The
spirit of Gita is Universal. It spans
across time and space. It encompasses psychology or behavioral science dealing
with human nature, philosophy, poetry, and the ways and means of enriching life
and evolves human beings. It is said by some that Gita advocates war, while others claim
that Gita is outside Mahabharata and is not connected to the
events. Background of Gita is a war
which is about to be fought and Gita
is an intrinsic part of Mahabharata
as the chain of events that precede the teachings culminate in the Great War
central to Mahabharata. Also the
poetry of Gita and poetry of Mahabharata resonates, i.e. they use the same
metres and same styles. Therefore the author must be the same in both cases,
viz. Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa. The teachings of Gita are also spread across widely all
over Mahabharat in some form or the
other and therefore are not dissociated from the central theme. Gita does not advocate war. It is set in
the background of war and prescribes ideal course of actions under different
circumstances which would be applicable to persons of different temperaments.
However what it postulates is a concept which is not easily understood by
scholars, that selflessness and renunciation are the only means of winning the
battles of life. It provides a way to evolve from performing selfish or self
seeking actions and begetting the consequent sorrows to performing selfless
actions dedicated to the Supreme Being, the divine consciousness pervading the
entire universe and thereby begetting eternal joy and bliss. One should always
act according to one's dharma, which signifies moral duty, path of
virtue, courage or non-cowardice, and selflessness. Acting in this manner one
should not be bothered about the consequences but should work for the sake of
the work, treating work or action as worship.
Gita starts with the Yoga of Despondency. This is
significant in spiritual lives because normally people begin searching for Truth
when confronted with a great sorrow or misery in life. Then they question - what
is the meaning of all? If the search is true, if the query is genuine and if the
aspirant is eager, the truth reveals itself, step by step, as the knowledge in
Gita unfolds. First comes dispassion and detachment about worldly
matters by providing the knowledge of the Self which is the immortal and
undecaying, unlike any worldly and material thing which is impermanent. Then
comes knowledge through detached action. Then dawns the first light of
renunciation. One gets to know the first glimpse of God - the divine incarnation
and the knowledge of the Supreme Being. One then comes to know of the eternal
path to that Supreme Being, and the nature of the Supreme Being further unfolds.
One then gets to understand the divine glories, the manifestations of the divine
and then the divine form reveals itself. One then attains the height of devotion
and spiritual knowledge. One comes to know the nature of Maya or
Prakrti and learns to get out of her chain of the three gunas. One is
then established in Purusha or the Self, the Atman, who is
ever free from any bondage. The truest nature of the divine being is further
revealed and one identifies the world to be composed of two basic traits of
divinity and demoniac ones which are driving all actions in the universe. One
also gets to know the threefold Sraddha which, along with the traits,
are prime movers of the nature of mankind. All knowledge and wisdom culminate in
supreme renunciation, of complete surrender to the divine
will.
Gita discusses two kinds of persons. One
of them is destined to act in the best interest of mankind and therefore should
rise above all selfishness and associated tribulations, who should sacrifice the
fruits of those actions to the Supreme Being and dedicate himself to His will.
The other is above all actions, ever free from bondages and ever blissful. The
latter does not need to perform any action and if he/she acts, it would be only
for the general welfare and those actions will be completely devoid of any sense
of “Me” or “Mine”.
Gita is
also meant to provide courage to face life and its vicissitudes with dignity and
confidence. It urges us to be a man and stare in the face of life’s undulations
and uncertainties without trepidation. It reminds us to act like a noble born
and not tremble with the terrible prospect of having to witness the massacre
unleashed by the samsara on the
souls.
The
last word of Gita is renunciation as succinctly put by one of the greatest
avatars and mystics Sri
Ramakrishna. Gita’s essence is
what comes of reversing the word Gita, viz. Tagi or Tyagi, the all renounced. “Surrender
thy fruits of action, surrender everything and come unto Me, surrender all your
thoughts and actions to Me and you’ll incur no sin”, these are the very
messages told by the Lord to His worthy disciple. These messages are universal
in spirit and a source of supreme joy for all His devotees. The same message appears in Bible in a different form
- "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavily laden and I will give ye
rest." "Come unto Me" signifies surrender while giving rest is having eternal
peace and bliss by surrendering everything
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