An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita
The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita - "the song by God" is also referred to as Gita. The term 'Bhagavad Gita' means the eternal song and comprises 25 to 42 of the Bhisma Prava in the Mahabharata.
In the midst of war, it originates where the almighty Lord Vishnu, in his avatar (manifestation or appearance) as Lord Krishna, advises disillusioned Arjuna on the various facets of life and work.
Presented in the war scenario of Kurukshetra (the battle between Pandavas and Kauravas), Bhagavad Gita is a wholesome conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna that endeavors the purpose of life and liberation from materialistic bondage in a real spirit.
There are a total of 18 chapters that begins with Arjuna's dilemma and ends in liberation by renunciation. The Gita is not just a religious text of mere immortal stories but a series of verses that directs its followers to attain the ultimate purpose and meaning of one's existence.
The famous verdict of Oppenheimer on Gita
History has repeatedly witnessed world-renowned figures who have taken up the path shown in the Gita to attain enlightenment of self and get rid of dilemmas regarding the actions to be performed. One such instance is that of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist who left an outsized mark on history for his crucial role in the Manhattan Project.
Produced the first nuclear weapons, he is now remembered as the “Father of the atomic bomb.”
Oppenheimer stated in 1965 that “We knew the world would not be the same.” He, by then, has passed the realization that the action of using nuclear weapons would make many dead and the remaining wander homeless.
At that moment, he remembered the line from the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Vishnu is trying to persuade the Arjuna that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’
But what does death exclaims in the line mentioned by Oppenheimer. In an interview, Stephen Thompson explains that “death” refers to “literally the world-destroying time” according to the scripture. This means that “irrespective of what Arjuna does, everything is in the hands of the divine.
Scholars have argued over time that Oppenheimer’s approach to the atomic bomb was that of doing his duty as part of his dharma as prescribed in the Gita.
Chapter 3 of Bhagavad Gita: Karma Yoga or Yoga of action
The third chapter of the Gita is based on karma yoga or yoga of actions that rigorously explains why a born soul has to carry out duties or perform actions throughout the lifetime.
It is the chapter of ''Path of Selfless service". Here Lord Krishna, through the medium of a deep conversation, explains to Arjuna the importance of karma in life. The verses emphasize the importance of every human being to engage in activities in their everyday life.
Many times while doing particular actions, questions such as "why do we need to perform actions all the time," "Is there any success even after repeated failures," "Why should I perform an action that is followed by disappointment or guilt" follows accompanied by a strong sense of guilt, worthlessness, dilemma, etc.
Bhagavad Gita can be an effective source of knowledge to such queries if tried to understand its concept with dedication.
Here in the article, I have picked up 2 verses from the Gita that are most suitable for answering the above queries.
Chapter 3 verse 5
The fifth verse of the third chapter goes as:
na hi kascitksanamapi jatu tisthatyakarmakrt|
Karyate hyavasah karma sarvah prakrtijairgunaih||
"No one is ever free from action. Every moment of their lives, people are forced to act whether they like it or not. This is because of the influence of the Gunas.”
The 'Prakriti' consists of three Gunas which force us to do actions all the time. There is no moment when our body does not perform actions. For instance, breathing, eye movements, thinking, sensation-seeking are all examples of actions that are maintained throughout.
Sometimes it is even extended to multitasking. The human brain is a constantly working organ, even during sleep.
The brain produces our every thought, action, memory, feelings, and experience. Even without our deliberate efforts, the brain keeps performing the vital actions for survival.
As stated in verse, the 3 Gunas compel us to perform the actions. The Gunas represent vibratory rates in descending order, with sattva being closest to the pure consciousness, followed by rajas and then the tamas which is the farthest.
A person with lesser knowledge of Indian philosophy and spiritual vocabulary finds it difficult to understand the mechanism of these 3. Hence a similar comparison can be drawn with what Sigmund Freud (the father of psychoanalysis) gave as the structure of personality: id, ego, and superego.
The id corresponds to the notion of the unconscious given by Freud. According to Freud, the id is the aspect of personality that operated based on the pleasure principle. The id functions of its needs and does not tolerate delay or postponement of satisfaction for any reason. The rajas are placed in a similar position to the id, a set of uncoordinated instinctual characters.
To Freud, the ego is the rational aspect of the personality responsible for distress and control of the instincts according to the reality principle. The ego does not prevent id satisfaction; rather, it tries to postpone, delay or redirect it in terms of the demands of reality. Thus it controls exert over the id impulses.
This is considered equivalent to sattva qualitatively, that is, organized realistic part that mediates between the id's desires and the superego.
Finally, the superego to Freud is the moral aspect of personality. The internalization of parental and social values and standards are reflected by the control of the superego. The superego strives neither for pleasure, not for ultimate realistic goals but solely for moral perfection. Hence tamas has been placed in a similar position with the superego.
From the context of Bhagavad Gita, greater emphasis has been given to the concept of liberation, which cannot be achieved without doing actions. In this verse, Krishna explains how Prakriti or nature constantly keeps us engaged in some actions. We can reduce the possibility of the cyclic nature of birth or liberation by choosing our karma.
The different Gunas compel us to perform different actions. The high level of intellect is derived by performing actions guided by sattva guna. But there is nothing wrong with actions driven by other guns too. The interchanging role of the Gunas has a significant part to play, but there should be balance in them.
Chapter 3 Verse 7
The seventh verse of the third chapter goes as:
yastvindriyani manasa niyamyarabhate’rjuna|
karmendriyaih karmayogamasaktah sa visisyate||
Not every time we act is done without expectations. Almost every action we do or perform thrives for the desired outcome. Fruitful outcomes and their related expectations are what make us disappointed when failure follows certain actions or tasks.
There is no escapism from this material world. We accidentally face objects that attract us and trigger our 'vasanas' or strong desires in every step. Hence we have to reside among those elements yet resist ourselves from such an intense sense of gratification. Giving up on attachment is a technique to get rid of such desires, and chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita talks a lot about it.
This resistance can only happen when one truly follows the law of dispassion and discrimination with full determination. With the practice of discrimination, dispassion follows automatically.
When we illuminate ourselves with the thoughts of what brings temporary materialistic pleasure and, on the other hand, what gives genuine long lasting happiness and discriminate among them properly, we can resist ourselves from seeking momentary euphoria. If we constantly practice discrimination, dispassion will happen without doing too much hard work.
Finally, the restored positive energy derived from such fruitful practices can be utilized in performing meaningful actions or what the Bhagavad Gita had termed as the “karma yoga.”
Conclusion
Finally, the passage can be concluded with another significant verse from the Bhagavad Gita on performing actions that go as:
Niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyayohyakarmanah|
Sarirayatrapi ca te naprasiddhyedakarmanah||
“It is better to do your duty than to remain without doing anything. Action is more important because we cannot even maintain our body without it”.
The article can be concluded with one major takeaway: survival without performing our prescribed duties or actions is impossible. Leading a life without performing any task is equivalent to being survived as a mere dead soul. Cognitive dissonance and negative counterattack of thoughts are inevitable that follow most of our actions.
Therefore a critical decision of not being influenced much by expectations of fruitful results can be seen as effective in avoiding disappointment that triggers low-key feelings following specific actions. This might require exerting control over one’s desires manifested upon materialistic possessions, which can be attended through a disciplined practice of training our minds.
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