Spiritual Essence of the Gita

                                             FOREWORD

    “The Spiritual essence of the Gita” presented here as a significant aspect of the Bhagavad-Gita where the Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna, imparts Brahmavidya and the yogashastra, as also, reveals certain intimate secrets about Atmasakshatkara as guhyatama guhhya to his beloved disciple Arjuna. It all starts with “Bhagavan uvacha”; it means “What the Blessed Lord said”. The Lord not only explains ‘Who He is’, but also, says, “I am revealing the most significant secret supreme knowledge (raja guhya raja vidya) to you, Arjuna” [Ch. IX]. As It is clearly stated at the end of each chapter of the Gita, it is ‘Brahmavidya’ that is revealed to Arjuna.  This secret knowledge concerning the Soul, the Atman, is known as ‘adhyatma vidya’. It is also significant to note that the Lord says, “Among the vidhyas I am the adhyatma vidya (Atmajnyan), knowledge of the Self, higher knowledge (para vidya) concerning the Soul”.  This is the spiritual essence of the Bhagavad-Gita.

     There may be almost 200 000 commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gita eversince the Mahabharata was published and the Bhagavad-Gita as an episode in Bhishma Parva attracted the attention of Sri Shankaracharya and got a separate status as prasthanatraya. Some of the most beautiful commentaries have come from persons who are almost mystic if not totally divine, such as, Sant Jnnayaneshvar, Sai Baba, Sri Shankaracharya, Swamy Shivananda, and Madhusudhana Saraswati! There are beautiful commentaries on the Gita coming from distant lands, too, such as Russia, Germany, England, Japan, and USA. The Gita is translated into almost all the major Languages of the World. It is held in high esteem as a spiritual Text and a valuable guide for redeeming the distressed souls all over the world.

    For every study of scriptures of Ancient India, there are lots of comments raised, much criticised, and misunderstood for want of clarity in understanding. This ‘understanding’ itself is explained in the Veda and it takes us, stage by stage, to the the ultimate Brahmn! Unlike the ordinary literature that of poets and damatists like Kalidasa or Pampa and Ranna, or Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw, these mystic words, heard in absolute silence in a state of exalted (meditative) consciousness mode are beyond the capacity of ordinary mortals to understand. Sadhana, practical exercises in yoga are essential here. These adhyatmic scriptures cannot be explained at the ordinary school level for children; and no wonder, school children sing the whole Gita melodiously without understanding the meaning. At higher levels, there are commentaries made by stalwarts like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Mahatma Gandhiji and Prof. S. Radhakrishnan. None of these ever come to the level of those given by either the commentary of Sri Shankaracharya, Madhusudhan Saraswati, or Swamy Shiananda.

      An attempt is made here to offer a point of view, a persective altogether different since the Bhagavad-Gita is a scientific study of ‘Life and Death’ and ‘What after Death’. It is also an effort to lookt into it in the Light of modern scientific and technological advancements. The Lord’s words- ‘Bhagavan uvacha’, the pronouncements of Shree Krishna concerns the very soul of a person since the Chapter VIII explains all about the Higher Knowledge. Nowhere in the world is such a spiritual text that reveals the secret of the Creator, the creation and its sustenance, and dissolution such as the Bhagavad-Gita, that too coming straight from the Creator, Him Self. Since it is considered an eternal secret, many learned Seers have tried to decode the statements; The Lord says that He has revealed this (Gitopadesha) several times- first to the Sun God Vivasvan, and later on to the first-born Manus, Ikshvaku, and now to Arjuna, Pandavas, and Uddhava. It is very difficult for us, the mortals, to understand what the Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna, said. However, there is a way of learning this secret as it is revealed in the Gita itself. This “Knowledge of the Self” can be realized through Yoga, Contemplation (dharana, nidhidhyasana), total surrender (sharanagati) to the Lord (Ishvara pranidaana), and by self-study of scriptures (svadhyaaya); the best way is to take to ateendriya dhyana (Transcendental Meditation) and attain to the state of Samadhi- higher level of Consciousness. The Lord comes here as Yogacharya and Teaches Yoga to Arjuna in order to stabilize his confused dilating mind (See Chapter VI). Anybody can realize ‘the Self’ by sincere and devoted practice of these methods (Yogabhyasa).

    When it comes to understanding the secrets as revealed by the Lord to Arjuna, it is very important to know the technique of ‘Revelation’. This aspect is also revealed here (Ch.6. verse 5). Our senses, Mind, and Intellect are so limited and finite that they cannot grasp the Infinite and the Unlimited. Only the Soul can understand its Self. This is the problem; when we are unable to know the soul we are asked ‘to know the soul’ by the soul only and there is no other way! This is as good as saying, ‘know Consciousness’ by ‘conscious awareness itself’. This conscious awareness of oneself, knowing is ‘Shiva. Shiva is always portrayed in yogic posture, eyes half closed and attention focused on the tip of the nose. So also Yoganidra Narayana who sits in the posture of padmasana (cross-legged), with focused attention, contemplation, on the Self. The importance of yogic trance is highlighted here. God visioning is possible in this mode of dhyan.

       dhyanavasthita tad gatena manasaa yoginaa pashyanti paraa ||

   Further, the Lord warns that ‘one should not unnecessarily indulge in literary jugglery’. This spiritual study of the Gita is better understood and experienced by contemplating on Brahman, the Atman, rather than using manobuddhi faculty- the Mind and the Intellect. No language can convey the hidden secrets (guhyatama) and one should not take the roots of words, grammar, and composition and enter into discussion and quarrel. It is so beautifully said, “That some scholars, pundits, recite the Veda mantras, and some quote the Upanishads, while some others quote Brahma sutras, and Nirukta and try to prove that they only are right. They fight among themselves and go to the extent of shaving their head in order to prove their point of view as the only correct way and all others are wrong”. The Lord says, “I am amused the way they quarrel among themselves; they do not know that I am not an ‘object to be known’ and they will never know Me.” avajaanante maam mudaah . . . | (9.11)

     Furtther, He, the Lord, says, “But, Arjuna since you are my trusted friend and able disciple and you are not jealous of Me, I shall reveal the secret to you. I existed even before the Veda and Upanishads and what I have revealed to Vivasvan is the first ever revelation and all others are subsequent revelations. So believe Me and Me only. Do not twist and turn My words. Grasp the meaning and import of what I say, in its totality (not piecemeal). The Veda, Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, etc as jnyan are of no avail here. Total surrender, sharaNAgatiM, to Me in utter devotion may be due to helplessness,and constant remembrance of Me, chanting My name (nama smarane) as no other go will help; all other means are useless in knowing Me. But, I assure you, once  surrendered, I bestow My grace on all those who know Me as the supreme- ‘One’, ekam eva, the single, and‘no second’ (adviteeyam).  I am the supreme Lord of the Universe and there is none other than Me, or besides Me; only those who worship Me as the Absolute Abstract Bhuman, Niraakara Parabrahman, will be redeemed and they join Me. In fact i assume any form with my yogic powers!”  This is the central idea of the Gita.

     The Bhagavad-Gita is a source of tremendous spiritual power to us and one can attain to Godhood by sincerely following it, step by step. The Lord guides us here and shows how to attain to divinity by discharging our normal duties, focusing our attention on Him. The Lord of the universe, “akhilaanda koti Brahmanda nayaka”, says, “Turn to Me, keep Me in focus while discharging your duties, you will attain success, happiness, and liberation and let there be no doubt about this!”

 “Manmanaabhava madbhakto madhyaajee maam namaskuru; maamevaishyasi satyamte pratijaane priyosi me”, says Krishna

    The Bhagavad-Gita- The Science of the Eternal is all about Mind and Moods of man. Mind and moods dictate life and activities of man and ultimately lead him to delusion. This delusion can be avoided only if the Mind is kept under proper control by Consciousness. Krishna, the Supreme Consciousness, tutors and changes the Mind of Arjuna here. It is an invaluable guide, a hand-book handed over to us by our ancient Sages. It is our fortune that we have inherited this golden treasure as our ancient heritage. What we learn and imbibe from this ancient sacred scripture is a secret Vedic Doctrine that remains a secret for ever. When clearly understood, it would lead to happiness, success, and emancipation. The secret is one of happiness and peaceful disposition that wells up in the heart, without external support or dependence!   

    Desire and fear rule the mind of man. ‘Desire’ is the seed, the ‘germ-cell’ that creates everything. It is the carriage of life and the living objects. This carriage of desire is drawn by the strings of ‘hope’ and the hope is the unseen golden thread that binds the carriage of desire and the embodied soul formed out of desire, the ‘germ-cell’. All these-  the desire, the hope, the embodied soul, and the living creature are, thus, the product of one single event of ‘movement of the subtle the ‘thought waves’ called ‘Shree Hari Iccha’, the ‘Will of God’.

     In a way, the embodied soul is a blemished soul. The pristine soul is covered by the unseen layer of dust of desire, hope and fear. Man is essentially formed out of the five great elements which and this blemished soul forms the core Although it is pure and pristine, the qualities inherited by its association with the earth makes it blemished and it hankers for liberation. It is the ‘desire’ that is the cause of birth; and having born, it is the fear of losing life that makes it try to preserve its self. Both life and death, i.e., desire and fear or the cause and effect (duality) constitute the quality of Nature. Thus, creation and destruction goes on and on endlessly, simultaneously. It is a constant struggle for existence for the embodied souls until it gets released from realization of its self. It is instinctive to survive for a jeeva an embodied soul, at any cost; it is this instinct that prompts it to take to violence or fight in self-defense, too. It is the inherent quality in living creatures to adopt defense mechanism to survive. Probably, it is this factor that drives man sub-consciously to adopt strategies to gain an upper hand, command, and, also commit atrocities on others for this purpose. War is one of them. The desire to expand, possess and enjoy exclusively, and such other desires rule the whims and fancies of the minds of the unscrupulous leaders and the history is full of these men who waged wars to expand their territory and command larger resources. However, the fear of losing is also the contributing factor; thus, both the victor and the vanquished perished in this war of desire and fear. Thus, it is not very difficult to find out why we are in a state of constant struggle- struggle for existence.

      Man is the most endangered of all the species and he is constantly in the threat of sudden and imminent extinction, at the press of a button. His two legs on the infirm ground below and the head high up in the air are the contributing factor to this tragedy. Further, this inherent desire and fear in the sub-conscious also work to his disadvantage. In his eagerness to protect himself and his belongings- his progeny, and his wealth his community, his people or his nation, he builds up arsenals, including the atomic weapons, which ultimately become the cause of his extinction. It is similar to the story of Bhasmasura. The mythological Demon acquired immense powers from his Tapas (spiritual practices) and, thus became so powerful that whomever he touched perished. When he tried to put his hand on the Lord Himself, he was tricked to put his hand on his own head and thus he perished.

      Wars have been waged in the historic past to glorify one-self and expand. Both these glorification and expansion are the qualities of the Lord. Man has imbibed these qualities from his Creator. Now, things have changed. Until recently, wars were waged to suppress enemies and expand territories; this has now become less attractive and new types of warfare have been invented. These are: 1. Economic warfare and conquering territories for the new products; 2. Political warfare to promote one’s own ideals like democracy, communism or socialism over wider areas; 3. Religious or Theosophical warfare wherein some people are interested in promoting their faith and belief in the name of religion. These are very strong forces that are not easy to control when once they gain momentum. Human mind is so weak that it easily succumbs to any stronger aggressive methodologies and emotional tactics and that include terrorism, sanctions, and aid and gift packages, and the like. Also, smaller fights take place within communities and families. All these are due to intolerance and lack of love and respect to fellow creatures! The most heinous crime committed by man against man is the war of hatred and jealous due to the desire to promote his own profit, pleasure, and greed.

