Preface
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This series of posting on philist are from the book
"Srimad Bhagavat Gita - The Scripture of Mankind"
a translation by Rev Swami Tapasyanandaji, published by
Sri Ramakrishna Math - Chennai.
This book provides introductory summary of each chapter,
the Text in Devanagari, its transliteration into Roman script,
word by word meaning, running translations, and annotations
wherever necessary. The running translations given in the book
are published as a pocket edition of the Gita.
Swami Tapasyanandaji was the Vice-President of the Sri Ramakrishna Order.
He has written several books on Spiritual Life. There are books recording
his conversation with various spiritual aspirants and dynamic youth also.
He has translated several spiritual classics like Adyatma Ramayana,
Soundarya Lahari, Sivananda Lahari, Sri Lalitha Sahasrama and Sri Vishnu
Sahasranama. He was the editor of Vedanta Kesari, the monthly magazine of
the Ramakrishna Order. His editorials were eagerly awaited every month
by thousands of people, and some of them have found their way into other
books.
In this series, we give an introduction to the Gita, in the first few
postings, which are slightly modified excerpts form the book. These will
be followed by excerpts from the chapter summaries. These form a small
and representative portion of the book, and give a good coverage of the
subject. Please refer to the book for a more detailed coverage.
Gomu.
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The Bhagavat Gita is one of the most popular texts. Next to the Bible
it is the most widely translated of scriptural texts. This tremendous appeal
of the Gita is because it deals with a practical problem of life, namely,
how a man can discharge his duties as the member of an imperfect social
order and at the same time attain the highest degree of perfection. The Gita
begins with this ethical problem and in solving this problem, a noble
devotional philosophy is expounded.
This problem is graphically depicted at the outset through the predicament
of Arjuna. Arjuna is the leader of the Pandava host, and his whole life has
been a preparation to meet his cousins, the Kauravas, in battle, defeat
them, and wrest from them the kingdom that they had usurped from himself
and his brothers. The scene is cast in the battlefield of Kurukshetra,
where the armies of both the sides have gathered and Arjuna is called upon
to fulfil his historic mission by leading his men against the Kauravas.
Arjuna realises at this critical moment that it is a fratricidal war, and
that its consequence will be the destruction of the very friends and
relatives for the sake of whom men usually seek wealth and kingdom, as
well as social chaos consequent on the holocaust of the flower of Kaurava
and Pandava chivalry. A war-weariness and a world-weariness together come
upon him with a dramatic suddenness. Under their impact he forgets all his
social and family obligations, and wants to take to an ascetic life instead
of indulging in what he conceives to be a senseless carnage under the guise
of duty. He becomes a pacifist and a quietist all of a sudden.
The conflict here is between a sudden and purely personal inclination
bursting in one's mind and a social duty, the avoidance of which under
that inclination would have meant ruin to a whole community that had laid
its trust in one. Sri Krishna, though God incarnate, is Arjuna's close
friend, charioteer and spiritual counsellor, and is called upon to resolve
the conflict in Arjuna's mind and restore him to a sense of moral
equilibrium by finding a new sanction for action.
Inevitability of action
Though the answer to Arjuna's problem is given only at the end, Arjuna is
prepared for it by a series of talks on the inexorable nature of work in
the life of man and the utter futility of Arjuna's resolve to withdraw
from a life of action.
Man's body and mind are parts of Prakrti (Nature) which is dynamic in
constitution. As a product of Prakrti, action is the law of life for the
mind and the body, and the very process of living is impossible without it.
And so, its elimination can only mean practice of idleness according to
one's convenience, and he who attempts it under a false impression of his
spiritual greatness, will end in rank hypocrisy and spiritual stagnation.
Only one, who has overcome the body idea completely and is established in
the sense that he is not the body but the immortal, ever-conscious and
ever-blissful Atman, can be actionless; for, he no longer identifies
himself with the body and mind, the products of Nature.
Besides, from the ethical point of view, everyone with a body-consciousness
has to remember that he is living in a community of similar beings governed
by a cyclic law of mutual exchange of services and commodities. If he does
not contribute his share to it by means of work but enjoys the benefits of
others' work for the maintenence and comfort of his own body, he lives the
life of an exploiter and a thief. He has no moral basis and hence no
spiritual progress.
Even in the case of a person who has been emancipated from identification
with the body, it is better that he works. He has not the compulsion of
duty as in the case of the ignorant man, but he may feel the compulsion of
love, which makes one work for lokasamgraha (world-welfare). His actions
are not self-centred and so have no binding effect on him. Work therefore
is the law of life for the ignorant, and an expression of love for the
enlightened, the work of the former being self-centred and the latter
God-centred.
Necessity of the Doctrine of Nishkama Karma
Actions like leading men in war have many evil consequences, though they may
be a part of one's duty. Is not avoidance of such duties better than doing
them and incurring sin? How can their performance promote spiritual life at
all? This question is answered by Krishna.
The ideal of a person who is absolutely indrawn and unperturbed, who is the
master of the senses and mind - is so far removed from that of a soldier
engaged in the form of a dreadful action like war, that it looks incredible
that action of that type can ever lead a man to that state if spiritual
excellence. This doubt persists in Arjuna's mind in spite of Krishna's
exhortation to action.
In answer to this Sri Krishna propounds the doctrine of Nishkama-karma - the
doctrine of actions done with detachment and dedication to the Lord. Actions
in themselves are amoral, if we eliminate the self-centered agent from them.
Nature's cataclysms with their terribly destructive effect cannot be
classified as moral or immoral. They are amoral. All actions are a mixture of
beneficence and destructiveness as far as their effects are concerned. They
are like the brilliance of fire accompanied by the obscuring cloudiness of
smoke.
Work at the human level has various ramifications. There is work done under
compulsion like slave labour, which may be charecterised as submoral in its
effect on the worker. Higher than that is work prompted by the profit-motive
(kaamya karma), on which human civilisation as constituted today is based.
Kaamya karma can take two forms: On one hand there is anti-social work which
is technically denoted as Vikarma or Adharma or Nisiddha-karma; on the other
hand there is socially oriented work which is termed as Dharma. Anti-social
work is done by persons with demoniac nature. Everything they do is for
ostentation and self-aggrandisement and no form of cruel exploitation and
selfish indulgences is repungent to them, provided their pleasure, profit
and ambition are promoted thereby. Such anti-social beings are endowed
with Asuri-sampat (demoniac nature) characterised by pride, greed, passion
and cruelty. Moral and spiritual degradation is the wage for their actions.
In contrast are men with Daivi Sampat (divine nature), who follow dharma
or socially oriented action. They too are self centered and seek
pleasure and power, the good things of life, but their pursuit of these
is socially oriented and is regulated by norms that take others and
their needs too into consideration. In return for what they seek and take,
they are ready to give away what is due from them. They observe the
law of Yajna (sacrifice). They are Dharmikaas, men who too pursue pleasure
and power but always subordinate such pursuit to a code of give and take
based on a sense of collective good and of moral responsibility. When their
sense of obligation to society dominated overwhelmingly over the demand for
individual fulfillment, they become elevated into patriots, philanthropists
and votaries of similar other noble values.
Arjuna was in his early life a Dhaarmika of this type, when he found himself
all of a sudden in the predicament described earlier, wherein the old
sanctions for action like swadharma (discharge of one's duty), socially
approved pursuit of power and pleasure, communal welfare, patriotism etc
become meaningless as inducements of action. A new sanction has to be
found if Arjuna were to take part in action, and this sanction, different
from even the one applicable to the Dharmikas, is expounded by the
Lord. It is the doctrine of Nishkama-karma, the doctrine of work without
desire, applicable to men who seek only liberation. In expounding it, a
sublime theology and a devotional metaphysics are propounded as the
spiritual rationale of such desireless action. Without the spiritual basis,
desireless action will only be an incomprehensible and a puzzling concept,
as we cannot think of an action devoid of the promoting of some desire or
other.
Doctrine of Nishkama Karma
Arjuna is shown the Cosmic Order of the Universe in which he sees that
all the Kauravas are being destroyed. Krishna tells Arjuna, "Even without
you, all these warriors will be destroyed; you merely be an instrument
in the hands of Nature."
The experience of the Cosmic Order of the Universe opens up a new
dimension before Arjuna. It resolves the difficulty that he is
faced with. Till now his life had been like that of an individual
cell in a body which thinks, out of ignorance that it is an independent
entity, functioning on its own, while in truth it has been but a conduit
and in fulfillment of whose purpose it has been functioning. Arjuna
now realises that he is neither a solitary individual, nor merely a
member of a society, but a cell in the Universe with an apportioned
piece of work to perform, not for his own sake, not even for the
community or country, but for the sake of the Supreme (God) to whom
everything and everyone ultimately belongs.
