Chapters:
17. The
Yoga of Three Kinds of Faith (shruddha-traya yoga) (22
verses): Here, the first six verses give an idea about those who take to
serious askesis, tapas against the scriptural injunctions, Shastra, religious
faiths. The next sixteen verses deal with food, sacrificial rites, askesis, and
different kinds of gifts to be made.
18. Muktiyoga rahasya (78 verses): Finally,
The Gita concludes with the central theme of liberation, moksha or secret of mukti
yoga. First, the verses1 to 12 deal with sacrifice. Then, the verses from13
to 18 deal with karma according to the sankhyan
system (jnyan marg). The verses from
19 t 40 deal with a range of subjects like jnyana, karma, buddhi, dhruti
(steadfastness) and kinds of happiness according to the three qualities. There
is an account of the varnashrama dharma
in the verses from 41 to 48. Then comes the description of jnyannishta, one adhering to path of knowledge in the verses
from49-55, followed by karmayoga with total devotion in the verses from 56 to
66. The last few verses from 67 to 78 deal with the fruits (phala shruti) of practicing Gitopasana as a discipline leading to
total emancipation, jivanamukti.
However, the central theme of ‘renunciation
and attainment to self’, or ‘merger in Him’ runs all through the
text. These verses explain the Creator and His
attributes according to Rkveda. The probable mode of creation is also
presented here as available from the Yajurveda, Shvetashvatara Upanishad, as
well as, the latest scientific researches and results of experiments (CERN). According
to the Veda, “Exceedingly wise, exceedingly strong, is the Designer.
He is Creator, Disposer, and Epiphany supreme. Mortal Men rejoice that their
votive offerings are heeded there where they say “the One is, beyond
the Seven Seers. He is our Father” who begat us, he the Disposer who
knows all situations, every creature. It was He alone who gave to the Gods
their names; to Him come questioning all the other creatures. To Him the seers
of old offered their substance in sacrifice, as did also the multitude of singers
who fashioned this whole universe when first the spheres, both the shadowy
realm and the bright, were set in their places. That which the Waters first
received, beyond the heavens, beyond the earth, beyond both Gods and demons--
say, what was that, the first primeval germ, when all the
assembled Gods, and they alone, were watching? He was the primal germ
borne by the Waters, wherein all the Gods were coalesced together; at
the navel of the Non-born the One and only is set, he upon whom depend all created
beings.” [Rkveda X, 82, 2 – 6].
विश्वकर्मा विमना आद्विहाय धाता विधाता परमोत संद्रुक्। तेषामिष्ठानि समिषा मदंति यत्र सप्तरुषीन् पर एकमहुः॥ (१०. ८२. २).
kAlo’smi, I am Time. [11. 32]. In Time is consciousness and life, In Time is concentrated name By Time,
when he draws close at hand, all creatures are with gladness filled. In Time is energy, in Time the highest good.
In Time is the Holy Utterance. Time is the Lord of all that is, the Father, he,
of the Creator. Sent forth by him, from him all this was born. On him is it
established (this universe). As soon as he has become Brahman, Time supports
the highest Deity. Time created the creatures. Time created in the beginning
the Lord of creatures. From Time comes the Self-Existent. Energy likewise from
Time derives. [Atharva Veda XIX, 53, 7 –
10].
“From Time came into being the
Waters, from Time the Holy Word, Energy, and the regions. By Time [each day]
the Sun arises, in Time he goes to rest again.” [Atharvaveda XIX, 54, 1].
The living being (Jivatman) has forgotten its true nature of ‘sachhidananda’,
that of paramatma. When it seeks
guidance, the Lord advises the jiva to take recourse to yoga and realize its mula svarupa. This brings emancipation
of the jiva. As a yogopanishad,
par excellence, the central theme
of the gita is to facilitate the jiva’s merger, union, sadakhya or sayujya,
‘oneness’ with the Lord (Atma-paramatma
aikyata)., The Lord is imparting the method of reaching Him, the ways and
means of Jivatman getting united with paramatman. The methodology is
beautifully explained all through the Text. However, it is extremely difficult
to understand the inner meaning (antarartha)
of the Gitopadesha. Each one understands these statements according to his/her
ability, based on the ‘adhikara’
(qualification), just as one cannot join a university degree course without the
qualifications prescribed for the courses. However, people are prone to think
they know, have understood the Gita, without ever knowing whether there is a
God, Bhagavan Shree Krishna, or an Arjuna depicted as a human being. This is
the reason why the need for decoding the Gita is felt and effort is being made
here to bring out the spiritual aspect, adhyatma yoga, depicted in the Gita. Almost
all the commentaries that exist today (almost 160 000) deal with the gross
aspect (bhoutika) and a small number of them (may be about 100 000) deal with
the mind or psychosomatic aspects, but almost a negligible few deal with the
inner meaning decoding the text. The supreme Lord only says that nobody can
ever understand His words and asks not to dissect his statements according to
grammar (sandhi, samasa, vibhakti, pratyaya, etc.). A few divine souls like Santa
Jnyaneshwar, Madhusudhana Saraswati (1490-1597) have given the spiritual
aspects of the Gita. They realized the fact that, “What
prevents anybody from taking birth anywhere is a matter of its (jiva’s) desire
and attachments, vasanas, only, and
nothing else. The Jiva may move freely since it has no gross bodily
restrictions. Hence, all our understandings are based on sheer ignorance of the
reality of existence. Vasana and karmaklesha dictate the jiva once it gets
embodied in an elemental body. It gets so embedded in the panchabhuta, triguna, and acquired qualities such as lobha, moha, mada,
matsarya, irshye, krodha, from food and water, as well as, abhinivesha, karmaklesha and vasana.
