Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual masterpiece
that has the power to impact people’s lives and change them for the better even
in the current time era. The term ‘Bhagwat’ means ‘God’ and ‘Gita’ means
‘song’. Thus, many people refer to it as the ‘Song of God’. Indeed, it is! This
is because Shree Krishna Himself has sung the praises of God and revealed His
real identity to Arjuna.
As many of us know, the Holy Scripture
consists of a narrative context of conversation between Arjun and his
charioteer in the war of Mahabharata. The charioteer was Lord Krishna who was
also his best friend and guide. Through this conversation, Lord Krishna
revealed the ultimate science of the cosmos to Arjuna along with the science of
Self Realization.
The verses inside this Holy book aim to
build lasting faith in the knowledge shared by Lord Krishna. Well, for this to
happen spontaneously, it is essential to comprehend the sayings of Lord Krishna
as it is! In other words, it is essential to know exactly what was there in His
heart and the ultimate meaning of the overall conversation with Arjuna.
For example, the 14th verse in
Chapter 5 tells us that God is not the doer and that this world has arisen and
runs naturally. Now, most of us will have a question as to how this actually
happens, as it is difficult to believe it instantly. This does not mean that we
are doubting Lord Krishna’s words; it is just that we are curious to understand
what He is trying to say.
“The
Bhagwat-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of
endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive
summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is
subject not only to India but to all of humanity.” - Aldous Leonard Huxley, a
famous English writer as well as a philosopher
This quote clearly says that even experts outside
India accepts that this Holy book is for the mankind; instead of just for Hindus
or a specific religious community. After all, no word of Lord Krishna was meant
for a specific religion; each word that He spoke as an answer to Arjuna was
meant for understanding the final spiritual science.
“The entire Gita is in the form of
questions and answers. Arjun asks questions and Lord Krishna gives the answers.
Lord Krishna has not given a sermon in Gita. Final science is not in the form
of religious lectures; it is in the form of questions and answers. He has given
answers of the doubts and suspicions that were raised in Arjun’s mind, that’s
all. That is called religion. The Gita has become pariprashnen.
Pariprashnen means
Arjun asked questions and Lord Krishna gave the answers. That is the essence of
the entire Gita. So, what has Lord Krishna said? Pariprashnen means to come to
the final destination after questioning. Otherwise except questioning one
cannot reach the final destination.”-Dada Bhagwan, an Indian spiritual
scientist.
Comprehending
the Ultimate Essence
Lord Krishna was trying to convey just two
simple words to reveal the spiritual crux. Dada Bhagwan says that these two
words are packing and
material. When a person dies and leaves his body, people will say that he or she left his or her body. That, which leaves, is the ‘material’ and the body that is left is the 'packing'.
What the physical eyes see is the packing
and the material as the Self, Atma, or Soul, is inside the packing. Different
types of packings exist such as trees, insects, animals, birds, men, and women.
However, the material inside each is the same.
Lord Krishna said to Arjuna, “This material
is exactly what I am; this is the real Krishna. Recognize this and you will get
what you are looking for.” Or else, singing the Gita verses millions of
lifetimes will not make you progress.
The Lord further said, “What you see in
front is my physical body, not my real Self. I am detached, separate from this
body. I am verily the Self (Soul).”
It is worth noticing that Lord Krishna did
not ask Arjuna to chant, do penance, or perform any kind of ritual. He just
gave him the vision, the knowledge that changed his understanding and, thus, the destiny.
This is truly mind-blowing!
Trimdandir at Adalaj near Amdavad, Gujarat.
This essence is acceptable and verifiable,
as there are verses that directly describe the Self (Soul). They are as
follows:
“Ya enaṃ vetti
hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam।
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ
hanti na hanyate॥” Chapter
2, Verse 19
Meaning: The one who thinks that the Soul kills and the one
who considers it as killed, are both in the ignorant (agnan) state. The Soul never
kills, nor is it killed.
“Na jāyate
mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na
bhūyaḥ।
ajo nityaḥ sasvato’yaṃ puraṇo
na hanyate hanyamane sarire॥” Chapter
2, Verse 20
Meaning: The Soul never takes birth, it never dies, and it
never ceases to be. It is eternal and permanent. It is not killed even if the
body is killed.
“Indriyāṇi
parāṇyāhurindriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ।
manasastu parā buddhiryo
buddheḥ paratastu saḥ॥” Verse 42, Chapter 3
Meaning: The senses are superior to the visible body. Superior
to them is the mind beyond which is the intellect. The Soul is beyond the
intellect. This means that the Soul is the subtlest of all that we know.
Maintain
Awareness!
During the conversation, Lord Krishna
enlightens Arjuna by giving this knowledge of the Self. Lord said to him that you
too are a pure Soul (Atma). Even your brothers, teachers, uncles, and friends with
whom you have to fight are Atma.
The Lord makes Arjuna understand that this
battle of Mahabharata is his unavoidable karmic destiny and that just carry it
out with the awareness that each one here is Atma. With this awareness, no new
karma will be bound, the existing karmas will dissipate, and liberation will
occur. Just come out of this false attachment and fight without this
attachment. Get rid of the ego of, “I am killing them”, which is only an illusionary
belief. Be the Self, which is your dharma. Do not become the doer or the
non-doer of this fighting karma. This is exactly what the verses 9 and 19 say
of chapter 3.
Lord Krishna was not in the favor of
killing people on the battleground. However, he knew that it was Arjuna’s
destiny. So, He gave the divine vision and freed him from the illusionary
knowledge of doership, the main cause of binding karmas. The next point
explains ‘how’ no one is the doer.
Nobody
Is the Doer!
Lord Krishna said the following verse in Bhagwat
Gita:
“Na Kartutvam, Na Karmani, Lokasya Shrujati Prabhu:
Na Karmaphal Sanyog,
Svabhavas Tu Pravartate!” Verse 4, Chapter 5
Meaning: God does not do anything nor does He induce anyone to
do something. He is also not the provider of karma fal (fruit of karma). All this takes place naturally. Nobody
has created this world; it has commenced naturally and it runs naturally.
“Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ।
ahaṅkāravimūḍhātmā
kartāhamiti manyate॥ Verse 27, Chapter 3
Meaning: All actions are done by the prakruti (the non-Self
part, the body complex). Only the one whose mind is deceived by egoism believes:
“I am the doer.”
Swadharma
Is…
Lord Krishna has said that swadharma is
the dharma of the Self. On the other hand, rituals or activities such as
fasting or penance are of the non-self. Pardharma
is the dharma of the non-self (the body complex). Not understanding this,
people started believing that Vaishnav is swadharma and following any religion
other than Vaishnav is pardharma. This misunderstanding is the root cause of
call religious conflicts today! By removing it, we can easily establish peace
and harmony!
“Swadharma can only be practiced when one
understands and recognizes the Self within as Krishna.” – Aptavani 2, Dada
Bhagwan, Mahavideh Foundation, Page 416
Self-Realization cannot be attained by
reading these verses or performing the different rituals. It is attained when
one gets the divine vision and understanding for the same from a living
self-realized master.
To
visit Dada Bhagwan website
To
read Chapter wise commentary on the Bhagavad Gita