- The path to self-realization
can't be shown but can be experienced. Gita contains solutions
and puzzles for seekers with different levels of maturity and
capacity. The manual of Gita can help us to solve the puzzles
in our life and help us to undertake challenging steps forward.
But when we reach the highest level, we regain our True Human
Nature and all our actions become spontaneous and judgements
become unnecessary! Spontaneity is the law of the nature. The
flowers bloom without us asking and the trees surrender and sacrifice
all their possessions (fruits, stem, leaves and roots). The flower
plant, the fruit true, animals and other creatures including
the human beings have to live, grow and disappear according to
the laws of the nature. The True Human Nature emerges when the
mind becomes pure without duality and the life in the universe
is free from conflicts and contradictions.
- Gita begins with
"DHARMA" (chapter 1, verse 1) and ends with "MAMA"
(chapter 18, verse 78). According to Swami Chinmayananda, the
word combination "Mama Dharma" has special significance.
Mamadharma stands for Swadharma which means that each of us has
the freedom to define our moral rules and ethics of living. We
are obligated to complete the duties that are necessary for our
living without violating our Mamadharma. Dharma, a Sanskrit word,
means duty or pursuit of social and personal ideals of behavior.
Its literal meaning is "that which sustains." Every
thing that goes with the natural order or state of things is
dharma. The dharma of fire is to heat, dharma of a flower is
to bloom and dharma of a human is "eternal bliss."
Mamadharma plays a pivotal role in determining the Hindu way
of life. It implies that an individual has the obligation to
conduct his (her) duties at a level much higher than the social
norms. Social laws suggest the minimum standard of Dharma where
as Mamadharma requires the individual to seek the highest standard
of Dharma! Though the knowledge of right and wrong are relative
and subjective, no one has any excuse committing a crime! Dharma
holds one up to the highest conception of "Right,"
and expects everyone to do the "Right" for rights sake,
and not for the sake of obeying the law. The conception of right
requires us not to judge others because the standard of ethics
varies by individuals. Both "right" and "rights"
also vary by individuals! We get the right to judge others when
we reach the highest level of spiritual maturity.
- Gita identifies
the person with the True Human Nature by the Sanskrit name Sthitaprajna
(Perfect Yogi). The verses 55 to 72 in chapter 2 discusses the
virtues of Sthitaprajna in greater details. According to Gita,
Sthitaprajna attains the Universal Wisdom of Eternal Peace by
abandoning the illusory pain and sufferings. The Lord insists
that eternal peace, happiness, discriminating intelligence and
concentration can be realized only by freeing the mind from sensory
perceptions. Gita does not claim that the task is easy and it
gives complete guidance for achieving the True Human Nature in
chapters two to 18. Gita asserts that it is achievable for everyone
who is willing to take the necessary efforts, discipline and
dedication. The Grace of God always comes with true dedication,
discipline and devotion. In Gita, action is much more important
than prayer and Bhakti serves as the catalyst to complete one's
obligations. The reward for the action comes along with action
and action and reward are inseparable! The devotee treats action
as the prayer and prasad (peace) comes automatic when the devotee
is sincere!
- Gita describes the
relationships between sensory perception, ego, human intelligence
and divine intelligence. According to Gita, the sensory perceptions
are the barriers for gaining the divine intelligence. Ego is
the byproduct of sensory perception. Ego distracts human intelligence
to lose its discriminating power. Consequently the intellect
misidentifies SELF by body, mind and intellect. The distractions
are eradicated only through spiritual practice (sadhana) outlined
in Gita. Those who follow the spiritual life understand their
obligation and perform their duties without looking for rewards.
According to Gita, when a person performs duties without selfish
motives, he (she) demonstrates his (her) eagerness to seek the
Grace of God! It is the Grace that is responsible for his determination
to conduct his (her) duties without hesitation and reward!
- Sthitaprajna perceives
the world without conflicts and sorrows and accepts the world
as it is! Such persons see perfection of the imperfect world
and they prepare to change their attitude that suits its preferences.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The only change that the world
needs, is you!" For a Sthitaprajna like Gandhi, understands
that the attitude determines the outcome and they develop positive
mental attitudes to accept rewards and punishments with equanimity.
The discussion on Sthitaprajna is dedicated to the great sage
Vedavyasa, the assembler, compiler and the propagator of the
Hindu Scriptures including the Bhagavad Gita.
