5 Basic Truths of Bhagavad Gita

Ram Singh

The Bhagavad-gita which is part of the Mahabharata is a philosophical text with 700 verses and 18 chapters,each called “Yoga”.It is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, addressing the moral, philosophical, and spiritual dilemmas of life.
The Bhagavad Gita, or the “Song of God”, is one of the most revered spiritual scriptures of India.It is not merely a religious text but a practical guide to life.
The introduction of the Gita is extremely important for understanding the whole text. Its teachings are a synthesis of different yogic paths,including action [Karma Yoga], devotion [Bhakti Yoga], and knowledge[Jnana Yoga], intended to help one achieve spiritual liberation. Krishna, an avatar of the God vishnu, acts as Arjuna’s charioteer and spiritual teacher. He advises Arjuna to fulfill his warrior duty while remaining detached from the outcome, thereby uniting action with righteousness [dharma].
The Bhagavad Gita provides spiritual and philosophical guidance by explaining the relationship between the individual self [Atma] and the Supreme self [Brahman].It teaches how to attain self realization and liberation from the anxieties of material existence. The text emphasizes Karma Yoga[the path of action],Bhakti Yoga[the path of devotion], and Jnana Yoga[the path of knowledge] as the ways to achieve this.
Five Basic Truths of Bhagavad Gita
Main 5 topics of Bhagavad Gita: The essence of Bhagavad Gita can be
well understood by knowing its five main topics: Isvara [God],Jiva [living
entity], Prakriti [material nature], Kala[time], and Karma [Action].
Ishvara [God]-Our Supreme Father:
All of us are controlled by someone or other in our lives. A child is controlled by the teacher at the School and by the parents at home. A man or woman is controlled by the Boss at the office. Even the head of the State is also controlled by many factors. Ultimately, everyone is under the strict control of Nature and its laws. At the most, one can perceive the unfailing control of Nature over everyone. But even in Nature, we see perfect orderliness-seasons come on time; Sun and moon appear and disappear at definite times of the day. Thus, one can further ask, “Who is the ultimate controller of everything?”
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna declares that He is the ultimate proprietor, controller and enjoyer of everything. He explains that the material nature is functioning under His guidance. Lord Krishna declares that the entire cosmic manifestation is created, maintained and annihilated repeatedly under His will. He is the source of all spiritual and material worlds. All material manifestations emanate from Him and enter into Him at the time of annihilation.
Everything that is animate or inanimate is a manifestation of one of His energies-material or spiritual. In His unmanifested form, He pervades everything and all beings are in Him. He explains that He is the Supersoul, sitting in the heart of all living entities-giving them the power to remember, understand and forget. Declares that the Supreme attainable destination for anyone is His personal abode-Goloka Vrindavana. He explains that one can reach this abode only by rendering unalloyed devotional service unto Him.
The Bhagavad Gita is very clear that God is neither abstract nor impersonal. It declares God to be Krishna, the Suprema person. He is not judgemental or envious but a loving and lovable person. The sweetest aspect of Bhagavad Gita is that it glorifies the relationship between Krishna and His devotees-how they serve Him unconditionally and how He reciprocates with them affectionately.
Living entity [Jiva]- Who we are?
Almost all of us identify ourselves with the body that we inhabit. We consider ourselves to be either male or female, Punjabi or Gujarati; Indian or American; Hindu or Muslim . But these are just the identities that our bodies assume. Sometimes we say, “My body is aching today.” At other times, we say, My mind is disturbed today. “Whose body or mind are we referring to here? Have we ever wondered who
this real “I’ is? Similarly, when someone dies, it is common to say, “He has passed away”. Why do we say this if the body is lying right in front of us?.
It is the soul that energizes the body and makes it work. When the soul leaves the body, it exhibits no symptoms of consciousness. The soul can not be seen or heard; it can not be felt or perceived; Just for an estimate ,it is said that the soul is very tiny in size- as small as one- ten thousandth the size of the tip of a hair.
The presence of soul can be understood only by the symptom of consciousness that it produces in a material body. It is this soul that moves or migrates from one body to the other. This process of migration of the soul from one body to the other is called “reincarnation”.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna further explains that every living entity(Jiva or the Soul) is His eternal part and parcel. Krishna is the Supreme whole and we are His eternal parts and parcels.
Nature (Prakriti)-Like our mother:
