The Birth of Buddhism Unit MBI 101
LESSON FIVE
Take a minimum of 100 mins for the reading of this lesson, with a break of five minutes after each twenty minutes of study.
Early Indian literature is divided into two parts, the Vedas and their Brahmanas which make up the Karmakanda and the Aranyakas and the Upanishads which make up the Jnanakanda.
While the Mahabharata, composed in the same period, is recommended for personal understanding and enjoyment, we will not enter deeply into the contents, for, although of great importance spiritually, it was more important historically in the development of the cultural and social structure and, as such, had less direct impact on the development of Buddhism. We will however take a close look at the Bhagavadagita which is an important part of the Mahabharata, revered by many as a separate scripture.
The Mahabharata, the Brahmanas, and the Aranyakas
The Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is an Epic poem, and consists of over 200,000 lines concerning the conflict of two tribes, the Kurus and the Pandavas. The songs, developed probably before 3100 BC, celebrate the actions of outstanding heroes. It contains the famous Bhagavadgita, which is the part of the epic where the battle is about to start. The Mahabharata melds into the Brahmanic and Sutra period, which has been marked between 3100 BC and 2300 BC. Neither the Mahabharata nor the Bhagavadgita, of course, superseded the Vedas, which they simply accompany. They did, however, play their part in changing attitudes towards the Vedas and customs. Follow that changing emphasis in the Mahabarata and in the other texts.
The Mahabharata is an epic of mayhem, deceit, lies, love and ambition and is, in essence, a story of what all war is. But within this legendary epic of the war, we find also that the better side of the human creature comes forward within the lives of the heroes’ and heroines’ lives and concepts.
When we see the epic as a whole, we see the suffering of the human condition. The Bhagavad-Gita is the long pre-battle conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, the great and sensitive warrior.
Let us then pass to one beautiful dramatic text of the Mahabarhata before moving straight on to the lessons of the Gita. It is a beautiful tale of the virtue of non-selfishness.
The Mahabharata Part 3
Story of Shibi Rana
After Bharata, his descendants flourished as mighty Kurus. Their kingdom extended in north India, the capital city of which was Hastinapur. The successive great kings ruled from here; great not only in material prosperity but also in their strength of character. Their whole life and activity was centered around upholding the rule of Dharma-righteousness. To these noble rulers, life was meaningless if not lived according to the Dharma. For this, they even went as far as sacrificing their own lives.
Story of Shibi Rana
King Shibi was famous for his truthfulness, justice, and keeping his word. The king of righteousness, Dharmaraj himself, decided to test the strength of character of Shibi Rana.
Once when the king was alone on the terrace of his palace, he saw a dove coming towards him with great speed. An eagle was after him, and to escape from the clutches of the chasing eagle the dove made frantic effort to hide somewhere. Seeing the king on the terrace, the frightened dove took shelter in his lap. The dove said, "O king, save my life, I have come under your shelter."
The king had vowed to protect anyone who took his shelter. Thus the weak and deprived could not be exploited by the rich and strong. However, this was a new experience for Shibi Rana. Was he in any way obliged to protect a bird who seeks his refuge? Contemplating for a while, the king decided that even trees, animals, and birds require protection and help as do human beings.
Therefore, the king said, "Have no fear my son. That eagle will not be able to touch even your feather. Relax in peace, have no worries." So saying the king readied himself to face the rapidly approaching eagle. The eagle landed in front of the king and said, "O king, you have hidden my prey. Please release him so that I can appease my hunger."
The righteous king saw the point in the eagle's demand. He faced a peculiar dilemma of protecting the dove, and at the same time not to deprive the eagle of his rightful prey! He decided to resolve the issue by offering the eagle an equal amount of meat from his kitchen. But the eagle insisted on having his prey -the dove - as his food. After some discussion the eagle agreed to set the dove free on two conditions.
The eagle said, "O King, I shall let the dove go, if an equal weight of flesh from your body is offered to me as food."
Shibi Rana was quite pleased with the adjustment. He thought that a pound (or two) of flesh from his body would not kill him and the life of the dove in his shelter would also be saved.
Thus he was happy that he was saved from a great sin of 'inability to protect the weak'.
The eagle then put his second condition, saying, "O king, if a single tear drops from your eye I shall be constrained to accept your flesh as my food."
The king agreed and called for the knives and the balance. In one pan of the balance the dove was kept and on the other side a large chunk of flesh from the right thigh of Shibi Rana. But strange as it might seem, the pan with the dove always weighed more even as additional flesh was added! Thus almost all of the right half of the king's body was cut. Still the weight could not be equalled.
At this juncture a drop of a tear appeared in the left eye of the king. The eagle objected to this saying, "O king, I cannot accept the food given in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are unhappy. So give me my prey back and you shall regain your normal health."
With a faint smile on his lips, Shibi Rana said, "Behold, O eagle, the left eye is not crying out of grief; this is a tear of joy. Now the left half of the body will also be used to honour the word I have given to you. Otherwise, if only my right half had satisfied you, the left half of the body would have been denied this great opportunity of sacrifice! Therefore, my dear friend, the left eye cries out of joy!"
This ultimate sacrifice of Shibi Rana was unparalleled in history. The eagle and the dove disappeared and in their places stood the King of righteousness -Dharmaraj and the king of heavens -- Indra. Gods from the heavens showered flowers, perfumes, and praise on the king. They granted many boons to this noble king.
This is not only a beautiful and sacred story, it is meant as a lesson on unselfishness, the love of life and the protection of nature. Clearly few who read this would go as far as Shibi Rana, but the question which I would like to ask each of you is, “what sacrifice are you prepared to make here, in this life, for the benefit of all nature and all human creatures?”
BHAGAVAD-GITA
In the first Chapter of the Celestial Song, the Bhagavad-Gita of the Mahabharata, we see the distress of Arjuna on seeing two armies consisting of kin, drawn one against the other, ready for the battle. Arjuna, the great chief and warrior, is sitting in his chariot, watching the great warriors on his own side, many of whom he knows will soon die. He is dismayed by the idea of killing relatives, friends and the other great warriors who oppose him all mounted in their shining and powerful war chariots.
The first chapter is presented to give you the flavor of the song and of the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad-Gita is but one part, as well as to give you a glimpse of Krishna and hear his advice about man’s correct conduct.
Extracts from this picturesque and beautiful translation by Sir Edwin Arnold
will give you an idea of the richness of the cultural milieu of the times and allow you a glimpse of the adoration felt for Krishna himself. We begin with the moments before the battle when the great war horns are sounded.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 1
Then, at the signal of the aged king,
With blare to wake the blood, rolling around
Like to a lion's roar, the trumpeter
Blew the great Conch; and, at the noise of it,
Trumpets and drums, cymbals and gongs and horns
Burst into sudden clamour; as the blasts
Of loosened tempest, such the tumult seemed!
Then might be seen, upon their car of gold
Yoked with white steeds, blowing their battle-shells,
Krishna the God, Arjuna at his side:
Krishna, with knotted locks, blew his great conch
Carved of the "Giant's bone;" Arjuna blew
Indra's loud gift; Bhima the terrible --
Wolf-bellied Bhima -- blew a long reed-conch;
And Yudhisthira, Kunti's blameless son,
Winded a mighty shell, "Victory's Voice;"
And Nakula blew shrill upon his conch
Named the "Sweet-sounding," Sahadev on his
Called "Gem-bedecked," and Kasi's Prince on his.
