M.P. Bhattathiri
Retired Chief Technical Examiner
Govt. of Kerala
India
Abstract
Introduction
Management guidelines
from the Bhagavad Gita
Old truths in a new
context
The source of the
problem
Utilisation of
available resources
Work commitment
Motivation ? self
and self-transcendence
Work culture
Work results
Manager's mental
health
Management needs
those who practice what they preach
In
conclusion
A note on the word
"yoga".
AbstractOne of the greatest contributions of India to the world is
Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first revelations from God.
The management lessons in this holy book were brought in to light of the
world by divine Maharshi Mahesh Yogi , Sri Sri RaviShankar and Swami
Bodhanandji, and the spiritual philosophy by the great Adi Sankaracharya
the greatest philosopher of India and proud son of Kerala, and Sri.
Srila Prabhupada Swami and humanism by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Satya
Sai Baba. Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature
and a complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is
needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level."
Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs
and aspirations of everyone. Swami Chinmayanandaji preached and educated the
people and Swami Sandeep Chaitanyaji continuing the mission by keeping
this lantern burning always knowing the wishes of the modern
generations. Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives
with whom he has to fight.( Mental health has become a major international public
health concern now). To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached in the
battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his
duty while multitudes of men stood by waiting. It has got all the management
tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome any crisis
situation. The Bhagavad Gita can be experienced as a powerful catalyst
for transformation. Bhagavad gita means song of the Spirit, song of
the Lord. The Holy Gita has become a secret driving force behind the unfoldment
of one's life. In the days of doubt this divine book will support all
spiritual searches. This divine book will contribute to self reflection,
finer feeling and deepen one's inner process. Then life in the world can
become a real education?dynamic, full and joyful?no matter what the
circumstance. May the wisdom of loving consciousness ever guide us on our
journey? What makes the Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation is that it
offers us the tools to connect with our deepest intangible essence and we
must learn to participate in the battle of life with right knowledge? |
Mind is very restless,
forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more difficult to control the mind than
to control the wind ~ Arjuna to Sri Krishna
In
this modern world the art of Management has become a part and parcel of
everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all
organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose
irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, management principles come into
play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities,
policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out
activities in any field of human effort.
Its task is to make people
capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant, says the
Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates harmony in working together -
equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and achievements, plans and
performance, products and markets. It resolves situations of scarcity, be they
in the physical, technical or human fields, through maximum utilization with
the minimum available processes to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes
disorder, confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even depression. Managing
men, money and materials in the best possible way, according to circumstances
and environment, is the most important and essential factor for a successful
management.
There is an important
distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in managing.
The general principles of
effective management can be applied in every field, the differences being more
in application than in principle. The Manager's functions can be summed up as:
Thus, management is a process
of aligning people and getting them committed to work for a common goal to the
maximum social benefit - in search of excellence.
The critical question in all
managers' minds is how to be effective in their job. The answer to this
fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Gita, which repeatedly
proclaims that "you must try to manage yourself." The reason is that
unless a manager reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or she
will be merely a face in the crowd.
The Bhagavad Gita,
written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques
leading us towards a harmonious and blissful state of affairs in place of the
conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of motivation and so on, common
in most of Indian enterprises today ? and probably in enterprises in many other
countries.
The modern (Western)
management concepts of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work,
achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision making and planning, are all
discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. There is one major difference. While Western
management thought too often deals with problems at material, external and
peripheral levels, the Bhagavad Gita tackles the issues from the grass
roots level of human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it
will automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results.
The management philosophy
emanating from the West is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial
thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the means adopted to achieve
that goal. This phenomenon has its source in the abundant wealth of the West
and so 'management by materialism' has caught the fancy of all the countries
the world over, India being no exception to this trend. My country, India, has
been in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly because of its centuries
old indoctrination by colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling
that anything Western is good and anything Indian, is inferior.
