|
by Jayaram V
The Bhagavadgita is a spiritual discourse delivered by Lord Krishna
in the
middle of the battle field. It contains 18 chapters, which deal with a variety of
subjects such as the nature of the self, the need for restraining the mind
and the senses, withdrawing them from the sense objects through the
practice of yoga, performing desireless actions, the vision of the Universal
Self, the qualities of Nature, incarnation of God and reincarnation of
individual souls, devotion to God, liberation and so on. The various topics discussed
in the scripture can be grouped under four main headings: the individual self,
God or the Universal Self, the relationship between the two and liberation of
the individual self. The Bhagavadgita encourages us to perform our obligatory duties as a
sacrificial offering to God and not to turn our back upon them. It explains how
delusion arises and how we become bound to our present conditions, suggesting
the various alternatives that are available to us to escape from them.
Although on a superficial note the Bhagavadgita seems to
favor the path of devotion, a careful student of the
scripture cannot ignore its obvious connection with the other
paths described in it such as jnanayoga (the path of knowledge), karmayoga
(the path of action) and karma
sanyasa yoga (the path of renunciation of attachment to the
fruit of our actions). Jnanayoga is the first stage. Every student
engaged in the religious studies is a practitioner of this path. On
this path a person
acquires the knowledge of the inner self through study and contemplation
and becomes aware of the importance of realizing his true self
and achieving salvation. After a person spends time acquiring
the knowledge of the scriptures, he should turn to karma yoga to
discharge his responsibilities towards himself, his family and
society by performing his obligatory duties in deference to his
dharma and as a sacrificial offering to God. The
culmination of the practice of karmayoga is karma sanyasa yoga
in which the seeker realizes either by virtue of the knowledge
he has already gained or through experience that it is not
actions but attachment to the results of his actions which is
responsible for his bondage. So he begins to perform his actions without desire and attachment,
renouncing the sense of doer-ship,
and
offers the fruit of his actions to God.
When a seeker practices these different types of yoga for a
considerable period of time, he develops sattva or purity and
divine qualities which are enumerated in the Bhagavadgita. With
these refinements in his lower self or the outer consciousness, he eventually comes
to the fourth and the final stage, which make him fit for the
practice of bhakti yoga, or the yoga of devotion. In this stage
he experiences intense devotion and unconditional love for God. He surrenders to God
completely and spends his time in His service and contemplation.
His mind and senses become fixed on the thoughts of God. He sees
Him everywhere and in himself and experience oneness with Him. He
withdraws mentally from the distractions of the external world as his mind is now totally occupied with
the thoughts of
God and lives in the constant pain of not being able to find
Him. When his devotion reaches its crescendo, God reciprocates with his abundant love,
just as He promised in the Bhagavadgita, and releases
Him from the bonds of mortal life forever.
Thus we can see that
the Bhagavadgita is not just about bhaktiyoga but a holistic
spiritual effort that demands from people physical and mental
purity, self-control, performance of duty, renunciation and
devotion to God for their liberation. We learn from it that
while bhakti yoga is the most direct solution to achieve
liberation, its true practice is possible only for those who have progressed on the path
of salvation through their previous effort. True devotion in
which all sense of egoism becomes dissolved and only the thought
of God remains is a product of years of practice and
self-discipline. It is possible only for those who are able to
restrain their senses, stabilize their minds, cultivate purity
and perform their obligatory duties in the amidst of society
and their families. Only those whose hearts and minds are
infused with the love of God can practice true devotion. Where
there is love for one's self, there is truly not much love
left for God. Where there is a consideration for the self,
devotion to God is just an excuse for furthering that self. So
people who claim themselves to be devotees of God should search
their hearts and minds to see how much of their egos are still
active and seeking. If you are still in love with yourself, will
it be possible for you to love God unconditionally all the time?
This is a question we must all ask ourselves if we claim
ourselves to be true devotees of God. This fact becomes obvious
when we study the Bhagavadgita from a wider perspective and
begin to connect the various seemingly divergent approaches and
practices discussed by it into one broad based solution.
