humanity with
the incessant unmitigated atrocities, ruthless rulers, unscrupulous selfish
leaders and their greed, the hunger and malnutrition, diseases, famines and
floods, devastation brought by wars and crimes committed against humanity in
the name of God, faith, religion and the wars
waged in order to establish ‘Peace(?) one wonders where are we? It is
paradoxical that wars are justified on grounds of establishment of peace in the
world. Earlier Wars canged Maps and later Maps changed the world. Now wars
disturb peace and peace disturbs war! Some want to usher in economic
development after the war, too, by giving grants, aid and creating employment.
O, what a solution.? There are millions of hungry children and toiling in
inclement weather without schooling and millions suffereing aids, cancer,
diabetes, mental and physical deformities. War cannot be solution as per any
sane and sensible thinking. But war is the only solution if properly understood
in the light of the Bhagavad-Gita; it is the war of the Bad vs. Good thoughts,
desires, and action within man! Still, one wonders where this world is heading
to and no one knows where it finally lands us!
When the Sun shines with equity and justice on all, fire, rain and wind
are kind to us, why this hunger and thirst? What ails our society? What are the
solutions? Is there any way out of this rut? It is here that we come to the
answer provided by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita and Grand Sire /
Pitamaha Bheeshma in the Stavaraja Vishnu Sahasranama in Anushasana Parva of
Mahabharata. One is incarnation of Maha Vishnu who provides all the answers to
our questions and shows us the way to ‘Fulfillment’. The other is the simplest
possible way to attain to Moksha or Mukti, liberation.
There are many versions of the Bhagavad-Gita, probably about 200 000 of
them since it was first found out! Some Sages, Saints, and revered teachers
have imparted this to their disciples by mere words of mouth while many others
have presented this word-by-word meaning, and elaborate explanations and
commentaries to the verses. And, some have strained themselves to provide
literal meaning to the Verses / Shlokas and there are seven hundreds of them in
eighteen Chapters / Cantos. Many Great Acharyas like Badarayana, Goudapada,
Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Chaitanya, have presented beautiful versions of
this ancient scripture and have written excellent commentaries. Many others
including the Western scholars have presented exhaustive dissertations trying
to explore the hidden meaning of the Sutras / philosophical formulae of the Upanishad
Doctrines in the Bhagavad-Gita. All these efforts are commendable,
praiseworthy, and need appreciation. For they show their keen interest in this
Divine scripture.
In fact, the Bhagavad-Gita is the oldest and the most widely-read of the
holy Scriptures- both in the East and the West. The most significant aspect of
the Bhagavad-Gita is that the reader gets a new revelation every time he goes
through the Text; and he gets a different meaning with a deeper insight and
greater depth of understanding! But, one has to get into the serious mode of
spiritual exercise of transcendental states of existence if one wants to
experience the meaning of the statements made in the Bhagavad-Gita. It is
simply not possible to ordinary people to know everything about the
Bhagavad-Gita in one or two lives! May be one has to take repeated births to
experience the meaning of the statements made in the Bhagavad-Gita and realize
for oneself the real meaning and purpose of life. Many spiritually attained
persons have successfully tried to gain this insight. Some attained persons
/Siddhi Purushas / Yogins or monks devoted to spiritual practices and those who
deliver lectures on teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita as a part of their mission
in life, have done it to some extent. But, there is, so far, none who has
realized the full meaning of the last Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, since it is
not simply possible to attain to it on earth in the physical human form, that
too, in the wakeful daily routine way of life. It is certainly possible for a
person who has perfected the teachings of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga Sutra.
Some scholars like Annie Besant, Max Muller, Edwin Arnold, Weber,
Schweitzer, Kinnes, Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, and many others have used the Bhagavad-Gita to
highlight and convey the social and political aspects, whereas, persons like
Madhusudan Saraswati, Swami Shivananda and his disciples like Swami
Chinmayananda, Swami Yogananda, Swami Bhrahmaananda and his disciples like
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and others, Acharya Rajaneesh, Sree Ramana Maharshi,
Jiddu Krishna Murthy, Aurobindo Gosh, and Monks of Shree Ramakrishna Mission,
Chinmaya Mission, ISKCON of Sri la Prabhupada, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and
many others have devoted to the spiritual and psychological aspects of the
Bhagavad-Gita. Most of them rely on the Commentary of Shankaracharya / the
Shankara Bhashya of the Bhagavad-Gita that highlights the Advaita Philosophy.
Some of the commentaries / Bhashya particularly that of Shree
Madhvacharya (of Karnataka), Ramanujacharya (disciple of Alwars of Tamil Nadu)
and A.C Bhakti Vedanta Sri la Prabhupada, and Nimbaraka or Nimbaditya fllowers
of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as they call him (West Bengal) have followed Dvaita,
Shree Vaishnava and Vishishtaadvaita siddhanta /Doctrines,respectively. Chaitanya
Maha Prabhu and others have explored Bhagavata Dharma in the Gita in the light
of Dwaita or the Bhedaabheda, or Vishishtadvaita Philosophy and propagated it
in the States of West Bengal, Orissa, and Assam in India. Madhvacharya,
however, is a staunch Dvaitin who sticks
to the his philosophy of Atma-paramatma bedha despite the fact That Sri Krishna
advocates the ultimate union, merger of the Atman in Brahman (Atmaparamatmaikyata
in sadakhya). Sri Krishna says, “Nobody will understand Me. They argue, quarrel
among themselves and go to the extent of shaving their heads to prove their
points. I am the omnipresent sarvantaryamin
and exist in all jivas as their Atman, the core. It is strange that one who
swears by “Hari sarvottama and Vayu jivottama” easily forgets Sri Hari
is Vayu only in an unmanifest (yet to present in objective state) form! This, the Lord clarifies in Vibhutiyoga
(Ch.10). It is also said that whoever says ‘this is different and that is
different’ will perish! It is the duty of the vicarious Mind (citta vikalpa) to dissect, divide, discriminate, and destroy; but, it is
that pure consciousness (samyak-prajnya/unity
consciousness) that unites all in one. All the embodied souls ultimately aspire
to get back to their pristine state of Brahman. See 12.8 that says, “There is
noo doubt hereafter you will dwell in Me alone”.
Ultimately, one finds that. Shankara’s Commentary / Advaita Siddhanta
seem to be very apt one that focuses attention on the Bhagavad-Gita Doctrine as
presented in the Upanishads. Many others- both the Eastern and the Western
thinkers’, have gone in to the depth of the philosophy of life, as they have
found it apt to their knowledge and experience in life. But, none of these is
ever satisfactory when we go into the central theme of attaining to Moksh,
Mukti, or Self-Realization / ‘Atma Jnyaan’ or ‘Bhrahm Jnyaan’- as propounded in
the Fourth Chapter and the last Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita- the ‘Jnyana Yoga
and the ‘Mukti Yoga Rahasya’, respectively. This remains an eternal science and
an endless quest.
The study of Bhagavad-Gita is not merely meant for achievements of
success and happiness in worldly life, material progress, and a life of profit
and pleasure of the flesh, but mukti or liberation from bondage, as well. In
fact it is beyond all that. It aims at the one eternal happiness, supreme Bliss
that brings in its wake an aversion to worldly life- Renunciation /‘vairagya’,
and the seeker will have no more of hankerings for the leftovers, hash and
trash, of the world. We find King Janaka who is a ‘Videhamukta’, relieved from
bondage of the physical restraints, performs Yajnya / Action for the sake of
the Adhi Devatas or Demigods and
their elemental counterparts- ‘adhibhutas’.
