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> > The Essence of Bhagavad Gita: Part I - The
Theme
> >
> > Bhagavad Gita synthesizes Hindu Philosophical themes into a
> > single thesis comprising eighteen chapters. Gita was compiled by
Sage
> > Vyaasa who was blessed by the Lord to complete this monumental task
for
> > the benefit of humanity. Gita is a comprehensive summary of the
profound
> > philosophical and spiritual ideas expressed in the Upanishads. The
main
> > theme of Gita is to help the human race to understand the Divinity
and
> > reestablish True Human Nature. The Bhagavad Gita stresses the
importance
> > of work obligations and the necessity for their fulfillment. The
most
> > important message of Gita is the assertion that actions are
inevitable
> > and excuses are unforgivable.
> This is entirely wrong. No doubt the Gita recognizes the importance of
work
> obligations, but Krishna urges Arjuna to give up the thought "I am the
doer"
> and do his duty _without any thought to the fulfillment of the
actions_.
> To such a person, all action is not only forgivable, but the spiritual
seeker
> becomes sinless!
I hope that Kartik does not really imply that the whole paragraph
or the article is entirely wrong by his statement - "This is entirely
wrong." What can anyone achieve by making such provocative accusations?
Such accusations will convey ignorance, Ego and the illusion that
everyone else is a fool!" An important rule of Dharma is stated in the
following quotation. "And another rule of Dharma is to refrain from
criticizing or condemning the Dharma of another man less developed
than yourself. He is not looking through your eyes. He may be living
nearer to his spiritual ideal than you are to yours -- how dare you judge
him? Are you so near-perfect that you set your standard up as
absolute?" (Yogi Ramacharaka, "Advance Course in Yogi Philosophy and
Oriental Occultism").
Every entity in this world has a role to play. The role of the
flower plant is to bloom and the role of a fruit tree is to supply
fruits. The roles of the parents, teachers, warriors, king, citizens etc.
are to complete their obligations! My role is to defend my
interpretation of Gita and Kartik's role is to point out that I am wrong.
The role of Arjun as a warrior was to fight and there can be no escape
from that obligation. Arjun forgets his role as a warrior and wants to
assume the role of a brother, a grandson, a student etc. This is an
excuse for not fighting the war. Lord Krishna informs Arjun that he has
to change his attitude and free his SELF detached from the results from
fighting the war. For a warrior, war has no consequences but for a
brother, a father, a student etc., war has consequences. This message is
not just for Arjun but for fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, teachers,
warriors, computer programmers and particularly for intellectual debaters
like me and Kartik! We the debaters seem to believe that our point of
view is the only way and that everyone else is necessarily wrong!
> This is elaborated in the verses (4.19) and (5.10):
> "One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every endeavor is
devoid of
> desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker for
whom the
> reactions of work have been burned up by the fire of perfect
knowledge."
> (translation by BBT, used with permission)
> (5.10):
> "One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results
unto
> the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is
> untouched by water." (translation by BBT, used with permission)
> It should also be noted that for one who has attained enlightenment
(the goal
> of the Gita), there is no obligation to work!
>
> This is elaborated in Gita (3.17):
> "But for one who takes pleasure in the self, whose human life is one of
> self-realization, and who is satisfied in the self only, fully
satiated--for
> him there is no duty." (translation by BBT, used with permission)
>
> Please note that "for the Self-realized man, there is no duty!"
> In my humble opinion, the important message in the Gita is that one
should
> give up all attachment and strive toward Self-realization. Thus the
Gita is
> a means of releasing one from the bondage of karma, leading to
spiritual
> freedom.
>
A self-realized person is only free from the notion of "DUTY"
and human life is never free from duties. We can free our mind from
thoughts, illusions and ignorance and we have to continue our actions
without looking for results. When the work is conducted with a ‘Yagna'
spirit, we are able to depress the ego and ignore the fruits of action!
