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...

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...

P hysical entities like us (manifested) are invariably affected by two delusions. The first, yoga-maya , born of the three gunas , increases ahankaar ( aham-karta or the sense of “I am the doer”), though actions arise from the interactions among the gunas. The second is the delusion created by the polarities of longing and aversion, which leads to desires to possess things, influence people, and pursue pleasurable experiences, while developing aversion to anything contrary to them. These two complement each other. While ahankaar justifies desires; desires, especially fulfilled ones, enhance ahankaar . Gita encourages us to be a witness to actions created by gunas without longing or aversion. In this regard, Krishna says, “Those who strive for liberation from old age and death ( jara-marana-mokshaya ), taking asritya (refuge) in Me, they realise the Brahma (the whole/absolute), Adhyatma (spirituality/individual self) and akhilam-karma (all aspects of action) (7.29). ...