Bhagavad Gita – One of the many books used as a guide in Hinduism
By Vishnu Prakash Nangath
(CHAKRA) Simple. Because Hinduism is not a religion; Bhagavad Gita is not a religious scripture. When we say “religion” here, we mean what it means today, and what the world knows by that term – a set of rules and guidelines that must be followed to enter heaven; a piece of belief that is concentrated on one person/prophet/book. This is the style of religions today.
When it comes to religious belief, there is no compromise allowed. You must believe; whether that is with reason or without. You will be categorized as believer and non-believer. You must believe – in god, in heaven, in hell, in prophet system, in holy book, in God’s punishments, in God’s favors etc etc…. An interesting fact here is that none of these beliefs can be backed by reason or any kind of logic or possibilities apart from expectations, and dreams of human mind. Hence all these have to be classified under “blind-belief”; this in turn means that religion today is just “blind belief”! This is the only style of religion known to mankind. And unfortunately, theism means religion for the bulk of world population.
Why should a person (including you and me) believe blindly and hence be part of a religion!? Well, the answer is again simple. Hell and Heaven! You are either trapped in the wine-streams and beautiful women in heaven or you are frightened by how you’ll be roasted in hell. Basically, it is DESIRE for heaven and FEAR of hell that makes people religious. In that case, whom are you a slave of? Obviously of whom you inherited this belief. The person who instilled this belief in you is almost like your master, and you are in a position to follow everything that He says, as if you are a slave of him! You are made to believe, forcibly by religion that you can find god only at heaven, and for reaching there, you have to do so and so. So, to conclude, the story of slave houses destroyed by modern civilized society were just a myth- and slavery is in turn hiding in you – unidentified and severe!
Only if this is identified and thrown away, will you expand into the truth. The supreme truth of existence is never un-obtainable. It is 100% possible for that itself is the AIM of life. This is where Hinduism shifts its gears. It never demands blind belief. What it need is Shraddha (faith + love + respect..) in guru and scriptures. It never frightens you by any hell nor does it instill in you a desire for heaven. Ironically, these are the qualities that an individual must destroy, as they may turn out to be hindrances in spiritual upliftment.
God is a vague term as it may bring out the concept of “Abrahamic god” in our mind. Let us use Ishvara for that matter. Ishvara is not a heaven-creature that can be found exclusively in heaven. Heaven and hell are of least importance in Hinduism. Man’s aim is neither hell nor heaven; hence belief in hell or heaven is least significant. Then what is our goal? Well.., finding an answer to this itself is our primary goal. And this is where scriptures of ancient India help. Whatever the sages have achieved are transformed into teachings, for the betterment of mankind. You need to identify your true identity – that is no different from the supreme Brahman itself. Oops! Confusion happens here. How can I be equivalent to Ishvara? Don’t worry.. That is not what is meant here. You are just a drop of water in the ocean; you are not the ocean. But you are never separate from the ocean as well. Another example is that reflection of sun in 1000 water droplets appears as if they are 1000 tiny different suns. But in fact they exist because the original sun exists. When the physical droplets are destroyed, they are no more separate, and exists non different as original sun itself. Likewise you are nothing but a part of Brahman itself; of that non-dual ultimate consciousness. When our physical bodies are destroyed, we are no longer separate, and exists non different as the Brahman itself.
Journey to this goal needs guidance and this appears as Upanishads or Vedanta through genuine gurus. The nectar of Vedanta is available as Bhagavad Gita to everyone; and whoever is interested gets the deeper aspects of it. Self exploration is the only path to truth. Because, TRUTH IS TO KNOW; NOT TO BELIEVE.
COME AND EXPLORE THE WAYS OF FREEDOM, TRUTH AND SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION. LET US ENJOY THE ULTIMATE BLISS OF LIFE – OF ENLIGHTENMENT. HARI OM.
hariH Om, Vishnu bhai, thanks very much for this- a commendable effort indeed. Very few people take interest in our shAstras, I’m glad you and a few others put in deep thought into this
As an aside, while this is a good article, I see a few rough edges here, please let me know if I am permitted to elaborate
An interesting article for sure
I agree Hinduism is not a religion, but actually it’s a way of life, combining simple principles based on shradha. However the Bhagavad Gita as it’s known is the song of God. Yes we are all part and parcels of God (i.e. the para atma) resides within us, we have to understand we are the jiva atma and we are not God.
Chapter 9 verse 34 reads
man-man? bhava mad-bhakto
mad-y?j? m?? namaskuru
m?m evai?yasi yuktvaivam
?tm?na? mat-par?ya?a?
Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.
It’s hard to say it’s not a religious text as this is the only way it can really be defined given the nature of this current world. Probably the only authoritative text (apart from all our other shastra’s) to be spoken by God.
Other “religions” tend to communicate their teachings via prophets. Well not the prophet per se, It’s the followers of the prophet who put together the other teachings after the death of the prophet.
Great article. I agree Hinduism is a way of life, and the term “religion” does not entirely define it.
Another aspect of your story that struck me is your view regarding slavery. It is pretty well known that when slaves were abducted from their homes and forceably bought from Africa to America, they were cruelly indoctrinated into Christianity and told they were heathens and animals. Those who realized the mockery and deceit and dared speak up were silenced with whips and even death. To this date, religious (Christian) evangelicals pride themselves on going to India and Africa to save the “heathens” . So yes, as long as we, regardless of ancestry allow ourselves to be told what to believe and not to question we are indeed intellectual slaves and our souls will suffer until we finally become enlightened.
As for the Bhagavad Gita, it is not a part of the ancient teaching from sages? If so I think that may possibly make it a spiritual guide?
Thanks for all the great things you publish.
Sincerely,
Theinvisiblehindu.com