The result is that, while
huge funds have been invested in building temples of modem management
education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement of the general
quality of life - although the standards of living of a few has gone up. The
same old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy, criminalization of
institutions, social violence, exploitation and other vices are seen deep in
the body politic.
The reasons for this sorry
state of affairs are not far to seek. The Western idea of management centers on
making the worker (and the manager) more efficient and more productive.
Companies offer workers more to work more, produce more, sell more and to stick
to the organization without looking for alternatives. The sole aim of
extracting better and more work from the worker is to improve the bottom-line
of the enterprise. The worker has become a hirable commodity, which can be
used, replaced and discarded at will.
Thus, workers have been
reduced to the state of a mercantile product. In such a state, it should come
as no surprise to us that workers start using strikes (gheraos) sit-ins,
(dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule etc. to get maximum benefit for
themselves from the organisations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach a
situation in which management and workers become separate and contradictory
entities with conflicting interests. There is no common goal or understanding.
This, predictably, leads to suspicion, friction, disillusion and mistrust, with
managers and workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values and erosion
of human touch in the organizational structure has resulted in a crisis of
confidence.
Western management philosophy
may have created prosperity ? for some people some of the time at least - but
it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment of individual life and social
welfare. It has remained by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty
for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for many.
Hence, there is an urgent
need to re-examine prevailing management disciplines - their objectives, scope
and content. Management should be redefined to underline the development of the
worker as a person, as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this
changed perspective, management can become an instrument in the process of
social, and indeed national, development.
Now let us re-examine some of
the modern management concepts in the light of the Bhagavad Gita which
is a primer of management-by-values.
The first lesson of
management science is to choose wisely and utilize scarce resources optimally.
During the curtain raiser before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri
Krishna's large army for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom
for his support. This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective
manager - the former chose numbers, the latter, wisdom.
A popular verse of the Gita
advises "detachment" from the fruits or results of actions performed
in the course of one's duty. Being dedicated work has to mean "working for
the sake of work, generating excellence for its own sake." If we are
always calculating the date of promotion or the rate of commission before
putting in our efforts, then such work is not detached. It is not
"generating excellence for its own sake" but working only for the
extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result.
Working only with an eye to
the anticipated benefits, means that the quality of performance of the current
job or duty suffers - through mental agitation of anxiety for the future. In
fact, the way the world works means that events do not always respond
positively to our calculations and hence expected fruits may not always be
forthcoming. So, the Gita tells us not to mortgage present commitment to
an uncertain future.
Some people might argue that
not seeking the business result of work and actions, makes one unaccountable.
In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of advice on the theory of cause and
effect, making the doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds. While
advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains in discharging one's
accepted duty, the Gita does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising
from discharge of his or her responsibilities.
Thus the best means of
effective performance management is the work itself. Attaining this state of
mind (called "nishkama karma") is the right attitude to work because
it prevents the ego, the mind, from dissipation of attention through
speculation on future gains or losses.
It has been presumed for many
years that satisfying lower order needs of workers - adequate food, clothing
and shelter, etc. are key factors in motivation. However, it is a common
experience that the dissatisfaction of the clerk and of the Director is
identical - only their scales and composition vary. It should be true that once
the lower-order needs are more than satisfied, the Director should have little
problem in optimizing his contribution to the organization and society. But
more often than not, it does not happen like that. ("The eagle soars
high but keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the dead animal below.") On
the contrary, a lowly paid schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may well
demonstrate higher levels of self-actualization despite poorer satisfaction of
their lower-order needs.
This situation is explained
by the theory of self-transcendence propounded in the Gita.
Self-transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting others before oneself,
emphasizing team work, dignity, co-operation, harmony and trust ? and, indeed
potentially sacrificing lower needs for higher goals, the opposite of Maslow.
"Work must be done
with detachment." It is the ego that spoils work and the ego is the
centerpiece of most theories of motivation. We need not merely a theory of
motivation but a theory of inspiration.
