The Secret Esoteric Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita E-Book

Yogi Ramacharaka

• Herausgeber: Mike Thomas
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Finally The New Revised Edition is Available!

The “ Bhagavad Gita,” sometimes called “ The Lord’s Lay,” or the “ Message of the Master,” is an episode of the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, in the Sixth (or “ Bhishma”) Parva. It enjoys the highest esteem among the Hindu people, and is constantly quoted there as a great authority regarding doctrine. Its philosophy embodies the prevailing Hindu beliefs, as expounded by the Brahmans, and in its teachings it subtly blends into a harmonious whole the varying points of doctrine of Patanjali, Kapila and of the Vedas. It is supposed to have been written by Vyasa whose personality is veiled in doubt for of the time of his existence in the world no record seems to have been kept.
To the reader who finds in this marvelous dialogue merely the record of a literal conversation dressed up in fancy by the Oriental imagination, the real beauty and purpose of the teaching is lost. But to him who is able to pierce the outer covering, which surrounds all of the great Oriental writings, and find beyond that the esoteric teachings, this poem is one of the grandest that has ever been given the race. One must needs read behind the covering—and between the lines, in order to understand the Bhagavad Gita. No attempt has been made by the compiler of this publication to interpret the inner teachings of the Gita. It has, as the Hindu teachers instruct their pupils, seven texts, each superimposed upon the other, so that each man may read his own lesson from it, according to his plane of unfoldment. Each will get from it that which is fitted to his stage of unfoldment. And each reading will bring to light new beauties, for the mind of the reader will grow with each perusal and soon be prepared for the understanding of higher phases of thought.
There have been a number of English translations of the Gita, from the first effort of Charles Wilkins, in India, in 1785, up to the present time. Some are very good, others indifferent, and others actually misleading and causing confusion. Some of these translations have evidently been made by persons inclining to certain schools of philosophy; and the meaning, as colored by their own philosophical glasses, while most satisfactory to them and their followers, is distracting to those outside the pale, who have had the opportunity of comparing the various editions.
This particular edition, issued by us, is not a new translation, but rather a compilation from the best of the various good translations of Hindu and English translators, some of which are now out of print, or inaccessible to the general public. The compiler has endeavored to give the spirit of the teachings, in a plain, practical, understandable form, adapted to the requirements and needs of the English speaking reader, although such a presentation has often necessitated the sacrifice of any attempt at literary merit. In fact this book makes no claim whatsoever to literary style. It merely seeks to carry the Message contained within its pages, in plain words and simple form, to those who are ready for it.

Leseprobe

The Secret Esoteric Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita

Introduction

The “Bhagavad Gita,” sometimes called “The Lord’s Lay,” or the “Message of the Master,” is an episode of the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, in the Sixth (or “Bhishma”) Parva. It enjoys the highest esteem among the Hindu people, and is constantly quoted there as a great authority regarding doctrine. Its philosophy embodies the prevailing Hindu beliefs, as expounded by the Brahmans, and in its teachings it subtly blends into a harmonious whole the varying points of doctrine of Patanjali, Kapila and of the Vedas. It is supposed to have been written by Vyasa whose personality is veiled in doubt for of the time of his existence in the world no record seems to have been kept.

To the reader who finds in this marvelous dialogue merely the record of a literal conversation dressed up in fancy by the Oriental imagination, the real beauty and purpose of the teaching is lost. But to him who is able to pierce the outer covering, which surrounds all of the great Oriental writings, and find beyond that the esoteric teachings, this poem is one of the grandest that has ever been given the race. One must needs read behind the covering—and between the lines, in order to understand the Bhagavad Gita. No attempt has been made by the compiler of this publication to interpret the inner teachings of the Gita. It has, as the Hindu teachers instruct their pupils, seven texts, each superimposed upon the other, so that each man may read his own lesson from it, according to his plane of unfoldment. Each will get from it that which is fitted to his stage of unfoldment. And each reading will bring to light new beauties, for the mind of the reader will grow with each perusal and soon be prepared for the understanding of higher phases of thought.

There have been a number of English translations of the Gita, from the first effort of Charles Wilkins, in India, in 1785, up to the present time. Some are very good, others indifferent, and others actually misleading and causing confusion. Some of these translations have evidently been made by persons inclining to certain schools of philosophy; and the meaning, as colored by their own philosophical glasses, while most satisfactory to them and their followers, is distracting to those outside the pale, who have had the opportunity of comparing the various editions.

This particular edition, issued by us, is not a new translation, but rather a compilation from the best of the various good translations of Hindu and English translators, some of which are now out of print, or inaccessible to the general public. The compiler has endeavored to give the spirit of the teachings, in a plain, practical, understandable form, adapted to the requirements and needs of the English speaking reader, although such a presentation has often necessitated the sacrifice of any attempt at literary merit. In fact this book makes no claim whatsoever to literary style. It merely seeks to carry the Message contained within its pages, in plain words and simple form, to those who are ready for it.

