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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Gita contains integral philosophy of life

 

CHENNAI, MAY 23. When a needy person approaches another for help,

generally he receives ``advice''. Can this be true in the case of

a man who seeks succour from God as seen in the Bhagavad Gita? A

devotee knelt before God desirous of obtaining a decree when he

remained dejected at the tragedy of a war but the Almighty

rendered the sermon on the battlefield. A devotee is at liberty

to get guidance from God whenever he is in distress but should

not expect reciprocal response. He will receive guidance in the

nature of making him realise his limitations and what he should

do to achieve what he wants.

 

Commentators, like Sri Vidyaranya Theertha, on the Gita have

pointed out that man's prayers presuppose that what he had

decided in mind should be sanctioned by God, thus reducing Him

merely as the ``executor'' of his demands. But scriptural truth

is otherwise. It is God who decides and it is man who should

uphold it. If this be His will, it may be asked, what is man's

role? The Lord makes man realise that he is entitled only to

``activity''. God does not deny him the decision-making ability

but his duty is to act. Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to cease

sobbing and to fight. This imperative has a far-reaching

significance and there is great power in it. Sri Vidyesha

Theertha Swami of Bhandarkere Math, after a series of discourses,

summed up God's teachings as a call to everyone to do one's duty

in a spirit of dedication as an offering to Him. The Gita enjoys

the status of an eternal, universal, distinctive and self-

complete scripture embodying an integral philosophy of life.

 

Before the commencement of the Kurukshetra battle, Yudhishtira

took up an extraordinary step of going to Bheeshma, the

commander-in-chief of his opponent's army, and sought his

blessings. ``You will win because where there is virtue, Krishna

will be present and where Krishna stands by, there will be

success'' were the grandsire's reply. Explaining how the Lord

spelt out the path of duty, Sri V. Prabhanjanachar said in a

discourse that it is necessary for everyone devoted to God not to

give up his duties as laid down in the scriptures. Some question

the rationale behind such divine directives. Does a man going in

a plane seek to know the mechanism of the aircraft, or when he

sits for lunch, analyse where the rice was grown and wherefrom

the vegetables arrived or how they are cooked? Or when he goes in

a car, if the need arises to apply the brake, he cannot resort to

the step to know how the same operates. If a man carries out

scriptural duties and obeys the teachings of Acharyas, God will

enable him to prosper.

 

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