# 023 Entire teaching of Gita is in one verse

The teaching of Gita starts with and is entirely contained in Verse 11 of Chapter 2.

Asochyaan anvasochastvam prajnaa vaadaamsca bhaashase

Gataasoon agataasoonsca na anusocanti panditaah

You grieve for those who need not be grieved for. Yet you utter words of wisdom.

The wise don’t grieve for those who are dead or for those who are living.

This is the central teaching. All the rest are only to reinforce it.

Krishna primarily talks from the philosophical point of view (aadhyaatmika drishti–verses 12-25). However, he also reiterates the ethical point of view (dhaarmika drishti–verses 31-33) and worldly point of view (loukika drishti–verses 34-37).

In the verses 12 to 25, Krishna describes the nature of the Self (aatmaa).

 1.The Self is nitya (eternal) (12-15).

 The body undergoes birth, youth, old age and death. The Self is
 unaffected.(13) The body faces heat, cold, pleasure, pain, etc.  
 These come and go (14). The wise person, who knows that the 
 Self is eternal, is not affected by these (15). “Just as a person
 removes old clothes and wears new ones, the embodied Self
 discards old bodies and takes new ones.” (22) “Weapons cannot
 cut the Self. Fire cannot burn It. Water cannot wet It. Wind
 cannot dry It”(23).

 2.The Self is satya (real) (16).

 3.The Self is nirvikaara (immutable) & avinaashi (indestructible) (17).

 4.The Self is sarvagatah (all-pervading) (17) ie there is only one Self (ekam).

 5.The Self is aprameya (indeterminable) (18).

The Self is the Subject. It is not an object. So it is not accessible to the senses (avyakta) and not accessible to the mind (acintya). Just as how the camera can never be seen in any photograph taken by it and how the eye cannot see itself, the Self cannot be an object of experience. The Self is always the Experiencer. For this reason, it is also without any properties (nirguna). Properties belong only to objects and not to the Subject. Being nirguna, it is naturally immutable (nirvikaara), because any change is only a change in properties.

 6.The Self is akarta and abhokta (non-doer and non-enjoyer) (19).

The Self is neither the agent of action nor subject to the effects of action. So the Self is not affected by paapa or punya. It is not affected by action (karma) or the fruits of action (karma phala). This naturally follows nirvikaara. As the Self does not change, it cannot be a doer or enjoyer.

In verse 21, Krishna brings in another important point. This knowledge of the Self has to be owned up. It is not enough to know that “The Self is immutable” like knowing “That stone is immovable”. The Self has to be known as one’s own self and identify with It. When we say “The Self is immutable”, we should mean “I am immutable”. Only when the knowledge of the Self has thus been assimilated, it will have its effect.

Krishna concludes by saying “As the Self is avyakta, acintya and nirvikaara, you should not grieve about it” (25). Thus Krishna beautifully brings the argument back to the opening verse “wise men do not grieve” (11).

One may very well then ask, “If the Self is beyond the senses and the mind, how is knowledge of Self possible”. Sankara clarifies that any knowledge takes place in the mind only. Even knowledge about hunger, which relates to the body, is a mental knowledge only. Though the Self is beyond the senses and the mind, its knowledge can be and is in the mind.

There are two other philosophies that Krishna brings up here. The materialistic philosophy (which includes today’s Science) considers the sense of individuality and Consciousness to be a product of the material body. If this is the case, then people come into being with the birth of the body and die with the death of the body. For one who is born, death is inevitable. So, seen from this point of view also, one should not worry about death.

The second philosophy, which does not accept the Immutability of the Aatman, but considers it different from the material body. It considers that the Aatman takes bodies repeatedly one after the other. This is similar to the Buddhistic philosophy. In this case also, as birth and death are inevitable, one should not worry about death.

It should be noted that though the proponents of various philosophies come and go, the philosophies have been in existence and have been thoroughly studied and discussed since ancient times. Though Buddha came later, Krishna talks about that philosophy too.

After concluding the discussion from philosophical point of view in verse 30, Krishna takes up the ethical point of view in verses 31 to 33 thus:

The duty of a Kshatriya is to establish righteousness. Giving up the body in the attempt to establish righteousness should not be bothering him.  If the Kshatriya  refuses to fight for a righteous cause when the opportunity is presented, then it is dereliction of duty and will incur sin.

Next comes the discussion from the worldly point of view in verses 34 to 37.

