Bhagwad Gita - Post 254

Summary of 'Bhagwad Gita' ... Continued

This discourse is entitled “Purushottama Yoga” or the “Yoga of the Supreme Person”. Here Lord Krishna tells us about the ultimate source of this visible phenomenal universe from which all things have come into being, just like a great tree with all its roots, trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruits which spring forth from the earth, which itself supports the tree and in which it is rooted.

Sri Krishna declares that the Supreme Being is the source of all existence, and refers allegorically to this universe as being like an inverted tree whose roots are in Para Brahman, and whose spreading branches and foliage constitute all the things and factors that go to make up this creation of variegated phenomena. 

This is a very mysterious “Tree” which is very difficult to understand, being a product of His inscrutable power of Maya; and hence a marvelous, apparent appearance without having actual reality. One who fully understands the nature of this Samsara-Tree goes beyond Maya. 

To be attached to it is to be caught in it. The surest way of transcending this Samsara or worldly life is by wielding the excellent weapon of dispassion and non-attachment.

Lord Krishna also describes for us the wonderful mystery of His Presence in this universe and the supreme place He occupies in sustaining everything here. 

The Lord declares that it is a part of Himself that manifests here as the individual soul in each body. He Himself is the indwelling Oversoul beyond the self. He is the effulgence inherent in the sun, moon and fire. He is present as the nourishing element in the earth. He is the inner witness of all beings. 

He is the Supreme Knower even beyond Vedic knowledge. He is the resplendent Person who is beyond both this perishable phenomenal creation as well as the imperishable individual soul which is a part of His eternal essence. 

Thus, because He is beyond perishable matter and superior to the imperishable soul (enveloped in Maya), He is known in this world as well as in the Vedas as the Supreme Person.

This discourse is important and very instructive to all persons who wish to attain happiness, prosperity and blessedness, and to seekers in particular, who wish to attain success in their spiritual life. 

Lord Krishna brings out quite clearly and unmistakably here the intimate connection between ethics and spirituality, between a life of virtue and God-realization and liberation. 

Listing two sets of qualities of opposite kinds, the Lord classifies them as divine and demoniacal (undivine), and urges us to eradicate the latter and cultivate the divine qualities.

What kind of nature should one develop? What conduct must one follow? What way should one live and act if one must attain God and obtain divine bliss? These questions are answered with perfect clarity and very definitely. 

The pure divine qualities are conducive to peace and liberation and the undivine qualities lead to bondage. 

Purity, good conduct and truth are indispensable to spiritual progress and even to an honorable life here.

Devoid of purity, good conduct and truth, and having no faith in God or a higher Reality beyond this visible world, man degenerates into a two-legged beast of ugly character and cruel actions, and sinks into darkness. 

Such a person becomes his own enemy and the destroyer of the happiness of others as well as his own. 

Therefore, a wise person, desiring success, must eradicate vice and cultivate virtue.

In this world three gates lead to hell—the gates of passion, anger and greed. Released from these three qualities one can succeed in attaining salvation and reaching the highest goal, namely God. 

The goodness or the badness of a particular quality or action, the divinity or the demoniacal nature of any behavior, cannot be asserted entirely by social standards. They become acceptable or not acceptable on account of their relevance to the ultimate goal of life. 

If there is total harmony and relevance with the final attainment, that attitude, that conduct, that behavior, that thought and feeling will be considered as holy, divine, ethical and moral. 

But if there is behavior which is opposed to the consciousness of the ultimate goal of life by encouraging attachment, egoism, possessiveness, cruelty and associated qualities, then it becomes unethical, immoral, bad, ugly, undivine. 

This discourse is termed the “Yoga of the Division of the Three Kinds of Faith”. The theme of this discourse arises out of the question asked by Arjuna in Verse 1 with reference to the final and closing advice of Lord Krishna in the previous discourse, contained in the last two verses therein (Verses 23 and 24). Arjuna asks, “What about those who, even though setting aside scriptural injunctions yet perform worship with faith?”

The Lord replies and states that the faith of such men who ignore the injunctions of the scriptures could be either Sattwic, Rajasic or Tamasic. This would be in accordance with the basic nature of the person himself. And, conversely, as is the kind of faith, so develops the nature of the man.

Thus, in all things like sacrifice, worship, charity, penance, etc., these qualities become expressed in accordance with the kind of faith in which the person concerned is based. 

Three kinds of worship:

Satvika people worship gods and goddesses, rajasika people worship angels and demons, while tamasika people worship ghosts and spirits.

Three kinds of food:

Sattvika people like food that improves health and increases appetite, joy, strength, and longevity. Such food is also tasty, not very dry, cooked with balanced spices, nutritious, and pleasing to the heart. 

