| THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BHAGAVAD-GÉTÄ
Bhagavad-gétä, a philosophical poem comprising seven hundred Sanskrit verses, is one of the most important philosophical and literary works known to man. More commentaries have been written upon the Gétä than upon any other philosophical or religious text in history. As a classic of timeless wisdom, it is the main literary support for the oldest surviving spiritual culture in the world—that of India’s Vedic civilization. Not only has the Gétä directed the religious life of many centuries of Hindus, but, owing to the pervasive influence of religious concepts in Vedic civilization, the Gétä has shaped India’s social, ethical, cultural and even political life as well. Attesting to India’s nearly universal acceptance of the Gétä, practically every sectarian cult and school of Hindu thought, representing a vast spectrum of religious and philosophical views, accepts Bhagavad-gétä as the summum bonum guide to spiritual truth. The Gétä, therefore, more than any other single historical source, provides penetrating insight into the metaphysical and psychological foundation of India’s Vedic culture, both ancient and contemporary. The influence of Bhagavad-gétä, however, is not limited to India. The Gétä has deeply affected the thinking of generations of philosophers, theologians, educators, scientists and authors in the West as well Henry David Thoreau reveals in his journal, "Every morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gétä … in comparison with which our modern civilization and literature seem puny and trivial." The Gétä has long been considered the essence of Vedic literature, the vast body of ancient scriptural writings that forms the basis of Vedic philosophy and spirituality. As the essence of the 108 Upaniñads, it is sometimes referred to as Gétopaniñad. Although widely published and read by itself, Bhagavad-gétä originally appears as an episode of the Mahäbhärata, a great historical epic, in which it occupies chapters 25 through 42 in the Bhéñma Parva. Authorship of the Mahäbhärata is traditionally attributed to the great sage Vedavyäsa (Çréla Vyäsadeva). It was Vyäsa, "the literary incarnation of God," who, according to orthodox Vedic historiography, put the eternal Vedic wisdom into writing at the onset of the Kali-yuga, the current age of spiritual darkness. After compiling the four principal Vedas, the Upaniñads and the Vedänta-sütra, he decided to compile the Puräëas and the Mahäbhärata for the benefit of the common people who could not sufficiently assimilate the lofty philosophical teachings of the earlier works. By exposure to the philosophical conclusions of the Vedas through the medium of ostensibly historical narrations, the common man would more readily understand and benefit from Vedic truth. Thus, Bhagavad-gétä, the essence of Vedic wisdom, was injected into the Mahäbhärata, an action-packed narrative of an important era in ancient Indian politics. Bhagavad-gétä comes to us in the form of a battlefield dialogue between Lord Çré Kåñëa and the warrior Arjuna. The dialogue occurs just before the onset of the first military engagement of the Kurukñetra War, a great fratricidal war between the Kauravas and the Päëòavas to determine India’s political destiny. (Details of the historical background of the war are described in the brief essay "Setting the Scene," which precedes the chapter summaries.) Arjuna, forgetful of his prescribed duty as a kñatriya (warrior) whose duty is to fight for a righteous cause in a holy war, decides, for personally motivated reasons, not to fight. Kåñëa, who has agreed to act as the driver of Arjuna’s chariot, sees His friend and devotee in illusion and perplexity and proceeds to enlighten Arjuna regarding his immediate social duty (varëa-dharma) as a warrior and, more important, his eternal duty or nature (sanätana-dharma) as an eternal spiritual entity in relationship with God. Thus the relevance and universality of Kåñëa’s teachings transcend the immediate historical setting of Arjuna’s battlefield dilemma. Kåñëa speaks for the benefit of all souls who have forgotten their eternal nature, the ultimate goal of existence, and their eternal relationship with Him. As we read the Gétä, we read a narration by Saïjaya, a disciple of Vyäsadeva’s, to the blind King Dhåtaräñöra, the father of the impious Kauravas. Situated far from the battlefield, Saïjaya relates the holy discourse as it is revealed to him by Vyäsadeva through supernatural vision. Who Is Kåñëa? Gétä means "song," and Bhagavad refers to bhagavän, a Sanskrit term meaning "God, the possessor (vat) of all opulence (bhaga)."Paräçara Muni, the father of Vyäsadeva, numbered the "opulences" of God at six: unlimited beauty, wealth, power, fame, knowledge and renunciation. Bhagavad-gétä, therefore, is the Song of the All-opulent One, or the holy teachings spoken by Kåñëa, who is God Himself. In the Gétä, Kåñëa’s position is made very clear: "I am the source of everything; from Me the entire creation flows." [Bg. 10.8] "There is no truth superior to Me." mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti "By all the Vedas, I am to be known." [Bg. 15.15] Arjuna prays, "You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate … the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original,…" [Bg. 10.12] and "You are the original personality, the Godhead.