Management lessons from Holy Koran, Holy Bible and Holy Gita

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By: M.P. Bhattathiri  Posted on: 5/30/2006

 

Management lessons from Holy Koran, Holy Bible and Holy Gita

Article by M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner , to

The Govt. of Kerala.

Humble request that it may be published in your website and magazine

after editing if necessary.

The teachings of Koran ( a man's life is subject to inner storms far

more devastating than those in the material world around him. In such

storms in the bitter anguish of personal sorrow which almost removed

the reason and made life seem meaningless, a new hope was born out of

a systematic understanding of Koran which repeatedly warns The

Believer to avoid "exceeding the limits" set by God.), The Ten

Commandments, the Ten Precepts of the Buddha, and verse 16:1 of the

Bhagavad Gita, all clearly state moralistic teachings for human

welfare. Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is

more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind ~ Arjuna

to Sri Krishna Introduction The ancient (nearly 5000 years old)

Indian philosophy of keepiing mind and body for the well being, has

entered the managerial, medical and judicial domain of the world.

Today it has found its place as an alternative to the theory of

modern management and also as a means to bring back the right path of

peace and prosperity for the human beings. One of the greatest

contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita which is considered

to be one of the first revelations from God.

The management lessons in this holy book were brought in to light of

the world by divine Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Swamy Chinmayananda,

and now being popularized by Swami Bodhananda, a renowned seer and

teacher of Vedanta, meditation and values, the spiritual philosophy

by Swamy Vivekananda, the devotional philosophy by Sri Srila

Prabhupada Swami, personality development by Sri. Sri Ravishankar,

its relevance to uplift the weaker sections by Mata Amrithanandamayi

Devi, and humanism by Sai Baba. Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita,

the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical

life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of

man to the highest possible level." , reveals the deep, universal

truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.

Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he

has to fight.( Mental health has become a major international public

health concern now).

To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached in the battle field

Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his duty

while multitudes of men stood by waiting . It has got all the

management tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome

any crisis situation. The Bhagavad Gita can be experienced as a

powerful catalyst for transformation. Bhagavad gita means song of the

Spirit, song of the Lord. The Holy Gita has become a secret driving

force behind the unfoldment of one's life. In the days of doubt this

divine book will support all spiritual search.This divine book will

contribute to self reflection, finer feeling and deepen one's inner

process. Then life in the world can become a real education—dynamic,

full and joyful—no matter what the circumstance. May the wisdom of

loving consciousness ever guide us on our journey. What makes the

Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation is that it offers

us the tools to connect with our deepest intangible essence and we

must learn to participate in the battle of life with right

knowledge.Many great thinkers from our times such as Albert Einstein,

Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweizer as well as Madhvacarya, Sankara

and Ramanuja from bygone ages have all contemplated on the Bhagavad

Gita and its timeless message.

The primary purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is to illuminate for all of

humanity the realization of the true nature of divinity; for the

highest spiritual conception, to motivate people to do things in a

better way, and the greatest material perfection is to attain love of

God! The Holy Gita is the essence of the Vedas, Upanishads. It is a

universal scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for

all times. It is a book with sublime thoughts and practical

instructions on Yoga, Devotion, Vedanta and Action. It is profound in

thought and sublime in heights of vision. It brings peace and solace

to souls that are afflicted by the three fires of mortal existence,

namely, afflictions caused by one's own body (disease etc), those

caused by beings around one (e.g. wild animals, snakes etc.), and

those caused by the gods (natural disasters, earth-quakes, floods

etc). Mind can be one's friend or enemy.

Mind is the cause for both bondage and liberation. The word mind is

derived from man to think and the word man derived from manu

(sanskrit word for man). "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's

heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living

entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material

energy." There is no theory to be internalized and applied in this

psychology. Ancient practices spontaneously induce what each person

needs as the individual and the universal coincide. The work proceeds

through intellectual knowledge of the playing field(jnana yoga),

emotional devotion to the ideal(bhakti yoga) and right action that

includes both feeling and knowledge(karma yoga). With ongoing

purification we approach wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita is a message

addressed to each and every human individual to help him or her to

solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing

towards a bright future. Within its eighteen chapters is revealed a

human drama. This is the experience of everyone in this world, the

drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection, sorrow

and total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of perfect

understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph. Introduction.

