Bhagwad Gita - Post 24

Swadharma continued…

While Paradharma (duties at worldly level) varies depending upon whether one is a soldier, doctor, lawyer, teacher etc. ATMADHARMA is the same for all.

Human being alone has the faculty of discrimination (Buddhi / Intellect) and thus Atmadharma becomes relevant and applicable in the case of humans alone, on the other hand, animals have no discriminating power and are therefore bound by Paradharma alone, which they observe by God-endowed instinct.

People often wonder why Krishna asked Arjuna to fight and kill. Fighting are the secondary aspects of Krishna’s advice.  Basically, what Krishna was teaching arjuna was- 

“DO THE DUTY TO WHICH YOU ARE BORN”

(The only duty for which we are born is to realize God, is it not?)

In case of a soldier, it is an accepted fact that throughout the world that it is the duty of a soldier to fight when necessary.

Now there is a question. Suppose one is a soldier. A soldier is supposed to obey orders of his senior.  Does he, under the circumstances, blindly obey orders, no matter what they are? 

In World War 2, Hitler orders the mass killing of the Jews. All Nazi soldiers executed their king’s orders and when they faced trial as war criminals, they all pleaded that they were merely following the orders.

A soldier must no doubt follow his Paradharma but that does not mean blindly obeying orders, especially immoral ones. 

Paradharma is always subservient to Atmadharma.  Killing Jews has nothing to do with the war but to do with Hitler who had hatred for the Jews. 

If with such a motive, the king ordered for killing  the  Jews, it was wrong and immoral and therefore the order should not have been followed, even if it means that  the punishment for not obeying the order is death, it is better to accept the same instead of accepting an immoral order. 

Thus, even the teachings of Krishna in these verses on Swadharma, are based on “THE ATMAN or THE SELF”.

Swami says, 

“You should correctly understand the meaning of the term “Swadharma and Paradharma used in the Gita.  The meaning of Swadharma is Atmadharma, and not the duties or Dharma based on different castes such as Brahmana Dharma, Kshatriya Dharma and so on. Likewise, Paradharma means dehadharma, the duty related to the body.

It is in this sense that you should understand the declaration in the Gita, “Paradharma Bhaya Vahah”, which in effect means that if you follow the Dehadharma or the Dharma of the Physical Body, fear will be lot in life. 

On the other hand, if you understand the real meaning of the verses and words in the Gita, and if you live your life accordingly, you will have no fear of ridicule, sorrow or suffering”

(Extract from the book - “Message of the Lord”)

We end this subject with the classic example of Prahlada story.

The scriptures say that one must treat one’s parents as God. In practical terms, it means “Obey your parents”.

Prahlada’s father orders him to deny God and instead worship him as almighty. 

Here, Paradharma says, “obey your father’, but Atmadharma says, “NEVER EVER DENY GOD”. 

In this case, there was a clear conflict between the two Dharma. 

Prahlada chose Atmadharma over Paradharma, proving to the world (for centuries to follow) that “Paradharma has to be within the Atmadharma and if it conflicts with Atma dharma, then it should not be followed”.

The moral lesson which Krishna gives to us through these verses on action / Dharma in this chapter is,

One must follow Atmadharma, which is possible only if one is tuned to Atman / SELF.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 23

Dear All,

Having covered the essence of the second chapter verses dealing with SELF, we move on to the next part - Dharma or action / duties. 

Verse 31

Swadharmam api chaavekshya

na vikampitum arhasi;
Dharmyaaddhi yuddhaacchreyo'nyat

kshatriyasya na vidyate.

Further, having regard to your own duty, you should not waver, for there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.

Having established the fact that it is not intelligent to lament about the soul of any living entity, Lord Krishna subsequently responds to Arjuna’s supplication on what is in his highest good with the word Swadharma or principles of righteousness. 

Lord Krishna is emphasizing this to Arjuna so that he will follow his duty as a kshatriya and act like a warrior. 

For, to act contrary and hesitate is not in accordance with kshatriya code according to Vedic scriptures and such a deviation by Arjuna, would be considered an act of unrighteousness. 

What then is duty? Righteousness is duty which is not separate from those who are righteous. For a kshatriya there is nothing more welcome than the opportunity to fight a battle to protect righteousness. 

Swa-dharma is one’s duty as an individual, in accordance with the Vedas. There are two kinds of swa-dharmas, or prescribed duties for the individual — spiritual duties and material duties. 

Since a vast majority of humankind does not possess this spiritual perspective, the Vedas also prescribe duties for those who see themselves as the body. These duties are defined according to one’s āśhram (station in life), and varṇa (occupation). They are mundane duties. 

This distinction between spiritual duties and material duties needs to be kept in mind while understanding the Bhagwad Gita and the Vedic philosophy at large.

By occupation, Arjun was a warrior, and so his occupational duty as a warrior was to fight for the protection of righteousness. Sri Krishna is calling this swa-dharma, or prescribed duty at the bodily level.

Krishna tells Arjuna to fulfil his duty as a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya’s obligation is to uphold righteousness, protect the good and ensure that justice prevails. Here is a war that has come to Arjuna unsought. He must display courage, valour and skill. Instead Arjuna is focusing on extraneous issues and getting overpowered by emotion.

Now, let us try to get deeper into this SWADHARMA in spiritual sense.