- What is the right
path of our life? The seers who wrote the Upanishads have this
excellent answer: " Life is a bridge; enjoy while crossing
it; but don't build a castle on it." Human beings are endowed
with positive mental attitude from the day of birth. The new
born child accepts everything from his (her) mother and everybody
else. The child accepts the life as it is and we better remember
and learn few lessons. With positive mental attitude, we can
accept the realities of life without resistance and fear. We
become the witness of our own life and can probably accept joy,
sorrow, good, bad, tall, short, beauty, ugly, light, dark, past,
present and future. We can learn to stop asking instantaneous
explanations for everything that happens in our life. Positive
mental attitude will help us to accept the our life and stop
forcing others to change. Every verse in Gita discusses the importance
of removing the negative tendencies. Sthitaprajna possesses the
positive mental attitude and Gita describes the qualities in
verses 55 to 72.
-
- In Verse 54, Arjun
asks Lord Krishna to describe the characteristics of the Perfect
Sage (Sthitaprajna).
- Verse 54: arjuna
uvaca
sthita-prajnasya ka bhasa samadhi-sthasya kesava
sthita-dhih kim prabhaseta kim asita vrajeta kim
- Arjuna said: What,
O Krishna, is the description of him who has steady wisdom and
is merged in the super-conscious state? How does one of steady
wisdom speak, how does he sit, how does he walk?
- In Verse 54, Arjun
asks Lord Krishna to describe the characteristics of the Perfect
Sage (Sthitaprajna). Sthitaprajna represents the qualities of
the realized human soul. Lord Krishna explains his answers in
verses 55 to 72. The person who realizes the true nature becomes
the Sthitaprajna. In Gita, Arjun's enquiry started with one question,
followed by more questions such as - "Who am I? ";
"Where am I? "; And "What am I?"
- Verse 55: sri-bhagavan
uvaca
prajahati yada kaman sarvan partha mano-gatan
atmany evatmana tustah.sthita-prajnas tadocyate
- The blessed Lord
said: When a man completely casts off, Oh Arjuna, all the desires
of the mind, and when his self is satisfied in the self, then
is he said to be one of steady wisdom.
- Bhagavan Shri Krishna
points out in verse 55 that a stable human behavior implies separation
of "SELF" from the mind! When the mind engages in selfish
desires, it evaluates success and failures (pleasure and sorrow),
it never gets the freedom. The mind needs diversion from selfish
to unselfish desires to get the freedom. Mahatma Gandhi, a perfect
sage, has shown that through unselfish service to the people,
he was able to free the mind from desires. Gandhiji was able
to puts away all his desires and focus his mind and soul on the
Supreme Reality. Gandhiji was a soft talker, a fast walker and
never a quitter! When a Sthitaprajna such as Gandhiji speaks,
everybody listens. The spiritual person acts for the social cause
and for the community welfare without looking for an iota of
material benefit. Such a person attains the state of a perfect
sage (Sthitaprajna).
- No single individual
has any control over his (her) action in this world. For example,
an individual who takes a flight from USA to India requires the
collective actions and cooperation of visible and invisible entities
of the world. The conduct, cooperation, and the service of thousands
of actors from different parts of the world become necessary
for the flight to materialize. Is it possible for anyone to identify
all these actors, the cause for their actions and the rewards
for their actions? The answer is obviously no! Any individual
contribution to any cause or the effect becomes infinitesimal
if we measure the direct and indirect actors from all parts of
the world. How do we determine success and failure? What is success?
What is failure? For what time period do we measure success and
failure? All such questions will have plenty of answers without
any agreeable solution to satisfy everyone. The mind that fails
to understand the chain of actions and reactions rejoices over
success and regrets over failures. The duality of success and
failure indulges the mind to create endless loops of desires,
successes and failures. When the mind perceives success from
an action, ego emerges to propel more actions and more ego. If
it perceives failure from an action, it fuels more actions in
order to succeed and an endless loop emerges. In either case,
ego occupies and keeps the mind in motion. The only way to restore
stability is remove all desires from the mind learn to be content.
- Do we behave like
a perfect sage at any time in our real life? The answer is Yes!
We as adults while playing a game with our little child behave
like a perfect sage. We spontaneously regain our true nature
and express unconditional love to the child. We concentrate more
on playing the game to keep the child happy and have no problems
in losing! At the same time, success or failure of the game affects
the child and the child shows its emotions. The coaches of all
major sports repeat the message of Gita to the players as follows!
