The
Commentary on The Sacred Srimad Bhagavad Gita
Kurukshetra:
Land of the Bhagavad-Gita
Here you will be presented transcendental knowledge
of the most profound spiritual nature as revealed in the Bhagavad- Gita. It is
the divine discourse spoken by the Supreme Lord Krishna Himself and is the most
popular and well known of all the sacred scriptures from ancient India. Always
being revered as a true source of spiritual knowledge it reveals the purpose
and goal of human existence. In conjunction to this we will be presenting
precise Vedic verification of the Supreme Lord Krishna's divine incarnations as
evidence confirming His supreme position. In Bhagavad- Gita, chapter 10, verse
20, the Supreme Lord reveals that He manifests as the immortal soul within each
and every living entity. No where else within any other religious scripture is
this information available. Our purpose is to make the eternal knowledge of
Bhagavad- Gita freely available to everyone all over the Earth.
The Bhagavad- Gita is considered by eastern and
western scholars alike to be among the greatest spiritual books the world has
ever known. In a very clear and wonderful way the Supreme Lord Krishna
describes the science of self-realization and the exact process by which a
human being can establish their eternal relationship with God. In terms of
pure, spiritual knowledge the Bhagavad- Gita is incomparable. Its intrinsic
beauty is that its knowledge applies to all human beings and does not postulate
any sectarian idealogy or secular view. It is appproachable from the sanctified
realms of all religions and is glorified as the epitome of all spiritual
teachings. This is because proficiency in the Bhagavad- Gita reveals the
eternal principles which are fundamental and essential for spiritual life from
all perspectives and allows one to perfectly understand the esoteric truths
hidden within all religious scriptures. Many great thinkers from our times such
as Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweizer as well as Madhvacarya,
Sankara and Ramanuja from bygone ages have all contemplated and deliberarted
upon its timeless message. The primary purpose of the Bhagavad- Gita is to
illuminate for all of humanity the realization of the true nature of divinity;
for the highest spiritual conception and the greatest material perfection is to
attain love of God!
SRIMAD BHAGAVAD-GITA
Introductory
Overview
om
ajnana-timirandasya jnananjnana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
I offer my most humble obeisances to my
spiritual master who has opened my eyes which were blinded by ignorance with
the light of knowledge.
raja-vidya
raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam
pratyak savagamam dharmyam susukham kartum avyayam
pratyak savagamam dharmyam susukham kartum avyayam
This knowledge is the king of all
wisdom, the king of all that is confidential. It is the purest and the topmost
and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization it is the
perfection of all religion and everlastingly joyful to perform. Bhagavad-Gita,
chapter 9, verse 2
Bhagavad-Gita Trust is freely offering
this presentation of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita to the Earth as a gift to humanity.
It is our humble but earnest request
that this information be made easily available to every culture in this world.
The knowledge found within the Bhagavad-Gita is incomparable as it gives
specific information regarding the purpose of human existence, the immortality
of the soul and our eternal relationship with God. This information applies to
each and every one of us without exception. Without realization of our divine
relationship with the God it is impossible to establish our eternal
relationship with Him. This divine relationship is our natural constitutional
position and every human beings birthright.
There are three paths which lead
directly to establishing a relationship with God. According to the authority of
Bhagavad-Gita these paths have been designated as the yoga of perfect actions,
the yoga of perfect devotion and the yoga of perfect knowledge. These three
paths with great care and attention have been fully explained in the
Bhagavad-Gita which comprises chapters 23 through 40 in the Bhishma-Parva
section of Mahabharata.
The Bhagavad-Gita consists of 18
chapters. Each chapter is called a yoga. Yoga is the science of the individual
consciousness attaining communion with the Ultimate Consciousness. So each
chapter is a highly specialized yoga revealing the path of attaining
realization of the Ultimate Truth. The first six chapters have been classified
as the Karma Yoga section as they mainly deal with the science of the
individual consciousness attaining communion with the Ultimate Consciousness
through actions. These chapters are:
Chapter 1 : Visada Yoga
Chapter 2 : Sankhya Yoga
Chapter 3 : Karma Yoga
Chapter 4 : Jnana Yoga
Chapter 5 : Karma Vairagya Yoga
Chapter 6 : Abhyasa Yoga
The middle six chapters have been
designated as the Bhakti Yoga section as they principally are pertaining with
the science of the individual consciousness attaning communion with the
Ultimate Consciousness by the path of devotion.