King Jayadeva says that he cannot enjoy pleasures of life, even smell attached
to nose forms of sight attached to the eyes, etc. In that sense, he has
conquered the Basic Principles / Moola Tatvas- of elements, such as the Agni
Tatva, Jala Tatva and the Pruthvi Tatva. It is transcending the ‘bhu, bhvar
and svah’ realms / ‘Vyahrutis’. It refreshes one to the core of his soul’s
contentment and leaves him or her totally happy and blissful. It is total emancipation, salvation, or mukti,
at that!
The human body that has three distinct layers- one made of the physical
elements, second astral body, and the third divine soul, called the adhi-bhuta, the adhidaivika, and the
adhyatmika, respectively. There are people who have understood these principles
and have developed their level of Consciousness to higher levels. But most of
the people are still at lower levels of their spiritual existence and find
sensuous living very attractive. Many are emotional and some are very rational,
to the point of excluding the concepts of nobility, divinity inherent in man,
and all that. Some take to rational approach to the world and its problems.
The sayings of the Bhagavad-Gita can be interpreted in as many ways as
possible- each suited to the ability of the people to understand and the level
of intelligence, level of Consciousness, and the level of spiritual experience,
capacity to understand, their previous knowledge and experience, etc. The
Bhaktimarga or the Path of Devotion leading to Salvation is attractive to
emotional type of people. Karma Yoga is believed to be very simple and easy
pathway to salvation for some. Some people are not satisfied with both these
ways and strive hard to know the Truth.
Ultimately, only the spiritual aspects of the Bhagavad-Gita are to be
experienced within in order to get the benefit of the Lord’s sayings. An
attempt is made here to present the spiritually experienced version of the
Bhagavad-Gita and this experience can vary from person to person according to
his spiritual attainments. It is hoped here that the readers would try to get
into trance and experience the doctrines themselves; the ‘mahat tatvas’ / basic
principles enunciated in the Bhagavad-Gita are elaborately described here. The
ultimate joy and the Bliss lie in total emancipation, liberation, ultimate
‘freedom’ of the embodied Soul.
SHREE KRISHNA AND ARJUNA
Shree Krishna as an avatara
purusha is a divine entity. Here He appears as an embodiment of pure
Consciousness, the witnessing Self,
Sakshi purusha and no human element is attributed to him /it. It comes here
not even as a state of ‘Higher Mind’ or what is called ‘supramental’ In
Aurobindo’s language, but it is pure Consciousness as Atmasakhin. It is Krishna Consciousness, one of divine attributes
of sacrifice and attainment to Brahman.
When the epics or scriptures like Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam
depict Krishna as an avatar purusha,
God-head, supreme power, that is normally understood as ‘GOD’ (Bhagavan) by the
humans, it may not be to the liking of all sections of society for the simple
fact that each sect has its own religious faith and beliefs. Some hold that the
‘messenger’ of God is the real God, and some adhere to the ‘Word’ of God as the
real God. There are some who treat Fire
(Agnim) as God and many treat the
Sun and Moon as Gods. There are many who worship the elements, plants, and
animals, and some material objects like the footwear, too, as divine and there
is nothing wrong in all these faiths or beliefs. Everybody has got it as a
birth right to follow his / her own faith and believe in what one likes. It is
the Law or Dharma that no body should disturb the faith of the other. But, the
question remains.
Who
is this Bhagavan, or ‘God’?
There
has been an unending discussion on this concept of God despite the fact that
Lord Shree Krishna, addressed here as Bhagavan, makes it amply clear that He is
not amenable to even the Yogins, Devatas or Jnyanis. He also emphatically
states that He is the formless (niraakaara) Parabrahman. When it comes to God,
in fact, there is no such thing as God. God or Deva means that which lifts (da)
up. There is some unseen power (adrushta shakti) that is always operating in
our life, as destiny, luck, karmaphala, or such elevating, uplifting, or
promoting ‘shakti’ for which we have no words to express. So, we conveniently
ascribe our success to Him and use the word ‘God’ to such an unseen higher
powerful force. However, it is our own inner strength (atmabala), power, pure
Conscience that prompts us since He, the Lord, is seated in the cavity of our
heart as the antaryamin. This inner strength is called atmabala, atma sthairya.
So we may say, GOD is “Just Go On Discovering IT. IT
is THAT / ‘tat sat’.” That ‘Truth’ (‘sat’) is what one believes
in. ‘That’ / ‘tat’, the ‘sat’/ the ‘Truth’ is the real GOD. “Om tat sat”. It,
He or She ( since there is no gender attached)- the God, is in the heart of the
believers.
The Veda eulogises Narayana as the supreme
Lord and says, “EkO dEvaH nArAyaNah | There is only one God, Naryana. tad
sruShTvA tadEvAnupraviShat | “Having created he entered it”. [Rk Veda]. “He
resides in the cavity of the heart”.
In fact he only created everything and
enetered them. When he created in his own image it was not functioning. So He entered
it(the jiva) as prajnya, prana, life-breath, chit-shakti, and chaitanya.
Apart from the fact that Shree Krishna is
depicted here as ‘Paramatman’, Bhagavan, i.e., GOD, it is also very important
to note that it is said that, ‘Atman’ and the ‘Paramatman’ are one and the
same! “Atmaa eva Bhrahmaa”,
says the Veda.
Arjuna and Krishna are one and the same.
Shree Krishna clarifies this point in Vibhuti yoga when He says, I am Arjuna
among the Pandavas; not only He is Arjuna, He is also Vyasa and Narayana. Shree
Krishna exists eternally as Consciousness his counterpart Arjuna is presented
here as the Mind. Actually, Mind is borne out of Consciousness. Supreme
Consciousness is at the root of all creation. It is the cause of the Mind and
Prana, the Jeeva. Both Mind and Prana are the manifestations of Consciousness.
Of the three constituents- the physical, the mental/psychic, and the spiritual,
the first two are matter known as adhibhoota and adhyatmika, respectively. The
third one is the adhidaivika or spiritual aspect that exists as the Prana, the
Prajnya, and the Atmaa. Everybody knows it, and yet, no body knows about it! It
is the vital breath without which we cannot live and yet, we do not know IT. These three
constituents of the human body function in a very harmonious way in a few rare
individuals known as the ‘Yogins.’ In ordinary human beings, the Mind dictates
the body organs and the physical body functions according to the whims and
fancy of the Mind. Since the Mind is matter, it has acquired lot of pollutants
in the forms of desires, resolves, actions and the fruits of action called
‘Karma’. Actually, it is this Karma that is the material cause of creation.
‘But for our desires, we would not be here on earth’. Every ‘Jeevatma’ has come
here on its own accord in order to fulfil its desire to experience the quality
of existence.
The physical body is made of the five elements- the earth, the water,
the fire, the air and the ether (space) in their subtler causal forms. These
elements provide the physical body / ‘bhoutika shareera’ or the elemental body
to experience the qualities of the earth. These qualities are the Rajas, the
Tamas and the Satva and these are beautifully explained in the Bhagavad-Gita by
Shree Krishna. The individual Jeeva is endowed with a physical body, five
Jnyanendriyas and five Karmendriyas / Sense organs. Each one of these sense
organs- the eyes, the ears, the nose,
the tongue with its taste buds, and the skin,
possess extraordinary capacity to get absorbed in the objective world
and convey their impressions to the Mind.
Thus, the Mind is always engaged in the external world in its enjoyment.
