The Song Of God

 

On Gita Jayanti, the day of the deliverance of Gita, there arises a desire to write something as a tribute to the best source of knowledge that existed ever. But when I start writing, I find myself struggling to write about it.

What can you really write or say about the Song Of God!? What is left to say, that Lord Krishna hasn't said already?! One can only mutely repeat the verses. One might read the Gita again and again and still learn something new in every reading. That is the beauty of this grand scripture.

This is perhaps the only text where the Speaker, the knowledge and the lesson are one. Krishna speaks, He speaks about Himself as the Supreme Divine and His message is the lesson for humanity. The essence of Gita can be summed up so - Whatever work you do, whoever you are, live like the dew drop on a lotus-leaf. Unattached! 

The all-knowing Krishna also knows that living so is difficult. Hence He provides an alternative. He says - if it is difficult for you to practice detachment, then simply surrender your actions and the fruits of the same to Me i.e. the Supreme Reality. In this way, Karma wouldn't catch up with you. 

What more do we need to do!

They say that Gita provides the solution to all your troubles. And I completely agree with it. Think of what could bring the most grief to you. The death of a loved one, perhaps? And now imagine Arjuna's dilemma, wherein, not only has he to fight with his mentors and family members, he also knows that he will have to kill them, his loved ones. Can there be any bigger grief than this?! And Krishna provides a solution to this problem too. If the Gita can soothe Arjuna, the one facing the worst crisis of faith that anyone can ever face, then how can Gita not solve the petty little problems of our mundane life?

What makes the Gita so special? It is the fact that, this ultimate knowledge was preached in the midst of a battlefield by the One who had nothing to do with the war but still got involved, to preach to humankind the greatest lesson of life – that the best way to live is to live with detachment and the best way to work is by surrendering the actions and the results to the Divine.

The Gita is also special, for it gives a glimpse of the Supreme Divine in the form of Krishna's Vishwaroopam. How beautifully Krishna starts the dialogue, first as a charioteer, then as a friend and gradually showing His true divine form! Oh, to have been there! Blessed is Arjuna, blessed is Sanjaya! 

Gita gives hope, that whatever path we choose, it will lead to liberation in one way or the other. If not in this birth, then in the next. Krishna gives solace by saying that the good deeds that we do in this birth will direct us towards liberation, either in the same lifetime or in the next. What more does a soul want to hear! That we won't eternally have to ride the wheel of birth and death, that we can get a respite from this cycle, is enough to bring in enlightenment and knowledge that the life we lead is temporary and material and it is not our highest goal. The highest goal is to break free from the cycle of birth and death and Gita suggests several ways for the same - Karma-Yoga, wherein you live detached and by surrendering all actions and results to the Divine, Bhakti-Yoga where you develop devotion to the Divine and indulge in chanting and praying and Gyana-Yoga, where you learn the ultimate knowledge from teachers and our ancient scriptures and practice and live it. To each one, his/her own path!

Gita is eternal. Its wisdom is timeless. Eons will pass, worlds may collapse, but the wisdom of Gita will never end. In every particle, in every Being, is Krishna, and His timeless song Gita. As long as there is a seeker like Arjuna, there will be a teacher in the form of Krishna! And where these two are, there will be abundance of knowledge. 

Of all the things, I am most grateful to have come across this timeless scripture and to have read it. Do I know it entirely? I don't. But I understand it's concept. And it gives me hope. That someday I will be free from the cycle of birth and death and will attain oneness with Krishna, the Supreme Reality.

यत्र योगेश्वर: कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धर: |

तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम॥

Where there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and where there is Paartha, the greatest archer, there will reign fortune, victory, prosperity, power and morality. This is my firm conviction.