I find solace in the Bhagavad Gita that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Gita. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies – and if they have left no visible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. – Mahatma Gandhi
The Bhagavad Gita teaches us the secrets of karma, that the Universe reacts to the actions of individuals. It teaches us dharma, that which upholds cosmic law and harmony in society. It enlightens us about the ultimate Reality and the truth and then incorporates a method of meditation to give us the experience of higher states of consciousness.
In some 700 verses, the Bhagavad Gita (translation: the song of God) The teaching takes places between Krishna, the incarnation of God, and Arjuna, the righteous general of an army that’s been attacked by evildoers intent on corrupting society.
The Gita is taught throughout India, but its truths are no more Indian than Newton’s observations about the laws of gravitation are English. Both give expression to ultimate truths about the nature of Reality, and are therefore universal.
Dharma can be defined as the Truth of Life, and also one’s truth or purpose in life. Arjuna’s problem was that the enemies he had to fight were his own uncles and cousins. Sometimes on the inner journey one must divorce oneself from one’s family. It’s a message Jesus echoed centuries later:
“Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?’ And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, ‘Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.’” – Matthew 12:46-50
Harmony is maintained when one does what one is supposed to do, and a military man must defend his people. Chaos takes over when one does not do what one is supposed to. So for the sake of harmony at the cosmic and social levels, Arjuna had to act as a soldier.
“Because one can perform it, one’s own dharma, (though) lesser in merit, is better than the dharma of another. Better is death in one’s own dharma: the dharma of another brings danger.” (III, 35)
Imagine you’d sworn to defend your people, yet those attacking your society are your own flesh and blood. It’s a dilemma, all right. More than two millennia later, two very wise men understood problems and their solutions in a very deep way. Albert Einstein, who understood science and Spirit, wrote, “Existing problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who understood physics and metaphysics, wrote in his Gita commentary, “The answer to every problem is that there is no problem. Let a man perceive this truth and he is without problems.”
All Arjuna could see was a dilemma. Confused as to how to act, Arjuna begged Krishna to tell him what to do: “I am Thy disciple; teach me for I have taken refuge in Thee.” (II, 7)
In his Gita commentary, Swami Nikhilananda wrote, “Arjuna represents the individual soul, and Krishna the Supreme Soul dwelling in every heart. Arjuna’s chariot is the body. The blind king Dhritarashtra (of the Kauravas) is the mind under the spell of ignorance, and his hundred sons are man’s numerous evil tendencies. The battle, a perennial one, is between the power of good and the power of evil. The warrior who listens to the advice of the Lord speaking from within will triumph in this battle and attain the highest Good.”
One of the first things Krishna teaches Arjuna is reincarnation; namely that fighting the enemy will kill their bodies but not their eternal Self. Of the Self, he says: “None can work the destruction of this immutable Being.” (II, 17)
“These bodies are known to have an end; the dweller in the body is eternal, imperishable, infinite. Therefore, O Bharata, fight!” (II, 18)
Arjuna then asks the teacher if he could forego fighting altogether, since Krishna said knowledge is more important than action. Krishna says no; he must do his duty to support his society, but without attachment. This non-attachment is Karma Yoga.
“Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga.” (II, 48)
