Gita Acharan

I n the context of knowing Him at the time of death, Krishna says, “Therefore, remember Me all times ( Sarveshu-kaleshu-maam-anusmara ) and fight. With mind and intellect absorbed in Me you shall without doubt come unto Me” (8.7). We ‘remember God’ by worshipping Him for some time during the day or by occasionally going to a place of worship or otherwise. Names of Gods and rituals performed might vary with different belief systems. Remembering God is usually for removing our difficulties or to attain possessions, power or fame. But here Krishna says ‘remember Me all the times’, which seems impossible, as we are not aware of how to pray continuously throughout the day. The clue to this riddle comes from the foundation of bhakti yoga which says, ‘to see all beings in the self; self in all beings; and see Him everywhere’ (6.29 & 6.30). When this existential truth is realised, one beholds Paramatma everywhere which is nothing but ‘remembering Him at all times’. Whatev...

A rjuna wanted to know how, at the time of death, you (Krishna) are to be known by the self-disciplined (8.2) and Krishna replies, “He enters My Being who thinks of Me alone at the hour of the body being abandoned. This truth is beyond doubt” (8.5). This is a definitive assurance that one attains Him even if one remembers Him at the time of death. But this verse gives impression that throughout life one can perpetrate evil, be a misguided fool who follows the path of demons, be a hypocrite or deluded, can chase pleasures and desires; and it would be sufficient to remember Paramatma at the end. Krishna immediately dispels this notion and says, “Of whatever being one thinks at the end while leaving the body, to that alone one goes, (because) of long persistence in it (during lifetime)” (8.6). Firstly, neither do we know about the time of death, nor can anyone give a guarantee. The time of death is so uncertain that any plan to remember Paramatma based on it is likely to...

L ife is an interplay of energy and matter. It all began with energy and matter formed subsequently at different stages. The combination of molecules of matter gives rise to different types of compounds with varying properties resulting in immense diversity. One such combination is the physical bodies of life forms, which sustain themselves on energy derived from food. Some life forms like plants, know how to make food from sunlight and other living beings survive on the food made by them. In a nutshell, life is a game of energy and matter. This context would help us to understand some words used by Krishna like Brahma, Karma , Adhyatma , Adhibhutam , Adhidaivam and Adhiyajnah (7.29 and 7.30). Arjuna wanted to know about them (8.1 and 8.2) and Krishna replies, “ Adhibhutam is perishable nature; Adhidaivam is the purush (residing in Pura i.e. city) and I am the Adhiyajnah here in the body” (8.4). Adhibhutam is the matter or ‘form’ which gets perished in time; Adh...

‘ W hat is karma ’ is Arjuna’s next question. This is in response to Krishna’s assurance that one realises akhilam-karma (all aspects of karma , akarma and vikarma ) when one strives for salvation by taking refuge in Him (7.29). Krishna replies, “separation (sacrifice) of cosmic energy capable of creation ( bhuta-bhava-udbhava-karo-visargah ) is called karma ” (8.3). This is a difficult explanation to comprehend, and the interpretations complicate the issue rather than providing clarity. Usual interpretations of karma suggest it to be noble deeds, creation or yajna , but all of them fail to satisfy what Krishna means. While Krishna’s reply regarding ‘ karma ’ operates at the level of ‘being’, we interpret it at the level of ‘doing’. That’s why our understanding of ‘what we do is karma ’ falls short, as different people keep doing different things at different times. On the other hand, any definition should be valid for every point in time - be it past when humans didn’t exist, pre...