The Mind, too, is bestowed with an extraordinary potential to keep itself
focused and engaged in the worldly affairs to the extent that it is kept busy
away from its source, the Atman! It remains exclusively independent of the
Atman to its own detriment as a slave of the world. Once the Jeeva fully experiences life, if at
all it feels satiated, and is fed up with the repeated experience of the Earth
and says ‘enough of this’, it craves for liberation / mukti. It wants to enjoy
real freedom; it wants to get rid of the physical entanglement and repeated
births and deaths of the physical body.
Since the fruits of action / Karma bind the soul to the earth, it is
extremely difficult to get rid of the shackles /sansara bandhana.
Lord Shree Krishna explains in a very simple way how to get rid of this
Karma in a very intelligent way in Karmayoga Rahasya, here- “Yogasu
karma koushalah”- To put it in a simple way, it is the “Realization of the
Self” / “Atmajnyaan” that release a person from bondage. “Freedom of the Soul
is real freedom, indeed!” When the physically imprisoned Soul is released
permanently, it becomes one with the supreme Soul, Paramatman.
Thus, the individual Soul (that got entangled in a mesh of physical
elements /body due to desire) and the Supreme Soul (ever free) become one. The
Soul is always one; it was one in the beginning and attains sayujya again.
The technique or the secret of attaining to this “Bhrahma
-vidya”/ Atma Jnyaan is explained in the last Chapter as “Self-Realization” /
“Atma- saakshaatkaara” or the “Muktiyoga Rahasya”. “The Atmaa /Soul is unborn, eternal and
always free, unaffected by the Gunas”; it is all an illusion that it get
entangled in a mesh of shackles for it is the handiwork of the mischievous Mind
that is capable of anything! It is the power of illusion that we are here and
that we enjoy the illusory world. Once the Mind screen disappears the illusion
of cosmic drama disappears! The whole spiritual exercise is to realize this
‘Truth’. This is the summary of the entire Bhagavad-Gita.
The Absolute and the Relative
The duo- ‘Paramatman’ and
‘Jeevatman’ who have assumed the name and form of Krishna and Arjuna,
respectively, in the Dvaparayuga stand for the Absolute Abstract
on the one side, and the relative and the concrete on the other.
It is one spiral string of vibrant energy with two ends- one end is open,
ever-expaning while the other is a single point; it is explained away as the
Lagrangian String in Physics. It is the “A-kshara”
Bhrahman
in
the Rk Veda. Krishna is Paramatman, or Parabhrahman, theAbsolute
“Being”
and
He has made it amply clear several times [See Verse 7 in Chapter 7, as also, Verse 11 in Ch.8]. It is made
further very clear in the Second Chapter- in ‘Sankhya Yoga’
that the Purusha is Parabhraman / Paramatman, the Supreme Soul. The ‘Sankhya’
School of Philosophy (Bharateeya Darshan Shastra) depicts the knowledge
of material science and Yoga, as the philosophical theory and its practical
aspects, respectively. Sage Kapila is the proponent of the Sankhya School and
he deduces all multifarious complex this Objective World / Prapancha
into two- the Purusha and the Prakruti. The Purusha is the
‘parama tatva’, fundamental Principle that governs the universe. IT is
beyond all comprehension of the ortals since it does not come within the grasp
of the five senses and the Mind of Man.. The Upanshads declare, that “It is
THAT which cannot be reached by thoughts and words” [Taitteriya Upanishad].
Shree
Krishna is the Adi Purusha, Ananta, Achyuta, Govinda (Who gives Energy to
Stars) and He alone exists in the Absolute Reality, HE is ‘Truth’ / ‘sat’ and
Pure Consciousness, the Supreme Lord of the Universe. He makes it very clear
that, “He alone is the ‘Truth’, and all other things in this world are a
‘myth’, illusion.” He says, “This world is Maya and I am the Mayavin.” meaning,
this world is illusory, a magic and I am the Creator of that illusion, a Magician
(mayavin), at that!
It is the chitta-vritti /thought force of
Shree Hari Narayana that manifests as the objective world. He is the Absolute
and all other things are relative to Him. Except for Him nothing exists. He is
Ekameva Adviteeyam.
In this sense of the term, Shree Krishna alone
exists and all others- Arjuna, his brothers, the Kauravas, their teacher
Dronacharya, Bheeshma, and so on, are mere names and forms that have no real
significance. In fact, they do not even exist in the real sense since they are
already dead! Shree Krishna reveals in His Virat Svaroopa that they are already
consumed, shows them as flesh and bones stinging between his teeth. He chides
Arjuna, “Do you think they are all being killed by you, and you are killing
them?”
“The Soul is not amenable to the elements
like water, air and fire. Fire cannot burn it and water cannot make it wet;
sharp weapons cannot cut it”. “Nainam chindanti shastraani, nainam dahati
paavakah . . .”
Further, it is very clear that Shree Hari in Yoganidra on Adishesha in
Ksheera sagar felt inadequacy in his Poornaprajnya for a kshana /second /
‘nemisha or wink of eye; rather, it is what we attribute to Him who is always
“Poornam”, ‘Paripoorna’, and the aberration created the waves, tremors, the Shukra Sphota
/‘Big Bang’
and the consequent un-fold of this manifest material universe and objective
worlds. “He assumed the form of a Bull and created a cow. The cow invited
the bull hiding behind a haystack. Together they came out with a calf”,
goes a story. Neither there is neither a Bull nor a Cow and the calf.
Similarly, “a tiger fell on the deer and killed it”; here again, there
neither a tiger nor a deer and these are simply illusory, make-believe stories.
As long as there is the mind screen, these pictures go on and on, never-ending;
and the moment, the screen is removed, the objective world of make-believe,
illusion, disappears! It is a cosmic drama that we all witness due to the power
of illusion / ‘avarana shakti (veiling power) of Maya’ /moudhya or avidya.
A brief history of the Universe is also told and the secret of evolution
and its progress- Srusti and Sthiti, are explained with an illustration of the
‘Ashvattha Vruksha’ This Tree is like a huge Banyan Tree, but up-side down with
roots spread far and wide into the sky and the fruits with seeds of rebirth
down below. It accommodates all the creatures including the Gods and Godesses.
The higher or the lower levels of Consciousness and the Karma decide the level
at which a particular jeeva lives and functions. It also reveals the secret
that a very sharp axe of Knowledge cuts this tree into pieces and the entire
thing disappears! Thus, it is Avidya / Ignorance that supports this world of
creation and Para Vidya/ Higher Knowledge that dissolves it into thin air.
Shree Krishna and Arjuna, depicted in the Bhagavad-Gita as the two
important characters are one and the same. Krishna is Consciousness and Arjuna
is the human mind (that is confused and perplexed as ‘to fight’ or ‘not to
fight’ here, like the character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Drama). In the
beginning, the Mind rested in its pure form with the Consciousness, as an
unmanifested energy; as vibration, it gained momentum by forces of desire,
resolution and action, and fruits of action / karma phala, the mind moved away
from the pure Consciousness and finally as Prana it assumed a physical body
(drawing materials out of the surrounding elements) giving rise to the
multifarious world of objects. Thus, the entire epic woven out of the ingenious
mind of Veda Vyasa depicts the Truth and beauty of Creation and there is the
sum and substance of the Vedas- “Vedantasara” in it. A mere study of these scripture would release
us from bondage.
Thus, now it is very clear that Shree Krishna ‘Paramatma’ descends to
earth as an incarnation of Maha Vishnu and assumes the role of the Chariotteer
to Arjuna, a ‘Jeevatma’, in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This Kuru Kshetra
is the human body- a ground of conflicting ‘Gunas’ qualities of the elements
derived from His ‘chitta-vritti’, the vibrations of waves and tremors of
thought of inadequacy, want, desire, etc. The very moment this’ desire’
subsides, the chitta-vritti, mental modifications, thought waves are stilled
and the illusory curtain, the MIND, on which the cosmic drama is unfolded
disappears. This technique of stilling the Mind is explained in the Yoga Sutra
and it starts with the words: “Yogaschittivritti nirodhah”.
