Gita Acharan

Krishna says, "Listen again to My supreme word ( Paramam Vachan ) for your welfare (10.1). Neither angels nor sages know my origin as I am the source of all of them" (10.2).  It is inherently difficult to know our origin. A tree can never know the seed which gave it its existence; an eye cannot see itself which limits our ability to understand our origin, and due to the limitation of our senses the same holds true for the Paramatma's origin too. One simple solution is to provide a mirror to the eye so that it can see itself and in this chapter, Krishna provides many instances which can act like a mirror giving HIS glimpses.  Krishna says, "Whoever realises Me to be the unborn, beginning-less and supreme Lord of existence, conquers delusion and is liberated of all sins" (10.3). Krishna is talking about realisation at the existential level, not merely by-hearting at the memory level. This involves being one with existence like the proverbial salt doll ...

Krishna says, "I am equally disposed to all living beings. To Me none is Dweshya (hateful), none is Priya (dear). But those who worship me with devotion are in Me and I am also in them" (9.29). We find some people are fortunate in terms of health, wealth, power and fame whereas some are not, giving the impression of partiality. Secondly, while Krishna is referring to the unconditional love of Paramatma , for us love flows when some conditions are met. These issues make understanding this verse tough.   Rain is the best example to understand the intricacies of this verse. During rainfall, if we keep a bowl, it gathers water. The bigger the bowl, more the water. But if it is kept upside down, then it is impossible to collect water. If we take rain as the blessings of Paramatma , it is impartial and available to everyone. Devotion is keeping the bowl upright to collect blessings.  The unconditional love of Paramatma is also equanimous which can be seen from th...

The grudges and hatred we carry are a major source of our misery which we develop when others harm us through their words and deeds or when others don't acknowledge our help or favours. The root cause of hatred is our assumption that we as well as others are kartha (doer) which leads to Ahankaar ( aham-kartha or I am doer) whereas our gunas (characters) are in fact, the real kartha. This leads to karma-bandhan (bondage of action) of grudges and hatred as we are bound to 'others' for life. To overcome this, Krishna earlier advised us to drop dwesh (hatred) while performing karmas at hand (5.3).  Krishna further says, "Whatever you do, whatever you eat do them as an offering to Me" (9.27). Earlier Krishna said that (2.14) one should be aware about the polarities of pain and pleasure generated during the interaction of senses and sense objects; and learn to ignore them as they are transient ( sankhya yoga ). Using eating as an example, He now says ...

The general fear regarding dropping desires is, who will take care of us, our families and our organisations if we drop the desire to grow and protect. This looks natural and logical. To overcome this fear, Krishna gave an assurance of both Kshemam (welfare) and yoga (union) with HIM to devotees ( yoga-kshemam vahamyam) (9.22). This union is ultimate growth and the assurance of welfare is from the all powerful existence. He gives a couple of simple ways to be a bhakt (devotee). Firstly, he says that even if one worships any other form with Shraddha , they also worship HIM alone (9.23) as he is the enjoyer and Lord of all worship (9.24). This is the crystal clear indication that we should possess Shraddha and that the rest is secondary.  Secondly, Krishna says, "The reverent offering to ME of a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, given with pure devotion, is a devotional offering I accept" (9.26). We can offer simple and easily available things like leaves, flo...

Krishna says that through Vedic rituals one fulfils the desire of entry to heaven and enjoy the subtle pleasures (9.20). After the expiry of their punya (good karma), they come back and keep travelling in this cycle (9.21).  The general interpretation is that the punya , attained through vedic rituals, takes us to heaven after life and we come back once they are exhausted. Another interpretation is possible if attaining contentment by fulfilling desires is taken as entry to heaven. Out of ignorance, one depends on vedic rituals to fulfil desires and attain contentment from 'outside' like people and material possessions. On this path, one returns back to misery as one can never get eternal contentment through these ever changing situations as true contentment can only come from the unchanging self.  Further, duality (dwandwa) is the law of nature where everything exists in its polar opposite. If heaven is taken as a feeling of pleasure polarity, one will enter int...

Krishna says, "I am the Vedic ritual; sacrifice; oblation offered to the ancestors. I am the medicinal herb; the mantra (chant); ajya (clarified butter); Agni (fire) and the act of offering (9.16). Of this universe, I am the Father; I am also the Mother, the Sustainer, and the grandfather. I am the purifier, the goal of knowledge, the sacred syllable Om. I am the Ṛig Veda, Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda" (9.17). "I am the ultimate goal, the upholder, Lord, Witness, Abode, Shelter, and Friend. I am Origin, Pralaya (cosmic end), and the Foundation, treasure house, and Eternal Seed (9.18). I radiate heat and give or withhold the rain. I am amrutam (immortality) as well as mrityu (death). I am the sat (real or being) as well as asat (unreal or illusion)" (9.19).  If the all inclusive existence had to describe itself for our understanding, it would sound like this. The context and words used are of the times when the Gita was given to Arjun.  Krishna e...

