Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 (Commentary)
Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 (chapter IX shloka 1) primarily deals with Krishna
imparting to Arjuna the importance of the sacred wisdom (contained
in Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1) which is not within the reach of a
normal human being as one is not able to comprehend the same. And
why most people are unable to comprehend the deeper meaning is illustrated
in this fact ... Similarly as no two students get the same marks
in an examination in spite of having studied in the same class,
the teacher being the same, same knowledge was imparted to both
of them yet, both students obtained different marks. Even if the
teacher desires the whole class coming first the same never happens
... it is not the teaching prowess of the teacher which comes into
play but the willingness on the part of the student ... the inherent
capability of a student which gets him the desired numbers.
Does it
mean one who gets lower marks pity himself? It is all within the
game ... the total Cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations
is required to be completed in a maximum of 96.4 million earthly
years ... where is the cause for hurry! It is only one in a billion
who wants the journey expedited ... only such people fall in the
category of Arjuna and Swami Vivekananda.
Before
the wisdom of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 can be imparted to one ...
the cosmic system of God ensures that the candidate is suitable
and receptive to comprehend the inner meaning of the most complex
sacred scripture ever written. Lord Krishna before imparting this
wisdom of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 to Arjuna ensures that he has
burnt out his karma totally and become pure similarly as we separate
out the metal from the ore. The dross having removed completely
one elevates himself mentally to a level so that the frequency of
both matches ... now Arjuna can understand and assimilate the absolute
truth imparted by Lord Krishna.
Apart from
burning out the karma one must also absolve himself of impure thoughts
forever. As long as we continue invoking impure thoughts we can
never raise ourselves to the matching frequency on which operated
Lord Krishna. Purity of thoughts is an absolute necessity ... one
cannot do away with it. Purity of thoughts always and ever round-the-clock
every moment of life is a must. Only one who dwells in absolute
purity of thought and has burnt out his karma totally is a fit candidate
to receive what Lord Krishna has to give. There is no other shortcut
to obtain the wisdom of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1.
Every human
being is always a student of the cosmic system. The evolution process
makes it so. We always tend to keep on learning irrespective of
the age, cast or the system. In the domain of God all are equal
... everyone has equal rights in respect of spiritual wisdom. Age
is not of concern in the spiritual hierarchy. One may be 90 years
of age yet unable to grasp the inner meanings of the sacred texts.
In contrast, one younger by many years may grasp the inner meanings
more easily. Whoever wants to proceed on the spiritual journey at
any given moment of his life can do so freely.
The prime
and sublime knowledge contained in the various sacred Scriptures
of the world is not meant for the ordinary. It can be confusing
... imagine, if there were 50 Siddhartha Gautamas at a particular
moment of time ... how would the mass in general come to know who
was the more intelligent and whom to consult in times of need. It
has always been so and is a proven fact that at a given point of
time no more than two persons have been able to understand the cosmic
wisdom all over the world. Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were contemporaries.
Similar was the case with Sri Rama Krishna Paramhansa and Mahirshi
Ramanna. To understand the Cosmic Wisdom one man-made God is sufficient
for the humanity at a given point of time.
The cosmic
wisdom can also be misused. When we reach the higher realms of spirituality
we tend to gain some cosmic powers that are meant to be used for
the benefit of the masses. It is even prohibited to use them for
the use of the self. Sometimes, intoxicated by the mighty powers
there are instances in history when achievers of these powers tried
to misuse them resulting in the powers being withdrawn from them
forever. Falling from grace is something, which no spiritual aspirant
looks forward to.
Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 prohibits imparting the spiritual knowledge to
those not in need neigh not worthy of the cause. For this reason
in the earlier days, when Guru shisya parampara (practice) was in
vogue ... the admission of the student was totally dependent upon
guru (spiritual teacher) accepting the shisya (student) based on
merits. Once rejected there was no other way for admission to the
Gurukul (spiritual university). The Gurus kept a special watch that
no untoward incident occurred in the spiritual hierarchy lest they
believed Gods would get annoyed with them.
To be able
to comprehend the inner truths (particularily as contained in Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1)is easy even for the common man ... cosmic wisdom
in textual form is available pretty cheap ... the purpose being
that it should be available to the common man in a price one can
afford. Even today Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 in Summary form (the
complete Summary) is available for a mere twenty cents yet you may
find not more than one or two persons all over the world who truly
comprehend the meaning of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 ... the prime
reason why Lord Krishna is willing to impart the ultimate cosmic
truth to Arjuna and only Arjuna ... knowing well that there is no
other person other than Arjuna who can understand and assimilate
this cosmic truth.
After Lord
Krishna has considered Arjuna to be a fit candidate for imparting
the cosmic wisdom of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 ... he emphasizes
upon the merits of knowing the deeper wisdom of Bhagwad Gita shloka
IX-1. Lord Krishna emphasizes upon the fact that the knower of Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 is liberated forever and always from the cycle
of birth and death. One attains Salvation (Moksha). The essence
within every human being ... our soul (the Atman within) is not
further required to manifest another life. What a noble achievement
it is ... freeing our true self forever! Every soul (the Atman within)
manifests a body again and again until it attains absolute purity
... Similarly as we separate the metal from its ore. The end result
... the climax is defined by Lord Krishna in absolute terms. As
per Lord Krishna only those wanting liberation forever from the
cycle of life and death need to assimilate the total teachings Bhagwad Gita can give to us. This confirms that not all people may want
to proceed on the path of learning bhagwad Gita yet, it has always
been stressed that Bhagwad Gita is not a purely spiritual document
alone but it also helps one in the physical manifested life as no
other document can.
If one
needs to become the master of his own calling then apart from the
books of Napoleon Hill one can always look forward to Bhagwad Gita
shloka IX-1 and find solutions to his problems. Bhagwad Gita makes
the journey of life easier to live all the while wanting to help
the community achieve the same. In the present materialistic trend
of today people prefer to work only for their own benefit... here
Bhagwad Gita comes into play and helps one care for the community
and Mankind... something which every multinational organization
looks forward to.
Lord Krishna
also emphasizes that our earthly abode is an ephemeral phase of
life which one needs to pass through in the cosmic journey of life.
A mere life span of 70~80 years does not carry much meaning when
compared to the total Cosmic span of 96.4 million earthly years.
Lord Krishna has thus expressed the present journey of life, as
being full of pains and sorrows and one should always try to complete
this cosmic journey of life at the earliest. Unless we try to assimilate
what Bhagwad Gita shloka IX-1 has to teach us ... we shall continue
to manifest this sorrowful life again and again. Spiritual masters
wanting liberation cannot be wrong ... there must be some essence
in their sayings. After all one is not always happy ... even the
richest sometimes have to swallow the bitter pill of life, as circumstances
sometimes do not remain in our control. Why not attempt completing
the journey of life at the earliest and try to follow the same path
the spiritual masters have followed from times immemorial.