"Give your best while playing and don't worry about the
results and never allow your emotion to drain your energy!"
This bottom line message is the central theme of Gita. Gita asks
us to pursue our life with greater goals and higher motives and
perform our duties with the best of our abilities.
- Verses 56 &
57:
duhkhesv anudvigna-manah sukhesu vigata-sprhah
vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate
- He whose mind is
not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures,
and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a
sage of steady wisdom.
- yah sarvatranabhisnehas
tat tat prapya subhasubham
nabhinandati na dvesti tasya prajna pratisthita
- He who is everywhere
without attachment, who neither rejoices nor despises on meeting
with anything - good or bad, his wisdom is established.
- Verse fifty six
describes characteristics of the mind of the perfect sage. Verse
fifty seven reinforces the qualities of the perfect sage with
additional attributes. The mind of the perfect sage is steady
and calm. The sage possesses the discriminating wisdom to witness
and experience events. The sage of settled intelligence frees
his mind from eager desire and will have no passion, fear and
anger. Should we rejoice when "good" happens and should
we regret when "bad" happens? Dr. Radakrishnan points
out that we don't praise the flowers when they bloom and condemn
when they fade! We should learn to accept our role as a witness
and recognize that we have no means of judging the actors and
results of an action!
- Verse 58:
yada samharate cayam kurmo 'nganiva sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas tasya prajna pratisthita
- When, like the tortoise
which withdraws its limbs on all sides, he withdraws his senses
from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.
- This verse illustrates
the behavior of the perfect sage using a compelling example.
Bhagavan reminds us that "steady and discriminating wisdom"
imply that we have to act instantaneously. What does the tortoise
do when it sees an external interference to its path of movement?
It moves quickly inside its protective shell! The perfect sage
also acts like the tortoise and withdraws the senses from the
objects of pleasure! Gita contains plenty of hidden treasures
such as this example of the tortoise. Animals in general always
look for a shelter outside rather than inside. During crisis
times, monkeys climb over the top of trees and rats and rabbits
jump and run toward holes and gaps. A tortoise is on the other
hand tucks "in" instead of running. Bhagavan implicitly
reminds that all external objects are obstructions to the spiritual
path. Spiritual seekers should take the shelter inside rather
than outside!
- The example of the
tortoise is also important for another reason. Try to recollect
the moral of the famous Panchatantra story about the tortoise
and the rabbit. Tortoises are slow and steady and rabbits are
fast and volatile. According to the story, the slow and steady
tortoise was able to win the race. The rabbit is a subtle reference
to the material life style and tortoise is the reference to the
spiritual life style. Material life style can yield many successes
but ultimately ends in failure. The slow and steady spiritual
life style can bring the ultimate success. When tortoise tucks
inside the shell, it shuts up all external contacts and hence
protected! The spiritual seekers can learn a lot from the tortoise
to turn their attention inside and withdraw external sensory
perceptions.
- Verse 59 to 61:
visaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva nivartate
- The objects of the
senses turn away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing
behind: but this longing also turns away on seeing the supreme.
- yatato hy api kaunteya
purusasya vipascitah
indriyani pramathini haranti prasabham manah
- The turbulent senses,
0h Arjuna, violently carry away the mind of a wise man though
he be striving to control them.
- tani sarvani samyamya
yukta asita mat-parah
vase hi yasyendriyani tasya prajna pratisthita
- Having restrained
them all, he should sit steadfast, intent on me. His wisdom is
steady whose senses are under control.
- Verses fifty-nine
to sixty-one elaborate the dangers of going after external objects
for internal pleasure. Gamblers, smokers, drinkers find it hard
to quit their habits. Our problem is not the object but the taste
that we have developed through our senses for the objects! The
evolution of the desire for the objects originates when the tastes
for the objects enter into the mind. When the mind meditates
on the "SUPREME," even the tastes for the objects,
will disappear! Gita reinforces the importance of the control
over the mind and senses for removing the desires. When senses
are left loose, they propel the mind to go after the objects
and controlling the mind becomes more difficult. The floating
mind remembers the tastes of object and drives the senses toward
the objects! To stop the car on the high way, we have to apply
the brakes to all the four wheels! When one of them fails, we
can get into serious problems. Until we close all the doors and
windows of the house, we have no way of heating the house at
the desired level! To shut the desires, we have to close the
body, mind and intellect! The senses of the Perfect Sage are
under control and the sage remains firm in Yoga on the Supreme.
