The Bhagavad Gita

by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

Also recommended is Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or The evening redness in the west (Picador, London, 1990). This novel has resonances with the Bhagavad Gita on many levels. It is set in a time of violence, uncertainty and rapid change, against which is expounded a philosophy of detachment in action.

Reading

There is a prayer in the Vedas which for over 3,000 years has been every morning on the lips of millions of Indians. It is the famous GAYATRI: TAT SAVITUR VARENIAM BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT

Prayer

‘Let our meditation be on the glorious light of Savitri. May this light illumine our minds.’ The poet of the Vedas who chanted these words saw into the future: the mind of India has never tired in the search for Light.

Prayer

From nature outside in the Vedas, man goes in the Upanishads into his own inner nature; and from the many he goes to the ONE. We find in the Upanishads the great questions of man, and their answer is summed up in two words: BRAHMAN and ATMAN. They are two names for one Truth, and the two are One and the same. The Truth of the Universe is BRAHMAN: our own inner Truth is ATMAN. The sacred OM is a name for both Brahman and Atman. This can be divided into three sounds, but the three roll into one: AUM. One of the meanings

Meaning

of OM is YES. Brahman, Atman, OM, is the positive Truth, the Yes, of all.

Meaning

OM. The eternal Word is all: what was, what is, and what shall be, and what beyond is in eternity. All is OM. Brahman is all and Atman is Brahman. Atman, the Self, has four conditions. The first condition is the waking life of outward-moving consciousness, enjoying the seven outer gross elements. The second condition is the dreaming life of inner-moving consciousness, enjoying the seven subtle inner elements in its own light and solitude. The third condition is the sleeping life of silent consciousness when a person has no desires and beholds no dreams. The fourth condition is Atman in His own pure state: the awakened life of supreme consciousness. It is neither outer nor inner consciousness, neither semi-consciousness nor sleeping consciousness, neither mere consciousness nor unconsciousness. He is Atman, the Spirit Himself, that cannot be seen or touched, that is above all distinctions, beyond thought and ineffable.

In the union with Him is the supreme proof of His reality. He is peace and love.

Om

Blessedness is not the reward of virtue: it is virtue itself. We do not find joy in virtue because we control our lusts: but, contrariwise, because we find joy in virtue we are able to control our lusts.’

Spinoza