Essential Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita

From a satsang with Paramacharya of SWAHA, Pt. Hardeo Persad

The Bhagavad Gita offers solutions to many of life’s problems. The first of its 18 chapters is titled, “The Yoga of Dejection of Arjuna”. When people are in a state of dejection or depression due to circumstances, the Gita is quite relevant. If we study the Gita, then we are prepared to face up to any eventuality in life. The teachings of Bhagavan Shree Krishna take us from a point of ignorance to a point of light and wisdom. Our scriptures teach us that all negativities result from agyaan, ignorance. In life, there are five mental afflictions, agyaan or ignorance and its evolutes: asmita or ego, raag or attachment, dvesha or aversion and abhinivesh or fear of death. Circumstances create all these mental afflictions in us. Our mind is afflicted with many different challenges, of which ignorance is the root cause. In the first chapter, Arjuna expressed his disappointment and his grief at not wanting to fight. Bhagavan Shree Krishna understood that Arjuna was depressed and that it was caused by agyaan, ignorance. His discourse is aimed at removing that ignorance.

Bhagavan Shree Krishna explains in depth the various pathways through which we can all free ourselves from bondage. They are gyaan yoga, the path of wisdom; sankhya yoga, the yoga of contemplation; raj yoga, the yoga of meditation; karma yoga, the path of action; and bhakti yoga, the path of devotion. Devotees choose a pathway based on their own temperament. It is said rivers and streams all merge in the same ocean. Similarly, the various pathways of yoga each carry us to the one ocean of divinity.

Bhagavan Shree Krishna said that there never was a time when I or you were not; neither will there be a time when we will cease to be. Everybody is bound to action; no one can remain inactive even for a second. There is also a universal law of cause and effect; scientifically, it is referred to as Newton’s Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Based on the types of actions we perform, we will gain the fruits. There are three types of karma: prarabdha karma (past karma that is now bearing fruit in the present), sanchita karma (stored up from actions performed in the past) and aagaami karma (actions that will bear fruit in the future). Time works together with karma; time is personified by Kaali Maataa. In this world of duality, time is the greatest force as everything takes place in time.

Swami Tulsidas has said that the body is like a field; the mind is a farmer and there are two seeds that can be planted: seeds of sin and virtue that bear fruit of either destruction or success. It must be emphasised that the we determine the seeds that are planted. When things do not go our way, we sometimes blame time, karma and God. Shree Raam says that is false blame. We are the creators of our own destiny and God is the impartial witness. We act in the present to constantly create new karmas. To guide us, the scriptures teach us the injunctions that we must carry out and the prohibitions that we should avoid. We must understand our responsibilities and duties and continue to fulfil them in a state of self-surrender.

The concept of sharanaagati, unconditional surrender to the Divine, has six elements: accepting thoughts favourable for devotion; rejecting thoughts that are not favourable for devotion; adopting an unshakeable faith in God as protector and guide; seeking refuge in God and only God; surrendering to God’s mercy in service to God; and expressing a humble attitude. Then we shall realise that we are but instruments of the Divine and achieve that ultimate state of Oneness with the Supreme Self.