Saturday 8 September 2012

An introduction to Srimad Bhagavata Gita- The Song of God!

"This knowledge is the King of all wisdom 
The King of all that is confidential. 
It is the purest and the topmost. 
It is the perfection of all religion .
And everlastingly joyful to perform. 
It gives direct perception of the self by realization " 
_Chapter 9, verse 2 (Srimad Bhagavat Gita) 

The Srimad Bhagavat Gita- the Song of God, was spoken by the Supreme Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra in 3102 B.C, just prior to the commencement of the Great Mahabharata war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. It was originally available in the Sanskrit language and was later translated into other languages. It is considered to be one of the oldest and the greatest spiritual book that the world have ever known. Here, the Supreme Almighty Krishna has precisely described the science of self-realization and the process through which a human being could establish their eternal relationship with the Gracious Almighty. It reveals the doctrine bhakti (devotion) and love of God. 

Without the realization of our divine relationship with the God it is impossible to establish our eternal relationship with Him. The Srimad Bhagavat Gita describes three paths that leads to establishing a relationship with the Almighty. These three paths are- (i) yoga of perfect action, (ii) yoga of perfect devotion, and (iii) yoga of prefect knowledge. 

The Srimad Bhagavat Gita is consist of 18 chapters. Each chapter is called a yoga. Yoga is the science of individual consciousness attaining communication with the Ultimate Consciousness. Thus, we we could say that each chapter is a highly specialized yoga revealing the path of attaining the realization of the Ultimate Truth, that is the Almighty. 

The 18 chapters of the Srimad Bhagavat Gita could be classified in three sections. Each section gives a complete and detailed explanation of the three paths leading to establishing a relationship with God. The first six chapters could be classified as the Karma Yoga section, that is the yoga of perfect action. It mainly deals with the science of the individual consciousness attaining communication with the Ultimate Consciousness through our actions. The first six chapters are- 
Chapter 1. Visada Yoga (The Yoga of Dejection)
Chapter 2. Sankhya Yoga (The Yoga of Analytic Knowledge)
Chapter 3. Karma Yoga (The Yoga of Action)
Chapter 4. Gyana Yoga (The Yoga of Knowledge)
Chapter 5. Karma Vairagya Yoga (The Yoga of Work in Detachment)
Chapter 6. Abhyasa Yoga (The Yoga of Meditation).

The middle six chapters could be classified as the Bhakti Yoga session, that is the yoga of perfect devotion. This session deals with the science of the individual consciousness attaining communication with the Ultimate Consciousness through devotion. These six chapters are- 
Chapter 7. Paramahamsa Vijnana Yoga (The Yoga of Wisdom)
Chapter 8. Aksara-Parabrahman Yoga (The Yoga of the Imperishable Spirit)
Chapter 9. Raja-Vidya-Guhya Yoga ( The Yoga of Confidentiality)
Chapter 10. Vibhuti-Vistara Yoga (The Yoga of His Opulence)
Chapter 11. Visvarupa-Darshana Yoga (The Yoga of the Universal Form)
Chapter 12. Bhakti Yoga (The Yoga of Devotion).

The final six chapters could be classified as the Gyana Yoga, that is the yoga of perfect knowledge. This section deals with the science of the individual consciousness attaining communication with the Ultimate Consciousness through intellect. These sis chapters are- 
Chapter 13. Ksetra-Ksetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (The Yoga of Discrimination)
Chapter 14. Gunatraya-Vibhaga Yoga  (The Yoga of the Three Modes of nature)
Chapter 15. Purushottama Yoga (The Yoga of the Supreme Person)
Chapter 16. Daivasura-Sampada-Vibhaga Yoga (The Yoga of discriminating the qualities of the enlightened and the unenlightened)
Chapter 17. Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga Yoga (The Yoga of the Threefold Division of Faith)
Chapter 18. Moksha Upadesha Yoga (The Yoga of liberation through Renunciation).

Thus, the Srimad Bhagavat Gita is, in fact, the essence of the Mahabharata. It is not just a Holy book but it is a guide for the human beings to sail across the painful world ocean taking refugee in the Lotus Feet of the Gracious Lord Krishna.

Finally, it is to be noted that Lord Krishna spoke the Srimad Bhagavat Gita in 3102 B.C. This date corresponds to 1700 years before Moses, 2500 years before Buddha, 3000 years before Jesus, and 3800 years before Mohammad. Thus, it is clear that the Eternal Knowledge of the Srimad Bhagavat Gita has not been influenced by Buddhism, Christianity, Hebrewism, or Islam; for these religions did not exist at that time. 

..Jai sri Krishna..

No comments:

Post a Comment