Happy Janamasthami!
The Relevance of the Bhagavad Gita Today
With this context in mind, how does the Gita speak to us today?
In some way, Arjuna is an example of the quintessential modern man in the sense that he is mainly concerned with practical matters and earthly life – very much like people in today`s secular and materialistic world. He is religious to the extent that any religious worldly person is today – respectful of his traditions and those who represent them. He is not a contemplative man, nor a spiritual seeker, withdrawn from society, seeking the way to Truth and enlightenment. On the contrary. He is a family man, a warrior, a conventional man respecting his elders and teachers, a man of society concerned about action and its consequences. He did not start out asking Krishna, the Avatar, to reveal philosophical insight and consciousness of reality. He just wanted to know what to do to avoid the horrific suffering that would be the consequence of war.
Celebrating Lord Krishna's birthday today, in addition to fasting and worship, I thought it appropriate to reflect on His teachings in the Bhagavad Gita and to post some of those reflections.
I feel we stand today on the edge of a great transformation.
Many individuals are experiencing transformative states, while society at large
is shifting and sitting on the precipice of either violence or the possibility
of peaceful abundance. The deciding factors of what is to come depends entirely
on what each person chooses – attitudes, beliefs, disciplines, actions, mental states, desires of the heart and on how humanity comes together
collectively to shape society.
More than
ever before, humanity is in need of
wisdom. I believe the Gita offers guidance for acquiring such wisdom,
especially as its message is offered on the cusp of the Kurukshetra war. The latter half of the 20th century revealed a
level of violence and destructive capacity not only for human civilization but
for all creatures and planetary existence itself. Never in known history has humanity had at
its disposal the atomic bomb, the earliest having been unleashed at Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, but since then improved and refined, not only in destructive
capacity but in sophistication of delivery. Other sophisticated weaponry positioned around the globe could unleash a holocaust of unimaginable proportions. The early years of the 21st century have not been very encouraging either. With 9-11, the Arab Spring, the current violence throughout the Middle East and the flood of refugees fleeing violence and starvation, unrest in the Baltics, tension in Ukraine, standoff with Korea, the geopolitical scene is not very reassuring. To add to this, the threat to the planet of global warming, the rapid extinction of species, earthquakes - most recently in the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal and just yesterday in Italy, more than ever before, we need to wake up, get oriented individually to our true purpose in life and take a stand on the kind of society we wish to create collectively.
In some way, Arjuna is an example of the quintessential modern man in the sense that he is mainly concerned with practical matters and earthly life – very much like people in today`s secular and materialistic world. He is religious to the extent that any religious worldly person is today – respectful of his traditions and those who represent them. He is not a contemplative man, nor a spiritual seeker, withdrawn from society, seeking the way to Truth and enlightenment. On the contrary. He is a family man, a warrior, a conventional man respecting his elders and teachers, a man of society concerned about action and its consequences. He did not start out asking Krishna, the Avatar, to reveal philosophical insight and consciousness of reality. He just wanted to know what to do to avoid the horrific suffering that would be the consequence of war.
He wanted instead of carnage to find a way to preserve the
cultural traditions and way of life which he knew as righteous – dharmic. Arjuna has little patience, especially when
the dialogue turns towards the metaphysical.
He is concerned with practicalities and figuring out what to do, what
action to take, very much like today`s modern person, who has little time nor
patience for metaphysical paradoxical queries into the nature of reality. Like a modern person, Arjuna stands at the
precipice of destruction. All his normal inclinations cannot serve him
anymore. Thus the message of the Gita, the things that Arjuna is brought to
understand, concern us all in modern times, who also have reached a stage where
our normal inclinations are not particularly helpful to meet the
challenges of our times.
Why does
Lord Krishna not just offer good practical advice and tell Arjuna what to do? Einstein once said - and I paraphrase - one
cannot solve problems with the same mentality that created the problems. We
have to shift our understanding and gain wisdom in order to solve the problems
we have created. It is for this reason, that Krishna imparts so much philosophical knowledge, as well as guidance for contemplative activity, devotional worship as well as the right attitude towards action.
Through 18 chapters, he offers, in a broad sweep, a dissertation on the nature of the Atman, of death and rebirth, the nature of the will and how to use it, on the different types of yoga - contemplative, karma, renunciation, on the paths of devotion. He reveals His normally unseen form and explains the reason for His descent into the world, the knowledge that is necessary for a human being to have in order to live and work effectively in this world. At the end of the last chapter he says to Arjuna "Now I have taught you that wisdom which is the secret of secrets. Ponder it carefully. Then act as you think best. These are the last words that I shall say to you, the deepest of all truths. I speak for your own good. You are the friend I chose and love."
Krishna tells Arjuna to do what he thinks best! He doesn't tell him what to do. Let's put ourselves in Arjuna's shoes. Let's listen to Lord Krishna's message and then act as we think is best.
