Who said this Gita to whom and when?
In the very words of Bhagavan Shree Krishna, this Gita as
Brahma vidya yogopanishat was firs revealed to the Sun God Vivasvan at the
beginning of Creation! This was later on passed on to manu, Ikshvaku and others
and finally lost!
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानमव्ययम्।विवस्वान्मनवे मनुरिक्त्वाकवेब्रवीत्॥(४.१)
The
Lord says, “I first taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan, the Sun, the
first manu; who in turn told it to
Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.”
But,
then, who is this Bhagavan Shree Krishna and, who is Arjuna to whom this yogopanishad
is imparted here? When was He, the Lord, born and this Arjuna born? Are these
the mythological characters or a fiction, a fig of imagination? The answer is
loud and clear as proclaimed by the Lord Himself! “There is nothing here except
that ‘chaitanya’, that is My
supreme Self, paramatma, and the
same as the self of all, the jivatmas!
Bhagavan Shree Krishna is chaitanya murti.
He, the Lord says, “I, ‘My Self’, become the ‘Self of all’ and, as such, “I (Atman) only exists in all and, there is
nothing besides Me” here.” These are matters of transcendental nature, beyond
the mind, senses, and a great mystery (mystical experience!)! Anybody taking
recourse to samdhiyoga under a good
teacher can experience it. It is also said that “The spoken words of the Lord
can be heard, but his beautiful svarupa
also be seen by the inner eye in transcendental meditative state, savikalpa samadhi!” It is all in our own
consciousness at different levels!
बहुनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन | तान्यहं वेद सर्वानि न त्वम् वेत्थ परंतप॥ (४. ५)
Meaning, O Arjuna Parantapa! You and I have taken many births
and I know them all but you do not know them.
पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदुच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते॥
Meaning, “That (‘tat’) is Full” (purnam / wholeness / Complete) or perfect and this jiva which
manifests from ‘That’ parabrahman is
also complete, full. This is the fundamental principle, mula tattva. The Veda holds the key. Every atom (kana) is
complete in its structure, composition, quality and its function. So also,
every cell (jiva kosha) is complete, fully knowledgeable and functions.
The child in the mother’s womb is as complete as the mother and father, the
parents themselves. Nothing is incomplete, nothing is imperfect here. That is
the reason why it is said, “Child
is the Father of man”. “God is man by proxy”. The secret of the
cosmic entity, the universe, is very beautifully explained by Shree Krishna in
a simple Mantra or Formula or Sutra. “I am That”. This means that there
is nothing other than Shree Krishna as supreme Consciousness in this cosmos,
the universe or the material world. It is the “One”,
appearing as ‘many’. ‘One
becoming many’, just as one full moon appearing in a thousand lakes.
एकोहम् बहुस्याम्
| I
am One, I shall be many, said the Lord. (Rkveda)
मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन् गर्भं दधाम्यहं। संभवस्सर्वभूतानां ततोभवति भारत॥ (१४. ३)
सर्वयोनिषु कौंतेय मूर्तयः संभवंति याः। तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता॥(१४. ४)
Meaning, “My womb is the great Brahma; in
that I place the germ of ‘desire’; thence, O Arjuna, is the birth of all
beings! Whatever forms are produced, O Arjuna, “in any womb whatsoever, the
great Brahma is their womb” and “I am the seed-giving father”. Bhagavan
Shree Krishna narrates how the universe is created.
It is interesting to note that the Lord, as
Vishnu pervades the universe as pure Consciousness. Bhagavan Shree Krishna is ‘poorna-prajnya’ and as such He knows
all. He pervades the universe as ‘kaal’ (Time). He is ‘Akasha’
(space). He accommodates everything. Hence all are in Him! Everything is an
indivisible part of Him, amshatmika.
Nothing exists without Him since He is the support of all that exists. He
asserts that “He only exists, and nothing besides Him”.
