Gita Acharan

  T here are adverse consequences when we don’t follow natural laws. For example, if someone jumps from a height ignoring gravity, the consequences are inevitable. Similarly, Krishna cautions about the consequences of violating the principles of existence or natural laws as explained by Him in the Bhagavad Gita. He says, “Fixing your mind on Me you shall overcome all obstacles and difficulties by My grace. You will perish if you do not listen to My advice due to ahankaar ” (18.58). Perishing is inevitable like falling from a height when we are driven by ahankaar ( aham-karta ). Krishna says, “Because of ahankaar if you think ‘I will not fight’, your resolution will be in vain. Your nature will compel you to fight” (18.59). Firstly, even if Arjuna had left the battlefield, the war would not have ended. Secondly, Arjuna wouldn’t have sat passive when the battle was going on where his immediate family is facing danger. This verse indicates that governed by his swa-dharma (own natur...

  V erses 18.41 to 18.57 of the Bhagavad Gita describe the contours of the confluence of karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga . In the often-debated verse 18.41, Krishna states that He created four varnas (social classifications) based on gunas springing from their nature. He further explained about different types of karmas performed by them in day-to-day life (18.42-18.44). He reveals a secret that with devotion to swa-karma (one’s deed) one attains siddhi (perfection or freedom) as this devotion towards karma is nothing but worshipping Him (18.45-18.46). This clarifies that it doesn’t matter what we do but what matters is the devotion with which we perform our karmas or responsibilities. This is the path of attaining the eternal siddhi through devotion to karma which is nothing but the pinnacle of karma yoga . Krishna continues to guide those on the path of awareness or jnana yoga and declares that all the karmas are marred by blemishes (18.48). Hence, He advises us...

  K rishna says, “Serene in the self by being engrossed in the Brahma (the eternal), neither grieves nor desires and beholds equality in all beings, such a yogi attains parama bhakti (supreme devotion) to Me (18.54). By that supreme devotion he knows My essence - what and who I am; after knowing these truths, he quickly makes his entry into ‘That’ (‘ tat’ )” (18.55). ‘ Tat ’ is interpreted as the ‘All’, the All-pervading Reality. Firstly, these verses indicate that parama bhakti is beholding equality in all beings which transcends our general understanding of bhakti as devotion to Gods. Bhakti is unconditional love towards all beings by beholding equality. Secondly, parama bhakti is a state of desirelessness, not a ritual to fulfill our desires by satisfying our beloved Gods. Thirdly, this equanimity leads to the understanding of who He really is. It is like a salt doll dissolving in the ocean and becoming one with the ocean by shedding the illusion of its own existence. Kri...

  K rishna says, “The one who attained perfection (of freedom from karma ) can also attain Brahma (the eternal). Learn from me this supreme state of knowledge” (18.50). This is a continuation of what Krishna earlier explained about ‘freedom from karma ’ which can be attained through non-attached intellect, conquering self and dropping desires (18.49). Krishna says, “Endued with purified intellect, having conquered self through firmness, forsaking sound and other sense entanglements, abandoning attachment and hatred (18.51); dwelling in solitude, eating lightly, speech, body and mind subdued, ever engaged in yoga of meditation, taking refuge in vairagya (dispassion) (18.52); Freed from ahankaar (egoism), power, arrogance, desire, anger, greed, notion of ‘me and mine’ and being peaceful, one is fit for Brahma (the eternal)” (18.53). Dwelling in solitude is the ability to detach oneself even in a crowd. Krishna gave an example of a lotus leaf that doesn’t get attached to water de...

K rishna says, “Those whose intellect ( buddhi ) is not attached everywhere ( sarvatra ), have conquered the self, and are free from desires through renunciation attain the perfection of ‘freedom from karma ’ ( naishkarmya-siddhi )” (18.49). Earlier, it was made clear that every karma (action) carries a blemish (18.48). At the same time, there is no escape from karma as our survival itself becomes impossible without performing karmas (3.8). In this seemingly paradoxical context, this verse gives three paths to attain freedom from karma-bandhan (bondage of action). The first path is the non-attachment of intellect everywhere. Our intellect is habitual of getting attached to multiple things, people and situations. For each attachment, we have different justifications, yardsticks and thought process, making us polypsychic. It is a journey of moving from multiple attachments to one attachment. The final stage is not to have any attachment or detachment as both are the same at the cor...

  T he spiritual path of self-discovery ( moksha ) is not about acquiring something greater, rather it is about dropping the dust we gathered during our lifetimes and hatred is among such dust. Krishna earlier told us to drop hatred while performing our karmas and described nitya-sannyasi (perpetual renunciant) as the one who drops both desires and hatred by inculcating the divine quality of forgiveness (16.3). The root cause for desire is our divisive mind which keeps comparing what we don’t have and what others have. Krishna advises dropping this comparison and says, “Better is swa-dharma (own nature or reality), though without merit, than well performed para-dharma (other’s nature or reality); performing action ordained by one’s nature one incurs no sin” (18.47). This is in continuation to what Krishna had earlier said in this context, that swa-dharma is superior to well accomplished para-dharma even when the former is devoid of merit. It’s better to die in swa-dharma tha...

I t is generally believed that Bhagavad Gita prescribes three paths for attaining self-realisation. These are sankhya yoga - a path of awareness for the intellect oriented, bhakti yoga - a path of surrender for the heart oriented and karma yoga - a path of action for the mind oriented. Krishna says that only children, not the wise, speak of sankhya and karma yoga as different. He who is truly established in one obtains fruits of both (5.4). This is an indication that only children or beginners believe these three paths to be separate. As we progress through the Bhagavad Gita, it becomes clearer that these three paths intertwine and complement one another. This leads to clarity that karma is the foundation for all these paths as each path involves some form of karma or another. For awareness, one could begin with reading, serving a master or meditating. In the case of bhakti, it could be ritualistic to begin with but in the end, it is seeing Him even in a thief, an enemy as w...