Modern Management has become a necessity of everyday life, be it at

family,in friend circle, in sports, in the office or factory and in

Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings

assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into play

through the management of resources, finance and planning,

priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of

carrying out activities in any field of human effort. Its task is to

make people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses

irrelevant, says the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates

harmony in working together - equilibrium in thoughts and actions,

goals and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets.

It resolves situations of scarcity, be they in the physical,

technical or human fields, through maximum utilization with the

minimum available processes to achieve the goal. Lack of management

causes disorder, confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even

depression. Managing men, money and materials in the best possible

way, according to circumstances and environment, is the most

important and essential factor for a successful management.

Management guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita There is an important

distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in managing. ·

Effectiveness is doing the right things. · Efficiency is doing things

right. The general principles of effective management can be applied

in every field, the differences being more in application than in

principle. The Manager's functions can be summed up as: · Forming a

vision · Planning the strategy to realise the vision. · Cultivating

the art of leadership. · Establishing institutional excellence. ·

Building an innovative organisation. · Developing human resources. ·

Building teams and teamwork. · Delegation, motivation, and

communication. · Reviewing performance and taking corrective steps

when called for. Thus, management is a process of aligning people and

getting them committed to work for a common goal to the maximum

social benefit - in search of excellence. The critical question in

all managers' minds is how to be effective in their job. The answer

to this fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Gita, which

repeatedly proclaims that "you must try to manage yourself." The

reason is that unless a manager reaches a level of excellence and

effectiveness, he or she will be merely a face in the crowd.

Old truths in a new context The Bhagavad Gita, written thousands of

years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques leading us

towards a harmonious and blissful state of affairs in place of the

conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of motivation and so

on, common in most of Indian enterprises today – and probably in

enterprises in many other countries. The modern (Western) management

concepts of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work,

achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision making and planning,

are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. There is one major

difference. While Western management thought too often deals with

problems at material, external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad

Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of human thinking.

Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it will automatically

enhance the quality of his actions and their results. The management

philosophy emanating from the West, is based on the lure of

materialism and on a perennial thirst for profit, irrespective of the

quality of the means adopted to achieve that goal.

This phenomenon has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and

so 'management by materialism' has caught the fancy of all the

countries the world over, India being no exception to this trend. My

country, India, has been in the forefront in importing these ideas

mainly because of its centuries old indoctrination by colonial

rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling that anything Western is

good and anything Indian is inferior. The result is that, while huge

funds have been invested in building temples of modem management

education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement of

the general quality of life - although the standards of living of a

few has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all sectors of the

economy, criminalisation of institutions, social violence,

exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body politic. The

source of the problem The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are

not far to seek. The Western idea of management centres on making the

worker (and the manager) more efficient and more productive.

Companies offer workers more to work more, produce more, sell more

and to stick to the organisation without looking for alternatives.

The sole aim of extracting better and more work from the worker is to

improve the bottom-line of the enterprise. The worker has become a

hireable commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded at

will. Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a mercantile

product. In such a state, it should come as no surprise to us that

workers start using strikes (gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows,

work-to-rule etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the

organisations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach a situation

in which management and workers become separate and contradictory

entities with conflicting interests. There is no common goal or

understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion, friction,

disillusion and mistrust, with managers and workers at cross

purposes. The absence of human values and erosion of human touch in

the organisational structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.

Western management philosophy may have created prosperity – for some

people some of the time at least - but it has failed in the aim of

ensuring betterment of individual life and social welfare. It has

remained by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty for a

few in the midst of poor quality of life for many.

Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management

disciplines - their objectives, scope and content. Management should

be redefined to underline the development of the worker as a person,

as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this changed

perspective, management can become an instrument in the process of

social, and indeed national, development. Now let us re-examine some

of the modern management concepts in the light of the Bhagavad Gita

which is a primer of management-by-values. Utilisation of available

resources The first lesson of management science is to choose wisely

and utilise scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser

before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's large army

for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his

support. This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the

effective manager - the former chose numbers, the latter, wisdom.

Work commitment A popular verse of the Gita advises "detachment" from

the fruits or results of actions performed in the course of one's

duty. Being dedicated work has to mean "working for the sake of work,

generating excellence for its own sake." If we are always calculating

the date of promotion or the rate of commission before putting in our

efforts, then such work is not detached. It is not "generating

excellence for its own sake" but working only for the extrinsic

reward that may (or may not) result.

Working only with an eye to the anticipated benefits, means that the

quality of performance of the current job or duty suffers - through

mental agitation of anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the

world works means that events do not always respond positively to our

calculations and hence expected fruits may not always be forthcoming.

So, the Gita tells us not to mortgage present commitment to an

uncertain future. Some people might argue that not seeking the

business result of work and actions, makes one unaccountable. In

fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of advice on the theory of cause and

effect, making the doer responsible for the consequences of his

deeds. While advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains in

discharging one's accepted duty, the Gita does not absolve anybody of

the consequences arising from discharge of his or her

responsibilities. Thus the best means of effective performance

management is the work itself. Attaining this state of mind

(called "nishkama karma") is the right attitude to work because it

prevents the ego, the mind, from dissipation of attention through

speculation on future gains or losses. Motivation – self and self-

transcendence It has been presumed for many years that satisfying

lower order needs of workers - adequate food, clothing and shelter,

etc. are key factors in motivation.

However, it is a common experience that the dissatisfaction of the

clerk and of the Director is identical - only their scales and

composition vary. It should be true that once the lower-order needs

are more than satisfied, the Director should have little problem in

optimising his contribution to the organisation and society. But more

often than not, it does not happen like that. ("The eagle soars high

but keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the dead animal below.") On the

contrary, a lowly paid schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may

well demonstrate higher levels of self-actualisation despite poorer

satisfaction of their lower-order needs. This situation is explained

by the theory of self-transcendence propounded in the Gita. Self-

transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting others before

oneself, emphasising team work, dignity, co-operation, harmony and

trust – and, indeed potentially sacrificing lower needs for higher

goals, the opposite of Maslow. "Work must be done with detachment."

It is the ego that spoils work and the ego is the centrepiece of most

theories of motivation. We need not merely a theory of motivation but

a theory of inspiration.

The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941, known

as "Gurudev") says working for love is freedom in action. A concept

which is described as "disinterested work" in the Gita where Sri

Krishna says, "He who shares the wealth generated only after serving

the people, through work done as a sacrifice for them, is freed from

all sins. On the contrary those who earn wealth only for themselves,

eat sins that lead to frustration and failure." Disinterested work

finds expression in devotion, surrender and equipoise. The former two

are psychological while the third is determination to keep the mind

free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean "materialistic") pulls

of daily experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to

mental equanimity or the state of "nirdwanda."

This attitude leads to a stage where the worker begins to feel the

presence of the Supreme Intelligence guiding the embodied individual

intelligence. Such de-personified intelligence is best suited for

those who sincerely believe in the supremacy of organisational goals

as compared to narrow personal success and achievement. Work culture

An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in

pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types

of work culture – "daivi sampat" or divine work culture and "asuri

sampat" or demonic work culture. · Daivi work culture - involves

fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice, straightforwardness,

self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding, absence of greed,

gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride. · Asuri work culture -

involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance,

work not oriented towards service. Mere work ethic is not enough. The

hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic.

What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work. It is

in this light that the counsel, "yogah karmasu kausalam" should be

understood. "Kausalam" means skill or technique of work which is an

indispensable component of a work ethic. "Yogah" is defined in the

Gita itself as "samatvam yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging

equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an

equable mind is Yoga. (Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor

of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as "Lokmanya," probably

the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a

description of the meanings of the word "Yoga", see foot of this

page.) By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the

Gita evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in

work, for without ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise.

