A
Search For Bhagwad Gita In A Nutshell
By
P.R.Ramachander
Bhagwat
Gita is a very tiny part of the biggest ever epic written by man-Mahabharatha.
It
adopts the conversational style of Upanishads, with Guru giving explanations
and the disciple asking doubts. According to the Hindu calendar, it was taught
in the battle field by Sri Krishna who was the charioteer to Arjuna the fighter
about 5000 years back. (One who leads to the one in the midst of the turmoil)
Though there is no doubt that the Vedas and the Upanishads were composed
earlier, Gita has become the religious book by which a Hindu identifies
himself. Though the initial attempt in Gita is to teach Arjuna, the fact that”
all action is done by God through any man(being)and because of this that
individual cannot claim responsibility or credit for the action carried
out by him”, it is more a summary of the philosophical approaches to the
leading of day today life and the search for ultimate truth.
The three greatest interpreters of the Hindu religion of the post puranic era
viz Adhi Shankara, Ramanujacharya and Madhwacharya have written
commentaries to this great work to prove that their interpretation
of Vedic principles is the only correct one. If any of these great savants
thought that there was , ever a possibility of giving the essence of this great
work by a few verses from it, I am sure they would have done it. To my mind
they did not do it because this great book was not about one small principle
but a chronicle of the latest knowledge of several approaches to the Hindu way
of realization of God.
But this did not stop others from trying to find the essence of Gita. I feel
what they were all doing was similar to the blind men trying to describe the
elephant. I am giving below four such approaches which seem to be well known
and I want to inform the readers that the translations have been done by me,
P.R.Ramachander
Saptha
Sloki Gita
(These
seven slokas in this order from Bhagawad Gita has been published by Gita
press, Gorakpur, in their collection of stotras called Stotraratnavali.
It is supposed to represent in a nutshell , the teachings contained in the 700
slokas of Bhagawad Gita. I understand that this Saptha Sloki Gita is
being recited as a daily prayer by the Kashmiri Pundits for hundreds of years)
Bhagawan
Uvacha:-
Om ithyaksharam
Brahma,
Vyaharan
maam anusmaran,
Ya
prayathi thyajan deham,
Sa
Yathi Pramamam gathim.
1(8-13)
The
God said:-
He
who , meditates on me,
As
“Om”, which in Brahman,
While
leaving this ephemeral body,
Will
surely attain the most supreme state.
Arjuna
Uvacha:-
Sthane
Hrisikesa, Thava prakeerthya,
Jagath
prahrushthya anurajyathe cha,
Rakshamsi
bheethani diso dravanthi,
Sarve
namasyanthi cha sidha
sangha.
2(11-36)
Arjuna
said:-
In
this state, Oh Lord, Singing about you.
The
world is happy and is rejoicing,
To
see the evil ones flying away with fear,
And
all those devoted ones saluting you.
(This
is told after seeing the Viswa Roopa of the Lord)
Bhagawan
Uvacha:-
Sarvatha
pani padam thath,
Sarvatho
akshi siro mukham,
Sarvatha
sruthimalloke,
Sarvamavithya
thishtahi.
3(13-14)
The
God said:-
It
has hands and legs everywhere,
It
has eyes head and mouth everywhere,
It
has ears everywhere in this world,
And
it exists as every thing in this world.
Kavim
purana anusasithara-,
Manoramaneeyaam
samanusmaredhya,
Sarvasya
dhataram machinthya roopa-
Madithya
varnam thamasa
parasthath.
4(8-9)
Think
of Him , as ancient, spread everywhere,
Ruler
of all, much subtler part of an atom,
Protector
of all with his form which is beyond thought,
With
the colour of Sun and transcendental beyond dark thoughts.
Oordhwamoolamadha
sakham,
Aswatham
prahooravyayam,
Chandamsi
yasya parnani,
Yastham
Veda sa
Vedavith.
5(15-1)
With
roots above and branches Growing down,
This
Banyan tree with Vedas as its leaves,
Is
everlasting and immortal,
And
whosoever knows it, really knows the Vedas.
Sarvasya
chaham, hrudhi sannivishto,
Matha
smrithir jnana mapohanam cha,
Vedaischa
sarvaii , rahameva Vedhyo,
Vedanthakruth
veda vidheva
chaham.