In light of this enlarged world-view, work gains a new sanction and
a new significance. Neither self-aggrandisement, nor even the service
of any worldly cause is its ultimate purpose. The purpose is the
spiritual development of man - to be freed from the hold of the body
and realise one's kinship or unity with the Divine. For he, the jiva
(individual soul), is a spark from the divine fire, but identification
with the body has effaced the sense of his inherent divinity. This
predicament of man, called ignorance, must be due to the will of the
Divine, and only by the will or the Grace of the Divine can he be
redeemed. This grace descends on him who resigns himself to Him with
his entire being-body, mind and soul, and does his duty as an offering
to the Cosmic order. Discharge of the work that devolve on one as duty
without any self centered motive but as an offering to unto the Divine
- to start with, of all results and finallly of the agency too - is the
way of this total resignation.
Work cannot be accepted or shunned by any mere momentary considerations
of their being good or bad, agreeable or disagreeable. All works, however
good at first sight, carry some bad effects too. In the world there are
four character types - Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra - depending
on the Swadharma (natural duty based on natural tendency). These are not
castes as they are seen today and are neither based on hereditary factors.
The Brahmana is the introvert type, reflective, intellectual and
self-restrained. The Kshatriya is extrovert, flamboyant, lordly, chivalrous
and possesses the qualities of leadership in him. The Vaishya is the
acquisitive type, industrious, organising and enterprising. The Sudra is
the dull type without enterprise or initiative, requiring directions
and fit for routine subordinate work.
Work and way of living, suited to these natures and in the line of their
evolution, are their Swadharma inspite of what some may consider good
or bad. For one who accepts and contemplates on the world-view and the
destiny of man as presented in the Gita, the performance of such Swadharma
with detachment and as an offering to the Divine is a potent means to
spiritual evolution. By offering the fruits of his works, man's sinful
tendencies born of physical nature are effaced, and when he is able
to resign his sense of agency too, he realises his unity with the Divine.
In the language of the Gita - "From whom proceeds the activity of all
beings and by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him through one's
Swadharma a man attains perfection. Better is one's Swadharma, though
defective, than another's duty, apparently well performed. Doing the
duty ordained by one's nature, one incurs no sin. One should not
relinquish the duty born of one's nature, although it may be attended by
evil; for all undertakings are covered by defects. If Arjuna refuses
to fight today, that resolve is in vain as his very nature will compel
him to fight. Fettered by duties born out of his nature Arjuna will
have to fight."
The doctrine of Nishkama karma therefore says that do your duties
according to your Swadharma as an offering to the Divine, which may
also be identified as the Cosmic Order. Offering the fruits of the
action and finally the agency also to the Divine, one attains perfection.
Significance of the opening chapter
The first chapter, depicting Arjuna's grief, is meant to show under what
conditions man opens himself to the voice of the Spirit. A crisis is often
required to make him turn his eyes to the spiritual reality. Often it is
the impact of death, loss, disease, faithlessness of man, or any other
such bitter experience of life that causes the awakening.
In the case of Arjuna, the hero who forms the central figure in this
philosophical poem, it is not any of these but the naked display of
man's cupidity and heartlessness that brings about the change of outlook.
Trained to the profession of arms, and accustomed to the pursuit of
power and pleasure, Arjuna has till now led the life of a respectable
man of the world, seeking the good things of life and doing his
ordained religious duties. Now when he is called upon to perform his
historic duty of leading the armies of his clan against the usurping
Kauravas, the moment of disillusionment comes to him on reflecting on
the consequences of the fratricidal war and on the sordid and bloodstained
prizes for which it is fought. He seeks shelter in his Divine Teacher
Krishna, who has been for him a friend and counsellor till now.
Now, we start the first chapter of the Bhagavat Gita. The first
chapter, as we saw in the last part, sets up the stage. Being a part of
the epic Mahabharata, this chapter requires a minimal knowledge of the
story. The other chapters do not require this exposure. Still, it is
better to read the Mahabharata, because the Mahabharata is the best
commentary on the Gita. Every idea in the Gita is exemplified in the
Mahabharata.
Here is a brief overview of the story. The Mahabharata is said to be
the largest single plot ever written by mankind. Only the minimal information
required to appreciate the first chapter is given here.
Dhrtarashtra and Pandu were the sons of Vichitravirya, the king of
Hastinapura, one of the most powerful kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent in
those times. It was a custom that the responsibility of ruling the kingdom
belongs to the royal family and not to any individual. Thus, these brothers
were incharge of the kingdom. As Dhrtarastra was blind, Pandu was taking care
of most of the affairs of the state and was popular among the people and the
officals due to his benovelent and just nature. They were assisted by their
grandfather, Bheeshma, who had voluntarily denied the luxuries and power
of ruling a kingdom, but had also promised to serve the state till his death.
The Kauravas were children of Dhrtarashtra and the Pandavas were children
of Pandu. Yudhistra, a son of Pandu was the eldest of the Kauravas and the
Pandavas, and so the legal heir to kingship. Pandu died in the peak of his
youth. Dhrtarashtra was very attached to his sons and wanted his eldest son,
Duryodhana, to become the next king. This was objected by Bheeshma and other
officials of the kingdom, but the king was adamant. Duryodhana was jealous of
the Pandavas, who exceled him and his brothers in virtue and valour. His
jealousy and his father's greed, combined with his father's position as the
king became threats not only to the future kingship of Yudhistra, but also
the very lives of the Pandavas and their supporters. The enemity reached its
peak, and finally the kingdom had to be divided so that both can live in peace.
The Kauravas continued to rule from Hastinapura. The Pandavas formed a
capital and named it Indraprasta. Krishna was the prince of the kingdom of
Yadavas, another powerful kingdom. Yudhistra's mother Kunti was the sister
of Krishna's father Vasudeva. Krishna was a close friend of the Pandavas
and the latter sought his advice on all personal and royal affairs. Thanks
to Krishna's support and the inherent strength of the Pandavas, they
florished in their newly formed kingdom. Several kings supported them and
soon Indraprasta became one of the most powerful and influencial kingdoms.
Duryodhana could not stand it. With the help of his uncle Sakuni, he devised
plans to usurp Indraprasta. He invited Yudhistra to a game of dice. As was
the custom among kings in those days, Yudhistra could not refuse. In the
game, he was led into staking his riches, his kingdom, his brothers, himself
and even his wife Draupati, losing them all one by one. Finally, the Pandavas
and Draupati were banished into the forest for 13 years. A condition was laid
that they have to spend the 14th year incognito. If they were located and
recognised, then they will have to spend another 13 years in the forest and
try again to be incognito the 14th year. The Pandavas went through all these
ordeals and successfully spent the 14th year incognito too.
Still Duryodhana did not want to part with Yudhistra's kingdom. Krishna
tried to mediate. Krishna asked for atleast five villages. Even that was
denied. Duryodhana refused to give even the span of land occupied by a
needle-point. He was ready to meet the Pandavas and their allies in war.
With the help of Krishna, Pandavas gathered a huge army of 7 akshauhinis
(one akshauhini comprises of 21870 chariots, 21870 elephants, 65610 horses
and 109350 men). The Kauravas were able to gather a much bigger army of 11
akshauhinis. Being on the side of truth and justice, and with Krishna on
their side, the Pandavas were confident of winning the war. Being loyal to
Hastinapura, all the officals and elders of the kingdom, whom the Pandavas
held at great respect and admiration were against them in the war. Though
the Pandavas had the blessings of these elders, the Pandavas will have to
kill them in the war, and they have to give their life for the sake of the
state. Krishna, though a close friend of the Pandavas, was a well-wisher
of the state of Hastinapura. In this peculiar position, he promised not take
up arms in the war, but to help the Pandavas in all other possible ways. He
took up the position of the charioteer of Arjuna, a younger brother of
Yudhistra and the greatest archer of the time.
Arjuna and Krishna were close friends right from the former's childhood.
Though an ardent follower of righteousness, he was not as clear-headed in
these matters as his elder brother Yudhistra. He was a man of great
achievements in the world. When the Pandavas established their kingdom, he
subdued almost all the kings in the Indian subcontinent and made them vassals
of Indraprasta. At the end of the period of living incognito in the kingdom of
Virata, he faced and routed the whole army of Hastinapura single-handedly.
