Gita Chapter 1 - Part 1 by Swami Nikhilanand

Gita Chapter 1 - Part 1 by Swami Nikhilanand, disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj and sanyasi teacher at JKP Radha Madhav Dham

Before discussing the philosophical concepts of the Gita, it will be helpful to understand what the Gita is and from where it came. The Gita, or Bhagwad Gita, is said to be the essence of the Upnishads. Thus, to understand what the Gita is, we must know what the Upnishads are. 

The Upnishads are the uttar bhag, or culmination of the knowledge of the Ved. The Ved is eternal knowledge of God which resides within God and is produced in the form of "spoken words" on the earth planet. This Vedic knowledge, in the form of "spoken words" was passed on through many generations of Divine rishis. Another name for the Ved is 'shruti', which means that which was heard once and remembered. Eventually, when ordinary human population expanded, the 'shruti' had to be recorded in a written form - thus the Ved was produced in book form. Although books may be destroyed, or the "words" forgotten, yet the knowledge, being an eternal power of God, is not lost forever. It may disappear from the earth planet, but it is reproduced by Shree Krishn Himself or through His eternal Saints and rishis. 

Thus, the Vedic knowledge is always available to the souls of the earth planet. It is this knowledge which gives us the understanding of how to live a good life, and guides us towards attaining God. Sanatan Dharm, the original name of Hindu religion, is the eternal path to God, as told in the Vedas. It includes both the guidelines for living a healthy and pious life in the world, and the knowledge of how to attain God. In fact all the Hindu scriptures, like the Gita, Puranas, Smritis, Darshan Shastras, Mahabharat, and Ramayan are a further explanation of the spiritual teaching already found in the Vedas. The Upnishads are the part of the Vedas that deals with God realization and the path to God. Attaining God is the ultimate purpose of life as defined by Hindu philosophy. Thus, the Upnishads are the culmination of the Vedic knowledge.

There are 1,180 branches of the four Vedas: the Rigved contains 21 branches, the Samved 1,000, the Yajurved 109, and the Atharvaved 50. There is one Upnishad for each branch of the Vedas; thus there are 1,180 Upnishads in total. The spiritual knowledge of the Upnishads is extensive and is in difficult Sanskrit. Thus, to condense that knowledge and make it more easily understandable, Shree Krishn produced it in the form of the Bhagwad Gita. It is said that if the Upnishads are cows, then Shree Krishn milked those cows, and the milk is the Gita. The Gita contains the entire knowledge of the Upnishads in only 700 shlokas so it is the essence of the Upnishads. In fact, the Gita is regarded as having the same status as an Upnishad, so it is also known as the Gitopnishad (Gita + Upnishad = Gitopnishad). 

Because the prime subject matter of the Gita relates to finding God, it is also called Brahm Vidya Shastra, which means the scripture containing the knowledge of God. This does not mean that simply by reading the Gita you can know God. It means that if you practice the teachings of the Gita, then you can know God.

Before delving into the actual teachings of the Gita, I will address a few more questions regarding its origins and antiquity. Like Ved, the Gita is eternal and is reproduced on the earth planet at regular intervals. When Shree Krishn told the Gita to Arjun 5,000 years ago, it was not the first time it was told. Shree Krishn tells the same Gita every time He descends on earth. The Gita is a part of the extensive and fully coordinated system of Sanskrit scriptures which form the basis of Sanatan Dharm, the eternal and universal religion for all the souls. The word 'sanatan' means eternal, and 'dharm' means those thoughts, words and actions which foster good qualities in a person, and ultimately take him to God. So if Sanatan Dharm is eternal, then it means the knowledge of Sanatan Dharm is eternal. That knowledge remains in the form of the Ved, Upnishad, Gita and other Hindu scriptures. Although these scriptures are produced here in a book form, but in their Divine form they reside eternally within God. 

The souls are eternal and have been seeking God since eternity, but they cannot know about God on their own, because God is beyond human intellect. The only way would be for God to make Himself known to the souls, and He does - through the Vedas, Gita and other Hindu scriptures which He produces on the earth planet. Thus, in the eternal cycle of creation and dissolution of the universe, the souls have been taking birth after birth since eternity, and in every birth, the knowledge of God has been available through these scriptures. 

All of these scriptures are reproduced at the end of every dwaparyug by descension of God called Ved Vyas. The latest reproduction was 5,000 years ago. In the next blog post, I will address the question of whether the conversation recorded by Ved Vyas in the Gita is a word for word transcript of the conversation between Krishn and Arjun, or if it was somehow expanded upon at a later date.

Swami Nikhilanand is a disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. He resides at Radha Madhav Dham, which is the main US ashram of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. He lectures throughout America, teachings classes for all ages on topics such as the Gita. This exciting series of articles on Bhagavad Gita by Swami Nikhilanand will be running for the next year, and will be a useful study aid for us to deepen our understanding of all the important topics in Bhagavad Gita.