In Ramayana, king Vali (Bali) was invincible as he had the capability of taking away half of his enemy's strength in any encounter. Even Lord Rama had to kill him from behind. One way to look at this phenomenon is that Vali is a quick learner, he grasps the skills and knowledge from people and situations as he sees the possibility of Paramatma and not enmity.  Krishna earlier said that all the world is pervaded by HIM (9.4) which indicates that each person or situation is nothing but a facet of Paramatma . However, our ignorance about this basic fact prevents us from being a 'Vali', Krishna in this regard says, "The ignorant, oblivious of my transcendental nature as the maker of all creatures, discount also my presence within the human form" (9.11). It's not just about being ritualistic or heaping praise upon the Lord, but a deep realisation that HE pervades every human around us whether we like them or not.  Certainly, it is a long journey requir...

The Higgs field is an invisible energy field that permeates the entirety of space. Interaction with this field gives mass to the subatomic particles. The combination of these sub atomic particles is nothing but the matter we see around us today. While subatomic particles need the Higgs field to have mass, the Higgs field doesn't need them for its existence.   This current scientific paradigm will help us understand when Krishna says, "All the world is pervaded by Me in the un-manifested form; all beings dwell in Me and I do not dwell in them (9.4). Nor do beings dwell in Me; behold My divine yoga! Bringing forth and supporting beings, Myself does not dwell in them" (9.5).  To make things simple for Arjun, Krishna gives an example and says, "As the wind moving everywhere always rests in space even so know that all beings rest in Me" (9.6). However mighty or destructive the wind or cyclone might be, it is still bound to be in space.  He further says, ...

Krishna says, "To you who doesn't cavil I shall reveal the sublime mystery -knowledge and wisdom. Once this is known, you shall be free from evil (9.1). The royal knowledge, the royal secret the supreme purifier is this, directly realisable, righteous, very easy to practice, imperishable (9.2). Men devoid of Shraddha in this Dharma , without attaining Me, tread the death darkened path of sansara (mortal world)" (9.3).  Krishna sets two conditions to be eligible to get this regal knowledge. The first is having shraddha (trust) and in the absence of shraddha , even royal knowledge becomes a mere arrangement of words.  The second is being free of cavil, which essentially means avoiding finding faults. In a contemporary context, this phenomenon is described as 'we see the world as we are but not as it is'. When two people perceive the same thing or situation in two different ways, differences are bound to be there leading to the bitterness we see around...

Once two sworn enemies prayed and GOD appeared before them. The first one wanted to know about the desires of the second one. However, the second one requested GOD to bless the first one first as GOD appeared there first. Then the first one asked GOD to give him double of what the second one seeks. Thus, the second one, blinded by enmity, prays that he should lose one eye so that the first one loses both eyes; lose a leg so that the other one loses both legs. This game of lose-lose continues when one invests one's energy in hatred and that is why Krishna earlier told us to renounce hatred but not Karma (5.3). Another learning from this story is that we should wisely invest our time and energy as these are limited at our level. In this regard, Krishna says that there are two eternal paths which are, the bright path of no return and the dark path of returning again (8.23 & 8.26). The bright path is the path of channeling most of our energy towards the internal journe...

Truth, Reality and God are one. Realised ones described the same with various names and phrases using the language of their times. On the occasion of Christmas, some such phrases used by Jesus and the Bible which find an echo in the Gita will highlight this aspect.  Equanimity or Samatva is one of the foundations of the Gita and Krishna tells us to treat various things; people (friends, relatives and enemies) and feelings (praise and criticism) as the same. Jesus said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". It's treating subordinates the way we want our bosses to treat us; treating neighbours the way we want them to treat us. This simple yardstick can take us to the pinnacle of Equanimity.  Similarly, it is quoted in the Bible (Matthew 25:29), "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away". This looks difficult to comprehend as we admire tak...

It is said that every morning we are born again which is a rebirth from a 'time' point of view. In this regard, Krishna says that Brahma (creator) too has a day and night but of a different time scale (8.17). At the dawn of the day, all manifested (creation) appears and dissolves back at the dusk of the night of Brahma (8.18). This is invariably a cyclic process (8.19). Anything under the influence of time is cyclic. Krishna says that there exists higher than the un-manifested, yet another un-manifested, eternal, the absolute, which remains untouched by the cycle of cosmic dissolution (8.20). A seed is the best example to understand this verse. Inside a seed an un-manifested tree is hidden and the cycle of seed-tree-seed continues. But, there is a creative force beyond both of them which makes this cycle possible and Krishna is hinting at this creative force that is beyond time. Understanding something beyond time is a difficult task for the mind. Scientifically, th...