Sikhandi on his car, Dhrishtadyumn,
Virata, Satyaki the Unsubdued,
Drupada, with his sons, (O Lord of Earth!)
Long-armed Subhadra's children, all blew loud,
So that the clangour shook their foemen's hearts,
With quaking earth and thundering heav'n.
Then 'twas --
Beholding Dhritirashtra's battle set,
Weapons unsheathing, bows drawn forth, the war
Instant to break … –
…Arjuna's heart
Melted with pity, while he uttered this:
It is at this point that Arjuna asks the critical question, “why should we fight?” and his mind and body recoil from such apparent folly. He declares:
My members fail, my tongue dries in my mouth,
A shudder thrills my body, and my hair
Bristles with horror; from my weak hand slips
Gandiv, the goodly bow; a fever burns
My skin to parching; hardly may I stand;
The life within me seems to swim and faint;
Nothing do I foresee save woe and wail!
It is not good, O Keshav! nought of good
Can spring from mutual slaughter! Lo, I hate
Triumph and domination, wealth and ease,
Thus sadly won! …
He presents then the idea of dying rather than fighting.
Better I deem it, if my kinsmen strike,
To face them weaponless, and bare my breast
To shaft and spear, than answer blow with blow.
So speaking, in the face of those two hosts,
Arjuna sank upon his chariot-seat,
And let fall bow and arrows, sick at heart...
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter II "Sankhya-Yog" The Book of Doctrines.
… So spake Arjuna to the Lord of Hearts,
And sighing, "I will not fight!" held silence then.
To whom, with tender smile, (O Bharata!)
While the Prince wept despairing 'twixt those hosts,
Krishna made answer in divinest verse:
Now what would we assume might be Krishna’s answer? Remember that we are experiencing here a talk between warriors whose duty it was to fight and defend.
The reply which we get is fight. Why? Because it is one’s duty to fight in a just cause. To kill or be killed is not the question. Neither war nor peace is the issue. It is the correct mind that sees Duality of thought. There is no Death or Birth, only eternal life. You will see this Duty concept revered in the Brahmin attitude towards the Sattva Guna that we will discuss later, which inflated its real worthiness.
Krishna. Thou grievest where no grief should be! thou speak'st
Words lacking wisdom! for the wise in heart
Mourn not for those that live, nor those that die.
Nor I, nor thou, nor any one of these,
Ever was not, nor ever will not be,
For ever and for ever afterwards.
All, that doth live, lives always! To man's frame
As there come infancy and youth and age,
So come there raisings-up and layings-down
Of other and of other life-abodes,
Which the wise know, and fear not. ….
He who shall say, "Lo! I have slain a man!"
He who shall think, "Lo! I am slain!" those both
Know naught! Life cannot slay. Life is not slain!
Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never;
Thus we are put directly in touch with the main issue. The everlasting soul is immortal. It is beyond life and death, thus one’s conformation with the natural state of each person and his right conduct becomes central to every issue.
In the dialogue which unfolds while they are waiting for this battle, the Gita deals, through the words of Krishna, with the only significance of life: what is correct in the period between apparent birth and death and how one can reach that Sublime state, which is knowing Brahma.
He declares clearly that there is great deal more to the correct life than rites and ceremonies and the ways of many of the Brahmins. Thus we see that even here, within the Brahmic system, as with Mahavira and Buddha, there was great resistance to the ways in which the spiritual life was being conducted by Brahmans.
Specious, but wrongful deem the speech of those ill-taught ones Who extol the letter of their Vedas, saying, "This is all we have, or need;" being weak at heart with wants, Seekers of Heaven, which comes -- they say – as "fruit of good deeds done; "Promising men much profit in new births for works of faith; In various rites abounding; following whereon, large merit shall accrue Towards wealth and power; albeit, who wealth and power do most desire, Least fixity of soul have such, least hold on heavenly meditation.
Much these teach, from Veds, concerning the "three qualities;" But thou, be free of the "three qualities, “free of the "pairs of opposites," And free from that sad righteousness which calculates; Self-ruled, Arjuna! simple, satisfied.
Look! Like as when a tank pours water forth to suit all needs, So do these Brahmans draw text for all wants from the tank of Holy Writ. But thou, want not! ask not!
Find full reward of doing right in right! Let right deeds be thy motive, Not the fruit which comes from them. And live in action! Labour! Make thine acts thy piety, casting all self aside, condemning gain and merit; Equable in good or evil: Equanimity Is Yog, is piety!
Yet, the right act is less, far less, than the right-thinking mind. Seek refuge in thy soul; have there thy heaven! Scorn them that follow virtue for her gifts! The mind of pure devotion -- even here -- Casts equally aside good deeds and bad, passing above them.
Unto pure devotion devote thyself: With perfect meditation comes perfect act, And the righthearted rise forth --More certainly because they seek no gain – From the bands of body, step by step, to highest seats of bliss.
When thy firm soul hath shaken off those tangled oracles which ignorantly guide, Then shall it soar to high neglect of what's denied or said,
This way or that way, in doctrinal writ. Troubled no longer by the priestly lore, Safe shall it live, and sure; steadfastly bent on meditation. This is Yog -- and Peace!
Looking for the fruit of good deeds or simply performing mindlessly rites and ceremonies has no value. It is doing correctly simply because it is correct that has virtue. “Let right deeds be thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them.” But there must be equanimity. That is essential. Following this idea, we see that greater than the Correct Action is indeed Correct Intention.
From a Buddhist point of view, we must agree to the amplification of the idea which Krishna and Buddha teach. “Yet, the right act is less, far less, than the right-thinking mind,” for correct Intention is the antecedent condition for any action. It is the Intention which generates the karma, not the action which might follow it.
Next, in discussing the two schools of wisdom, we find that there are two paths: the path of Meditation (Yog) and the path of Living in the world of Attitudes, Intentions and Actions, doing so correctly (Sankyha). Arjuna asks why men fall from both these paths and the answer is Karma. We are not here speaking of the Karma of past lives, but of the energy of erroneous Intention and Action. That Karma is described clearly in the next chapter, “Passion it is! born of the Darknesses, Which pusheth him. Mighty of appetite, Sinful, and strong is this! -- man's enemy!” There is then a negative Karmic force that is not Atman, which drives man.
But what do we mean by Incorrect Intention? As Buddhists, we do not take a moral stance which is blind to conditions. We say that an Incorrect Intention is an intention which translated into Action, brings subsequent harm to either the mind or body of any sentient creature or to one’s own mind or body.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter III "Karma-Yog" " Virtue in Work."
The Two Wisdoms.
Krishna. I told thee, blameless Lord! there be paths
Shown to this world; two schools of wisdom.
First
The Sankhya's, which doth save in way of works
Prescribed by reason;
Next, the Yog, which bids
Attain by meditation, spiritually:
Yet these are one! No man shall 'scape from act
By shunning action; nay, and none shall come
By mere renouncements unto perfectness.
