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The Bhagavad Gita starts with the words of Lord Krishna, “O Arjun you are grieving for what should not be grieved for.” This verse contains the theme of the Gita and reveals the context of the teaching—Arjuna’s state of mind, his asking for the knowledge.  This is the beginning of the Gita. The beauty of this timeless scripture is that its essential message is universal.

How did the Gita come into being? In ancient times sages went to the Himalayas where they spent lifetimes in meditation and study at the feet of their Gurus. These rishis discovered knowledge just as scientists and philosophers have made discoveries throughout the ages in their fields. That knowledge has been preserved in the form of four Vedas, namely Rig, Yajur, Saama, and Atharvana. Each Veda is divided into two sections. The first portion, known as Karma Kanda, is primarily concerned with the performance of rituals and yagnas. The second portion is on knowledge (Gyan) and is hence known as Gyan Kandas. These Gyana Kandas of the Vedas are known as Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita embodies this Vedantic teaching and is regarded as the essence of all Vedantas.

The laws of the Gita are applicable to every human being whether he/she declares himself a Hindu or not. Just as the law of gravity is applicable to every substance in that world whether one accepts it or not, the enduring values of the Gita are indeed for all of mankind. The Bhagavad Gita reveals that every human being is a complete, adequate self. The knowledge of the self – and that knowledge alone – will eliminate the sense of inadequacy from which we all suffer. When one discovers oneself to be a full and complete being, all the conflicts and grief vanish, and happiness becomes natural and effortless; one becomes a spontaneous  person; life becomes a sport. To appreciate the truth of the Gita it is necessary to possess a contemplative mind, a mind that is free from likes and dislikes which are obstacles to the knowledge of the self.

Therefore the Bhagavad Gita teaches Karma Yoga as a means of eliminating likes and dislikes. Karma Yoga is devotion to God expressed in the attitude of offering while performing an action and in the attitude of glad acceptance while receiving its results. This attitude of yoga neutralizes likes and dislikes and brings about a mind that is tranquil and open – a learning mind.Shankaracharya, who lived in the eighth century was one of the greatest commentators on the Gita. He held that right action is the way to knowledge, for it purifies the mind. It is only to a mind purified from egotism that the intuition of the divine ground can come.

Self-renunciation, according to the Gita, can be achieved by the practice of two all inclusive virtues - love and non-attachment. The effectiveness of the Gita teachings is evident from the declaration of Arjun, “My confusion is gone.  I have no hesitation in doing what is to be done,” after understanding Lord Krishna’s teachings. This is what each of us should be able to say after assimilating the teachings of the Gita.

Story of the Mahabharat

The Bhagavad Gita, though it is the essence of the Vedantas, has been interpolated in one of the great ancient Indian epics—the Mahabharat. The Mahabharat is the longest poem in the world, consisting of 100,000 verses. It is the story of the descendents of King Bharat; it is the story of ancient India.After the death of King Pandu, his blind brother Dhritrashtra succeeded the throne. He educated five sons of Pandu, the Pandavas along with his 100 sons. The adharmic Duryodhana, Dhritrashtra’s eldest son, became jealous of the virtuous Pandavas and planned to murder them.During a religious festival, Duryodhana invited Pandavas to stay in a specially built inflammable palace which was burnt to ashes by Duryodhana’s servants.

Fortunately, the Pandavas and their mother Kunti escaped from the fire, though Duryodhana and the rest of the world believed them to be dead.The Pandavas lived in the forest disguised as Brahmins.  Hearing of King Draupad’s proclamation to hold a Swayamvara for his daughter’s marriage, they went to his kingdom. Suitors had gathered from all over India, Duryodhana among them. Each suitor was required to bend a bow or enormous strength and hit a revolving small fish while watching only its shadow in boiling oil. One after another, all the princes failed in the test.  At last Arjun, third of the Pandavas, bent the bow and hit the target with greatest ease, upon which Draupadi chose him as her husband. The Pandava brothers took Draupadi back to the forest and announced to Kunti that they had brought home a wonderful treasure. “Be sure to share it equally, my children”, Kunti answered without looking behind her to see the “treasure.” After much deliberation, it was decided that Draupadi would marry all the brothers together.

Dhritrashtra and his son now knew that Pandavas were alive and reluctantly listened to the advice of Dhritrashtra’s uncle, Bhishma, which was to send for the brothers and offer them half of the kingdom.  The Pandavas got the worse half of the land, a wilderness along the Yamuna River.  Nevertheless, they put great efforts into improving the land and building a fine city; Yudhishthira, the eldest brother, was crowned king.Duryodhan now hatched a new plot to ruin Pandavas.  He challenged Yudhishthira to play dice with him.  The loser was to forfeit his kingdom and retire to the forest for twelve years and then live anonymously for a year in the city. Yudhishthira lost and the Pandavas went back to forest.  They made a virtue of their misfortune, practicing spiritual austerities and doing many heroic deeds.