The Bhagavadgita has been interpreted in many ways from
ancient times, by scholars belonging to various religious
traditions or sampradayas in support of their respective schools of
thought. For example, Shankaracharya (8th-9th century A.D) wrote
a commentary upon it from the perspective of advaita vedanta
or the philosophy of monism, declaring Brahman to be the only
reality and ignorance as the main cause for our inability to
recognize the truth. Sri Ramanuja (11th century A.D) interpreted
it from the perspective of Vishishtadvaita or the philosophy of
qualified monism. He argued that while God is the One and the
only Reality, He was not without attributes. The individual
souls are similar to Him in their essence, yet they are not
completely identical, because there is a subtle distinction between the
two, which cannot be clearly defined but which cannot be denied
either. Sri Machavacharya (11th-12th century AD), a great
proponent of the dualistic (dvaita) school of philosophy, wrote
a commentary (Gitabhasya) and an interpretation (Gitatatparya)
upon it, stating that God and individual souls are distinct
and different and that individual souls can gain liberation
through self-surrender and devotion to God. Also deserving a
mention in this regard are Nimbarka (12th century A.D), his
disciple Kesavakasmirin, Vallbha (15th century A.D), the
proponent of suddhadvaita or pure non-dualism, B.G. Tilak, Sri
Aurobindo, M.K.Gandhi and Sri Swami Prabhupada. All these
eminently scholarly and spiritual people interpreted the
Bhagavadgita according to their respective beliefs. In the scripture
itself, Lord Krishna mentions a lineage of scholars who received
the knowledge contained in it at different times in the history
of mankind.
While the scripture has been the subject of different
interpretations, we can identify in it the following seven fundamental teachings
or instructions. These seven teachings sum up the philosophy of
the Bhagavadgita and help us develop the necessary qualities and
discipline to progress eventually on the path of devotion
towards our liberation.
- Know the reality of the world in which you live.
Know it to be impermanent, unreal and the source of your suffering and
delusion.
- Know the Reality about yourself, who you are and what you are really.
Know that you are neither your body nor your mind, but the true self that can
neither be slain nor hurt. It is eternal, divine and transcendental.
- Know that the senses are responsible for your desires, attachment and the instability of
your mind and that by restraining your senses you can achieve the stability of your mind
and become impervious to the pairs of opposites, such as pain and pleasure, which is the key to self-realization.
- Cultivate buddhi or your
discriminating intelligence to discern true knowledge and practice wisdom so
that you will know the difference between truth and untruth, reality and illusion,
your false self and true self, the divine qualities and demonic qualities, knowledge and ignorance
and how true knowledge illuminates and liberates while ignorance veils your wisdom and holds you in bondage.
- Know the true nature of action and inaction and how actions bind
you to the world and cause you suffering. know that it is not actions but the
desires and the attachment behind your actions which are responsible for your
karma. Know the truth about the doer-ship and who the real doer is. Do not seek to escape from
your responsibility because not doing your obligatory duties is also bad karma.
To neutralize your karma, perform your actions without desires, without attachment
and without seeking the fruit of your actions, as a sacrificial offering to God,
accepting Him as the True Doer and yourself as a mere instrument. Know that true renunciation is renunciation of
your desires and the fruit of your actions.
- Know the Supreme-Self
to be the all pervading and all knowing Creator of all. Accept Him to be the
cause of everything and the real Doer in your life. Surrender yourself to Him
completely and offer Him everything that you have.
- Cultivate the quality of sattva or purity so that you can experience true
love for God and know the true meaning of devotion, surrender and sacrifice.
Restraining your mind and senses, focusing your mind on the thoughts of God, surrendering yourself to Him completely, make your life and actions as true offerings to Him, acknowledging
His role in all your affairs and expressing your gratitude. If you persist in
your practice, you will begin to experience total devotion to God and His
unconditional love. He will take full responsibility for you life and manage
your affairs for you.
Suggested Further Reading
|
