The Bhagvad Gita

The Secret Code Of The Bhagavad Gita The True Intent, Spirit and Wisdom Of The Bhagavad Gita

K. P. S. Kamath, M. D.

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THE SECRET CODE OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA AN OVERVIEW OF CONTENTS

Just as all the water in the vast, deep ocean is of no use to a thirsty pilgrim, all the profound wisdom in the vast ancient scriptures of India is useless to the seekers of knowledge unless they can apply at least some of it in their everyday life. The Bhagavad Gita is like a small, deep well of sweet water just off the shore of the ocean. The problem is that the water cannot be easily drawn up from that well.

The water dispensed by the guardians of this well does not taste like it came from that well. This book is like a small jug tied to a long rope using which one can draw up some sweet water from that well and quench one's thirst.

The main goal of this book is to bring to the general public the true intent, spirit and wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita. It is the result of fifteen years of study and research of the sacred book of the Bhagavad Gita. Because this book deals with the little known aspects of the Bhagavad Gita, it might arouse incredulity, anger and hostility in some readers who are not aware of its basis and context. Truly spiritual people, who are endowed with divine qualities, will refrain from indulging in personal attacks against the author of this book before reading the entire book, just because their view differs from that of the author. Sensible point by point contradiction or rebuttal, civil debate on the merits or demerits of the book, and intelligent argument against its basic thesis are always welcome.

Everyone who is familiar with the Bhagavad Gita knows its Mahabharata context. However, there is another context to the Bhagavad Gita: Historical. This context consists of decadence of Orthodox Vedic Dharma, commonly known as Brahmanism, and rise of various heterodox Dharmas during the post-Vedic period (900-200 B. C. E) in opposition to it. The Original Gita was composed in defense of the class system known as Varnashrama Dharma, one of four pillars of Brahmanism. In a sense it was the "Policy Paper" on the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma on which Varnashrama Dharma rested. There are 64 shlokas of the Original Gita in the current text of the Bhagavad Gita. Various later interpolations into its text were made by the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha seers in an attempt to overthrow Brahmanism, and by Brahmanic seers to reestablish it. The Bhagavad Gita is not just a dry and esoteric

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document elucidating ancient Indian philosophy. It is a dynamic text which brims with conflict, energy and practical wisdom. One can discern a battle of wits between two groups holding diametrically opposite views. Without examining and understanding the historical context in some detail, it is well nigh impossible to properly reconcile all the contradictions glaringly evident in the text of the Bhagavad Gita as it exists today.

As a result of interpolations into its text by various later authors, we can find embedded in the Bhagavad Gita three distinct Gitas promoting three pairs of distinct doctrines. They are: the Brahmanic Gita promoting the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27, 33; 18:59-60); the Upanishadic Gita promoting the doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga (2:39-40), and the Bhagavatha Gita promoting the doctrines of Lord Krishna as the avatar of the Supreme Lord and Bhaktiyoga (18:64-66).

In the text of this book, the Brahmanic shlokas and concepts are shown in Orange color; the Upanishadic shlokas and concepts in Blue color, and the Bhagavatha shlokas and concepts in Green color.

All these Gitas address the three fundamental issues raised by Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra just as the Great War was about to ensue: Shokum (Grief), Dwandwam (fickleness or unsteadiness of mind as a result of loss of wisdom, engendered by mind's attachment to sense objects) and Karmaphalam (good and bad consequences of action). As a result of these three issues, Arjuna suffers from a paralyzing emotional crisis resulting in a massive panic attack (1:28-30).

Firstly, anticipating death of his own people, Arjuna suffers from Shokum (1:47).

Secondly, his attachment to his own people causes him to suffer Dwandwam (1:35-37): Should I fight to gain back my kingdom or should I just walk away? Should I kill them or should I die in their hands unarmed and unresisting?

Thirdly, Arjuna fears incurring sin -bad Karmaphalam (1:36)-in the act of killing his own people, and consequently going to hell.

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The apparent agenda of the Bhagavad Gita: How to overcome Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam consequent to desire and attachment to sense objects (people, power and wealth) and desiredriven action by means of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga.

Isn't this all there is to the Bhagavad Gita? Everyone knows this.

What, then, is the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita?

The Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita is that, in fact, it is the manifesto of a great socio-religious revolution to overthrow the decaying Orthodox Vedic Dharma (Brahmanism) and to establish in its place a New Dharma centered on Lord Krishna. The Brahmanic Dharma rested on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. The doctrine of the Gunas said that one's socially designated duty/action is determined by his inherent Guna (Quality) rooted in Nature (Prakriti) (3:27). Everyone acts helplessly under the spell of their Gunas (3:5). It is futile to even try to resist them (3:33). Anyone who thought he could defy the dictates of his Guna and act as he chooses is suffering from the delusion of Ahamkara (egoism) (3:27). The doctrine of Karma said that all actions are determined by the Gunas and they earn Karmaphala (fruits, consequences). Depending upon good or bad quality of these actions, one goes to heaven or hell after death. After exhausting his merit or demerit in heaven or hell, he returns to earth to live out his comeuppance in another life (9:20).

The Brahmanic Dharma was held up by four pillars: sacrificial rites (Yajna, Karma) dedicated to the Vedic gods (4:12; 17:4); hierarchical class system based on the Gunas and Karma known as the Varnashrama Dharma (18:41-45); sanctity of the Vedas (17:23-24), and supremacy of Brahmins over the other three classes (18:42). Because Varnashrama Dharma, based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, gave Brahmins supremacy over all other classes, they developed pathological vested interest in perpetuating it.

During the post-Vedic period (900-200 B. C. E) the upper classes of Brahmanism -Brahmins and Kshatriyas- became obsessed with ostentatious desire-driven sacrificial rites, known as Kamya Karma (18:2). Kama (hankering for and attachment to sense objects such as lordship and wealth here on earth and heaven hereafter, 2:43; 3:37) and Sankalpa (desire for fruits of sacrifices, 6:1-4) became hallmarks of Kamya Karma. Kamya Karma became the outstanding symbol of corruption and decadence of Brahmanism (3:12-13; 16:12-20). Obsession of the upper classes with Kamya

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Karma had serious consequences in the society. In the course of time, the upper classes suffered from the same three maladies Arjuna suffered on the battlefield: severe Dwandwam in their pursuit of Karmaphalam; and the rest of the society suffered much Shokam due to loss of innocence. Large sections of the society, including many grief-stricken Brahmins and Kshatriyas, began to abandon Brahmanism in favor of various heterodox Dharmas such as Buddhism and Jainism. Soon Brahmanism was in grave danger of disappearing altogether. An internal revolution to either reform Brahmanism; or salvage what little was left of it, or replace it with an entirely New Dharma became an urgent necessity.

The New Dharma, successively engineered by the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha seers, rested on the doctrines of Lord Krishna as the avatar of the Supreme Lord and Bhaktiyoga. The two pillars of this Dharma were the two aspects of the Upanishadic doctrine of Buddhiyoga: Sanyasa (detachment from sense objects 5:1) and Tyaga (renunciation of fruits of action 2:51). Thus Sanyasa countered Kama, of Kamya Karma, and Tyaga countered Sankalpa of Kamya Karma. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna, the Hero of the revolution, systematically dismantles all aspects of the Brahmanic Dharma beginning with its very foundation: the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (2:45). He offers Himself as the power greater than the Gunas (7:14; 14:19). He discredits the Gunas as the seat of all common human weaknesses such as desire, attachment, possessiveness and rage. Taking refuge in Him alone would help one to overcome the force of the Gunas. Surrendering to Him alone in Bhaktiyoga one would overcome the doctrine of Karma and attain Moksha (18:66). He goes on to downgrade or condemn Vedic ritualists (2:41-44); the Vedas (2:46, 52-53); Kamya Karma (2:47-51), and the Varnashrama Dharma (5:18-19; 6:29). The true spirit of Lord Krishna's Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita is exactly opposite of Brahmanism: to establish a New Dharma centered on One God; worship of that God by Bhaktiyoga (Bhakti combined with Sanyasa and Tyaga); equality of all people regardless of their birth class, caste or family; simplicity of life based on detachment from sense objects and selfless service to God and humanity.

The Upanishadic and Bhagavatha revolutionaries accomplished their goal in the Bhagavad Gita on the pretext of addressing the three issues raised by Arjuna on the battlefield: Shokum, Dwandwam, and Karmaphalam. They blamed the doctrine of the Gunas as the cause of Shokam and Dwandwam, and the doctrine of Karma as the cause of Karmaphalam, resulting in Samsara -the cycle of birth, death and 5

rebirth. They said that desire (Kama) for, attachment (Sangas) to and possessiveness (Moha) of sense objects are the functions of the Gunas, and one must cross over them by taking refuge in Atman/Brahman/Lord in order to get over Shokam and Dwandwam.

They said that desire for fruits of action (Sankalpa) caused one to earn Karmaphalam, and therefore one must give it up from all Yajnas in order to overcome the doctrine of Karma. Lord Krishna's New Dharma succinctly addresses these three evils, glaringly evident in the postVedic society, in His Ultimate Shloka of the Bhagavad Gita: 18:66: Abandon all Dharma (Brahmanism and all its sub-Dharmas such as Varnashrama Dharma, Jati Dharma and Kula Dharma; and also all heterodox Dharmas: Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika,) and surrender unto Me alone (not to the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma; or other gods, such as Indra and Agni, because now I am the Eternal Dharma 14:27); I shall liberate you from all evil (Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam engendered by the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma); do not grieve.

With this one shloka, Lord Krishna ended the decaying Brahmanism and all other Dharmas of the land and launched a New Dharma, right?

Well, let us not be presumptuous. Read on.

This book also explains how and why, in spite of Lord Krishna's revolution to overthrow it, Brahmanism survived and even thrived to the modern times. All discredited aspects of Brahmanism infiltrated in disguised forms the egalitarian Hinduism, which succeeded it. Thanks to Brahmanic death-grip on it, today Hinduism is riddled with thousands of mindless and vulgarly ostentatious rituals, and senseless superstitions, so characteristic of the decadent Brahmanic Dharma. And it is treading the same ruinous path that Brahmanism took 2,500 years ago. Lord Krishna's revolution against Brahmanism in the Bhagavad Gita has been cleverly hidden from the public by Brahmanic vested interests by means of brilliant feats of verbal gymnastics, literary manipulations, distorted interpretations, blatant misrepresentations and long-winded commentaries. In fact, the very manifesto to overthrow Brahmanism has cleverly been converted into the handbook of Brahmanism! Lord Krishna's Revolution to overthrow Brahmanism has been thus totally neutralized. This book exposes this grave injustice against Lord Krishna and His revolution, and reveals the true intent, spirit and wisdom of His Gita.

Those who are not familiar with the Bhagavad Gita are recommended to have a copy of the Bhagavad Gita at hand when they read this

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book. I recommend The Bhagavad Gita with Sanskrit Text, translated by Swami Chidbhavananda, Published by Ramakrishna Tapovanam, Tirupparaitturai, Tamil Nadu. This is an excellent small, 247 page, handbook without any commentary by the Swami. The same author also published another book with extensive commentary. The translations in the Secret Code book are mostly taken from his book.

For those serious students of the Bhagavad Gita, who wish to know the true purpose of the Bhagavad Gita, and benefit from the profound wisdom in it without unnecessary religious bias or mind-boggling explanations, I offer free day-long seminars anywhere in the United States.

Brief outlines of the Eighteen Chapters of the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita: Chapter One: A Personal Note: This is the preface of this book. It explains the basic thesis of this book; the background of the book, and some personal observations. This chapter also contains 1. Essential Glossary, which gives the meanings of the most common Sanskrit words used in the text of the Bhagavad Gita; and 2. Apparatus of Mind, which explains the hierarchy of the mind's components as per 3:42. Without a thorough understanding of this concept, it is next to impossible to properly understand the basic tenets of the Bhagavad Gita.

Chapter Two: The Two Distinct Contexts of the Bhagavad Gita: This chapter explains the two contexts of the Bhagavad Gita: The Mahabharata context and the Historical context. It explains how both these contexts address the same three issues: Shokam, Dwandwam (fickleness of mind caused by disconnection of the mind from its wisdom, engendered by attachment to sense objects and fruits of action) and Karmaphalam (fruit or consequence) arising from any motivated Action. In the Mahabharata context, Arjuna was confronted with these three evils just as the Great War was about to begin; and in the Historical context, the post-Vedic society (900-200 B. C. E) suffered the same three evils due to the steady decay of Brahmanism, the dominant socio-religious force of the time. Whereas the Original Gita (Chapter Three of this book) tackles these three issues with reference to Arjuna, the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha Gitas

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tackle these three issues with reference to corruption and decadence of Brahmanism.

Chapter Three: The Original Gita: This chapter reveals the 64 shlokas of the Original Gita embedded in the Bhagavad Gita, which promote the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, the foundation of Brahmanism. The Original Gita is nothing but a parable to address the issue of Kshatriyas abandoning Brahmanism in the post-Vedic period in response to it decadence. In as sense it is the Policy Paper of Brahmanism.

Chapter Four: The Three Distinct Gitas: This chapter reveals the three distinct Gitas in the Bhagavad Gita: The Original Gita; the Upanishadic Gita, and the Bhagavatha Gita. These three Gitas promote three distinct creeds: Brahmanic, Upanishadic and Bhagavatha.

Chapter Five: Decay of Dharma and Rise of Adharma: This chapter explains how Brahmanism decayed due to the rampant obsession of the upper classes (Brahmins and Kshatriyas) with Kamya Karma (desire-driven sacrificial rites). The decay of Brahmanism arose from Kama (selfish desire, hankering) for sense objects (lordship, pleasure, heaven) and Sankalpa (desire for fruits or Karmaphala of sacrificial rites). The goal of Brahmanism was to enjoy wealth and lordship here on earth and attainment of heaven hereafter by means of vulgar and ostentatious sacrificial rites.

Chapter Six: The Great Nastik Revolt: This chapter deals with the ascendance of Buddhism and other heterodox Dharmas, which arose in revolt against decadent Brahmanism. These heterodox Dharmas posed grave threat to the very existence of Brahmanism.

Chapter Seven: Brahmanism Defends Itself: This chapter explains how Brahmanism defended itself and urged Kshatriyas not to abandon Brahmanism as well as Varnashrama Dharma. They attempted this by adding pro-Varnashrama Dharma shlokas into the text of the Original Gita.

Chapter Eight: The Upanishadic Dharma: This chapter explains the basic tenets of the Upanishads: Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga, which were diametrically opposed to the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. In contrast to the Brahmanic goal of lordship and pleasure here on earth and heaven hereafter, the goal of Upanishadism was to attain Bliss of Atman here one earth

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and Nirvana hereafter. Recognizing these doctrines as real threat to Brahmanism, Brahmanic seers neutralized the Upanishads by declaring them as Shruthi (revealed scripture) as well as Top Secret (Rahasya).

This top secret was revealed to the public by some bold Upanishadic seers in the Gita, a Smrithi (remembered) scripture, so that it can be read or heard by anyone, regardless of one's class or gender.

Chapter Nine: Outlines of the Upanishadic Revolution: This chapter describes the basic strategies and tactics of the Upanishadic revolution in the Bhagavad Gita designed to overthrow the decaying Brahmanic Dharma. The Original Gita was thus converted into the Upanishadic Gita.

Chapter Ten: The Upanishadic Revolution -1: This chapter explains the true intent of Chapter Two of the Bhagavad Gita, namely to overthrow Brahmanism. It explains how the Upanishadic seers declared that Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam are the products of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and replaced them with the Upanishadic doctrines of the Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga.

Chapter Eleven: The Upanishadic Revolution -2: Reforming Brahmins: This chapter explains the true intent of the Chapter Four of the Bhagavad Gita: to reform corrupt Brahmins, who were obsessed with earning Karmaphalam by means of Kamya Karma. It explains how Lord Krishna gave the brainy Brahmins Jnanayoga (Sanyasa) to take the place of Kamya Karma.

Chapter Twelve: The Upanishadic Revolution -3: Reforming Kshatriyas: This chapter explains the true intent of the Chapter Three of the Bhagavad Gita: to reform greedy Kshatriyas, who were obsessed with earning Karmaphalam by means of vulgar and ostentations Kamya Karma. It explains how Lord Krishna gave the action-oriented Kshatriyas Karmayoga (Tyaga) to take the place of Kamya Karma.

Chapter Thirteen: The Upanishadic Revolution -4: Demolishing Varnashrama Dharma: All Men Are Created Equal: This chapter explains the true intent of Chapter Five of the Bhagavad Gita: to replace hierarchical Varnashrama Dharma with egalitarianism engendered by the knowledge that Atman is the same in everyone regardless of one's class or lack thereof.

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Chapter Fourteen: The Upanishadic Revolution -5: Liberation through Yoga: This chapter explains the role of Yoga in achieving liberation from the doctrine of Karma. Lord Krishna declares that one who merely wishes to know about Yoga is superior to Vedic ritualist.

Chapter Fifteen: The Bhagavatha Revolution: This chapter explains how the seers of Bhagavatha creed took over the Upanishadic Gita and replaced the doctrine of Knowledge of Atman/Brahman with the doctrine of Lord Krishna, and replaced the doctrine of Buddhiyoga with doctrine of Bhaktiyoga. The Upanishadic Gita was thus converted into the Bhagavad Gita. It also explains the true intent of the Ultimate shloka: Abandon all Dharma and surrender unto Me alone; I shall liberate you from all evil (Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala resulting from the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma); do not grieve.

Chapter Sixteen: The Battle for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma: This chapter explains how the Bhagavad Gita became the battleground for Brahmanism on one side and the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha seers on the other, for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma. It also explains how over the centuries various Brahmanic commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita hid the true intent and destroyed the true spirit of the Bhagavad Gita in order to promote the interests of Brahmanism, while praising Lord Krishna to the skies.

Chapter Seventeen: The Legacy of Brahmanism and the Need for Reforms: This chapter explains how Brahmanic commentators have distorted the true meanings of shlokas to hide the revolutionary intent of the Bhagavad Gita. It also deals with the legacy of Brahmanism and how Hinduism is ignoring the basic tenets of Lord Krishna's doctrines in the Bhagavad Gita; and how Hinduism is gradually and imperceptibly following the same ruinous path Brahmanism took in ancient India.

Chapter Eighteen: The Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita: This chapter explains how the wisdom of all three Gitas could be applied in real life. Several case studies are discussed in this chapter.

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The Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita CHAPTER ONE A Personal Note I have been asked by several of my Hindu friends, none of whom has read even one page of the Bhagavad Gita, "Who are you to analyze the Bhagavad Gita? Who is your Guru, anyway? What makes you think you are right? Have you sought the approval and blessing of our religious Gurus for your book?" I owe all these people answers even though their questions reflected their knee-jerk defense of the revered text in which they have placed implicit faith. Whether that faith is blind, or one rooted in proper understanding of the sacred text, is altogether another matter. What is even more dangerous is the blind faith of people in whatever saffron-clad people tell them about the Bhagavad Gita.

Question: Who are you to analyze the Bhagavad Gita?

Answer: I have been practicing psychiatry in the United States since 1974. During this period, I have treated countless people afflicted with the same three maladies prince Arjuna suffered from on the battlefield of Kurukshetra: Shokam (Grief), Dwandwam (loss of wisdom resulting in fickleness of mind) and fear of bad Karmaphalam (negative consequences of action). The entire text of the Bhagavad Gita is a psychological manual par excellence, geared to resolve these three issues faced by Arjuna on the battlefield, and, as we will discover soon, also by the post-Vedic society as a whole in the centuries preceding the Common Era. The Bhagavad Gita is not only a manual to help distraught individuals suffering from Grief, Dwandwa and fear of bad Karmaphala, but also a guide to solving the same three problems in the society as a whole. I believe that I have something original to contribute to our understanding of the essential purpose, wisdom and message of the Bhagavad Gita.

Question: Who is your Guru, anyway?

Answer: My Guru is none other than Lord Krishna Himself. I do not need a Brahmanic Guru to interpret to me what Lord Krishna said in plain language, or what He really meant to say. I have read numerous commentaries written by various Gurus and Swamis, and I am quite familiar with what they have to say. During my fifteen years of incessant study and contemplation of the Bhagavad Gita, I have felt

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the Lord's presence and encouragement in my heart. If you read this book you will realize that I could not have revealed the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita without His encouragement, permission, guidance, and blessings.

Question: What makes you think you are right?

Answer: Whether I am right or not is for the readers to decide. I have studied the Bhagavad Gita on a daily basis for over fifteen years with a great deal of reverence and devotion. In this book I have explained in plain language what I have discovered in the Bhagavad Gita. I have not resorted to convoluted logic, obfuscation and distortion to convey my message. No one can and should judge this book without first thoroughly studying the Bhagavad Gita itself, and then reading this book in its entirety. I am fully aware of the risk of being branded as one deluded by Ahamkara (egoism) by Brahmanic Gurus. This accusation has always been the Ultimate Weapon -Brahmmastra- of Brahmanism to shame its critics and reformers into silence.

Question: Have you sought the approval and blessing of our religious leaders for your book?

Answer: I must answer this question as follows: If you were to write a book that exposes to the public wholesale corruption by certain government officials, would you send a draft of your book to them for their approval and blessing? The main purpose of this book is to expose how Brahmanism hid the true intent and destroyed the true spirit of the Bhagavad Gita. No Brahmanic religious leader would face that truth. Besides, the Bhagavad Gita belongs to the world and not just to a group of people who claim authority over it.

Truth is the only God The only God I know is Truth. Lord Krishna embodies that Truth. This book is the story of my discovery of that Truth in the Bhagavad Gita.

My allegiance is to that Truth alone and to no one else and nothing else: not to Hinduism, not to Brahmanism, not to any class, caste or family. I have laid bare in this book the Truth I discovered in and about the Bhagavad Gita. I believe that I would not have discovered these truths had I been tutored, indoctrinated, -or should I say brainwashed- by a Brahmanic Guru. A Brahmanic Guru can teach us only what his Guru taught him. And that Guru passed on to him what his Guru taught him. There is no room for inquiry and original thinking.

We may never know the true motive of the very original Guru from

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whom the succession of Gurus learned. Just as a copying machine faithfully reproduces the original print including ink-spots and blemishes, Gurus also repeat faithfully to their students everything they learned from their Gurus. No Swami or Guru I have ever known over the years has been free from some vested interest in maintaining his personal status, security and interests. Swamis and Gurus who knowingly or out of ignorance mislead the public about the true intent and spirit of the Bhagavad Gita, and people bewildered by ignorance or blind faith, might find this book unpalatable or even objectionable.

However, open-minded, reasonable, and secure people, who are wellgrounded in their sense of righteousness; who are not deluded by fanaticism; and who are thirsty for new knowledge and hungry for new insights should have nothing to worry about. This book should bring them some breath of fresh air. Truth shall liberate us all.

Reading commentaries is "Tough going" Several people have asked me the question, "How did you get interested in this project?" Well, it was purely accidental. About twenty years ago, as I was hurrying toward the baggage claim area of St. Louis, Missouri, airport, a middle-aged American man accosted me with a book in his hand. He offered me a hard-bound "free copy" of The Bhagavad Gita As It Is by Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada in return for a ten dollar donation. The book promptly went on the bookshelf in my family room, where it stayed unopened for the next few years. Then, one day an American doctor friend of mine asked me if I had a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. I lent him the book. After a few months, he returned the book with a terse note, "tough going."

Since then I have talked with innumerable Indians about the Bhagavad Gita, and every single one of them said that it was mighty hard to understand commentaries written by various authorities, leave alone its text. In fact, I have met Indians who have attended regular discourses on the Bhagavad Gita by various Gurus and Swamis for over ten years and yet have gained little understanding of its essential wisdom. Words such as "tough, confusing, contradictory, disjointed, and incomprehensible" frequently cropped up in conversations regarding the Bhagavad Gita. Challenged by this, I started to read the Bhagavad Gita in earnest. The first chapter was easy enough. When I went to the second chapter, I found it so confusing, incoherent, and self-contradictory that I had to resist the temptation to throw the book across the room. Only my utmost regard for the sanctity of the book prevented me from doing so. Over the next two years, I kept reading

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the book again and again without making any headway. I often wondered, "Why should a holy book be so difficult to understand?"

Why is it so hard to follow the commentaries?

Three things struck me repeatedly: 1. Shlokas often contradicted each other. For example, in 2:37, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that if he died fighting, he would gain heaven; if he won, he would enjoy the earth. Therefore, he must fight. Fair enough. However, in the very next shloka, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to fight without worrying about gain or loss, victory or defeat, pleasure of pain. Such blatant contradictions were too numerous to ignore.

Obviously, there was an argument going on here between two opposing parties! It dawned on me that the Bhagavad Gita was not a text written by one person as claimed by all Brahmanic commentators, unless, of course, the author suffered from multiple personality disorder! Commentators who are not aware of this fact would certainly have to indulge in long-winded explanations and convoluted logic to reconcile these two diametrically opposite views. Those who are aware of this fact would have to indulge in obfuscation and distortion to conceal this fact.

2. Very often the commentary of the Brahmanic author had little to do with the actual content in the shloka. The author frequently brought in the Lord or some other topic into the commentary even when the shloka under study made no mention of either. For example in 2:50 and 2:51, the word Buddhiyukta simply refers to the mind yoked to Buddhi and thus steadied by it. Neither Atman nor the Lord is part of the equation here. Atman is added to this equation only after 2:54.

Swami Prabhupada interprets the term Buddhiyoga as "devotional service to the Lord." In other words, according to him Buddhiyukta means Bhakti. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna is declared as the Lord of being only in 4:6, and Bhakti is not introduced till Chapter Seven.

3. I noticed another quirk: all anti-Vedic shlokas were interpreted as though they were pro-Vedic without recognizing the fact that Lord Krishna condemns the Old Vedic Dharma for a specific purpose: to replace it with His New Dharma. Often the commentator went in a tangent, and said pages after pages of totally inscrutable things, sometimes quoting scriptures such as Puranas, which postdated the original text by several centuries. Most commentaries on the antiBrahmanism shlokas were too brief, or long-winded and extremely

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confusing. It occurred to me that all Brahmanic commentators were indulging in serious kind of distortion and obfuscation to hide the true intent of these shlokas and to further their own agendas; or simply to fill the gaps in their own knowledge. I have given three examples of Brahmanic commentaries in this book an the later chapters.

Shloka 3:42: A treasure I found a treasure of wisdom when I stumbled upon the threshold of shloka 3:42: The Senses are superior to sense objects; the Mind is superior to the Senses; the Intellect is superior to the Mind; and that which is superior to the Intellect is Atman.

This seminal shloka described the hierarchy of various components of the apparatus of mind. Clearly, this shloka was at least 2500 years ahead of Sigmund Freud. Once I crossed this, it threw the doors wide open for psychological insights in the text. It became evident to me that the psychological part of the Gita was mostly in Chapters Two to Six, which are of the Upanishadic origin. After several more years of study, I wrote a small guide on the stress management aspects of the Bhagavad Gita. I also offered some classes on this topic to Indian audiences in the U. S. A. Being a psychiatrist I restricted my observations only to psychological and secular aspects of the Bhagavad Gita.

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Searching for the Lord All this changed when I met Swami Dayananda Saraswati at his Ashram in Pennsylvania in 2005. We discussed the need to spread the message of the Bhagavad Gita. Swami Dayananda Saraswati gave me four massive volumes of his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. He seemed to approve my psychological insights into the Bhagavad Gita but made a recommendation that changed the course of my inquiry into it. He said that I must bring Ishwara, the Lord, into the text.

According to him no commentary on the Bhagavad Gita was authentic until it had the element of Ishwara in it. So I went in search of the Lord in the Bhagavad Gita.

True purpose of the Lord As I got deeper into the Bhagavad Gita in search of Ishwara, however, it dawned on me that the real purpose of Ishwara in it was not to persuade Arjuna to resume fighting, but to establish a New Dharma to replace the decaying Brahmanic Dharma. After carefully reading the actual text over fifty times I concluded that 636 of the 700 shlokas had nothing to do with Arjuna's dilemma whatsoever. I suspected that there must be another context to the Bhagavad Gita than the Mahabharata alone. Study of India's ancient history and the Upanishads gave me the needed insight into the Historical context of the Bhagavad Gita. It dawned on me that the Bhagavad Gita was, in fact, the manifesto of a grand socio-religious revolution, engineered by the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha scholars, to overthrow the decadent Brahmanism. It became clear to me that both Brahmanic Old Guard and the Revolutionaries opposing them were battling each other in the Bhagavad Gita using Arjuna's Shokam, Dwandwam and fear of bad Karmaphalam in the battlefield as a mere pretext. I had unwittingly stumbled upon The Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita. It took me over one hundred careful readings of the actual text, and study of over twenty commentaries by various Brahmanic as well as western authors of the Bhagavad Gita, before the jigsaw puzzle of the Bhagavad Gita was more or less put together. By means of this book I humbly submit to the readers my findings and conclusions.

Three basic purposes of this book 1. To reveal the fact that the Bhagavad Gita was in reality the manifesto of a great socio-religious revolution by the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha scholars to overthrow the decaying, sacrifice-obsessed, hierarchical Brahmanic Dharma of ancient India, with the avowed goal

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to establish in its place an enlightened egalitarian New Dharma of people serving humanity selflessly and worshipping one God with devotion. This was Lord Krishna's revolution.

2. To expose how Brahmanism, that enduring elitist instrument of religious and social order of ancient India, not only survived the coup but even engineered a successful counterrevolution by means of brilliant feats of manipulation of, and interpolation into, the text of the Bhagavad Gita. In fact, Brahmanism's counterrevolution was so successful, and its victory over Lord Krishna's revolution so complete, that it even converted the Bhagavad Gita into its own handbook!

3. To reveal how over the centuries since the Bhagavad Gita became the text as we find it today, countless commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita were written by Brahmanic scholars who continued the tradition of hiding the true intent and destroying the true spirit of Lord Krishna's revolution. The Brahmanic resurgence has been carried out with such unsurpassed literary savvy and brilliant oratorical skills, that to this day no one seems to know about either Lord Krishna's revolution to overthrow Brahmanism or Brahmanism's counterrevolution to reestablish itself. In fact, few people even know that ritual-oriented, hierarchical Brahmanism and egalitarian Bhaktiyoga of Lord Krishna are mutually exclusive concepts.

Karmaphalam Like all actions motivated by selfishness, the resurgence of Brahmanism was not free from bad long term consequences on whole of India. Thanks to Brahmanism's undisputed victory over Lord Krishna, and its steady resurgence and propagation, India became the home of hundreds of gods and thousands of mindless rituals designed to appease them; the society of thousands of Jatis (castes), incessantly competing among themselves for supremacy over each other; and the land which ardently fostered one of the two most despicable afflictions of humanity: untouchability.

Enduring power of Brahmanism In the final analysis, however, the Bhagavad Gita is the supreme symbol of how Brahmanism tenaciously hung on to its hollow traditions and mindless rituals; prevailed through invasions, conquests, and occupations; destroyed entirely, or engulfed completely, all religious reformers and adversaries into its ever-resilient body; and inexorably dug its powerful tentacles deep into the body of the ever-assimilating

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Hindu Dharma which succeeded it. It is also a testament to the infinite sustaining power of Brahmanism, whose iron hand has had such ruthless grip on the psyche of a whole Indian nation for over four thousand and five hundred years. But alas, it is also the ironic story of how, in the process, Brahmanism made Lord Krishna, the Hero of that very revolution to uproot it, its Poster Person as well as its Precious Prisoner.

Metaphor Many authorities on the Bhagavad Gita have considered the episode in which Arjuna suffers from shokam, Dwandwam (unsteadiness of mind consequent to loss of wisdom) and fear of bad Karmaphalam on the battlefield as a metaphor for predicaments we all face in life in which we feel confused as to the right thing to do. However, this episode is also a metaphor for a more serious quandary Indian society faced at a crucial moment in the post-Vedic period of its ancient history: widespread disaffection over the degradation of the Brahmanic Dharma and rise of Adharma (4:7). Whereas a portion of Brahmins and Kshatriyas, the upper classes of Brahmanism, suffered Dwandwam due to their obsession with earning good Karmaphalam by means of desire-driven sacrifices (Kamya Karma), the rest of the society suffered from Shokam over the loss of innocence. Various heterodox Dharmas (Para-Dharmas 3:35; 18:47) arose in revolt against Brahmanism, and even gained widespread adherents and royal patronage. These egalitarian and rational Para-Dharmas posed a grave threat to the hierarchical Brahmanic Dharma in the well-organized class system of which Brahmins enjoyed unchallenged supremacy.

A parable to shore up Varnashrama Dharma The Original Gita was a brilliant attempt by beleaguered Brahmanism to shore up the class system, known as Varnashrama Dharma, in the face of dire threats to its very existence. They inserted into the Mahabharata text the parable of a distraught Kshatriya prince who, overwhelmed by Shokam, Dwandwam and fear of bad Karmaphalam wishes to abandon his socially designated duty. At this critical moment, his best friend and charioteer prince Krishna gives him a stern lecture about the Brahmanic doctrine of the Gunas and Karma.

In a sense, it was Brahmanism's "policy paper" in its struggle with heterodox Dharmas. The text of the Bhagavad Gita has 64 shlokas of this Original Gita. As abandonment of Brahmanism in favor of ParaDharmas escalated, more Brahmanic shlokas in support of

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Brahmanism were interpolated into the text of the Original Gita (1:38-44; 2:4-5; 3:35; 18:47-48).

As Brahmanism's prestige continued to decline despite it, an internal revolution, led by some Upanishadic seers, to overthrow it entirely ensued. The strategy of the Upanishadic scholars was very simple: discredit and dismantle the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27, 33; 18:59-60), on the foundation of which rested the whole Brahmanic Dharma. The Brahmanism scholars reacted to neutralize this internal threat by adding more pro-Brahmanism shlokas. The text of the modified Original Gita thus became the battleground for that civil war between the entrenched Old Guard and the reform-minded Revolutionaries. At some later point, the Bhagavathas entered the fray on the side of the Upanishadic scholars. As both sides kept adding shlokas to further their respective agendas, the 64 shloka-long Original Gita gradually expanded to become the 700 shloka-long Bhagavad Gita as we know it today. No wonder it often comes across contradictory, disjointed, and rather confusing to the unwary.

Battle for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma In the sizzling drama of the Bhagavad Gita, played robustly on the grand stage of the Mahabharata epic, Lord Krishna and prince Arjuna are mere puppets playing out their metaphoric roles and singing whatever shlokas the Brahmanic directors on the one side and the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha directors on the other prompted them to from behind the scenes. The na誰ve in the audience are fooled by the Brahmanic faction into believing that their dialogue was, indeed, meant to resolve only Arjuna's predicament at the critical moment on the battlefield of Kurukshetra: should he fight to regain his kingdom, or should he just walk away from the battlefield? What the shrewd in the audience perceive is that the entire discourse in the Bhagavad Gita was meant to resolve an infinitely greater quandary the Indian society faced in the decisive post-Vedic period of its history: an epic struggle between the proponents of the decaying Old Dharma and revolutionaries who wanted to establish a New Dharma. The Original Gita thus became the battleground on which the cousins of the Brahmanic Dharma fought a socio-religious war for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma. Sadly, even though the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha seers won the battle of the Bhagavad Gita as evidenced by its new title the Bhagavad Gita, they lost the war for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma as evidenced by Brahmanism's continued stranglehold on all aspects of Indian society -cultural, social, religious and psychological.

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Essential Glossary The following is the partial list of Sanskrit words used in this book.

Most of these words have multiple meanings. Knowing this well, various authors of the Bhagavad Gita cleverly used them to convey their messages without coming across as indulging in frontal attacks.

This left room for much ambiguity in the interpretation of the shlokas, a situation which both sides took full advantage of. Ancient Sanskrit scholars were masters of double entendre. The readers should familiarize themselves with these words to make the best use of this book.

Atman: The Self, the essence or the Soul of man. It represents Brahman, the Universal Spirit, residing in the heart of man. It is said to be the seat of Absolute Bliss. It is eternal, deathless and indestructible. Knowledge of Atman counters ignorance-born Grief engendered by death.

Ahamkara: Egoism. This, according to Brahmanism, causes one to become ignorant of his duty as designated by his Guna (inherent Quality). Accusing its critics of suffering from Ahamkara became the ultimate weapon of Brahmanism against any upstart.

Ajnana: Ignorance caused by the disconnection of the Mind from inner wisdom as well as Atman, due to attachment to sense objects.

Avidya: Lack of Knowledge of Atman, brought on by the Mind's attachment to sense objects induced by the force of the Gunas. Avidya causes Grief.

Bhagavan: The Lord.

Bhagavathas: Followers of the creed centered on Lord Krishna, also known as Vaasudeva.

Bhakti: Worshipping of Lord Krishna by means of single-minded devotion.

Bhaktiyoga: This consists of two elements: Bhakti of the Bhagavathas and Yoga of the Upanishads. Yoga here stands for single-minded effort to achieve a specific goal. In the Gita it consists of two elements: Sanyasa and Tyaga. Bhaktiyoga means worshipping Lord Krishna or God with single-minded devotion in the spirit of Yoga.

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Brahma: The Vedic god, also known as Prajapati, the originator of beings.

Brahman: This is the all-pervading Universal Spirit, which is to be found everywhere and in everything. The part of Brahman residing in the heart of man as his divine essence is known as Atman. Brahman is without any Nature-born Qualities, known as the Gunas, hence it is known as Nirguna (Guna-less). Brahman is beyond the perception of Senses. Hence it is said to be "Not this; not this! (Naeti, Naeti). In the Vedas, Brahman was known as a mysterious force. This entity became the main focus of the Upanishads.

Brahmanism: This was the instrument of law and social order in the ancient Indian society. It is also known as Orthodox Vedic Dharma. It controlled the society by means of a hierarchical class system known as Varnashrama Dharma. The Brahmanic Dharma rested on the bedrock of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. The four pillars on which its superstructure stood were: sanctity of the Vedas; sacrificial rites known as Karma or Yajnas; class system known as Varnashrama Dharma, and supremacy of Brahmin class over the other three classes.

Brahmins: The priestly class that dominated the Brahmanic society.

They were the most learned of the four classes, and they monopolized all ancient sacred scriptures.

Buddhi: Intellect or wisdom. It is that part of mind which stands for discriminatory powers, judgment, reasoning, insight, moral values, noble virtues, memory, knowledge, etc.

Buddhiyoga: It is the method by which one's mind is steadied by yoking it with Buddhi (Wisdom). When the mind controls its Senses (desires for sense objects) it becomes connected with Buddhi. The mind then operates as per the dictates of Buddhi. The mind thus steadied by yoking with Buddhi is known as Buddhiyukta mind. A person who has achieved this is known as the Buddha, the Enlightened. Opposite of Buddhiyukta is Dwandwa (unsteadiness of mind). Buddhiyoga counters Dwandwa of mind. All actions performed in the spirit of Buddhiyoga earn neither good nor bad Karmaphala (fruit of deed). A person of Buddhiyukta Mind always does the right thing.

Devas: Vedic gods representing the forces of Nature: Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Ashwins, etc. They were the principal deities of

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Brahmanism. All sacrifices were dedicated to them. Lord Krishna absorbs them all into His person in the Bhagavad Gita.

Dharma: The literal meaning is "that which holds." In practice it stands for righteousness, religion, Law, system, duty, order, what aught to be done, and the right thing to do. Opposite of Dharma is Adharma (irreligion). Para-Dharma stands for alien or heterodox Dharma.

Dwandwa: Pairs of opposites the mind experiences when it comes into contact with sense objects: likes and dislikes; pleasure and pain; gain and loss; honor and dishonor; virtue and vice, and the like. It also means stress, unsteadiness of mind, fickleness of mind, ambivalence, doubt, restlessness, mood swings, unsteadiness, confusion, mental conflict, obsession and loss of focus and loss of discrimination. The practical meaning of Dwandwa is loss of wisdom or discriminating faculty. Opposite of Dwandwa-ridden mind is Buddhiyukta (steady) mind.

Gunas: These are ‘Qualities' which are forces of nature within us that are irrepressible. The force of the Gunas can be comapred to the force of gravity. The Gunas affect the quality of all actions. There are three modes: Satvic (Goodness); Rajasic (Passion), and Tamasic (Darkness). Brahmanism divided society into four great classes based on these three Qualities. The doctrines of the Gunas and Karma became the foundation of Brahmanism. However, the Upanishadic seers claimed that the Gunas were the sources of lust, jealous rage, attachment, delusion, and the like, and must be crossed over in order to attain enlightenment. The Gunas express themselves by means of Senses (desires) and Organs of Action (Karmaendriyas) such as hands, legs, mouth and genitals.

Indriyani: The Senses. The Senses not only represent the functions of five Senses, but also the raw impulse or drive (desire) to obtain sense objects. They also stand for attachment and possessiveness. They represent the Id in modern psychiatry.

Ishwara: The Lord. Parameshwara: The Supreme Lord.

Jiva: Same as Atman.

Jnana: Knowledge. In the Gita this term refers to Knowledge of Atman.

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Jnanayoga: This is the art and science of Yoga by which one renounces his desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of sense objects and progressively attains the Knowledge of Atman. In the Gita this was given to Brahmins to replace Kamya Karma (desire-driven sacrifices).

Karma: Action; a sacrificial ritual ("the Works"); obligatory duty designated by one's social class; fruit of one's action known as Karmaphala.

Kamya Karma: This refers to desire-driven action. In the Bhagavad Gita it refers to sacrificial rites performed to gain wealth and heaven.

Karmaphala: Fruit of one's action. The Brahmanic theory said that all actions lead to earning Karmaphala. The fruits of our actions accumulate. When one dies, he would go to hell or heaven depending upon the quality of his fruits. After exhausting his merit or demerit, he would be reborn on earth in a higher or lower class of people. This cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is known as Samsara. This theory motivated people to do good works in life. It also explained to them the cause of their current misery in life.

Karmayoga: This is the Yoga of Selfless Action. In the Gita this was given to Kshatriyas to replace Kamya Karma.

Kshatriyas: The warrior class. They are second of the two upper classes in the four-tier Varnashrama Dharma. Many of them were brilliant philosophers. Most Upanishadic philosophy was their creation.

In fact, the revolution to overthrow Brahmanism in the Bhagavad Gita was led by them.

Manas: The Mind, the middle of three components of the mental apparatus. Its three functions are thinking, feeling and acting.

Dwandwa is experienced in this part. Manas is superior to the Senses (Indriyani) and inferior to the Buddhi (Intellect).

Moksha: The Bhagavatha concept of liberation of Atman from Samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, resulting in union with the Supreme Lord.

Nirvana: The Upanishadic concept of liberation from Samsara and the final merger of Atman with Brahman Prajapati: The Vedic Lord of beings; also known as Brahma.

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Prakriti: Nature, which manifests itself in the form of three Gunas: Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic.

Purusha: Literally, a person, the same as Atman.

Samadhi: It is the ultimate goal of Yoga. It is a mystical experience in which one attains Absolute Bliss of Atman by means of the Mind's merger with Atman.

Sanyasa: Renouncing attachment to sense objects. The first of two pillars of Yoga.

Shishya: An Upanishadic disciple.

Shruthi: Ancient "revealed" scriptures. Literal meaning is "that which was heard."

Smrithi: Ancient epics that are rooted in Shruthis. Literal meaning is "remembered" scriptures.

