Introduction – Bhagavad Gita – 0

A Brief Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita

 August 13th 2007 Los Angeles, USA

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India is called Bharatha even today.  Ok, let me say this, the real name of India is Bharatha in Hindi and in all the Indian languages.  Bharatha came from a king called Bharath.  Bharatha means brilliance. 

The word in English brilliance comes from Sanskrit root – Bha means brilliance. You know English is so close to Sanskrit. Like rays, rays come from Lakmi. Radiance, rays come from Lakmi means rays. Bharath means brilliance. So Bha means to shine. Brightness comes from bha root. Bha means brightness.

So, Mahabharatha, there was a king called Dhritharashtra. He was blind, born blind.  He had a brother Pandu. The brother had 5 children, 5 sons (Dharmaraja, Arjuna, Bhimasena, Nakula, Sahadeva). The king Dhritharashtra had 100 children. And this 100 children were arrogant and they were the example of, what you call, rowdyism. They did not want to give anything to those 5 other brothers because the 5 other brothers were, their cousins were brilliant, they are righteous, people of certain moral standards. So these people they would just, everybody would love them and appreciate them. The eldest of these 100 brothers (Duryodhana) wants to get rid of them. So, he played chess game and through the game the war happened because in the game those 5 (righteous) ones, they lost the game. Because it was played in a crooked manner and made them lose the game so a war began between them. And that is Mahabharatha war.

In this war Lord Krishna became a charioteer of Arjuna, one among the five. There is a story also.

Sri Krishna was very clever. So He is always neutral or at least appears to be very neutral. (laughter) Sri Krishna went as an ambassador 3 times to avoid the war, to make them come in terms. Says “Come on, don’t fight! Ok, give them something, at least give them 5 villages.” And this man (Duryodhana) says “I won’t give them even the space of a needle. They have lost (chess game) and they have lost everything. I am not going to give them anything. I am not going to be compassionate, kind at all.”

So now, war became inevitable. So, when war became inevitable, one day, Krishna was lying on His couch and then Duryodhana came. So what happens?

Krishna was lying down, He is in yoga nidra, He is a yogi. So His sleep and wakefulness are all mixed up. (laughter) There is no definited line between sleeping and wakefulness. So, He was sleeping, though He knew what was happening.

So when He was sleeping, Duryodhana came. First he came, it’s considered not a right thing to wake someone when they are sleeping so he waited till He wakes up. He came near and sat near His feet. Then, he suddenly realised why should I sit near His feet so he went round, because he is a prince, prince of a great kingdom, emperor’s eldest son so he went and sat near the head of Sri Krishna. And then little later, Arjuna also came. Arjuna came and he sat at the feet of Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna was waiting till Arjuna come. (laughter) so Arjuna came and sat.

So ah… whoever ask… first come first serve, you know. (laughter) You ask somebody, you ask them “What can I do for you?” so he will say “You be in my side of the conflict.” So Krishna was sleeping, pretending to be sleeping and then when Arjuna came and sat near the feet, then He woke up. When you wake up, whom do you see first? Those at your feet. You won’t turn back and look who is that near my head. So, He says “Oh, Arjuna has come. You are prince of this kingdom.” Krishna has His own little army and His own kingdom not very far away. So He started greeting “Oh, wonderful you came! What can I do for you? I know you are going to have fight, what can I do? How can I be of any help?” So, Arjuna says “You should come to my side.” And then He looks and says “Oh, emperor’s prince is here!” then He said “what can I do for you?” he says “You should come and fight for me.” then He says “Ok, you have a choice either you take Me or you take My army, all My man and amry will be on one side, I will be on one side. If you want Me, then My amry will go to the other party. If you want My army, then I will go to the other party.”

