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Home , Aryaman, Harivamsa, Itihasa, Kshetram, Mitra (Hindu god), Tantrasara

UNDERSTANDING THE GITA: ONE WOMAN’S QUEST By SANGEET BIRD BA (Hons) Eng Lit. (Essex)

The Bhagavad-Gita as everyone knows is a dialogue between a recalcitrant Prince, and his Charioteer, the Lord who through wise counsel and direction is able to show his young warrior student, the way to bring heart and mind together in the performance of his dharmic duty. Central to the Bhagavad-Gita therefore is the Divinity which pervades it: Yogeshwar or, as he is known to the masses, Lord Krishna. The Bhagavad-Gita presents Krishna ‘as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance...’ Questions arise: • The Gita is entitled Bhagavad-Gita, not Krishna-Gita: (who is ?) • Is Krishna an historic entity • Is he Man or • In what sense may the Divine be incarnated into human form • Where do myth and legend end, where does ‘fact’ as our limited minds perceive it begin • How may the two sit comfortably together

Bhaga is the name of a Vedic God (RV 5.82). Four major are constantly mentioned in the Veda: , , Bhaga and . Each of these has a solar connection though they manifest differing characteristics which are at times interchangeable. In essence they represent the same functions within the human psyche. Bhaga is the element of enjoyment which is seen as being present at once in the cosmic realms as also manifest in each individual human form. The word itself means either enjoyment or enjoyer. Bhojan in everyday parlance means repast and implicated is the enjoyment of it. Bhaga is further concerned with the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments. Overtime Bhaga evolved as Bhagavat or and became the personification of goodness and mercy. To the modern Hindu Bhagawan is one of the appellations for God or the Divine or indeed one’s personal God or Ishta Devata. Coincidentally it is a traditional form of address for venerated scholars, saints and . In Vedic times , a minor , was known primarily for the three steps he took spanning , Bhu and Swara Lokas. He is spoken of as an associate of and as such is at times called Upendra meaning friend of Indra. There was however in his essence qualities that later assured his ascendancy and he became synonymous with creation so that he was at once present in every particle of the cosmos and so able to preserve its order while transcending it as an unchanging entity that was continuous in the face of change. Such abilities marked him as the preserver of creation. His attributes coalesced with the solar of the Rg Veda including Bhaga, so although the preserver, he was not without emotion and therefore able to mete out justice and favours. Ironically he displaced Indra, who seemed to lose his potency, and became one of the great Gods comprising the Trinity of classical . As such, he attracted to himself several

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] legendary such as the epic heroes , and Krishna. Such is the immense and benevolent vision of Spirituality that infuses the Gita. Of India’s two great epics ’s is the longer, the other being ’s . Both recount how the God Vishnu descends into human form at a time when evil is rife. A struggle ensues, evil is defeated and the Cosmic balance restored. The combat between Rama and is as much an exposition on as the Gita. This is so intrinsically a part of the Indian psyche that many Indians are known to name their sons and in the mid 1830’s a Hindu saint from Bengal called himself Ramakrishna and preached unity of religions. Of the dasha-avatars of Vishnu, Rama and Krishna represent in bodily form those concepts we once associated with heroes and warriors of legendary times. Both Rama and Krishna were born into the Kshatriya caste. Their struggles, wisdom and guidance in the epic stories are an allegory of life’s vicissitudes which we [each individual] face and for Hindu’s the world over these avatars crystallise the qualities of the quintessential . In the Gita Krishna says, “...And among warriors I am Rama, the hero supreme.” (10.31) Written in both epics have been translated into local languages and have spawned countless commentaries. In early times their influence spread to China and Japan. With the invasion of the British in India the Gita (amongst other sacred texts of India) caught the imagination of Westerners and from Charles Wilkins’ first translation in 1785 has seen more than fifty other translations into English including Annie Besant’s, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnana’s, Franklin Edgerton’s, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad’s Juan Mascaro’s, RC Zaehner’s, Goethe’s, Wordsworth’s, Emerson’s, WB Yeats’, Christopher Isherwood’s in 1947. Each translator portrays the essence of the Gita in an individual way but the force of its message comes through and something of its power is communicated to the reader. In the 1960’s the appeal of the Gita went beyond the literary elite in the west via the Beatles who influenced by the Maharishi Mahesh , a Gita scholar, leader of the transcendental movement, produced songs like ‘Within You Without You’ (George Harrison) and ‘Jai Guru ,’ (Lennon) bringing a taste of India’s spirituality to the common masses in the west. The Mahabharata, within which sits the Gita, recounts the story of two families kith one to the other embroiled in conflict over the Kingdom of Hastinapura which was situated in the North Western region of what is modern India today. In essence the dispute crystallises between the eldest sons of the two clans: Yudhisthira eldest of five brothers (the rightful heirs or the ‘good’) and , eldest of the one hundred Kauravs, usurpers (or the ‘evil’), cousins to the . The struggle takes place on the battleground of Kuru-kshetra where the soil is stained red to this day with the blood of the slain for all to see. On a metaphoric level we are to understand that the battleground is not simply external, but internal and takes place in each individual body when dealing with the inevitable challenges presented to us in our Samskaric journey, and the chakra system of India’s Yoga philosophies is seen as representative of the warring tribes. Those lower chakras designated as the places of hell or naraka-sthan are, figuratively speaking, the ‘evil’ representative of negative thought patterns and actions; the rightful heirs to spiritual evolution and therefore yoga are the Pandavas, the higher energy centres of the body. For some it is immaterial whether Krishna, the guide and mentor in the Gita is an historical individual or not. The material point is the continual incarnation of the Divine, the perpetual delivery of divine perfection in the cosmos and the soul of man that may be our deliverance. However for the questing Indian interested in her own identity/cultural

