THE BHAGAVAD GITA - DEFINITIONS

The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with the Sanskrit terms which are the heart and soul of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. One could write a paragraph in an attempt to capture the real meaning of a single four letter word in Sanskrit. It is best if one can get the general meaning of a word, the concept that it represents, in the English exposition of it and then to keep repeating the Sanskrit word, not a translation of it, as you encounter it when reading the text. Sanskrit words have a power all their own and may reveal more meaning as you contemplate them.

The great teachings of the Bhagavad Gita are given in the framework of the story of a royal family divided and about to go to war to see which victor will win the throne. The five Pandava brothers are preparing to battle their one hundred half-brothers, the Kauravas, on the holy field called Kurukshetra. Of the five Pandavas, Arjuna is greatest in martial arts so is chosen to lead their army. Arjuna is given a choice: he may be accompanied by his accomplished martial arts teachers or he may take only one person with him onto the battlefield, his uncle and spiritual teacher, Krishna. Arjuna chooses Krishna as his charioteer. Krishna is an incarnation of the god Vishnu in disguise. Arjuna and Krishna advance to the center of the field, but Arjuna loses heart and cannot begin the fight. Krishna teaches Arjuna the meaning of life and death and expounds on the different teachings which comprise the Bhagavad Gita (the Song of the Blessed Lord).

The following is a compendium of the words and their meanings that form the basic concepts of the Bhagavad Gita.

THREE STREAMS OF TEACHING

The Bhagavad Gita mentions several different yogic disciplines. all with the same goal. A seeker may begin with the one most suited to his individual temperament.

KARMA YOGA, the technique of remaining in touch with the spiritual worlds while engaged in the actions of daily life.

JNANA YOGA, to have a direct experience of Spirit through refined discernment.

BUDDHI YOGA -- to see the Light of the Spirit everywhere, in every thing.

BHAKTI YOGA, devoted attention and love toward the One Life present everywhere.: these four yogas are considered to be inseparable. Krishna’s teaching in the Bhagavad Gita continually separates and then fuses together again these three modes of apprehension of the Spirit.

BRAHMAN AND ATMAN

BRAHMAN -- the Absolute, the Godhead, the undifferentiated Field of Spiritual Potentiality from which all creation springs; never affected nor diminished by its creation; unchanging, eternal, without qualities, though described by the three concepts SAT -- Being or existence without any spatial or temporal limitation; CHIT -- consciousness not focused on any object; and ANANDA -- spontaneous joy. BRAHMAN, at the heart of each thing and being in manifest ion, is called ATMAN.

ATMAN --the Higher Self, that element of man which lives within the spiritual worlds and is of wholly spiritual substance, since it is, in fact, BRAHMAN.

The traditional analogy is given of the sun reflecting in myriad pots of water. Each pot seems to hold a separate sun yet each holds a reflection of the same sun. This analogy is inadequate, however, unless in imagination we see that it is not a reflection of the sun but the sun itself in each container. The indwelling ATMAN, which resides in the heart center, and transcendent BRAHMAN are one and the same. “In the supreme heaven is the Word, and that Word is under the canopy of your own soul.” (Taittariyo Upanishad).

The ATMAN, through BUDDHI, the faculty of the mind to perceive and judge objectively, apprehends BRAHMAN. “OM is the bow. the individual ATMAN is the arrow. BRAHMAN is the target. With a tranquil heart, take aim.” (Mundaka Upanishad)

OM is the unmanifested, subtle tone vibration of BRAHMAN translated into audible sound.

THE THREE GUNAS OF PRAKRITI

PRAKRITI -- Everything in the universe that is not BRAHMAN. In other words, PRAKRITI refers to the physical plane -- all that is impermanent, transitory, limited, ever-changing, including the mineral, vegetable, animal kingdoms, the human being, and the etheric and astral planes. Everything that can be weighed and measured, everything that can be apprehended by the senses or scientific equipment (extensions of the senses), everything that has name and form, everything that can be a subject of thought and put into words, all this is PRAKRITI. In other words, everything that is not BRAHMAN, that is not PURE SPIRIT, PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, PURE BEING, PURE BLISS, is PRAKRITI. Everything that is subject to the world of opposites, such as heat and cold, praise and blame, happiness and suffering, good and bad, etc., everything that is not permanent and eternal, is PRAKRITI, or in an English equivalent terms NATURE or the PHYSICAL PLANE.