       All these negative aspects are condemned in ‘Dharma’, loosely termed ‘Righteousness’, for it infringes on the rights of others to live peacefully. Universal peace is advocated in the ‘Principles of Dharma’ or ‘Natural Justice’, or simply, ‘Natural Law’. Hence, it is not moral and ethical to fight a war whatever is the reason. But, it may sound contradictory to find that Lord Shree Krishna advocates war instead of peace in the Bhagavad-Gita. But, one should not forget that this War of Dharma, the ‘Dharma Yuddha’, was inevitable since His efforts at truce and Mission to Duryodhana to resolve the conflict (Krishna’s Sandhana) failed and the war was inevitable.

     This war is the ‘War of Kuru Kshetra’-a constant fight in the world of evil; the word ‘kuru’ stands for the ‘wicked’ and, the word ‘Kshetra’ for the ‘Field’, the world. Only the Lord knows this ‘Field’, ‘Kshetra’. Hence, He is called the ‘Kshetrajnya’- the ‘Knower of the Field’. This aspect of the Kshetra and the Kshetrajnya is discussed in great detail in a separate Chapter. It is virtually a battle waged between the right and wrong in the human mind. It is a ‘psychological warfare’. It is the warfare between Indra, the Lord of the luminous Mind, and Vrutra, the Lord of Ignorance.* In Bhagavad-Gita this is described in the First Chapter- Arjuna Vishada Yoga, as the conflict that goes on in the mind of the confused soldier Arjuna who decides to quit the Battlefield. Once resolved to fight, it was his duty to fight as soon as the battle drums and bugles were sounded and the war was legally declared. But, seeing his Grandfather Bheeshma, Teacher Dronaacharya and his cousins and friends in the Battlefield, he decides not to fight and tells his Charioteer Krishna that his arms and limbs are becoming numb and he wants to quit. Since Arjuna wanted to retrace his steps Krishna advices him to ‘fight’ and not run away from the battlefield.

      This reminds us of the present predicament of President Bush of the United States of America whether to withdraw the Force from Iraq or add some more fight to finish, to the end. Like Arjuna, President George W. Bush got embroiled in the War in Iraq. The exact reason for the war is not very clear to most of the people who are far away from him and his country. It was deemed an invasion and war to unearth the hidden arsenals and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Many people are prone to think that it is a war on Iraq to get economic advantage over the oil resources; some think it is to fight Terrorism; and some people also think that it is a war of different religious faiths within the Islamic world of Shias and Sunnis who supported the Ruler in Iraq in which the US unnecessarily got involved. No body knows who the enemy is and who fights who in this war since the countries involved are also from distant lands, far distant geographically from each other- across the Atlantic Ocean. It is not even a war between one country and its neighbor; the people are fighting among themselves within their own country, too, in spite of the presence of armies of different nationalities under the UN Flag. It is all a big confusion, mindless killing of the innocents!

    It is simply disgusting that people are dieing here in Iraq and there in Syria, Gaza, and elsewhere for no reason. Is it a war between different faiths, believers and non-believers, the rich and the poor? Or, is it a war between the advanced and backward socio-economic groups, or is it an economic warfare involving market economies? Is it a war to promote one’s own ideology for that matter, or is it to promote the political ideal of democracy in a country ruled by a Dictator? Another question is whether the enemy is present in the battlefield? The most tragic part of the story is that the war is declared to fight an ‘unknown enemy’! They are still hunting for him (the enemy to shoot) all over the globe! Virtually, there is an enemy behind every tree! It is in the mind? In the mean time, the reason for the war is also invented. One reason is the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Where are these weapons? And the war is almost over and no body has found it. Also, they removed a person supposed to be behind all these WMD and he is charged with atrocities on innocent people- like the Kurds in the neighboring Turkey, and promoted self-aggrandizement. He is also charged with war crimes! But, who is killing whom? There are factions like the Al Qaeda’s foreign fighters, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militants. The persons who declared war and those who became party to it, are slowly withdrawing from the scene and people are still fighting! It is unfortunate that innocent people have been subjected to misery. How to establish peace everywhere in the world is what the leaders of the nations should consider on top priority, today. The Security Council of the United Nations has failed to tackle this problem so far and yet another chance should be given to nations possessing destructive weapons of mass destruction to come together and voluntarily stop production of arsenals and use them. War as a means of resolving conflict is totally destructive and “the next war will be fought between rocks!”

     The most intriguing part of the story of Iraq War is that a large country like the United States of America- strong, rich, and prosperous, is involved, and actively engaged, in all these wars outside its territory! Right now (at the time of writing this), almost 400 000 men are involved in this War in Iraq of which the US Force accounts for 140 000, and it intends to send another 50,000 more! At the time of editing the script, another 20,000 soldiers had left the shores of the USA.

     “The American people have bled long enough in Viet Nam and could not, for the life of them, figure out why”, says a columnist in the Mercury Times. “These many years later, it’s even harder to answer that question. Just why was that war about? This is the same as that of the Mahabharata War at Kurukshetra. As per the latest developments, ‘violence soars to record’. The civilian causalities in the attacks in October crossed 1000 mark!” [Mercury News: Dated, Dec.19, 2006]. The tragedy is that the more the armies infused the more the fighting and the more the killings. The rivalries, hatreds, and desire for revenge that are so much a part of Iraqi religious, sectarian, tribal and God-knows what else! Animosities exist there.  Earlier it was in Viet Nam, Korea, Afghanistan, and now in Iraq that the USA got involved and all these are in the name of promoting peace, freedom, democracy, and economic prosperity. The USA believes that peace and prosperity could be established by war and destruction! This country is ideally located, safely and securely, between two large Oceans and no body can imagine any threat to its safety and security even remotely by any country, one can imagine. The days of Pearl Harbor are over and there is no more a Soviet Union (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR); even the erstwhile harsh Communist China- the dreaded enemy of the USA, has become a close friend and soft ‘most-preferred’ trading Partner. Hence, it is surprising that the USA is afraid of ‘an unknown enemy’ and feels insecure. It is here that the doctrine of the Bhagavad-Gita applies to this situation- ‘waging a War on an unknown enemy’ in distant lands, ‘unknown field of the Self within’.

