Gita Satsang: The Gita Metaphor

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Gita Satsang: The Gita Metaphor

 

The Bhagavad Gita recounts a conversation between the divine (Krishna) and

human (Arjuna). Gita begins by describing the predicament faced by Arjuna,

the hero of the epic, Mahabharatas standing between two armies that are ranged

against one another and ready for battle. Kurukshetra, the name of the

battlefield, symbolizes human life. On one side of this field are marshaled

the forces of Good, whose warriors represent. On the other side are marshaled

the forces of delusion, or Evil.

 

When we are in doubts, fear arises and we are afraid to fight to erase our

human tendencies. We have nourished them for so long and attached to those

tendencies and refuse to relish them. We have a false identification of who we

are and do not wish to destroy them. Our thoughts mostly centered on those

tendencies and we feel that destruction of those tendencies will be self

destruction. We even feel that this war against the false values and habitual

tendencies is a losing proposition. We conclude that even a victory itself

will only bring misery. Arjuna standing in between the armies in front of

Krishna was also facing a similar situation. The war represents the path of

life, the destruction of friends and relatives is a reference to human

tendencies and the victory is the Self-realization. The knower of the Truth,

Krishna was able to understand the significance of Arjuna's situation and

determined to liberate him from his miseries. The entire Gita describes the

necessary Sadhana for all seekers to destroy their ego for the inner communion

with the Divine.

 

Human ego seems to feel that its decision to seek God is a direct threat to

its just and natural supremacy. Human beings fear to renounce their lower

nature, thinking that, by doing so, they would deprive themselves of all

desires and Vasanas (natural habits). They don't want to lose what they have

long nurtured, so lovingly including their consciousness of themselves as

individuals. It is difficult for the ego to forego the unwanted luggage

(personal attributes) and to understand that it will not be at loss, but in

fact it will reap infinite gain! The very fact that we want to preserve and

cajole our ego is the real cause for our pain and suffering.

 

In the entire Gita, Krishna responds to Arjuna's anguish by explaining the

true nature of fulfillment. His subtle message through Gita is that death of

ego implies total freedom and SELF realization.. The ego propelled desires

will eventually disappear with the emergence of divine actions full of

happiness and satisfaction. The Lord compuls Arjun to seek Him, the

Changeless Spirit, beneath all the storms of life. Inner communion with Him is

the highest teaching of Hindu scriptures including Gita. The message of Gita

that was transacted from Krishna to Arjuna is the Truth and everything about

the Truth. This is the same Truth that was recorded in the Upanishads by the

ancient sages and saints to help us to come out of delusion and to seek the

way to enlightenment.

 

Note: It is quite possible to visualize the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharat

as parables of human life. In Ramayana the human perfection was explained

through Rama. Mahabharat explains the good (Pandavas) and the evil(Kauravas)

side of human thoughts and the struggle between those thoughts. In Mahabharat,

the bottom line message is that the good only will remain and the evil gets

destructed at the end.