… Knowing everything, You are all that is knowable." [Bg. 11.38] Throughout the Gétä, Kåñëa is called puruñottama (the Supreme Person), parabrahman (the Supreme Brahman), ädi-deva (the original Lord), parameçvara (the supreme controller) and so on. Other Vedic sources similarly define Kåñëa as the Supreme Absolute Truth, inclusive of all forms and aspects of God, and as the original source of the creation, of the impersonal Brahman, of all living entities, of Viñëu, Brahmä and Çiva (and of all other demigods), of all avatäras, and so on. It is important to note, in this connection, that the humanlike form of Kåñëa visible to Arjuna on the battlefield is not a material, carnal form "assumed" or "manifested" by Kåñëa for the world of men. According to the text, the form seen by Arjuna is Kåñëa’s own original form, purely spiritual and transcendental. But although Kåñëa is visible to all those present, only those with eyes "tinged with devotion" can understand that He Himself is the "Supreme Person," the Godhead. The universal form (viçva-rüpa) revealed by Kåñëa to Arjuna in the Eleventh Chapter is not in any sense a higher manifestation of Kåñëa, but only a temporary display of His controlling power as eternal time (käla) in the cosmic universe. After revealing His magnificent and panoramic universal form, Kåñëa manifests His own primordial humanlike form, and Arjuna, who has been terrified by the spectacular vision, becomes pactfied. The Gétä tells us that Kåñëa’s abode is in the spiritual world, from which He descends, periodically, to reestablish religion: "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise in irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." yadä yadä hi dharmasya glänir bhavati bhärata pariträëäya sädhünäà vinäçäya ca
duñkåtäm As related in the Mahäbhärata, Kåñëa descended to the earth in His selfsame spiritual form, just prior to Kali-yuga, to lighten the military burden created by impious, politically ambitious kings. By His divine plan, all such demoniac forces were assembled at one place (the Battlefield of Kurukñetra) and annihilated in the colossal and devastating war. Soon after enthroning the Päëòavas, who ruled as saintly kings (räjarñis), Kåñëa returned to His eternal, spiritual abode. While present on the earth, Kåñëa also performed numerous pastimes as a cowherd boy in the pastoral setting of Våndävana and as a royal prince in the majestic city of Dvärakä. Some scholars have hypothesized that there existed three Kåñëas, viz., the Päëòava warrior, the leader of the Yadu dynasty, and the Våndävana cowherd boy. This view, however, is contrary to Vedic textual and historical evidence as well as popular understanding. These are related principally in the Bhägavata and Viñëu Puräëas, as well as in later famous works such as Jayadeva Gosvämé’s Gétä-govinda and the works of the Gosvämés, the great medieval Vaiñëava scholars and disciples of Çré Caitanya. With these understandings of the identity of the speaker of the Gétä, the Gétä itself becomes more comprehensible. How to Approach the Gétä The academic study of religion (whether in the philosophical, historical, social or psychological disciplines) has seen a recent trend toward approaching its subjects with some degree of empathy. Since religio-philosophical concepts are most often experientially based, it is increasingly evident that to gain more than stereotyped or superficial knowledge, the student or researcher must approach the subject not as a hostile critic but as a cautious sympathizer, as unhampered as possible by his own academic or personal prejudices. This is how we should approach the Gétä. Especially when dealing with Vedic spiritual philosophy, which is never theoretical but always aimed at practical transformations of consciousness and perception, we should approach with philosophical introspection. Indeed, intellectual astuteness without sincere eagerness to understand truth has always been considered, in Vedic culture, ineffectual in the realm of spiritual knowledge. The mysteries of transcendental wisdom are revealed to one who has firm faith in God and guru: "Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed. yasya deve parä bhaktir yathä deve tathä gurautasyaite kathitä hy arthäù prakäçante mahätmanaù (Çvetäçvatara Upanisad 6.23) In the traditional Vedic system of education, the disciple always approaches the guru in an attitude of submission and faith. After choosing a qualified guru, he submits himself for instruction in a humble, non-arrogant way, as Arjuna does in the Gétä itself: "Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me." [Bg. 2.7] Frequently, throughout the text, Kåñëa reminds Arjuna that He is revealing confidential truths because of Arjuna’s faithful, nonenvious attitude. At the conclusion of His teachings, He instructs Arjuna further, "This confidential knowledge may not be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me." [Bg. 18.67] Although we ourselves may not be approaching the Gétä as disciples but as critical students, if we study it in a mood of critical introspection and philosophical inquisitiveness, our experience of the Gétä will be more penetrating. |