Dharma

 यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लनिर्भवति भरत। अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानम् स्रुजाम्यहम् ॥परित्राणाय साधूनाम् विनाशाय च दुश्कुताम्। धर्म संस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥

^{yadA yadA hi dharmasya glanirbhavati Bharata | abhyutthAnamadharmasya tadAtmAnam sRujAmyaham  || paritrANAya sAdhoonAm vinAshAya ca dushkutAm | dharma samsthApanArthAya saMbhavAmi yugE yugE || (Ch.4 verses 7-8)}

^{Meaning, “Whenever there is a decline in dharma in the land of Bharata I, Lord Vishnu, the Protector, shall appear (reincarnate) by my yogamaya to put down the unrighteous, protect the sadhu and saints and re-establish the practice of dharma. Also, I shall protect all those who abide by dharma. yOgakShEmam vahamyaham | Ch.9. Verse 22). Also, see verses 14 1nd 15 of Ch..8 where the Lord says,}

 ^{“O Son of Prutha, to that yogi of constant concentration and single-minded attention (contemplation) who remembers Me uninterruptedly and for long, for whole life, I am easily attainable. As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection (purity) do not take birth on this earth which is an abode of sorrows, impermanent, as well as a death-knell (mrutyu loka) Everything is subject to limitations of time (niyati) and deteriorates and decays over time here! a}

  ^{This avatar, reincarnation of the Lord, again and again is an interesting aspect of study and needs a deeper contemplation. In fact, the Lord will not suddenly appear from nowhere! He is already here and one can easily witness His presence amidst us as a divine soul working for the upliftment of the ignorant, deprived and suffering ones. There are innumerable examples of how even a plant, bird, animal can reach up to the highest level of divine state and get worshiped by us, the mortals! The divinity is inherent in us. t is the goal of human life to manifest this divinity.}

  ^{Thus, it is interesting to note that the entire ‘gitopadesha’ narrated here is something that was first revealed to Sun God Vivasvan, who later on imparted this to the first ‘manu’, who in turn imparted it to King Ikshvaku, and so on. In fact, as we have understood, the Sun is a star consisting of Hydrogen and Helium and all the planets including the Earth where we are born and living are formed out of cooling and condensation of the solar flares!}

    ^{The author of the epic Mahabharata is said to be Vedavyasa, the author of eighteen epics, and is the one who classified the Veda into different parts such as the Rk, Saman, Yajus, and the Atharvan. But the Bhagavad-Gita is the spoken words of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, not the written one! It is difficult to understand how and when this ‘gitopadesha’ was revealed to Sun God Vivasvan at the beginning of creation. Later on, it came to be known as the Bhagavad-Gita, spoken words of the Lord. It was interpolated in the epic Mahabharata by Sage Vedavyasa when he got stuck not knowing what to dictate to Lord Ganapati! If it was dictated by Vedavyasa to Lord Ganapati, who is stated to have written pulling out his tooth and came to be known as ‘Ekadanta’, how come the other epics! All these intricate mythological stories seem to be beyond the capacity of ordinary people to understand. The Rk Veda, again, the spoken words of the Lord heard by great sages in their transcendental meditative state (samadhi/trance) come as apourusheya, speaks of Lord Ganapati as the deity of the basal plexus, muladhara prajnya! May be, in the modern scientific context, it is just the Gravitational Force! The scientific rendering of the Gita here is very interesting! All the spiritual texts rendered in verses of Samskruta in ancient scriptures, shloka, have imageries, symbols, and esoteric meaning that need to be decoded!}

     ^{The Bhagavad-Gita, thus, is one of the rarest spiritual texts that dates back to the very origin of the universe!  The creation, sustenance, dissolution of the universe, ‘brahmanda’, the cosmic entity, as also, origin of life, purpose of creation, etc. are all explained here. The Gita clearly explains how our ‘solar system’- the sun, the earth and its satellite Moon, other planets around the earth, and the diverse life-forms are created. Here, the supreme Lord Bhagavan Shree Krishna reveals ‘Who He Is’, as also, ‘how the universe is created, sustained, and finally destroyed by Him’. The Lord Creator Himself reveals many secrets. Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, idam tu te guhyatamam pravashyaami. (Ch. 9 verse 1, Ch.10. Verse 1)- rahasyamam uttamam (ch.4 Verses 1-2). The most perplexing aspect of the Gita is this ‘secret of all secrets’ revealed to His friend Arjuna. But the question is how something the Lord feels it a ‘secret’ can ever be understood by us, the mortals, endowed with limited faculties? This may seem a secret forever.}

   ^{First of all, these are the ‘spoken words of the Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna and dated back to the very timeless, beginningless beginning! In fact, time (kaal) and space (akasha) manifest from Him, the Bhagavan! These statements are supported by the relevant verses given here.}