In that battle he had defeated the army led by the same leaders - Bheeshma,
Drona (the teacher of secular and military skills of the Kauravas and
Pandavas), Duryodhana, Karna (a friend of Duryodhana and a mighty warrior)
and others. Now, with the support of his brothers and other powerful
kings like Drupada, Virata and Kuntibhoja, defeating the army arrayed is not
a difficult task for Arjuna.
The scene is laid on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, also described as
Dharmakshetra, where the armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas are
arrayed in the battle formations to settle finally by the might of arms
their respective claims on the common ancestral kingdom. After the first
few verses, wherein a brief review of the leaders on both sides is made by
Dhuryodhana, Arjuna appears on the scene in a chariot driven by Krishna.
Stationed in his chariot between the two armies, he finds on both sides
close kith and kin and venerated persons like teachers and grandfathers
standing ready to kill one another for the sake of power and self. The
frightful consequences of a fratricidal war dawn on him in all vividness,
and he feels it better to eat a beggar's food than enjoy wealth stained
with the blood of persons related to him as sons, fathers, uncles,
brothers-in-law, friends, grandfathers and teachers. Shocked at the
prospect of a senseless carnage in which his own near and dear ones
are going to be the victims, Arjuna decides to lay down arms,
surrender the kingdom to the kauravas, and even court death at their
hands, or, if he were to survive, to become and ascetic. He drops
his weapons in a mood of depression caused by utter confusion as
to what his duty is under such circumstances.
Arjuna seeking refuge in Krishna (Chapter 2 verses 1-16)
To Arjuna thus overcome with pity for his doomed kith and kin, Sri Krishna
administers a strong dose of reprimand, saying that his attitude befits
only a enuch and not a hero. But Arjuna's sorrow and confusion are so
deep rooted that the reprimand has no effect on him, and he continues in
his attitude of self-pity, and finally takes refuge in Krishna as a
disciple, seeking solace and instruction.
The Immortal Atman (Chapter 2 verses 17-25)
Sri Krishna recognises that Arjuna's recoiling from his duty of leading
his forces stems from two presumptions in his mind. First, the people
threatened with destruction are his own kith and kin. This in turn has its
basis in his blindness to the essential spiritual nature of man. Ignorance
makes him equate man with his visible body, which in turn makes him think
of death as total destruction. But the truth is that man's spirit is
indestructible. Until man lives by this truth, there can be no abiding virtue
in him. In order to bring this home to Arjuna, Krishna, at the very start
of his discourse, expounds the high philosophy of the Atman in the following
words: You pretend to be a wise man in speech, but your behaviour is like
that of the most ignorant. Your sorrow is for persons who are not in need
of it. A wise man takes death as a trifle. For, he knows that the essence is
the atman, the birthless, the deathless, the eternal spirit whom weapons
cannot cleave, fire burn or air dry. Birth and death are only of the
body and not of the atman, and the body in relation to the atman is like
clothes one puts on and throws away; or like the passing stages of life
like childhood, boyhood, youth and old age. Pleasant and painful experiences
of life are passing episodes. A man who knows this and is never moved by
pleasure and pain, by life and death, is alone wise and fit for spiritual
freedom.
Death from the worldly point of view (Chapter 2 verses 26-39)
Even from the point of view of a worldly wise man, you need not feel sorry for
these men. Death is natural to all embodied beings, and there is not use in
sorrowing for this unavoidable occurrence. From the Unknown life comes; for
a short time it remains in the field of the known; and to the Unknown it
goes back again. Of what use is man's wailing over this eternal process? On
the other hand, if you avoid your responsiblities in this righteous war - a
veritable portal to heaven for the valiant kshatriyas - every one will say
that you have tucked tail for fear of death and fled away for life like a
coward. To survive with the stigma of cowardice is worse than a hundred
deaths. Dead in the field of battle, you will attain heaven, victorious, you
will enjoy the earth. So arise and fight! And if you can practice
even-mindedness in pain and pleasure, in success and failure, you shall
not incur any sin by slaughter in battle.
The Gospel of dedicated work (Chapter 2 verses 40-53)
Having reminded Arjuna of the real nature of man as the eternal Spirit,
Sri Krishna now proceeds to declare the disciplines by which one could
gradually realise this Divinity inherent in oneself. For, it is a matter
of realisation, and not mere talk. Sri Krishna therefore teaches further
as follows: "I taught you till now about the philosophy of the Atman. Now
hear from me about the doctorine of communion through work. Man is
generally after many worldly enjoyments and ambitions, and hearing that they
can be secured through Vedic ritualism, he performs various ritualistic
works, one after another, hoping for success. Though they may look like acts
of piety, they are only expressions of pure worldliness. They make the mind
restless and scattered. But if you can work without an eye on their fruits,
your mind will get more and more ingathered and concentrated gradually.
The more we are motivated by selfish gains in our work, the more we
get steeped in worldliness; and the more we work in a spirit of duty
without caring for gains, the more we shall get spiritually oriented. You
have therefore got the right only to work as a matter of duty, and not to
expect any selfish gain from it, if you want to evolve spiritually. But
lack of interest in selfish returns should never make you lethargic or
slipshod in your work. For, communion through work (Karma Yoga) consists in
maximum efficiency combined with detachment. It is for this reason that
Karma Yoga is described as "skill in action". A man who discharges his duty
in the manner described, acquires neither merit nor demerit, but evolves
spiritually and becomes fit to realise his real nature as the immortal and
impervious Atman. He attains to liberation from the trammels of ignorance.
When one is free from longings for worldly enjoyments, one gains spiritual
conviction and one's intelligence is established in steadiness."
A Man of Steady Wisdom (Chapter 2 verses 54-72)
Arjuna thereupon asks Krishna how he could recognise a man who has attained
to the state of "steadiness of intelligence". Krishna replies: "Such a person,
having abandoned all desires from his heart, is ever satisfied with the bliss
that is in his higher self. Nothing external attracts him. He is unperturbed
in misery and happiness alike. He is free from all attachments, fear and anger.
He has such control over his senses that he can withdraw them inward in the
presence of the objects that excite them, as a tortoise withdraws its limbs
into its shell. The hold of the senses on an ordinay man is very powerful.
As a ship on the high seas is at the mercy of the winds, so is the
intelligence of man at the mercy of the sense objects. One who thinks
longingly of sense objects develops attachment for them. Attachements, in
turn, grow into strong desires and infatuation. Infatuation effaces man's
sense of distinction between the proper and the improper, and he becomes
a slave of his animal instincts - in fact loses his rationality. So the control
of the senses is a pathway to spiritual advancement, and the lack of it, to
spiritual ruin. And he who is the absolute master of the senses - into whom
the stimuli from sense objects can enter without causing any perturbation,
as the rivers into the brimming ocean - he attains to peace that passeth
understanding. That is what is meant by being established in Brahman
consciousness. Attaining to it man is never born again."
Conflict between Work and Contemplation (Chapter 3 verses 1-2)
Hearing the discourse on 'Ideal of the man of steady wisdom', Arjuna's
confusion only increases. If that state of inwardness and serenity
depicted in the above ideal is the end for man to seek, how could its
pursuit be reconciled with the life of action to which Krishna has been
simulataneously exhorting him, especially when that action is participation
in a terrible holocaust like a fraticidal war? He therefore poses this
question before Krishna, and rest of the chapter is Krishna's answer to it.
The two paths (Chapter 3 verses 3-8)
Sri Krishna says that there are two path for attaining perfection - the Path
of Knowledge and the Path of Devotion-cum-Action(Yoga). They appear different,
the difference is only apparent and they can be reconciled. The Path of Action
is currently the subject of discussion.
By merely abstaining from actions, man does not gain that serenity of spirit,
the unperturbed state of the Sthithaprajna. He will only be relapsing into
idleness thereby. For one thing, it is impossible for any man to live for
even a minute without any action; for, man is physically a part of Nature, and
Nature is ever active. He is therefore compelled to act. So sitting quiet and
thinking that one has attained to that unperturbed state of the spirit is
rank hypocrisy. For, such a person's mind will be very busy thinking of the
objects to which he is attached. So the way of spiritual development for
him lies not in abstinence from action but only in action performed without
attachments and under proper regulation of the senses.
The law of Yajna (Chapter 3 verses 9-18)
God created man with the law of Yajna as the means for his worldly prosperity
and for his higher spiritual evolution. Yajna means self-sacrifice - the
offering of what one considers precious, for the service of God and one's
fellow beings. If our fellow beings can be looked upon as the very tabernacle
of the Divine - for God dwells in everything and everything is the body of
God - this service becomes the highest form of worship too. Yajna, at the
lower levels is one of give and take. Man lives in community which can thrive
only by the exchange of commodities and services among its members. Each gets
certain services from others and gives back certain other services in return.