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] heritage and historical evolution there is ample evidence to support the historicity of Krishna. For the children of ‘the enlightenment’ when the age of reason came into being, the thought arises; ‘how can we identify an historical individual with the Supreme God?’ The representation of an individual as identical with the Universal Self is familiar to Hindu thought and can be traced back to the Rg Veda (4, 26) and the Kausitaki Upanishad (3) amongst others. In the Gita Krishna says he is not expressing any new view but only repeating what has been preached by him to Vivasvan and by Vivasvan to and by Manu to Iksvaku (4, 1-3). We learn: He has gone before. This is the religion of monotheism or ekantika. In the Krishna is referred to as Devakiputra (son of Devaki) and further as the pupil of Ghora Angirasa (3, 17, 6). Ghora Angirasa we learn from the Kausitaki Brahamana (30,6) is a Priest. Having clarified the meaning of sacrifice and stating that true payment for priests is in the practice of the virtues of austerity, charity, uprightness, non-violence and truthfulness (21,37), the Upanishad continues, “When Ghora Angirasa explained this to Krishna, the son of Devaki, he also said, in the final hour one should take in these three thoughts: “thou art the indestructible (akista), thou art the immovable (acyuta), thou art the very essence of life ().” We discern great similarity between the teaching of Ghora Angirasa in the Upanishad and that of Krishna in the Gita: “Hear now of that Path which the seers of the Veda call the Eternal, and which is reached by those who, in peace from earthly passions, live a life of holiness and strive for perfection. If when a man leaves his earthly body he is in the silence of Yoga and, closing the doors of the soul, he keeps the mind in his heart, and places in the head the breath of life. And remembering me he utters , the eternal word of Brahaman, he goes to the Path Supreme.” (8, 11-13). By and large Krishna did not uphold the sacerdotal aspects of the Vedic religion rather he fashioned his teachings along the lines of his own teacher Ghora Angirasa. In passages where Indra when vanquished, humbles himself before Krishna we understand that Lord Krishna is distancing himself from those attributes of Indra which were enlarged upon in the .: “I am Indra of the Gods. Let you be the king of cows. From today, the entire people on the face of earth will praise you eternally as . ( 2-19-45) The Gita also carries references to those who complain about Krishna’s teaching and voice their lack of faith in him: 3, 32; 9, 11; 18, 67. Passages in the Mahabharata clarify that the supremacy of Krishna was not universally accepted. In the epic he is portrayed at once both as an historical individual and an . The and the Harivamsa record tales of his early life together with legends and fancies, he is mentioned in the Niddesa* a 4th Century (?) Buddhist text included in the Pali cannon. Megasthenes refers to the Saurasenoi () in whose lands are two great cities: Methora () and Kleisobora (Krishnapura); Heliodorous speaks of in the Besnagar inscription. Buddhist legends speak of the principal characters in Krishna’s life: , Yasodha and . Closely associated with the town of Mathura through history, folk lore and legend, Krishna was of the ancient Vrsni or Satvata branch of the family of whose stamping ground was the neighbourhood of Mathura.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] The Mahabharata, within which we find the Gita, recounts the ebb and flow in the fortunes of a significant family of ancient India and the tale of an historical war. The Gita is embedded within this saga at a point of high tension. Some scholars hold that the Gita was inserted into the epic in order to provide it with a setting to enhance its value and imbue it with longevity. Additionally it goes by the name Gitopanishad which includes it in the group of that mark the end of the . This is one reason some schools of thought feel it was placed within the epic at a later date. Nonetheless, standing thus at a time of transition although it explores new territory and explains fresh ideas in a novel way it still maintains the language of tradition and its authority. Crystallizing and distilling the notions and emotions developing amongst the philosophies of its time the fratricidal fracas lends itself to an exploration of the spiritual message founded upon the purani (ancient wisdom) discussed in the Upanishads. A popular verse in the Vaisnaviya likens the Upanishads to cows and Krishna the adopted son of a Cow-herder becomes the milker of their wisdom, Arjun is the calf, wise men the drinkers and the ambrosia of the Gita is the nourishing milk. Interestingly this well loved book by the mass of Indians () is placed in their minds alongside the Yoga as the two foundation books on Yoga. Both are influenced by the Upanishads, but in style voice and scope differ radically. Nonetheless both are focused and profound. The one is large, humane, caring and speaks to the masses; its appeal is to the heart. The other is dry, economical, detached and discriminating; its audience is the intellectual elite. Krishna in the Gita addresses the whole of humanity; Maharishi speaks to the scholar. Ask the Hindu on the street to describe the Gita and she would say it was a darshana of her Bhagawan. In everyday parlance darshana to an Indian would mean to see. Extrapolated further it holds nuances of to know, to show, to teach or to meet. In reference to one’s ishta devata it implies at once to see and adore; in reference to a it is to see and believe, in reference to a darshan of one’s guru or darshan of a great being or soul it is to benefit through merely being in their presence; to take darshan. Traditionally the Hindu mind organised and synthesised the ‘six systems’ or Saddarshans and The Yoga Sutras is one of these. The Gita holds a central place in all Hindu thinking. As mentioned earlier, it finds its place with the Upanishads and was composed at a time of transition between the old and the new: the Vedic and the Upanshadic. Centred on the activities of the warrior caste it draws the focus away from the to the men of action; the and therefore from the traditional to the dissident, from the world negators to the world reconcilers who show a way of living in the world rather than meditating their way out of it. It speaks to the worldly rather than the otherworldly, the rather than the wandering ascetic, moving from an impersonal detached God or to a caring personal God who asks for and promises love to his devotees. It focuses amongst other types of yoga on ; something which has shaped the Indian mind and identity for centuries. It is a work which encourages cohesive social integration in the face of chaos and collapse; putting forward ways, in which people may resolve issues, come together and so rise with the help of the Higher self, rather than watch a precious intellectual elite wrapped within their saffron cloths saving themselves through practices without meaning for the common man. Peppered with various inconsistencies and oddly married components on the textual level quite apart from the contradictions which form part of its message it speaks to the reader on more than one level. It addresses the social issues of the day, it operates on the individual level for each of us are Arjuna and each of us face moments of high tension in

