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Indian Spirituality => Stories from Ancient India => Topic started by: SS91 on April 25, 2007, 01:39:39 PM

Title: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on April 25, 2007, 01:39:39 PM
Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a lifetime study, and it is extremely beneficial to read at least one chapter a day. Its meanings are virtually infinite, so that new things will be continually found within its seven hundred verses. Equally important is the Gita’s ability to continually point us in the right direction spiritually. Further, it conveys to us the necessary perspective for success in spiritual life. Although it presents the clearest philosophical principles, even more it provides us with the practical means for cultivation of higher consciousness.

Introduction 
 
 
 
 
I read the Gita. Because it is the Eye of God. I sing the Gita. Because it is the Life of God. I live the Gita. Because it is the Soul of God.  1
 
The Gita is God’s Vision immediate. The Gita is God’s Reality direct.  2
 
They say that the Gita is a Hindu book, a most significant scripture. I say that it is the Light of Divinity in humanity. They say that the Gita needs an introduction. I say that God truly wants to be introduced by the Gita.  3
 
Arjuna is the ascending human soul. Krishna is the descending divine Soul. Finally they meet. The human soul says to the divine Soul: “I need you.” The divine Soul says to the human soul: “I need you, too. I need you for my self-manifestation. You need me for your self-realisation.” Arjuna says: “O, Krishna, you are mine, absolutely mine.” Krishna says: “O, Arjuna, no mine, no thine. We are the Oneness complete, within, without.  4
 
The Gita is an episode in the sixth book of the Mahabharata. “Mahabharata” means “Great India,” India the Sublime. This unparalleled epic is six times the size of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. Surprising in size and amazing in thought is the Mahabharata. The main story revolves around a giant rivalry between two parties of cousins. Their ancestral kingdom was the apple of discord. This rivalry came to its close at the end of a great battle called the  of Kurukshetra.  5

contd.......
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on April 26, 2007, 06:20:14 AM
The Family Tree 
 
 
 
 
Santanu had two wives:

Ganga and Satyavati. Bhishma was born from the union of Santanu and Ganga; Chitrangada and Vichitravirya from that of Santanu and Satyavati. Vichitraviya’s two wives were Ambika and Ambalika. Dhritarashtra was the son of Ambika and Vichitravirya; Pandu, the son of Ambalika and Vichitravirya. Dhritarashtra’s hundred sons were the Kauravas; Pandu’s five sons, the Pandavas.  6
 
Yudhisthira was the legitimate heir to the kingdom. His father, Pandu, had reigned a number of years, offering the utmost satisfaction to his subjects. Finally Pandu retired.  7

 
He retired to the forest. To succeed him was his eldest son, Yudhisthira. And he did it devotedly and successfully. Dhritarashtra was Pandu’s elder half brother. God had denied him sight. Strangely enough, his affection for his hundred sons blinded his heart as well. Being blind, naturally he was not qualified to inherit the throne. The eldest son of Dhritarashtra was Duryodhana. Ninety-nine brothers were to follow him. Yudhisthira, Pandu’s eldest son, had only four others to follow him.  8
 
Truth’s Pride was Yudhisthira. Falsehood’s Pride was Duryodhana. Through the illumined hearts of Pandu’s five sons, God smiled. Through the unlit minds of Dhritarashtra’s hundred sons, the devil smiled. The devil often succeeded in embracing the blind father, too.  9
 
The eyeless father made repeated requests, strong and weak, to Duryodhana, his morally, psychically and spiritually eyeless son not to go to war. Vidura, the pure heart, Duryodhana’s uncle, failed to throw light on Duryodhana’s thick head. Sanjaya, his father’s prudent charioteer, equally failed. Neither was Bhishma, the oldest and the wisest, successful. Duryodhana felt his own understanding to be superior. Finally Sri Krishna, the Lord of the universe, most fervently tried to avert the hurtful and heartless battle. But the ignorance-night in Duryodhana would by no means surrender to the knowledge-sun in Sri Krishna.  10
 
Seven hundred verses are there in the Gita. About six hundred are the soul-stirring utterances from the divine lips of the Lord Krishna, and the rest are from the crying, aspiring Arjuna, the clairvoyant and clairaudient Sanjaya, and the inquisitive Dhritarashtra.  11
 
The sage Vyasa enquired of Dhritarashtra if he desired to see the events and have a first-hand knowledge of the battle, from the battle’s birth to the battle’s death. The sage was more than willing to grant the blind man vision. But Dhritarashtra did not want his eyes — the eyes that had failed him all his life — to obey his command at this terribly fateful hour for his conscience and his kingdom’s life, especially when his own sons were heading for destruction. He declined the sage’s kind and bounteous offer. His heart was ruthlessly tortured by the imminent peril of his kinsmen. However, he requested the sage to grant the boon to someone else from whom he could get faultless reports of the battle. Vyasa consented. He conferred upon Sanjaya the miraculous psychic power of vision to see the incidents taking place at a strikingly great distance.  12
 
Is the Gita a mere word? No. A speech? No. A concept? No. A kind of concentration? No. A form of meditation? No. What is it, then? It is The Realisation. The Gita is God’s Heart and man’s breath, God’s assurance and man’s promise.  13
 
The inspiration of Hinduism is the SoulConcern of the Gita. The aspiration of Hinduism is the Blessing-Dawn of the Gita. The emancipation of Hinduism is the Compassion-Light of the Gita. But to pronounce that the Gita is the sole monopoly of Hinduism is absurdity. The Gita is the common property of humanity.  14
 
The West says that she has something special to offer to the East: The New Testament. The East accepts the offer with deepest gratitude and offers her greatest pride, the Bhagavad Gita, in return.  15
 
The Gita is unique. It is the Scripture of scriptures. Why? Because it has taught the world that the emotion pure, the devotion genuine can easily run abreast with the philosophy solid, the detachment dynamic.  16
 
