-Bageshwar
Jha
Hailing from a pious Brahmin
family, even though cursorily, I stand exposed to common household Sanatan
Dharm scriptures including the Shrimadbhagvat Gita from my childhood. At that
immature stage, to me they were just sacrosanct and nothing beyond. In my daily
routine was invariably included recitation from these religious texts as well
as several other ‘mantras’. As a gullible lad this brief daily recital
convinced me that the Lord would remain kind and shower boons on me.
However, since I had
gone across teens, one serious doubt started harassing me as to why all mantras
ended with some demand to be fulfilled
by the divinity by virtue of singing the same. Why one should always pray for
some material gains? Does not that beget a cult of beggary? Is not the Lord
all-knowing and omnipresent? Then why should a true follower remind Him of his
each need? You talk about any mythological classic including the Rigveda, they
have nothing more than praises of the deity and benefits of their recital. Will
only the recital of scriptural texts build a nation? Recently an Indian
philosopher deeply lamented that these ‘bhajans’ had hardly any constructive
aspect for the solution of people’s problems and nation-building.
In the backdrop of
above syndrome, the Gita stands alone because the thrust point dealt in there
is allaying of confusion of Arjuna who represents the community as a whole. This new interpretation dawned at me
when in mid-sixties I read Gandhi’s commentary on this masterpiece (in
Gujarati), translated into English by his secretary Mahadev Desai. Krishna just
advises him to go for the unattached
karma. But he warns that ‘kin karma kin karmeti kaviyopyatra mohitah’ meaning
that even the wise are confused about the real colour of karma and akarma. So
long the man assumes that he is the doer, he is swayed by its good and bad
results. He should think that only action is his right (karmanyevadhikaraste)
without any attachment to the result (mafalesukadachana). This great message
looks very simple but is very difficult to practise. Obviously in our daily
life we just start any work only after foreseeing the result. Gita tells us
just to reverse the order. It is difficult but possible through practice.
The scholars say that
the Ramcharit Manas starts with ‘bhakti’ and ends with ‘gyan’ (Uttarkand).
Quite contrarily, the Gita starts with ‘gyan’ and ends with bhakti viz. total
surrender (mamekansharnambrja). Let us not once again get involved in
complicated jargons. We have to simply remember to do karma (only which we can
do) and remain detached from the result (which is beyond our competence). It
will make our life simple and smooth. Gita does not falsely assure that its
recital will make you happy. It prescribes no escape from duty. That is why it
is emphasized: ‘gitasugitakartavyaih kimnyaishastravistaraih’. Do not go to the
details of different shastras, just follow Gita alone!
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