Shastras, Stotras, Sutras CHAPTER 1🔗

Life will always be a mix of the good and the bad, the divine and the devil. Choosing one over the other does not help. We need to go beyond both!

CONTENTS

| | | | | :-- | :---------------------------- | :-- | | 1. | Bhagavad Gita: A Background | 7 | | 2. | Introduction | 15 | | 3. | Beyond Scriptures | 19 | | 4. | Planet Earth is a battlefield | 74 | | 5. | Ego Needs Support | 91 | | 6. | War Begins | 109 | | 7. | Arjuna Falters | 121 | | 8. | Intelligence Questions | 138 | | 9. | Arjuna's Dilemma | 152 | | 10. | Rigors of Conditioning | 168 | | 11. | Good Men Do Not Kill | 184 | | 12. | The Plot Thickens | 198 | | 13. | Breakdown | 212 | | 14. | Scientific Research on Bhagavad Gita | 222 | | 15. | Kuru Family Tree | 224 | | 16. | Glossary of Key Characters | 225 | | 17. | Meaning of Selected Sanskrit Words | 227 | | 18. | Invocation Verses | 240 | | 19. | Verses of Gita Chapter 1 | 241 | | 20. | About THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM | 267 |

BhagavadGita: A Background

Bhagavad Gita is a sacred scripture of the Vedic culture. As with all scriptures, it was knowledge that was transmitted verbally. It was called śruti in Sanskrit, meaning something that is heard.

Gita, as Bhagavad Gita is generally called, translates literally from Sanskrit as the 'Sacred Song'. Unlike the Veda and Upaniṣad, which are self-standing expressions, Gita is written into the Hindu epic Mahabharata, called a purāṇa, an ancient tale*.* It is part of a story, so to speak.

As a scripture, Gita is part of the ancient knowledge base of Vedic tradition, which is the expression of the experiences of great sages.

Veda and Upaniṣad, the foundation of śruti literature, arose through the insight and awareness of these great sages when they went into a no-mind state. These are as old as humanity and the first and truest expressions in the journey of man's search for truth.

Unlike the Vedas, which were internalized by the great sages, or the Upaniṣads, which were the teachings of these great sages, Gita is part of a story narrated by Vyasa, one of these great sages. It is narrated as the direct expression of the Divine.

No other epic, or part of an epic, has the special status of the Gita. As a consequence of the presence of Gita, the Mahabharata epic itself is considered a sacred Hindu scripture. Gita arose from the super consciousness of Krishna, the Supreme God, and is therefore considered a scripture.

Mahabharata, literally the Great Bhārata, is a narration about the nation and civilization, which is now known as Bharat. It was then a nation ruled by King Bharata and his descendants. The story of this epic is about two warring clans, Kauravas and Pandavas, closely related to one another. Dhritharashtra, the blind King of Hastinapura and father of the 100 Kaurava brothers was the brother of Pandu, whose children were the five Pandava princes. It is a tale of strife between cousins.

Pandu was the King of Hastinapura. A sage cursed him that he would die if he ever entered into physical relationship with his wives. He therefore had no children. Vyasa says that all the five Pandava children were born to their mothers Kunti and Madri through the blessing of divine beings. Pandu handed over the kingdom and his children to his blind brother Dhritharashtra and retired to meditate in the forest.

Kunti had received a boon when she was still a young unmarried adolescent, that she could summon any divine power at will to father a child. Before she married, she tested her boon. The Sun God Surya appeared before her. Karna was born to her as a result. In fear of social reprisals, she cast the newborn away in a river. Yudhishtra, Bhima, and Arjuna were born to Kunti after her marriage by invocation of her powers, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Madri, the second wife of Pandu.

Yudhishtra was born to Kunti as a result of her being blessed by Yama, the God of death and justice, Bhima by Vayu, the God of wind, and Arjuna by Indra, God of all divine beings. Nakula and Sahadeva, the youngest Pandava twins were born to Madri, through the divine Ashwini twins.

Dhritharashtra had a hundred sons through his wife Gandhari. The eldest of these Kaurava princes was Duryodhana. Duryodhana felt no love for his five Pandava cousins. He made many unsuccessful attempts, along with his brother Dushashana, to kill the Pandava brothers. Kunti's eldest son Karna, whom she had cast away at birth, was brought up by a chariot driver in the palace and by a strange twist of fate joined hands with Duryodhana.

