Bhagavad Gita, Commentary by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM - Chapter 3 - Beauty of Purposelessness🔗

Bhagavad Gita is a sacred scripture
of the Vedic culture. As with all
scriptures, it was knowledge that was
transmitted verbally. It was called sruti
in Sanskrit, meaning something that is
heard.

Gita, as Bhagavad Gita is generally
called, translates literally from Sanskrit
as the 'Sacred Song'. Unlike the Veda
and Upanishad, which are self-standing
expressions, Gita is written into the
Hindu epic Mahabharata, called a
purana, an ancient tale. It is part of a
story, so to speak.

As a scripture, Gita is part of the ancient knowledge
base of Vedic tradition, which is the expression of the
experiences of great sages.

Veda and Upanishad, the foundation of sruti literature,
arose through the insight and awareness of these great
sages when they went into a no-mind state. These are as
old as humanity and the first and truest expressions in the
journey of man’s search for truth.

Unlike the Vedas, which were internalized by the great
sages, or the Upanishads, which were the teachings of
these great sages, Gita is part of a story narrated by
Vyasa, one of these great sages. It is narrated as the
direct expression of the Divine.

No other epic, or part of an epic, has the special status
of the Gita. As a consequence of the presence of Gita, the
Mahabharata epic itself is considered a sacred Hindu
scripture. Gita arose from the super consciousness of
Krishna, the Supreme God, and is therefore considered a
scripture.

Mahabharata, literally the Great Bharata, is a narration
about the nation and civilization, which is now known as
India. It was then a nation ruled by King Bharata and his
descendants. The story of this epic is about two warring
clans, Kauravas and Pandavas, closely related to one
another. Dhritharashtra, the blind King of Hastinapura
and father of the 100 Kaurava brothers was the brother of
Pandu, whose children were the five Pandava princes. It
is a tale of strife between cousins.

Pandu was the King of Hastinapura. A sage cursed him
that he would die if he ever entered into physical
relationship with his wives. He therefore had no children.
Vyasa says that all the five Pandava children were born to
their mothers Kunti and Madri through the blessing of
divine beings. Pandu handed over the kingdom and his
children to his blind brother Dhritharashtra and retired to
meditate in the forest.

Kunti had received a boon when she was still a young
unmarried adolescent, that she could summon any divine
power at will to father a child. Before she married, she
tested her boon. The Sun God Surya appeared before her.
Karna was born to her as a result. In fear of social
reprisals, she cast the newborn away in a river.
Yudhishtra, Bhima, and Arjuna were born to Kunti after
her marriage by invocation of her powers, and the twins
Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Madri, the second
wife of Pandu.

Yudhishtra was born to Kunti as a result of her being
blessed by Yama, the God of death and justice, Bhima by
Vayu, the God of wind, and Arjuna by Indra, God of all
divine beings. Nakula and Sahadeva, the youngest
Pandava twins were born to Madri, through the divine
Ashwini twins.

Dhritharashtra had a hundred sons through his wife
Gandhari. The eldest of these Kaurava princes was
Duryodhana. Duryodhana felt no love for his five
Pandava cousins. He made many unsuccessful attempts,
along with his brother Dushashana, to kill the Pandava
brothers. Kunti's eldest son Karna, whom she had cast

away at birth, was brought up by a chariot driver in the
palace and by a strange twist of fate joined hands with
Duryodhana.

Dhritharashtra gave Yudhishtra one half of the Kuru
Kingdom on his coming of age, since the Pandava Prince
was the rightful heir to the throne that his father Pandu
had vacated. Yudhishtra ruled from his new capital
Indraprastha, along with his brothers Bhima, Arjuna,
Nakula and Sahadeva. Arjuna won the hand of Princess
Draupadi, daughter of the King of Panchala, in a
swayamwara, a marital contest in which princes fought for
the hand of a fair damsel. In fulfilment of their mother
Kunti's desire that the brothers would share everything
equally, Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandava
brothers.

Duryodhana persuaded Yudhishtra to join a gambling
session, where his cunning uncle Sakuni defeated the
Pandava King. Yudhishtra lost all that he owned - his
kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to
Duryodhana. Dushashana shamed Draupadi in public by
trying to disrobe her. The Pandava brothers and
Draupadi were forced to go into exile for 14 years, with
the condition that in the last year they should live
incognito.