Duryodhana for a moment thought “What I will do with one man? (laughter) and He says He is not going to lift any arm, He is not going to fight.” Krishna says “I am not going to fight” though He knew archery everything. “I am not going to lift a finger. I am not going to take any weapon in My hand. If you are ok with Me, then I will come to you. But if you want My army, here My whole army is there, you can take them.” So Duryodhana thought for a moment, “what will I do with a man, He doesn’t even want to pick up an arm, (what is it? weapon) weapon in His arm.” Then he says “Ok, you give me (your army)”

Then Arjuna is a little brilliant, he says “You come to my side, that is enough for me.” Because Arjuna knew, at least he has some hint that Krishna is equal to a million armies like that. He is much more powerful than a group of men with arms. He has the brilliance, He has the wisdom, He has the enlightenment, all that is needed for me to win He has, if He is on my side, there is no way I can lose.”

This inner faith was present in Arjuna. So he was very happy to have Krishna, so he says “You come to me, I don’t want the army.”

So then the war started. Then Arjuna and Krishna, they came to the war field. The chariot was in between of the 2 armies. That is where the entire Gita happens, of 700 verses, 18 chapters.

You would wonder how can someone give all the knowledge about the meditation, sattwa, rajas, tamas and ayurveda, everything, pitta, vata, kapha, sort of everything in a field of war. And that is the skill that in which Arjuna was given this knowledge. And he was given a vision of what truth is, what untruth is; what is real, what is unreal.

So, bringing music in chaos is a skill of Divinity. Bringing light into the world where there is misery is a skill of Divinity. Bringing joy where everything appears to be miserable. Making one understand that life is all fun and joy where there are complication and problem all around is a skill of Divinity. And that is exactly what Krishna does.

Freedom from opinions of others – Bhagavad Gita -7

He was so worried about what other think about, and it’s exactly happening in Mahabharath – this field, this universe – living amidst opposites and bringing harmony is all Gita is about.

Finding harmony amidst chaos, bliss amidst suffering, wisdom amidst foolishness, light in darkness, and immortality in a place where everything is dying,  that is Gita.

So the first chapter is called Arjuna Vishada Yoga, Arjuna lamenting.

So when all the conches were blown, now Arjuna wakes up, seeker of knowledge said,  ‘Krishna, I want to see with whom I want to fight, I am going to fight – so put my chariot in between, show me with whom I am fighting.’

If you are already one-sided, you can’t see both sides.

And Krishna, the embodiment of wisdom, knowledge, knows where exactly to come and park the chariot, from where you can see things impartial.

If you are part of a group you can never see the reality, the verities.

So Arjuna, the seeker of knowledge, was brought and  put in the middle of the two forces, two oposite forces, there Arjuna stands and looks the other side again.

Duryodhana looked at the other side, and he was angry and hateful about his own people.  There was anger and hatred in him … Now Arjuna looks at other person, he feels even more weaker.. now Arjuna’s weakness is not because  they are stonger – he felt such a  connection with them…  his heart was melting…  he said,  ‘these are my people.’

Knowledge is Eternal – Bhagvad Gita – 5

So Duryodhana after singing his tune, complaing all these things – how they are strong and we are weak….  when such complaing is happening non-stop his grand father was there, he blew a big conch.

Blowing a conch making a big sound, you shift your awareness, your consciousness.

Every instant in gita is universal in nature, it is not just a phenomenon which happens just at one time,  it a perenial pheonenom, it is continuoulsy happening everday.  This is the beauty of the whole thing, when this knowledge, it is not limited to time and space,  it is eternal . The song enternal is called because its value holds good at all generations to all people everywhere.

So when the mind starts growling and complaining what a wise man would do, he blews a conch, created a sound.  And that sound energy uplifted the whole atmosphere, uplifted the spirit of Duryodhana,  to make him happy.

The great grandfather Bhishma blew his conch.

And other names of different conch that different great men of those day blew was  so mystical,  when Bhishma blew his conch and made him happy then it was responded by Shri Krishna.

Panchajanya – he blew a conch called Panchajanya – born out of five.  Divine blows a conch which is  born out of five, what are the five?  The five elements, the whole universe is a conch of the divinity and the song or blow out of a conch is present in every atom of this universe.

So Krishna blew a conch called Panchajanya.  Our body is born out of the five elements, and the voice that is arising from this body is that of a Krishna, is that of  the Divine.

When you realize you are the divinity, you are part of the divinity then you are blowing a  panchajanya.