Most of the commentators dwell on one or two aspects like karma
yoga, bhakti yoga, jnyana yoga, dhyana yoga, or raja yoga. Very few of these
commentators have given prominence to liberation (mukti) of the embodied soul, embedded Jivatman- the aspect of mukti or moksha, beautifully explained by the Lord. In fact, the gitopadesha is all about living a life
of sacrifice, working intelligently without acquiring karma klesha and departing from the earth once and for all! It is
all about reaching Him.
एशा तेअभिहिता सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां श्रुणु।बुद्ध्या युक्तो यया पार्थ कर्म बंधम् प्रहास्यसि॥ (२. ३८)
The Lord says, “Taking recourse to this yoga, one can get rid of
all bondage accruing due to actions.”
युंजन्नेवं सदा त्मानं योगीविगतकल्मशः।सुखेन ब्रह्मसंस्पर्शं अत्यंतं सुखमश्णुते॥ (६. २) 6.27
“By concentrating mind on Me, one can attain
absolute bliss of contact with brahmn”.
तपस्विभ्यो अधिको योगी ज्नानिभ्यो अपि मतो अधिकः।
कर्मिभ्यश्चाधिको योगी तस्माद् योगी भवार्जुन॥ (६. ४६)
A yogi is
higher than a person of knowledge; hence, become a yogi, Arjuna, says the Lord.
A yogi is the one who sees ‘Parabrahman’
in the state of transcendental meditation (atindriya
dhyana) leading to savikalpa samadhi.
What more is required if one can attain to
the highest state of existence even as one lives and works here. By the way,
all these are taught to the Sun God Vivasvan even before the earth and the moon
were born 4.53 billion years ago! This is the divine plan as could be seen in
the graphic description of Sri Chakra (Sriyantra)
where the technique of creation (srushti)
and dissolution (samhara) is laid out
in greater detail. ‘Srividya’ is the highest knowledge that reveals all the
secrets of this creation, sustenance, and dissolution.
It is also stated that, “By knowing the
Self, everything will be known!” This Atmajnyan
is revealed by the Lord here. It is like the ‘Self’ being conscious of itself,
or one being totally established in oneself in total awareness of his true
nature. This is the state of absolute bliss (sachhidananda svarupa). Here the self reveals itself. Hence, we are
not living here just for earning a livelihood, eat, sleep, and die, wasting our
valuable time as humans indulging in mundane things.
Bhagavan Shree Krishna advises Arjuna to
perform the ordained duties without seeking any return from such actions. He
says, “There is nothing equal to knowledge; Knowledge and sacrifice go
together. Jnyana-yajnya is the highest!” t He Further, He, the Lord, also
instructs him (Vivasvan, and later Arjuna) in the yoga. This will enable him to
attain to the ‘Self’, the ‘brahmn’. ayam
AtmA brahmA | This is the highest level that one can attain.
श्रेयान् द्रव्यमयाद्य ज्ञात् ज्ञानयज्ञा: |परंतप।सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते॥ (४. ३३)
यज्ञात्वा न पुनर्मोहम् एवं यास्यसि पांडव।येन भुतान्यशेशेन द्रक्श्यस्यात्मन्यथो मयि॥ (४. ३५)
यथैधांइ समिद्धोग्निर्भस्मसात् कुरुते अर्जुन। ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात् कुरुते तथा॥ (४. ३७)
श्रेयान् द्रव्यमयाद्य ज्ञात् ज्ञानयज्ञा: |परंतप।सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते॥ (४. ३३)
Superior is wisdom-sacrifice to sacrifice
with objects, O Parantapa! “All actions in their entirety, O Arjuna, culminate
in knowledge!” “Knowing that, thou shalt not, O Arjuna, again become deluded
like this; and by that thou shalt see all beings in thy Self and also in Me! As
the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge
reduce all bindings of actions (karma bandhana) to ashes and thereby one gets
free from bondage!”
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