Bhagavad-Gita: A Guidebook for our Age
The Bhagavad-Gita (Song of God) was spoken by Krsna at a time when the Vedic civilisation was declining and our own, difficult age of Kali (quarrel and hypocrisy) was beginning. In it, Krsna extracts the essence of the Vedas into a concise practical guide as to what life is and how best to live it. The Bhagavad-Gita is especially meant for the people of our Age and it's conversational, "questions and answers" format makes it interesting and easy to follow, whilst dealing with subject matter of the profoundest kind.
The Gita deals with five basic truths:-
1. The science of God - rather than just "believing" in God, we should know exactly who or what He is.
2. The nature of the living entities, including animals, plants etc. - Krsna describes the spiritual nature of the "self", beyond our material bodies.
3. The cosmic manifestation which is controlled by Krsna.
4. Time
5. Karma - everything we do has far-reaching consequences. What sort of activities should we adopt in order to attain ultimate freedom and happiness?
It may seem incongrous, that a conversation about spiritual matters should take place on a battlefield. We're more likely to imagine Eastern sages sitting peacefully under a tree, instructing their renounced disciples with flowery and enigmatic phrases. But the Gita is more practical and hard-hitting than that. Arjuna speaks on behalf of the average person, busily engaged in day-to-day business. He's not a monk, or priest or philosopher and the battlefield happens to be his place of work. In the course of his duties as a soldier, he's been placed in a situation which has forced him to think more deeply about life and his role in it.
As we begin to get acquainted with Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita, we feel ready sympathy with him and admiration for his principled character. He's evidently a man of great integrity, trying in difficult circumstances, to act according to his own conscience rather than blindly follow social norms. He's even willing to sacrifice his reputation and bring shame upon himself in order to do this.
We may also identify with Arjuna's predicament ourselves. Although we may not want merely to jog along with the status quo, when we try and work out for ouselves how to remain pure and true in a world full of self- motivation and corruption, we find it's not so easy.
As Krsna leads us, in the Gita, through deeper levels of understanding on these points, we come to realise that there are limits to how far we can go on on our own in our attempts to discover truth. For one thing we're too hampered by the prejudices which come from our own conditioning to be able to conduct an objective search.
We also learn that there is a whole other dimension which needs to be considered and of which we know very little. In order to make any good decision, we need to know all the relevant factors. The spiritual dimension is of vital relevance to our life-choices, but it can't be seen or understood by our ordinary vision or intelligence. This is why Krsna needed to speak the Gita and it's also why we need to read it. Krsna takes us as far as possible with reason and logic, pointing out the benefits of spiritual realisation and the consequences of it's lack and He shows us a process for achieving it. By the end of the Gita, we understand that what seemed like noble and humanisitc reasons on Arjuna's part for not wanting to fight, were actually based on sentiment and selfishness.
It' s interesting to observe Krishna's teaching methods in Bhagavad-Gita and how they set the standard for an exemplary spiritual master. This is an issue that has come under some scrutiny in recent years, with the appearance of unscrupulous and exploitative 'religious' leaders and the mass hysteria, they sometimes incite in their followers. It's tempting in the light of this, to reject any kind of spiritual teacher as unnecessary or even potentially dangerous. But Krishna shows us another way.
Although the ultimate goal of Krsna's teachings is surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead - there's no "hell, fire and brimstone" to be found in the Gita. Krishna recognises that as an intelligent man, what Arjuna needs is satisfying answers to his existential questions. When he has fully understood what Krishna is saying, he'll be able to go forward in life with confidence, making his own decisions, based on knowledge. Krishna explains all about the material world and how it works, he talks about the spiritual energy and the difference between spirit and matter. He explains how to attain perfect happiness through spiritual practises and at the end of the Gita, He says to Arjuna - "Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do".
As the exemplary disciple, Arjuna presents his doubts openly and honestly. He takes the conversation seriously, asking questions relevant to his spiritual life and carefully considering the answers. If he's not sure about something, he asks for further clarification. Arjuna shows us that of all our interests in life, the thing we should take most seriously is the search for spiritual knowledge.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's aim in presenting this English translation and commentary, was to make Bhagavad-Gita easily understandable for contemporary people, without deviating in any way from the original teachings. There were already scores of translations of the Gita available, and Srila Prabhupada wasn't interested in adding another poetic, esoteric or popular rendition; he wanted people to take the important message of the Gita and use it to change their lives and thereby, their society.
As a lifelong practitioner of Krishna consciousness, Prabhupada's commentaries are full of realisation and experience. Rather than trying to stamp his own mark with a new interpretation or theory, he humbly presents what he has learnt from his own spiritual master in the time-honoured tradition of the disciplic succession of great spiritual teachers. This makes it an authentic and dependable guide for students of spiritual life.