Gita and Advaita Vedanta

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The Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita are two great sources for Advaita

Vedanta. Divine sovereignty is explained in the Bhagavad Gita in a

language which anticipates and meets the difficulties that modern

science raises against religious cosmology. All this world is pervaded

by ME in form unmanifest; all beings abide in ME, but I stand apart from

them. (Gita, chapter 9, verse 4). Arjun the hero of the great Epic

Mahabharat starts the enquiry on the divine sovereignty in chapter 2

(Samkhya Yoga - the analytical study of the nature of spirit andmatter).

He ends his enquiry with the statement "nasto mohah smrtir labdhas - I

have destroyed my delusion and I have regained my True Nature." in

chapter 18, verse 73.

 

Arjun typifies the representative human soul seeking to reach perfection

and peace. Clouded mind, unsettled convictions and anxieties has

driven Arjun to look for desperate help. All of us in our life time

have faced a similar situation we feel that we are sucked into a tunnel

with utter darkness and desperately looking for a gleam of light.

Mahatma Gandhi declares : "I find a solace in the Bhagavadgita that I

miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in

the face and all alone, I see not one ray of light, I go back to the

Bhagavadgita. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately

begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has

been full of external tragedies -and if they have left no visible, no

indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of the

Bhagavadgita." (M.K. Gandhi, Young India (1925), pp 1078-1079.)

 

The following first eight verses of Chapter 2 will hopefully motivate us

to read and discuss Gita in the coming weeks, months and years.

Dr,Radhakrishnan restates a quote from a work by J. W. Hauer, a Sanskrit

scholar who served as missionary in India on the central theme of Gita

in these words: "We are not called to solve the meaning of life but to

find out the deed demanded of us and to work and so, by action, to

master the riddle of life."

 

Verse 1: Sanjaya narrates the status of Arjun: Overcome by pity, eyes

filled with tears and trouble d and depressed. This pity of Arjun has

nothing in common with Divine Compassion. It is a form of

self-indulgence, a shrinking of the nerves from an act which requires

him to hurt his own people. How do we deal with a person who expresses

a mood of self-pity?

 

Verse 2: Bhagavan rebukes Arjun and refers him to the doctrine of the

indestructibility of the self and appeals to his sense of honor and

martial traditions. The Blessed Lord points out why action should be

undertaken without any preconceived notions (rules on ethics/ Dharma).

He asks Arjun to rise to the occasion and attempts to release Arjun from

his doubts.

 

Verse 3: Arjun's reply confirms that his doubts are unresolved. He

restates his theory of ethics and wants Lord Krishna' sympathy and

approval. The reference of noble teachers such as Bhisma and Drona by

Arjun was to emphasize that this fighting is very different from other

wars. Every individual sets up his or her own code of behavior

(Swadharma). Families follow certain common code of ethics known as

Family Traditions. Societies establish social customs and expect

different social economic and demographic groups of citizens to accept

those traditions. Some customs are developed into laws and

punishable. Arjun's reference is a clear indication of the high moral

background of the Vedic time period. The question is "Does this moral

standard is applicable while fighting a war."

 

Verse 4: Fighting a war is for a "CAUSE." It is too late to ask the

question: "Is the CAUSE right?" War is always the last resort. It is

painful but became necessary ( Sama, Bheda, Daana, and Danda.) A famous

quotation summarizes the situation: "Pain is inevitable and suffering is

optional." Arjun's suffering is own's creation. In advaita, such

creations are just illusions!

 

In Verse 5, Arjun tries to illustrate (incorrectly) the results of the

action. The most intelligent person turns out to be the most stupid.

Beware: Don't try to establish your wisdom using knowledge! Arjun

expresses his ignorance on key areas of Vedanta: Action, Actor, Cause,

Effects and Bliss.

 

In Verse 6, Arjun was desperate to get the attention of his teacher

and verbalizes his absolute stupidity. Pessimism is an outcome from the

dominance of human weakness.

 

Verses seven and eight establish the determination of Arjun to seek the

Truth from his beloved teacher Bhagavan Sri Krishna. Seekers are always

assailed by doubts and difficulties, even when they are on the threshold

of light. Arjun faces difficulties, outward and inward, such as the

resistance of relations and friends, doubts and fears, passions and

desires. The struggle with darkness will continue until the light fills

one's whole being. He is a sincere seeker whose goal is to attain new

integral comprehensive consciousness.

--

Ram Chandran

Burke, VA 22015