Sthithaprajnya: This is a steady state of mind which has attained Bliss of Atman and immunity to worldly stress (Dwandwa and Grief).

This is also known as the state of Self-realization.

Sudras: The labor class of people, who did menial tasks in the society.

They were not allowed to hear the Shruthis.

Sukham: The Bliss one experiences when his mind comes in contact with Atman. This counters Shokam (Grief).

Shokam: Grief one experiences when one loses someone he is attached to. This happens because one's attachment to people leads to loss of knowledge that Atman is deathless.

Tyaga: Renouncing the fruit of one's action, the second of two pillars of Yoga.

Upanishads: These are also "revealed" scriptures which are basically opposed to Brahmanism. However, they were incorporated into the Vedic literature by Brahmanism as Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, as a way to silence them. Most of the Upanishads were the creation of Kshatriyas.

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Vaishyas: The third of four classes of people, whose profession was business and cattle-raising.

Varnashrama Dharma: This is the hierarchical class system by which the Brahmanic society was divided into four classes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. Then there were outcastes, who were outside the pale of the society.

Vedas: "Revealed" ancient scriptures: Rig Veda; Yajur Veda; Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. Also known as Shruthis, that which was heard.

Vishayan: Sense objects such as money, wealth, people, power, etc.

Yoga: This word stems from the word "yoke." It means harnessing oneself to a specific task with single-minded concentration.

The Apparatus of Mind To understand the essential wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, we must first understand the hierarchy of the apparatus of mind. It is impossible to understand the Bhagavad Gita without first mastering the following information: 3:42: The Senses (Indriyani) are superior to the Mind (Manas); the Mind is superior to the Senses; Intellect (Buddhi) is superior to the Mind; and that which is superior to the Intellect is Atman.

Let us study the picture below carefully.

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1. The Mind (Manas, self) is the large oval in the center of the picture below. Its three functions are thinking (likes and dislikes); feeling (pleasure and pain), and action (gain and loss). The wavy line in the center of the Mind illustrates the Dwandwa (pairs of opposites). The Manas represents the Ego of Freudian psychology.

2. The Senses (Indriyani) are the five udder-like projections hanging from the lower part of the Mind in the picture below. Their main functions are to desire sense objects such as food, drinks, wealth, power, land, etc., and to get attached to them. The Senses also represent raw impulses and drives. The Senses represent the Id part of Freudian psychology. When the Senses come into contact with sense objects, the Mind experiences Dwandwa. The Senses have seven allies, which are rooted in the Gunas: lust, jealous rage, hubris, possessiveness, greed, jealousy, and insecurity. When these weaknesses infect the Senses, the Mind's Dwandwa becomes severe and one indulges in self-destructive and evil acts.

3. Sense objects (Vishayan) are shown as five small circles at the very bottom. These represent various objects, both tangible and intangible. The Senses desire for, get attached to and become possessive of them. In the picture below, the broken lines represent attachments of the Senses to sense objects.

4. The Intellect (Buddhi) is the medium-sized oval over the Mind. It represents Wisdom. The seven components of Buddhi are: memory, knowledge, judgment, insight, reasoning, moral values and noble virtues. The Intellect has a stabilizing effect on the Mind. The more the Mind girdled with Wisdom, less Dwandwa it suffers. When 26

the Mind firmly yokes itself with Buddhi, it becomes Buddhiyukta, or wise. This part of the mind represents Superego of Freudian psychology.

5. Atman is the small circle above the Intellect. This is the Self, the essence of man, the divinity within him. It is the Brahman in the body.

It is deathless, eternal and indestructible. It is also free from desire, attachment, possessiveness and action. In this desireless state, It is the seat of Absolute Bliss. When the Buddhiyukta Mind merges with Atman after giving up all desire, attachment and possessiveness, it attains a steady state of Mind that is absolutely peaceful and immune to stress. This state of Mind is known as Sthithaprajnya. This is when one is said to have attained Self-realization. Samadhi is the ultimate transcendental state of Mind in which one is totally oblivious to the world around him and his Atman has merged with Brahman.

Self-realization The picture below illustrates the progression of the Mind in the direction of Self-realization. The first picture represents the mind of a non-Yogi.

The second picture represents the mind of a practicing Yogi. The Mind is firmly yoked with Buddhi; the Senses are withdrawn (desires are controlled); attachments to sense objects have decreased, and the sense objects have become less important. One's actions become increasingly selfless.

The third picture represents the mind of the Self-realized man. The Mind is yoked with Buddhi and centered on Atman. The Senses are withdrawn; attachments are almost gone, and the sense objects are not important at all.

Progression from mediocrity to Self-realization

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CHAPTER TWO The Two Distinct Contexts of the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita, The Song of the Lord, is a beautiful 700 shloka long poem universally acknowledged as the Soul of Hindu Dharma and philosophy. It is, for the most part, a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Pandava prince Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just as the Great War of the Mahabharata epic was to begin. This is the Mahabharata context of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita has another context: Historical. Without the knowledge of this context, it is next to impossible to make proper sense of most of the shlokas in it.

This context consists of consequences of decay of Brahmanism, ancient India's instrument of social order, in the post-Vedic period of India's history. Most available commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita make no mention of this context. Either the authors are not aware of it, or they do not want to acknowledge it.

The Mahabharata Context The original version of the Mahabharata epic, known simply as Jaya (Victory), was said to have been composed by a great sage by the name of Vyasa probably between 900 and 500 B.C. E. It had about 9,000 shlokas in it. Over the ensuing centuries the epic Jaya grew to about ten times its original length and acquired the title, the Mahabharata, the story of the Great Bharatas. The current version of the Mahabharata has nearly 100,000 shlokas in it, and it is longest epic ever written!

The Mahabharata epic is primarily about a Great War between two sets of cousin princes over the inheritance of their ancestral kingdom of Kuru in northwest India about three thousand years ago. These cousin princes of Kuru family at war were collectively known as the Bharatas, being the descendents of the great legendary king Bharata who lived several generations earlier. The conflict begins when the five virtuous Pandava princes, sons of the late king Pandu, demand their share of kingdom from their cousins, the Kauravas. The legitimacy of their demand comes under cloud because their father had abdicated his throne and retired to the forest when he was still young. The Pandava princes were born and raised in the forest. The blind older brother of king Pandu, Dhritharashtra by name, took over the kingship and appointed his one hundred sons, the Kauravas, as his legitimate successors. When the Pandavas demand their share of the kingdom, the Kauravas decide to get rid of them by hook or by crook. However,

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failing to assassinate the Pandavas by various devious means, the Kauravas finally agree to divide the kingdom under pressure from the elders of the clan.

As the mighty and noble Pandavas expand their kingdom and prosper, the Kauravas become consumed with jealous rage for their success.

Unable to annihilate the Pandavas by force the Kauravas now resort to stratagem to recover what they had lost through settlement. They invite the Pandavas to play dice with them. Their fraudulent maternal uncle rigs the game. In the heat of the game, the Pandavas, led by their na誰ve oldest sibling Yudhistira, lose their head and gamble away their kingdom, themselves, and finally, even their common wife, Draupadi. The Kauravas humiliate the vanquished Pandavas in public court. The elders intervene again, and a compromise is reached according to which the Pandavas must spend thirteen years in exile, one of which incognito, before getting back their kingdom.

The Pandavas return from their thirteen year long exile stronger than ever due to their alliance with powerful neighboring kings. Chief among their allies is a wise prince of Yadava tribe and Vrishni family, known as Krishna. When they demand the return of their lost kingdom, now firmly in power, the Kauravas refuse to oblige. All attempts at mediation for a fair settlement fail. The Kauravas even refuse to concede just five villages to the Pandavas. The Great War becomes inevitable. Rulers of various kingdoms of India polarize to one side or the other. On the designated day, both sides meet face to face on the great battlefield of Kurukshetra. At this critical juncture, prince Arjuna, the greatest warrior among the Pandavas, suffers a sever panic attack at the prospect of killing his own people. Suffering from anticipatory grief (Shokam), fickleness of mind (Dwandwam) and fearing bad consequences from his action (Karmaphalam), Arjuna decides to walk away from the battle. The 64 shloka-long parable of the distraught prince Arjuna, known simply as the Gita, begins at this point in the Mahabharata. For the purposes of our discussion, let us name this Gita the Original Gita.

The Historical Context: The Original Gita: Doctrines of the Gunas and Karma The Historical context consists of the reason why the Original Gita was added to the perennially expanding Mahabharata epic around 350 B. C. Like the Mahabharata epic, the Original Gita was a quintessentially Brahmanic text. Its main goal was to promote Varnashrama Dharma, the hierarchical class system that divided the Brahmanic society into

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four profession-based classes (18:41-45). The Varnashrama Dharma was one of four pillars on which Brahmanic Dharma rested, the other three pillars being, sanctity of the ancient, orally transmitted scriptures known as the Vedas (17:24); sacrificial rites known as Karma or Yajna (17:1), and supremacy of Brahmins over the other three classes (Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras, 18:41-44). This class system was rooted in the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27,33;18:59-60). These doctrines stated that everyone helplessly performs his socially designated duty born from the Gunas (Qualities), an irresistible mysterious force of nature within him. Furthermore, the consequences of one's actions, known as Karmaphala, accumulate, and one goes to hell or heaven depending on the accumulated sin or merit (9:20). After the exhaustion of the sins or merit, however, one would return to the earth to suffer or enjoy another life (9:21). His status in his current life is determined by the quality of his action in the past life (6:41). This belief system gave the evolving Brahmanic society of ancient India a semblance of stability and order. Over time the nexus of two upper classes of Brahmanism, Brahmin priests and Kshatriya aristocrats, became infected with greed and arrogance. They began to abuse sacrificial rites and the class system for personal gains.

A large number of disgusted and aggrieved people of all classes, especially Kshatriyas, began to abandon Brahmanism in favor of burgeoning heterodox Dharmas such as Buddhism, Jainism and other assorted Dharmas. All these heterodox Dharmas, which the Bhagavad Gita refers to as Para-Dharmas (3:35; 18:47), had little regard for Brahmanism, especially for the Varnashrama Dharma. Whereas some of them, such as Buddhism, were indifferent to it, the others, such a Lokayata, were blatantly hostile to it.

At this critical moment in the history of Brahmanism, when the ascendance of Para-Dharmas gravely threatened the very existence of Varnshrama Dharma, the author of the Original Gita brilliantly accomplished the feat of promoting it by inserting into the text of the Mahabharata a parable in which a disgusted and aggrieved prince wishes to abandon his Kshatriya Dharma at the critical moment when the Great War was about to begin, and his wise friend prince Krishna gives him a crash course on the fundamentals of the Varnashrama Dharma and the need for him to perform his bounden duty as a warrior. This 64 shloka long parable is the Original Gita. We will study the Original Gita in the next chapter. Here is the outline of that parable.

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The parable of a distraught warrior: Grief, Dwandwa and fear of Karmaphala Just as the Great War of the Mahabharata is about to begin, a supremely confident Pandava prince Arjuna (1:20) decides to take a final look at all the enemies he is about to slaughter. He asks prince Krishna, his best friend, guide, brother-in-law, and presently his charioteer, to park his chariot between the two armies (1:21-22). The stage is now set to for one of the most dramatic moments of the Mahabharata epic as well as ancient India's turbulent history.

At this critical moment, Arjuna suddenly becomes sad out of compassion for his kin whom he must kill to regain his kingdom (1:27). He develops a severe panic attack (1:28-30) due to fear of earning bad Karmaphala (sin) on account of killing his own people (1:31, 36). His emotional attachment to his adversaries causes Arjuna to suffer doubt and fickleness of mind known as Dwandwa (1:35, 46).

He renounces both the rewards of Brahmanism for performing his socially designated duty: victory, empire and pleasure here on earth (1:31) and lordship of heaven hereafter (1:35). Thus paralyzed by Grief, Dwandwa and fear of bad Karmaphala, Arjuna refuses to fight (1:47).

Victorious you will enjoy the earth; dead you will go to heaven Prince Krishna scolds Arjuna that his behavior is unmanly, shameful, ignoble, heaven-barring and indicative of feebleness of mind and heart unbecoming of a noble prince (2:2-3). He reminds Arjuna of his Kshatriya (warrior class) duty (2:31) as dictated by the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27, 33; 18:59-60). Prince Krishna argues that Arjuna's obligation to perform his socially designated duty as a Kshatriya surpasses all other personal consideration (2:33). Victorious in the battle he would gain the earth and enjoy lordship here on earth; dead on the battlefield he would gain heaven hereafter (2:37). Either way, he would earn good Karmaphala by performing his socially designated duty.

If you renounce your socially designated duty you will suffer dishonor here on earth and hell hereafter On the contrary, says prince Krishna, if Arjuna refused to fight, abandoning his socially designated duty as per Varnashrama Dharma he would court disgrace in the eye of his peers (2:33) here on earth.

"Dishonor in the society is worse than death," says prince Krishna

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(2:34-35). Besides, by abdicating his socially designated duty, he would earn bad Karmaphala (2:33), which implied that he would go straight to hell hereafter. According to Brahmanism, one is totally helpless against the dictates of one's Guna, and it is useless to even try to repress it (3:33). If he thought that he could rebel against the dictates of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, he was merely deluded by his Ahamkara (egoism) (3:27; 18:59). Prince Krishna says, "Bound by your own Karma born of your Guna that which you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against your own will, O Kaunteya!" (18:60) Thus shamed and browbeaten by prince Krishna's stern lecture about his Kshatriya duty bound by his Guna and Karma; fearing shame here on earth and hell hereafter for not performing it; giving up his egoism, and submitting helplessly to the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, Arjuna overcomes his Grief, Dwandwa and fear of earning bad Karmaphala, and resigns himself to do what must be done: fight (18:73). This, in brief, is the essence of the 64 shloka long Brahmanic Original Gita.

It should be noted here that the Original Gita was not in the form of a thoughtful and investigative dialogue characteristic of the Upanishadic Gita that succeeded it. In the Original Gita prince Arjuna simply expresses his misgiving about the war and prince Krishna issues a sharp scolding for it and a delivers a stern lecture on the necessity, virtues, and benefit of performing his Kshatriya Duty (Dharma) as per the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. In the Original Gita, from the beginning to the end the relationship between prince Arjuna and prince Krishna remains that of equals. Prince Krishna is neither the Guru (2:7) nor the Lord of beings (4:6) of the Upanishadic Gita, nor is he the Supreme Lord of the Bhagavatha Dharma (11:3). Arjuna's surrender is only to the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma, and not to prince Krishna. He merely acknowledges prince Krishna's grace and agrees to act according to his word (18:73).

Let us now review the 64 shloka-long Original Gita embedded in the text of the Bhagavad Gita.

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CHAPTER THREE The Original Gita Varnashrama Dharma and the Doctrines of the Gunas and Karma As we read before, there are only 64 shlokas from the Original Gita in the current text of the Bhagavad Gita. The following 45 shlokas, invoking the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma constitute the essence of the Original Gita. The remaining 636 shlokas in the text of the Bhagavad Gita were interpolated by various authors later. They have nothing to do with Arjuna's dilemma. We will study these in great detail later. The first 19 shlokas of the Original Gita, introducing various heroes participating in the Great War and dealing with preparation for the war, have been excluded here for the sake of brevity.

Arjuna gets ready for the battle 1:20: Sanjaya said to Dhritharashtra: O Lord of the Earth, viewing the army of Dritharashtra thus arrayed battle-ready against him, Pandava (Arjuna), whose flag adorned Hanuman (monkey God, the symbol of strength and loyalty), lifted his bow and said the following words to Hrishikesa (Krishna).

In the above shloka, Arjuna lifts his bow as a symbol of his selfconfidence and battle-readiness. He was resolved to kill his enemies and gain back his kingdom.

Arjuna wishes to look at his adversaries 1:21-23: Place my chariot, O Achyuta, between the two armies so that I may behold the war-minded that stand here, with whom I must wage this war. I desire to look at those that throng here to fight, intent on pleasing in battle the evilminded son of Dhratarashtra.

A supremely confident Arjuna asks prince Krishna to park his chariot in the demilitarized zone between the two armies so that he can assess his enemies before the battle ensues. Considering what follows, I can hardly resist the temptation to interpret this shloka as a metaphor for Arjuna requesting prince Krishna to, "establish my mind in the Dwandwa-free zone!"

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Arjuna experiences anticipatory Grief 1:24-27: Thus requested by Gudakesha, Hrishikesha, O Bharata, having placed the best of chariots in between the two armies; facing Bheeshma and Drona and all the rulers of earth, spoke, "O Partha, behold all the Kurus gathered together." Standing there Partha then saw in both the armies, paternal uncles, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons, comrades, fathers-in-law and benefactors. He, the son of Kunti, gazing at those kinsmen posted in positions spoke thus in sadness, filled as he was with choking compassion.

When one expects to lose someone he is emotionally attached to, he suffers from anticipatory grief. This grief would certainly be heightened greatly if one must kill his loved ones by his own hands. Now Arjuna feels sorry for his own people. Arjuna faces a new concern: what are the consequences of his violence against his own people?

Fear of earning bad Karmaphala brings on a severe panic attack 1:28-30: Seeing my kinsmen, collected here prompted by war, my limbs fail me, O Krishna, and my mouth is parched up. My body quivers and my hairs stand on end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns all over. I am unable to stand; my mind whirls as it were; and Kesava, I see adverse omens.

The thought of killing his own people arrayed against him, Arjuna suffers a panic attack. Panic attack is an emotional distress with many severe physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms brought on by one's mind getting flooded with fear. What was Arjuna afraid of?

Based on all we know of him from the Mahabharata, his fear is highly unlikely to be that of fear of dying in battle. Rather, his fear was that of earning grave sin by killing his hapless relatives and friends, his own people. Committing sin means earning bad Karmaphala by doing something wrong in the eye of one's Dharma. According to Brahmanism, one who commits sin goes straight to hell after death (1:44).

1:36: What delight can we derive, O Janardana, by doing away with these sons of Dritharastra? Sin (bad Karmaphala) only will accrue to us by slaying these desperados.

1:45: Goaded by greed of pleasures of a kingdom we are, alas, bent on perpetrating the great sin of killing our kinsmen.

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In the above two shlokas, Arjuna expresses grave concern about earning sin or bad Karmaphala by his action.

Arjuna suffers from Dwandwa due to attachment to his own people In the following three shlokas, Arjuna questions the first of two basic premises of Brahmanism: perform your duty and gain victory, empire and pleasure here on earth.

1:31-32: I do not foresee any good ensuing from the slaughter of my own people in battle. O Krishna, I hanker not for victory or empire or even pleasure. Of what avail to us is kingdom or enjoyment or even life, O Govinda?

1:37: We should not therefore slay the sons of Dhratarashtra, our kinsmen; for how can we, O Madhava, killing our own kinsmen be happy?

In the following shloka, Arjuna questions the second of two basic premises of Brahmanism: perform your duty and attain heaven hereafter.

1:35: Though myself slain by them, I would not, O Madhusudana, seek to slay them even for the sake of domination over three worlds, how then for the earth?

Now Arjuna expresses his disgust with the whole situation: 1:33-34: Those for whose sake we seek kingdom, enjoyment and pleasures, they stand here in battle, staking life and property: Teachers, fathers, sons as well as grandfathers, brothers-in-law and other relatives.

Arjuna expresses disgust at the fact that his own people, for whose sake he was waging the war, are willing to give up everything to fight him! Who are these people who have given up their attachment to life and wealth? Well, I suspect that in the Historical context this enigmatic shloka refers to Sramanas, the ascetics of the heterodox Dharmas, who gave up all attachment to worldly things and opposed Brahmanism tooth and nail.

Unable to resolve his mental conflict, Arjuna conjures up a strange scenario:

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1:46: Should the sons of Dhratarashtra with weapons in hand slay me, unresisting and unarmed in the battle that would indeed be better for me.

Dwandwa-stricken Arjuna considers abandoning his own Dharma 1:47: So saying, overwhelmed with grief in the battlefield, Arjuna sat on the seat of his chariot, abandoning his bow and arrows.

Unable to find an acceptable solution to his predicament, Arjuna resorts to renouncing his claim for his own kingdom in return for avoiding earning bad Karmaphala. In effect, Arjuna decides to abandon his bounden duty as dictated by Varnashrama Dharma. Note here the contrast between shloka 1:20, in which Arjuna lifts his bow, symbolic of doing his Dharma, and shloka 1:47, in which he abandons it, symbolic of his abandoning it. If this shloka were to be the summary of the BG Chapter One, it would read as follows: So saying, overwhelmed by Grief; his mind befuddled by Dwandwa; and paralyzed by the fear of earning bad Karmaphala, Arjuna consideres abandoning his Kshatriya Dharma.

[In the Historical context this was exactly what aggrieved Kshatriyas were doing in the post-Vedic period of India. Disgusted by the obsession of the upper classes with earning Karmaphala by means of sacrificial rites, they were giving up their Kshatriya Dharma and becoming Sramanas, inactive monks. So, 1:47 is the crucial shloka that instigates prince Krishna's stern lecture on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. ] Prince Krishna chastises and shames Arjuna 2:1-3: Sanjaya said to Dhritharashtra: Madhusudana spoke these words to Arjuna who was overwhelmed with compassion and was grieving with eyes full of tears: Arjuna, how could you have these impure, ignoble (Unarya), heaven-barring and dishonorable thoughts at this critical juncture? Do not yield to this impotence! It does not befit you. Give up this petty feebleheartedness and stand up!

Prince Krishna chastises Arjuna by pointing out to him that his behavior is unbecoming of a noble Kshatriya. Arjuna's behavior is impure because it is indicative of feeble-heartedness and unmanliness.

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His refusal to fight is not befitting an Arya (nobleman), and it would certainly bring dishonor to him here on earth and disbarment from heaven hereafter.

Shame has always been a powerful motivator in India where conforming to social norms and expectations has always been of paramount importance. Shame is what one feels when he believes that he is looked down upon by those in society for doing something wrong in their eyes. Brahmanism controlled the society by means of shaming the dissenters. "When you do something, always keep in mind what ten people in the society think of you!" has always been the message of Brahmanism. Besides, who are you to question the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma?

In the Historical context, by means of these three shlokas Brahmanism scholars try to shame all those Kshatriyas who were abandoning Brahmanism to embrace Para-Dharmas.

[Note here that heroism, honor, nobility, gaining wealth and heaven are the hallmarks of Kshatriyas as per the dictates of Brahmanism. In the Upanishadic Gita that follows immediately, these epithets are entirely discarded. The message of the Upanishadic Krishna is that Arjuna should act without regards to honor or dishonor (14:25), gain or loss (2:38), good Karma or bad (2:50-51). "Do the right thing, and don't worry about what others think of you!" is the message of the Upanishads (18:63).

Prince Krishna reminds Arjuna about his duty as a Kshatriya 2:31-32: Prince Krishna continued: Looking at your own duty as well, you should not waver; for there is nothing more welcome to a Kshatriya than righteous war. Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Partha, who obtain such warfare that comes unsought as an open gateway to heaven.

Every Kshatriya should eagerly seek to perform his duty to fight a righteous war, and he should look at it as an opportunity to gain wealth here on earth and heaven hereafter. Once again, heaven is a very desirable place to go to as far as Brahmanism is concerned.

Dishonor here on earth and hell hereafter!

2:33-36: Lord Krishna continued: If you will not wage this righteous warfare, then forfeiting your own duty and honor,

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you will incur sin (and go to hell). People will forever recount your infamy. To the honored, infamy is certainly worse than death. The great chariot-warriors will view you as one who fled the war out of fear; you that were highly esteemed by them will be lightly held. Your enemy will also slander your strength and speak many unseemly words. What could be more painful than that?

Nothing is worse than shame in the soceity for an honorable Kshatriya.

Infamy for abandoning his bounden duty would make life a hell here on earth, and guarantees one hell hereafter. What can be worse than this?

If you win you will enjoy the earth; if you die you will go to heaven 2:37: Slain you will gain heaven; victorious you will enjoy the earth. Therefore rouse up O son of Kunti and be resolved to fight.

This shloka explains the two fundamental concerns of Brahmanism: Life here on earth and hereafter.

The doctrine of the Gunas Now prince Krishna explains to Arjuna the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. Since the Original Gita was not an Upanishad, Arjuna does not ask Krishna a question to instigate the following lecture.

3:5: None can remain really actionless even for a moment; for everyone is helplessly driven to action by the Gunas born of Prakriti.

According to Brahmanism, the Gunas are irresistible force of nature (Prakriti) within us that relentlessly drives all our actions. The word 'helplessly' is invariably associated with the force of the Gunas. It was the view of the Brahmanical seers that no one could defy it even if he wished to (18:60). Aside from making everyone believe that they were mere puppets in the hands of the Gunas, this doctrine gave no hope of redemption for anyone who indulged in evil behavior. Even a thief could justify his behavior as his duty (Dharma) driven by his Guna!

[We will read later how the Upanishadic seers point out that the Gunas also make people commit stupid (2:62-63) and evil acts (3:36-40) by

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virtue of the fact that all common human weaknesses such as desire, hatred, attachment, and delusion are rooted in them.]

3:27: The Gunas of Prakriti perform all Karma (action). With the understanding clouded by egoism, man thinks, "I am the doer."

As we read earlier, whenever a man resisted the dictates of Brahmanism, he was branded as deluded by egoism (Ahamkara). One must meekly submit to the dictates of the society and not "make waves." Any dissent or self-assertion is considered as the sign of ignorance engendered by Ahamkara. One must always be humble and obedient. This doctrine kept people of all four classes in their proper place. Upstarts had no place in Brahmanical society. Due to this rigid tendency, all innovative ideas were stifled, and dissenters had no choice but to abandon Brahmanism when it became thoroughly corrupted.

3:33: Even a wise man behaves in conformity with his own nature (Guna); beings follow nature (the Gunas); what shall restraints avail?

Who is a wise man according to Brahmanism? A wise man is one who attains perfection (Samsiddhim) by faithfully performing his designated duty (18:45). Prince Krishna reminds Arjuna that it is pointless to resist the force of the Gunas. He should just do what comes naturally to him. Again the operative word here is helplessness.

18:17: He who is free from the notion of egoism (Ahamkara) and whose understanding (wisdom) is not tainted (by Ahamkara), though he kills people, he kills not; nor is he bound (by his actions).

One, who acts without the ignorance of Ahamkara, is acting according to his Guna assigned to him by Brahmanic Dharma. And therefore, he does not earn any bad Karmaphala (sin) even if he kills people. How can a warrior killing enemies in the line of duty earn sin? In fact, he would earn honor here on earth and heaven hereafter. Just in case Arjuna forgot how powerful the Gunas are, prince Krishna reminds Arjuna: 18:40: There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is liberated from the three Gunas, born of Prakriti.

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When even the Devas are under the spell of the Gunas, how can mere mortal like Arjuna resist its force?

The Varnashrama Dharma Now prince Krishna explains how the three Gunas are distributed among the four classes of Varnashrama Dharma.

18:41: The duties of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, O scorcher of foes, are distributed according to the Gunas born of their own nature.

One's duty is dictated by the class in which one is born. This, in turn, is determined by the Gunas assigned to that class.

18:45: Devoted each to his own duty, man attains the highest perfection. How engaged in his own duty, he attains perfection, that do you hear.

What is it that one attains by doing his own duty? It is the status of highest perfection (Sumsiddhim). This merely means one has attained the highest social status in his class by being an ideal member of the Brahmanic society. It is like being given Bharata Ratna title to a distinguished person. This is not the state of Self-realization of the Upanishadic seers. Atman and Brahman are not in this equation.

18:42: Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and also uprightness, knowledge, realization, belief in a hereafter- these are the duties of Brahmanas, born of their own nature.

As can be seen, the Brahmins assigned themselves the highest Guna, namely, Satvic. Note here that the belief in the hereafter was essential to Brahmanism. This belief was rooted in the doctrine of Karma: when one earns enough Karmaphala, he would attain heaven or go to hell, depending upon the nature of his deeds.

18:43: Heroism, vigor, firmness, resourcefulness, not fleeing from battle, generosity and lordliness are the duties of the Kshatriyas born of their own nature.

These qualities rooted in Rajasic Guna defined the behavior of Kshatriyas.

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18:44: Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of their own nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Sudras born of their own nature.

The lower classes were assigned the Guna which defined their respective professions.

Prince Krishna browbeats Arjuna with Brahmanism's ultimate weapon: Ahamkara 18:59-60: If filled with Ahamkara, you think, "I will not fight," vain is this, your resolve; your nature (Guna) will compel you.

Bound by your own Karma (comeuppance) born of your nature (Guna), that, which from delusion (of your Ahamkara) you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against your will, O Kaunteya.

In these defining Brahmanic shlokas, prince Krishna finally browbeats Arjuna with the ultimate weapon of Brahmanism: Ahamkara. He reminds Arjuna how helpless he is in the face of the overwhelming force of the Gunas and Karma. If this were true, there was no need at all for prince Krishna to intervene and give Arjuna a lecture on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. All he had to do was to sit tight in his chariot and wait for Arjuna to helplessly resume fighting.

18:72: Has this been heard by you, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of your ignorance (engendered by your Ahamkara) been destroyed, O Dhananjaya?

The reader should note here that the delusion of ignorance prince Krishna refers to in this Brahmanic shloka is that of Ahamkara. What this means is that when a man becomes egoistic, his mind becomes disconnected from his inner sense of duty as dictated by Brahmanic Dharma. In contrast, the ignorance mentioned in the Upanishadic Gita that follows is that engendered by the Gunas themselves, and not by Ahamkara.

A meek Arjuna surrenders to the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma 18:73: His Ahamkara thus "deflated" by prince Krishna's scolding and lecture on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, Arjuna says: My delusion (engendered by my Ahamkara) is destroyed. I have regained my memory (of my duty) through your grace, O

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Achyuta. I am firm (free from panic and Grief); I am free from doubt (Dwandwa). I shall act (to win the war and enjoy the earth, or die in battle and attain heaven) according to your word (regarding the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma).

The above Brahmanic shloka obliquely addresses the issues of Arjuna's Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam by means of Arjuna's complete surrender to the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma.

Arjuna then resigns himself to performing helplessly his Kshatriya duty as per Kshatriya Dharma. Note here that in the Original Gita, Arjuna does not surrender to prince Krishna as he does in the Upanishadic Gita (2:7). He merely says that he will act according to prince Krishna's word. The relationship between Arjuna and Krishna remains that of equals from the beginning to the end.

As will study in the future chapters how, in contrast to the Brahmanic Gita, the Upanishadic Gita tells Arjuna to willfully choose to perform action (18:63) without regards to honor or dishonor (14:25). Both the Upanishadic Gita and Bhagavatha Gita attempt to overthrow Brahmanism on the pretext of addressing these three issues posed by Arjuna in the Original Gita: Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam.

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CHAPTER FOUR The Three Distinct Gitas Through the prism of dispassionate scrutiny If the Bhagavad Gita has only 64 shlokas of the Original Gita in its text, how can we account for the remaining 636 shlokas in it? And what purpose do they serve? Who added them, when and why? Why do all the currently available commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita pretend as if all these shlokas belonged in the Original Gita, and that their only goal was to motivate Arjuna to fight? Now things get a little complicated. Let me explain it this way: If we showed a white sheet of paper to a child and asked, "What color is this paper?" the child would answer, "White." If we gave that paper to a physicist and asked him the same question, he would reply, "This paper appears to be of white color. But in fact, white is made up of seven different colors, the same colors we see in a rainbow." To the open-minded skeptics, he might prove his point by passing a beam of bright light through a transparent prism and projecting the emerging spectrum of seven colors on a white screen. If we showed the same white paper to some people whose livelihood depends on believing that white is a distinct color by itself, they might refuse to accept the result of the physicist's experiment no matter how scientifically accurate and convincing it might be to reasonable people. History has repeatedly taught us that the forces of darkness fueled by blind faith and kindled by survival instinct is almost always more enduring than the forces of light promoted by reason engendered by dispassionate scrutiny. The Inquisition of the 17th century Italian scientist Galileo Galilei by the ignorant Roman Catholic Clergy, for claiming that planets circled the sun, is a prime example of this reality.

This is exactly the state of affairs with our current understanding of the sacred text of the Bhagavad Gita as well. Brahmanic commentators of the Bhagavad Gita would like us to believe that it is a monolithic text; it was written by one author in one straight stretch; its only context is the Mahabharata war, and its only purpose was to motivate a despondent Arjuna to resume fighting on the sacred battlefield of Kurukshetra. This is like an elderly mother in massive denial insisting that her grownup son could fit very well into the small shirt he wore as a toddler. Everyone knows she does not make any sense, but no one wants to confront her with the reality out of respect for her age.

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If we pass the text of the Bhagavad Gita through the prism of dispassionate scrutiny, it yields overwhelming evidence that it was written by many authors over a vast stretch of time to achieve three different goals in two widely divergent contexts. 636 of 700 shlokas in the Bhagavad Gita have absolutely no relevance to Arjuna's predicament on the battlefield. They have to do with the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha revolutions to overthrow Brahmanism, and Brahmanism's counterrevolution to reestablish its authority. In order to explain away this unpleasant reality, various Brahmanic commentators have indulged in much verbosity, distortion, obfuscation, misinterpretation and misrepresentation.

Jigsaw puzzle pieces from three different boxes Another simple way of looking at the Bhagavad Gita is: it is like a large box holding 700 pieces of jigsaw puzzle, which originally came from

The three distinct Gitas in the Bhagavad Gita three different smaller boxes with three distinct pictures on their covers. The person who claims guardianship of the large box, in total denial, insists that the 700 pieces belong to the large box, and that they fit well to make one complete picture. However, the reality is that they don't fit no matter how well the guardian pretends that they do.

If one looks at the picture he has attempted to put together, one can

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hardly make any sense of it. Our task is to diligently sort out the jigsaw puzzle pieces and assemble them so that the three distinct original pictures become visible.

The reality is that the Bhagavad Gita, as we know it today, has three distinct Gitas representing three separate creeds based on three different pairs of doctrines, each superimposed on, and interlaced with, the other. These three Gitas are hidden in plain sight in the body of the text. Only painstaking analysis of the Bhagavad Gita reveals this spectrum in all its colorful glory. Before we investigate the process by which this came to be, let us take a brief look at these three distinct Gitas with three distinct goals.

1. The Brahmanic Gita promoting the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma The Brahmanic Gita promotes the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27, 33, 35; 18:41-48; 59-60) and all aspects of Brahmanism: the Vedas (17:24), Yajnas (4:12; 17:1-12; 18:5), Varnashrama Dharma (18:41-45), and supremacy of Brahmins over the other three classes (18:42). It forbids class admixture (Varnasankara, 1:42-44; 3:24).

The Brahmanic Dharma

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The main emphasis of Brahmanic Gita is on the need for people of all classes to faithfully perform their respective duties as per the dictates of Varnashrama Dharma and attain perfection (18:41-45); enjoy life here on earth and attain heaven hereafter (2:37); and to prevent admixture of classes (Varnasankara, 1:38-44). In fact, it is Brahmanism's contention that one must helplessly perform his duty as determined by his Guna and Karma and not question it (18:59-60). He who attempts to defy them is deluded by his Ahamkara (egoism). The 64 shloka long Original Gita promoting the Varnashrama Dharma is part of this Gita.

2. The Upanishadic Gita promoting the doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga The primary goal of the Upanishadic Gita is to overthrow Brahmanism based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and replace it with a New Dharma based on the doctrines of the Knowledge of Atman/Brahman and the doctrine of Buddhiyoga (2:39-40).

The Upanishadic Gita identifies the doctrine of the Gunas as the cause of Grief and Dwandwa here on earth; and the doctrine of Karma as the cause of Karmaphala resulting in Samsara hereafter. It identifies the Gunas as the hotbed of all human weaknesses such as selfish desire, jealous rage, attachment and delusion.

By means of the Upanishadic doctrine of Knowledge of Atman one would overcome Grief (2:25-26) and attain Bliss of Atman here on earth (2:71; 5:21); and by means of the Upanishadic doctrine of Buddhiyoga one would overcome Dwandwa here on earth (2:50); and cancel-out Karmaphala (2:51), which would liberate one from Samsara hereafter (2:72; 6:15).

The Upanishadic Gita downgrades or condemns all aspects of Brahmanism: The doctrine of the Gunas (2:45; 14:19-20); the doctrine of Karma (2:40); the Vedas (2:46, 52-53); the desire-driven Yajnas (2:47-49; 3:17-18); the Vedic ritualists (2:41-44); the Varnashrama Dharma (5:18-19; 6:29). In this Gita, Brahman replaces Vedic gods as the Ultimate Divinity (4:24).

The Upanishadic Gita also attempts to wean away both Brahmins and Kshatriyas from Kamya Karma (desire-driven sacrifices), and to reform them by giving Jnanayoga (Knowledge of Atman) to the former (4:19, 37-38) and Karmayoga (selfless service to humanity) to the latter (3:19-23) in its place.

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The Upanishadic Dharma In contrast to the hierarchical system of Brahmanism, the hallmark of Upanishadism is equality of all people by virtue of the fact that Atman is the same in all (6:29). To achieve this state of same-sightedness (5:18-19), one must overcome the force of the Gunas by attaining Atman and Brahman by means of Yoga. One can overcome the doctrine of Karma by acting in the spirit of Buddhiyoga, without desiring any fruits. It is the contention of the Upanishads that no one is helpless when it comes to action, and that he can choose to act after appropriate reflection (18:63). The shlokas that symbolize the Upanishadic intent and spirit are: 2:45: The Vedas enumerate three Gunas (which promote desire, attachment, and delusion). You must transcend the three Gunas, O Arjuna. Be free from Dwandwa (engendered by attachment to sense objects). Being of goodness of mind (being free of Guna-rooted weaknesses such as lust and jealous rage), unconcerned with getting (earning Karmaphala from your actions) and keeping (becoming possessive), be centered on Atman (which gives Bliss here on earth and Nirvana hereafter).

5:18-19: Men of Self-knowledge are same-sighted on a Brahmana imbued with learning and humility, a cow (the animal of Brahmins),

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and elephant (the animal of Kshatriyas), a dog (the animal of Sudras) and a dog-eating outcaste (untouchable). Transitory existence (Samsara) is overcome even here (on earth) by them whose mind rests on equality of all beings. Brahman (the Universal Spirit) is flawless and same in all; therefore they (those who are same-sighted on all beings) are established in Brahman.

6:29: His mind being harmonized by Yoga (which helps him to overcome the Gunas), the Yogi sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself; he sees the same in all (he goes beyond hierarchy of class system).

3. The Bhagavatha Gita promoting the doctrines of Lord Krishna and Bhaktiyoga The goal of the Bhagavatha Gita is to launch a New Dharma centered on Lord Krishna as the earthly avatar of Supreme Lord (Parameshwara), who replaces Atman/Brahman as the Supreme Deity (10:20, 12). This Gita replaces Buddhiyoga with Bhaktiyoga (9:23-33; 18:65-66) as the means to attain freedom from Grief and Dwandwa here on earth, and Moksha (liberation) from Karmaphala, (and Samsara) hereafter. Thus Bhaktiyoga counters the Brahmanic doctrine of the Gunas and Karma. Lord Krishna absorbs all aspects of Brahmanism into Himself, including all the Vedic gods (11:39).

The main emphasis of the Bhagavatha Gita is on surrendering to Lord Krishna and worshipping Him alone in devotion and no one else (9:23). In the Bhagavatha Gita, Lord Krishna Himself is the Eternal Dharma (14:27). If one takes refuge in Lord Krishna, he would not need any other Dharma such as Brahmanic Dharma and its various offshoots such as Varnashrama Dharma, Jati Dharma and Kula Dharma (1:38-44); Buddhism, Jainism, and the like. By taking refuge in Lord Krishna, one could cross over the force of the Gunas (7:14); and by dedicating all actions to Him one would overcome the law of Karma (9:27-28).

All this was succinctly expressed by Lord Krishna in His Ultimate Shloka, the most profound of all shlokas in the Bhagavatha Gita: 18:66: Abandon all Dharmas and take refuge in Me alone; I shall liberate you from all evil (Grief and Dwandwa engendered by the doctrine of the Gunas and Karmaphala engendered by the doctrine of Karma); do not grieve!

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The Bhagavatha Dharma In the following chapter, let us examine various historical processes that contributed to the three distinct Gitas in the Bhagavad Gita.

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CHAPTER FIVE Decay of Dharma and Rise of Adharma 4:7: Whenever there is decay of Dharma and rise of Adharma I embody Myself, O Bharata!

The Arya To understand the evolution of the Gita as well as the revolutions in the Bhagavad Gita we must first examine in some detail its Historical context, namely decay of the Brahmanic Dharma and the serious consequences that followed. Around 1500 B. C. E. northern India was dominated by a group of elite people who called themselves as the Arya. They spoke an archaic form of Sanskrit. They considered themselves as the nobility of the ancient Indian society. Much of the information we have about the Arya people, their language, culture, and religion comes to us from Rig Veda, a collection of sacred hymns composed by their bards probably between 1500 and 1000 B. C. E. Three more Vedas, mostly related to sacrificial rites dedicated to various nature gods, were composed during the last centuries of this period, which is generally known as the Vedic period. These Vedas, or treasures of knowledge, were orally transmitted by special class of priests through brilliant feats of memory from generation to generation. The Vedas were considered as divinely revealed, and were known as Shruti, meaning that which was heard (2:52-53). Only men of the upper classes were allowed to hear the Vedas. The belief system of the Arya people rooted in the sacred Vedas is known as Brahmanism or Orthodox Vedic Dharma. This Dharma was anchored in the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma and was the main instrument of social order and stability in most of northern India, which came to be known as Aryavarta, the land of the Arya. As we read before, this Dharma stood on four pillars: sanctity of the Vedas; the class system known as the Varnashrama Dharma; sacrificial rites known as Yajna dedicated to Vedic gods, and supremacy of Brahmin class over the other three classes.

Kingdoms and Republics In the beginning of Vedic period, the Arya settlements were mostly in the region of Punjab. Over the next five centuries the Aryan culture gradually spread in the southeasterly direction, along the rivers Yamuna and Ganga. The Aryan aristocracy formed various ancient kingdoms (1:4-7) -Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Chedi, Kashi, Kosala- and

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republics such as Shakyas, Koliyas, Mallas, and the like. Human nature being what it is, these kingdoms often fought amongst themselves for territory, cows, and supremacy. Lust (Kama) for wealth and jealous rage (Krodha) against each other characterized their relationship (16:12-14). Very often, their petty jealousies manifested themselves in the form of ever grandiose sacrificial rites. The great epic Mahabharata, often referred to as the fifth Veda, is about a Great War that allegedly took place, perhaps around 1000 B. C. E. on the ancient battlefield of Kurukshetra (1:1) about one hundred miles north of New Delhi, India, in which all these kingdoms fought on one side or the other. There is no material evidence to prove that the Mahabharata war, as it was depicted in the Epic, was an actual historical event. It is very likely, however, that the core of the Mahabharata epic was based on an actual war that took place in that region sometime during last part of the Vedic period. Like all other secular texts of ancient India, the Mahabharata epic too was thoroughly worked over and "Brahmanized." For example, the five noble Pandava princes were declared as born from the boons granted to their mother by various Vedic gods. Just about every major character in the epic was given some genetic connection with a Vedic divinity. In contrast to the Shruthis, which are considered revealed knowledge, the Mahabharata epic was considered as Smriti, a remembered scripture. People of all classes could listen to the Smritis. We will study later why this fact became so crucial to those within Brahmanism who engineered a revolution to overthrow it.