Material nature and God can be compared to the mother and father of all living entities. In this world ,we can see that the father impregnates the mother with the child. Similarly, Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-Gita that He is the seed giving father of all living entities. He impregnates the material nature with all living entities. Just like the mother nourishes the child by providing all eatables, Mother nature nourishes all living beings with everything necessary for their sustenance. Food for all is amply provided by nature. Any scarcity is to be understood as artificial or man made.
Everyone can more or less relate to the fact that Nature is like the mother. However, most ill- informed people are tricked to think that material nature acts independently without any controlling authority. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, however, declares that the material nature is working under His direction. This is easy to understand. We can judge by our day- to-day experience how a material object can not move on its own.
For example, a car transports us from one place to the other.
However, it does not move on its own-it is driven by a living force-a person. Similarly , matter can not act on its own; it has to be driven by a living force. Sometimes, out of foolishness, man thinks that he can control nature. He might control nature to a very small extent. But he is completely controlled by nature. A heavy downpour of rain for few hours could drown even the most sophisticated cities of the world. Furthermore, nature controls every living being through the three modes-goodness, passion and ignorance.
Kala (Time)-The invincible power:-
Time, as a feature of Lord Krishna destroys everything. In our day-today
experience, we can see how everything deteriorates with time. Everything and everyone are subject to the cruel laws of time.
Time and tide wait for none. Bhagavad Gita further explains that time is relative and cyclical-A set of four Yugas namely Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali repeat themselves in a cyclic fashion. One day of Brahma constitutes1000 such cycles and same number makes his one night.
The lifetime of a universe is100 years of Brahma’s lifetime. That Brahma lives for311 trillion and40 billion earth years might seem wonderful to many and even silly to some. However, this is not difficult to understand. There are many flies and worms that take birth, grow, reproduce and die in a matter of few hours of our time. For these creatures, our lifetime of 70 or 80 years might also seem too long.
Karma(Action)-What is Yoga?
Karma is the most discussed topic of the Bhagavad Gita. It means the form of duty that liberates us from the influence of ignorance. In our current situation, we are suffering due to forgetting of our relationship with God. There are different methods of Yoga described in +the Bhagavad Gita-Karma Yoga (path of action where one works only for the Supreme), Jnana Yoga(path of knowledge about the Supreme), Dhyana Yoga (path of meditation on the Supreme) and Bhakti Yoga (path of loving devotional service unto the Supreme). Of all these paths, Bhakti Yoga is the direct, easiest and quickest path to attain the Supreme Lord-Sri Krishna.
A sincere reader of the Gita keeps depression at a distance. Failures do not affect such a person. He moves ahead in life with faith and confidence in the Supreme. By regular reading of the Bhagavad Gita one becomes cool and clear in his thought process. One becomes very efficient in everything one does. One can take quick and correct decisions. By sincere reading of the Bhagavad Gita and application of the same in one’s life, one becomes simple and humble in one’s dealings in this world. He becomes successful in all his relationships. He is happy and contended in this world and thereafter.
The true and only purpose of life is to live eternally in the loving association of the Lord and His devotees. Our real happiness lies in the eternal family of Krishna. We must seek out that happiness because that is our true destiny.
Conclusion: –
Bhagavad Gita is a transcendental literature which one should read very carefully. If one properly follows the instructions of Bhagavad Gita, one can be freed from all the miseries and anxieties of life. One will be freed from all fears in this life, and one’s next life will be spiritual.
If one reads Bhagavad Gita very sincerely and with all seriousness, then by the grace of the Lord the reactions of his past misdeeds will not act upon him. The Lord says very loudly in the last portion of Bhagavad Gita(18.66).
Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
Thus, the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto
Him, and He indemnifies such a person against all reactions of sins.
” One may cleanse himself daily by taking a bath in water, but if one takes a bath even once in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad Gita, for him the dirt of material life is altogether vanquished.” The Gita is a life manual that teaches us the aim of life and how to live our life in such away that we can get out of all the sufferings of this material world and attain permanent freedom and bliss.
(The author is Deputy Superintendent of Police (Retd)

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