The Heart of the Bhagavad-gita

Jahnava Nitai Das · August 6, 2002

By Steven J. Rosen

On an ancient battlefield in India’s mythic past, God descended to earth in the form of Krishna and served his devotee as a charioteer. The devotee in question, Prince Arjuna, was in the midst of a devastating civil war, and although Krishna vowed not to take sides -- for, as God, he must remain ever impartial and loving to all -- he agreed to give Arjuna moral support as his chariot driver. It is in this context that Krishna brings the mighty bowman’s chariot in between the two armies, soon to engage in battle, where Arjuna sees friends and family on both sides, ready to fight each other. This is where the Bhagavad-gita, the classic Indic text, begins -- Arjuna is bewildered by mixed emotions and decides not to fight. Through a complex series of philosophical arguments, Krishna persuades him that, in this case, fighting would be in everyone’s best interest.

Although widely published and read by itself, the Bhagavad-gita (literally, “the Song of God”) originally appears as a 700-verse episode in the Sixth Book of the Mahabharata, an epic poem of more than 110,000 Sanskrit couplets. It is often referred to as Gitopanishad. In other words, it follows the style and philosophical conclusions of the classic Upanishads. In fact, there is a popular tradition wherein the Upanishads are compared to cows, and Shri Krishna, God Himself, to the cowherder who lovingly milks these cows. Naturally, in this analogy, Arjuna is compared to an endearing calf, and other men and women who attentively hear the Gita are likened to swan-like personalities of purified intellect -- the fortunate drinkers of the Gita’s ambrosial milk-nectar, the distilled essence of the Upanishads.

High philosophy is not uncommon in India, and the Gita’s philosophical sermons are among the highest. Not surprisingly, then, it has been commented upon by great teachers throughout the ages in an attempt to make it more accessible to each successive generation. All such commentaters agree that bhakti, or devotion to God, is the Gita’s central teaching, overriding ideas about karma and reincarnation, and more important to the text than even Jnana-Yoga, the pursuit of knowledge in the yogic tradition. It becomes clear that the Gita cherishes “heart” over “head,” and emphasizes the inescapable conclusion that passionate devotion far outweighs silent meditation and the pursuit of knowledge.

In an attempt to show the centrality of devotion and “heart over head” in the teachings of the Gita, one seventeenth-century text, the Chaitanya-charitamrita, tells the story of an unnamed illiterate brahmin in South India. The portion of the text that focuses on this brahmin appears below in its entirety.

This is the story of a Vaishnava Brahmin from the land of Ranga. He would go to the temple every day to recite the Bhagavad-gita. During recitation, he would feel great bliss and his eyes filled with tears as he read all eighteen chapters. His reading, however, was imperfect, for his Sanskrit left a great deal to be desired.

And so, people would make fun of him. Nonetheless, in his state of bliss, he was unconcerned that some would laugh and mock him. Totally absorbed in reading the Bhagavad-gita, visible signs of bodily ecstasy, such as tears, quivering, perspiring - all these would engulf him while reading.

Witnessing this, the great Master (Chaitanya) became overjoyed.

The great Master asked him, “Dear brahmin, please indulge me. What is the cause of your unequaled happiness?”

The Brahmin said, “I am a fool and clearly uneducated. I do not know the meaning of these intensely philosophical words, or whether I am reading the Gita correctly or not. I am simply abiding by the order of my teacher. And I see this:

Krishna is in Arjuna’s chariot, holding the reins in His divine hands. He sits with His devotee, appearing dark and exquisitely beautiful. He is offering Arjuna His laborate teachings, but, more importantly, He offers His compassion. And just visualizing Him, in this situation, causes a wave of bliss to overtake me. As long as I read this, however imperfectly, I can have a vision of Him. For this reason, I cannot cease reading the Gita.”

The Master said, “You are the proper authority of the Gîtå. You know it better than the greatest of scholars. You know the essential meaning of the Gita, for you view it with your heart as opposed to merely your intellect.”

—(CC 2.9.93-102, my own translation from the Bengali)

This short story confirms that Indic spiritual tradition ultimately values a heart steeped in devotion over any other metaphysical commodity, be it philosophical acumen, intellectual prowess, or yogic perfection. The South Indian brahmin rightly perceived that Krishna condescended, out of love, to become His devotee’s charioteer, that God became His servant’s servant. This, said the South Indian brahmin, is the real teaching of the Bhagavad-gita. Higher and lower, up and down, material and spiritual, master and disciple -- all begin to lose meaning when love enters the heart. Chaitanya, the great Master mentioned in the story, inundated Medieval India with his Bhakti renaissance of love of God, transforming a culture that valued asceticism and philosophy above all else, into one that appreciates the virtues of a loving heart.

December 10, 2003

I know this is a little of the topic, but I have a question regarding the B.G (as it is).In the writtings, it is explained that there are two types of intelligence. One that denotes a material intelligence-like book smart, and one that denotes a spiritual intelligence. It is also said that one does not need a highly developed intelligence to come to Krishna Conciousness. Can someone please help explain the difference between the two? Also, if there are different sanskrit words that denote these terms and which are used in the Bhagavad-Gita? Help!

December 10, 2003

" It is also said that one does not need a highly developed intelligence to come to Krishna Conciousness."

krsna consciousness is for everyone, not only scholars, professors, scientist.... this is material intelligence.

but with krsna consciousness everyone will develope spiritual intelligence (CIT), and developing it depends from our desire and krsna/guru's mercy not from our material intelligence.