    ^{So far, we find more than a hundred thousand commentaries on the Gita, published in almost all the prominent languages of the world. Unfortunately, most of these are just repetitions of some published works and contain lots of errors, wrong interpretations due to misunderstandings. For fear of copyright restrictions, many authors and their publishers have twisted the original spoken words of the Lord and thereby mislead us. Even the Title of the Chapters are changed! Despite all the scholarly interpretations of the Gita, the authors fail to understand the very meaning and purport of the Gita, such as, the secret of ‘Atmajnyan’, mukti and moksha or sayujya! Some authors lay emphasis on action (karma), and some dwell on devotion (‘bhakti’) or Knowledge (‘jnyan’), or meditation (yoga) and, none on the main goal of life! Some of the spoken words of the Lord (verses) are so terse and esoteric that we cannot grasp their inner meaning (goodartha). Moreover, it remains a well-guarded secret, for it should be given by an attained soul to a trusted disciple only! Although the supreme Lord explicitly states how the universe is created by his ‘yogamaya’. He manifests ‘prakruti ashtadha’ from his special powers, the ordinary people can never understand these mystic powers! Moreover, the secret knowledge revealed here pertains to the ‘Atman’ and its relation to ‘paramatman’! It is ‘brahmavidya’ (ch.4.Verse 24).and ‘yogashastra’ as stated at the end of each Chapter! It is also stated that the ‘Atman’ should not be neglected or ignored and should be known only by the Self, Atman, and no other! (Ch.6 Verse 5). This is inquiry as to the ‘Self’, the Atman or Atmavalokana, Atmajijnyasa. Thus, it is very difficult to understand the spoken words of Bhagavan Shree Krishna by us, the ordinary mortals. What all that is written in the printed copies of the Gita only lead to confusion and misunderstandings. The problem is further complicated due to the multiple organizations promoting their own interests through promotion of certain selected concepts described in the Gita, such as bhakti yoga, jnyana yoga, or raja yoga only. It may seem a riddle how bhakti, jnyan and dhyana be separate for those who are not introduce to yoga. However, there is an understanding that bhakti will also bring ‘jnyan’ and, the devotee will practice dhyana with bhakti! This will enable him/her to realize the ultimate. It is also stated that during the early days of dva para yuga learned Vedic people eulogized the lord and had jnyan a prerequisite to adore the Lord. However, this became so difficult that people simple sand and danced chanting the name of the Lord with full devotion and realized their goal! Yamunacharya and Ramanujacharya emphasized principles of bhakti and total surrender to the Lord (sharanagatim tattva).}

   ^{A clear understanding of the Gita requires a sustained effort by an ardent devotee and total devotion to Bhagavan Shree Krishna. It seems impossible to have the complete knowledge of the Gita, holistically, in its totality.  Gita deals with aloukika jnyan, the other-worldly knowledge, and ‘paravidya’. It is intuitional knowledge that require Lord’s grace, purva punya and the touch of an attained person- ‘guru’. Revelations do happen when the devotee gets the knowledge of the Self (Atmajnyan), self-revelation (‘atma sakshatkara’).}

   ^{The spiritual essence of the Gita is ‘an awakening of unitary consciousness’ that pours down from sahasrar as an elixir (‘amruta varshinim’). It is showering of the blessings of the Lord that brings emancipation (moksha), fulfillment, and liberation to the tormented jiva. It is the path of redemption, ‘moksha patha’, to attain the highest seat (param dhama) - the ultimate goal of life. It brings about the release of the jivatman from ‘metempsychosis’, cycle of births and deaths. It is ‘purushartha sadhana’, the very ‘attainment’ and the purpose of life is to know the ‘true nature of the soul’, jivatman. The Gita shows the way. It leads us to Light from darkness, to knowledge from ignorance, and to immortality from death.}

   ^{We all are born in ignorance and live in a state of ignorance as the slaves of our senses, fickle mind, perverted intelligence, and the powerful ego. We suffer dualities of joy and misery, pain and pleasure, likes and dislikes, etc. The Gita comes as a guide to redeem us from sufferings, reveal the true nature of the jiva and enlighten us. It is a divine gift to us.}

    ^{The Gita is a narrative of what Sanjaya is speaking to Dhrutarashtra as a running commentary of the events on the Battlefield. Bhagavan Sri Krishna has given him special ability to hear and see the happenings in the Battlefield, Kurukshetra. Thus, he narrates what Bhagavan Shree Krishna - “Bhagavan uvacha, speaks to the Pandava warrior Arjuna.”}

     ^{It all starts with, “dharmakshetre kurukshetra …seneyorubhayormadhye ratham sthapaya me’chyuta.”- the request by Arjuna to Shree Krishna to take the Chariot to the center of the Battlefield ‘Kurus' kshetra’ in order to see who all have arrived at the Battlefield to fight the ‘War of dharma’ (dharma -yuddha). Some people take to unrighteous actions due to jealous nature, selfishness and ego. These persons are condemned and the perpetrators of ‘adharma’, cheats, are punished by the Lord in His manifest form (avatar) here. The Blessed Lord assures protection to the pious and all those who abide by dharma.}