The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill

necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of maintaining an

evenness of mind in face of success and failure.

The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper

introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that

corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future. The

principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work

done is the Gita's prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been

held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort,

striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary,

concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement

of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the

worker.

Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us

to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to

the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction. Work

results The Gita further explains the theory of "detachment" from the

extrinsic rewards of work in saying: · If the result of sincere

effort is a success, the entire credit should not be appropriated by

the doer alone. · If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then

too the entire blame does not accrue to the doer. The former attitude

mollifies arrogance and conceit while the latter prevents excessive

despondency, de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these

dispositions safeguard the doer against psychological vulnerability,

the cause of the modem managers' companions of diabetes, high blood

pressure and ulcers. Assimilation of the ideas of the Gita leads us

to the wider spectrum of "lokasamgraha" (general welfare) but there

is also another dimension to the work ethic - if the "karmayoga"

(service) is blended with "bhaktiyoga" (devotion), then the work

itself becomes worship, a "sevayoga" (service for its own sake.)

Along with bhakti yoga as a means of liberation, the Gita espouses

the doctrine of nishkamya karma or pure action untainted by hankering

after the fruits resulting from that action. Modern scientists have

now understood the intuitive wisdom of that action in a new light.

Scientists at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,

found that laboratory monkeys that started out as procrastinators,

became efficient workers after they received brain injections that

suppressed a gene linked to their ability to anticipate a reward.

The scientists reported that the work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't

all that different from that of many people: "If the reward is not

immediate, you procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA Times. (This may

sound a peculiarly religious idea but it has a wider application. It

could be taken to mean doing something because it is worthwhile, to

serve others, to make the world a better place – ed.) Manager's

mental health Sound mental health is the very goal of any human

activity - more so management. Sound mental health is that state of

mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise, or regain it when

unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries of work life and

social existence. Internal constancy and peace are the pre-requisites

for a healthy stress-free mind. Some of the impediments to sound

mental health are: · Greed - for power, position, prestige and money.

· Envy - regarding others' achievements, success, rewards. · Egotism -

about one's own accomplishments. · Suspicion, anger and frustration.

· Anguish through comparisons. The driving forces in today's

businesses are speed and competition.

There is a distinct danger that these forces cause erosion of the

moral fibre, that in seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral

means - tax evasion, illegitimate financial holdings,

being "economical with the truth", deliberate oversight in the audit,

too-clever financial reporting and so on. This phenomenon may be

called as "yayati syndrome". In the book, the Mahabharata, we come

across a king by the name of Yayati who, in order to revel in the

endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with the youth of

his obliging youngest son for a thousand years. However, he found the

pursuit of sensual enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back

to his son pleading him to take back his youth. This "yayati

syndrome" shows the conflict between externally directed acquisitions

(extrinsic motivation) and inner value and conscience (intrinsic

motivation.) Management needs those who practise what they

preach "Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners

follow," says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a

missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of

translating dreams into reality.

This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired

and spontaneous motivation to help others. "I am the strength of

those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I

am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to

righteousness," says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita. In

conclusion The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita

is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring

words, changes Arjuna's mind from a state of inertia to one of

righteous action, from the state of what the French philosophers

call "anomie" or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in

the ultimate victory of "dharma" (ethical action.) When Arjuna got

over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna reminded

him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense action - not

for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but

for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics

over unethical actions and of truth over untruth. Sri Krishna's

advice with regard to temporary failures is, "No doer of good ever

ends in misery."

Every action should produce results. Good action produces good

results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore, always act well

and be rewarded. My purport is not to suggest discarding of the

Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but

to tune these ideals to India's holistic attitude of "lokasangraha" -

for the welfare of many, for the good of many. There is indeed a

moral dimension to business life. What we do in business is no

different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives. The

means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their own sake,

is ultimately self-defeating. ("Profit," said Matsushita-san in

another tradition, "is the reward of correct behaviour." – ed.) A

note on the word "yoga". Yoga has two different meanings - a general

meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining

together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning

is "a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which

lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both

meanings.