One who fails to do his part of the work but insists on getting his share of
the good things of social life, is an exploiter and a thief. He violates the
law of Yajna and gets morally degraded. Rights and duties therefore go
together, and to claim the former without due insistence on the latter,
begets corruption and decadence and leads to ruin ultimately. The Vedic fire
sacrifice, where thanks giving offerings are made to the Devas for the
benefits that they have bestowed on man through Nature, is symbolic of this
great law of life. Both the ritual Yajna, and Yajna in a social sense
consisting in the discharge of ones duties to the body politic, are based on
action. And one who gives up action will be abandoning yajna too and thus
violating the basic commandment of the Creator - the ethical law of a life
of non-exploitation.
Enlightened Ones too should work (Chapter 3 verses 19-26)
There may however be some rare individuals who have risen above all
personal wants. They may be able to withdraw themselves from society, and
live a life of self-contentment without depending on the services of others.
Even they should work without attachment or desire for the fruits of work.
For, by doing so one progresses spiritually and attains Perfection. Just as
socially-oriented work makes man ethical, work done without any thought of
selfish gain, as an act of pure service of God and Man, raises him to
spiritual heights. Purely unselfish action without any thought of returns or
obligations, is the higher aspect of law of Yajna. So Janaka and other great
Rajarishis continued to be in the field of action and attained Perfection
through a life of disinterested action.
There is also another reason why all, including men of higher spiritual
attainment, should work; for, otherwise they will be setting a bad example
for the unenlightened men, who, without a proper understanding of their
mental state, would surely imitate their external behaviour, and relapse
into abandonment of their duties, ending in pure idleness. A leader has
always to be careful about the example that he sets. So an enlightened man,
though he might have risen above the considerations of self-interest, should
work unattached and without any return in view, but at the same time
evincing just the same zeal and energy with which a man desirous of selfish
return works. Otherwise he will be creating conflict of ideas and ideals
among common people.
Wisdom is not to be confused with inactivity (Chapter 3 verses 27-35)
The difference between the wise man and the ignorant man consists in this:
the former is established in the experience that all actions that are
supposed to be his, are only movements of the Prakruthi and that the
'real He', the Self, is the uninvolved witness. The ignorant man, on
the other hand, being absolutely involved in, and identified with, the
movements of Prakruthi feels that he is acting and enjoying. The way to
attain detachment is not by keeping quiet without doing anything, but
by discharging all one's duties, surrendering their fruits and the sense of
agency to the Supreme. Non-attached work (Karma Yoga) and discriminative
understanding of one's basic nature as the 'unattached Self' (Jnana Yoga)
are not contradictory but complimentary. For, non-attachment in work is
impossible unless one practises simultaneously the understanding that one
is basically the 'unattached self'. And, except in the case of a few rare
aspirants, the practice of such discriminative understanding about the Self,
without the support of unselfish work, will end up in pure idleness and
failure to do one's duty. One who fails to do his duty and runs after ways
of life that are alien to his inherent nature and aptitude, only incurs
sin. For, to do what one ought to do, is virtue and avoiding it out of
idleness, or cupidity, or base passions, is sin.
What is Sin (Chapter 3 verses 36-48)
Arjuna thereupon asks the question, why man commits sin, even though he may
not want to. And Sri Krishna answers: It is desire(lust) and anger that
appear as sin and compel man to undesirable action. The seats of these
positions are the senses, mind and intellect. So, to avoid sin man must learn
to control the senses first, but this cannot be achieved merely by supression.
One has to bring to bear the light of the Self, the Divine spark in one,
on the intellect, the mind and senses. Thus should one conquer man's great
enemy sin, the combinations of lust and anger.
The Doctorine of Incarnation (Chapter 4 verses 1-16)
Shri Krishna tells Arjuna: I have revealed this spiritual knowledge in
different ages for the benefit of man. Whenever unrighteousness prevails
I embody Myself as the Incarnate for the protection of the good and
the destruction of the wicked. By comtemplation on the deeds and teachings
of these Incarnations man can attain salvation.
In whatever way men worship Me, I approach them in that very aspect. Those
who have worldly desires, worship various deities who are aspects of the
Divine. But true worship consists in reflecting on the Divine in oneself.
I, the Supreme Divine, have created both the Orders of Nature and of
Society but I am not in the least affected by these actions, because I
have no attachment to them. Those who contemplate on Me as the Great
Creator without attachment, will free themselves from attachments and
gain liberation.
The true meaning of actionlessness (Chapter 4 verses 17-35)
Nonaction or Nishkamya karma, which is the characteristic of the Soul, does
not mean inactivity. It means being established in pure awareness without
involvement in any kind of change. Among embodied beings, he who has attained
to that spirit-consciousness by virtue of which he is ever established in this
uninvolved Atman-awareness and is free from any egotistic impulse even while
his body and mind are carrying out all their characteristic movements, he is
the really wise man, not the one who by the effort of his will, keeps aloof
from external action, but inwardly remains subject to attachments and
egotistic motivation. The former is an enlightened man while the latter is
a mere idler.
This state of actionlessness in the sense of non-attachment is attained
only through long and steadily practiced discipline of dedicated action,
combined with the discriminative understanding of one's being basically
the 'non-attached Self'. Such knowledge based yajna is the highest form
of yagna in the Vedic tradition.Yagna can take various forms. It may be
with material ingredients, or it may take the form of austerity, or of
practice of concentration, or of control of the senses, or of control of
Prana, or of scriptural study, or of practice of discrimination. The peak
of yagna discipline is reached when an aspirant sees the acts, the means
of actions, the things acted upon and the process of action as but
different manifestations of Brahman. This is called attainment of Samadhi
in action. All action has Jnana or wisdom as its end - the wisdom that
enables one to experience everything as resting in Me who form the innermost
soul. This knowledge has to be sought by serving wise teachers.
The Power of Enlightenment(Chapter 4 verses 36-42)
This Jnana most powerful of the purifiers, so that it is said that even the
erstwhile sinner becomes a saint instantaneously on its onset. This wisdom
comes naturally to one who becomes perfect in the discipline of the
disinterested action. One who has attained this is no more bound by any
action, as even in the midst of all action he is established in the sense
that he is the pure detached and unaffected Atman. Doubts and delusions
about his spiritual identity no longer assail him. Service of the teacher,
faith and control of the senses are indispensable aids to the acquisition of
this wisdom.
The harmony of the paths of work and knowledge (Chapter 5 verses 1-7)
Feeling confused, Arjuna asks the Lord again: You seem to advocate the
abandonment of all Karma in one breath and in the next praise the
discharge of all actions in a disinterested manner. Which of these two
should I follow for my good?
To this Sri Krishna replies: A contemplative life, characterised by the
abandonment of all actions externally too, as also the discharge of all
actions with detachment - are both valid spiritual paths leading to an
identical spiritual goal. As paths they may look different, but in the
end they are the same. There is, however, this important link between
them. Without undergoing the discipline of detached action, it is vain
to abandon all external action; for it will result only in idleness and
hypocrisy. To an average aspirant it is a mere pitfall, while discriminative
wisdom combined with detached action will take him forward gradually.
So it comes to this, that the attainment of detachment in action is the
very essence of spiritual life, and once this is acquired, it is immaterial
whether one abandons actions externally or continues to perform them. For,
one who is truly detached becomes, through that detachment, fit to be
united with the Self of all - the Supreme Being who is the goal of all
spiritual striving. He is no longer affected by action.
The way of the illumined ones (Chapter 5 verses 8-29)
A truth knower with such detachment feels: "I do nothing in all the movements
of the body, even in the very winking of the eyes." Having abandoned all
actions mentally, he rests in the nine-gated citadel of the body, undisturbed
by the hurry and bustle of the activities of its members. In all his bodily
and mental activities, his detachment is so complete that he feels that it
is Nature, of which the body-mind is a part, that works and reaps the fruits,
not he, the Spirit, who is only the unconcerned witness if all these
movements of Nature. Remaining in that Spirit-consciousness, he is unperturbed
by all experiences of life, pleasant or unpleasant. And in his dealings
with all fellow beings - high and low, holy and unholy, men and animals - he
has a sense of equality, knowing, as he does, that they are all the unaffected
Spirit, and not the bodies to which alone the distinction of purity and
impurity applies. Even in the embodied state, he is able to contain the pull
of passions and the senses. Knowing that contactual joys only bring
suffering in the end, he turns for satisfaction inward to the Bliss of
the Supreme Spirit, of whom he is a part. He becomes an adept in the practice
of samadhi, and at any time he can withdraw himself from the surface of
the body and be merged in the Bliss of the Spirit within.
