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by Jayaram V
Note: This article will appear in the
forthcoming book "Essays on the Bhagavadgita," which is part of
the trilogy of books on the Bhagavadgita which Jayaram V is
currently working on.
You may consider the Bhagavadgita a reference book on Hinduism.
You do not
have to read many scriptures to understand the tradition,
which is considered eternal and divine. You may read the Bhagavadgita
a few times with concentration, and you will know the essential
features of Hinduism better than most people who consider themselves
Hindus. Lord Krishna was a great reformer. He incarnated upon earth
to restore dharma, which was being destroyed by the excesses of
selfish kings, ignorance of people and conflicting opinions of
scholars of His time. Lord Krishna revived the theistic elements of
our tradition at a time when atheism and agnosticism was on the
rise. He integrated diverse philosophies of the ancient wisdom and presented
them together for the benefit of people, which are available
to us today in the form of the Bhagavadgita. You may consider the scripture
a summary of the principles and practices of Hinduism, presented
from a spiritual perspective for the liberation of people who are
ready for it.
However, this scripture is not meant for religious propaganda.
It is a book of duty, devotion and liberation. It is not meant to
attract people from other faiths or confuse them with unfamiliar
concepts. If you read the Gita, you know why this is important.
In the Gita Lord Krishna Himself explicitly prohibits teaching the
scripture to those who are not qualified for it. In other words,
the Bhagavadgita, unlike the Bible, is not a missionary tool. Its
knowledge is not for everyone. It is especially meant for those
who are devotees of God, who have love and veneration for Krishna
or Vishnu or Isvara and who are free from doubt and demonic nature.
To follow it sincerely and benefit from it you must become pure
like a clean mirror. To understand its percepts, your mind must
be open and receptive to divine truths. You must have the discerning
wisdom to know the right from wrong and reality from delusion. Liberation
is not for everyone. If you are not naturally drawn to the subject
of liberation, you should better focus on what you are good at and
keep doing it dutifully until you get tired of it. This is the message
of the Bhagavadgita. Karmayoga is the first step in our inner awakening.
Your journey of liberation begins when you take your duty seriously
and perform it selflessly. When your actions become offerings, your
life takes a new turn. Your mind opens up and you begin to receive
divine guidance, first imperceptibly, then clearly, and convincingly.
The antiquity of the scripture is debated by scholars. Whatever
may be its true date, the philosophy contained in it is as old as
the earliest of the Upanishads. We may consider it a compendium
of the teachings of the Vedas and find in it traces of several schools
of ancient philosophy that are now lost. While the teachings of
Lord Krishna probably existed in a fragmented form in the Indian
subcontinent since the later Vedic period, they might have been
brought together as a scripture much later, probably after the death
of the Buddha. Based on the similarities in styles, according to
some historians there are valid reasons to believe that the Bhagavadgita
is a “genuine part” of the Mahabharata. As a scripture in its current
form, it probably existed since 400 B.C.E. Its ascendance might
be in response to the growing popularity of Buddhism and Jainism,
at a time when the Mathura region, the birthplace of Lord Krishna,
came under the influence of foreign rulers like Sakas and the Kushanas.
The Bhagavadgita is probably one of the most dissected, discussed
and debated scriptures of Hinduism. It is more organized than the
Upanishads and easier to read and understand in comparison. Unlike
the earliest Upanishads, such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, its
focus is more on the subject of liberation and self-transformation
rather than the cryptic ritual symbolism and its associated terminology.
Divided into 18 chapters, it contains 700 verses (according to some
versions 699), which deal with various subjects such as the Self,
the body and the senses, the field of Nature, Supreme Self, rebirth,
gunas or qualities, liberation, devotion, surrender and so on.
The scripture is a purifier. Those who read its verses regularly
find it very inspiring and enlightening. Some of the verses and
phrases found in it make an excellent subject for contemplation
and meditation, besides providing great insight into the nature
of our lives and the means to liberation. If you read it every day,
you are bound to feel the difference in your thinking and attitude.
