Gitopadesha

 ‘Geetopadesha’ i.e., the Sermons of the Lord and the Maha Vakyas- 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 Viavasvata Manu is the one who is the Great–great-grandfather of all the human beings of the present eon.

    Thus, our own genealogy as the humans can be easily traced to the earliest sages of repute. These Manus retold the same secret of Reality of Existence and the supreme Truth to their children, or their disciples; and, here, in Dwapara Yuga, the Lord Himself comes here as the Charioteer of his brother-in-law, trusted friend and disciple- the confused mind- Arjuna, in the battle field of Hastinapura. In fact, there is much symbolism ideation, mentation and extra-sensorial perception involved in all these that requires a spiritual exercise. However, as common understanding at elementary level, the epic goes well.It is like moral story taught in primary schools.

   Hence, the Mahabharata War is described as what Sanjaya is narrating (the details of the happenings on the battle field of Kurukshetra) to the blind King Dhrutarashtra. So, it starts with the words: “Sanjaya uvacha...”   (“Sanjaya said. . ”)

   By the Way, Sanjaya, as an incarnate of Vishnu, is endowed with the intuitional eye and not only he could virtually see what was going on in the Battlefield (Armageddon) of Kurukshetra but he could as well read the minds of the people and know what transpired at night. Thus, he could foretell events, as well. In fact, the Lord offered the gift of  eyesight to the blind Dhrutarashtra a chance to see for himself what his own thoughts and actions led to, but the latter rejected the offer and said that he was content with what Sanjaya would narrate as a running commentary of the events. 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! In a way, there is neither the Battlefield nor Shree Krishna and an Arjuna there. It is all what transpires with the individual who introspects about the pros and cons of ones action. Thus, Bhagavad-Gita appears as if somebody has just inserted this episode into the Mahabharata scripture.     

  Since the Bhagavad-Gita is associated with the characters of the epic Mahabharata such as Karna, Dronaacharya, Bheeshmacharya and others, it is necessary to find out who are all there on the Battlefield and their antecedents. In brief, the story as depicted in the great epic Mahabharata is that Sage Vyasadeva, also called Shree Krshna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa, has three children Pandu, Dhrustrashtra and Vidura. Dhrutarashtra was born blind. Actually, Bheeshmacharya relinquished the throne and Pandu became the King. Pandu belongs to the the lineage of the Ruler of the Earth Pruthu and his descendants Emperor Sagara and  Bharata of Ikshvaku dynasty who worshiped Sun-God. Pandu and Dhritarashtra shared the Kingdom and started their own separate dynasties. Pandu was by birth an afflicted person with a disease called ‘Pandu’- a skin disease. He married Madri and Kunti. Kunti had the blessings of the great Sages for the services rendered to them as a small girl and later on when married to King Pandu, she gave birth to three sons- Yudhisthira, Bheema and Arjuna’ as the blessings of the Gods and the revered Sages. Pandu’s second wife Madri also gave birth to twins- Nakula and Sahadeva, as the blessings of the celestial Physicians- the Ashvin Twins. Thus, all the five children of King Pandu, known as the Pandavas, were still young when Pandu died. King Pandu and his two wives- Kunti and madri, had five children. Another son called ‘Karna’ (born with an ear-stud and a strong diamond chest-cover), also, was born to Kunti. She was gifted with a boon, by way of a Mantra, and the Gods would bless her with children whenever she wished. While she was still a small girl serving the revered Saints and Sages who visited the family, Kunti had great reverence to the Sages. One day, she wanted to test the efficacy of the Mantra and uttered it with reverence to Soorya Deva /Sun–God while taking bath in the river. When she got a child in her arms she was afraid and left to float in the river and rushed home. Fortunately a fisherman saw the child and took it home. Later on this character reaapears in the Mahabaharata. This child later on came to be known as Karna brought up in the company of the Kauravas; but, still supposed to be the eldest of the Pandavas. No body had any reservations about it. In fact none of the Pandavas are the real sons of King Pandu since he incurred a curse as a result of killing a mating pair of deer; and the curse ended his life in the nuptial bed!

          Krishna comes here as the maternal uncle of the Pandavas. Krishna is the cousin of Kunti sister of Yashoda. King Nanda of Dwarka and Yashoda are the foster-parents of Krishna. Vasudeva shifted the child Krishna from the prison in Mathura to Dwarka on the advice of his wife Devaki to replace him with Yogamaya, the female child born to her sister Yashoda soon after birth due to the fear of Kamsa. Thus, Krishna was fond of all the Pandava brothers since the beginning and he took special care of them.

     When Pandu died under mysterious circumstances, may be as a result of the curse, the young children came under the protection of his blind brother Dhrutarashtra. The Blind King who started the Kuru Dynasty and his blind-folded wife Gandhari had one hundred children of whom Duryodhana was the eldest. Both the Pandavas and the Kauravas grew together and had the tutelage under the Royal Sage and Guru Dronacharya. Later on the Pandavas ruled their own Kingdom and conducted Rajasuya Yaga, a sacrificial ritual. They invited all the Kings and Krishna also attended this grand ceremony and blessed them all well. But the pomp and glory of the Pandavas became the cause of jealous Duryodhana who contrived and won all the wealth, including Draupadi, in the gambling.