Dhritharashtra gave Yudhishtra one half of the Kuru Kingdom on his coming of age, since the Pandava Prince was the rightful heir to the throne that his father Pandu had vacated. Yudhishtra ruled from his new capital Indraprastha, along with his brothers Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Arjuna won the hand of Princess Draupadi, daughter of the King of Panchala, in a svayaṁvara, a marital contest in which princes fought for the hand of a fair damsel. In fulfilment of their mother Kunti's desire that the brothers would share everything equally, Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandava brothers.

Duryodhana persuaded Yudhishtra to join a gambling session, where his cunning uncle Sakuni defeated the Pandava King. Yudhishtra lost all that he owned - his kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to Duryodhana. Dushashana shamed Draupadi in public by trying to disrobe her. The Pandava brothers and Draupadi were forced to go into exile for 14 years, with the condition that in the last year they should live incognito.

At the end of the 14 years, the Pandava brothers tried to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped by Krishna, the King of the Yadava clan, who is considered the eighth divine reincarnation of Vishnu. However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the War of Mahabharata ensued. In this war, various rulers of the entire nation that is modern Bharat aligned with one or the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the Pandavas.

Krishna offered to join with either of the two clans. He said, 'One of you may have me unarmed. I will not take any part in the battle. The other may have my entire Yadava army.' The first offer was made to Duryodhana, who predictably chose the large and well-armed Yadava army, in preference to the unarmed Krishna. Arjuna joyfully and gratefully chose his friend and mentor Krishna to be his unarmed charioteer!

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukshetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the Kings and Princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle.

Krishna's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra is the content of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna persuaded Arjuna to take up arms and vanquish his enemies. 'They are already dead,' says Krishna, 'all those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your duty. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

The Gita is the ultimate practical teaching on the inner science of spirituality. It is not as some scholars incorrectly claim, a promotion of violence. It is about the impermanence of the mind, body, and the need to destroy the mind, ego and logic.

Sanjaya, King Dhritharashtra's charioteer, presents Gita in eighteen chapters to the blind king. All the Kaurava Princes as well as all their commanders such as Bhishma, Drona and Karna were killed in battle. The five Pandava brothers survived as winners and became the rulers of the combined kingdom.

This dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is a dialogue between man and God or nara and Nārāyaṇa as they are termed in Sanskrit. Arjuna's questions and doubts are those of each one of us. The answers of the Divine, Krishna, transcend time and space. Krishna's message is as valid today as it was on that fateful battlefield some thousands of years ago.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM explains the inner metaphorical meaning of Mahabharata thus:

'The Great War of Mahabharata is the fight between the positive and negative thoughts of the mind, called the saṁskāras. Positive thoughts are the Pandava princes and the negative thoughts are the Kaurava princes. Kurukshetra or the battlefield is the body. Arjuna is the individual consciousness and Krishna is the enlightened Master.

The various commanders who led the Kaurava army represent the major blocks that the individual consciousness faces in its journey to enlightenment. Bhishma represents parental and societal conditioning. Drona represents the conditioning from teachers who provide knowledge including spiritual guidance. Karna represents the restrictive influence of good deeds such as charity and compassion, and finally Duryodhana represents the ego, which is the last to fall.

Parental and societal conditionings have to be overcome by rebelling against conventions. This is why traditionally those seeking the path of enlightenment are required to renounce the world as sannyāsin and move away from civilization. This conditioning does not die as long as the body lives, but its influence drops.

Drona represents all the knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who stop short of being to able to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the enlightened master steps in and guides us.

Karna is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own enlightenment. Krishna has to take the load of Karna's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world.

Finally one reaches Duryodhana, one's ego, the most difficult to conquer. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes one disconnect from the Master as well.

The Great War was between one hundred eighty million people - one hundred ten million on the Kaurava side representing our negative saṁskāras – stored memories - and seventy million on the Pandava side representing our positive saṁskāras – stored memories and it lasted eighteen days and nights. The number eighteen has a great mystical significance. It essentially signifies our ten senses that are made up of jñānendriya the five senses of perception like taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch, and karmendriya - the five senses initiating action like speech, bodily movements etc., added to our eight kinds of thoughts like lust, greed etc. All eighteen need to be dropped for Self-realization.

Mahabharata is not just an epic story. It is not merely the fight between good and evil. It is the dissolution of both positive and negative saṁskāras that reside in our body-mind system, which must happen for the ultimate liberation. It is a tale of the process of enlightenment.

Mahabharata is a living legend. Bhagavad Gita is the manual for enlightenment.

Like Arjuna many thousand years ago, you are here in a dialogue with a living enlightened Master in this book. This is a tremendous opportunity to resolve all questions and clear all doubts with the Master's words.