Knowing Me, as the friend of all, and at the same time the maker and the master
of everything - to whom all worship and austerities have to be offered -
man attains Supreme Peace.
Detached work leads to Enlightenment (Chapter 6 verses 1-9)
Shri Krishna said: The real sannyasin and yogi is the man who works with
detachment in mind, not one who puts on the symbols of renunciation and
avoids work. Real sannyasa and real karma yoga are not so different as
people think. Both have the common point that the mind should have the
capacity to abandon all the hankerings and attachments, hopes and
expectations. The only difference is that, to one who is in the early
stages of the discipline, struggling to gain this non-attached condition,
work in a literal sense is essential, because he would otherwise lapse into
idleness and hypocrisy. Along with work he should practice introspection
and meditation also; for without that he cannot keep up the sense of
detachment, dedication and desirelessness while working. Work or Karma
becomes yoga, only under this condition of supplementing work with
meditation. But, for one who has become established in this detachment,
introspection becomes the main means for further progress. The test of
having reached this state is that there is no expectation of the fruits
and no sense of agency. One with such attainment can abandon actions
without any fear of degeneration, but need not necessarily do so.
While practicing the introspective discipline intensively, he can
engage himself also in actions that are contributive to the welfare of
the world. Whereas action is a 'must' for the former, it is only a 'may'
for the latter. But the cultivation of a detached mind free from hopes
and expectations, is common and essential to both.
Practice of Meditation (Chapter 6 verses 10-32)
The practice of meditation is as follows: The mind of one who has succeeded
is compared to a steady flame undisturbed by winds. He becomes established
in the experience that he is the Spirit and not the body, and consequently he
is steeped in the non-contactual, intellectually intuited Bliss that is of
the nature of the Spirit. It is a state, on being established in which nothing
else is felt as attractive or valuable, and one is not in the least distracted
even by great worldly sorrows. An adept in it also attains to a new vision of
the totality of existence, the experience of the Divine as residing in all
entities and all entities residing in the Divine.
The Difficulty of inward concentration (Chapter 6 verses 33-47)
Arjuna now raises two questions: As the mind is very unsteady the work of
making it steady is as difficult as stilling the air. How could this then
be accomplished? Also what is the fate of one who attempts this very
difficult discipline and fails to achieve much success even by the end
of his life? Is he to be a lost soul, his whole life's effort having
ended in failure?
To these doubts Shri Krishna answers: Though the mind is difficult to control,
this can be done by steady practice and cultivation of dispassion for
worldly enjoyments, coupled with strong aspiration for higher life. If
the latter is not present, practice alone will not be of much use. Failure
in Yoga is largely due to the absence of the latter quality. But there is
no absolute failure in Yoga. If a person dies before attaining success in it,
he carries the legacy of his present life into his next embodiment. He will
be born under conditions that are very favourable to spiritual development.
With the power of his earlier practice as his background, he will strive
forward, life after life, until success is attained. Thus nothing is lost
by one striving in the spiritual path.
One practicing the discipline of concentration is immensely greater than
one engaging himself entirely in scripture-ordained works, or in intellectual
studies of Vedanta. But the practice of concentration should be accompanied
with intense faith and devotion to the Lord. Then Yoga becomes the most
potent spiritual discipline.
The lower and the higher prakrithis (Chapter 7 verses 1-6)
The Lord speaks to Arjuna about Divine Knowledge thus: Among men there
are only a few who aspire and strive to know Me, and even from among
them, only a few succeed after many births. I have two powers of
manifestation(prakrithi), the lower and the higher. The lower prakrithi
is material nature consisting of the earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind,
intellect and egoity. The higher prakrithi is my manifestation as jivas
or centers of consciousness. The former is My unconscious nature and the
latter Conscious Nature. It is My conscious nature that supports and
sustains the world made of unconscious nature, because the evolution
into various spheres and numerous species of beings is for jivas to
reap the fruits of their karma and gradually evolve into perfection.
The All Embracing Divine (Chapter 7 verses 7-11)
There is none higher than Me, or outside My Being, limiting Me. As a
string supports all the beads in a necklace, so are all things sustained
by Me. My immanent Self is the essence of all entities, manifesting as
their characteristic nature and function - in water as taste, in earth
as smell, in fire as heat, in all beings as life, in the thoughtful as
intellect, in the strong as strength, in the embodied beings as desire
conducive to growth and so on.
Who transcends Maya: The four types of devotees (Chapter 7 verses 12-19)
All beings high and low have originated from Me and are contained in Me,
but they do not limit Me. No being subject to My Maya constituted of the
three gunas, can know Me, the immanent yet transcendent Being. For, this
Maya that obstructs their vision is My power, and only by surrendering to
Me with one's whole being can one get across its obstruction and know Me.
But so long as man is dominated by evil tendencies and is a slave of
demonic nature, he does not devote himself to Me. Four types of persons
become devoted to Me - the sufferer, the enquirer, the boon-seeker and
the knowing one. Though they are all to be considered noble and virtuous,
the knowing one is to Me like My very self. His love stems from his sense
of innate unity with Me, and is therefore unmotivated and constant. To him
I am dearer than anything else, and so is he to Me. It is only after many
births of spiritual striving that man is established in this form of
love based on the knowledge that it is Me alone who is seen as this
world of multiplicity.
The One God forms the object of all worship (Chapter 7 verses 20-30)
In whatever aspect devotees adore Me, I strengthen their faith in that
aspect and approach them in that form. To those who worship Me in the
form of various deities for attaining worldly fulfillments, I who indwell
these deities, strengthen their faith in their objects of worship and
grant them their prayer; but they attain to only those deities, and the
fruit they get is of short duration. Not understanding Me as the
Universal Being, indwelling even the deities, they adore particularised
and limited deities. Due to the obstruction of My Maya, men do not
understand Me as the unborn and the undecaying. I know all beings, present
past and future, but none knows Me. For their body-consciousness and
passions based on it, obstruct men's understanding from the very start.
It is only those whose sinful tendencies have been counteracted by good
works, that worship Me with steadfastness of mind. Those who thus
worship Me for liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, come to
know that I am the sole existence, as also the sole doer and the
sole enjoyer.
Divine Immanence and Transcendence (Chapter 8 verses 1-4)
Explaining the Divine mystery, Shri Krishna says: I am the Supreme
Imperishable Brahman. My Inherent Nature is what manifests as the
Indwelling spirit and as the Creative Act which brings forth all
beings into existence. There is also My perishable manifestation as
the great elements; there is My presence in them as the
Purusha (Immanent Self) guiding their evolution. And in all
individual beings I am present as the Lord of Sacrifice, the generator
and enjoyer of all actions.
Remembering of the Lord at Death (Chapter 8 verses 5-14)
Whoever leaves the body thinking of Me alone, attains to My state
undoubtedly. It is only those who think of Me intently during their
life-time who will have the good fortune of remembering Me at death.
Therefore remember Me always and do your duty in life. Practice the
discipline of concentration on Me, the omniscient, the eternal, the
Foundational Being, whose spiritual radiance dispels all darkness
of ignorance. The syllable Om is My sound symbol. With that as the
support, draw the mind into your innermost being and then concentrate
on Me, the subtlest of entities and the seed of all forms.
Creative Cycles (Chapter 8 verses 15-22)
For those who attain to Me through the practice of this
all-absorbing devotion, there is no return to this mortal
sphere in the course of this endless cosmic cycles. For a
thousand divine years, which is the day-time of Brahma,
the creator, the Universe is manifest, and during the succeeding
thousand years, the night of Brahma, it lies latent in Me. Thus
all beings upto Brahma dissolve in Me and come out into
manifestation. Only the devotee whose mind is ever fixed on Me,
is able to come out of this eternally recurring cyclic process,
fraught with impermanence and suffering. The manifested universe
is My gross form, and the subtle state into which it relapses in
dissolution is the casual state of that form of Mine. Transcending
this universe in its gross and subtle conditions, but at the same
time containing and indwelling them, is My supreme aspect, attainable
by single minded and whole-hearted devotion.
The life hereafter (Chapter 8 verses 23-28)
There are two paths by which embodied beings depart after death -
the dark path and the radiant path. Those who are attached to
worldly values go along the dark path and come back to this world
again at the exhaustion of the effects of their Karma. Those who
are unattached and practice whole hearted devotion to the
Supreme Being, go along the bright path and never return.
