The Bhagavadgita -S. Radhakrishnan
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CHAPTER 1
The Hesitation and Despondency of Arjuna
ity srimad bhagavadgitasu panisatsu In the Upanisad of the Bhagavadgita, the science of the Absolute, the scripture of Yoga and the dialogue between rikrsna and Arjuna, this is the first chapter entitled The Depression of Arjuna.[1] brahmavidya: the science of the Absolute. What is reality? Is this perpetual procession of events all or is there anything else which is not superseded? What is it that is capable of this manifold manifestation? What compels or impels this exuberant play of infinite possibilities? Have they a aim, any meaning? To help us to understand the nature of reality is the purpose of brahmavidya. Logical investigation is an aid to the attainment of spiritual wisdom. S., in his Aparoksanubhuti, observes that, without inquiry, wisdom cannot be attained by any other means, even as things of the world cannot be seen without light. [2] yoga-sastra: the scripture of yoga. There are many who regard philosophy as irrelevant to life. It is said that philosophy deals with the changeless universe of reality and life with the transitory world of process. This view received plausibility from the fact that, in the West, philosophic speculation originated in the city states of ancient Greece, where there were two classes of a wealthy and leisured aristocracy indulging in the luxury of philosophic speculation and a large slave population devoid of the pursuit of the fine and practical arts. Marx's criticism, that philosophers interpret the world while the real task is to change it, does not apply to the author of the Gita, who gives us not only a philosophical interpretation, brahmavidya, but also a practical programme, yogasastra. Our world is not a spectacle to contemplate; it is a field of battle. Only for the Gita improvement in the individual nature is the way to social betterment. krsnarjunasamvada: the dialogue between Krsna and Arjuna. The author of the Gita gives dramatic expression to the felt presence of God in man.When Arjuna is tempted to abstain Iron! his proper duty, the Logos in him, his own authentic inspiration, reveals the ordained path, when he is able to set aside the subtle whisperings of his lower self. The innermost core of his soul is also the divine centre of the whole universe. Arjuna`s deepest self is Krsna.[3]
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References and Context
- ↑ This is the usual colophon which is not a part of the text. There are slight variations in the titles of the chapters in the different versions, but they are not worth recording.
- ↑ notpadyate viva jnanam vicarena'nyasadhanaahyatha padarthabhanatn hi prakesena vina kvacit.
- ↑ Cp. Tauler: "The soul in this profundity has a likeness and me able nearness to God.... In this deepest, most inner and most secret depth of the soul, God essentially, really and substantially exists.