Yajnas take the center stage Let us now examine the developments in the post-Vedic society that instigated revolts against Brahmanism; the rise of Nastik creeds, and the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha revolutions that followed. In the beginning of the Vedic period the Kshatriya class held preeminence among the four social classes. The Kshatriya aristocratic class consisted of the king and his entourage consisting of his chief priest, ministers, general, and nobles. To legitimize their rule, consecrate their success, and promote their power, prosperity, health, and longevity the kings often performed various highly elaborate and pompous Yajnas (2:43; 4:12) by Adhikara (entitlement 2:47): Rajasooya, Vajapaeya, Ashvamaedha, Jyotisthoma, etc. Their Adhikara was granted to them by various Vedic scriptures such as the Brahmanas (17:23). Not anyone could perform any Yajna he liked.

Priests trained in the art of Yajnas performed these increasingly complex and exacting rituals and were richly rewarded for their services. Inevitably, such ostentatious desire-driven (Kamya) Karma 51

created unnecessary jealousy and hatred among the intensely competitive kings (16:18).[1] Since they needed each other in this whole sacrificial farce there developed a quid pro quo -I scratch your back and you scratch mine- relationship between Kshatriyas and Brahmins. Selfish Brahmins performed various grandiose Vedic sacrifices for the benefit of vain Kshatriya nobles (2:43) invoking Vedic gods to reward them with pleasure and lordship here on earth (4:12) and heaven hereafter (9:20). Sometimes these Yajnas were meant to destroy their enemies (16:14).[2] Brahmins go to the top of the heap As people settled down and began to cultivate agricultural crops, sacrificial rites to appease nature gods for rain (3:14) and protection from natural calamities became more important and widespread even among the less prosperous classes. Naturally Brahmins gained the upper hand by virtue of their mastery over Sanskrit language, monopoly over the Vedas, and the expertise over increasingly complicated art of Vedic sacrifices. This gave the Brahmins the opportunity to declare their superiority over Kshatriyas in the hierarchy of the Aryan society as well as to become powerful and wealthy themselves. The Brahmin superiority over Kshatriyas was repeatedly drummed in by means of various oral as well as written texts composed by the former. Gradually Brahmins became the uppermost class in the hierarchy of Varnashrama Dharma (18:41-42).

Endowed with brilliant literary skills, they created myths that they possessed supernatural powers. Displeased, they could lay dreadful curses and bring on disaster even on powerful kings who offended them. They even claimed power over Vedic gods by means of their knowledge of magical shlokas known as mantras. Throughout India's long history Brahmins did whatever they needed to do to maintain their supremacy over other classes. This is as true even today as it was in ancient India.

Yajnas (Karma) become corrupted Now something happened that gravely threatened the sacrificecentered Brahmanism: Kama (selfish desire) and Sangas (attachment) infected the upper classes. They became addicted to Kamya Karma with the goal (Sankalpa) of gaining personal pleasure, prestige, power, and heaven (2:41-43). Consumed with jealous rage (Krodha) against rival kings, they performed grand sacrifices with a great deal of ostentation and expense. Extravagant Yajnas became status symbol (2:43; 16:12-20) for the prestige-seeking Kshatriyas. Gaining

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Karmaphala -fruit of Yajna - became the end in itself. Devas were more or less forgotten (3:12-13). Selfish desire (Kama, 3:37) for, attachment (Sangas, 2:62) to, and possessiveness (Moha, delusion, 2:52-53, 63) of, and design (Sankalpa) for wealth, power, and social prestige characterized all sacrificial activities of the upper classes of the society. Every sacrificial rite was performed with a design, will, intention, or ulterior motive (Sankalpa, 6:1-4) to obtain one object of desire or another. Egoism (Ahamkara 2:71) -"I" and "Mine"- poisoned the minds of both the performing priests and sponsoring nobles (2:71; 16:12-20).

Society experiences Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala Over time, the terms Kama, Krodha, Moha, Sangas, and Sankalpa engendered by Kamya Karma came to be strongly identified with the decadent Brahmanism. Entanglement of mind with wealth, power, honor, and heaven engendered by these Guna-rooted human foibles (3:37) invariably leads to disconnection of the mind from its inner wisdom leading to unsteadiness of mind -Dwandwa (2:14, 41; 4:22).

[3] This, in turn, leads to self-ruin (2:62-63), and evil acts against others (3:37-40). Increasingly Kamya Karmas were performed disregarding the ordinances of ancient scriptures (16:21-24; 17:1) solely for the purposes of gaining Karmaphala. There was another side-effect due to mind's entanglement with material things: ignorance of Atman -Avidya or Ajnana. When one loses the Knowledge of Atman, the stage is set for him to suffer from Grief. In other words, the upper classes of post Vedic society experienced the same three maladies Arjuna suffered on the battlefield: Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala.

Brahmanism Dharma becomes Adharma There came a time when the greedy priests gave so much importance to the performance of the increasingly complicated Yajnas in violation (16:23-24) of their original intent (3:10-11; 4:15) that they claimed that without their performance the universe itself would be destabilized. The performance of sacrificial rites became more important than even the gods (3:12) for whom they were supposed to be dedicated! For every affliction of society, there was only one cure: performance of sacrifices (2:42); more sacrifices, and more elaborate, expensive, vulgar and pompous sacrifices (2:43; 16:15). To top it all, gruesome animal sacrifices became rampant and important part of Vedic sacrificial rites. Thousands of innocent horses, cows, buffaloes, bulls, goats, and birds were slaughtered mercilessly every year all over the country. Gradually the sacred Vedic Dharma degenerated into

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despicable irreligion (Adharma 4:7). As the sacrificial rites became tainted by corruption (BG: 2:43, 49), the prestige of the sacred Vedas and the moral authority of Brahmins steadily declined. There arose much disaffection and antipathy for Brahmanism in society. Loss of nobility and purity in the practice of the Ancient Dharma (11:18; 14:27) led to much Grief in the post-Vedic society resulting in disastrous consequences: wholesale abandonment of Brahmanism by millions of aggrieved people.

------------------------------------------------------------------------[1] In fact, the beginning of the Mahabharata war could be traced to the Rajasooya Yajna performed by Yudhistira, the eldest Pandava prince, to consecrate his ascendance to the throne of Indraprastha.

[2] In the Mahabharata, Drupada of Panchala performs Kamya Karma to obtain a son who would destroy his arch enemy Drona.

[3] In modern times Dwandwa could be described as that feverish state of mind seen in people entangled with material things, who indulge in stupid acts due to loss of wisdom.

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CHAPTER SIX The Great Nastik Revolt Intellectual ferment By 600 B. C. a great intellectual ferment was brewing across the IndoGangetic plain the like of which India has not seen since. Countless different Kshatriya-inspired philosophies sprang up from the agitated intellect of the Indo-Gangetic civilization. Disgusted and disenchanted by the decadence of Brahmanism a number of reactionary groups opposed to it arose over the centuries following the Vedic period.

These people who lost faith in the Vedas or Vedic sacrifices came to be known as Nastik -unbelievers or naysayers. Most of these groups were led by Kshatriya nobles. Thousands of wandering sophists known as Parivrajaka crisscrossed the country questioning anything and everything, including the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, the Vedas, Vedic sacrificial rites, Varnashrama Dharma, and supremacy of Brahmins. They engaged each other in robust public debate on every topic on earth. They challenged their adversaries to win them over or to follow them. The public halls all over the country were packed with curious people eager to learn and experiment with new ideas to cope with life and its vicissitudes. New Age Philosophies thrived everywhere.

Kshatriyas lead the exodus Soon massive winds of change began to blow through India resulting in the overthrow of the decaying old social, political, and religious orders. Aggrieved by the decadence of Brahmanism, a large number of dissenting Brahmins and Kshatriyas began to abandon it en masse.

Lord Buddha (563-483B. C.) and Lord Mahaveera (599-527 B. C.), both Kshatriya princes, were the products of this revolt. Over the next few centuries, heterodox religious orders, Buddhism and Jainism, both ascetic and Nastik in nature, began ascendancy under the sponsorship of disillusioned ruling clans and support of even lower social classes.

Emperor Chandrgupta Maurya (ruled 321-297 B. C.), the first great emperor of India and protĂŠgĂŠ of Chanakya, the quintessential Brahmin genius, abandoned Brahmanism, embraced Jainism, became an ascetic, and starved himself to death in the manner of Jain monks in South India. His son Bindusara abandoned Brahmanism and became an Ajivika, a creed which believed in predetermined destiny. His grandson emperor Ashoka the Great (r. 268-233 B. C.), gave up violence as well as Brahmanism, and became an ardent supporter of Buddhism, then known simply as Dhamma. He even sent emissaries

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abroad to spread Buddhism. Buddhism became a World Religion. The Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) (r. 155-130 B. C.) and Kushana emperor Kanishka (r. 78-114 B. C.) also became Buddhist. Royal patronage of Buddhism made it the dominant religion of India till the rise of Hinduism around 4th century A. D. under the patronage of Gupta emperors.

Two Nastik reactionaries arise 1. The first of these two groups resorted to Sanyasa- literally, "throwing down"- and renounced not only all material comforts but also all socially obligated duties. In other words, not only did they reject the Vedas, but also they abandoned Varnashrama Dharma.

Sanyasa became synonymous with the word inaction (Akarma 2:47).

Within this group, which came to be known as Sramanas, three distinct subgroups emerged: A. The first subgroup, following the teachings of Gautama Buddha, later developed into Buddhism. This was essentially a rational religion that emphasized right thinking and conduct. Buddhists rejected all aspects of Brahmanism except for the doctrine of Karma. Right conduct, not birth-class, should decide one's greatness, they said. The Buddhist monks were known as Bhikkus as they made their living by begging. The Buddha became a demigod. Beggars became holy and begging became fashionable in India.

B. The second subgroup, following the philosophy of Vardhamana Mahaveera, later on formed Jainism. The hallmark of this religion was absolute nonviolence toward all living things. This religion was clearly reacting to the horror of animal sacrifices rampant in Brahmanism. Some of these monks walked around naked as an expression of their complete renunciation of material things and violence. Mahaveera became a demigod.

C. The third subgroup consisted of individual Ascetics (Muni), who renounced everything and wandered in search of the Ultimate Reality (Brahad. Up. 4:4:22). They practiced severe austerities (Tapas) in the form of self-denial and self-torture (17:5-6) as means of mastering their senses to achieve personal liberation from Samsara. Half-naked Sadhus and Sanyasins who wander all over India even now belong to this subgroup.

2. The second major Nastik reactionary group, known as Materialists or Lokayatas, went in the opposite direction (Maitra. Up.: 8:9). The

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leading subgroup in this category was Charvakas, who, declaring Vedic teachings as humbug, taught that pursuit of happiness should be the only goal in life. This was a largely rational philosophy which the priests of Brahmanism hated with passion (16:7-11). All of their revolutionary literature was destroyed by the pro-Vedic fanatics. What little we know of this philosophy comes to us from quotes in various Brahmanic scriptures condemning them.[1] Brahmanism faces grave danger The net result of this trend was that by 3rd century B. C. a large number of people of all classes, especially Kshatriyas, were abandoning the elitist Brahmanism and embracing egalitarian heterodox Dharmas such as Buddhism and Jainism. This was no different than the disgusted "lower castes" and "outcastes" abandoning Brahmanized Hinduism, and embracing Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism in the modern times. Becoming a monk or ascetic not only meant giving up material comforts but also abandoning Brahmanism and socially designated duty ordained by Varnashrama Dharma. To Brahmanism, dissolution of Varnashrama Dharma or class system meant class confusion (Varnasankara 1:41) and its consequences, namely birth of unwanted progeny and decimation of elite class.

The age of invasions This also happened to be the time when north India experienced waves of fresh invasion from the northwest frontier. Alexander the Great invaded India in 327 B. C. From then onwards northern India knew no rest. It was threatened continually from the northwest by various border kingdoms: Bactrian, Scythian or Shakas, and Kushanas, among others. Kshatriyas abandoning their Dharma could not have happened at a worse time. If all aggrieved Kshatriyas gave up their duty, embraced nonviolence, and became monks who would protect the country against the invaders? Facing imminent disaster for Brahmanism as well as the land of the Arya, Brahmanism seers sprang into action. They inserted into the ever expanding and popular Mahabharata a brief parable of Arjuna's Grief by means of which they conveyed to the public the need to strengthen Varnashrama Dharma in order to preserve social order and stability. This, as we read before, became the Original Gita.

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--------------------------[1] The Mind of India, Edited by William Gerber, Southern Illinois University Press 1977, page 102.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Brahmanism Defends Itself Brahmanism worries about Varnasankara We do not know exactly how effective the Original Gita was in stopping the bleeding. For three centuries following the death of the Buddha in 483 B. C. Buddhism rose in leaps and bounds and the prestige of Brahmanism continued to decline steadily. Large number of Kshatriya men left their family and became Bhikkus of Buddhism, munis of Jainism and Ascetics of other creeds. As Buddhism became the dominant Dharma of India, Brahmanism felt a great threat to its very existence. Buddhism had little regard for the Varnashrama Dharma as its main motto was equality of all human beings based on right conduct and not their class of birth.[1] This meant free admixture of the upper class women with the lower class men. Brahmanism chronically worried that admixture of upper class women with the lower class men would lead to the birth of unwanted progeny (1:38-44) and decimation of elitist class (3:24).

By now the Mahabharata epic, the quintessentially Brahmanic text, was very popular with the masses. The Original Gita, dealing with Arjuna's Grief on the battlefield and prince Krishna's lecture enunciating the Brahmanism doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, was already part of the Mahabharata epic. Taking advantage of the Mahabharata's popularity with the masses, some later Brahmanic scholar seems to have added the following shlokas into the Original Gita to warn people about the serious consequences to the society due to abandonment of Brahmanism.

Brahmanism warns against class admixture The following seven shlokas, warning of the evil consequences of Varnasankara -upper class women producing children with lower class men, were interpolated in the Original Gita between 1:37 and 1:45 by the proponents of Brahmanism in a desperate attempt to shore up the weakening Varnashrama Dharma in the face of ascendance of Buddhism and Jainism, both of which rejected it. Children of such union, being uncultured, would fail to perform proper rituals to appease ancestral souls. The result would be, they claimed, wholesale condemnation of everyone responsible for Varnasankara to hell. One clue to the later addition of these seven shlokas is the term

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Jatidharma. The caste system, in contrast to class system, evolved later in the post-Vedic period.

1:38-44: Arjuna said: Even though they (Kauravas), goaded by greed, neither feel guilt in destroying their own family nor perceive crime in treachery to friends, why should we not have the wisdom to refrain from such a Sin, O Janardana, knowing well the evil in the destruction of the family? When families decline, their eternal family laws (Kula Dharma) perish; with the demise of sacred rites, impiety overtakes the entire family. The decline in family values leads to women becoming unchaste; corruption of women leads, O Varshneya, to admixture of Varnas (classes). Varnasankara (admixture) leads to deprivation of manes-cakes and libations to ancestral souls, causing the souls to fall, which guarantees hell to families as well as to the family destroyers. The eternal caste virtues (Jatidharma) and family merits become destroyed due to Varnasankara caused by the family destroyers. We have heard repeatedly, O Janardana, that hell is verily the long-lasting abode of those men whose family religious practices have been ruined.

Brahmanism puts forth the argument here against Varnasankara as this leads to destruction of ancient rituals and traditions enshrined in various sub-Dharmas of Brahmanism such as the Varnashrama Dharma, Jati Dharma (caste system), Kula Dharma (family traditions), etc. The bottom line is that Brahmanism feared loss of elite status for the upper classes. It might interest the reader to note here that these are the very Dharmas which Lord Krishna asks people to abandon in his Ultimate Shloka 18:66.

Brahmanism defends the upper classes The following two shlokas with four hidden agendas were added by Brahmanism seers to shore up Brahmanism.

2:4-5: Arjuna pleads with Krishna: O Madhusudana, slayer of foes, how can I counter-attack with arrows Bheeshma and Drona who are worthy of worship? It is better to live in the world eating beggar's food than to kill these great masters. Even though they are desirous of wealth, they are my superiors. If I kill them, my enjoyment of wealth and desires will be tainted with blood.

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The literal meaning of the first shloka, of course, is that Arjuna feels guilty for having to counter-attack when attacked by two great sages whom he worships ardently. Therefore, he asks Madhusudana, an expert in killing enemies, for some guidance. His alternative is to give up his Kshatriya Dharma and make his living by begging. The literal meaning of the second shloka is that he can forgive their desire for wealth because they are both his superiors. Besides, if he won the war by killing them both, he would not be able to enjoy his blood-stained gains due to his sense of sinfulness over killing them.

There are at least four hidden Brahmanic agendas in these two shlokas all of which must be examined in the context of India's history between 400 and 200 B. C. 1. The first hidden agenda: The phrase two "great sages worthy of worship" probably refers to Lord Buddha and Lord Mahaveera, both of whom were worshipped as great teachers even by a large section of the Brahmanic society. Both these great men were, as it were, "attacking" the corrupted Brahmanism by their Nastik philosophies.

Both these teachers rejected everything Brahmanism stood for: The Vedas, Vedic sacrifices, Varnashrama Dharma, and supremacy of Brahmins. Brahmanism, now in precipitous decline, was in a rather precarious position of having to "counter-attack" heterodox Dharmas.

On the one hand, pro-Brahmanism authors knew that there was great merit in the teachings of the Buddha as well as Mahaveera. On the other hand, Brahmanism wanted to hang on to its ritual-oriented ancient traditions. Brahmanic seers wondered how they could counterattack these opponents.

2. The second hidden agenda: Arjuna poses the question: Why should I not abandon Kshatriya Dharma and make my living by begging instead? This statement must be examined in the context of rise of Buddhism. A large number of Kshatriyas were becoming Bhikkus or begging monks of Buddhism, Digambaras of Jainism, and Sadhus of Asceticism around this time disgusted by the decadence of Brahmanic Dharma. Arjuna says rhetorically, in effect, "If I can't lick them I will join them." By means of this shloka, Brahmanism seers set the stage to interpolate the following fateful shloka: 3:35: It is better to perform one's own Dharma, however imperfectly, than to perform another's Dharma perfectly.

Better destruction in one's own Dharma; the Dharma of another is full of fear.

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It is interesting to note here that Brahmanic seers admit in this shloka that Brahmanism is performing its own Dharma imperfectly, Kamya Karma being an example of that imperfection, and yet it perversely defends its faulty performance by saying that death or destruction while imperfectly performing one's own Dharma leads to heaven, and death while performing perfectly an alien (Para) Dharma leads to hell.

The fear mentioned is obviously that of going to hell for abandoning one's socially designated duty (2:33), or for being responsible for Varnasankara (1:38-44). The Brahmanic seers do not bother to stop for a minute to reflect, "Why are so many people abandoning Brahmanism? What are we doing wrong?" Instead they attempt to promote their own Dharma by perversely fear-mongering another's Dharma, and by implying that death while performing Kamya Karma leads to attainment of heaven. This type of perverse logic and fearmongering afflicts the minds and actions of many religious leaders of Hinduism even today.

3. The third hidden agenda: The second of these two shlokas shores up the position of Brahmins (represented by Drona) and Kshatriyas (represented by Bheeshma) in the post-Vedic society when the prestige of these two upper classes was taking a good deal of beating due to their hankering for wealth, pleasure, and heaven (2:43) by means of Kamya Karma. In these shlokas they are both described as superiors worthy of worship even though they are desirous of wealth.

The fact is that in the Mahabharata epic neither patriarch Bheeshma nor Guru Drona was desirous of any wealth whatsoever. They had nothing personally to gain by this dreadful war. They were both on the dole of Kauravas and were merely returning, though reluctantly, the debt they owed them. Therefore, the phrase "even though they are desirous of wealth" cannot be justified in the Mahabharata context.

The real intent of these shlokas is: So what if Brahmins and Kshatriyas have become selfishly desirous of wealth? Remember that they are the elite of the society and worthy of worship as per the dictates of Varnashrama Dharma. Just bear it and grin.

4. The fourth hidden agenda: How could one enjoy the wealth and desires tainted with blood? In the Mahabharata context, the sin of killing the two great sages could rob Arjuna of the enjoyments of gains he made by his deeds (Karma). The ensuing sense of guilt and sinfulness could defeat the very purpose of the deed.

In the Historical context, however, the reference to tainting with blood one's enjoyment refers to rampant animal sacrifices sponsored by Brahmanism and opposed by both the Buddha and Mahaveera. Both

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these Mahatmas abhorred animal sacrifices and questioned: How could one enjoy anything earned by violent means?

Brahmanism maintained that animal sacrifices were legitimate in the process of rituals (Karma) prescribed by the Vedas to attain wealth, pleasure, and heaven, and there is no need to feel any guilt or sin for enjoying the Karmaphala ensuing from them. They had already addressed this issue in the Original Gita by explaining how the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma determined every person's class and duty, and why one should perform his duty faithfully as dictated by them. Once again, they buttress their own Dharma by their perverse logic: 18:47-48: Better is one's own Dharma, though imperfectly performed, than the Dharma of another well performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature (Guna) incurs no sin (bad Karmaphala). One should not abandon, O Kaunteya, the duty (Karma/action) to which (Varna) one is born, though it is attended with evil; for all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke.

In these two shlokas, the Brahmanism scholars argue that all undertakings have something unpleasant about them, which they are totally helpless to change (3:5, 27, 33; 18:60). Everyone must perform his duty as dictated by the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma even if it means Kshatriyas killing their "own people" in the line of their duty, and Brahmins killing animals in the performance of Yajnas. If a Brahmin must sacrifice animals in the course of a Yajna he performs as per his priestly duty, he must do so accepting it as the dictates of the doctrines of his Dharma. There is no need to stigmatize such actions as evil. Any gain made in the course of such actions, say, a kingdom gained by Kshatriyas or priestly remuneration gained by the Brahmins, is not tainted.

These appeals to all classes of people not to abandon Brahmanism Dharma did not help in stopping the wholesale desertion. As Buddhism began its ascendance, the fortunes of Brahmanism declined steadily.

Soon Brahmanism was in danger of disappearing altogether. The stage was now set for the Upanishadic revolution to overthrow the decadent Brahmanism.

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[1] In the Buddha's Words, Bhikku Bodhi, Wisdom Publication, Boston, 2005, page 132.

CHAPTER EIGHT The Upanishadic Dharma Uncertain times As we read earlier, the post-Vedic period of 1000-300 B. C. was one of great tumult, uncertainty, and insecurity. The situation was something like the uncertainties we are experiencing in 21st century related to global warming, ice caps and glaciers melting, terrorism, pollution, globalization, economic stagnation, and the like. There was much political and social instability in the land. Kings were being dethroned, kingdoms were being swallowed-up, and tribes were breaking up. Old orders were being replaced with new ones. There was a deep sense of disillusionment and insecurity in the air. During this period numerous great texts known as the Upanishads, which later came to be known as confidential discourses (Rahasya), were composed by great unknown authors, most certainly many of them royal saints (BG: 4:1-2; 9:2; Chandogya Upanishad: 1:8:1; 5:11:7; Brahad. Up.: 2:1:1-15; 6:2:1). Reflecting the uncertain mood of the time the Maitraayani Upanishad (1:4) went so far as to say, "Demigods and demons are dying! The oceans have dried up! Mountains have crashed down! The Pole Star is unstable! Even the Earth is foundering! We are all like a frog in the dry well!" Intellectuals of India were not satisfied by the mindless and intellectually sterile Kamya Karma as a panacea for all the ills and miseries of life (2:42-43). Gradually it dawned on them that the Brahmanism itself had a terribly corrupting influence on the society (Mundaka Upanishad: 1:2:6-10). They frantically searched for new solutions for pressing life-problems.

The doctrine of Atman and Brahman: That thou art In contrast to the ritual-oriented Vedas, Upanishads were thoughtprovoking discourses that dealt with truly mind-boggling concepts of all-pervading Brahman, the Imperishable Universal Spirit (12:1, 3) and Atman, the Self, the indestructible essence of that spirit in man (2:16-30). The Brahman was identified as the seat of Absolute Bliss (5:21, 24-26) and was without any qualities (Nirguna 13:31). Because Brahman was beyond the reach of our Senses, It could only be described in negative terms (12:3): Not this, not this: Naeti, Naeti: (BrahadÄ ranyaka Upanishad: 4:4:22). The central theme of the

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Upanishads was "Tat tvam asi" (Chandogya Upanishad: 6:9:4): That thou art, meaning the Atman and the all-pervading Brahman are one and the same. Another way of putting this was: "Aham Brahmaasmi": I am Brahman (Mundaka Upanishad: 3:2:9). Brahman could be obtained only through abstinence (Chandogya Upanishad: 8:5:1-3); and by truth and penance (Mundaka Upanishad: 3:1:5). Brahman was free from old age, death, pain, grief, desire, etc. (Chandogya Upanishad: 8:7:3) and he who knows Brahman obtains everything (Chandogya Upanishad: 8:7:3). He who knows Atman overcomes Grief (Chandogya Upanishad: 7:1:3). The ultimate goal of Atman was Nirvana -end of Samsara- by means of merger with Brahman (6:15).

This was in contrast to Brahmanic Dharma in which one's Atman was born again and again (2:26; 18:42) based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma.

The Upanishads versus the Vedas Many of the Upanishads were blatantly skeptical about or hostile to Brahmanism in general and sacrifices in particular in the prevalent spirit of the day. Some of them even ridiculed the greedy priests mercilessly. Chandogya Upanishad (1:12:1-5) compared the orthodox priests to a procession of dogs holding the tail of the dog in front chanting piously, "Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! Om, may divine Varuna, Prajapati, Savitri bring us food! Lord of food, bring hither food, bring it, Om!" They relegated Vedic knowledge to lower level than the Knowledge of Atman (Mundaka Upanishad: 1:4), the anchor of Upanishadic philosophy. They branded indulgence in Vedic sacrifices as a sign of ignorance (Avidya) and declared that Vedic sacrifices led to darkness (ignorance); and delighting in Vedic knowledge (2:42) led to greater darkness (Brahadaranyaka Upanishad: 4:4:10; Isopanishad: 9, 12). They condemned desire-driven sacrifices in no uncertain terms (Mundaka Upanishad: 1:2-10). They declared that Atman cannot be attained by the Vedas (Mundaka Upanishad: 3:2:3; Svetasvatara Upanishad: 3:13; MaitrÄ yani Upanishad: 2:5).

The Gunas are the cause of Grief and Dwandwa If Atman resides in the body, why is it that we do not know It? Well, the Upanishadic seers blamed it on the force of the Gunas (Natural Qualities) (MaitrÄ yani Upanishad: 3:2). The best way to explain the force of the Gunas is that it is like gravity. Just as gravity attracts all objects to it, it attracts Atman and binds it to the body (14:5). By means of the same magnetic attraction, the Gunas induce the Mind to desire sense objects and get attached to them (3:28-29, 3:34, 37-43;

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2:62-63). The Mind's attachment to sense objects creates the following problems: Dwandwam: When the Senses become entangled with sense objects the Mind becomes disconnected from Wisdom and suffers from unsteadiness, loss of judgment, doubt and other symptoms of stress (2:14).

Shokam: Once the mind becomes deluded by its entanglement with sense objects, it becomes ignorant of Atman in the body. When one loses awareness of the eternal nature of Atman, he suffers Shokam (Grief) upon the death of loved one by failing to recognize that Atman is deathless (2:20).

Kamya Karma promotes Karmaphalam and Samsara The doctrine of Karma (Ch. Up: 5:10:7) evolved over several centuries before the Original Gita was composed. It said that all actions or deeds (Karma) result in consequences known as Karmaphalam (3:9). This doctrine was beyond the power of even gods to change (5:15). It explained why people suffered misery on earth even when they did nothing wrong to deserve it.

As we read earlier, the goal of all Kamya Karma was not only to obtain pleasure and lordship here on earth but also to attain heaven after death (2:43). Initially the Brahmanic priests guaranteed the Kshatriyas quick success on earth if they performed sacrifices (4:12). Inevitably the question arose in the minds of Kshatriya nobles: "What if we earned more Karmaphala than we could use up in one life time?" Well, the clever priests had a ready answer for it too (9:20): "Don't worry; you will go to heaven and have wonderful time there mingling with the Devas!" That assurance gave the Kshatriya sponsors of sacrifices some peace of mind. The problem with this assurance, according to the Upanishadic seers, was the fact that the theory of Karma said that once their Karmaphala was exhausted, they would take birth (9:21) on this transient, joyless earth again (9:33). In other words, the voyage to heaven of Devas always came with the compulsory return ticket.

This meant Karmaphala earned by means of Kamya Karma promoted transmigration of the Atman hereafter.

The prevalent sentiment, as exemplified by the Upanishadic theories, however, was that returning to this transient, joyless world was more a punishment than reward (9:33). The Upanishadic seers said that if one wished to avoid the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, he should

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perform actions that earn neither good nor bad Karmaphala (2:38; 2:50-51). Obviously, the Upanishadic idea of Nirvana -merger of Atman with Brahman- and end of Samsara was quite in contrast to the idea of Samsara -the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of Atmanpromoted by Brahmanism (9:20). In contrast to Brahmanism's goal of pleasure here on earth and heaven hereafter, the Upanishad's goal was Bliss of Atman here on earth and Nirvana hereafter.

The question is, how could one go about attaining these two goals?

The doctrine of Yoga: Sanyasa and Tyaga The Upanishadic seers had a very simple answer to the havoc (Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam) caused by the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and by Kamya Karma rooted in them: Buddhiyoga. The root-word of Yoga is Yoke. It means girdling one's mind to inner wisdom to a tackle a specific task and to achieve a specific goal. Yoga has two essential elements to it: Sanyasa and Tyaga.

1. Sanyasa means giving up desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of sense objects. When one achieves this goal, his mind connects with Buddhi, his inner wisdom, and becomes Buddhiyukta. Because detachment from sense objects connects the mind to its inner wisdom (Buddhi), this Yoga is known as Buddhiyoga or Yoga of Wisdom. The mind thus stabilized by wisdom (Buddhiyukta mind) not only overcomes Dwandwam, but also gains knowledge of Atman. Knowledge of Atman counters Shokam. In practice, Sanyasa countered Kama associated with Kamya Karma. Lord Krishna assigned Sanyasa, also known as Jnanayoga, to the brainy Brahmin class (3:3), in an attempt to wean them away from Kamya Karma.

2. Tyaga means renouncing fruits of action. All selfless actions earn neither good nor bad Karmaphala, and thus they break the bonds of Karma (2:39-40). Tyaga countered Karmaphalam. In practice, Tyaga countered Sankalpa, desire from fruits, evident in Kamya Karma performed by Kshatriyas. Tyaga, also known as Karmayoga, was given by Lord Krishna to the action-oriented Kshatriyas (3:3) in an attempt to wean them aways from Kamya Karma.

The Upanishadism versus Brahmanism Intellectually, these Upanishadic insights were eons ahead of the sterile and mindless sacrificial rites promoted by the Vedas. Clearly the Upanishadic doctrines of the Knowledge of Atman and Buddhi Yoga

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were diametrically opposed to the Brahmanism's doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. The Knowledge of Atman countered the doctrine of the Gunas, and the practice of Yoga countered the doctrines of Karma, and of course, Kamya Karma rooted in it. To the Yajna-addicted Brahmins and Kshatriyas, it was easier to admit that their practice of Brahmanism was imperfect (3:35; 18:47) than to give up their mindless rituals performed against the ordinances of ancient scriptures (16:21-24; 17:1-4). To them the very intent (Sankalpa, 6:1-4) of performing various Yajnas was to earn Karmaphala (4:12). The Upanishadic teachings of detachment from sense objects; selfless Karma, and freedom from Grief, Dwandwa, and Karmaphala (2:47-51) struck at the very root of the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and they posed grave internal threat to its very existence.

Brahmanism declares the Upanishads as "Top Secret."

In order to deal with this internal threat the clever Vedic priests did to the Upanishads what modern businesses do to whistle-blowers: promote them to oblivion and declare their discovery a Top Secret.

First they declared the Upanishads as integral part of the Vedas even though the Vedic and Upanishadic doctrines were diametrically opposed to each other. Then they interpolated into the texts of the Upanishads whatever pro-sacrifice stuff that served their purpose (Traittiriya Up: 1:1-9). Incredible amount of obscure, irrelevant, and inappropriate materials (E.g. Brahadaranyaka Upanishad: 4:4:2-10) were added to the original texts till no ordinary person could comprehend what was already a rather complex concept. The essential elements of the Upanishadic philosophy were buried in the avalanche of irrelevant materials. Then they incorporated them into the Vedic corpus as the Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, and gave them the sacred status of Shruthi, that which was heard. The net result was that the Upanishads became, more or less, that which you won't hear any more. This was how the explosive new thought diametrically opposed to Brahmanism was contained and kept under wraps away from any busybody curious to know more about it. Even though the literal meaning of the word Upanishad was "sitting near devotedly," it came to mean a secret -Rahasya (4:3). This is no different from a corrupt government classifying some damning information adverse to it as "Top Secret."

It is significant to note here that in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna claims that He is the author of the Vedanta (15:15) but not the Vedas.

He simply states that He is the knower of the Vedas.

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Misdeeds of the upper classes yield Karmaphala Pretty soon the misdeeds of the ritualist Brahmins and Kshatriyas began to yield Karmaphala here on earth. As the bloody sacrifices flourished, anti-Brahmanism sentiment in society mounted; abandonment of Brahmanism escalated; heterodox Dharmas flourished; and Brahmanism slipped into a moribund condition. In spite of these developments, the sacrifice-obsessed Vedic Brahmins and Kshatriyas were blissfully indifferent to the graffiti on the walls.

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CHAPTER NINE Outlines of the Upanishadic Revolution As the Dwandwa-ridden upper classes were feverishly busy earning Karmaphala by means of Kamya Karma, the society at large suffered much Grief over the state of affairs. A revolution was urgently needed from within to overthrow Brahmanism, or reclaim what was left of it.

Some great Upanishadic seers of theological genius and outstanding literary skills must have decided that time was ripe for drastic action.

It took some brave Upanishadic seers to finally reveal that profound secret (4:3) -the Knowledge of Atman/Brahman and Yoga- in the Gita, a Smriti which could be read, heard, and studied by anyone, including women and Sudras (9:32). In other words, they converted the modified Original Gita into the Upanishadic Gita.

Setting the stage First, they introduced the Upanishadic format of thoughtful discourse between an enlightened Guru and a novice Shishya. No more lecturing.

4:34: Seek that enlightenment by prostrating, by questions and by service; the wise (Gurus), the seers into the Truth will instruct you in that knowledge.

Second, they promoted prince Krishna to the position of an Upanishadic Guru and demoted prince Arjuna to the position of his humble disciple (Shishya, 2:7). This enabled Guru Krishna address the evils of Grief, Dwandwa and fear of Karmaphala by revealing to Arjuna -and to the world- the secret doctrines of the Upanishads: Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga (2:39-40).

2:8-7: I do not find any remedy to the Grief that parches my senses, though I were to gain unrivalled and prosperous monarchy (here) on earth or even sovereignty over the celestials (hereafter). My nature is weighed down with the taint of feeble-mindedness (Dwandwa); my understanding is clouded (because of fear of bad Karmaphala) as to my duty. I entreat you,

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say definitely what is good for me. I am your disciple. Do instruct me who have taken refuge in you.

Third, a little bit later they elevated Guru Krishna to the position of the Lord of beings (4:6), a position equal to that of Prajapati of Brahmanism, to protect the revolutionary shlokas from being destroyed by the Brahmanic vested interests, and to reform corrupt Brahmins (Chapter Four) and greedy Kshatriyas (Chapter Three).

However, unlike Prajapati, Lord Krishna declares Himself as more powerful than the Prakriti (the Gunas).

4:6-8: Though I am unborn, imperishable and the Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being by My own Maya. Whenever there is decay of Dharma and rise of Adharma, then I embody Myself, O Bharata. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma I am born age after age.

The basic strategies of the Upanishadic Revolution 1. They discredited the doctrine of the Gunas: The revolutionaries did this by exposing the Gunas as the source of various human

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weaknesses such as desire, attachment, delusion, jealous rage and ignorance, and therefore as the enemy of man (3:37-40). The Gunas are the cause of one's ruin (2:62-63) and evil acts (3:37). They countered every pro-Guna shloka in the Original Gita with anti-Guna shloka (3:28-29, 34; 14:19-27).

2. They replaced the doctrine of the Gunas with the doctrine of Knowledge of Atman (2:39): They introduced Atman, the divine essence of man, as the force greater than the Gunas (2:16-30; 2:45; 3:43; 14:19). Whereas the Gunas caused Grief and Dwandwa, Knowledge of Atman countered both of them with Bliss.

3. They discredited the doctrine of Karma: They said that earning both good and bad Karmaphala merely promotes Samsara (9:20).

Permanent liberation (Nirvana) from Samsara should be one's goal in life (6:15).

4. They recommended Buddhiyoga as a means to attain Knowledge of Atman as well as to break the bonds of Karma (2:40): By controlling the Guna-rooted weaknesses such as desire, attachment and delusion, the mind connects with the Bliss of Atman. This they called Sanyasa.

Sanyasa countered Kama (hankering for sense objects as seen in Kamya Karma). They recommended performing all actions selflessly, so that one earns neither good nor bad Karmaphala (2:51). This they called Tyaga. Tyaga countered Sankalpa, the desire for fruits associated with Kamya Karma.

5. They attacked all the remaining aspects of Brahmanism: the Vedas (2:46, 52-53), Kamya Karma (2:43, 49; 3:17-18; 15:1-4), Vedic ritualists (2:41-44), Varnashrama Dharma (5:18-19; 9:29), and Samsara (15:1-4).

6. They attempted to reform the ritualists: they divided Buddhiyoga into two Yogas and gave Jnanayoga (Knowledge of Atman) to the brainy Brahmins and Karmayoga (Yoga of Action) to brawny Kshatriyas (3:3).

7. They consolidated the revolution by explaining the basic tenets of the Upanishadism -Atman, Brahman, Yoga, and Nirvana in BG Chapters Five, Six, Eight, Thirteen and Fifteen.

Basic tactics of the Upanishadic revolution

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The Upanishadic seers chose their words carefully in launching the revolution. They used various tactics to express their views, leaving room for ambiguity. Most of their revolutionary shlokas superficially appear to be applicable to Arjuna's predicament. As we will read in the next chapter, deeper analysis would prove this not to be the case. This gave Brahmanic scholars enough room to save face: Clever use of multiple meanings of words Karma and Dharma: The words Dharma and Karma have multiple meanings, depending upon the context and intent of their use.

Using metaphors to convey the message (2:22-24; 4:37; 15:1-4).

Double entendre: Using the same shloka to give dual meanings, one with reference to the Mahabharata context and the other the Historical (2:47-49). As we will read later, their shlokas did not fit the Mahabharata context as well as they did the Historical context.

Using pun (2:29; 52-53) to convey the hidden message. They used words such as Karma, Dharma, Shruthi, and Veda in such a way that the discerning reader would know their hidden, anti-Brahmanism intent.

Pretending as if the shlokas were meant for Arjuna when, in fact, they were meant for errant ritualists. They gave a clue to this fact by addressing Arjuna as sinless (3:3; 15:20), and a person with divine qualities (16:5) meaning, these shlokas did not apply to him. It is a like a good scolding given by a father to his noble son within the earshot of his errant nephew. The scolding given was meant for the waywardly nephew, not for the noble son.

Choice of the Gita as the manifesto of the Revolution 1. Firstly, the theme of the Original Gita came rather handy. In it the noble prince Arjuna suffers from Grief and Dwandwa due to his attachment to his relatives and friends (sense objects), and obsesses over earning bad Karmaphala from his actions. Unable to deal with this predicament, he desires to abandon his Dharma. The post-Vedic society was riddled with the same three maladies. A large number of Kshatriyas were abandoning Brahmanism full of Grief over its decadence. The upper classes of Brahmanism were suffering from Dwandwa due to their obsession with earning Karmaphala by means of Kamya Karma.

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2. Secondly, the Brahmanism seers had already set the precedence by adding pro-Brahmanism shlokas into the Original Gita to shore up their Dharma. Being part of a Smrithi, the Gita was a very popular scripture even among the masses. The Upanishadic seers must have concluded that the modified Original Gita was a fair game to initiate their revolution.

3. Thirdly, the Mahabharata epic enjoyed great prestige and popularity among the masses in India. In fact, it came to be known as the Fifth Veda even though it was merely a Smriti (remembered) scripture. By adding Upanishadic (Shruthi) concepts into a Smriti, the vested interests could not conceal them from the public by reclassifying them as Shruthi. In contrast to Shruthis, which could be listened to only by twice-born (dvija), Smriti could be listened to by even women and lower classes of the society.

Why prince Krishna was made the protagonist of the Revolution 1. Firstly, even though until the Gita episode in the original Mahabharata Krishna was merely a prince of Vrishni clan without any superhuman qualities, he was noted to be person of exceptional virtues. In the Mahabharata, Kings and princes of both sides revered him. Of all the people in the Mahabharata, none came even close to him in terms of possessing profound charisma and wisdom. By elevating him first to Guruhood and then to Godhood, opposition to newer ideas by various vested interests could be greatly minimized.

The power of pro-Vedic lobby was so great that no less a person than the God Himself would be needed to say what must be said and get away with it! Brahmins dared not destroy shlokas said to have come out of God's mouth.

2. Secondly, whereas Buddhism looked up to the demigod Buddha and Jains worshipped the demigod Mahaveera, Vedic religion had no great hero to look up to. Vedic scholars could not decide which of their elusive Vedic gods was supreme. From time to time they appointed one god or another as the Supreme. Long time ago it was Dyaus the wise; then Varuna the Solemn reigned supreme; then came ferocious Rudra; then sauntered in Prajapati (3:10); then rose the boisterous and sensuous Indra (9:20). Aggrieved people of all classes badly needed a steady credible local hero in flesh and blood they could look up to. Even though prince Krishna died about seven hundred years before the Upanishadic revolution, he was very much "alive" in the popular imagination of people, who were transfixed by the everexpanding great epic Mahabharata. Prince Krishna's stature was

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growing leaps and bounds in the epic. By a stroke of genius the revolutionary authors voted for prince Krishna, a local hero born and raised in the region of Mathura, the heart of Aryavarta. He belonged to the tribe of Yadavas who were said to have descended from Sudras.

And they called him Krishna, the Black One, the color the elite of Brahmanism detested! What did He use to replace mindless sacrificial rites of Brahmanism? Yoga, the long-lost art and science of an ancient civilization that thrived along the Indus River for several thousand years before the Arya people entered India.

3. Thirdly, in the ancient Vedas, the Vedic supreme god Indra's favorite enemy was a person by the name of Krishna who belonged to a local Krishna tribe. The choice of a person by the name of Krishna to replace Indra, the Vedic supremo was certainly not accidental. In the later parts of the Mahabharata, the five Pandava princes, born from the boon of Vedic gods Yama, Vayu, Indra, and Ashwins, surrender to Lord Krishna and become His ardent followers. Discerning students of the Gita cannot fail to see the symbolism in the choice of Krishna as the Supreme God to replace Vedic supreme God Indra.

4. By the time the Bhagavathas took over the Gita a century or so later, their cult of Vasudeva was already popular in the western part of north India. Somewhere along the way the identity of Vasudeva and Krishna merged (7:19; 10:37; 11:50) resulting in rapid enlargement of the base of the New Dharma.