At the end of the 14 years, the Pandava brothers tried
to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped
by Krishna, the King of the Yadava clan, who is
considered the eighth divine reincarnation of Vishnu.
However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a
needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the

War of Mahabharata ensued. In this war, various rulers of
the entire nation that is modern India aligned with one or
the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the
Pandavas.

Krishna offered to join with either of the two clans. He
said, 'One of you may have me unarmed. I will not take
any part in the battle. The other may have my entire
Yadava army.' The first offer was made to Duryodhana,
who predictably chose the large and well-armed Yadava
army, in preference to the unarmed Krishna. Arjuna
joyfully and gratefully chose his friend and mentor
Krishna to be his unarmed charioteer!

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukshetra,
now in the state of Haryana in modern day India. All the
Kings and Princes were related to one another, and were
often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his
friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by
remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the
battle.

Krishna's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of
Kurukshetra is the content of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna
persuaded Arjuna to take up arms and vanquish his
enemies. 'They are already dead,' says Krishna, 'all those
who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go
ahead and do what you have to do. That is your duty.
Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

The Gita is the ultimate practical teaching on the inner
science of spirituality. It is not as some scholars

incorrectly claim, a promotion of violence. It is about the
impermanence of the mind, body, and the need to
destroy the mind, ego and logic.

Sanjaya, King Dhritharashtra's charioteer, presents Gita
in eighteen chapters to the blind king. All the Kaurava
Princes as well as all their commanders such as Bhishma,
Drona and Karna were killed in battle. The five Pandava
brothers survived as winners and became the rulers of the
combined kingdom.

This dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna is a dialogue
between man and God or nara and Narayana as they are
termed in Sanskrit. Arjuna's questions and doubts are
those of each one of us. The answers of the Divine,
Krishna, transcend time and space. Krishna's message is as
valid today as it was on that fateful battlefield some
thousands of years ago.

Nithyananda explains the inner metaphorical meaning
of Mahabharata thus:

'The Great War of Mahabharata is the fight between
the positive and negative thoughts of the mind, called the
samskaras. Positive thoughts are the Pandava princes and
the negative thoughts are the Kaurava princes.
Kurukshetra or the battlefield is the body. Arjuna is the
individual consciousness and Krishna is the enlightened
Master.

The various commanders who led the Kaurava army
represent the major blocks that the individual

consciousness faces in its journey to enlightenment.
Bhishma represents parental and societal conditioning.
Drona represents the conditioning from teachers who
provide knowledge including spiritual guidance. Karna
represents the restrictive influence of good deeds such as
charity and compassion, and finally Duryodhana
represents the ego, which is the last to fall.

Parental and societal conditionings have to be overcome
by rebelling against conventions. This is why traditionally
those seeking the path of enlightenment are required to
renounce the world as sannyasin and move away from
civilization. This conditioning does not die as long as the
body lives, but its influence drops.

Drona represents all the knowledge one imbibes and
the teachers one encounters, who stop short of being to
able to take us through to the ultimate flowering of
enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one
feels grateful to them. This is where the enlightened
master steps in and guides us.

Karna is the repository of all good deeds and it is his
good deeds that stand in the way of his own
enlightenment. Krishna has to take the load of Karna's
punya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be
liberated. The enlightened Master guides one to drop
one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are
perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions.
He also shows us that the quest for and experience of
enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one
can offer to the world.

Finally one reaches Duryodhana, one's ego, the most
difficult to conquer. One needs the full help of the Master
here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may
not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego
makes one disconnect from the Master as well.

The Great War was between one hundred eighty
million people - one hundred ten million on the Kaurava
side representing our negative samskaras - stored
memories - and seventy million on the Pandava side
representing our positive samskaras - stored memories -
and it lasted eighteen days and nights. The number
eighteen has a great mystical significance. It essentially
signifies our ten senses that are made up of gnanendriya -
the five senses of perception like taste, sight, smell,
hearing and touch, and karmendriya - the five senses
initiating action like speech, bodily movements etc.,
added to our eight kinds of thoughts like lust, greed etc.
All eighteen need to be dropped for Self-realization.

Mahabharata is not just an epic story. It is not merely
the fight between good and evil. It is the dissolution of
both positive and negative samskaras that reside in our
body-mind system, which must happen for the ultimate
liberation. It is a tale of the process of enlightenment.

Mahabharata is a living legend. Bhagavad Gita is the
manual for enlightenment.

Like Arjuna many thousand years ago, you are here in
a dialogue with a living enlightened Master in this book.
This is a tremendous opportunity to resolve all questions
and clear all doubts with the Master's words.