Gita Acharan

K rishna 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. The limitation of our senses hinders our ability to understand our origin. Many factors limit our ability to know the Paramatma . One simple solution is to show a mirror to the eye so that it can see itself. 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, beginningless 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 memorizing at the mind level. This involves being one with existence like the proverbial salt doll dissolving in the ocean, by shedding ahanka...

K rishna 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 others are not, giving the impression of partiality. Secondly, while Krishna is referring to the unconditional love of Paramatma , love for us 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, the more 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 understood fr...

K rishna says, “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, do them as an offering to Me” (9.27). Earlier Krishna said that one should be aware of 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 ) (2.14). When we maintain a balance during these times, we are eligible for the amrit (moksha). Using eating as an example, Krishna now says to offer that interaction of senses and sense-objects to Him ( bhakti yoga ). Both paths are to transcend polarities and become dwandwa-atheeth (beyond dualities). The grudges and hatred we carry are the pain polarities and they are a major source of our misery which we develop when others harm us through their words and/or 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 karta (doer) which leads to ahankaar ( aham-karta or I am doer) whereas our gunas ...

T he general fear regarding dropping the 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 dispel this fear, Krishna assured His devotees of both kshema (welfare) and yoga (union with Him) - 'Yoga-kshemam vahāmyaham' (9.22). This union is the ultimate goal 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. Krishna further 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, flower...

K rishna says that through Vedic rituals one fulfils the desire of entry to heaven and enjoys 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 the heaven afterlife and we come back once they are exhausted. Another interpretation is possible if attaining contentment by fulfilling desires is taken as a means of 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 to misery as one can never get eternal contentment through these ever-changing situations as contentment can only come from the unchanging self. Further, duality ( dwandwa ) is the law of nature where everything exists along with its polar opposite. If heaven is taken as a feeling of pleasure polarity, we will...

K rishna 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 Rig 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, Pralay (cosmic end), and the Foundation, Treasure house, and Eternal Seed (9.18). I radiate heat and give or withhold the rain. I am Amrit (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 delivered to Arjuna. Krishna earlie...

A s per the epic Ramayana, king Vali (Bali) was invincible, as he had the ability to take away half of his enemy’s strength in any encounter. Even Lord Rama had to kill him from behind a tree. One way to look at this phenomenon is that Vali was a quick learner, he grasped the skills and knowledge from people and situations as he saw the possibility of Paramatma in them but 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, the journey from ignoranc...

T he quantum fields are invisible energy fields that permeate the entirety of space. One such field is called Higgs field and interaction with this field gives mass to the subatomic particles. The combination of these subatomic 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 unmanifested 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 Arjuna, Krishna gives an example and says, “As the wind moving everywhere always rests in space, 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. ...

K rishna 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 sansar (mortal world)” (9.3). Krishna sets forth two conditions to be eligible for receiving this royal knowledge. The first is having shraddha (trust). 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 people cavil at the same thing or situation in different ways, differences are inevitable, leading to the bitterness we see around. When cavilling is drop...

O nce upon a time, two sworn enemies prayed to God. God decided to bless them both and appeared before each of them separately. The first wished to know what the second would ask for. When God appeared before the second, he requested that God bless the first one first, since God had appeared there earlier. God then appeared before the first. Knowing the second’s intention, the first asked God to grant him double of whatever the second would receive. Blinded by enmity, the second then prayed that he should lose one eye so that the first would lose both; lose one leg so that the other would lose both legs. This spiral of mutual loss continued. This story illustrates a lose–lose game that unfolds when one invests energy in hatred. That is why Krishna advises us to renounce hatred, but not action ( karma ) (5.3) by inculcating the divine quality of forgiveness (16.3). Another learning from this story is that we should wisely invest our time and energy as these are limited a...

T ruth, Reality and God are one. Realised ones described the same with various names and phrases using the language of their times. 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 taking from the rich and giving to the poor. If abunda...

I t 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) appear and dissolve 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 unmanifested, yet another unmanifested, 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 unmanifested tree is hidden and the cycle of seed-tree-seed continues. But there is a creative force beyond both 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 our mind. Scientifically, the theory of re...

K rishna said that my noble devotees, having obtained Me, are no longer subject to punar-janma (rebirth) (8.16) which otherwise is the abode of grief (8.15). Understanding punar-janma or rebirth is important in this context. In line with its literal meaning, rebirth is commonly understood as the attainment of a new life after death; however, it can also be interpreted as the birth of a new situation around us. Situations keep evolving around us on a regular basis which are perceived 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. For example, a bad day at work can carry over and spoil the evening with family. 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 for creating new situations. We have no control over exter...

T he Bhagavad Gita was a live conversation where Krishna was observing Arjuna in totality. Krishna must have observed an expression of doubt or disbelief on Arjuna’s face when Krishna mentioned ‘to remember Him all the times and fight’ (8.7) as Arjuna was resisting the ‘work at hand’ (Kurukshetra battle). This tendency of resistance to the ‘work in hand’ is still prevalent in us. 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 another is the path of devotion. Regarding the path of awareness He says, “He attains the Supreme Effulgent Lord whose mind, stabilized by yoga , is immovably fixed on the thought of Him” (8.8). The mind evolved to divide the sense inputs brought by senses and t...

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...

K rishna mentioned that one realises Brahma when one strives for salvation by taking refuge in Him (7.29) and Arjuna enquires as to what is Brahma (8.1). Krishna says that Brahma is that which is 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. But 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, much like the story of the five blind men perceiving an elephant differently. Even our goals ev...

T he seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is called ‘ Jnana-Vignana-Yoga ’ which can be interpreted as the understanding of manifested ( vyakta ) and unmanifested ( avyakta ). 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 unmanifested (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 unmanifested as...