In Spiritual sense, SWA+DHARMA = Dharma of SELF or ATMA DHARMA.

For example, every nation has its written constitution. We have our constitution in India. 

So, all the legislative laws and decisions have to be in a way that they are within the framework of the constitution. Many a times, laws are challenged in court. In such situations, court decides whether the concerned law is in accordance with the constitution. If the law is within the constitution, it is upheld otherwise, court declares the law as invalid and it is struck down.

So, Atmadharma means - “You shall do nothing, which is against the nature of Atma”.

We all know the story of Sibi Chakravarthy. Once a pigeon seeks refuge in Sibi, saying that it is being chased by an eagle. When the eagle comes, Sibi warns the eagle to leave the pigeon alone. 

The eagle then challenges Sibi and says, 

“O King, you are known to strictly adhere to Dharma. I too follow my own Dharma which is to survive by hunting. You are interfering in my dharma.

You may be right in following your dharma to protect the one (pigeon) who has sought refuge but how about my dharma? Are you not obstructing my dharma?”

The story goes that King Sibi honors the Dharma of the eagle and offers to the eagle flesh from his own body, equal in weight to that of the pigeon.

Paradharma of duty at physical level changes from person to person and in fact, for the same person himself depending upon which ashram he is in. His duties are different in his childhood, in his youth, as a householder etc.

However, irrespective of the varnas, irrespective of diversities in human beings, ATMA DHARMA is the same for one and all.

Continued…

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 22

Avyaktaadeeni bhootaani

vyaktamadhyaani bhaarata;

Avyakta nidhanaanyeva

tatra kaa paridevanaa.

Beings are unmanifested in their beginning, manifested in their middle state, Arjuna, and unmanifested again in their end! What is there to grieve about?

All living entities have the unmanifest as their beginnings, meaning unmanifest in the physical existence because it is only that which exists in the physical world either subtle or physical that is manifested. 

In the middle, all living entities are manifested in the period between birth and death known as life, constituting the state of mortal existence. 

Finally, at the moment the body perishes known as death, all living entities return once more to the unmanifest state. 

It is inevitable that all living entities must accept the nature of the material existence being embodied in a physical body so what is the need to lament over the physical body. To lament thus is like a person lamenting over friends seen drowning in a dream after one has woken up.

Sage Narada instructed Yudhishtra along similar lines, in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:

yan manyase dhruvaṁ lokam

adhruvaṁ vā na chobhayam

sarvathā na hi śhochyās

te snehād anyatra mohajāt 

(1.13.44) [v31]

“Whether you consider the personality to be an eternal soul or to be a temporary body, or even if you accept it as an inconceivable mixture of soul and body, you should not lament in any way. The cause for lamentation is only attachment that arises out of illusion.”

In the material realm, each individual soul is bound by three bodies — gross body, subtle body, causal body.

Gross body: Consists of the five gross elements of nature — earth, water, fire, air, and space.

Subtle body: Consists of eighteen elements — five life-airs, five working senses, five knowledge senses, mind, intellect, and ego.

Causal body: Consists of the account of karmas from endless past lives, including the sanskārs (tendencies) carried forward from previous lives.

At the time of death, the soul discards its gross body, and departs with the subtle and causal bodies. God again gives the soul another gross body according to its subtle and causal bodies and sends the soul into a suitable mother’s womb for the purpose. 

After the soul gives up one gross body, there is a transitional phase before it receives a new gross body. This could be a few seconds in duration or a few years long. 

So, before birth, the soul existed with the unmanifest subtle and causal bodies. After death, it still exists in the unmanifest state. It only becomes manifest in the middle. So, death is no reason for grief. 

Going beyond the three Bodies and the soul, Vedanta declares that whatever we see, perceive and experience in the manifest creation with our manifest physical existence is NOTHING BUT THE PURE SELF (UNMANIFEST), filling itself in this entire creation.

“As fire, though one, takes the shape of every object which it consumes, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells. As air, though one, takes the shape of every object which it enters, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which It dwells” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:9, 10).

So, retracing to the pure canvass pour which is going to be the reference point for all exposition on SELF in all times to come in these B Gita posts and aligning the same with the above verse in subtle manner in our contemplation, we would realize that:

1. Pure canvass IS and will ever be Unmanifest.

2. While after the starching, outlining and drawing process on the canvass is over and we exist as those drawings, we have to be clear that

-         We, as drawings are manifest, existing in the pure canvass, occupying a part of the pure canvass.

-         It is our misapprehension that we are manifest drawing 

-         Once in Spiritual sadhana we transcend the awareness of the three bodies, then, though physically existing as manifest drawing, yet, in our inward subjective experience, we verily exist only as pure canvass.

“As fire, though one, takes the shape of every object which it consumes, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells. As air, though one, takes the shape of every object which it enters, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which It dwells” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:9, 10).

Exactly in the same way, taking the Kathopanishad verse, if the object that IT consumes, object that IT dwells, object which IT enters are discarded in contemplative meditation on the verse, then what remains is "IT" or "THE SELF".

So, at the highest realm of realizing our SELF, one can exist in the beginning, in the middle and at the end, as UNMANIFEST  SELF / PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, FOR, PURE CONSCIOUSNESS HAS NEITHER BEGINNING, NOR MIDDLE, NOR END as beginning and end are all with respect to time factor and SELF is beyond time and space.

Love.