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CHAPTER TEN The Upanishadic Revolution -1 Doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga The Upanishadic revolution begins with BG 2:6. Most of the shlokas in BG Chapter Two to Six are geared toward launching the Upanishadic revolution. BG 2:1-3 were already explained in the chapter dealing with the Original Gita, and BG 2:4-5 were explained in the chapter titled Brahmanism Defends Itself. Below I have realigned some shlokas to facilitate the flow of the Upanishadic reasoning.

Shokam, Dwandwam, and Karmaphalam are reintroduced The Upanishadic seers set the stage for their revolution by reintroducing three issues shared by both Arjuna in the Mahabharata context and the post-Vedic society in the Historical context: Grief, Dwandwa, and obsession with Karmaphala.

1. Dwandwam: 2:6: Whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us -I do not know which is better.

This shloka was meant to highlight Arjuna's Dwandwam as a result of his attachment to his relatives and friends whom he must kill to attain his kingdom. Right in the middle of the battlefield, Arjuna appears to be thoroughly confused.

2. Fear of earning bad Karmaphalam: 2:6: These cousins of ours are standing before us in this battlefield, killing whom we should not care to live.

In the second sentence of the same shloka, Arjuna expresses his fear of committing a sin (earning bad Karmaphala) the burden of which might make it impossible for him to go on living. When one knowingly commits a sin, which is wrong-doing in the eye of his Dharma, he has to constantly live with the fear of going to hell.

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This shloka gave the Upanishadic seers the pretext to introduce Buddhiyoga, which destroys Dwandwam, and eliminates Karmaphalam (2:14-15, 38, 50-51).

3. Shokam: 2:8: I do not find any relief from the Grief that is drying up my senses, even if I were to gain unrivalled and prosperous monarchy (here) on earth or even supremacy in heaven (hereafter).

In this shloka Arjuna expresses profound Grief, which neither rewards of Brahmanism -prosperous monarchy here on earth and supremacy in heaven hereafter- could assuage.

This shloka gave Krishna the pretext to impart to Arjuna Knowledge of Atman, which destroys Grief (2:16-30), and overcomes the force of the Gunas.

The Upanishadic format is set up 2:7: My nature (fighting spirit, natural disposition of a Kshatriya) is weighed down with the taint of feeble-mindedness (Dwandwam) ; my understanding is bewildered as to my duty (due to my fear that my actions might earn me bad Karmaphalam). I entreat you; say definitely what is good for me (give me the benefit of your wisdom). I am your disciple. Do instruct me who have taken refuge in you.

The first sentence of this shloka explains what happens to the Dwandwa-ridden mind. Arjuna's entanglement with his relatives and teachers has disconnected his Mind from his Buddhi resulting in feeblemindedness (Dwandwam). The bewilderment as to his duty happens because he fear the consequences of his action -bad Karmaphala. On the one hand, he wants to kill his relatives for a just cause. On the other hand, he is afraid of earning bad Karmaphala in the process. The result is the inability to decide what the right thing to do is.

In the last sentence of this shloka, the Upanishadic seers set up the Upanishadic format which elevates prince Krishna to the status of Arjuna's Guru. The hidden intent in this shloka is that it authorizes Guru Krishna to impart to the world Knowledge of Atman (2:11-13; 16-30) and Buddhiyoga (2:48-53) to replace the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, while appearing to address Arjuna's Grief, Dwandwa and concern about earning bad Karmaphala.

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2:9: After addressing Hrishikesha thus, Gudakesha, the terror of foes, said to Govinda, "I shall not fight," and held silence.

Arjuna's silence gave Guru Krishna the opportunity to begin his discourse on the Knowledge of Atman.

2:10: Sanjaya said to Dhritharashtra: O Bharata, smiling as it were, Hrishikesha spoke these words to the despondent one stationed between the two armies: Guru Krishna is smiling, perhaps because he is amused by Arjuna's naivetĂŠ. More likely, he is happy to grab this opportunity to overthrow decadent Brahmanism.

Guru Krishna takes up the subject of Shokam, the first of three central issues in the Bhagavad Gita 2:11: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for; yet you spell words of wisdom. The wise (who have gained the Knowledge of Atman) grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.

There are two meaning to the first sentence of this shloka. First, from existential point of view, there is no need to grieve over those who, by virtue of their wickedness, deserve to die. Second, wise people, who have gained the Knowledge of Atman, know that when someone dies, his Atman does not die, and so there is no need to grieve.

The second sentence of this shloka addresses the fact that Arjuna is already grieving over those who are still alive. In other words, Arjuna is going through what is known as anticipatory grief. There are occasions in life when we grieve over the loss of loved ones by means other than death -such as breakup or move to a distant place. But a person who is wise, unattached to people does not feel the need to grieve either for the living or the dead. They are beyond grief.

We must note here that teaching Arjuna Knowledge of Atman to overcome Grief is only an excuse for Guru Krishna to give the postVedic society the doctrine of Atman to replace the doctrine of the Gunas.

Knowledge of Atman counters Grief

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2:12-13: Nor I, nor you, nor any of these ruling princes was ever non-existent before; nor is it that we shall cease to be in the future. As the Atman in the body experiences childhood, youth and old age, He also passes on to another body (after death). The wise one is not deluded about this.

Grief arises from loss of people one is attached to. One's attachment to sense objects is due to the force of the Gunas. Once the mind is deluded by the Gunas, it loses touch with Atman, and so it forgets about it. The wise, who know the eternal nature of Atman, are not deluded by the Gunas and so they do not feel the need to grieve. After death, Atman enters into another body and goes through the various stages of life. The knowledge of this nature of Atman overcomes Grief (Ch. Up.: 7:1:3; 8:7:3). To get in touch with Atman, however, one must first overcome three functions of the Gunas: desire for, attachment to, and possessiveness of sense objects.

2:16: The unreal (body) has no (permanent) existence; the real (Atman) never ceases to be (it is permanent). The truth about both these has been realized by the (Upanishadic) seers.

A distinction must be made between the impermanent body and permanent Atman. He who knows this is an enlightened man who never grieves.

2:17-18: Know that to be verily indestructible by which all this (the body as well as the world) is pervaded. No one can destroy the Immutable. These bodies of the Indweller (Atman), who is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable are said to have an end. Fight therefore, O Bharata (without worrying about death of people you are attached to).

Whereas Atman occupies the body Brahman pervades the whole universe. It is immutable (unlike the Gunas) and indestructible (unlike the body formed by Prakriti). How can one grieve over something that never dies?

2:19: He who holds Atman as slayer and he who considers It as the slain, both of them are ignorant. It slays not, nor is It slain.

Whereas the Gunas are cause of all action (3:5, 27 and 33), Atman is completely actionless (13:29). Not only is it indestructible, but also it does not slay anyone. A person who does not know the difference between the two is ignorant of Atman. The second sentence of this

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shloka might be a veiled reference to the Vedic god Indra, the slayer of Vrtra, the demon. The author wants to stress the difference between the Vedic divinity Indra, who is the very personification of the Gunas, and the Upanishadic divinity Atman, which is free from the Gunas. The word Indriyani (Senses) is derived from Indra, who is described as sensuous.

2:20: The Atman is neither born nor does it die. Coming into being and ceasing to be do not take place in it. Unborn, eternal, constant and ancient, It is not killed when the body is slain. He who cognizes the Atman as indestructible, eternal, unborn and changeless, how can he slay or cause another to slay?

Atman is described with many adjectives: indestructible, all-pervasive, constant, etc. These epithets are diametrically opposite of those applied to describe various Vedic gods such as Indra, the slayer of Vrtra; Vayu who blows; Agni that lights now and extinguishes later, and the like. Atman is unlike anything anyone has been able to experience by his five Senses. And unlike the Vedic gods who, in the Vedas, are elevated now and demoted later; enthroned now and dethroned the next day; appear now and disappear later; vulnerable now and invulnerable the next moment, Atman is stable, eternal, changeless and everlasting. Note here that the Upanishadic seers are setting the stage to replace the Vedic gods with Brahman as the Supreme Deity.

2:25: This Atman is said to be un-manifested, unthinkable and immutable. Therefore, knowing It as such, you should not grieve.

In the shloka above, Atman is compared with the Gunas. The Gunas manifest themselves in the quality of one's actions; they can be thought of a Satvic, Rajasic or Tamasic; and they manifest as one Guna now and another next moment. Atman has no such qualities.

Once a person intuitively knows Atman as such, he will never grieve again.

2:30: This indweller in the bodies of all is ever invulnerable, O Bharata. Therefore you should not grieve for any being.

What is Atman ever invulnerable to? It is invulnerable to old age, death, grief, pain, etc. (Cha. Up.: 8:7:3), which are the products of the Gunas. Once a person intuitively recognizes this fact, he has attained the Knowledge of Atman. He then goes beyond grief.

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As we will read below, there is another reason why the Upanishadic seers introduce Atman here: to establish It as the Divinity of the Upanishadic Dharma to replace the Vedic gods.

Guru Krishna hints of a New Dharma with new divinity: Atman 2:22: As a man casting off worn out garments puts on new ones, so the embodied Atman, casting off worn-out bodies enters into others that are new.

The literal meaning of this shloka needs no elaboration. All Brahmanic commentators safely stick to this explanation. However, there is a hidden meaning to this shloka. This shloka is a metaphor for the entity of Atman discarding the worn-out Brahmanism centered on the Vedic gods- Indra, Agni, Varuna, Maruts, etc. and entering into the body of New Dharma of the Upanishads. The code words here are ‘worn-out' and ‘new.' In the Vedic times Brahman represented a mysterious magical force. In the Upanishadic times, it came to mean the allpervading Universal Spirit. So there is a paradigm shift in the concept of Brahman. How do we know this to be the case? The next three shlokas support this view.

Atman is superior to the Vedic gods and the Gunas (Senses) 2:23: Weapons do not cleave Atman, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.

The literal meaning of this shloka is that in contrast to the body that experiences the forces of nature by means of the Senses, Atman is immune to them. Not only does Atman not act, it is immune to the forces of nature. All Brahmanic commentaries just stick to this simple literal meaning.

The hidden meaning of this shloka, however, is that the Atman is invulnerable to the powers of the leading Vedic gods Indra, who wields his weapon Vajrayudha; Agni, the fire god who burns; Varuna the water god who wets, and Maruta, the wind god who dries. The power of Atman is superior to the power of the Vedic gods (Talavakara Upanishad 3:4-11; Katha Upanishad: 2:6: 3). There are frequent references in the Upanishads to Vedic gods "running away" from Atman/Brahman. In the Upanishads, the Devas also stand for the Senses. Weapon, fire, wind, and water are felt by the Senses. Atman is superior to the Senses, which are the functions of the Gunas (desire, attachment, etc.). In other words, Atman is more powerful than the

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Vedic Devas as well as the Gunas. As we will read later, all Vedic gods will be retired soon and Atman/Brahman will become the Supreme Deity. Just in case you did not get the hidden message in the above shloka, Guru Krishna repeats himself: 2:24: This Atman is un-cleavable, incombustible and neither wetted nor dried. It is eternal, all pervading, stable, immovable and everlasting.

Having said all this, nothing more needs to be said about Atman!

Guru Krishna tackles the doctrine of Karma with reasoning 2:26-28: Or, if you conceive of Atman as given to constant births and deaths (as is the case with the doctrine of Karma), even then, O mighty armed, you should not sorrow. Death is certain of that which is born; birth is certain of that which is dead. You should not therefore lament over the inevitable.

Beings are all, O Bharata, un-manifested in their origin (before entering the body), manifested in their mid-state (during one's lifetime) and un-manifested again in the end (after death). What is the point then for anguish?

In these three shlokas, Guru Krishna tackles the doctrine of Karma, which says that everyone must go through the cycle of births and deaths. Here Guru Krishna tries to tap into Arjuna's Buddhi, the seat of reasoning. His argument is simple: If you know that births and deaths are inevitable, why would you suffer anguish? Even here, the fact that Atman is recycled means it is indestructible.

Guru Krishna chides Vedic scholars 2:29: One beholds the Atman as wonderful; another mentions of It as marvelous; another hears of It as amazing; while others, even after hearing, know It not at all.

The hidden meaning of this shloka is that even Vedic scholars, who have heard about Atman by listening to Shruthi (that which is heard -the Vedas and Upanishads), still know It not at all: shruthvaapyenam veda na chaiva kashchit. Here the words shranothi, shruthva and veda have been cleverly used as puns. What Guru Krishna is saying here is that there are people who have heard from the Shruthis about Atman and yet they have no Knowledge of Atman. Why? Well, their obsession

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with Kamya Karma, promoted by the force of the Gunas, has prevented them from knowing Atman.

Guru Krishna explains Dwandwam and need to control it 2:14: The contacts of the senses with their objects create, O son of Kunti, feelings of heat and cold, of pain and pleasure (Dwandwam). They come and go and are impermanent. Bear them patiently, O Bharata.

Now Guru Krishna explains how to control Dwandwa. When the Senses come into contact with sense objects, the Mind experiences Dwandwa: I like this, I dislike this; this makes me feel good, this makes me feel bad; I want to gain this, I don't want to lose it. A Dwandwa-ridden mind has no peace. However, unlike Atman, Dwandwam is impermanent. If one can control his Senses (desire and attachment) he can control Dwandwa. Peace of mind is thus restored.

Actions performed without Dwandwa, earn no Karmaphalam 2:15: That man, O the best of men, is fitted for immortality (freedom from Samsara), whom these (pairs of opposites) do not torment (when he acts), who is balanced in pain and pleasure and (whose mind is made) steadfast (by his Buddhi).

If one acts with Buddhiyukta (steady) mind, and without Dwandwa of pain and pleasure, gain and loss, honor and dishonor, he earns no Karmaphala, and so he breaks the bonds of Karma and attains immortality. How does this address Arjuna's concern about earning bad Karmaphala by killing his own people?

2:38: Treating alike pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat, engage yourself in the battle. Thus you will incur no sin (Karmaphalam).

"Fight in the spirit of Buddhiyoga!" says the Upanishadic Guru Krishna to Arjuna. "Don't worry about gain and loss; victory and defeat; heaven or hell! Thus you will not earn any Karmaphala!" Do you remember what the Brahmanic prince Krishna said to Arjuna in the very previous shloka, 2:37? Slain you will gain heaven; victorious you will enjoy earth. Therefore rouse up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight!

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In effect, the Upanishadic Guru Krishna says to Arjuna in 2:38: "No, no, no, no! Forget what I said as prince Krishna of Brahmanism in 2:37! That is Brahmanical thinking. Here is what the Upanishadic thinking is: Don't engage yourself in any action with the desire to gain either the earth or the heaven. Instead, engage yourself in action without Dwandwa (gain and loss, victory and defeat, pain and pleasure, honor and dishonor), desire for Karmaphala (lordship here on earth and heaven hereafter). You should fight with evenness, equilibrium and equanimity of mind characterized by Buddhiyoga. Your attitude should be: If I win, I gain no Karmaphala as I did not hanker for it. If I die, I will die without gaining any Karmaphala, and so I will not go to either heaven or hell. Since I am not concerned with gaining anything from my action, I earn no Karmaphala." The question is, which Krishna's advice is the right one for a hero ready for war?

It should be obvious to even half-witted warriors, leave alone Arjuna, that this Upanishadic advice is not appropriate for any real warrior. Every warrior must go to war with Brahmanic determination to win the war, enjoy the glory here on earth and heaven hereafter. No right-minded person wages war against his enemies unless he has something to gain. This Upanishadic shloka, added to counter 2:37, therefore, is not appropriate to Arjuna's predicament at all, even though all Brahmanic commentators pretend as though it is. Even though every Brahmanic commentator has tried to apply it to Arjuna, in reality it applies only to the Vedic ritualists in the Revolutionary context, wherein Guru Krishna is trying to reform Vedic ritualists performing desire-driven Karma, as we will read in 2:47-51. He wants them to perform Yajna (Karma) in the mode of Buddhiyoga, free from Dwandwa and without hankering for Karmaphala. How do we know this to be true? Read on.

Now Guru Krishna introduces the two doctrines of his New Dharma 2:39: This Knowledge of the Atman (which overcomes Shokam and Dwandwam, and replaces the doctrine of the Gunas) has been described to you from Sankhya (analytical or theoretical) point of view. Listen now as I explain to you Buddhiyoga, by the practice of which you will breakthrough the bonds of Karma (meaning, you will earn neither good nor bad Karmaphalam, so you will transcend the doctrine of Karma).

Guru Krishna spelled-out Knowledge of Atman, which counters Shokam, in 18 shlokas above. Before one could gain Knowledge of

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Atman, he must steady his mind and thus overcome Dwandwam as well. This doctrine will replace the doctrine of the Gunas from now onwards. All actions performed in the spirit of Buddhiyoga (without Dwandwam) earn neither good nor bad Karmaphala, and so it breaks the bonds of Karma. In other words, from now onwards, Buddhiyoga will replace the doctrine of Karma. Having introduced these two doctrines, Guru Krishna compares them to the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma as exemplified by Kamya Karma.

2:40: In this endeavor (the practice of Buddhiyoga) there is no loss of attempt (since nothing was desired in the first place); nor is there any adverse effect (such as Dwandwa and Karmaphala, which are associated with Kamya Karma). The practice of even a little of this Dharma ( based on the doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga, unlike the Brahmanic Dharma,) protects one from great fear (of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth).

In this shloka Guru Krishna compares his New Dharma with Brahmanism. When a Vedic ritualist performs Kamya Karma, he might not get any results at all even after sacrificing ten animals. Much to his grief he might not beget a son, win a war, acquire new territory, or gain heaven. In contrast, there is no grief in the practice of Buddhiyoga as nothing was desired, nor expected in return. Whereas desire for and attachment to sense objects causes Dwandwa in the performers of Kamya Karma, there is no Dwandwa in the mind of the Buddhiyogi as he desires nothing and is attached to nothing. Whereas a ritualist performs Kamya Karma desiring fruits (Sankalpa), a Buddhiyogi acts without desiring any fruits and so he earns neither good nor bad Karmaphala. Therefore, he does not have to fear being born again and again.

Some commentators explain the fear as that of death. Others do not make any comment about it at all. Both Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya correctly identify this as fear of being born again.

It is important to note here the phrase asya Dharmasya -this Dharma. Obviously, Guru Krishna is emphasizing this phrase to draw the attention of the reader to his Upanishadic Dharma based on the doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga, which are diametrically opposed to the Brahmanism doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, which he intends to discredit, overthrow, and replace. This is a revolution, not an evolution.

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The word Dharma has many meanings. Brahmanic commentators explain the phrase "asya Dharma" here as "this discipline," "Karmayoga," "occupation," etc. How do we know that this is certainly not the case? Well, having established this Dharma Guru Krishna immediately launches a frontal attack against Brahmanism and comes out swinging at the Vedic ritualists, Kamya Karma, the Gunas and Karma and the Vedas themselves.

Lord Krishna condemns Vedic ritualists 2:41: To the one whose mind has been steadied by Buddhiyoga there is only one goal (attaining the Bliss of Atman). Many branching and endless are the goals (lordship, wealth, heaven, etc.) of irresolute in mind (Dwandwa-ridden Vedic ritualists).

A Yogi's mind is steadied by his Buddhi and is focused solely on the Atman. A Vedic ritualist's mind is Dwandwa-ridden due to desire for, attachment to, and possessiveness of power, wealth, and heaven (read 2:43 below). How do we know that Guru Krishna is attacking the Vedic ritualists? Read the next shloka.

2: 42: The ignorant (Vedic ritualists who are deluded by the Gunas) who delight in the flowery words disputing about the Vedas say that there is nothing other than this (Kamya Karma).

The Vedic ritualists loved to engage each other in debate about various Vedic doctrines that promoted Kamya Karma. The phrase "nothing other than this" refers to the fact that for every malady in the society Brahmanism had only one remedy: "Perform Kamya Karma to get whatever you want! And give us food, cows, and gold!" The Upanishadic seers claimed that ignorance engendered by "delighting in the disputations" as far worse than that arising from performing Kamya Karma itself (Brahadaranyaka Upanishad: 4:4:10; Isopanishad: 9, 12).

2:43: They (the Vedic ritualists) are desire-ridden, who hold attainment of heaven as the goal of birth and its activities; and who are addicted to pompous sacrificial rites bringing pleasure and lordship.

Guru Krishna attacks the two fundamental goals of Brahmanism and Kamya Karma: desire for pleasure and lordship here on earth and heaven hereafter, and lambastes the Vedic ritualists indulging in pompous Kamya Karma. Note here that Guru Krishna derides the fact

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that attainment of heaven is the goal of these rituals, the very goal prince Krishna of Brahmanism repeatedly recommended to Arjuna in the Original Brahmanic Gita (2:3; 32, 37)! As we will read soon, the end of Samsara, not heaven, is the goal of this Dharma. Obviously, Guru Krishna is referring to Vedic ritualists, and not Arjuna.

2:44: There is no steadiness of mind for them (the Vedic ritualists), who are entangled with pleasure and power and whose wisdom is stolen away.

When the mind is entangled with sense objects, Dwandwa is the result (2:14). The Dwandwa-ridden Mind is unsteady because it is deprived of the steadying effect of Buddhi. Another way of putting this is: He, who's Mind is guided by Buddhi, becomes the Buddha (enlightened); he whose mind is entangled with sense objects becomes the Buddhu (stupid)!

The anthem of the Upanishadic Revolution 2:45: The Vedas enumerate three Gunas (which promote desire, attachment, and delusion). You must transcend the three Gunas, O Arjuna. Be free from Dwandwa. Being of goodness of mind (being free of Guna-rooted weaknesses such as desire and jealous rage), unconcerned with getting (earning Karmaphala from your actions) and keeping (becoming possessive), be centered on Atman (which, gives Bliss here on earth and Nirvana hereafter).

This single shloka forms the anthem of the Upanishadic Gita as well as the revolution: Get over the Gunas, all three of them; eliminate Dwandwa; cultivate goodness by giving up common human weaknesses rooted in the Gunas such as greed, lust, and rage; become detached from sense objects and give up fruits of action, and be centered on Atman. The word Nityasatvasto here stands for eternally fixed in goodness or truth. it does not represent Sattvic Guna as some Brahmanic commentators claim. The bottom line is: Instead of submitting to the power of any of the Gunas, one should take refuge in Atman, the power higher than the Gunas. Instead of yielding to doctrine of Karma and craving Karmaphala, one should renounce it and act in the spirit of Buddhiyoga. Even though Guru Krishna seems to address this shloka to Arjuna, clearly he is addressing Vedic ritualists steeped in Kamya Karma.

Guru Krishna downgrades the Vedas

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2:46: To an enlightened Brahmin (who has overcome the doctrines of the Gunas and attained the Knowledge of Atman) all the Vedas are as useful as a tank of water when there is a flood everywhere.

In this shloka Guru Krishna attacks Vedas themselves. What use is a tank of water (the limited and "lower knowledge" of "all the Vedas") when there is water overflowing all around (the infinite Knowledge of Atman)? He proposes that compared to the vast Knowledge of Atman/ Brahman all the knowledge in the Vedas is insignificant. The Upanishads repeatedly say, "One cannot know Brahman by the Vedas." Why? The Vedic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma promote desire, attachment, possessiveness, ignorance of Atman, and Samsara. This also means that a ritualist who performs Kamya Karma based on Vedic knowledge is ignorant, and cannot hope to attain Self-realization.

Pointing his finger at the Vedic ritualists, Guru Krishna lays down the Law 2:47: Your Adhikara (entitlement) is only to the performance of Karma (Yajna), and never to its fruits (which belong to Devas 3:11-12). Never be the cause of any Karmaphala (do not indulge in Kamya Karma). And yet, never become attached to inaction (nor become a monk or an Ascetic, who does absolutely nothing).

In this seminal shloka Guru Krishna lays down the Law to the Vedic ritualists who obsessively perform Kamya Karma desiring one sense object or another. The word Adhikara in this shloka refers to the entitlement claimed by various Kshatriyas to perform certain Yajnas, and expect appropriate rewards from them by virtue of their accomplishments in war and expansion of their territory. For example, to perform Ashvamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice), kings were first required to prove their entitlement by virtue of their accomplishments and conquests. These entitlements were based on Vedic scriptures and were granted to them by various priests on their payroll.

The correct meaning of this verse is that the Vedic ritualists' entitlement is only to the selfless performance of Yajnas, and not to its fruits, because, according to the true intent of Prajapati, the fruits belong to the Vedic Devas (3:11-13). According to Guru Krishna, the Yajnas should be the means by which people "repay their debts" to the gods for their benevolence (3:12). "A thief verily is he who enjoys what is given by them without returning them anything. The

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good who eat the remains of Yajna are freed from all sins; but the sinful ones who cook food for themselves, they verily eat sin (3:12-13)." Yajnas were not meant to be grand parties in which one got drunk on Soma and cooked barbecue! However, once the selfish motive was removed from the ritual of Yajna, one might totally lose interest in performing any Karma and become attached to inaction (akarmani). In other words, one might become a monk or an Ascetic, who does nothing at all. Guru Krishna does not want this side-effect from his verdict either. So he tells them, "Do not become inactive once you give up performance of Kamya Karma." As we will read in the next two chapters, Lord Krishna gives Jnanayoga to Brahmins and Karmayoga to Kshatriyas in the place of Kamya Karma.

Every Brahmanical commentary explains this shloka only in the context of Arjuna's predicament even though it has no relevance to it whatsoever. Not only did Arjuna have the entitlement (Adhikara) to wage the war but also he had every right to expect fruit of his action.

The whole purpose of the war was to gain back his kingdom.

Furthermore, as the Brahmanism seers said in 2:33, it was his bounden duty to do so, failing which he would incur dishonor and sin.

He would be a hypocrite, if not a fool, to say, "I will wage this dreadful war against my own people without desiring to regain my kingdom!"

War is not just a ritual. It is a dreadful way of correcting an injustice.

Therefore, this shloka applies only to the Vedic ritualists who hankered for fruits while performing Yajna, which were originally supposed to be without any selfish motive (3:9; 4:15-17).

Perform Yajna without attachment to sense objects -in the spirit of Buddhiyoga 2:48: Perform Karma (Yajna), O Dhananjaya, being fixed in Buddhiyoga, renouncing attachments, and steady-minded (without Dwandwa). Equilibrium in success and failure (being of steady mind) is verily Yoga.

If Guru Krishna does not want the ritualists to perform Yajna without desiring Karmaphala, what should their attitude be? Guru Krishna recommends the ritualists to perform Yajna, if they must, without desire for or attachment to sense objects; and with evenness, equanimity, and equilibrium. His mind is steady in the face of success as well as failure. One should always keep in mind that he is merely returning the debt to the Devas. In this shloka, Guru Krishna introduces the first of two elements of Buddhiyoga: Sanyasa -giving up Kama (hankering) for sense objects.

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Yajnas performed with Buddhiyukta mind breaks the bonds of Karma 2:49: Motivated Karma is, O Dhananjaya, far inferior to that performed with equanimity of mind engendered by Buddhiyoga. Take refuge in the evenness of the Buddhi.

Wretched are those (ritualists) who hanker for Karmaphala.

Guru Krishna says that Yajna performed in the spirit of Buddhiyoga is superior to the one with desire for fruits. Those ritualists who desire fruits are wretched, indeed as they suffer Dwandwa and earn Karmaphala. By recommending giving up desire for fruits Guru Krishna at once pulled the rug from under Kamya Karma and the Gunas in which they were rooted. If there is nothing to be gained by performing Yajna, what is the point of performing Yajna at all? In this shloka Guru Krishna introduces the second element of Buddhiyoga: Tyaga -giving up Sankalpa for sense objects.

2:50: The one whose mind is stabilized by Buddhi frees himself in this life from good deeds (good Karmaphala) as well as evil deeds (bad Karmaphala); therefore girdle yourself to Yoga; work done skillfully is verily Yoga.

Once the mind is stabilized by Buddhi, it becomes free from the Dwandwa of desire and aversion, and so one's actions become free from both good and bad Karmaphala here on earth. Yoga is nothing but works done skillfully, meaning done in such a way that one does not suffer from Dwandwa and Karmaphala as its side-effect. Just as a skillful surgeon avoids complications such as infection and bleeding, a skillful Yogi avoids earning Dwandwa and Karmaphala while performing Yajna.

2:51: The wise with Buddhiyukta mind, renouncing selfishness in action, freed from the fetters of birth, verily go to the stainless state.

When one gives up attachment and selfishness while performing any Karma, he earns no Karmaphala. By not earning Karmaphala, one overcomes Samsara hereafter. This means, when one performs selfless action he is breaking the bonds of Karma and thus defies the doctrine of Karma. Note here that Atman is not part of the equation in Buddhiyoga up to this point.

Guru Krishna directly attacks the Vedas

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2:52: When your Buddhi transcends the taint of delusion (engendered by Kamya Karma), then shall you be disgusted by things you will hear (Shruthis yet to be heard) as well as that you have already heard (the Vedas).

In this shloka Guru Krishna says that when a Buddhiyogi has raised himself above the bewilderment engendered by desire and attachment associated with Kamya Karma, he would be disgusted with Shruthis yet to be revealed as well as the Vedas, which promote them. Here the Upanishadic seers use the word Nirvedam as pun to express disgust with the Vedas. This word means disgust as well as Vedalessness.

What are the Shruthis yet to be revealed? I believe they were referring to the newer Shruthis that were being churned out around this time promoting sacrificial rites, such as Taittiriya Upanishads. All Brahmanism commentators simply gloss over this shloka which expresses disgust with Vedic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma that promote Kamya Karma.

2:53: When your Buddhi, (even while being) tossed about by the conflicting Vedic doctrines, is firmly steadied in equilibrium (by Buddhiyoga), then you shall achieve the transcendental state of Yoga (Samadhi).

Once again Guru Krishna uses the word Shruthi as pun. The word Shruthiviprathipanna can be interpreted as merely conflicting opinions one hears, or conflicting Vedic doctrines. For one to achieve the transcendental state of mind known as Samadhi, the highest state of steadiness and concentration one could hope to achieve in life, he must learn to steady his mind against the temptations of various conflicting Vedic doctrines, such as the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, that promote desire, attachment and delusion. Once again, Brahmanic commentators either gloss over this shloka or obfuscate its true meaning altogether. Ramanujacharya goes a step further. He simply says that the word Shruthi in this shloka does not mean the Vedas, but just what one hears!

Atman is added to the equation of Buddhiyoga 2:54: Arjuna asks: What is the mark of the man of steadfast wisdom, O Keshava, who is steeped in Samadhi? How does the man firm in wisdom speak, sit and walk?

So far Buddhiyoga consisted of the Mind being steadied by Buddhi (Intellect). This equation did not have Atman or the Lord in it. Now

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Guru Krishna introduces Atman into the equation. The term Samadhi -transcendental state of Yoga- stands for the Absolute Bliss one experiences by his mind's direct contact with Atman. This steady state of mind is also known as Sthithaprajnya, the mind of steadfast wisdom. One can achieve the Absolute Bliss associated with the transcendental state of mind only when he is able to maintain steadiness of concentration and singleness of purpose even as his Buddhi is caught in the cross current of various conflicting Vedic doctrines that promote Kamya Karma. Based on the answers Guru Krishna gives in the following shlokas, a more appropriate question could have been, "What does it take for a man to achieve the Sthithaprajnya state of mind conducive to achieving Samadhi (contact with Atman)?"

Get rid of desire for sense objects 2:55: When a man abandons all desires of the heart and is satisfied in Atman and by Atman, then he is said to have achieved the Sthithaprajnya State.

The answer is simple: Give up all desires of the heart and be satisfied with the Bliss of Atman. Desire is rooted in the Gunas (3:37). The moment one gives up all his desires, his Mind will connect with his Buddhi as well as Atman.

Get rid of fear, attachment and anger 2:56: He whose mind is not perturbed by adversity, who does not crave for happiness (free from Dwandwa), who is free from fondness, fear and anger (Guna-rooted weaknesses), is the Muni (sage) of transcendental wisdom.

For one to achieve the Sthithaprajnya state of mind, he must overcome Dwandwa and all the Guna-rooted weaknesses such as fondness for sense objects; fear of losing them, and jealous rage for other's possessions.

2:57: He who is unattached everywhere, who is not delighted at receiving good nor dejected by receiving evil, he is poised in wisdom.

Not only must one give up desire for sense objects, but also he must give up his attachments to them. When one gives up attachments to sense objects Dwandwa disappears. The steadiness of Mind thus

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achieved, becomes the stepping stone to achieve Sthithaprajnya state of mind. Such a person does not jump in joy when he receives a fortune, nor sink into despair when he suffers a misfortune. Basically it is Buddhiyukta Mind that has achieved evenness, equilibrium, equanimity, in addition to the Absolute Bliss of Atman.

Do not underestimate the power of the Senses (desires rooted in the Gunas) 2:60: The excited senses, Arjuna, impetuously carry away the mind of even a wise man who is striving for perfection.

Is it easy to give up desire and achieve the Sthithaprajnya state of Mind? Not at all, says Guru Krishna. Even wise people often fall prey to their desires and entanglements engendered by the Gunas and their representative in the body, the Senses.

2:67: Just as the gale of wind pushes a ship on the waters, the mind that yields to the roving Senses breaks away from its Wisdom.

The Mind is constantly caught between the Senses (desires) on the one hand and Buddhi (doing the right thing) on the other. Very often, the Senses win and even wise people do stupid things.

For one to steady his mind he must learn to say 'No.' 2:58: When also, like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs into its body, one withdraws his senses from sense objects, his wisdom is set steady.

Withdrawing Senses simply means saying "No!" to one's desires for sense objects and reducing attachments to them. It is a long and arduous task. Once the Mind has controlled its desires, it connects with Buddhi (Wisdom) and becomes steady. In the picture below, the Senses have shrunk in size; attachments to sense objects are almost gone, and the sense objects have become insignificant. The Mind is girdled with Buddhi and centered on Atman.

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2:59: Sense objects drop out for the abstinent man though not the longing for them. However, his longing also ceases when he intuits the Supreme (Atman).

Merely abstaining from sense objects does not mean the desire for them is gone. However, once one gets in touch with Atman, even those cravings disappear. Why? Well, Atman enjoys the Bliss associated with not wanting or needing anything.

A Bhagavatha shloka suddenly pops up!

2:61: The Yogi, having controlled them all, sits focused on Me as the supreme goal. His wisdom is constant whose Senses (desire and attachment) are subjugated.

Guru Krishna declares himself as God only in BG Chapter Four. This shloka, 2:61, in which Guru Krishna suddenly claims himself to be God, is inappropriately interpolated into this Upanishadic chapter by a later Bhagavatha scholar. This is but one of many examples of how the Gita has been corrupted by various well-meaning authors who cared little for the integrity of the text in their exuberance to promote their religious agendas. If I were Arjuna I would ask Guru Krishna, "Why should the Yogi sit focused on you, Guruji? Are you God or something?"

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Guru Krishna warns about the danger of attachment to sense objects 2:62-63: Brooding on the objects of senses (people, wealth, power, etc.) man develops attachment to them; from attachment comes hankering ("I must have it"); from hankering sprouts forth jealous rage (I hate him because he has it and I don't); from jealous rage proceeds delusion (bewilderment due to disconnection of mind from wisdom); from delusion confused memory (of right thing to do) ; from confused memory the ruin of reason (one's actions become irrational); due to the ruin of reason he perishes.

The summary of the above two shlokas is that the Guna-rooted weaknesses of desire, attachment, and possessiveness disconnect the mind from Buddhi leading to one indulging in stupid and ruinous behavior. Enjoy life but do not get entangled 2:64-66: But the disciplined Yogi, moving among objects with his senses (desires) under control, and free from attraction and aversion (Dwandwa), gains tranquility. In tranquility, all his sorrow (Grief) is destroyed. For the Buddhi of the tranquilminded is soon established in equilibrium (becomes Buddhiyukta). There is no wisdom in the fickle-minded (who is Dwandwa-ridden due to his attachment to sense objects); to the one with unsteady mind, there is no peace. And how can the mind without peace enjoy happiness (of Atman)?

What is the secret of gaining tranquility and overcoming Grief? One should freely move among various sense objects without desire and attachment. By controlling these, one prevents Dwandwa. Such a mind achieves evenness, equilibrium, and equanimity associated with Buddhiyoga. For one to enjoy happiness and peace, his mind must first be steadied.

2:68: Therefore, Arjuna, his cognition is well-poised, whose Senses are completely restrained from their objects.

Complete control over one's Senses (desires and attachments) is essential for one's mind to become absolutely steady. Once the Senses are controlled, the Mind connects with Buddhi, yokes itself to it, and becomes Buddhiyukta. The main goal of Buddhiyoga is to control one's desires and attachment to sense objects as well as for the fruits of one's actions.

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Attaining the Bliss of Atman here on earth 2:70-71: Not the desirer of desires, but that man attains Peace (of Atman), in whom all desires merge even as rivers flow into the ocean which is full and unmoving. That man attains Peace (here on earth) who is devoid of cravings, freed from all desires and without the feeling of "I" and "mine."

This shloka shows how Yoga promotes Bliss here on earth in contrast to Kamya Karma which promotes Dwandwa here on earth. To achieve the absolute Bliss of Atman even during one's lifetime, one must one give up all aspects related to Kamya Karma: desire for, and attachment to, and possessiveness (delusion of "I" and "mine") of sense objects. In these shlokas Guru Krishna is clearly referring to the Vedic ritualists who were obsessed with accumulating Karmaphala by means of Kamya Karma and enjoying life here on earth. These shlokas have no relevance to Arjuna's predicament.

Attaining Nirvana hereafter 2:72: This, O Partha, is the Brahman state. Attaining this none will be bewildered (by the Gunas and desire for and attachment to sense objects). Being established in It even at the hour of death, a man gets into oneness with the Brahman (attains Nirvana hereafter).

Whereas the goal of Kamya Karma of Brahmanism was to attain heaven hereafter (2:37, 43), the goal of the Upanishadic Yoga was to attain Nirvana hereafter. Note here that the Upanishadic seers declare that Atman and Brahman are one and the same. The man who attains Atman has attained the state of Brahmanirvana -extinction of Atman by means of merger with Brahman.

In this chapter, Guru Krishna of Upanishadism brings about a paradigm shift in the Brahmanic concerns about the issue of here and hereafter. In the place of Brahmanic goal of pleasure and wealth here on earth, he recommends Bliss of Atman. Instead of Brahmanic goal of attainment of heaven hereafter, he recommends Nirvana, end of Samsara. The Chapter Two of the Bhagavad Gita achieves five of the seven goals of the Upanishadic revolution. Let us now study the sixth goal: Reforming Brahmins and Kshatriyas.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN The Upanishadic Revolution-2 Reforming Brahmins Consolidation of the revolution Every revolution, whether social, political, or religious, is followed by two early developments: one, protecting the revolution from the wellentrenched vested interests; and two, reforming the recalcitrant Old Guard. Having established the Upanishadic Dharma based on the Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga, the Upanishadic seers must have felt quite vulnerable to the counter-attacks of Brahmanism. They quickly consolidated their position by declaring Guru Krishna as the Lord of all beings (4:6), a position akin to that of the Vedic god Prajapati, and made all future revolutionary shlokas come out of His mouth. This guaranteed that none of the shlokas uttered by Lord Krishna so far and in the future could be destroyed by the Brahmanic reactionaries.

However, we must keep in mind that the Upanishadic Gita was still vulnerable to editing, interpolation, scrambling, and other tactics by the vested interests to dilute or neutralize their revolutionary intent.

One of many examples of this is seen in the act of switching of Chapter Three and Four by the final editor of the Bhagavad Gita. It is an unfortunate reality that every single ancient scripture, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, Sankhya Darshan, and Yoga Sutras, has been manipulated, "worked over" and altered by Brahmanism scholars to suit their interests. Texts which they hated, such as those of Lokayata philosophy, were entirely destroyed.

Reforming the ritualists The Bhagavad Gita is full of epithets that denigrate Vedic ritualists.

Guru Krishna as well as Lord Krishna condemns Vedic ritualists mercilessly as infirm in mind (2:41), ignorant (2:42; 3:26), desireridden and addicted to sacrificial rites (2:43), devoid of discrimination (2:44), despicable (2:49), thieves (3:12), sinful (3:13), vain (3:16), unwise (3:25), egoistic (3:27), dullards (3:29), men of small intellect (7:23), men who fall or perish (9:24), hypocritical, proud and arrogant (16:10), self-conceited, stubborn and ostentatious (16:17), insolent and egoistic (16:18); worst among men (16:19), so on and so forth.

Of course, He describes the selfless Yogi in exactly the opposite

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epithets. In fact, He says that one who "merely wishes to know of Yoga is superior to Vedic ritualists" (6:44).

Now the Upanishadic seers went about reforming the Old Guard: Brahmin and Kshatriya ritualists. They further divided the "Imperishable" Buddhiyoga into Jnanayoga and Karmayoga (3:3).

They assigned Jnanayoga -the Yoga of the Knowledge of Atman- to the brainy Brahmins, and Karmayoga -Yoga of Action- to the brawny Kshatriyas: 3:3: Lord Krishna said: The twofold path (Jnanayoga and Karmayoga) was given by Me, O sinless one, to the world in the beginning- the path of Knowledge (Sankhya) to the discerning (Brahmin class) and the path of Karma (Yoga) to the active (Kshatriya class).

Note here that Lord Krishna refers to Arjuna as "sinless" thus hinting that whatever follows does not apply to him, but only to Brahmins and Kshatriyas who were busy earning (Karmaphala) by means of Kamya Karma.

Switching back the chapters In the Bhagavad Gita as it exists now, Lord Krishna declares Himself as the Lord of beings in Chapter Four. In that chapter Lord Krishna declares that it was He who instructed the imperishable Buddhiyoga of BG Chapter Two to the sun god and through him to various royal sages. However, in BG Chapter Three, Lord Krishna talks to Arjuna as if He is already the Lord (3:3), besides referring to issues raised in Chapter Four (3:1) which followed it. Therefore, in the original version of the Upanishadic Gita, Chapter Four giving Brahmins Jnanayoga must have come before Chapter Three giving Kshatriyas Karmayoga.

Some ancient editor must have switched these chapters around deliberately for a specific purpose. If the editor was a Brahmanic scholar, his intention was to dilute the revolution by confusing the readers. If the editor was an Upanishadic scholar, his motive was to convert the text into an Upanishadic dialogue. This is another example of how the text of the Bhagavad Gita has been repeatedly manipulated by various vested interests to serve their own ends resulting in incredible amount of unnecessary confusion.

There are two goals for Chapter Four of the Bhagavad Gita: The first goal is to elevate Guru Krishna to the position of the Lord of beings (4:6-7). This guaranteed that the revolutionary shlokas will not be

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destroyed by the vested interests. The second goal is to reform Brahmins by weaning them away from Kamya Karma and initiating them in the science of Jnanayoga (the Yoga of Knowledge of Atman).

They are urged to give up material sacrifice dedicated to Vedic gods and, instead, are encouraged to perform "Knowledge Sacrifice (4:33)," which means practicing Yoga to gain the Knowledge of Atman. Instead of earning Karmaphala by means of Kamya Karma, they are encouraged to "burn their Karmaphala in the fire (Yajna) of Knowledge of Atman (4:37)" by which is meant, "You cancel-out all Karmaphala when you worship Atman by means of Yoga." Now let us study the revolutionary shlokas from BG Chapter Four.