There are eighteen chapters in the Gita. Each chapter reveals a specific teaching of a particular form of Yoga. Yoga is the secret language of man and God. Yoga means Union, the union of the finite with the infinite, the union of the form with the Formless. It is Yoga that reveals the supreme secret: man is tomorrow’s God and God is today’s man. Yoga is to be practised for the sake of Truth. If not, the seeker will be sadly disappointed. Likewise, man’s God-Realisation is for the sake of God. Otherwise untold frustration will be man’s inevitable reward.  17
 
The Gita was born in 600 B.C. its authorship goes to the sage Veda Vyasa. With a significant question from Dhritarashtra, the Gita commences its journey. The whole narrative of the Bhagavad Gita is Sanjaya’s answer to Dhritarashtra’s single question. Sri Krishna spoke. Much. All divinly soulful. Arjuna spoke. Little. All humanly heartful. Dhritarashtra was the listener. The Divinely and humanly clairvoyant and clairaudient reporter was Sanjaya. On very rare occasions Sanjaya contributed his own thoughtful remarks, too.  18
 
Sri Krishna was Arjuna’s body’s relation, heart’s union, soul’s liberation. As God, he illumined Arjuna with the Truth Absolute; as a humane human, he illumined his earthly friend with truths relative.  19
 
Philosophers enter into a deplorable controversy. Some enquire how such a philosophical discourse could take place at the commencement of a war. How was it possible? There are others who firmly hold that this momentous discourse was not only possible but inevitable at that hour, since it was the divinely appropriate occasion for the aspiring Hindu to discover the inner meaning of war and live in accordance with his soul’s dictates, instead of following the poor, unlit knowledge of morality.  20
 
The Gita is the epitome of the Vedas. It is spontaneous. It is in a form at once divinised and humanised. It is also the purest milk drawn from the udders of the most illumining Upanishads to feed and nourish the human soul. The Gita demands man’s acceptance of life, and reveals the way to achieve the victory of the higher self over the lower by the spiritual art of transformation: physical, vital, mental, psychic and spiritual.  21
 
The Gita embodies the soul-wisdom, the heart-love, the mind-knowledge, the vital-dynamism and the body-action.  22
 
 
 
contd.......
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on April 27, 2007, 07:21:45 AM
The Gita Begins With The Words Dharmakshetre... 
 
   
 
 
The Gita begins with the words Dharmakshetre Kurakshetre. “On the hallowed field of Kurukshetra" — this is the literal translation. Kshetra means field. Dharma is a spiritual word, and it is extremely fertile in meanings. It means the inner code of life; moral, religious and spiritual law; living faith in God’s existence and in one’s own existence; soulful duty, especially enjoined by the scriptures; devoted observances of any caste or sect; willingness to abide by the dictates of one’s soul.  23
 
The Sanskrit root of the word dharma is dhri, to hold. Who holds us? God. What holds us? Truth. Dharma prevails. If not always, ultimately it must, for in dharma is the very breath of God.  24
 
Duryodhana went to Gandhari, his mother, on the eve of the war, for her benediction. Like mother, like son. Here is a veritable exception. She blessed Duryodhana saying, “Victory will be there, where dharma is.” It meant that Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma, would win the war. She was the possessor of such a selfless heart. Something more. The present world observes her unique dharma in her unparalleled acceptance of her husband’s fate. God gave Dhritarashtra no sight. And Gandhari proved her absolute oneness with her blind husband by binding her own eyes. She embraced blindness — a sacrifice worthy to be remembered and admired by humanity. She saw not the world without. The choice blessings of the world within showered on Gandhari.  25
 
Our body’s dharma is service, our mind’s dharma is illumination, our heart’s dharma is oneness, and our soul’s dharma is liberation.  26
 
Again, people are apt to claim that dharma means religion. If so, how many religions are there? Just one. Certainly not two, not to speak of three. And what does religion signify? It signifies man-discovery and God-discovery, which are one and identical.  27
 
Now let us focus our attention on the word dharmakshetra (the field of dharma). Why is Kurukshetra called dharmakshetra? A battlefield can be anything but dharmakshetra. No. The battle took place on Kurukshetra where untold religious sacrifices were performed. And something more. Kurukshetra was situated between two sacred rivers: the Jumna and the Saraswati in the Northwestern part of India. A river is perpetually sacred. A river houses water. Water signifies consciousness in the domain of spirituality. And this consciousness is always pure, unalloyed, sanctifying and energising. So we now come to learn why Kurukshetra was called dharmakshetra and not otherwise.  28
 
To consider the first chapter as an introductory chapter and pay very little importance to it as some scholars, interpreters and readers do, need not be an act of wisdom. The first chapter has a special significance of its own. It deals with Arjuna’s sorrow, his inner conflict. Poor Arjuna was torn with grief between two equally formidable ideas: he must go to war or he must not. Curiously enough, Arjuna’s mother, Kunti Devi, prayed to the Lord Krishna to bless her with perpetual sorrow. Why? Kunti Devi realised that if sorrow deserted her and left her for good, surely there would be no necessity on her part to invoke Sri Krishna. Her world always wanted sorrow, suffering and tribulation, so that her heart could treasure constantly the Lord’s all-compassionate Presence. To a degree, we can recall in the same vein, from Keats’ Endymion, “...but cheerly, cheerly she (sorrow) loves me dearly; She is so constant to me, and so kind.”  29
 
Actually, from the highest spiritual point of view, we cannot welcome Kunti Devi’s wisdom. Nevertheless, it served her purpose most effectively. A spiritual person has not to embrace sorrow with the hope of achieving God’s Bounty. He has to aspire. His aspiration has to reveal God’s presence within him — God’s Love, Peace, Bliss and Power. He takes sorrow as an experience in his life. He also knows that it is God who is having this experience in him and through him.  30
 