… He who sits
Suppressing all the instruments of flesh,
Yet in his idle heart thinking on them,
Plays the inept and guilty hypocrite:
But he who, with strong body serving mind,
Gives up his mortal powers to worthy work,
Not seeking gain, Arjuna! such an one
Is honourable. …
The Only, All-pervading; at all times
Present in sacrifice. He that abstains
To help the rolling wheels of this great world,
Glutting his idle sense, lives a lost life,
Shameful and vain. Existing for himself,
Self-concentrated, serving self alone,
No part hath he in aught; nothing achieved,
Nought wrought or unwrought toucheth him; no hope
Of help for all the living things of earth
Depends from him…
Arjuna. Yet tell me, Teacher! by what force doth man
Go to his ill, unwilling; as if one
Pushed him that evil path?
Krishna. Kama it is!
Passion it is! born of the Darknesses,
Which pusheth him. Mighty of appetite,
Sinful, and strong is this! -- man's enemy!
As smoke blots the white fire, as clinging rust
Mars the bright mirror, as the womb surrounds
The babe unborn, so is the world of things
Foiled, soiled, enclosed in this desire of flesh.
The wise fall, caught in it; the unresting foe
So there is “Meditation (Yog) on one hand and (Correct Work or Action) on the other. Which is the better way, since both are lauded? Krishna gives the answer. Think for a moment what your answer might be if you were Krishna, and why.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter V "Karmasanyasayog"
" Renouncing Fruit of Works."
Arjuna. Yet, Krishna at the one time thou dost laud
Surcease of works, and, at another time,
Service through work. Of these twain plainly tell
Which is the better way?
Krishna. To cease from works
Is well, and to do works in holiness
Is well; and both conduct to bliss supreme;
But of these twain the better way is his
Who working piously refraineth not.
That is the true Renouncer, firm and fixed,
Who -- seeking nought, rejecting nought -- dwells proof
Against the "opposites." O valiant Prince!
In doing, such breaks lightly from all deed:
'Tis the new scholar talks as they were two,
This Sankhya and this Yoga: wise men know
Who husbands one plucks golden fruit of both!
The region of high rest which Sankhyans reach
Yogins attain. Who sees these twain as one
Sees with clear eyes! …
Now this becomes a very important point, for we always think of Buddhism as having great emphasis upon Meditation, but this is a false view. To reach a Brahma state as an objective is not the Buddhist way, and he who seeks that state actually has great problems in reaching it. To set that target is an impediment, for it presupposes a person who looks and desires and this is a self-oriented approach that is doomed to failure.
Buddha took precisely the same approach that we see in the Gita. In the Visuddhi Magga he states that there are those who are meditators who laugh at and revile those who approach the truth (by Intellect and Contemplation) without meditating, and that those who do not use the path of meditation (restraint and concentration), revile those who are meditators. Buddha declared that both ways were correct.
At that moment, he did not say which he considered better, but the Theravadin approach, which was clearly adopted with the “Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path and Dependent Origination being central to the path, shows a clear generation of the “natural and correct” life-oriented philosophy of Buddha.
That he was not unaware of the other alternative is very clear and we see that, precisely because his own awakening was by the method of meditation (contemplation), he saw the value in the former (concentration).
Thus he presented the way of the laity (concentration) accompanied by mindfulness, and correct attitudes, intentions and actions. That there are those who wish to divide these two and call one Theravadin and the other Mahayana and see them as two ways, are the actions of those who do not see clearly.
Thus equally Buddha might have said,
“’Tis the new scholar talks as they were two,
This Sankhya and this Yoga: wise men know
Who husbands one plucks golden fruit of both!
The region of high rest which Sankhyans reach
Yogins attain. Who sees these twain as one
Sees with clear eyes! .
Now we see how each is accomplished, for the person who is upon the correct spiritual path as a lay monk must interact with the world in the correct way, continuing with his particular meditations. This is not exactly what most people today would like, but it is what we Buddhists would once more be in full accord.
Not seeking gain from work. What a wonderful world it would be if all worked for the common good, “not seeking gain from work,” thus being naturally Sanyasins and Yogis. The yogi renounces work as a way of life, but he must be “Unmoved by passions and unbound by deeds, Setting result aside.” We can see the common denominator of the Sanyasins and Yogis. Both are unmoved by passions and both must set the result aside, dwelling in equanimity.
But there is more in this Chapter VI, for we see, set out clearly, the meditative practice using concentration.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter VI "Atmasanyamayog" Self-Restraint
Krishna. Therefore, who doeth work rightful to do,
Not seeking gain from work, that man, O Prince!
Is Sanyasi and Yogi -- both in one
And he is neither who lights not the flame
Of sacrifice, nor setteth hand to task.
Regard as true Renouncer him that makes
Worship by work, for who renounceth not
Works not as Yogin.
So is that well said:
"By works the votary doth rise to faith,
And saintship is the ceasing from all works;
Because the perfect Yogin acts -- but acts
Unmoved by passions and unbound by deeds,
Setting result aside.
…
The sovereign soul
Of him who lives self-governed and at peace
Is centred in itself, taking alike
Pleasure and pain; heat, cold; glory and shame.
He is the Yogi, he is Yukta, glad
With joy of light and truth; dwelling apart
Upon a peak, with senses subjugate
Whereto the clod, the rock, the glistering gold
Show all as one. By this sign is he known
Being of equal grace to comrades, friends,
Chance-comers, strangers, lovers, enemies,
Aliens and kinsmen; loving all alike,
Evil or good.
Sequestered should he sit,
Steadfastly meditating, solitary,
His thoughts controlled, his passions laid away,
Quit of belongings. In a fair, still spot
Having his fixed abode, -- not too much raised,
Nor yet too low, -- let him abide, his goods
A cloth, a deerskin, and the Kusa-grass.
There, setting hard his mind upon The One,
Restraining heart and senses, silent, calm,
Let him accomplish Yoga, and achieve
Pureness of soul, holding immovable
Body and neck and head, his gaze absorbed
Upon his nose-end, rapt from all around,
Tranquil in spirit, free of fear, intent
Upon his Brahmacharya vow, devout,
Musing on Me, lost in the thought of Me.
That Yogin, so devoted, so controlled,
Comes to the peace beyond, -- My peace, the peace
Of high Nirvana!
Magnificent! For here we see too the essence of the middle path proposed by Buddha. Not by falling into the traps of sense desire nor extreme austerities is liberation found. It is true that Buddha tried both extremes before the lesson was learnt. But that is the point. The truth is only found by direct experience, when “Self contemplates self, and in itself.” In Mahayana terms, we would say that only the Mind is capable of touching No Mind. This occurs when the contamination of the Duality of mind is set aside.
But for earthly needs
Religion is not his who too much fasts
Or too much feasts, nor his who sleeps away
An idle mind; nor his who wears to waste
His strength in vigils. Nay, Arjuna! I call
That the true piety which most removes
Earth-aches and ills, where one is moderate
In eating and in resting, and in sport;
Measured in wish and act; sleeping betimes,
Waking betimes for duty.
When the man,
So living, centres on his soul the thought
Straitly restrained -- untouched internally
By stress of sense -- then is he Yukta. See!
Steadfast a lamp burns sheltered from the wind;
Such is the likeness of the Yogi's mind
Shut from sense-storms and burning bright to Heaven.
