Gita Acharan

  K rishna says, “ Ahimsa (non-violence), Satyam (truthfulness), Akrodh (freedom from anger), Renunciation, Peacefulness, Non-slanderousness, Compassion for all creatures, Absence of greed, Gentleness, Modesty, Lack of restlessness” (16.2) - are divine qualities. While ahimsa is a divine quality, the violent Kurukshetra battle presents a major barrier that one needs to cross to understand the Bhagavad Gita. Firstly, the answer to this paradox was given by Krishna earlier when he told Arjuna that he would incur no sin if he fought the battle by maintaining the inner balance between pleasure-pain; gain-losses; and victory-defeat (2.38). While defining yoga , Krishna clarified that samatva or inner balance is nothing but yoga . This inner balance or samatva is nothing but ahimsa . Akrodh (freedom from anger), is another divine quality which is also a result of this inner balance. On the other hand, any action that comes out of imbalance is violence and anger. Secondly, when we ...

  K rishna mentions antah-karan suddhi (inner purity), steadfastness in the yoga of wisdom, daan (donation), subjugation of senses, yajna , swa-adhyay (study of self) and uprightness as some of the divine qualities (16.1). One common thread in the Bhagavad Gita is the control of the senses. While senses are essential for our survival, they bind us by generating desires resulting in deviation from the divine path of liberation. Inner purity was earlier referred to as Adhyatma (spirituality) and defined as swabhaav (intrinsic nature) (8.3). Although everyone is born pure, impurities in the form of divisions are later imposed by society and family. As a result, for some consumption of non-vegetarian food is not acceptable, but for others it is acceptable; marrying a cousin is accepted in some cultures and prohibited in others; Prayers to the same Paramatma are quite different and sometimes appear contradictory; the list is endless. Attaining purity is nothing but shedding the...

T he sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is titled ‘Daiva-Asura Sampad Vibhag Yoga’ . It is attaining Union through the distinction of the divine and demonic natures. Each one of us represents several possibilities, which can be termed as daiva (divine) and asura (demonic). ‘Daiva’ is the internal journey towards Paramatma and ‘asura’ is away from Him. Krishna mentions ‘abhayam’ as the first daiva quality (16.1). Though abhayam is interpreted as fearless, it is beyond that. To understand the Bhagavad Gita, we should always keep in mind the third alternative. It is neither raag (fondness) nor viraag (aversion) but transcending both to be veet-raag which is the third stage. Similarly, it is neither aasakti (attachment) nor virakti (detachment) but it is anaasakti . We are quite aware of the polarities of aasakti/raag or virakti/viraag , but transcending to the third stage is the challenge. Similar is ‘abhayam’ , which is beyond both fear and fearlessness. Wh...

  T he fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is called ‘Purushottama Yoga ’. The title comes from the following verse where Krishna says, “I am beyond the perishable prakriti (Nature) and am even higher than imperishable soul ( kootastha ). Hence, I am proclaimed as Purushottama (Supreme Being) in the Vedas and in the world” (15.18). Once awareness starts setting in, two fundamental questions we face are: what are we supposed to do and what are we supposed to know? Krishna had already answered this when He advised us to offer all actions of the present moment to Him, regardless of whether they are to our liking or not, noble or otherwise, while remaining free from egotism ( nir-mama ) and desires ( nir-aasha ) (3.30). Krishna answers the second question and says, “The undeluded knows me as Purushottama , knows all. He worships Me with his whole being” (15.19). Though it is a simple and open secret, ‘knowing all’ is when the knowing is at the existential level. Krishna instructed...