Resumption of Gita Satsangh from May 2005

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

I have agreed to resume the Gita Satsangh starting from the Tamil New

Year (14th April, 2005). However, I have been overwhelmed with more

work and travel obligations for the past several months. I just

returned back from a three-week trip to India last Sunday. I do not

want postpone the resumption of Satsangh and I do plan to resume it

from early next month. The list so far has completed chapters 1 to 9

of Bhagavad Gita and chapter 10 was left in the middle. Starting

from May 2005, we once again begin the Satsangh from Chapter 10.

 

Every week, I will post 2 to 3 verses from the chapter with a brief

commentary. During the rest of the week, members can post their

insights on the posted verses. The verses will be posted every

Friday starting from 6th of May, 2005.

 

Before the actual posting of the verses from May, I thought I would

share with you an Introduction to Bhagavad Gita. I also plan to post

another summary of the chapters discussed so far. This will hopefully

help you get ready for participating in the Satsangh,

 

regards,

 

Harih Om!

 

Ram Chandran

=================

 

 

Gita Introduction

 

Bhagavad Gita was inserted by Vyasa inside the great epic Mahabharata

at the right place (Kurushetra, the battle field) along with special

references to many of the incidents in that book. The full

understanding of Bhagavad Gita is impossible if we ignore the context

of this great dialog between Arjuna and Lord Krishna. One must first

realize the relative positions of Arjuna and Krishna in order to

appreciate the teaching of the latter. To some it appears strange

that this highly philosophical teaching should have been inserted in

a place apparently utterly unfitted for it. The discourse is alleged

to have taken place between Arjuna and Krishna just before the battle

began to rage. But when we begin to appreciate the Mahabharata, we

will be able to agree that this is the fittest place for the Bhagavad

Gita.

 

Historically the great battle was a struggle between two families.

Philosophically it is the great battle, in which the human spirit has

to fight against the lower passions in the physical body. The

Bhagavad Gita may be looked upon as a discourse addressed by a guru

to a chela who has fully determined upon the renunciation of all

worldly desires and aspirations, but yet feels a certain despondency,

caused by the apparent blankness of his existence. The book contains

eighteen chapters, all intimately connected. Each chapter describes a

particular phase or aspect of human life. The student should bear

this in mind in reading the book, and endeavor to work out the

correspondences. He will find what appear to be unnecessary

repetitions. These were a necessity of the method adopted by Vyasa,

his intention being to represent nature in different ways, as seen

from the standpoints of the various philosophical schools, which

flourished in India.

 

As regards the moral teaching of the Bhagavad Gita, it is often

asserted by those who do not appreciate the benefits of philosophical

study, that, if everybody pursued this course, the world would come

to a standstill; and, therefore, that this teaching can only be

useful to the few, and not to ordinary people. This is not so. It is

of course true that the majority of men are not in the position to

give up their duties as citizens and members of families. But Krishna

distinctly states that these duties, if not reconcilable with ascetic

life in a forest, can certainly be reconciled with that kind of

mental abnegation which is far more powerful in the production of

effects on the higher planes than any physical separation from the

world. For though the ascetic's body may be in the jungle, his

thoughts may be in the world. Krishna therefore teaches that the real

importance lies not in physical but in mental isolation. Every man

who has duties to discharge must devote his mind to them. But, says

the teacher, it is one thing to perform an action as a matter of

duty, and another thing to perform the same from inclination,

interest, or desire. It is thus plain that it is in the power of a

man to make definite progress in the development of his higher

faculties, whilst there is nothing noticeable in his mode of life to

distinguish him from his fellows.

 

Bhagavad Gita is a doctrine of universal truth. Its message is

universal, sublime, and non-sectarian although it is a part of the

scriptural trinity of Sanaatana Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism.

The Gita is very easy to understand in any language for a mature

mind. A repeated reading with faith will reveal all the sublime ideas

contained in it. The Gita deals with the most sacred metaphysical

science. It imparts the knowledge of the Self and answers two

universal questions: Who am I, and how can I lead a happy and

peaceful life in this world of dualities. It is a book of yoga, the

moral and spiritual growth, for mankind based on the cardinal

principles of Hindu religion.

The main objective of the Gita is to help people --- struggling in

the darkness of ignorance --- cross the ocean of transmigration and

reach the spiritual shore of liberation while living and working in

the society. The central teaching of the Gita is the attainment of

freedom or happiness from the bondage of life by doing one's duty.

Always remember the glory and greatness of the creator and do your

duty efficiently without being attached to or affected by the results

even if that duty may at times demand unavoidable violence. Some

people neglect or give up their duty in life for the sake of a

spiritual life while others excuse themselves from spiritual

practices because they believe that they have no time. The Lord's

message is to sanctify the entire living process itself. Whatever a

person does or thinks ought to be done for the glory and satisfaction

of the Maker. No effort or cost is necessary for this process. Do

your duty as a service to the Lord and humanity and see God alone in

everything in a spiritual frame of mind. In order to gain such a

spiritual frame of mind, personal discipline, austerity, penance,

good conduct, selfless service, yogic practices, meditation, worship,

prayer, rituals, and study of scriptures, as well as the company of

holy persons, pilgrimage, chanting of the holy names of God, and Self-

inquiry are needed to purify the body, mind, and intellect. One must

learn to give up lust, anger, greed, and establish mastery over the

six senses (hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell, and mind) by the

purified intellect. One should always remember that all works are

done by the energy of nature and that he or she is not the doer but

only an instrument. One must strive for excellence in all

undertakings but maintain equanimity in success and failure, gain and

loss, and pain and pleasure.

The ignorance of metaphysical knowledge is humanity's greatest

predicament. A scripture, being the voice of transcendence, cannot be

translated. Language is incapable and translations are defective to

clearly impart the knowledge of the Absolute. According to the

scriptures no sin, however heinous, can affect the one who reads,

ponders, and practices the teachings of Gita any more than water

affects the lotus leaf. The Lord Himself resides where Gita is kept,

read, chanted, or taught. The Gita is the knowledge Supreme and the

sound embodiment of the Absolute and the Eternal. The one who reads,

ponders, and practices the teachings of Gita with faith and devotion

will attain Moksha (or Nirvana) by the grace of God.