     It is a psychological warfare. There is no name and form of the enemy here. The fight takes place within the same person- his Lower Self and Higher Self; it is the fight between the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, and the likes and dislikes. This duality exists as a part of our nature of existence on this Earth. There is no USA or Iraq here since it is ‘One Earth and One World’ that exists here. Almost all the countries of the world are represented here in the population of the USA. This search for a home, as is the case with the Palestinians, too, has been going on in history of mankind ever since man appeared on this earth’s surface; he is constantly on migration like the Nordic Race and the Aryans*, and now, the unskilled labour, and the skilled labour like Engineers, Doctors, Scientists and Technocrats. All sorts of people move in search of not only bread and butter, but jam and cheese, too, and the cheese moves on! There is a constant move towards greener pastures. Movement is Natural Law and, to promote movement, change, is Dharma. One day, children read in school history text books, that “People from all over the world migrated to the newly found America in search of not only bread and butter, but jam, too” just as they read now that “Aryans migrated from Asia Minor to Indus Valley two or three thousand years ago in search of fodder for their cattle”.*

     The USA is a large country of immigrants where all the people live and work peacefully; of course, there desire and fear exist, the inherent weakness of man, and not even God can erase them. So, it is obvious that anybody who heads the Government of the United States of America finds that it is his/her bounden duty to protect the life and property of the people

and provide a free and fearless atmosphere for their smooth functioning, ____________________________________________________________* See Bal Gangadhar Tilak: ‘The Orion’, and the ‘Arctic Home of the Aryans’, Pune.

 at any cost! It is the bounden duty of every person to perform his function like a hero / ‘dheera’ and Krishna advises Arjuna to fight. It is cowardly, and a sin, too, to run away from one’s responsibilities. Leaving the task half done is much more dangerous. Lord Krishna urges Arjuna ‘to fight to finish’ these unknown enemies- fear, desire and greed, and false notions of numerous gods and ‘faiths’. He emphasizes that there is no other supreme power and ‘He alone is the Lord of the Universe’ in unmistakable terms.

He insists “maamevam sharanam vrajaa”, meaning, that ‘one should ‘Adore and worship Him and Him only, exclusively’. It is also clearly stated that, “By adoring lesser gods, one can get lesser benefits like material happiness, but not the everlasting Bliss, salvation, mukti, or release from bondage of the worldly life of dualities. He assures that, “He will protect all those who repose full faith in Him, and surrenders to His Will.”   

    At the outset, it must be made very clear here, that the Bhagavad-Gita is an extraordinary intuitional thought of Lord Krishna that comes in the form of a dialogue with his friend Arjuna and it reveals the secrets of the origin of the universe, evolution of Man, as also, the very purpose of his existence here. This ‘Eternal Science of the Spirit’ transcends time and space. It is complete Knowledge- the Veda Samhita.  It is “Para Vidya”/ Higher Knowledge or the ‘Knowledge Supreme’.  It is the secret knowledge of Self-Realization and emancipation or Mukti in Sanskrit. It is also known as ‘Gitopadesha’ or the ‘Celestial Song’. It is called the Yogopanishad since it incorporates the Upanishad Doctrine of ‘Tat tvam asi’ and teaches the technique of ‘Yoga’ to attain supreme Knowledge.

      Lord Krishna is the Bhagavan or God in human form and He is incarnation of Vishnu, an avatarapurusha. It is also important here to note that this entire scripture is of divine nature, a secret, not to be revealed to those who have no faith and do not respect ancient scriptures as of divine nature. ‘Faith’ is of utmost importance here. This knowledge is useless to all those who are immersed in the worldly affairs of mundane material wealth. Even those who are educated in modern science and technology cannot understand this higher spiritual knowledge for it requires a different kind of teaching and practice as is practiced in the Gurukula system in India.    

    The Doctrines of the Bhagavad-Gita remains a secret. First, it is difficult to understand that ‘God has spoken’ these words! Second, it is in Devanagari script (samskruta bhasha), although translated into almost all the Languages of the world, is still it is not possible to understand it. The problem here is that ‘it concerns the Soul’, the spirit that is abstract and inexplicable. It is an abstract spiritual science where silence speaks louder than words! It governs the inner life of Man and forms the basis of the ‘future of mankind’.

    The Bhagavad-Gita doctrines are of universal application and promote universal welfare, peace, prosperity, and liberation. The Bhagavad-Gita is a Text Book of Yoga, and Upanishad Doctrines, and Brahma Sutras, “yogaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaaya…,” as it is said at the end of each Chapter. These Teachings are in a way, “Instructions of God”. It says, “If you want success and happiness, liberation and Salvation, Mukti, you do as I say”. Lord Krishna is the source of Joy. What He speaks is the ‘Gospel of Truth’ and the only means of emancipation. It establishes the Truth that “Lord dwelling in man and divinity is inherent in every soul.” It shows how to tap the inner potential and excel in all walks of life and shine in His glory.  But, it is not possible to decode the secret of the words of God.Nobody can ever fully understand and translate accurately these words spoken by the Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is attempting the impossible; it is describing the ‘Knowledge of Brahman’ by a human being, the Infinite by the finite, of the Abstract Absolute in the concrete relative, here. 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 ‘fulfilment’ 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’.  “Ishavasyam idam sarvam”, says the Upanishad. Everything in this universe is pervaded by Ishvara; the Lord says, “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” is the Basic Principle. 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 dharmaan parityjya, maameva sharanam vraja,” meaning, “Throw away all your wares and come to me, I shall protect you”. Further, He adds:

 “Paritraanaaya sadhunaam sambhavaami yuge yuge,”

   meaning, “He will take repeated birth on earth, incarnates as avatar purusha, to protect the pious and the righteous; he will restore dharma, righteousness (equity and justice?), as also, punish the atrocious, ruthless and the arrogant.”

     We, as humans, carry a lot of burden of our own making (prarabhda, samcita, and agami karma).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, (explicitly stated yogakshemam vahmyaham) 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 systems in the mortal, our strength and prowess, and our skills and technology, our achievements and what not?

