"Is Ignorance really bliss?" (Part 3): An essay on VII.15 of Bhagavath-Gita

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(continued from Part 2)

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In the Bhagavath-Gita, there is an extraordinary verse

-- Verse 15 of Chapter 7 -- which brilliantly sums up

the Vedantic problem of Ignorance in entirety:

 

"na mAm dush-krutinO mUdAh: prapadyantE narAdhamAh:

mAyayA-apahruta-gnyAnA aasuram bhAvamAsritAh:"

 

(VII.15)

 

Ignorance is evil ("dush-krutam"), declares the Gita

at the very outset. And those who are Ignorant -- by

choice, accident or fate -- they are verily

'evil-doers' ("dushkrutina"). In the works of the

great Vedantic 'AchAryAs' of the past, such as Sri

RamanujAchArya, as well as in the mystical outpourings

of saints like the AzhwArs of South India, one will

find frequent entreaties to God for forgivance from

Ignorance and for grant of that Grace that will remove

it forever from their minds. In his famous and

heart-rending Sanskrit devotional hymn, the

"sharaNagati-gadyam", Ramanuja cried:

 

"anAdi-kAla-pravrutti-vipareeta-gnyAna...kshamasva!"

 

(Lord, please forgive me for the Ignorance in which

I've been swirling all these years; cleanse me of the

perversions of thought and feeling

('vipareeta-gnyANa') it has led me to in this world!)

 

And again, in the immortal Tamil devotional classic,

the 'TiruppAvai', the mystic AndAl ends her outpouring

of 30 stanzas with a poignant admission of

Ignorance... "arivonrUm illAda aaykulatthu..." (Stanza

28); and then a ringing prayer goes out to the

Almighty, on behalf of all mankind, to pardon the

Ignorant of the world and grant Grace to Man: "ariyAda

pillaigaLOm anbinAl...unnai azhaitannam... seeri

arulAdE!"

 

The Bhagavath-gita, in the verse above, tells us that

the Ignorant of the world are of four distinct types

--(1) the "mUDa", (2) the "narAdhamA", (3) the

"mAyayA-apahruta-gnyAni" and (4) the

"aasuram-bhAvam-aasritAh". None of the four types

accepts, let alone embrace, the principle or reality

of God; they do not surrender unto Him -- "na mAm

prapadyantE", says Lord Krishna.

 

It is one of the most valuable lessons Vedantic

scripture has handed down to us in profiling each type

of Ignorant Man. It enables us to discover, if we

introspect deeply enough into what we are and how we

behave, that each of us conforms to these 4 archetypes

indeed -- if not one way, then certainly in the other;

and if not at one time, then at another in our

lives...

 

Type 1: "The 'mUdA'

 

The "mUdA" is the spiritual illiterate. He attained

near-celebrity image in the world thanks to

Adi-Sankara who in his world-famous hymn, the

"bhaja-gOvindam", first gave legendary, anti-heroic

status to this illiterate with the lines:

 

bhaja gOvindam, bhaja gOvindam

gOvindam bhaja mUdamatE!

samprAptE sannihitE maraNE

nahi nahi rakshati dukrngkaraNE!

 

In the course of his travels across India,

Adi-SankarAchArya once came upon an old man totally

engrossed in the study of a Vedic but arcane

grammatical treatise called "dukrngkaraNa" (Vedic

"vyAkarana"). The man became so lost in the pursuit,

he was utterly unmindful of everything else in life.

He was what we might call, a real votary of the

"Work-is-Worship" mantra of the modern times... He

genuinely believed that life became meaningful only

because of the work one chose to do... which, in his

case, was mastering the "dukrngkaraNa". Nothing else

mattered.

 

Sankara dedicated the "bhaja-gOvindam" to the man,

calling him a "mUdamata", a man who makes religion out

of Ignorance. In the rest of the 32 stanzas of the

"bhaja-gOvindam", AdiSankara proceeded to demonstrate

to the man the pathetic folly of his ways. "Give up

this folly, you ignoramus", admonished Sankara, "when

Death is round the corner, it is not the

"dukrngkaraNa" that is salvation! Instead, awaken!

Awaken and sing with devotion in your heart, sing the

Lord's name of "Govinda, Govinda!"

 

If Sankara were to meet present-day "mUdA's" -- i.e.

those that swear by the same "work-is-worship"

principle and declare there is nothing greater or more

meaningful in life than a job, profession or vocation

-- the AchArya perhaps may well be moved to sing again

for their benefit a contemporary version of the same

"bhaja-gOvindam".

 

>From a modern perspective, the faith in

"work-is-worship" may seem to us "practical" and good

to adopt. But people who swear by the motto generally

do not have a clue as to what is true Work or Worship.

Much of the world's secular work is pretty well known

to all of us. It is plain and simple contractual work.

The underlying reason for most of the world's work is

primarily to serve "the market-place". The purpose of

such work therefore never rises higher than (a)

earning a livelihood, (b) improving standard of living

© creating wealth and (d) beating the

inflation-rate. And, of course, there are very many

too who, if they don't work out of need, do so simply

because life provides them nothing more profitable.

 

A donkey or ass, or some such beast of burden, is

also, like Man, put to do the world's work. Looking at

such beasts we normally say, "Poor thing! It is being

worked like a bull". An ass carries heaps of dirty

laundry all its life. A bull pulls enormous loads; or

else, it is made to work the farmer's plough all day

under the sweltering sun. These beasts have a contract

to perform. And in return for all its labour, the bull

or ass is rewarded with a wage -- fodder and hay to

chew upon. Now, just imagine an ass or a bull

philosophizing to us, "How wonderful life is! I

worship my work. I earn my fodder and I'm left alone

to munch and enjoy it all! I am successful, I'm happy.

This is life indeed!"

 

For Work to become really Worship, it must not only

enrich Man but also ennoble him. Our Work can ennoble

us only when we learn how to offer it at the altar of

a purpose that is higher and more sacred than our own

selfish selves. This is called "bhagavath-arpaNam" or

"bhagavath-preetyartham" in Vedanta. It is never easy

of accomplishment but it is one of the cornerstones of

Vedanta.

 

The breed of men known as "mUda-dushkrutina"

undertakes work in the world without reflection upon

its real, deeper purpose. Such men do not really know

for whose benefit all work is being carried out other

than petty self-interest. Such work is not Work. It is

"workaholism" and there is nothing worshipful in it.

Hence, such work is termed "dushkrutam" by the

Bhagavath-Gita. Only the Ignorant -- the "mUda

duskrutina" -- would ever sanctify such work and

elevate its status to Worship.

 

**********

 

(to be continued)

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

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