- Verses 62 &
63:
dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah kamat krodho 'bhijayate
- When a man thinks
of the objects, attachment for them arises. From attachment desire
is born. From desire anger arises.
- krodhad bhavati
sammohah sammohat smrti-vibhramah
smrti-bhramsad buddhi-naso buddhi-nasat pranasyati
From anger comes delusion. From delusion loss of memory. From
loss of memory the destruction of discrimination. From destruction
of discrimination, he perishes.
- Verses 62 &
63 elaborate the dangers of indulging the mind on sense objects.
When we start drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, we register
the taste of coffee in our mind and soon, we get addicted to
coffee. When we miss our morning coffee, we become angry. One
of my friend, who worked for the state government in India, was
a heavy drinker. His wife had a tough time because he physically
and mentally abused her when he was drunk. The problem with drinking
is twofold. The mind gets agitated with or without the drink
and is a no-win situation. My friend beat his wife if she hid
the liqueur bottles beyond his reach and also beat her after
drinking his liqueur quota. One day after a heavy dose of liqueurs,
he died in front of his house ran over by a truck! The reference
"pranasyati" in verse 63 is subtle. The drunkard loses
his "buddhi" instantaneously due to addiction and when
the desire is fulfilled, he loses his "buddhi" and
"identity." When "XXX" drinks and walks on
the road, the reference changes to "drunkard" and an
abrupt death of the identity "XXX." XXX no more behaves
like XXX but only as a drunkard! When we attend parties, we can
easily see difference between behavior of a normal and drunkard
person.
- One need not be
a drunkard to lose the identity. Last time, when I visited India,
I tried to buy my airlines ticket in Delhi. The clerk demanded
additional twenty dollars bribe to confirm the reservation. When
I refused to pay the bribe, the clerk was angry and abusive.
The corrupt clerk lost his true identity and became a "corrupt"
person. This desire induced corruptive behavior was responsible
for him to lose his buddhi and respectable personality. Does
Gita assert that we should not eat, touch, smell, hear or see?
The answer is obviously no! The message is about developing a
flexible mental attitude. When I feel thirsty, I have the natural
instinct to drink some liquid that could be water, juice, coffee,
tea, coke, or sprite, etc. . If I desire to extinguish my thirst
only by drinking coffee then I have the "attachment"
problem. If I am flexible enough to drink any available drink
to quench my thirst then I have "no attachment." Gita
only advises us to be "flexible" in order to be successful
and we need to discipline ourselves to be flexible. The flower
plants need water and food to grow and yield beautiful flowers
and they don't demand "specific drinks or food!" We
need to discipline our self to eat food without "attributes."
Gita did not contend it is easy and does not describe prescriptions.
-
- Verses 64 &
65
raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu visayan indriyais caran
atma-vasyair vidheyatma prasadam adhigacchati
- But the self-controlled
man, moving among the objects with the senses under restraint
and free from attraction and repulsion, attains to peace.
- prasade sarva-duhkhanam
hanir asyopajayate
prasanna-cetaso hy asu buddhih paryavatisthate
- In that peace all
pains are destroyed: for the intellect of the tranquil-minded
soon becomes steady.
- Sthitaprajna (Perfect
Yogi) has no attachment or aversion and has the Purity of Spirit
(verse 64).
Sthitaprajna attains the "WISDOM" which is free from
illusory sorrows (verse 65). Bhagavan insists that we can attain
peace, happiness, discriminating intelligence and concentration
only by freeing the mind from sensory perceptions.
- This is our job
to develop our own ethical values (Mamadharma) and discipline
our life. Swami Chinmyanada explains the role of Gita in shaping
our daily life in the book, "A Manual of Self-unfoldment,"
published by the Chinmaya Mission. Gita strongly suggests us
not to have any preconceived notions! Prejudices reflect our
attachment to objects and they initiate hatred and anger. The
moment we allow the sense organs to take control, we lose our
discriminatory power, the gift of God and destroy our identity!
When flowers bloom, they don't get any pleasure! They give pleasure
to the surroundings! They use their sense organs to eat and drink
(fertilizer and water!) with no preconception to the food they
eat, the air they breathe, the light they catch, the wind they
touch or the water they drink! Any person who can give happiness
to all without prejudice will certainly attain tranquility. Will
anybody ever challenge that this is not true? Let me clarify
what I mean by "flexible."
- Flexibility means
developing an attitude to be happy with what we have and not
to demand objects that we don't have. Also, we do need to develop
skills and attitude to encounter different environments. Let
me give a recent experience of my son who filled up an application
for a summer job. There were lots of questions in the application
form to evaluate his work habits. Persons with greater number
of skills with the flexibility to undertake more tasks in a diverse
work environment get selected for a job. Vasana is a complex
terminology and requires careful scrutiny. It is almost impossible
to explain what it really means because it is highly personal!
The presence or absence of an object is not a necessarily a cause
for Vasana but the root cause is the attachment to the object.
Attachment is a twin evil. When we become a slave to an object
of our liking, we create hatred toward other objects. Due to
our attachment to french fries, we show our dislike for broccoli.
Some childhood Vasanas are no more a threat to matured adults.
The Hindu Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are symbolic reminders
to the endless cycle of the creation, perpetuation and destruction
of Vasanas. A simple method to destroy a Vasana is to develop
a Vasana for another object. Ideally, we have to find a way not
to create any Vasana. According to Gita, if we divert our attachment
toward the Supreme we can get liberation from the cycle of creation,
perpetuation and destruction.
- Verses 66 to 68:
- nasti buddhir ayuktasya
na cayuktasya bhavana
na cabhavayatah santir asantasya kutah sukham
- There is no knowledge
of the self to the unsteady and to the unsteady no meditation
is possible, and to the un-meditative there can be no peace and
to the man who has no peace, how can there be happiness?
- indriyanam hi caratam
yan mano 'nuvidhiyate
tad asya harati prajnam vayur navam ivambhasi
For the mind which follows in the wake of the wandering senses,
carries away one's discrimination, as the wind carries away a
boat on the waters.
- tasmad yasya maha-baho
nigrhitani sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas tasya prajna pratisthita
- Therefore, Oh Arjuna,
his knowledge is steady whose senses are completely restrained
from sense-objects.
- When the mind indulges
in sensory perceptions, we lose our sense of balance and mental
peace (verse 66). Sthitaprajna implies realization of the "Absolute
Reality," though such realization may be possible, it can't
be described. Gita stresses that sensory perceptions are the
concrete walls between the human and the Divine. Unless we break
the concrete wall, we can't visualize Divinity. Sensory perceptions
create the illusion of joy, sorrow, good, bad, like and dislike.
- Verse 67 is a beautiful
poem with deep insights and it illustrates the destructive power
of the rowing senses. What will happen to a ship without the
navigator on the deep sea? Powerful wind that carries the ship
will cause the ship to capsize. Similarly, the sense organs without
any control will make life helpless and purposeless. Ships in
deep seas are subject to unexpected dangers from the strong currents
of the wind. Human lives without any control on senses are likely
to lose peace by the formidable influence of sensual pleasures.
Verse 68 reinforces the message that the perfect yogi has complete
control of the senses over the sense-objects.
- Subtle messages
in Gita require background knowledge on Hindu scriptures! Vedavyasa,
the author of the Gita verses in written form, has skillfully
organized a Hindu Philosophical Course with theoretical and applied
components. He has discussed the philosophical concepts in Bhagavad
Gita and the practical aspects of Mahabharat and Puranas. Characters
of episodes in Mahabharat and Puranas became role models to illustrate
the conceptualized Dharma and values in Gita. Vyasa knew that
uniform ethical behavior (dharma) was necessary to protect law
and order in the society. Yudhistra, the hero of Mahabharat rigorously
obeyed Hindu Dharma and values that represent the ‘good'.
Dhruyodhana, the villain embodied Adharma (opposite of Dharma)
and a symbolic representation of ‘evil.' Vyasa dramatized
the nature of good and evil using episodes through the roles
of heroes, villains and supporting characters. Public learnt
'good' and 'evil' using the Puranic stories and chose and practice
what they liked (Swadharma). The genius in Vyasa has composed
an objective Gita, a subjective Mahabharat, and informative volume
of eighteen Puranas to establish and preserve the Hindu Dharma
and Values. Vedavyasa, the greatest intellect and revolutionary
of all times, had the VISION to protect and preserve the Hindu
Culture. He completed this monumental task with utmost care and
with artistic perfection. Moral standards and Values of the Hindu
Civilization, established by great sages such as Vedavyasa were
responsible for helping India withstand the invasion of foreign
culture and religions.