     Albert Einstein remarked that, “Having read the Bhagavad-Gita, I find that all other knowledge sounds superfluous”! (I would quip, 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 Sutras- the ‘Three-in-one’ Scripture.  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 Second Higher 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 is altogether a different kind of a scripture that appears as an appendage in the main Text since it appears as the one put in the words of Sanjaya, explaining the incidents on the battlefield to the blind King Dhritarashtra as a running commentary. In fact, the whole dialogue is going on between King Parikshit and Sage Shuka, son of Veda Vyasa. And, that is a different story.

     Sage Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa is also an avatara Purusha, incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and had divine powers vested in him. In fact, he offered to give sight to the blind Dritarashtra if he wished 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, words and deeds of the persons in the battlefield. He could see with this divine intuition everything- thoughts and action going at the Battle-front and thus narrated at great length all the details of what all happened, word-by-word (under  Verses- “Sanjaya uvaca…”).

      The Bhagavad-Gita is the formula of emancipation, the Mukti Yoga Sutra.* It is the sum and substance of the Veda- supreme Knowledge, ‘Vedanta Sara’. It is the spoken words of the Lord that has been revealed to various disciples- not once or twice, but several times, to different persons at different times! It is needless to say, that “every time the earth was deluded due to collapse of law and order, dharma, it was resurrected, Shri Hari Narayana has appeared in one form or the other and has rescued it ( almost twenty one times*).

      Sreemad Bhagavatam is the last of the eighteen epics, is 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 Notes and Quotes at the end 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. Shuka Muni, son of Sage Veda Vyasa, tells King Parikshita when the latter contended that there is considerable difficulty in believing all these stories. Here again, this King Parikshita represents the modern educated men (Pundits) who do not believe in ancient scriptures. The secret of creation and the path of Salvation are conveyed to each manu and finally, Vaivasvanta of the present Samvatsara.

    Acharya Madhva of Udupi is also believed to be a re-incarnation of Hanuman and Bheema; he has written a commentary on Bhagavad-Gita. Shree Madhvacharya is a staunch Vaishnavite who virtually held Shree Krishna in his hands and carried Him on his head through the streets of Udupi singing and dancing in praise of the Lord who came to him in a ship from Dwarka in the form of a clay covered icon! Shree Madhvacharya lived in Udupi during the Twelfth Century A.D. and promoted Dvaita Siddhanta of his predecessors and insisted that “the Lord is supreme and none can ever attain to that status of extraordinary divinity in human form”. The very fact that the Bhagavad-Gita, or the entire voluminous Mahabharata epic, for that matter, was not at all written by the Sage, but the songs (verses) were dictated to the God of Impediments Lord Ganesh (gana-isha) Ganadhipati (gana- adhipati), 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 a scripture of mysterious nature and of extraordinary sanctity- unspoken and unwritten work ever existed!

       ‘Geetopadesha’ i.e., the Sermons of the Lord and the Maha Vakya- the Commandments, were secretly communicated and passed on from generation to generations.  It was revealed to the first Manu, Sumanvanta but it was soon lost into oblivion over times. Hence, it was told again to the next Manu and the next like that to all the seven Manus, the Seventh Vivasvanta Manu is the one who is the Great–great-grandfather of all the human beings of the present eon. In fact, 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, Lord of the Universe, who sustains it with energy and creative power to the Sun-God, created by Him. The Sun-God told this secret to Sumanvanta Manu, the First Manu, of the first Manvantara. From the first Manu onwards, the secret has been conveyed to each of the subsequent Manus; and finally, it has come to Vaivasvanta Manu. He is the Manu of the present Manvantara (Seventh in the series) who told this to King Ikshvaku- the descendant of the Ruler of the Earth, Pruthu. The King Pandu of Hastinapura is the direct descendent of King Bharata of Ikshvaku dynasty. In another instance, Lord Vishnu 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 deluge and the ____________________________________________________________

* Geomorphology is the study of Changing Landforms; evidences abound in sedimentary deposits and fossils.

consequent changing landscape over the Millennia; and the formation of mountains and valleys, river plains and Lakes where none existed proves the same. There were convulsions and belching of extraordinary magnitude causing terrific explosions, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and strong sea waves and thunderstorms, cyclones, tsunamis, cloudbursts   

accompanied by incessant torrential down pours that caused total devastation and deluge. There are fossil records of one or two such catastrophic events in recent history of the earth’s surface (Geomorphology). Indeed, there were six such events recorded in the fossil history of recent millennia. Anyway, these are depicted as the doom’s day, deluge, ‘pralay’ that occurred at the end of each human history, as also, in.the history of the earth. This is just the same deluge that washed away the land as depicted in Shreemad Bhagavatam and, the supreme Lord Krishna descends to earth as avatar* or incarnation to restore it- may it be in the form of a child on the leaf of a Banyan (Fig tree?), or an animal like the fish (matsya), or Boar (Varaha), Turtle (Kurma), Nara-Shardoola (a Half-man and half Lion) nr’simha, Shree Rama, Shree Krishna, or the Buddha.

The pious and the learned spiritual Sages were thus saved and their Spiritual knowledge (the Veda) traditionally restored. The scriptures are not just the palm leaves with some scribbling! These are virtually the sacred words that have passed from the great Teachers/Sages and Seers to their ardent trusted students by way of perfect phonetic expression and chants by memory. In a way, these passed on from father to son, and teacher to his trusted disciple, as the ‘Shrutis’ and ‘Smrutis’.

     The first- born Manu of each Samvats are retold the same secret of ‘Reality of Existence’ and the supreme Truth to their children and other trusted disciples. And, here, at the end of Dvapara Yuga (about Three thousand five hundred years ago?), the Lord stands as the Charioteer of his nephew, trusted friend and disciple- the confused and disillusioned Mind- Arjuna, in the battle field of Hastinapura and reveals the same secret that was first told to Vivasvan, the Sun. The scene of the beginning Mahabharata War is described as what Sanjaya is narrating to the blind King Dhrutarashtra (Ch. I). It is a short running commentary of the happenings on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. But, soon the yoga aspects come into fore and what transpires between Krishna and Arjuna become ____________________________________________________________________* See Srimad Bhagavatam or Vishnu Purana for details of Twenty-five incarnations. more prominent than the War itself! This comes as an interlude due to the sadness of Arjuna, attachment to his kith and kin, and the sense of sin incurred on killing them. Arjuna is advised to “do his duty” and realize the true immortal nature  of the jivas.