The action gets momentarily burnt when we free our Self from the confused
thoughts on the results of our actions. When actions become spontaneous,
they become INACTION! A very good example for inaction is the
spontaneous blooming of flowers! Action itself is a notion and the notion
is burnt for a realized soul!
> > Bhagavad Gita uses a subtle dialog between the intellect and
> > consciousness to educate the value and purpose of human life. The
> > essence of Gita is to emphasize the importance of preparing our mind
and
> > soul to accept all obligations without hesitation and without
expecting
> > rewards. The subtle message of Gita is to point out that the world is
an
> > infinite dimensional matrix with a row of actors and a column of
actions
> > and every actor interacts with every action and vice-versa.
>
> The Gita is no doubt very subtle, but I think you're introducing stuff
that's
> not in the Gita. Nowhere does Krishna say that every actor interacts
with
> every action.
Subtle messages in Geeta require background knowledge on our
scriptures! Vedavyasa has skillfully organized a Hindu Philosophical
Course with theoretical and applied components. The philosophical
concepts were discussed in Bhagavad Geeta. The practical aspects were
dramatized in Mahabharat and sometimes in Puranas. Characters of
episodes in Mahabharat and Puranas have served as role models to
understand and follow the Dharma and Values that are conceptualized in
Geeta. I hope that Kartik will accept that Bhagavad Gita is an integral
part of Mahabharata. The actors include Dhrtarashtra, the king of
Hastinapur, his wife Kanthari, their hundred sons, Bhishmar, Karnan,
Vidurar, Sakuni, Kunti, Yudishtra, Bhima, Nakula, Sakadev, Drowpati, etc.
and they have played their respective roles. Those who are familiar
with Mahabharat can understand Sakuni's roles and their consequences. In
fact, in the first chapter of Gita, Sanjay and Arjun describe the actors
of the War, their roles and the expectations. I do not whether anyone in
this world knows exactly what Lord Krishna said in Gita!
> > 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.
> This is too confusing. The intellect does no such thing.
I am sorry that you are confused. I have no intention to confuse
you and I do not want to guess what you are confused. Please explain
what is exactly confusing so that I can help if I can.
If I were you, I will try to remove my preconceived notions and try to
understand with an open mind. When we free ourselves from our attachments
to our preconceived notions, we can observe objectively! Freeing our
mind from the attitude of "I know everything," we can abandon confusion,
ego and illusions.
> According to the advaita Vedanta, the SELF identifies itself (or
misidentifies
> as you call it) with something that is not the SELF. For example, it is
in the
> human tendency to say things like "I am fair" or "I am fat" thus
superimposing
> the color of the skin or the weight of the body on the SELF, and this
> phenomenon is known as avidya (ignorance). When avidya is removed, one
attains
> Self-realization.
Religion is an attempt to explain the nature, purpose and goal of
human life and the relationship(unity or separation) of human and Divine.
Different religions have different visions on the relationship between
human and Divine.
Advaitins believe that there is no distinction between human and
Divine. They argue that the separation between human and divine is the
imagination of the programmed human mind, pervaded by its ignorance
(Avidya). The purpose of human life for an Advaitin is to negate Avidya
through spiritual practice (sadhana).
The viSishTAdvaitins on the other hand believe that human and
Divine are separate entities and the purpose of human life is for
unification with the Divine. They argue that Divine Grace is essential
for the unification of human soul with the Divine and the human has to
surrender the ego through spiritual practice.
There is ultimate unity between these two diversified beliefs of
Advaitins and viSishTAdvaitins in the end! Logical starting points may
appear different but the end point is the same. They both ascertain the
importance of freeing the mind from ego through discipline and dedicated
service to the humanity. For the purpose of pure intellectual analysis,
they are mathematically equivalent concepts. In abstract algebra it is
possible to establish different sets of assumptions and rules to arrive
at the same outcome. The analytical part of Vedanta is northing more
than high-level abstract algebra. It is no wonder why Sankara and
Ramanuja, the two great mathematical geniuses, came to the same
conclusion! For Sankara, the lack of spiritual practice is the cause for
the illusory duality. For Ramanuja, the human experience of duality is
real but with spiritual practice, it is possible to get out of the
duality. Both these great masters have emphasized the importance of
freeing the mind from ego to realize the Divinity.
