Gita in daily life: Ch. 3 - Dharma Chakra, The Divine Will

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Namaste all.

 

"amba tvAmanusandDAmi bhagavadgItE BhavadvaeShiNeem"

 

O Loving Mother! I meditate upon Thee -

showering down the amrita of advaita and consisting

of 18 chapters of nectar - upon Thee O Bhagavad-gIta

and Loving Mother ! I meditate.

 

In Ch.3, a wheel-of-dharma is repeatedly referred

and this calls for a need to understand the

wheel-of-dharma more clearly so as to relate

to the slOkAs easily and to see the unfoldment of the

Divine Will taking over the finite will.

 

Briefly, we had touched upon the dharma-chakra in Ch-1

in the context of dharma -

http://www.escribe.com/culture/advaitin/m25352.html

 

"Dharma-chakra, the rotating wheel of dharma, depicts

one's position in the cosmic cycle with respect to

each and every individual's part to play so to keep it

moving. It is when one takes the role of personal

agency and doership that the wheel stops rotating for

him/her resulting in stagnation and adharma."

 

 

3:15 The root of karma is traced back to Brahma.

[ a) gItA 3:15: Karma took birth from Brahma.

- b) Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.1: Brahma, the creator of

the universe (in his own image) and the protector of

the world, was the first among the gods to manifest

himself.

- c) gItA 3:15: Brahma took birth from the

Imperishable.]

 

The all-pervading Brahma is ever established

in yajna (sacrifice), thus setting up a wheel of

dharma, originating-from, sustaining-in and

dissolving-into the Brahman (the Divine Will), who in

turn originated from the Imperishable.

 

Practical Examples of the wheel of dharma:-

Eg.1) Example of dharma-chakra :-

3:11,12,13: The Shining-dEvAs on one side of the

wheel, the wheel set in motion through sacrifice by

individuals on the other side and the dEvAs(nourished

by sacrifice 3:12) in turn turning it again, thus

nourishing one another to reap the highest good.

The righteous are they who eat the remains of such

yajnAs. Those who eat for their own sake, not from the

remnants of actions for sacrifice, verily eat sin. It

is considered as sin because, these actions do nothing

to keep the dharma moving(3:16) and further divert

one's attention out of dharma

into fulfillment of peronal-desires, personal-motives,

and individual doership (3:27).

 

Eg.2) Example of cycle 3:14 :-

Sacrifice from beings -> yajna -> gives rain ->

- -> food produced from rain ->

- -> beings are born of food

- Again, sacrifice by the beings causes the wheel to

rotate.

-------

 

Thus, working in synchronism with the Divine Will of

dharma-chakra (3:15,16), skillfully (yuktah 3:26), and

surrendering to the Divine Will (3:30) 'not me, but

the Divine Will'

:-

one attains to the Supreme (3:19), where one rejoices

in the Divine, and with the Divine remains satisfied

(3:17).

 

Love and regards,

Raghava

 

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