If you are in difficulties, you can use the book to find answers
to your vexing problems. If you keep referring to it regularly, gradually
you will gain peace and stability. You will not come to the Bhagavadgita
and understand its percepts, unless you have done some good karma
in the past and earned enough merit. As Loird Krishna said in the
Gita, there is no loss in this effort. Even if you have put in some
effort in the past, it will show up at the right time in your life
and lead you in the right direction. It may not be appropriate to
read the scripture with the expectation of some gain. However, if
you begin reading it occasionally, you will gradually become aware
of the importance of overcoming desires and performing actions for
the sake of God rather than for yourself.
Do not be fooled by the apparent meaning of the verses in the
scripture or some archaic phrases whose meaning we have lost. It is just
one aspect of it. People may interpret the verse in various ways,
but what you understand from it is of utmost importance because
it reflects your own spiritual growth and inner transformation.
I may tell you that the scripture is about monism or qualified monism,
but you must know it and feel it in your heart by your own convictions.
The scripture offers you ample freedom to interpret its doctrine.
Hence, scholars from every school of philosophy found in it enough
evidence to just their own arguments. To understand it clearly,
you also need to know some important concepts of Hinduism, such
as karma, Self, rebirth, yoga, Nature and so on. Some of the verses
are also constructed like the sutras. You have to use your imagination
and fill in the blanks to complete their meaning.
Some verses are difficult to understand because of the usage
of certain words and phrases whose meaning we have lost. You may
also find it difficult to correlate a few chapter titles with the
content presented under them because sometimes they do not seem
to go together. The scripture also contains some hidden symbolism.
Even a seemingly inconsequential verse may contain some latent meaning,
discernible only to a few. Conceived originally as a text within
another text (the Mahabharata), it is presented as a conversation
between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield.
While on the surface it may appear as a religious conversation,
hidden within its verses you will find parallels between the main
percepts of Hinduism and their symbolic representation. It is not
clear whether it was intentional or coincidental, but the following
striking examples of symbolism indicate that the scripture has a
far deeper spiritual significance than what it presents superficially
to the ordinary readers.
The title
Bhagavadgita means the song of the glorious Lord (bhagavat).
It is derived from the Sanskrit word, bhaga, the equivalent of “baga”
of old Persian and “bog” of Slavic languages, meaning lord or god.
The modern name “Baghdad,” meaning god-given is derived from Persian
root word “baga” only. Bhagavan, another derivative word refers
to Godhead endowed with six supreme qualities, namely strength,
fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and detachment. Bhaga is the name
of one of the twelve solar deities (Adityas) of the Vedic pantheon.
He is mentioned in the Vedas as a god of wealth and marriage. Known
for his brilliance, he is mentioned in the Rigveda as the god who
rewards people according to their merit. Bhaga also means wealth,
prosperity, lordship, virtue, pleasure, enjoyment, beauty, dignity
and distinction, which are usually the qualities, associated with
God or someone in a position of great power and authority such as
a divine king.
Bhagavad means glorious, illustratious, powerful, divine, venerable
and holy. Bhagavadgita is therefore a glorious song or a holy song.
According to the Vaishnava tradition, the devotees of Krishna are
of two types, simple devotees (bhaktas) and servants of devotees.
The latter are known as the bhāgavatas, specially chosen or appointed
by God to serve His devotees selflessly. The Bhagavadgita is not
only a song about duty, devotion and liberation but also about how
one may learn to serve the Lord by becoming a true bhāgavata, performing
selfless actions in His service and offering their fruit to Him
only. The bhāgavatas exemplify the principles of the yoga of knowledge
(jnana), action (karma), devotion (bhakti) and renunciation (sanyasa).
They perform actions with surrender, detachment and devotion without
the expectation of reward or result. They simply obey the instructions
of God with humility and surrender. You may compare them to the
Bodhisattvas of Buddhism, who delay their own liberation to render
selfless service to the humankind out of pure compassion.
We may consider the Bhagavadgita a sacred song of God for the
devotees of God and the servants of the devotees of God. It is not
meant for everyone, but only for those who have faith, love and
devotion to God and who are willing to give up everything and surrender
to Him. In the scripture itself, Lord Krishna declares that of all
the people, His devotees are dearest to him; however even among
His devotees, He declares that none is dearer to Him than those
who teach the Gita to His devotees. Thus, the Gita offers two choices
to those who pursue its knowledge, to become a devotee (bhakti)
or a servant to the devotees of God (bhagavata).
