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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Arjuna Vishada Yoga Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Arjuna Vishada Yoga Written by Vijaya Jayaraman Bhagavad Gita is about each individual, our challenges, our world view and an effort to bring harmony in the society. I have been studying philosophy for the past twenty years and passionate to share with others that has helped me deal with challenges and grow in every aspect of my life. Q: What are Srutis? Ans: Sruti in Sanskrit means heard. Vedas are called Srutis as they were not written but realized by Rshis during meditation. Therefore Vedas are considered apaurusheya, meaning not from a human mind. They were then imparted to the disciples by word of mouth. It was passed on to generations through verbalizing, listening, repeating & reflecting. Vedas present the ultimate Truth and therefore considered as eternal. Veda's are of two parts. The former parts of the Vedas are Karma kanda and the later part of Vedas is the jnana kanda, also called Vedanta or upanishad. Q: Explain Veda Vyasa's infinite knowledge. Ans: Veda Vyasa was a great seer with enormous knowledge. Today's man has only a fraction of his knowledge. In his lifetime he wrote Mahabharata which as 10,000,000 verses, 100,000 of its extract is called Mahabharata, with minute details, thousands of names, their relationships. positions, personalities, actions, incidences & consequences of those actions. The Bhagavad Gita is called a ithihasa, as it gives us practical guidance on how to attain the Truth and live fulfilled lives. The amazing part is the linkage between the numerous stories that are intertwined with full of morals applicable to anyone at any period of time. He also wrote Brahma Sutra and 18 puranas as Sanskrit verses. He carried out the major task of classification of one huge Veda into four separate vedas as known today, namely Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharvana vedas for easy reading and understanding of today's human. Q: What are 'Puranas'? Ans: It is that knowledge that though ancient is ever new and relevant. (bautika-jnana-grantha, pramana-grantha, purana). Puranas are descriptions, explanations of Srutis & Smrtis through stories, dialogues and examples. There are 18 Puranas Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9689346 Published: 05/08/2017 composed by Veda Vyasa. They also speak of what might be possible (sambhava pramana). some stories appear to be improbable just like certain fictions an eon ago are a known fact today. Q: Describe the background of Mahabharata war. Ans: Lord Ganesa is the scribe of Mahabharata. Sage Vaisampayana narrated the entire Mahabharata to Janamejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna. Mahabharata is an Ithihasa (history) describing many short stories intertwined presenting many morals and messages to seekers. Kuru vamsa had two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra was born blind and therefore his brother Pandu was crowned as a king of Hastinapuram. There was an innate craving to be a king by any means in the mind of Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra's 100 children were kauravas and Pandu's five children were Pandavas. The kauravas not only disliked pandavas but they carried lot of animosity to the extent that they did not hesitate to plan to kill pandavas at every opportunity they could get. Kauravas were mean and evil while pandavas were extremely patient, honest, objective, good hearted and liked by all. Finally their patience decided to fight back which resulted in Mahabharata, also called dharma yudham (war of the good over evil). Q: Was Mahabharata a family feud? Ans: It is a story of two brothers, whose children, cousins, with no love for each other and developed animosity to the extent of killing each other. Kauravas were wicked and hostile to Pandavas, who were inherently good, principled and with noble thoughts and actions. The pandavas were striped off their power and kingdom, insulted, dishonored and sent on exile, They were not given their kingdom on return as agreed upon. The pandavas tried their level best to avoid war in the best interest of not only the family but of the nation at large. Finally the war became inevitable to fight for the just against unjust. In this war between the good and the evil, Lord Krishna supported the good. Though this family feud finally has taken the shape of a war, it really depicts the war between dharma(good) and the evil (adharma), thus applicable to anyone at any time. It is not the fight, war and killing. It is about doing the right thing at all times when we face a conflict. Q: What is 'Bhagavad Gita'? Ans: The word 'Gita' literally means song in Sanskrit. There are many Gitas. These are spiritual dialogs between a teacher and a student. Rama Gita, Ramana Gita, Hamsa Gita in Bhagavatam, Guru Gita in Skantha puranam, to name a few. In general the word Gita refers to Bhagavad Gita which is the dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna during Kurukshetra war, also called dharma war. This was a war between the good & the evil. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9689346 Published: 05/08/2017 This also depicts the war that goes on in individual minds between the good and evil as we face the internal war more often which is addressed here. Thus Bhagavad Gita helps the seeker to gain the attitude to handle the challenges of the world leading to the realization of the Self in the body. The Bhagavad-gita is found in the epic Mahabharata. Since Brahma-vidya is the main theme of the Gita, each of its chapter is called an upanishad. The Bhagavad Gita is likened necklace of 18 sections (chapters) strung with 700 pearls of wisdom(verses). Q: It is commonly said that Bhagavad gita must be studied under right guidance and in its entirety? Why so? Ans: Bhagavad gita provides us with the knowledge, attitude, vision and values but has to be studied under right guidance as the words have to be understood clearly in the right context. Out of context meanings will lead to misunderstandings and thereby to incorrect thinking, unintended actions leading to unwanted consequences. Each word has a different meaning at different context. misinterpretation of the words could be dangerous. Bhagavad Gita shows three paths to the Divine. Gita shows three paths to the Divine called karma yoga (path of Action), Bhakti yoga, (path of Devotion/love) and jnana yoga, (path of knowledge, enquiry). Lord Ganesa agree to be Sage Vyasa's scribe on one condition. Lord Ganesa agreed to be Sage Vyasa's scribe on the condition that he would write continuously without a pause and Veda Vyasa need to keep on providing the information to write, and were he to pause his writing to wait for the information, he would stop writing once & for all. To this Veda Vyasa put a second condition that Ganesha should not continue writing until he has completely understood what is meant in any statement. Veda Vyasa originally named Mahabharata as 'Jaya' meaning victory. It reflects the victory of 'pandavas', the 'good' over the 'kauravas', the evil. What does not exist in Mahabharata does not exist anywhere Mahabharata is a wealth of knowledge, the seed (Beeja) of ALL things that is in the universe. Emotions, experiences, personalities and concepts including abstracts to the effect that nothing exists beyond Mahabharata. Q: Who is an Adhikari, a qualified student to listen and understand Gita? Ans: All students come with a variety of background, life experiences and attitude. In secular knowledge hard work and memorization might help but for spiritual studies, which are much harder, additional qualities are required from each student. Every student should be humble and respect both his/her teacher and the scriptures with full faith and a Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9689346 Published: 05/08/2017 surrendering attitude. Student should approach the teacher with nobility, present the problems precisely & objectively trusting fully the guru's knowledge and the willingness to learn. recognizing the teacher's enormous calibre, They should have the intention to listen attentively, clarify their doubts without an attitude to challenge the teacher rather ask intelligently with a firm belief to understand and reflect to make one's life better. Q: Why is Bhagavad Gita called 'the Universal Book of Guidance'? Ans: Bhagavad Gita does not talk about the current, contemporary issues of the world which are often limited by time and space, like women empowerment, girls education, land acquisition or political dominance etc. It talks about the universal issues of life, beyond the borders of nations or any demarcations. It answers the universal quest for inner peace that everyone on the earth is seeking for. Seekers look for it outside on a variety of objects, situations and relationships. Bhagavad Gita applies to anyone with any background and with any life experience at any time. It is not limited in any sense and therefore is referred to as the Universal Book of Guidance. Bhagavad Gita has been a guidance both globally to, J. Robert Oppenheimer, German American physicist, Aldous Huxley, English writer, Lord Warren Hasting, first governor of British India, and locally to Mahatma Gandhi, Lok Manya Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and many other leaders in India and abroad, when they faced challenges in their lives. Q: 'What YOU become depends upon YOU, not on the situation.' How do you explain this? Ans: Doing one's own duty is swadharma but when the same duty is performed with the bigger picture for the common good, it becomes dharma. When a seeker is in conflict with situations of life and mentally weak, the Lord in the form of guru gives spiritual knowledge that strengthens the seeker's virtues so as to help the seeker regain the inner peace & quietude but the seeker has to approach with humility for that knowledge.
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