Devotion as the highest value (Chapter 9 verses 1-3)
Shri Krishna said: The doctrine of devotion is the noblest and the
profoundest of all sciences. Experience is its proof. It is easy
to practice and it is contributive to human welfare. Those who
neglect it will be subject to the cycle of births and deaths,
and will not attain to Me.
Devotion and understanding of the divine mystery (Chapter 9 verses 4-10)
Devotion is generated by the contemplation of My mystery and My
transcendent glory. See how I am the Indwelling Spirit in all; but
they do not contain Me; it is I who contain them. Yet in another
sense it is not true that they rest in Me, because I, the pure and
incorruptible Spirit, remain absolutely unaffected by their presence.
Contemplate on this divine mystery-to be the creator and the container
of this mighty universe and yet be not affected by it, as space is not
by the fast and powerful winds that blow through it. My Power projects
and withdraws into itself this extensive universe in Time's endless
cyclic process. I remain the unaffected Overseer and Witness of this
eternal process which my Prakruthi executes.
The Divine in all his aspects (Chapter 9 verses 11-19)
When I incarnate Myself as a man, foolish people disdain Me, not
recognising My transcendent nature, even as they do not recognise
it behind this mighty manifested Nature. This is due to the
dominance of demonical tendencies in them. But great men endowed
with godly tendencies get an understanding of My Divine mystery
as the creator and as the incarnate, and thrilled by that
knowledge, devote themselves to Me with an undivided mind.
They sing my praise always, they prostrate to Me in loving adoration.
Others worship Me with wisdom-sacrifice, communing with Me as the
non-dual Self or as the distinct Divine Person or as the Immanent
Spirit manifested through all. I am the father, witness, support
and resting place of everything. All the universe is My
manifestation, and I direct its evolution and its destiny. I am
both immortality and total destruction, both Being (manifested
effect state) and Nonbeing (unmanifested casual state).
The true worship of the divine (Chapter 9 verses 20-28)
Those who adore Me with sacrifices desiring heavenly regions
attain to them, but they have to return when the sacrificial
merits are exhausted. But those who have no desire and think
of Me alone always, are ever under My protection, and their
welfare here and hereafter will be looked after by Me. Even
persons who worship various Deities, are in fact worshipping
Me alone, as I am their soul and they, My bodies; only their
worship is crude and uninformed. My worship, however is very
simple. Very little of rituals and ingredients are required
for it. A few flowers, water and leaves will do. If these
offerings are sweetened with whole-hearted devotion, I consume
them eagerly. But all external worship is only a symbol of the
total sacrifice and dedication one should practice. Whatever
you make - all should be done as an offering unto Me. You
should feel that the agency in respect of them as also their
fruits are Mine and not yours. This is real Sanyasa, renunciation,
and no action will then bind you with their good or bad effects.
Redemption open to all (Chapter 9 verses 29-34)
All are alike to Me, and to none am I hostile. If you find a
difference in My relationship with devotees, it is only because
the devotees cling to Me, and so I to them also. However degenerate
a man may be, he is free to devote himself to My worship. One
who is firmly resolved to do so, is on the path of moral and
spiritual fulfilment, which will be his without much delay. Thus
in the past, countless men, though lowborn and sinful, have attained
to Me through whole-hearted self-surrender. How much more easily will
well-born and righteous persons like you do so! Therefore love
Me and surrender yourself to Me, body, mind and soul, and you will
surely attain to Me.
Contemplation on the Divine Excellences: (Chapter 10, 1-11)
As an aid to devotion and self-surrender, the Lord expounds
the Divine majestics and excellences, by contemplating on
which the devotional mood is reinforced. The Lord says to
Arjuna: No person, however great, knows Me; for I pre-exist all.
Knowing Me as the unoriginated and external Lord of all, man
becomes sinless and free from delusions. All the higher faculties
of man are but a faint reflection of My excellences. All great men,
saints and saviours, are indeed projections of My thought. To
contemplate on Me as the source of all this world-manifestation,
to recognise My essence in all that is glorious and impressive,
is the way to get thrilled with the devotional experience
and attain perpetual communion with Me. To those whose very
vital energy is drawn to Me through devotion, I bring the
illumination of spiritual insight; I light within them the
lamp of wisdom, revealing Myself as the Soul of their soul.
The Vibhutis (Chapter 10 verses 12-42)
Moved by the utter reverence springing from an apprehension of
the divine mystery, Arjuna now wants to know about the Bhagavan's
glorious manifestations in life and in Nature, and the Lord lists
some of them for the edification of Arjuna. He says: I am what
manifests as the Self in all beings. Among Adityas, I am Vishnu;
among luminaries, the Sun; among the maruts, Mareechi; among the
stars, the moon; among the vedas, Sama; among the Devas, Indra;
among the senses, the mind; in living creatures, consciousness;
among mountains, Meru; among the priests, Bruhaspathi; among the
commanders, Skanda; among water reserviours, the ocean; among
Maharishis, Brighu; among sounds, Omkara; among Yajnas, japa
yajna; among immobile entities, the himalayas; among the trees,
the peepal tree; among devarishis, Narada; among Gandharvas,
Chitraratha; among perfected beings, Kapila; among horses,
Uchaishravas; among elephants, Airavata; among men, the king;
among weapons, the thunderbolt; among cows, the Kamadhenu;
among progenitors, Cupid; among serpents, Vasuki; among Nagas,
Ananta; among aquatic residents, Varuna; among Pithrus, Aryama;
among enforcers, Yama; among daityas, Prahlada; among measuring
agents, time; among animals, the lion; among birds, Garuda; among
the fish, Makara; among rivers, the Ganga; among forms of knowledge,
the knowledge of the Self; among letters, the letter A; among
compound word formations, the dvandva form; among destroyers, death;
among months, Margashirsha; among seasons, spring; among deceitful
ways, the game of dice; of the powerful, their power; of the
meritorious, their virtues; among the Vrishnis, Krishna; among the
Pandavas, Arjuna; among sages, Vyasa; among poets, Shukra; in the
disciplinarians, the sense of discipline; among the factors for
success, justice; in the knowing ones, knowledge - in short I am
the seed of everything, and without Me nothing can exist. There
is no end to My manifestations. Wherever you see anything
powerful, good and glorious, know that to be a manifestation of
an atom of My power. But why these details! Suffice for you to
understand that with an atom of My being, I prevade and sustain
everything.
The Vision Described (Chapter 11 verses 1-55)
Arjuna now wants to have a direct experience of the Divine Majesty,
the source and support of all that exists. The Lord gives him a new
power of insight with which Arjuna becomes capable of having a direct
experience of the Divine. The Lord reveals to him His cosmic form in
which he finds in an instant all that exists, past, present and future,
spread out as it were as part and parcel of an all-comprehending Whole,
a Divine Person, whose awful Majesty and stupefying splendour are too
much for him to bear. He finds that all beings are helplessly drawn
and absorbed into His being - by inexorable Time, with which He declares
His identity. Arjuna experiences that there is only one Will, namely
the Divine will, and that the will of all the centers of consciousness
included in His being are but instruments for serving Him and
accomplishing His purposes. He finds that all the armies mobilised
and arrayed for battle have already been destroyed by the Lord's will,
and that he himself is just an occasion for this.
Tranformation of Arjuna (Chapter 11 - After the vision)
The experience shakes Arjuna to the very core of his being and
he loses himself in utter self-abnegation and devotional
absorption. At the end of it, Arjuna is informed by the Lord
that such an experience as he has had is very rare, and only
through unswerving devotion can man achieve this. So he is
exhorted to be a devotee of a Lord, carrying out His will,
looking upon Him as the highest, and having attachment for
nothing but the Lord.
The Impersonal and the Personal (Chapter 12 verses 1-7)
Arjuna now wants to know who is better Yogi - the one who follows the
path of devotion, looking upon God as the Supreme Person, or the one
who looks upon Him as the Impersonal Absolute. Shri Krishna answers:
All who worship Me with intense faith and adore Me, are praiseworthy.
Of the two paths, that of the Impersonal Absolute is too difficult
for men who are entrenched in body-consciousness. Besides, in this
path one has to depend on one's effort alone. The devotee has the
advantage that, as he depends on Me and not on his effort alone,
I am always at his back to lift him out of the ocean of Samsara.
