Bhagavad˗Gita
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THE BHAGAVAD˗GITA WITH NOTES ON THE BHAGAVAD-GITA GITA YOGA THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY Other Theosophy Trust Books by H.P. Blavatsky The Key to Theosophy The Voice of the Silence The Secret Doctrine, Vols. I & II by Raghavan Iyer Wisdom in Action The Dawning of Wisdom Meditation and Self-Study The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by William Q. Judge The Ocean of Theosophy by Elton Hall Teachers of the Eternal Doctrine by Helen Valborg Symbols of the Eternal Doctrine by the Editorial Board of Theosophy Trust Evolution and Intelligent Design in The Secret Doctrine The Origins of Self-Consciousness in The Secret Doctrine Theosophy ~ The Wisdom Religion THE BHAGAVAD˗ GITA BY WILLIAM Q. JUDGE WITH NOTES ON THE BHAGAVAD-GITA GITA YOGA THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY BY WILLIAM Q. JUDGE ROBERT CROSBIE RAGHAVAN IYER H. P. BLAVATSKY THEOSOPHY TRUST BOOKS NORFOLK, VA THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Copyright © March 10, 2017 by Theosophy Trust All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical - including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Theosophy Trust books may be ordered through Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com, and other retail outlets, or by visiting: http://www.theosophytrust.org/online_books.php ISBN-13: 978-0-9916182-8-6 ISBN-10: 0-9916182-8-9 Library of Congress Control Number 2017936635 Printed in the United States of America Cover Illustration: Unknown artist, The Love of Krishna and Radha, painting on camel bone, 2013, Uddhaipur, Rajasthan, India. From the private collection of Theosophy Trust. DEDICATION Dedicated to all who seek that supernal light of the Divine that shines in the depths of their own hearts. All human beings, every day of their lives, are involved unconsciously in the quest for wisdom. When they become postulants or neophytes, they are put on a preliminary probation and can be received as disciples only after they have completed preliminary qualifications. All of these involve a reorientation of their basic outlook in relation to who they are, why they were born, their attitude to the moment of death, where they are going, the meaning of every relationship, and above all whether they are ready to pledge themselves irreversibly towards that which they find irresistible – the great thrill that accompanies the light of daring lit up in the heart, the thrill of compassionate service to the whole of suffering humanity. Raghavan Iyer Concord House, November 1985 TABLE OF CONTENTS THE BHAGAVAD-GITA BY WILLIAM Q JUDGE ANTECEDENT WORDS ........................................................................ 1 CHAPTER I THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA .............................. 9 CHAPTER II DEVOTION THROUGH APPLICATION TO THE SPECULATIVE DOCTRINES ......................................................... 12 CHAPTER III DEVOTION THROUGH THE RIGHT PERFORMANCE OF ACTION ...................................................... 20 CHAPTER IV DEVOTION THROUGH SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE ............................................................ 24 CHAPTER V DEVOTION BY MEANS OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION ..................................................... 28 CHAPTER VI DEVOTION BY MEANS OF SELF-RESTRAINT ..... 32 CHAPTER VII DEVOTION BY MEANS OF SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT ......................................................... 37 CHAPTER VIII DEVOTION TO THE OMNIPRESENT SPIRIT NAMED AS OM ............................................................................... 40 CHAPTER IX DEVOTION BY MEANS OF THE KINGLY KNOWLEDGE AND THE KINGLY MYSTERY .......................... 43 CHAPTER XI VISION OF THE DIVINE FORM AS INCLUDING ALL FORMS ....................................................... 50 CHAPTER XII DEVOTION BY MEANS OF FAITH ........................ 56 CHAPTER XIII DEVOTION BY MEANS OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA FROM KSHETRAJNA ..................................... 58 CHAPTER XIV DEVOTION BY MEANS OF SEPARATION FROM THE THREE QUALITIES ................................................................ 62 CHAPTER XV DEVOTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUPREME SPIRIT ............................................................................. 65 CHAPTER XVI DEVOTION THROUGH DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN GODLIKE AND DEMONIACAL NATURES .......... 68 CHAPTER XVII DEVOTION AS REGARDS THE THREE KINDS OF FAITH .............................................................. 71 CHAPTER XVIII DEVOTION AS REGARDS RENUNCIATION AND FINAL LIBERATION ............................................................. 74 NOTES ON THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Preface ...................................................................................................... 81 Chapter I The Despondency Of Arjuna .............................................. 82 Chapter II Devotion Through Application to the Speculative Doctrines ..................................................................... 103 Chapter III Devotion Through The Right Performance Of Action .................................................................. 128 Chapter IV Devotion Through Spiritual Knowledge ...................... 140 Chapter V Devotion by Means of Renunciation of Action............. 148 Chapter VI Devotion by Means of Self-Restraint ............................ 154 Chapter VII Devotion by Means of Spiritual Discernment ............ 157 Chapter VIII Devotion to the Omnipresent Spirit Named as OM.................................................................................. 164 Chapter IX Devotion by Means of the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery ................................................................. 169 Chapter X Devotion by Means of the Universal Divine Perfections ......................................................... 175 Chapter XI Vision of the Divine Form As Including All Forms .......................................................................................... 178 Chapter XII Devotion by Means of Faith .......................................... 183 Chapter XIII Devotion by Means of the Discrimination of the Kshetra from Kshetrajna ................................................................ 187 Chapter XIV Devotion by Means of Separation from the Three Qualities ................................................................................ 192 Chapter XV Devotion Through Knowledge of the Supreme Spirit ................................................................................. 196 Chapter XVI Devotion Through Discriminating Between Godlike and Demoniacal Natures ................................................ 199 Chapter XVII Devotion as Regards the Three Kinds of Faith ....... 204 Chapter XVIII Devotion as Regards Renunciation and Final Liberation ............................................................................... 210 GĪTĀ YOGA GĪTĀ YOGA ............................................................................................ 217 THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY ................................................................... 255 Editor's Preface "A mighty spirit moves through the pages of the Bhagavad-Gita. It has the seductive influence of beauty; yet, like strength, it fills one as with the sound of armies assembling or the roar of great waters. Appealing alike to the warrior and the philosopher, it shows to the one the righteousness of lawful action, and to the other the calmness which results to him who has reached inaction through action." So wrote William Q. Judge in the opening remarks to his Notes on the Bhagavad- Gita, the second book included in this volume. These words of Mr. Judge remind us of the fundamental importance of learning one of the most basic lessons of human life: how to perform our actions so that we are not further bound by the bonds of karma, and therefore become capable – over time – of acting for the sake of all beings. This teaching goes to the heart of the human predicament; what is the most basic lesson for human beings to learn is also the most difficult. Addressing as it does this issue, it is no wonder that the Gita should be one of the most widely studied and published works ever written. Today, there are dozens of renditions of the Gita – ranging from superb to useful – available to the student of the Wisdom Religion; Amazon.com shows 20 pages at least of various translations, renditions, and interpretations, among them a Bhagavad-Gita For Beginners, a Bhagavad-Gita For Children, even a Bhagavad-Gita for Dummies and a Bhagavad-Gita board game (the Mahabharatan War game). Given this saturation of Gita books in the marketplace, why yet another entry into a crowded field? The answer is simply because the three works incorporated into this Theosophy Trust volume – Mr. Judge's The Bhagavad-Gita, his Notes on the Bhagavad-Gita, and a superb essay on the Gita entitled Gītā Yoga by Sri Raghavan Iyer – form a unique and powerful guide both for Beginners, Children, Dummies, and for all students of the spiritual life whose deepest concern in life is walking the Path to wisdom. This book, in short, meets a real need among all these aspirants to spiritual knowledge. The notion that there is such a Path to wisdom – that it is real, that it is ancient and constant and somewhat esoteric, but that it may be found by anyone who exercises their heart-light and their rational faculties – has gained much currency in this 21st Century. This was not always so. Such an idea would have been widely