Our Guruji, Santoshji, told us we would first learn the Dhyana Shlokas by Madhusudana Saraswati before starting the Bhagavad Gita text. These nine verses, in praise of the Gita, are traditionally recited by the teacher and student together.
I learned that the purpose of starting with these verses is to prepare the mind and intellect to receive the philosophy of the Gita. We are often caught up in desires, anxieties, goals, joys, and sorrows. To truly appreciate and absorb the Bhagavad Gita, the subtle intellect must be engaged, and the mind must be calm.
On the first Sunday of our course, we recited the first of these shlokas.
ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं
व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारते
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं
अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम्
Oṃ Pārthāya pratibodhitāṃ Bhagavatā Nārāyaṇena svayaṃ
Vyāsena grathitāṃ purāṇamuninā madhye Mahābhārate
advaitāmṛtavarṣiṇīṃ bhagavatīmaṣṭādaśādhyāyinīṃ
amba tvāmanusandadhāmi Bhagavadgīte bhavadveṣiṇīm
Swami Parthasarathy’s interpretation is on page 2487 of The Complete Works.
Here is a rough translation, as I don't want to use the exact text from the books published by the Vedanta Academy, out of respect for their Intellectual Property.
Taught to Arjuna by Lord Narayana Himself,
And composed by the ancient sage Vyasa,
Set in the midst of the Mahabharata,
O divine scripture of eighteen chapters,
Bestower of the nectar of non-dual wisdom,
O mother, I meditate upon you,
Who destroys the darkness of entanglement with the physical world.
Our Guruji explained this to us as follows.
The first word is Om - a word symbol representing the supreme reality. Om is made up of 3 syllables that represent our 3 states - waking, dreaming, deep sleep. When we chant Om, the silence at the end of each Om is very profound, as that is beyond the three states and represents the supreme reality
The poet begins by describing the Bhagavad Gita as a "mother." Just as a mother provides strength and comfort during times of agitation or suffering, the Gita offers solace and guidance. Guruji explained that spiritual knowledge is for everyone—saints and sinners alike.
The shloka also states that Arjuna received enlightenment from Lord Krishna through the Gita, a story familiar to most Hindus. It further mentions that Vyasa placed the Gita in the middle of the Mahabharata. We also learnt that Sage Vyasa wrote 18 puranas, in addition to the Mahabharata.
This idea of the "middle" was a revelation. The battlefield of the Mahabharata lay between the armies of good and evil, and it was there that the dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna took place. This teaches us that the Bhagavad Gita transcends good and evil, and is not aligned to any, making its wisdom accessible to anyone, regardless of the path they have taken in life.
Guruji then discussed the culture of ancient India, when spiritual wisdom was passed on from Guru to shishya and father to son. Friends asked whether our achievements in science, medicine, technology etc had led us away from this spiritual wisdom.
In our first class, we had interpreted a part of the first Dhyana Shloka, and I already felt awe and devotion towards the sacred book, The Bhagavad Gita. Just so blessed to get this opportunity to understand it a little and with guidance from the best possible teachers.
We continued with this shloka in the 2nd class.
'the nectar of non-dual wisdom' - most of us are taught to think of God as a separate entity from ourselves, outside of ourselves. But through gyan, we can see that the universal lifeforce in each of us is the same as the Supreme Power. This realization is to know 'advait' or non-duality, and the Gita helps us to reach this stage and realize the Supreme Power within each of us.
The Gita is glorious, and it's glory is given six attributes, which together are termed bhagavatim. These six attributes in a person make the person 'Bhagwan'. Thus the Bhagavad Gita and Lord Krishna both posses these glorious attributes - might, righteousness, glory, beauty, knowledge and non-attachment.
The Gita contains 18 chapters that together enable a person to grasp the meaning of the single 'mahavakya' or 'great sentence' - That thou art... We would not be able to understand these 3 words if they were simply told to us, the Gita provides us the steps to reach towards this goal.
The Bhagavad Gita is the antidote to our entanglement with samsara - the physical world. This world is constantly changing, so we have experiences of joy and sorrow. With each experience, we feel happiness or grief. But understanding the Bhagavad Gita enables us to rise above these experiences and feel true joy, no matter what situation the world presents us with.
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