Stilling the Mind is Yoga. Here as Yogacharya Shree Krishna advices Arjuna not
to be perturbed about the impending war. “The war is already over and all are
dead”, He says. “The only thing is that you cannot foresee things, where as, I
know everything- the past, present and the future, I have transcended time and
space. You, too, can transcend time and space by mere Yoga sadhana and perceive
things as they are. Hence, I teach you Yoga.” This is how the question
of Shree Krishna teaching Yoga to Arjuna in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra (the
confused Mind) comes up. The Bhagavad-Gita is, thus, a “Yoga-Vidya”, a Treatise
on Yoga. It deals with the Mind and its Control (manoniyantran); it is also
treated as a Tantra Text, Mind Management Technique. It is manoniyantrana tantra par
excellence. Here, the Yoga
Teacher here is none else but the Lord, Paramatman, Sri Hari Narayana in the
assumed name, form and function of Krishna, the Charioteer.
From the mythological background provided by the epics- Vishnu Purana,
Shreemad Bhagavatam, etc. it is learnt that this creation is a continuous
process. It has neither a beginning nor an end. The same soul is reappearing in
different names and forms due to its accumulation of prarabhda karma
(accumulated fruits of desire and action) and sanchita karma / derived fruits of
continued desires and actions. It is avidya nescience to think ‘that a person
dies and another person is born’. Even the Lord who incarnates on earth as a
human being is a reflection a thought wave, a vibration of the supreme Soul and
it visits the earth as a jeevatma for a brief period for a designated, well
ordained duty. Naranarayana of the Satya Yug have been reappearing now and then
under different names and forms; Paramatma appeared in Dwapara Yuga as the two-
‘Nara’ and ‘Narayana’, in the name of Arjuna and Krishna, respectively. The
only difference is that Narayana knows all about the past, present and the
future while Nara (Arjuna) is covered by Avidya / Maya and has forgotten all
about his past lives and does not know what is to come in the next moment. How
to overcome this nescience / ‘Avidya’ / Nescience is the problem? This problem
is addressed to and an answer is given here in this Text.
The incarnate supreme Lord Shree Krishna is depicted here as the friend,
philosopher and guide of the Pandavas. For an ordinary mortal, it sounds, at
first, ridiculous to preach Yoga and sermons on the battle-front! As one wades
through the background literature, it is very clear that Shree Krishna traces
the despondence and hesitation of the great warrior Arjuna to fight that arises
from his Moudhya / ignorance and uncontrolled wanderings of his mind at a time
he was expected to do his duty regardless of the consequences, that too in the
presence of his well-wisher and guide who is none else but Paramatman incarnate!
Right as he entered the central place between the two armies, he drops his bow
Gandheeva and shows his weakness and talks of futility of this war with his
revered teacher Bheeshmacharya, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kourava army, the
other elders and friends. He talks in such a very intelligent way all about the
pros and cons of war that makes Krishna chide him thus: “Arjuna, when comes
this avidya to you?” Then follows the entire treatise on Yoga, the ‘Knowledge of the ‘Self’’ / ‘Atmajnyan’
through nishkama karma, Bhakti, jnyan and dhyan..
Thus, the most intriguing part of the story is the dilemma Arjuna is
facing in the battlefield. In fact any sensible man in his position would talk
in the same way as Arjuna. The advocates of war are considered the enemies of
peace. War is a heinous crime on society and a curse to mankind. It destroys not
only lives and property, but creates poverty and misery. These days are fought
on flimsy grounds of personal faith and belief in religion and some are at war
on unknown enemies! Here, in this epic war of Mahabharata, Arjuna is right in
the sense that it is not even a war between two States or bitter enemies; but
it is an internal wrangle amongst family members, a dispute about share of
property, sharing of kingdom amongst cousins. “It is not worth a fight of war
of total destruction, if it comes to that and an amicable settlement among the
pals who shared their life in the same school / Gurukula with their common
teacher Acharya Drona will do. But, Duryodhana is not willing! So, let him
enjoy the wealth and I am happy and contented with what little God has given
me,” says Arjuna. So it is obvious that Arjuna does not want this war for the
sake of kingdom. Then, what for is he in the battle field? And, what is the
advice given by Krishna to Arjuna?
The Bhagavad-Gita comes as an interlude in Mahabharata to enlighten
Arjuna as to the Reality of Existence. Krishna tries to remind Arjuna of his
ordained duty as a warrior standing in the midst of the two armies in the
Battlefield of Hastinapura.
The
ensuing war is now the only means of resolving a great ‘conflict’. It may seem,
at the outset, a conflict between the Pandavas and the Kouravas in regard to
sharing of the Kingdom that is presently in the hands of the arrogantspoioed
brat Duryodhana son of the blind King Dhrutarashtra. But the conflict is much
deep-seated. It is an inner conflict
with in the mind of Arjuna. Arjuna is a hero well known for his archery and has
got many ammunitions (arrows) given by Gods. He is Gandheeva and the
Invincible. Still, he hesitates to fight the battle and use the arms against
his kith and kin. Actually, it is not a question of kith and kin. But, the
malady is much deeper.
Bhagavad-Gita addresses the question of ‘conflict’ that arise in this
mundane world due to misunderstandings. It aims at resolving the conflicts. The
causes of conflicts are many. Conflicts arise in the mind of the person as a
result of his likes and dislikes, attachment / moha, raga,
jealous/dvesha, anger / krodha,. Had there been no dualities like
this, there would be no conflicts. The war was inevitable, indispensable. As we
know, despite the efforts of Krishna, Duryodhana refused to part with even five
villages. Since it was not possible to mend him, it was decided to end him,
and, all the’ bad’ in his name. It is better to resolve a conflict by mutual
understanding. But when there is no proper understanding, it leads to ill-will,
strife and war.
In fact, the conflict here is not with Duryodhana as it appears to be.
It is in the mind of Arjuna. It is his indecision, hesitation to use arms, as a
result of an inner conflict within the person. When a person is not consciously
aware of his Self, rather when a person is not functioning with his body, mind
and soul in unison, conflicts arise within. It is conflict between the body and
the mind, and a conflict between the mind and the Consciousness.
When a person is in conflict with the other, it is personal conflict
presumed to be the result of irreconcilable; it is obvious that one refers this
to a third person who is above all these inner conflicts and capable of
resolving. It must be a Bhagavan only (like Krishna). Only God can resolve
human problems since it is He who has created humans with all these inner
conflicting system. Only God knows how to resolve human problems. Thus,
Krishna says,
“The inner conflicts of man leave him confused. The mind is fickle and does not know what is
right or wrong. It has strong likes and dislikes and it changes abruptly and
frequently from point to point without interval of time. Now it says it is
right and suddenly feels it is wrong and, changes its position leading to
confusion. The thoughts are in conflict with the feelings. The feelings are in
conflict with knowledge. Emotions and logic do not agree. The mind does neither
accept nor reject on one ground or the other. Under this circumstance, total
rejection might solve the problem; but total rejection requires altogether a
different set of frame of mind- reasoning, determination that is not
forthcoming now. Even with total
rejection, the problem remains! Grief overtakes reasoning and duty
consciousness. The firm resolve that would come with a calm and well-disposed
mind is not forthcoming now since the mind is in turmoil. ‘Flee‘, or ‘fight’
is the alternative and, Arjuna selects to flee. Fleeing cannot solve the
conflict. One cannot solve the problem by fleeing; the conflict remains. One
has to face the problem squarely, face to face. No problem can be solved by
escaping from it. So, Krishna advises him to fight.