Lord Krishna claims authorship of Yoga 4:1-2: This Imperishable Yoga (Buddhiyoga of BG Chapter Two) I declared to Vivasvat (Sun god); Vivasvat taught it to Manu (the Lawgiver); Manu told it to Ikshvaku. Thus transmitted in regular succession the royal sages (not the Vedic Brahmins) knew it. This Yoga, by long efflux of time decayed in this world, O scorcher of foes.

Guru Krishna starts out in this chapter by declaring that he is the Guru of Sun god. The Sun god gave the doctrine of Buddhiyoga to Manu, his son; and Manu gave it to Ikshvaku, the founder of Ikshvaku or Sun dynasty. The Imperishable Yoga Lord Krishna refers to here is, of course, Buddhiyoga he taught to Arjuna in BG Chapter Two (2:40, 47-51; 64-68). This Yoga is "Imperishable" because the Imperishable Atman was introduced into its equation in 2:55-59. It decayed over time because it was declared as a Top Secret and kept away from the public by Brahmanic priests. Now Lord Krishna has revived it and revealed it to Arjuna and the public at large by including it in the Mahabharata, a Smriti to which everyone has access. It was transmitted in regular succession by royal sages (Kshatriyas), not Vedic priests. It is no longer a Top Secret.

4:3: The same ancient Yoga has been today told to you by Me, for you are My devotee and friend; and this secret is supreme indeed.

This shloka referring to Arjuna as His Bhakta (devotee) is clearly a later addition by the Bhagavatha scholars who attempted to convert the Upanishadic Gita into the Bhagavatha Gita. Like this and the shloka 2:61, we will encounter such later Bhagavatha interpolations from time to time, especially toward the end of chapters. Lord Krishna

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refers to His Yoga as Supreme Secret over six times in the text of the Bhagavatha Gita. Why? Obviously He is referring to the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita: dismantling Brahmanism based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and establishing in its place a New Dharma based on the Upanishadic doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga. He wants everyone to know this Supreme Secret. The days of secrecy and Brahmanic intrigue are over. Now Arjuna gives Lord Krishna the opportunity to declare His Divinity.

4:4: Arjuna said: Later was Your birth, earlier was the birth of Vivasvat; how then am I to understand that You told it in the beginning?

Here Arjuna faithfully plays his role of the humble, eternally perplexed and curious disciple in the Upanishadic tradition (4:34), thus giving Lord Krishna the opportunity to declare His incarnation and its true purpose.

Lord Krishna declares His supremacy over Prakriti (the Gunas) 4:5-6: Many are the births taken by me and you, O Arjuna. I know them all while you know not, O scorcher of foes. Though I am unborn, imperishable and the Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being by My own Maya.

Arjuna does not remember his many births because he is deluded by his entanglement with sense objects, engendered by the Gunas (Prakriti). Lord Krishna subjugated His own Prakriti (Gunas) and was born on earth by his own Maya (illusion, magic). Lord Krishna is telling His audience that He is more powerful than Prakriti (the Gunas), and therefore, he can remember His prior births.

It should be recalled here that Brahmanism shored up Varnashrama Dharma as well as the supremacy of Brahmins by embellishing the Gunas of Prakriti as the ultimate force no one could resist (3:5, 27, 33; 18:59-60). Anyone going against the Gunas was declared as deluded by Ahamkara. Lord Krishna declares here that He is a force greater than the Gunas. Unlike all the Vedic gods who are subject to the power of the Gunas (18:40), He alone is more powerful than the Gunas, and so He is even more powerful than the Vedic gods. And now He will teach us all how we, too, could cross over the Gunas. As we will read later, one way to overcome the force of the Gunas is to take refuge in Lord Krishna (14:19; 18:66), who is superior to the Gunas.

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Lord Krishna explains the real purpose of His birth 4:7: Whenever there is decay of Dharma and rise of Adharma, then I embody myself.

The decay of Dharma and rise of Adharma Lord Krishna is referring to in this shloka is clearly that of Brahmanism, which was in a moribund condition during this period (3rd century B. C.) due to corruption of Vedic sacrifices. As the Adharma of Kamya Karma grew, so did the decay of Brahmanism. Brahmanic seers admit to this themselves (3:35; 18:47). The question that needs to be answered is why does it take God to do this feat? Well, the nexus of Brahmins and Kshatriyas held Brahmanism in such a strong death-grip that no less a person than God Himself was needed to do what was needed to be done, and protect the revolution from reactionaries. Any person who challenged the perversion of Brahmanism was immediately declared as heretic and one deluded by Ahamkara. Brahmanism vilified even the great reformers, the Buddha and Mahaveera, as upstarts who tried to destroy Brahmanism. It is possible that the term Adharma was used also with reference to various anti-Vedic Dharmas of the time which were in ascendence during this time, chief among which was the Lokayata.

4:8: I take birth age after age for the protection of the good and the destruction of the doers of evil deeds and for the establishment of Dharma.

The doers of evil deeds are those who recklessly indulge in desiredriven sacrifices -Kamya Karma. It is clear from this shloka that the Upanishadic seers elevated Guru Krishna to the position of Lord of being (4:6), for a specific purpose: to overthrow the decadent Brahmanism and to establish a New Dharma to replace it.

Three interpolated Bhagavatha shlokas 4:9: He who thus knows My divine birth and action in true light, having dropped the body, comes not to birth again, but comes unto Me, O Arjuna.

This is a Bhagavatha shloka as evidenced by the fact that Lord Krishna offers Himself as the goal of Moksha. Up to this point Lord Krishna is merely the Lord of beings, whose main purpose of birth is to establish Upanishadic Dharma centered on Atman. He is not yet the Supreme Lord of the Bhagavathas(11:3) worshipping whom one attains Moksha

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(18:66). In any case, the author of this shloka wants everyone to acknowledge Lord Krishna's divine birth and to know His action in the true light: to establish Dharma. One who follows His Dharma overcomes the doctrine of Karma, and thus attains freedom from Samsara. Why? 4:10: Freed from passion, fear and jealous rage (engendered by the Gunas), filled with Me, taking refuge in Me (which would counter the power of the Gunas), purified by penance (Yoga) in the fire of Knowledge (of Atman), many have entered into My Being (attained Moksha).

This shlokas was also interpolated by a later Bhagavatha seer as evidenced by the fact that Lord Krishna has taken over the position of Brahman the Supreme. This does not take place in the Bhagavad Gita until after the Bhagavathas had taken over the Gita. This shloka also raises the issue of Moksha, which is a Bhagavatha concept. In any case, to attain Moksha, one must give up Guna-rooted weaknesses; surrender to Lord Krishna, and take up Yoga of Knowledge of Atman.

4:11: In whatever way men identify with Me, in the same way do I carry out their desires; men pursue My path, O Partha, in all ways.

In this Bhagavatha shloka, Lord Krishna asks Brahmins to identify with Him upon which He would fulfill their desires. The real intent in this shloka is, "There is no need for you to worship Vedic gods with Kamya Karma to fulfill your desires. Just identify with Me and worship Me, and I will carry out your desires."

Brahmanism strikes back 4:12: Longing for success in action on earth, they worship the gods; for quickly is success born of action in this world of man.

This shloka, promoting sacrifices dedicated to the Vedic gods, was added here later by the Brahmanism scholars to counter the previous anti-sacrifice shloka. The word action in this shloka means sacrificial rite. In effect they are telling people: "Forget what Lord Krishna said in 4:11 about identifying with Him and fulfilling your desires through Him. Worshiping the Vedic gods Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Vayu by sacrifices leads to quick success in this world of man. Don't give up performing Kamya Karma!" A casual reader, not familiar with the battle between Brahmanism and Revolutionaries, could easily become

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confused by this shloka and believe that Lord Krishna is endorsing Kamya Karma. Exactly opposite is true (3:17-18).

Lord Krishna offers Himself as a model for Brahmins to emulate 4:13: The fourfold Varna was created by Me by the different distribution of Guna and Karma. Though I am the author thereof, know Me to be eternal non-doer (my actions are performed so selflessly that I never earn any Karmaphala).

Now Lord Krishna offers Himself as a model for Brahmins to emulate.

He explains His stance whenever He does any deed. For example, when He created the fourfold Varnashrama Dharma according to the distribution of the Gunas and Karma, He neither desired any fruits nor gained any. He is the eternal non-doer, meaning, no matter what He does, He does it so selflessly that it is as if he did nothing at all, and so He earns no Karmaphala whatsoever (5:8-9). If anything good came out of Varnashrama Dharma, Lord Krishna did not earn good Karmaphala. If anything bad ensued from it, he did not earn bad Karmaphala for it either. Lord Krishna seems to be saying, "Don't blame Me for the mess you have created with Varnashrama Dharma!"

4:14: Nor do (My) actions taint Me (I earn no bad Karmaphala), nor is the fruit of action desired by Me. He, who thus knows Me (identifies with me and follows my example of selfless action), is not bound by action (does not earn Karmaphala).

Lord Krishna wants Brahmins to follow His example and perform their deeds (Yajnas) like He does - neither desiring fruits nor gaining them.

He is asking them to perform Yajna in such a way that they are not tainted by Karmaphala. In other words, give up Kamya Karma and perform all Karma is the spirit of Yoga (2:47-49).

Lord Krishna offers Brahmins a crash course on proper ways of performing Yajnas.

4:15: Having known thus (that Yajna should be performed without desire for Karmaphala) even the ancient seekers after liberation performed action (sacrifice); therefore do you perform action, as did the ancients in olden times.

This shloka explains that the ancient seers performed Yajna in the spirit mentioned above: neither desiring the fruits nor gaining them.

The ancient seers performed sacrifices seeking liberation. The question

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is: what were they seeking liberation from? Well, they were seeking liberation from indebtedness to the Devas for their benevolence. If one did not return to the Vedic gods something for their benovelence, it was considered a sinful act of omission (3:12, 13, 16). One would then earn bad Karmaphala, and rot in hell. Lord Krishna urges Brahmins to perform sacrifices, if they must, like the ancient sages did and not like the contemporary greedy priests did. Now Lord Krishna gives these sages a refresher course on performing Karma in the right manner.

4:16-17: Sages (of the present time) too are perplexed as to what action is (proper way to perform Yajna) and what inaction (nonperformance of Yajna, Sanyasa) is. Therefore I shall tell you what action (right way to perform Yajna) is, by knowing which you shall be freed from evil (of Dwandwa and Karmaphala). It is needful to discriminate (proper) action, forbidden action (Kamya Karma) and inaction (being a monk or Sanyasin); inscrutable is the way of Karma.

The contemporary sages are confused as to what is the proper way to perform a sacrifice as well as to abstain from it because, in the case of corrupt Brahmins Dwandwa has disconnected their mind from their wisdom; and in the case of Sramanas, Grief has confused their comprehension. Its ways are too deep for these dull-witted ritualists to understand. Therefore, Lord Krishna will have to explain the three kinds of sacrifices: desireless sacrifices (the original, 4:15), desiredriven sacrifices (of decadent Brahmanism), and non-performance of sacrifices (as is the case with Ascetics and Buddhist monks). What does it take for such a bewildered Brahmin ritualist to be a Jnanayogi, the one who strives for the Knowledge of Atman?

4:18: He who sees inaction (detachment from fruit, Tyaga) in action (sacrifice), and action (earning Karmaphala) in inaction (Sanyasa), he is wise among men; he is a Yogi although he is engaged in all kinds of activities.

A person who performs sacrifices will not earn any Karmaphala when he gives up his desire for fruit. On the other hand, a person who has given up performing sacrifices could still earn Karmaphala by not giving up his desire for fruit (Sankalpa 6:1-4). A person who is perceptive of this truth is wise (Yogi). Such a Yogi, who perfectly understands this fundamental truth about action, inaction, and forbidden action, could freely engage himself in all kind of activities, including sacrificial rites, without being bound by its Karmaphala. So

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what should Brahmins do to become wise (attain enlightenment of Atman)?

Lord Krishna explains how to perform Yajna perfectly 4:19: He whose doings are all devoid of design (Sankalpa to gain fruit) and desire for personal gains, and whose actions are all burnt (purified) by the fire of Knowledge (of Atman), him the sages call wise (Yogi).

Lord Krishna urges Brahmins to give up Sankalpa (design, motive, desire or intent to earn Karmaphala, 6;1-4), and attachment to fruits of sacrifices, both of which immediately free them from Karmaphala.

So instead of earning Karmaphala by fire sacrifice, Lord Krishna tells Brahmins to burn their Karmaphala in the metaphoric fire of Knowledge of Atman. To attain Knowledge of Atman, one must give up his Guna-rooted weaknesses, which means he is purified.

4:20: Having abandoned attachment to the fruits of action, ever content, depending on nothing (such as fee or wealth), though engaged in Karma (Yajna), verily he does not do anything (does not earn any Karmaphala).

"Give up attachment to Karmaphala" exhorts Lord Krishna. Absence of Karmaphala means one has overcome the doctrine of Karma and one no longer suffers rebirth. Absence of rebirth means attainment of Nirvana. So what is the proper way to perform sacrifices, if one must?

The Anthem of Jnanayoga 4:21: Hoping for nothing (without hankering for sense objects), his mind and self controlled (becoming Buddhiyukta), having abandoned all possessions, performing Karma (sacrifices) by body alone (without desire and design for fruit), he incurs no sin (Karmaphala).

Lord Krishna tells Brahmins, "If you must perform sacrificial rites, do so in the spirit of Yoga: without desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of sense objects, and without any desire for fruits of action. Perform it as mere physical ritual without any emotional element." Lord Krishna has just converted Kamya Karma into Nishkama Karma.

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4:22: Content with what he obtains without effort (manipulations and coercion), free from Dwandwa ("I like this, I don't like that; I want this, I don't want this"), without envy ("he has more cows than I"), balanced in success and failure ("if I have it fine, it I don't, that is that is fine too"), though acting (performing sacrifices) he is not bound (does not earn Karmaphala).

The Yajna should be performed with a steady state of mind, and only as an obligatory ritual. There should be no room for any desire, attachment, greed, coercion, or envy.

4:23: Of one unattached (to sense objects), liberated (from the Gunas and Karma) with mind absorbed in Knowledge (of the Atman), performing work for Yajna (worship) alone (and not for personal gains), his entire Karmaphala (sin/merit) melts away.

The above three shlokas form the anthem of Jnanayoga. They convey the message that when a priest performs sacrifices without hankering (Kama) for fruits, without design (Sankalpa), without pairs of opposites (Dwandwa), without attachment (Sangas), without possessiveness (Moha), and with his mind focused on the Self/Atman, he does not earn any Karmaphala. In other words, one must give up Guna-rooted weaknesses in all actions. Any personal action or sacrifice thus performed with Buddhiyukta-Sthithaprajnya mind is known as the Yajna of Knowledge of Atman. For it is free from all the negative aspects of Kamya Karma. This is Jnanayoga. What are various constituents of the Knowledge Sacrifice in contrast to Kamya Karma?

Brahman replaces Vedic gods in the Vedic Yajnas 4:24: The oblation is Brahman, the clarified butter is Brahman, offered by Brahman in the fire of Brahman; unto Brahman verily he goes who cognizes Brahman alone in his action (sacrifice).

How is the Yajna of the Knowledge of Atman different from the Kamya Karma of Brahmanism? Kamya Karma is dedicated to the Vedic gods.

Unlike in Kamya Karma, all the constituents of the Yajna of Knowledge -oblation, ghee, the offering person, fire, object of sacrifice- are made up of all-pervading Brahman. The Lord recommends Brahmins to recognize "Brahman alone in the sacrifice." There is a paradigm shift of the object of Yajna from Vedic gods to Brahman. In other words, Lord Krishna "Upanishadizes" the Vedic sacrifices.

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Now Lord Krishna further broadens the definition of Yajna. He explains that there are other types of Yajnas (worships) in which both tangible and intangible sense objects are sacrificed. What are various different types of Yajnas one can find in the vast storehouse of Brahman?

4:25-30: Some Yogis perform sacrifices to Devas alone (4:12), while others (Yogis) offer the self as sacrifice in the fire of Brahman (Knowledge Sacrifice). Some offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of restraint (they say ‘no' to their Senses), while others offer sound and other sense-objects as sacrifice in the fire of senses (they give up the pleasures of their five Senses). Others again offer actions of the Sense Organs (such a speech, sex, etc.) and other functions of the life-energy, as a sacrifice in the fire of self-control, kindled by Knowledge (of Atman). Yet others offer wealth, austerity and Yoga as sacrifice, while still others, of self-denial and extreme vows, offer sacred study and Knowledge as sacrifice. Yet others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the flow of the outgoing and incoming breath, solely absorbed in the regulation of lifeenergy (Pranayama). Still others of regulated food habit offer in the pranas the functions thereof. All these are knowers of Yajna, having their sins destroyed by Yajna.

The word Yajna is rooted in the word Yaj, meaning ‘to worship.' Any sacrifice of tangible or intangible sense objects, done selflessly is a Yajna of Knowledge of Atman, for it connects the Mind with Buddhi and Atman. A Yajna does not have to have the fire burning in a sacrificial altar. People who attempt to control their Senses (desires); people who control their Organs of Action, say mouth, hands, sex organs (refrain from evil acts); people who give up attachment to sense objects; people who practice Pranayama; people who practice austerity (Tapas), etc. are sacrificing something, and are thus performing a Yajna on the altar of Self-realization. The point is, the moment one gives up something he desires, his mind connects with his Atman, and his sins (Karmaphala) are destroyed.

4:32: Various Yajnas such as these are spread out from the mouth of Brahman. Know them all to be born of Karma (sacrificial rituals of one kind or another); and thus knowing you shall be free (from bondage of doctrine of Karma).

This tricky shloka has been interpreted variously by different authors because the phrase "Brahmano mukhe" might mean mouth of

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Brahman, mouth of Brahma, or mouth of Brahmanas (Vedas).

Regardless, all these sacrifices made in the spirit of Yoga lead to liberation from Karmaphala because they involve giving up desire, attachment and possessiveness of various sense objects and functions of the Senses.

Performers of Yajna of Knowledge of Atman go to Brahman 4:31: The eaters of the nectar, the remnants of Yajna (dedicated to Brahman) go to Eternal Brahman. This world is not for nonsacrificers, how then the other, O best of Kurus?

In the course of proper performance of Brahmanic sacrifices, whatever food remains after the Yajna is consumed as the nectar by the sacrificer. The main portion goes to the Vedic gods. This is how he pleases Vedic gods, attains Karmaphala, enjoys life here or earth and goes to heaven after death. In the case of Yajna of Knowledge of Atman, in contrast, the eater of the nectar enjoys Bliss of Atman here on earth and goes to Brahman hereafter. The phrase, "This world is not for the non-sacrificer" means, for one to achieve peace of mind here on earth, he must sacrifice whatever he is attached to. If one is not willing to do so he will neither have Bliss here on earth nor Nirvana hereafter.

The hidden meaning of the above shloka is that one who sacrifices all the above noted (4:25-30) functions of the Senses, the Organs of action, the Mind and the Intellect in the fire of Knowledge of Atman, is left with only the Atman. The one who obtains that nectar -Atmanattains Bliss here on earth and attains Nirvana hereafter.

Brahmanic commentators claim this shloka as a directive to perform sacrifices for happiness here on earth and heaven hereafter!!!

Perform Knowledge sacrifice, not material sacrifice 4:33: Knowledge sacrifice (giving up attachment to sense objects and fruit of action to achieve the Knowledge of Atman), O scorcher of foes, is superior to wealth sacrifice (sacrificing grains, ghee and animals). All (such) Karma (performed in the spirit of Yoga) in its entirety, O Partha, culminates in Knowledge (of Atman).

What is the nature of sacrifice one has to make to gain the Knowledge of the Atman? Well, one has to give up desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of sense objects; and also he must give up desire for

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fruits of action. The moment one does this, his Mind connects with his Buddhi and ultimately with his Atman. How does one go about acquiring that enlightenment?

Seek that Knowledge from the Upanishadic seers 4:34: Seek that enlightenment by prostrating, by questions and by service; the wise, the (Upanishadic) seers into the Truth (Knowledge of Brahman) will instruct you in that Knowledge.

One seeks that Knowledge of Atman from the seers in the format of Upanishadic instructions, not by submitting to a Vedic priest performing a sacrifice or giving a lecture. Lord Krishna is redirecting Brahmins to the wisdom of the Upanishads, away from the rituals of Vedic sacrifices. Upanishads frequently state that one cannot gain Knowledge of Atman by the Vedas.

4:35: Knowing this (Truth, Atman/Brahman), O Pandava, you will not again fall into this confusion (of Kamya Karma); by this (Knowledge of Atman) you will see the whole of creation in your Self and in Me. What is that confusion or delusion one can avoid? It is the delusion engendered by the Gunas which binds one to Karma.[1] By discarding Kamya Karma, one's Mind connects with his Buddhi and Atman. He becomes one with Brahman. When this happens, he sees the whole creation in himself: Aham Brahmasmi -I am Brahman. Note here that the word Me at the end is meant to equate Lord Krishna with Brahman. Clearly, either the word Brahman was replaced by the word Me, or this shloka was added later by the Bhagavatha seers.

Fire of Knowledge will burn all Karmaphala to ashes 4:36: Even if you be the most sinful of all sinners, yet shall you cross over all (river of) sin by the raft of Knowledge (of Atman).

Even the worst kind of priests who have indulged in sinful acts can cancel-out their accumulated Karmaphala by attaining the Knowledge of Atman. Here the metaphor "river of sin" most likely refers to the river of blood following gruesome sacrifices of animals. There is a hidden agenda in this shloka. According to the Brahmanic doctrine of the Gunas, one's actions are forever determined by his Guna, which one is not able to repress or change (3:33; 18:59-60). This means, when a man is of evil Guna, he has no redemption except by suffering

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in hell after death, and being reborn on earth to pay for his sins. Lord Krishna says that even worst kind of sinner can redeem himself by taking refuge in Atman.

4:37: As the blazing fire (of Yajna) reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of (Yoga to gain) Knowledge (of Atman) reduce all Karmaphala to ashes.

Lord Krishna uses the metaphor of "blazing fire reducing fuel to ashes" to indicate that He is referring to Yajna. In the case of Kamya Karma, the blazing fire reduces the fuel and sacrificed materials to ashes. In contrast, the fire of Knowledge burns all Karmaphala to ashes.

4:38: Verily there is no purifier in the world like Knowledge of Atman. He, who is perfected in Jnanayoga realizes it in his own heart in due time.

The Knowledge of Atman is a purifier of all sin (bad Karmaphala). For, in order to attain that Knowledge, one must give up impurities such as desire, attachment, possessiveness, greed, hate, jealousy, and the like. The Jnanayogi realizes Atman in his heart. (The Upanishadic seers believed that Atman resided in the heart.)

Shraddha (Faith) counters doubt about Atman 4:39-42: The man of Shraddha (Faith), devoted to that Knowledge (of Atman), the master of Senses (desire, attachment) obtains the Knowledge (of Atman). Having obtained the Knowledge (of Atman) he goes promptly to Peace Supreme (Brahman). The ignorant (one deluded by the Gunas) , the man devoid of Shraddha, and the doubting self (Dwandwa-ridden) goes to destruction (read 2:62-63). The doubting self has neither this world, nor the next (abode of Brahman), nor happiness. With work absolved in Yoga, and doubts rent asunder by Knowledge (of Atman), O Dhananjaya, actions do not bind him (he earns no Karmaphala) who is poised in Atman (and thus overcome the force of the Gunas). Therefore, severing with the sword of Knowledge this ignorance-born doubt ("Is Atman real or not?") about Atman (which is) dwelling in your heart, be established in Jnanayoga. Stand up, O Bharata.

These four shlokas aim to ward off doubts in the mind of Brahmin class about the concept of the Knowledge of Atman and the benefit of gaining it. Brahmins were the most learned of four social classes of the

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ancient society. Even today the most Doubting Toms come from the intellectual class of society in India. The ignorance-born doubt Lord Krishna is referring to here is due to the delusion of the Gunas. Lord Krishna urges Brahmins to give up their entanglements and take shelter in Yoga to regain their Jnana or Knowledge of Atman.

In these shlokas, Lord Krishna introduces a new term: Shraddha -Faith. He wants Brahmins to cancel-out their doubts about Atman by means of Faith. Doubters have neither the happiness of this world (because they are afflicted by Shokam and Dwandwam brought on by Kamya Karma), nor the peace of the other (due to continued cycle of Samsara). Talking like a true Kshatriya, He asks them to "sever with the sword of Knowledge of Atman this ignorance-born doubt about Atman dwelling in your heart." And then he tells them to stand up, for they are, in Lord Krishna's esteem, fallen men (2:62-63; 9:24).

--------------------------[1] 16:21-24: In these shlokas Lord Krishna blasts Brahmins who perform sacrifices against the ordinance of scriptures: Triple is the gate of hell, destructive of the self -lust, anger and greed; therefore should one abandon these three. The man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness, O Kaunteya, practices what is good for him and thus goes to the Supreme Good. He who acts (performs sacrifices) on the impulse of desire by casting aside the ordinances of scriptures does not attain perfection. Nor does he attain happiness, or the Supreme Goal. Therefore, let the scriptures be your authority in deciding what ought to be done and ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinances of scriptures you should act here.

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CHAPTER TWELVE The Upanishadic Revolution -3 Reforming Kshatriyas In Chapter Three of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishadic Lord Krishna urges the sacrifice-obsessed Kshatriyas to give up Kamya Karma, and invest their energy in Karmayoga -leading by selfless service to humanity. Short of declaring Himself as the Supreme Lord, which he did in BG Chapter Four, He is already acting in the full capacity of the Lord of beings, born on earth to establish a New Dharma (4:7-8) based on the doctrines of Knowledge of the Atman and practice of Buddhiyoga (2:39-40). Before we read the commentary on BG Chapter Three, we must briefly remind ourselves the main thrust of BG Chapter Four: Knowledge of Atman is superior to material sacrifice (Kamya Karma): 4:33: Knowledge sacrifice (giving up attachment to sense objects and fruits of action to achieve the Knowledge of Atman), O scorcher of foes, is superior to wealth sacrifice (sacrificing grains, ghee and animals). All Karma (performed in the spirit of Yoga) in its entirety, O Partha, culminates in Knowledge (of Atman).

To buttress this point further, Lord Krishna went on to say: 4:37-38: As the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of Knowledge (of Atman) reduce all Karmaphala to ashes. Verily there is no purifier in the world like Knowledge of Atman. He, who is perfected in Jnanayoga realizes it in his own heart in due time.

Chapter Three starts with reference to stuff in Chapter Four 3:1-2: Arjuna said: If it is held by you, Krishna, that Knowledge (of Atman) is superior to Karma, why then do you ask me to engage in this ghastly action (war)? With these perplexing words, you are confusing my comprehension. Tell me with certainty the path that is most beneficial for me.

Lord Krishna's simple answer to this question could have been, "Arjuna, when I said that Knowledge of Atman is superior to Karma, I did not mean Karma as personal action such as fighting, but Kamya Karma, the desire-driven sacrifices." Obviously, the real purpose of

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this shloka is to draw attention of the reader to the fact that the word Karma has two main meanings: sacrificial rites and personal action. So when Lord Krishna said in BG Chapter Four that Knowledge of Atman (Jnanayoga) is superior to Karma, he meant that it is superior to Kamya Karma, desire-driven sacrificial rites, and not any personal action such as fighting. The Lord had no problem with a person acting willfully, decisively and even violently as per his Dharma (18:63). In fact Lord Krishna clarifies this point in no uncertain terms in 3:8: Engage yourself in obligatory work (of Kshatriya); for action is superior to inaction, and if inactive, even the mere maintenance of your body would not be possible.

3:3: Lord Krishna said: The twofold path (Jnanayoga and Karmayoga) was given by Me, O sinless one, to the world in the beginning- the path of Knowledge (Sankhya) to the discerning (Brahmins) and the path of Karmayoga to the active (Kshatriyas).

Logically, this shloka should have been part of BG Chapter Four, immediately after Lord Krishna declared His divinity, as it relates to the purpose of His birth, namely to establish a New Dharma and to reform the upper classes. In the process of reforming the fallen Brahmins and Kshatriyas, Lord Krishna gives the Sankhya part of His Dharma (2:39), specializing in the Knowledge of Atman, to the cerebral but currently deluded Brahmins; and the Yoga part (2:39-40) to the brawny but greedy Kshatriyas. Each of these disciplines has elements of the other in it as Lord Krishna clarifies in 5:4: Children, not the wise speak of Jnanayoga and Karmayoga as different; he who is established in one obtains the fruit (Atman) of both.

This shloka has no Mahabharata or even neutral context. In this shloka, Lord Krishna is no longer a mere Guru, but He is now the Lord of beings born to overthrow the Old Dharma and to establish a New Dharma. He announces in this shloka that it was He who gave "to the world in the beginning" the twofold path to Self-realization. The third path, Bhaktiyoga was added to the Upanishadic Gita much later by the Bhagavatha scholars, in the evolutionary path of the Gita, and only after Lord Krishna threw the doors of His own Dharma wide open to "people of inferior birth" -Vaishyas, Sudras, and women (9:32); people of all other faiths (7:21-22) and even the outcastes (5:18-19). Note here that Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna as "sinless," indicating that whatever follows in BG Chapters Three and Four does not apply to him, but is meant for sinful Kshatriyas (3:12-13) and Brahmins (4:36) who obsessively indulged in Kamya Karma to earn as much Karmaphala as possible at the expense of the Vedic gods.

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Renunciation should be both physical and mental 3:4: By merely abstaining from (Kamya) Karma one does not necessarily become free from Karmaphala; nor does he attain Self-realization by renunciation alone.

In this shloka Lord Krishna warns that by merely giving up physical performance of Kamya Karma, one does not become free from earning Karmaphala. He must also give up desire for and attachment to the fruits of action (also read 6:1-4). Likewise, merely giving up wealth and material comforts does not guarantee one Self-realization. He must give up his mental and emotional attachment to them. So what is the solution? He must sincerely act without desire for fruits of action, and he must sincerely give up desire for and attachment to sense objects in order to attain Self-realization.

In the Historical context, this shloka is meant to admonish Kshatriyas who became Buddhist Bhikkus or Jain monks after giving up all sacrificial rites, all material comforts, their socially designated duties, and their families as well. Lord Krishna sees no merit in such purposeless inaction and renunciation of material comfort.

3:6: That deluded man is called a hypocrite who sits controlling the organs of action, but dwelling in his mind on objects of the senses.

The same point is made in this shloka as above: renunciation should be both physical and mental. Logically, this shloka should follow 3:4 above, and so I have put it here. This shloka is directed toward myriads of Ascetics (Sadhus and monks), who, while renouncing all material comforts and actions, such as sacrifices as well as sex, were mentally preoccupied with them. We see such false Sanyasins, Swamis, and Gurus all over India and abroad even today. The first thing they do when you meet them is ask for money. Many of them even have girl friends. Lord Krishna said this very thing in 6:1-4: It is not enough if you give up sacrificial rites; you must also give up Sankalpa (design, desire for sense objects). Renunciation of sense objects as well as fruits of action should be both physical and mental.

Brahmanic shloka of the Original Gita 3:5: None can remain really actionless even for a moment; for everyone is helplessly driven to action by the Gunas born of Prakriti.

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We read this shloka as part of the Original Gita. Proponents of Brahmanism loved this concept as the doctrine of the Gunas consecrated their supremacy in the hierarchical class system of Varnashrama Dharma. The world "helplessly" is invariably associated with this concept (3:27; 3:33; 18:59, 60). If this were true, there was no need for Lord Krishna to give Arjuna all this wisdom and motivate him to fight. All Lord Krishna would have to do is to sit tight and Arjuna would be "helplessly doing" his Kshatriya duty. Throughout the BG, Lord Krishna counters this concept by saying that one must "cross over the Gunas" (2:45) by recognizing Atman as a force greater than Gunas (3:43; 14:19; 18:61). Lord Krishna wants Arjuna to act willfully and decisively (18:63) by not submitting to the force of the Gunas, with his Mind steadied by Buddhi, and focused on Atman (2:45). It is Lord Krishna's contention that Gunas, operating via senses entangle us with sense objects, disconnect the Mind from Buddhi; and cause ignorance of Atman. Lord Krishna of the Upanishadic Dharma immediately counters the Brahmanic doctrine of the Gunas in the shloka below: Kshatriyas should redirect their energies to public service 3:7: But he excels, Arjuna, who, restraining the Senses (desires, impulses and cravings, which are the functions of the Senses and the Gunas) by the mind (which is superior to the Senses), unattached (without entanglement), directs his organs of action to the path of (selfless public) work.

This Upanishadic shloka counters the Guna-promoting shloka 3:5 above. Unlike Kshatriyas doing helplessly whatever selfish activity their Guna directs them to do, Lord Krishna wants Kshatriyas to restrain their Gunas (desires and attachment) and willfully and purposefully redirect their actions in the path of selfless public service. Whereas Gunas promote desire for and attachment to fruits of action, directing one's energy to the path of selfless work counters them. One is not helpless in the face of the Gunas as Brahmanism claimed. Simply put, this shloka means, instead of wasting their energy performing Kamya Karma as directed by their desires (Gunas), Kshatriyas should perform Nishkama Karma (selfless service to humanity) in the spirit of Yoga.

3:8: Engage yourself in your obligatory (Kshatriya) duty; for action is superior to inaction, and if inactive, even mere maintenance of your body would not be possible.

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So, what should Kshatriyas who give up Kamya Karma do? They should do their obligatory work. What is an obligatory work? The obligatory duty of Brahmins is to perform obligatory sacrificial rites; and that of a Kshatriyas is to maintain Law and Order, protect the society from invaders, serve and guide the masses in the right path by being role models. Here Lord Krishna is clearly referring to Kshatriyas' obligatory duty. This would require them to be energetic and active without which he would soon lose their "mighty armed" status in the society. Lord Krishna is merely redirecting Kshatriyas to the duties they ought to do as dictated by their Dharma instead of performing Kamya Karma. We know this to be the case because He says without physical work even maintenance of the body is not possible. To the sacrifice-sponsoring Kshatriyas there is no physical work entailed in sacrificial rites other than bobbing their heads saying, "Mama" when the priest prompts him.

Perform actions selflessly 3:9: The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of Yajna. Do therefore, Arjuna, earnestly perform action as Yajna, but free from attachment.

Originally, all Yajnas were performed without any selfish motive and so they earned no Karmaphala (4:15). As we read before, the sole purpose of these Yajnas was to return the "debt" owed to the gods for their benevolence. In contrast, all of our daily activities have some selfish motive and so they earn Karmaphala. Lord Krishna wants Kshatriyas to perform their obligatory Kshatriya duty selflessly and without attachment to fruits, in the same spirit as Yajna of the olden days. Why is Lord Krishna introducing the topic of selfless Yajna here?

He is trying to wean ritual-obsessed Kshatriyas away from them.

Lord Krishna gives Kshatriyas a crash course on Yajna 3:10-11: Having created mankind in the beginning together with Yajna, Prajapati said: "By this shall you propagate; this shall be the milch cow of your desires. Cherish the Devas with this; and may they cherish you; thus cherishing one another, you shall reap the supreme good (of the society)."

It was Prajapati, the Vedic Lord of beings, who created mankind and Yajna together so they could cherish each other. Yajnas brought on rains; rains brought on food; food brought on people (3:14). The people performed Yajnas not only to obtain rains, but also to return

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the debt (RNa) and to thank the gods for their benevolence. They burned surplus grains, herbs, ghee, and animals as symbols of their gratitude for the benevolence of the gods. Note here that Lord Krishna, the Upanishadic Lord of beings, distances himself from Yajnas. Yajnas were the creation of the Prajapati, the Vedic god, who himself is not free from the Gunas (18:40). Yoga, on the contrary, is the creation of Lord Krishna (4:1), who is beyond the power of the Gunas.

Yajnas should not be barbecue parties!

3:12-13: (Prajapati continued) "Cherished by Yajna, the Devas shall bestow on you the enjoyment you desire." A thief verily is he who enjoys what is given by them without returning them anything. The good who eat the remains of Yajna are freed from all sins; but the sinful ones who cook food only for themselves, they verily eat sin.

As we read earlier, the nexus of Brahmins and Kshatriyas made performance of Kamya Karma even more important than the Vedic gods they were dedicated to. Yajnas became increasingly pompous, vulgar, and extravagant affairs (2:43). Their main concern was how to earn more Karmaphala and not how to please the Devas. In fact, far from pleasing the Devas, their Yajnas were meant to coerce or even force gods into fulfilling their desires. Lord Krishna calls the Kshatriyas indulging in Kamya Karma as thieves and sinful because they were busy receiving the fruits and not returning anything to the Devas. All those performing Yajna were supposed to repay the debt by dedicating Yajnas to Devas and eating only the remnants (nectar) of Yajna.

Instead, drunk with Soma, they turned Yajnas into merry barbecue parties. In Chapter Sixteen of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna uses some severe language to chastise Kshatriyas who indulge in sensual excesses and perform sacrifices disregarding scriptural ordinances.[1] Yajnas should be centered on Brahman, not Devas Just as He did in shloka 4:24, Lord Krishna "Upanishadizes" all Yajnas.

He orders all Yajnas to center on Brahman instead of the Devas.

3:14-16: From food beings become; from rain is food produced; from Yajna rain proceeds; Yajna is born of Karma (prescribed sacrificial "works"). Know Karma to have risen from Brahma (Prajapati), and Brahma from the Imperishable (Brahman). The all-pervading Brahman (not Vedic gods) is, therefore, ever centered in Yajna. He who does not follow on earth the wheel

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thus revolving, sinful of life and rejoicing in the senses, he, Partha, lives in vain.

These three shlokas describe the traditional wheel or cycle of how Yajnas were supposed to work. The Vedic Yajnas were centered on Vedic Devas (4:12; 17:4, 14). Once again, Lord Krishna "Upanishadizes" the Yajnas. Just as He told Brahmins to center their Yajnas on Brahman (4:24), Lord Krishna now tells Kshatriyas to do the same. In 3:15 Lord Krishna said Karma arose from Brahma, and Brahma (Prajapati) arose from the Imperishable Brahman. Then He went on to say that the all-pervading Brahman (not the Devas) is centered in Yajna. This is consistent with what Lord Krishna said to Brahmins in 4:24: The Oblation is Brahman, the clarified butter is Brahman, offered by Brahman in the fire of Brahman; unto Brahman verily he goes who cognizes Brahman alone in sacrifices. The Upanishadic seers want to make the point again that all Yajnas are, and should be, centered in Brahman, not Vedic Devas.

For, Brahman-centered Yajna becomes selfless, and lead to attainment of Bliss here on earth and Nirvana hereafter. Instead, those who indulge in Kamya Karma earn bad Karmaphala (sin) instead of good Karmaphala (merit).

Every Brahmanic commentator has his own pro-Vedic interpretation of these three anti-Brahmanic shlokas. They claim that the word Brahma means the Vedas, not Prajapati. They say that the Vedas arose from Brahman, and therefore Vedas are all-pervading! This is a clear instance of turning an anti-Vedic Upanishadic shloka into a pro-Vedic one. The term ‘all-pervading' applies only to Brahman and none else, not to the Vedic god Brahma, and certainly not to the Vedas. The Upanishadic seers always considered Vedic knowledge as "lower knowledge" than the Knowledge of Atman and Brahman. Far from the Vedas being Brahman, the Upanishads repeatedly declared that none can attain Brahman by the Vedas.

Now Lord Krishna drops the bomb shell 3:17-18: But the man who rejoices in Atman, is satisfied with Atman, and is centered in Atman, for him verily there is no obligatory act (sacrifice). For him there is in this world no object (wealth, heaven) to acquire by doing a sacrificial act; nor is there any loss by not doing a sacrificial act (since there was no desire for anything to start with); nor has he to depend on anybody (priests, the Devas) for anything.

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If a person is focused on Atman within him, finds his happiness in It, and is satisfied by It, there is no need for him to perform a Yajna, because what would one gain from performing Yajna when he has gained Atman, which has everything? Performing Yajna with a desire for this or that sense object means one is deficient in something. A person whose mind has merged with Atman feels so sated and complete that the fruit he gets from performing a petty Yajna is puny in comparison. Atman is the seat of Absolute Bliss. A Self-realized person needs nothing as he has acquired Brahman who has everything. Besides, he does not have to depend upon anyone for anything because his satisfaction comes from Atman within, not from pleasing gods and priests. This phrase also means, "You do not have to depend on either Devas or their brokers, the priests, for your happiness!" Then what action is a Kshatriya supposed to indulge in?

3:19: Therefore, constantly perform your obligatory (Kshatriya) duty without attachment (to fruits); for by doing so man verily obtains the Supreme.

The obligatory duty proposed in this shloka is clearly different from the obligatory act mentioned in 3:17-18. In this shloka Lord Krishna clearly has something else in mind for Kshatriyas: leading by selfless service to humanity. Selflessness in action connects one's mind with Buddhi and Atman resulting in Self-realization.

Lord Krishna gives two examples for Kshatriyas to follow 3:20-21: Janaka and others (royal sages) indeed achieved perfection (Self-realization) by (selfless) action; having an eye to the guidance of men also you should perform (selfless) action.

Whatever a great man does is followed by others; people go by the example he sets up.

Lord Krishna encourages Kshatriyas to follow the example of Janaka, a royal sage mentioned in the Upanishads. Setting an example by means of selfless service is the way to guiding the masses. Leading without moral authority is useless. Lord Krishna is saying to Kshatriyas, "Instead of wasting your energy in performing mindless sacrifices, channel it in the selfless service and guidance of humanity. Be a model for them to emulate." What moral authority does Lord Krishna Himself have to advice Kshatriyas as to what they should do? Listen.

3:22-23: There is nothing in the three worlds, Arjuna, that has not been done by Me, nor anything unattained that might be

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attained; still I engage in action. If ever I did not engage in work relentlessly, Arjuna, men would in every respect follow My path.

In these shlokas Lord Krishna offers Himself as a model for Kshatriyas to follow just as He did to Brahmins in 4:13. There is nothing at all that he wants or needs, and yet He works selflessly and incessantly for the welfare of humanity. If He became inactive, people would become inactive, too.

Here Lord Krishna seems to compare Himself to the Buddha, whom a large number of Kshatriyas followed after abandoning Brahmanism.

Other than begging, the Buddha's followers accomplished absolutely nothing.

Brahmanism seers sneak in a pro-Brahmanism shloka to shore up Varnashrama Dharma!

3:24: These worlds would perish if I did not do action; I should be the cause of confusion of classes (Varnasankara) and thereby destroy these beings.

In 4:13, Lord Krishna said that he created the four Varnas based on the distribution of the Gunas and Karma only to show that he neither desired nor gained any Karmaphala due to that particular action. The shloka 3:24, warning about the dangers of Varnasankara (class admixture), is clearly a clever later interpolation by the pro-Vedic lobby to bolster the cause of Varnashrama Dharma (also read 1:38-44). The breakdown of class system due to ascendance of ParaDharmas was fraught with the danger of decimation of the upper classes. This shloka, implying that Lord Krishna is constantly working to keep upper class women from co-mingling with lower class men, was a desperate attempt to reverse this trend. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The constant elevating theme of the Upanishadic Gita is equality of all living beings (5:18-19) due to the fact that Atman is the same in all, and that one should cross over the Gunas and break the bonds of Karma, both of which are the bases of Varnashrama Dharma. Lord Krishna mentions twice that even the worst kind of person can overcome his Karma by surrendering to Him (4:36; 9:30). In His eyes no one is "unwanted progeny" because the Atman in everyone is the same. "Unwanted progeny" is a Brahmanic obsession.

