In Appreciation Of An Ancient Guide Book
Edwin Arnold translated the Bhagwad Gita as "The Song Celestial' in English. Technically, Gita is part of the last major Sanskrit epic, The Mahabharata, written by Maharishi Veda Vyas. For the devout believer, the Gita is the word of God, teachings of Krishna imparted to Arjuna when he lost his nerve on.the battlefield at Kurukshetra when he found himself facing his own kin. The Gita has come to be seen as a guide book worldwide, to analyse the conflicts in the human mind, social behaviour and philosophical nuances. The father of the atomic bomb Oppenheimer, at the time of the first atomictest in the Nevada desert quoted Krishnafrom the Gita after seeing the nuclear mushroom cloud rise up. "Kalama Lokkshyakrit Praviraddha" -I have become death. was a lecture. For the cognoscenti it is a treasure house of pearls of wisdom, for believers it is an article of faith, for the learned it is the ultimate in learning. But for sceptics it is just religious mumbo-jumbo from the past, irrelevant to the modern world. Whether the Gita is a religious scripture and should be taught in schools is a question which can be clearly and categorically answered by simply quoting some shlokas from the Gita itself. It is clear that in different chapters the Gita defines, explains and expounds different forms of yoga’s, tapasya and yajnas, their practice, importance and effects. Above all, in the end, Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in his virat swaroopcelestial form-and directs him to leave Sharman vraj." You should renounce (or discard) all other religions (dharmas) and seek refuge only in me. In the concluding verse there is explicit prohibition from passing on the arcane teachings of Gita to four types of persons: atapaskaya, those who lack tapasya; abhaktaya, those who lack devotion; ashushruva, those who are not interested and abhyasuyati, those who find fault with it. Therefore, any move to make the Gita a compulsory inclusion in school curriculum will expose it to some hostile and undeserving elements. Ihad a very sad experience with such experiments a few decades ago in Los Angeles. Thebhaktas and followers of the Hare Krishna Hare Rama bound in a very attractive cover. Tthey started distributing the copiamong the Mexicans of downtowareas in Los Angeles. In the back alleys of Pershing Square I came across sidewalks liwith shining brand new unread cof the Srimad Bhagwad Gita. Norbelievers did not care for the sancthe scripture. As Jesus has said irBible, "Do not throw your pearls bswine lest they trample upon therIt will bein the best interest ofsecular democracy to keep religicseparate from day-to-day educatiwhether in science, humanities ovocational studies. Ralph W Emecalled the Gita "the voice of an oleintelligence which in another age climate had pondered and thus diof the same questions which exerus". Today also the new intelligerwill listen to the old, for the rest,
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Vijay Krishna Misra views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Vijay Krishna Misra and Speaking Tree,Times of India
In Appreciation Of An Ancient Guide Book
Edwin Arnold translated the Bhagwad Gita as "The Song Celestial' in English. Technically, Gita is part of the last major Sanskrit epic, The Mahabharata, written by Maharishi Veda Vyas. For the devout believer, the Gita is the word of God, teachings of Krishna imparted to Arjuna when he lost his nerve on.the battlefield at Kurukshetra when he found himself facing his own kin. The Gita has come to be seen as a guide book worldwide, to analyse the conflicts in the human mind, social behaviour and philosophical nuances. The father of the atomic bomb Oppenheimer, at the time of the first atomictest in the Nevada desert quoted Krishnafrom the Gita after seeing the nuclear mushroom cloud rise up. "Kalama Lokkshyakrit Praviraddha" -I have become death. was a lecture. For the cognoscenti it is a treasure house of pearls of wisdom, for believers it is an article of faith, for the learned it is the ultimate in learning. But for sceptics it is just religious mumbo-jumbo from the past, irrelevant to the modern world. Whether the Gita is a religious scripture and should be taught in schools is a question which can be clearly and categorically answered by simply quoting some shlokas from the Gita itself. It is clear that in different chapters the Gita defines, explains and expounds different forms of yoga’s, tapasya and yajnas, their practice, importance and effects. Above all, in the end, Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in his virat swaroopcelestial form-and directs him to leave Sharman vraj." You should renounce (or discard) all other religions (dharmas) and seek refuge only in me. In the concluding verse there is explicit prohibition from passing on the arcane teachings of Gita to four types of persons: atapaskaya, those who lack tapasya; abhaktaya, those who lack devotion; ashushruva, those who are not interested and abhyasuyati, those who find fault with it. Therefore, any move to make the Gita a compulsory inclusion in school curriculum will expose it to some hostile and undeserving elements. Ihad a very sad experience with such experiments a few decades ago in Los Angeles. Thebhaktas and followers of the Hare Krishna Hare Rama bound in a very attractive cover. Tthey started distributing the copiamong the Mexicans of downtowareas in Los Angeles. In the back alleys of Pershing Square I came across sidewalks liwith shining brand new unread cof the Srimad Bhagwad Gita. Norbelievers did not care for the sancthe scripture. As Jesus has said irBible, "Do not throw your pearls bswine lest they trample upon therIt will bein the best interest ofsecular democracy to keep religicseparate from day-to-day educatiwhether in science, humanities ovocational studies. Ralph W Emecalled the Gita "the voice of an oleintelligence which in another age climate had pondered and thus diof the same questions which exerus". Today also the new intelligerwill listen to the old, for the rest,
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Vijay Krishna Misra views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Vijay Krishna Misra and Speaking Tree,Times of India