- Verse 69:
ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh
That state which is night to all beings, to the selfcontrolled
man is wakefulness; when all beings are awake that is night for
the sage who sees.
- The message of verse
69 is portrayed in an episode that contrasts between the mental
attitudes of 'dharmic' Yudhistra and 'adharmic' Dhruyodhan: Lord
Krishna commissions Dhruyodhan to spot a good person and summons
Yudhistra to locate a bad person. After several weeks, both Dhruyodhan
and Yudhistra came back without success! Dhruyodhan couldn't
find a single good person and Yudhistra didn't see a single bad
person! Dharmic and Satvik people like Yudhistra always see light
in utter darkness. Adharmic and rajasik people like Dhruyodhan
can see only darkness even in splendid daylight! Verse 70 can
be illustrated using the contrasting personal qualities of Yudhistra
and Dhruyodhan! Dhruyodhan's only desire was to acquire the kingdom
at any cost within his life time. He became angry when there
were obstacles. Consequently, he lost his buddhi, his friends
and relatives. Some may argue that Bhishma and Karna remained
on his side until their death. A careful analysis will demonstrate
their dislike of his attitudes and his adharmic behavior. Bhisma
and Karna who never lost a war chose to lose and die than to
remain on his side! Dhruyodhan's materialistic desire became
the cause of his death and the death of his relatives and friends!
- Yudhistra on the
other hand did not have any materialistic desires. He displayed
equanimity and was admired by everyone including his enemies!
He showed no distress when he lost everything including his kingdom,
brothers and wife! He was willing to relinquish his materialistic
possessions including a princely lifestyle. Without reluctance,
he fought the war against his own relatives and friends. He had
no likes or dislikes and was free from sorrows. Lord Krishna
was always on his side because he was a sthitaprajna!
- Verse 70:
apuryamanam acala-pratistham samudram apah pravisanti yadvat
tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve sa santim apnoti na kama-kami
- He attains peace
into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean which,
filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is
full of desires.
- Verse 70 contains
the essence of the Vedantic philosophy in a nutshell. This verse
in poetic form uses a powerful simile to describe the qualities
of the True Nature of the Jiva in no uncertain terms. English
Translation of verse 70 by Dr. Radhakrishnan: "He unto whom
all desires enter as waters into the sea, which, though ever
being filled is ever motionless, attains to peace and not he
who hugs his desires."
- The science of Vedanta
expressed in Gita combines both the scientific rationale and
the mystic experience. We can possibly apply scientific rationale
to explain rains, rivers and oceans. Science explains why water
is essential for the survival of life in this planet. Scientists
also predict the time, location and the amount of rain falls
with a higher level of precision than ever before. They can also
explain why rain waters fill the rivers and why rivers can't
be recognized when they reach the ocean. But science has its
own limitations. When scientific explanations stop, mystic experiences
start. Some of us while standing at the banks of the river, we
experience inner peace and tranquility. The reasons for inner
peace and tranquility is beyond the scope of science. When we
stand before the Ocean, we are able to witness the boundless
beauty and wonder of the nature filled with Divinity.
- Science identifies
water as the material connection between rain, river, ocean and
life. The subtle connection between material objects and life
is mystic. Mysticism can be experienced but can never be explained!
Scientists will be able to prove that there can be no life without
water. But scientists could not disagree with the Vedantic claim
that there is no life without consciousness! When rivers reach
the ocean, rivers lose their identities. When we realize Brahman,
we become Brahman. Ocean is a good visual image of infinity,
it is motionless, silent and serene. Ocean is always full and
we can neither overfill nor empty the ocean!
- The nerve center
for human desires is the mind which undergoes changes with spiritual
growth. Rain waters represent the desires. River represents spiritual
life. . When we adopt the spiritual path of life, we divert our
desires to satisfy community We are able to evolve a sense of
direction and a destination. The waters of the rivers flow through
the planet for the survival of humans, animals, plants and insects.
