Dr. Krishna M. Gutala
The world is passing thru an
unfortunate phase of over-abundance of knowledge, and an over-deficiency of
Wisdom. Rather an imbalanced development. Equal importance should be given to
both head and heart. Sectarian,
narrow-minded and utterly selfish ways of approach, should give way to
broad-based considerations, with due importance to ethical and moral values.
One has to keep the welfare and happiness of the entire community in view, looking beyond caste, creed
and religion. The concept of a universal outlook must be developed, to cater to
the maximum good of the maximum number.
However, the starting point for any
reformation, is the individual. Individuals are the bricks that make up the
overall structure, the edifice of the community. If the bricks are bad, the edifice cannot be
good. Unless the individual realizes his
or her social responsibility, and gears up activities towards the overall
benevolence of the entire community, subduing the strong pull towards pure
self-interest, there cannot be peace and happiness in the world. For this process of purification and
refinement of the individual, and for imparting proper values in life, and putting one on the right path, one can turn to
our ancient scriptures, the quintessence of which is the Bhagavad Geeta, and
listen to Its benevolent and enlightening counsels.
Life is a journey. Starting point the
birth, and end point the demise. From
cradle to the grave. Passing thru
various stages of infancy, childhood, youth, middle age, and the withering
stage. Yes, life is indeed a journey.
Any journey has to have a destination and a purpose. All living beings have a purpose in life. The
sub-humans, with their limited intelligence, live by their instinct, to satisfy
their basic needs: hunger, thirst, rest and sleep, and possess just enuf skills
to hunt for prey. Nothing nobler or higher. But the humans, with their high
degree of intelligence, can think, analyze, imagine and discriminate. Can also
introspect, and delve deep into intellectual investigations. Endless queries
of ‘whither, why, when, where, what and
how’ etc. Even queries like, how the
world came into existence? Any Creator?
If so how, where? What inter-relationship between the individual, the world,
and the so called Creator? And to top
all the queries, what is the purpose of life?
Surely, not just to live, as the sub-humans do, but must be something
higher!
The Sages and Seers of ancient
Aryavarta (later called India) in their relentless quest for Truth, peeled off
layer after layer of ignorance and illusion, and realized the very
‘Substratum’, the Fundamental Basis, the ‘Adhishtaana’ of all existence. In their enlightened and intuitive state of
mind, they could even reveal the path of
‘saadhana’ i.e., persistent effort by aspiring humans, to stealthily progress
towards the experience of that blissful state. Much later came Bhagavad Geeta which
rendered practical guidelines to all, even including the un-initiated, holding
one’s hand as it were, and taking one ahead.
Various chapters of the text deal with various aspects, giving practical
down-to-earth hints, pertaining to one’s
daily activities.
The beauty of Bhagavad Geeta is, It
recognizes the wide disparity among humans regarding their intellectual
comprehending ability, their inherent nature, and, stage of maturity and
evolution. Towards this, it classifies individuals broadly into three
categories, as per their qualities called ‘guna-s’. Qualities and attributes ranging from the
good and desirable, to the lowly and undesirable. The three categories are:
Saatwik, Rujusik, and Tamasik. In the
Saatwik type, persons are pure and luminous, steady and introspective, have
greater discriminative tendency and awareness, leading a life of peace and
happiness. The fruit of being Saatwik is true and sweet. In the Rujusik type, the dominant
characteristics are: passion, with craving for pleasures and possessions i.e.,
material prosperity. They are impulsive by nature, and bound to attachment. The
fruit of being Rujusik is pain and toil.
In Tamasik type, they are by nature steeped in ignorance, and bound to
delusion, indolence and reduced sensibility. They have an ambience of darkness
and dullness. The fruit of being Tamasik
is deeper darkness. Progress lies in
moving from the third and second types to the first one.
Now, here are given, as enunciated in
Bhagavad Geeta, some of the daily activities of the Saatwik type of people, as
they would be worthy of emulation:
Rites and rituals: Be performed without concern for fruit, or
expectation of reward, being done as a matter of duty.
In performing acts: Be done with purity, self-restraint and
moderation, and, with reverence to teachers and elders. Also, without causing
injury or harm to any living being.
Way of speaking: Be gentle (without excitement), true,
pleasant and beneficial, without hurting anyone’s feelings.
Mental attitude: Cultivating serenity, benignity (love for
all), self-control, and detachment, with a positive and healthy outlook.
It is noteworthy that even a routine
and elementary activity like ‘Eating’, is dealt with in the scripture. Such foods be taken that supply energy, and
promote strength and good health. They be fresh, clean and wholesome, savory
and juicy, soothing and comforting, providing a balanced diet. They should not
be strong-flavored and spicy, hot and pungent. There is correlation between
one’s inner nature, and, the type of
diet that one consumes.
Giving a gift: Be given with love, as a duty, to a deserving
person, at a proper time and place, expecting no return or reward.
Seeking happiness:
Should not be ephemeral and transitory, but enduring, and eliminating
pain and suffering.
More daily activities such as above, have been
given in the Bhagavad Geeta. Only some have been listed above.
