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Bhagavad
Gita and Management
Mr.
M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner , to
The Govt. of Kerala
Mind
is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more
difficult to control the mind than to control the wind ~ Arjuna to
Sri Krishna Introduction The ancient
(nearly 5000 years old) Indian philosophy of keeping mind and body
for the well being, has entered the managerial, medical and
judicial domain of the world. Today it has found its place as an
alternative to the theory of modern management and also as a means
to bring back the right path of peace and prosperity for the human
beings. One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is
Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first
revelations from God. The Bhagavad-Gita is the essence
of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It
provides “all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man
to the highest possible level.” , reveals the deep, universal
truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of
everyone.
Arjuna got
mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to
fight.( Mental health has become a major international public
health concern now). To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached
in the battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a
counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men stood by waiting
. It has got all the management tactics to achieve the mental
equilibrium and to overcome any crisis situation. The Bhagavad
Gita can be experienced as a powerful catalyst for transformation.
Bhagavad gita means song of the Spirit, song of the Lord. The
Holy Gita has become a secret driving force behind the unfoldment
of one's life. In the days of doubt this divine book will support
all spiritual search.This divine book will
contribute to self reflection, finer feeling and deepen one's
inner process. Then life in the world can become a real
education—dynamic, full and joyful—no matter what the
circumstance. May the wisdom of loving consciousness ever guide us
on our journey. What makes the Holy Gita a practical psychology of
transformation is that it offers us the tools to connect with our
deepest intangible essence and we must learn to participate in the
battle of life with right knowledge.
The Holy Gita is
the essence of the Vedas, Upanishads. It is a universal scripture
applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times. It is
a book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga,
Devotion, Vedanta and Action. It is profound in thought
and sublime in heights of vision. It brings peace and solace to
souls that are afflicted by the three fires of mortal existence,
namely, afflictions caused
by one’s own body (disease etc), those caused by beings around
one (e.g. wild animals, snakes etc.), and those caused by the gods
(natural disasters, earth-quakes, floods etc).
Mind can be
one's friend or enemy. Mind is the cause for both bondage and
liberation. The word mind is derived from man to think and the
word man derived from manu (sanskrit word for man). "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's
heart, Arjuna, and is
directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as
on a machine, made of the material energy." There
is no theory to be internalized and applied in this psychology.
Ancient practices spontaneously induce what each person needs as
the individual and the universal coincide. The work proceeds
through intellectual knowledge of the playing field(jnana yoga),
emotional devotion to the ideal (bhakti yoga) and right action
that includes both feeling and Knowledge (karma yoga). With
ongoing purification we approach wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita is a
message addressed to each and every human individual to help him
or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and
progressing towards a bright future.
Within its
eighteen chapters is revealed a human
drama. This is the experience of everyone in this world,
the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection,
sorrow and total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of perfect
understanding, clarity, renewed
strength and triumph. Introduction Management
has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in
the office or factory and in
Government. In all organizations, where a group of human
beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come
into play through the management of resources, finance and
planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a
systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human
effort.
Its
task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their
weaknesses irrelevant, says the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It
creates harmony in
working together - equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and
achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It
resolves situations
of scarcity, be they in the physical, technical or human fields,
through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes
to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes disorder,
confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even depression.
Managing men, money and materials in the best possible way,
according to circumstances and environment, is the most important
and essential factor for a successful management.
Management
guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita There is an important
distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in managing.
The
general principles of effective management can be applied in every
field, the differences being more in application than in
principle. The Manager's functions
can be summed up as:
-
Forming
a vision
-
Planning
the strategy to realise the vision.
-
Cultivating
the art of leadership.
-
Establishing
institutional excellence.
-
Building
an innovative organisation.
-
Developing
human resources.
-
Building
teams and teamwork.
-
Delegation,
motivation, and communication.
-
Reviewing
performance and taking corrective steps when called for.
Thus,
management is a process of aligning people and getting them
committed to work for a common goal to the maximum social benefit
- in search of excellence.
