Event Milestone Yesterday we completed the Chapter 17 of The Bhagavad Geeta. At the beginning of the chapter Arjun wishes to be instructed by the Lord on the nature of the faith of men who set upon the task of worship in violation of scriptural injunction. Who among us does not know the many who persist in adoring ghosts and spirits? What is the nature of their faith? Is it moral, impulsive, or steeped in ignorance and therefore evil? Krishn’s answer to the question is that since faith is inherent in man, he cannot but believe in something here or there. So he is shaped by his leaning and faith. Determined respectively by properties of sattwa, rajas and tamas, faith is of three kinds. While men with righteous faith adore gods and men of illusion are devotees of yaksh (source of renown and valour) and demons (personification of wealth and brutish conduct), the ignorant venerate ghosts and spirits. By their various forms of worship that are lacking in spiritual approval, all such devotees not only impair the elements that they embody but also their finer resolutions and the God that dwell within them. These adulators of supernatural spirits, yaksh, demons, and diverse gods should indeed be looked upon as disposed to evil rather than as true worshippers. It is for the third time now that Krishn has broached the subject of gods. He told Arjun, first in Chapter 7, that only misguided men who have been robbed of their discernment by lust worship gods. Reverting to the problem in Chapter 9, he asserted that even worshippers of the many gods really worship him-the one eternal, immutable God. However since the practice is contrary to scriptural provision, this worship of theirs is but futile. And now here, in Chapter 17, Krishn classifies these worshippers as the most debased, for the only form of reverence countenanced by him is the worship of the one God. Subsequently Yogeshwar Krishn deals with four vital issues, of food, yagya, atonement, and alms-giving. Food is said to be of three categories. Men who are endowed with moral virtue relish food that is nutritious, naturally pleasing, and soothing. Men who are given to passion and moral confusion are fond of dishes that are pungent, hot, tantalizing, and injurious to health. And ignorant men with a wicked leaning hanker after stale and unclean fare. If taken up and accomplished in the way provided by scripture, yagya-internal meditative exercises that subdues the mind and is free from desire-is morally worthwhile. Yagya that is performed to flaunt oneself and as just a venture for the gratification of some desire is morally reprehensible. The lowest of all, however, is yagya that is rightly called evil, for it is divested of scriptural sanction and embarked on without incantation of sacred (Vedic) hymns, spirit of sacrifice, and true dedication. Reverent service to a teacher-preceptor, who has all the virtues that can provide access to the Supreme God, and sincere contrition that observes the principles of non-injury, continence, and purity constitute penance of the body. Speaking that which is true, agreeable, and benign is the penance of speech. Bringing the mind to bear upon the required action and holding it in a state of silent meditation on the cherished goal alone and nothing else is penance of the mind. But the penance that is complete and perfect in all respects is that which involves the mind, speech, and body all. Alms given reverentially out of a Sense of moral obligation and with a due regard for suitable place and time as well as for worthiness of the recipient are good. But alms given with reluctance and hope of some consequent profit are an outcome of passion, while alms given with disdain to an undeserving beneficiary are caused by ignorance. Identifying the character of OM, tat arid sat, Krishn says that these names awaken memories of God. OM is intoned at the initiation of penance, charity, and yagya that are in keeping with the way prescribed by scripture; and the sacred sound stays with the seeker until the consummation of his enterprise. Tat signifies the yonder God. The ordained action can be accomplished only with a sense of total resignation and sat manifests itself only when the venture has got well under way. Worship of God alone is reality. Sat is put to use when the devotee is convinced of the truth and possessed by a craving for perfection. Sat is relevant, too, to the final conclusion of the action, comprising yagya, charity, and penance, that is capable of taking one to God. The deeds that provide access to God are doubtlessly real. But along with all these, faith is a prime necessity. Undertaken without faith, the action that is accomplished, the alms that are given, and the fire of penance in which the worshipper has burnt himself-are all in vain, profitless both in the present life and in the lives to come. Faith is thus imperative. Thus, through the whole chapter, light is shed on faith; and in its concluding part there is attempted-for the first time in the Geetaa detailed elucidation of OM, tat and sat.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:03:24 +0000
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