Eko’ham adviteeyam \ He created and
entered into creation. Tat srushtvaa tat evaanupravishat | He, the supreme Lord, Bhagavan Shree
Krishna manifests in different forms
from the power of Maya. All the eight principles- space, air, fir,
water, earth, mind, intellect, ahankar are the manifest powers of the Lord.
These are the eight principles of Nature (prakruti). He is the”Be all and end
all”.
Everything that
manifests from Him, the Lord, has the same powers of creation, sustenance, dissolution,
however in a kinchit or limited way. What the Lord created, man also creates,
but the powers of the latter are limited to his ability, unlike the Lord who is
mahat, ‘bruhat’, vast! Man also excels in his intellect in his own limited
sphere. This is the reason why man cannot keep quiet even for a second and is
always engaged in some work or the other. When the jiva realizes its true
nature, it merges in Him, ceasing to remain separate!
न हि कश्चित् क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मक्रुत् ।कार्यते ह्यावशः कर्म सर्वः प्रक्रुतिजैर्गुणैः॥ (३. ५)
कर्मेंद्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन्।इंद्रियार्थान् विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते॥(३. ६)
यस्त्विंद्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेर्जुन। कर्मेंद्रियैः कर्मयोगं असक्तः स विशिष्यते॥ (३. ७)
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः |शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येद् अकर्मणः॥(३. ८)
यज्ञार्थात् कर्मणोन्यत्र लोकोयम् कर्मबंधनः।तदर्थं कर्म कौंतेय मुक्तसंगः समाचर॥(३. ९)
O Arjuna, “Verily none can ever remain for
even a moment without performing action; for, everyone is compelled to act,
helplessly indeed, by the qualities born of Nature.” An ignorant man is driven
to action helplessly, by force of nature- the gunas (Rajas, Tamas and Sattva).
A person, who is restraining the organs of action, sits thinking of the
sense-objects in mind, is of deluded understanding. He is a hypocrite. But,
whosoever, controlling the senses by the mind, engages himself in Karma Yoga
with the organs of action, without attachment, he excels! Therefore, you
perform your ordained duty, ‘for action is superior to inaction’;
remember that even the maintenance of the body would not be possible without
action. The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake
of sacrifice. Therefore, O son of Kunti, do your duty for the sake of action,
karma as a Yajnya, sacrifice, alone- free from any attachment! [3. 5-9]. Thus,
karma will not bind, or afflict you as a blemish, thereby karma phala will not accrue and the cause of rebirth will be
eliminated!
अन्नाद्भवंति भूतानि पर्जन्याद् अन्न संभवः। यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो यज्नः कर्म समुद्भवः॥ (३ १४)
All the jivarashi depend on food
and the food depends on rain; rain comes at the appropriate time to support the
crops due to the yajnya, sacrifice,
performed. This entire universe is a sacrifice. The sun burns and gives life to
jivarashi through this rain and food. Everything is yajnya here!
The
Shvetashvatara Upanishad clearly explains this concept of Sacrifice, yajnya. Lord Agni, the Fire-God, the ‘havis’ (the offering), and the process
of yajnya (the very function of sacrificial ‘offering’) are ‘yajnya’.
The Lord is the ‘yajnya hotr’; He is the yajnya ahuti; He
is the ‘bhokta’ and the ‘bhoktru’. Here, each object of creation
is an offering to the other. Each action is a sacred action, a sacrificial
ritual. Out of this sacrificial function evolves the new and the rewarding ‘karma
phala’. ‘Desire’ and ‘Resolve’ (sankalpa) are at the root of this
entire Yajnya. Thus, the universe moves on together with sacrifice, and an
endless creation and dissolution, said the Lord.
तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।गुणा गुणेशु वर्तंत इति मत्वा न सज्जते॥(३. २८)
श्रेयान् स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात् स्वनुश्ठितात्।स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः॥ (३. ३५)
“Better to stick to one’s own faith, dharma,
than adopt the faith of another well however looking more attractive. Better is
death in one’s own faith; the faith of another is fraught with fear.” May it
also be said, that “One should never leave his/her dharma and adopts some
others’ for it is not only unknown but full of dangers! It is better to live and
die performing one’s own dharma than someone’s.” This is especially true of the
followers of age-old and eternal ‘sanatana
Hindu dharma’ since all others have come as a diversion, far from truth.
Let’s know what secrets are revealed by the
supreme Lord in the Gita, especially, in the light of our scientific
researches, particularly, in astronomy, particle physics and quantum mechanics,
molecular biology, study of cells and genetics, etc. All these are modern day
researches as compared to the ancient scriptures that are the spoken words of
Gods, or intuitive knowledge of great sages visualized in their transcendental
meditation (samadhi). Accordingly, this universe has neither a beginning nor an
end and it always existed in one form or the other! It is attributed to
‘brahmn’, meaning the absolute inexplicable subtler-most force in its potential
state and in an animated suspense! It is the source and everything emerges and
merges within it! It is this what Bhagavan Shree Krishna says as ‘nirakara
parabrahman’.
||
|| ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म |
The Bhagavad-Gita is indeed the
monosyllable divine song. The monosyllable ‘Om’ (AUM) is a symbol like any other Cross or
svastika, It is not even an alphabet since the alpha and beta have not appeared
here, as yet! The symbol is the
logos of paramatman; it is the nada,
svara, shabda (ssound) that heralds the birth of the universe! It holds the
secret of creation, sustenance, and dissolution. It is the power of srushti,
sthiti,
and samhruti
of the universe. All the secrets are hidden in the sound of this three-and-a
-half syllable- 
a u m mmmm, an insignia of
the Bhagavan. The sound of 
is enough for the mortals for it serves as the
ship to cross the ocean of sansar.
The verses of the Gita reveal the secrets of
creation, sustenance, and dissolution as revealed by Bhagavan Shree Krishna. It is observed that the commentaries on the Gita written so far (that number almost 200 000) do not even touch the
most important questions such as “Who this Bhagavan Shree Krishna is? Who
are these Dhrutarashtra, Sanjaya, and Arjuna? Are they human beings like us, or
just characters in a drama? What are the secrets revealed when the Lord says,
“Arjuna I shall reveal you the ‘guhyatama
guhyam’, for you are very dear to Me.”, “Om tasaditi”, or for that matter, “Om ityetadakshara brahma”. The answers to our questions regarding the existential reality are found in the Gita. Ultimately, we do not understand that these teachings are reveal to the Sun at the beginning of the Creation and explains how the Lord designed this universe and the
jiva suffers due to its embodiment, rather, embedded in an elemental body; it suffers due to its avidya since it forgets its true nature. He, the Lord reveals that the jiva, acquires guna after birth (qualities such as tamas, rajas, sattva, moha,
lobha, krodha, mada, matsarya, etc.). Desire prompts the jiva to resolve (sankalpa) and initiates action (karma) and thereby acquires the fruits of action (prarabhda, sanchita, and agami) that become seeds for future
births. Attachment and desire creates delusion and even an attained person, a jnyani, (like Bhishmacharya) forgets his true nature and suffers. When this
confused mind, as Arjuna, seeks guidance Shree
Krishna, the embodiment of pure Consciousness, reveals the secret ‘Knowledge of the Self’ (Atma-jnyan)- “thou art that” (tattvamasi).
“The first six chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita deal
with the ‘tvam’ aspect (Arjuna), the next six chapters deal with
the ‘tat’
aspect, explains who the supreme Lord Shree Krishna is, and finally, the last
six chapters dealing with the union of the jivatman (Mind afflicted with moha, mada, matsarya, etc.) with paramatman (pure Consciousness), the ‘asi’
aspect reveal how to get united, become one with Him.” Unity Consciousness’, samyak-prajnya, is the main theme
here. The jiva reverts to its pure state with the dawn of this ‘knowledge’ of
the ‘Self’." (Swami Shivananda Saraswati).
