Bhagavad Gita

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Overview of the Bhagavad Gita ( Based on Swami Dayananda’s home study course )

The Bhagavad Gita, one of the oldest and most profound articulations of spiritual awakening in human history, is a story within a story. Vyasa, an ancient sage, poet and historian enfolds the story of Arjuna’s confusion and Krishna’s teaching into the epic poem The Mahaabhaarata which is centered around a large battle between two factions of the royal clan of the Kurus. It is a classic story of good versus evil, of right versus wrong, with plots, sub plots twists and turns, culminating an a great battle scene. The bad guys are organized around the 100 sons of Dhrtaraastra. The good guys center around the 5 sons of Paandu, the Pandavas, one of whom is Arjuna.

As the Gita begins, the armies are facing each other, awaiting the beginning of the battle. Krishna, the Divine one overseeing the battle could not take sides, so he offered a deal to the leaders of the two armies. One could have his vast army, the other could have him as a charioteer, although he would not fight. Arjuna chose to have Krishna, and Duryodhana, the opposing leader, was delighted to have Krishna’s army. Arjuna asks Krishna to take his chariot to a place where he might see all of those whom he would be fighting. Upon recognizing relatives and revered teachers among the enemy army, Arjuna falls into a great despair. Krishna’s teachings begins at this point.

One of the foundations to understanding the Mahaabhaarata concerns the Vedic teachings on the human condition, the four purushaarthas or the fundamental pursuits of all human beings. These are:

Artha: security

Kama: pleasure

Dharma: joy or satisfaction in doing what needs to be done

Moksha: (freedom from all wanting and insecurity, enlightenment).

The teachings of the Mahaabhaarata center around upholding dharma and in the Gita, Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna expands this into upholding dharma plus moksha, or total freedom from suffering.

All human beings pursue artha and kama, security and pleasure. Security may be very basic: food and shelter. It may be financial, in the form of money, real estate, stocks and bonds; social in the form of power, education, a title; physical with a guard dog, burglar alarm, or karate lessons; emotional security is sought in relationships and spiritual security can be sought in religion or belief systems.

Pleasures of all sorts are also pursued. Sensory pleasures include the obvious food and sex, but also physical activities such as skiing, hiking, basketball and other sports. Intellectual pleasures may include reading, puzzles and games, discussions and debates. Emotional pleasures are derived from following a sports team. Aesthetic pleasures such a music, art and nature are also desired and desirable to all.

If we observe ourselves, we will notice how large expenditures of energy and time are devoted to these first two pursuits.

Dharma is a Sanskrit word with many layers of meaning. Here it refers to a pleasure different from artha and kama. It is not based on acquiring or achieving anything but rather on being friendly, compassionate, honest and trustworthy. It is the delight in gratefully doing what needs to be done. There is an inherent joy in being nice and at some point in our maturing, this becomes even more desirable than security and pleasure. In fact we can say that becoming more mature is awakening to the role of dharma in our lives and living more and more in conformity with it.

As maturing beings we can now re-prioritize our pursuits: dharma, atha and kama. Without violating dharma, we are free to pursue security and pleasure. This is the way an intelligent society self organizes, and without the concept of dharma as a guide, the pursuits of security and pleasure can lead to much suffering. The concept of dharma plays a large role in the Gita as we will later see.

Moksha is the most important of the purushaarthas but is rarely recognized in human societies. Perhaps a few wise ones in any given generation will have the maturity and wisdom to recognize the subtle and not so subtle dead ends hidden in the previous pursuits. Moksha means freedom from being a wanting person, freedom from wanting or desiring to be different, freedom from a lack of self acceptance. Moksha is freedom from seeking itself. Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna is, in Vedantic language, brahma vidya, knowledge of Brahman, a term which signifies wholeness, fullness, The divinity plus creation, the world of time and space and the times unbounded source out of which creation appears and into which it (including time and space itself) dissolves.

As Krishna points out, this wholeness is the Truth of ‘I’, of everyone, but most believe themselves to be limited, small, wanting and thus suffer struggling to overcome this confusion. It takes 18 chapters to unfold the simplicity of this, as confusion arises continuously in the seeker. Part of Arjuna’s confusion involves the differences between two approaches to acquiring this wisdom, the path of knowledge known in India as sanyaasa, and the path of action, karma yoga. He feels that sanyassa, which involves dropping out of society and leaving behind all social obligations, is the only path to self knowledge. Krishna’s teaching goes into depth as to why karma yoga is an equally valid path, if understood, and that moksha is available to anyone, not just the renunciates.

Although we will not study each chapter in depth,  I recommend you go through the whole 18 chapters several times to get a feel for the approach Krishna takes. Find a translation that speaks to you. Find verses that speak directly to your heart. The one I first discovered in 1971, the Penguin Classic translated by Juan Mascaro, is very simple, (120 pages), beautiful and rich. Swami Dayananda’s home study course has four 500 page volumes. Stephen Mitchell, translator of the Tao Te Ching (and husband of Byron Katie, an Ojai neighbor ) has a new translation out, but I have not seen it yet.  This web site will focus on a few key verses to help in the understanding and we will tie these into to other teachings and the study course. Everything here is based upon the brilliant expositions of Swami Dayananda, my primary teacher for the Gita and other Vedantic teachings as well as the Yoga Sutras.  Om tat sat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Related Links

Essential Verses of the Gita
Yoga in the Gita
Sthita Prajña (Stable Wisdom)
Summary of the 18 Chapters

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Recent Posts

The Ten Oxherding Pictures

A Holiday Gift from the Buddhist World to all of us.