True, sorrow purifies our emotional heart. But the divine Light performs this task infinitely more successfully. Yet one has not to be afraid of sorrow’s arrival in one’s life. Far from it. Sorrow has to be transformed into joy everlasting. How? With our heart’s mounting aspiration and God’s ever-flowing Compassion combined. Why? Because God is all joy, and what we humans want is to see, feel, realise and finally become God, the Blissful.  31
 
The principal warriors were now seen on both sides. Some were eager to fight in order to display their mighty valour, while there were matchless warriors like Bhishma, Drona and Kripa who fought out of moral obligation. On the battlefield itself, just before the actual battle took place, Yudhisthira walked barefoot to the opposing army, precisely to Bhishma and Drona and other well-wishers, for their benedictions. Bhishma, while blessing Yudhisthira from the inmost recesses of his heart, said, “Son, my body will fight, while my heart will be with you and your brothers. Yours is the Victory destined.” Drona, while blessing Yudhisthira, exclaimed, “I am a victim to obligation. I shall fight for the Kauravas, true. But yours will be the victory. This is the assurance from my Brahmin heart.”  32
 
Blessings over, Yudhisthira returned. There blared forth countless trumpets, conches, wardrums and bugles. Elephants trumpeted, horses neighed. The wildest tempest broke loose.  33
 
Arrows flew like meteors in the air. Forgotten was the sweet, old affection. Broken were the ties of blood. Death was singing the song of death. Here we may recall Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade —  34
 
Cannon to right of them,  35
 
Cannon to left of them  36
 
Cannon in front of them  37
 
Volley'd and thunder'd;  38
 
Storm'd at with shot and shell,  39
 
Boldly they rode and well  40
 
Into the jaws of Death.  41
 
The cannon had not been invented in days of yore, in the days of the Mahabharata, but the scene of death was the same, with arrows, swords, maces and missiles. Needless to say, we must identify ourselves with the arrows, maces and lion-roars of the Kurukshetra heroes and not with today’s grandiose war-achievements. The joy of knowing the achievements of the hoary past is at once irresistible and unfathomable.  42
 
Arjuna exclaimed, “Pray, place my chariot, O Krishna, between the two battle formations so that I can see those who thirst for war.” He surveyed the battle scene. Alas, he saw among the deadly opponents those very human souls whom he had always held dear and near. Overwhelmed with tenebrous grief, Arjuna, for the first time in his life of matchless heroism, gave unthinkable expression to faint-heartedness. “My body shivers, my mouth is parched, my limbs give way, fear tortures me all over, my hair stands on end, my bow slips from my hand and my mind is reeling. Hard is it even for me to stand. Krishna, victory over them, my present foes I seek not. They were my own. Still they are. Neither kingdom nor ease I seek. Let them attack, they want and they shall. But I shall not hurl my weapon upon them, not even for the supreme sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone the earth!”  43
 
With one moral weapon after another, Arjuna attacked Sri Krishna. He was determined to discard his war weapons for good. He started his philosophy with the correct anticipation of the slaughter of his kinsmen, the dire calamity of family destruction. He emphasised that virtue being lost, family would be caught tight in the grip of vice. This would all be due to lawlessness. When lawlessness predominates, the women of the family become corrupt; women corrupted, caste-confusion comes into existence.  44
 
A word about caste-confusion. India is still being mercilessly ridiculed for clinging to the caste system. In fact, caste is unity in diversity. Each caste is like a limb of the body. The four castes: Brahmin (the priest), Kshatrya (the warrior), Vaishya (the agriculturist) and Sudra (the labourer). The origin of the castes we observe in the Vedas. The Brahmin is the mouth of Purusha, the Supreme personified. Rajanya (Kshatriya) is Purusha’s two arms; Vaishya, his two thighs; Sudra, his two feet.  45
 
In connection with the caste-destruction, Arjuna also tells the Lord Krishna that everything is leading toward perilous sin. In the Western world, unfortunately, the word 'sin’ seems to loom large in every walk of life. It is something more fatal than perdition. To them, I beg to be excused, sin is part and parcel of life. In the East, especially in India, the word sin offers a different meaning. It means imperfection, nothing more and nothing less. The human consciousness is proceeding from imperfection to perfection. The Seers of the Upanishads gave no importance to sin. They taught the world the serenity, sanctity, integrity and divinity of man.  46
 
To come back to poor Arjuna. Said he: “Let the sons of Dhritarashtra, armed with weapons, end my life, while I am unarmed, with no resistance. I prefer in all sincerity my death to our victory!”  47
 
Lo, Arjuna, the hero supreme! Discarding his bow and arrows, dolefully, throbbingly and soulfully he sinks into the hinder part of his chariot.  48
 
“Fighting is not for Arjuna. Krishna, I shall not fight.”  49


contd........
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on April 28, 2007, 11:41:04 AM
This Chapter Is Entitled Sankhya-Yoga — “the Yoga... 

 
 
 
 
This chapter is entitled Sankhya-Yoga — “The Yoga of Knowledge.” Arjuna’s arguments against war were very plausible to our human understanding. Sri Krishna read Arjuna’s heart. Confusion ran riot across Arjuna’s mind. The unmanly sentiment in his Kshatriya blood he took as his love for mankind. But Arjuna was never wanting in sincerity. His mouth spoke what his heart felt. Unfortunately his sincerity unconsciously housed ignorance. Krishna wanted to illumine Arjuna. “O, Arjuna, in your speech you are a philosopher, in your action, you are not. A true philosopher mourns neither for the living nor for the dead. But Arjuna, you are sorrowing and grieving. Tell me, why do you mourn the prospective death of these men? You existed, I existed, they too. Never shall we cease to exist.”  50
 
We have just mentioned Arjuna’s philosophy. Truth to tell, we too would have fared the same at that juncture. Real philosophy is truly difficult to study, more difficult to learn, and most difficult to live.  51
 