The spiritual person also proceeds the life with the only desires
and actions for the betterment of the society. When the spiritual
person reaches the ultimate destination, (Brahman) he (she) loses
the identify. The spiritual person attains Brahman with fulfilment
of all desires and reaches the motionless state of the Ocean.
- Verse 71:
vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumams carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nirahankarah sa santim adhigacchati
- The man attains
peace who, abandoning all desires moves about without longing,
without the sense of mine (possessiveness) and without egoism.
- Verse 71 defines
the nature of a person who suppresses all troubles of earthly
existence. Dr. Radhakrishnan points out the following beautiful
quotation from the Upanishad: mano hi dvividham proktam suddham
cassuddham eva ca asuddham kamasamkalpam suddham kamavivarjitam
English Translation by Dr. Radhakrishnana: " The human mind
is of two kinds, pure and impure. That which is intent on securing
its desires is impure; that which is free from attachment to
desires is pure."
- The pure mind, is
like the mind of Yudhistra and the impure mind is like that of
Dhruyodhan. Impure mind contains full of desires and ego while
pure mind has no desires. Impure mind directs one for self-destruction
where as pure mind steers one to the self-realization! Purity
is synonymous to Truth and neither of them can be visualized
but experienced. When impurities are removed, Purity is perceived,
similar to realizing Truth after negating lies! It is like practicing
Dharma by abandoning Adharmas! Asuddham, Asathya and Adharma
are easily recognizable than Suddham, Sathya and Dharma respectively!
There are other word combinations in Sanskrit with similar logical
structure which include "Krama and Akrama," "Dhirya
and Adhirya," "Sowkya and Asowkya," "Sowkarya
and Asowkarya," "Kala and Akala," etc. NASA scientists
have studied and recognized the importance of Sanskrit language
structure for computer applications. An interesting article in
the magazine Nature, discusses the application of Panini's grammatical
structure of Sanskrit for computers. According to this article,
the logical structure of artificial intelligence problems can
be analyzed using the grammatical structure Sanskrit.
- Verse 72:
esa brahmi sthitih partha nainam prapya vimuhyati
sthitvasyam anta-kale 'pi brahma-nirvanam rcchati
- This is the seat
of Brahman, Oh Arjuna. Attaining to this, none is deluded. Being
established therein, even at the end of life, one attains to
oneness with Brahman.
- In verse 72, Lord
Krishna suggests that it is never too late to reach the divine
state! The subtle message is to remind us that we are better
off to try today than to wait until the day of death! Wisdom
(divine state) is the means of liberation but this wisdom is
not exclusive of devotion to God and desire-less work. The Brahman
is revealed only with total devotion and unselfish service like
that shown by Hanuman to Lord Rama. Unselfish service and total
devotion are always united and can never be separated! Dr.Radhakrishna
refers us to a quotation by Dharmmapada, a disciple of Lord Buddha:
" Health is the greatest gain, contentment is the greatest
wealth, faith is the best friend and nirvana is the highest happiness."
- Vedanta describes
two types of visual perceptions: VISION and ILLUSION. What one
sees through the physical eyes (sense organs) is an illusion.
Vision is an experience from the spiritual eye. Everyone has
the spiritual eye but no one wants to open it! According to our
scriptures, Lord Siva symbolically has three eyes: two physical
eyes and the spiritual eye on the forehead. When Siva opens his
spiritual eye, the world of illusions is destroyed! Blindness
is a reference to the blockage of one's spiritual vision. Mahabharat
describes physical and spiritual blindness beautifully using
three major characters
- Dhrtarashtra, the
king of Hastinapur was born blind. He was physically and spiritually
blind. His wife, Kanthari who chose to tie her physical eyes
with a cloth was physically blind but had the spiritual vision.
Their son Dhruyodhan, the crown prince, had physical eyes but
was spiritually blind. Dhrtarashtra had the best opportunity
to avoid sensory perceptions, but he chose to live in the world
of illusions. Dhruyodhan who had no control over his sensory
perceptions was totally blind and destroyed! Kanthari, who had
full control over her sensory perception, was able to open her
spiritual eye. Opening of a spiritual eye symbolically represents
total control over sensory perceptions!
- Skeptics, who live
with a materialistic outlook, may question the practicality of
Gita for daily progress. Vedavyasa has ready answers for those
skeptics in Gita, and they should invest their time to find out
the answers. There is no such thing as a free lunch in Gita.
