|| om tat sat ||

A thought from Bhagavadgita.

Some statements in Bhagavadgita are revealing.

When it is part of Trinity or say - Prasthantraya, one can say that it is only to be expected.
But they are revealing in an unexpected way .
Unexpected way because of the simplicity of the embedded thought.
In any case let us look at some of the statements in chapter 5.

At one point Krishna says :

न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणी लॊकस्य सृजति प्रभुः ।
न कर्मफल संयॊगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्ततॆ ॥

Meaning there by that :
प्रभुः लोकस्य कर्तृत्वं न सृजति | - Bhagavan does not create the ownership -
कर्माणि न | - not the actions too.
कर्मफलसंयोगम् (अपि) न सृजति | - ( he) does not create the relationship with the results
स्वभ्आवः तु प्रवर्ततॆ - They are all because of one's nature.

Which means that all our actions are our responsibility.

The results of all our actions are also our responsibility.

There is no place to ascribe any of these as the 'will of God' or say done at the direction of God.

One cannot be a thief and put that as the responsibility of an all knowing super God who made him do that !
Nor can one ascribe the winning of a lottery to the Lord on the seven hills !!

With a good heart we do good things or with evil on our mind we do something evil .
Both are born out of our nature alone !

This is a simple fact.
That all of our actions are born out of our nature.
There is no need even to think if it is the truth.
It is the absolute truth.

To understand this we need not be philosophers
To understand this we do not need a mind capable of higher philosophic enquiry.
To understand this we need not have known anything at all about Vedas or Upanishads etc.

A similar thought comes in the next sloka

नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः ।
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ॥

It means that

"विभुः कस्यचित् पापम् न आदत्ते | - 'God does not take over the sins of anybody'.

If we regret the action , pray and confess to God,
then take bath in the Ganges at Kashi and say that we have washed off our sins,
or God has washed off our sins, it is ignorance.

Similarly
"सुकृतं च एव न (आदत्ते)"।- "good deeds also"

Meaning there by that the good deeds are also not accepted by God for further accounting !

It means that Bhagavan is only a witness.
Witness to our good deeds and bad deeds and nothing more.

In reality our "self" is a witness for our good deeds and bad deeds
In other words God, like self, is only a witness
In Advaita, the God and self are one , not two !

Why does this thought that God is responsible for all our actions and reactions occur ?

अज्ञानेन ज्ञानं आवृतम्| - ignorance covers the knowledge (truth)
( तस्मात्) तेन जंतवः मुह्यंति - because of that ignorance the beings are mesmerized.
Mesmerized into believing that the "ever acting God" as the ultimate truth.

In a similar tone, but more clearly Krishna tells Uddhava in Uddhava Gita also.

प्रायेण मनुजा लोके लोक तत्व विचक्षणाः।
समुद्धरन्ति आत्मानं आत्मनैवाशुभाशयात् ||

It says that " लोक तत्व विचक्षणाः " people who have knowledge of the ways of the world
"समुद्धरंति आत्मानं"- They will lift themselves up !
How ?- one may ask !

"आत्मनैव" - by their own self:
From what they lift themselves up?
अशुभाशयात् - from inauspicious acts !!

It says that people by their own discrimination power lift themselves up.

This is a simple fact.

Again in Bhagavadgita sixth chapter Krishna says :

श्रीभगवानुवाच:
उद्धरेदात्मना आत्मानं न आत्मना अवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव आत्मनो बन्धुः अत्मैव रिपुः आत्मनः॥

आत्मना - by own self
आत्मानं - himself
उद्धरेत् - lift (himself) up
अत्मैव आत्मनो बंधुः - one self is his own friend ( if he wins over the battle of life)
अत्मैव आत्मनो रिपुः - one self is his own enemy ( if he loses the battle of life )
न आत्मना अवसादयेत्
- One should not degenerate by himself ( he should always move up) !

It simply means that one can by his own efforts can lift himself up.
Anybody else may only show a way.
But the action has to be by the individual alone.

What is that action ?
Nishkama karma and Samatva
Act without selfish goals and have an equanimity towards all.

That means in these four Slokas Krishna laid down the following

We can bring ourselves up.
By our nature we may do good deeds or bad deeds
But with our discriminating power,
we can overcome that nature.

In a colloquial chat one may say with "By God's grace everything will be great".
It is so in colloquial way.
But these four Slokas tell us that everything has to be done by us .

God has no role in this !

One may ask- "Is this the great secret we found in reading Gita?"
One may feel that - "This is such a simple fact - is that a big deal !"

Yes in reality it is a great statement,
if we absorb this fact.

With our "self" as the witness for all things we do,
perform action with no selfish goals,
and acquire an equanimity which demolishes the walls of friends and foes,
then the joy we get is the
unlimited ultimate happiness !

This is the greatness of Gita ;

To read absorb Vedas Upanishads , acquire philosophic knowledge ,
then following strict discipline of Yoga learn about Brahman and then obtain Liberation is one way.
It is the arduous path, the way it was prescribed in Vedas !

Bhagavadgita proposes ways which are within the reach of a common man.
They may not have the zing of the intellectual speak.
They speak of simple facts and simple ways .

That is the greatness of Gita.

|| om tat sat ||

info@kasarabada.org

|| om tat sat ||

info@kasarabada.org