“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.3)

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मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु
कश्चिद् यतति सिद्धये
यतताम् अपि सिद्धानां
कश्चिन् मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ

If we really want confirmation of the struggle of the human existence, for reaching the pinnacle of understanding through the auspicious birth, as compared to the potential when landing in one of the up to 8,400,000 different species, all it takes is browsing through books of a specific subject matter on the public bookshelf. This could be at the local library, the bookstore affiliated with the large publishing houses, or an online version of the same.

The category in this case is Hinduism, and more specifically a sacred text known as Bhagavad-gita. The original work is in Sanskrit. The original set of shlokas is actually found within a much larger text. Known as the Mahabharata, this book is considered one of the epics passed down in the Vedic tradition, which is the more accurate way to define the culture loosely and callously tagged as “Hinduism.”

The spirit of the Mahabharata is history. It is a lengthy narrative featuring various detours, twists, turns, and philosophical discussions from the various participants. It is like if we charted the journey of a student attending university for the first time. There is the narrative of their experience, such as the daily struggles, living in the dorm, doing their own laundry for the first time, making new friends, attending classes, studying, and also pursuing social interests.

At the same time, the student is there to learn. If we included some of the instruction shared with them, a book describing their university experience could become quite lengthy. At any point within the published work, we might forget where the story began. A professor is deep into one of their lectures in a subject matter that might have nothing to do with the life experienced at the time by the student.

This is one way to understand the layout of Mahabharata. There is a small section that is actually part of the narrative of one of the main characters, Arjuna, that covers the wisdom of the ages. This is sort of a succinct way of understanding life. It is like the condensed-notes version of the science of self-realization, sanatana-dharma, in the instructional sense.

The teacher is Shri Krishna. The student is Arjuna. The setting is a battlefield. The point in the story is the beginning of a great war. The struggle extends to many years prior. This war was a long time in the making. Every effort was made to avoid it. Krishna even personally intervened, though He was not a direct party to the conflict. He was not affected either way, in the same manner that God overseas the creation but does not get entangled in the work involved to create, maintain, or destroy it.

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति
न मे कर्म-फले स्पृहा
इति मां यो ऽभिजानाति
कर्मभिर् न स बध्यते

na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
na me karma-phale spṛhā
iti māṁ yo ‘bhijānāti
karmabhir na sa badhyate

“There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become entangled in the fruitive reactions of work.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.14)

The players involved, the setting, the context of the discussion, the principles covered – these are fairly straightforward. And yet upon revisiting the aforementioned literary setting, we find that upon perusing the various published titles with “Bhagavad-gita” in the name, the proper understanding is lacking. The author, the translator, the commentator – the people presenting the work completely miss the mark.

The honest person can quickly spot the errors. For instance, these presentations put forth speculations questioning the very existence of the scene. They advise to understand Krishna only in the allegorical sense, as some abstract concept rather than a living personality. This is in spite of the detailed history included within the book. Arjuna specifically asks about the previous births. He asks how Bhagavad-gita could have been spoken to the sun-god, at the beginning of the creation, when Krishna had only appeared in the manifest sense some one hundred years prior to this discussion taking place on the battlefield.

अर्जुन उवाच
अपरं भवतो जन्म
परं जन्म विवस्वतः
कथम् एतद् विजानीयां
त्वम् आदौ प्रोक्तवान् इति

arjuna uvāca
aparaṁ bhavato janma
paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ
katham etad vijānīyāṁ
tvam ādau proktavān iti

“Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.4)

The published titles covering Bhagavad-gita might also completely omit certain sections, such as wherein Krishna describes Himself to be the origin of the creation. He is the knower inside of the field that is the body. We are also the knower, kshetrajna, but the distinction with Krishna is that He is the universal knower. Never is there a time that we achieve the same status, and so Krishna is always different from us.

क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ
yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.3)

Krishna reveals that a person only surrenders to Him after many births. To reach that position is rare.

बहूनां जन्मनाम् अन्ते
ज्ञानवान् मां प्रपद्यते
वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति
स महात्मा सु-दुर्लभः

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

Aligning the various published versions of Bhagavad-gita available for public consumption in a row would provide a symbolic representation of this truth. So many people took the time to access the sacred words. They studied the Sanskrit. They were essentially hearing directly from Krishna. They might have reached perfection in their own right, in yoga. They strived for siddhi and ended up achieving that goal. They then had the wonderful opportunity to help others to reach the rare platform of the mahatma, or great soul.

Except they completely missed the mark. They did not understand even five percent of the work. This is the difficulty facing the human being, but through an accurate and honest presentation there is hope. If we hear Bhagavad-gita, as it is, as it was spoken to Arjuna, as it is meant to be understood by the struggling human being, then the person who is not envious of Krishna is blessed in their journey for reaching Him and ultimately staying with Him.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं
प्रवक्ष्याम्य् अनसूयवे
ज्ञानं विज्ञान-सहितं
यज् ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसे ऽशुभात्

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ
pravakṣyāmy anasūyave
jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ
yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ‘śubhāt

“The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.” (Bhagavad-gita, 9.1)

In Closing:

For proof of struggle indeed,
Just some book selections read.

On shelf from Bhagavad-gita category,
Some say entire work an allegory.

Or that not to the Krishna person real,
Instead towards internal divine appeal.

But hope from a presentation true,
To follow in spirit of Arjuna who.

Categories: bhagavad-gita

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, poem, poems, poetry, samsara, vedanta