When mind broods placid, soothed with holy wont;
When Self contemplates self, and in itself
It may seem incredible to find so many Buddhist ideas here in the early Indian sacred texts. But really that is a wonderful and exciting thing, for we see where Buddha learned the things that were the basis for his great contribution to the liberation of all sentient beings.
Now Krishna moves to another theme, which is virtue, the possession of Correct Intention. He discusses what happens if a man falls from his ideal. You must understand here that Buddhist virtue is quite different from religious virtue. For us there is no such thing as a virtuous man or woman. Why do we say that?
Because once a person takes an honest and sincere vow to follow the Buddhist way, he is on the path of virtue. If he falls off that path, he has no guilt or culpability if his vow was clean, honest and unflawed in the beginning, with no thoughts of self. It is true that he is responsible for whatever action he does, but he is not culpable or blameworthy. He is simply a person of virtue who has made a mistake and will rectify that mistake every time he falls until there are no more mistakes.
So goodbye guilt, my friends. If you experience the suffering of guilt then you are creating that suffering for yourself.
Look how Krishna deals with that issue. “Because no heart that holds one right desire Treadeth the road of loss!”
Arjuna. And what road goeth he who, having faith,
Fails, Krishna! in the striving; falling back
From holiness, missing the perfect rule?
Is he not lost, straying from Brahma's light,
Like the vain cloud, which floats 'twixt earth and heaven
When lightning splits it, and it vanisheth?
Fain would I hear thee answer me herein,
Since, Krishna! none save thou can clear the doubt.
Krishna. He is not lost, thou Son of Pritha! No!
Nor earth, nor heaven is forfeit, even for him,
Because no heart that holds one right desire
Treadeth the road of loss! He who should fail,
Desiring righteousness, cometh at death
Unto the Region of the Just; dwells there
Measureless years, and being born anew,
Beginneth life again in some fair home
Amid the mild and happy.
It is true, in the Gita, that he must wait for another birth, but that is another story.
Lest we begin to think now that the Gita and Buddha are in accord on everything, we find the important difference in the following chapter. We would say that three types of mortals are on the path of the Dharma: those who suffer and know that all sentient beings suffer; those who suffer and look for the answer; and the Bodhisattva who toils to help all sentient beings. We say that the Bodhisattva is the highest attainment. Beyond the Bodhisattva is Buddhahood, which is beyond all comparison.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter VII "Vijnanayog" Discernment
Four sorts of mortals know me: he who weeps,
Arjuna! and the man who yearns to know;
And he who toils to help; and he who sits
Certain of me, enlightened.
Of these four,
O Prince of India! highest, nearest, best
That last is, the devout soul, wise, intent
Upon "The One." Dear, above all, am I
To him; and he is dearest unto me!
All four are good, and seek me; but mine own,
The true of heart, the faithful -- stayed on me,
…
By passion for the "pairs of opposites,"
By those twain snares of Like and Dislike, Prince!
All creatures live bewildered, save some few
Who, quit of sins, holy in act, informed,
Freed from the "opposites," and fixed in faith,
Cleave unto Me.
In the Gita, mind finds Brahma, or rather a oneship with Brahma, “Owning none other Gods”. In Buddhism, there is no sense of there being an eternal life. Neither is there annihilation, for the energy returns to the fount of all energy. The difference between the two lies in the fruit of enlightenment.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter VIII "Aksharaparabrahmayog"
Devotion to One Supreme God.
Thou too, when heart and mind are fixed on Me,
Shalt surely come to Me! All come who cleave
With never-wavering will of firmest faith,
Owning none other Gods: all come to Me,
The Uttermost, Purusha, Holiest!
In the Indian mind, there exists a ceaseless search to find the nature of God, which is not a blind religious faith. Chapter X deals with this question.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter X "Vibhuti Yog"
Heavenly Perfections.
Aruna: How shall I learn, Supremest Mystery!
To know Thee, though I muse continually?
Under what form of Thine unnumbered forms
Mayst Thou be grasped? Ah! yet again recount,
Clear and complete, Thy great appearances,
The secrets of Thy Majesty and Might,
Thou High Delight of Men! Never enough
Can mine ears drink the Amrit of such words!
Krishna. Hanta! So be it! Kuru Prince! I will to thee unfold
Some portions of My Majesty, whose powers are manifold!
I am the Spirit seated deep in every creature's heart;
From Me they come; by Me they live; at My word they depart!
Vishnu of the Adityas I am, those Lords of Light;
Maritchi of the Maruts, the Kings of Storm and Blight;
By day I gleam, the golden Sun of burning cloudless Noon;
By Night, amid the asterisms I glide, the dappled Moon!
Of Vedas I am Sama-Ved, of gods in Indra's Heaven
Vasava; of the faculties to living beings given
The mind which apprehends and thinks; of Rudras Sankara;
Of Yakshas and of Rakshasas, Vittesh; and Pavaka
Of Vasus, and of mountain-peaks Meru; Vrihaspati
Know Me 'mid planetary Powers; 'mid Warriors heavenly
Skanda; of all the water-floods the Sea which drinketh each,
And Bhrigu of the holy Saints, and OM of sacred speech;
Of prayers the prayer ye whisper; of hills Himila's snow,
And Aswattha, the fig-tree, of all the trees that grow;
Of the Devarshis, Narada; and Chitrarath of them
That sing in Heaven, and Kapila of Munis, and the gem
Of flying steeds, Uchchaisravas, from Amritwave which burst;
Of elephants Airavata; of males the Best and First;
Of weapons Heav'n's hot thunderbolt; of cows white Kamadhuk,
From whose great milky udder-teats all hearts' desires are strook;
Vasuki of the serpent-tribes, round Mandara entwined;
And thousand-fanged Ananta, on whose broad coils reclined
Leans Vishnu; and of water-things Varuna; Aryam
Of Pitris, and, of those that judge, Yama the Judge I am;
Of Daityas dread Prahlada; of what metes days and years,
Time's self I am; of woodland-beasts -- buffaloes, deers, and bears --
The lordly-painted tiger; of birds the vast Garud,
The whirlwind 'mid the winds; 'mid chiefs Rama with blood imbrued,
Makar 'mid fishes of the sea, and Ganges 'mid the streams;
Yea! First, and Last, and Centre of all which is or seems
I am, Arjuna! Wisdom Supreme of what is wise,
Words on the uttering lips I am, and eyesight of the eyes.
And "A" of written characters, Dwandwa of knitted speech,
And Endless Life, and boundless Love, whose power sustaineth each;
And bitter Death which seizes all, and joyous sudden Birth,
Which brings to light all beings that are to be on earth;
And of the viewless virtues, Fame, Fortune, Song am I,
And Memory, and Patience; and Craft, and Constancy:
Of Vedic hymns the Vrihatsam, of metres Gayatri,
Of months the Margasirsha, of all the seasons three
The flower-wreathed Spring; in dicer's-play the conquering Double-Eight;
The splendour of the splendid, and the greatness of the great,
Victory I am, and Action! and the goodness of the good,
And Vasudev of Vrishni's race, and of this Pandu brood
Thyself! -- Yea, my Arjuna! thyself; for thou art Mine!