One of the principle exercises leading to higher consciousness is to be able to witness in a objective way, the field of PRAKRITI. The first exercise is to witness your own personality -- your mind, body, emotions --according to three qualities of motion. These three qualities of motion are:

RAJAS -- a high state of motion, expressed as speed, passion, heroic actions, ambition, zeal, aggression, creativity, destruction, fury, abandon, heat.

TAMAS -- a low state of motion, expressed as inertia, laziness,
slow-wittedness, bigotry (thought that is stuck),
foolishness, foggy thinking, crystallization, cold

SATTVA -- a moderate state of motion, expressed as harmony, peacefulness, nonaggressiveness, that which is sweet, healing, pleasant, non-harmful.

In adjectival terms these three qualities are called RAJASIK, TAMASIK and SATTVIK.

Everything in nature will have a basic motion or momentum of change, but with variations of the other two momentums. For example, a lion is basically RAJASIK, in his passionate and aggressive nature, though he may rest after a good meal and exhibit the quality of TAMAS (inertia). A mountain may be essentially TAMASIK, with little motion except for a few pebbles or grains of dirt moving about, but if there is an earthquake then the mountain is temporarily RAJASIK.

So a human being may have an essential nature that is one of these three qualities, but will occasionally change to another quality.

There are several chapters in the Bhagavad Gita that help us to analyze these three qualities in terms of our actions, thinking, eating, even worshiping. We can study our diet according to whether we are eating food which is RAJASIK -- hot, spicy, bitter; or TAMASIK -- old, stale, toxic; or SATTVIK -- healthful, sweet, easy to digest.

It is important to remember that there is so judgment or criticism in observing these qualities in ourselves or others, or in nature. Ideally we witness these qualities in ourselves and others, not with judgment or criticism, but with compassion. As soon as you judge, you are in the realm of words and you are not witnessing from a spiritual point of view but from the point of view of your personality, which has its habits of thinking in a limited way. In other words you are not being objective and you are not practicing KARMA YOGA.

KARMA and DHARMA

KARMA means “action”’ but in yoga philosophy, it refers to “binding action” -- action which is unconscious. Unconscious tendencies are called VASANAS. They are self-perpetuating because one is identifying with them in thought and emotions. One has forgotten the sovereignty, freedom and spontaneity of the ATMAN and believes and he consists in toto of his Lower Self (personality), his body of acquired experiences and tendencies of thoughts, memories, emotions and physical body. There are many techniques given in the Bhagavad Gita to become gradually freed from these VASANAS, even to the extent that these unconscious patterns, as you make them conscious, may become a way to knowledge of the freedom of the Spirit. The very actions that bind us may be transformed into actions that free us.

“Your VASANAS are your Path.” -- Swami Chinmayananda

DHARMA, in its broadest sense refers to the orderly functioning of all sectors of a society, each man fulfilling his task, contributing to the general good. However, the Bhagavad Gita stresses more the individual’s DHARMA, each man fulfilling in actions the potential of his temperament
(if he is an artist, he will practice his art, etc.), being true to his own temperament, and not trying to emulate the potential of another. Each person has his own unique right action, called SVA-DHARMA (one’s own right action).

In KARMA YOGA practice DHARMA is an action that you perform consciously, in a state of detachment or objectivity because you know it is the correct action to take at that time. Some translate DHARMA as ”duty” but that may imply it is somehow unpalatable but necessary. A sense of one’s DHARMA is the result of developing a moral nature and knowing it is right to give of your talents and abilities to bring some good into the world.

THE MANTRAM “OM TAT SAT”

The last chapter of the Gita gives us a MANTRAM -- words of truth and power -- that is suitable for a person practicing KARMA YOGA - the life of actions as a way to the Spirit.

OM -- untranslatable, unheard vibration of BRAHMAN at the heart of all creation.

TAT -- literally “that”; but here meaning “this “

SAT -- the Real, the Truth

OM TAT SAT is a prayer to say as you take decisive action. Wishing to do good, not just for oneself or others but for all creation.

MAY THIS ACTION I DO NOW BE GOOD FOR THE WHOLE UNIVERSE.

You don’t always know if it you are taking the right action, but the intention is most important, that you sincerely wish it is the right action and that it is doing no harm and will, in fact, benefit the whole universe.

Upon what grand a stage are our lives being lived!

Home