Kurukshetra - the battlefield
The dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna took place in the battlefield
of Kurukshetra, which is also known popularly as a holy land (dharmakshetram).
It is holy because it is saturated with the blood of several great
warriors (yodhas) and eminent souls (mahatmas) who fought and died
in the performance of their duties. The location chosen for the
occasion was not accidental. The Bhagavadgita was purposefully delivered
in the middle of a battlefield and in a sacred place. Lord Krishna,
being the Supreme Self and the Knower of past and future, would
have chosen any other place to deliver the message. He would have
anticipated the reaction of Arjuna and given him the counseling
even before arriving at the battlefield; but he purposefully chose
the battlefield to denote that in the battlefield of life, we all
are warriors, and that the message of the Gita is appropriate and
useful for everyone who wants to become a divine warrior. Symbolically,
Kurukshetra represents the field (kshetra), otherwise known as the
body, the earth, Nature and world itself. These four aspects of
our material existence have one thing in common: they are subject
to the modification of the gunas.
The body is a battlefield, in which the gunas wage a constant
struggle for their predominance. It manifests in us as a conflict between
good and evil intentions and between pure and impure thoughts. The
divine and demonic qualities arise in us because of the gunas only.
Sattva represents divinity and purity. Rajas and tamas represent
egoism darkness and delusion. The same conflict happens in the outside
world also. Life is a hardship because we have to deal with many
obstacles in our struggle for existence. If we are looking for liberation,
we have to struggle even more. If we want to lead pure and austere
lives, we have to overcome all our evil tendencies. It is possible
only if we deal with them with the firmness of a warrior, the wisdom
of an enlightened yogi, the austerity of a karmayogi and the noble
attitude of a person of renunciation. In the Bhagavadgita, Lord
Krishna Himself described the body as the field (kshetra) and the
Self as the Knower of the field (kshetrajna). If you are on the
path of liberation, the first thing that you need to deal with is
your attachment with your body and your dependence upon it for your
identify and individuality. You have to support and promote good
thoughts and intentions in you so that eventually you will overcome
your own demons and become equal to all the modifications that arise
in you. The battlefield was therefore appropriately selected for
the discourse and to deliver the message that in this great war
of our lives, we have to fight our own battles both individually
and collectively against our painful afflictions (klesas), evil
tendencies and demonic qualities, with the help of God and the practice
of yoga.
Krishna and Arjuna
Krishna and Arjuna, the two principal characters of the Bhagavadgita,
represent the two fundamental dualities of creation in the microcosm
of a living being (jiva) and in the macrocosm of the Universal Being.
In the macrocosm, Arjuna stands for the individual Self and Krishna
for the Supreme Self. In the microcosm, Arjuna stands for the ego-self
and Krishna for the inner Self or the eternal Self. Arjuna personifies
egoism, worldliness, delusion, and ignorance, while Krishna the
immortal, and indestructible Self. The conversation between the
two represents the reflection of the transcendental knowledge in
the purified citta (consciousness) of an individual in a state of
self-absorption. It is the reflection of the Knower of the Field
in field itself, whereby one overcomes delusion and becomes aware
of the inner Self and the need for liberation. In a state of duality,
Krishna is the subject, Arjuna is the object and the Gita is the
connecting link. Historically, Krishna and Arjuna are referred to
as the primeval being (nara) and the eternal Self (Narayana). They
signify the relationship between man and God. Their relationship
is not one-sided. It is one of mutual love and respect. When human
beings love God and worship Him with devotion, God responds even
more by showering His love and grace upon them. He provides them
with knowledge, helps them in their liberation and gives them an
exalted place in His Abode, higher than what He accords to the gods
and the celestial beings in the creation.
The chariot and the Charioteer
You can see a similar theme hidden in the symbolism of the chariot.