The Sanskrit word for philosophy is Darshan, meaning “to see, to vision.” Sri Ramakrishna’s significant remark runs: “In the past, people used to have visions (darshan); now people study Darshan (philosophy)!”  52
 
Equally significant is the message of the Old Testament: “Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”  53
 
Arjuna for the first time came to learn from Sri Krishna that his human belief concerning life and death was not founded on truth. He felt that he was distracted by illusions. He prayed to Sri Krishna for enlightenment. “I am your humble disciple. Teach me, tell me what is best for me.” For the first time, the word disciple sprang from Arjuna’s lips.  54
 
Until then, Sri Krishna had been his friend and comrade. The disciple learned: “The Reality that pervades the universe is the Life immortal. The body is perishable, the soul, the real in man, or the real man, is deathless, immortal. The soul neither kills nor is killed. Beyond birth and death, constant and eternal is the soul. The knower of this truth neither slays nor causes slaughter.”  55
 
Arjuna had to fight the battle of life and not the so-called Battle of Kurukshetra. Strength he had. Wisdom he needed. The twilight consciousness of the physical mind he had. He needed the sun-bright consciousness of the soul’s divinity.  56
 
Sri Krishna used the terms Birth, Life and Death.  57


contd.......
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on May 02, 2007, 07:25:56 PM
Birth 

 
 
 
 
Birth is the passing of the soul from a lower to a higher body in the process of evolution, in the course of the soul’s journey of reincarnation. The Sankhya system affirms the absolute identity of cause and effect. Cause is the effect silently and secretly involved and effect is the cause actively and openly evolved. Evolution, according to the Sankhya philosophy, can never come into existence from nothing, from zero. The appearance of 'is’ can be only from the existence of 'was': Let us fill our minds with the immortal utterance of Wordsworth from Intimations of Immortality:  58
 
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:  59
 
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,  60
 
Hath had elsewhere its setting,  61
 
And cometh from afar:  62
 
Not in entire forgetfulness,  63
 
And not in utter nakedness,  64
 
But trailing clouds of glory do we come  65
 
From God who is our home:  66
 
Here the poet carries us into the mystery of the soul’s eternal journey and reminds us of the perennial Source.  67

to be contd.........
 
 
 
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on May 11, 2007, 07:26:53 PM
Life 
   
 
What is life?

It is the soul’s only opportunity to manifest and fulfil the Divine here on earth. When life begins its journey, Infinity shakes hands with it. When the journey is half done, Eternity shakes hands with it.

When life’s journey is complete, Immortality shakes hands with it. Life lives the life of perfection when it lives in spirituality. When life lives in spirituality, the breath of God, it stands far above the commands of morality and the demands of duty.  68
 
God says to the human life, “Arise, awake, aspire! Yours is the goal.” The human life says to God:
“Wait, I am resting. I am sleeping. I am dreaming.” Suddenly life feels ashamed of its conduct. Crying, it says, “Father, I am coming.” Throbbing, it says, “Father, I am come.” Smiling, it says, “Father, I have come.”  69
 
Life, the problem, can be solved by the soul, the solution; but for that, one has first to be awakened from within. 
 
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on May 11, 2007, 07:28:50 PM
Death 

 
 
 
He who lives the inner life knows that death is truly his resting-room. To him, death is anything but extinction. It is a meaningful departure. When our consciousness is divinely transformed, the necessity of death will not arise at all.

To transform life, we need Peace, Light, Bliss and Power. We cry for these divine qualities. They cry for our aspiration. They are equally anxious to grant us everlasting life. But until our body, vital, mind, heart and soul aspire together, the divine Power, Light, Bliss and Peace cannot possess us.  71
 
The body has death, but not the soul. The body sleeps, the soul flies. The soul-stirring words on death and the soul in this chapter of the Gita, let us recollect. “Even as man discards old clothes for the new ones, so the dweller in the body, the soul, leaving aside the worn-out bodies, enters into new bodies.

The soul migrates from body to body. Weapons cannot cleave it, nor fire consume it, nor water drench it, nor wind dry it.” This is the soul and this is what is meant by the existence of the soul. Now we shall be well advised to observe the existence of death, if there is any, in the momentous words of Sri Aurobindo, the Founder of the integral Yoga.

“Death,” he exclaims, “has no separate existence by itself, it is only a result of the principle of decay in the body and that principle is there already — it is part of the physical nature. At the same time it is not inevitable; if one could have the necessary consciousness and force, decay and death is not inevitable.”  72
 
What we call death is nothing short of ignorance. We can solve the problem of death only when we know what life is. Life is eternal. It existed before birth and it will exist after death.

 Life also exists between birth and death. It is beyond birth and death. Life is infinite. Life is immortal.

A seeker of the infinite Truth cannot subscribe to Schopenhauer’s statement: “To desire Immortality is to desire the eternal perpetuation of a great mistake.”

There is no shadow of doubt that it is the ceaseless seeker in man who is Immortality’s Life, for his very existence indicates the Supreme’s Vision that illumines the universe, and the Supreme’s Reality that fulfils creation.  73
 
Arjuna the disciple further learned: “Do your duty. Do not waver. Be not faint-hearted. You are a Kshatriya. There can be no greater invitation than that of a righteous war for a Kshatriya.”  74
 
A Kshatriya’s (warrior’s) duty can never be the duty of an ascetic Neither should an ascetic perform the duty of a Kshatriya. Also a Kshatriya must not follow the path of a world-renouncer. Imitation is not for a seeker. “Imitation is suicide,” so do we learn from Emerson.  75
 
A warrior’s duty is to fight, fight for the establishment of truth. “In his victory, the entire earth becomes his, in his death, him welcome the gates of paradise.”  76
 
Sri Krishna unveiled the path of Sankhya (knowledge) to Arjuna: “Arjuna, take them as one, victory and defeat, joy and sorrow, gain and loss. Care not for them. Fight! Fighting thus no sin will you incur.” The teacher revealed the path of knowledge (Sankhya). Now he wanted to teach the student the path of action (Yoga). Arjuna surprisingly learned that this path, the path of action, the second path, is fruitful and also will bring him deliverance.