The
critical question in all managers’ minds is how to be effective
in their job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in
the Bhagavad Gita, which repeatedly proclaims that “you must try
to manage yourself.” The reason is that unless a manager reaches
a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or she will be merely
a face in the crowd.
Old
truths in a new context The Bhagavad Gita, written
thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques
leading us towards a harmonious and
blissful state of affairs in place of the conflict, tensions, poor
productivity, absence of motivation and so on, common in most of
Indian enterprises today – and probably in enterprises in many
other countries.
The
modern (Western) management concepts of vision, leadership,
motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work
meaning, decision making and planning,
are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita.
There is one major difference. While Western
management thought too often deals with problems at material,
external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad
Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of
human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved,
it will automatically enhance the quality of
his actions and their results.
The
management philosophy emanating from the West,
is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial
thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the means
adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon
has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and
so 'management by materialism' has caught the fancy of all
the countries the world over, India being no
exception to this trend. My country, India, has been
in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly because
of its centuries old indoctrination by
colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling
that anything Western is good and anything Indian is
inferior.
The
result is that, while huge funds have been
invested in building temples of modem management
education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement
of the general quality of life – although
the standards of living of a few has gone up. The same
old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy, criminalisation
of institutions, social violence,
exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body
politic.
The
source of the problem. The
reasons for this sorry
state of affairs are not far to seek. The
Western idea of management centres on making the
worker (and the manager) more efficient and more
productive. Companies offer workers more to work more,
produce more, sell more and to stick to the organisation without looking for alternatives. The
sole aim of extracting better and more work from the worker
is to improve the bottom-line of the
enterprise. The worker has become a hireable
commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded at
will.
Thus,
workers have been reduced to the state of a
mercantile product. In such a state, it should come as
no surprise to us that workers start using strikes (gheraos)
sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule
etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the
organisations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach
a situation in which management and workers
become separate and contradictory entities with
conflicting interests. There is no common goal or understanding.
This, predictably, leads to suspicion,
friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and
workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values
and erosion of human touch in the organizational
structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.
Western
management philosophy may have created
prosperity – for some people some of the time at least
- but it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment of
individual life and social welfare. It has remained
by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty
for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for many.
Hence,
there is an urgent need to re-examine
prevailing management disciplines - their objectives,
scope and content. Management should be redefined to underline
the development of the worker as a person,
as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With
this changed perspective, management can become an instrument
in the process of social, and indeed
national, development.
Now
let us re-examine some of the modern management
concepts in the light of the Bhagavad Gita which is a
primer of management-by-values. Utilisation
of available resources The first lesson
of management science is to choose wisely and utilize
scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser before
the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's large army for
his help while Arjuna selected
Sri Krishna's wisdom for his support. This
episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the
effective manager - the former chose numbers, the
latter, wisdom.
Work
commitment A popular verse of the Gita
advises “detachment” from the fruits or results of
actions performed in the course of one's duty. Being dedicated
work has to mean “working for the sake of
work, generating excellence for its own sake.” If we
are always calculating the date of promotion or the rate
of commission before putting in our efforts, then
such work is not detached. It is not “generating
excellence for its own sake” but working only for the extrinsic
reward that may (or may not) result.
Working
only with an eye to the anticipated
benefits, means that the quality of performance of the
current job or duty suffers - through mental agitation of
anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the world
works means that events do not always respond
positively to our calculations and hence expected fruits
may not always be forthcoming. So, the Gita
tells us not to mortgage present commitment to an
uncertain future.
Some
people might argue that not seeking the
business result of work and actions, makes one
unaccountable. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of advice
on the theory of cause and effect, making the
doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds.
While advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains
in discharging one's accepted duty, the Gita
does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising
from discharge of his or her responsibilities.
Thus
the best means of effective performance management is the work
itself. Attaining this state of mind (called “nishkama karma”)
is the right attitude to
work because it prevents the ego, the mind, from dissipation of
attention through speculation on future gains or losses.
