Bhagavad Geetha

October 18, 2007

Note: forwarded message attached.

Bhagavad Geetha

Chapter 12

The

Bhagavad Geetha is a celestial song rendered by Lord Krishna to the warrior

Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Although the Bhagavad Geetha as we

know is a part of the great epic Mahabharata, there is no doubt that the

principles and teachings of the Geetha are ancient. In the first three slokas of the fourth chapter, reference is

made to the Lord instructing Geetha to Surya first and later to Manu and to the

fact that from Manu it reached Iksvaku and thence to others in succession. So

the Geetha is beyond the category of time and it cannot be assigned to a

particular point of time, past or present.

The

Bhagavad Geetha is the " milk " of the Upanishads,

" drawn " by the cowherd Krishna with

the help of the " calf " Arjuna, for all mankind to drink and draw

sustenance from. It is a text book for all mankind giving the secrets of

spiritual science in clear and simple terms. The Geetha is a text for spiritual

practitioners, for it emphasizes Sadhana

and spiritual attitudes more than anything else. Every chapter lays down means

and methods of reaching the goal of peace and harmony. Geetha is a boat, which

can take man across from the self-imposed state of bondage to the freedom,

which is his nature. But it will be useful only when the reader has as much detachment

as Arjuna had when Krishna started the

discourse.

If

you have as much Vishada as

Arjuna had, you have the Adhikara

to get the teaching, which removed the Vishada.

The Geetha will act on the mental system only when the symptoms of Vishada are strong. Arjuna, the greatest

bowman of those days, anxious since years to destroy the wicked Kauravas who

had angered him by merciless and systematic vendetta, suddenly gets

disinterested in everything that he thought precious until that moment. In

short, his mind had become ripe for the illumination. He has the Lord Himself

as Guru by his side and he knows

it. He asks Him: " I am struggling in ignorance; I am confused; I do not

know which is Dharma and which is

Adharma. " He seeks

disciple-hood and lays himself at the Feet of Krishna in self-surrender! Anyone

anywhere who reaches that stage of spiritual surrender will get the response

from Krishna and He will teach the Githa from

the chariot which is driven by Him, that is his own heart.

Really

speaking, man has come into this Karmakshetra

(field of activity) only to engage himself in activity, not in order to earn

the fruit of such activity. That is the teaching of Geetha, its fundamental

lesson. Arjuna, the great hero capable of great renunciation and of great wisdom

is deluded by the awful needs of war and this grief handicaps his activity. He

imposes on Atma (ever untouched

by the characteristics of the moving changing world) the unreal and ephemeral

nature of the world and takes this delusion as true. This is the tragedy not of

Arjuna alone but of all humanity. Therefore the Geetha is of universal and

eternal value. To study the Geetha is to learn the art of swimming across the

sea of delusion. The Geetha is the very voice of Lord Krishna.

The

way it begins and the way it ends gives the clue to the subject, which it

expounds. The very first verse starts with the words, " Dharmakshethre Kurukshetre.. " , the

word Dharma being the leading

word. The last verse speaks of " Yathra

Yogeshwarah Krishna " and this word " Yogeshwara " sums up the Dharma that is being taught. Thus it is

clear that the objective of the teaching in the Geetha is just this:

" Remember Dharma; practice Dharma " . Bhagavad Geetha is a

textbook of Dharma in all its

aspects. It discusses all the principles underlying Dharma.

The

Geetha, which begins with the Vishada Yoga,

ends with Sanyasa Yoga; Vishada is the foundation and Sanyasa, the super structure. Vishada (despondency) is the seed and Sanyasa (liberation), the fruit.

Complete

surrender to the Lord, freedom from the shackles, which bind one with the

external world of objects, the observance of good deeds and virtuous

disciplines, these are the principal truths underlined in the Geetha. The Lord

holds forth these as the best form of training in the deepest secrets of inner

progress. The Lord's command is that each should pursue the Dharma that is laid down for him; each

person should plan his life according to the spiritual foundations of his

culture; he should give up the 'objective' vision and listen to the Voice of

God.

The

Geetha is the greatest harmoniser of all Yogas.

As a matter of fact, once the Geetha is made the guiding star of your life, the

way you act will be Karma Yoga,

tile way you feel be Bhakthi Yoga,

the way you reason will be Jnana Yoga.

It will become automatically so. What you do must be in line with Dharma; what you feel must foster Prema; what you think must reveal Sathyam. Then you will be blessed with Santhi, with even Prasanthi.

The

Geethabhavanam (mansion of Geetha)

is the mansion of

Sathya

and Dharma, erected for the

benefit of the world. Study it with faith and devotion. Experience the curative

and restorative effects of its teachings by actual practice. Understand the

Geetha well and observing its injunctions establish yourselves in the attitude

of Nishkaamakarma. Do all duties

as acts of worship, Hari Prasadam.

That is the sole task. Leave the rest to Him: the fruit, the consequence, the

result. Then you receive the Grace of Hari and your life on earth is sanctified