168 – Universal Approach of Gita | Swami Tattwamayananda

Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta

Title: Universal Approach of Gita
18th Chapter: verses 56, 57, 58, 59
Gita offers four paths for spiritual realization: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Dhyana Yoga.
56th verse: “Surrender all your actions and results to Me. Then My grace will take you to the highest spiritual destination.”
57th verse: “Mentally offer all actions to Me. Your life will be spiritualized through this philosophy of dedication and internal detachment.”
58th verse: “If your fix your mind on Me, you will overcome difficulties through My grace.”
Gita encourages us to live life in such a way that we become good human beings. Everything we do should become a path of worship and leads to highest enlightenment.
Mahatma Gandhi was inspired by Gita. He said: “Gita has become an infallible guide of my conduct. It has become the dictionary of my daily reference, the dictionary of my conduct. It has the ready solution for all my troubles and trials.”
The 57th verse refers to Buddhi Yoga. It is the wisdom and spiritual common sense with which we live in the world. We keep in mind that everything in the world is impermanent – money, power, health are all impermanent. Buddhi Yoga is also mentioned in the 39th verse of the 2nd chapter of
Gita – it says that we should do all our actions with a degree of detachment.
Buddhi Yoga helps us conserve energy. Our energy gets dissipated when we get anxious and worried due to obsessive attachment to results.
These two verses have references to both karma yoga and bhakti yoga. Bhakti is spontaneous, natural flow of love towards God. The 26th verse of the 9th chapter says: “If you offer with bhakti (devotion) even a leaf or flower or fruit or water – I accept it as the devout gift of the pure hearted devotee.”
Bhakti and purity of heart is what is important – it is what compels the Lord to accept the offering. A big ritual is in no way superior to a leaf offered with a pure heart. What we are offering is not a leaf or flower – we are offering ourselves and our own heart, which is what the Lord cares about.
Bhagavata Purana and Gita both define the highest devotee of God. Bhagavata Purana defines it as: “The one who sees the presence of God in all beings, and who sees the presence of all beings in God.“ Gita defines the highest devotee as one whose “every thought becomes a meditation, every word becomes a mantra, every action becomes an act of worship, every travel becomes a pilgrimage, every movement becomes a circumambulation around the deity, whose whole life becomes spiritualized and an offering to God.”
When we can do all our secular activities in a spiritual manner, our karmic blocks are dismantled. A beginner’s mind may not cooperate when he starts spiritual practices. This is due to accumulated samskaras which make him act in a certain manner. He may want to read a spiritual book, but the mind presents stumbling blocks – it is accustomed to things that are not conducive to spiritual life. Such a mind should be given healthy food first, such as reading good books, listening to higher ideas and holy association.
How can we judge whether our mind is healthy? The answer is in an ancient ayurvedic verse from Sushruta Samhita: “sama dosha sama agnischa sama dhatu mala kriyaaha| Prasanna atma indriya manaha swastha iti abhidheeyate”. It says that the mind is healthy when it is contented, enjoys inner serenity. This happens when we do start doing our actions endowed with Buddhi Yoga.
Spirituality goes beyond religion. One who is truly spiritual (1) feels inner contentment, and (2) interacts with others in a positive manner. He feels inner serenity and at the same time is a blessing for others.
Gita takes a universal approach towards spirituality. It is not confined to the walls of a place of worship. A spiritual person treats the entire creation as one spiritual family, not limited to human beings. He does not violate the existing harmony of nature. He is not afraid of anyone nor is anyone afraid of him.
Gita is a dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in a battlefield. The battlefield is the human mind. Arjuna wanted to shy away from a duty that was unpleasant to him. So, Lord Krishna tells him in the 59th verse: “Everyone should perform their duty with dedication and without attachment top results. If you think that running away from duty will solve your problems, you are mistaken. Your own nature will compel you to do your duty (fight).”
Action is inescapable. How we face our action is what matters. No one can remain mentally inactive even for a split moment. The attitude with which we perform our actions determines whether the action is secular or spiritual.