Motivation
– self and self-transcendence It has been presumed
for many years that satisfying lower order needs of workers -
adequate food, clothing and shelter, etc. are key factors in
motivation. However, it is a common experience that the
dissatisfaction of the clerk and of the Director is identical –
only their scales and composition vary. It should be true that
once the lower-order needs are more than satisfied, the Director
should have little problem in optimising his contribution to the
organisation and society. But more often than not, it does not
happen like that. (“The eagle soars high but keeps its eyes
firmly fixed on the dead animal below.”) On the contrary, a
lowly paid schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may well
demonstrate higher levels of self-actualisation despite poorer
satisfaction of their lower-order needs.
This
situation is explained by the theory of
self-transcendence propounded in the Gita.
Self-transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting
others before oneself, emphasising team work, dignity,
co-operation, harmony and trust – and, indeed potentially
sacrificing lower needs for higher goals,
the opposite of Maslow.
“Work
must be done with detachment.” It is the ego
that spoils work and the ego is the centrepiece of
most theories of motivation. We need not merely a
theory of motivation but a theory of inspiration.
The
Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore
(1861-1941, known as "Gurudev") says working for
love is freedom in
action. A concept which is described as
“disinterested work" in the Gita where Sri Krishna
says,
“He
who shares the wealth generated only after
serving the people, through work done as a sacrifice
for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary
those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins
that lead to frustration and failure.”
Disinterested
work finds expression in devotion,
surrender and equipoise. The former two are
psychological while the third is determination to keep the
mind free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean
"materialistic") pulls of daily experiences.
Detached involvement
in work is the key to mental equanimity or the
state of “nirdwanda.” This attitude leads to a
stage where the worker begins to feel the presence of
the Supreme Intelligence guiding the embodied individual
intelligence. Such de-personified
intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely
believe in the supremacy of organisational goals as compared
to narrow personal success and achievement.
Work culture An effective work
culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen
tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of
work culture – “daivi sampat” or divine work culture
and “asuri sampat” or demonic work culture.
-
Daivi
work culture – involves
fearlessness, purity, self-control,
sacrifice,straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence
of fault-finding,
absence of greed, gentleness, modesty,
absence of envy and pride.
-
Asuri
work culture - involves egoism,
delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work
not oriented towards service.
Mere
work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal
exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a
work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, “yogah karmasu
kausalam” should be understood. “Kausalam” means
skill or technique of
work which is an indispensable component
of a work ethic. “Yogah” is defined in the
Gita itself as “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning an
unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us
that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of
Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as "Lokmanya,"
probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a description of the meanings
of the word "Yoga", see foot of this page.)
By
making the equable mind the bed-rock of all
actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of
work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical
process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi
Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary
in the performance of one's duty is that of
maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and
failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to
deeper introspection and see clearly where the
process went wrong so that corrective steps could be
taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The
principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the
work done is the Gita’s prescription
for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle
leads to lack of incentive for effort,
striking at the very root of work ethic.
To
the contrary,
concentration on the task for its own sake
leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to
the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace
theories of motivation may be said to lead
us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita’s
principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and
indeed moral, satisfaction.
Work
results The Gita further explains the theory
of “detachment” from the extrinsic rewards of work in saying:
-
If
the result of sincere effort is a
success, the entire credit should not be appropriated
by the doer alone.
-
If
the result of sincere effort is a
failure, then too the entire blame does not accrue to
the doer.
The
former attitude mollifies arrogance and conceit while the latter
prevents excessive despondency,
de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these dispositions
safeguard the doer against psychological vulnerability, the cause of the modem managers'
companions of diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers.
Assimilation
of the ideas of the Gita leads us to the wider spectrum of
“lokasamgraha” (general welfare)
but there is also another dimension to the work ethic
- if the “karmayoga” (service) is blended with
“bhaktiyoga” (devotion), then the work itself becomes
worship, a “sevayoga" (service for its own sake.)
Along
with bhakti yoga as a means of liberation, the Gita espouses the
doctrine of nishkamya karma or pure
action untainted by hankering after the fruits resulting
from that action. Modern scientists have now
understood the intuitive wisdom of that action in a
new light.