Chapter 7 : Paramahamsa Vijnana Yoga
Chapter 8 : Aksara-Parabrahman Yoga
Chapter 9 : Raja-Vidya-Guhya Yoga
Chapter 10 : Vibhuti-Vistara-Yoga
Chapter 11 : Visvarupa-Darsana Yoga
Chapter 12 : Bhakti Yoga
The final six chapters are regarded as
the Jnana Yoga section as they are primarily concerned with the science of the
individual consciousness attaining communion with the Ultimate Consciousness
through the intellect.
Chapter 13 : Ksetra-Ksetrajna Vibhaga
Yoga
Chapter 14 : Gunatraya-Vibhaga Yoga
Chapter 15 : Purusottama Yoga
Chapter 16 : Daivasura-Sampad-Vibhaga
Yoga
Chapter 17 : Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga Yoga
Chapter 18 : Moksa-Opadesa Yoga
Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita on
the battlefield of Kuruksetra in 3102 B.C.; just prior to the commencement of
the Mahabharata war. This date corresponds to 1700 years before Moses, 2500
years before Buddha, 3000 years before Jesus and 3800 years before Mohammed. So
first and foremost it should be clearly understood that the eternal knowledge
of the Bhagavad-Gita has not been influenced by Buddhism, Christianity,
Hebrewism or Islam; for these religions did not exist at that time and were
established milleniums later.
That proof of the date 3102 B.C. can be
verified by any knowledgeable indologist in India based on the fact that this
was the year when the Pandava King Yudhisthira ascended the throne and was
coronated as emperor of the Earth. Also according to the Aihole inscription of
Pulakesin II, the Battle of Kuruksetra took place in 3102 B.C. with Lord
Krishna reciting the Bhagavad-Gita before its commencement. As well precise
information of the positions of the constellation at the commencement of the
Battle of Kuruksetra have been given in the great historical epic Mahabharata
itself, which is based on the 26,920 year astronomical cycle known as the
precession of the equinoxes which is the time it takes our solar system to
revolve around the central sun.
But who exactly is Lord Krishna? Is He
Narayana? Is He Vishnu? Is He Vasudeva as referred to in the Taittirya Aranyaka
10.1. 6 ? In the Bhagavad-Gita the Supreme Lord Krishna is addressed by Arjuna
with 41 different names. Some of these names are Acyuta, Bhagavan, Govinda,
Hari, Isvara, Janardana, Kesava, Madhava, Purusottama and Yogesvara as well as
Vasudeva and Vishnu. Although Lord Krishna possesses unlimited names due to His
unlimited attributes and potencies it should be clearly understood that the
Krishna who is so wonderfully presented in the Puranas is one and the same
Krishna who spoke the Bhagavad-Gita and is so marvelously glorified in the
Mahabharata.
It should be understood that the
Bhagavad-Gita is the very essence of Mahabharata. The Bhagavad-Gita literally
translates as the Song of God! It was originally revealed in the classical
language of Sanskrit spoken on the Indian sub-continent. It was first
translated into English in 1785 by Charles Wilkins. It was translated into
Latin in 1823 by Schlegel, into German in 1826 by Von Humbolt, into French in
1846 by Lassens and into Greek in 1848 by Galanos. By now it has been
translated into all the major languages of the world such as Russian, Chinese,
Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Portugese, Arabic, Hindi and
Bengali.
Many great and notable individuals from
modern times as well as bygone eras have read the Bhagavad-Gita and have
extolled its universal message. We are naming some of them:
Albert Einstein stated that when
reading the Bhagavad-Gita he thinks about how God created the universe and then
everything else seemed so superfluous.
Mahatma Gandhi stated that the
Bhagavad-Gita calls on humanity to dedicate mind, body and soul to purity.
Dr. Albert Schweizer stated that the
Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion
to God which is manifested in all actions.
Sri Aurobindo stated the Bhagavad-Gita
has a new message for every age and every civilization.
Herman Hesse stated that the wonder of
the Bhagavad-Gita is its beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which has made
philosophy blossom into religion.
Ramanuja has stated that the
Bhagavad-Gita reveals the goalof the all the Vedic scriptures.
Aldous Huxley stated that the
Bhagavad-Gita is the most comprhensive statement of perennial philosophy.
Madhvacarya has stated that the
Bhagavad-Gita is apauruseya which means of divine origin and eternal.
Some western scholars have expressed
opinions that the Bhagavad-Gita was written after Jesus Christ and the idea of
devotion was taken from him. But anyone who has read both the Bible and the
Bhagavad-Gita completely can easily discern the vast difference between the
two. The Bible being more of a history book relates in the New Testament
stories and pertinent facts regarding the life of Jesus. On the other hand the
Bhagavad-Gita gives exact information regarding God, the soul, material nature,
birth and death, the purpose of human existence and is a practical manual for
spiritual revelation and attainment. It is interesting to note that the two
foremost doctrines of Christianity as found in the Bible in Matthew, chapter
22, verses 37 and 39 which say: Love thy God with all thy heart, with all thy
soul and with all thy mind; and love thy neighbor as thyself are not minimized
but completely validated by the Bhagavad-Gita. The book Encyclopedia of
Religion and Ethics, volume six, page 696 states, " It is certain that
portions of the Bhagavad-Gita in which the doctrine of bhakti or love of God is
revealed are pre-Christian and of indigenous Indian origin. This is not only
limited to the devotional portions; but the entirety of the Bhagavad-Gita is
pre-Christian. Also it has been well noted by sanskrit scholars that in terms
of grammatical construction many sentences and the archaic forms of many words
do not follow the strict rules of grammar which all sanskrit scholars follow as
expounded given by Panini, who lived in the 6th century B.C.
Not only is the Bhagavad-Gita
pre-Christian; but it is also pre-Buddhistic as well. That the Bhagavad-Gita is
pre-Buddhistic can be determined by the fact that no where is there any
reference to Buddhism. Whereas in the Buddhist scripture Niddesa written in 4
B.C. in the Pali Canon is found reference to the worship of Vasudeva and
Baladeva, who are Krishna and Balarama respectively. Although some scholars
surmise that the mention of nirvana six times gives them reason to assume that
this might be contrary. The word nirvana is always compounded with the word
brahma as in brahma-nirvanam meaning identified with the Ultimate truth or with
the word paramam as in nirvana-paramam meaning identified with the Supreme. In
Buddhism the word nirvana is used to mean extinguished or dissolved in terms of
loss of separate existence. As the word nirvana by itself is also used in the
Mahabharata in the sense of extinction it can be determined that the Buddhists
received this concept of nirvana from earlier Vedic scriptures.
Many of you have been taught by your
religions that God is to be feared. Many of you have been taught that this life
is all their is and after this life there is nothing more. Others have been
taught that after death one goes to heaven or hell. Still other have been
taught that it is possible for the soul to be possessed. Some of you believe
the possibility of reincarnation and others among you cannot fathom what is
true and what is false. Many of you have been conditioned by erroneous
conceptions, programed by false realities and even brainwashed to follow belief
systems that intelligently it is difficult to follow.
Now we are giving everyone the
oppurtunity to learn the eternal message of Bhagavad-Gita. All intelligent
species of life, human being and otherwise can take advantage of these
instructions and benefit eternally by the transcendental knowledge contained within
the Bhagavad-Gita and we are confident that this realization will manifest as a
reality in the forseeable future.
The Disciplic Succession
of the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya
LORD KRISHNA
evam
uktva tato rajan maha-yogesvaro harih
darsayamasa
parthaya paramam rupam aisvaram
aneka-vaktra-nayanam
anekadbhuta-darsanam
aneka-divyabharanam
divyanekodyatayudham
divya-malyambara-dharam
divya-gandhanulepanam
sarvascaryamayam devam anantam
visvato-mukham
The Supreme Lord Krishna exhibited His
omnipotent and almighty universal form of innumerable faces and eyes, revealing
innumerable miraculous wonders, decorated with innumerable, dazzling ornaments,
armed with innumerable gleaming weapons, magnificently attired and
resplendently garlanded, annointed with equisite, celestial fragrances;
phenomenally astounding, unlimited, effulgent and all pervading.
Bhagavad-Gita,
chapter 11, verses 9,10,11
isvarah
paramah krishna sac-cid-ananda vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva karana
karanam
Lord Krishna is the supreme absolute
controller, whose form is pure immortality, omniscience and bliss. He is
without beginning, the origin of all, the cause of all causes and the source of
the eternal Vedas.
Brahma
Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 1
ete
camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagavan svayam
indras vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge
All the incarnations are plenary
portions or explansions of plenary expansions appearing in various universes to
protect the theists; but Lord Krishna is the original Supreme Lord and the
source of all.
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 1, chapter 3,verse 28
sarvasya
caham hrdi sannivistho mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
Lord Krishna said I am situated as the
soul within the heart of all beings, remembrance and forgetfulness comes from
me. I can be known by the knowledge of the Vedas. I am the original creator of
the Vedic scriptures and a knower of the Vedas.
Bhagavad-Gita,
chapter 15, verse 15
Factually all the Vedic scriptures unamimously are the establisher of Lord Krishna as the Supreme Lord of all; but the unique speciality of the Bhagavad-Gita is that the Supreme Lord Krishna is directly speaking this divine revelation Himself.
bhaktya
tu ananyaya sakya aham evam-vidho r'juna
jnatum drastum ca tattvena pravestum ca
parantapa
Lord Krishna said only by unalloyed
devotional service can I be understood as I am and can be seen directly. Only
in this way can one enter into the mystery of my understanding.
