Universality of the Gita
The teachings embodied in
the Bhagavad Gita possess eternal value and are universal in their
applicability. This is the only philosophical work that enjoys the
widest currency. It has been translated and annotated into several
Indian and Western languages Its message continues to be as fresh
and inspiring today, as it was when the Lord delivered it to Arjuna
Though there are other equally elevating teachings, some of which
have also the suffix Gita, why is that the Celestial Song, the
message of true knowledge delivered to Arjuna by Sri Krishna, has
come to occupy a supreme place? The answer is to be found in the
setting in which this Divine message was given to the world.
The setting of the
Gitopadesa is the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where the two
intending armies, the armies of the pandavas and of the Kauravas,
are arrayed in the battle formation and poised to go into action at
the given signal. Arjuna is the central figure in this interesting
drama. He is seated in his chariot and Lord Krishna Himself is the
charioteer. Arjuna, who, a little while ago, more or less directed
Sri Krishna to spur the horses forward and station his chariot in
between the opposing armies, has humbled himself into the position
of a pupil at the feet of the Divine Charioteer, whom he has raised
to the pedestral of the teacher. Arjuna surrenders himself
unreservedly to the mercy of Krishna and implores him to guide him.
The situation is so tense that Arjuna is not sure whether the next
moment his head will be standing intact on his shoulders, or will be
rolling in the dust soaked with the blood of the fighting men. In
actual life, we see that a passing shower is enough to melt an
audience listening to a discourse on Truth. People are more
concerned with saving their clothes than hearing advice, however
ennobling it may be. But here is a case where a man in the jaws of
death is wanting to learn and Lord is willing to teach. It is this
setting that has endowed the Bhagavad Gita with eternal value and
supremacy over all other teachings.
There is also another
aspect to the situation. Arjuna has proved himself fit to receive
any advice or direction the Lord may choose to give. Hostilities are
about to commence and there is no knowing how many and who all will
lose their lives. Arjuna is no coward and does not want to run away
from the battlefield, though he has expressed his unwillingness to
fight. His only objection to fight is that the war will entail his
killing those whom he regards as his elders and relations. He does
not mind being killed by the opponents, without himself raising even
his little finger to harm those arrayed in the opposite camp. In
fact, he desires this to happen, so that the slaughter inherent in a
war may be avoided. That means, Arjuna has overcome all desires and
attachment to life. He has attained the state of mind which is fit
to receive true knowledge. There can be no better touchstone to test
the complete detachment of a person than the battlefield. Arjuna is
desirous to learn the only thing that matters -Jnana or Truth.
Seeing that Arjuna has come out successful in the qualifying test
and made himself fit to receive knowledge, the Lord teaches him.
That is also how the message of the Gita has come to possess eternal
and lasting value.
Incidentally, Arjuna has
made out a good case for banning all wars. He says that any war is
wrong and if one side is foolish enough to resort to arms, it is
better to ward off aggression by refusing to retaliate, and thereby
bringing about unilateral disarmament. In that case, the casualty
will be low. The violence of war is different from the violence of
punishment imposed by a Judge for a crime. A Judge is a
disinterested person and punishment is intended to act as a
deterrent, to ~heck the tendency to commit crimes or evil deeds. The
disgrace attached to imprisonment and the hardship inside jails make
people afraid to commit crimes.
But war stands on a
different footing. It wipes out elders from society, leaving
children and women without any guidance. Consequently there is
disruption of family life, leading to deterioration of Dharma and
the loss of chastity. When women lose their chastity, Varna Sankara
is the consequence. Varna sankara results in suffering Naraka,
eternal misery. In the general interest of Dharma, it is far better
to submit bravely and without retaliating to extermination than to
retaliate and suffer greater human loss. After expressing this view,
Arjuna remains heart-broken.
But how does Krishna meet
the argument? His reply contains a touch of admonition. "Cast off
your mental weakness and arise," says Krishna. "If you decide to
refrain from fighting, it must not be from a sense of grief over the
deaths that will result from it. Your weeping implies that you are
affected by egoism and attachment, the sense of the 'I' and the
'mine. Fighting is the action that you should do as a Kshatriya. In
your present state of mind, you have not attained the qualification
to abjure all actions. Activity ceases only in the case of an
unattached person. You are attached to your relatives, elders and
teachers and bemoan their sure death in the battle. And so,
inactivity is not yours now. You have no yet acquired the Siddhi
which will justify that inactivity. To attain that Siddhi, you
should do the karma ordained by your Svadharma, " says the Lord.
Therefore, Krishna wants Arjuna to achieve personal perfection
before he can qualify for this humanitarian attitude of absence from
fighting.
The Lord's teachings
embodied in the Gita contain the answer to the question often posed,
namely, which should have preference, individual salvation or
Lokakshema. The Gita makes it plain that unless one is perfect
oneself, one is not qualified to engage oneself in acts of public
good, Lokakshema. A person who weeps or is angry, that is, a person
who is himself subject to grief or anger cannot succeed in removing
the like ills of others. The man who is subject to delusion is not
qualified to rid the world of its delusions.
And if there is a person
who has overcome grief and other infirmities that subvert the soul,
then his very existence in this world will contribute to public
weal. He need not go out to reform the world, he need not strive for
Lokakshema; the world will learn to reform itself by his example and
its consequent conduct will, of its own accord, lead to Lokakshema.
The only way to overcome grief and other
infirmities is through Jnana. That is why the Lord proceeds to
gradually instruct Arjuna in the truths of Atma Jnana, which
ultimately dispels his delusions. The Gita begins with the grief of
Arjuna. The Lord chided him for it at the commencement of His
Gitopadesa, but towards the close tells him, "Do not grieve". The
command to fight, shows that even at the cost of the death of many
warriors on both sides, one should perform one's Svadharma as a
Kshatriya. For, the practice of Svadharma, without attachment and
with resignation, will alone make for Chittasuddhi so necessary for
Jnana Praapti. Such a Jnani becomes perfect soul, who, by his very
presence, brings about Lokasangraha in the truest sense of the term,
and in the most effective manner. Individual elevation will enable
one to lift others.
Sri Chandrasekharendra
Saraswathi
The Gita: Eternal beacon for mankind
Money has always been a
master, never a slave. With enormous riches at their command, those
in authority are able to influence even men known for their
detachment. At the commencement of the Kurukshetra battle,
Yudhishtirar went to his grandfather Bhishma, who was guiding the
Kauravas and sought his blessings. A symbol of supreme sacrifice,
Bhishma told him that having fallen in to the clutches of Duryodhana
and enjoyed the comforts provided by him, he had the moral
obligation to fight on his side, but he had always felt, being
righteous, that the Pandavas would definitely win, admitting that he
too was no exception to the lure of office.
In his discourse Sri T. Ramakrishna Iyengar
said when the war was about to start, Arjuna became nervous and
refused to fight, arguing that he would not commit fratricide and
genocide. Sri Krishna then spelt out the Divine Message, Bhagavad
Gita, to serve as an eternal beacon for mankind. It explains the
greatness of the path of devotion for God-realisation and the link
between the human being and the Paramatma, pointing out that the
acts of an individual are guided by the Unseen and that he has no
independence. Once he expresses his utter inability to save himself
and pleads his helplessness, God will protect him. If it is
difficult to remember the philosophic contents of the Gita, the
lecturer said, it is enough if one retained in his mind the picture
of the Almighty, as charioteer, extending His advice to
Arjuna.
June 11,1970