M.P.Bhattathiri.

Let us go through what scholars say about Holy Gita. "No work in all

Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better loved, in

the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work demands

not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the theme

and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is

seen in all things. . . . The Swami does a real service for students

by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our

outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that has lead

to this illuminating work." Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern

California "The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the

great religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture

in the world. The present translation and commentary is another

manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita."

Thomas Merton, Theologian "I am most impressed with A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's scholarly and authoritative edition

of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the scholar as well

as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book as well as

a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a

beautifully done book." Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit,

Princeton University "As a successor in direct line from Caitanya,

the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian

custom, to the majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta

Swami Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the Bhagavad-

gita holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation

according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition."

Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne

University, Paris "I have had the opportunity of examining several

volumes published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them

to be of excellent quality and of great value for use in college

classes on Indian religions. This is particularly true of the BBT

edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita." Dr. Frederick B.

Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University "If truth is

what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must be a

kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow

its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak

and strident lives of contemporary people." Dr. Elwin H. Powell

Professor of Sociology State University of New York, Buffalo "There

is little question that this edition is one of the best books

available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada's translation is an

ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight."

Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall

College "The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not

as yet a common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less

because it is alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind

of close interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta

has here provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar's but

a practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong devotee's point of view."

Denise Levertov, Poet "The increasing numbers of Western readers

interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by

Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation

of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding

manyfold." Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian

Languages and Civilization University of Chicago "The scholarly world

is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although

Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times, Prabhupada adds a

translation of singular importance with his commentary."

Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and

Director of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley,

California "Srila Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap in

France, where many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian

thought, beyond the commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen

since the time Europeans first penetrated India. "Whether the reader

be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-

gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will be the

first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal

India." Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute

of Political Studies, Paris, France "It was as if an empire spoke to

us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the

voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had

pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us"

Emerson's reaction to the Gita "As a native of India now living in

the West, it has given me much grief to see so many of my fellow

countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and spiritual

leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the publication of

Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It

will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and

unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and will give an opportunity to all

people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture." Dr.

Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental

Studies, The University of Mexico "The Gita is one of the clearest

and most comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic spiritual

statements of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done"

Adous Huxley "It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and

beautifully explained work. I don't know whether to praise more this

translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its daring method of explanation,

or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other

work on the Gita with such an important voice and style. . . . It

will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life

of modern man for a long time to come." Dr. Shaligram Shukla

Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University "I can say that in

the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and answers to

questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations of this

sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the

aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which form the message of the

Bhagavad-gita As It Is were more widespread and more respected, the

world in which we live would be transformed into a better, more

fraternal place." Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire,

Catholic University of Paris "When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and

reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so

superfluous." Albert Einstein "When doubts haunt me, when

disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope

on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort

me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming

sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new

meanings from it every day.

Mahatma Gandhi "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous

and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with

which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."

Henry David Thoreau "The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on

the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by

actions." Dr. Albert Schweitzer "The Bhagavad-Gita is a true

scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book,

with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every

civilization." Sri Aurobindo "The idea that man is like unto an

inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link

with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which

it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This

correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15

of Bhagavad-Gita." Carl Jung "The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially

with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of

action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in

view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe." Prime

Minister Nehru "The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly

beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to

blossom into religion." Herman Hesse "I owed a magnificent day to the

Bhagavad-gita.

It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us,

nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice

of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered

and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us." Ralph

Waldo Emerson "In order to approach a creation as sublime as the

Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our

soul to it." Rudolph Steiner "From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-

Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita

is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic

scriptures." Adi Shankara "The Bhagavad-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 Huxley "The Bhagavad-

Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to

God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord

Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve

the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that

are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His

incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all

humanity." Ramanuja The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the

Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true

import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the soul. On

perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they

are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been

read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the

ultimate goal to be attained.