Scientists
at the US National Institute of Mental
Health in Bethesda, found that laboratory monkeys that
started out as procrastinators, became efficient workers
after they received brain injections that
suppressed a gene linked to their ability to
anticipate a reward. The
scientists reported that the
work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't all that
different from that of many people: "If the reward is not
immediate, you procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA
Times.
(This
may sound a peculiarly religious idea but it has a wider
application. It could be taken to mean doing something because it
is worthwhile, to serve others, to make the world a better place
– ed.)
Manager's
mental health Sound mental health is the very goal of
any human activity - more so management. Sound mental health is
that state of mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise, or
regain it when unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries
of work life and social existence. Internal constancy and peace
are the pre-requisites for a healthy stress-free mind.
Some
of the impediments to sound mental health are:
-
Greed
- for power, position, prestige and money.
-
Envy
- regarding others' achievements, success, rewards.
-
Egotism
- about one's own accomplishments.
-
Suspicion,
anger and frustration.
-
Anguish
through comparisons.
The driving
forces in today's businesses are speed and competition. There is a
distinct danger that these forces cause erosion of the moral fibre,
that in seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral means - tax
evasion, illegitimate financial holdings, being “economical with
the truth”, deliberate oversight in the
audit, too-clever financial reporting and so on.
This
phenomenon may be called as “yayati syndrome”.
In
the book, the Mahabharata, we come across a king by the name of
Yayati who, in order to revel in the endless enjoyment of flesh
exchanged his old age with the youth of his obliging youngest son
for a thousand years. However, he found the pursuit of sensual
enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back to his son
pleading him to take back his youth. This “yayati syndrome”
shows the conflict between externally directed acquisitions
(extrinsic motivation) and inner value and conscience (intrinsic motivation.)
Management
needs those who practise what they preach
“Whatever
the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow,” says Sri
Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary,
extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of
translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a
true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to
help others. "I am the strength of those who are devoid of
personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate
desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness," says
Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.
In
conclusion The despondency of Arjuna in the first
chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer
power of his inspiring words, changes Arjuna's mind from a state
of inertia to one of righteous action, from the state of what the
French philosophers
call “anomie” or even alienation, to a state of
self-confidence in the ultimate victory of “dharma” (ethical
action.)
When
Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri
Krishna reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of
intense action - not for his own
benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but for the
good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics over
unethical actions and of truth over untruth.
Sri
Krishna's advice with regard to temporary failures is, “No doer
of good ever ends in misery.” Every action should produce
results. Good action produces good results and evil begets nothing
but evil. Therefore, always act well and be rewarded.
My
purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of
efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these
ideals to India's holistic
attitude of “lokasangraha” - for the welfare of many, for the
good of many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life.
What we do in business is no different, in this regard, to what we
do in our personal lives. The means do not justify the ends.
Pursuit of results for their own sake, is ultimately
self-defeating. (“Profit,” said Matsushita-san in another
tradition, “is the reward of correct behaviour.” – ed.)
A
note on the word "yoga".
Yoga
has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical
meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of
any two or more things.
The
technical meaning is “a state of stability and peace and the
means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad
Gita uses the word with both meanings.
M.P.Bhattathiri.
Let
us go through what scholars say about Holy Gita.
"No
work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is
better loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of
such a work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward
sympathy with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a
symphony in which God is seen in all things. . . . The Swami does
a real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic
with fresh meaning. Whatever
our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that
has lead to this illuminating work."
Dr.
Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of
Philosophy University of Southern California
"The
Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great
religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in
the world. The present translation and commentary is another
manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita."
Thomas Merton, Theologian "I
am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's
scholarly and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most
valuable work for the scholar
as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book
as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my
students. It is a beautifully done book."
Dr.
Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University
"As
a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of
Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to
the majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita
holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation
according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition."
Olivier
Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University,
Paris "I
have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by
the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of
excellent quality and of great
value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is
particularly true of the BBT edition and translation of the
Bhagavad-gita."
Dr.
Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia
University
"If
truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there
must be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those
who follow its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing
in the bleak and strident lives of contemporary people."
Dr.
Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State University of New
York, Buffalo "There
is little question that this edition is one of the best books
available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada's translation is an
ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight."
Dr.
Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall
College
"The
Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a
common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because
it is alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind of
close interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta
has here provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar's
but a practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong devotee's point of
view."
Denise
Levertov, Poet
"The
increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical
Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By
bringing us a new and living interpretation
of a text already known to many, he has increased our
understanding manyfold."
Dr.
Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and
Civilization University of Chicago
"The
scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times,
Prabhupada adds a translation
of singular importance with his commentary."
Dr.
J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of
Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate
Theological Union, Berkeley, California
"Srila
Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where
many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought,
beyond the commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since
the time Europeans first penetrated India.
"Whether
the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of
the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many
this will be the first
contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal
India."
Francois
Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of
Political Studies, Paris, France
"It
was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small
or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice
of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had
pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise
us" Emerson's reaction to the Gita
"As
a native of India now living in the West, it has
given me much grief to see so many of my fellow
countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and
spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to
see the publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible
cheating of false and unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and will
give an opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning
of Oriental culture."
Dr.
Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center
for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico
"The Gita is one of the clearest and most
comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic
spiritual statements of
the perennial philosophy ever to have been done" ___________________________________Aldous
Huxley
"It
is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and
beautifully explained work. I don't know whether to
praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its
daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility
of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the
Gita with such an important voice and style. . . . It
will occupy a significant place in the intellectual
and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come."
Dr.
Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics,
Georgetown University
"I
can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have
found explanations and answers to questions I had
always posed regarding the interpretations of this
sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly
admire. If the aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which
form the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is
were more widespread and more respected, the world in
which we live would be transformed into a better, more fraternal
place."
Dr.
Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire,
Catholic University of Paris
"When
I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how
God created this universe everything else seems so
superfluous."
Albert
Einstein
"When
doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me
in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the
horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort
me; and I immediately begin to smile in the
midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on
the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it
every day."
Mahatma
Gandhi
"In
the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous
and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in
comparison with which our modern world and its literature
seem puny and trivial."
Henry
David Thoreau
"The
Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the
spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is
manifested by actions."
Dr.
Albert Schweitzer
"The
Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living
creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and
a new meaning for every civilization."
Sri
Aurobindo
"The
idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been
current in by gone ages. The link with
Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in
which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a
heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by
what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of
Bhagavad-Gita."
Carl
Jung
"The
Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the
spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call
of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet
keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander
purpose of the universe."
Prime
Minister Nehru
"The
marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly
beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables
philosophy to blossom into religion."
Herman
Hesse
"I
owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was
the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to
us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene,
consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in
another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed
of the same questions which exercise us."
Ralph
Waldo Emerson
"In
order to approach a creation as sublime as the
Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary
to attune our soul to it."
Rudolph
Steiner
"From
a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human
existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the
teachings of the Vedic scriptures."
Adi
Shankara
"The
Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of
spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It
is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries
of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its
enduring value is subject not only to India but to all
of humanity."
Aldous
Huxley
"The
Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to
reveal the science of devotion to God which is the
essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's
primary purpose for descending and
incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and
negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual
development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable
intention to be perpetually within reach
of all humanity."
Ramanuja
The
Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava
philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the
true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the
soul. On perusal of the first chapter of
Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to
engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read
it can be clearly understood that knowledge and
the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On
studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of
righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita
and try to ascertain the truth of its
closing chapter we can see that the ultimate
conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized
ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender
directly unto the Supreme Lord. Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati "The Mahabharata has all the essential
ingredients necessary
to evolve and protect humanity and that
within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata
just as ghee is the essence of milk and
pollen is the essence of flowers."
Madhvacarya
Yoga
has two different meanings - a general meaning
and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the
joining together or union of any two or more things. The
technical meaning is “a state of stability and
peace and the means or practices which lead to that
state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings.
