The Heart of The Gita

About the Book

This book is a new creation throbbing with the author’s mature reflections on the Song of songs, the Song of Sri Krishna. It is neither a commentary on nor a paraphrase of the Gita.

The Teaching given on the Kurukshetrc is taken up by the author in the shrine of the heart where the battle of life meets the silence that is in the “starry sky” and the golden dawn.

This book takes you into the depths and reveals to you the very Heart of the Gita.

Introduction

THE WORD GITA MEANS A SONG. KRISHNA’S Revelation- the Song- was treasured in many hearts before it was written on parchment or palm- leaves and tablets of stone.

The Gita has only seven hundred verses (slokas): and these take the form of a samvada, a dialogue between Krishna and His pupil, Arjuna. Through fifty centuries and more of India’s chequered history hath shone, in quiet beauty, the Bhagavad Gita, the Song of the Lord. These seven hundred verses sparkle as sparkle the stars- refreshing, renewing, and blessing the hearts of toil- wearied travellers on the path of life.

Sometimes, I feel that my soul is far away sailing over the Ancient Way. Then I feel as a bird afloat- a bird swinging round the blue clouds of Brindaban. And, thinking of Krishna, I hear, methinks, a voice which cries: “Won’t you seek a light- ye who are surrounded by darkness?”

All men, I believe, seek the Light. All men seek a Way. Not many find; a few follow- and attain! The Veda, the Avesta, the Dhammapada, the Bible, the Qur’an- all the sacred scriptures- call on us to seek the True, the Good, the Beautiful. Religions point to ways to God: and the Gita gives us the great word that all the ways do lead the seeker to the One Supreme.

The Gita refers to three ways- the way of work or action, the way of wisdom or knowledge, and the way of bhakti or devotion. The ways are more than one. because there are human differences in temperament and mental and spiritual equipment. Diverse religions speak of diverse paths. There is the path of liberation through action (karma- marga): there is the path of liberation through knowledge of the Atman (gnana-marga): there is the path of liberation through devotion to Krishna and the saints (bhakti-marga). The Gita says:

Work without attachment. By work or action, men like Janaka attained perfection.

They who are devoted to the welfare of all beings come to Me! Freed from passion, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, and purified by “fires” of knowledge, many have become one with me.

Yes- diverse religions point to diverse paths.

Yet “I am in every religion as a thread through a string of pearls”- saith Krishna.

Wisdom, devotion and action- each one leads the seeker to the Lord. The way of action is as noble as any other way. Act, work- but abandon attachment. Listen to the words of the Gita:

He who abandons attachment and then acts is not stained by sin, He is as a lotus leaf which in water grows but is by water unstained!

Again:

He who thus doth discipline himself, working but abandoning the fruit of works- he attains to the Peace that passeth understanding.

And again:

The world, alas! is imprisoned in its activity: but free are they whose actions are done as worship of God!

Therefore, Arjuna! Do thy actions sacramentally. Offer them as yagna, a sacrifice to God.

Krishna teaches Arjuna:

To work alone thou hast the right, but never to the fruits thereof!

Abandon inaction, yet be not attached to fruits of action!

Regard success and failure alike.

Unhappy are they who work for results. Abandoning all fruits of action, be thou freed from the fetters of birth and death, and reach that state which is beyond all evil!

India is rightly proud of this Book- the Bhagavad Gita. It is a Scripture not of the Hindu Faith alone: the Gita is a world-scripture. The Hindu Faith starts with the Books of Holy Knowledge, named the Vedas. The hymns of the Vedas are inspired by a vision of the meaning of life and death, and the movement of cosmos and history. Hymn 129 in the tenth mandal (section) of the Rig Veda is the Creation Hymn of the Rishis. It points out that in the beginning what existed was void and formless: then arose desire: and desire was the seed, the primal seed and germ of manifestation.

After the Vedas came the Brahmanas- commentaries on the Vedas. These commentaries are radiant with beautiful suggestions regarding the Spirit that moves in Nature and makes it a holy shrine.

After the Brahmanas came the Upanishads. The word means “sitting down under a Master.” In the holy shrine of Nature, in quiet forests- tapobanas- sat down the pupils “under their masters” to receive the inspired wisdom of the Rishis concerning life and its destiny.

Then came the Bhagavad Gita, the Song of Sri Bhagavan, the Song of the Holy One- Krishna the Saviour. Krishna’s is a moving story. Brought up as a cowherd, He became a Leader of His people and built New Mathura. And, in deep humility, He drove the chariot of His disciple, Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. There Krishna gave to Arjuna the Teaching which is enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita. May it be enshrined in the hearts of millions in many parts of the world!

The keynote to Krishna’s teaching is: Do not merely read the Gita: live the Gita in daily life.

Therefore, live a dedicated life. The model man, the “Krishna-man” of the Gita is he who finds the joy of inner life, yet attends to outer things. There are things to be done for others in this world of tragedy and tears. And even the Prefect Man must do his duty to others.

The Krishna-man says: “I may not need many outer actions for myself: yet must I act for the sake of others.” Such a man must do many things but always in a spirit if detachment. Do not despise Karma, says the Master. Remember, O Arjuna! Janaka and others, the great ones in Aryan history, attained to perfection through karma.

To live the dedicated life, surrender yourself to the Lord. Give up egoism. In serving others- your society, nation, humanity- in serving, also, the birds and beasts around you- learn to renounce yourself. In the measure in which you empty yourself will the great Master breathe His blessing through you and make your life a Song, a Music, of sacrifice. Was he not a disciple of a Rishi who wrote:

Sow nothing of thyself: but offer the ground of thy heart cleared of everything. For then will He sow His seed therein, according to His Plan. Remember that He will have thy soul detached from all things that He may unite it to Himself. Leave Him to choose thee: impede Him not by thy desires.

Go forth then to serve, but in a spirit of detachment and dedication to Him. Say to yourself: “I am naught! He is All!” Let all your good deeds be done to Him! And as you move about, behold Him- the wonderful One- walking this beautiful Earth. Dedicated action is emphasized in the Gita.

It is not right to speak of the Hindu Faith as pessimistic. The right Hindu outlook is one of shakti. “Stand up, O Arjuna!” says Krishna. Not without reason was India named Karmabhumi- Land of Action. The Gita puts in the mouth of Sri Krishna the significant words: “I, also, act!”

The Gita refers to these three aspects of religion: (1) karma; (2) gnana; and (3) bhakti. “A dogma of Hinduism,” says an English critic, “is to withdraw from the world.” No! The Hindu Faith is not credal, nor other-worldly. The Hindu Faith is not a creed: it is a path- a threefold path. For men have different temperaments according to diversities of experience and stages in evolution. This triple path, the Gita refers to as karma, gnana, and bhakti.

Karma, with its emphasis on duty and detachment, grows into dedication and culminates in yagna, sacrifice. On the gnana side, two truths are emphasised in the Gita: (1) train your thought- power; and (2) build up concentration. Learn to spend some time, every day, in silence. Form Silence-circles. Learn to be still. Meditate, and you will know that in silence is strength. In the noises which dominate us, today, we shut out the Atman by our shouts and shows. Rightly said Tolstoy that if men and women would go into silence for five minutes, every day, the world would be different.

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