A Guide to Bhagavad Gita K. Aravinda Rao A Guide to Bhagavad Gita K. Aravinda Rao First Edition : March, 2015 Price : Rs: 90/- $ 4.99 ISBN : 978-93-85231-55-1 Printers: Ritunestham Press Hyderabad Published by EMESCO BOOKS 1-2-7, Banoo Colony, Distributors Gagan Mahal Road, Domalguda SAHITHI PRACHURANALU Hyderabad : 500 029. 29-13-53, Kaleswararao Road, Phone & Fax : 040-23264028 Surayarao Peta, Vijayawada-2 e-mail : [email protected], Phone: 0866-2436643 www.emescobooks.com e-mail: [email protected] Dedication to My Mother Annapurnamma whose love and blessings have been my strength Contents Transliteration key 5 Foreword 7 Introduction 9 1. The Yoga of Arjuna’s Anguish 19 2. The Yoga of Knowledge 27 3. The Yoga of Action 53 4. The Yoga of Wisdom and Renunciation of Action 67 5. The Yoga of Renunciation 81 6. The Yoga of Meditation 92 7. The Yoga of Knowledge and Realization 104 8. The Yoga of Imperishable Brahman 116 9. The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret 130 10. The Yoga of Divine Manifestations 141 11. The Yoga of Revelation of Cosmic Form 148 12. The Yoga of Devotion 155 13. The Yoga of Field and Field-Knower 163 14. The Yoga of Three-Fold Guna-s 177 15. The Yoga of Attaining the Supreme Being 183 16. The Yoga of Divine and Demonic Attributes 190 17. The Yoga of Three-Fold Dedication 197 18. The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation 203 19. Glossary 217 20. Index 226 Transliteration key The International Alphabet for Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) has been used to denote the Sanskrit words written in Devanagari script. IAST is the most widely used key, which is also explained on the web. A brief table is given. However, it is adviced to learn the exact sounds from a teacher. as in a k cut/kite ṭa touch अ sun क ट Book-house, ‘k’ combined ā bald kha ṭha anthill आ ख with ठ aspiration ‘h’ इ i bit ग ga gun ड ḍa Dull Pig-head, the Godhead, sound ‘g’ in Ī beat gha ḍha aspiration as ई घ ‘gun’ with ढ above aspiration ‘h’. under u put ṅa Lung ṇa उ ङ ण (retroflex) ऊ ū tool च ca chunk त ta Path The sound ‘th’ in ‘thumb’ ṛ rhythm cha catch-hold tha ऋ छ थ combined with aspiration ‘h’ ए e date ज ja Jug द da Then Hedgehog, The sound ‘th’ ऐ ai might झ jha ‘j’ with ध dha in ‘thus’ plus aspiration aspiration ओ o Oat ञ ña bunch न na number औ au out प pa pot य ya yet ष ṣa shun Soup-hunt, फ pha aspiration as र ra run स sa Sun above ब ba but ल la love ह ha Hall kṣa, combines Abhor, the ‘k’ भ bha aspiration as व va voice क्ष in ‘king’ rikshaw above with the sound ‘sh’ in Shaw म ma much श śa sat ज्ञ jña Foreword The Bhagavad Gita is the most important religious text for Hindus. We call it ‘the most important text’ because we have several texts of almost equal importance. This is because Hinduism was not originated by a single prophet or a sage at any one point of time as in the case of the western religions. It evolved over a few centuries. Several sages had composed several texts during that period and all those are taken as important texts. We, however, study this text as it is a concise summary of the entire Hindu philosophy. There are several books in English that explain the message of the present text, the Gita, but most of them fall into three types: Elaborate texts that give the Sanskrit commentaries with English translations, which are only for a determined reader, Books written by eminent Swamijis and writers which give the essence of Gita, from the ethical and moral point of view, avoiding the philosophical discussions in the text, and Self-improvement books, that dwell on the management principles and personality development, intended for a ‘modern’ reader, who is presumed to have a delicate intellectual appetite. Books of the first type are primary works which convey the doctrine, particularly the commentaries in original. Those of the second type are by Sanskrit scholars who belong to the mainstream but who have chosen not to get into serious discussions. Books of the third type are by those modern professionals who may or may not be acquainted with the original texts, but who have an inter-disciplinary approach and who address the modern reader. There seem to be very few books which tell about the philosophical discussions in Gita, such as the nature of human being, nature of the divine, questions on creation and such others to the inquisitive reader in simple terms. There are several keen students who wish to know their philosophical tradition but who do not find books within their comprehension. I had made several attempts to study the text with commentaries, but kept it aside in reverence, hoping to read it at a later date. The commentaries require guidance of a teacher, because the Gita is not an introductory text on Vedanta. The subject is a śāstra, a science, with its own terminology and definitions. A study of this is essential to answer any questions which even the children may ask. I have tried to explain these in simple terms (though I have avoided serious philosophical debates). Hence, I feel, this book has some justification. This book is intended for a student who may have no acquaintance with Vedanta. It will be of immediate help to one who has earlier attempted to study the Gita and has found it somewhat abstruse and remote. A preliminary knowledge of Sanskrit will, however, help him, though I have explained all the concepts. The glossary of frequently used terms in the text will be of use to the reader. I am grateful to my teachers Mahamahopadhyaya, Padmasri Prof. Sri Pullela Sriramachandrudu, Swami Sri Tattvavidananda Saraswati and to late Sri Mudigonda Venkatarama Sastry for their teachings and lectures which have helped me in understanding the text. ❈ ❈ ❈ Introduction 1. The Place of the Gita among the Sacred Texts Though theBhagavad Gita is the most important text, the Vedas are the most primary texts for the Hindus. TheVedas were a vast mass of hymns, rituals and discussions about the nature of the Supreme Reality, or God as we call It. They were all said to be revelations to several sages during their meditations on the nature of reality. Rig Veda is the oldest record of mankind. Sage Vyasa is said to have organized the whole mass of Vedic literature into four texts. We normally call the human being a rational animal, a political animal and so on, but he is also a religious animal. Most people seek some divine help in times of distress or try to see some divine hand in the magnificent harmony of the universe. Most people seek rituals and some form of worship, while some others are contemplative by nature and try to speculate on more subtle issues about reality. The Vedas take into account all these aspects of human nature. The initial portions of theVedas describe prayers and rituals. Later they move on to describe the meditative practices for self-discipline and at the end they speculate on the nature of the Supreme. The end portions of theVedas are called the Upanishads. These constitute the core philosophy of Hinduism. Most of the religious texts are in Sanskrit but many portions of the Vedas are in the older form of Sanskrit, known as the Vedic Sanskrit. These texts make a tough reading even for a scholar in Sanskrit. Thanks to later commentators that we are able to know these texts. It was therefore necessary to communicate the philosophy of Upanishads to the common man through a more understandable medium. Sage Vyasa took this responsibility on himself. He composed the huge epic the Mahabharata with hundred thousand verses and another huge epic Srimad Bhagavatam with eighteen thousand verses. Mahabharata is the largest epic of mankind and it is encyclopedic in range. It contains hundreds of sub-plots, stories, discussions on political and ethical issues and extensive philosophical passages. The present text, the Bhagavad Gita, is one such philosophical passage. Thus it is not an independent book but a tiny portion of the great epic. It has seven hundred verses, covering about forty printed pages. It is in the form of dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. Krishna is god in human form (about which I will explain later) and Arjuna is a warrior in the battle field, facing a dilemma about his duty. Krishna gives a comprehensive picture of the human situation, the nature of Supreme Reality and the right attitude to one’s socially assigned duty. The Gita is a mere passage but we find voluminous commentaries. The reason can be understood thus. Imagine a conversation between two experts in any field of knowledge, involving use of terminology unique to their field. A common man, however intelligent he may be, would require an introduction to the subject and concepts, besides some explanation of the terms. The case of theGita is same. We may note the following points: Both Krishna and Arjuna were educated in the Vedas and other scriptures as part of their kṣatriya (ruling class) educational regimen. (A kṣatriya’s field of study included four subjects – logic (which gives analytical ability), the Vedas (which gives spiritual discipline), economics, and jurisprudence. All these are needed for a ruler). It was only 10 Introduction that Arjuna was temporarily confounded by his attachment and sentimentalism and Krishna had to reorient him.