The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath
Tagore (1861-1941, known as "Gurudev") says working for love is
freedom in action. A concept which is described as "disinterested
work" in the Gita where Sri Krishna says,
"He who shares the
wealth generated only after serving the people, through work done as a
sacrifice for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary those who earn
wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to frustration and
failure."
Disinterested work finds
expression in devotion, surrender and equipoise. The former two are
psychological while the third is determination to keep the mind free of the
dualistic (usually taken to mean "materialistic") pulls of daily
experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to mental equanimity or
the state of "nirdwanda." This attitude leads to a stage where
the worker begins to feel the presence of the Supreme Intelligence guiding the
embodied individual intelligence. Such de-personified intelligence is best
suited for those who sincerely believe in the supremacy of organizational goals
as compared to narrow personal success and achievement.
An effective work culture is
about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri
Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture ? "daivi sampat"
or divine work culture and "asuri sampat" or demonic work
culture.
Mere work ethic is not
enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed
is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the
counsel, "yogah karmasu kausalam" should be understood. "Kausalam"
means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work
ethic. " Yogah" is defined in the Gita itself as "samatvam
yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.)
Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
1856-1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as "Lokmanya,"
probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a
description of the meanings of the word "Yoga", see foot of this
page.)
By making the equable mind
the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of
work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain
an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill
necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of maintaining an evenness
of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure
will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong
so that corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our
attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita's
prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle
leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the very root of work ethic.
To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement
of excellence ? and indeed to the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus,
while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage
or extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic
rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction.
The Gita further
explains the theory of "detachment" from the extrinsic rewards of
work in saying:
The former attitude mollifies
arrogance and conceit while the latter prevents excessive despondency,
de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these dispositions safeguard the doer
against psychological vulnerability, the cause of the modem managers'
companions of diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers.
Assimilation of the ideas of
the Gita leads us to the wider spectrum of "lokasamgraha"
(general welfare) but there is also another dimension to the work ethic - if
the "karmayoga" (service) is blended with "bhaktiyoga"
(devotion), then the work itself becomes worship, a "sevayoga"
(service for its own sake.)
Along with bhakti yoga
as a means of liberation, the Gita espouses the doctrine of nishkamya karma
or pure action untainted by hankering after the fruits resulting from that
action. Modern scientists have now understood the intuitive wisdom of that
action in a new light.
Scientists at the US National
Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, found that laboratory monkeys that
started out as procrastinators, became efficient workers after they received
brain injections that suppressed a gene linked to their ability to anticipate a
reward. The scientists reported that the work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't
all that different from that of many people: "If the reward is not
immediate, you procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA Times.
(This may sound a peculiarly
religious idea but it has a wider application. It could be taken to mean doing
something because it is worthwhile, to serve others, to make the world a better
place ? ed.)
Sound
mental health is the very goal of any human activity - more so management. Sound
mental health is that state of mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise,
or regain it when unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries of work
life and social existence. Internal constancy and peace are the pre-requisites
for a healthy stress-free mind.
Some of the impediments to
sound mental health are:
The driving forces in today's
businesses are speed and competition. There is a distinct danger that these
forces cause erosion of the moral fiber, that in seeking the end, one permits
oneself immoral means - tax evasion, illegitimate financial holdings, being
"economical with the truth", deliberate oversight in the audit,
too-clever financial reporting and so on. This phenomenon may be called as
"yayati syndrome".
In the book, the Mahabharata,
we come across a king by the name of Yayati who, in order to revel in the
endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with the youth of his obliging
youngest son for a thousand years. However, he found the pursuit of sensual
enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back to his son pleading him to
take back his youth. This "yayati syndrome" shows the conflict
between externally directed acquisitions (extrinsic motivation) and inner value
and conscience (intrinsic motivation.)
"Whatever the excellent
and best ones do, the commoners follow," says Sri Krishna in the Gita.
The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively
dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and
strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to
help others. "I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire
and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed
to righteousness," says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.
