Upanishads With A Twist

The Bhagwad Gita is the gist of ancient texts, SWAMI NIRVISESHANANDA TIRTHA tells PRITI AGRAWALWhen Arjuna, the Pandava prince, was going to pieces at the thought of fighting his own kinsmen and teachers on the battlefields of Kurukshetra, Krishna guided him through the Bhagwad Gita, which is essentially the gist of the Upanishads presented in a revolutionary way in the Mahabharata.Although derived from the Upanishads, what sets the Bhagwad Gita apart is that whether it is the Kathopanishad, Chandogyopanishad, Shrimad Bhagawatam, or the Yogavasishtha Ramayana, the spiritual discussion in all of them takes place in peaceful settings. Seekers who initiate the conversation in these scriptures are individuals who have fulfilled their life’s work and are now seeking the ultimate truth. Such was the state of mind of the seekers when they visited the hermitages to clarify their doubts and study shastras from the gurus.The Bhagwad Gita is a dialogue between Arjuna, the warrior, and Krishna, the jagat guru, in a war situation in which the latter advises Arjuna to take up arms, do his duty and fight. Krishna repeatedly tells Arjuna that he is imparting knowledge based on the Upanishads. Only it is presented in the context of war, a situation which implies that you either kill or get killed.Evergreen WisdomToday, our business or work situations are nowhere as intense or require such level of involvement, yet we complain that we are unable to pursue the right path. The situation in which Krishna chose to impart knowledge at the battlefield, required maximum engagement or involvement. Perhaps the main purpose of presenting wisdom at this opportune moment was so that we could utilise what we learnt in all kinds of situations and lead a fulfilling life. The presentation of the Bhagwad Gita is anyway different from the Upanishads. The Upanishads emphasise the pursuit of knowledge through sravana, manana and nididhyasana. Sravana refers to listening to the Truth from a knower, because unless you hear the truth from a realised person who is an embodiment of Truth, it will not ‘stick’ to you. Listening to philosophical presentations will not touch you, nor will they ignite the fire or truth within you.And just listening is not enough. Manana is important, too. Our intelligence must be fully engaged in reasoning out whatever we have been listening to, but this does not mean needless arguments to refute the truth. Manana is analysing, introspecting, comparing whatever is being said with our own self because it is a subjective shastra, unlike the objective reality of a chair, clock or even a car. The peak of manana is when we exhaust all intelligent queries by studying or listening to the shastras and our buddhi becomes completely doubtless.The mind then becomes peaceful — free from worldly attractions and repulsions. The desireful part of the mind is already calm, and the enquiry part of the mind becomes subtle. So automatically the mind of the seeker focuses on the contemplation of truth called nididhyasana. The peak of nididhyasana is the knowledge when you are part of Brahmn. Also the Upanishads expect the seeker to have several virtues such as viveka or discrimination, vairagya or non-attachment, shama or tranquility, dama or training, uparati or withdrawal, titiksha or forbearance, shraddha or faith, samadhana or focus and mumukshutva or longing to be fit to study the shastras. In other words, if you were to sit for meditation and your mind is not at peace, you might feel that you are not fit for this exclusive knowledge pursuit.All Are WelcomeIn this context, the Bhagwad Gita has made an immense contribution to this world by not excluding anybody from studying it and imbibing it. The only precondition is that you should be interested in attaining your goal by following the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita.The Gita’s fundamental point is that it does not ask you to shun any activity, as do the Upanishads. You can continue performing your worldly activities but with a changed attitude. Anybody, anywhere can pursue this path provided he is ready to change his attitude and mindset towards what he is doing.