Love is one of the most spoken and least understood words in our daily vocabulary. Love is commonly equated with sensual enjoyment, but does such superficial titillation offer substantial satisfaction to the heart? The suffering of the stomach hungry for food is well-recognized, but the agony of the heart hungry for love is often overlooked. Same Person, Multiple Personalities? In addition to its historicity, the Gita also has a deeper, symbolic message: the mentalities exemplified by Arjuna and Duryodhana are present in our own hearts too. The battlefield setting of the Gita beckons all of us to become spiritual warriors and conquer the selfish lower self with the selfless higher self. Just as the wisdom of the Gita empowered Arjuna, it can empower us, too, for heralding the reign of love in our hearts -– and in the world at large. Krishna, the speaker of the Gita, is an enigma for many. The sporting, loving cowherd youth Krishna of Vrindavana seems to contrast starkly with the philosophical, analytical diplomat-warrior Krishna of Kurukshetra. How are these two contrasting personalities integrated in a single person? To answer this question, we need to understand the thought flow of the Bhagavad-gita, which ascends from the diplomacy of the battlefield to the devotion of the eternal abode of love. Pointing to love In the Gita, Krishna offers a concise overview of the various paths for spiritual progress – karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, dhyana-yoga and bhakti-yoga. Simultaneously throughout the Gita, he drops clues that there is a secret message; a secret that only a heart filled with love can fathom (Gita 4.3). That is why at the end of almost every chapter He emphasizes bhakti-yoga. Consider the following: The sixth chapter explains dhyana-yoga quite elaborately, but concludes that the bhakti-yogi is the topmost yogi (6.47). That bhakti-yoga is the safest and the most successful form of yoga is also established through comparison at the end of the eight chapter (8.26-28) The fourteenth chapter provides a systematic analysis of how all souls are trapped by the three modes of material nature – an analysis typical of jnanis, but then Krishna concludes in the penultimate verse of the chapter (14.27) that the only way to transcend the three modes is by unflinching devotional service. That the successful jnani becomes a bhakta is also stated in 7.19 and 18.54. The fifth chapter presents nishkama karma-yoga, but concludes that the acceptance ofKrishnaas the only proprietor, benefactor and enjoyer – an implicit tenet of bhakti – is the way to lasting peace (5.29). That the devotional offering of karma to the Lord is the culmination of karma-yoga is also indicated in 3.9 and 3.30. Finally at the climax of the Gita (18.64-66),Krishnabares his heart’s love in a disarmingly sweet revelation, “Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit. Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Hare Krishna ... Jay Jagannath ... Chant these names with love and you will feel the ecstasy: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare ...
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 02:23:06 +0000
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