Gita Acharan

Krishna tells Arjun (2:25) that this ( atma /soul) is said to be unmanifested, inconceivable and unchangeable, once you are aware of this, there is no need to grieve for the physical body. Krishna further says that (2:28) all the beings are unmanifest before their birth, they manifest between their birth and death and once again unmanifest after their death.  Many cultures use the ocean and  wave analogy to explain the same. The ocean represents unmanifest and wave represents manifest. Waves arise from the ocean for some period of time and they manifest in different sizes, shapes, intensities etc. Our Indriyas (senses) can only sense the manifest i.e. waves. Finally waves merge back into the ocean from where they arose.  Similarly, a seed holds the potential to grow into a tree. In the seed, the tree is present in its unmanifested form. It becomes manifested when it starts growing into a tree. It ultimately dies after producing many seeds.  Manifested is...

At the very beginning of the Gita (2:14), Krishna says that the meeting of the indriyas (senses) with the external objects causes polarities of pleasure and pain. He tells Arjun to learn to tolerate them, as they are transient. In the contemporary world this is expressed as, 'This too shall pass'. If this is inculcated at experiential level, we can transcend these polarities to find them equally acceptable. There are five indriyas viz. vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Their corresponding physical parts are  eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. The sensory parts are those parts of the brain which process the physical inputs of the respective organs.  However, these sense instruments have a lot of limitations. For example, the eye - it can only process a particular frequency of light which we call visible light. Secondly, it cannot process more than 15 images per second and this is the basis for the creation of videos and movies giving us the pleasure of scree...

Two types of wise men have guided humanity in its quest to understand the inner self.  One approaches from the positive side and another from the negative, though the destination remains the same in both cases. The difference lies in the starting point of the journey and our choice of path depends on our nature. The positively-oriented describes 'that' which is indestructible, eternal, stable and pervades all as 'complete' and to which nothing can be added. 'Creativity' is a metaphor for it.  The negatively-oriented describes 'that' which is indestructible, eternal, stable and pervades all as 'empty' and from which nothing can be removed. 'Space' is a metaphor for it.  In any case, both 'Creativity' and 'Space' are capable of having creation/material manifestation. It is easy to intuitively understand that 'creativity' brings about creation.  On the other hand, science came to the conclusion that the un...

Krishna tells Arjun, "There is no time, past, present or future, when you, I and these rulers on the battlefield are not present." He further adds that the 'material side' of the indestructible eternal 'living entity' is certain to perish and therefore the battle ahead must be fought. This eternal 'living entity' is known by many names such as atma , chaitanya , soul and consciousness. Krishna refers to the same as Dehi . Krishna starts with the essence of creation and speaks of a 'living entity', which is indestructible, immeasurable, pervades all and is eternal. Secondly, the same eternal entity has a material side which invariably perishes. When Krishna mentions about rulers he is referring to that 'living entity' in them, which is indestructible and eternal.  Essentially, we are made up of two parts; body and mind which would invariably perish. They are subject to polarities of pleasure and pain; and Arjun is going thr...

Dwelling further on Sat (real/permanence) and Asat (unreal/impermanence), Krishna asks us to contemplate on 'that' which is indestructible and which pervades all.  The popular and easy understanding about creation is that it is the work of a creator. But Krishna points towards 'creativity', which is a constant evolutionary force. For example it causes sprouting from seeds. The sprout and the seed (both creations) can be destroyed, but not 'creativity', which is at work tirelessly and pervades all around. While the creation is bound by time, 'creativity' is beyond time.  Creation takes birth and ceases to exist after death, whereas 'creativity' is indestructible.  'Creativity' is the real kartha in the sense that it engenders creation. It creates feelings and emotions. It creates physical forms like our body and mind.  Knowledge and memory are always of past and creation (karma-phal) is in the future. 'Creativity' a...

Krishna says Sat (reality/permanence) never ceases to be and Asat (unreal/impermanence) has no existence. A Gyani is one who can distinguish between the two.  The rope and snake analogy is often quoted in many cultures to understand the intricacies of Sat and Asat . A man reached back home at dusk and found a snake coiled at the entrance to his home. But in reality it was a rope left by children, that looked like a snake in the semi-darkness. Here the rope signifies Sat and the snake, Asat . Until he realises Sat i.e. the rope, he is likely to adopt many strategies to handle Asat i.e. imagined snake. He could attack it with a stick (fight), run away (flight) or he  try to light a torch to check out the reality. The best strategies and skills would go in vain when our perception is that of Asat.   Asat derives its existence from Sat , just as the snake doesn't exist without the rope. Since Asat owes its existence to  Sat , it can influence us ...

Krishna says that there are four types of devotees.   The first one wants to come out of difficulties and misery he is facing in life. The second one desires to have physical possessions and worldly pleasures. Most devotees fall in these two categories irrespective of culture, gender, belief systems etc.  Krishna says that these two kinds of devotees pray and perform rituals to various Devatas . It is akin to approaching an appropriate doctor based on the ailment one suffers from. Krishna further says that the desires of these devotees are fulfilled because of their Shradha . It is in essence, a form of surrender.  The following example will illustrate Shradha.  Two farmers who have adjacent farms decide to dig a well to irrigate their farms. The first farmer would dig for a day or two and upon not finding any water would change the location and start digging afresh. The second farmer persistently kept digging at the same place. By the end of the mon...

