Purpose and Rules and Regulations of the Group
Paritala Gopi Krishna
Om
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha
STUDY GROUP OF SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA
Jantoonaam narajanma durlabham says Bhagawan Sri Adi Sankaracharya in His Vivekachudamani, which means, it is almost impossible to get human birth. Having been blessed with such an opportunity and endowed with such faculties, let us make use of it to the fullest in our own possible ways to realise the Truth as It is, through the home study of Srimad Bhagavad Gita (SBG).
Durlabham trayame vaitat daivaanugraha hetukam
Manushyatvam mumukshatvam mahaa purusha samsrayah
(Vivekachudamni 3)
Three aspects are impossible to get at the same time but for God’s grace and they are, taking birth as a human being, aspiring for jeevanmukti and getting the company of enlightened souls. At the same time, from sadhana point of view, three aspects are very difficult and they are: Desire for liberation from the cycle of birth and death, sincere and committed efforts to realise the purpose of human birth and satsangam (company of like-minded noble souls).
Muktirno satakoti janma sukrutaih punyairvina labhyate – (Vivekachudamani 2)
And
Aneka janmasamsiddhastito yaati paraam gatim (SBG 6.45)
One gets relieved of the cycle of birth and death only after performing sacred and noble deeds in innumerable births.
SBG, the Divine Song of the Lord, occurs in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata, and comprises 18 chapters, from 25th to the 42nd. In this great hand book of practical living, which marked a positive revolution in Hinduism, the Lord says emphatically and eloquently that:
“Sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam saranam vraja,
Aham twaa sarva paapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa suchaha
(SBG 18.66)
Abandoning all Dharmas (of the body, mind and intellect), take refuge in Me alone. Grieve not, I will liberate you from all sins.
How it is possible to take refuge in HIM and what is the process of taking refuge and the ultimate liberation? It is not that easy to find answers to these questions, unless we make a sincere and committed effort to go through the abundantly available sacred texts with us. Of all the scriptures, the most venerated, profound and within the reach of seekers of divine knowledge is SBG.
Before proceeding further, let us glance through very briefly what a few great souls said about SBG:
Mahatma Gandhi: “SBG as the universal mother, which blesses its reader with peace and perennial joy. He also said that, “When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone, I see not one ray of light, I go back to the SBG. I find a verse here and a verse there, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies.”
Sri Aurobindo: “The SBG is a book that has worn extraordinarily well, and it is almost as fresh and still in its real substance quite as new, because always renewable in experience, as when it first appeared.”
Sri Lokmanya Tilak: “The SBG was not preached either as a pastime for persons tired out after living a worldly life in the pursuit of selfish motives, nor as a preparatory lesson for living such worldly life, but in order to give philosophical advice as to how one should live one’s life with an eye to Release, Moksha and as to the true duty of human beings in worldly life.”
Swami Vivekanand: “A bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Upanishads.”
Sri Madan Mohan Malaviya: “There is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy as the SBG ... It brings to men the highest knowledge, the purest love and the most luminous action. It teaches self-control, the three-fold austerity, non-violence, truth, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty and putting up a fight against unrighteousness.”
Aldous Huxley: “The SBG is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the Perennial Philosophy ever to have been done. Hence its enduring value not only for Indians, but for all mankind.”
Dr. Annie Besant: “There is none so rare and precious as this “The Lord’s Song.” Since it fell from the divine lips of Sri Krishna on the field of battle, and stilled the surging emotions of His disciple and friend, how many troubled hearts has its quietened and strengthened, how many weary souls has it led to Him! It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights, where desires are dead, and where the Yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to his lot in life. That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with divine life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie, not outside us but within us, such is the central lesson of the SBG.”
Swami Chinmayananda: “SBG is very scientific in its approach to the theme, and yet, all philosophies seem to meet within its ample stretch.”
