— Dr. Ramanuj Goswami
[Writer is a famous litterateur and researcher.]
Abstract
Srimadvagabad Gita is one of the most important pillars of Hinduism. It is
an identity of the oldest religion of the world; i,e the Sanatana Dharma or the
Hinduism. From the ages it has helped people to understand the basic concepts
of Hinduism a lot. Besides, Gita is a guide to the life of mankind by at large. In
every situation of life, every person (he/she may be a saint or a common person,
he/she may be old or young whatever) can get the ideal direction from Gita. Gita
actually gives us all those that we want. Lord Sri Krishna Himself told this to
Arjuna. This article will focus on the main theme of Gita.
Introduction
Srimadvagabad Gita is actually a great symbol of Hinduism. Gita reveals us
the absolute features of ancient Indian culture, traditions, spirituality and
religious sanctity. So, one can say that, Gita is basically the personified form of
the spirit of India which is still alive in its linguistic form in front of us. Lord Sri
Krishna is the representative of the spirit of India. Gita is considered as the
wordly idol of Sri Krishna Himself. It teaches us about the supreme goal of life;
i,e the religious attainment, which shows the right direction of life. Hence, Gita
is our true friend. It is a great shelter to all people. It inspires us towards God. It
is thus a lamp of divinity.
The teachings of Gita
Gita has eighteen chapters in total. Here we can get advice of God regarding
devotion, true meaning of work, worship, meditation etc. Gita tells us about
everything including the right foods, proper life-style etc. Finally, it tells us
regarding the ultimate duty of everyone; i,e to surrender whole-heartedly to the
God and it is the substance of Gita.
In the Gita, Lord Sri Krishna advised us on both the material prosperity as
well as spiritual improvement. All of us want wealth, happiness, peace etc. Now,
this concept is not at all same for all. It varies according to the nature of persons.
It is the reason behind the difference of attitude of pious persons and evil-minded
persons. We can say that, Gita tells us the proper definition of life.
The Glory of Lord Sri Krishna
The birth place of Gita is the battle-field of the great war of Kurukshetra. At
the beginning of the war, Arjuna saw his relatives in against of him and he
became very much disheartened and sad. He decided not to take part in the war.
Actually, it was his weakness due to the attachment and illusion. Hence he
become unable to do his duties. Then, he surrendered completely at the lotusfeet of the lord. As, God loves his devotees endlessly, hence He advised Arjuna
the true knowledge of life and made him free from all types of fear and illusion.
After that, Arjuna began to fight will all his strength. Basically the secret of Gita,
which God told Arjuna was not only for him, but for the human race at all.
We can call Gita as the Gitapanishada. Here, Sri Krishna tells us that. He is
the Supreme God. We should not have any doubt about this. Basically, we can
understand or realize Gita only when we can admire Sri Krishna in the true
sense. If any person considers Him as an ordinary man, a scholar or a political
personality, then it will be just impossible for him to realize Gita. Only a true
devotee can realize God.
It we consider our life as a journey from birth to death, then certainly, we can
comment that, Gita tells us that how we can make this journey beautiful. Every
person may face some problems. Gita has solutions to all of these problems. It
declares several methods to overcome the attachments, excessive desire for
worldly objects, failure in life, lack of peace in mind and finally the spiritual
attainment or the salvation. Karma, Bhakti, Gyan and Dhyan i,e, doing the duties
with full effort but without any attachment and expectation of result, devotion
towards the Lord, divine knowledge and wisdom and finally the way of
meditation are the ways to attain salvation. So, in short, the objective of Gita is
to improve the quality of life in all respect.
Everyone can read Gita
Gita is, for all. Sometimes, people argue that, Gita is not for the common people
because it aims at the religious upliftment of a person. So, it is mainly for the
spiritual persons, the saints etc. Basically, the idea is ridiculous. Gita is a
precious treasure to every caste, community and even for every religion. We can
find out several evidence where people from various religions (other than
Hinduism) realized a sense of divinity just after reading of Gita. That is why this
book is just exceptional. Various Universities from several countries are
continuing courses on Gita. Scholars from different fields are doing research on
this beautiful book. Gita does not tell us to shed off the family, the duties or the
work etc. It, rather tells us about the methods by which we can perform our
duties in the better way. Gita tell us the procedures by following which we can
easily become free from greed, anger, hatred, attachment, sorrow etc. We can
thus get a sense of divine peace. A person who wants only material upliftment,
can certainly achieve it by following the paths, described in Gita. On the other
hand, if anyone wants to attain spiritual nirvana, then also he can get the
objective fulfilled by the help of Gita. Thus, Gita, being the words of Lord Sri
Krishna Himself is actually a special gift of God to the mankind whose value is
just unimaginable.
Our duties
Through these eighteen chapters, God tells us about the duties of man, which
must be performed regularly. According to the Hinduism, Vedas are the basis of
this religion. Vedas tell us all about what to do and not to do regarding
everything. Upanishads are also considered in this context. But, reading and
realization of the Vedas are not possible for all. Gita is considered as the
summary of all Vedas and Upanishads. In a very easy and compact way, God
tells us everything which we must listen, read and learn.
We can be engaged in various professions; We may have different tastes and
have various goals. But, if we just make the habit to go through the Gita, then
definitely we can find out the necessary instructions that we need in our life.
Those who have made the habit of reading Gita daily, can get surely the answer
of all the questions of life. Gita is that key (master-key rather) which opens each
and every lock. We must follow the advice of Gita in every aspect of life. Then
only, we can be with ‘Yoga’ or we can be able to connect with God. It is our
duty to do all the duties with a vision of service of God. Basically, in this way
the actions or the works, done by us will be free from lust, greed, attachment
and desire. We can be free from all types of bondage. In this way, we can get
eternal peace and our life will be full of divine blessings.
It is our duty to think about God amidst of all actions. It means that, you can
perform various works, but you should not forget God (not for a moment even).
This is the lesson that we can learn from Gita. Sri Krishna assures us that, such
a devotee who thinks about Him only for all the time is the best devotee of the
lord. God Himself protects him from everything and provides him by all the
necessary things. Because, God is so kind of His devotees.
So, it is our earnest duty to follow the statement or instructions of God so that
we can surrender ourselves at the feet of God. It we can do this, then we have
nothing to do. Then God will do everything for us. This is the final and ultimate
teaching of Gita. We must obey it and try to follow it accordingly.
It has been said that, man can clean himself by taking a bath daily but if he takes
bath in the holy water of Srimadvagabad Gita for once only, then the dirt of his
material world (or life) will be cleaned forever. So many saints and seers have
realized this fact. This is not at all a lie. Now-a days, science and technological
improvement have occupied an important place in the society. Man has become
attracted towards the consumerism as well as material prosperity only. Spiritual
upliftment and religiousness are of great (severe) negligence specially in these
days. This is not at all the right direction of living. Hence, words of God only
can save us from the destruction. So, the continuous reading and discussion of
Gita are important. We have to proceed in life with the help of Gita. Thus, we
can get peace and the blessings of God and finally the eternal salvation. Life will
be beautiful is this way.
