What to Integrate?

 

Teachings of Veda and Epics are from age old traditions. After the Epic Age we have passed on a span of thousands of years. Are such age old teachings becoming irrelevant day by day? Is the discussion on such teachings becoming useless in present day context?

If we start searching proper answer to these questions then we have to rely on the fact of the exact relationship with which the time and philosophy move on.

Actually Philosophy and Religion never take the support of the confluence of time. Time can even repeat itself through predetermined actions. Philosophy never intends to influence the normal cycle of the confluence of time. Therefore, both of these aspects of our daily life are independent of each other and reflect themselves independently.

What happened in Epic Age and the way Lord Rama handled the situation during that time had a deeper impact in the society during that time. It has exhibited the value system with which a State and a family can define their role in society. Those values are still relevant. Advent of any change in the material world has no power of influencing the fundamental value system with which a community leader should work.

There are millions of books and narratives with some noble initiative available for explaining and elaborating the propositions of teachings of Gita. Gita is relevant for both learners and teachers. It has something to say even to a layman having less knowledge about the mysteries hidden amidst the conversations displayed in the holy book of Gita.

                The term Gita directly links our thinking with the conversation that took place in between Arjuna, a Warrior from the side of Pandavas, and his friendly guide Krishna. It was going on amidst a critical situation in which Arjuna lost his power of finalising something justifiable to have a sanction of war and killings. A series of killing of such type in which his beloved ones were at a threshold was not acceptable to the warrior. Krishna took the role of his charioteer to normalise the situation and to let Arjuna understand his own status in a better way. The agitation, as described in the holy book of Mahabharata, was against the stand of his own family members having intention of grabbing all the resources by taking advantage of some conspired game-fares. The game-fare of such type with in infliction of opportunistic ideals was moved on differently and both the segments of a single family took a stand against each other.

                Lord Krishna defined his stand by putting himself in the side of Pandavas with a sheer commitment of not to use his weapon at any instances. It was his stand that made him free from direct indulgence of the warfare and made it possible to guard Pandavas through delivering timely relevant instruction. In this way he has secured his position similar to that of the brain in our body. Conversation of Krishna and Arjuna amidst the battle field was also an act of holy instructions duly issued for Arjuna to signify his timely need. It had linked senses with duties, established correlation between rights and duties, issued bands of things to be done and things not to be done, entangled a spirit with its higher source, conferred the juxtaposition of creation and the creator and finally re-established need of knowing the self.

Madbhagvad-Gita, as the complete term coined for the holy book, had also defined the role of divine power in infusing values within the intellect and senses of a fellow devotee. It has also established a perfect correlation between knowledge and devotion. None of the paired combination alone can succeed in bringing fame. 

Through all the eighteen chapters of the holy book, Godly propositions were incorporated by saints and philosophers who have created it for commons. It has a perpetual compilation of various combinations of practical aspects of Yoga and Meditation. It has also narrated the true nature of Knowledge that often receive a confluence more confluous than that of a stream. Attainment of such knowledge is a subject of individual apprehension and resides solely on the purity of mind.

Our discussion up to this point has made a point clear about the nature and proposition of knowledge confluence remaining evident amongst us since centuries with a clear impetus of facilitating its follower for gaining an ascent through divinity and perfectness. There exist narratives in different forms and in different languages meant primarily to make people aware of the eternal philosophical aspects related to teachings of Gita.

 Another effort of making Gita simple, easy to understand, more confluous to attend aspirations of people, more perpetuated to incorporate aspirations of millions and more conferred to actualise role of senses. Efforts may be of varying kinds to satisfy aspirations of people in different ways out. It may have some more relevant narratives that can efficiently link up the need of fundamental values reflected by Gita at different instances.

Effort is also made to curtail unwanted explanations for maintaining the flow of the vibration of thought process intact. Discussion on any philosophical aspects should not go in a hurry and also it should not be too slow. It should have adequate stress of combined segments of knowledge and information to keep things enlightened and actualised.

It will be even more perfectly balanced to contingent human efforts of ascent towards the state of the unification of conscious mind with that of masterly guide. Effort is also made to encompass the segregation of individual differences from the common philosophical knowledge to make it more people friendly and more relevant, as well as time tested one.

Gita, in its actual sense, stands for some sort of compilation that people can sing. It can be discussed with some beautiful rhythmic tunes. Collective recitation of Gita brings out a collective wave in the form of auditory vibrations for the purpose of cleansing the immediate surroundings. It also conferred essence of collective and community level worship for making the entire effort possible and for keeping the converged senses of cooperation and brotherhood alive.

                To a compilation of prayers and songs meant for the supreme lord the World Poet coined a term “Gitanjali” for it. To align the practical aspects of life and mission of an individual with the specified spiritual destiny, Saint Vinoba coined the term “Katha Gita (Gita through a series of stories)” and incorporated all the teachings and narratives of Gita in absolutely friendly way. Examples are in plenty. It had not diffused the glory of the original compilation of Gita, also had not conferred replacing the original poetic compilation with millions of narratives. Waves of vibrations that the chanting of Gita creates is based on the assimilation of collective vibrations of saintly senses that makes a way out through the surrounding of the place of worship and gives birth to an essence of keeping the collective vibrations of cooperation, brotherhood, divine omnipresence and interlinkages of senses alive.

                We, in the same manner, can successfully create hundreds and thousands of such narratives duly inflicted with fundamental human values to make the spark of Gita a confluous one, a vibrant one and a strategic one. It has enormous power of accommodations for incorporating all sorts of socially and culturally relevant directives within the scope of its teaching related to individual refinement impregnated with spiritual ascent. It also makes the relationship of creator and the creation a vibrant one. We can specify any of the particular effort as an initiative inflicted with divine power meant for accomplishing certain works. All such Gita, duly compiled by saintly people, are not with us. In due course of time we have lost many of such beautiful, relevant and time tested compilations due to various reasons. Our mind kept on imbibing presence of such powers tradition by tradition through many of our rituals. Those graceful efforts played a significant role in keeping waves of community worship alive.

 

Gita was interpreted differently by different saints since olden times. Still we have a lot to explore from it in the true sense. The teachings and discourses duly incorporated by Saint Veda Vyasa reflect the teachings of Upanishads put together. Saint Vyasa wanted to incorporate all the fundamental value system and yoga based life in a compact compilation to provide people an ease of access to the divine knowledge.

If we correlate different scriptures and Epics side by side then the value system duly reflected through all the propositions of saints will reflect each other’s presence in common. We can better understand this aspect by taking an example of idol making. We use clay for shaping it differently to reflect our imagination and art, similarly the case is there with Philosophy of Yoga. We can correlate Yoga with all aspects of our life. In that sense we can even say that, “All Life is Yoga.”

This extended philosophy and belief cannot cripple our mind and intellect. We can even, for an example, consider the life of a beggar as a manifestation on the basis of Yoga. The beggar prepares the mind for begging something from any individual. In failing to get anything the fellow beggar prefers to move on further to gain a living. Ultimately the fellow beggar surrenders himself/herself at the disposal of the almighty. Time cannot permit us to move as per our own wishes and willingness, but philosophy can do so. We can even align to certain principles and propositions to express our wishes and willingness to move through such doctrines.

People maintain faith on certain principles and rituals in which they feel themselves properly secured. Such security feelings will give birth to a communion having identical wishes and willingness. They even come across certain rituals to accomplish the jointly with an affinity of exhibiting a community feelings.