Tuesday, Mar 04, 2003
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Religion
CHENNAI, MARCH 4. Spiritual knowledge cannot be gained by armchair study of the texts that expound this subject. It is a quest over innumerable lives and the seeker must long for it and not rest till he is enlightened. The texts that expound it are called Upanishads for the reason that they enable one who peruses them to "go near" the truth (Reality). The term "Upanishad" also means that it slackens worldly bondage thereby making it possible for one to realise one's true spiritual nature. The Bhagavad Gita, which was taught to Arjuna by Lord Krishna before the Mahabharata war, is hailed as the essence of the Upanishads. The Lord Himself taught it for the benefit of the entire mankind using Arjuna as a pretext. The teachings are organised and there is a logical development of the philosophical concepts in the 18 chapters. The opening chapter highlighting Arjuna's despondency in a dramatic manner shows the mental state in which a person generally becomes receptive to spiritual knowledge. The tendency of the mind is to engage in the world of objects and as long as a person finds joy in sensory pursuits he will not feel the need to turn to the eternal source of joy within-the Self. So a crisis or a bitter experience in life resulting in disillusionment with worldly life is often necessary for spiritual awakening. When Arjuna requested the Lord to station his chariot between the two armies so that he might have a view of all those who had assembled for the war and assess those he had to contend with, He placed it in such a manner that he beheld his elders and kinsmen clearly. Lord Krishna could have stationed the chariot before Duryodana and his friends in which case Arjuna would have immediately plunged into war without any soul-searching. By beholding Bhishma, Drona and his relatives Arjuna became downcast visualising the outcome of a fratricidal war in which his kith and kin would die. It was such mental dejection that made a person thirst for spiritual knowledge, said Sri N.Veezhinathan in his discourse. Arjuna thus is the archetypal student ready to embark on spiritual enquiry and the teachings of the Gita were tailor-made for him. Right at the outset Lord Krishna gives the gist of His sermon.
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