The Gita is not meant for any one person or creed or
nation; it is meant for humanity. It speaks to a mind that has fought in
life, a mind that is dissatisfied with constant want, a mind that is alert
and thinking, and that has many conflicts. (Swami Dayananda from
the Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita)
The Bhagavad-Gita is one of the most ancient religious
scriptures of the world. It
contains the direct message of God. It is a
dialogue between God and his closest devotee. The discourse was delivered
originally in Sanskrit, but today its translations are available almost in
every language. The antiquity of the Bhagavad-Gita is hidden in tradition,
ancient scriptures, myths and legends. Its history, content and
personality are intimately connected to the life of Lord Krishna, an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the Yadava hero, who played a crucial role
in the war of the epic Mahabharata.
Lord Vishnu incarnated in the form of Lord Krishna to root out evil and
establish dharma or righteous living upon earth. He participated in the
drama of human life and left behind his discourse in the form of the
Bhagavad-Gita for the benefit of future generations. The scripture is
truly an icon of the Sanatana-dharama, an ageless and valuable ancient
discourse that has the potential to play a significant role in the
alleviation of suffering in all branches of human life, in a world that
has been increasingly becoming more complex and unstable.
The central philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita characterizes in many
ways the central theme of Hinduism even in today's context. It
contains the message of divine centered living based upon right
knowledge, faith, devotion, self-surrender, detachment and dispassionate
performance of tasks as opposed to the ego centered living that is
characterized by incessant striving, self-centered thinking, egoism, and
suffering arising out of non-attainment of desires, or union with the
undesired objects or separation from the desired objects. The book
is a discourse of immense spiritual value, for people engaged in daily
battles of life, symbolically or even truly reflected by the episode of
Arjuna, who was stricken with sorrow and confusion, being taught and
assisted by God himself, in the middle of the battle field of Kurukshetra
where good and evil forces stood in confrontation with each other.
The Bhagavad-Gita reveals how any one can perform ordinary duties in
the world and yet remain free from the consequences of ones actions. It is
not by inaction, not even by doing only the so called good deeds, but by
doing deeds without the sense of doer-ship, as a sacrificial offering to
God, in the true spirit of renunciation, but without shunning the
responsibility that comes with the birth.
The scripture deals with such basic concepts as the nature of our existence,
the nature of the true self, our true relationship with God, the truth
about action and inaction, the correct meaning of knowledge and ignorance,
the inborn qualities of man and how the actions bind him to the mortal world, the
meaning of true devotion, the right attitude towards the external world,
the meaning and purpose of maya and so on.
The Bhagavad-Gita is a book of self-discovery and inward journey into the Abode of God. It helps one move from sorrow driven mortal
existence to eternal and blissful life. Desire is central to all human
activity. By eliminating the desires, but by not abandoning the actions,
one can free oneself from the bondage caused by the desire driven actions.
Such an approach not only liberates us from the struggling and striving
that characterizes our egoistic actions,
but also reduces greatly our inner anxieties and frustrations, creating in
us in
the process a permanent basis for a stable, peaceful and contended life.
According to the Bhagavad-Gita the external world is
unreal not because it does not exist, but because it is unstable and ever
changing. Since it is based upon impermanence, it cannot be relied upon as
the vehicle of truth and it should not become the purpose of ones
existence. He who clings to such an unstable phenomenon is bound to suffer
as he is bound to engage himself in desperate actions to retain his
unstable possessions and experience constant anxiety, anger, fear and
envy.
Therefore the Bhagavad-Gita searches for a permanent
reality that makes life more meaningful, stable, peaceful and purposeful.
It discards layer after layer of untruth that surrounds us and reveals the
shining self that exists in all of us as the center of truth and
permanence that we should all ultimately discover. It is by understanding
the hidden Self in us we will ultimately discover the Supreme Self, That
exists in all of us and in Whom we all exist.
Great scholars of the Bhagavad-Gita say that the
scripture fundamentally deals with three primary teachings, which are
called the three secrets. The first secret is about duty. One must do ones
duty in accordance with ones nature (swadharmacharana). The second is
about the hidden self. In every one there is a real and hidden self which
is different from the external false self. Every one must realize this
difference between the outer self and the inner self. The third secret is
about the omnipresence of God. One must live in this world with the
awareness that all that exists in this world is but Vasudeva.
These three secrets are known as guhya (secret),
guhyatara (more secret) and guhyatma (most secret). The second, third,
fourth, fifth and eighteenth chapters deal with the first secret. The
second, sixth, thirteenth to eighteenth chapters deal with the second
secret. The third, seventh, eight, ninth, tenth to eighteenth chapters
deal with the third secret.
The Bhagavad-Gita has profoundly effected the Indian
way of life for millenniums. Its teachings have been at the core of the
Hindu fundamental beliefs for time immemorial. They are ageless and
relevant even today.
Originally written in Sanskrit, the scripture has been
translated into many languages all over the world and is now easily
available to interested readers in most parts of the world. It attracted
the attention of many scholars for centuries.
Each verse and every chapter in it is loaded with
multiple meanings, enabling each to understand it and interpret it in his
own way. The more we read the Bhagavad-Gita, the greater is our insight
into its deepest secrets. The more we read it, the stronger our feeling
that we know but little about it.
When we feel that we have understood it all and can
safely go elsewhere for inspiration, a particular verse or a chapter again
starts bothering us with its new wisdom or a perplexing insight. That is
why today we have so many interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita from
various scholars.
The Bhagavad-Gita contains 18 chapters and 700 verses,
which are attributed to the four principle participants of the narration
in the following manner:
1. Dhritarashtra 1
2. Sanjaya 41
3. Arjuna 84
4. Lord Krishna 574
Each verse is considered to be a very sacred mantra.
The seed mantra of this scripture is said to be the 11th verse in Chapter
II. The shakti mantra of this scripture, because of which it is
endowed with the divine blessings and able to exert influence on the
mankind for centuries, is said to be the 66th verse in Chapter
18.
In all in the entire Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna has
been addressed with 27 different names and titles. These are : Anantarupa,
Achyuta, Arisudhana, Krishna, Kesava, Kesanishudana, Kamalapatraksha,
Govinda, Jagadpatih, Jagannivasa, Janardhana, Devedeva, Devavarah,
Purushottama, Bhagawan, Bhutabhavana, Bhutesah, Madhusudhana, Mahabahu,
Madhavah, Yadava, Yogaviththama, Vasudeva, Varsheya, Vishnuh, Hrisikesa
and Harih.
Whether the Bhagavad-Gita is a revelation or an actual
event is a matter of great controversy. Looking to the depth of symbolism
involved and the basic purpose of the whole scripture, the former
possibility seems to be more acceptable than the latter. Veda Vyasa is
regarded as the author of the book. It is not clear from where Veda Vyasa
got the whole information since it was Sanjaya, not Veda Vyasa who was the
direct witness to the whole discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna.
Either Vedavyasa might have heard it from one of the participants or he
got it through his inner experience, which is generally the case with all
the shruti literature.
It is possible that the scripture might have entered
the human consciousness as a revelation. It is even possible that the
entire episode of the Mahabharata might have happened on a different plane
and become a part of the human collective consciousness through the inner
eye.
Whether revelation came to Veda Vyasa or to some other
sage, we would rather leave the matter to historians and scholars to
debate. What is more important is that the Bhagavad-Gita is a divine
message for the troubled humanity and it provides many solutions to our
day to day problems and helps us to balance our temporal lives with our
spiritual needs.
