Gita summaries - chp 3

You’ll know that Bhagavad Gita contains the essence of Vedas and given in the form of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the battlefield of Mahabharata. In the first chapter we find Arjuna very agitated and not able to decide whether he should fight or not. If only Arjuna has this unique problem or it only belongs to that time period then the study of Gita will not give us any benefit. Arjuna’s problem is not restricted to him alone, but to all the human beings in the universe. It does not belong only to that time period but at all times. So the study of Gita becomes relevant to all of us now also.

            Arjuna’s problem was “I belong to these people” (Ahamkara) & “These people belong to me” (Mamakara). This ahamkara and mamakara can be termed the problem of attachment. By attachment I mean psychological dependence on the external world. Once there is this dependence then it leads to various problems for whatever we depend does not remain with us permanently. The loss of that object can cause a big sorrow, even the thought of losing that object can be a great sorrow. The very thought of losing Bhishma and Drona was just a shock and sorrow for Arjuna. Sorrow is directly proportional to attachment. His attachment was so strong that he fell into sorrow and so intense was the grief that he lost his discrimination and became confused. He is a man torn in conflict and does not know what to do and what not to do. He sees dharma as adharma and adharma as dharma which is the problem of moha. The problem of every human being is raga-shokha-moha. Attachment-sorrow-conflict.

This problems afflicts us all. Some days this problem is not intense and intense on other days; this problem persists and only the degree varies. Arjuna feels this problem so intensely that he is not able to think clearly except find a permanent solution. Generally the human mind is this: Whenever one is happy, people don’t think of a solution. And whenever one is sad, one cannot think of a solution as sorrow clouds one’s thinking. We go through our life without addressing this problem. We either forget the sorrow or get distracted. But Arjuna is determined to find a way out of this sorrow; he surrenders to Krishna and accepts HIM as his guru. Krishna the charioteer becomes the Krishna the jagat guru. And Arjuna the master becomes Arjuna the shishya. When we look at Arjuna’s personality we find that he is a very strong person and yet with all his achievements and qualifications – genius archer, dancer, musician, fame, family and wealth -he is not able to solve this problem of attachment. So from the first chapter we realize that worldly achievements do not solve this human problem. And if we are intent to solve this problem we also must surrender like Arjuna to a guru and get this teaching; a Guru upadasam is required.

            The second chapter gives the essence of the entire Gita; Krishna prescribes only one solution for grief and it is athma jnanam alone. aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥit. The wise people do not grief and self-ignorance is the cause of sorrow. And self-knowledge alone is the solution. Self-knowledge is not one of the solutions but it is the only solution. This freedom from grief is otherwise called moksha. Moksha is not some imaginary state but a FREEDOM from shokha (grief). But every person is not prepared to enter into this jnanam. He must have certain qualifications. Jnana prapti is the ultimate goal while jnana yogyatha is the immediate goal. So we divide our lives into two stages: jnana yogyatha prapti or the karma yoga and the second stage is jnana prapti. The first stage consists of religious life and the second stage consists of philosophy. What about bhakti yoga? Krishna does not prescribe bhakti as a separate sadhana but it a common factor required both for karma yoga (KY) and jnana yoga (JY). That is why every guru starts the teaching with a prayer. In the second chapter presents Jnana yoga and Karma yoga as Jnana yoga Yogyatha in a nutshell. There Jnana yoga was called as “Sankhya yoga”. When a person follows both KY and JY such a person becomes free from shokha, grief, and he is called “jeevan muktah” who’s description Krishna gives at the end of the second chapter. The Lord says,” Arjuna, once you understand athma jnanam then you will realize that your happiness does not come from Bhishma or Drona or any external factor. Happiness comes only from athamaneva; external factors do not disturb my peace of mind.” It is like having a generator when the power supply goes. Having given the teaching of KY and JY in a nutshell Krishna elaborates the teaching from the third chapter onwards.

            In the third chapter, Lord Krishna elaborates on Karma Yoga (or Jnana yoga yogyatha) and that is why this chapter is titled “karma yoga”.

a) v-1 to v-20 deal with Karma Yoga;  b) v-20 to v-34 deal with Shrestta Aacharah (Lifestyle of an elder to serve as role-model for the next generation), and finally c) The last verses deal with Kama-Krodha jayah, mastering the problems caused by kama and kroda (management of desires and anger). Without learning to manage yourself, managing the world is ridiculous. We will take one by one and sum up.

            The first topic is karma yoga. It consists of two parts: karma and yoga. Here karma means proper action and yoga means proper attitude. A person becomes a karma yogi if his actions are proper and his attitude is also proper. So karma yoga = “proper action” + “proper attitude”.

            Now what do you mean by proper action? In the scriptures three types of actions are mentioned. The first is called Nishkama Karma. These are compulsory action prescribed in the scripture whether he likes it or not. Nishkama means “not based on your likes and dislikes”. If you like it, then wonderful and it you don’t like it then learn to like it and do! There is no question of “I won’t do”.  The second type of karma is “Sakama” karma; those actions for the fulfillment of desires (desires prompted karmas). Actions for acquiring materialistic desires like name, fame, money, possessions etc. And finally “Nishada karma” which are prohibited actions. Of the three the Nishakama karma is best suited for a karma yogi.

            Many karmas for prescribed as Nishkama karmas in the scriptures according to a person’s varna and ashrama. There is one set of karmas uniformly applicable to all and that is Pancha Maha Yagna. These are compulsory and to be practiced by everyone. It consists of:

a) Devah Yagna: Regular worship of Gods in any way a person likes from the simplest to the complex. It could be a complex Vedic human like agnihotra homam and upasana will come under this. The simplest would be offering a few flowers to the Lord and doing namaskar.

b) Pitru Yagna: Worship of one’s parents; either dead or alive. Matru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava is an important injunction irrespective of nature of parents. There is no question of asking whether they are deserving or not.  The “parent” qualification is sufficient enough.

            c) Rishi/Brahma Yagna: Worship of rishis by regular study of scriptures. One can honour our scriptures in two ways: either chanting of slokhas or propagation. It is not merely keeping books on Saraswati puja and having an aarati; you must study the scriptures.

d) Manushya Yagna: Service to fellow human beings, all kinds of social service will come under this.

e) Bootah Yagna: Service to the so-called lower beings; trees (tulasi) and animals (cow). I say “so-called” seeing the human beings and sometimes wonder whether we are superior or lower! We remember their contributions to us. The pancha maha yagnas are the nishkama karmas, to be compulsorily done by every vaidika in the way it is possible.

II) Sakama Karma: These are Karmas or actions born out of one’s desires for material enjoyments. Veda does not condemn possession of a house, car, and material possessions. But follow these three conditions:

a) Let all the desires be legitimate (both the ends and means). Vedas never forbids a person from wanting a house, or car, or phone etc but they say that the desires must be legitimate. Kama is one of the purusharthas and so Veda allows a person to seek for material acquisitions.

b) Let the desires be moderate (allocate some time for spiritual activity also). If you dedicate your entire life for “kamya karmas” then there will no time for spiritual education, so let the desires be moderate. Be content with what you have instead of comparing yourself with your neighbours.

c) Let the desires be non-binding (if they are fulfilled, attribute it to the Lord’s grace. If not fulfilled, accept that too as Bhagawan’s will). If the desires are fulfilled it is God’s blessing and if it not fulfilled it is God’s will. So non-binding, legitimate moderate sakama karmas are allowed but the primary part of karma yoga is nishkama karmas or pancha maha yagna. 

III) Nishida Karma: These are actions one must drop immediately; here and now. You can't wait for an auspicious date or time!!! If you have any negative prohibited karmas then drop them here and now. Therefore Nishkama karma becomes the primary part of karma yoga.

What is “proper attitude”?

- Perform all actions as Ishwara Arpanam. We see work as worship. The greatest advantage of having this pious attitude while working for it will offset boredom for every day you are doing the same thing. With a mind devoted to God, your actions will not be half-hearted at all but full of enthusiasm for what I offer to the Lord will be my best. By this ishwara arpanam attitude, I avoid boredom and have enthusiastic and whether we like it or not our swadharma has to be repeated. If I am a LKG teacher I have to repeat the alphabets each year. If I am cook then everyday “sambar” and “rasam”. An accountant will keep calculating numbers. Any duty is a repetition. Repetition brings boredom and only solution is to change the attitude, ishwara arpanam. This makes you a dharmic kartha

- Receive everything (karmaphallam) as Ishwara Prasada. As I am acting in the world as a kartha on one side, I am constantly reaping the results of my actions from the other side as bhogta.  This kartha-bhogta cycle keeps going on. Often as a bhogta I protest, I resist and ask “Why me? For I do my puja every day, chant every day etc. and why should I have to face this suffering?” Here the attitude becomes very important; remember whatever you get is whatever you deserve And whatever you get is whatever you require at this stage. This is implicit surrender to the will and justice of the Lord is important for a Vaidika. The Lord will not be partial. Whatever I am getting is my karmaphallam and nobody is to be blamed for my present state except yourself. I am not going to blame my family members, neighbours, planets, the devas or the lines on the hand or the letters in my name! And change the spelling. I alone am responsible for my present state. That makes me a dharmic bogtha. This acceptance without resistance is proper attitude. The greatest benefit of this attitude is tranquility in the mind. Resistance is the cause for all sorrow, depression, and fear. Once there is no resistance and only acceptance then tranquility is the benefit. Therefore proper action plus proper attitude with respect to karmaphallam is karma yoga. This karma yoga Krishna presents from four different angles. That is they can be seen from four different standpoints and you can choose anyone standpoint depending upon your maturity level. They are:

a) Take these compulsory karmas or actions as Bhagawan’s commandment or “vidhih” (destiny). The Lord is the master and we are all created beings. Bhagawan has provided this world for our use and HE has put some conditions and duties just as governments put some duties and laws.  As a citizen I have to pay taxes and similarly I have certain duties as a citizen of the cosmos. The Bhagawan stands as a master threatening us. Because most of the people follow the rules only when they are threatened. Most of the people are immature; most of us don’t follow the traffic signals unless there is a cop. We are immature to appreciate the traffic signals voluntarily and so the government has to have a cop to enforce. People require threat to follow the rules unfortunately. Threat is not a healthy sign but initially gross minds require this so that they comply. That is why we say,” he is a god fearing person” instead of saying “he is a god loving person.” So what is karma yoga? It is God’s commandment. At least people will act from fear from going to hell.

b) Once a person becomes mature then the very same duty or karma we look from another angle. A matured person will not accept threats and for such a person KY is an “Yagna” in which one expresses gratitude to the Lord. The Lord has given us so many things for our existence – food, water, air, fire, parents, school etc – and the least we can do is to be grateful. Gratitude is a sign of maturity. Ingratitude is the worst sin for which there is no prayachitam or expiation. So, think of God or thank God before eating your meals. Offer it as “naivedyam” otherwise you are a thief. What is a definition of a thief? A person who takes another person’s property without informing. The word navedanam or naivedyam means acknowledgement of this debt for God has given us the entire world for our use. So do all our compulsory karmas with a feeling of gratitude.

c) If a person is little bit more matured we say karma yoga as a Dharmah; dharma means that which maintains the harmony in creation. The whole creation is interdependent and it is a cyclical process. Matter is neither created nor destroyed and so if we are taking matter from one side we have to give it from the other side.  For the cycle to be complete, whatever I take from creation I have to appropriately return also. The universe is a cyclical process and we must ensure that we play our part as a human being as animals and plants play their parts as they are programmed instinctively by Bhagawan. If a cow eats it gives milk, the tree takes a little sunshine and water and it gives a lot of fruits. All these problems of global warming, ozone depletion, changing climates are all due to man’s grabbing tendency. So, learn to live a dharmic life in which you balance out “receiving” and “giving”. Therefore karma yoga is for maintaining the harmony in creation by the process of give and take. People will not drink or bathe in stagnant water but only in flowing water. Likewise when you receive money or knowledge or wealth share it with others otherwise it will become stagnant and cause sickness to you. That is why in olden day when they had excess money they did a yagna as to distribute wealth. But in present modern life there is no such thing as excess wealth as we have so many avenues to spend. What Krishna says is share; there must be a balance between what you take and what you give back in return. So Arjuna do karma yoga as a dharma; as your contribution to sharing. So the first three standpoints were KY as a Lord’s commandment, KY as a yagna or gratitude to the Lord and now KY as a dharma to maintain harmony.

d) Finally Krishna presents KY as Samskara karma; every compulsory karma prescribed by the scriptures as a samskara. So any rituals like upanayanam, sandhya vandanam, tharpanam, shraddam are seen as samsaras. What is samskara? It is ritual for refining the mind. Samskara is two-fold; guna adanam and dosha apanayam – which is adding positive values and promoting healthy thinking and removing unhealthy ways of thinking or removing bad habits. Krishna calls them “Deivee Sampat” and “Asuree Sampat” in the sixteenth chapter. Even if a person is selfish and does not do KY as a dharma; he can do it for himself for they help refine his mind. Therefore follow karma yoga either as a commandment or a worship or a harmonizing lifestyle or a purifying ritual.

The second section of this chapter is “Shrestta Aacharah” I said KY is required for a seeker to purify his mind and gain self-knowledge. Suppose a person has attained chitta shudhi or jnanam; he has become pure or realized then the question is: should such a person follow karma yoga? Should he continue with svardharma? Daily puja or sandhyavandanam? etc. Technically, it is not required because KY is for chitta shudhi and he has already reached that stage. It is like washing a washed cloth then it will tear or travelling to a destination after having reached your destination. Any sadhana is required only till the sadhya is reached, after reaching the goal the sadhana becomes irrelevant. Arjuna’s asks the question as to whether a pure person or a self-realization must still continue to perform karma yoga. Krishna’s answer is YES. Even though you may have no relevance to karma yoga, one must serve as an example to others particularly the younger generation if you are living in a society. yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate. He may not require KY but the next generation and those around require this religious lifestyle. The reasons are:                                 

- Dharma – the righteous proper way of life - is a very subtle thing and cannot always be verbally communicated. Children learn less from lectures and more from observations. So, the elders, whether they require or not, must continue to perform karma yoga so as to set an example to the next generation. But once the children are grown up and their personalities are set then you cannot change. You only adjust a crooked plant and give it direction only when it is a young sapling and not when it becomes a tree. These Vedic practices cannot be absorbed once the personality is set in an individual. In fact it has to be imbibed from the womb itself. When the child is too young the parents cannot communicate and the child only observes. You cannot explain as to why do namaskara to a mahatma. But when you do namaskara they will imitate. If the father is a doctor then the child will use every toy as a stethoscope. If the father smokes the child will use a pencil and imitate a smoking action. If the father does puja the child will imitate that also. As someone said; most of the children do not obey the parents they imitate the parents. So even if you are a jnani follow KY so that the next children will follow. Secondly when the elders follow a religious lifestyle then it is an audio-visual teaching and these leave a deep imprint in the young minds.

- Human beings always need a role-model; hero-worship is natural while growing up. The child always looks for a hero to imitate. The biggest role-models are mother, father, teacher, raja, and elders. Otherwise they will continue to run after actors, cricketers, and Michael Jackson. No doubt these people might have some talent but they usually don’t have any values. They are going to divorce today or tomorrow! The children need heroes and parents are the first heroes otherwise they will go to these film stars. So jnani or parents must be a model for them.

- No values or no dharma is absolute. It varies from situation to situation. Rama symbolizes total devotion to parents while Prahlad was instrumental in getting his father killed. We worship both Rama and Prahlada also. Should you object or disobey parents? It is not an absolute value but varies according to situations. Krishna gives the value of Ahimsa throughout the Gita and at the end says,” Arjuna, fight.” Which means Ahimsa is a general rule but there are exceptions. So, any value depends on so many factors. When there are conflicts in dharma it is said “follow the shrettas or elders.” We have to follow someone who has absorbed the spirit of dharma as time and circumstances change in society. Therefore, it is important the elders to follow a lifestyle of karma yoga so as to set an example for the next generation. Whether you require pancha maha yagna or not, they must practice that every day for the sake of others. If the father gets up and takes a bath and does his prayer the child will follow that. Or if he wakes up and reads a newspaper with a bed coffee the child will follow that. So Shretta Aacharah is very important. So Arjuna you fight this war if you are an ajnani; you fight if you are a jnani also.

The third section of this chapter is Kama-Krodha jayah; which is mastery over desires and anger. Krishna only deals with Kama mastery and not krodha; anger is just another modified form of kama. So if we have learnt to handle kama we automatically know how to handle kroda.  Kama can be handled in three ways:

- First control or manage sense organs. There are certain situations that provoke adharmic desires in the mind. Indiryah nigrahah means physically avoiding such places or such situations. Desist from reading certain kinds of books, watching movies or television shows that provoke gross emotions or avoid interacting with very gross people if it is possible. So avoid sensually such situations that can provoke the mind. This is relatively easier as we have to only physically keep away.

- Second control or manage the mind: The mind has the capacity to develop vasanas. Whatever it likes it gets into a groove and the mind gets addicted. It is like making a habit of reading the newspaper daily or watching news on television every day. Always avoid “ashubha vasanas” and encourage “shubha vasanas”. If you are forming some bad habit, break it in the beginning itself. Don’t encourage unwholesome thoughts in the mind. If you discourage such thoughts then they cannot continue. Any line of thought requires our support to continue and bloom. Every thought is like a cycle but don’t keep pedaling “unhealthy” thoughts. If you get Gita addiction then it is a good addiction; encourage them. Like that there may be so many good addictions. This is mano nigrahah.

- Finally, “vivekh”: It is realization of what is reliable and what is not. What is permanent and what is impermanent. Once I understand that the things of the world are impermanent then I will not develop attachment towards them. Because leaning on an insecure thing is going to make me more insecure. If I have vivekah; nitya-adnitya vastu vivekah I will not develop kama to the empirical things of the world. If at all I develop kama then I will develop kama to the Lord so that I will not suffer later. This discrimination is called vivekah. Once we learn to handle kama we will pursue Nishkama karma as sakama karma will be less; chitta shudhi will come and I will have jnana yogyatha; then jnanam and moksha will come.