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] our life when we are at the sharp end and need to make choices. And now as its message reaches beyond the shores of its native land and peoples it speaks to the mass of humanity. As such it rises above its irregularities; its compromises do not detract from its central message for the essence of the whole is greater than its parts. Its intent is harmony and to broaden the accessibility of the spiritual gems of the Indian mind beyond the exclusive chosen few. The Mahabharata belongs to the literature of Hinduism and so properly speaking the Gita too may be seen as such. However, it is often regarded as part of Vedic wisdom and classed as shruti or revealed literature. The Vaishanavs speak of the Gita as the , the lost or Veda of Stories. In the Gita the term is used as an equation of Brahman (2.72). In this way it brings the Upanishads and Buddhism into a diplomatic alliance silencing those who in the name of spiritual evolution would sow the seed of difference. The highest path to Krishna and Divinity though in the Gita is Bhakti which is held above any other (6.47). Such loyalty and love towards a caring god is absent in Buddhism, and other doctrines of renunciation that came into being at about the same time although the Upanishads hint at such devotion. Prince Guatama, the Buddha perceived the world as a place of suffering and misery. In order to escape from it he advocated that we find release from the cycle of . The Jains went further; retreating into a place of almost total inaction in case the very act of breathing drew microscopic beings to their death causing acts of violence and perpetrating for all time specks of ‘bad ’ upon their souls. The Gita reassuringly deals with life as it is; advocating balance, more so than the famous of the sorrowful Buddhists. in the Gita is defined carefully as a more moderate regime between the extremes of rejecting the world and obsessive, instant gratification. “Day after day, let the Yogi practise the harmony of soul; in a secret place, in deep solitude, master of his mind, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. Let him find a peace that is pure and seat that is restful, neither too high nor too low, with sacred grass and a skin and a cloth thereon. On that seat let him rest and practise Yoga for the purification of the soul: with the life of his body and mind in peace; his soul in silence before the One. With upright body, head and neck, which rest still and move not; with inner gaze which is not restless, but rests still between the eyebrows; With soul in peace, and all fear gone, and strong in the vow of holiness, let him rest with mind in harmony, his soul on me, his God supreme. The Yogi who, lord of his mind, ever prays in this harmony of soul, attains the peace of Nirvana, the peace supreme that is in me. Yoga is harmony. …” 6.10-15/16 To the Indian there is a double truth: the Gita is both history and myth held within a cyclical spiralling time frame. This holds that in an indefinite metaphoric sense Krishna and Arjuna are engaged in their conversation at the centre of everything that happens to anyone. Even now as I write Lord Krishna (the higher self) is speaking to Arjuna (the individual self); while Arjuna is suffering the angst of his fears and doubts. He did many eons ago is now and shall continue so to do.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Some few years ago now I learned Swami Gitananda’s system of Pranayama from one of his ashram trained teachers who was in Pondicherry in the early 1970s. He (my tutor) informed me and the other students with a wry smile that Swamiji had claimed Lord Krishna taught Arjuna the Savitri rhythmic breath of 8x4x8x4 on the battle field. I was the only Indian in the class and this seemed entirely feasible to me. My tutor and the other students found it a fantastic childish claim and it gave rise to some mirth. Linear time lines are so hard-wired into the western mind or western influenced thinking that the notion that a story several hundred verses long may take hours to recite, but when God speaks to man the entire conversation occurs in a flash, a mere nanosecond or less of time, for time stands still is inconceivable. When God speaks to us time is no more. This is something I understood my western colleagues dismissed it as nonsensical. The core of the Gita like life is an anomaly. In the middle of a war it preaches love, gentleness, devotion, detachment and non-harming. It spurs one man on to kill yet teaching that all is God and God is all, but we are yet responsible for our actions. The world it tells us may be one of distractions and illusions, yet within you, you hold that which is unchanging and intangible, the atman which remains un-distracted. Om Tat Sat. That is how it is. Although the Gita speaks of love for one’s God and devotion or Bhakti, it is not a text full of hearts and roses. It is the story of a warrior God giving counsel to a warrior prince urging him on to kill. The warrior himself finds it hard to come to terms with visions of the dead revealed to him within the gaping teeth of the Cosmic Lord (Chapter 11) and we understand that when the Lord says, ‘that is how it is’ we have to accept life is how it is: full of harsh reality which we have to deal with and rise to every occasion with Him in mind as friend and guide. Mischief for mischief’s sake is not encouraged, but right action, at the right time, with the right motive is. Death is part of life and life of death. In a masterly fashion the Gita weaves together the various Hindu analytic structures of reality of the day, both scientific and psychological: which speaks of Knowledge, the Knower and what is Known (the Indian system of logic and perception); ’s Purusha and Prakriti, essential components of the observable world are also spoken of. Yoga is compared to and Samkhya is equated with the path of renunciation or sanyasa. Albeit the different systems are discussed their essential oneness is stressed: “Ignorant men, but not the wise, say that Samkhya and Yoga are different paths; but he who gives all his soul to one reaches the end of the two. Because the victory won by the man of wisdom is also won by the man of good work. That man sees indeed the truth who sees that vision and creation are one.” 5.4-5. In essence then Krishna (or the author, Vyasa) seeks to synthesise all systems in his answers to Arjuna’s questions. The concept of Brahman as underlying all things is derived from the Upanishads and is referred to in Chapter 15: “And I am in the heart of all. With me come memory and wisdom, and without me they depart, I am the knower and the knowledge of the Vedas, and the creator of their end, the Vedanta.” 15.15. I still have my mother’s copy of the Gita, well-loved and well thumbed, and to this day I can hear her saying, ‘sab ek hai’ (= all or everything is one). The message of the Gita speaks through her people. The text blends and equates Brahaman and Purusha as identical on the Universal level () while the individual atman or soul becomes one with the jiva-atman or individual self. Drawing all the different schools of thought and philosophy together into one glorious mix the Gita then asks its audience to transcend