The truth sublime is: “Action is your birthright, not the outcome, not the fruits thereof. Let not the fruits of action be your object, and be not attached to inaction. Be active and dynamic, seek not any reward.” We can simultaneously kindle the flame of our consciousness with the lore of the Isha Upanishad: “Action cleaves not to a man.”  77
 
We have already used the term Yoga. What is Yoga? “Equanimity,” says Sri Krishna, “is Yoga.” He also says: “Yoga is skilful wisdom in action.”  78
 
Arjuna’s inner progress is striking. He now feels the necessity to free himself from the desire-life. Sri Krishna teaches him how he can totally detach himself from the bondage-life of the senses as a tortoise successfully withdraws its limbs from all directions. Sense-withdrawal, or withdrawal from the sense objects, by no means indicates the end of man’s journey. “Mere withdrawal cannot put an end to desire’s birth. Desire disappears only when the Supreme appears. In His Presence the desire-life loses its existence. Not before.”  79
 
This second chapter throws considerable light on Sankhya (knowledge) and Yoga (action). Sankhya and Yoga are never at daggers drawn. One is detached meditative knowledge, and the other is dedicated and selfless action. They have the self-same Goal. They just follow two different paths to arrive at the Goal.  80
 
To come back to the sense-life. Sense-life is not to be discontinued. Sense-life is to be lived in the Divine for the Divine. It is the inner withdrawal, and not the outer withdrawal, that is imperative. The animal in man has to surrender to the Divine in man for its total transformation. The life of animal pleasure must lose its living and burning breath in the all-fulfilling life of divine Bliss.  81
 
Katha Upanishad declares the rungs of the ever-climbing Ladder.  82
 
Higher than the senses are the objects of sense,  83
 
Higher than the objects of sense is the mind,  84
 
Higher than the mind is the intellect,  85
 
Higher than the intellect is the Self,  86
 
Higher than the Self is the Unmanifest,  87
 
Higher than the Unmanifest is the Supreme  88
 
personified,  89
 
Highest is this Supreme, the Goal Ultimate.  90
 
We have seen what happens when we go up. Let us observe what happens when we muse on the sense-objects. The Gita tells: “Dwelling on sense-objects gives birth to attachment, attachment gives birth to desire. Desire (unfulfilled) brings into existence the life of anger. From anger delusion springs up, from delusion the confusion of memory. In the confusion of memory the reasoning wisdom is lost. When wisdom is nowhere, destruction within, without, below and above.”  91
 
The dance of destruction is over. Let us pine for salvation. The disciplined, self-controlled aspirant alone will be blessed by the flood of peace. Finally, the aspirant will be embraced by Salvation, the inner Illumination.  92
 
 
 
Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on May 19, 2007, 07:57:14 PM
On The Strength Of Our Identification With... 
 
 
 
 
On the strength of our identification with Arjuna’s heart, we are apt to feel, at the beginning of the third chapter, that we are thrown into the world of ruthless confusion and immense doubt. Arjuna wants immediate relief from his mental tension; he wants to hear a decisive truth. His impatience prevent him from seeing the total truth in all its aspects. In the preceding chapter, his divine Teacher, Sri Krishna, expressed his deep appreciation for the Path of Knowledge, but at the same time told Arjuna of the great necessity of action. The Teacher, needless to say, had not the slightest intention of throwing the student into the sea of confusion. Far from it. What Arjuna required was a broader vision of truth and a deeper meaning of Reality. When we see through the eyes of Arjuna we see that his world is a world of conflicting ideas. But when we see through the eyes o Sri Krishna, we see a world of complementary facets of the all-sustaining and all-pervading Truth.  93
 
Knowledge and Action, Arjuna believed, would lead him to the same Goal. Why then is he doomed or expected to wade through the bloodshed of war, enjoined by action?  94
 
True, Arjuna’s mental sky was overcast with heavy clouds, but his psychic sky pined for true enlightenment. His mighty question is, “If you consider knowledge superior to action, why urge me to this dreadful action?”  95
 
Sri Krishna now says, “Two paths, Arjuna, are there. I have already told you that. The Path of Knowledge and the Path of Action. Through the divine art of contemplation, the aspirant follows the Path of Knowledge. Through the dynamic urge of selfless work, the seeker follows the Path of Action.”  96
 
Knowledge feels that the world within is the real world. Action feels that the world without is the real world. The Path of Knowledge enters inside from outside, while the Path of Action enters outside from inside. This is the difference. But this apparent duality can never be the whole truth, the Truth Ultimate. There is an Arabian proverb which says:  97
 
There are four sorts of men:  98
 
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not: he is a fool — shun him;  99
 
He who knows not and knows that he knows not: he is simple — teach him;  100
 
He who knows and knows not that he knows: he is asleep — wake him;  101
 
He who knows and knows that he knows: he is wise — follow him.  102
 
Arjuna, too, had to go through these four stages of evolution. At the end of the first chapter, he declared, “O Krishna, I shall not fight.” He did not know what Truth was, yet he was ignorant of this fact. Krishna, being all Compassion, could not shun his dearest Arjuna. “I pray, tell me what is best for me.” Here Arjuna’s simple sincerity touches the depth of Sri Krishna’s heart and the Teacher begins to instruct the aspirant.  103
 
Arjuna had known all his life that heroism was the very breath of a Kshatriya like himself, but his mind temporarily eclipsed this inner knowledge. He was in the world of deluding sleep. So Sri Krishna had to arouse him, saying, “Arjuna, fight! In victory, you will enjoy the sovereignty of the earth; in death, wide open are the gates of Paradise.”  104
 