Before the discourse began, we learn that both Lord Krishna and
Arjuna entered the battlefield in a chariot. Krishna was driving
it, while Arjuna was sitting inside it as a passenger with
his bow and arrows. This imagery has obvious implications. You can
compare the chariot to the human body or the field. The two wheels
on which it runs represent the wheel life and the wheel of karma.
The spokes in the wheels represent the diversity, divisions and
the pairs of opposites inherent in our existence. Arjuna represents
the embodied self (jivatma) and Lord Krishna the transcendental
Self (paramatma). We may compare the horses to the sense organs
and the reins to the limbs of yoga.
The overall symbolism of the chariot and its occupants suggests
that to win against adverse forces in the battlefield of life, you
need to perform your duties, restraining your senses with the help
of God, and allow Him to direct your life according to His Will.
When you surrender to Him fully and unconditionally giving over
to Him the reins of your life, He will take personal responsibility
for you and your actions and guide you in the right direction towards
liberation.
Sanjaya and Dhritarasahtra
The Bhagavadgita begins with a question from Dhritarashtra and
an answer from Sanjaya. Those who are familiar with the Mahabharata
know that Sanjaya was appointed by Dhritarashtra, at the behest
of Vyasa, to act as his official commentator and give him a firsthand
account of the events in the battlefield with his clairvoyance.
Dhritarashtra, as a blind king, personifies egoism, ignorance and
delusion. Sanjaya, with his knowledge and supernatural abilities
(siddhis) personifies discriminating intelligence (buddhi) or wisdom.
Both the aspects are part of the field (body) and this worldly (apara)
in contrast to Krishna and Arjuna, who represent the transcendental
reality (para) as the individual Self and Supreme Self.
In terms of gunas, Dhritarashtra represents the qualities of
tamas, Sanjaya rajas and Arjuna sattva, while Krishna embodies pure
sattva (suddha sattva). Dhritarashtra lacked discrimination and thereby allowed
his children to fall into evil ways and precipitate the war. From
the question he posed to Sanjaya, it is clear that he was not at
all interested in the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. He just
wanted to know what was happening in the battlefield and how his
sons were preparing to fight. It was by chance that he happened
to listen to the discourse; but from his reaction in the last chapter,
we can discern that the entire teaching of the Gita had no impact
upon Him, although he listened to it. In contrast, upon the completion
of the discourse, Sanjaya was completely filled with rapturous joy.
In life, we get many opportunities to acquire knowledge that leads
to our liberation; but if we are busy with our lives and attachments,
we do not notice them. It was the same case with Dhritarashtra.
The long discourse had no major influence upon the third recipient
of the discourse. He was fated to ignore it or not follow it because
the Kauravas were already destined to die in the hands of their
cousins as per the Divine Will.
Symbolism of the plot
Bhagavadgita is a revelation. You find in it knowledge coming
straight from God Himself. However, the scripture is not traditionally
considered a revelatory scripture (sruti), a status, which is enjoyed
only by the Vedas. This makes one wonder whether one should take
this scripture seriously at all. If it is not an important scripture,
one wonders why it has been held in such high esteem by the scholars
of Hinduism on par with the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras. The
answer is hidden in the scripture itself in the manner in which
the narrative has been built and structured around the four important
characters, namely Krishna, Arjuna, Sanjaya and Dhritarashtra. Although
the scripture is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna it was heard
by Sanjaya and conveyed to Dhritarashtra. Thus, technically the
scripture qualifies as a sruti text because firstly, it came directly
from God and secondly, it was composed after it was heard by a
few people from the mouth of God and it became part of the human
wisdom.
Symbolism of the participants
In the Bhagavadgita, the verses are attributed to four
principal personalities, namely Lord Krishna, Arjuna, Sanjaya,
and Dhritarashtra. Symbolically they represent
the four states of consciousness, four levels of knowledge and four
methods of validating truth and four methods in which knowledge
is transmitted. Dhritarashtra represents the wakeful state (vaisvanara);
Sanjaya represents the dream state (taijasa); Arjuna represents
the deep sleep state (prajna); and Lord Krishna represents the transcendental
state (turiya), which is described by the Upanishads as the state
of Brahman. The four levels of knowledge are ignorance, lower knowledge,
higher knowledge and transcendental knowledge. These four are represented
symbolically by Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya, Arjuna and Lord Krishna
respectively. Ignorance is a state of delusion in which truth is
not perceived at all. It is mental and spiritual darkness, in which
one fails to discern the right from wrong and truth from falsehood.