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] all these various threads to see a tapestry woven from them all, incorporating them all, yet larger and bigger and better and more beautiful than each one of them separately; the whole becomes glorious and beautiful due to the contribution of its various parts. There is something for everyone yet with plenty left over for those that want to go further. The Gita is large-hearted, Divine, human, gracious and involved. It assures us, ‘You are not alone. You are never lost, in this world or in any world to come,...’ and Krishna takes us from the narrow perspective of the battlefield to an ethereal detached view of the vastness of life and the dance of life, back down to the sharp point of decision that Arjuna faces in the perceptual field of action in order to underscore the point and urge us on our path of karma that must be enacted. Unlike other spiritual leaders Krishna is not an ordained priest, a , an ascetic, or celibate. He is known for his pranks as a child, his dalliance with the young maidens in his youth, his gusto for life and living. He is one of the many avatars of Vishnu at the same time as being a warrior prince. He is human, yet Divine. He is everything and everything is in him. Shree Sarvepalli Radhakrishnana explains the Hindu understanding of Divinity and the concept of avatar. “Krishna is identified with the Supreme Lord; the unity that lies behind the manifold universe, the changeless truth behind all appearances, transcendent over all and immanent in all. He is the Lord manifested. He is called Param-atman which implies transcendence; he is jiva-bhuta, the essential life of all. In the Upanishads, we are informed that the fully awakened soul, which apprehends the true relation to the Absolute sees that it is essentially one with the latter and declares itself to be so.”

The Gita proclaims, How many have come to me, trusting in me filled with my Spirit, in peace from passions and fears and anger, made pure by the fire of wisdom! In any way that men love me in that same way they find my love; for many are the paths of men. But they all in the end come to me. 4.10,11 Shree Radhakrishnana explains, the individual ego holds something within itself that is greater than itself to which it needs to abandon itself and through such sublimation it finds its Self which is greater than its self. In each individual self lies Divinity and only through abandonment of the ego is it possible to transcend the self for the Self. The Divinity claimed by Krishna is the reward of all true seekers on the spiritual path. He says, “He (Krishna) is not a hero who once trod the earth and has now left it, having spoken to His favourite friend and disciple, but is everywhere and in every-one of us, as ready to speak to us now as he ever was to anyone else. He is not a bygone personality but the indwelling spirit, an object for our spiritual consciousness. God is never born in the ordinary sense. Processes of birth and incarnation which imply limitation do not apply to Him. When the lord is said to manifest himself at a particular time, on a particular occasion, it only means that it takes place with reference to a finite being.” “In Chapter 10 the whole world is seen in God. The subjective and objective processes of the world are only the expressions of the higher and lower natures of the supreme, yet in whatever is glorious, beautiful and strong, God’s presence becomes more manifest. When any finite individual develops spiritual qualities and shows large insight and charity, he sits in judgement on the world and starts a spiritual and social upheaval and we say that God is born for the protection of the good, the destruction of the evil and the establishment of the kingdom of righteousness.”

