๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ด๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ฎ ๐. ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ท๐๐ป๐ฎโ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ The great Sanskrit epic Mahabharata tells the story of a bitter rivalry between factions of a royal family, which according to tradition ruled the kingdom of Hastinapura over 5,000 years ago. After years of failed diplomacy and ongoing hostility, the two sides finally faced off on the famous plain of Kurukshetra, each supported by vast armies assembled from all over the Indian subcontinent. On the day of the great battle, the troops were spread as far as the eye could see, poised to begin what would become an eighteen-day ordeal, unprecedented in its carnage. As the armies were set to engage, an extraordinary event took place. One of the Mahabharataโs great heroes, Arjuna by name, asked his charioteer to drive him between the opposing forces so that he could survey the field and assess his troopsโ prospects. Arjuna was the greatest warrior of his time, famous for his bravery and unparalleled skill in archery, and honored for his dedication to upholding the principles of dharmaโrighteous behavior. As he stood in his chariot observing the armies, Arjuna became disheartened. He was a kshatriyaโa member of the caste that protected and administered societyโand so his duty lay in conquering his villainous enemy, whose immoral and unlawful conduct had undermined society for many years. But the opposition included many whom he held dear, particularly his teachers and an assortment of relatives. To kill them, regardless of which side they were on, seemed wrong and contrary to accepted conventions. His mind was clear, but his feelings were strong, and the thought of fighting against those he loved was breaking his heart. He expressed great sorrow to his charioteer and then threw down his bow, refusing to fight. He felt overwhelmed and his problem seemed insoluble. Arjunaโs charioteer, however, was none other than Lord Krishna, famed throughout Sanskrit literature for his enlightened vision. Lord Krishnaโs apparent role was to provide tactical advice while guiding Arjunaโs chariot, but more importantly he was to reveal the deepest principles of life and living to Arjuna, which he accomplished in the moments before battle. Their conversation is recorded as the 700 Sanskrit verses of the Bhagavad-Gita, often considered the soul of yoga philosophy. ๐๐ฒ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ Lord Krishnaโs teaching presents a comprehensive study of yoga philosophy, but according to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation program, its essence can be summarized in just two verses. (2)The first may appear a bit obscure, but it is an essential part of Lord Krishnaโs discourse: โฆ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด, ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข, ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง. (2.45) The three gunas are traditionally understood as the most basic forces in nature, responsible for everything; the whole universe is said to emerge from their interplay. Be without the three gunas, then, encourages Arjuna to go beyond the material universe to something even more fundamental. (2) But what is beyond matter? You might think that the mind, intellect, and emotions are beyond the three gunas, but even these are said to be within their influence. Apparently Lord Krishna refers to something even more fundamental, a transcendental reality that is beyond even space and time. Maharishi describes this as the โunmanifested reality of all that exists, lives, or is,โ (1) an infinite ocean of consciousness, pure wakefulness, pure existence, which creates and administers everything throughout the universe. And though this field of intelligence never changes, all changes and transformations take place within it. (1) Most commentators in recent centuries have felt that Lord Krishna was encouraging Arjuna to adjust his attitudeโthat to โbe without the three gunasโ means that he should distance himself from the events and people around him. In this way, his mind would not be bound to the material world and he could (supposedly) enter battle without remorse. But in Maharishiโs view, this interpretation is antithetical to the entire teaching of the Gita. Regardless of noble intentions and aspirations, changing oneโs attitude does not bring us beyond the three gunas, for a new mood, attitude, or philosophy is still very much under their sway. Instead, Maharishi writes, Lord Krishna was advising Arjuna to take his awareness to the infinite, pure consciousness, which can be located within each of usโthe transcendental reality that is, by definition, the one element of life beyond material forms and phenomena. (2) To experience this state, Maharishi emphasizes, one must have a technique to take the awareness deep inside to the source of thought. For this he taught the Transcendental Meditation practice, which allows the awareness to effortlessly and easily go beyond the field of thought and settle into this transcendental consciousness, the inner Self. This level of life is unavailable via attitude or predisposition. (2) ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ด๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป In the second verse under consideration, Lord Krishna continues his teaching: ๐๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข, ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข. (2.48) This verse has also generated a variety of interpretations. ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข-๐ด๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฉ (๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข) is often thought to mean something like ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข. As part of this understanding, one should behave in certain ways: One should abandon attachment to the material world and maintain a more balanced attitude toward success and failure (and by extension all of the pairs of opposites), and this will supposedly bring a more even state of mind. But in Maharishiโs view, yoga in this verse is not a practiceโit is not something you doโit is the experience of oneโs inner Self, the infinitely blissful, infinitely intelligent pure consciousness that is beyond the three gunas. It is the state of yoga to which this verse addresses itself, not the yoga practicesโLord Krishna is describing the goal, not the path. (3) This is not to say that the asanas(yoga postures) and pranayamas (yoga breathing exercises) are not yoga. They are part of the path of yoga, which includes those techniques and procedures that support the experience of the state of yoga, the inner experience of the Self. Maharishi further explains that over time, this inner state of yoga becomes increasingly a part of waking experienceโit becomes a constant feature of life, a state of enlightenment. That is what Lord Krishna means when he says established in yogaโhe is describing that state of consciousness in which the inner experience of yoga is never lost, even during oneโs normal active life. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ The value of becoming established in yoga is obviousโlife in happiness, with full creativity and intelligence. But there is an additional characteristic that explains why Krishna taught this to Arjuna in his moment of sorrow. The pure consciousness within is not only the source of our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and creativity, but it is also the most fundamental level of natureโs functioning. According to Maharishi, this non-changing, infinite intelligence is the home of all the laws of nature, the inviolable principles that structure and administer every level of life. When the birds migrate north, when the flowers bloom and the waves come crashing onto shore, they are acting in accord with laws of nature. And when we establish our awareness in yoga, we are enlivening our own connection to all the laws of nature, so that they begin to work for us to guide us in our thoughts and actions, and in our progress to enlightenment. (1) In Maharishiโs view, this is the essence of Krishnaโs instruction to Arjuna. Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to go deep within, experience the transcendental inner Self, and with his awareness established on that level then he would be able spontaneously act most appropriately. And then his decisions would be spontaneously more appropriate, more life-supporting, more evolutionary, and more successful. ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด: 1. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Science of Being and Art of Living, (New York, NY: Plume Publications, 2001. (Original work printed in 1963.) 2. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1967). Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Commentary, Chapters 1โ6. New York, NY: Penguin Group. 3. Sands, W.F. (2013). Maharishiโs Yoga: The Royal Path to Enlightenment. Fairfield, IA: MUM Press taken from Elephant - dedicated to the mindful life About William F. Sands William F. Sands is Dean of the College of Maharishi Vedic Science at Maharishi University of Management, in Fairfield, IA. He holds a PhD from Maharishi University of Management and a BS from Georgetown University. He is the author of two books on Maharishiโs philosophy: ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ช ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ด ๐๐ช๐ง๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ and ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ชโ๐ด ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐บ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฏ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 17:41:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015