At the end of the exile Yudhishthira asked for the return of his kingdom, but the selfish and greedy Duryodhana refused to give the Pandavas “land equivalent to a needle’s point.”  War became inevitable. Both sides wanted Lord Krishna’s aid. “Either you have my army or me alone – though I shall take no part in fighting,” Krishna offered both the same choice.  Duryodhana chose the army but Arjuna chose Krishna, and asked him to be his personal charioteer.

Arjuna’s Despondency

The battle was fought on the plane of Kurukshetra.  Just before the commencement of the battle Arjuna asked Krishna to drive the chariot to a place between the two armies and commenced the conversation which is recorded as the Bhagavad Gita.Arjuna had fallen into illusion. He forgot the underlying spiritual reality behind the façade of material existence. He did not see that the material world is simply a theatrical display enacted for the rectification of those living beings who have foolishly turned their backs on the Lord. He should have realized that his only duty was to execute the instructions of the Lord. But because he had fallen into bodily consciousness, believing that he was his body and that his kinsmen were also their bodies, he was in great anxiety. If he would only hear Krishna’s words of absolute truth and fully surrender unto them, all of his anxieties would be dissipated. But he instead stubbornly held onto to his illusory conceptions, thus casting himself even deeper into the ocean of grief.

Even though Arjuna was one of the most powerful and confident warriors in world history, he declared to Krishna, “I shall not fight.” We may think that it is a very nice quality to refuse to fight. But when an enemy comes to conquer a country, it is the duty of the soldier of that country to protect his nation from the belligerent aggressors who are coming to exploit the citizens. Such defending of the nation is considered glorious and heroic. The rightful kingdom of Arjuna and his brothers had been unlawfully usurped. Lord Krishna wanted that the pious devotees of the Lord should be the rulers, not greedy, wicked-minded exploiters. All attempts were made to recover the hijacked kingdom by peaceful negotiations. But when all alternatives were exhausted there was no other option but to challenge the usurpers on the battlefield.

Krishna had made all the arrangements to rectify the injustice, but now Arjuna was foolishly refusing to cooperate with Him. Arjuna had given many arguments, which on the surface sound quite reasonable. However, when examined carefully from the spiritual platform they all fall apart. Krishna chastised him for his foolishness and taught him the truth. “While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.”

Messages of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is the journey from despondency to devotion. Arjun began despondent and ended devoted! By teaching him the wisdom of yoga, Bhagwan Krishna showed Arjuna how not to be despondent. Each of us is like Arjuna and we also face so many problems in our lives. The battlefield of Kurukshetra is within us, every minute and every moment. Through meditation and through yoga we will understand that these undercurrents of battle are within us and we will learn how to take care of them.  As soon as Arjuna realized that he was in trouble, that he was broken and despondent, he asked Bhagwan Krishna for guidance, and guidance was given. Whenever we go to God, sincerely, with devotion and an open mind and heart, we receive the answers. The problem is that today people take pills, drinks, and so many other things to take care of their inner battles rather that asking God. In the Gita, Bhagwan Krishna tells us to fight the battle. There are 700 shlokas in the Gita and every mantra tells you how to become a Yogi.“Know That to be Indestructible by which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That – the Imperishable.” To discover that “Imperishable,” in the next issue of Tattva, we will embark upon a journey to understand some verses of the Gita.

In the last issue of Tattva, we had an introduction of the Bhagavad Gita. In this issue, we are continuing the Bhagavad Gita series with an article on conquering desire and gaining knowledge of the Self.

The Hindu theory of jnana (knowledge), bhakti (devotion) and karma (action) forms the basis of Hindu philosophy. The Gita is the guide to “the science of being and the art of living. It is a complete guide to mastering the problems of day-to-day life—for any person of any age. The teachings of the Gita inspire all to realize the reality within them. The fulfillment lies in the simultaneous development of the heart and the mind.”

Life should be meaningful and purposeful. We should see the meaning of life, and then the whole life becomes the means to achieve that end. Living becomes purposeful when the end is clear. If I know the end, the other ends in life such as a house, a job, a wife or a husband or a son, can be seen in their proper perspective. They can all become the means to achieve the ultimate end. If the purpose of life is not clear, we have not really achieved anything in spite of all that has seemed to have been achieved.

The real end behind all the ends is to end the desire. There are three approaches to end a desire: 1) by acquiring the object of desire, 2) by giving up the desire as undesirable, and 3) by growing out of the desire. A follower of the first is called a samsari, the second a tyagi, and the third a sanyaasi.

The ones who go about fulfilling the desires as they arise in the mind find that more desires have cropped up even before one desire is fulfilled. They always find themselves wanting. No end seems to satisfy them because an end loses its significance by the time it is achieved. They find themselves dependent on objects of desire and the more the desires, the greater the degree of dependence. No particular end seems to give them freedom from dependence. Such a person who finds himself or herself as dependent on the fulfillment of the desires is a samsari regardless of whether or not he or she is married.