Finally Arjuna realised that Sri Krishna not only knew the truth but also was the Truth. So he wanted to follow Sri Krishna. He cried out, “Saranagata — You are my refuge. I am at your command.”  105
 
He who follows the Path of Action is by nature simple, says Krishna. He is simple, his action is direct; the result is immediate. Arjuna however, wants freedom from action, which is nothing short of impossibility. Action is done not only by the body, but also in the body by mind. Action plays its role also in the conscious and sub-conscious levels of one’s being. Action cannot die. It can never dream of an escape so long as the impulses of nature are alive. Action binds us only when we bind action with our likes and dislikes. The action-tree grows within us either with its venomous or with its ambrosial fruits. According to Shankara, one may doubt the existence of God, but it is impossible for one to doubt one’s own existence. A human being, if he houses common sense, believes in his present existence. If he cares to go a step ahead, he has to accept the undeniable existence of destiny. And what is destiny? Destiny is the evolving experience of one’s consciousness. This experience is neither obscure nor uncertain. It is the necessary inevitability of a cosmic law striving for its outer manifestation in perfect Perfection.  106
 
Action and reaction are the obverse and reverse of the same coin. At times they may appear to be two dire foes. Nevertheless, their equal capacity is undeniable. The Son of God made the lofty statement: “They that take the sword shall perish by the sword.”  107
 
Action itself does not have a binding power; neither does it need one. It is the desire in action that has the power to bind us and tell us that freedom is not for mortals. But if, in action, sacrifice looms large, or if action is done in a spirit of sacrifice, or if action is considered another name for sacrifice, then action is perfection, action is illumination, action is liberation.  108
 
For him who is embodied, action is a necessity, action is a must. Man is the result of a divine sacrifice. It is sacrifice that can vision the truth and fulfil man’s existence. In sacrifice alone we see the connection and fulfilling link between one individual and another. No doubt the world is progressing and evolving. Yet, in the Western world sacrifice is often considered synonymous with stupidity and ignorance. To quote William Q. Judge, one of the early leading Theosophists, “Although Moses established sacrifices for the Jews, the Christian successors have abolished it both in spirit and letter, with a curious inconsistency which permits them to ignore the words of Jesus that 'not one jot or tittle of the law should pass until all these things were fulfilled’.” To be sure, the East of today is no exception.  109
 
What is sacrifice? It is the discovery of universal oneness. In the Rig-Veda we observe the Supreme Sacrifice made by the sage Brihaspati: “Devebhyah kam avrinit mrtyam... Death he chose, for the sake of the gods, he chose not Immortality for the mortals’ sake.”  110
 
Sacrifice is the secret of self-dedicated service. It was fear or some other doubtful motive which compelled the primitive minds to embrace sacrifice. They thought that the eyes of the cosmic gods would emit fire if they did not sacrifice animals as an offering. At least they were clever enough not to sacrifice children, their nearest and dearest. The Supreme wanted and still wants and will always want sacrifice from both human beings and the gods for their reciprocal benefit. It is their mutual sacrifice that makes both the parties one and indivisible. Men will offer their aspiration; the gods will offer their illumination. A man of true satisfaction is a man of consecrated offering. Sin can stand nowhere near him. The existence of humanity as a whole demands attention first; the individual existence next. Work done in the spirit of purest offering leads an aspirant to the abode of perfect bliss.  111
 
Possession is no satisfaction, so long as ego breathes in us. The great King Janaka knew it. No wonder Janaka was loved by the Sage Yagnyavalka most. His Brahmin disciples felt that Janaka received preference just because he was king. It is obvious that God would not let the Sage Yagnyavalka suffer such foul criticism. So, what happened? Mithila, Janaka’s capital, began to burn in mounting and devouring flames. The disciples ran, left their preceptor, hurried to their respective cottages. What for? Just to save their loin-cloths. All fled save Janaka. He ignored his riches and treasures burning in the city. Janaka stayed with his guru, Yagnvavalka, listening to the sage’s ambrosial talk. “Mithilayam pradagdhayam namekincit pranasyati".. “Nothing do I lose even though Mithila may be consumed to ashes.” Now the disciples came to learn why their Guru favoured Janaka most. This is the difference between a man of wisdom and a man of ignorance. An ignorant man knows that what has is the body. A man of wisdom knows that what he has and what he is is the soul. Hence to him the soul’s needs are of paramount importance.  112
 
Sri Krishna disclosed to Arjuna the secret of Janaka’s attainment to Self-realisation and Salvation. Janaka acted with detachment. He acted for the sake of humanity, having been surcharged with the light and wisdom of divinity. Indeed, this is the path of the noble. Krishna wanted Arjuna to tread this path, so that the world would follow him. Perhaps Arjuna was not fully convinced. In order to convince Arjuna fully and unreservedly, Krishna brought himself into the picture. He gave the example of Himself: “Nothing have I to do in the three worlds, nor is there anything worth attaining, unattained by me; yet do I perpetually work, I ever have my existence in action. If I do not work, the worlds will perish.”  113
 
Sri Krishna wanted Arjuna to be freed from the fetters of ignorance. The only way Arjuna could do it was to act without attachment. Sri Krishna told Arjuna the supreme secret: “Dedicate all action to Me, with your mind fix on Me, the Self in all�”  114
 
All beings must follow their nature. No escape there is, nor can there be. What can restraint do? Man’s duty is Heaven’s peerless blessing. One must know what one’s duty is. Once duty is known, it is to be performed to the last.  115
 
“I slept and dreamed that life was Beauty; I woke and found that life was Duty.”  116
 
— Ellen S. Hooper, Beauty and Duty  117
 
Life’s duty, performed with a spontaneous flow of self-offering to humanity under the express guidance of the inner being, can alone transform life into Beauty, the heavenly Beauty of the world within, and earthly Beauty of the world without.  118
 