    It is interesting to note that Supreme Lord Narayana, in the form of Sage Shree Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa, offers to bless the blind king

with sight in order to enable him to witness the war that was inevitable due to his attachment (moha), to his perverted and head-strong behaviour of his children- Duryodhana, Dushyasana and others. Since Dhrutarashtra is well aware of his weaknesses and knows full well that he alone is responsible for this predicament, and refuses to get the sight; he says, “it is enough to hear about the happenings from his Minister Sanjaya”. So, Sanjaya is blessed with an insight and an intuitional eye, as well as, the ability to see the happenings in the distant warfront; he is also blessed to read the minds of all those present there, and foresee things, as well. Thus, it starts with the words: “Sanjaya uvacha”, meaning, “Sanjaya said. . . ”

     But, the fact that Bhagavad-Gita appears as a part of the main Text is still a mystery to many scholars, since the subject matter of this is entirely different from the main Text of the epic. It appears as an intejection of the Lord, carrying with it the Sankya and Yoga aspects of the philosophy, aiming at ‘fulfillment’ and ‘Self-Realization’  and acquiring knowledge of existence (Jnyana), and total renunciation (vairagya or nirasakti), in defference to fruits of action.

    It is more by way of ‘loud thinking’ and an imaginary conversation that the entire Bhagavad-Gita is narrated here, rather than, what ordinarily we assume while reading the Text. In a way, there is neither the Battlefield nor Shree Krishna and an Arjuna there. It is all what transpires within the individual (Mind) of the one who introspects about the consequences of one’s action. Anybody who, with focused mind on the Lord, thinks about a problem, in the state of deep transcendental meditation will experience this.

     The ‘Yoga of Renunciation’ (sanyasayoga) and the ‘Yoga of ‘Performing Action Selflessly’ (knishkaama karma yoga) i.e., performing one’s ordained duties according to varnashrama dharma- “Kartavyam Daivamaanhikam”, such as Vedic rituals for the Brahmin, fight to establish Dharma to Kshatriyas, protect Cows and agriculture to Vaishyas, and service to others to Sudras, are the ordained duties according to varnashrama dharma. Any action done self-less with with total devotion to Lord (Bhakti), and performance of action as meditation and prayer for the welfare of mankind (Karma), and with superior divine Knowledge (‘Brahmajnyana’), and finally yogabhyasa, i.e., spiritual practices are advocated as steps to liberation. 

    It is here that the Lord speaks of redeeming a person from the bondage, cycle of repeated births and deaths, on this earth. He explains how the soul/atma or the jeeva gets embodied repeatedly, and gets embroiled in physical elements and suffers in an illusory world running after insatiate objective world of hunger, thirst, profit and pleasure, in the name of enjoyment. He reveals the secret of ‘Fulfilment’ that lies in realizing the Truth / ’sat’, and, not just simply knowing it. The Knowledge of Truth / Reality of existence are ‘Mukti Yoga Rahasya’. 'Rahasya' here means 'raha yasyaat' meaning, passing through space, air, vayu, as it were, carried by prana shakti!

    Mukti Yoga Rahasya, is the ‘Secret of Emancipation’, or ’Gospel of Truth’. It is the Yoga or secret technique of getting connected to and merged in Parabhraman (Truth) through yoga. It is the ‘Unity Consciousness’ attained by regular spiritual practice in ateendriya dhyana reaching Samadhi (Transcendental Meditative state) where in individual consciousness is connected to the universal Consciousness.      

     Thus, it is possible that somebody has just inserted the Mantropanishad or Yogopanishad, with some modification, as an Episode into the widely read Mahabharata*. Anyway, it serves well to dispel the ignorance of Arjuna; in a way, it is a boon to us, as well. Here, the God-visioning (vishvaroop darshan)is also an important eventafter which  Arjuna says, “My illusion has vanished.” This enlightenment comes only after the Lord’s Grace.

   The characters depicted in the Bhagavad-Gita are those associated with the characters of the main Text of the Epic Mahabharata, such as Dhrutarashtra, Bhishma, Arjuna, Dronaacharya, and others mentioned in Ch. I. Arjuna wants to find out who are all there on the Battlefield and asks his Charioteer Krishna to take the Chariot to the centre of the Battlefield. Howver, it is important to note that these characters are in the mind of Arjuna rather than on the battle field since the battle is taking place in the mind of Ajuna.

____________________________________________________________________ * The epic Mahabharata is virtually written by none other than the Lord of Impediments Vighneshwara,using his tooth when his penfailed!Lord  Ganapati writes as dictated by Sree Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

    The names of the warriors assembled in the Battlefield are mere qualities of Intelligence, of nature. [see Text and Notes for more details]. Although the First Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita starts as an introduction to the War, the war is not the main issue here. The necessity of war is also not introduced here since it is a part of the  main story of the epic. Only

the need for action, ‘performing the necessary ordained duty’, is stressed here. Every body has to perform his/her duty as per the Natural Law, Dharma. These duties are very clearly defined in Manu Dharma Shastra.

     If one wants success, happiness, progress, development, or fulfilment, it is necessary that he/she should abide by dharma. Significantly enough, there is a Svasthi vachana Mantra that is used as invocation in Hindu cultural tradition. It is based on this ‘Natural Law’. It invokes the Lord’s grace for firm establishment of one self, as also all others in their respective position. This is very important. If the elements are disturbed in their orderly performance of their function, there will be confusion anarchy and delusion. No body can change places or position unless ordained by the Lord. It is Dharma to perform one’s duty however lowly it might be; in fact, to excel himself in his avocation is the main teaching here. Krishna says, “What ever the best in every thing, is His Self”. He goes on to explain “Who He is”. He and makes it very clear that, “He, the Lord only exists- in the cavity of the heart of one and all” as a bird Hansa, light of thumb-size, or the size of Barley or Mustard seed. He is served by 24 Gods and Goddesses (Gayatree /Savitr Devatas) and 72000 upa-devatas Semi-Gods), too, sustaining the body. In fact, the nerves and the neurons carry the energy, life-force, ‘chaitanya’, and provide the Intellectual power, knowledge, creative power due to the presence of the Lord.

   The concept of Time and Space is beautifully described by the Lord. He says that, “He is Time” (“Kaalosmi”) and He has come to devour everybody (except the Pandavas) and reveals His Divine Form, “Virat Svaroop”- how all are already entering His mouth and their skulls are crushed…” [11.32]. This indeed is the Black Hole!

   No specific period of Time can be attributed to the happenings here since all these happen within a fraction of a second in the minds of persons. Moreover, there is no documentation of the sacred script since it _________________________________________________________

*Starting from Vivasvan, the Sun, all the fourteen Manus are Sun only, but with different names.    **Saptarshis: Bhrugu, Marichi, Atri, Pulastya, Kratu, and Vashishtha.

has come down to us as ‘that which is heard’ (‘shruti’) and ‘that which is remembered’ (‘smruti’). Gita is an intuitional Song that reverberates at all times in Ether Akasha or space) and is the cause of all causes and their effects. These thoughts are well documented later by the Drushtaras, Seers or learned Sages

   Although, as a matter of academic interest, the modern historians put the

date of this scripture of Mahabharata around 3000 to 3500 B.C. (some put it at least 10, 000 years!), it is at least 197.60 Million Years ago that the Lord told this secret science of the eternal to the Sun Vivasvan. It looks ridiculous to all those who have neither knowledge of science, nor the spiritual, or even knowledge and experience of this different kinds of sense of time and space, as defined in Sankhya and Yoga Shastra. This aspect of divine experience is gained only from Yoga Sadhana. Hence, meditation aspect is specially addressed to in greater detail in Gitopadesha.    Thus, this ‘Gospel of Truth’, is spoken by none else than the Lord Himself. It is a guide to sane and sensible living on this beautiful, rich and resourceful attractive ‘Living Planet’, Earth. It spells out the secrets of health, happiness, peace and contentment, as also, ways and means of attaining to supreme Knowledge, liberation, ‘Mukti’ or Moksha. Even a light reading of this Text assures supreme Bliss to all those who have trust and faith in Him, the Lord of the Universe.

   There are innumerable versions of the Bhagavad-Gita, almost 200000 commentaries. Some have presented word-by-word meaning and elaborate explanations 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. Many scholars have presented exhaustive dissertations after intensive research trying to explore the hidden meaning of the Sootras / philosophical formulae of the Upanishad Doctrines in the Bhagavad-Gita. All these efforts are praiseworthy, for they show the interest of the scholars in the Lord’s divine sayings. In fact, the Bhagavad-Gita is the oldest and the most widely-read of the holy Scriptures- both in the East and the West, even to this day.  Some of the Commentaries are simply wonderful!

     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 that 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. We simply live for living sake. Our understanding is that ‘having born to live be the next best’. That is all our conception. But, 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 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 perfectly understood and practiced Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga Sutra.

  Some scholars like Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Annie Besant, Edwin Arnold and many others have used the Gita to highlight and convey the social and political aspects, whereas, persons like Swami Shivananda and his disciples like Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Bhrahmaananda and his disciples like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Acharya Rajaneesh, Sree Ramana Maharshi, Jiddu Krishna Murthy, and 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 (of Tamil Nadu) and AC Bhakti Vedanta and Nimbaraka or Nimbaditya (West Bengal) have followed Dvaita, Shree Vaishnava and Vishishtaadvaita siddhanta /Doctrines; Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, his disciples like Sri la Prabhupada and others have explored Bhagavata Dharma in the Gita in the light of Dwaita Siddhanta, or the Bhedaabheda or Vishishtadvaita Philosophy, and propagated these Teachings in the States of West Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, Karnataka, etc.

   The most appropriate renderings of the spiritual aspects have come from Shankaracharya, Abhinava Gupta, Madhusudhana Sarasvati, Santa Jnyaneshvar, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak; the last Commentator Tilak has stressed the importance and need for Karmayoga. A word about is Santa Jnyaneshvar and Shankaracharya is quite appropriate here. Shankara born in Keladi attained to spiritual heights at a very young age by sheer divine grace and poorva punya (karma phala), the carry-over of the fruits of spiritual attainments of the past lives! So also, is Santa Jnyaneshvar who as a child displayed his knowledge of the scriptures and magical power of his spiritual attainments (Siddhi, sadhana). He, too, is an incarnate Narayana since no one at the tender age of ten can ever defeat a Centenarian, a versatile knowledgeable person like Changa Deva.  Ironically, the names of the two brothers and the sister are Nivruttinatha, Sopana Deva and Mukta Bai. These names mean: Nivrutti natha -the one who has attained to Renunciation (vairagya), Sopana Deva meaning one who has attained to a spiritual state of enlightenment, and Mukta Bai meaning the one who is realized soul, a redeemed person, Jeevan- mukta. Such a stupendous “knowledge of the Self” o Brahma Jnyan is impossible without the divine Grace (as Incarnation!).

     Ultimately, one finds that. Shankara’s Commentary on Bhagavad-Gita seems to be very apt one that focuses attention on the Advaita 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 Moksha, 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 secret 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 principle / Tatvas of elements, such as the agni tattva, jala tattva and the pruthvi tattva. It is transcending the ‘bhu, bhvar and svah’ realms / ‘vyahrutis’. It refreshes one to the core of his soul’s contentment and leaves him totally happy and blissful. It is total emancipation, liberation, or mukti, at that!

    The human body is a replica of the universe, a microcosm. It 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 is also a communication system in the nerves and neurons (nadi granthis) that maintain the entire system in perfect union. However, the jiva is disturbed by the attractions of the sensuous world and the harmony is thrown out of gear. Thus, the need for a teacher and proper guidance in yoga, (yuj meaning join) becomes necessary.

