Indian Culture ( Bharatiya Samskaram ) Based On The Bhagavad-Gita : 1.The Gospel Of Non-Attachment : Swami Sivananda

HARI OM

Opinion
      25/10/2018
              1502

1.The Gospel Of Non-Attachment

The essence of true culture lies in its being based upon a spiritual sense of values and a spiritual outlook on life.

The assertion of the essential divinity of man is the heart of Indian culture. The civilisation of India rests on inner refinement, on the nurture and unfoldment of the spiritual spark in man. India is a land of spirituality and the aspiration of every true Indian is for Atma-Svarajya or freedom in the highest divinity of the Self attainable through the conquest of the internal and the external nature. Self-realisation is the goal of the people of India.

The Bhagavad-Gita is a universal scripture and it is the true articulate expression of the genuine cultural heritage of India. The Gita is a gospel of non-attachment, the immortality of the Soul and the ultimate freedom of the Self in the Absolute. It is the sacred teachings on the all-inclusive inwardness of the Spirit. The indispensability of non-attachment follows from the fact of the oneness of existence.

Sri Krishna asserts that second to Him naught else exists ( Gita : Ch-VII. Slo-7 ).

"Mattah  parataram   nanyat  kincid  asti  dhananjaya,

Mayi  sarvam  idam   protam   sutre  mani-gana   iva."


Mattah    =    Beyond Myself;

Parataram     =     Superior;

Na     =     Not;

Anyat    =     Anything else;

Kincid     =     Something;

Asti      =   There  is;

Dhananjaya     =      O, Conqueror of wealth ( Arjuna );

Mayi    =    In Me;

Sarvam     =    All that be;

Idam    =    Which we see;

Iva    =     Like

Protam     =      Strung;

Sutre     =      On a thread;

Mani-gana     =      Pearls.

O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
Beyond this superior energy of mine, which is like the thread that connects all the pearls on a string, there is nothing else to be found, o winner of the wealth.
O Dhananjaya, there is nothing else whatsoever higher than Myself. All this is strung on Me like pearls on a string.
Lord Krishna is stating that He alone is the Supreme Being and that there is none other.

There is a common controversy over whether the Supreme Absolute Truth is personal or impersonal. As far as Bhagavadgeeta is concerned, the Absolute Truth is the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, and this is confirmed in every step.

In this Slokam, in particular, it is stressed that the Absolute Truth is a person. That the Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Absolute Truth is also the affirmation of the Brahma-samhita: isvarah  paramah  krishnah  sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah; that is, the Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead is Lord Krishna, who is the primeval Lord, the reservoir of all pleasure, Govinda, and the eternal form of complete bliss and knowledge.

These authorities leave no doubt that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. The impersonalist, however, argues on the strength of the Vedic version given in the Svetasvatara Upanishad:  tato yad uttarataram tad arupam anamayam ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti athetare duhkham evapi yanti.

"In the material world Brahma, the primeval living entity within the universe, is understood to be the supreme amongst the demigods, human beings and lower animals. But beyond Brahma there is the Transcendence who has no material form and is free from all material contaminations. Anyone who can know Him also becomes transcendental, but those who do not know Him suffer the miseries of the material world."

Now that Lord Krishna's absolute position has been established in regard to all creation He is confirming that there is nothing that exists which is superior to Him. In other words there is no independent power or cause apart from Him existing whatsoever in the origin, creation and dissolution of all creation. Lord Krishna energises and totally sustains all creation as well. This is what He is stating by the words mayi sarvam idam protam meaning all the worlds are threaded or pervaded by Him. The metaphor is clear enough.

To be continued ..

JAIHIND
VANDEMATHARAM