GEMS
OF BHAGAVAD GITA
(SERIES
- POST 1)
I want to write a new series on the
GEMS OF BHAGAVAD GITA. I was a student of Swami Paramarthanandaji for about 4
years and attended his classes on Vedanta.
I read a lot of what he said in his
lectures on Bhagavad Gita. Apart from that, I read Ramakrishna Mission’s
Bhagavad Gita and a few others. What I write here is therefore knowledge
derived from all these sources.
Here is the first Post. This is
introduction is almost wholly derived from Swami Paramarthanandaji’s lectures
on Bhagavad Gita - introductory chapter. I start with my pranams to Swamiji.
Here we go :
We find that the desires of our
children are totally different from what we desired during our childhood.
From age to age, time to time, person
to person, season to season, the goals seem to vary.
But if we deeply probe into this
phenomenon, we can find that there are
certain goals which are common to all human beings.
They are universal goals and they are
basic goals and not only they are universal, but they do not change from age to
age.
These Goals are –
1.Security
2. Peaceful life
3. Happiness
Different people seek these Goals in
different methods.
Scriptures point out that all these
three are available within ourselves.
Not only these
three are within us, they say they are within us ONLY.
Within us, if they say, it is OK.
They add that all those three are
within us ONLY and what is the significance of the word ONLY.
Can we guess?
The significance of the word ONLY is
- they are not available outside. And therefore, if we seek them outside, all
of them will elude; all of them will evade us;
According to scriptures, the
fundamental human problem is
'misplaced search' for something in
a place, where it is not available. And therefore, the intelligent approach is
to search for something in a place where it is available.
The scriptures point out that these
three basic needs are available within us but they are hidden. We have to
explore within ourself and discover.
But, three layers are covering these
three goals and therefore, we have to cut through these three layers to
discover our goals within ourself.
1. Malam
: or impurities within us. These are our mental problems – like kaama, Krodha,
Lobha, Moha, Madha, Maatsarya, Bhaya
2.
Vikshepa
: or extrovertedness or disturbance - caused by outgoing tendency.
3.
Aavaranam : Ignorance – of the fact, that I am the only source of my 3 Goals
We
must remove these 3 layers by appropriate Sadhana. 3 different Yogas need to be
practiced for this Sadhana
1. Karma
Yoga – for removing the impurities
2. Upasana
Yoga – for removing outgoing tendencies
3. Jnana
Yoga – for removing the ignorance
Proper
action plus proper attitude is Karma Yōga. Karma Yōga
removes
the first layer of impurity.
Upasana
Yoga consists of different types of meditations to achieve mental steadiness
and freedom from restlessness and stop the outgoing attitude.
Jnana
yōga consists of enquiry into our real nature, or self analysis.
All
the three Yogas are elucidated by Lord
Krishna in Bhagavad Gita.
