This thread is my personal interpretive analysis of the Gita, what Krishna says in it and how I think, feel and envision of it. Not sure how much I will cover, but I begin with the intention of going it all. Let's see how it goes.
Today, Krishna's words have become part of the core philosophy and praxis of Hinduism, and there is a tendency to see everything that is the mainstream practice of the traditional faith as fully endorsed by his words. Yet what I have found from my reading throws up a different story. In his time much of what he was saying was not the mainstream Hindu practice (which was the Vedic Hinduism of around 800 BCE appx. if you believe the historians) and much of it remains unfulfilled even today when Vedic Hinduism has been largely replaced by Agamic Hinduism based on temple worship. This is something that gets overlooked by those who worship Krishna himself. Whatever the case may be, a careful look into Krishna's own words in the Gita shows a distinctive vision of Hindu Dharma that is worth pondering about.
I will set up this thread into multiple topical points in order to highlight themes of importance.
Krishna himself states emphatically that the usefulness of rituals is limited and mixed at best and those who seek true religious knowledge would do well to abandon them. Here is what he says about Vedic rituals in general,
Full of desires, intent on heaven,
They offer rebirth as the fruit of action,
And are addicted to many specific rites
Aimed at the goal of enjoyment and power.
To those (the ignorant ones) attached to enjoyment and power,
Whose thought is stolen away by this kind of doctrine,
Resolute insight in meditation is not granted.
The Vedas are such that their scope is
confined to the three qualities (gunas);
Be free from those three qualities, Arjuna.
Indifferent toward the pairs of
opposites (desire and aversion),
Eternally fixed in Truth,
Free from thoughts of acquisition and comfort,
And possessed of the Self.
As much value as there is in a well
When water is flooding on every side,
When your intellect crosses
beyond the thicket of delusion,
then you shall become indifferent
With that which is yet to be heard
And with that which has been heard
(in the Veda and the Agama).
When your intellect stands
flxed in deep meditation, unmoving,
I think its quite clear that Krishna is against the ritual-centric fruit-desiring transactional worship and yajna. These fruits are of dubious value and continue to enmesh the self in the rebirth cycle. Yet, if one looks at the overwhelming practice of worship today and the associated incantations...we find it to be precisely this. Ritualistic and transactional in nature, and there is a widespread belief that mantras and rituals have power in and of themselves like something akin to magic. Whatever the truths to such beliefs, there seems to be a clear instruction from Krishna to not pursue such a course if one is to attain the Brahman.
The question then arises in my mind. Are we, who revere him and his words as a path to the Truth, not disregarding him in actual practice by making most of our practice rife with such opulence of rituals. Should we not encourage and exhort lay Hindus to abandon these and engage in the path of yogic Self and God realization from the get-go?
I will continue with further themes and thoughts. I am a simple brahmana and do not claim any infallibility in my analysis. So all comments, discussions, and criticisms are welcome.
Today, Krishna's words have become part of the core philosophy and praxis of Hinduism, and there is a tendency to see everything that is the mainstream practice of the traditional faith as fully endorsed by his words. Yet what I have found from my reading throws up a different story. In his time much of what he was saying was not the mainstream Hindu practice (which was the Vedic Hinduism of around 800 BCE appx. if you believe the historians) and much of it remains unfulfilled even today when Vedic Hinduism has been largely replaced by Agamic Hinduism based on temple worship. This is something that gets overlooked by those who worship Krishna himself. Whatever the case may be, a careful look into Krishna's own words in the Gita shows a distinctive vision of Hindu Dharma that is worth pondering about.
I will set up this thread into multiple topical points in order to highlight themes of importance.
Krishna and the Vedas
Hinduism began with the Vedas, and the Vedas mostly concern themselves with detailed discourses on conducting yajna rituals. From the Vedas right down to this day, the elaborate practice of ritualistic performance based worship with exact actions and exact mantra-s (incantations) have dominated the day-to-day public practice of the faith. Krishna himself states emphatically that the usefulness of rituals is limited and mixed at best and those who seek true religious knowledge would do well to abandon them. Here is what he says about Vedic rituals in general,
Chapter 2 of Gita (2:40 - 2:48)
The ignorant ones proclaim
This flowery discourse, Arjuna,
The ignorant ones proclaim
This flowery discourse, Arjuna,
Delighting in the doctrine of the Veda
And saying, "There is nothing else."
And saying, "There is nothing else."
Full of desires, intent on heaven,
They offer rebirth as the fruit of action,
And are addicted to many specific rites
Aimed at the goal of enjoyment and power.
To those (the ignorant ones) attached to enjoyment and power,
Whose thought is stolen away by this kind of doctrine,
Resolute insight in meditation is not granted.
The Vedas are such that their scope is
confined to the three qualities (gunas);
Be free from those three qualities, Arjuna.
Indifferent toward the pairs of
opposites (desire and aversion),
Eternally fixed in Truth,
Free from thoughts of acquisition and comfort,
And possessed of the Self.
As much value as there is in a well
When water is flooding on every side,
So much is the value in all the Vedas
For a brahmana who knows.
For a brahmana who knows.
When your intellect crosses
beyond the thicket of delusion,
then you shall become indifferent
With that which is yet to be heard
And with that which has been heard
(in the Veda and the Agama).
When your intellect stands
flxed in deep meditation, unmoving,
disregarding ritual-centric Vedic doctrine,
then you shall attain Self-realization.
then you shall attain Self-realization.
I think its quite clear that Krishna is against the ritual-centric fruit-desiring transactional worship and yajna. These fruits are of dubious value and continue to enmesh the self in the rebirth cycle. Yet, if one looks at the overwhelming practice of worship today and the associated incantations...we find it to be precisely this. Ritualistic and transactional in nature, and there is a widespread belief that mantras and rituals have power in and of themselves like something akin to magic. Whatever the truths to such beliefs, there seems to be a clear instruction from Krishna to not pursue such a course if one is to attain the Brahman.
The question then arises in my mind. Are we, who revere him and his words as a path to the Truth, not disregarding him in actual practice by making most of our practice rife with such opulence of rituals. Should we not encourage and exhort lay Hindus to abandon these and engage in the path of yogic Self and God realization from the get-go?
I will continue with further themes and thoughts. I am a simple brahmana and do not claim any infallibility in my analysis. So all comments, discussions, and criticisms are welcome.
