Gita in daily life - Ch.7: FAQ

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Namaste

 

Chapter VII of the Gita turns our attention from Karma yoga

to Bhakti yoga. Karma Yoga appeals to all people. Even if

somebody does not have a theistic bent of mind he has a

feel for the logic of Karma yoga. But not so in the case of

Bhakti yoga. To understand Bhakti yoga, much more, to

make it one’s norm of life one has to have a streak of

devotion to a power beyond us. For other persons, the

seventh chapter of the Gita would appear to be a leap in

the dark.

 

Already references have been given to proper

interpretations of the seventh chapter, by Ram Chandran-ji

and also by me in an earlier post. This post now

concentrates on some FAQ’s with a slant towards non-belief.

There is a personal story behind this.

 

Around 1995, after a lecture of mine in the Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan in Delhi, a Swami (whose full name I cannot recall

now) came to me, presented me with a Gita Commentary

written by him, and he wanted me to read it and review it

for him. It was a 300-page book all in Hindi and I took

some time to get a feel for the contents. Finally I had the

opinion that it was very negatively written, degrading

Krishna, Advaita and Shankara’s exposition of advaita. So I

communicated with the Swami and politely told him that I

did not want to review the book, since I was not impressed,

nor would I agree to many of the things he had said there.

He insisted that I write a list of the points where I

disagreed with him. I tried to oblige him but later I gave

up, because there were too many points where I could not

agree with him. I don’t have the book now in my hands, but

from memory I can recall some points from the 7th chapter.

These are the points which I have attempted to convert into

questions below in a FAQ form. Some of these questions, of

course do arise in the minds of an initiate into the Gita.

 

Below are given the FAQ under the numbers of the verses (in

the 7th chapter) to which they pertain. For clarity of

reference, my own English translation of the verse in

question is given in full, side by side.

 

Verse #2: I shall now tell you, in full, this Knowledge as

well as its application, knowing which, there does not

remain anything more to know.

 

FAQ: Does it mean all of Science and Technology that we

know now, are all part of this ‘Knowledge’?

 

 

Verse #3: Among thousands of people, some one makes effort

towards (spiritual) accomplishment; and among these

spiritual seekers, some one gets to know Me.

 

FAQ (a) Is Krishna talking of the cowherd-boy Krishna here

or is he talking of his assumed role as God? In the first

case is it not an acknowledgement of his own non-entity?

And in the second case is it not an expression of

arrogance?

 

FAQ (b) Assuming Krishna is talking about Himself as the

God Absolute, is it not very discouraging to people who

strive to know God? Why has Krishna, who started to

encourage Arjuna to fight the War, to be so negative in

his attitude?

 

Verse #4: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, Mind, Intellect

and Ego are the eight-fold facets of my PrakRti.

 

FAQ: So Ego in our mind is his making. Then why are we

faulted for being egoistic?

 

Verse #7: There is nothing that is transcendent beyond Me.

Everything is strung in Me just as beads are strung in a

string.

 

FAQ: The very analogy that we and the universe are beads

and He is the string supporting them, shows that Shankara’s

advaita is not true. The beads are separate from the

string. They are not one and the same.

 

Verse #11 (2nd half): I am the Desire that is not opposed

to Dharma.

 

FAQ : My desire to obtain moksha is not opposed to dharma.

So God is this Desire. Then why do the scriptures keep on

trumpeting that all desires should be overcome – even the

desire to obtain moksha?

 

Verses #s 13, 14, 15: All this universe is

confounded/deluded by the three facets of the three guNas.

As such (Man) does not know the immutable Me as distinct

and transcendent beyond these.My

incomprehensible/invincible mAyA, composed of the three

guNas, is transcended only by those who surrender to Me.

But foolish doers of evil, the lowest among mankind, are

carried away by mAyA and being in the demonic moods, don’t

come to Me.

 

FAQ: Having done all the mischief of casting a spell of

mAyA, which is His own making, (according to his own

statement), Krishna is now criticising and condemning us

who are under the spell of mAyA as if it is our fault! Is

Krishna, in his assumed role of God, being fair to

humanity?

 

Verse #21: Whosoever wants to propitiate, with faith, in

whatsoever manner he chooses, in that unswerving faith do I

confirm him.

 

FAQ: Does this not allow us to have faith in all mundane

pursuits of the meanest kind? Is this the moral code that

Krishna wants to propagate in the world? In fact he has

himself led a life of license. This verse would seem to

encourage people to follow his licentious life of luxury!

 

Verse #26 (last quarter): Nobody knows me.

 

FAQ: Is it not a cry in agony and fear that he is going to

pass away unhonoured and unsung?

 

Verse #27: By the delusion of duality consisting of desire

and hate, all beings, at the time of creation, come under

the spell of a cosmic delusion.

 

FAQ: This looks like the biblical story of Adam and Eve

committing the original Sin . Did Gita borrow this idea

from the West? Does this not show that Gita is not as old

as it is claimed to be?

 

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

New on my website, particularly for beginners in Hindu philosophy:

Empire of the Mind:

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/ManversusMind.html

 

Free will and Divine will - a dialogue:

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/FWDW.html