The despondency of Arjuna in
the first chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer
power of his inspiring words, changes Arjuna's mind from a state of inertia to
one of righteous action, from the state of what the French philosophers call
"anomie" or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in the
ultimate victory of "dharma" (ethical action.)
When Arjuna got over his
despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna reminded him of the purpose
of his new-found spirit of intense action - not for his own benefit, not for
satisfying his own greed and desire, but for the good of many, with faith in
the ultimate victory of ethics over unethical actions and of truth over
untruth.
Sri Krishna's advice with
regard to temporary failures is, "No doer of good ever ends in
misery." Every action should produce results. Good action produces good
results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore, always act well and be
rewarded.
My purport is not to suggest
discarding of the Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for
excellence but to tune these ideals to India's holistic attitude of " lokasangraha" - for the welfare of many, for the good of
many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life. What we do in
business is no different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives.
The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their own sake, is
ultimately self-defeating. ("Profit," said Matsushita-san in another
tradition, "is the reward of correct behavior." ? ed.)
Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a
technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any
two or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of stability and
peace and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad
Gita uses the word with both meanings.
M.P.Bhattathiri.
Let us go through what
scholars say about Holy Gita.
"No work in all Indian
literature is more quoted, because none is better loved, in the West, than the
Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work demands not only knowledge of
Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the
poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things. . . . The Swami does a
real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh
meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor
that has lead to this illuminating work."
Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University
of Southern California
"The Gita can be seen as
the main literary support for the great religious civilization of India, the
oldest surviving culture in the world. The present translation and commentary
is another manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita."
Thomas Merton, Theologian
"I am most impressed
with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's scholarly and authoritative edition
of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the scholar as well as the
layman and is of great utility as a reference book as well as a textbook. I
promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a beautifully done
book."
Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University
"As a successor in
direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled,
according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the
Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation
according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition."
Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University, Paris
"I have had the
opportunity of examining several volumes published by the Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality and of great value for use
in college classes on Indian religions. This is particularly true of the BBT
edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita."
Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University
"If truth is what works,
as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita
As It Is, since those who follow its teachings display a joyous serenity
usually missing in the bleak and strident lives of contemporary people."
Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State University of New York,
Buffalo
"There is little
question that this edition is one of the best books available on the Gita and
devotion. Prabhupada's translation is an ideal blend of literal accuracy and
religious insight."
Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College
"The Bhagavad-gita, one
of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a common part of our cultural
milieu. This is probably less because it is alien per se than because we have
lacked just the kind of close interpretative commentary upon it that Swami
Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar's
but a practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong devotee's point of view."
Denise Levertov, Poet
"The increasing numbers
of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a
service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation
of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding
manyfold."
Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization
University of Chicago
"The scholarly world is
again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita
has been translated many times, Prabhupada adds a translation of singular
importance with his commentary."
Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director of
Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
"Srila Prabhupada's
edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where many hope to become
familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the commercial East-West
hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans first penetrated India.
"Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading
of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will
be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal
India."
Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political
Studies, Paris, France
"It was as if an empire
spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the
voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and
thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us"
Emerson's reaction to the Gita
"As a native of India
now living in the West, it has given me much grief to see so many of my fellow
countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and spiritual leaders. For
this reason, I am very excited to see the publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is
by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible
cheating of false and unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and will give an
opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental
culture."
Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental Studies,
The University of
"The Gita is one of the clearest
and most comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic spiritual
statements of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done"
__________________________________________Aldous Huxley
"It is a deeply felt,
powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work. I don't know whether to
praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its daring method of
explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other
work on the Gita with such an important voice and style. . . . It will occupy a
significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long
time to come."
Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University
"I can say that in the
Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and answers to questions I had
always posed regarding the interpretations of this sacred work, whose spiritual
discipline I greatly admire. If the aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which
form the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is were more widespread and more
respected, the world in which we live would be transformed into a better, more
fraternal place."
Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of Paris
"When I read the
Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else
seems so superfluous."