The food rajasika people prefer is extremely bitter, sour, salty, dry, hot in temperature and with the spices that burn the tongue and the body.  Such food causes pain, worries and disease.

Tamasika people like food that is ill-cooked, tasteless, putrid, stale, left-over, and filthy.

Three kinds of Yajna

Sattvika yajna is one which is performed following the guidelines of scriptures and saints.

Rajasika yajna is performed with a clear motive of material gain and just to project oneself as a spiritual person.

Tamasika yajna is performed without following any guidelines.  

Three kinds of austerities: 

There are three kinds of austerities, namely, physical, verbal and mental.  Each of these austerities is of three types: sattvika, rajasika, and tamasika.

Each of these austerities is sattvika if it is performed with supreme faith and for spiritual development only, not for any worldly gain.

The rajasika way of performing austerity is to gain honor, attain higher status, receive reverence from people in the society, and is filled with hypocrisy.  The result of such austerity is uncertain and short-lived.

When a person picks up a few ideas and practices them as austerity to torture their own body and mind and simply to harm others, then it is called tamsika austerity.

  

Three kinds of charity: 

When charity is done with noble purpose it is called sattvika charity.

Rajasika charity is done in order to receive a worldly favor and for material gain.

Charity to an unworthy, at improper place and time, and given with insults and disrespect is called tamasika charity. 

All the above produce results in accordance with the quality of the doer’s faith. These acts done with right faith lead to supreme blessedness. 

When taken up without any faith whatsoever, all these actions become barren and useless.

Om, Tat and Sat 

Om, Tat and Sat are three epithets of Brahman.  By that were created formerly the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the yajnas. 

Therefore, the followers of the Vedas always begin all yajnas, tapa and charity enjoined by the scriptures with the utterance of “Om”.

People seeking liberation, uttering the word “Tat”, perform yajna, tapa, and charity only for spiritual development.

The word “Sat” is used whenever one refers to the Ultimate Reality or something good or noble.

The eighteenth discourse, which is the conclusion of the divine discourse of Lord Krishna, is in many ways a summary of the foregoing portions of the Gita. 

It covers in brief numerous important points dealt with in the previous discourses. Here you behold the ultimate result or effect of the Lord’s discourse to Arjuna. The drama of Arjuna’s utter despondency and breakdown is finally resolved in triumphant self-mastery, strength and bold resoluteness. 

Its central message emerges as an assurance that in and through the performance of one’s respective duties in life one can qualify for the highest liberation, if one performs actions by renouncing egoism and attachment and surrendering all desire for selfish, personal gain. By regarding the performance of your duties as worship offered to God, you obtain the Grace of the Lord and attain the eternal One.

Significantly, this discourse opens with a question by Arjuna asking what is true Sannyasa and true Tyaga (renunciation). 

In reply to this important and crucial query, the blessed Lord makes it clear to us that real Sannyasa or renunciation lies in renunciation of selfish actions, and even more in the renunciation of the desire or greed for the fruits of any action. 

Now, what is it that we abandon, and what is it that we relinquish? 

The word ‘sannyasa’ suggests renunciation, but it does not suggest what should be renounced. Here is the difficulty before all Sannyasins. They know very well that when they take to Sannyasa, something has to be renounced, because the very word ‘sannyasa’ means renunciation; but what are they to renounce? Generally they renounce their old clothes and put on new clothes, or they renounce their land and property, their family, etc., if that could be possible.

Actually, according to the Bhagavad Gita at least, such a kind of relinquishment cannot be regarded as Sannyasa. This is because a person may be physically away from the object of attraction and attachment, but physical distance from the object of attachment does not necessarily mean absence of attachment. 

Sannyasins may, even after entering into the holy order, keep in their minds the memory of large estates of land that they had, etc. Renunciation is a difficult thing to understand; and so is the case with tyaga, or abandonment.

Very clearly we are told that selfless and virtuous actions, and actions conducive to the welfare of others should not be abandoned. You must engage yourself in performing such action but renouncing attachment and greed. The true and proper renunciation is giving up of selfishness and attachment while performing one’s legitimate duties. This is called Sattwic Tyaga. 

We neither hate unpleasant action nor are we attached to pleasurable action. As it is not possible for you to renounce all action, the renunciation of egoism, selfishness and attachment in your activity is declared as true renunciation.

  

Karma does not accumulate and bind one who is thus established in such inner renunciation. The divine injunction is that God must be made the sole object of one’s life. This is the heart of the Gita gospel. This is the central message in its teaching. This is the one way to your welfare here.

Now Sanjaya concludes his narrative by declaring that where there is such obedience as that of Arjuna, and such willing readiness to carry out the divine teachings, there surely prosperity, victory, glory and all blessedness will prevail.

Love.