     The sayings of the Bhagavad-Gita can also be interpreted appealing to each one according to one’s level of intelligence, level of Consciousness and the level of spiritual experience, capacity to understand, previous knowledge and experience, etc. 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, ‘freedom of the Soul’.

      This version of the Bhagavad-Gita’- ‘Science of the Eternal’, may be called “The Bhagavad-Gita Revisited” in the 21^st Century and this is the first edition of the New Millennium with a new practical approach to better health, happiness, prosperity, and ‘Salvation’, too. It is called the ‘Mukti Yoga Rahasya’ / ‘The Secret Science of Salvation’ since it absolves human beings of all sins and bondage, ‘paapakarma’. It is the secret technique of crossing the ocean of Sansar. It has come as a result of divine grace of the Lord and his humble attempts at the spiritual attainment. Even the Phalashruti and Geeta Mahatmya given at the end of this Text proclaim that extra-ordinary spiritual or mystic powers accrue to those who study the Bhagavad-Gita with utmost devotion. Ultimately, it is what the adhyatmic experience that the Bhagavad-Gita brings that matters and, it is available to all the human beings born on this earth irrespective of nationality, caste and creed, religious faith and beliefs. It is divine Bliss. The casual readers might feel, at times, that there are some repetitions in the Text here and there and a few statements appear to be a little out of context. The Mahat Tatvas or the Basic Principles are deliberately repeated in different contexts in order to drive home the basic tenets of the Bhagavad-Gita Doctrine of Self-Realization. Further, certain aspects of the Upanishads, Bhrahma Sutra and the Yoga Sutra are elaborately dealt with wherever possible in order to provide an insight into the principles of the Yoga Rahasya of the Bhagavad-Gita. Knowledge can be obtained from Vedic Literature (see Notes at the end) which explain the ‘Qualities of Intelligence’ that are needed in order to understand the Lord’s message here. But, it is impossible to bring all of these in one ambit of the present volume. Hence, certain details presented here and there seem to be out of context, but these are really essential for our background knowledge and help us better understanding the Secrets (Rahasya) of Yoga.

    No effort is made here to present the Bhagavad-Gita in the order it is normally presented Chapter by Chapter, shloka-wise. However, it is given for ready reference. The summary of the different chapters are presented in a way that helps to get to the root of the problems of our mundane life and find the solutions that the Teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita offer to attain salvation / Mukti. Ultimately, what is it we want from the study here is the question. Unless, it helps us to understand the nature of this world and see things as they are in Reality, rather than what they appears to be to our limited perceptions of the mind and the senses, it is of no use to us. The knowledge and wisdom one gained from the spiritual aspects of the study of the Bhagavad-Gita are the supreme knowledge, ‘para vidya’. It is Vedanta and there is no substitute for it. It brings salvation, emancipation, mukti and Moksha, and enlightenment to all those who aspire for it.

     May Lord Krishna give the necessary courage, courage of conviction, necessary knowledge and spiritual strength to make it a reality in words from its initial thoughts, strong intuitional desire and resolve that have arisen in my heart and Mind?   

     These writings are purely intuitional knowledge, experience, feelings of the author and do not in any way bind any other faith or beliefs and the author begs of pardon if it in any way hurts the feelings of the readers or followers of other faiths and beliefs. The author is aware that none should ever disturb the faith of others. Nothing but a spiritual aspiration guides in this venture, not even profit or pleasure of any sort and the author does not even preserve the copyright of this work. Any strong feeling that arises out of this work in the minds of the readers, other than the spiritual, should be dismissed and ignored as an aberration, a natural human error that is worthy of pardon in the name of the Lord. No body should take this as ‘personal’ and think that it upholds only the Vaishnavite faith or the ancient Hindu philosophy. It must be remembered that this scripture is undated and not addressed to any particular sect or creed, but it addresses the whole of mankind. It was there even before the origin of different languages, cultures, and faiths and beliefs! It was there when the whole world was one single land mass Golok (Jambu Dveepa) and there was a place called Naimisharanya, an undisturbed calm and quiet palce, where the Sages practiced spiritual exercises (Yogabhyasa) and pursuits of Yajnya (sacrificial rituals). All lived like one extended

family, as brothers and sisters of one joint-family. The question of the Bhagavad-Gita belonging to a particular sect does not arise at all. Only thing is that a small section of people still follow this age-old tradition and principles even today while most others have given it a go-bye!

      This Bhagavad-Gita, as Sanatana Dharma established on the sound footing of pure Consciousness could be an ideal world religion that can ably substitute all other conflicting Religions of the present day. This will bring peace and prosperity, a heaven on earth.

     As already pointed out, this is a subject that is not open for arguments or criticism; the words spoken by the supreme Lord is not to be argued about for the sake of intellectual jugglery. It is meant for deep contemplation, understanding and spiritual experience only. It is foolish to find fault with the statements of the Lord. Who can dare question God? Even if there are doubts and questions to ask, who will answer them? All are searching for the answers to these eternal problems of mankind; there is no one who can stand apart and answer with full knowledge and authority. However, the supreme Lord will answer all our questions if we surrender to Him completely and contemplate on any problem in Meditation. He is seated in our heart as asantaryamin. As the omniscient, omnipresent, He, the Lord is always available to us.

     This small book is a scripture for self-study, svadhyaya and dhyana, (upasana grantha) and the result of Meditation is inexplicable- a spiritual fulfilment. The phalashruti reveals all. This exercise, sadhana is also due to divine providence. This version of the Gita is the manifest form of divine intuitional knowledge, rather ‘Revelations’ at that!  The very exercise of writing this book is divine Bliss. “The power of the Absolute by which the Bhagavad-Gita is spoken can never be retold in the same vigor and strength of words”. Yet an effort is made here to present another version of the Bhagavad-Gita by divine grace and prodding. Hence this is a work of contemplation, meditation, and sadhana. This work is devoted to find answers to human problems in this world full of sufferings and misery, but for which it would have been the most wonderful, enjoyable, fantastic world- a paradise. Om, tat sat”.

TNAR

 .... to becontd.