> > Sthitaprajna perceives the world without conflicts and
sorrows
> > and accepts the world as it is! For such persons the world is
always
> > perfect and they always recognize that should be prepared to change
their
> > attitude according to the needs of the world. Mahatma Gandhi once
said,
> > "The only change that the world needs, is you!" For a sthitaprajna
like
> > Gandhi, the "attitude" of the perceiver is more important than the
> > perceived object. The attitude determines the outcome, those with
> > positive mental attitudes succeed and those with negative mental
> > attitudes become miserable and fail. Successful lawyers, doctors,
> > political leaders and corporate executives know this secret mantra
for
> > success. Gita implicitly advises that we should develop positive
mental
> > attitude and keep our eyes, ears and mind completely open by negating
all
> > preconceived notions.
>
> Please do not misconstrue the message of the Gita to be a formula for
success
> in the world of karma. Rather, the Gita asks man not to be perturbed by
success
> or failure! The Gita cannot make one a successful lawyer, doctor,
political
> leader or corporate executive. Rather, it can make one understand that
the real
> SELF is _not_ a lawyer, doctor, political leader or corporate
executive!
No one has yet devised a formula for success in this world and no
one can ever devise such a formula for success. You do not seem to agree
with what I say here and that is your privilege. This does not imply
that I am wrong or you are right! We have different perception of Gita
and there can be many perceptions. Gita has subtle messages for success
in everyone's life and this has been expressed by such notable scholars
including Dr. Radhakrishnan, Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak and others. Here is
a quotation on human attitude from the Upanishads - "We can never change
the world but we can change ourselves to enjoy the world as it is!" The
attitude of the person is the most important aspect of his (her) success
or failure!
Vyasa was very careful to discriminate between divine (infinite)
and human (finite) qualities. Stithaprajna, an absolute measure is a
divine quality that can be attained only at a divine state. Geeta
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 Geeta, 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 the activities are tainted by selfish desires. Tamasik people
subject their life to continuous submission to surrounding environment
and they are confused and dull. Geeta 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. These
qualities determine the human attitude toward life and human success or
failure.
No one can ever know what is the state of "SELF" at the divine
(infinite) state. But in the human (finite) state, we are bound to make
mistakes and we are faced with success and failures.
Have you understood what the "real SELF" is?
> > Every verse in Gita contains a compelling message and certain
> > message is often repeated to highlight a theme or to display its
> > significance. Divinity is beyond time and humanity is ever bounded
by
> > time! As a human, I have the privilege to make mistakes and let me
use
> > my limited intelligence to choose a selective group of few verses for
the
> > discussion. I will try my level best to keep the discussion of the
> > verses to the bare minimum. Readers can get more extensive
commentaries
> > from references at the end.
>
> I didn't notice any references at the end, but IMHO, the commentary on
the
> Gita by Shankara, translated by Krishna Warrier presents the
perspective of
> advaitins on the Gita.
I am planning to give the references when I complete my second part.
Please wait until I complete my other part.
> > P.S. Please give me a couple of weeks to present part II. Till
> > then, I am looking forward to your comments and further insights.
> > --
> I'm waiting for the next part, but please correct the mistakes in this
part.
> Regards,
> Kartik
Dear Kartik:
Thanks for your comments and further insights. Your comments
give another perspective of Gita. I believe that Geeta 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. I have never claimed that I have full
comprehension of Geeta! I am fully aware that I know very little of
Geeta! Mistakes do happen at every moment of my life and sometime I am
aware of it and at other times I have to depend on others like you. Your
comments strongly support my view that the world is interrelated and we
act and react without knowing we do! I am glad that you have taken some
time to read and comment on my posting and I am thankful to you for your
insights. Wish you all the best and my regards
Ram
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