The Practice of Devotion (Chapter 12 verses 8-12)
Therefore let men practise whole-hearted devotion to Me. If their
mind does not automatically flow towards Me, they can try Yoga
practices and gain concentration. If they cannot do that, they
can engage themselves in works that are devoted to Me and are
pleasing to Me. If even that is not possible, let them abandon
the fruits of all works to Me. Such abandonment in truth and in
reality is very potent; for it can bring peace instantaneously.
Who is a Bhakta? (Chapter 12 verses 13-20)
The qualities of an ideal Bhakta are then described. It can be studied
in comparison with the ideal of the Sthitaprajna as described in
Chapter 2. He is the friend of all, free from self-centeredness,
unaffected by vanity and pride, ever cheerful, patient in all
circumstances and situations, firm in his resolves, absolutely
self-surrendered to the Lord, attracting the love and affection of all,
unperturbed, pure, indifferent to worldly values, devoid of the
feeling that he is the doer of anything, alike to friend and foe,
alike in praise and insult, and looking on the whole world as his home.
The field and its knower (Chapter 13 verses 1-6)
The Lord said: There are two categories in the consciousness of
man - the object and the subject, the 'seen' and the 'seer'. The
'seen' is in the field, the body: the 'seer' is the Spirit, the
Jiva. The body-mind is the 'field', because it is the environment
in association with which the 'seer, the Jiva, enjoys the fruits
of his actions and also undergoes spiritual evolution. Thus the
body-mind is its adjunct, the instrument through which the
Spirit contacts objects. Still, it is only the 'seen', the
'object', because the 'seer', the Jiva, is not part of it but
distinct from it and master of it.
The field and its knower (Chapter 13 verses 1-6 contd)
In a broader sense the field is not merely the individual body,
but the Universal Nature, of which the individual body is a
part. This Universal Nature, the Field, is constituted of
the following: The great elements, Egoity, Intellect, the
Unmanifested State, the eleven organs, the five objects of
perception, will, aversion, joy, sorrow, combination, life and
vitality. All the individual fields are made of the combination
of these, and in all of them the Seer is Myself (My part or
reflection in them)
Knowledge and its means (Chapter 13 verses 7-11)
The Seen and the Seer, the body and the Spirit, are inextricably
mixed up in man in the state of ignorance. To know them in their
distinctiveness is knowledge, and this knowledge grows by the
cultivation of the following disciplines: Absence of pride and
vanity, non-injury, patience, perseverance, service of the teacher,
self-control, revulsion of tempting objects of senses, reflection on
ephemerality of life, non-attachment, non-entanglement with the
family, imperturbability, intense devotion to Me, frequenting
solitude, steady pursuit of spiritual enquiry, and strong aspiration
for the Truth. These constitute knowledge or spirituality, and the
opposite is ignorance or unspirituality.
The object to be known (Chapter 13 verses 12-15)
The object to be known is the Supreme Being, who cannot be
described by words like 'existent' and 'non-existent'. He enfolds
everything in Himself and also indwells everything. Though
devoid of senses He enlivens all sense powers; though unattached
and unrelated, He supports everything; and though beyond the
Gunas of Prakruthi, he is the enjoyer of all Gunas. He is
both far and near, and because of his subtlety, He appears,
to be not. He is the originator and the consumer of everything.
He is the Lord of all and remains undivided in the apparently
diversified phenomena. He is the ultimate consciousness that reveals
everything. The source of all light and life and the centre
to which all spiritual quest is directed, He verily resides
in the heart of all.
Knowledge as discovery of one's spiritual identity (Chapter 13 verses
16-34)
Thus there are two aspects in man - the body-mind which is a
part and parcel of Universal Nature, and the Spirit which is
ultimately one with Me, the Supreme Subject. Not aware of his
real nature, the Spirit identifies with the properties of
material nature and becomes embodiment to repeated embodiments
in Samsara. Identification makes him the enjoyer of what is
really of the body-mind. But there is present in the embodied
being another Purusha, the witness of all, the sanctioner of
all, the Lord and Support of all, the Master of Soul and Matter.
It is the Paramatman. Let the aspirant, overcoming the
identification of the Spirit with material Nature, find his
identity in Me, the Supreme Lord, who is always the nearest and
closest to him - who is, as it were, his matrix, who is the
One spiritual Sun reflecting all the individual Spirits in the
reflector of the body-mind, and then he shall instantly be
redeemed. Real Knowledge consists in understanding of this
distinction between Nature and Spirit, and the Spirit's
absolute freedom from Nature.
The Lord as the Universal Father (Chapter 14 verses 1-5)
Shri Krishna said; I shall declare to you that knowledge by which
you can attain unity in nature with Me. My Nature is the universal
womb in which I place the seed. From this all beings are born and
therefore know that beings born of all wombs, are born of my
universal womb, and I am their originating father.
The Three Gunas of Nature and their functions (Chapter 14 verses 6-20)
This Nature of mine has three aspects known as Gunas -
Constituents or Dispositions - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas,
charecterised by expressions like purity, passion and dullness
i.e., happiness, energy and delusion respectively. Everything
in life is bound and dominated by these Gunas, and man's life
and action, and his progress hereafter, are determined by the
ramifying influence of these on him. He is the wise man who
is able to perceive that all the movements of his body-mind
are really the movements of these Gunas of which it is
constituted, and that he, the real he, trancends them. When
this illumination dwans, the Jiva is fit for the Immortal
State. One who has thus risen above the Gunas is called
Trigunatita.
Who is a Trigunatita? (Chapter 14 verses 21-27)
Arjuna now asks what are the signs of a Trigunatita, and the
account given in reply is not much different from that of
Sthitaprajna (Chapter 2 verses 55-72) and the Bhakta
(Chapter 12 verses 13-20). The Trigunatita is thus described:
He never identifies himself with the passing moods of elation,
excitement and depression, which are the characteristics of the
body-mind. In all disturbances of the mental and physical
environment, he remains unperturbed, seeing in them only
movements of Prakruthi and not of himself. He is alike in pleasure
and pain, to friend and foe, and he never feels he is the
doer of anything. It is only one who serves Me with unswerving
and exclusive devotion that can thus hope to overcome the dominance
of the Gunas; for I, the Lord of all, is the one on whom the
Brahman-state has its foundation.
The Mystic Ashvatha tree (Chapter 15 verses 1-3)
Shri Krishna said: The created world is like a mighty peepal
tree, rooted above in the unseen, with the branches
apreading everywhere in the world of the seen. Entangled in
its branches, no one understands its source, nor does one
grasp the utter flimsy and momentary nature of the values
it yeilds. With the powerful weapon of non-attachment, cut,
O man, the taproots that bind you to it, and go to the
empyrean heights to seek Me, its source - the Supreme
Purushottama.
Trancendence and immanance of the Divine (Chapter 15 verses 4-15)
I am trancendent, beyond time and space, but yet immanent in
Nature and in all beings - as light in the sun and other
luminaries, as gravitation that keeps the galaxies in
position, as fertility in soil, as the digestive powers in
all living beings, and above all in the hearts of all as
the living spirit from whom life, memory, knowledge and
everything else proceed.
The Purushottama (Chapter 15 verses 16-20)
My being has a threefold aspect. As the changeful Matter I
constitute the bodies of all (Kshara Purusha), As the
unchanging Witness Consciousness, the Jiva, I dwell in all
these bodies (Akshara Purusha). But I am, above all, the
Purushottama (the Supreme Purusha), who manifests all these,
supports all these, indwells them all, and yet remains
the Trancendent Spirit, and iota even of whom is not
affected by all these manifestations. He who contemplates
on this mystery that I am the Supreme Purushottama, he
understands all and offers himself to Me with his whole
being.
The Divine and the Diabolic types (Chapter 16 verses 1-18)
The Lord said: In creation there are two character types - the
Asuric and the Daivic. The former is hostile to all spiritual
values, while the latter is fully receptive to them. The Asuric
type makes no distinction between the righteous and the
unrighteous, the pure and the impure, truth and untruth. In
their world view there is no place for God, the abiding
spiritual background for this world of change. Pursuit of
lust and lucre is their supreme quest in life, and success
in this, the only criterion of respectability. "Who is
equal to Me?" is their watchword; and to amass wealth, to
destroy their enemies, to satisfy their lusts, to acquire
name and fame by any means, fair or foul, is their sole
object in life. With such and outlook they exploit and
oppress all their fellow beings, as also the Lord who is
immanent in all. Such persons go down in the spiritual
scale.
As distinguished from this is the divine or the spiritual
type. They are pure, fearless, full of spiritual aspiration,
self-controlled, generous, loving, truthful, patient,
benevolent and free from pride and vanity.
