Bhagavad Gita – The Wisdom of Krishna
Practical Guide to Right and Happy Living:
In Twenty - Seven Self-contained Essays:
Thotalam Chellaswami, Trustee, Srinivasa Gita Satsangh Trust
(Retired Senior I. E. S. Officer Govt. of India and Senior Advisor UN (ILO):
Author’s Submission:
19. In the presentation of the entire survey and in all the essays presented, the emphasis has been on the principles of “right and happy living” not only for spiritual pursuits but also in secular pursuits as well. This aspect has been brought out in every aspect of discussion. As getting established in sattva gun’a is the first step to transcend the gun’as of prakriti so essential for realization of the self and consequent moksha (liberation), this subject has been discussed at some length in essay 15 followed by essay 16 – “Application to and Classification of Human Personality according to Gun’as of Prakriti:, which explains Krishna’s classification based on gun’as – s’raddha (faith) and its four instruments (food, yajna, daana and tapas), and also the constituents of action - jnaana, karma, kartaa, buddhi, dhriti and sukham. Though the aspects of the Sermon as a guide for the art of right and happy living have been brought out in every one of the essays, special mention must be made of the essays 15 and 16 on the gun’as of prakriti and their influence on human personality, essay 19 on the Gita’s values’ system and essay 20 on the Gita Sermon as a practical guide to right and happy living, constituting as a supplement comprehensively dealing with the subject of right and happy living. The Survey presents each of the essays under varied sectional heads to highlight the main theme or idea presented in the sections concerned.
20. By way of greater fulfillment and to be more effective, the author thought it proper to present a number of quotations mainly at the start of every essay as well as an introduction to different sections within an essay. These quotations are drawn from renowned - philosophers, religious leaders, scientists, scholars, poets and great persons and strictly relevant to the various aspects discussed in the essay concerned. All these quotations are cryptic expressions (short and sweet), which truly reflect the wisdom of Krishna. Coming as they do from great souls, they are considered significant to bring out effectively important aspects of the great teaching. There are innumerable such observations by great souls and only select ones, strictly relevant to the teaching of the Sermon, are presented. These quotations are drawn from the notes prepared by the author over a period of time from the study of books and articles that appeared in various journals and so for some of the quotations it was not possible to trace the author. These quotations are shown in inverted comas. Some of the author’s observations are also presented along with these quotations as it was thought appropriate to present them along with these quotations and not in the text proper. These are presented within the parenthesis [ ].
21. The verses discussed are presented only in free English translation, which also includes short explanation as well and true to the spirit of the original text and the context, along with original Sanskrit text in Roman Script, where considered important. Krishna’s utterances keep us dazzled, inspiring us to ask for more. So the author desired Krishna Himself to speak so that the beauty of Krishna’s own exposition is not missed and hence the inclusion of profuse quotations from the Gita text.
22. The Vedas, which include the Upanishads (s’rutis) often called Vedanta are the primary Scriptures of our philosophy and religion of Sanaatana Dharma and contain the loftiest conceptions and are of eternal nature. But many of them were presented in a language, rather, enigmatic and paradoxical and seem to present diverse and contradictory views. This is true even of one and the same Upanishad (for example - Chaandogya or Brihadaaranyaka). The Upanishad pronouncements made by different sages, at different periods and in different contexts, are seemingly contradictory, apart from their extreme abstruseness, terseness and also lack of cogency of ideas. The same can be said more or less of the Brahma Sutras. It is in this background that we are to view Krishna’s unilateral statement, made with no provocation whatsoever or any query from Arjuna, at the start of the fourth chapter. Krishna stated that the doctrine of karma yoga, He has been explaining to Arjuna earlier, is a very ancient one, which He Himself taught to Sun God, who transmitted it to His son Manu, who in his turn imparted it to Ikshwaku. This treasure of wisdom was preserved in unbroken tradition in the great ages of the past, but “got distorted due to the efflux of time – sah yogah mahataa kaalena iha nasht’ah”. Krishna further added that He was giving again this ancient wisdom, this supreme and profound doctrine to Arjuna, His friend and devotee. It is to be noted that the above observation of Krishna comes immediately after His exposition of karma yoga - almost revolutionary and original contribution of the Sermon. The inference is obvious. So it can be inferred that the purpose of this unilateral assertion on the restatement of the original Vedanta tenets is to present the truth of the matter and to reconcile seemingly contradictory statements in the s’rutis. Krishna has done this in the Gita Sermon, in a simple, lucid and unequivocal manner, so that all can easily follow the same without the need for any painful interpretation. Has not Krishna Himself characterised Upanishads and Brahna sootras “as full of reasoning and convincing – brahmasootrapadaih ca eva hetumatbhih vinis’citaih”. An oft quoted verse from Gita dhyaana slokas is – “sarvah upanishadah gaavah …….geetaamritam mahat” which means that Gita Sermon is the quint-essence of the Upanishads. This should not be interpreted to mean that “unless one studies and understands the Upanishads, one will not be able to really understand the Gita Sermon. Rather the verse is an exhortation not to struggle to understand the terse and subtle and rather complicated observations of the Upanishads, but to gain all the wisdom of the Upanishads from simple, straight-forward and unequivocal presentation in the Gita Sermon. It is on the considerations stated above, the author confined the discussion to the Gita text and profusely quoted from the same and has not made many references to other great scriptures such as Upanishads, etc.
23. The author submits in all humility that when a direct meaning of Gita observations are clear, sufficient and most unequivocal and fitting admirably the context in which the observations were made, there is hardly any necessity to make it complicated by bringing in new ideas and interpretations to give new meanings without giving necessary importance to the context in which the observation is made.
24. The author has presented in this essay what he honestly thinks as true to the text of the Teaching and in doing this, he has been encouraged by Krishna’s unilateral declaration above. No attempt has been made nor has any need felt to torture the text of the Sermon in support of the observation made. The author would like to state, with utmost humility, that the presentation of certain conclusions in respect of subtle aspects of Vedanta philosophy, are based purely on the simple and unequivocal observations in the Gita text, which need no painful interpretation. But the author chose to present these conclusions though the words of great souls of unquestioned understanding and mastery of Vedanta philosophy and principles for obvious reasons. The author is fully aware that he has neither enough ground nor wisdom behind what has been said in all humility. In this presentation special emphasis is on the understanding the Message, as a guide to right and happy living – the main object of the study of the Gita. What original ideas can the author present on the Great Sermon, which has been exhaustively commented upon by revered Acaaryas, learned scholars and the great devotees! The author believes that every commentator of the Gita has some thing unique to say and so having assimilated these, he used them appropriately taking their essence. Based as they are on the notes made by him from the study of many books, articles, etc., spread over a period extending more than a decade, the author is unable to provide references to some of the thoughts and ideas presented in this essay; also he could not present a complete list of references as they are many and would consume a good number of pages of this short essay. It may, perhaps, be added that a number of references in the essay may be considered as a kind of bibliography, apart from those indicated in this introduction.
25. The author is ever conscious that the presentation should be short, if not sweet, and discussion organised logically and should run through smoothly and gently in a continuous flow with no jerks, like the flow of oil. The author hopes that he has succeeded in this attempt to some extent. Finally the author humbly submits that the purpose of this presentation is to share his appreciation of the sublime beauty and perennial philosophy of the Sermon and which can usefully serve as a guide to good and happy living, with others, especially with our youths. This is the humble justification for ‘yet another book’ on the ‘much discussed and commented upon Gita Sermon’. The attempt to make every one of the 27 essays as self – contained as possible necessitated certain repetitions, which are kept to the minimum. Most of these repetitions are significant and profound observations, which fit different situations and contexts in the Sermon and so considered deserving of repetition. Yet the author requests that the reader may kindly bear with the same. The author has taken sufficient care in the manner of presentation, both in its style and language, which is simple and non- - technical and with profuse quotations from Krishna Himself, so that it may kindle the interest of the younger generation and draw them to the study of the original text. The author is glad to dedicate this essay to the youth of this country, who are future leaders and hope of the country. The author earnestly desires our intelligent youths may go through them and assimilate them by meditating on them and thus get benefited both spiritually and materially. The author hopes that continued meditation on the Teaching may one day reveal fully its true nature and exquisite beauty giving him joy eternal.