Arjuna’s duty was to fight, for he was a Kshatriya, a warrior. This fighting was not for power, but for the establishment of truth over falsehood. Sri Krishna’s most encouraging and inspiring words regarding one’s individual duty demand all our admiration. “Better always one’s own duty, be it ever so humble, than that of another, howsoever tempting. Even death brings in blessedness itself in the performance of one’s own duty; doomed to peril will he be if he performs the duty enjoined on another.”  119
 
Arjuna has now one more question, rather a pertinent one, and that is his last question in this chapter. “Impelled by what, O Krishna, does a man commit sin despite himself?” “Kama, Krodha,” answers Krishna, “desire and anger — these are the hostile enemies of man.”  120
 
Desire is insatiable. Once desire is born, it knows not how to die. Yayati’s experience of desire can throw abundant light on us. Let us cite his sublime experience. King Yayati was one of the illustrious ancestors of the Pandavas. He was utterly unacquainted with defeat. He was well conversant with the Shastras (scriptures). Immense was his love for his subjects in his realm. Intense was his devotion towards God. Nevertheless, cruel was his fate. His father-in-law, Sukracharya, the preceptor of the asuras (demons), pronounced a fatal curse on him, and he was forced to marry Sharmistha in addition to the daughter Devayani. Sukracharya cursed Yayati with premature old age. Needless to say, the curse took an immediate effect. The inimitable pride of Yayati’s manhood was ruthlessly stricken with age. In vain the king cried for forgiveness. However, Sukracharya calmed down a little. “King,” he said, “I am lessening the strength of my curse. If any human being agrees to exchange the beauty and glory of his youth with you, with your body’s deplorable state, then you will get back the prime of your own youth.”  121
 
Yayati had five sons. He begged of his sons, tempted them with the throne of his kingdom, persuaded them in every possible way to agree to an exchange of life. His first four sons softly and prudently refused. The youngest, the most devoted, Puru, gladly accepted his father’s old age. Lo, Yayati at once was transformed into the prime of his youth. In no time, desire entered into his body and commanded him to enjoy life to the last drop. He fell desperately in love with an Apsara (nymph) and spent many years with her. Alas, his insatiable desire could not be quenched by self-indulgence. Never. At long last he realised the truth. He fondly said to his dearest son Puru: “Son, oh son of mine, impossible to quench is sensual desire. It can never be quenched by indulgence any more than fire is extinguished by pouring ghee (clarified butter) into it. To you I return your youth. To you I give my kingdom as promised. Rule the kingdom devotedly and wisely.” Yayati entered again into his old age. Puru regained his youth and ruled the kingdom. The rest of his life Yayati spent in the forest practising austerities. In due course Yayati breathed his last there. The soul-bird flew back to its abode of delight.  122
 
Bernard Shaw’s apt remark on desire can be cited to add to the glory of this experience of Yayati. Shaw said, “There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.” — Man and Superman.  123
 
The role of desire is over. Now let us jump into the fury of Anger. Desire unfulfilled gives birth to anger. Anger is the mad elephant in man. To our wide surprise, most of the celebrated Indian sages of the hoary past found it almost impossible to conquer anger. They used to curse human beings in season and out of season, at times, even without rhyme or reason. The sage Durvasa of the Mahabharata topped the list of the sages successfully consumed with anger. He was at once austerity incarnate and ire incarnate.  124
 
Desire satisfied, life grows into a bed of thorns. Desire conquered, life grows into a bed of roses. Desire transformed into aspiration, life flies into the highest liberation, life dines with the Supreme salvation.  125
 
 
 
Title: Glory Of Gita
Post by: SS91 on June 16, 2007, 09:35:41 AM
Glory Of Gita



Henry David Thoreau says:

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."

Ralph Waldo Emerson on the Gita:

"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagwad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."

Mahatma Gandhi says:

“When disappoint stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagvad Geeta. I find a verse here and a verse there, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies.”                     

Dr. Annie Besant on the Gita

“It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights where desires are dead, and where the yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fell to his lot in life.”

Swami Vivekananda says:

“The Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Vedas and the Upanishads.”

******

The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life as early as possible in one’s life.   
--- Lokmanya Tilak

The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done. Hence its enduring value, not only for the Indians, but also for all mankind.  It is perhaps the most systematic spiritual statement of the perennial philosophy.     
--- Aldous Huxley

I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma).  To my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world’s literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind.   
--- M. M. Malaviya

 

Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on August 25, 2007, 07:48:38 PM
 
Grace of Gita



One must read the grace of Gita before or after reading the Gita. It is said in Hindu scriptures "There is no human mind and intellect that cannot be purified by a repeated study of the Gita."

THE HIGHEST SERVICE TO GOD,

AND THE BEST CHARITY

The one who shall propagate this supreme secret philosophy (or the transcendental knowledge of the Gita) amongst My devotees, shall be performing the highest devotional service to Me, and shall certainly come to Me. No other person shall do a more pleasing service to Me, and no one on the earth shall be more dear to Me.

Ignorance is the mother of all sins. All negative qualities such as lust, anger, and greed are nothing but a manifestation of ignorance only. The giving of the gift of knowledge is the best charity. It is equivalent to giving the whole world in charity (MB 12.209.113). The best welfare is to help others discover their real nature that is the source of everlasting happiness rather than provide material goods and comforts for temporary happiness. The Bible says: Whoever obeys the law, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5.19). Happiness is not attained through wealth and sense gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy cause (Helen Keller).

GRACE OF THE GITA

Those who shall study this sacred dialogue of ours shall worship me with Knowledge-sacrifice. This is My promise.