Of poets Usana, of saints Vyasa, sage divine;
The policy of conquerors, the potency of kings,
The great unbroken silence in learning's secret things;
The lore of all the learned, the seed of all which springs.
Living or lifeless, still or stirred, whatever beings be,
None of them is in all the worlds, but it exists by Me!
Nor tongue can tell, Arjuna! nor end of telling come
Of these My boundless glories, whereof I teach thee some;
For wheresoe'er is wondrous work, and majesty, and might,
From Me hath all proceeded. Receive thou this aright!
Yet how shouldst thou receive, O Prince! the vastness of this word?
I, who am all, and made it all, abide its separate Lord!
Do you see then the subtlety of the Indian mind here? There is one God, but there are seen to be other Gods which also can be worshiped. This is partially taken from Vedic texts. Although, like the Hebrews, it is stated that “there is no other God but me”, instead of throwing down all idols, as Moses did, the Indian simply declares that Brahma is indeed all these Gods, each God then being a manifestation of Brahma.
The beauty of religious tolerance is shown here. Each man may then choose his own God, knowing each to be Brahma. This is something that is not fully understood when one looks at Christian Saints as intermediaries.
…Near to renunciation -- very near --
Dwelleth Eternal Peace!
Who hateth nought
Of all which lives, living himself benign,
Compassionate, from arrogance exempt,
Exempt from love of self, unchangeable
By good or ill; patient, contented, firm
In faith, mastering himself, true to his word,
Seeking Me, heart and soul; vowed unto Me, That man I love!
Who troubleth not his kind,
And is not troubled by them; clear of wrath,
Living too high for gladness, grief, or fear,
That man I love! Who, dwelling quiet-eyed,
Stainless, serene, well-balanced, unperplexed,
Working with Me, yet from all works detached,
That man I love! Who, fixed in faith on Me,
Dotes upon none, scorns none; rejoices not,
And grieves not, letting good or evil hap
Light when it will, and when it will depart,
That man I love!
Who, unto friend and foe
Keeping an equal heart, with equal mind
Bears shame and glory; with an equal peace
Takes heat and cold, pleasure and pain; abides
Quit of desires, hears praise or calumny
In passionless restraint, unmoved by each;
Linked by no ties to earth, steadfast in Me,
That man I love!
But most of all I love
Those happy ones to whom 'tis life to live
In single fervid faith and love unseeing,
Drinking the blessed Amrit of my Being!
This is an essential part of Buddhism. It is not that Compassion and Benevolent Love must be generated, it is that they reside naturally in every man and can be activated once the Blanket of Ignorance has been removed. It is “Drinking the blessed Amrit of one’s own Being!”
Now in Chapter XVI we get perhaps the most important part of the Gita. In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path is really understood by few Buddhists. Many masters speak of Correct Attitude and then dismiss it, allowing adepts to repeat this like parrots, without a full understanding of its deep relation on one hand, to the Four Noble Truths and on the other hand, to Dependent Origination. Neither the Gita, nor other scriptures know of the profundity of these teachings, but here Krishna gives us a good working description of Correct Attitudes, Intentions and Actions and briefly describes the Incorrect ones.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter XVI "Daivasarasaupadwibhagayog"
The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine
Krishna. Fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will
Always to strive for wisdom; opened hand
And governed appetites; and piety,
And love of lonely study; humbleness,
Uprightness, heed to injure nought which lives,
Truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind
That lightly letteth go what others prize;
And equanimity, and charity
Which spieth no man's faults; and tenderness
Towards all that suffer; a contented heart,
Fluttered by no desires; a bearing mild,
Modest, and grave, with manhood nobly mixed,
With patience, fortitude, and purity;
An unrevengeful spirit, never given
To rate itself too high; -- such be the signs,
O Indian Prince! of him whose feet are set
On that fair path which leads to heavenly birth!
Incorrect attitude
Deceitfulness, and arrogance, and pride,
Quickness to anger, harsh and evil speech,
And ignorance, to its own darkness blind, --
These be the signs, My Prince! of him whose birth
Is fated for the regions of the vile.
The Unheavenly Man
Hear from me now of the Unheavenly!
They comprehend not, the Unheavenly,
How Souls go forth from Me; nor how they come
Back unto Me: nor is there Truth in these,
Nor purity, nor rule of Life. "This world
Hath not a Law, nor Order, nor a Lord,"
So say they: "nor hath risen up by Cause
Following on Cause, in perfect purposing,
But is none other than a House of Lust."
And, this thing thinking, all those ruined ones --
Of little wit, dark-minded -- give themselves
To evil deeds, the curses of their kind.
Surrendered to desires insatiable,
Full of deceitfulness, folly, and pride,
In blindness cleaving to their errors, caught
Into the sinful course, they trust this lie
As it were true -- this lie which leads to death --
Finding in Pleasure all the good which is,
And crying "Here it finisheth!"
Ensnared
In nooses of a hundred idle hopes,
Slaves to their passion and their wrath, they buy
Wealth with base deeds, to glut hot appetites;
"Thus much, to-day," they say, "we gained! thereby
Such and such wish of heart shall have its fill;
And this is ours! and the' other shall be ours!
To-day we slew a foe, and we will slay
Our other enemy to-morrow! Look!
Are we not lords? Make we not goodly cheer?
Is not our fortune famous, brave, and great?
Rich are we, proudly born! What other men
Live like to us? Kill, then, for sacrifice!
Cast largesse, and be merry!" So they speak
Darkened by ignorance; and so they fall --
Tossed to and fro with projects, tricked, and bound
In net of black delusion, lost in lusts --
Down to foul Naraka. Conceited, fond,
Stubborn and proud, dead-drunken with the wine
Of wealth, and reckless, all their offerings
Have but a show of reverence, being not made
In piety of ancient faith. Thus vowed
To self-hood, force, insolence, feasting, wrath,
These My blasphemers, in the forms they wear
And in the forms they breed, my foemen are,
Hateful and hating; cruel, evil, vile,
Lowest and least of men, whom I cast down
Again, and yet again, at end of lives,
Into some devilish womb, whence -- birth by birth --
The devilish wombs re-spawn them, all beguiled;
And, till they find and worship Me, sweet Prince!
Tread they that Nether Road.
The Threefold Doors of Hell (Doubt, Hostility and Greed)
The Doors of Hell
Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, --
The door of Lust (Ignorance and doubt), the door of Wrath, the door
Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!
He who shall turn aside from entering
All those three gates of Narak, wendeth straight
To find his peace, and comes to Swarga's gate.
This brief poem, “The Doors of Hell.” we can title “Buddhism in a nutshell”. But we cannot leave the Bhagavad Gita without examining Krishna’s position on the castes. It is stated with clarity in the final Chapter.
Bhagavad-Gita Chapter XVIII "Mokshasanyasayog"
Deliverance and Renunciation
The Four Natures
The work of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas,
And Sudras, O thou Slayer of thy Foes!
Is fixed by reason of the Qualities
Planted in each:
BRAHMIN NATURE
A Brahman's virtues, Prince
Born of his nature, are serenity,
Self-mastery, religion, purity,
Patience, uprightness, learning, and to know
The truth of things which be.
KRSHATRYA NATURE
A Kshatriya's pride,
Born of his nature, lives in valour, fire,
Constancy, skilfulness, spirit in fight,
And open-handedness and noble mien,
As of a lord of men.
