Aldous Huxley and Bhagavad Gita

[Guest guest]

Namste:

 

Before we start the Satsangh, these essays are provided to motivate

new members to understand the importance of Bhagavd Gita.

 

Great philosophers such as Aldous Huxley agree that the philosophy

of life and soul postulated in Bhagavad Gita is superb and unique.

Aldous Huxley in the introduction to the New American Library

edition of the Bhagavad Gita interprets the Gita as not only the

distillation of Hinduism but also the distillation of religion in

general. Huxley claims that the theology of the Gita is relevant to

all religious people not just to the Hindu because he says it

presents the four basic elements of a spiritual world view. .

 

Aldous Huxley presents four fundamental doctrines as what he calls

the Perennial Philosophy:

 

"First: the phenomenal world of matter and of individualized

consciousness - the world of things and animals and men and even

gods - is the manifestation of a Divine Ground within which all

partial realities have their being, and apart from which they would

be nonexistent.

 

Second: human beings are capable not merely of knowing about the

Divine Ground by inference; they can also realize its existence by a

direct intuition, superior to discursive reasoning. This immediate

knowledge unites the knower with that which is known.

 

Third: man possesses a double nature, a phenomenal ego and an

eternal Self, which is the inner man, the spirit, the spark of

divinity within the soul. It is possible for a man, if he so

desires, to identify himself with the spirit and therefore with the

divine Ground, which is of the same or like nature with the spirit.

 

Fourth: man's life on earth has only one end and purpose: to

identify himself with his eternal Self and so to come to untie

knowledge of the Divine Ground."

 

Huxley's reference of Divine Ground is Lord Krishna in the Gita and

the Brahman in theVedanta. Huxley discusses these four aspects of

religion giving examples from a variety of religious traditions in

the book, "The Perennial Philosophy." According to Huxley that

modern population have turned away from religion due to

industrialization and technology revolution.

 

In conclusion, it is not surprising that great minds such as Huxley

can be found from all parts of the world. The human search for the

knowledge of the Brahman (Divine Ground) has no time, geographical

and language bounds. Any attempt to separate the Brahman by time,

geography, language, and other barriers only confirms that we are

ignorant. The world of plurality is our creation out of ignorance

and we certainly untie the knowledge of the SELF through the study

and practice of Gita.

 

Reference: "The Perennial Philosophy" by Aldous Huxley, Paperback,

336 pages. Published by HarperCollins, July 1990, ISBN:

0060901918. `Perennial Philosophy' is available at major bookstores

and also in the Internet at Amazon.com. Synopsis from Amaxon.com:

The brilliant wit and absorbing intellect of Aldous Huxley gives

this religious classic an elevated spirit equal to its subject

matter. Huxley identifies the spiritual beliefs of various religious

traditions and recasts them in terms which are personally

meaningful. Chapters include Self-knowledge, Faith, The Miraculous,

Spiritual Exercises, etc. This is both an anthology and an

interpretation of the supreme mystics, East and West.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran