***Sharing a 2-part article on the Bhagavad Gita. Part 2 is a well-received academic essay which I recently wrote for an Oxford University course. Your thoughts and comments always welcome.***

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावक: |
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुत: || 23||

अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च |
नित्य: सर्वगत: स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातन: || 24||

Summary meaning: Weapons cannot shatter It, fire cannot burn It, water cannot wet It, nor the wind dry it. The Self is always present, everywhere present, unchanging, Still and eternal (Sanatana).

– Bhagavad Gita

One of the main challenges that faces the spiritual traditions in Bharat today, is having to convey themselves to modern minds that are predominantly formatted to think and understand in a Western model with its roots in sensory experience and material focus. An outward orientation of mind has been the basis of Western scientific and philosophical enquiry and while many material benefits and comforts have been the outcome, this kind of mind has simply not been encouraged to value inner experience and subtle understandings.

So even something like the term ‘Sanatana Dharma’, the basis of Bharat’s civilization, has been compromised to mean ‘duty’ or worse, ‘religion’. Since ancient times, when foreign eyes looked on Bharat and saw people worshipping myriad ‘gods’, they not only branded such practices as belief-based religion, but that too of an inferior kind that hadn’t yet figured out that there is ‘one’ God (and of course He has one name and one address with only one street leading up to it).

A few generations of Indians also trained in Western thought and ways have resulted in confusion not only beyond our shores, but also within. So for example, not many Indians even know that there is no word for ‘atheist’ (or theist, for that matter) in Sanskrit. ‘Nastika’ is a word often used to mean atheism but that is not actually its Sanskrit meaning which is simply ‘not based on the Vedas’ or not taking its authority from the Vedas. It was used to refer to Buddhist and Jain doctrines that did not base their teachings on the Vedic texts. Sometimes the word ‘Nirishvarvada’ is quoted but that is a term meant for use in philosophical discussion (‘vada’) and the ‘Ishvara’ referred to in the word is again, in the nature of a certain philosophical concept.

So does that mean all Indians are believers in God? No, it means that this was not a culture where ‘belief’ had any ultimate value. It was a culture of seeking and in the highest, seeing God (if one chose to put it that way; there being other ways of expressing the experience) in everyone and everything, which gave rise to the many divine forms worshipped and many conceptions of the Absolute.

Sanatana Dharma means the eternal law which is the basis of Existence itself. It is not something conjured up by the mind of a human being, but is the way that the cosmos functions. To be in tune with that movement and functioning is to follow Sanatana Dharma. To achieve this, myriads of methods and paths arose in Bharat and still exist today, reflecting the fact that each individual is unique, the way he seeks is unique and the way he perceives what he finds is also unique.

Shruti and Smriti

In understanding Sanatana Dharma, it is important to understand what is meant by Shruti and Smriti. Generally, we refer to the Vedas, considered direct revelations or direct perceptions of the Truth, as Shruti – what is ‘heard’ where truly, the ‘hearing’ is not physical but a ‘knowing’ within one’s Being. Smriti is translated as what is ‘remembered’ – that which is based on Shruti but not in itself as authoritative since it is not directly received. Smriti changes to suit the needs of the times while Shruti in one sense (it is a multidimensional term used also, for instance, in music), refers to the Sanatana Dharma which is unchanging and thus eternal (Sanatana).

Bhagavad Gita, the Essence of the Upanishads

The Bhagavad Gita is a text that encapsulates the essence of Sanatana Dharma. It is classified as Smriti, falling within the Mahabharata which is a Smriti text, even though it is regarded as the word of the Lord Himself. In my view, this classification of the Gita as Smriti is also because the Gita is related to a situation and context, namely the war of Kurukshetra and includes ‘worldly’ advice about doing one’s dharma in society and is not only about the highest Truth, like the Shruti texts. Despite this technical classification, the Bhagavad Gita is, in practice, regarded as equal in authority to the Shruti, with all the major Vedanta acharyas having written commentaries on the work. Even Adi Shankaracharya states that the Gita is the ‘essence of the Vedas’ and is purported to have composed the Gita Matamya Stotra extolling the Gita which contains the shloka:

sarvopanishado gavo, dogdha gopala-nandanah
partho vatsah su-dhir bhokta, dugdham gitamritam mahat

The shloka metaphorically describes the Upanishads as cows, Krishna (Gopalanandana) as the milker of the cows, Arjuna (Partha) as the calf, those of pure intellect as the one who enjoys (drinks the milk) and the supreme nectar of the Bhagavad Gita as the milk.

The Bhagavad Gita is important and unique because it conveys the teachings of the Upanishads in their essential and practical form in a way that can be accessible to anyone, not only yogis or serious spiritual seekers. The Gita really speaks about Dharma or Sanatana Dharma and in doing so, expatiates on Karma Yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti Yoga referring to, respectively, desireless action (nishkama karma), knowledge of Brahman and surrender to the Divine. As a moksha shastra, its main interest is in providing pathways to liberation and this it does in a most liberal way, showing how each and every aspect of human life can be turned towards the Ultimate. As Sri Aurobindo articulately puts it:

The Gita… is a gate opening on the whole world of spiritual truth and experience and the view it gives us embraces all the provinces of that supreme region. It maps out, but it does not cut up or build walls or hedges to confine our vision. “

— SRI AUROBINDO

The Gita is a complete spiritual teaching in a land where spiritual teachings are diverse and often complex. It is an integrated teaching – seamlessly blending together the spiritual and practical dimensions of life. Where spirituality is usually thought of as something to be pursued in seclusion and associated with qualities like peace and love, the Gita seeks to turn all such lazy beliefs on their head. It rids spirituality of all pretensions and make it real and grounded through the Lord asking Arjuna to engage in battle and take the lives of his relatives if need be. Can we understand how that can be dharma? If we can, then we have truly understood the message of the Gita and Sanatana Dharma.

See also:

Our Arjuna Moments

Quotes from the Bhagavad Gita