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The Anthem of Karmayoga 3:25-26: As the unenlightened (ritualists) act from attachment to action (sacrifices), O Bharata, so should the enlightened (Selfrealized person) act (do obligatory Kshatriya duties) without attachment, desirous of the guidance of the masses. Let not the wise man unsettle the mind of ignorant people (ritualists deluded by the Gunas) attached to Karma (sacrificial rites). By doing (selfless service) persistently and precisely let the wise induce the others in all activities.

In 3:25 Lord Krishna compares performers of Kamya Karma with Karmayogis. Kshatriya ritualists perform sacrifices with desire for fruits. In contrast Karmayogis perform their Kshatriya duties without desiring fruits, and guide the masses. In shloka 3:26 Lord Krishna advices the enlightened ones not to go on a mission of converting ignorant ritualists into Karmayogis -except by setting themselves up as an example of exceptional public service. In other words, one can change others only by means of his moral authority and not by preaching, coercion or force. How does one earn moral authority? Well, by doing his work persistently and precisely. The advice is, "Do not abuse your power as Kshatriya to change people. Instead use your moral authority by being a role model."

Pro-Guna shloka of the Original Gita 3:27: The Gunas of Prakriti perform all Karma. With the understanding clouded by egoism, man thinks, "I am the doer."

This shloka, as we read in the chapter titled The Original Gita, is a relic of Brahmanism. In effect this shloka said to Arjuna, "How dare you think that you can do anything against the force of your Guna? Gunas determine all your actions. Deluded by your Ahamkara (egoism), you think you can do anything you want!" However, Upanishadic seers never get tired of telling that the Gunas are the problem, not the solution. Gunas corrupt the Senses as well as Organs of Actions. See how Lord Krishna demolishes the above Brahmanic claim in the next two powerful shlokas.

Lord Krishna neutralizes the Doctrine of the Gunas and Karma 3:28: But, O mighty armed, the one intuitive into the nature of Guna and Karma knows that Gunas as Senses merely abide with Gunas as Objects, and does not become entangled.

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One, who understands that it is the nature of the Gunas to induce the mind to get entangled with sense objects, frees himself from the power of the Gunas. If a man becomes aware of his desire to have illicit relationship with a woman, he tells himself, "This is my lust rooted in the Guna that is deluding me. Let me not fall prey to it." One must know that Gunas corrupt people's mind via the Senses. In 14:23 Lord Krishna tells Arjuna not to be moved by the Gunas.

3:29: Those deluded by the Gunas of Prakriti get attached to the function of the Gunas (desire, attachment and possessiveness).

The man of perfect knowledge (Yogi who has realized Atman) should not unsettle the mediocre (deluded ritualists) whose knowledge is imperfect.

Note here: whereas Brahmanic thinking is that one is deluded by his Ahamkara, the Upanishadic thinking is that one is deluded by the Gunas. Those deluded by the functions of the Gunas -desire for, attachment to, and possessiveness of sense objects- go after sense objects. A wise man does not become deluded by the power of the Gunas, and so he is able to detach himself from sense objects. One should not surrender to the powers of Gunas as suggested by the shloka 3:27. Nor should he get into an argument with those proponents of the Gunas who are mediocre and ignorant. How, then, does one escape from the clutches of the Gunas?

3:30: Surrendering all action to Me (who is greater than the Gunas), with your thoughts resting on Atman, freed from hope and selfishness and cured of mental fever (Dwandwa), engage in battle.

This was certainly an Upanishadic shloka which was later modified into Bhagavatha shloka by replacing Brahman with Me. Also this shloka has been "worked over" by another author, probably with Brahmanic leaning, as evidenced by the phrase "engage in battle," which is clearly meant to make it look like it was meant for Arjuna.

In any case, the gist of this shloka is this: Instead of helplessly surrendering to the Gunas as proposed by 3:27, one should surrender all his actions to the Lord recognizing Him as more powerful than the Gunas (3:43; 14:19). By dedicating all action to the Lord, one converts his actions into selfless ones and hence earns no Karmaphala (5:10). Focusing his mind on Atman, one should give up hankering for this and that stuff. This would cure him of his "mental fever" known as Dwandwa, engendered by the Gunas.

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Lord Krishna issues a warning 3:31-32: Those who ever abide in this doctrine of Mine (as the Lord), full of Shraddha (Faith) and free from caviling, they too are released from bondage (of his actions). But those who carp at My teaching and act not thereon, deluded in all knowledge and devoid of discrimination (wisdom), know them to be ruined.

The doctrine Lord Krishna gave to Brahmins in the previous chapter was the Knowledge of Atman or Jnanayoga (4:39-42). The doctrine He gave to Kshatriyas in this chapter is Karmayoga. However, the doctrine Lord Krishna is referring to in the above shloka is one in which He is the Supreme Lord, as evidenced by its Bhagavatha tone. Once again, just as He recommended Shraddha (Faith) to counter doubts of Brahmins in 4:39, Lord Krishna recommends Shraddha to overcome jealousy and petty criticism characteristic of Kshatriyas.

[The three maladies shrewdly recognized by the ancient seersdoubting everyone's motive, feeling jealous of others' accomplishment, and compulsively criticizing reformers regardless of their merit- are the hallmarks of elite of the Indian society even today.

Lord Krishna issues a warning to those ritualists who do not follow his advice. Those who do not abide by his teachings and continue to indulge in Kamya Karma are thus ruined (2:62-63). Those who abide by the above teachings of Lord Krishna are released from bondage of their actions because their selfless actions earn them no Karmaphala.

Pro-Guna shloka of the Original Gita 3:33: Even a wise man behaves in conformity with his own nature (Guna); beings follow nature; what shall restraints avail?

This, as we read earlier, is another one of those Brahmanic shlokas of the Original Gita which promote the Gunas. Not only does it flaunt it but also it explains the futility of repressing it! Its advice is: helplessly surrender to your inherent Guna! Follow your base instincts! Yield to your desires, attachment, and possessiveness! But the Upanishadic Lord Krishna refutes this immediately in the very next shloka.

Lord Krishna declares that the Gunas are the enemy

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3:34: Attachment and aversion (Dwandwa) of the Senses for their respective objects are natural (they are the functions of the Gunas); let none come under their domination; they are verily his enemies.

Once again, Lord Krishna demolishes the doctrine of the Gunas. Gunas are the allies of the Senses. Therefore they are the enemies of the Mind. When Senses come into contact with sense objects, the mind suffers from Dwandwa -attachment and aversion, pain and pleasure, gain and loss (2:14-15). So he must overcome the influence of Gunas on the senses by resorting to Buddhi and Atman.

Pro-Varnashrama Dharma shloka of the modified Original Gita 3:35: One's own Dharma, though imperfectly performed, is better than the Dharma of another well discharged. Better death in one's own Dharma; the Dharma of another is full of fear.

This shloka was added to the Original Gita, as we read earlier in the chapter titled, Brahmanism Defends Itself, by pro-Brahmanism lobby to plead their cause with Kshatriyas who were abandoning Brahmanism in droves to become Ascetics, Buddhists, and Jain monks.

This shloka is in juxtaposition to the shloka 2:4-5 in which Arjuna considers giving up his Kshatriya Dharma as well as Brahmanism to become a beggar (Bhikku). Along with 18:47-48, it is meant to bolster Brahmanism Dharma and to dissuade Kshatriyas and other classes from giving up Brahmanism. Now Lord Krishna moves to demolish the Gunas once and for all.

Lord Krishna names Rajas Guna as the enemy 3:36: Arjuna asks: But dragged by what does a man commit sin, unwillingly though, O Krishna, constrained as it were by force?

In 2:62-63 Guru Krishna explained how attachment to sense objects leads to self-ruin. In this shloka, Arjuna wants to know how one could overcome the irresistible force of the Gunas, which compels people to commit sin. This shloka is meant to provoke Lord Krishna to tell us the negative aspects of the Rajasic Guna, the Guna assigned to Kshatriyas. Lord Krishna explains in the following shlokas the peril of the Gunas:

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3:37: It is selfish desire (Kama), it is jealous rage (Krodha) begotten by the Rajoguna; all consuming, all sinful, know this (Rajasic Guna) as the foe here on earth.

Man commits evil acts because of Kama and Krodha rooted in the Rajasic Guna. Lord Krishna describes Rajasic Guna as all sinful and foe here on earth. Specific reference to Rajasic Guna here indicates that the Lord is referring to Kshatriyas, to whose class that Guna is designated.

3:38-41: As fire is enveloped by smoke, as mirror by dust, as an embryo by the womb, so is this (mind) covered by that (Rajasic Guna). Wisdom is covered, O son of Kunti, by this insatiable fire of desire (Rajasic Guna), the constant foe of the wise. The Senses, the Mind and the Intellect are said to be its seat; by these it deludes man by veiling his wisdom. Therefore, O eminent of the Bharatas, mastering first the Senses, slay it (Rajasic Guna) -the sinful, the destroyer of Wisdom and realization.

Note here how Lord Krishna uses fire and smoke as metaphor for Kamya Karma. Rajasic Guna envelops Wisdom like smoke envelops fire of sacrifice. Rajasic Guna is the insatiable fire of desire that consumes Wisdom, just as the sacrificial fire insatiably consumes materials offered to it. Here the fire of desire is the metaphor for the sacrificial fire of Kamya Karma. How does one slay this Guna? One slays it by mastering first the Senses (saying No to one's desires, cravings, and impulses engendered by the Rajasic Guna). Immediately the Mind connects with the Wisdom. In other words, one slays the Rajas Guna by means of Buddhiyoga. For one to get a handle on this mechanism, one must have some idea about the apparatus of mind.

Lord Krishna provides this information below.

Lord Krishna describes the hierarchy of mind's components 3:42: The Senses are said to be superior (to the sense objects); the Mind is superior to the Senses; the Intellect is superior to the Mind; and what is superior to the Intellect is He (Atman).

This shloka explains the hierarchy of various components of the mind as shown in the picture below. Understanding this shloka is of paramount importance to get insight into the wisdom of the Upanishadic Gita.

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The Hierarchy of Apparatus of Mind The Senses (Indriyani) not only stand for the five Senses by which we perceive the world around us, but also for the unbridled drive that drags the mind toward sense objects. It is the Id component -the raw impulses- of the mind. It is the child part of the mind. Their main function is to desire sense objects and seek to gain them. When the Senses come into contact with sense objects, the mind experiences Dwandwa (2:14). The seven allies of the Senses rooted in the Gunas are: lust, jealous rage, arrogance, possessiveness, greed, jealousy and insecurity.

The Mind (Manas) stands for the adult part -the Ego- of the mental apparatus which has three functions: Thinking (I like this, I don't like this); feeling (this makes me feel good, this makes me feel bad) and acting (I gained this, I lost it). These opposites are known as Dwandwa. The more one is attached to sense objects, the greater the Dwandwa. The Mind that is operating under the influence of the Senses and its Guna-rooted allies, suffers severe Dwandwa.

The Intellect (Buddhi, Wisdom) stands for the higher faculty of the mental apparatus -the Superego. It has seven basic functions: Memory, Knowledge, Insight, Judgment, Reasoning, Moral values, and Noble virtues. The Mind which is guided by Buddhi becomes Buddhiyukta. The Buddhiyukta Mind is free from Dwandwa.

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Atman, also known as the Self, is the Essence of Man. It is the divinity bound to the body by the power of the Gunas (14:5). It is the seat of Absolute Bliss. When the Buddhiyukta Mind merges with Atman, it achieves the Sthithaprajnya state of mind, and enjoys the transcendental bliss of Samadhi here on earth and Nirvana hereafter.

Restrain the lower self with higher Self 3:43: Thus knowing Him (Atman) as superior to the Intellect, restraining the self (Senses, Mind and Intellect) by the Self, slay, O mighty armed, the enemy (Rajasic Guna) in the form of desire, difficult to overcome.

The way to slay Rajasic Guna is to use higher faculties to subdue the lower faculties. The Mind controls the Senses; the Intellect controls the Mind; the Self is the Ultimate Power that controls the Intellect. The meaning here is that our Buddhi and the Self should guide us in all our behaviors, and not the Senses (desires). When the Senses guide our actions, self-ruin (2:62-63), evil acts (3:37-40) and Samsara (9:21) are the result. When the Self and Intellect guide our actions, Bliss of Atman and Nirvana are the result (2:65, 71-72).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------[1] 16:12-20: "Bound by hundreds of ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to secure by unjust means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment. ‘This today has been gained by me; this desire I shall fulfill; this is mine, and this wealth also shall be mine in the future. That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am a lord, I enjoy, I am successful, powerful and happy. I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give alms, I will rejoice.' Thus deluded by ignorance, bewildered by many a fancy, enmeshed in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into foul hell. Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifice in the name of ostentation, disregarding ordinance. Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious people hate Me in their own bodies and those of others. Those cruel haters, the worst among men in the world, I hurl these evil-doers for ever into the womb of the demons only. Entering the demoniac wombs, the deluded ones, in birth after birth, without ever reaching Me, they thus fall, O Kaunteya, into condition still lower."

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Upanishadic Revolution -4 Demolishing Varnashrama Dharma: All Men Are Created Equal In Chapter Four of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna gave Sanyasa (Jnanayoga) to Brahmins by means of which they could overcome the doctrine of the Gunas and attain Atman. In Chapter Three, Lord Krishna gave Kshatriyas Tyaga (Karmayoga) by means of which they could overcome doctrine of Karma and attain Self-realization.

Furthermore, in Chapter Two He demolished or downgraded the Vedas; Kamya Karma and Vedic ritualists. Now Lord Krishna tackles the most delicate of all the issues, the Varnashrama Dharma, the class system. This brings us to the heart of any Dharma: ethics. The main goal of Varnashrama Dharma was to maintain social order and stability. Ethics, other than one performing his Dharma (duty) as per one's Guna designated to his class, was not part of this equation. The Varnashrama Dharma did not deal with the consequences of class system on individuals. It had little sympathy or empathy for the suffering of individuals in this class system. This was explained away

by Brahmanism as caused by their Karmaphala.

In contrast, the Upanishads, like Buddhism, made ethics their central issue. Doing the right thing and empathy for other's suffering, they said, is essential part of being human. In BG Chapter Five, the revolutionaries address this issue ever so gently. To a casual reader, this chapter comes across as describing Brahman to the new converts to the Upanishadic Dharma. The hidden intent of this chapter is to explain that Brahman is the same in all people. A truly enlightened person sees himself in everyone else. This is the basis of Karmayoga, selfless service of humanity, in which one sees himself in everyone else and everyone else in himself.

BG Chapter Five has three main goals 1. Promoting Karmayoga: Karmayoga, selfless service to humanity (BG Chapter Three), is superior to Sanyasa, also known as Jnanayoga, attaining Knowledge of the Atman (BG Chapter Four) by renouncing attachment to sense objects. This is done with the intention of promoting the idea that Brahman is the same in all, and that dedicating one's action to people is one way not to earn any Karmaphala and thus overcome the doctrines of Karma.

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2. Demoting Varnashrama Dharma based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma: A Self-realized Yogi sees Brahman in all living creatures. Therefore, he sees all beings, regardless of their social class or species, as equal. To him a learned Brahmin imbued in humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eating outcaste are all the same (5:18-19). In other words, a Self-realized person achieves samesightedness (Samadarshinah) on all living and non-living objects.

3. Attaining the Bliss of Atman: Self-realized Yogi experiences Imperishable Bliss (Sukham) by his contact with the Brahmﾄ］ here on earth and Nirvana hereafter. (5:21-.26).

Karmayoga is superior to Jnanayoga 5:1: Arjuna said to Lord Krishna: Renunciation of Karma (giving up sacrificial rites and taking up Jnanayoga) O Krishna, you recommend, and again its performance (Karmayoga). Of the two, which one is better? Tell me that conclusively.

As usual, Arjuna faithfully plays his role of a humble and curious student who, by now, is an expert in asking seemingly tough questions. The main intent of this shloka is to make the reader aware, once again, of the fact that the word Karma has multiple meanings. In this shloka, he asks the question, "Which is superior, Jnanayoga (renouncing sacrifices and taking up the Knowledge of Atman) or Karmayoga (renouncing sacrifices and performing selfless service of humanity)?" Here renunciation of Karma means giving up sacrificial rites; and performance of Karma means selflessly serving and guiding the public.

5:2: Lord Krishna replies: Both Sanyasa (Jnanayoga) and Karmayoga lead to liberation from Samsara. Of the two, Karmayoga is superior to Jnanayoga.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna, a Kshatriya activist to the core, naturally proclaims that Karmayoga is superior to Jnanayoga. He buttresses this opinion by saying in 5:6 that it is difficult to be a Jnanayogi without being a Karmayogi also. After all, how can a Jnanayogi be useful to the society if he is sitting around focused on Atman doing absolutely nothing worthwhile? In fact, just gaining the Bliss of Atman for oneself without doing anything for the benefit of the society is a very selfish act. Lord Krishna said in 3:4 that mere renunciation of sense objects does not lead to Self-realization. Karmayogi, on the contrary, identifies his own Self with the Self of all humanity (5:7), like royal sage Janaka

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did (3:20), and incessantly strives to serve it selflessly. What characterizes a mature Jnanayogi?

5:3: He should be known as constant Sanyasin (Jnanayogi), who neither hates nor desires (has overcome the Guna-induced Dwandwa); free from Dwandwa, O mighty armed, he is easily set free from bondage (of Karma).

Lord Krishna describes a true Sanyasin or Jnanayogi as one who has overcome the force of the Gunas, and Guna-induced Dwandwa, meaning, his mind has become Buddhiyukta. Such a mind does not earn Karmaphala (2:50) when it acts, and hence is free from bondage of Samsara (2:51).

5:4-5: Children, not wise, speak of Knowledge (Jnanayoga) and Karmayoga as different. He who is truly established in one obtains the fruit (Bliss here on earth and Nirvana hereafter) of both. The state reached by Jnanayogis is also reached by the Karmayogis. He sees who sees Jnanayoga and Karmayoga as one.

In these shlokas Lord Krishna asserts that in the final analysis, both these paths lead to Self-realization and one is not much different from the other (2:39-40). Since Jnanayoga (Sanyasa) and Karmayoga (Tyaga) are two elements of Buddhiyoga, all that matters is that one become a Buddhiyogi.

5:6: Sanyasa (Jnanayoga), O mighty armed, is hard to attain to without Karmayoga; the man of meditation (Jnanayogi), purified

by Karmayoga quickly goes to Brahman.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna goes back to His original stance that Karmayoga is essential for all Jnanayogis to attain Brahman. Why is this so? Well, for one to become a true Brahmajnani (one knowing Brahman), he must identify himself in everyone else and serve them.

One is purified completely not only when he gives up attachment to sense objects, but also when he gives up his fruits of action. What is the essential characteristic of a Karmayogi?

5:7: With the mind purified by Karmayoga (selflessness in action), and the self (Mind and Intellect) disciplined, and the Senses subdued, one who realizes one's Atman as the Atman in all beings, though acting, is not affected.

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The essence of a Karmayogi is that he identifies his own Atman as Atman in all beings. A Self-realized person has infinite empathy for other people's suffering. When such a person performs service of others selflessly he does not earn any Karmaphala.

A Yogi performs all actions without the "I" and "Mine and thus earns no Karmaphala 5:8-9: The sage centered on Atman should think, "I do nothing at all" -though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, emptying, holding, opening and closing the eyes - firm in the thought that Senses move among Sense Objects.

All the above mentioned functions that are performed by the Sense Organs and the Organs of Action (hands, mouth, etc.) are the functions of the Gunas, and one must distance himself from them, and focus on the higher power of Atman. The body performs all these actions while the mind is focused on Atman. When a person disentangles his mind from all sense objects, and his actions from its fruits, then all his accomplishments are without the "I" and "mine." He experiences all sensations without entanglement; and he performs all actions without the egoism. Once the "I" and "Mine" are gone, one's mind connects with Atman.

Let me give an example to illustrate this point: A bank manager met with an enlightened businessman in his office. The businessman wore an expensive three piece suit. He came to the bank driving a flashy luxury car. When the bank manager, looking out the window, admired his fancy car, the client looked away from his car, made a gesture of futility with his hand, and said, "Well, that car is nothing but a symbol of the stupidity of this business. I have it because that it is what it takes to do business with all these entangled stupid people in this real world. It is all a symbol of false prestige!" Now, this seemingly ostentatious businessman is a true Yogi who enjoys the sense objects and performs action without getting entangled with either. An entangled man would have offered to take the bank manager for a drive to show off his car.

5:10: He, who acts abandoning attachment (to the fruits of his action), dedicating his deeds to Brahman, is untainted by sin (Karmaphala) as a lotus leaf by water.

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This shloka introduces Brahman as the object of all action. One does not earn Karmaphala if he does something without attachment to fruits. If one gives up the fruits of his actions, who should have them?

"Give it to Brahman," says Lord Krishna (Ch. Up: 4:14:3). Since one does not claim any credit for or benefit from his deeds, he earns no Karmaphala resulting from it.

5:11: The Yogi, abandoning attachment (to the fruits), performs work (Yajna or any work) with the Body, the Mind, the Intellect and the Senses for the purposes of self-purification only.

A Yogi purifies himself when he gives up various Guna-rooted taints such as desire, attachment, and possessiveness in all his actions. By performing Yajna, one is indulging in an action. By giving up attachment to sense objects and the fruit of action, he is purifying himself. Thus Yajna becomes a means to overcome the above taints.

5:12: Abandoning the fruit of action, the Yogi attains peace born of steadfastness; impelled by selfish desire, the ritualist is bound, attached to fruit.

Here Lord Krishna compares a person who performs Yajna or any act in the spirit of Yoga to a selfish ritualist who performs Kamya Karma. Once the mind renounces selfish motive in action, it attains peace of mind as a result of the steadiness that follows (2:50). A person who constantly hankers for fruit of his deeds has no peace of mind, as he constantly worries about getting and keeping (2:45) sense objects.

The Gunas versus Atman 5:13: Having mentally renounced all actions (having given up desire for fruits in), the self-disciplined Indweller (Atman) rests

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happily in the city of nine gates (the Body), neither acting nor causing to act.

The Atman resides in the city of nine gates, meaning the body: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one opening of the urethra, and one opening of the anus. Atman is devoid of any action, nor does It cause action. The job of Atman is to enjoy the absolute peace engendered by the state of desireless-ness, detachment and actionlessness.

5:14: The Lord does not create agency or action for the world; He does not create union with fruits of action. Nature does all this.

If the Atman does not act or cause one to act, what is the force that makes one to act and creates Karmaphala? Well, the answer is Nature (Prakriti), meaning the Gunas. For example, we eat because the body is hungry, not because Atman is hungry. Nature gives signal to the stomach that it is time to eat. Likewise, people fall in love and get married because Nature sends hormonal signals to the body saying, "It is time for you to start producing children." Atman has nothing to do with that decision. Likewise, attachment to sense objects and desire for fruits of action are the functions of the Gunas. Why is Lord Krishna bringing in here the issue of "action and union with the fruit of action"?

He wants to make a clear distinction between the Gunas and Atman.

The Gunas are the source of action as well as the desire to have its fruits. Atman could not care less.

5:15: The Omnipresent (Brahman) does not take note of the merit (good Karma) or demerit (bad Karma) of any. Knowledge (of Atman) is veiled by ignorance (engendered by the power of the Gunas); mortals are thereby deluded (by the Gunas).

In this shloka, Lord Krishna takes issue with the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. He says that the merit or demerit (Karmaphala) of one's actions is not the concern of Brahman. Whose concern is it then? Well, merit and demerit are the function of the doctrine of Karma. People perform bad as well as good deeds based on their respective Guna.

Attachment of the Mind to sense objects (wealth, power, etc.) engendered by the Gunas, makes one ignorant of the Knowledge of Atman. Regardless of what class one belongs to, if his mind is deluded by the Gunas, he becomes ignorant of that Knowledge of Atman. The true Knowledge of Atman liberates one from the delusion engendered by the Gunas. Note here that the Lord lumps all the Gunas together.

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He does not make a distinction between Satvic and Tamasic. All Gunas delude man.

5:16: When the ignorance of a person (engendered by the Gunas) is destroyed by the Knowledge of Atman, Atman shines like the sun in him.

The ignorance that veils the Knowledge of the Atman is rooted in man's Gunas. Once one crosses over them by controlling his Senses (desires), his ignorance is destroyed and his Atman becomes evident to him as well as to all those around him. Such a person is often referred to by people as a Mahatma. All Mahatmas in the history of India -the Buddha, Mahaveera, Purandaradasa, Suradasa, Kanakadasa, Kabirdasa, Tukarama, Jnanadeva, Guru Nanak, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi are examples of Self-realized people in whom Atman shone like sun. They all had one thing in common: they renounced their desires and attachments to sense objects, and they performed selfless service to humanity. Centuries after their death, we can still see that light and feel that warmth.

The Knowledge of Atman cancels-out Karma 5:17: Those who think on That (Atman), merge with That, get fixed in That, have That as the goal, they attain to non-return (Nirvana), their taints (ignorance, weaknesses) beings dispelled by Knowledge of Atman.

That, which Lord Krishna refers to, is Atman or Brahman. The way to disentangle oneself from various sense objects is to give up the Gunarooted weaknesses and focus one's attention on Atman, which needs nothing, wants nothing, and has everything. Since all actions of such a person are devoid of desire, he earns no Karmaphala and so he is liberated one from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. How do we know that one has attained the Knowledge of the Atman/Brahman and overcome the force of the Gunas and Karma?

Lord Krishna delivers a body blow to Varnashrama Dharma 5:18: Men of Atman-Knowledge are same-sighted on a Brahmin imbued with learning and humility, a cow (the animal of Brahmins), an elephant (the animal of Kshatriyas), a dog (the animal of Vaishyas and Sudras) and a dog-eating outcaste.

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There is not another shloka in the Gita -perhaps with the exception of 18:66- that does more to undermine the Varnashrama Dharma than this shloka. The caste system and the scourge of untouchability would not have developed in India had this shloka not been ignored by Brahmanic scholars, the guardians and interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita, in favor of those promoting Varnashrama Dharma. Instead, they embellished the caste-promoting shlokas (18:40-45, 47-48).

In this shloka, Lord Krishna demolishes the hierarchical system of Varnashrama Dharma based on the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma.

He declares that truly enlightened (Self-realized) people, who have overcome the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, become blind to the Varnashrama Dharma based on those doctrines. Having attained Brahman, they see Brahman in everyone else and so they see everyone, including animals, as equals. A learned and humble Brahmin is on the same footing as a cow, the animal of Brahmins; an elephant, the animal of Kshatriyas royals; a dog, the animal of lower classes, and dog-eating outcaste! Note here that Lord Krishna does not say that a learned Brahmin is equal to Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. He says he is at the same level as animals belonging to these classes!

5:19: Transitory existence (Samsara) is overcome even here (on earth) by them whose mind rests on equality. Brahman is flawless and the same in all; therefore they (who know this Truth) are established in Brahman.

Truly enlightened people see everyone as their equals, they and attain Self-realization even during their lifetime. Brahman is flawless and the same in all people, whether they are Brahmins or outcastes. Those who think that they are superior to others are ignorant of the true nature of Brahman. What a revolutionary idea for the post-Vedic times!

Self-realization frees one from Grief, Dwandwa and Samsara 5:20: Established in Brahman, with firm understanding (being Buddhiyukta) and with no delusion (engendered by the Gunas) , the knower of Brahman rejoices not getting what is pleasant and grieves not getting what is unpleasant (he is free from Dwandwa and Grief).

A person, who has attained the peace of Brahman, does not suffer from Dwandwa: Feeling happy when he gets something good and

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feeling grief when he gets something bad. He enjoys the Sthithaprajnya state of mind which is immune to Grief, Dwandwa, and Samsara.

5:21: With the self (Mind and Intellect) detached from the external contacts (by means of withdrawal of his Senses, desires) he realizes the Bliss in Atman. Devoted as he is to meditation of Brahman, he enjoys Imperishable Bliss.

The moment one's mind completely disentangles itself from the sense objects, it not only connects with his Buddhi, but also it connects with the Atman. As one's disconnection is made stronger by focused effort, one achieves the permanent peace that is Brahman. As you can see, the words Atman and Brahman are used interchangeably.

Secret of Bliss 5:22: The delights that are contact-born are verily the wombs of pain; they have, O son of Kunti, a beginning and an end; no wise man rejoices in them.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna makes a distinction between two delights: one due to contact with sense objects; the other due to contact with Atman. The delights of the senses (food, wealth, sexual gratification, power, etc.) are temporary and they invariably lead to pain later on, whereas, the delight due to one's contact with the Atman is eternal.

5:23: He who is able to resist the impulse of selfish desire and jealous rage even here before he dies, he is a Yogi, and he is a happy man.

Lord Krishna now focuses his attention of Kama (selfish desire) and Krodha (jealous rage), the twin scourges rooted in Rajasic Guna (3:37). Lord Krishna identifies these two weaknesses in Vedic ritualists. He stresses again the need to control them to become a Self-realized Yogi, who is eligible to attain the Bliss of Brahman here on earth.

5:24: He whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, whose illumination is within, only that Yogi becomes Brahman and gains the Beatitude of Brahman.

One's happiness and contentment must come from his contact with the Atman within him and not from his contact with the external sense

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objects. Since Atman and Brahman are one and the same, such a Selfrealized person achieves Nirvana hereafter.

5:25: With sins (bad Karmaphala) destroyed, doubts (Dwandwa) removed, mind disciplined (selfish desire, jealous rage, etc. eliminated), being delighted in the welfare of all beings (of all four classes and outcastes too), the Rishis attain the Beatitude of Brahman.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna says that when Rishis (sages), whether Brahmins or Kshatriyas, overcome bad Karmaphala, Dwandwa, and various Guna-rooted weaknesses, they attain the Bliss of Brahman.

Note here that Lord Krishna calls for "the welfare of all beings," not just the upper classes.

5:26: The Beatitude of Brahman is both here and hereafter for those Sanyasins who have shed selfish desire and jealous rage, subdued their minds and realized Atman.

Again, this shloka is addressed to Sanyasins (Brahmins who have given up sacrificial rites and attained the Knowledge of the Self).

Those who have given up the Guna-rooted weaknesses would find peace of mind here on earth and liberation from Samsara hereafter.

How does one control his roving eyes and hankering breath?

5:27: Shutting out external objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrow, equalizing the outward and inward breaths moving in the nostrils, the sage who has controlled the Senses, Mind and Intellect, who is solely pursuing liberation, who has cast away desire, fear and jealous rage, he verily is liberated (from the evil of Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala-Samsara).

This shloka properly belongs in BG Chapter Six. We will study it in that chapter.

5:28: Having known Me as the Lord of Yajnas and asceticism, as the Ruler of all worlds, as the Friend of all beings, he attains Peace.

This shloka is clearly a last-minute interpolation by Lord Krishna's Bhagavatha devotees into this essentially Upanishadic chapter dealing with Atman and Brahman. All of a sudden the Bhagavatha author introduces Lord Krishna being Lord of Yajnas, asceticism, and the Ruler

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of all worlds. Apparently now He replaces Brahman. We have seen similar incongruous interpolations in earlier chapters. We will come across such untimely and inappropriate interpolations in the future chapters also.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Upanishadic Revolution -5 On the Path to Becoming a Yogi Whereas BG Chapter Five was primarily devoted to the doctrine of Knowledge of Brahman, which replaces the doctrine of the Gunas, BG Chapter Six is devoted to the doctrine of Yoga, which replaces the doctrine of Karma. Where as in BG Chapter Five Lord Krishna explained the need to give up Kama to attain Brahman, in BG Chapter Six, Lord Krishna discusses the need to give up Sankalpa to achieve it.

In addition, He discusses various Yoga-related topics such as the basic techniques of meditation; the need to moderate habits, so on and so forth. These detailed instructions were meant to convert Vedic ritualists into Yogis.

To be a true Yogi one must give up design in all action 6:1: He who discharges his duty without seeking its fruits, he is a Sanyasin, he is a Yogi; not he who is (merely) without sacred fire and without rites.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna tackles Sankalpa, the intention, desire or design of the ritualist performing Kamya Karma. Before starting a Yajna, it was customary for the priest to ask the sponsor what his Sankalpa was. In other words, the question was put to him, "What desire would you like to fulfill by performing this Yajna?" Usually the Kshatriya sponsor would say something like, "I want to have a son who would destroy my enemy," as it happened with Drupada when he performed a Yajna to obtain a son to destroy Drona, his former friend and now his arch enemy.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna warns that one does not automatically become a Yogi just because he gives up sacrificial rites. To become a Yogi, he must give up his mental desire for fruit (Sankalpa). It is one thing to give up something bodily; it is entirely another thing to give it up mentally. For example, just because a person gives up eating meat, he does not become a vegetarian. To be a true vegetarian, he must give up his craving for it too. A true vegetarian is someone who feels sick when he merely thinks about eating meat. Lord Krishna simply detests hypocrites as He did in 3:6.

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6:2: Know that as Yoga, O Pandava, which is called Sanyasa: for none becomes a Yogi without renouncing Sankalpa.

One becomes a Sanyasi or Jnanayogi only when he renounces Sankalpa -design, will, intention, or desire to acquire fruit of action. No matter what he does, he must do it without desire for sense objects (2:55-59). How many Swamis and Gurus do you know who meet this criteria?

6:3: Karma is said to be the means of the sage who seeks to attain Yoga; tranquility is said to be the means when one has attained Yoga.

In this shloka, Lord Krishna once again recommends Karmayoga, selfless action (Tyaga), as the means of seeking Yoga. Once a person gives up his desire for fruits, his mind becomes connected with Buddhi and becomes Buddhiyukta, which means it is free from Dwandwa. The tranquility of mind thus attained becomes the means to attain Selfrealization. A mind tranquilized by Buddhi, can more easily attain Atman than a mind distracted by various sensory delights.

6:4: Then alone is one said to have attained to Yoga, when, having renounced all Sankalpas, one does not get entangled with sense objects and (selfish) actions.

Once again, Lord Krishna keeps hammering the point: Do not become entangled with sense objects; nor seek fruits from your actions.

It is your choice to elevate yourself or debase yourself 6:5: Let a man raise himself by his own Self; let him not debase himself. For, he is himself his friend, and himself his foe.

When a man raises his lower self (Mind and Intellect) by allying it with his higher Self -Atman, his lower self becomes his friend, for the lower self (Mind) attains divine qualities. Instead, if a man's lower self, falls prey to its Gunas and attaches itself to sense objects, he degrades himself. His self, now aligned with the Senses (allies of the Gunas), becomes deluded by the sense objects, and he commits stupid acts (2:62-63) or evil acts (3:37-43). We noted this principle of conquering the lower self with the higher Self in 3:43.

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The Mind Must Find a Balance Between the Senses and Intellect 6:6: To him who has conquered his lower self by his higher Self, his own self is the friend; but to him who has not subdued the self, his own self acts as the foe.

This shloka is repetition of the previous shloka.

6:7: A self-disciplined and serene man's supreme self is constant in cold and heat, pleasure and pain as also in honor and dishonor.

The Mind that is stabilized by Buddhi and Atman becomes immune to Dwandwa. The supreme self referred to here is the self (Mind and Intellect put together) that has been elevated by the Atman (the Self) and has thus become supreme. It does not refer to Atman itself, as Atman is inherently immune to Dwandwa. It is interesting to note here how Lord Krishna says that one must be immune to honor and dishonor in this Upanishadic shloka, whereas, in the Brahmanic Gita, He tells Arjuna that dishonor is worse than death (2:34). On the path of evolution, the Gita has come a long way, indeed!

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Self-realization gives one same-sightedness 6:8: That Yogi is steadfast (Buddhiyukta) who is satisfied with Knowledge (of Atman) and Wisdom (Buddhi), who remains unshaken (Dwandwa-free), who has conquered the Senses, and to whom a clod, a stone and a piece of gold are the same.

In 5:18-19, Lord Krishna said that a Self-realized person gains equanimity of mind and is same-sighted on all living beings. In this shloka, this principle is applied even to non-living things. The point is that a person, who has become Self-realized by virtue of his conquest of his desires for sense objects, has conquered Dwandwa and attained evenness, equanimity, and equilibrium. When the Senses of such a person come into contact with the sense objects, the Mind does not experience Dwandwa. He displays total indifference to material stuff regardless what its value is in the eye of ignorant and deluded people.

He makes no distinction between a clod of earth, a stone, and piece of gold. If he loses a piece of gold, he does not grieve over it any more than grieving over losing a clump of earth. One can only imagine how ignorant people are who hanker constantly for gold, diamond, jewelry, money and other material things.

6:9: He stands supreme who has equal regard for friends, companions, enemies, neutrals, arbiters, the hateful, the relatives, saints and sinners.

Whereas the previous shloka dealt with Yogi's attitude of equanimity toward material things, this shloka deals with the same attitude towards people around him. A person, who has become Self-realized, sees Brahman in all people, and so he treats them all as equals. In the real world, however, it is rare to find people with such samesightedness. The vast majority of people's attitude toward others depends upon various considerations such as money, power, title, security, self-interest, etc. as evidenced by their sycophantic ("chamchagiri") behavior. We see such sycophancy even in most socalled Holy men, Swamis, and Gurus, who are supposed to be above it all, and yet they pursue people with power and money.

Basic principles of meditation to gain concentration 6:10: A Yogi should always try to concentrate his mind living alone in solitude, having subdued his mind and body and gotten rid of desires and possessions.

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Some people, who are totally deluded by material things, might need to practice meditation to control their Senses. Living alone in solitude and discarding desires and possessions is meant to take away sensory distractions when one is trying to concentrate his mind on Atman.

6:11-13: Having firmly fixed in a clean place, his seat, neither too high nor too low, and having spread over it the kusa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other; sitting there on his seat, making the mind one-pointed and restraining the thinking faculty and the senses, he should practice Yoga for selfpurification. Let him hold his body, head and neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of his nose, without looking around.

These three shlokas are self-explanatory. The main goal of Yoga is self-purification, by which He means restraining the Mind and Senses (giving up weaknesses such as desire, attachment and possessiveness).

5:27: Shutting out external objects, fixing the gaze between the eyebrow, equalizing the outward and inward breaths moving in the nostrils, the sage who has controlled the Senses, Mind and Intellect, who is solely pursuing liberation, who has cast away desire, fear and jealous rage, he verily is liberated (from the evils of Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala-Samsara).

The above shloka from BG Chapter Five rightfully belongs in BG Chapter Six. To those Sanyasin who do not have the mental strength to give up their selfish desires, insecurity, and jealous rage, Lord Krishna gives some advice as to how to steady his mind. First he should control his roving eyes and focus them between his eyebrows.

Then he should control his hankering breath by means of Pranayama, a part of Astanga Yoga, in which one expands his life force by means of control of breath. By learning to control his roving eyes and hankering breath, which represent the organs of Senses, he would slowly learn to control his other Senses, Sense Organs and mental faculties, namely the Mind and the Intellect. Then he should give up selfish desire for sense objects; fear of losing or not having them, and jealous rage for other's success. Once he has accomplished these feats, he attains peace of mind here on earth and freedom from the fetters of rebirth.

6:14-15: Serene and fearless, firm in the vow of Brahmachari, subdued in mind, he should sit in Yoga thinking on Me and intent on Me alone. Keeping himself ever steadfast in this

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manner, the Yogi of subdued mind attains the Peace abiding in Me and culminating in Nirvana.

These two interpolated shlokas have the tenor of the Bhagavatha credo, and must be a mutated version of earlier Upanishadic shlokas.

The proof of this is in the fact that the word Nirvana is an Upanishadic concept and the following 14 shlokas are about Atman and Brahman.

Nevertheless, the intent of these shlokas is to urge the Yogi to subdue his impulses and desires and focus on Atman/Brahman/Ishwara to attain ultimate peace and tranquility.

The Yogi must moderate his habits 6:16-17: Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much or for him who abstains too much from eating; it is not for him, O Arjuna, who sleeps too much or too little. For him who is moderate in eating and recreation, temperate in his actions, who is regulated in sleep and wakefulness, Yoga becomes destroyer of pain.

Moderation in everything one does creates a stable mental state that is conducive to Yoga.

The Self-realized person 6:18: When the disciplined mind rests in Atman alone, free from desire for objects, then is one said to be established in Yoga.

6:19: 窶連s a lamp in a windless place does not flicker' - this is the simile used for the disciplined mind of a Yogi practicing concentration on the Self.

6:20: When the mind, disciplined by the practice of Yoga, attains quietude, and when beholding the Self by the self, he is satisfied with the Self.

6:21: When he feels that supreme bliss which is perceived by Buddhi and which transcends the Senses, and wherein established he never moves from Reality (Brahman).

6:22: And having gained which, he thinks that there is no greater gain than that, wherein established he is not shaken by the heaviest affliction.

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6:23: Let this disconnection from union with pain be known by the name of Yoga. This Yoga should be practiced with determination and with undistracted mind.

The purpose of disciplining the mind with Yoga is to achieve disconnection from the pain one gets from his contact with sense objects and to establish contact with Atman, the seat of Absolute Bliss.

When one attains that Bliss, he becomes indifferent to all other pleasures of life.

The Anthem of the doctrine of Yoga 6:24- 29: Abandoning without reserve all desires born of Sankalpa, and curbing in, by the mind, all the senses (desires) from all sides; with his intellect set in firmness (Buddhiyukta) let him attain quietude little by little; with the mind fixed on the Self let him not think of anything. By whatever cause the wavering and unsteady mind wanders away, let him curb it from that and subjugate it solely to the Self. Supreme Bliss verily comes to that Yogi whose mind is calm; whose passions are pacified, who has become one with Brahman and who is sinless. Constantly engaging the mind this way, the Yogi who has put away sin, attains with ease the infinite bliss of contact with Brahman. His mind being harmonized by Yoga, he sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself; he sees the same in all.

These six shlokas explain the fundamentals of Yogic meditation and its result. A Yogi who has pacified his mind by the practice of Yoga attains the Bliss of Brahman. How does one know that he has attained it? The Self-realized Yogi sees himself in others and others in himself; and he is same-sighted on all living and non-living objects (5:18-19; 6:8-9).

6:32: That Yogi, O Arjuna, is regarded as the supreme, who judges pleasure or pain everywhere, by the same standard as he applies to himself.

As you can see, this Upanishadic shloka followed 6:29 above before 6:30-31 were added by the Bhagavathas. The phrase "the same standard as he applies to himself" is the foundation of the Upanishadic doctrines.

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Two Bhagavatha shlokas 6:30-31: He who sees Me everywhere and sees all in Me, he never becomes lost to Me, nor do I become lost to him. He who, established in oneness, worships Me abiding in all beings, that Yogi lives in Me, whatever may be his mode of living.

Once again, these two shlokas must have been interpolated later by the Bhagavatha scholars to convert the Upanishadic Gita into the Bhagavatha Gita. Here Lord Krishna replaces Brahman as the object of Mind's focus, which, in fact, does not happen till BG Chapter Ten. The word "worships" -Bhajaty- is the clue to the later addition. Up to now Bhakti has been nowhere in sight. Bhaktiyoga is yet to be refined and introduced into the BG. Arjuna expresses doubt 6:33-34: Arjuna expresses doubt: This Yoga of equanimity taught by you, O Madhusudana - I do not see any stability for it, because of restlessness of the mind. The mind verily is, O Krishna, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. I deem it as hard to control as the wind.