Now, a few lines regarding building up physical and mental internal
defense mechanisms. Just as the health
and upkeep of the body is affected by various causes and factors, external as
well as internal, and there is pressing need to adequately build up the
body’s ‘internal resistance and defense
mechanism’ to battle the external physical harmful influences, so also, in case
of our mind too, which is likely to face (of course a totally different set of) external and
internal causes that tend to upset and disturb the mental peace and
equilibrium, we have to build up sufficient internal defense mechanisms. If our bodily and mental fortresses are
strong and impregnable, external or internal aggressors cannot make inroads to
cause us harm. In building up these defenses, the counsels enunciated in
Bhagavad Geeta would be of great value.
It is now proposed to relate the
guidelines pertaining to the day-to-day life, enunciated in Bhagavad
Geeta. These have been extracted from
various chapters, and dealt with in various contexts e.g., (i) Characteristics
of a ‘Sthita Pragnya’, (ii) One whom God
loves, (iii) Expositions regarding Karma Yoga, (iv) The chapter on Dyvasura Vibhaaga, (v) The chapter on Guna-traya Vibhaaga, and could be from a few other
places. These guidelines for the ‘Geeta
Way
1. Practice humbleness,
truthfulness, compassion, and absence of hatred towards all living beings.
2. Cultivate purity (‘tri-karana suddhi’ i.e., correspondence between thought,
word and deed), steadfastness and integrity, alongside with detachment, lightly
holding unto home, family, and all that binds the individual.
3. Persevere to aim at an
ever-tranquil heart, in fortunes good or evil, practicing ‘samata’ i.e.,
equanimity towards ‘dvandva-s’ i.e., pairs-of-opposites like pleasure and pain,
joy and sorrow, honor or dishonor, success or failure etc., taking life as it
comes, and gracefully accepting whatever befalls.
4. Purge the mind of such desires
that go on keeping it in perpetual agitation.
To enable this, try to fill the mind with positive and enlightening
thoughts.
5. The human mind is, as per its
nature, restless and fickle, and hard to curb. But, can be brought under
control by (i) ‘abhyaasa’ i.e., constant and persevering practice, and
(ii) ‘vairaagya’ i.e., exercise of
dispassion.
6. Keep in check the triple
undesirables of ‘raaga, bhaya and
kroadha’ i.e., attachment, fear and anger.
7. The five frail senses are
often prevailed upon by the world, and be better withdrawn safely under the
Spirit’s buckler. Just as the wise
tortoise draws its four feet safe under its shield.
8. Even as streams of desire flow
into your mind, let it not swell or upsurge. Think of the ocean that just
maintains its level, even as innumerable rivers pour into it.
9. Be patient and contented,
composed and unperturbed, so as to be in tranquility under all circumstances.
10. Do not cause trouble to others, or even be troubled by them.
Also, better dote upon none, and
scorn none.
11. While performing works, do so with a spirit of detachment, unvexed
if your works fail, and unflattered if they succeed, without yielding to
emotional disturbances.
12. Cultivate an unswerving and implicit Faith in the Almighty, in a
spirit of total surrender, trying to subjugate your petty ego.
13. Skipping one’s duty and responsibility, is tantamount to sin. So
also is not to put your hand to push the rolling wheels of this world, or
living self-centered, unmindful of helping others.
14. In performing deeds, let your sole motive be to perform right deeds,
without worrying about their fruit. Know that:
action is your duty; fruit is not your concern.
15. Better to perform your own
work, tho unpalatable. Rather than
taking up another’s work, however attractive it be.
16. Know that, this world’s Master makes neither
the work, nor generates passion for the work, nor the craving for its fruit.
One’s own mind gives that push. The Lord
takes upon Himself the good or evil deeds of no one. One fully reaps the consequences of one’s
actions, good or bad.
17. There are five contributory
factors that go in the making of any work.
First, the ‘Force’. Next, the
‘Agent’. Third, the various ‘Instruments
/ Equipments’. Fourth, the ‘Special
Effort’ i.e., the perseverance. Fifth, ‘Divine Will’. For whatever type of work one does, of body,
mind or speech, be it good or evil, the
above five factors are indispensible.
18. Let it be known that, for
anyone doing any kind of work, if it be done with mind ever fixed on the
Almighty, musing night and day on Him,
then, one’s mind will re-orient itself, and attain composure and
tranquility.
19. Strictly avoid and be aloof
from ‘Asuric’ (Demonaic) qualities like: deceitfulness, hypocrisy, pride and
arrogance, vanity and ostentation, quickness to wrath and impulsiveness,
roughness and harshness of one’s tongue, as also cruelty and malice.
20. Ever aspire to be of the
Saatwik type, blessed with a pure and illuminated mind, steady and
introspective, and imbued with discrimination, resulting in a serene and happy
state of mind.
In conclusion, if one sincerely and
diligently assimilates and implements the above guidelines, and builds up
‘internal resistance and defense mechanisms’ to ward off undesirable external
and internal influences, both physical and mental, then, one can acquire the
needed strength and capacity, to disentangle oneself from the shackles of this
vexing ‘samsaara’ and persevere in endeavors towards reaching the supreme goal
of life.
Sree Krishna Parabrahmanay
Namaha.
NB. This is the gist of a talk
given by Dr. Krishna M. Gutala
in the Colloquium Chapter of ICC
Cupertino on 25th Oct 2013.
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