God and His words are one and the same. The study of Gita is equivalent to worship of God. Life in modern society is all work and no spirituality. Swami Harihar says: "Daily study of only a few verses of the Gita will recharge mental batteries and add meaning to the dull routine life of modern society." For serious students, daily study of one chapter of the Gita, or several verses from the forty selected verses given in the end of this book is highly recommended.

Whoever hears this sacred dialogue with faith and without cavil becomes free from sin, and attains heaven ¾ the higher worlds of those whose actions are pure and virtuous. (18.71)

A summary of the "Glory of the Gita" as elaborated in the scriptures is given below. Reading this glory of the Gita generates faith and devotion in the heart that is essential for reaping the benefits of the study of the Gita.

The goal of human birth is to master the mind and senses and reach one’s destiny. A regular study of the Gita is sure to help achieve this noble goal. One who is regular in the study of the Gita becomes happy, peaceful, prosperous, and free from the bondage of Karma though engaged in the performance of worldly duties. The one who studies even few verses of the Gita every day is not tainted by sin just as water does not stain a lotus leaf. The Gita is the best abode of Lord Krishna. The spiritual potency of the Lord abides in every verse of the Gita. The Bhagavad-Gita is the storehouse of spiritual knowledge. The Lord Himself spoke this supreme science of the Absolute containing the essence of all the scriptures for the benefit of humanity. All the Upanishads are the cows; Arjuna is the calf; Krishna is the milker; the nectar of the Gita is the milk; and the persons of purified intellects are the drinkers. One need not study any other scripture if he or she seriously studies the Gita, contemplates on the meaning of the verses, and practices its teachings in one’s daily life.

The affairs of the world run by the first commandment of the creator — the teachings of selfless service — so beautifully expounded in the Gita. The sacred knowledge of doing one’s duty without looking for a reward is the original teaching that alone can lead to salvation. The Gita is like a ship by which one can easily cross the ocean of transmigration, and attain liberation. It is said that wherever the Gita is chanted or read with love and devotion, Lord makes Himself present there to listen and enjoy the company of His devotees. Going to a place where Gita is regularly chanted or taught is like going to a holy place of pilgrimage. Lord Himself comes to take the devotee to His Supreme Abode when one leaves the physical body contemplating on the knowledge of the Gita. The one who regularly reads, recites to others, hears and follows the sacred knowledge contained in the Gita is sure to attain liberation from the bondage of Karma and attain Nirvana.

Though engaged in the performance of worldly duties, one who is regular in the study of the Gita becomes happy, and free from Karmic bondage. Sins do not taint who is regular in the study of the Gita. All the sacred centers of pilgrimage, gods, sages, and great souls dwell in the place where the Gita is kept, and read. Help during troubles comes quickly where Gita is recited, and Lord dwells where it is read, heard, taught, and contemplated upon. By repeated reading of the Gita, one attains bliss and liberation. The one who contemplates on the teachings of the Gita at the time of death becomes free from sin and attains salvation. Lord Krishna Himself comes to take the person to His Supreme Abode.

The grace of Gita cannot be described. Its teachings are simple as well as abstruse and profound. New and deeper meanings are revealed to a serious student of the Gita, and the teachings remain ever inspirational. The interest in a serious study of the Gita is not available to all but to those with good Karma only. One should be very earnest in the study of the Gita.

Gita is the heart, the soul, the breath, and the voice form of the Lord. No austerity, penance, sacrifice, charity, pilgrimage, vow, fasting, and continence equals the study of Gita. It is difficult for any ordinary person like us, or even for the great sages and scholars, to understand the deep and secret meaning of the Gita. To understand Gita completely is like a fish trying to fathom the extent of the ocean, or a bird trying to measure the sky. Gita is the deep ocean of the knowledge of the Absolute; only the Lord has a complete understanding of it. Nobody, other than Lord Krishna should claim authority on the Gita.

O Arjuna, did you listen to this with single-minded attention? Has your delusion born of ignorance been completely destroyed?

Arjuna said: By Your grace my delusion is destroyed, I have gained Self-knowledge, my confusion with regard to body and Spirit is dispelled and I shall obey Your command. (18.73)

When one realizes Him by His grace, the knots of ignorance are loosened, all doubts and confusion are dispelled, and all Karma is exhausted. The true knowledge of the Supreme Being comes only by His grace.
 

Title: Re: Commentary On The Bhagavad Gita
Post by: SS91 on February 08, 2008, 05:37:14 AM
Freedom


The great bondage


"When men have thrown off their ignorance, they are free from pride and delusion. They have conquered the evil of worldly attachment. They live in constant union with the Atman. All craving has left them. They are no longer at the mercy of opposing sense-reactions. Thus they reach that state which is beyond all change." (Bhagavad Gita 15:5) This is the state of moksha-of freedom.

It is possible to waste a lot of time and struggle on things that prove impossible to accomplish because we are going about it in the wrong way. This first sentence gives us invaluable information about dealing with ego and delusion. "How can I get rid of ego?" is a constant refrain of those who have no idea of the Way. According to the Gita pride (ego) and delusion are side-effects of ignorance.

So we need to work on ridding ourselves of that. Furthermore, once ignorance is gone, so is attachment to the dream-illusions of this world. For our eyes see clearly both the truth and the untruth of things.


The most important characteristic of the liberated yogi is living in conscious, unbroken union with Spirit-individual and infinite. This is the goal of all those within the field of relativity. Illuminated consciousness is total fulfillment, therefore within it all desire has melted away. In the same way the experiences of the senses no longer control or produce delusive reactions. There is an important implication here: the liberated person still experiences the external world-it does not vanish-but without identifying with it or being influenced by it. This is true mastery. Such a state is beyond all change. It cannot be lessened or obscured, for it is Reality itself. "This is my Infinite Being; shall the sun lend it any light-or the moon, or fire? For it shines Self-luminous always: and he who attains me will never be reborn." (Bhagavad Gita 15:6)

JaiSaiRam.