Krishna says that there is no kartha for any karma . Karma is in fact the result of the interaction among the three Gunas viz. Satva , Rajo and Tama which are a part of Prakriti (nature). Krishna advises Arjun to transcend these Gunas to be free from sorrows. Arjun wanted to know how to be Guna-ateeth (transcending Gunas) and what a person would be like when he attains this state. We have already discussed Dwandwa-ateeth (transcending polarities), Drishta (witness) and Samatva (equanimity), qualities that are enshrined in the Gita. Krishna indicates that a combination of these three constitutes Guna-ateeth. According to Krishna, a person who has attained the state of Guna-ateeth is one who realizes that gunas are interacting with gunas and therefore, remains a saakshi (witness). He neither craves for a particular Guna nor is he averse to any other one.   Guna-ateeth is simultaneously Dwandwa-ateeth also. After understanding the polarities of pleasure and ...

  Samatva (equanimity) is a common thread that runs across the Gita. Lord Krishna highlights Samatva bhav , Samatva drishti and Samatva buddhi at various places. Samatva is easy to understand but difficult to internalize.  The degree of Samatva in us is an indicator of our progress in the spiritual journey.  In the physical realm, most societies have accepted Samatva as equality before law for all citizens. Krishna gives many examples of Samatva when he says, the wise see as equal, the prey and the predators; pleasure and pain; profit and loss etc. The difficulty with humans is that we tend to identify with one or more artificial divisions based on culture, religion, caste, nationality, race and many more. The ability to overcome these divisions and to treat two different people equally, is the first step towards Samatva . This is naturally much deeper than exhibited behavior. The next level of progression in Samatva is an ability to see two people c...

Most of us believe that we are the cause of all our actions and masters of our destiny. In the Gita, Lord Krishna says that interaction between Gunas (properties/characters) creates Karma , but not due to any Karta . Three Gunas are born out of Prakriti (mother nature) and bind the soul with the physical body.  The three Gunas; Satva , Rajo and Tamas are present in each one of us in different proportions. Satva Guna is the attachment to knowledge; Rajo Guna is the attachment to action and Tamas leads to ignorance and heedlessness.  Just as the combination of Electrons, Protons and Neutrons produce materials with a wide range of properties, the combination of the three gunas is responsible for our nature and actions. One of the Gunas tends to dominate over others in each one of us. In fact, interaction among people is nothing but interactions between the Gunas of the individuals.  A magnetic dipole placed in an electro magnetic field rotates along ...

If one word could describe the entire Gita it would be ' Drishta  '(a witness), which appears in many contexts. An understanding of this is important as most of us think 'we' do things and control situations. Arjun, who was about sixty at the time of the Kurukshetra war, had lived a good life and enjoyed all luxuries. As a warrior he had tasted victory in many a battle. At the time of war, he felt that he was the Karta ( Aham-karta ; Ahankaar ) and felt that he would be responsible for the death of his kith and kin, which led to his despondency on the battlefield. The entire Gita is Lord Krishna’s attempt to tell him that he is not the Karta . The natural question that follows is : “ If I am not karta , then what am I”.  The Lord explains in the Gita that Arjun is ' Drishta ', a witness. Due to 60 years of good and bad life experiences, Arjun finds it difficult to grasp the idea that he is only a ' Sakshi'  and not the ' Karta '....

Arjuna compares the mind to the wind and wants to know as to how to control it, so that  it maintains balance.  Krishna says that it's certainly difficult, but it can be achieved through the practice of Vairagya. The mind is evolved to judge inputs brought in by the senses into safe and unsafe and uses memory while doing so. This ability helped us survive and prosper during evolution.  The same ability of the mind can be used for internal judging, which is called awareness. We can feed our own thoughts and feelings back to the judging mind to improve the quality of judging. Similar feedback mechanisms are used to enhance machine learning as well as to stabilize electronic systems. Lord Krishna is hinting at developing this faculty through practice as this doesn't come naturally. In terms of neuroscience, it's like building new neural networks. It's easier to understand Vairagya by understanding its polar opposite Raag.   Raag is broadly a chase for plea...

Transcending polarity/duality (Dwandwa-atheeth) , is another master key in the Gita.  Krishna advises Arjun repeatedly in different contexts, to attain this state.  The common question that intrigues humanity is 'How does unpleasantness/pain come to us even when we strive to make sincere efforts to attain pleasure'. Instead of looking deeper within, we reconcile ourselves by saying that maybe our efforts aren't sufficient. However, ahankaar coupled with hope, motivates us to restart the process of pursuing pleasure and this goes on till the end of life. Understanding of Dwandwa-atheeth answers this question. In the manifested world, everything exists in relation to its polar opposite (Dwandwa) . Birth is the polar opposite to death; pleasure is to pain; win-lose; profit- loss; attach-detach; praise-criticism; conditional love-hate; and the list goes on. The rule is, when we chase one of these, its polar opposite automatically follows. If we lift the stick fro...

The Gita contains many master keys which have the capacity to open up many doors and  bypass hurdles we face in the path of self realisation.    One such master key is to see yourself in others and others in you. Krishna implores us to realize that its HIM in all of us and he is hinting at the un-manifested (form-less). Krishna elsewhere asks us to raise ourselves to bow to a donkey or a thief as if we are bowing to the LORD.  Based on the inputs brought in by the senses, our minds are  programmed to divide and judge situations into safe/pleasant or unsafe/unpleasant. This is necessary and useful to  protect us from imminent dangers. Like any technology, the mind is double-edged too and crosses its mandate, to became our master. This is essentially the birth place of Ahankaar . What this master key says is to make the mind a slave to minimise division/judgement so that cohesion/unity appears. No complex physical entity, including our body can su...