And, then, a caution is there! This Gita is
not for all and all cannot understand these spoken words of the Lord! This are
the words of Bhagavan Shree Krishna only, not of the mortals. Why it is not for
all mortals? The Lord says, “Not all are interested in Me. Out of a million or
so, there may be one or two interested in Me. Of these millions, again, only
one or two may be eager to know Me. Out of a million such eager seekers, only
a few try to know Me. Finally, out of
these who try to me some will be under illusion that they have known Me, but
none can know Me because I am not something or somebody to know! I am the self
of all and I only exist! If there are two, one can see, know, touch or
understand. Where is the question of knowing or understanding Me when I only
exist as all that manifest in diverse names, forms and functions?, asks the
Lord”. Now as regards, the capacity to understand anything is limited in all
mortals since they have come under the limitations of time, space, and
causality (ma ya, that which can be
measured; reverse ma ya it becomes ya ma meaning, that which is subject to
Time, (‘kaal’).The Veda has made it very clear as to how one can
reach to the ultimate reality, the brahmn by understanding
slowly, step by step.
The capacity of children at kindergarten
level to understand (or even the grown-ups!) is very limited; they are
interested only in purana, punya katha, and katha kalakshepa. The capacity is a
little different from a class VII to XII students. The people interested in
ancient history and epics make an effort to learn at this stage. This capacity to
understand increases as one reaches the degree level. People take to Veda and Upanishads
at this level, and, at post-graduate level they take to brahmasutras. Beyond this stage, at the research level, there is an
abstract study of ‘Srividya’, chakra-dhyana, dharana and samadhi. Thus, the
ability to know, capacity to acquire secret higher knowledge, increases with
every successive improvement in grades! If a student of engineering or medicine
takes at least eight to ten years, the Gita
adhyayana takes at least fifty to
sixty years! It may not be possible to know the esoteric aspects of the Gita.
Thus, this yogopanishad, brahma vidya, or the Adhyatma vidya is meant for the
serious seekers only.
The jiva has come under ‘niyati’, limitations, the grip of maya- time, space, and causality. It is important to know to what extent our ability
to understand can take us in this spiritual pursuit. Reading the Gita as a daily upasana
grantha will lead one face to face with the Lord! The Veda and the Upanishads declare, “Understanding is,
verily, greater than meditation. Understanding makes one understand the
Rig-Veda, the Yajurveda, the Sama-Veda, the Atharva-Veda as the fourth, the
epics and the ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas, the rules of
sacrifices by which the Manes are gratified, the science of numbers, the
science of portents, the science of time, logic, ethics, etymology,
Brahma-vidya, the science of elemental spirits, the science of weapons,
astronomy, the science of serpents and the fine arts; heaven, earth, air,
water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees; animals, together with
worms, flies and ants; and also righteousness and unrighteousness, the true and
the false, the good and the bad, the pleasant and the unpleasant, food and
taste, this world and yonder world. Meditate on understanding. He who
meditates on understanding as Brahmn attains the worlds of understanding and
knowledge and can, of his own free will, reach as far as understanding
reaches-he who meditates on understanding
as Brahmn.”