If the skeptics invest their time to understand and follow the
directions of Gita, they can reap the benefits. The returns for
their time spent to read Gita is greater and long-lasting than
the returns from reading Wall Street Journal. Vyasa was very
careful to discriminate between divine (infinite) and human (finite)
qualities. Sthitaprajna, an absolute measure is a divine quality
that can be attained only at a divine state. Gita describes three
finite dimensional human qualities: (1) Satvik - illumination,
goodness, and non binding, (2) rajasik - passion, attachment
and agitated mind, and (3) tamasik - inaction, ignorance and
illusions. According to Gita, these three modes are present in
all human beings, though in different degrees. Satvik people
are free, calm and selfless. Rajasik people wish to be always
active and cannot sit still and their activities are tainted
by selfish desires. Tamasik people subject their life to continuous
submission to surrounding environment and they are confused and
dull. Gita asserts that a predominance of one or a combination
of one or more of these characteristics determine human behavior.
- Episodes in Mahabharat
and Puranas describe roles that require various combinations
of satvik, rajasik and tamasik qualities. The roles and intrinsic
qualities of Dhrtarashtra, Kanthari, Kunthi, Yudhistra, Arjun,
Bhim, Nagul, Sagadev, Dhruyodhan, Dutchadhan, Vithura, Karna,
Sanjay, Yudhistra, Kanthari, Bhishma, Dhrona, etc. determine
whether they are satvik, rajasik or tamasik. These episodes dramatize
the intrinsic qualities of those characters to the readers and
help them to evaluate and choose qualities for their personal
behavior! The absolute quality, stithaprajna, represents Pure
behavior that can be attained by removing impure qualities. Each
character in Mahabharat including Dhruyodhan could become a stithaprajna
if they remove their impurities. Who can challenge this contention?
- It is possible to
conduct training courses to upgrade people from tamasik to rajasik,
and from rajasik to satvik. With rigorous practice and determination,
we can become satvik and maintain our satvik nature for any specified
time period! No training or teaching can ever be possible to
move people from satvik to stithaprajna. The movement from human
to Divine is a quantum jump. It requires discipline, devotion,
dedication and determination.
- Application and
practice of modern economic theory can bring measured happiness
for a measured amount of time. However, practice of the spiritual
life stipulated in these verses can take us beyond the finite
dimensional material happiness to eternal happiness. Hindus believe
that Gita is a revelation from Lord Krishna and as such full
comprehension is possible only with His grace. Each individual
has the freedom to choose the level of comprehension as desired.
- In conclusion, the
knowledge of "SELF" can come only from within and not
from outside. In chapter 18, verse 72, Lord Krishna asks Arjun
whether he has removed his delusions and illusions? Verse 73
contains Arjun's reply and he uses two profound words: "Smrtir
Labdha" (memory regained). The human life is the Grace of
God and the seeker forgets this Truth and seeks to remember the
forgotten Truth. Spontaneity is rule of the Nature and every
species other than the human beings follows this rule. For human
beings, Nature is the best training ground to understand spontaneity.
The flowers bloom in the morning spontaneously without anyone
asking! The flowers do not get any reward for their actions nor
do they expect any rewards! The presence of flowers brings divinity
this may explain why we use flowers in all occasions of joy or
sorrow. Trees and plants do not store their wealth but share
their possessions. Animals live, learn from and obey the Nature.
Animals only take what they need from nature, nothing more and
nothing less! The rivers and streams continue to flow day and
night and supply water to plants, animals, birds and the humans.
The Hindu spiritual masters understood the Nature and want us
to go along with the Nature. When we regain the Sthitaprajna
we obey the law of nature and enjoy our life renouncing castles,
dreams and worries of the mind.
- "Life is greater
than any art. I would go even further and declare that the person
whose life comes nearest to PERFECTION is the greatest artist;
for what is art without some foundation and framework of a whole
life!" Mahatma Gandhi.
-
- Om tat sat iti srimad
bhagavadgitasupanisatsu brahmavidyayam yogasstre Sri Krishnarjunasamvade
Sthitaprajna nama ‘dhyayah
- Thus in the Upanishads
of the glorious Bhagavad Geeta, in the Science of the Eternal,
in the Scripture of YOGA, in the dialogue between Sri krishna
And Arjuna, the discourse on the topic entitled Sithitaprajna
ends.
|