The true understanding of the Bhagavad Gita

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is a profoundly deep scripture. On the battlefield, when Arjun saw his brothers, uncles, teachers, and other close relatives standing on the opposing side, he was utterly disheartened at the thought of killing them. To encourage Arjun to rise and fight, Lord Shri Krishna imparted the divine knowledge that came to be known as the Bhagavad Gita.

Thousands of years later, many different interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita have emerged. However, very few have truly understood the real intent of Lord Shri Krishna’s heart. Just as the new generation often fails to grasp the thoughts and intentions of the previous generation even within a span of twenty-five or thirty years, how then can we expect to fully understand the intent of Lord Shri Krishna from thousands of years ago?

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna essentially conveyed only this to Arjun that the ones you speak of killing, their bodies are perishable, but their Souls are imperishable. “Atmavat sarvabhuteṣu”, meaning, see every living being as the Soul itself. Arjun, know me not as Krishna, but as the indestructible and eternal Self! I am permanent, eternal, and indestructible; my true nature is beyond the physical form, the relative self. Lord Shri Krishna explained that when a person is in a state of ignorance, he remains bound by nature of the non-Self, acts out of delusion and ego, performs wrong deeds, and falls into a lower state of existence. But when a person attains Self-realization, he becomes free from the hold of the relative self, he attains the eternal state, the state of liberation (Moksha). Thereafter, he is no longer trapped in the cycle of birth and death.

In the Bhagavad Gita, there are various statements that, at first glance, may seem contradictory. For instance, on one hand, Lord Shri Krishna says that the Supreme Lord is the one who governs the entire universe, He is the doer, the sustainer, and the enjoyer. The creation and destruction of nature are all in His hands. Yet, on the other hand, He also says that God does not interfere in a person’s actions, doership, or the results of their deeds, that the world functions naturally, according to its own inherent nature. On one hand, He gave an elaborate description of nature composed of the three gunas - sattvic (pure), rajasic (active), and tamasic (ignorant). Yet, on the other hand, He also said that the Soul is beyond these three gunas. On one side, He told Arjun, “You are a Kshatriya; it is your duty to fight. You will not be able to abstain from the battle.” But on the other side, He also said that tamasic tendencies, which cause suffering to others, lead a person toward their downfall to a lower life-form. On one hand, Lord Shri Krishna tells Arjun, to be free from attachment, to not take pride in doership, and be without desire. Later, He also says that the Soul does nothing at all, and one who firmly believes this attains Moksha (ultimate liberation from all karma). But the one who believes that the Soul is the doer becomes bound by karma and continues to wander through the four states of existence (heaven, human, animal, and hell).

The message of the Bhagavad Gita was meant only to remove Arjun’s state of sorrow and confusion. When Lord Shri Krishna told Arjun, “Fight!”, that instruction was not the entire or absolute message. Today, people interpret it as, “My family doesn’t give me my share of money, so I too will fight a case in court.” Such an interpretation is not appropriate. Lord Shri Krishna also said, “Know the Soul,” but we failed to truly grasp that message. He said, “Gnani (the One who has realized the Self and is able to do the same for others) is My very Self, go and surrender to the Gnani.” Yet, the importance of this teaching has been completely lost.

Thousands of ignorant people can interpret a single scripture in thousands of different ways. But the opinions of millions of Gnanis are one and the same, there is no contradiction among them. Only a Gnani Purush (the enlightened One who can enlighten others), who has truly grasped the profound depth of the Bhagavad Gita, can make us understand the real intent of Lord Shri Krishna’s heart. When the Bhagavad Gita is understood in its true essence, all seeming contradictions disappear. The right understanding required to realize this is what we receive here from Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan.