Gita Explained Gita Explained by DNYANESHWAR MAHARAJ Translated into English by Manu Subedar, B. A., B. Sc. (Econ.) London, BARRISTER-AT-LAW. SECOND EDITION 1941 Printed at The Associated Advertisers & Printers, Ltd., 505, Arthur Road, Tardeo, Bombay 7, and Published by Manu Subedar, Pali Hill, Bandra. Price Rs. 5-0-0. (Paper bound: Rs. 4/8) CONTENTS. Page. Introduction to Second Edition 5 Introduction to First Edition 15 Chapter One 57 " Two 59 " Three 71 " Four 81 " Five 89 " Six 94 ,. Seven 105 " Eight 113 " Nine 123 " Ten 148 " Eleven 160 " Twelve 175 " Thirteen 183 " Fourteen 220 " Fifteen 231 " Sixteen 248 " Seventeen 262 " Eighteen 273 GITA EXPLAINED By Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Introduction to the Second Edition- On human problems what was said in the Introduction to the. first edition in February, 1932 (pp. 27/28) would make very interesting reading. The human world is in great trouble. The statesmen of the world are still talking of 'civilisation' and the possibility of its being destroyed. This is the result of the abandonment, in the dealings of different groups of human beings with one another, of the tenets of all the moral teachers of mankind. No good man has ever lived on this globe and preached anything, who has not preached kindness, consideration of humanity and fairness in the dealings with others. Europe, for the last three centuries in her dealings with the people of the five continents, has shown an adherence to greed and cruelty and to the use of force. The states of Europe are now adopting towards each other exactly the rule of the jungle, which they adopted towards peoples in the five continents of the world, and they are bent upon total war or complete destruction. On the material plane, on which life has been lived. statesmanship has been bankrupt, and the organization and conduct of human society has failed. It is in times of such cataclysm that thoughtful men turn for guidance inwards. They realise that the fruits of violence are bitter, that the triumphs are short-lived, that the success is empty, and that the greatest good of the greatest number cannot be achieved thus. The Indian mind deriving inspiration from Indian tradition, sees that there can be no lasting peace, and the best qualities, which ennoble humanity, cannot be brought to the surface until greed and injustice are eliminated, until artificial barriers of race and colour are demolished and until the claims of common humanity are acknowledged as supreme. It is the sovereignty of the divine law, which has to be enthroned, and the first principle of that law is what was preached in the Sermon on the Mount and what is instinct and living in every page of the Gita as explained by Dnyaneshwara Maharaj. The translator does not consider himself a proper guide for those, who have set out on the path of spiritual development. But he has something to say. to those, who are sceptics and unbelievers. Introduction 6 SPIRITUAL AWAKENING Intense interest in certain things can give place to indifference towards the same things. Men, who had a hobby of collecting stamps or curios, have been known to lose interest in such hobby and to wonder how they could have been so thoroughly absorbed in so useless and futile a pursuit. Men, who play cards, are absorbed in the game. Some of them are more absorbed in the game when they play for money. From this close absorption, a man is immediately brought to a world of greater reality, -when he learns that the car, that was carrying his wife and children, had met with an accident. A man with a severe headache would have no interest in jokes or even in juicy scandals. By the very standards of those, who live on the material plane and in the material world, it can hardly be denied that there are some things more absorbing and more important than others. In human psychology on the very lowest planes there are mental changes. Criminals, who have been made warders, men who are selected or elected, men who hold office, men who become trustees, and men who go and work in a representative capacity, do as a matter of fact adapt themselves mentally to their new station and behave on the whole in a superior manner. The change evokes qualities, which they themselves often did not suspect. Could it be said then that, when enlightenment dawns and when the mystery of existence unfolds itself and gives the clue, however dimly, that the real self is not the body, but the Soul, whose laws and conditions are different from that of the body, there would be no change in consciousness? Most sages do not disclose their spiritual developments. In fact they are enjoying them and they behave outwardly in all respects exactly a~ the others behave. Spiritual life is one's own individual affair. It shows itself not in words, but in actions. The accused, the judge and the tribunal are all the same. It is a matter of self- examination and self-analysis. The ordinary machinery of the mind is controlled and directed towards constantly higher and higher purposes. This is done by a consciousness superior to the mind, by the awakening of the Self. It is further true that there is a lot of mystery and charlatancy about it, but it is the proper path. It is the path, along which the torch of knowledge has been handed down from age to age and is still kept burning. It is the path, which produces selfless and enlightened men to sustain the life of the world. Why should these sceptics and cynics then turn round and express a doubt that spiritual awakening would weaken one's interest in worldly pursuits, and render more real and more important progress and development in the spiritual path? In those, to whom the call of' a still greater reality comes in the form of spiritual consciousness, a similar change takes place. The pursuit of worldly success, wealth and enjoyment, in which 7 Introduction they were hitherto absorbed, ceases to have the same zest and ceases to give the same satisfaction. It becomes a' bore. It is realised that it has been futile, that it has been evanescent and perishable, and that real happiness is not in that direction, nor real peace. To some it happens instantly and acutely and to others at intermittent moments, but the world is never the same after it has occurred. Even while he continues to be engaged in his usual worldly activities, there is less of selfish grabbing, there is kindliness and consideration for others and a desire to do something for others even at some personal inconvenience or sacrifice. The lustre of spiritual awakening changes the perspective and a man seeks devoutly that, which will bring him real joy and peace in the long run and, therefore, the seeking of material and immediate advantages becomes less urgent. SOUL CONSCIOUSNESS In the West, some of these ideas have been explained by saying that a man has two minds - one lower and one higher, the men living on different planes at different times of their lives, etc., but all these are feeble attempts at delineating the truth, which shines brilliantly through the explanations of Dnaneshwara Maharaj, viz., that worldly knowledge and knowledge of worldly things is important only so long as the other consciousness has not been aroused. As soon as that is aroused, thoughts regarding other matters, however apt, original or clever, lose their significance and interest. Real knowledge is the knowledge of the Soul. The real struggle is the struggle to develop the consciousness of the Soul so as to make it free from the usurpation of the consciousness of the body, the perishable and the terminable, which not only houses the Soul, the imperishable and the eternal, but obscures it. It is generally towards the end of one's life that, through the contact of good men and the accumulated merit of past births, such consciousness begins to come. The achievements of men, and the best of them, are like rags in tatters. The complexities and confusions of the world, which absorb and completely engross one throughout one's existence, are futile and leading nowhere. One then repents for having lived a life on the futile plane and to have abandoned oneself mostly in pursuits that produce nothing permanent and that, least of all, lead to either peace or joy. It is a false idea that, to turn away from the world is the act of a weak person. But this only occurs when there is a dawn of spiritual knowledge and yearning and, after this has occurred, it requires the greatest courage and determination to short-circuit the activities of the mind, being ruminations of the past (Vikalpa), or desires and planning for the future (Sankalpa), with a view to Introduction 8 concentrating on whatever form or conception there may be 'about Soul or God. That such conceptions vary in individuals, is of no moment or consequence. The variations tend to disappear with progress. The conflict of doctrines with regard to Sakar (with .form) and Nirakar (formless) and Dwaita, Adwaita and Visishta Dwaita fades away, as the consciousness of Self grows. The establishment of the individual will in the single and continuous consciousness of God or Soul becomes so important that some of the Sufi adepts have directed their disciples to withdraw their desires and anger and their general reaction to all things of the world in the same manner as a dead, body is passive.