     Thus, Duryodhana, with the help of Shakuni, his uncle, rigged the game of Dice and cheated the Pandavas of their Kingdom. The Pandavas retired to the forests for Thirteen years along with Kunti, and finally returned to claim their kingdom back as per their agreement. But, Duryodhana had altogether different plans. He thought that he could easily defeat the Pandavas in a wage of war and permanently enjoy the Kingdom all by himself. He challenged the Pandavas to fight and win back their kingdom. In spite of Shree Krishna’s famous ‘anusandhana’, mediation, King Duryodhana denied their legitimate share of kingdom and refused to part with even five villages. Thus, there was no other way but to resolve the conflict by a war, and hence they assembled in the battlefield of Kurukshetra that came to be known as the ‘Great War of Righteousness’ / ‘Dharma Yuddha’. The Pandavas suffered living in disguise, as per the terms of the agreement, and finally returned to claim their kingdom. Having successfully completed these thirteen years of exile, facing many obstacles and dangers instigated by the Kauravas, approached the Kauravas for their share of the kingdom. Duryodhana, however, flatly refused to part with as much land as could be covered by the point of a needle. According to the advice of Mother Kunti and with the inspiration of Lord Krishna, the Pandavas decided upon war and tried to establish their rightful claim on the kingdom by overcoming the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Arjuna, from the side of the Kauravas and Pandavas respectively, were sent to Dwaraka to seek the help of the Yadava hero, Lord Krishna, in the battle. They both found Krishna resting on a couch in His palace. Duryodhana went in and occupied a seat at the head of the couch while Arjuna stood near the feet of the Lord. The moment Sri Krishna opened His eyes, He naturally saw Arjuna first, and then Duryodhana sitting on a chair. After enquiry of their welfare and the purpose of their visit, Sri Krishna, according to the prevailing custom, gave the first choice to Arjuna, because of his age, and also because of His sight of Arjuna first. Krishna asked Arjuna to fulfill his desire by selecting Him unarmed or His powerful army called Narayani Sena. Arjuna, who was a devotee of Sri Krishna, expressed his desire to have the Lord with him, neglecting the powerful Narayani Sena, even though Krishna warned that He would remain a witness, bound by the vow of not participating in battle and not taking up arms. Duryodhana, with great delight, thinking that Arjuna was foolish, expressed his wish for the powerful army to help his side in the battle.

      The entire story of Mahabharata is a maze of events inter-woven in a voluminous book of Eighteen-Cantos: Adi, Sabhaa, Vana, ViraaTa, Udyoga, Bhiishma, DroNa, Karma, Shalya, Sauptika, Strii, Shaanti, Anushaashana, Aashvamedhika, Aashramavaasika, Mausala, Mahaaprasthaanika, and SwargaarohaNa. It requires a bit of wild imagination and extraordinary literary skill and spiritual strength, historical, and philosophical knowledge, and divine grace, too, to weave a story or write* such a voluminous epic keeping track of all the happenings in the royal family of the Grand Sire Gangeya- the nonagenarian Bheeshmacharya, son of Ganga.  If one wants to know more about the details of Shree Krishna, the relevant literature is provided by the same author Veda Vyasa in Shreemad Bhagavata. There are other works like Raghuvamsha, Kumara sambhava, Krishnavataara, and the Shree Krishna Charitamruta or Leeamruta that give a detailed account of the incarnation of the Lord. And, the story behind all that is another story! Since the entire Bhagavad-Gita is the philosophy of life, it is necessary to have the background knowledge of the life and work of the Aryans and it takes us to Ancient Indian History, Vedic Culture, and Philosophy. Further, it becomes more complicated when it comes to the literal meaning of the philosophical terms used here, for they convey something much deeper than what it seems to be at the surface. The concept of God, Bhagavan is beautifully explained here in Shreemad Bhagavatam. Unless a person is deeply spiritual (not just religious) it is impossible to get a proper grasp of this subject. The mind and the senses have to be kept closed and it is mere meditation /dhyan, contemplation and Samadhi or transcendent state of Consciousness getting beyond three realms of earth, sky and heavens / ‘Bhurbhvahsvah’, into the ‘Mahat”, as also, rising from the energy plexus of mooladhaara, svaadhishta and manipura, high into the anahata chakra/ plexus of energy level; rather, when one drops himself from the states of awareness such as jagrata, svapna, sushupti and the transcends deeper and higher, he attains the fourth level (turiya) and mahat at the anahata, vishuddhi, ajnya and sahasraar- the fifth, sixth and the seventh as the turiyaateeta / samadhi, a transcendental state of Consciousness that helps in understanding the Parabhrahman called ‘tat’ / ‘THAT or IT. The entire concept is deeply spiritual (adhyatmic) exercise beyond theoretical knowledge. A micron of dust of practical exercise here is better than a ton of knowledge of the Veda, Upanishads, and the Brahma Sutra. It is something beyond this objective world and has nothing to do with the earthly existence at all.