Bhagavad Gita - Daily - Chapter 3 - INTRODUCTION

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Third Chapter

INTRODUCTION

 

The teaching of Gita is based on man's experience. While starting this divine

gospel, (from Gita 2/11), Lord Krsna first and the foremost makes it crystal

clear that the body and the soul are totally and entirely apart / different from

each other. The body is transitory, unreal, limited and perishable, while the

soul is eternal, real, omnipresent and imperishable. Therefore, one should

neither feel sad at the destruction of the perishable nor should one have a

desire to maintain the imperishable� " this is called discrimination (vivek).

This discrimination is very essential in all the three disciplines of Action,

Knowledge and Devotion. When a man discriminates the self from the body, " I am

entirely apart from the body " , it is only on awakening of this discrimination

" vivek " , that the desire for salvation is aroused. Let alone salvation, even the

desire for heaven etc., is aroused, only when a man regards his own self as

apart (separate, different) from the body. Therefore, Sri Bhagavan starts His

gospel with describing discrimination " vivek " at the very inception.

 

This topic of discrimination, begins with the eleventh verse of the second

chapter and continues on to the thirtieth verse. The Lord, instead of using

philosophical terminology (such as, atma, anaatma, prakriti, purusha, brahma,

avidyaa, ishvar, jeev, jagat, maya, etc) has used simple terms to enable people

to understand the topic easily. It means, that every person deserves

God-realization because the human body has been bestowed upon us, only to

realize Him. So, every human being can realize God, by giving due importance, to

discrimination.

 

For this topic, even the term 'intellect' (buddhi), has not been used by the

Lord. In order to distinguish the real from the unreal, the imperishable from

the perishable, the eternal from the transitory and the soul (spirit) from the

body, there is, need only for discrimination (vivek) rather than intellect

(buddhi). Discrimination (vivek) is beyond intellect (buddhi). As prakrti

(nature) and Purusa (spirit) both are without beginning (Gita 13/19), so is

discrimination, which distinguishes, the real from the unreal. This

discrimination has been bestowed upon all creatures by God, and it is eternal,

ever present and revealed in the intellect. Birds and beasts, also know what

should or should not be eaten. Even trees and creepers feel hot and cold and

experience favourable and unfavourable circumstances. Human beings, are

specially endowed with this discrimination, which can release them from the

bondage of birth and death and leads them, to eternal quietude and bliss. This

is the greatness of the discrimination of human beings.

 

When this discrimination is aroused i.e., when a man can distinguish between the

spirit and the body, his affinity for the world, including senses, mind and

intellect, is renounced; which in reality is already the case (Self is free from

Body, Mind, Intellect) and his intellect, becomes purified and equanimous. In

other words, the sentiments of unevenness or the imbalance of the intellect is

wiped out.

 

In the Discipline of Action the resolute intellect is single most important

thing says Sri Bhagavan (Gita 2/41).* When a man firmly resolves that he has to

attain salvation, favourable or unfavourable circumstances are no obstacle and

thus he attains equanimity, without making any effort. When a man resolves to

attain God-realization, his attachment and attraction for the world begins to

disappear. Attachment to pleasure and prosperity, is the main obstacle to the

attainment of a resolute intellect (Gita 2/44).

 

Having laid emphasis on resolute intellect, in the Discipline of Action, the

Lord asks Arjuna, specially to perform his duty with equanimity. He declares,

" You have a right to action alone, but never at all to its fruit " (2/47);

" Perform your duty being steadfast in Yoga " (2/48) viz., equanimity. The Lord

also declares, " Far inferior to the Yoga of wisdom, is action " (2/49) i.e.,

action performed for its fruit, is far inferior to the Yoga of wisdom

(equanimity). He further declares, " Seek thou refuge in equanimity. " Then He

declares, " Endowed with wisdom (evenness of mind), one casts off during this

life both good and evil deeds; therefore devote thyself to Yoga; Yoga is skill

in action " (2/50).

 

Arjuna had already made up his mind not to fight. In the thirty-first verse of

the first chapter, he said, " I do not foresee any good in slaying my kith and

kin. " Then in the forty-fifth verse, he says, " What a great sin have we decided

to commit, by preparing ourselves to slay our own people! " In the fifth verse of

the second chapter, Arjuna says, " It is better to live by begging, than to slay

these honoured teachers (elders). " In the third verse of the second chapter,

Lord Krsna directs Arjuna to arise, shaking off his petty faint-heartedness,

while Arjuna declared his determination not to fight in the ninth verse of the

second chapter.

 

Listener cannot clearly understand what a preacher's teachings, if he is already

full of prejudice. That is why, Arjuna could not have a thorough grasp of the

topic explained to him, by Lord Krsna. He could not make out the real meaning of

Lord Krsna's words. These appeared to him to be ambiguous and confusing. So

Arjuna puts questions to Lord Krsna in the next two verses, in order to get his

doubt cleared.

 

* In the Discipline of Knowledge there is predominance of discrimination, in the

Discipline of Devotion there is predominance of reverence and faith while in the

Discipline of Action there is predominance of resolute intellect. But it does

not mean that in the Discipline of Action there is no discrimination, reverence

and faith. What it means is that resolute intellect predominates. Similarly in

the Disciplines of Knowledge and Devotion also there is resolute intellect.