|| om tat sat ||

A thought from Bhagavadgita

(to see Sanskrit text in Devanagari script click here)

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 at some of the statements in chapter 5.

At one point Krishna says :

ನ ಕರ್ತೃತ್ವಂ ನ ಕರ್ಮಾಣೀ ಲೊಕಸ್ಯ ಸೃಜತಿ ಪ್ರಭುಃ |
ನ ಕರ್ಮಫಲ ಸಂಯೊಗಂ ಸ್ವಭಾವಸ್ತು ಪ್ರವರ್ತತೆ ||

Meaning there by that :
ಪ್ರಭುಃ ಲೋಕಸ್ಯ ಕರ್ತೃತ್ವಂ ನ ಸೃಜತಿ | - Bhagavan does not create the ownership -
ಕರ್ಮಾಣಿ ನ | - not the actions too.
ಕರ್ಮಫಲಸಂಯೋಗಮ್ (ಅಪಿ) ನ ಸೃಜತಿ | - ( he) does not create the relationship with the results
ಸ್ವಭ್‌ಆವಃ ತು ಪ್ರವರ್ತತೆ - 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 doen at the direction of God.

One canot be a thief and put that as the responsibility of an all knowing super God who made hi 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 some thing eveil . 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 donot 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

ನಾದತ್ತೇ ಕಸ್ಯಚಿತ್ಪಾಪಂ ನ ಚೈವ ಸುಕೃತಂ ವಿಭುಃ |
ಅಜ್ಞಾನೇನಾವೃತಂ ಜ್ಞಾನಂ ತೇನ ಮುಹ್ಯನ್ತಿ ಜನ್ತವಃ ॥

It means that

"ವಿಭುಃ ಕಸ್ಯಚಿತ್ ಪಾಪಮ್ ನ ಆದತ್ತೇ | - God does not take over the sins of any body

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
"ಸುಕೃತಂ ಚ ಏವ ನ (ಆದತ್ತೇ)"|- "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 god deeds and bad deeds
In other words God like self is only a witness
In advaita God and self are one , not two !

Why does this thought that God is responsible for all our actions and reactions occur ?
ಅಜ್ಞಾನೇನ ಜ್ಞಾನಂ ಆವೃತಮ್| - ignorance covers the knowledge (truth)
( ತಸ್ಮಾತ್) ತೇನ ಜಂತವಃ ಮುಹ್ಯಂತಿ - because of that ignorance the beings are mesmerised.
Mesmerised into believing that "ever acting Super God" as truth.

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

ಪ್ರಾಯೇಣ ಮನುಜಾ ಲೋಕೇ ಲೋಕ ತತ್ವ ವಿಚಕ್ಷಣಾಃ|
ಸಮುದ್ಧರನ್ತಿ ಆತ್ಮಾನಂ ಆತ್ಮನೈವಾಶುಭಾಶಯಾತ್ ||

It says that " ಲೋಕ ತತ್ವ ವಿಚಕ್ಷಣಾಃ " people who have knowledge of the ways of the world
"ಸಮುದ್ಧರಂತಿ ಆತ್ಮಾನಂ"- They will lift themselves up !- How ?- one may ask !
"ಆತ್ಮನೈವ" - by their own self: From what they lift themselves up?
ಅಶುಭಾಶಯಾತ್ - from inauspicios acts !!

It says that people by their own discrimination power they lift themselves up.This is a simple fact.

Again in Bhavadgita sixth chapter Krishna says :

ಶ್ರೀಭಗವಾನುವಾಚ:
ಉದ್ಧರೇದಾತ್ಮನಾ ಆತ್ಮಾನಂ ನ ಆತ್ಮನಾ ಅವಸಾದಯೇತ್ |
ಆತ್ಮೈವ ಆತ್ಮನೋ ಭಂಧುಃ ಅತ್ಮೈವ ರಿಪುಃ ಆತ್ಮನಃ||

ಆತ್ಮನಾ- by own self
ಆತ್ಮಾನಂ- himself
ಉದ್ಧರೇತ್ - lift (himself) up
ಅತ್ಮೈವ ಆತ್ಮನೋ ಬಂಧುಃ - one self is his own friend ( if he wins over the battle of life)
ಅತ್ಮೈವ ಆತ್ಮನೋ ರಿಪುಃ - one self is his own enemy ( if he loses the battle of life )
ನ ಆತ್ಮನಾ ಅವಸಾದಯೇತ್ - One should not degenerate by himslef ( he should always move up) !

It simply means that one can by his own efforts can lift himself up.
Any body else may show a way.
But the acion has to be by teh individual alone
What is that action ?
Nishkama karma and Samatva
Act with out selfish goals and have an equanilty towards all

That means in these four solkas Krishna laid down the following

We can bring oursleves 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 "Gods 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 aborb this fact,
and 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
ultimate unlimited happiness

This is the greatness of Gita ;

To read absorb Vedas Upanishads , acquire philosophic knowlege , 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 men.
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 ||

 

|| om tat sat ||

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