VAISYA NATURE
A Vaisya's task,
Born with his nature, is to till the ground,
Tend cattle, venture trade.
SUDRA NATURE
A Sudra's state,
Suiting his nature, is to minister.
Whoso performeth -- diligent, content --
The work allotted him, whate'er it be,
Lays hold of perfectness! Hear how a man
Findeth perfection, being so content:
He findeth it through worship -- wrought by work --
Of HIM that is the Source of all which lives,
Of HIM by Whom the universe was stretched.
Better thine own work is, though done with fault,
Than doing others' work, ev'n excellently.
HOW TO ATTAIN THE SUPREME
….. How one, attaining perfect peace, attains
BRAHMA, the supreme, the highest height of all!
Devoted -- with a heart grown pure, restrained
In lordly self-control, forgoing wiles
Of song and senses, freed from love and hate,
Dwelling 'mid solitudes, in diet spare,
With body, speech, and will tamed to obey,
Ever to holy meditation vowed,
From passions liberate, quit of the Self,
Of arrogance, impatience, anger, pride;
Freed from surroundings, quiet, lacking nought --
Such an one grows to oneness with the BRAHMA;
Such an one, growing one with BRAHMA, serene,
Sorrows no more, desires no more; his soul,
Equally loving all that lives, loves well…
Wait! Lest you believe that we are done with the Gita, let us return to a very special topic. Do you remember a point in the earlier lessons when I stated that I very much liked the idea of the description of the human creature as “a lotus enmeshed in the three Gunas”? Now pay close attention, for it is not easy to see the interactions of the three Gunas. Let us allow Krishna to explain, after which I will give a brief commentary.
….This Universe the womb is where I plant
Seed of all lives! Thence, Prince of India, comes
Birth to all beings! Whoso, Kunti's Son!
Mothers each mortal form, Brahma conceives,
And I am He that fathers, sending seed!
Sattwan, Rajas, and Tamas, so are named
The qualities of Nature, "Soothfastness,"
"Passion," and "Ignorance."
These three bind down
The changeless Spirit in the changeful flesh.
These three you will see in the nest unit play an important part in Buddhist meditation in all schools, transformed of course to fit the particular needs of the practices. Soothfastness is an adherence to Truth, but that Truth is actually not the Buddhist transcendental Truth, the knowledge of the primordial state, or in the case of the Brahmin way, the Supreme Truth of union with Brahma.
It is the Truth of correct worldly conduct as perceived by the Aryans. The key is Duty thus we can transform the idea “soothfast”, into the idea “Firm in one’s Duty to Brahma.”
Passion is actually a word better associated with those who are Soothfast, for here the concept is rather Emotion.
Ignorance is a state depreciated by the Brahmins and considered clearly inferior. The main reason is the intransigence of the “Dark ones” who actually neither understand the Passion for Duty nor the Emotional state of the Rajas. Thus they are considered almost as alien evil creatures.
Whereof sweet "Soothfastness," by purity
Living unsullied and enlightened, binds
The sinless Soul to happiness and truth;
And Passion, being kin to appetite,
And breeding impulse and propensity,
Binds the embodied Soul, O Kunti's Son!
By tie of works.
But Ignorance, begot
Of Darkness, blinding mortal men, binds down
Their souls to stupor, sloth, and drowsiness.
Yea, Prince of India!
Soothfastness binds souls
In pleasant wise to flesh; and Passion binds
By toilsome strain; but Ignorance, which blots
The beams of wisdom, binds the soul to sloth.
Perhaps you can see that Soothfastness, the firmness of being right according to social law, is essentially the Super Ego in modern psychological terms.
Dominance of the Gunas
Passion and Ignorance, once overcome,
Leave Soothfastness, O Bharata!
Where this
With Ignorance are absent, Passion rules;
And Ignorance (remains) in hearts not good (soothfast) nor quick (passion).
When at all gateways of the Body shines
The Lamp of Knowledge, then may one see well
Soothfastness settled in that city reigns;
Where longing is, and ardour, and unrest,
Impulse to strive and gain, and avarice,
Those spring from Passion -- Prince! -- engrained;
and where
Darkness and dullness, sloth and stupor are,
'Tis Ignorance hath caused them, Kuru Chief!
So we see resident in each person these three Gunas, but in each person one assumes dominance.
The Gunas after Death
Moreover, when a soul departeth, fixed
In Soothfastness, it goeth to the place --
Perfect and pure -- of those that know all Truth.
If it departeth in set habitude
Of Impulse, it shall pass into the world
Of spirits tied to works;
and, if it dies
In hardened Ignorance, that blinded soul
Is born anew in some unlighted womb.
The Fruit of the gunas
The fruit of Soothfastness is true and sweet;
The fruit of lusts is pain and toil; the fruit
Of Ignorance is deeper darkness.
Yea!
For Light brings light, and Passion ache to have;
And gloom, bewilderments, and ignorance
Grow forth from Ignorance.
Those of the first
Rise ever higher; those of the second mode
Take a mid place; the darkened souls sink back
To lower deeps, loaded with witlessness!
Beyond the Gunas (Beyond Mundane Life)
When, watching life, the living man perceives
The only actors are the Qualities,
And knows what rules beyond the Qualities,
Then is he come nigh unto Me!
The Soul,
Thus passing forth from the Three Qualities --
Whereby arise all bodies -- overcomes
Birth, Death, Sorrow, and Age; and drinketh deep
The undying wine of Amrit.
Arjuna. Oh, my Lord!
Which be the signs to know him that hath gone
Past the Three Modes? How liveth he? What way
Leadeth him safe beyond the threefold Modes?
Krishna. He who with equanimity surveys
Lustre of goodness, strife of passion, sloth
Of ignorance, not angry if they are,
Not wishful when they are not: he who sits
A sojourner and stranger in their midst
Unruffled, standing off, saying -- serene --
When troubles break, "These be the Qualities!
He unto whom -- self-centred -- grief and joy
Sound as one word; to whose deep-seeing eyes
The clod, the marble, and the gold are one;
Whose equal heart holds the same gentleness
For lovely and unlovely things, firm-set,
Well-pleased in praise and dispraise; satisfied
With honour or dishonour; unto friends
And unto foes alike in tolerance;
Detached from undertakings, -- he is named
Surmounter of the Qualities!
And such --
With single, fervent faith adoring Me,
Passing beyond the Qualities, conforms
To Brahma, and attains Me!
The Four Natures
The work of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas,
And Sudras, O thou Slayer of thy Foes!
Is fixed by reason of the Qualities
Planted in each:
Notice that these casts are not bound upon each person by the social structure. They are bound by what the Brahmin writers considered the basic nature. Thus a person who lives continually in the Guna world of the Tamas and does not reach the liberation by Brahma is doomed to return to that position in life. Likewise it is with each group. Each returns to his allotted place by nature. The only relief from that state is the Liberation of Brahma. What is not clear from the text is whether the Brahmins considered themselves in that enlightened position or if they included themselves with the Warrior class as Sattwan.
The erroneous assumption is made that a social class of people assume the characteristics of specific Gunas and that each Guna has a social value. This leads clearly to the false position of the allocation of characteristics that they do not possess.