The ten Oxherding Pictures from Zen Buddhism represent the stages and path to awakening, integration and enlightenment, with the Ox representing our True Nature and the Oxherder each of us, the embodied being. It is important to note that the stages are not linear but spiralic and multi-dimensional, as we usually can get glimpses of more advanced levels before we have truly completed and integrated the any or all of the previous ones.

Also, we may often be working with several stages at the same time. More subtle awakenings in one level may trigger unconscious and unresolved traumas stored in the earlier levels that then need to be revisited, transformed and integrated. Then, the energy held in trauma is resolved and free to use for deeper growth.

There are many variations on the ten pictures representing the stages, and these are usually accompanied by poetic verses and/or commentary describing the journey. The paintings seen below are traditionally attributed to 天章周文 Tenshō Shūbun (1414-1463), of the Muromachi period in the late fifteenth century and are found at the Shōkokuji temple in Kyoto, Japan.

These stages can be seen as three sets of three transformations, with the final stage standing alone. The first three are the beginners journey, the second three those of the intermediate student, and the final three the most subtle and refined. The tenth transcends all and resolves as the awakened Buddha in the world helping others. Looking more deeply and ironically, we find that ultimately it is the Ox who is training and leading the Oxherder

1: Seeking the Ox
We know something is missing in our lives, but don’t know what it might be, or where to look. Our souls ache, our spirit feels fragile. The spiritual journey begins, but our minds are full of confusion and delusion. Our search is random and we cannot find the Ox anywhere. This is Dante at the beginning of The Divine Comedy.

2: Seeing Tracks of the Ox
Through study and guidance we begin to get glimpses. Maybe we discover yoga or meditation, or find spiritual teachers or writings that inspire us. But although we see the tracks, the Ox is still unseen, unknown. The tracks give us some confidence and we continue seeking, driven by the awakening cosmic impulse to discover/uncover the fullness and truth of our Being. The Ox is calling us.

3: First Glimpsing the Ox
There is the Ox. Wow! So magnificent! How did we ever not see! But the Ox remains elusive, disappearing into the forest. How could that be? Our minds are still confused, our seeking still undisciplined. The Ox teases us. She is everywhere and then nowhere to be found. Our mental habits and beliefs still dominate in spite of the revelation and we struggle to find ground. We are still beginners on the journey.

4: Catching the Ox
We finally catch the ox and grasp the rope to hold her, but she is wild and free, used to cavorting in the fields. We must hold the rope firmly and steadily. The rope of course is our evolving meditation practice and this is where it gets more serious. We are no longer beginners. We are in the realm of un-abiding awakening and must be ‘all in’ with our practice to stabilize the ground. Habits and conditioning have many tentacles extending into the unconscious, so our discipline must become stronger. The Ox keeps us on our toes.

5: Taming the Ox
As our practice becomes stronger, we can hold the rope more loosely as the Ox is relaxing somewhat. It is actually the mind that is relaxing as we begin to realize that the Ox is always steady and it is our minds that are wild and untamed. By relaxing our efforts, our practices can now include resting in the infinite and we become more comfortable in stillness and mystery. Habits still arise as the unconscious has many layers and levels of confusion and trauma, but we recognize the reality that our thoughts arise and fall from the depths of silence and that our delusion is self created.

6: Riding the Ox Back Home
The seeking and struggle come to an end and we can let go of the rope as Ox and herder are one, moving effortlessly together though the world. Buddha Nature is awake and free and we feel spontaneous joy and happiness. The Oxherder plays his flute for the birds and children of the village. This joy and delight can be a surprise as the practice has seemed quite serious at times. Unseen unconscious traumas may still exist so vigilance is still required.

7: Ox Forgotten, Self Alone
The Ox is now gone and the Oxherder sits at home alone. This is ‘Self as ‘I am’ without the need to ‘be something. This is Kaivalya of the Yoga Sutras, Purusha distinct from Prakriti. Up until now, there has remained a subtle sense of duality, of practice and life, of spiritual and not spiritual. This now dissolves. There is no longer ‘something to do’. Everything is meditation and nothing is special. Things are ‘just as they are’.

8: Ox and Self Both Forgotten
Total Emptiness. No concepts, ideas or beliefs, no sense of separateness. Even the “I am” is gone. All gone. Not even the scent of ‘holiness’ or special-ness remains. Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate.

9: Return to the Source
From the realization of Emptiness emerges the realization that the amazing flow of life always continues on in its own perfection. Seasons come and go. Cherry trees bloom in the spring. Birds sing and the rivers flow. Stars are born and others explode into cosmic dust. Emptiness is Fullness, Fullness is Emptiness. Bodhi svaha!

10: Returning to the Marketplace with Helping Hands
The enlightened being joyfully joins the world to aid all beings on their journey. Freedom, wisdom and compassion are the roots of action. Enlightenment is not passive but celebratory and engaged.

Here are some other perspectives:
From Tricycle Magazine
https://terebess.hu/english/Kuoan1.html
https://terebess.hu/english/oxherd0.html

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