6(15-15)
I
live in everybody’s heart,
And
from me one gets,
Memory
, wisdom and forgetfulness,
And
for all the Vedas , I am the one that is to be known,
For
I created them and I am the one who knows them.
Manmana
bhava Mad bhaktho,
Madhyajee
maam Namakuru,
Mamevaishyasi
sathyam they,
Prathijane
priyo asi may.
7(18-65)
Concentrate
your mind on me,
Always
show devotion to me,
Sacrifice
for me, salute me,
And
I swear to you because you are dear to me,
That
definitely you will reach me.
Chathu
Sloki Gita
(Gita
in four verses)
(These
4 verses (8-11) occurring in the tenth chapter of Bhagwad Gita viz the
“essence of God” is considered by large number of savants as the essence of the
Gita but appears to me as containing a succinct definition of the
“way of devotion(Bhakthi Marga) “ of Bhagwad Gita, I am here giving the meaning
of these 4 verses in a simple transparent language. Those interested in
commentary are requested to visit http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/sep98/0077.html
Aaham
sarvasya prabhavo,
Matha
sarvam pravarthate,
Ithi
mathwa bhajanthe maam,
Budha
bhava
samanvitha.
10-8
The
wise man with devotion,
Sings
praises of me understanding that,
I
am the power behind everything,
And
everything works because of me.
Math
chitha math gatha prana,
Bodayantha
parasparam,
Kadayanthascha
maam nithyam,
Thooshyanthi
cha ramanthi
cha.
10-9
The
wise men thinking about me,
And
devoting their lives to me,
Talk
with each other about me,
And
become satisfied and happy.
Tesham
sathatha yukthanam,
Bhajatham
preethi poorvakam,
Dadahami
budhi yogam tham,
Yena
maam upayanthi they.
10-10
They
always sing my prayers,
With
love and concentration,
And
I grant them unified wisdom,
So
that they can attain me.
Tesham
yevanukambartha,
Aham
agnanajam thama,
Nasayamyath
mabhavastha,
Jnana
deepena
bhaswatha.
10-11
With
great compassion for them,
Dwelling
deep in their heart of hearts,
I
destroy their darkness of ignorance,
With
a shining lamp of wisdom.
Tri
Sloki Gita
(Gita
in three verses)
(Many
savants believe that the verses number 18,17 and 18 from the chapter
number 15 which details “the sign of the supreme personality” of Bhagwad Gita
is the essence of Gita. I have given below the simple translation of these
verses. Detailed commentary is available in http://krishnascience.com/Vaisnava%20Library/Courses%20-%20seminars/Bhagavad%20gita/Bhagavad%20Gita%20Bhakti%20Sastri%20Degree/Bhagavadgita%20notes/Bhagavad%20Gita%20%20esence%20-%20tri%20sloki.htm
)
Dwavimou
purushou loke,
Ksharakshara
eva cha,
Kshara
sarvani bhoothani,
Kootastho
aakshara eva
cha.
15-16
Two
type of men exist,
The
fallible and infallible,
All
living things are fallible,
And
infallible among them are those,
Who
are merged with the principle of God.
Uthamam
purushasthwanya,
Paramathmethyudahyatha,
Yo
loka trayamavisya,
Bibhartha
vyaya
Iswara.
15-17
But
greatest among those is another,
Supreme
self , who is said to be,
That
lord who is spread all over,
And
maintains the three parts of the universe.
Yasmath
kshara matheetho aham,
Aksharathapi
chothama,
Atho
asmo loke Vede cha,
Praditha
purushothama.
15-18
Because
I am beyond the fallible one,
And
greatest among the infallible ones,
The
world and the books of Vedas,
Call
me as the most supreme personality.
Eka
Sloki Gita
(Though
this sloka does not talk about the teaching of Gita, It is termed as Eka Sloki
Gita, It is also included in the Vishnu Sahasranamam)
Yathra
Yogeeswara Krushno,
Yatha
Partho Dhanurdhara,
Thathra
srirvijayo bhoothir,
Druva
neethir
mama.
18-78
Where Krishna the
God of Yogis is there,
And
where Arjuna , the expert archer is there,
Wealth
, victory, improvement and Justice,
Will
be there definitely for ever.
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