Srimad Bhagvad Geeta ji is a part of the great epic poem ‘The Mahabharata’ written over 2500 years ago by Saint Vyasa. The subject matter of the Mahabharata is the history of the Kurus and Pandavs, two branches of a royal family. The jealousy and strife between these two families led to the great battle of Kurukshetra in which all the princes of India had participated. On the eve of this battle, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna to take his chariot between the two enemies. There he found his near relatives, friends and teachers arrayed for the battle. Overcome by compassion for them, he laid down his arms. His faith in the moral code and in the duties of a warrior was suddenly shattered. Every individual has to pass through similar critical periods in his life when he is confronted with duty on one hand and feelings of compassion or the hatred on the other. Unless we have strong faith in the Divine and in the truths of our existence, we are liable to go astray and be further removed from our goal.
But as all the acts of an Avtars are symbolical, we may pass from the outer to inner planes ,and see in the fight of Kurukshetra the battlefield of the soul, and, in the sons of Dhritarashtra , enemies it meets in its progress. Arjuna becomes the type of the struggling soul of the disciple, and Shri Krishna is the Logos of the soul. Thus the teaching of the ancient battlefield gives guidance in all later days, and trains the aspiring soul in treading the steep and thorny path that leads to peace. To all such souls in East and West come these divine lessons, for the path is one, though it has many names and all souls seek the same goal, though they may not realize their unity.
Since it fell from the divine lips of Shri Krishan on the field of battle and stilled the surging emotions of his disciple and friend, how many troubled hearts has it quieted and strengthened, how many weary souls has it led to Him! It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights where desires are dead and where the yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation, while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to his lot in life.
There are people who harbor the misconception that the Geeta ji is useful only for hermits and recluses, and is of no use to householders. That is why people generally keep their children aloof from the Geeta ji under the obsession that a study of this book may lead them to renounce their household. But the above things belie their apprehension.They fail to perceive that it was due to the supremely esoteric teaching of the Geeta ji that Arjuna who had, under a spell of delusion shrunk from his duty as a kshatriya and made up his mind to live on the alms remained a householder all his life and continued to perform his duties. How could the same Geeta ji produce such a contrary result in the case of our boys? Not only that, the Deliverer of the Geeta ji, Bhagvan Shri Krishna Himself, so long as he remained on this earth as an Avtar, remained constantly engaged in action. The fact is that the Geeta ji is intended for men belonging to all Varnas and Asramas. All can undertake spiritual practice according to the principles of either sankhya or yoga. the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us-such is the central lesson of the Srimad Bhagvad Geeta ji.
It is a scripture of yoga: now yoga means harmony with the Divine Law, the becoming one with the Divine Life, by the sub dual of all outward-going energies. To reach this, balance must be gained, equilibrium, so that the self, joined to the Self, shall not be affected by pleasure or pain, desire or aversion or any of the ‘pairs of opposites’, between which untrained selves swing backwards and forwards. MODERATION is therefore the keynote of the Geeta ji, and the harmonizing of all the constituents of man, till they vibrate in perfect atonement with the one, the supreme self. This is the aim the disciple is to set before him.
Geeta ji gives us a philosophy of the Divine and of our existence and also points to the paths leading to our perfection. It presents it in such a way as to appeal to the human mind and commands implicit faith. It reconciles the different trends of the religious thought and transforms them into one whole philosophy broad and profound. There is nothing local or of the contemporary interest In the Geeta ji. The truths preached by it 2500 years ago are as true to- day as these were at that time. The teachings emanate from the mouth of Lord Krishna, who is an Avtar (Incarnation) or the Divine in human form. This naturally gives these teachings a unique strength and prestige. The essence of Upanishads is embodied in it and by itself also it is an Upanishadas.
As a scripture, the Geeta ji embodies the supreme spiritual mystery and secret. It contains the essence of all the four Vedas. Its style is so simple and elegant that after a little study man can easily follow the structure of words; but the thought behind those words is so deep and abstruse that even a lifelong, constant deep study does not show on the end of it. Every day the Geeta ji exhibits a new facet of thought hence it remains eternally new as our Veer ji used to say:
Geeta humari sada naveen, Ever Fresh Ever Green
The virtues, glory, essential character, truth, mystery and worship of God as well as the topics of action and knowledge have been discussed in the Geeta ji at such great length that its parallel can hardly be found in any other book.
The Geeta ji is superior even to Ganga. The Ganga has sprung from the lotus feet of the Lord but the Geeta ji has emanated directly from the divine lips of the lord. The Scriptures say that one who bathes in the Ganga is rewarded with liberation. But the point is that he himself gets liberated but does not acquire the power to liberate others. Whereas the one who takes a deep dive into the Geeta ji not only gets liberated himself, but also gains the power to liberate others.
JAI BHAGVAD GEETE…. JAI BHAGVAD GEETE…. JAI BHAGVAD GEETE….