Arjuna is well known for his bravery and fighting skills. He has created a name for himself. If he does not fight now for whatever reason, the world will talk ill of him. Everyone will say that Arjuna did not fight because he was afraid of the war. For an accomplished Kshatriya, infamy is worse than death. If Arjuna wins the war, he will enjoy the victory and the kingdom. If he loses and dies, he will earn a name. Thus in either case, Arjuna does not lose by fighting in the war.

Thus Krishna asks Arjuna to treat victory and defeat equally, and fight.

Next from verse 40, Krishna starts explaining from the point of view of Karma Yoga. Key sloka of Karma Yoga is (47):

Karmanyeva adhikaaraste maa phaleshu kadaacana

Maa karma phalaheturbhur maa te sangostva akarmani

You have right only to perform work, but never to the results. Never act motivated by the results of your actions, nor should you be attached to not performing your duties.

We have control over only what we do. The result depends on so many factors and so we do not have control over the results. Whatever we do is only a partial contribution among the several known and unknown factors that affect the result. But without our contribution, there is no chance of getting the results that we seek. So, we should not think we control the situation. We should know that we are vital and important contributors, but never controllers. We should be mentally prepared for any outcome. Doing the work with equanimity with respect to the results/fruits of our actions - success or failure - is called Karma Yoga (48). This is a paradigm shift in one’s thinking/attitude.

Karma Yoga is also called Buddhi Yoga because the change is only in attitude. The purpose of life is to grow. In human beings, growth is intellectual and emotional. Intelletual growth makes the person think about questions like “Who am I?”, “What is this world?” and “Who is God?”. Emotional growth manifests itself as universal love (51). This growth gives psychological independence to the person, which is detachment (vairaagya) (52). Then, the person learns the Truth about the Self and World. Then he gets clear knowledge (nischala). By slowly breaking the old habits of an ajnaani, he becomes firmly established in the knowledge (achala). Then he is a jivanmukta or sthitaprajna (53).

Conversion of the intellectual knowledge into emotional strength needs assimilation of the knowledge and transformation of old habits. Three saadhanaas are given:

1. indriya nigrahah – Regulation of the senses.

2. mano nigrahah   – Regulation of the thought process.

3. nididhyaasana    – Controlling the senses and the mind.

When the knowledge is fully assimilated, there will be no delusion. One enjoys the peace and serenity as a jivanmukta till the body drops. When the body drops, he attains videha mukti by which, he totally merges with the infinite without a trace (72).

Thus the second chapter summarizes the entire teaching of Gita, which is also the teaching of the entire Vedas.

(Condensed from Practical Philosophy and Rational Religion)

# 022 Escaping liability by putting children into play school too early?

Escaping liability by putting children into play school too early?

Are parents, now a days, enrolling them into play schools and preschools found an easy solution to escape the liability of nurturing their children by

Play schools are fine as long as they are just play schools and do not force the little ones to learn too soon. What is unnecessary is the enormous parental pressure on preschools to start teaching the 3 R’s. It looks like the parents of present day have found an easy solution to escape the liability of nurturing their children by enrolling them into play schools and preschools. What they don’t  know is that this is causing  separation anxiety in the child.

Schools, which were at one time known as “temples of education” are now transforming into commercial brand names. Many schools are attached to big brands of companies with a motive of making profits. Some of the schools hire brand managers to market their schools in a big way spending lavishly on advertising/ and marketing.

Right age for formal education is six. Introduction to early learning is not only unnecessary for the vast majority of children, but can actually cause major developmental harm, and at worst a shortened life span. Most children under the age of six need lots of time to play, develop social skills and learn to control their impulses. An over-emphasis on formal classroom instruction – that is, studies instead of buddies, or staying in instead of playing out – can have serious effects that might not be apparent until years later. An over-emphasis on the three-Rs at an early age can cause significant long-term damage to children especially bright ones.

No matter how good a play group or a daycare centre is, it cannot match the love and nurturing care that a parent can provide for their child. Workers at daycare centres are employees – not parents – and they don’t bring genuine one-on-one attention and love to the child that a parent can bring.

The first few years of a child’s life is crucial with respect to “attachment to parents.” It is imperative that, during these formative years, the child has caring parents throughout the day for his or her all-round development. A good option is for one of the parent to put their career on hold for a while to give the child the very best of their attention.

Based on an article in DH 2.4.2015 by Srijaya Char

# 021 Humans have been programmed - to believe, to have faith, to follow certain rituals, certain dogmas ………..

Humans have been programmed - to believe, to have faith, to follow certain rituals, certain dogmas ……….. JK

The computer has been programmed by the experts who programme it according to what they want.