On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of

righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently

take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the

truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion

is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we

possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati "The Mahabharata has all the essential

ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within

it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee

is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers."

Madhvacarya Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a

technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or

union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of

stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that

state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord

Krishna is real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of

any crisis." Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. Prajnanam Brahma

Consciousness is Brahman (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda) Other

Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is knowing;

Brahman is intelligence In the sentence, `Prajnanam Brahma' or

Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given.

The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its

supra-essential essence, and not to describe it with reference to

accidental attributes, such as creatorship etc. That which is

ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, as seeing,

hearing, etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness does not

directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory

operations without it. Hence it should be considered as the final

meaning of our mental and physical activities. Brahman is that which

is Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to which there

is no second, and which is continuously present in everything, from

the creator down to the lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is

also in each and every individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam

Brahma occurring in the Aitareya Upanishad.** Ayam Atma Brahma This

Self is Brahman (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda) Other

Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahma The

Mahavakya, `Ayam Atma Brahma' or `This Self is Brahman,' occurs in

the Mandukya Upanishad. `Ayam' means `this,' and here `thisness'

refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self, which

is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to the

physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out of

which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is also

within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is

called `Brahman,' because it is plenum, fills all space, expands into

all existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or

knowledge. On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and

universality, Atman and Brahman are the same.

This identification of the Self with Absolute is not any act of

bringing together two differing natures, but is an affirmation that

absoluteness or universality includes everything, and there is

nothing outside it.** Tat Tvam Asi Thou art that (Chandogya Upanishad

6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad) Other Translations: That is

how you are; That art thou In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the

Mahavakya, `Tat Tvam Asi' or `That thou art.' Sage Uddalaka mentions

this nine times, while instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the

nature of Reality. That which is one alone without a second, without

name and form, and which existed before creation, as well as after

creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is referred to as Tat or

That, in this sentence. The term Tvam stands for that which is in the

innermost recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is

transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and is the

real 'I' of the student addressed in the teaching.

The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term Asi or are. That Reality is

remote is a misconception, which is removed by the instruction that

it is within one's own self. The erroneous notion that the Self is

limited is dispelled by the instruction that it is the same as

Reality.** Aham Brahmasmi I am Brahman. (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana Upanishad) In the sentence, `Aham

Brahmasmi,' or I am Brahman, the `I' is that which is the One

Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect,

different from the ego-principle, and shining through every act of

thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness, being the same in

all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished from Brahman, which is

the Absolute. Hence the essential `I' which is full, super-rational

and resplendent, should be the same as Brahman. This is not the

identification of the limited individual `I' with Brahman, but it is

the Universal Substratum of individuality that is asserted to be what

it is. The copula `am' does not signify any empirical relation

between two entities, but affirms the non-duality of essence. This

dictum is from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.** Karma, Bhakti, and

Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to all the three is

renunciation. Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for

every desire related with body and mind creates bondage.

Our focus of action is neither to save the humanity nor to engage in

social reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to realize the

indwelling Self itself. Swami Vivekananda (England, London; 1895-

96 ) "Science describes the structures and processess; philosophy

attempts at their explaination.----- When such a perfect combination

of both science and philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna

was, we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the head annd

heart. " ____________Swamy Chinmayanand on Gita I seek that Divine

Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be known!' For such a

person knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning: Have you

knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant.As

said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing

everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is

declared to be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is

ignorance." Sri Ramakrishna . Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the

essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life.

It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to

the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal

truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.

Maharshi Mahesh Yogi The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson

for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana.

My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to

thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life as early

as possible in one's life. --- Lokmanya Tilak I believe that in all

the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true

knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-

violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of

duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my

knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world's

literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-

house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind. --- M.

M. Malaviya

ref. bbt.org, kamakoti.org, amritapuri.org, mahrshi.com, sai.org,

chinmaya.org,

vivekanada.org,neovedanta/gospel.com,spirituality.indiatimes.com

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