As the mind, so is the individual. Mind has two distinct sides – one facing the world and its objects (Mann(as)) and the consequent emotions within and the other facing the ‘within’ (Buddhi) to judge or discriminate the difference between the Atma and Anatma or the Shreyas and Preyas or the Permanent and Perishable. An individual becomes whole and healthy when the objective (Manas) and subjective (Buddhi) mind works in unison and the manas readily come under the disciplining influence of buddhi in moments of doubt. The buddhi becomes dull and opaque and forms an impregnable wall between ourselves and the spiritual Divinity (pure Consciousness) within due to hoarding of more and more dirt of variety of experiences and vasanas. Sacred Scriptures like SBG preaches us how to reduce the impressions of vasanas and balance the volatalising mind.
If we try to digest properly the implications of the SBG’s advice, it becomes amply clear how actions performed without ego-centric desires purge the mind of its deep-seated impressions and make it increasingly subtle in its purification and preparation for greater flights into the Infinite Beyond.
“Gita sugeeta kartavya kimanyaih sastravistaaraih” (Mahabharata 6.43.1) – “SBG needs to be mastered; what is the need for a pile of scriptures?”
SBG is a complete teaching including yoga (the preparation). Recently under Arsha Vidya, H.H. Swami Dayananda Saraswati has conducted classes on the Four Mahavakyas from the Four Vedas and we were blessed to be part of the seekers. On the concluding day, Pujya Swamiji exhorted the audience to form study groups of SBG in every locality and spread the Divine Message of SBG and in turn divinity to one and all. In response to that call, we have taken this initiative to discuss SBG in depth and detail under the guidance of some Eminent and Learned Moderators like Swami Santatmananda Saraswati, etc.
The method and the rules and regulations to be strictly adhered to in this sacred effort of understanding and appreciating the precious pearls hidden in SBG are:
1. We take one sloka at a time, with the meaning and substance. Each one of us, whoever can, respond to the sloka as one understands and interprets it. We discuss each sloka in this fashion for a week, at the most, depending on the responses, and then ultimately the Moderator(s) sums it up, keeping in view of the discussion, and also narrates the actual interpretation, purport and essence of the sloka for better understanding and assimilation according to Bhagawan Sri Adi Sankara’s Advaita philosophy.
2. We welcome comments from all schools of thought, i.e., Advaita, Dvaita, Visishtadvaita and others too, but ultimately the Advaita philosophy is followed.
3. Let us discuss each point/sloka threadbare to the best of our understanding, ability and expression, but let us not cross the lakshmana-rekha of degrading and deteriorating the discussion into argument and condemnation of the other schools of thought.
4. The focus of the group is to discuss the contents and understand the essence of SBG only. To support one’s view point, one can draw references from the other sacred scriptures, and add analogies, small stories, etc., but no content of any other scripture is allowed to be published in it. Because the first concentration of the group is SBG only and once we complete it, let us proceed to other sacred scriptures.
5. Let us share and learn from each other rather than trying to score points in futile arguments and ego-centric expressions. A healthy discussion opens doors of knowledge and guides us to become avid readers and understand SBG as It is, rather than as we wish.
6. Let us dive deep into the depths of this great scripture and try our level best to emulate the qualities and characteristics highlighted in it to become better humans and real devotees of the Lord with right understanding, approach and surrender to realise the Truth as It is.
7. Once we start getting on with this sacred effort, we would like to display the lists of names and address, if all of us agree, in principle, of members of the Group and also the Moderators, so that one can form independent physical home-study groups in your own localities / villages / cities and take up the same slokas for further discussion and exchange of views for better appreciation.
8. Kindly remember the fact that NOBODY IS TEACHING ANYBODY in any of these groups. It is just exchange of notes for in-depth study, collecting the knowledge from each other, understanding its true meaning, and appreciating the precious gems available in the depths of this marvellous scripture and then assimilate the truth and encourage each devotee to spare a thought to make a sincere and committed effort to implement the lessons learnt in our day-to-day lives to become better human beings and better citizens of our countries.
9. Life is very short and let us all promise to ourselves to use this forum for our own betterment and the betterment of our family and society, at large, as one family.
10. Last, but not the least, we welcome any other well-meaning suggestion(s) of learned friends with folded hands and love.