Krishna said that my noble devotees, having obtained Me, are no more subject to rebirth (8.16) which otherwise is the abode of grief (8.15). Understanding punar-janma or rebirth is important in this context.  While rebirth is usually interpreted as attaining a new life after death which is akin to its literal translation, it can also be interpreted as the birth of a new situation around us. Situations keep developing around us on a regular basis which are grasped by the senses with their cognitive biases. When a situation ends, the ripples generated by it in us would give birth to many more situations because of our responses or behaviour. Krishna called this cyclic process an abode of grief. But for those who attained Paramatma , these sense inputs disappear like rivers in an ocean. Hence there is no scope to create new situations whereas the existence might continue creating them. We don't have any control over outer situations but we can change ourselves so that the...

The Bhagavad Gita was a live conversation where Krishna was observing Arjun in totality. Krishna must have observed an expression of doubt or disbelief on Arjun's face when Krishna mentioned 'to remember HIM all the times and fight' (8.7) as Arjun was resisting the 'work at hand' (Kurukshetra battle). This tendency of resistance to the work at hand is still prevalent. Krishna immediately describes HIMself as the Omnipresent, Eternal, the Great Ruler, Subtler than the finest atom, Supporter of all, of inconceivable form, Shines like the sun, beyond darkness (8.9). When existence has to describe itself even words fall short.  Krishna gives two paths to remember HIM. One is the path of awareness and says, "He attains the Supreme Effulgent Lord whose mind, stabilized by yoga , is immovably fixed on the thought of Him" (8.8).  The mind is evolved to divide the sensations brought by senses and this division is the birthplace of polarities of pleasure...

In the context of knowing Him at the time of death, Krishna says, "Therefore, remember Me all times (sarveshu-kaleeshu-anusmra) 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 in a 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 looks impossible as we are not aware of how to pray at all times of 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 and 6.30). When this existential truth is realised one realises Paramatma everywhere which is nothing but remembering HIM at all times. ...

Arjun 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 an 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 of remembering paramatma base...

Life is an interplay of energy and matter. It all began with energy and then matter formed subsequently at different stages. The combination of molecules of matter gave rise to different types of compounds with varying properties which resulted in immense diversity. One such combination is the physical bodies of life forms which sustain on the energy coming from the arrangement of matter, known as food. Some life forms (trees) know how to make food from sunlight and others (animals) 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 (7.28 and 7.29). Arjun wants to know about them (8.1 and 8.2) and Krishna says, " Adhibhutam is perishable nature; Adhidaivam is the purusha (residing in Pura i.e. city) and I am the Adhiyajnah here in the body" (8.4). Adhibhutam is the matter or 'form...

'What is  karma ' is Arjun's next question which is in response to Krishna's assurance that one realises  akhilam-karma  (all aspects of  karma ,  akarma  and vikarma) when one strives for liberation by taking refuge in HIM (7.29). To this Krishna replies, "Detachment or sacrifice of cosmic energy capable of creation ( bhuta-bhava-udbhava-karah visarga ) is called  karma " (8.3). This is a difficult explanation to comprehend and the interpretations complicate the issue rather than giving clarity. Usual interpretations of  karma  suggest it to be noble deeds, creation or  yagna , but all of them fail to satisfy what Krishna means. While Krishna's reply regarding ' karma ' is at the level of 'being', we interpret it at 'doing' level. That's why our understanding that 'what we do' is ' karma ' falls short, as different people keep doing different things at different times, whereas any definition should be valid for ...

Krishna mentioned that one realises Brahma when one strives for liberation by taking refuge in HIM (7.29) and Arjun enquires as to what is Brahma (8.1). Krishna says that Brahma is that which is the aksharam (imperishable or indestructible or permanent) and paramam (supreme) (8.3). This implies that there is nothing beyond it and it's not dependent on any external factors. On the contrary, we only know about those things which are changing, impermanent and perishing.  Our own physical body constantly changes. It is estimated that 95 percent of it gets replaced in about 7 years without our knowledge while our DNA remains constant. The solar system would perish in 4 billion years and the universe in about 150 trillion years. Similarly, our thoughts keep changing. Opinions about things, people and situations vary with time; people form diametrically opposite opinions based on the same facts as we see things differently like how the five blind men perceive the elephant...

The seventh Chapter of the Bhagavadgita is called ' Jnana-Vignana-yoga ' which can be interpreted as the understanding of manifested (vyaktha) and un-manifested (a-vyaktha) . Krishna gives two assurances in this Chapter. Firstly, once 'this' is known, nothing is left to be known (7.2) and secondly, if 'this' is understood even at the time of death still they attain ME (7.29). Manifested (perishable) is eightfold (7.4) and un-manifested (eternal) is the life element which is beyond senses but supports the manifested like a string in an ornament of pearls (7.7). Manifested is under the influence of delusions caused by the three gunas(7.25); and by polarities of longing and aversion (7.27) which can be crossed by seeking refuge in HIM.   Science concludes that this entire universe (manifested) was formed from a single point and all we see around us is connected to that point which once held near infinite capacity. A similar analogy will hold for un-...