Lord Krishna is real Yogi who can
maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis."
Mata
Amritanandamayi Devi.
Prajnanam
Brahma
Consciousness
is Brahman (Aitareya
Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)
Other
Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is knowing;
Brahman is intelligence
In
the sentence, ‘Prajnanam Brahma’ or Consciousness
is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given. The
best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to
its supra-essential essence, and not to describe it
with reference to accidental attributes, such as
creatorship etc. That which is ultimately
responsible for all our
sensory activities, as seeing, hearing,
etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness
does not directly see
or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory
operations without it. Hence it should be
considered as the final meaning of our mental and
physical activities. Brahman is that which is
Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to
which there is no second, and which is continuously
present in everything, from the creator down to the lowest
of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each
and every individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam
Brahma occurring in the Aitareya Upanishad.**
Ayam
Atma Brahma, This
Self is Brahman, (Mandukya
Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)
Other
Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahma
The
Mahavakya, ‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ or ‘This Self is Brahman,’
occurs in the Mandukya Upanishad. ‘Ayam’
means ‘this,’ and here ‘thisness’ refers to the self-luminous
and non-mediate nature of the Self,
which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or
ego down to the physical body. This Self is
Brahman, which
is the substance out of which all things are
really made. That which is everywhere, is also
within us, and what
is within us is everywhere. This is called
‘Brahman,’ because it is plenum, fills all
space, expands into all existence, and is vast beyond
all measure of perception or knowledge. On
account of self-luminosity,
non-relativity and universality,
Atman and Brahman are the same. This
identification of the
Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing together
two differing natures, but is an affirmation
that absoluteness or universality includes everything,
and there is nothing outside it.**
Tat
Tvam Asi, Thou
art that, (Chandogya
Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)
Other
Translations: That is how you are; That art thou
In
the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya,
‘Tat Tvam Asi’ or ‘That thou art.’ Sage
Uddalaka mentions
this nine times, while instructing his disciple
Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That
which is one alone without a second, without name and
form, and which existed before creation, as well as after
creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is
referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The
term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost recesses
of the student or the aspirant, but which is
transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and
is the real 'I' of the student addressed in the teaching. The
union of Tat and Tvam is by the term
Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a
misconception, which is removed by the instruction
that it is within one’s own self. The
erroneous notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by the
instruction that it is the same as Reality.**
Aham Brahmasmi
I
am Brahman, (Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana Upanishad)
In
the sentence, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ or I am Brahman, the ‘I’
is that which is the One Witnessing
Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect,
different from the ego-principle, and shining through every act of
thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness,
being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished
from Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the
essential ‘I’ which is
full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as
Brahman. This is not the identification of the limited
individual ‘I’ with Brahman, but it is the
Universal
Substratum of individuality that is asserted to be what it is. The
copula ‘am’ does not signify any empirical relation between
two entities, but affirms
the non-duality of essence. This dictum is from the
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.**
Karma,
Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to
all the three is renunciation.
Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for
every desire related with body and mind creates
bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the
humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek
personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self
itself.
Swami
Vivekananda (England, London; 1895-96 )
"Science
describes the structures and processess;
philosophy attempts at their explaination.-----
When such a
perfect combination of both science and philosophy is sung to
perfection that Krishna was, we have in this piece of work an
appeal both to the head
annd heart. " ____________Swamy Chinmayanand on Gita
I
seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be
known!' For such a person knowledge and ignorance has only one
meaning: Have you knowledge
of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant.As said in
the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing everywhere
the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to be
true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is
ignorance." Sri
Ramakrishna .
Maharishi
calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a
complete guide to practical life. It provides “all that is
needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible
level.” Maharishi
reveals the deep, universal truths of life that
speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
The
Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life
with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not
fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life
as early as possible in one’s life.
. . . . . . . Lokmanya
Tilak
I
believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no
book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches
self-control, austerity, non-violence,
compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty,
and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To
my knowledge,there is no book in the whole range of the world’s
literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the
treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all
mankind.
. . . . . . . M.
M. Malaviya
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