CHAPTER XVII "Sraddhatrayavibhagayog,"
Threefold Kinds of Faith."
Arjuna. If men forsake the holy ordinance,
Heedless of Shastras, yet keep faith at heart
And worship, what shall be the state of those,
Great Krishna! Sattwan, Rajas, Tamas? Say!
Krishna. Threefold the faith is of mankind, and springs
From those three qualities, -- becoming "true,"
Or "passion-stained," or "dark," as thou shalt hear!
The faith of each believer, Indian Prince!
Conforms itself to what he truly is.
Where thou shalt see a worshipper, that one
To what he worships lives assimilate,
[Such as the shrine, so is the votary,]
The Gunas and Religious Faith
The "soothfast" souls adore true gods; the souls
Obeying Rajas worship Rakshasas
Or Yakshas; and the men of Darkness pray
To Pretas and to Bhutas.
Yea, and those
Who practise bitter penance, not enjoined
By rightful rule -- penance which hath its root
In self-sufficient, proud hypocrisies --
Those men, passion-beset, violent, wild,
Torturing -- the witless ones -- My elements
Shut in fair company within their flesh,
(Nay, Me myself, present within the flesh!)
Know them to devils devoted, not to Heaven!
For like as foods are threefold for mankind
In nourishing, so is there threefold way
Of worship, abstinence, and almsgiving!
Hear this of Me! there is a food which brings
Force, substance, strength, and health, and joy to live,
Being well-seasoned, cordial, comforting,
The "Soothfast" meat.
And there be foods which bring
Aches and unrests, and burning blood, and grief
Being too biting, heating, salt, and sharp,
And therefore craved by too strong appetite.
And there is foul food -- kept from over-night,
Savourless, filthy, which the foul will eat,
A feast of rottenness, meet for the lips
Of such as love the "Darkness."
Thus with rites; --
A sacrifice not for reward made,
Offered in rightful wise, when he who vows
Sayeth, with heart devout, "This I should do!
Is "Soothfast" rite.
But sacrifice for gain,
Offered for good repute, be sure that this,
O Best of Bharatas! is Rajas-rite,
With stamp of "Passion."
And a sacrifice
Offered against the laws, with no due dole
Of food-giving, with no accompaniment
Of hallowed hymn, nor largesse to the priests,
In faithless celebration, call it vile,
The deed of "Darkness!" -- lost!
……. threefold faith, in highest piety
Kept, with no hope of gain, by hearts devote
Is perfect work of Sattwan, true belief.
Religion shown in act of proud display
To win good entertainment, worship, fame,
Such -- say I -- is of Rajas, rash and vain.
Religion followed by a witless will
To torture self, or come at power to hurt
Another, -- 'tis of Tamas, dark and ill.
Benevolence and the Gunas
The gift lovingly given, when one shall say
"Now must I gladly give!" when he who takes
Can render nothing back; made in due place,
Due time, and to a meet recipient,
Is gift of Sattwan, fair and profitable.
The gift selfishly given, where to receive
Is hoped again, or when some end is sought,
Or where the gift is proffered with a grudge,
This is of Rajas, stained with impulse, ill.
The gift churlishly flung, at evil time,
In wrongful place, to base recipient,
Made in disdain or harsh unkindliness,
Is gift of Tamas, dark; it doth not bless!
CHAPTER XVIII "Mokshasanyasayog"
Deliverance and Renunciation
There is "right" Action: that which -- being enjoined --
Is wrought without attachment, passionlessly,
For duty, not for love, nor hate, nor gain.
There is "vain" Action: that which men pursue
Aching to satisfy desires, impelled
By sense of self, with all-absorbing stress:
This is of Rajas -- passionate and vain.
There is "dark" Action: when one doth a thing
Heedless of issues, heedless of the hurt
Or wrong for others, heedless if he harm
His own soul -- 'tis of Tamas, black and bad!
Gunas and the Actor
There is the "rightful" doer. He who acts
Free from self-seeking, humble, resolute,
Steadfast, in good or evil hap the same,
Content to do aright -- he "truly" acts.
There is the "impassioned" doer. He that works
From impulse, seeking profit, rude and bold
To overcome, unchastened; slave by turns
Of sorrow and of joy: of Rajas he!
And there be evil doers; loose of heart,
Low-minded, stubborn, fraudulent, remiss,
Dull, slow, despondent -- children of the "dark."
The Gunas and Intellect
Hear, too, of Intellect and Steadfastness
The threefold separation, Conqueror-Prince!
How these are set apart by Qualities.
Good is the Intellect which comprehends
The coming forth and going back of life,
What must be done, and what must not be done,
What should be feared, and what should not be feared,
What binds and what emancipates the soul:
That is of Sattwan, Prince! of "soothfastness."
Marred is the Intellect which, knowing right
And knowing wrong, and what is well to do
And what must not be done, yet understands
Nought with firm mind, nor as the calm truth is:
This is of Rajas, Prince! and "passionate!"
Evil is Intellect which, wrapped in gloom,
Looks upon wrong as right, and sees all things
Contrariwise of Truth. O Pritha's Son!
That is of Tamas, "dark" and desperate!
The Gunas and Steadfastness
Good is the steadfastness whereby a man
Masters his beats of heart, his very breath
Of life, the action of his senses; fixed
In never-shaken faith and piety:
That is of Sattwan, Prince! "soothfast" and fair!
Stained is the steadfastness whereby a man
Holds to his duty, purpose, effort, end,
For life's sake, and the love of goods to gain,
Arjuna! 'tis of Rajas, passion-stamped!
Sad is the steadfastness wherewith the fool
Cleaves to his sloth, his sorrow, and his fears,
His folly and despair. This -- Pritha's Son! --
Is born of Tamas, "dark" and miserable!
Pleasure and the Gunas
…..Good Pleasure is the pleasure that endures,
Banishing pain for aye; bitter at first
As poison to the soul, but afterward
Sweet as the taste of Amrit. Drink of that!
It springeth in the Spirit's deep content.
And painful Pleasure springeth from the bond
Between the senses and the sense-world. Sweet
As Amrit is its first taste, but its last
Bitter as poison. 'Tis of Rajas, Prince!
And foul and "dark" the Pleasure is which springs
From sloth and sin and foolishness; at first
And at the last, and all the way of life
The soul bewildering. 'Tis of Tamas, Prince!
For nothing lives on earth, nor 'midst the gods
In utmost heaven, but hath its being bound
With these three Qualities, by Nature framed.
Thus ends the fourteenth chapter named Yoga of Three Gunas in the Upanishad of the divine Bhagavad-Gita , the knowledge of the Absolute, the yogic scripture, and the debate between Arjuna and Lord Krishna.
Take care to really understand the subtlety here. First there is a very clear and valid idea of the presence of these three basic mundane natures, but the Brahmin bias paints the socially oriented duty bound person as noble, although far less noble than when in an Awakened state after oneness with Brahma. When you look past this figure as presented he is rigid and intellectually attached to what is right, as far as he himself sees that righteousness. The Greedy person is portrayed with clarity for there is no Brahmin bias for or against this important “piece” in the social system.
When it comes to the Ignorant we find a great and distorted picture. Make a point to note that distortion. The text paints the Ignorant as “Dark”, but actually that Darkness in great part arises from doubt (The soul bewildering) and confusion (Looks upon wrong as right, and sees all things Contrariwise of Truth.) This is further reinforced by the stigma placed upon them, which politically served to keep them in place. See through the Brahmin bias and see the base of the true natures without that distortion.
The Brahmanas
Apart from the Mahabharata, early Indian literature is divided into two parts, the Vedas and their Brahmanas which make up the Karmakanda and the Aranyakas and the Upanishads which make up the Jnanakanda.
It is these Brahmanas that are actually more important in that respect because they mark a great change in the emphasis of method and rites. We see that Sacrifices and Rituals have become a central part of life. It is as though the Priests have come to the idea that it is not the Gods who are controlling things but they themselves, through the mighty power of their sacrifices. It is once more an example of the corruption of power,
True they used the Vedic hymns with Sacrifices, but now the idea is that these sacrifices cannot be denied by the Gods and they must respond. In this way the desires of the people and their confidence in the priests is maintained.
The Brahmanas, which were written in prose as sacerdotal commentaries on the four Vedas to guide the practices of the sacrifices and give explanations, often mythical and fanciful, for these customs, are concerned with the correct administration of the sacrifice and the rituals in great detail.
It is the complexity, as we have said, that led to greater dependence upon the priests and thus gave them greater control. It would perhaps be unjust to say that these methods and rules were instigated in order to gain and maintain control and did not naturally rise out of the requirements of the people, but human nature being what it is, it is most likely that the conditions set the stage allowing the priests to take advantage of those conditions. In addition to the discussions of sacerdotal matters, the Brahmanas contain legends to explain the reasons for the religious practices. They are inventive and clearly favor an enlargement of the sacerdotal role. The themes are usually heroic discovery of a rite that solves a critical problem.
There is a delightful tale of Bhrigu, the son of Varuna, who was devoted to knowledge and considered himself to be better than other Brahmins or even the gods.
Varuna stopped his life breath, and Bhrigu was swept into the world beyond. His experiences were unusual to say the least. In one world he saw one man cut another man to pieces and eat him. In a second world a man was eating a screaming victim. In a third, another man was eating a victim who was silently screaming. Then in another apparent world, two women were guarding a treasure. In a fifth he perceived a stream of blood guarded by a naked black man with a club while a stream of butter provided all the desires of golden men in golden bowls. Finally, in a sixth world, there flowed five rivers of blue and white lotuses with flowing honey, accompanied by the sounds of wonderful music and pleasant aromas, while celestial nymphs danced and sang.
Eventually he returned and Varuna explained to him that the first man represented people who in ignorance cut up plants and trees, which in turn eat the destroyers; the second represented those who eat animals that cry out. He said that they too get their just punishment by being eaten. The third are those who ignorantly eat those products which do not cry out, like rice and barley. The consequence is that they too will be eaten. Then he turns to a more spiritual explanation for the remaining experiences. The two women are the presence of Faith and non-Faith in the world, while the river of blood represents those who squeeze the blood out of a Brahmin, and the naked black man who is a guard represents Anger. The final scene he explained shows that the true sacrificers are the golden men, who get the river of butter and the paradise of the five rivers.
This story reinforces the idea that sacrifices must not be mindless egoistic practices and that the sacrifices must be sincere and complete.
Gradually the sacrifices began to be glorified. Japa, or the practice of chanting a mantram like Aum, practiced ascetically with the sacrifices was believed to automatically produce all one's desires. Thus egoism of that type was encouraged as this brought many more to the priests so they could obtain all they desired in life.
But the quest for knowledge of what was not understood, despite the politics of power, continued, with more analysis of the rites and more abstraction in the explanations.
Eventually Prajapati was completely replaced by Brahman, who was identified with truth and would become the Creator God in the trinity that would include Vishnu, a sun-god who becomes the Preserver, and Shiva, who is derived from the indigenous Rudra, the Destroyer.
In the Satapatha Brahmana a new idea seems to crop up. It was the idea that after death a judgement of each man would be made, using a scale to weigh good against evil. The text tells us that this knowledge of coming justice will encourage the correct in this world so that in the next world the correct actions will rise, not the evil ones. Thus the idea of reincarnation is indicated in this and other passages in the Brahmanas.
Whether this concept arose as a threat for the next life to keep the people chained to the sacrifices and the priesthood we cannot tell, but it was certainly a strong motivation in that direction.
There are also other texts, the Aranyakas, which are forest treatises either appended to the Brahmanas or included within them. They are not concerned with the rules of the sacrifice but with the mystical and symbolical significance, and it was these that set the stage for the Upanishads which followed.
The Aranyakas are called the forest texts, because ascetics retreated into the forest to study the spiritual doctrines with their students. This naturally led to less emphasis on the sacrificial rites. Thus they were a transitional literature between the Brahmanas and the Upanishads, although they still discussed rites and charms.
There are also various lists of formulas, some hymns from the Vedas and basic cognitive speculations that generated the more complete understanding presented in the Upanishads.
The concept of prana as the life energy of the breath is exalted as that which establishes the entire soul. Prana is found in all sentient creatures and immortality, which is never clearly defined, is identified with an intangible spirit (atman), not the tangible body.
Supplementary to the Vedas grew up the oldest sutras or thread literature, which consisted in short and potent phrases that acted as reminders of what was to be known in connection with Aranyakas and Brahmanas.
There were Ritual sutras called Srauta sutras, used in public sacrifice and Grihya Sutras used in domestic rites. It is these that give the best information about the nature of the normal day to day life. There are also Dharma sutras concerned with religious law, among them the Apastambathe Baudhayana, and the Manavadharmasastra, the important Laws of Manu, which we will encounter in the next lesson. It deals with caste rules and other political and social matters.
The caste system was now established, though not as rigidly as it became later. The essential difference was between the light-skinned Aryans, who made up the top three castes of the priestly Brahmins, warrior Kshatriyas, and artisan Vaisyas, and the dark-skinned Dasas, who were the servant Sudras. Sudras, like women, could not own property, and only rarely did they rise above service positions. The Vaisyas were the basis of the economic system of trade, crafts, and farming. The Vaisyas were considered inferior by the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, and a female was generally not allowed to marry below her caste, though it was common for a male to do so. Even a Brahmin's daughter was not supposed to marry a Kshatriya.
The rivalry for prestige and power was between the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas, also called Rajanyas. Brahmins often held debates on Brahman and other religious issues.
Kings were consecrated by Vedic rites and now ruled with the help of an assembly (sabha) which excluded women.
Each village was administered by a Gramani, a Vaisya who acted as an administrator and the royal charioteer (Suta) who was not merely the driver of the king but also his chief advisor.
The royal priest or Purohito was also naturally also an advisor to the king.
EXERCISE 5
The fifth exercise for this course 101 allows you to be even more imaginative. I would like you to read the selection from the Bhagavadgita and criticise it from the point of view of an ordinary tradesman of the time, who really and truly ONLY believed in the Rig Veda.
Then give me the brief response of a priest who was enthusiastic and ONLY wanted to emphasise the New Vedas.
Then finally tell me which of the GUNAS is Dominant in you, and why?
There is no correct answer. There are only answers that reflect your personal understanding. Thus your own answer is part of your own learning process.