By Prashant Parikh, a student of traditional Vedanta from Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
Foreword: In late 2009, just days before I left for USA after vacationing in India, I was given a commentary on the Gita written by Pujya Swami Dayananda ji (Arsha Vidya Gurukulam), by an elderly gent who felt it might be of use to me someday. I politely accepted the book, while in my mind I impolitely brushed the thought of ever reading it away. I had a long flight ahead, and had supposedly packed some other things to read on the airplane. Through some twist of fate- less romantically my good karma fructifying- the books got mixed up (presumably while packing) and I ended up carrying the Gita commentary instead. Having little choice, and no one interesting to talk to, I opened up the book to kill time. No sooner had I started reading, I realized it was nothing short of extraordinary. For the next few hours I was entirely fixated. The exposition was brilliant, and the sheer perfection involved in giving meaning to the verses of the Gita was not to be found elsewhere. This was my initial foray into Vedanta; let us now briefly explore what the Bhagavad Gita teaches.
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Unlike what most authors/interpreters would have you believe, the Bhagavad Gita is not a work focusing on the personality ‘Krishna’, but rather the truth of Krishna, which is the non-dual, all pervading, unchanging, ever-lasting, limitless self- the Atma.
The Upanishads describe Atma as sat chit anandam- existence, consciousness, limitlessness. This very teaching clearly establishes the fact that the self cannot be two, or many, but it is one alone, and it is this self that vivifies not only you and I, but also Lord Krishna. Swami Vidyaranya ji, the famous 13th century Shankaracharya of Sringeri Peetham says that the consciousness that enlivens Brahmaji, is the same consciousness also enlivening this blade of grass.
Our scriptures carefully make the distinction between information and knowledge. Knowledge- jnanam, is not what we are used to referring in common parlance. Only information that is well assimilated in the mind can be termed as ‘jnanam’. This knowledge of the self emancipates the individual from the shackles of ignorance, and thereby all limitations we superimpose upon the limitless self. Take a transparent crystal and place it to a red flower, it will appear to share the same colour. This is adhyasa, or superimposition. A person may not be wary of the fact that the red-ness is only an appearance, and he may be called ‘ignorant’ with regard to the nature of the crystal. Similarly, to a person ignorant about his real nature, the self “appears” to take up the qualities of the non self- the manifold world of variegated objects- and will thereby also accept their limitations.
Moksha is a freedom from limitations that comes from the removal of self-ignorance through knowledge of the self. This is the essence of not only the Bhagavad Gita, but the entire Canon of Vedic literature. I am indebted to my Acharya, Pujya Swami Dayananda ji, who plays the role of the perfect Guru, as he unfolds the same.
hariH Om tat sat.
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