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] We understand that Krishna is one of manifold forms through which the Cosmic Spirit attests. Vyasa speaks of Krishna and Arjuna as actual historic beings.(10.37) Shree Radhakrishnan continues his explanation: “The avatar is the demonstration of man’s spiritual resources and latent divinity. It is not so much the contraction of Divine majesty into the limits of the human frame as the exaltation of human nature to the level of Godhead by its union with the Divine. The Gita also accepts the belief in avatar as the Divine limiting Himself for some purpose on earth, possessing in his limited form the fullness of knowledge, it also lays stress on the eternal avatar, the God in man, the Divine consciousness always present in the human being. The two views reflect the transcendent and the immanent aspects of the Divine and are not to be regarded as incompatible with each other.” (10,20; 18,61) In other religions or spiritual paths one is taught that we are sinners and the Divine descends in order to redeem us, but Hinduism (the Gita) teaches that man is part of the Divine at the same time as the Divine is part of him. So rather than being saved his journey is one of raising his self awareness in order to recognise his true nature. This journey of consciousness is not merely dry intellectual argument but a heartfelt involvement in life, an opening of both heart and mind simultaneously allowing the soul to expand. Shree Radhakrishnan points out, “the Bhagavad-Gita gives us not only a metaphysics (brahmavidya) but also a discipline (yogasastra) that is large, flexible and many sided which includes various phases of the soul’s development and ascent into the Divine.” There is an exposition of three different : theoretical, emotional and practical. They provide a programme of instruction, of training and control of oneself and one’s conduct which may lead to the liberation of one’s soul providing one with a deeper comprehension of the oneness and significance of life. There is the way of knowledge and gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of existence called gnana yoga, is the devotional way and karma the way of action. The beauty of all these though is that nothing is beyond the reach of the common man. Not only is Krishna speaking to each and every one of us (not just the powerful, moneyed or those in high office) He provides us with different paths that may appeal to our different natures. You may think your way to a higher plane of awareness, you may prefer to work your way to salvation, or simply feel your way towards your inner spirit. Within this triangle you may be predisposed to one way of Yoga above the other, or you may find a balance between the three, but there is enough space within it for one and all. Essentially in the Gita Arjuna is beset by fears and doubts and cannot see his way clear to killing so many of his kith, and venerated teachers in a battle for territory and inheritance. He will not engage. His charioteer Krishna informs him it is his duty to fight and he may not renounce his work as a Kshatriya. The conversation moves through phases shifting from an explanation of gnana the intellectual path explored in the Upanishads: these notions are weighed up and the dialogue moves to an exploration of karma, the way of service to mankind, in which one is exhorted to act for the sake of action without placing emphasis upon reward for actions done; then on to bhakti where through sheer love of the Divine self one melts ones individual jiva in the Parmatman and there is thus a seismic shift in spirituality. Famous Indians have moved within this triangular arena and show the way. Shree Sarvapelli Radhakrishnan the philosopher and intellectual, past president of the Republic of India loved the Gita and was in the first instance a gnani. This did not mean he was devoid of devotion, or karma. Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi was a down to earth realist.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] He provided us with a model of non-violent political action for social reform. A model many have attempted to copy around the world. This did not mean he was not an intellectual genius, or a devotee. The bhakti marga finds countless followers in every household in India through daily , recitation of the , devotional songs, and satsangha. Mira Bai the princess poetess is a prime example of devotional love of Krishna. Only eighteen chapters long the Gita has a vast heart with room for all humanity within. In times when doubts and fears assail us like they did Arjuna and we feel bereft, isolated, lost, without purpose or permanence, the Gita is our solace and companion. Those who live life on the surface, skimming along without experiencing the distress and dhukha, the longing and the laceration of spirit, have no desire to seek their spiritual core. Shree Radhakrishanan points out such men are mere human animals, purusapasu. They are born, they grow, they mate, have offspring and die. It is those who have an appreciation of their inner soul, feel the searing scorch of separation, sense the dignity that life in the form of a human has bestowed on them that seek the way of harmony, balance and peace through searching for their true God. To those on the theoretical path He is pure light, the practical see Him as always steadfast, right-minded, honourable, those who love Him perceive him as pure love. In essence the Hindu sees his God as Sat-Chitta-Ananda and any or all of these paths lead to Him. Underlying all three ways is the seminal concept of soul in the Gita. The use of , karma, gnana, bhakti and samsara or reincarnation is elaborated upon in the Gita. Our essence is explained through analogy and metaphor. The Chandogya Upanishad does this in a clear and endearing way through the dialogue between Uddalaka and Svetaketu. The concept of ‘thatness’ is explained and we are informed, ‘you are that’. We learn that the soul in the microcosm is the same as the ‘Spirit in the Sky’: unchanging, everlasting, permanent. We learn of its unchanging verity in the cycle of samsara. We understand that time is cyclical and from the analogy of the salt that dissolves in the bucket of water and later forms crystals of salt we understand the essence of the soul remains the same whatever shape it may take. In Chapter 2 of the Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna the nature of the soul, the Universal Spirit and reincarnation: “Because we all have been for all time: I, and thou, and those kings of men. And we all shall be for all time, we all for ever and ever. As the Spirit of our mortal body wanders on in childhood, and youth and old age, the Spirit wanders on to a new body: of this the sage has no doubts.” 2.12,13 He goes on to say: “As a man leaves an old garment and puts on one that is new, the Spirit leaves his mortal body and then puts on one that is new.” 2.22 And “Invisible is he to mortal eyes, beyond thought and beyond change. Know that he is and cease from sorrow.” 2.25 The first page of the Gita proclaims; ‘Dharm-kshetra Kuru-kshetra.’ The struggle Arjuna faces is two-fold in nature: a stand-off between two warring armies of the Kuru clan, a tale of derring-do; and a deeper dharmic war of right action, thinking and duty in the face of doubts and misgivings that plague all human beings. Surprising as it seems initially, the Gita in essence seeks to preserve the traditional fabric of society: strengthening dharmic action and the performance of one’s duty even if at the expense of seeing off one’s family. Courage we are taught is seminal to a spiritual dharmic life.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Dharma simply defined may mean the moral law by which one must live. Everything in the Universe works in harmony: like some huge wheel the Cosmos spins, each of us represents a smaller interlocking wheel. For every wheel to turn every other wheel must turn in harmony. No man is an island, the Cosmic Order and each life is connected, one with the other. “Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.” 3.16 Arjuna is aware of his dharmic duty and it is precisely on this basis that he finds he has not the power to fight against family and blood so destroying the social order upon which the fabric of society and his world is based. His is a deep dilemma indeed and he is as it were between a rock and a hard place. “ The destruction of a family destroys its rituals of righteousness, and when the righteous rituals are no more, unrighteousness overcomes the whole family. 1.40 Those evil deeds of the destroyers of a family, which cause this social disorder, destroy the righteousness of birth and the ancestral rituals of righteousness.” 1.43 It is when we are in a similar place that the Gita comes to our rescue. Its message is this: when a given model breaks up (due to whatever reasons and they may be many) when all security has fled and one is alone, really alone then the situation needs to be assessed and addressed intuitively. This takes courage, but the threefold basis of Truth, Dharma and Brahman are the basis of one’s judgement. Mahatma Ghandhi’s reading of the Gita is immortal. In his words, ‘God is Truth’. He acted upon this belief, a warrior to his last breath. The basis for decisions in such a dharmic conflict is non-attachment; for decisions taken on the basis of not being connected on the physical level result in right action.

The relief of suffering is multilayered; by ones inaction(s) one may be increasing suffering. Arjuna thinks he is moved by , a compassion that drives him to deny his duty to fight as a Kshatriya, but Krishna says whether he kills these men or not they are all dead already. In effect this is chaos (). This chaos is before him in the physical presence of armies composed of his kith and past teachers who have usurped his clan and mental chaos in that these lives are not in his hands, but in the hands of the Almighty, he is merely God’s instrument. It is only when he can chose freely to do his duty with the Truth of the Cosmic Reality before him, is he carrying out his Dharmic Karma. He has to let go the model upon which he has previously made assumptions of moral actions and dutiful dealings, he looks at himself anew as a human being: a soldier without being cousin, nephew or student. He is truly alone and the only one with him his is Divine mentor. No wonder fear assails him; the truth of life is the terror of being alone. In yoga terms the in breath is our dharma and the out breath is a letting go of our ego. A popular I recall from the days of my childhood reinforces this message: ‘Tu nirdosh tujhe kya dar hai. Pag, pag par saathi hai. (If)You are without fault, why fear. At every step, your companion is Isvara - the Lord.) Arjuna battles his own ego: his task, to extricate himself from the entire web of his thinking patterns which are designed to harness his sense of identity and his perception of the world. Almost universally acknowledged are the easily defined parameters of right and wrong along the lines of what constitutes stealing or murder and these patent wrongs are then easily dispensed with along the lines of right action and dharmic law. But Krishna in the Gita looks beyond this simplistic interpretation. He asks us to look from the outside in and then build our laws on this vision before acting.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Arjuna’s consciousness moves from a place of stagnant of non-action where he views the world from a cultural premise which has socialised him within a framework. He has to decide in favour of a higher gain which is equal to the gain of his higher conscious awareness. His arguments in favour of inaction court inertia: a tamsic consciousness. His brief is to do, to take action to serve consciously without attachment a move to the rajasic state. Dharma we understand calls for conscious action which is accompanied by tapas the fire of sacrifice without which it would be actions undertaken in an automatic mode devoid of feeling, meaning or value. Krishna advises him: it is by fulfilling his duties not his fantasies that Arjuna will be able to hold the fabric of his society together. The opening question (upakrama) of the Gita is Arjuna’s refusal to fight. He justifies this refusal with many plausible arguments and the raising of many difficulties putting forward notions of retreat from the world – ideals which were current at the time of the Gita. Krishna’s purpose is to convert him and the question posed is whether action or renunciation of action is better. It is concluded that action is better. Arjuna is persuaded, ends his recalcitrance and moves into battle. The emphasis on action is reiterated throughout the text. (2.18,37; 3.19; 4.15; 8.7; 11.33; 16.24; 18.6.72). Krishna does not advocate the world is to be dismissed as an illusion and therefore action derided as a karmic snare, but recommends a full active life within the world expounding the four stages of life as stated in the Vedas while keeping the inner life grounded in the unchanging reality. Thus the Gita is an imperative for action. Its intent is to explain what a man ought to do not merely as a social being but as an individual with a spiritual destiny. It takes a balanced view of renunciation as well as the ceremonial piety of the times. All is worked into the grand tapestry of ethical conduct. Samkhya in the Gita is equated with gnana which requires one to renounce action. The well known view is that created beings are bound by karma or action and saved by knowledge. Every deed whether good or bad produces its natural effect and involves embodiment in the world and is an obstacle to liberation. Every deed confirms the sense of ego and individuality of the one who does setting in motion a new cycle of events. Hence an argument is put forward for retiring from the world of action and becoming a Sanyasin. The Gita however sees liberation through action; that is it proposes through work in the world we might obtain complete release from it and the cycles of death and rebirth. The Isa Upanishad explains: ‘Only actions done in God bind not the soul of man.’ How can we justify ourselves in renouncing the world and cultivating pious thoughts with one aspect of the mind, while dismissing the needs of humanity at large when those ‘gifts’ that have been bestowed upon us by the Universal Intelligence and belonging ultimately to Creation remain unused in the service of Life. The Gita asks that we live in this world and serve humanity. Krishna points out (4.17) the extreme subtlety of the doing process; it is not possible for us to abstain from work; Prakriti is action and ceaselessly at work; we deceive ourselves if we fancy that its events may be obstructed. Cessation from work is not desirable either; inertia is not freedom. Clearly there is more to karma yoga than mere action. Action of itself is not freeing either, it is merely making the motions; it is the motive or desire infusing and prompting its performance that imbues the action with worth. As long as action is taken founded on a false premise, it binds the individual soul. Ignorance and altruism are incompatible bedfellows and a lack of conscious awareness harnesses the soul to the cycle of rebirth and death. Renunciation means an absence of desire. The Gita poses the hardest of tasks to us yet; it asks us to renounce desire, but to live in the world.

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Which is why when we are troubled and find ourselves truly alone as the problem exists for us and us alone it is the individual at the sharp point who must act, for if he does not then those motivations that imbue a worthwhile action in the field outside of the body, will turn in upon the body and enact their judgement upon his internal environment. To understand that warfare for the sake of warfare is being endorsed is to miss the point. The fratricidal war happens to be the occasion for guidance from Guru to chela, the circumstance is used to drive home the message: the spirit in which all work is done is of importance not the work itself, nor its rewards. This is not the first war that Arjuna has engaged in and therefore he is not asking for guidance on the rights and wrongs of warfare, he is after all a warrior, it is simply because this time he faces an enemy that he may call family. He is sensible of the horrors a war inflicts upon those engaged and it fills him with a sense of revulsion and refusal to act according to his duty. So to take this instance as a basis for a debate on violence and non-violence () would be erroneous for that would be to make of him what he is not. He does not refuse to fight due to some development of spiritual enlightenment or sattvaguna but because he faces those who were once friends and now are enemies and therefore in ignorance of the true state of affairs and passion (rajasic avidya) (18.7,8) he finds himself plunged into a morass of inertia. He is angry at life having embroiled him in circumstances that ask him to dig deeper than the surface issues of being a soldier on a battlefield. Arjuna admits he is overcome by weakness and ignorance (2.7). This is not to say that Krishna does not teach ahimsa or non-violence in the Gita. This ideal is set before us in the description of the perfect state of mind, speech and body in Chapter 7 and of the devotees mind in Chapter 12. Krishna advocates Arjuna fight without passion or ill-will, without anger or attachment and by developing such a frame of mind he will find violence becomes impossible. One may wonder how it is possible to kill people on the battlefield in a state of peace and beatitude, but we need to remember this setting is taken as an illustration. The lesson is we needs must fight against what is wrong, but if we allow ourselves to hate we ensure our spiritual defeat. We are obliged to engage in painful work, but to develop a sense of separate ego from the Universal One is to move into a downward spiral. Each individual needs to grow upward from the point at which he is. And by performing ones duties mindfully, wholeheartedly and with devotion while cultivating a sense of detachment makes for perfection in action. Our actions are congruent with our nature, our goal is lokasamgraha, oneness of all life or world maintenance. Such a Karma-yogin through right action, right thought, and right motivation finds wisdom which is the goal of life: But greater than any earthly sacrifice is the sacrifice of sacred wisdom. For wisdom is in truth the end of all holy work. 4.33 The Gita’s upasamahara or conclusion of the yoga of action is Dharmic karma without attachment. Krishna says: He who works not for an earthly reward, but does the work to be done, he is a Sanyasi, he is a Yogi: not he who lights not the sacred fire or offers not the holy sacrifice. 6.1 He goes on to say: When the sage climbs the heights of Yoga, he follows the path of work; but when he reaches the heights of Yoga, he is in the land of peace. 6.3

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Krishnajee clarifies that the path of action is for that seeker on the yoga marg who is able to ‘be present’ and act in the present without his sights on some future reward. Once this difficult path becomes effortless then the seeker becomes the sage and he is in the land of peace. Aum Shantih.

Gnana-Yoga In the Gita the Gnani learns of his individual soul and Prakriti: the one changeless, permanent, indwelling the other before him manifest in the material world while at the same time encasing ‘him’ in a body that is part of the manifest world. The two are quite distinct. Prakriti’s essence is by its very nature continual change: change on the outside and on the individual level of ‘my body’, ‘my senses’, ‘my mind’, ‘my intellect’. This is the within which events occur. Beyond these two is the third and higher principle of God: the Universal Intelligence, the Cosmic Order. This third is immanent in the soul as well as the material world, yet transcends them both. When this truth in its infinite complications is realised one may truly term such an intellectual a Gnani and masterful sage of the Yoga of Knowledge. Gnana may be seen as twofold: the minutiae of intellectual perfection being lower knowledge and Spiritual wisdom the higher. Albeit at two levels these are not discontinuous for we know that every science after its own fashion reflects a higher wisdom, a facet of the immutable truth of which anything of any ‘reality’ incorporates. The scientific mode of discriminative knowledge is the building block for a higher understanding for each scientific truth is but a brick in the wall of the whole truth. Each brushstroke or scientific fact illumines a partial picture, and at the same time allows the mind to understand that there is much more to the full truth or picture. Step by step the darkness is dispelled, light is thrown upon that which we do know, and we gain a conception of that which we do not. In the Gita Krishna edges Arjuna towards the brink of the beauty of the whole, but in the end has to bestow him with divine sight to enable his comprehension, for it is beyond the abilities of his human vision. Similarly we are unable to comprehend the immenseness of Gnana from our puny intellectual strivings and it is only when through these struggles we develop spiritual wisdom are we able to appreciate the fullness of knowledge which becomes wisdom. Along this path, as on the path of Karma Yoga, the Gnani or seeker needs must develop jijnasa or disinterested passion for knowledge: it is the attitude of mind once more that is seminal to development. It is this which lifts man out of his circumscribed conditions and limitations allowing him to subsume the individual self in the contemplation of the Universal principles of existence. Knowledge for the sake of power or fame eventually stumbles and falls. It is the selfless seeker who attains the pure spirit of the heights of Gnana. The Gita explores the philosophy of Samkhya in order to investigate principles of reality transcending those of any particular science and modifies it along the way. Samkhya speaks of the duality of Purusa (self) and Prakriti (not self). In the Gita they both become subordinate to God. Selves are many, remaining forever disparate; it is the Self which is the permanent entity underlying all of the changes in conscious life. It is not the soul in the usual sense but the pure inactive, self luminous principle which is neither derived from, nor dependent upon, nor determined by the world, but is singular and at the same time integral to it all. We are not that self, but we posses that self and may become that self. Prakriti in itself is also a prime element which is in its initial form embryonic matter with all its components in perfect balance and hence or the unmanifested. The evolution of prakriti gives rise to the gross and the subtle in the manifest world: mental

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] and material phenomena. It is said to be composed of rope like strands or gunas, three in number which become apparent in a variety of ratios resulting in a plethora of actual existence. They are termed or lightness, movement or and heaviness or tamas. In the subtle realm of mentation they present as goodness, passion and dullness. It is when the soul understands it is not bound forever by Prakriti it finds freedom. In the Gita the duality of Purusha and Prakriti merge to present the True nature of the Highest Principle, God. Avidya or evil is caused by being ensnared in the gunas. The gunas are the shackles which hold the soul upon this material plane. Dependent upon the predominance of the guna the soul rises or falls, advances or descends. To know that the self is ensnared and then to be able to choose not to be fettered by the overwhelming desire to act accordingly is to find release from bondage. In everyday life we merely skim the surface of this knowledge as passions rage within us and without pause for thought we jump in, regretting ever after an action unprepared. The endeavour then is to achieve complete awareness of body, mind (thoughts/emotions) and actions so we may notice the discord within us caused by the unequal presence of the gunas and work to achieve an harmonious balance before action. A tall order for generally we end up compromising and therefore subsuming some emotion which may surface later in an unguarded moment causing strife on more than one level. To be master of oneself is to be above temptation. How many of us may claim this beatific state. Certainly, not I. Arjuna in the Gita was subject to temptations. It is only in stillness that the soul finds peace and man gains insight. While encased in the human body (Prakriti or movement) such stillness is almost impossible. The Gita gives an instance of how one may come close to such stillness, by avoiding bodily excess, finding a place free from distractions, seeking a comfortable seat, regulating the breath and making the mind one pointed in order to become harmonised and a yukta – one in God. Such systematic practice may result in siddhis which are seen as distractions on the path. To practice one-pointedness with such supernatural prowess as the aim is vanity for such antics are spiritually void. The Gita advocates inner evolvement and Lord Krishna as aids us in life, guiding us along the spiritual path, helping us to find a way beyond the fetters of flesh and highlights it’s true relation to the problems of daily life.