Bhagavad-Gita,
chapter 11, verse, 54
The relationship between the Supreme
Lord Krishna and the Bhagavad-Gita is that Lord Krishna is the established and
the Bhagavad-Gita is the establisher. The subject matter of the Bhagavad-Gita
categorically and scientifically in a complete and comprehensive way
establishes the eternal reality of Lord Krishnas as the supreme ultimate truth.
The accomplished objective of Bhagavad-Gita confirms that the highest goal in
all of existence is to surrender fully unto Lord Krishna and by the cessation
of ignorance and all other obstacles in the material worlds become liberated by
loving devotion in this very life and join Him in His transcendental and
blissful pastimes eternally.
krsnam
enam avehi tvam atmanam akhilatmanam
jagad-dhitaya so'py atra dehivabhati
mayaya
Understand that the Supreme Lord
Krishna is the original soul of all living entities. For the benefit of the
whole universe He has out of His causeless mercy manifested Himself appearing
as a human being. He has manifested this by the power of His internal potency.
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 10, chapter 14, verse 55
brahmovaca
tad
astu me natha sa bhuri-bhago
bhave'tra
vanyatra tu va tirascam
yenaham
eko'pi bhavaj-jananam
bhutva niseve tava pada-pallavam
Lord Brahma said: My dear Lord Krishna,
I pray to be so fortunate that in this life or in another life, wherever I may
take birth even if it is in the animal species that I may be your devotee and
engage myself in your devotional service.
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 10, chapter 14, verse 30
tubyam
ca narada bhrsam bhagavan vivrddha
bhavena
sadhu paritusta uvaca yogam
jnanam
ca bhagavatam atma-satattva-dipam
yad vasudeva-sarana vidur anjasaiva
O' Narada being very satisfied by your
goodness and service you were taught the ultimate science of transcendental
devotion to the Supreme Lord fully illuminating the truth of the soul which is
perfectly known by souls surrendered to Lord Krishna.
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 2, chapter 7, verse 9
alena
milita-dhyam avamrsya nrnam
stokayasam
sva-nigamo bata dura-parah
avirhitas
tu anuyugam sa hi satyavatyam
veda-drumam vita-paso vibhajisyati sma
In course of time Vyasa bearing in mind
the intelligence and short life span of humanity at large considered his
compilation of the Vedas to be too difficult, so he divided the Vedic knowledge
into different branches.
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 2, chapter 7, verse 36
Madhvacarya
visnuswami
vamanangsastatha madhvastu brahmanah
ramanujastu sesangsa nimbaditya
sanakasya ca
Visnuswami, Madhvacarya, Ramanuja and
Nimbaditya will appear respectively as a portion of Vamana, Brahma, Ananta
Sesha and Sanaka Kumara.
Garga
Samhita, Canto 10, chapter 61, verse 24
vamanas
vidih sesah sanako visnu vakyatah
dharmartha hetave caite bhavisyanti
dvijah kalau
Vamana, Brahma, Ananta Sesha and Sanaka
Kumara will appear as brahmanas by the order of Visnu, for the preservation of
eternal righteousness in kali yuga.
visnuswami
vamanangsastatha madhvastu brahmanah
ramanujastu
sesangsa nimbaditya sanakasya ca
Visnuswami, Madhvacarya, Ramanuja and
Nimbaditya will appear respectively as a portion of Vamana, Brahma, Ananta
Sesha and Sanaka Kumara.
ete
kalau yuge bhavyah sampradaya pravartakah
samvatsare
vikrama catvarah ksiti pavanah
These four saviours will be the
establishers of the four authorised and empowered spiritual channels of
disciplic succession in the period calculated from the reign of King Vikrama in
54 B.C. subsequently through the 432,000 year cycle of kali yuga.
sampradaya
vihina ye mantraste nisphalah smritah
tasmacca
gamanang hyasti sampradaya narairapi
These four authorised and empowered
spiritual channels of disciplic succession are to be fully accepted by all
beings; as any word, combination of words or formulation of sound frequencies,
invoked or addressed, audible or inaudible, secret or revealed, ancient or
contemporary outside their auspices prove to have absolutely no efficacy.
Garga
Samhita, Canto 10, chapter 61, verses 23, 24, 25, 26
Visnuswami Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya
Madhvacarya Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya
Ramanuja Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya
Nimbaditya
Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to
H H Sri Swami Srila Prabhupada Maharaj
ji, Bhaktivedanta and Sri Bhagavadgita dot com for this devotional collection)
(The Blog is reverently for all the seekers of truth,
lovers of wisdom and to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the
spiritual path and also this is purely a non-commercial blog)
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