Same way we human beings have been programmed to be Catholics, to be Protestants, to be Italians, to be British, Swiss and so on. For centuries we have been programmed - to believe, to have faith, to follow certain rituals, certain dogmas, we have been programmed to be nationalists, we have been programmed to have wars. So our brain has become just like the computer.

The computer can do almost anything the human being can do. Of course it cannot write, compose as Beethoven, or as Keats and so on.

If the machines can do almost all that human beings can do, robots and the computer, what is the future society of man? When cars can be built by the robot and the computer, probably much better, then what is going to become of man as a social entity? These and many other problems are facing us. We cannot any more think as Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims and so on. We are facing a tremendous crisis; a crisis which the politicians can never solve because they are programmed to think in a particular way; nor can the scientists solve or understand the crisis; nor the business world, the world of money. So the crisis, the turning point is in our consciousness.

The turning point, the perceptive decision, the challenge, whatever word you may like to use, is not in politics, in religion, in the scientific world, but in the consciousness of mankind, which has brought us to this point.

# 020 Purpose of life

In my earlier posting # 015 - Freedom is the goal of life, I had quoted Osho which does make good sense. But only when you live to reach adulthood. What happens if the life is taken away even before one can even think about goals of life?

This posting is in such a context.

It was the usual monthly check up for my nine-month-old baby daughter – chubby, beautiful, all smiles.  Instead of taking her to the general physician we went to a child specialist. The Physician took a glance at the baby and then gave us a very long look. Then he calmly informed that the size of the head of the baby is already that of a normal grown up human being and it can only mean that she is having Hydrocephalus – excess fluid in the brain. He was surprised that all these days none of the attending physicians have not diagnosed or not pointed out wantonly. We were advised to consult a Neurologist who immediately explained all about the rare medical condition, which perhaps happens to approximately 1 in 1000 children (exact data not available as no registry is being maintained) and surgery after surgery followed ultimately taking the life away of the innocent child.

I later learnt that Hydrocephalus can be caused by congenital or acquired factors. Since congenital causes are ruled out in our case, it must have been only due to acquired causes. From the texts I have read, the causes could be; haemorrhage, meningitis, head trauma, tumours, cysts. Now that was interesting! The obstetrician was in a hurry to go out of town and so delivered the child by 'vacuum extraction'.Now browsing the net indicated that a vacuum extraction carries with it a risk of injury for both mother and baby. And in our case the baby did sustain an injury in the head. Though the medical article says that serious infant injuries after a vacuum extraction are rare I suspect that it WAS serious which had led to this fatal issue.

But if only it had been noticed earlier the child could possibly have been saved, who knows? That was not to be was the bigger problem.

In fact suing the doctor crossed our minds but to what avail. What do we gain even if we win a case – certainly not the lost life?  The question is not whom to blame or who was responsible. Not even how or what caused the problem. The real question is why it happened at all?

Now the question that has not been answered till today even by any philosophers/ Swamijis, leave alone the experts in different fields, is: What was the purpose of such a short lived life or life in general? What possibly could have made the innocent life to go thro all those ordeals in such a short span of just about 18 months that it was here?

This is one of the inflection points in my life, earliest one at that. It made me think hard on how life manifests, apparently in an insentient, matter. What exactly is life? How and why it manifests? Is there a Grand order or design behind all these things? Then is there a designer behind this design? The more I think the more questions remain unanswered.

"Life is a mystery to be resolved and not a problem to be solved" said Sri Ramakrishna. I am trying to resolve mine, what about you?

# 019 Strength of Hinduism

Two Shankaracharyas to work against Modi in Varanasi - news item in Deccan Herald dated 2.5.2014

My first thought was why are they getting into (petty) politics?

On deeper reflection I  wonder whether the ability to accommodate such  activities is what gives strength to Hinduism/ Indian Culture?

# 018 Jaya and Vijaya

I am sure everybody knows that Jaya means Victory.

But there is another word Vijaya which also generally means Victory. 

Why two different words if the meaning is same? Does it mean there is a subtle difference? If so what is the difference? I stumbled on a credible answer. Read on:

"Jaya means pure victory — one where there are no losers.

 Vijaya means victory where someone is defeated.

 A victory without losers is a victory over one's own self."

Jaya is the subject matter of Vedas. It is interesting to note that Vyasa gave the title of Jaya for the epic Mahabharath which name was given later by others and got stuck. 

Devdutta pattanaik.