The compiler has purposely omitted many Sanscrit terms which have proved to be confusing to the English reader, notably the many titles and names bestowed upon both Krishna, and Arjuna, in the original. In some editions the English reader is confused by these, and has often been led to imagine that there were several persons engaged in conversation instead of but two principal characters. We trust that we have simplified the text, and that those who read it will understand the reason for the plain, simple, and unpolished style adopted.

We strongly advise that those who intend to read this book, should first read the little notice, which follows this formal prefatory introduction. By so doing, the reader will become acquainted with certain circumstances concerning the characters, scene, and theme of the story, which will make the reading of the text far more pleasing and instructive.

We trust that this little book may fulfill its mission in the carrying abroad the “Message of the Master.”

The Scene; Theme; and Characters.

The scene of the action, or story, is laid in the low, level land in India, between the Jumna and the Sarsooti rivers— now known as Kurnul and Jheed—the land being known in the story as “the plain of the Kurus.” The word “Kuru” was the name of the common ancestor of the contending factions in the battle—the theme of the story—the opposing factions being known, respectively, as the “Kurus,” and the “Pandus,” as you will notice a little farther on.

The theme of the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is an episode, is the great war which was carried on between two factions, or parties, of a certain large tribe, or family, the descendants of the common ancestor Kuru. The bone of contention between the opposing factions was the sovereignty of Hastinapura, which some authorities suppose to be identical with modern Delhi. The elder branch, faction, or party, bore the general name of the whole people— Kurus: the younger branch bearing the name of Pandus, the term being derived from the name of Pandu, the father of the five chiefs commanding the army of their faction or branch.

The whole Kuru people were an old family, many generations having passed between the time of Kuru, its founder, and the time of the battle between the two branches. It is stated that the family, or people, originally inhabited a region beyond the Himalayas, and afterward emigrated into the northwest of the peninsula, and there founded the nucleus of a race who called themselves the Arya, or exalted, the term being intended to distinguish them from the lower tribes whom they conquered, and whose territory they wrested from them and occupied.

The history of the people immediately preceding the great war, and from the occurrences of which the war itself arose, is as follows:

At the capital of the country, a city called Hastinapura (supposed to be modern Delhi), reigned the king Vichitravirya. He married two sisters, but he died shortly after the dual-marriage, leaving no children. Following the custom of the ancient Oriental peoples, and moved by love and respect for his deceased brother, his half-brother, the Vyasa, married the widows, and begat two sons named Dhritarashtra and Pandu. The eldest son, Dhritarashtra, had one hundred sons, the eldest being named Duryodhana. The younger brother, Pandu, had five sons, all great warriors, and known as the “five

Pandu princes.” Dhritarashtra became blind, and, although remaining nominally king, his real power passed to his eldest son Duryodhana, who influenced his father and caused him to banish from the land his cousins, the five Pandu princes.

After many vicissitudes, travels, and hard-ships, these princes returned to their native land, surrounded by their friends and sympathizers, and reinforced by warriors furnished by neighboring friendly kings, the whole forming a mighty army. They marched on to the plain of the Kurus, and began a campaign against the older branch of the family, the partisans and followers of Dhritarashtra, who gathered under the leadership of the eldest son of the latter, named Duryodhana, who was in command by reason of his father’s blindness; and under the general name of the family, “the Kurus” the elder branch began a determined resistance to the invasion or attack of the younger branch, the Pandus.

This brings us to the scene and time of the battle. The

Kuru faction led by Duryodhana (acting for his blind father, Dhritarashtra) was arrayed on one side; and on the other side was the hosts of the Pandus, led by the five Pandu princes.

The active command of the Kuru army was vested in Bhishma, the oldest war-chief of his faction; the Pandu army being led by Bhima, a renowned warrior. Arjuna, one of the five Pandu princes, and one of the leading characters in the story, was present at the battle with his brothers, and was accompanied in his war chariot by the human incarnation of The Supreme Spirit—Krishna, the latter having become the friend and companion of Arjuna as a reward for the fortitude with which the latter had borne his persecutions, and as a recognition for the nobility of character displayed by him.

The battle was opened by Bhishma, the Kuru chieftain, blowing his great war-shell or conch, to the sound of which his followers joined with the blare of their battle shells and horns. Arjuna, and the Pandu host answer the challenge with mighty blasts. The fight then begins with great flights of arrows, in which both sides exert themselves to the utmost. Arjuna, at the beginning of the battle, asks Krishna to drive his chariot to a position where he may witness the two contending parties. From the desired position Arjuna surveys the two battle lines, and is overcome with horror at the sight of blood relatives and friends opposing each other in the two contending armies. He sees dear ones on both sides, seeking each other’s blood. He is overcome with the thought of the horror of the fratricidal war, and, throwing down his weapons, he declares that he would rather die without defending himself, than be the cause of the death of his kinsmen on the other side. Krishna replies with subtle philosophical discourse, which forms the greater part of the episode of the epic, called the Bhagavad Gita, the poem or story which is offered to your consideration in this little book. Arjuna is made to see the weakness of his position, judged from the absolute point-of-view, and he consents to play his part in the drama. The battle finally results in the overthrow of the Kurus, or elder branch, and the triumph of the Pandus, or younger branch, the latter being Arjuna’s party.

