3rd Revised Edition (2003)
Title of this chapter is Saankhya Yog. Saankhya has been described by Vaman Shivram Apte in his Sanskrit-English Dictionary written in 1890: Saankhya : is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy, attributed to sage Kapil. This philosophy is so called because it ‘enumerates’ twenty-five Tattv(s) तत्व or true principles. Its chief object is to effect the final emancipation of the twenty-fifth Tattv, i.e. the Purush पुरुष or soul from the bonds of this worldly existence – the fetters of phenomenal creation – by conveying a correct knowledge of the twenty-four other Tattv(s) and by properly discriminating the Soul from them.
It regards the whole universe to be a development of an inanimate principle called Prakriti q.v., while the Purush is altogether passive and simply a looker-on. It agrees with the Vedaant [Vedanta] in being synthetical and so differs from the analytical Nyaay न्याय or Vaisheshikaa वैशेषिका; but its great point of divergence from the Vedaant is that it maintains two principles, which the Vedaant denies, and that it does not admit God as the creator and controller of the universe, which the Vedaant affirms.
Yog means union [with the Supreme Soul]. The initial part of this chapter focuses on describing the nature soul. We might say that in the context of this chapter, Saankhya Yog would mean the knowledge of soul that paves the way for union with the Supreme Soul.
Shlok 1 to 9:
Sanjay told Dhritraashtr that seeing Arjun in grief, anguish and tears Bhagawaan Shri Krishn asked Arjun, “How did you happen to get such state of mind at this hour of crisis? Such conduct, which brings ill fame, is unbecoming of noble men. You should not become a coward; this is simply not befitting you. Shed this weakness of emotions and get ready for the battle.”
At this, Arjun replied to Shri Krishn, “How can I shoot my arrows at Bheeshm Pitaamah and DronAachaarya, I respect them. It is better to live on alms than killing these respectable elderly people. Though they might be thinking that this war is for their good but they happen to be my teachers, and having killed them how would I be able to enjoy these worldly pleasures that would be made of their blood? We cannot even figure out what is really for our good: that we win them over or, they win us over? Those, after killing whom we do not want to live; they–-the children of Dhritraashtr–-are all standing before us for the war! My natural bravery has died of cowardice overwhelming me. My mind is closed and I cannot think clearly of my duty at this point. Therefore, I ask of you, please explain to me definitively what action will be beneficial for me now. I am your disciple and I have come to your shelter; give me the right advice please!"
Here we need to look at three different aspects:
- what Shri Krishn tells Arjun;
- what Arjun replies;
- what Arjun seeks;
we will look at them separately on purpose.
Shri Krishn might not have said the same things to Arjun in another situation. In fact, there had been several occasions where situation may have demanded a fight but neither Paandavs resorted to it nor Shri Krishn ever asked them for it.
Tolerance and forgiveness is virtue and Paandavs have demonstrated amply before that there was no dearth of it in their character. It was Yudhishthir who had always held the rein and demonstrated extraordinary capability of tolerance and forgiveness, and his younger brothers had always obeyed him.
Before US-Iraq War (March 2003) started media was rife with the news that the war will be swift and decisive. The impression created was that US was very well prepared, they planned the attack very meticulously taking every significant detail, and they organized themselves well, made preparations fully before launching the attack on Iraq.
Technological supremacy of US was unquestionable and their military prowess undeniable. As the war entered 10th day and continued expert comments started appearing in newspapers that US planning was not adequate, and those kinds of criticisms or introspections, whatever you might want to call them.
Looking at it differently, it appears as if when a venture succeeds we are ever ready to claim the credit for meticulous planning and effective execution. On the other hand, if the venture does not yield desired results, we start finding faults with the same planning and execution.
The point is, why is it that we humans bloated with our inflated ego think this way, as if it is we who control? Why do we forget that we have control over our actions, not over the results?
This is being written when the war is on and we have not seen the end yet. Results can be as desired or, the opposite or, the mixture of the two. Result can also be like what is totally unanticipated.
For instance, I recall watching the movie The Day of the Jackal many years ago. The assassin planned everything meticulously, executed everything very successfully and yet, at that very moment as he fired through his telescopic gun Charles De Gaul slightly bent his head totally unexpectedly and the assassination attempt failed.
INDIVIDUAL KARM & INDIVIDUAL GOAL
This is one aspect that I describe here. There are many other aspects that will be touched upon at different places in this work. They all will collectively produce a comprehensive picture but standing alone they are only one aspect of the whole process and should not be confused for the total concept and jump to critical conclusions.
Here we speak with regard to our individual Karm and our individual goal. This no way undermines our social Karm and our social responsibilities and their discussion will find place elsewhere.
Before getting into the individual Karm let us recapitulate our individual goal. We speak of our ultimate goal as a soul, not as our immediate, near future or even distant future goals as humans.
ULTIMATE GOAL & HINDUISM
Our ultimate goal as a soul is to attain dissolution within the Supreme Soul and thereby attain Moksh, that is, freedom from cycle of birth and death. This is the fundamental tenet of Hinduism that has later been adopted by subsequent religions but presented in their own way, sometime even with total distortion to the original thought but this is not the place to elaborate on them.
The reason I mention it as the fundamental tenet of Hinduism because many Hindus also try to shun away form the word Hinduism and try to seek shelter under other terms like Sanaatan Dharm, Vedaant, and etc. This process has begun in full effect after Hindu became a dirty word in post-independent India. For details please refer to this author’s ‘How long before the Dawn?’ chapter 'That Dirty word Hindu'.
Disregard whether the word Hindu is of Persian origin or what, it is the word today that denotes the ancient civilization of BhaaratVarsh and therefore, we use this word instead of trying to save our face and call it by original name Sanaatan Dharm trying to sound that Hinduism is nothing but a corrupt version of Sanaatan Dharm that is ridden with dogmas.
People who do that do it so because they do not have the courage to face the consistent ideological war waged by Christian missionaries, pseudo-secular Marxist-Stalinist intellectuals and products of Macaulayite education system in India. Now the subject is turning socio-political and therefore, we would avoid delving into it further and return to the original theme. Interested readers may refer to "How Long before Dawn" that deals with the issue fully and in-depth with plenty of evidences from history exposing the methodology adopted by them.
The only point I wish to assert here is that we will consistently use the term Hindu because Bhagawaan Shri Krishn in BhagavadGita does not teach us to become meek and coward and 'He' tells us to fight Adharm at every level, and that fight in today’s context has to be first at ideological level not with arms and ammunitions.
FREEDOM FROM CYCLE OF BIRTH & DEATH
Returning to ultimate goal of every soul, that is, freedom from cycle of birth and death. This freedom can be attained only when our Karmic account is clean. Let us try to understand this concept.
In our day-to-day life we do so many things. Good and bad things. Expressed in familiar terms: every action has a reaction, or you will reap as you will sow! Good actions bring good results and bad actions bring bad results. But not always during the same lifetime, it takes many life times. Modern Christianity teaches us the opposite and we believe it because we do not know that this was a later creation by decree of the Council of Constantinople in 534 AD.
BONDAGE OF KARM CANNOT BE AVOIDED DISREGARD WHO YOU ARE
Let us look at not very old history of Christianity itself. In Europe we had Pope Alexander VI. About his deeds during his present birth some people have written:
“This Vicar of Christ was known as Alexander the Scabrous and ruled from 1492 to 1503. Joseph McCabe in A Testament of Christian Civilization writes, “He brought into Italy [from Spain] an unscrupulous brood of relatives, the Borgias, who spread graft and depravity on all sides and opened the vilest page in history of higher authorities of any known religion.” He played vicious power politics, practiced simony, held famous public orgies in the Apostolic Palace, committed incest with his daughter, went whoring with his son, poisoned his cardinals to get their wealth, and himself died of poisoning. The legend on his triumphal arch read ‘Chastity and Charity’.” Ref : Ishwar Sharan, The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple, p79
Now, this person though he may have been the pope of Christianity, he cannot avoid coming back to world again to pay for his dues to the humanity. Being pope does not absolve him of his deeds. Just by becoming a Christian he is not going to have his salvation. No Jesus is going to help him in this matter. Nor is he going to live in the so-called hell till eternity. 'He' will have to return, not once but many times on this earth itself and has to repay his debts to the Mother Earth.
The same will apply to the 1st Pope of Christianity as well for God does not give any individual the sole distributorship for the product called ‘salvation’ despite the claims of Pope John Paul II. God does not appoint intermediaries and brokers; on the contrary, 'He' is very much against such middlemen who fool others to fill their belly.
“The Asia Synod will deal with the challenge for evangelization posed by the encounter with ancient religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. While expressing esteem for the elements of truth in these religions, the Church must make it clear thatChrist is the one mediator between God and man and the sole Redeemer of humanity.” Pope John Paul II, The Coming of the Third Millennium [quoted by David Frawley, How I became a Hindu]
“Emperor Constantine patronized the new cult for political reasons and became its savior when he called the Council of Nicca in 325 C. E., where Christianity was officially recognized in the Empire. 'He' retained the title and position of Pontifex Maximus during his lifetime and can be called Christianity’s first pope, as the bishop of Rome, whom he elevated, would assume this office after him. Joseph McCabe, telling the horrific story of how Christianity was imposed on the Empire, in The Testament of Christian Civilization, writes, “Constantine, natural son of a rural tavern-girl … and a Roman officer, waded through rivers of blood to the throne, and he was driven from Rome to Constantinople by the scorn of the Romans because ‘he put to death, first his excellent … son, and then the son of his sister, a boy of promising character, then his wife and a number of friends.’ This summary statement of a terrible crime, which Eutropius makes, … is confirmed by St. Jerome … and now not disputed.” [Quoted by Ishwar Sharan, The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple, p46n]
RELIGION OR POSITION DOES NOT FREE ONE FROM SHACKLES OF KARM
All these people disregard their power and position on this earth, which they thoroughly abused, got to return to this earth. Jews were not burnt by Hitler for nothing, only we don’t see it; for, it remains hidden in their past birth records to which we have no access. Hitler won’t either get scot-free; he too has to return to this very earth to repay his debts to humanity. Hindus and Muslims of India do not face this poverty for nothing. The clue to this remains hidden in their past deeds. Being a Hindu, or Muslim, or Christian, or Buddhist does not mean the person can have freedom from the shackles of their own Karm. Similarly, being a pope, or priests, or mullah, or king, or emperor does not absolve one from the clutches of his or her deeds.
The only way to go about neutralizing one’s Karm is to offset bad deeds with good deeds. God does not interfere with individual Karm but 'He' does ensure that every one gets the result of his or her Karm at one time or another. In this context, the Karm becomes the focal point.
PRE-SET KARM AND FREE-WILL INDUCED KARM
First let us separate these two types of Karm. Let us call pre-set Karm to those, which we do without exerting our free will. Let me give a very simplistic example without going into technicalities. Suppose, we are having bad time in our life, here we have two options. We can live with the situation accepting it as it is, or we can do something to change the situation. If we are able to change the situation with small effort then it is one thing, but if we have to put extra-ordinary effort then it is another thing. While putting extra-ordinary effort we sometimes use methods, which are not fair.
WHY IT IS NECESSARY TO SPREAD THE RESULTS OVER MANY BIRTHS
Here we see the application of freewill. By applying freewill we generate new Karm, some of it may be good and some bad. Thus, the process will go on in a never-ending spiral and we will not get any hope to end the cycle of birth and death.
This birth and death cycle is nothing but an opportunity to us for experiencing the results of our own deeds. Only it is spread over a wider spectrum of lives so that the impact is minimized. If all deeds were to be turned into results during one life time, the total effect can be so enormous that at times may become unbearable.
Beside, the span of life under the present scheme of things may be inadequate to accommodate all result related events. It is because the result does not concern or affect only one soul at a time. The events are so very inter-related that one man’s action has a bearing on another and with billions of people and uncountable species of life-forms the inter-connection can be enormous and therefore, our small life may not be enough to accommodate the whole game. This is another reason why it becomes necessary to spread it over many births.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO PLACE UNDIVIDED ATTENTION ON GOD FOR LONG
Coming back to application of freewill and generation of new Karm, we notice that it only leads to a spiraling effect. What if we do not resist the scheme of things that happen around us? Theoretically then, we do not add to any Karm. But what do we do with our time? We simply cannot sleep all the while. We got to do something or other. And whatever we may do that will simply add to more Karm.
What can we do in this situation? Well, for one thing we can think of God. In this way we turn the direction of our Karm towards God. Simply speaking it is one of the best ways to nullify our prior Karm and generate new Karm oriented towards God. And this is the surest way to take us towards God. Finally, this can ensure our salvation. But there is a catch.
It is not that easy to keep focusing on God all the time. Try now; decide that you will think of God and God alone for next five minutes and of nothing else whatsoever. Try it for yourself for just 5 minutes and see how difficult it is. If you are successful then you are ready for it and you can safely try to gradually increase the time. But generally, most people will find this 5 minute undivided attention on God alone as very difficult. For, the mind is like a monkey. It will keep jumping from one branch to another.
IF OUR KARM CAN BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRESET WORK
So the point is that you need to do some work while you are awake. Now if this work is in accordance with preset work that comes to you naturally without application of significant freewill to turn the course of events then you are in a way living through the results of your past deeds and letting them pass over. In effect, you are allowing your Karmic account to get gradually diluted.
If you can stick to this process long enough and in a consistent manner then there remains the possibility that you can, over a period of time that can last for many births, nullify your Karm and aspire for dissolution in the Supreme Soul. That will bring you Moksh, the freedom from another birth.
BUT WE ARE TAUGHT TO BE RESULT ORIENTED
But generally it is not easy because we are told over and again during our formative years and there after that we must be result oriented, that we must set our goals in life and strive to achieve them. Whenever such talk is given to us seldom it is said that our goal can be dissolution in the Supreme Soul.
All we are told that our goal has to be successful in terms of money, power and position. This is particularly the modern thrust. This, in effect, takes us farther and farther from the Supreme Soul. This drowns us deeper and deeper into the bondage of Karm and the shackle of birth and death.