War as a Remedy to Resolve
Conflicts
To remind the readers about the cause of the war again, Krishna was not
in favor of the war in the beginning and tried His to resolve the conflict by
persuading the Kauravas to part with at least five villages. He even revealed
His Real Form in the Sabha where all the Kauravas were present and as well He
could have destroyed them then and there. But He allowed the Destiny to Rule
its course. It is here, the Principle is made very clear: “God will not
interfere in the affairs of man”. But, the Kauravas did not budge; they
refused to share the Kingdom. He went to the extent of offering His army and
Himself at the disposal of both the parties. He decided to be the charioteer of
his disciple, friend, nephew Arjuna, only when Duryodhana selected His army instead
Him. Otherwise, He, the Lord, would not participate in this war at all. He had
made it very clear to Arjuna that He would not use His arms against anybody.
Now, coming back to the inner conflicts of man, which the Bhagavad-Gita
elaborately deals with, Arjuna was in dilemma due to an inner conflict raging
within him. Even behind this internal individual conflict, there is another
conflict between man and nature. This third one is the most difficult one since
it involves a higher power. This conflict with nature cannot be resolved for
ever and there is no alternative but to surrender to the higher force.
Thus, there are conflicts within conflicts surmounting making it
impossible for any human being to resolve the internal conflicts. There are
limitations. The bodily limitations, the mental limitations and the
intellectual limitations are there as a result of disharmonious function of
body, mind and soul; lack of harmonious functioning of body, mind and soul is
very common since no body knows about the need for learning about this aspect
of life. Generally we lack this understanding since it is a highly specialized
subject treated as an exclusive one limited to a highly learned class. Even
otherwise it is a difficult subject since it involves the ‘Soul’ / ‘Atma’,
about which we know nothing at all. Only a spiritually trained person can stay
connected, tuned to the super power like nature when we obey the super power,
obey the natural law, respect the cosmic power, we can resolve conflicts and prevent
war. Ordinarily, we are engaged in a war with God and we lose.
These relationships between the Body, the Mind and the Soul are made
very clear in the following.
“The individual is essentially cosmic because the physiological
expressions of the individual and the cosmos are both the expressions of
‘Truth’ / the Veda and the Veda and the other Vedic Literature (numbering about
39) given in Appendix I are, rather, the holistic and the specific values of
Natural Law.
“Atma Chetana has the vitality to maintain the physiology and
environment relationship in a proper order, in a healthy way. Atma is
Self-referral and all-knowing ‘Unity’ in its pure state, pure Consciousness. It
is the most basic element and the physical body is its expression.
The Laws of Nature express themselves in the structure and function of
human physiology (Body), human behavior (Mund and Moods) and human
relationships (Environment) with the Soul /Atma (inner content of life) and the
cosmic content of life. Being harmoniously united in body, mind and soul is to
be connected- the individual consciousness connected with the supreme cosmic
Consciousness (God). “Gahanaa karmano gatih” says Krishna (4. 17).
How Karma decides life is a
secret. “karmAnusArENa BuddhiH”. Our actions are performed by the
direction of the Intellect /Buddhi and this Buddhih is controlled by Karma.
Karma is controlled by the Lord since He can redeem us from it anytime, by
divine grace, if He wills. The dualities faced by Arjuna / Partha, Pruthu’s
son- a mortal, a Parthiva (elemental man) born on earth destined to die and
discard his body, cannot understand the delicate balance that exists between
man and nature. It is extremely difficult for an ordinary man to do a balancing
act without the Lord’s Grace. So time and again, Krishna asks Arjuna to
understand the delicate relationship between body, mind and soul and teaches
him the secret of Yoga, / ‘Yoga rahasya’.
It is because of the original sin that
‘fall of man from grace of God’ has happened. It is due to the neglect of Soul,
the fall of Soul from its divine state- the universal, the cosmic status that
it has to suffer on earth bearing a elemental physical body subject to
deterioration, death and decay. The physical being has to suffer all the
misery, trivial problems of life and conflicts, sickness, old age and death.
Unless one reconciles with Nature, there will be problems and conflicts. Thus,
the cause of the apparent conflict is the unseen conflict within man himself-
between the soul and the Super Soul, between the individual consciousness and
the supreme Consciousness. The solution lies in getting connected to, and
staying connected with the Lord. Being
one with the Supreme ‘Being’ is“Unity Consciousness” / ‘Bhrahm Saayujya’. Hence, Shree Krishna repeatedly asks Arjuna
to “Look at Me, Look to Me for solutions, Surrender to Me”and he proceeds to
teach him the Yogopanishad.
Here, Krishna
speaks as God. Although in human form, name and function He is constantly aware
of His Supreme Self. He is not a human being here, and no human being can solve
another human being’s problems. Because both are human beings, there are
limitations and solution is not within their means.
In Chapter XI we are face to face with the Lord. This Chapter reveals
the secrets of resolving conflicts. There are methods of applying techniques to
problems, specific contexts of life and cut the roots of the problems.
Krishna says, “Be aware of your
Self.” The highest Reality is ‘Om’- the Imperishable “A-kshara, i.e.
Collapse of ‘A’ (akshara Brahman),
Paramaatman into ‘k’, the Kana, atom, or cell, the Jeevaatma (brihat into
kincit). It is ‘Ekaakshara Bhrahman’,
the Imperishable Absolute. It is Adhiyajnya from the beginning from the stand
point of creation and Adhibhuta from the point of external universe (as an
objective world) and Adhyatma- individual who experience, the Superintending
Deity.
The movement of the cosmic cycle Narayana, the ‘Eternal Flow of Consciousness’, the impulse to
action His Will and Thought-force, desire leading to Sankalpa/resolve- simply
called here the principle of “Ekoham bahusyami”, is the primeval cause. The
internal urge to crativity /kriyashakti/ creative energy is ‘Karma’, and ‘karma
vairagya’, at its best. No body can escape action /karma and no one can ignore
the secret desire of will of existence. This is the gist of Gita.
KUNTI
AND DRAUPADI
For the sake of curiosity to
know some mythological story some important characters may be treated in a
cursory glance here. The two female characters of Kunti and
Madri are the two wives of Pandu. Kunti
is the mother of Arjuna while Draupadi is the wife of the Pandavas. Kunti is
the sister of Vasudeva, father of Krishna. Draupadi daughter of King Drupada married
Arjuna after he lifted the Gandheeva in the Svayamvara arranged for finding a
suitable husband for his daughter. But, when Arjuna came home with Draupadi and
proudly announced that he won a prize in a context Kunti, the innocent mother
not knowing what it was simply asked him to ‘share the prize with the
brothers’. Having great respect for the words of his Mother Arjuna obeyed her
and agreed to share Draupadi with his brothers. But, Draupadi remained loyal to
him for she had selected him as her husband in the context. Draupadi is quoted
for her single minded devotion to Lord Krishna throughout the epic Mahabharata.
She is one of the five virgins among the pancha taras- Ahalya, Tara, Mandodari,
and Sita, despite their marriage. It is needless to say that all these
characters are the Angels, Devata without any human form or traits. They are
the celestial figures. It is to drive home the fact that purity of mind and
soul are more important than the physical form that these characters are
presented here.
Thus, Kunti is depicted here as the respected mother of Karna,
Yudhistira, Bheema and Arjuna. However, there is no such husband or wife here
since these children or gifted forms of Light from Gods in the form of boon, mantrasya putrah. Nakula and Sahadeva
are also depicted as the sons of Madri. Madri and Kunti never had any human
form since these are symbolic figures. So also their husband Pandu and and his
father, etc.We will be caught in a web of illusion if we go by our
standards of human family of husband, wife and children, that too in a sensuous
life in Kaliyuga. But, it is very difficult to hold on to this spiritual
approach through out the story. Some how we re drawn to history and mythology
in course of our thinking! Finally we lose track and get fooled!
Thus, Kunti’s sons are born out of the celestial blessings from the utterances
of the Mantra and thus, not actually sons of King Pandu, husband of Kunti.
Thus, all these characters are of divine origin. In our avidya, we are prone to
attribute our human values of deteriorated nature to all these characters. In
fact, the entire epic is a blend of mystic and earthly and celestial characters
and needs careful attention. To read too much into these characters in human
angle will lead to confusion. This is where Prajnya or awareness comes into
attention.
‘Prajnyaa’ / Consciousness
The Bhagavad-Gita is all about
Consciousness. It is the guiding principle here. As Yoga Shastra, the
Bhagavad-Gita teaches us to be aware of our Self and try to raise the level of
our Consciousness. As long as we are working at our Lower Self, living in a
state of confusion, ignorance, dualities, and avidya, we are prone to think
about good and bad, right and wrong, heaven and hell, and the like. It is the
blemish of our soul that comes with our desire, resolve or sankalp, and action
that ultimately bears the fruits, that binds us to the dualities of this
earthly life. Shree Krishna, as Lord incarnate, Who has assumed the task of
guiding Arjuna through the battlefield of Kurukshetra (the world of dualities)
is Pure Consciousness. He is aware of the nature of Arjuna’s dilemma and tells
him not to bother about the consequences of his action and do his ordained duty
and leave the rest to Him.
But, Arjuna cannot understand Him; this, despite the fact that He has
already revealed His identity as Parmatma to him several times in the past.
Actually, all those who had gathered in the Hall of Infamous Game of Dice have
seen Him as the Lord of the Universe and have virtually seen how He saved
Droupadi from disgrace when Duryodhana ordered his brothers to disrobe her. So,
it is open to question whether Arjuna is really conscious of his Self,
conscious of his ordained duties as a Kshatriya, to fight the war.
In the epic war of Mahabharat, Shree Krishna takes to the task of
guiding the Pandavas, and He chooses to be the Charioteer to Arjuna. The
Charioteer is pure Consciousness, the ‘guiding force’ and the chariot is the
physical body. The five horses that drive the chariot represent the Senses and
the reins constitute the Mind. The Lord who sits incognito as the
confused Arjuna, here, is the simple story of life. As long as the senses are
on errand of the misguided mind, the body suffers! Once, the Consciousness
sheds its light and the discriminative Intellect takes the reins of the
blind-folded horses and the confused Mind, the mind that was reluctant to
attend to its ordained duties, comes to its senses. The Charioteer is in full
control of the situation.
“Yoginaam Brahmaa bhavati saarathi”
is the doctrine here. For a sensible person, a conscientious person /
Prajnyaavan, the Lord Himself takes ‘control of the chariot’ of life. Shree
Krishna stands for supreme Consciousness / ‘Mahat Prajnyaa’ and Arjuna stands
for individual Consciousness Both individual Consciousness and supreme
Consciousness are same but for their magnitude. One is a vast ocean and a
miniscule particle of it. It is like the ocean and its waves, or the water and
its bubbles, for that matter. The miniscule of the drop of water is of the same
nature but for its vastness and depth.
Now, the most important thing to remember in
Bhagavad-Gita is to know the Divine plan. The central theme is to reveal the
secrets of success and happiness. The
tenets of the scriptures are woven into the Text of Bhagavad-Gita and the
entire Veda is rewritten here. There are many revelations here. In
Kathopanishad, Yama, the God of Death, reveals the secret of death to
Nachiketas. He says, ‘that the human form is the most ideal one to attain to higher
and higher levels of existence’. Man is born an ‘animal’ and is promoted to
higher levels of the ‘human’ and the ‘divine’ with the process of purification
of the soul. It is one of constant progressive evolution. One has to realize
this divine plan and strive for purification. Purification of the body, mind
and soul is the process and means to attain moksha / mukti / liberation. It is
emancipation when the human soul is totally purified. Pure soul is pure
Consciousness and pure Consciousness is Parabhrahman, the supreme Lord of the
Universe. Hence Bhagavad-Gita holds the key to emancipation in its ‘Muktiyoga
Rahasya’. Mukti or liberation of the soul from cycle of rebirths comes from
Atmajnyan.
At the outset, it must be made very clear here that the Bhagavad-Gita
is an extraordinary intuitional speech that reveals the secret of the origin of
the universe and evolution of Man and the very purpose of his existence here.
This ‘Eternal Science of the Spirit’ transcends time and space.
It is complete Knowledge- the Veda Samhita, ‘Para Vidya’, the ‘Knowledge
Supreme’.* No human being on
this Planet Earth can ever fully understand and translate these secret words
spoken by the Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, near
Delhi, India. It is attempting the impossible; it is describing ‘Brahmavidya’-
the knowledge of Parabrahman- explaining the Infinite by the finite, the
Abstract Absolute in the concrete relative, here. Anyway, it is with, by His
divine Grace and Will, and prodding that this effort comes here as a mere
contemplation, dhyan (Meditation), a prayer to Lord. And, the effort is worth a
trial, in the purification of the mind and heart. Our ego, the in-built
mechanism of our system, is the main obstacle in knowing Him. Further, we
cannot understand his thoughts, words or action, for all these are beyond our
ability.** Further, it requires a child-like simplicity and innocence to know
Him; and, all our knowledge, Intellect, understanding, mind and senses,
language and expression are of no use here. They are an obstacle in the pursuit
of ‘Truth’. When we drop everything, including our sense of existence in human
form on earth, and delve into His realm by sheer dhyan, that He will reveal the
Truth, as also, His supreme Self, that too, in a transcendental state of
supreme Consciousness! In this state of our non-individual consciousness,
merged in Him in trance, everything becomes crystal clear. This is the state of
‘fulfillment’ one attains from the study of the Bhagavad-Gita.
In spiritual aspects like this, the intuitional knowledge, the language,
or the word and its meaning, or the expression, by itself, act as an obstacle
to experience the divine! Only divine thought prevails; the divine language is
also absent. So we pray in silence:
“Let the Supreme Lord, who is adored by all Gods and Goddesses,
bestow on us the humility, innocence, and the ability to surrender our self and
understand Him, perceive Him, and hear Him in His divine sweetness.” The
Bhagavad-Gita is the Divine Song, the gospel of Truth, the Lord. It is the
‘Science of the Eternal’, ‘the Spirit of the Soul’.
“I am the only one who exist and all other
existence are illusory; nothing exists besides Me. I am the Eternal, unborn,
and omnipresent and ever free. Know Me as thyself.” “Tvam tat asi” meaning,
“Thou art That”- realize this supreme Truth, says Lord
Shree Krishna. The Bhagavad-Gita enunciates this supreme Principle.
The term Krishna means, ‘that Anand /joy and
happiness which never diminish’; here, ‘Krish’ means reduce and ‘na’
means ‘Anand’ /Bliss that never get reduced. It is supreme Bliss, “mahat
Ananda”. It is supreme Consciousness, or ‘Parabhrahm’. Krishna is
called ‘Bhagavan’/ ‘Praramatman’ through out the Bhagavad-Gita.