Here Arjuna is referring to the Dwandwa of the mind engendered by the force of the Gunas. Once the mind gets entangled with sense objects, it would not let go or walk away from them. That is why Lord Krishna has been warning all along that one must control his Senses and stabilize his Mind by girdling it with Buddhi.

6:35-36: Lord Krishna reassures: Doubtless, O mighty-armed, the mind is restless and hard to control (due to the force of the Gunas); but by practice and non-attachment (withdrawal of Senses), O son of Kunti, it can be controlled. Yoga is hard to attain, I concede, by a man who cannot control himself; but it can be attained by him who has controlled himself and who strives by right means (Yoga).

In this shloka Lord Krishna counters the claim of Brahmanism that one is totally helpless in the face of the force of the Gunas. Lord Krishna recommends Yoga as the means to overcome the force of the Gunas: detachment from sense objects and giving up fruits of action.

Some degree of will power is needed for one to control his desire for, attachment to, and possessiveness of sense objects. For example,

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most of us are impulsive buyers. We go into a departmental store, see some attractive stuff and we buy it on impulse. Now desire has conquered good judgment of our Mind and Intellect. There are several ways one could bring control over impulsivity such as this. Let your Mind connect with your Buddhi. One's Buddhi would then suggest the following: 1. Postpone the buying: One would say to himself, "I very much would like to buy this, but let me think about it for a while. The sale is still on for four more days and I have four days to think about it.

2. Question the basis for buying: One could ask himself: Is this item absolutely essential for me? If the answers is no, then he would not buy it.

3. Return the stuff: Even if one has succumbed to the temptation, he still has time to take corrective action. He can return the stuff and let go of it.

4. Try to manage without the item in question: One can ask himself, "Can I manage my life with what I already have? Why should I complicate my life by getting another item?"

When we follow one or more of the above advice, our Mind becomes Buddiyukta. Now we have learned to say "NO" to our Senses (desires).

Exercising even a little bit of will power results in our gaining more will power as time passes. Gradually, our Mind would feel more control over our Senses. Will power is nothing but the mind functioning under the power of Buddhi.

It is better to try and fail than not try at all 6:37-39: Arjuna said: He who is unable to control himself, though possessed of faith, whose mind deviates from Yoga, what end does he meet, O Krishna, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga? Fallen from both (failing to control Senses and failing to achieve perfection), does he not perish like a rent cloud, without any hold, O mighty-armed, deluded in the path of Brahman? Deign to dispel completely this doubt of mine, O Krishna; for there is none but Yourself who can destroy this doubt.

Very often, when people fail at something, they go to the other extreme. What happens to people who fail to control their Senses and

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Mind in spite of sincere attempts to do so? Are all their efforts a total waste? Should they go back to their old ways?

6:40-43: Lord Krishna said: O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; for, the doer of good, O my son, never comes to grief. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and having lived there for countless years, he who falls from Yoga is reborn in the house of the pure and prosperous. Or he is born in a family of wise Yogis only; a birth like this is verily very difficult to obtain in this world. There he gains the knowledge acquired in his former body, and he strives more than before for perfection, O joy of Kurus.

Lord Krishna wants to encourage everyone to keep trying His Yoga even if they fail to achieve Self-realization in this lifetime. It is better to try and fail than not try at all. He says that when it comes to practicing Yoga, nothing is wasted. It is like putting aside money in a savings account. Even if one stops depositing in that account regularly, whatever has been deposited so far will grow and come to use in the future. One can carry his merits through the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. At the end of each cycle, his accumulated merit will be higher than in the previous cycle because he becomes more righteous in each succeeding birth, until he finally achieves Moksha.

Lord Krishna downgrades Vedic sacrifices, Vedic priests and ritualists 6:44-46: By that very former practice he is led on in spite of himself. Even he who merely wishes to know Yoga is superior to the performer of Vedic rites. The Yogi who strives with assiduity, purified from sins (Karmaphala) and perfected through many births reaches then the Supreme Goal (Nirvana).

The Yogi is deemed superior to ascetics, superior to men of knowledge (of the Vedas) even; he is also superior to ritualists.

Therefore be you a Yogi, O Arjuna.

Having given Brahmins and Kshatriyas a discourse on Yoga, Lord Krishna declares in these three shlokas the superiority of Yoga over Vedic rituals; and of Yogis over Ascetics, learned men (Vedic scholars), and Vedic ritualists. He gives a body blow to Vedic ritualists by saying that he who merely wishes to know Yoga is superior to Vedic ritualists!

Whereas a Yogi, purified of Karmaphala, can expect to attain Moksha, the ritualists of Kamya Karma, can expect only perpetuation of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

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6:47: And of all Yogis, he who worships Me with faith, his inmost Self merged in Me, - him I hold to be the most devout.

This last shloka of BG Chapter Six was clearly interpolated by the Bhagavatha scholars at a later date to convert the Upanishadic Gita into the Bhagavatha Gita. The Yogi's focus is shifted from Brahman to Me (Lord Krishna), and the words "worship" -Bhakti- and FaithShraddha- are brought into the equation.

Further downgrading of Brahmanism The following anti-Vedic shlokas are inserted here to illustrate how the Upanishadic seers did not miss an opportunity to downgrade Brahmanism.

8:28: The Yogi who knows this (the northern and southern paths of Sun) transcends the fruits of meritorious deeds attached to the study of the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities (tapas), and charity (daana), and attains the supreme primeval abode.

The final blow to Brahmanism came in the form of four allegorical Upanishadic verses: 15:1-4: They speak of an eternal Ashvattha tree with its root above and branches below. Its leaves are Vedic hymns; he who knows it is the knower of the Vedas. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense objects are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots engendering action (sacrificial rites). Its real form is not perceived as such in this world, neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firmrooted Ashvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment, then that Goal should be sought for, going whither, they do not return again. I seek refuge in the Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth Eternal Activity.

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These four anti-Brahmanism Upanishadic shlokas have been explained by many Brahmanic scholar in such a way that they defy simple logic or common sense. In fact, they have been turned into essentially proVedic verses!

There are two possible explanations to these four enigmatic shlokas:

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1. The above allegorical eternal Ashvattha tree represents Samsara -the cycle of birth, death and rebirth- as per the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. Keep in mind that Kamya Karma promotes Samsara (9:20).

Its roots go above to the heavens where Vedic gods reside, as well as below in the world of men where they engender Kamya Karma. In other words, this tree of Samsara is rooted in heavens above and earth below. We read in 3:11 how performers of the sacrifices and the Devas cherished each other.

Its leaves are Vedic hymns, which are sung during the sacrificial rites.

He who knows this tree of Samsara is the knower of the Vedas, the Vedic priests. The Vedic priests believed in the hereafter (18:42).

Its branches, nourished by the Gunas (in which are rooted Kama, Krodha, Sanga, Moha, and Dwandwa), go upwards and downwards ending in buds which are sense objects. The upward branches seek heaven (hereafter) and downward branches seek wealth and power (here on earth) (2:43).

Obviously, these shlokas mean that Samsara is promoted by Kamya Karma rooted in the Vedic doctrines of Gunas and Karma, performed by ritualists and dedicated to the Vedic gods.

Its real form is not perceived as such in this world, neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. This sentence might mean that Samsara is a mysterious entity whose real form, its beginning, its end, and its origin are difficult for one to perceive or fathom. Samsara is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Cycles have neither a beginning nor an end.

What should one do to this eternal tree of Samsara that is firmlyrooted in Vedic sacrifices (Karma) performed by men below on earth and dedicated to the Devas above in heaven, and nourished by the Gunas? Hack it asunder with the strong axe of non-attachment (Yoga).

Chop it down. Destroy it! Then make it your Goal to reach that Abode from which you do not return: the Abode of Primeval Purusha (Lord) from where all Eternal Activities stream forth. In other words, make it your goal to attain Nirvana, liberation from the cycle of Samsara and merger with the Primeval Purusha (Brahman).

2. An somewhat less plausible interpretation of these four shlokas is as follows: The eternal Ashvattha (sacred) tree represents Sanaatana

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Dharma, which has been turned upside down by the Vedic performers of Kamya Karma.

Now the enigmatic sentence: Its real form is not perceived as such in this world; neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its existence. This statement probably refers to the fact that no one in the post-Vedic society seems to know the real form of Sanaatana Dharma, its end, its beginning or its fundamental principles. Why is that? Well, it has been corrupted beyond recognition by its current practitioners (also read 4:15). What should one do with this eternal tree of Sanaatana Dharma that has been turned upside down? Well, you know the answer. Chop down this tree rooted in Karma and nourished by the Gunas (desire and attachment) with the strong axe of non-attachment (Yoga). Then, instead of seeking the Brahmanic Goal of heaven and rebirth (Samsara), that Goal (Brahman) should be sought from which there is no return (Nirvana). In other words, chop down the tree of decadent Brahmanism rooted in the doctrine of Karma and nourished by the Gunas, by the axe of Yoga, and seek the Abode of Brahman (gain Knowledge of Brahman). In other words, destroy the old Dharma based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, which seeks heaven, and establish in its place a whole new Dharma based on the doctrines of Yoga and Knowledge of Brahman, which seeks Nirvana.

The very next shloka gives the clue to both the above explanations: 15:5: Free from pride and delusion, with evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in Atman, their desires being completely stilled, liberated from Dwandwa known as pleasure and pain, undeluded reach that Goal Eternal (Nirvana).

This is almost the repetition of shloka 2:45. In order to achieve Nirvana, the ritualists must overcome various weaknesses rooted in the Gunas and associated with Kamya Karma: pride, delusion, attachment, desire and Dwandwa. Thus un-deluded, one realizes Atman and attains Nirvana.

The final shloka of the Upanishadic revolution The Upanishadic revolution ends with the following three shlokas in the Bhagavad Gita in the form of the advice given by the Upanishadic Lord Krishna to Arjuna. They squarely counter the Brahmanic advice given to Arjuna in 18:59-60, which tell Arjuna that he was totally helpless in the face of his Gunas and that he was being egoistic in refusing to fight (18:59-60). Here we go:

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18: 61-63: The Lord (who is more powerful than the Gunas) dwells in the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, and by His Maya (and not the Gunas) causes all beings to revolve as though mounted on a machine.

Seek refuge in Him alone (in order to overcome the force of the Gunas) with all your heart (in which dwells the Atman), O Bharata. By His grace you will gain Supreme Peace (here on earth) and Eternal Abode (hereafter). Thus has wisdom more profound than all profundities been declared to you by Me. Reflect upon it fully and act as you choose.

"The wisdom more profound than all profundities" obviously refers to the Upanishadic doctrines of Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga.

The phrase "Reflect upon it fully and act as you choose" empowers Arjuna to exercise his will, and counters the Brahmanic phrase, "You shall do helplessly against your own will" (18:60). When one has liberated himself from the Guna-rooted weaknesses, he is a free man who can think for himself and act as he chooses. He is no longer the slave of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma.

Further elaboration of Upanishadic philosophy The Upanishadic seers continued to consolidate their gains by elaborating the Upanishadic philosophy, which for obvious reasons, were scattered in various chapters by the final editor of the Bhagavad Gita. For example, the exposition of Sankhya philosophy, consisting of Purusha and Prakriti are strewn in Chapters Seven, Eight, Thirteen and Fifteen in haphazard manner. Further elaborations on Brahman are made in Chapters Eight, Twelve, Thirteen, Fifteen and Eighteen. It is possible that many of these Upanishadic topics were added by various seers over a period of time for the sake of either furthering their own agendas or completeness of the Upanishadic philosophy. Some of these esoteric topics, which have little relevance to the Upanishadic revolution, are: Kshetra and Kshetrajna (Chapter Thirteen) and northern and southern paths of sun related to the time of death (Chapter Eight). At this point, the Bhagavatha scholars take the ball of revolution to overthrow Brahmanism and run with it.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Bhagavatha Revolution The Bhagavatha creed The Bhagavatha creed was centered on Lord Vāsudeva and its mode of worship was known as Bhakti, which has come to mean personal devotion. The word Bhagavatha means worshippers of Bhagavan, the Lord. The cult of Vāsudeva was popular in western part of north India, at least during the second century B.C. E., as evidenced by the inscription found on the column of Heliodorus situated in Besnaga, five miles from Sanchi, India. This pillar, dated around 110 B. C. E., refers to Vāsudeva as the God of gods. With this and several other similar evidences in mind, it is not hard to imagine that the Bhagavatha revolution in the Bhagavad Gita, with the goal to establish a broadbased Dharma centered solely on Lord Krishna, might have taken place at the latest in the second century B. C. E. Somewhere along the way, the identity of Vāsudeva (11:50) merged with that of Lord Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna identifies Himself with Vāsudeva (7:19: "Vāsudeva is all that is" and 10:37: "Of the Vrishnis I am Vāsudeva.").

Krishna is an ancient name in India 1. In the Vedas, someone by the name of Krishna was Indra's favorite enemy, being the god of the local tribe named after him.

2. Chandogya Upanishad mentions Krishna as son of Devaki and student of Ghora Angirasa (Ch. Up.: 3:17:6).

3. In the Mahabharata epic, he is a prince of Yadava confederacy. In it he is very much the defender of Brahmanism.[1] 4. In the Original Gita, playing the role of Arjuna's charioteer and mentor, prince Krishna reminds Arjuna of his Kshatriya duty as per the Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (3:5, 27, 33; 18:40-45).

5. In the early part of the Upanishadic Gita (BG Chapter Two), he is the pious Guru of Arjuna who imparts him the Knowledge of Atman and Buddhiyoga (2:39-40); and he is also the stern Guru who condemns the Vedas (2:46, 52-53), Vedic sacrifices (2:47-49), and Vedic ritualists (2:41-44).

6. In the later Upanishadic Gita (Chapter Four and Three), He becomes the Lord of beings (4:6) who took birth to establish Dharma whenever there is decay of Dharma and rise of Adharma (4:7).

7. In the Bhagavatha Gita (Chapters Seven, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Fifteen, Eighteen) His stature grows exponentially. He becomes

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Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, the Eternal, Divine Purusha, the Primeval Deity, the Unborn, the Omnipresent (10:12).

8. He is declared as Parameshwara, the Supreme God above all (11:3).

9. In the later Brahmanic part of the Bhagavad Gita, He uttered proGuna and pro-Yajna verses (Chapters Fourteen, Seventeen and Eighteen).

10. Lord Krishna became the avatar of Vishnu only after the Bhagavatha Dharma evolved into Vaishnavism several centuries later.

In the text of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Vishnu was only the foremost among Adityas, the Sun gods (10:21). He was clueless that some day he would be an avatara of Vishnu.

From Monism to Monotheism It is obvious that the Upanishadic Gita was taken over by the Bhagavatha Dharma in order to establish a broad-based Dharma centered on one Supreme God with Lord Krishna as His earthly avatar.

The Bhagavatha revolution converted the monistic Upanishadic Dharma into monotheistic Bhagavatha Dharma, the predecessor of Vaishnavism. Lord Krishna replaced Brahman and Atman as the Supreme Divinity (10:12, 20); Bhaktiyoga replaced Buddhiyoga as the means of worship (9:26-27); and Moksha (liberation from Samsara followed by union with the Supreme Lord) replaced Nirvana as the goal of worship (9:28; 18:66). In the Bhagavatha Gita, Lord Krishna's stature begins to grow exponentially.

"I am the essence of everything in the Universe" To establish His supremacy over everything in the Universe, Lord Krishna places himself at the head of every class of living and nonliving entity known to mankind. Unlike Brahman's "Not this, not this!"

Lord Krishna says, "I am this and this!"

7:7: There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Dhananjaya. All this is strung on Me, as rows of gems on a string.

7:8-10: I am the liquidity in the water, O son of Kunti; I am the radiance in the moon and sun; I am syllable Om in all Vedas; sound in ether and manliness in man. I am the sweet fragrance in earth and brilliance in fire; I am the life in all beings and austerity in ascetics. Know Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed of

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all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent; the splendor of the splendid.

At Arjuna's urging, Lord Krishna describes how He is foremost of all various characters, entities and pantheon of Brahmanism, such as Adityas, Maruts, Vedas, Devas, Rudras, so on and so forth (10:19-41).

He ends Chapter Ten by saying: 10:42: But what need is there, O Arjuna, for this detailed knowledge? I stand supporting this whole Universe with a single fragment of Myself.

Lord Krishna replaces Brahman/Atman as the new Divinity The reason for the need for the new Divinity was explained in the Bhagavad Gita itself: 12:5-7: Greater is their difficulty whose minds are set on the Un-manifested (Brahman)for the goal (Nirvana) of the Unmanifested is very hard for the embodied (Atman) to reach.

The Upanishadic concepts of Atman and Brahman were so complex that even learned Vedic scholars had difficulty understanding it (2:29).

Naturally, the Upanishadic Dharma must have been very inaccessible to ordinary people. The Bhagavatha scholars recognized that both Atman and Brahman were Nirguna, meaning, they were free from the negative attributes (desire, attachment, delusion) of the Gunas. But they did not possess any positive attributes (Saguna) other than being the seat of Bliss engendered by complete lack of desire combined with self-sufficiency. And so they were ideals only in the sense that they helped Yogis to overcome the Gunas that bound their Atman to sense objects. Devoid of positive attributes, neither Atman nor Brahman offered Itself as an ideal Godhead for one to identify with, emulate and worship.

10:12: Arjuna says: You are the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, the Eternal, Divine Purusha, the Primeval Deity, the Unborn, the Omnipresent.

Simultaneously, Parameshwara took over Atman in the body (10:20; 15:15).

10:20; 15:15: I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings.

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From this point onwards, Lord Krishna, the avatar of Parameshwara became the Ultimate Deity.

Lord Krishna becomes Parameshwara (Supreme Lord) The Bhagavatha seers declared Lord Krishna as the Supreme Lord in 11:3.

11:13: There in the body of the God of gods, Pandava then saw the whole universe with its many divisions drawn together into one. Then Lord Krishna displays His Universal Form to Arjuna. The whole of BG Chapter Eleven is dedicated to describing Lord Krishna's Universal Form. The point is everything in this universe exists in Him. An enthralled Arjuna exclaims: 11:38: You are the Primal God, the Ancient Purusha; You are Supreme Abode of all this; You are the Knower of the knowable and the Supreme Abode; this Universe is pervaded by You, O Being of infinite form!

Bhaktiyoga becomes the means of worship They combined Yoga with Bhakti -devotion. Like Yoga, Bhakti did away with sacrifices and mindless rituals. Thus devotional worship (Bhakti) combined with Yoga of detachment from sense objects (Sanyasa) and selfless acts (Tyaga) became Bhaktiyoga. The combination of Bhakti and Yoga would bring Bliss here on earth and Moksha hereafter. From now onwards, all deeds would be dedicated to Lord Krishna ("Krishnarpana"). In contrast to the ostentatious Yajnas of Brahmanism, Bhaktiyoga is epitome of simplicity.

10:10: To those who lovingly worship Me with steadfast devotion, I give the Yoga of Buddhi by which they come to Me. 9:14: Glorifying Me always, striving firm in vows, prostrating before Me, they worship me with devotion, ever steadfast.

9:26-29: Whoever offers Me with devotion (Bhakti), a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I accept that, the pious offering of the pure in heart.

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18:55: By Bhakti he knows Me in truth, what and who I am; then having known Me in truth, he forthwith enters into Me. Look what Lord Krishna asks people to offer Him: a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or just water! Not herbs, ghee, grain, or animals. The end result of Bhaktiyoga is that the Bhakta gets closer and closer to Lord Krishna and increasingly becomes godlier in nature here on earth. Instead of the Upanishadic "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman!) the Bhakta would say, "Aham Krishnasmi!" (I am Lord Krishna!).

Lord Krishna declares His supremacy over the doctrine of the Gunas 7:12-14: Whatever beings are of Sattva, of Rajas, or of Tamas, know them to proceed from Me. Still, I am not in them; they are in Me. Deluded by these threefold disposition of Prakriti the Gunas, this world does not know Me, who am above them and immutable. Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the Gunas, is hard to surmount; but those who take refuge in Me alone, they cross over this illusion.

All one has to do to get over the force of the Gunas is to take refuge in the Lord.

Lord Krishna says worship Me if you want to defeat the doctrine of Karma 8:16: All worlds including that of Brahma are subject to rebirth, O Arjuna; but on reaching Me, O Kaunteya, there is no rebirth.

What Lord Krishna is saying is: If you want to attain Moksha, worship Me. If you want to continue Samsara, worship the Devas. He explains this further: 9:20: The knowers of the three Vedas, the drinkers of Soma, purified from sin, worshipping, Me by sacrifices (see my comment below), pray for the way to heaven. They reach the holy world of the Lord of the Devas (Indra) and enjoy in heaven the celestial pleasures of Devas.

Note here that the phrase "worshipping Me by sacrifices" was certainly "worshipping Devas by sacrifices" before this shloka was corrupted by some later Bhagavatha as well as Brahmanic authors. The Bhagavatha scholar must have misunderstood the fact that this and the following

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two verses were meant to show that drinking Soma and worshipping Devas promotes return to earth (Samsara), and worshipping Lord Krishna alone, and no one else, ends it. By replacing the word Devas with the word Me, the true meaning of the whole verse was thoroughly perverted. Also, the phrase "purified from sin" was certainly added later by a Brahmanic scholar, who wanted one to believe that worshipping by Vedic sacrifice purified one's sins. Vedic sacrifices in which Brahmins drank Soma always worshipped Vedic gods and prayed for the way to heaven (2:43). Vedic priests never worshipped Lord Krishna by sacrifice. Therefore shloka 9:20 should have read as follows to make sense of it as well as 9:21-25 that follow it: 9:20: The knowers of the three Vedas, the drinkers of Soma, worshipping Devas by sacrifices pray for the way to heaven.

They reach the holy world of the Lord of the Devas (Indra) and enjoy in heaven the celestial pleasures of Devas.

However, 9:21: Having enjoyed the vast world of heaven, they return to the world of mortals on exhaustion of their merits (good Karmaphala); thus abiding by the injunction of three Vedas, desiring objects of desires (lordship and heaven) they come and go (are born again and again).

Instead, those who worship Lord Krishna alone are rewarded: 9:22: To those men who worship Me alone, thinking of no other (such as Devas), who are ever devout, I provide gain and security.

9:23-25: Even those devotees, who, endowed with devotion, worship other Devas, worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, but by wrong method. I am verily the Enjoyer and the Lord of all Yajnas. But these men do not know Me in reality; hence they fall. Votaries of Devas go to Devas (and return again and again); votaries of Pitrus (ancestral spirits) go to the Pitrus; to the Bhutas (ghosts) go the Bhuta worshippers; My votaries come to Me (never to be born again).

Note here repeated phrase Me alone. "But these men do not know Me in reality; hence they fall" refers to ritualists who worship Vedic Devas according to the doctrine of Karma.

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Again, Lord Krishna condemns the Vedic ritualists who worship the Devas: 7:20: Those whose discrimination (Intellect) has been led astray by this or that desire go to other gods, following this or that sacrificial rite, constrained by their own nature (Gunas).

7: 23: But the fruit that accrues to those men of small intellect (ritualists) is finite. The worshippers of the Devas go to the Devas (and keep on returning to earth). My devotees come to Me (never to return to earth).

12:6-7: But those who worship Me, renouncing all actions in Me, regarding Me as the Supreme Goal, meditating on Me with single-minded Yoga- for them whose thought is set on Me, I become very soon the deliverer from the ocean of mortal Samsara (they will attain Moksha).

And by dedicating all fruits of actions to Lord Krishna, His Bhakta goes to the Lord's Abode hereafter.

Lord Krishna absorbs Vedic Devas into Himself Lord Krishna downgrades and absorbs both the Vedic Devas and Rishis (Vedic sages) into Himself and retires them forever.

10:2: Neither the hosts of Devas nor the great Rishis know My origin (they are deluded by their Gunas). For in every respect I am the source of Devas and the great Rishis.

Umm! Now Devas as well as Rishis are not much superior to other lesser humans! Devas and Rishis suffer from Guna-rooted weaknesses, too.

Arjuna affirms: 11:21: These hosts of Devas indeed enter into You; some in awe extol You with joined palms....

11:39: You are Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, the Moon, Prajapati, and the Great-grandfather. Salutation, salutation to You, a thousand times, and again and again, salutations to You.

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11:15-16: Arjuna says: I see all the gods, O God, in Your body and hosts of all grades of beings; Brahma, the Lord, seated on the lotus, and all the Rishis and celestial serpents. I behold You in infinite in forms on all sides, with countless arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes, neither Your end nor middle nor the beginning do I see, O Lord of the Universe, O Universal Form!

With these verses the Vedic gods as well as all relics of Brahmanism were retired forever into obscurity! Lord Krishna, the Son of the soil, the local Hero, incarnation of Supreme Ishwara is now in charge.

Incidentally, in the latter part of the Mahabharata epic the five Pandava princes, who were born from the boons of Vedic gods Yama, Vayu, Indra, and Ashwins, become subordinate to Lord Krishna.

Arjuna, born from the boon of Indra, the supreme Vedic god, humbly surrenders to Lord Krishna (2:7; 11:40-42).

Lord Krishna downgrades Vedic sacrifices 11:48: Neither by the study of the Vedas, nor by Yajnas, nor by charity, nor by rituals, nor by severe penances, can this form of Mine be seen in the world of men by anyone else but you, O hero of the Kurus.

Again, 11:53: Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gift, nor by sacrifice can I be seen in this form as you have seen Me. Just as the Upanishads declared that one cannot obtain Brahman by the Vedic rituals, the Bhagavathas declared that one cannot obtain Moksha by Vedic Lord Krishna takes over Vedic Yajnas 9:16: I am Kratu, I am Yajna, I am Svadha, I am the medicinal herb, I am Mantra, I am also the clarified butter, I am fire, I am oblation.

9:24: I am verily the Enjoyer and the Lord of all Yajnas. But these men do not know Me in reality; hence they (ritualists who perform Kamya Karma dedicated to Devas) fall.

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9:27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you gift away, whatever austerity you practice, do it as an offering to Me (and not to the Devas).

How is this different from worshipping the Devas by sacrifice?

9:28: Thus you shall be free from the bondage of actions yielding good and bad results (you will overcome the doctrine of Karma). With the mind firmly set in the Yoga of renunciation (detachment from sense objects and giving up fruits of acts) and liberated, you shall come to Me. The above shlokas effectively overthrow the doctrine of Karma.

Lord Krishna warns dissenters and critics of His Dharma Anticipating severe jealousy and opposition from the vested interests Lord Krishna issues repeated warnings to those who dare to oppose Him or His teachings or His Dharma. He calls them demonic, deluded, fools, vain and what not.

7:15: The evil-doers, the deluded, the lowest of men, deprived of discrimination by Maya (the power of the Gunas) and following the way of the Asuras (demons), do not seek refuge in Me. 9:3: Men devoid of devotion to this Dharma do not attain Me, O oppressor of the foes, but return to the path of the mortal world.

9:11-12: Fools disregard Me as one clad in human form, not knowing My higher nature as the Great Lord of beings. They are of vain hopes, of vain actions, of vain knowledge, devoid of discrimination, partaking verily of the delusive nature of Rakshasas and Asuras.

16:18-20: Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious people hate Me in their own bodies and those of others. Those cruel haters, worst among men in the world, I hurl these evil-doers forever into the wombs of the demons only. Entering into the Demonic wombs, the deluded ones, in birth after birth, without ever reaching Me, they fall into a condition even lower.

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That must have been enough to silence even His worst critics! Note how Lord Krishna uses the term "O oppressor of the foes" to hint what happens to people who become His foes.

Lord Krishna condemns Ascetics Lord Krishna admonishes Ascetics who indulge in extreme austerities: 17:5-6: Those men who practice violent austerities (Tapas) not enjoined by the scriptures, given to hypocrisy and egoism are doing so by force of lust and attachment. Fools that they are, they torture their bodily organs and Me, too, who dwell within the body. They are of demonical resolve.

Lord Krishna condemns Nastik Materialists or Lokayatas 16:8-11: They say, ‘the universe is unreal, without a moral basis, without God, born of mutual union, brought about by lust; what else?' Holding this view, these souls of small intellect, of fierce deeds, rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction. Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they work with impure resolve. Beset with immense cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of lust as the highest, and feeling sure that that is all there is to it.

Lord Krishna lumps the materialists with the worst kind of Kshatriya ritualists and His critics and condemns them permanently to the womb of demons (16:19-20). Even Lord Krishna could not save them all!

Lord Krishna throws the doors of His Dharma wide open to one and all.

7:21: Whatever form any devotee with Faith wishes to worship, I make that Faith of his steady. Endowed with that Faith, he engages in the worship of that form, and from it he obtains his desires, which are being actually ordained by Me. 9:29-33: I am the same to all beings; to Me there is none hateful, none dear (I do not discriminate against people of any particular Varna). But those who worship Me with devotion, they are in Me and I am in them (regardless of their Varna). Even if a man of the most sinful conduct worships Me with undeviating devotion, he must be reckoned as rightly resolved. Soon does

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he become a man of righteousness and obtains lasting peace. O Kaunteya, know for certain that My devotee never perishes. For those who take refuge in Me, O Partha, though they may be of inferior birth -women, Vaishyas and Sudras-even they attain the Supreme Goal. How much more then the holy Brahmanas and devoted royal saints! Having come into this transient, joyless world, do worship Me. By taking refuge in Lord Krishna and dedicating one's deeds to Him, one overcomes the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma and thus transcends the Varna system.

Lord Krishna explains who is dear to Him In shlokas 12:13-19 Lord Krishna describes characteristics of Bhaktiyogis in exactly opposite terms he uses to describe Vedic ritualists and declares: 12:20: Verily, those who follow this immortal Dharma described above endued with Shraddha, looking upon Me as the Supreme Goal, and devoted, are exceedingly dear to Me. Finally Lord Krishna gives his devotees His most profound word and solemn pledge The following three Bhagavatha shlokas, 18:64-66, counter the Brahmanic shlokas 18:59-60 embellishing the Gunas and Karma. We read in the previous chapter how the Upanishadic seers countered them in shlokas 18:61-63.

18:64: Listen again to My supreme word, the profoundest of all.

You are beloved to Me and steadfast of heart; and I shall tell you what is for your good: Fix your mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice to Me; prostrate before Me; so shall you come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are dear to Me. Now Lord Krishna pronounces His Ultimate Bhagavatha Shloka of the Bhagavad Gita: "Give up all Dharma and surrender unto Me alone!"

18:66: Abandon all Dharma and surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all evil (Grief and Dwandwa engendered by

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the doctrine of the Gunas; and Karmaphala and consequent Samsara, engendered by the doctrine of Karma). Do not grieve.

In one stroke of genius, Lord Krishna establishes a New Dharma; appoints Himself as its Godhead; gives people Bhaktiyoga (devotion combined with Sanyasa and Tyaga) to overcome the evils of Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala engendered by the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma; exhorts people of all Dharmas to abandon their Dharmas (Brahmanism and all its sub-Dharmas such as Varnashrama, Jati and Kula Dharmas; Buddhism, Jainism, Asceticism, Lokayata, Ajivika, etc.) and join His Dharma to attain Sukham (Bliss) here on earth and Moksha hereafter. Lord Krishna is the Dharma (14:27). Those who take refuge in Him alone will not need any other Dharma. For, that would enable one to overcome the doctrines of the Gunas leading to elimination of Shokam and Dwandwam here on earth; and to cancel-out Karmaphalam, which would lead to breaking the bonds of Karma and attaining Moksha. By overcoming the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, one is beyond the clutches of Varnashrama Dharma, the hierarchical class system. In the eye of the Lord, all people who surrender to Him alone, regardless of his class, caste or family, are equal.

This Ultimate (Charama) shloka, asking everyone to abandon all Dharma, has baffled all Brahmanic commentators as evidenced by their confusing, misleading and long-winded commentaries on it. It is obvious that either they are not aware of the Revolutionary context and intent of this shloka, or they choose not to acknowledge it. The word Dharma here has been interpreted by every Brahmanic commentator in such a way that it is impossible to understand the true meaning of the shloka. None of them explains what the word "papam evil" stands for. Let me give you here interpretations of this shloka by five Brahmanic Gurus: 1. Sri Shankaracharya: "'All Dharma or acts of righteousness' -Dharma (righteousness) here includes Adharma (unrighteousness) also. What is sought to be conveyed is the idea of freedom from all works (Dharma here means Karma)." (Page 616: Srimad Bhagavad Gita Bhashya of Sri Shankaracharya. Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras. Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrior.

Sri Shankaracharya follows this comment with sixteen pages of explanations quoting various Shruthis to justify this. He simply misses the point that Bhaktiyoga, the essential part of the New Dharma contains Sanyasa (Jnanayoga) and Tyaga (Karmayoga). Giving up all

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Karma does not make any sense at all. He misses the whole idea that Lord Krishna is the New Dharma. His call is for all people to abandon their current Dharmas (religions) and join His Dharma based on the doctrines of Lord Krishna as the avatar of Ishwara and Bhaktiyoga as the means to worship Him. 2. Sri Ramanujacharya: 'Relinquishing all Dharmas means the complete relinquishment of the sense of agency, possessiveness, fruits, etc. in the practicing of Karma, Jnana and Bhakti Yogas in the way instructed, and the realizing of Me as the agent, object of worship, the means and the end. It means that relinquishment is not of all devotional duties but only of the sense of agency and the fruits. This is the Shastraic relinquishment of all Dharmas.' (Page 598. Sri Ramanuja Gita Bhashya. Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras) Sri Ramanujacharya follows the above commentary by giving an "alternative explanation" which consists of giving up various specific Yajnas such as Agnistoma, which, according to him, stand for the word Dharma.

3. Swami Chidbhavananda: "The embodied being is also an embodiment of Karma. That Karma is called Dharma which proves helpful to the Jivatman in his God-ward progress. On the attainment of Godhood that helpful Dharma itself has to be renounced, its purpose being fully served." (Page 957-958, The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras) Swami Chidbhavananda follows this with four and one half pages of complicated argument to justify his conclusion.

4. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: "The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge and processes of religion -knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of attachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, summarizing Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Krishna. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him." (Page 750. Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Published by ISKCon, Los Angeles, Ca.)

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The Swami follows this with two pages of commentary extolling Lord Krishna and Bhaktiyoga.

5. Swami Dayananda Saraswati: "Giving up all Karmas, take refuge in Me alone. I will release you from all Karma; do not greive. This is considered to be the last verse of teaching in the Gita. The teaching of the Gita begins with the statement, 'You are grieving over what does not deserve to be grieved for -asochyan anvasochastvam, and it ends with 'Do not grieve -ma suchah.' So it is clear that the whole purpose of the Gita is to remove sorrow. Here it is said, 'sarva Dharman parityajya -giving up all dharmas, mam ekam sharanam vraja -take refuge in Me alone.' We have to see what Dharma is here." The Swami then follows this with the explanation that, "This means the complete giving up, parityaga of all Karmas..... There is only one way -actions are given up by sheer knowledge, jnana-karma-sanyasa.... Atma is not an agent, karta, nor is it an object, karma, of any action, nor connected in any way to any kind of action. That is the nature of atma, and therefore, it is by nature free from karma. Actionlessness, then, is equated with moksha." (Page 373. Bhagavad Gita, Published by Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore, India.)

The Swami then follows this explanation with seven full pages of detailed discourse, mostly elaborating on Sri Shankaracharya's commentary.

All Brahmanic commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita basically follow this line of thinking when explaining various shlokas that deal with overthrowing Brahmanism and replacing it with a New Dharma centered on Lord Krishna. Let us review this in greater detail in the next chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------[1] J. A. B. van Buitenen, University of Chicago Press, 1975: MB: 2 (26) 43:15, page 104: Referring to Shishupala before slaying him, prince Krishna says, "This fool, who must want to die, once proposed himself for Rukmini (Krishna's wife) but the fool no more obtained her than a Sudra a hearing of the Veda!"

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN The Battle for the Soul of the Ancient Dharma

We read in the Chapters Two to Six of the Bhagavad Gita how the Upanishadic seers countered Brahmanism shlokas and attacked all aspects of Brahmanism. The Upanishadic revolution to overthrow Brahmanism did not go unchallenged. By hook or by crook the Brahmanic scholars reinstated Brahmanic doctrines of the Gunas and Karma (Yajna) into the Bhagavad Gita. They appealed to one of the most basic of human instincts: the need to dominate other human beings. As they had done in the past (3:35; 18:47-48), they used Lord Krishna Himself as the vehicle to bring about the counter-revolution.

The result is that Lord Krishna comes across as talking from one side of His mouth now and from the other side the next moment.

We read earlier how the Upanishadic seers countered Brahmanic shlokas in BG Chapters Two and Three. They countered 2:37 with 2:38; 3:5 with 3:7-9; 3:27 with 3:28-29; 3:33 with 3:34; 3:35 with 3:37-41. Let us now review the battle a little bit closer.

Brahmanism shores up Varnashrama Dharma We read in the chapter titled Brahmanism Defends Itself how Brahmanic seers attempted to shore up Varnashrama Dharma (1:38-44; 2:4-5; 3:35; 18: 47-48) in reaction to the ascendance of heterodox Dharmas. This time around they did so to counter Upanishadic tenets of equality of all classes (5:18-19). The following shloka decrying Varnasankara (class admixture) was cleverly inserted

by Brahmanic seers between two Upanishadic shlokas which promoted Karmayoga.

3:24: These worlds would perish if I did not do action; I should be the cause of confusion of progeny and their destruction.

In 4:13, Lord Krishna said that he created the four Varnas based on the distribution of the Gunas and Karma only to show that he neither desired nor gained any Karmaphala due to that particular action. The shloka 3:24, warning about the dangers of Varnasankara (class admixture), is clearly a clever later interpolation by the pro-Vedic lobby to bolster the cause of Varnashrama Dharma (also read 1:38-44). The breakdown of class system due to ascendance of Para-

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Dharmas was fraught with the danger of decimation of the upper classes. This shloka, implying that Lord Krishna is constantly working to keep upper class women from co-mingling with lower class men, was a desperate attempt to reverse this trend. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The constant elevating theme of the Upanishadic Gita is equality of all living beings (5:18-19) due to the fact that Atman is the same in all, and that one should cross over the Gunas and break the bonds of Karma, both of which are the bases of Varnashrama Dharma. Lord Krishna mentions twice that even the worst kind of person can overcome his Karma by surrendering to Him (4:36; 9:30). In His eyes no one is "unwanted progeny" because the Atman in everyone is the same. "Unwanted progeny" is a Brahmanic obsession.

Here is another example of Brahmanism's surreptitious attempt to shore up Varnashrama Dharma: 18:46: He from whom is the evolution of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, man attains perfection.

This Upanishadic-like shloka, projecting Brahman as the divinity, was skillfully and very cleverly inserted between two pro-Varnashrama Dharma shlokas (18:45, 18:47) which are part of the Original (Brahmanic) Gita, which promoted the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma. Here the argument is forwarded that one must worship Brahman with his duty designated by the Varnashrama Dharma and attain "perfection." This goes squarely against the central theme of both Upanishadic and Bhagavatha Gita which simply say that the Gunas are the enemies (3:37) and must be crossed over as they promote attachment and desire (2:45; 3:37-40; 14:19-27). Nirguna Brahman or Saguna Ishwara were what one took refuge in to get away from the Gunas. Brahman was never part of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. When Lord Krishna said that one does not earn Karmaphala when one dedicates his deeds to Brahman (5:10), He did not mean deeds based on one's Guna. He meant quite the opposite.

Giving up selfish motive in all actions means renouncing Guna-rooted desire and attachment.

Shoring up the doctrine of the Gunas Even though Lord Krishna never gets tired of telling people to "cross over the Gunas" the Brahmanism seers decided to reintroduce the "Science of the Gunas" into the Bhagavad Gita (18:19). They

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attempted to legitimize the doctrine of the Gunas by placing the following four Upanishadic shlokas (14:1-4) before the fourteen shlokas which embellished the three Gunas (14:5-18). These four Upanishadic shlokas originally belonged with the subject of Purusha and Prakriti (BG Chapter Fifteen). By transposing them here, the Brahmanic authors made one think that the knowledge of the "Science of the Gunas" would give one Self-realization! Exactly opposite is the truth. The fact is that the Gunas destroy wisdom and Knowledge of Atman (3:43). The perverse logic of Brahmanism seems to be, "It is not enough if you have Knowledge of Atman, you should also have Knowledge of the Gunas!"

14:1-4: I shall again declare that supreme knowledge, the best of all forms of knowledge; by knowing which, all the sages have passed from this world to the highest perfection. They who, having devoted themselves to this knowledge, have attained to unity with Me, are neither born at the time of creation, nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution. My womb is the Mahat Brahma (Prakriti); in that I place the germ; thence, O Bharata, is the birth of all beings. Whatever forms are produced, O Kaunteya, in any wombs whatsoever, the great Brahma (Prakriti) is their womb, I the seed giver.

The above four Upanishadic shlokas, promoting Prakriti, are followed by the description of the three Gunas rooted in it, which serves no purpose whatsoever except to inject the doctrine of the Gunas into the Gita, and thus promote the hiearchical class system. This goes squarely against what Guru Krishna said in 2:45: Nishtraigunyobhava Arjuna! Cross over all three Gunas, Arjuna! As we will read below, these fourteen shlokas are followed by numerous shlokas promoting both Yajnas and Gunas in Chapters Seventeen and Eighteen. Since the promoters of the doctrine of the Gunas assigned themselves the Satvic Guna, they had vested interest in promoting the doctrine of the Gunas.

14:5: Sattva, Rajas, Tamas -these Gunas, O mighty armed, born of Prakriti, bind the indestructible (Atman) embodied one fast in the body.

14:6: Of these, Sattva, being stainless, is luminous and unobstructive. It binds, O sinless one, by creating attachment to happiness and knowledge.

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14:7: Know Rajas to be of nature of passion, of source of thirst and attachment (to sense objects and action); it binds fast, O Kaunteya, the embodied one to attachment to action.

14:8: But know Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Bharata, by heedlessness, indolence and sleep.

14:9: Sattva binds one to happiness, and Rajas to action, O Bharata, while Tamas verily veils knowledge and binds one to heedlessness.

14:10: Sattva asserts itself, O Bharata, by predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas over Sattva and Tamas; and Tamas over Sattva and Rajas.

14:11: When the light of knowledge beams through all the gateways of the body, then it may be known that Sattva is predominant.

14:12: Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest, longing -these arise, O best of the Bharatas, when Rajas is predominant.

14:13: Indiscrimination, inertness, heedlessness and delusion these arise, O joy of the Kurus, when Tamas is predominant.

14:14: If the embodied one meets with death when Sattva is predominant, then he goes to the pure worlds of those who know the highest.

14:15: Meeting death in Rajas, he is born among those attached to action; and, dying in Tamas, he is born in the womb of the deluded.

14:16: The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvika and pure; verily the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas.

14:17: From Sattva arises wisdom; from Rajas arises greed; and from Tamas arise heedlessness, error and ignorance.

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14:18: Those who are fixed in Sattva go upwards; the Rajasikas remain in the middle; and the Tamasikas, abiding in the functions of the lowest Guna, go downwards.

Obvious from the above is that those Brahmins of Satvic Guna go to heaven and those of Tamas go to hell.