Sage Narada said: venerable Sir, is there
anything greater than understanding? Of course there is something greater than
understanding. Please tell that to me, venerable Sir. [Samaveda, Chan. Upa VII,
VII - Understanding as Brahmn, 1-2]. “Strength
is, verily, greater than understanding. One strong man causes a hundred men of
understanding to tremble. When a man is strong he can rise. If he rises he can
attend on the teachers. If he attends on them he can become their intimate
companion as a pupil. If he is their intimate companion he can watch their
conduct, listen to their instruction, reflect on what he hears, become
convinced of what he reflects on, act and enjoy the result of action. By
strength the earth stands firm, by strength the mid-region, by strength heaven,
by strength the mountains, by strength the gods and men, by strength cattle and
birds, herbs and trees and animals, together with worms, flies and ants, by
strength the world stands firm. Meditate upon strength. He who meditates on strength as Brahmn can,
of his own free will, reach as far as strength reaches-he who meditates on
strength as Brahmn. Sage Narada said: Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than
strength? Of course there is something greater than strength. Please tell that
to me, venerable Sir.” [Samaveda, Chan. Upa VII, VIII - Strength as Brahmn, 1-
2]. “Food
is verily, greater than strength. Therefore, if a man abstains from food for
ten days, even though he might live, yet he would not be able to see, hear,
reflect, become convinced, act, or enjoy the result. But when he obtains food,
he is able to see, hear, reflect, become convinced, act and enjoy the result.”
[Samaveda, Chan. Upa. VII, IX - Food as Brahmn, 1].
“Power
entered within him. He is the One, the One-fold, the only One. In him all the
Gods become unified.” [Atharvaveda, XIII, 4, 20-21].
Thus, the Gita takes a devoted seeker face to
face with brahmn and makes him/her
realize that “Everything is brahmn”, sarvam khaluvidam brahma and, “thou
art that” [tat tvam asi |]. Since Bhagavan Shree Krishna imparted the
secret of creation, sustenance, and dissolution to the Sun, Vivasvan, it is the
‘divine plan’. He, the Lord, only manifests as the self of all. All that we
witness now here as the paraphernalia of different names, forms, and functions
associated with diverse qualities are His magical display. He finally withdraws
everything! It is His ‘leela’, a play, at that! There is nothing beyond this. The teachings of Bhagavan Shree Krishna lead
one to renunciation through yajnya, dana,
and tapas, meditation. For an
ardent devotee of Krishna every word spoken here in the following eighteen
chapters come as a panacea, relieving the tormented jiva from the troubles and
turmoil of sansar, and, it is redeeming, once and for all.
The subject matter of the Bhagavad-Gita is
analyzed by different commentators in eighteen chapters giving them their own
captions forgetting what the Lord said. It is unfortunate that these
commentators create confusion in the minds of readers giving any caption they
like and each differing from the other. Hence, one must be careful in reading
the commentaries. There is no explanation coming from any scholar-commentators
as to why The Gita comes as an interlude in the Bhishma parva of the epic
Mahabharata and whether the war was ever fought! However, everybody assumes a
war and goes on narrating the names of the warriors and give description of the
bugles and drums without knowing the significance of ‘sound’ as the creator! It
is the sound that create emotions and the consequent actions due to inherent ‘desire’. Thus, lot of symbolism is
missing in the translations and commentaries of the Gita published so far.
These verses although shown as seven hundred, there are many verses that are
inserted by later authors that do not fit to the main text. Bhagavan Shree
Krishna has touched upon eighteen fundamental principles that are later on
elaborated by others. There was no need for eighteen chapters, at all. If
Arjuna does not want to fight, it is enough to ask him to take to sanyas, which He does at the end! Instead
of asking Arjuna to simply give up everything and join Him, why should He go on
giving options like karma, bhakti, jnyana, dhyana, yoga etc.! Where is the need for all these alternate
methods? Only one shloka- sarvadharman
parityajya maameekam sharana vrajaa | is enough. The matter is closed.
Bhagavan is always there with him, rather in all of us. Let’s just keep quiet
thinking and praising Him! The job is done!
Bhagavan Shree Krishna Himself says, “Sarvarambha parityagi is
dear to Me”. Hence, it is enough if one just keeps quiet without indulging in
worldly matters. But, “It is not that simple. As Bhagavan puts it, “Nobody can
sit quiet without doing anything”! That is the problem. Thus, the Gita begins
with instructions as to how to keep quiet!