The Gateway to Hell (Chapter 16 verses 19-24):
Those who want to rise spiritually should follow these divine
ideals, and shun the Asuric traits. Sexuality, anger and
greed are the factors that make man more and more Asuric.
They are the gateways to hell. Let all the right thinking men
avoid them. Sexuality, anger and greed are natural to the
unregenerate man. Regulating and overcoming them is morality,
the gateway to spirituality. For this, man has to depend on
the guidance of a Shastra, a scripture. For, left to his own
unguided intelligence, his tendency will be only to yeild to
the evil in him and not to master it. So man requires an
external authority, prescribing what to do and what not to
do. That authority is called a scripture, a text believed to
have the sanction of God. Unless guided by an objective
authority to whom sanctity is attached, man in his natural
state will degenerate into a slave of passions.
While many other chapters of the Gita are of great metaphysics
and devotional significance and deserve close study, this
particular chapter specially calls for the attention of every
man. The Asuric tendency analysed and criticised in it, has
a home in the hearts of most people, and to be aware of this
fact is the first step to master it and lay the foundation for
the edifice of spiritual life.
Faith as rooted in the Gunas (Chapter 17 verses 1-22)
The Lord now speaks of Faith (Shradha), the inner
intuition and natural receptivity of the mind to
ideals, which ultimately settles man's preference
for the scripture. "Man is verily constituted of
his Faith, and he is what his Faith is." Man's
faith is determined by the dominance of one or the
other of the three qualities of Nature - Sattva,
Rajas and Tamas. His preference in respect of objects
of worship, food activities etc., will depend upon his
Shradha. Whatever is done without vanity, but is
motivated by the good of others and has the grace of
God in mind, is Sattva. Whatever is sought or done
with desire, vanity and for self-glorification is
Rajas and whatever is done indifferently, with evil
motives, thoughtlessly and in a grumbling spirit is
Tamas. Such conduct is futile in respect of man's
higher evolution.
Om Tat Sat (Chapter 17 verses 23-28)
Om Tat Sat are the holy syllables indicating the
sacrificial mentality. Whatever man does as an
offering unto God with the utterance of these
syllables, promotes his spiritual evolution. All
sacrificial rites, all austerity practised, all
charity done are of no spiritual efficacy if they
are not supported by Faith.
The Abandonment (Chapter 18 verses 1-12)
As in the previous chapter, the early sections of this last
chapter also emphasise the part played by the three gunas of
Prakruthi in all human affairs. It opens with a question by
Arjuna about the distinction between Sanyasa and Tyaga. The
Lord replies: Abandonment of ritualistic works with promises
of specific rewards is called by the sages as Sanyasa, while
performance of all action without an eye on their fruits is
called Tyaga. Some say that all actions are to be abandoned
because there is some element of evil in every action, but
others are of the opinion that actions like yagna, charity
austerity etc., are never to be abandoned. My view is that
actions like yagna, charity and austerity are never to be
abandoned, because they purify man when performed without
attachment and desire for fruits. To abandon a duty because
of fear of difficulties involved, is positively bad. It is
impossible for any embodied being to abandon all work. So
true abandonment had to be taken to mean work without
attachment to fruits and without the sense of ego. Actions
done in that spirit never bind.
How the bondages of Actions is overcome (Chapter 18 verses 13-18)
In all actions there are five factors involved - the body,
the I-sense of the performer, senses, expression of energy
through them, and as the fifth, the unknown and the
incalculable factor.All these factors belong to prakrithi.
Behind it is the pure light consciousness, the Atman, who
is unaffected witness. In ignorance, this pure witness
identifies himself with these factors external to him and
their performances, and creates bondage for himself. So if
the actor has no feeling like 'I am doing', and no attachment
to the fruits accruing, it can be said that he does not act,
even if all the world sees him acting in the physical plane.
The Three Gunas as the determinative factors (Chapter 18 verses 18-39)
Dispositions of Prakrithi - sattva, rajas and tamas - determine
the nature of knowledge, action and agent.
Sattva: Knowledge dominated by sattva leads to the understanding of
unity in diversity; actions dominated by it tend to detachment and
freedom from passionate affliations; a doer dominated by it is
comparatively free from ego-sense and attachment but yet does not
lack enthisiasm an intrest in the work; the intelligence dominated
by it is always accompanied by moral sensibility and an eye to the
spiritual side of things; strength of mind dominated by it is
expressed as control of the senses and the mind; and as strict
adherence to principles; and experience dominated by it is painful
in the beginning due to difficulties of discipline, but ends in great
bliss.
Rajas: Knowledge dominated by rajas directs attention to the
diversity of things and not their unity; work dominated by it
results in actions done with great attachment, egotism and
expenditure of energy; an agent dominated by it is greedy,
cruel, attached and subject to elation and depression;
intelligence dominated by it is riddled with confusion
about right and wrong and has little sense of duty; strength
dominated by it is under the sway of ambitions, desires, and
worldly status; and happiness dominated by it is extremely
attractive in the beginning due to sensual excitement but
in its final result brings about suffering.
Tamas: Knowledge dominated by tamas sees mere side issues as the
whole truth and doggedly holds on to them without due thought,
under the prompting of passions; action dominated by tamas is
undertaken thoughtlessly without any estimate of one's capacity
or resources, and is prompted by delusions and cruel motives; the
agent dominated by tamas is fickleminded, insolent, exploiting,
procastinating and slipshod in his methods; intelligence dominated
by tamas sees unrighteousness as righteousness and takes the
wrong side of everything; strength or determination dominated by
tamas is always subject to depression, vacillation and overbearing
insolence; and pleasure dominated by tamas is from the beginning
to the end riddled with delusion, lethargy and needlessness.
Gunas and Character types (Chapter 18 verses 40-44)
Everything in Nature being thus dominated by the Gunas,
the character types - Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and
Shudra - and the duties pertaining to them are also no
exception to this domination. Intellectualism and
introspectiveness; dynamism and leadership; industry and
productiveness; discipline and service at all levels -
these are the duties of the four character types based on
their natural constitutions.
Work as Worship (Chapter 18 verses 45-49)
Knowing all one's endowments are derived from universal
Nature, which is the Lord's power of manifestation, man
must worship that Supreme Being with the faithful and
non-attached discharge of duties that devolve on him. That
is real worship, and by that man evolves spiritually. By
the mere fact that there are some defective elements in
a work one's duty cannot be abandoned. For, defects are
natural to all works as smoke is to fire. If discharged
in a dedicated and detached spirit, as an offering to the
Lord who manifests as society, all blemishes are overcome.
Spiritual fulfillment through total abandonment (Chapter 18 verses 50-56)
For men who have grown mature through devotion and dedicated
work and attained to detachment and dispassion, there are
two courses open. Those who are favourably situated for it
may take to a pure ascetic life in solitude, and devote
themselves to the practice of pure introspection. Such
practice endows him with motiveless love of the Lord -
a love not influenced by any of the forces of Nature
(Nirguna Bhakti). By such love he attains to a comprehensive
and intuitive understanding of the Divine and realises
himself as a part and parcel of the Divine Life.
Spiritual fulfillment through resignation (Chapter 18 verses 56-66)
Those who have not that facility for complete withdrawal
from social life, can continue to do their swadharma with
complete dependence on Me, the Lord of all. Such a one
should mentally renounce all sense of agency for the works
that flow through him, and externally he should have no
longing or attachment for the fruits of his actions. One
who thus infills his mind with Me, overcomes all difficulties
and attains to the highest spiritual fulfillment. For the
truth is that all beings are like the objects placed on a
wheel and I alone turn the wheel. Those on the wheel, if they
think they are turning it, are in utter ignorance. Seek
shelter in Me with your whole being, and you shall attain
peace. This profoundest spiritual Gospel I reveal to you
now. Be filled with Me; worship Me; make prostrations to Me.
Abandoning dependence on every kind of ego-centered support,
seek Me alone as your refuge. I shall save you from the life
of ignorance and sin.
To whom the Gita is relevant (Chapter 18 verses 67-68)
This great spiritual doctrine is to be taught only to those
who are spiritually inclined. Such teaching is highly pleasing
to Me, as they are thereby worshipping Me with Jnana Yagna.
Conclusion: Wherever Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and Arjuna,
the enforcer of Dharma, function unitedly, there will reign
both Prosperity and Spirituality.
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Based on "Srimad Bhagavat Gita - The Scripture of Mankind"
a translation by Rev Swami Tapasyanandaji, published by
Sri Ramakrishna Math - Chennai. http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org/
(
geocities.com/athens/acropolis) (
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