Albert Einstein
"When doubts haunt me,
when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the
horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I
immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who
meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every
day."
Mahatma Gandhi
"In the morning I bathe
my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita,
in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and
trivial."
Henry David Thoreau
"The Bhagavad-Gita has a
profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is
manifested by actions."
Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"The Bhagavad-Gita is a
true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a
new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Sri Aurobindo
"The idea that man is
like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link
with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states
'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be
discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita."
Carl Jung
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals
essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of
action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the
spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."
Prime Minister Nehru
"The marvel of the
Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables
philosophy to blossom into religion."
Herman Hesse
"I owed a magnificent
day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire
spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the
voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and
thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"In order to approach a
creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is
necessary to attune our soul to it."
Rudolph Steiner
"From a clear knowledge of
the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled.
Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic
scriptures."
Adi Shankara
"The Bhagavad-Gita is
the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to
mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial
philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India
but to all of humanity."
Aldous Huxley
"The Bhagavad-Gita was
spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the
essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose
for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and
negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet
simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach
of all humanity."
Ramanuja
The Bhagavad-Gita is not
seperate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals
the true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the soul. On perusal
of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to
engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly
understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On
studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also
of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the
Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see
that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of
religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord.
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
"The Mahabharata has all
the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that
within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is
the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers."
Madhvacarya
Yoga has two different
meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is
the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning
is "a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead
to that state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord
Krishna is real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any
crisis."
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.
Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are
but three paths to this end. And common to all the three is renunciation.
Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for every desire related with
body and mind creates bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the
humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to
realize the indwelling Self itself.
Swami Vivekananda (England, London; 1895-96)
"Science describes the
structures and processess; philosophy attempts at their explaination.----- When
such a perfect combination of both science and philosophy is sung to perfection
that Krishna was, we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the head annd
heart.
" ____________Swamy Chinmayanand on Gita
I seek that Divine Knowledge
by knowing which nothing remains to be known!' For such a person knowledge and ignorance
has only one meaning: Have you knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not,
you are ignorant.As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self,
observing everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is
declared to be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is
ignorance."
Sri Ramakrishna
Maharishi calls the
Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical
life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to
the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths
of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
The Gita was preached as a
preparatory lesson for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My
last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to thoroughly
understand this ancient science of worldly life as early as possible in one's
life.
--- Lokmanya Tilak
I believe that in all the
living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and
yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-violence, compassion,
obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight
against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my knowledge, there is no book in the
whole range of the world's literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which
is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind.
--- M. M. Malaviya
Let us go through
what scholars say about ancient
"India was the
mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. She was the
mother of our philosophy, mother through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics,
mother through Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity, mother through
village communities of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many
ways the mother of us all."
- Will Durant
"If there is one place
on the face of this Earth "where all the dreams of living men have found a
home "from the very earliest days when Man began the dream
of"existence, it is India."
- Romain Rolland - French
Philosopher 1886-1944
It is opposed to
their (Hindus) foreign origin, that neither in the Code (of Manu) nor, I
believe, in the Vedas, nor in any book that is certainly older than the code,
is there any allusion to a prior residence or to a knowledge of more than the
name of any country out of India. Even mythology goes no further than the
Himalayan chain, in which is fixed the habitation of the gods... .To say that
it spread from a central point is an unwarranted assumption, and even to
analogy; for, emigration and civilization have not spread in a circle, but from
east to west. Where, also, could the central point be, from which a language
could spread over India, Greece, and Italy and yet leave Chaldea, Syria and
Arabia untouched? There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever
inhabited any country but their present one, and as little for denying that
they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or tradition.
- 1841 M.S.
Elphinstone, the first governor of the Bombay Presidency
REF.bbt.org, kamakoti.org, amritapuri.org,
mahrshi.com, sai.org,chinmaya.org ,
vivekanada.org,neovedanta/gospel.com,
spirituality.indiatimes.com,
bhavan's journal.