The scene opens at a place removed from the battle field, where the old blind king Dhritarashtra inquires of the faithful Sanjaya, of the events transpiring at the front. Sanjaya replies, giving the news of the day, his story comprising the poem. The battle, of course, serves but as a setting for the discourse of Krishna to Arjuna, at least so far as this poem is concerned.

The Bhagavad Gita

The Gloom of Arjuna.

Spoke Dhritarashtra, King of the Kurus, to Sanjaya, the faithful, saying:

“Tell me, O Sanjaya, of my people and the Pandus, assembled in battle array on the plain of the Kurus! What have they been doing?”

Sanjaya: “Thy son Duryodhana, commander of thy hosts of battle, when he beheld the host of the Pandus, arrayed for strife and combat, approached his preceptor, Drona, the son of Bharadvaja, saying:

“Behold, O Master, the mighty host of the sons of Pandu, comprising the vast array of experienced and bold fighting-men, commanded by thy former pupil, the wily and resourceful son of Drupada.

“Behold how, gathered together in the opposing ranks are mighty warriors in their chariots of battle. Their names are synonyms for valor, strength and cunning.

“‘And on our own side, gathered together, under my command, are the greatest warriors of our people, heroes, valiant and experienced, each well armed with his favorite weapons, and most ready to use them; and all devoted to me and my cause and willing and anxious to risk and renounce their lives for my sake.

“‘But, alas, O Master, this army of ours, although most valiant and though commanded by Bhishma, seems unto me too insufficient and weak, while the enemy, commanded by Bhima, and confronting us in threatening array, seems more strong and sufficient. Therefore, let all the captains of my host prepare to stand by Bhishma, to support and guard him well.’

“Then Bhishma, the ancient chief of the Kurus, blew his great battle-shell, sounding it like unto the roar of the lion, to awaken the spirits and courage of the Kurus. And answering its great roar, there sounded at once innumerable other shells and horns, drums and tabors; and other instruments of warlike music, so that the sound was tumultuous and stirred the hearts of the Kurus to valiant deeds and high resolves.

“Then, in brave response and mighty defiance, sounded forth the instruments of the hosts of the Pandus.

“Standing in their great war-chariots, trimmed with gold and precious stones, and drawn by milk-white steeds, Krishna, the incarnation of God, and Arjuna, the son of Pandu, sounded their war shells until the air quivered in vibration. And all the rest of the mighty host of the Pandus joined in the defiance, and the mightiest warriors of the throng sounded their instruments again and again, until the sound was as the sound of the violent thunder, and earth’s surface answered in responsive rhythm.

And the hosts of the Kurus were affrighted and dismayed.

“Then Arjuna, perceiving that the hosts of Kuru stood ready to begin the fight, and seeing that even then the arrows were beginning to wing their flight through the air, raising his bow, spake thus to Krishna, the God, who stood beside him in the chariot:”

“O Krishna, drive thou, I pray thee, my chariot so that it stand between the two opposing armies, that I may gaze upon the men of the Kuru hosts that stand ready to begin this bloody fight, and with whom I must combat, battle, and strive in this fray. Let me look upon mine enemies, the followers of the evil-minded and vindictive commander of the Kurus!”

Then drove Krishna the chariot containing himself and Arjuna, until at last it stood in a space between the two opposing hosts. And then Krishna bade Arjuna look attentively upon the hostile army of the Kurus, and then upon the faces of his friends, the host of the Pandus. And Arjuna, looking, saw arrayed on either side, grandsires, uncles, cousins, tutors, sons and brothers. Gazing farther he saw, likewise, near relations and bosom friends. Loved ones, benefactors, playmates, companions, and many others whose welfare was dear to him, he saw standing opposed to him, fretting for the fight. And also standing back of him, awaiting the word to join him in the fray, stood others of like relationship, both of blood and of friendship.

And Arjuna, seeing these things, was overcome with gloom. Compassion, pity, compunction, despondency, and sadness filled his heart, and, sighing deeply, with sorrow permeating his tones, he spake thus to Krishna, who stood by his side in the chariot:

“O Krishna now that I behold the faces and forms of my kindred and loved ones, thus arrayed against each other, and chafing for the fight, my heart faileth me. My legs tremble; mine arms refuse to do my bidding; my face is drawn in agony; my skin burns as with a fever; my hair standeth upon end; my brain reels; my whole body is convulsed with horror; my war-bow slips from my fingers.