Lower knowledge is the knowledge acquired by study, reason and observation.
It is useful in the performance of obligatory duties and achieving
success in worldly maters, but not very useful in achieving liberation.
Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Self, which arises from
inner purification and the practice of yoga. You can use to practice
yoga, cultivate virtue and develop discerning wisdom, but by itself,
it does not give you a taste of the transcendental state. For that,
you need to acquire the transcendental knowledge, which comes in
a state of self-absorption, after you spend years perfecting your
practice of yoga and become an adept in it.
The four methods (pramanas) of ascertaining or validating truth
are direct (pratyaksha), inference (anumana), comparison (upamana)
and testimony. Not all traditions in Hinduism recognize these four.
Some recognize only two or three. Of these, Krishna represents the
direct knowing because He is the Truth itself. Arjuna represents
testimony (sabda) because he witnessed and heard the discourse directly
from Lord Krishna, who is the source of all scriptures and revelations.
Sanjaya represents inference (anumana), because he heard it indirectly
from Lord Krishna through his psychic powers. Although he was not
present at the battlefield personally, he inferred from the conversation
that it happened between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Dhritarashtra
represents comparison, the fourth method of knowing truth, in which
validation is done by comparing the knowledge one acquires with
that, which one already has. Dhritarashtra was already prejudiced
against Krishna and Arjuna. Therefore, he did not pay much attention
to the conversation that took place between them.
Let us now turn our attention to the manner in which knowledge
is transmitted to the human beings from above. Divine knowledge
flows to us in four distinct ways, direct, intuitive, indirect and
memorial. In some instances, God appears before certain individuals
and speaks to them directly. This is the direct method. In the Bhagavadgita,
Arjuna received divine knowledge from Krishna in this manner. In
some cases, knowledge is transmitted through dreams and intuition.
This is also a direct method, but you do not see God directly. Sanjaya
received knowledge in this manner. History is replete with instances
where men received divine knowledge through their psychic powers.
Many spiritual truths have been rendered into religious verses in
this manner. Sanjaya was like the Vedic seers who composed the Vedas
by hearing them in their minds. He received the entire Gita intuitively
with his mind's eye.
In the third method, knowledge comes to us indirectly through
scriptures, spiritual masters and enlightened people. Dhritarashtra
received knowledge in this manner. The method was appropriate for
him because by nature he was ignorant and deluded. His blindness
symbolically stands for his spiritual blindness. Most people in
the world are drawn to spiritual subjects in this manner. The teaching
of the Bhagavadgita was finally composed by Vyasa based upon his
ability to remember what transpired in the battlefield on that particular
day between Krishna and Arjuna. This is intellectual knowledge or
the memorial knowledge, which is reflected in the intelligence as
knowledge and wisdom.
Lord Krishna represents transcendental knowledge, which does
not require any transmission because it is free from the duality
of subject and object and the process of knowing. It is an eternal
knowledge, which can be neither learned nor acquired, and which
can be known within oneself in a state of self-absorption. In the
wakeful state, this knowledge can only be inferred but cannot be
ascertained through intellectual analysis or empirical proof.
Lastly, we have to remember that the entire conversation took
place in the middle of the battlefield, where a multitude of people,
on both sides, stood with their respective weapons, ready to fight.
They had no clue what happened between Lord Krishna Arjuna. They
did not know why the two stood in the middle of the battlefield
conversing.
Their minds were seized with the thoughts of war. Their attention
was focused upon winning against their enemies. They were busy preparing
for the war. Symbolically, the armies of Pandavas and Kauravas represent the people in general. A vast majority of
people who live upon earth do not care for their liberation. They
live in their egoistic and ignorant ways incurring karma. Even if
great souls come and try to put sense into their minds, they simply
ignore them and continue their mundane existence. They fail to
realize that
human birth is a precious gift and a great opportunity to escape
from the cycle of births and deaths.
Suggested Further Reading
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