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by Jayaram V
The Bhagavadgita teaches us how to live in this world, do our
duty and
yet remain like lotus leaves amidst water. The world in which we
live is said to be a world of illusion. Out of ignorance and egoism,
states the Bhagavadgita, we bind ourselves to this world through
our desires and our actions, not knowing our true nature and true
purpose. We remain chained to the cycle of births and deaths and
to the forces of nature.
The Bhagavadgita teaches how to escape from this predicament,
not by escaping from the burdens of the worldly life, or avoidance
of responsibilities, but by remaining amidst the humdrum of life
and facing them squarely with a sense of fearlessness, detachment
and stability of mind accepting God as the Doer.
According to the Bhagavadgita, salvation is not possible for
those who want to escape from life and activity. Those who remain
amidst society, unafraid of the burdens of life, and live a life
of sacrifice fully surrendering to God are in fact more qualified
for it.
Those who are prepared to go through the battles of life, through
self-discipline, stability of mind, detachment, surrendering to
God with full devotion, wisdom , right discrimination and knowledge,
are qualified to attain liberation and union with the Supreme.
The Bhagavadgita is about Arjuna, who was suddenly overcome by
sorrow in the middle of battle field and stood confused and worried.
Lord Krishna, who was his charioteer in the battle field, taught
him, out of extreme compassion and love, how to overcome the limitations
of egoistic thinking and set oneself free by following the paths
of right action, right knowledge and right devotion.
The following is a summary of the Bhagavadgita, which reflects
the salient features of Lord Krishna's teachings. For a complete
understanding of the Bhagavadgita please refer to the
complete translation
available elsewhere at our website.
Know that you are the spiritual self
The first lesson that we learn from the Bhagavadgita is to know
who we are actually because most of our problems arise because we
tend to identify ourselves with our physical personalities.
The scriptures makes it clear that the body is unreal. It is like
a garment worn by the self. We are actually the spiritual selves.
The individual self that exists in each of us is real and permanent.
It is immortal and indestructible. It is an aspect of the Supreme
Self and is beyond the grasp of the mind and the senses.
Stabilize your mind by overcoming desires
Our minds are the seat of our desires, thoughts and feelings.
Our wandering senses keep our minds in a state of turmoil. They
are responsible for our desire for sense objects and attachment
with them. Our attachment and desires in turn subject our minds
to conflicting emotions as we come into contact with pairs of opposites.
An unstable mind is characterized by egoistic thinking and desire
ridden actions. A man with unstable mind is not fit for salvation.
His consciousness keeps wandering around sense objects and remains
entangled in the distractions of the world. Instability of the mind
is therefore the first problem we need to resolve to know who we
are and experience our real selves.
But how to stabilize our minds? The Bhagavadgita suggests that
through self-discipline a devotee can control the activity of the
senses, develop detachment from the sense objects and achieve tranquility
of the mind. With the attainment of tranquility of mind all his
sorrows would come to an end. He can then easily establish his mind
in God and achieve union with Him.
Do your duty with detachment renouncing the doership
By merely restraining our senses and controlling our minds we
will not be able to free ourselves from the cycle of births and
deaths unless restraining our sensess by our minds, unattached,
and understanding the nature of action, we engage ourselves in doing
our obligatory duties.
The Bhagavadgita says that none can escape from activity or remain
inactive even for a moment. Whoever is born on earth is helplessly
driven to action by his in-born qualities.
Therefore a man should perform his obligatory duty, for action
is superior to inaction. But while performing actions he should
not think that he is the doer nor he should have any attachment
for the work he is doing.
The ignorant man acts with attachment thinking that "I am the
doer." But the wise person acts without attachment, desiring the
welfare of the world-order. For him there is no interest in what
is done and what is not to be done, nor has he to depend upon anyone
for anything.
Actions do not taint God, even though He engages in actions,
for He has no desire for the fruit of actions. A wise man has complete
knowledge of action. He knows the various methods through which
sacrifices are performed. Knowing thus, through knowledge, he becomes
free from the bondage of action. His actions are burnt up in the
fire of wisdom. Through knowledge he attains peace.
True renunciation is renunciation of doership
Better than renunciation of action with knowledge is renunciation
of action by renouncing the sense of doership. The knower of truth
while performing actions knows that he does nothing at all. He acts
offering all actions to God, without any attachment. He remains
untouched by sin as the lotus-leaf by water.
