Message of Bhagwadgita : God resides in every heart.

         Bhawadgita was written more than three thousand years ago (1000 BC) if we even go by most conservative of various date predictions.Reading 700 shloks of Bhagwadgita you get awestruck by timelessness and how relevant its message remains till date. Hinduism often finds itself being accused of institutionalising discriminatory caste system or varna ashram,though varna and caste are not synonymous terms. Considering dubious credentials of "experts" who make such allegations I always had my doubts!

          While reading Bhagawadgita one thing strikes you as lightning , the message of equality. Ultimate goal of human life as explained by ShriKrishna to Arjun in Bhagwadgita is attaining Moksha and I did not find a single verse or sholka that says only person of particular varna can attain Moksha. In none of the hymns Shrikrishna condones discrimination based on varna.On the contrary there are several hymns wherein you find message of unequivocal equality or samatva.

           This is my humble attempt to put all such relevant sholkas together to make my point.Following is list of chapter wise selected hymns, text in Italic font is English translation of Sanskrit hymns.

Adhyaya 4

येयथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ॥४-११॥

As all surrender unto me, I reward them accordingly.All men are following my path in all respects, O son of Prtha.

           In this hymn Bhagwan Shrikrishna tells Arjun that all men are following the path that ultimately leads to him (the God).

Adhyaya 6

सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ॥६-२९॥

A true yogi observes me in all beings and also sees every being in me.Indeed , self-realized person sees me , the supreme lord , everywhere.

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति ।
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥६-३०॥
For one who sees me everywhere and sees everything in me, I am never lost , nor is he ever lost to me.

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः ।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते ॥६-३१॥

One who worships me (god) residing in the heart of every living being , remains in me always and by all means.

              In aforementioned hymns from sixth adhyaya, dhyanyog,ShriKrishna explains how a Yogi should meditate (dhyan) or worship god. True Yogi or devotee according ShriKrishna is able to see god in every human , is also able to find god everywhere and such a devotee ultimately attains oneness with the god.

Adhyaya 7

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् ।
बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥७-१०॥

O son of Prtha,know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of intelligent , and the prowess of all powerful men.

Adhyaya 9

समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः ।
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ॥९-२९॥

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whosoever worships me in devotion is a friend,is in me,and I am also his friend.

मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः ।
स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ॥९-३२॥

O son of Prtha, those who take refuge in me, they may be lower birth women, vaishyas[merchants] and shudras[workers] – can attain the supreme destination.

            In above two verses of ninth adhyaya, named as param guhya gyan (super secret knowledge), it becomes clear that lord ShriKrishna treats everyone equally. He does not hate anyone , he does not discriminates based on birth. Neither gender nor varna of a person stops him/her from attaining supreme destination (param gatim). To reach God all you need is Bhakti or unconditional devotion.

Adhyaya 12

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥१२- १३॥

संतुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥१२-१४॥

One who is not envious but is kind friend to all living entities ,who does not think himself as a proprietor and is free from false ego , whose behaviour remains same in distress as well as happiness , who is pardoner,always satisfied,self-controlled and is engaged in devotional service with determination , his mind and intellect fixed on me –such devotee of mine is very dear to me.

समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥१२-१८॥

तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥१२-१९॥

One who is equal to friends and enemies ,who is equipoised in Honor and dishonour,heat and cold, happiness and distress ,fame and infamy ,who is always free from contaminating associations , always calm and satisfied with anything, does not care about home,who is fixed in knowledge and engaged in my worship – such a person is very dear to me.

ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते ।
श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रियाः ॥१२- २०॥

Those who follow this immortal path of devotion and who completely engage themselves with faith,making me the supreme goal ,are very, very dear to me.

            In these verses from twelfth adhyaya, Bhaktiyog,ShriKrishna depicts qualities of ideal devotee or Bhakta which are dear to him.If in ninth adhyaya Shri Krishna mentions how he treats all living beings equally then in twelfth adhyaya we see him asking his devotees to treat everyone equally and with compassion.

Adhyaya 13

ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते ।
ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥१३-१७॥

He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond darkness of matter and is unmanifested. He is knowledge ,knowable , goal of knowledge.He is situated in everyone's heart.

समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् ।
विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥१३-२७॥

One who sees super soul(God) accompanying the individual soul in all bodies , and who understands that neither the soul nor the super soul within the destructible body is ever destroyed , actually sees.

           Gist of above hymns from thirteenth adhyaya is, god resides in heart of every living being ( hrdi sarvasya visthitam)

Adhyaya18

ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप ।
कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः ॥१८-४१॥

Brahman,Kshatriya,Vaishya and Shudras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures, O destroyer of the enemy.

शमो दमस्तपः शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च ।

ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम् ॥१८-४२॥

Serenity, self control, austerity, purity, patience, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and belief in God are qualities by which Brahaman works.

शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम् ।

दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम् ॥१८-४३॥

Bravery,power,determination,dexterity,not fleeing from battle, charity, and leadership are natural qualities of work for Kshatriyas.

कृषिगौरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम् ।

परिचर्यात्मकं कर्म शूद्रस्यापि स्वभावजम् ॥१८-४४॥

Farming,cow protection,business are natural qualities of work for Vashya and Shudras work is labor and service.

स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः ।

स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु ॥१८-४५॥

One can attain the perfection by devotion to one's natural work. Hear from me how one attains perfection while remaining engaged in one's natural work.

ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।
समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ॥१८-५४॥

Absorbed in the Supreme Being, the serene one neither laments nor desires; he is equally disposed towards every living entity, he obtains the highest devotional love for God.

ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥१८-६१॥

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart,O Arjuna ,and is directing the wanderings of all living entities,who are seated as on machine, made of the material energy.

इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्‌गुह्यतरं मया ।
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥१८-६३॥

Thus the knowledge that is more secret than the secret has been explained to you by Me. After fully reflecting on this, do as you wish.

         With the help of aforementioned verses from the last chapter , we can definitely infer that varnashram in Dwaparyuga was based on division of work done.You don't find  Shudra's work for instance being denigrated or Brahaman's work being praised here, on the contrary in shloka-45 Shri Krishna explicitly says it is possible for all to attain siddhi or perfection while remaining indulged in one's dutiful work.Only condition imposed is one has to dedicate his or her work to God without worrying about results.

          It is also interesting to note that cow protection is mentioned as duty of Vaishya and fighting in war is obviously duty of Kshatriya.Shri Krishna himself was cow protector hence known as Gopal .At the same time Shri Krishna was great warrior himself, he is known as Madhusudan for killing devil named Madhu.Thus Shri Krishna performed duties of Kshatriya as well as Vashiya.

        

         In verse number 61 , Shri Krishna reiterates that god resides in everyone's heart.Swami Vivekananda  in his numerous writings and speeches had always made distinction between Hindu religion and Hindu society and he on numerous occasion had pointed out how it is wrong to put all the evils of society at the door of religion.Caste based discrimination is the problem with our society,not religion.Bhagwadgita which we all Hindus believe to be word of God preaches us to treat everyone equally ,rather it asks us to see the divinity in every living being.

 

Anurag Choudhary