A tyagi is the one who has given up an object or a desire either because of an ideal or because of a bargain to get something better. But such a one still has a taste for the object. It is only when one grows out of the desire and is no more tempted by the object that he/she gains freedom from the object. He/she is sanyaasi in respect of that object. The Gita describes a sanyasi in verse 3 of Chapter V:

That is the true Renouncer, firm and fixed

Who seeks nought, rejecting nought – dwells proof

Against the “opposites.”  O valiant Prince!

In doing, such breaks lightly from all deed.”  V-3

Everyone is a sanyaasi with respect to a few things. With respect to a few more things we are tyagis in as much as we have reluctantly given them up and still entertain a value for them. And there are some other things without which we cannot do; with respect to them we are samsaris.

In our lives, the sadhya (the end desired) and sadhanas (means by which a desired end is achieved) keep changing, but one thing remains constant: the sadhaka or the seeker. Do I always want to remain the seeker? Do I want to remain dependent upon the objects and situations for my happiness or do I want to be free? There is happiness in freedom and unhappiness in dependence and therefore everyone wants to be like the sanyaasi who is not dependent upon anything for happiness. This total freedom is called moksha, which means liberation or release from dependence. The love for freedom or moksha is an innate urge in everybody. In everything, I want to be independent. I want to be free from desires, so I should be free to entertain whatever desire I want to have! My life should depend on the fulfillment of a desire. Only when I discover an adequacy, fullness, a richness that is not other than myself, I feel fulfilled – not just an occasional fulfillment which gets away from me and leaves me high and dry! It should be a freedom that is innate to myself. The sadhana must be such that one attains the sadhya, the moksa or the lasting fulfillment that every human heart yearns for, works for, and struggles for.

The time has now come for us to ascertain what this sadhya is. The Gita unfolds this in verses 16 and 17 of Chapter II.

“That which is

Can never cease to be; that which is not Will not exist.

To see this truth of both

Is theirs who part essence from accident, Substance from shadow. Indestructible,

Learn thou! The Life is, spreading life through all;

It cannot anywhere, by any means,

Be anywise diminished, stayed or changed.”

No kind of change can make me complete, therefore becoming complete is not possible. The only possibility is that I am already complete. If I am already a complete being and still want to be complete, it means I do not know myself. From self-ignorance, there is a disowning of the self and thus the predicament.

I have concluded that I am incomplete. What sadhana can remove this assumed incompleteness? The sadhana must be such as it removes this self-disowning, the self-ignorance. That sadhana or means can only be self-knowledge because knowledge alone can remove ignorance. Knowing my real nature is the only means of eliminating the self-ignorance and disowning the assumed incompleteness arising out of it. Hence the primary means of achieving completeness, freedom, fulfillment, is the knowledge of the Self. As the problem is one of ignorance, knowledge alone can be the solution.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati has explained this solution through an analogy of the liberation of Mr. Pot-Space. Once there was a 5-liter pot which had the feeling that he was small and limited. Being jealous of a 50-liter pot, the 5-liter pot somehow got himself recycled by a potter to be a 50-liter pot. Still the feeling of limitation continued because now he was jealous of a 100-liter pot! In due course of time he realized that he really wanted to be limitless. He discovered that regardless of what finite size he becomes, he will remain limited, because infinity cannot be reached by adding finite quantities. He could not get rid of his limitation, nor could he be happy with being limited. So he felt hopeless; he was frustrated.

One day he was introduced to a Guru-pot-space to whom he said, “O Lord I have tried all possible means, gained varied experiences, seen places, but I am still limited. Is there a way to become free from this limitation? Can you teach me a way to cross this sorrow?”

The Guru-pot-space said, “By a process of change you cannot become limitless. Even if you become a 50-liter pot, you are still limited. You will remain limited whether you become slim or expand. The limited cannot become limitless. But every natural urge has a means of appeasement. Without any change you should discover yourself to be a limitless, complete being. As you have the natural quest you must already be the complete being, and you must be ignorant of it.” Mr. 50-liter-pot rejoined, “If, as you say, I already am limitless, why don’t I feel so?”

The Guru replied, “That is my question! You are the limitless space, and how can you feel limited? This can only be due to ignorance. A 5-liter-pot-space will say, I am a 5-liter-pot-space’ A 500-liter-pot will say, ‘I am a 500-liter-pot-space.’ What is common in these expressions is ‘I am space.’ What is uncommon is the number 5 or 500 or 5 million. That ‘I am space’ is not known as it is. This ignorance alone makes you feel limited. From what stand-point are you saying, ‘I am a 50-liter-pot space’? You look at yourself only from the stand-point of the pot. But from the stand-point of ‘I am space’ how big are you? You, the space have no form. There is space above; there is space below; there is space around. In fact, in you the space, all the pots – big or small – have their being. You are the limitless space.” Understanding what he really was – a space that was unlimited - the 50-liter-pot-space got liberated.

What change did Pot-space undergo to become limitless? He discovered the truth about himself. He knew that from the stand-point of the pot, he was 50-litre space, but from his own stand-point – from the stand-point of space, he was the limitless space itself. This is called jnana of the pot-space. The self-knowledge is the primary sadhana – the Seeker realizing the Sought.