A Karmayogi performs actions only with his senses, mind, intellect
and body, giving up all attachment for his inner purification, offering
the fruit of his actions to God. Mentally renouncing all actions
and self-controlled, he lives in his body happily, neither acting
nor making others act. Offering the fruit of actions to God, he
attains peace in the form of Self-realization. He becomes one with
God and attains liberation.
He is a true sanyasi who has ceased to have any attachment either
for the sense-objects or for actions and who has renounced all thoughts
of the world. He conquers his lower self by his higher self. He
becomes established in god. He remains the same amidst heat and
cold, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor. For him a clod of earth
or a piece of gold is the same. He is equal minded among friends
and foes, among the neutral and impartial, among the saints and
sinners alike.
Acknowledge the presence of God in you and in everything
God dwells in the body as Adhidaiva, as the inner witness. At
the time of death he who remembers God alone, attains Him without
any doubt. Therefore one should remember Him at all times, with
mind and intellect absorbed in Him. By constant practice of yoga,
his mind without thinking anything else, constantly meditating on
Him, he attains the Supreme Divine.
The Whole universe is permeated by God. All beings exist in him.
At the beginning of every cycle of creation, He creates multitude
of beings and keeps them under the influence of Prakriti, His Lower
Nature. These works do not bind Him, for he is unattached and indifferent
to these actions.
Fools do not recognize His greatness and disregard Him. But the
wise know His true nature and worship Him with unwavering devotion.
Surrender to God with devotion
Those devotees who worship Him only, always thinking of Him only,
and ever united, God takes care of their wants and needs and looks
after their welfare. Even those who worship other gods also in a
way worship Him because He is the Lord of all offerings.
Those who worship gods go to the gods. But those who worship
the Supreme attain the Supreme. Whatever that is offered to the
Supreme Lord with love and in pure devotion is accepted by Him.
So whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we offer as oblation
to the sacred fire, whatever we give as a gift, whatever we do as
an act of penance, we should offer it all to Him only.
Through pure devotion, by constantly thinking of Him and worshipping
him, doing actions for His sake, taking refuge in him and renouncing
all fruits of actions, with self-conquered, with no expectations,
steady of mind, a devotee can easily attain God. Such a devotee
is very dearer to God and He takes care of such devotees in every
possible way.
The body is the field of activity and God dwells in the body
as the Knower of the Field. The body is made up of five great elements,
the intellect, the unmanifest nature, the ten senses, the mind and
the five objects of the senses. It is also the seat of all desires,
feelings, emotions and mental energy. The knower of the body is
the Supreme Brahman who resides in the body as the indwelling soul.
The body is an aspect of Prakriti. The knower of the body is
Purusha. All actions are performed by Prakriti while the Purusha,
the witness, the Guide, the Non-doer. Purusha seated in Prakriti
enjoys the qualities of Prakriti. Attachment of the Purusha to these
qualities is the cause of bondage.
Know the truth about the three gunas
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three gunas born of Prakriti
which bind the imperishable soul to the body through attachment.
Sattva is pure and luminous and it binds the soul through attachment
of happiness and knowledge. Rajas is born of passion and binds the
soul through attachment to the fruits of actions. Tamas is the quality
born of the dark ignorance and indolence and it binds the soul through
negligence, sloth and sleep. These three gunas bind the soul to
the illusion and chain of births and deaths.
A devotee , through the grace of God, can overcome these three
gunas and attain salvation.
Conclusion
According to the Bhagavadgita a man should not renounce action
or avoid doing his obligatory duty. He should engage himself in
action, but with a sense of detachment, with a steady mind and with
self-discipline, casting away egoism and all other negative qualities,
without any desire for the fruits of his actions, with a sense of
sacrifice, completely surrendering to God and fully devoted to Him,
offering the fruit of his actions to Him and partaking the remains
of the nectar in the form of sacrifice.
Actions performed in this manner do not bind men. Always engaged
in some action, taking shelter in Him, by His grace, he attains
the eternal, imperishable Abode.
This should never be spoken to one who is not austere, who is
without devotion, who desires not to listen and who speaks ill of
God. But whoever with supreme adoration to Him teaches this to His
devotees, he will attain Him without any doubt.
Suggested Further Reading
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