He is the Higher Self. He is love compassion and piety. He assures of His
divine grace and protection to all like the Sun shines and makes no
differentiation whatsoever!
He implores: “Sarva dharma parityajya, maameva sharanam vraja,”
meaning, “Throw away all your wares and come to me, I
shall protect you”. Further,
He adds: “ParitrANAya sAdhUnAm sambhavAmi yuge yuge”, meaning,
‘He will take repeated birth on earth to protect the pious and the
righteous.’
We carry a lot of burden of our own making and
find it impossible to move. More often, we do not even realize the fact that,
‘the wares we are carrying are merely the trash that has been with us since
many previous lives’ and, surprisingly, ‘it has not been possible for us to
drop them’! Another problem is that most of us do not even believe in the idea
of a rebirth, let alone previous births! In spite of the assurance of the Lord,
we worry a lot about this fleeting world of trash and flimsy goings-on, the
people around us- of all sorts of minds and moods, etc. For want of faith in
Him, the Lord Almighty, we fight among ourselves and foolishly try to defend
ourselves, our faith, our belief in the mortal, our strength and prowess, and
our skill and technology, our achievements and what not? Once we submit to the
Divine Willl, the duality ends!
Albert Einstein remarked that, “Having read the Bhagavad-Gita, I find
that all other knowledge sounds superfluous”, rather redundant.This Gospel of
Truth- “The Bhagavad-Gita” is the intuitional sayings heard in anahata dhvani,
literally emanating from Pure Consciousness / the Mahat Prajnyaa, the
sweet breath of the Lord! It is the ‘Ancient Wisdom’ of much higher
status than the Veda and the Upanishads, or the Bhrahma Sutra; unlike the
latter, that is much restricted to a few privileged class- the learned section
of Brahmins, the Bhagavad-Gita is more popular, and widely known all over the
world. It has been translated into German, Russian, French, English and many
other Languages. The Vaishnavites have special regard for the scripture since
the Golden Age and attach sanctity as the Lord’s anugraha, Blessings. Many
others treat it in high esteem, as the prasthanathrayee, dearest as the Veda,
the Upanishads, and the Bhrahma Sootras- the ‘Three-in-one’.
In
fact, the words of the Veda are attributed to the skill of the Creator
Chaturmukha Bhrahma. And his son, the learned Sage Krishna Dvaipayana Veda
Vyasa, an incarnation of Krishna, or Vishnu is believed to be the author of
almost all the known ancient scriptures, like the Epics and Puranas. There are
eighteen epics / Puranas of which the Mahabharata* is the magnum opus.
It is a voluminous literature consisting of almost a hundred thousand
verses in Twenty-eight Cantos (Volumes) cited in the Appendix. It depicts the
times and life and work of people of the by-gone days, Dvapara yug (‘dva’-‘para’
meaning the significant other Age!). Many historians are of the opinion
that the epic war was fought for Eighteen days at the plains of Kurukshetra
near Delhi and about Four hundred thousand soldiers (Eight Akshohinis) were
involved in the battle. But, the
Bhagavad-Gita does not discuss the
details of technicalities of warfare and, it is altogether a different kind of
spiritual scripture that appears as an appendage in the main Text. It has many
verses that seem to be juxtaposed, and unconnected! For instance, the
Bhagavad-Gita as the Spiritual science is an eternal secret and it is not to be
revealed to all and sundry, especially to those who are perverted
Non-believers. There are some who even hate the very idea of God and God-head
and it is sternly warned here that this scripture should not be revealed to
them. But it is essential to educate them and provide them an opportunity to
change their attitude in order to make their life fruitful, and this earth a
better place to live. The Non-believers are a threat to peace! Further, there
are many perspectives to the Gita hinging on the ability of the reader to
understand it. Some are prone to think in a family social perspective and say
this whole sequence is woven around the family of the ruling cousins- the
Pandavas and the Kauravas. The background to this Mahabharata War is the
internal politics, one of accession of the Pandavas’ kingdowm by foul means!
Sri Krishna comes here as a mediator to settle the dispute. But, why should one
consider this ‘Gitopadesha’ as an ‘Eternal Scienc of Consciousness’? Exactly,
it is this lack of conscious awareness on the part of the Kauravas that is the
cause of the great epic war. It is the philosophy behind this worldly possessions
and the futility of cravings that constitute the central theme of this sacred
Text. It is just not a family dispute in question but the question of dharma,
equity and justice, righteousness that is the central idea.
The entire Text that starts with the depiction of the assembly of the
two opposing armies in the battlefield almost declares the start of the war
with sounds of the bugles. But soon the topic is changed to one of
philosophical question of neglecting the duties and the serious consequences.
This is the Karmakanda. Arjuna is a symbolic character here and through him,
the common man is also advised not to neglect his ordained duties. The central
idea shifts from duty or action (karma) to bhakti (devotion) and to Knowledge
(jnyan) and on to Meditation (dhyan) and Yoga (Samadhi). These are beautifully
rendered in simple words so that the common man will use his discretion to take
to any path that suits him/her to reach Him, the Lord, i.e., attain to
liberation. Ultimately, the Lord hints at the easiest way to liberation is just
to ‘keep quiet’ or give up all this running about in search of emancipation,
and suggests that He only would deliver the jiva provided it surrenders to
supreme will.
Thus, it is a question of using the ‘free will’; one can enjoy
his freedom and discretion but has to pay for his deed- good and bad. At the
same time it is also hinted at a secret path of liberation. One can attain to
moksha by discgarging one’s duties in the name of the Lord, discharging the
duties without any selfish motives, rather working for the welfare of the
common man or larger interests. Thus, Bhagavad-Gita is a storehouse of secrets
of happiness, peace and progress.
Bhagavad-Gita is a part of the great epic Mahabharata* and it starts
with Sanjaya, explaining the incidents on the battlefield to the ciblind King
Dhritarashtra. In fact, Sage Veda Vyasa offered to give sight to the blind
Dritarashtra if he so wishes to actually see the state of affairs in the battle
field; but, the latter refused to see it and would be rest content to hear the
on-goings through his able Confidant Sanjaya. So, Sanjaya was given the
intuitional eye and extra-sensorial ability to know the minds, thoughts,
resolves, words, and deeds of persons in and out of the battlefield. He could foresee
the happenings with his intuition everything, and thus, narrated at great
length what all transpired and happened on the battlefield, word-by-word.
Further, it is again surprising that Bhagavad-Gita is a sermon of the
Lord, the Commandments that come as an interlude in the War, carrying with it
the Sankya and Yoga aspects of the philosophy, aiming at fulfillment and
‘Self-Realization’ by different methods of yoga- performing one’s duty with
sincere self-less action (nishkamakarma), devotion to Lord (Bhakti),
higher knowledge of existence (Jnyana), and total renunciation (Vairagya
or Nirasakti
yoga). It is here that the Lord speaks of redeeming a person from the
bondage, shackle of cycle of repeated births and deaths, on this earth. He
explains how the soul / Jeeva gets embodied and embroiled in physical elements
and suffers in an illusory world running after insatiable objective world of hunger,
thirst, tapatraya, profit and pleasure, all in the name of enjoyment He reveals
the secret of ‘Fulfilment’ that lies in realizing and not simply knowing the
Truth or Reality of existence. The Bhagavad-Gita is the ‘Vedanta Sara’-
the sum and substance of supreme Knowledge. It is the spoken words of the Lord
that has been told to various disciples- not once or twice, but several times,
to different persons at different times! Every time the earth was deluded and
resurrected from the collapse of dharma, and the consequent deluge, Shree Hari
Narayana has appeared in one form or the other as avatar and has rescued it.
Sreemad Bhagavatam is the last of the eighteen epics in which the details
of creation and all the interesting episodes since its appearance has been described
in minute detail. Here the various reincarnations of the Lord are explained.
[See Appendix for details]. One such re-incarnation is that of Sage Narada, who
narrated the same ‘Mukti Yoga Rahasya’ as ‘Vedanta Sara’ to Sage Veda Vyasa
and, again this was retold to many others like, Suka Muni (son of Sage Veda
Vyasa), King Parikshita, Vaivasvanta Manu, and Shree Madhvacharya
(who has written a commentary on it, too). Shree Madhvacharya is a Vaishnavite
who virtually held Shree Krishna in his hands and carried Him through the streets
of Udupi singing and dancing in praise of the Lord Krishna who came to him in
the ship from Dwarka in the ____________________________________________________________
*
The epic Mahabharata is written by none
other than the Lord of Impediments Vighneshwara, Ganaadhipati or Ganesha/
Ganapati as dictated byomniscient Shree Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa Deva, an
incarnation of Vishnu- the all-pervasive
Consciousness.
form of a statue! Shree Madhvacharya
lived in Udupi during the Twelfth Century A.D. and promoted ‘Dvaita Siddhanta’
and insisted the Lord is Supreme and none can ever attain to that status of
extraordinary Divinity i.e., Brahma-sayujya.This aspect is still debated in the
philosophers’ circle. But, practically speaking, all paths lead to Him as He
Himself has made it very clear. The very fact that the Bhagavad-Gita, or the
entire voluminous Mahabharata epic, for that matter, was not at all written by
the but it was dictated to the God of Impediments, Ganadhipati, also called
Lord Vighneshwara* who wrote with one of his tusks! Further, it should be
remembered that Ganapati is the virtual son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Parvati
made Him with a lump of clay! Hence, it is all mysterious how a great work of
this sort ever came into the hands of the Vedic people. It is their spiritual
pursuit and yajnic or sacrificial rituals that gave them supreme intuitional or
divine knowledge and creative power that we have these scriptures as Shrutis
and Smrutis.
Thus, for all practical purposes, Bhagavad-Gita may be considered mystic
of extraordinary sanctity- an unspoken and unwritten work ever existed! The
secret of creation, ‘Srishti Rahasya’ was first revealed to the
Sun God by the Lord Sri Hari Narayana. It is Shree Hari Narayana as Govinda who
gives the Life, i.e., Light, Intelligence, Force, Energy and creative power to
the Sun-God created by Him. The Sun-God told this secret to Sumanvanta Manu,
the first ever born human; and Manu told this to King Ikshvaku. The King Pandu
of Hastinapura is the direct descendent of King Bharata of Ikshvaku dynasty. In
another instance, Lord Vishna told this to the Creator-designate Bhrahma whom
He nominated to carryout the work of creation and revealed the secret when the
latter requested Him.
There are geomorphologic evidences to prove the changing face of the
earth over the Millennia and the Mountains, plains, and Lakes stand where none
existed. There were six convulsions and belching of extraordinary magnitude
accompanied by terrific explosions, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and
incessant torrential down pours that caused total devastation. There are some
records of one or two such catastrophic events recorded in the fossil history
of recent millennia, too. Anyway, these are depicted as the ‘Pralaya’ at the
end of each human history as also, in the history of the earth- just similar to
the deluge that washed away the earth as told in Shreemad Bhagavatam. And,
every time the supreme Lord came as incarnation to earth to restore it to its
previous pristine glory and furtherance of creation, may it be in the form of a
leaf of the Banyan tree, or an animal like the Boar (Varaha), or Turtle
Koorma), or a half-man and half Lion (Nr’Sima) or Shree Rama, Shree Krishna, or
the Buddha.. The pious and the learned spiritual Sages were thus saved and
their spiritual knowledge (the Veda) traditionally passed from father to son
and teacher to his trusted disciple as the Shrutis and Smrutis.
‘Gitopadesha’ is the advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. These
are the fundamentals principles of life- the ‘Maha Vakyas’. These Commandments
were secretly communicated by word of mouth, from generation to generations.
Krishna says that “He first revealed this to the first Manu, Sumanvanta.
It was soon lost into oblivion over times. Hence, it was told again to the
next Manu at the beginning of the next eon (manvatara), and the next, like that
to all the seven Manus so far. The Seventh Manu is Vaiavasvata Manu is again a
svayambhu, self-existent. With this progenitor appear all the sapta Rishis,
Gods and Goddesses, etc.
.
Thus, our genealogy is easily traced to the earliest Sages of repute like
Moudgalya, Kashyapa, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Koundinya, &c. These Manus revealed
the Lord’s sayings to their disciples who in turn told the same secret of
‘Reality of Existence’ and the supreme Truth to their children and their
trusted disciples. Shree Krishna appears in Dvapara Yuga as an avatara purusha.
Here the Lord Himself stands as the Charioteer of Arjuna and guides him. In fact,
He is the maternal uncle, Brother-in-law, a trusted friend, and an expert Yogacharya,
philosopher, and guide. The story begins here with Arjunarequesting the
Charioteer Sri Krishna to take the chariot to the centre-field so thathe can
see who all have assembled for the Great War of Righteousness (dharmayuddha) in
the sacred Dharma Kshetra (sacred land) that has become a Kuru Kshetra (sinful
land of bloodshed). .
Arjuna is not an ordinary mortal here, for he is having the necessary
qualifications of an angel, blessed son of Kunti obtained from Indra Mantra.
Moreover, he is having supreme Lord as his guide, Charioteer. He is ayogi. It
is said, yoginam brahma bhavati sarathi
| As a prelude, Arjuna is depicted here as the disheartened soldier feeling sad at the
prospect of killing his kith and kin present in the battlefield, who gets
frightened at the thought of the grave consequences. Finally, Arjuna decides to
quit the battle field. Then the Lord advices Arjuna to do his job offering it
to Him as his service, in the interest of the larger interest of dharma,
without the desire of the fruits and without bothering about the consequences
since the entire universe is his leela, a drama, an ever-changing or transient
one that is not real.Then, He,
the Lord goes on to explain the principles of creation and dissolution, as
also, the different aspects of yoga such as- sankhya, karma, bhakti, jnyana,
dhyana, and finally, Ishvara pranidana
or total surrender (sharanagati tattva). Pratyahara or turning inward the out-going
senses and mind, withdrawing from worldly interest is advocated here as a means
of salvation. This leads to release from drudgery of worldly mundane existence
and the eternal bondage of the embodied soul. Thus, revelations come when the
confused mind (spiritual seeker) looks to the higher consciousness (Krishna)
for guidance. The supreme Lord shows His divine form (Vishvaroopa and the
all-encomapassing omnipotent, omniscient and the omnipresent Virat svaroopa to
Arjuna! This revelation is the climax, the central idea, the ultimate stage that
a sadhaka can attain as revealed in the Bhagavad-Gita! However, this
God-visioning is not properly understood by the ordinary people who consider
themselves, rational, but are perverted. Hence, He, the Lord also warns not to
reveal these secrets to all and sundry who are incapable of understanding the
divine powers, who are not interested in Him, and also to those who have no
faith. This is where the questions of faith and belief, believers and non-believers
srise. This also brings in the strife de to the gap between the people of
religious faiths and the non-believers. However, the faithful ones are assured
of all protection against the evil-minded, cruel and the unrighteous people.
[See;’Revelations’ under Notes and Quotes at the end].
