AL Basham on the Bhagavad Gita.

[venky]

I want to put before you the viewpoints of AL Basham, who is the author of “The wonder that was India 1954” and is a well known orientalist now deceased. He has this to say on the Gita.

 

Chapters 1 and 2 upto verse 2.38 form a unity and are a part of the original version of the Mahabharata until major modifications took place.

 

The first modification or second stratum consists of Chapters 2.38 to end, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14.7 to 14.25, 16, 17.1 to 17.53 and 18, along with the anu gita..

 

The second modification or the third stratum reached the final version and include Chapters 4, 7, 9, 10, 14.1 to 14.6 and 14.26, 15 and 17.54 to end of 17 ), and also include superficial changes to slokas from the second stratum.

 

Read the texts yourself as I did and you will see this analysis of Basham hangs together. This is the key to the Gita and without it the messages contained therein would be lost.

 

The Mahabharata was initially a versified play which was recited during Brahminical festivities (Yagnas) around 800 to 500 BC, basically pre Bhuddha. The initial part and the exortation to fight are a laymans interpretation of the then extant Upanishadic philosophy as applied to a warrior’s role in life as they knew it.

 

The second stratum contains a second philosophy which is post Budhist (500 to 300 BC) and incorporates three lines of thinking

 

1. Brahman is the ultimate truth which a person is supposed to realize, in line with Upanishadic thinking and includes the Anu Gita

2. It incorporates a new philosophical systems of Samkhya and Yoga theories

3. The doctrine of motiveless action.

 

The idea was to reconcile the Brahminic thinking of Brahman and the Yogic methods, that were now acknowledged as the best way to actually realize Brahman. In the early Upanishads, it is only important to “know about” Brahman, it is just “knowledge of the truth” but now methods of actually realizing Brahman were talked about, in the later Upanishads and in Yoga. The doctrine of nishkamakarma sets out a new philosophy, which is applicable to common people reconciling the philosophical differences of the above two philosophies. I personally consider this to be a unique attempt, which has not been done anywhere else to my knowledge, and think this is the most important message of the Gita. I think and believe science believes in the Karma marga, which is what is espoused in the second stratum.

 

The third stratum is Bhakti and coincides with deification of Krishna and probably dates from 200 to 100 BC, more likely in the Sunga period than Mauryan according to Basham. In this stratum a new and heretofore unknown method of self realization is set out (ie Bhakti), and coincides with enormous enlargement of Mahabharata, identification of Krishna with the most important Vedic God Vishnu (who was by now considered the body of the sacrifice) and interpolation of the magical parts of Krishna’s role in the Mahabharata (eg. Draupadi vastraharana – think of it without Krishna’s magical intervention to know what the original story line was – obviously inconceivable to Krishna devotees if He figured in the story!!)

 

It is my personal belief that between 300 to 200 BC, two religious streams of India united when faced with the Buddhist spread, one being the Vedic and the other Indus valley religions surviving as Krishna worship. I believe the additions to Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita’s final version, the composition of the original purana (initially titled Vishnu Purana but not the same as the currently extant Vishnu Purana) and the Manu Smriti occurred together and these should form the basis of the hardcore of the new religion of Hinduism if one is to define the undefinable (ie Hindu.). The Vedas and the Upanishads are not important except for the inputs into these important texts from the Vedas. Hinduism as we know it now should therefore be considered a fusion of the Vedic and the Indus valley. The core philosophy of this new religion was Bhakti (to Krishna). So to be a pedantic theologist, I would have to admit that ISCKON got it right! The original Hinduism was all about Krishna!

 

Bhakti philosophy succeeds the same way Christianity, Judaism and Islam succeed, and is no different from them in essence. But the Gita carries within it at least two different messages which must not be lost sight of in all this stratum confusion and the famous “last modifier has the last word”.

 

1. The story of the Mahabharata is in itself most instructive, provided one discounts the magical Krishna bits. The first and second chapters are most illuminating if read as part of a story or a play (to me the greatest play in the world putting Shakespeare and Kalidasa to shame). The lessons from the Mahabharata are too numerous to mention, and I must admit that the second stratum is probably the best explanation of the events of the Mahabharata in terms of Karma marga (but I am biased towards Karma marga!)

 

2. The philosophies of Karma Marga and Bhakti Marga are totally different and mutually incompatible (the philosophy, not the marga themselves!). Since there are innumerable Bhakti texts and Bhakti religions even including Christianity “the original religion of love”, it is most unfortunate that the philosophy of Karma marga gets practically obliterated in the Bhakti interpolations. Since there is little talk of Karma marga in the pure form without Mimamsakas and Brahma Vedantists getting in the way, the second stratum of the Gita must be studied without taking the third stratum into consideration to get some meaningful insights into some of the thinking behind Karma marga. Mixing Karma Marga and Bhakti marga is a sure recipe for misunderstanding.

 

I think if science were a religion, then the course for self realization prescribed would be Karma marga. (Only, the description of self realization would be different from that of a Bhakta or Yogi!)

 

More later,

 

Venky

 

[shvu]

Hi Venky,

 

I agree that the Karma Marga is the essence of the Gita. It is neither Jnana or Bhakti. Otherwise it simply does not make any sense given the context.

 

Although Krishna talks about Bhakti, Jnana, and Karma in detail, his message is not to get lost in devotion to Krishna nor to speculate about the mysteries of Life. His message to Arjuna is do your duty.

 

Will add to it later...

 

Cheers