Bhakti Marga Devotion or Bhakti is the opening of the heart, a conscious and concentrated connection of love and trust with a personal God (Ishta Devata). To worship the unseen is not easy for ordinary human beings, yet the mass of Indians find this the most accessible path and in each home there is a puja room. Great warmth and emotion is poured into daily worship and so the soul expands. If the path of Gnana suits the intellectual, the path of Bhakti is open to all from the high to the low, from the educated to the illiterate from the enlightened to the ignorant. For all those who come to me for shelter, however weak or humble or sinful they may be – women or Vaisyas or Sudras – they all reach the Path supreme. 9.32 And Not by the Vedas or an austere life, or gifts to the poor, Or ritual offerings can I be seen as thou has seen me. Only by love can men see me, and know me, and come unto me. 11.53,54

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] Also consider the opening verses of Chapter 12. To sacrifice ones love is not as effortful as seeking to go beyond the limitations of the flesh through disciplined thinking, or ever-mindful dharmic action. In which ancient eon did Bhakti find its beginnings? How may one say? We find hymnals of praise and prayerful worship in the Rg Veda, the of the Upanishads and since then inner piety has been part of Indian culture. It runs seamlessly throughout the Gita for we have before us not a distant, cold, unforgiving God unmoved by human passions, endeavours and quandaries but a caring concerned guide and mentor who receives and gives love in return. He assures us, ‘For this is my word of promise that he who loves me shall not perish.’ In the Gita Bhakti is pure bhakti, it does not include any yoga techniques, nor does it incorporate any intellectual contemplation or self analysis. Through love of Him the human soul cleaves to God. The devotee through remembrance of Him along every step of the life path dwells upon his wisdom, goodness and power with a devoted heart. He speaks of his qualities incessantly, swapping stories, relishing repeatedly tales of his birth, pranks, loves, life, and sayings. He sings in praise of Him, alone and with others. His life is an outpouring of pure love for his God. Everything he does is done in service of Him and humanity. The devotee’s entire life is centred and directed around and towards God. Adoration becomes the of the spiritual life. In return God says, ‘I abide not in heaven nor in the hearts of ; I dwell where My devotees sing My glory.’ There are innumerable tales of such devotion within Hinduism which stir young hearts and give them role models to follow, which is one reason India continues to produce saints across the social divide. Bhakti in its pure essence leads to Gnana or wisdom. Pure magic, this is the gift of their beloved Bhagavan. The Gita enlarges and embellishes the devotee’s path to Divinity for it is an utter giving of the self to the Self and nothing is held back. Bhakti is its own reward for at all times it carries with it the knowledge and energy of the perfect human being that ever dwelt. This pervades the soul to the extent the lover becomes one with his Beloved.

CONCLUSION There are those who are familiar with the Gita as part of the Mahabharata and those who are not; there are those who have read or heard it as part of the longer epic telling of the warring clans and Lord Krishna’s involvement and those who have not. There are many who have read the Gita lifted out of its setting and seen beauty, value and meaning in it. Read in isolation the Gita is a philosophical dialogue with a peripheral plot and no substantial story, yet it speaks to humanity across caste, creed and race. It is this that marks it out as a true classic over and above other philosophical dialogues and truly it is a song to the Adorable One. * Not only is the Bhagavad-Gita pre-Christian; but it is also pre-Buddhistic as well. That the Bhagavad-Gita is pre-Buddhistic can be determined by the fact that no where is there any reference to Buddhism. Whereas in the Buddhist scripture Niddesa written in 4 B.C. in the Pali Canon is found reference to the worship of Vasudeva and Baladeva, who are Krishna and respectively. Although some scholars surmise that the mention of nirvana six times gives them reason to assume that this might be contrary. The word nirvana is always compounded with the word as in brahma-nirvanam meaning identified with the Ultimate truth or with the word paramam as in nirvana-paramam meaning identified with the Supreme. In Buddhism the word nirvana is used to mean

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected] extinguished or dissolved in terms of loss of separate existence. As the word nirvana by itself is also used in the Mahabharata in the sense of extinction it can be determined that the Buddhists received this concept of nirvana from earlier Vedic scriptures. (http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:HHxD6x0ZXN4J:www.bhagavad- gita.org/Gita/intro.html+Krishna+mentioned+in+the+Niddesa&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk )

Mascaro Juan The Bhagavadgita Penguin Classics 1962 Mascaro Juan Upanishads Penguin Books 1965 McArthur Tom Yoga and the Bhagavadgita The Aquarian Press 1986 Radhakrishnan The Bhagavadgita George Allen and Unwin 1976 http://www.vedah.com/org2/literature/rig_veda/gods_of_veda/bhaga_savitri.html#top http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rGB5hTCTzZoC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=Vaisna viya+Tantrasara&source=bl&ots=4xNLk2FyED&sig=5afK7wPDCVuZubEmAeZMsZ- x5sA&hl=en&ei=Pxm-SvPjPN- hjAfl0PEl&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=Vaisnaviya%20 Tantrasara&f=false http://mahabharata-resources.org/harivamsa/vishnuparva/hv_2_019.html http://www.interfaith.org/hinduism/bhagavad_gita/bhagavad_gita_18.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavata_Purana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saini http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:oazorHdKSzQJ:www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/srirangas ri/archives/srsvol/msg00127.html+Rg+Veda+4.26&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client =firefox-a http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/vedic-upanisads/vedic-archeology.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna

Understanding The Gita: One Woman’s Quest By Sangeet Bird. Email: [email protected]