Posted on: 11 Jul 2010
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
The Gita says that God is unimaginable and that God enters the human form to be available for the human beings. These two points constitute the essence of the goal i.e., God (Mamtuvedana…, Manusheemtanum…). You should know that you are a part of the creation only and not the creator or [not] even part of the creator. The creator is unimaginable and you are the soul or the imaginable nature. You are made of body, qualities of the soul and the attributeless soul. The attributeless soul is the inert energy, which is isolated from any type of work. The Gita says that the attributeless soul or Atman is inert and workless (Sthanurachalah…) and the soul associated with qualities, called as Jeeva, is the inert energy associated with a specific form of work generated in a specific system called as nervous system. These qualities constitute Paraprakruti, which is the basic inert energy generating a specific work called as awareness. The body is made of inert matter, which in association with certain work forms of awareness (Manas, Buddhi and Ahankara), is called as Aparaprakruti. Both these forms of Prakruti or nature constitute the creation. Therefore, you are a small quantum of this creation.
According to Shankara, there are only two categories i.e., Purusha or the specific human being charged by God and Prakruti or the creation including all the other human (living) beings (Prakrutimpurushamchaiva). According to Ramanuja, there are three categories i.e., Prakruti or the inert part of creation, Purusha or all the ordinary human beings (living beings) and Purushottama or the specific human being charged by God (Yasmatksharamatitoham). Both these classifications are mentioned in the Gita. All this constitutes the knowledge about yourself and God.
The link between these two [yourself and God] is the path to please God. This path is practical and constitutes the sacrifice of work (karma sanyasa) and the sacrifice of fruit of work (karma phala tyaga). Both these are done by every human being, but, these are done for the sake of self and family and such selfish service is called as karma. If you replace the self by God, it forms the real path. Both these are mentioned in the Gita. The service through sacrifice of work and fruit is called as karma yoga and the same service done to yourself and your family is called as karma. The word yoga denotes the direction towards God. The service (karma) alone gives the fruit like the plant giving the fruit after growing into a tree. The water and the fertilizer are necessary for growth of plant into a tree. The water is the spiritual knowledge (jnana yoga) and the fertilizer is the devotion (bhakti yoga). The knowledge about yourself and your family is the water and your love towards yourself and your family is the fertilizer in the case of selfish work or karma. There are some people, who sacrifice both work and fruit for the benefit of the society and there is no element of God in their sacrifice. Such people go to heaven for sometime and return to the earth (kshenepunye…). Such people doing service to the society aspiring for some bigger fruit in return are politicians and these people go to hell. There are some people, who do the same service to the society under the direction of human form of God and such people reach and become close to God. They neither love the society like the aspirants of heaven nor do business with the society like politicians. Their service is to the society but their basic love is towards God only. They love the society because God loves the society. If God is not there, they will not care for the society. All these aspects are deeply explained in the Gita.
The Main Program of an Incarnation
In the Triputi, the triad of God, yourself and the path, God is the most important item. All references must be made to the human incarnation only and not to the absolute unimaginable God. Therefore, in the Gita, all the references were made to Krishna Himself, who is the then living human incarnation. The Gita says that Krishna should be worshipped in all ways and this means that the contemporary human incarnation should be worshipped by all means. Instead of taking this message, people misunderstand that the past human incarnation, Krishna, must be worshipped in all the times. You must use a trace of commonsense here that Krishna advised Arjuna to worship Him always because at that time of preaching, Krishna was the contemporary human incarnation. At this point even great scholars slip and to impress this point, it is told that Hanuman worshipped Rama even after His demise and could not accept Krishna as the subsequent human incarnation. The most powerful misleading factors are ego and jealousy, which always repel the contemporary human incarnation since repulsion is inevitable between two co-existing similar forms like human beings. Some people are so much affected by ego and jealousy that they even insult the contemporary human incarnation to pacify their burning ego and jealousy (Avajanantimam…). All the statues in the temples are carved in human form only indicating the aspect of human incarnation. The initiation of life into these statues (Pranapratishtha) indicates that the inert matter charged by life i.e., the living human form of God should be worshipped. Without taking this aspect, foolish people think that life has entered the statue. The only program of the human incarnation is to give the correct direction to the spiritual aspirant. This program is the main characteristic for the recognition of human incarnation as told in the Veda (Satyam Jnanam…) and the Gita (Jnaanitvaatmaiva...). Miracles are exhibited only to prove the unimaginable omnipotence of God and if you have already accepted the unimaginable omnipotence of God, miracles are unnecessary for you. The unimaginable events called as miracles establish that the absolute God present in the human incarnation is unimaginable. In fact, these miracles are very dangerous since these attract you towards solving the problems, which is selfishness and also tempt you to achieve these to become God and thus, promoting your ego. You must always recognize the contemporary human incarnation by the wonderful knowledge, which alone is beneficial to you, leading you to the goal in the right path.