Lord Krishna demolishes the doctrine of the Gunas once again Reading the above shlokas, na誰ve readers could easily believe that Lord Krishna was endorsing the Gunas. There was no reason to legitimize and embellish the three Gunas when Lord Krishna has repeatedly blamed the Gunas as the fertile bed of all human weaknesses such as desire, attachment and delusion, and they must be crossed over if one wished to attain Self-realization. They were the real enemies which must be slain (2:45; 3:37-43). Here is how Lord Krishna Himself demolishes the Gunas once again in the shlokas that follow immediately: 14:19-20: Lord Krishna said: When the seer perceives no agent other than the Gunas, and knows Him (Atman/Lord) who is higher than the Gunas, he (overcomes the Gunas and) enters into My Being. The embodied one having crossed over these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is free from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains immortality.

The only way to attain Moksha is to take refuge in the Lord by recognizing Him as higher than the Gunas which are the source of birth, death, decay and pain. Note here how Lord Krishna includes all three Gunas in this equation, just as he did in 2:45; 7:12-15 and 14:21.

14:21: Arjuna asks: What are the marks, O Lord, of him who has crossed over the three Gunas? What is his conduct? And how does he rise above the Gunas?

14:22: Lord Krishna replies: He, O Pandava, who hates not light, activity and delusion, when present, nor longs after them when absent.

In this shloka Lord Krishna recommends a totally indifferent attitude towards the Gunas. Here the word light stands for Satvic Guna, activity refers to Rajasic Guna, and delusion refers to Tamasic Guna.

Hating something or longing for it are signs of Dwandwa, a function of

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the Gunas. So, when a person overcomes the force of the Gunas, he becomes indifferent even to the doctrine of the Gunas. A truly enlightened person will not gleefully proclaim, "I am of Satvic Guna!"

As we will read later in this chapter, this was exactly what Brahmanic scholars did.

14:23: He who sitting like one unconcerned, is moved not by the Gunas, who knowing that the Gunas operate, is firm and moves not.

"Do not be moved by the Gunas! Resist them." This advice is exactly opposite of Brahmanic advice in 3:5, 27, 33; 18:59-60, which says that one is totally helpless under its spell and it is pointless to resist it.

When the mind experiences desire for, attachment to, and possessiveness of sense objects, one must recognize them as indicative of the Gunas in operation and therefore must not yield to them. Lord Krishna says in this shloka that one should be firm and unmoving in the face of the force of the Gunas. The advice in the above shloka is also consistent with other anti-Guna shlokas (3:28-29; 3:34). So, how does a man behave when he has overcome the force of the Gunas?

14:24: Balanced in pleasure and pain (he is free from Dwandwa), Self-abiding (he is focused on Atman), viewing a clod of earth, a stone and gold alike (he is same-sighted on material things); the same to agreeable and disagreeable (he shows equanimity in his relationships), firm (free from Dwandwa), the same in censure and praise (doe not care what others in the society think of him).

The person who has crossed over the Gunas becomes immune to Dwandwa. He achieves evenness, equanimity, and equilibrium. And because he achieves Atman, he achieves same-sightedness at all sense objects. We read about this in 5:18-19; 6:8-9, 29. Besides, he doesn't care what others think of him!

14:25: The same in honor and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all (selfish) undertakings -he is said to have risen above the Gunas.

His mind has attained equanimity, evenness, and equilibrium who has overcome the Gunas. Note here how Lord Krishna recommends transcending the Dwandwa of honor and dishonor. Prince Krishna of Brahmanism told Arjuna that dishonor is worse than death. Also note

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here how the modern day Swamis and Gurus run after politicians and the rich looking for honor and attention.

14:26-27: And he who serves Me with unswerving devotion, he, going beyond the Gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. For I am the Abode of Brahman, the Immortal, and the Immutable, the Eternal Dharma and Absolute Bliss.

In the above two Bhagavatha shlokas, Lord Krishna now equates Himself with Brahman, to attain whom one goes beyond the Gunas. He even claims Himself as the Eternal Dharma in which the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma have no place. From the above nine anti-Guna shlokas it is clear that the shlokas 14:5-18 embellishing the three Gunas in detail were inserted by the Brahmanism scholars only to shore up the doctrine of the Gunas.

Brahmanism seers promote Karma (Yajna) Brahmanism seers promoted the doctrine of Karma by inserting into the Gita shlokas promoting Yajnas. This they did in spite of the Upanishadic Lord Krishna's repeated assertion that to an enlightened man Yajnas are useless (3:17-18). One example of this is seen in the shloka immediately following the one in which Lord Krishna declared that Brahmins should identify with Him and follow His path and he would fulfill their desires: 4:12: Longing for success in Karma (sacrifices) on earth, they (ritualists) worship the gods; for quickly is success born of action in the world of man.

An unwary reader could easily misinterpret this shloka as Lord Krishna endorsing performance of Yajna to worship Vedic gods. The opposite is true. Lord Krishna repeatedly warns readers that worshipping the Devas is wrong and it would lead to rebirth (9:21; 23; 25).

In the last part of Chapter Sixteen, Lord Krishna chastised Brahmins who indulged in Kamya Karma and warned them: 16:21-24: Triple is the gate of hell, destructive of the self -lust, anger and greed; therefore should one abandon these three.

The man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness, O Kaunteya, practices what is good for him and thus goes to the Supreme Good. He who acts (performs sacrifices) on the impulse of desire by casting aside the ordinances of scriptures does not

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attain perfection. Nor does he attain happiness, or the Supreme Goal. Therefore, let the scriptures be your authority in deciding what ought to be done (while performing Yajna) and ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinances of scriptures you should act here.

Even Lord Krishna could not convince Brahmins to give up mindless sacrificial rites. Just as nicotine addicted cigarette smokers cannot easily give up smoking, they decided to sabotage Lord Krishna's proscription against Kamya Karma. They inserted the entire BG Chapter Seventeen (with the exception of 17:5-6) to restore sacrificial rites and to further embellish the role of Gunas. In other words, the purpose of this chapter was to reintroduce the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. This they did by posing two rather deceptive questions to Lord Krishna: Arjuna asks (obviously prompted by pro-Brahmanism priests): 17:1: What is the nature of Shraddha (faith) of those, O Krishna, who though disregarding the ordinance of Shashtras, perform sacrifice with dedication (Nista)? Is it one of Sattva, Rajas or Tamas?

Obviously, the real purpose of this shloka is to reintroduce Yajnas (Karma) and the Gunas in the text of the Gita. This shloka has two questions. The first question is blatantly impertinent. If I were Lord Krishna, I would respond, "Why would any idiot want to perform sacrifices with Shraddha knowing well it is forbidden by the ordinances? Did you not hear what I said in 16:21-24?" This question defies Lord Krishna's repeated warning that the only way to perform all actions, including sacrifices, is without the taint of the Gunas, meaning, desiring no fruits (2:47-49; 4:15-17); without Dwandwa; and without the delusion of the Gunas, and only in accordance with the ordinances of scriptures. That says it all. There was no need to ask about the nature of Faith of someone who performs Yajna with dedication against the ordinances of Shastras!

Without waiting for Lord Krishna's answer to the first question, they ask a blatantly disingenuous second question, "Is it one of Satva, Rajas, or Tamas?" Nothing could be more devious than this in a holy scripture. Obviously they wanted these three words in there!

Whereas Lord Krishna asked Brahmins to have Shraddha (Faith) in the Atman (4:39-40), these Brahmins attempted to reinstate Shraddha in

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the mindless Yajnas performed against scriptural ordinances (17:28)!

The questions that arise from this shloka are: why would any one want to perform Yajnas when they know that they are prohibited?

Who are these Yajnas dedicated to anyway? Well, they were dedicated to the Vedic Devas, not to Lord Krishna (17:4). What is the goal of these Yajnas? No one knows.

What is the point in knowing the Guna-mode of these Yajnas, except perhaps to restore them to those who anoint themselves with Satvic Guna and so they can perform them to make a living?

The entire Chapter Seventeen, with the exception of 17:5-6, is dedicated to describing various aspects of sacrifices in the three modes of the Gunas: Shraddha, food, Yajna, austerity, speech, and gift.

Sanyasa and Tyaga as related to Yajna The Brahmanism seers continued their fixation on the Gunas and Karma (Yajna) into BG Chapter Eighteen. This chapter begins with another disingenuous question posed by Arjuna (obviously put in his mouth by them) with the intention of introducing the topics of Karma and Gunas: 18:1: Arjuna says: I desire to know severally, O mighty armed, the truth of Sanyasa, O Hrishikesa, as also of Tyaga, O slayer of Kesi.

First of all, Lord Krishna has already explained what Sanyasa and Tyaga are in BG Chapters Three to Six. They are the two essential elements of Yoga. In spite of this, Arjuna wishes to "know the truth" which means all that Lord Krishna has said so far about them is false.

In response to this Brahmanic Lord Krishna says: 18:2: The renunciation of Kamya Karma, the sages understand as Sanyasa; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all works as Tyaga.

Thank you very much! Well, according to Lord Krishna of the Upanishads, Sanyasa means renouncing desire for and attachment to sense objects in addition to renouncing Kamya Karma. Having said this, the Brahmins go on to restore ritualistic Yajna.

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Brahmanism restores Yajnas 18:3: Some (obviously the Upanishadic) sages say that all sacrifices should be relinquished as evil (3:17-18), while others (Brahmanic sages) say that Yajna, Daana (charity) and Tapas (austerity) should not be relinquished.

Note here how Lord Krishna declared in 11:48 and 11:53 that one cannot obtain the Lord by means of the Vedas, Yajnas, Tapas, Daana, etc. Regardless, they now declare: 18:5: Acts of Yajna, gift and austerity should not be given up, but should be performed; Yajna, gift and austerity are purifying to the wise.

Nowhere is it mentioned as to why the ritual of Yajna was purifying to the wise. As Lord Krishna explained in 3:10-11, Yajnas are a way of thanking gods for their benevolence. Subsequently Lord Krishna replaces the Vedic gods with Brahman; and still later with Himself. If a person is already wise, meaning he has attained Self-realization, what is the need for him to perform Yajna? In 3:17-18 Lord Krishna declared that Yajnas are useless to people who have realized the Self.

Obviously, the ritualists are using Yajna to make their living.

Nevertheless, accepting Lord Krishna's recommendation, they say that Yajnas should be performed in the spirit of Yoga (also read 2:47-49): 18:6: But even these actions should be performed giving up attachment and the fruits, O Partha; this is My certain and best belief.

Upanishadic concepts are Brahmanized!

We read in BG Chapters Three and Four how the Upanishadic seers "Upanishadized" Yajnas and their components (3:15 and 4:24). Now it is the turn of Brahmanic seers to "Brahmanize" Yoga and all its components.

The Brahmanic scholars feel compelled to divide even abandonment of sacrificial rites into three modes of the Gunas: 18:4: Learn from Me the truth about abandonment, O best of the Bharatas. Abandonment, verily, O best of men, has been declared (by Brahmanic scholars) to be of three kinds.

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18:7: Verily, the abandonment of any obligatory duty (sacrifices) is not proper; such abandonment out of ignorance is declared to be Tamasic.

18:8: He who from fear of bodily trouble abandons action because it is painful, thus performing Rajasica abandonment, obtains not the fruit thereof.

18:9: Whatever obligatory work is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also fruit, that abandonment is deemed Satvica.

First, they declare that abandonment of Yajna is not proper. Secondly, they assign Tamasic Guna to abandonment out of ignorance. The only ignorance they know of is related to Ahamkara. Thirdly they assign Rajasic Guna to Yajna abandoned because it is painful. Why a Yajna is painful is not explained. Perhaps one is afraid of getting burned by the fire! Fourthly, they declare that a person, obviously a Brahmin, performing Yajna abandoning attachment to sense objects and also fruits, is of Sattvic Guna. Any person who has given up attachment to sense objects and to fruits of action is a Yogi. A Yogi, by definition, is one who has crossed over all Gunas. By means of the convoluted logic of the above shlokas, the Brahmins have now succeeded in declaring a Yogi as of Sattvic Guna. Or, a person who performs Yajna in the spirit of Yoga is of Sattvic Guna. This claim completely disregards the fact that to be a Yogi one must transcend all three Gunas (2:45; 14:19-20).

18:10: The Tyagi imbued with Sattva, and a steady state of mind devoid of doubt (Dwandwa), does not hate performance of disagreeable work, nor attached to the agreeable work (sacrifices).

What this means is that a person performing selfless sacrificial rites is of Satvic Guna. In other words, all Yogis are of Satvic Guna. According to the Upanishads, however, Yoga is nothing but an effort to overcome the taint of all three Gunas (2:45). The moment one is described as being of certain Guna, he is very much deluded, and not enlightened even if he of Satvic Guna.

18:11: It is indeed impossible for an embodied being to renounce action entirely. But he who renounces the fruit of action is regarded as one who has renounced.

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In the above shloka, the first part is true when the word Karma stands for any action. However, if the word stands for Yajna, no one can defend it. Obviously the Brahmins feel a strong need to keep performing Yajna if only to make a living.

Knowledge, Action and Agent in the three modes!

Now the Brahmins take up the Upanishadic doctrine Knowledge of Atman, action and the agent (the doer) and go on to divide them in the three modes!

18:19: Knowledge (of Atman), action and actor are declared in the science of the Gunas to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the Gunas; hear of them also as they are.

Knowledge of Atman is such a high state of realization (Samadhi) that to divide it into three modes is fraudulent at worst and bizarre at best (18:20-22). The shloka 18:22 describing Knowledge of Atman in Tamasic mode is nothing short of outrageous.

Now they divide Action into three modes (18:23-25). Yajna performed according to ordinance, without attachment to sense objects and to the fruits of action, without Dwandwa, is described as Satvic in nature.

In other words, a Yogi is again declared as one with Satvic Guna, completely disregarding the fact that, by definition, to be a Yogi one must cross over all three Gunas.

Now they describe the Agent or the Doer of action in three modes (18:26-28). The agent is nothing but the Gunas.

After explaining these, they describe Buddhi (Intellect) in the three modes of the Gunas (18:29-32). By its very definition, Buddhi stands for Wisdom. Designating Buddhi as belonging to Tamasic (ignorance) Guna (18:32) is beyond any reasonable person's comprehension. A Buddhiyukta mind that has overcome unsteadiness of Guna-induced Dwandwa is described as Satvic. By definition, a Buddhiyukta mind is one which has overcome Guna's functions -desire, attachment and possessiveness. Giving it the title of Satvic defies logic.

Now they describe firmness in the three modes of the Gunas (18:33-35). The firmness of a Yogi is described as Satvic in nature.

They now divide happiness into three Guna-modes (18:36-39).

Remember we read the word Sukham -Bliss of Brahman attained by

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means of Self-realization (5:21). Imagine dividing the Bliss of Atman and Brahman in the modes of three Gunas!

The Brahmanic seers follow the above shlokas describing the duties of each class of Varnashrama Dharma as per the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma (18:40-47). The Brahmanic shloka 18:48 says: One should not abandon the duty to which one is born, though it is attended with evil; for all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke.

In effect, this Brahmanic shloka says that one should not quit performing his socially designated duty just because such duty entails doing something considered as evil, such as killing. Performing his duty gains him good Karmaphala and heaven.

Whereas Brahmanism said that one is totally helpless with the Gunas and Karma.....

Shlokas 18:59-60 are from the Original Gita enunciating the Gunas and Karma. These shlokas say that everyone does helplessly whatever is dictated by the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma: 18:59-60: If filled with Ahamkara, you think, "I will not fight," vain is this, your resolve; your nature (Guna) will compel you.

Bound by your own Karma born of your nature (Guna), that, which from delusion (of your Ahamkara) you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against your will, O Kaunteya.

Upanishads: No one is helpless!

The Upanishadic seers shoot down the above Brahmanic assertion by means of the three shlokas which represent the wisdom more profound than all profundities: 18:61-62: Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, and

by His Maya causes all beings to revolve as though mounted on a machine. Seek refuge in Him alone with all your heart, O Bharata. By His grace you will gain Supreme Peace (here on earth) and the Eternal Abode (hereafter).

18:63: Thus has wisdom more profound than all profundities been declared to you by Me. Reflect upon it fully and act as you choose.

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What Lord Krishna is saying to Arjuna in the above the first two shlokas is that it is not the Gunas but the magic of the Lord that moves people. By taking refuge in the Lord alone dwelling within one's heart one can overcome the force of the Gunas. Whereas the Gunas lead to Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala, surrender to the Lord dwelling in the heart leads to Bliss here on earth and Nirvana hereafter. All beings "revolve as though mounted on a machine" due to the Lord's Maya (illusion, magic), the same Maya by which Lord Krishna overcame His Prakriti (4:6).

They follow these two shlokas by the last Upanishadic shloka in the Bhagavad Gita, which simply tells Arjuna to "reflect upon it and act as you choose" and not act by meek submission to the doctrine of the Gunas and Karma. When he takes refuge in the Lord, he overcomes the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, and so he is free to make his own decisions and act as he chooses. He is no longer just a puppet of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma as claimed by Brahmanism.

The Bhagavathas end the argument Now the Bhagavatha seers pick up where the Upanishadic seers left.

18:64-65: Listen again to My supreme word, the profoundest of all. You are beloved to Me and steadfast of heart; therefore I shall tell what is for your good. Fix your mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice to Me; prostrate before Me; so shall you come Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are dear to Me. Then Lord Krishna delivers His Ultimate Shloka; 18:66: Renounce all Dharmas and take refuge in Me alone; I shall liberate you from all evil (Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala associated with the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma). Do not grieve.

With this shloka, Lord Krishna eliminated all Dharmas of the land and became the Ultimate Dharma. He offered Himself as the One liberating people from the three evils (Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala) of the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, the foundation of Brahmanism.

This was Lord Krishna's finest hour.

Now you know the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita. Now you know the true intent of the Bhagavad Gita: to overthrow

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Brahmanism and all aspects of it: the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma; Varnashrama Dharma; sacrificial rites; supremacy of Brahmins and the Vedas. Now you know the true spirit of the Bhagavad Gita: to establish an enlightened, egalitarian Dharma centered on Lord Krishna, serving Him and humanity selflessly and worshipping Him with single-minded devotion.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Legacy of Brahmanism and the Need for Reforms Brahmanism and Bhaktiyoga are mutually exclusive As we read in the chapter titled The Original Gita, the main goal of Brahmanism was to promote Varnashrama Dharma based on the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma. Brahmanism encouraged all classes to indulge in sacrificial rites dedicated to various Vedic gods to gain Karmaphala in order to enjoy life here on earth and heaven hereafter.

This is how Brahmanic priests made their living.

The main intent of the Upanishadic and Bhagavatha Gitas was to uproot the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, the very foundation of Brahmanism. The main spirit of the Bhagavad Gita was to establish in its place an egalitarian society of enlightened people worshiping one God with Bhaktiyoga. Obviously, the goals of the Brahmanic Original Gita and the Bhagavad Gita are opposite to each other. Whereas Brahmanism stood for hierarchical class system (18:41-45), Lord Krishna stood for equality of all people (5:18-19). Whereas Brahmanism worshipped Vedic gods (4:12; 17:4), Lord Krishna recommended worship of One God (9:23; 18:66). Whereas Brahmanism indulged in ostentatious sacrificial rites (2:43), Lord Krishna recommended simple Bhaktiyoga (9:26). Whereas Brahmanism promoted the ritual-oriented Vedas (17:24), Lord Krishna promoted the thought-provoking Upanishads (15:15). However, the Brahmanic guardians of the Bhagavad Gita did everything within their power to perpetuate the agenda of the Brahmanism while taking full advantage of the prestige of Lord Krishna. How did they accomplish this?

Obfuscation has made it hard to understand and benefit from the wisdom Most of the currently available commentaries on the Gita are laden with incredible amount of verbiage, twisted logic, obscurantism, distortion, misinterpretation, misrepresentation and pages and pages of mind-boggling explanations geared to hide the their anti-Brahmanic intent, or to explain them away. To distract attention away from the anti-Vedic verses, various commentators of the Bhagavad Gita obfuscated their meanings, or turned them completely upside down to make them sound even pro-Vedic. Just read commentaries by various popular authors on blatantly anti-Brahmanism verses, 2:38-53 and

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15:1-4, and many others in BG Chapters Three and Four, and you will know for yourself. As we read in the chapter titled the Bhagavatha Revolution, blatant misinterpretation of the Ultimate Shloka 18:66 is an outstanding example of this. The net result of all these duplicitous manipulations and obfuscations is that the real context of the essential wisdom of the Gita is lost to almost all students of the Bhagavad Gita.

An example of Brahmanic misinterpretation Because of lack of space, I am not able to present many examples of Brahmanic distortions of revolutionary shlokas. Let us now review Brahmanic commentaries of just two shlokas related to the Upanishadic revolution. These two shlokas have nothing to do with Arjuna. However, when they are explained as if they are related to Arjuna, distortion and obfuscation are the result.

2:47: Your Adhikara (entitlement) is only to the performance of Karma (Yajna), and never to its fruits (which belong to Devas 3:11-12). Never be the cause of any Karmaphala (do not indulge in Kamya Karma). And yet, never become attached to inaction (nor become a monk or an Ascetic, who does absolutely nothing other than begging).

This shloka follows six shlokas condemning Vedic ritualists (2:41-44), the doctrine of the Gunas (2:45) and the Vedas (2:46). In this seminal shloka Guru Krishna lays down the Law to the Vedic ritualists who obsessively perform Kamya Karma desiring one sense object or another (lordship, wealth, pleasure, heaven, 2:43). The word Adhikara in this shloka refers to the entitlement claimed by various Kshatriyas to perform certain Yajnas, and desire (Kama) and expect appropriate rewards (Sankalpa) from them by virtue of their accomplishments in war and expansion of their territory. For example, to perform Ashvamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice), kings were first required to prove their entitlement by virtue of their accomplishments and conquests.

These entitlements were based on Vedic scriptures and were granted to them by various priests on their payroll.

The correct meaning, intent and context of this verse is that the Kshatriya ritualists' entitlement is only to the selfless performance of Yajnas (4:15), and not to its fruits, because, according to the true intent of Prajapati, the fruits belong to the Vedic Devas (3:11).

According to Guru Krishna, the Yajnas should be the means by which people "repay their debts" to the gods for their benevolence (3:12).

They were not meant to be drunken barbecue parties. However, once

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the selfish motive has been removed from the ritual of Yajna, one might totally lose interest in performing any Karma and become attached to inaction (akarmani). In other words, one might become a passive monk or an Ascetic, who does nothing at all. Guru Krishna does not want this undesirable side-effect from his verdict either. So he tells them, "Do not just become inactive once you give up performance of Kamya Karma." The phrase te sangosthva akarmani might even be a tongue-in-cheek way of saying do not join Sangha, the Buddhist order of monks. So, into what should these Kshatriyas channel their energies? "Well," said Lord Krishna. "Instead of performing mindless sacrifices, become Karmayogis: serve and guide the masses selflessly!" (3:19-22) This seminal shloka has no relevance whatsoever to Arjuna, or any level-headed warrior for that matter. Every warrior must go to war to win it to enjoy the fruit of his toil. Disinterested action in the battlefield results in total failure and defeat. As Lord Krishna said in 3:9, all actions except selfless Yajnas result in Karmaphala. As the Brahmanic shloka 2:37 said, "If you die fighting, you will go to heaven; if you win, you will enjoy the earth." The shloka 2:47 was an attempt by Guru Krishna to dismantle Kamya Karma, the supreme symbol of corruption of Brahmanism, and replace it with Nishkama Karma -disinterested Yajna. Here are five Brahmanic commentaries on this shloka, none of which refers to the true context of this shloka: Kamya Karma as a symbol of decadence of Brahmanism.

1. Sri Shankaracharya: "You have right only to perform work and not to undertake the discipline of knowledge. While doing works, do not think you have the right to claim their fruits. Never, in any state of life whatsoever, should you crave for the fruits of your works -this is the idea."

My comment: The statement "not to undertake the discipline of knowledge (Jnanayoga)" is baffling, indeed. In other words, according to the Acharya, Guru Krishna is telling Arjuna, "You have the right to perform work only but no right to acquire the Knowledge of Atman!"

Why should Arjuna or any person not have the right to Jnanayoga?

The sole purpose of the Bhagavad Gita, especially Chapter Four, is to give people Knowledge of Atman to attain Bliss of Atman here on earth and Nirvana/Moksha hereafter. Besides, the statement, "Never, in any state of life whatsoever, should you crave for the fruits of your works" means no one will ever indulge in any work for personal gain. This is a highly unrealistic goal for anyone to pursue. No one, except a monk,

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can do this. On the other hand, a Brahmins can effortlessly perform Yajna, like he is supposed to, without desiring for fruits.

2. Sri Ramanujacharya: "As for obligatory, occasional and desiderative acts taught in the Vedas and associated with some result or other, you, an aspirant established in Sattva, have the right only to perform them: You have no right to the fruits known to be derived from such acts. But acts done without an eye on fruits form My worship and become means for release." Sri Ramanujacharya goes on explaining this concept and ends his commentary with reference to Arjuna as follows: "With regard to inaction, i.e., abstaining from performance of duties, as when you said, 'I will not fight,' let there be no attachment to such inaction in you. The meaning is let your interest be only in the discharge of such obligatory duties like this war in the manner described above."

My commentary: The first sentence obviously refers to Vedic sacrifices, and it correctly identifies the true intent of the shloka, but it does not elaborate why Guru Krishna lays down this Law. The second sentence, however, obfuscates this by bringing in worship of Lord Krishna and Moksha. Up to this point in the Gita, the Lord, Bhakti and Moskha are not part of the equation. This is an Upanishadic shloka, not a Bhagavatha shloka. The sole purpose of this shloka is to teach the Vedic ritualists that performing Kamya Karma earns them bad Karmaphala, which promotes Samsara. Finally he says that Arjuna should fight without desiring for fruits. Imagine one waging a war saying, "I will fight for the sake of fighting! I don't care if I win or lose!"

3. Swami Chidbhavananda: "There seems to be an anomaly and defeat of purpose in this injunction of the Lord. Not an atom moves without a motive. Beings are all busy either to gain something or to ward off something unwanted. In the absence of such a motive no action needs be performed. But the Lord induces Arjuna not to be motivated and at the same time to be intensely active."

My commentary: At least, the Swami is honest enough to admit his genuine confusion. He does not seem to have a clue that this shloka refers to the horrors of Kamya Karma. He has no idea why the Lord told Arjuna what He did.

4. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: "There are three considerations here: prescribed duties, capricious works, and inaction.

Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one's acquired

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modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without sanction of authority, and inaction means not performing one's prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One who is attached to the result of his works is also the cause of the action. Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions."

My commentary: According to the Swami, the prescribed duties are "activities dictated by one's acquired modes of material nature," meaning the socially designated duty as per the Gunas assigned to his class. In other words, he is referring to one's actions dictated by his Varnashrama Dharma, which is rooted in the Gunas (modes of material nature). According to the Swami, Guru Krishna is telling Arjuna, "Do your duty as per your Varnashrama Dharma, but without attachment to the result." In fact, what Guru Krishna is telling Arjuna is, "Do not perform any Karma in the mode of the Gunas -desire for or attachment to fruits." Desire and attachment arise from the Gunas. He had just told Arjuna to get over all three Gunas in 2:45, the very foundation of Varnashrama Dharma. Once the Gunas are overcome, Varnashrama Dharma - "activities dictated by one's acquired modes of material nature"- does not exist.

5. Swami Dayananda Saraswati: "The word adhikara here means choice, your right, something over which you have power. This choice is only with reference to karma, the actions you perform. At no time, maa kadachit, however, is there a choice with reference to the results of actions, phaleshu. Thus with reference to all actions, you have a choice, but with reference to the results thereof, you have no choice whatsoever. This is a very simple statement of fact. Even for vaidika-karma there is a choice; you can do it, you need not do it, and you can do it differently."

My comment: The Swami follows this with thirteen full pages of complicated explanations. As you can see, the Swami refers to Vedic rituals in passing, but does not elaborate on it. Instead of interpreting this shloka with reference to Vaidika Karma only, the whole burden of not having any choice in the result is placed on poor Arjuna. This burden of doing anything whatsoever without the right to expect anything in return is impossible for any human being to carry.

However, a Vedic ritualist can perform a Yajna effortlessly without desiring anything in return.

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Another example of Brahmanic misinterpretation 4:15: Having known thus even the ancient seekers after freedom performed action; therefore do you perform action, as did the ancients in the olden times.

This shloka has nothing to do with Arjuna's dilemma. Here the word Karma means Yajna. It follows two shlokas in which Lord Krishna offers Himself as a model for Brahmins to follow when they perform sacrificial rites. He said whenever He did any deed, He did it in such a way that he neither craved for nor earned any Karmaphala (4:13-14).

The original purpose of performing Yajna, as the ancient seers did, was to clear the debt (Rna) to the gods for their benevolence (3:11-12). So, Lord Krishna wants contemporary priests to revert back to performing Yajna in the same spirit in which it was performed by ancient seers, and not in the manner it is performed now (4:16). In this and the rest of the shlokas in Chapter Four, Lord Krishna gives a crash course to Brahmins on proper ways to perform Yajna and not earn any Karmaphala. The message is, "Do not perform Kamya Karma, but perform Yajna without any selfish motive like the ancients did." The term "liberation" in this shloka does not stand for Nirvana of the Upanishads or Moksha of the Bhagavathas. It stands for the liberation from the "debt of gratitude" (Rna) owed to the Devas. "A thief verily is he who enjoys what is given by them (Devas) without returning them anything. The good who eat the remains of Yajna are freed from all sins; but the sinful ones who cook food only for themselves, they verily eat sin (earn bad Karmaphala) (3:13). Clearing the debt, by eating only the remnants of the Yajna, liberates one from this burden of debt. Not clearing the debt earns one sin or bad Karmaphala. The Self, the Lord, Bhakti, Moksha, Karmayoga, etc. are not in the picture as yet. Let us review five Brahmanic commentaries on this shloka: Sri Shankaracharya: "Knowing thus was work done even by the ancients, who have passed away and who sought liberation. Therefore do only work. Don't sit inactive; neither renounce. So, since even the ancients worked, work for mind's purification if your are ignorant of the Self; but if you know the Truth, work for the world's well-being, as was done by the ancients such as Janaka in excellent style."

My comment: Janaka was a royal age, who achieved Self-realization by abandoning Yajna and becoming a Karmayogi (3:20). He has no relevance to this shloka because, in this shloka Lord Krishna is merely asking Brahmins to perform Yajna selflessly, and not abandon it; at

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least, not yet in this chapter. As I mentioned above, gaining Self was not the goal of this shloka, even though it is the goal of the latter part of Chapter Four. The liberation mentioned in this shloka is that of freedom from Rna, indebtedness to god for their benevolence. The sole purpose of this shloka is to encourage Brahmins to perform Yajna selflessly.

Sri Ramanujacharya: "Actions of the kind described above were performed by the aspirants of old for liberation, who have become free from evil after knowing Me in this way. Therefore, having got rid of sins by knowledge of Me in the aforesaid way, perform actions in the same way as they were performed by those ancients like Vivasvan, Manu, etc. in olden times, in the way in which their performance was taught by Me even then."

My comment: As usual, the Acharya brings in the Lord into the equation. He also brings in Bhaktiyoga and Buddhiyoga (4:1). His comments have absolutely nothing to do with the shloka. Lord Krishna is not a Supreme God of the Bhagavathas yet.

Swami Chidbhavananda: "The knowing aspirant abandons egoism and desire; he does not abandon karma. The seekers of freedom walked this way through ages. This principle has not been enunciated newly for the sake of Arjuna. Why was he then confused on this issue?

There was nothing strange in it."

My comment: The Swami recognizes that this shloka forbids Kamya Karma. However, he does not explain what the word freedom stands for. Performing Yajna selflessly has no relevance to Arjuna.

Swami Prabhupada: "There are two classes of men. Some of them are full of polluted material things within their hearts, and some of them are materially free. Krishna consciousness is equally beneficial for both of these people..... Arjuna is here advised to act in Krishna consciousness, following the foot steps of Lord's previous disciples, such as Sun god Vivasvan, as mentioned herebefore."

My comment: As usual, the Swami brings in Lord Krishna and Bhakti into the picture to obfuscate the whole issue. Neither has any relevance to this shloka.

Swami Dayananda: "And what did the seekers, who had gone before, do once they had the knowledge? They performed action -purva karma kartam. Therefore, Krishna tells Arjuna that he should

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do the same -tasmat tvam karmaiva kuru -which meant that Arjuna should not take to sanyasa. He should do only what was to be done by him."

My comment: This commentary is part of two pages of explanation. In fact, as you read in the chapter titled Reforming Brahmins, the Chapter Four of BG was wholly dedicated to inducing Brahmins to give up Kamya Karma and take up Sanyasa (Jnanayoga). The first step towards this is to convert Kamya Karma into Nishkama Karma, as Lord Krishna did in this shloka. Since this shloka does not pertain to Arjuna, advising him not to take up Sanyasa is totally out of place here. By definition giving up Kamya Karma means taking up Sanyasa (18:2).

I can give numerous examples such as this to prove the point. But then I will need another whole book for that topic alone!

Hanging on to poor Arjuna!

As you can see, the ploy used by the old guard is to discuss Lord Krishna's comments as applicable to Arjuna only. In other words, the whole text is read only in the context of Arjuna's personal dilemma in the Mahabharata context only, and not in the historical context even though the verses related to condemnation of the Vedas (2:46, 52-53) and Kamya Karma (2:47-48); downgrading of Vedic Devas (9:20-25); condemnation of Vedic ritualists (2:41-44); decrying selfish desire, jealous rage, delusions, etc. associated with Kamya Karma (3:37-40); declaration of Lord Krishna as an avatar of the Supreme Lord born to establish a New Dharma (4:6-8); crash courses on proper ways of performing Yajna; attempts to wean Brahmins and Kshatriyas away from Kamya Karma; establishment of a New Dharma; display of Lord Krishna's cosmic form (11:8-40) and the like are blatantly irrelevant to Arjuna's immediate predicament, or Grief, Dwandwa and fear of bad Karmaphala resulting from it. These were clearly meant to address contemporary, acutely pressing historical and social issues, as exemplified by decadence of Brahmanism, which resulted in widespread Grief, Dwandwa and obsession with Karmaphala in the society; and consequent rise of Para-Dharmas. We are to believe that Lord Krishna was telling Arjuna, just as the Great War was to begin, what is wrong with the Vedic sacrifices and Vedic ritualists! Only extremely biased people bogged down by blind faith would refuse to see that the Bhagavad Gita was deftly used as a vehicle to address another pressing social issue, namely, wholesale disaffection of the masses with Brahmanic Dharma.

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The evil of caste system is the curse of Brahmanism Over the past two millennia, completely ignoring the egalitarian and inclusive message of the Bhagavad Gita, Brahmanism built on the foundation of Varnashrama Dharma a whole superstructure of caste system (Jati Dharma). In doing so, they appealed to one of the basest of human instincts: need to dominate other human beings considered as inferior. Over the centuries, untold atrocities were committed by "superior" castes against the people of "inferior" castes or "outcastes."

Gandhiji, who considered the Gita "my mother", dedicated his life to cleanse Hinduism of this worst kind of blot on humanity. He embraced the outcastes as Harijan, the people of Hari, Lord Krishna. Many proBrahmanism Hindus detested him (and still do) as the Gita's philosophy is too broad for their narrow minds; too complex for their ignorant intellects and too inconvenient for their brains that are frozen in ancient times. It is no coincidence that Gandhi was assassinated by a staunch pro-Brahmanism individual. To this day India abounds with people who claim to be pukka Hindus who detest people belonging to "lower castes." Over the centuries, religious leaders were quick to cash in on "miracles" of lower caste Mahatmas such as Kanaka Dasa and Santa Chokamele, but were very slow in letting them into Lord's temples. Such hypocrisy and discriminatory treatment has led to hundreds of thousands of "lower caste" people abandoning Hinduism and embracing seemingly more egalitarian or open-minded religions basically antagonistic to Hinduism. What is the reaction of fanatics of Hinduism to this threat? They build paramilitary outfits named after gods -Bajarang Dal, Ram Sena and the like, and mindlessly go on rampage: burning churches, killing missionaries, dismantling mosques and bad-mouthing other religions. They do not have the sense to stop for a minute and ask, "What are we doing that makes people want to abandon our Dharma? What can we do to make our Dharma better?" You will not find one Guru or Swami worth his salt who will condemn such mindless violence, or offer a sensible way out.

It is time to abandon caste system as well Maybe the Varna system had its place in India three thousand years ago. The caste system (Jati Dharma), the superstructure built on the foundation of Varna class system is an anachronism in the modern world; people no longer perform jobs dictated by their caste as was the case two thousand years ago. Now, in the fast shrinking world, people do whatever job they are most qualified to do as per their aptitude, education and training. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, enlightened people see everyone else in their own image and are 191

same-sighted on all people (5:18). We are all part of this incredible Creation (13:30). The same Supreme God resides in all of our hearts (10:20) regardless which class, caste, creed and religion we belong to.

This, above all, is the elevating and everlasting message of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is truly supra-sectarian. Its message is applicable to persons of every religion in the world. Lord Krishna does not belong to Hinduism alone. He belongs to everyone on earth.

Degradation of the priestly class Over the centuries, various Brahmanic rituals have been introduced into Hinduism in disguised forms. An unfortunate trend that is spreading like wild fire in modern India is the resurgence of mindless desire-driven sacrificial rites. Once again, like in the Vedic times, they are becoming more and more elaborate and expensive. Performing various Yajnas with great ostentation has become common among the richer classes. Lucrative sacrificial rites during wedding and Brahmopadesham ceremonies have become extremely elaborate affairs. No one can object to priests making decent money for their living like everyone else. However, Kama seems to have entered into this system in full force just as in olden days. I can attest to this from my personal experience over the past few years. Dealing with greedy priests has become a highly unpleasant experience. The throngs of pesky Pandas, which pilgrims encounter in various holy places of India, such as Puri, Dwaraka, Haridwar and Madurai, is an example of degradation of priestly profession in India.

The business of God Nowadays Brahmanic loyalists are busy building huge temples all over India. This frenzy to build temples seems more as a reaction to Muslims building mosques and Christians building churches all over India, allegedly financed by foreign money, than due to genuine piety.

Some of them have gone to obscene lengths to embellish these temples with ornate architecture. One such temple in India is entirely wrapped in gold! Other temples are busy adorning the idols with gold, platinum, precious jewels, and the like. Some of them are busy building gold or silver chariot to the gods. Bigger statues of various gods are springing up across India. Many Hindu temples have become multi-crore rupee industries, primarily geared toward deluding pilgrims into donating money, gold and jewelry. Nowadays, in certain temples people must buy tickets to see the God's image! People who pay more get preferences in idol's Darshan. As soon as one enters the temple,

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he is coerced into performing one expensive Pooja or another. More and more temples have realized that there is money to be made in the name of the Lord. One can no longer go to holy places without being thronged by pestering pandas. This degradation of worship of God is regrettable. Yet, religious leaders have done absolutely nothing to bring ethics and sanity into this business of God. It is not that they do not enjoy a great deal of prestige and authority amongst the deluded populace. It is simply that their moral compass has broken down and they simply don't give a damn. If Lord Krishna is still in these temples, one with true vision can see tears of grief running down His cheeks.

Hypocrisy has become a way of life With most Hindus going to temples, performing Poojas and Abhishekas of the idol, walking around the idol in circles, reading various sthothras, and indulging in other religious activities have become mindless rituals rather than sincere desire to identify with the Lord's attributes (Vibhutim) and to take refuge in Him in order to overcome the seven Guna-rooted weaknesses: Lust, jealous rage, arrogance, delusion, greed, envy and insecurity. Instead of asking the Lord to give them the wisdom to do the right thing, most people ask for better job, more income, success in examination, good son-in-law, or some such sense object. This was exactly the case with all Kamya Karma of Brahmanism. We see politicians and government officials in India, both high level and low, who apply big "Naamas" over their foreheads to show off their religiosity; read the Bhagavad Gita daily; bribe gods by donating large sums of illicit money to temples, while at the same time extorting bribes from poor people to perform even small services for which they were already paid salaries by the taxpayers. They dismiss these despicable acts by simply saying, "This is India! You can't survive here unless you do these things." I have had the misfortune of dealing with countless "religious" Hindu bureaucrats who had little humanity in them, leave alone divine qualities. In these people their religiosity did not translate into good behavior. These are the very people who are very often patronized by our Swamis and Gurus.

I know staunch Hindus both in India and America, who have ostentatious temples inside their palatial houses; who place the revered text of the Bhagavad Gita at the feet of the idol, and who extol the philosophy of the Gita, and yet are entangled to the hilt with their children, parents, in-laws, money, gold, jewelry, car, power, position, title, and every conceivable sense object. Hindus love to say, "Hinduism is not a religion! It is a way of life!" Now hypocrisy has become a way of life. When someone points out this hypocrisy, the excuse most Hindus give is, "Christians and Muslims are not any 193

better!" Echoes of Brahmanic shloka: "One's own Dharma performed imperfectly is better than another's Dharma performed perfectly!"

Dire need for reforms If Hindu religious leaders wish to recapture the true spirit of Lord Krishna's Dharma as enunciated by the Bhagavad Gita and save it from heading in the direction of the Orthodox Vedic Dharma, they must rise to the occasion, like the ancient Upanishadic and Bhagavatha revolutionaries did, and boldly address these pressing issues. Rituals of a hundred different types in our temples and homes, including elaborate Poojas and Yajnas, do not make a religion. Elevation of humanity to a higher spiritual plane does. Gentle and methodical reforms must begin in earnest before drastic actions become necessary. But first, Brahmanic Gurus must seek out and know the Truth. And that Truth will liberate them from the shackles of delusion and deception, and motivate them to do the right thing.

Prayer based on the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita O Lord! I abandon all Dharma and surrender unto you alone. Give me the strength to break the shackles of my desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of money, power and people. Give me the power to overcome Kama, Krodha, Mada, Moha, Lobha, Matsarya and Bhaya. Give me the wisdom to always do the right thing without selfish motive. Fill my heart with virtues of Love, Courage, Generosity, Kindness, Mercy, Humility and Truth. Let me become like You as long as I am here on earth and return to Your Abode hereafter.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita The question arises whether there is pragmatic wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita relevant to our day-to-day life in the modern times.

The answer is: of course there is. What does the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita boil down to? As we read, the three fundamental issues the Bhagavad Gita addresses are Shokam, Dwandwam and Karmaphalam. Each of the three Gitas hidden in the Bhagavad Gita offers wisdom to us which we can apply in our daily life. Here is how I have attempted to apply it in my psychiatric practice: 1. The wisdom of the Brahmanic Gita: If you do your socially and morally obligatory duty, you will not suffer Grief, Dwandwa or bad Karmaphala.

2. The wisdom of the Upanishadic Gita: If you act in the spirit of Buddhiyoga -detachment from sense objects and selflessness in action- you will be free from Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala.

3. The wisdom of the Bhagavatha Gita: If you cultivate Absolute Faith (Shraddha) in the Lord, worship Him alone with Bhaktiyoga (devotion combined with detachment from sense objects and selfless service), you will be free from Grief, Dwandwa and Karmaphala.

There is no need to give the reader long-winded lectures on how to apply these principles in real life. I have given below three case studies illustrating application of wisdom in each of these Gitas.

Application of the wisdom of the Brahmanic Gita: Performing one's morally obligatory duty Wisdom: Performing one's morally obligatory duty gives one freedom from Grief, Dwandwa and bad Karmaphala.

A case study: Mary, a fifty five year old married woman, came to see me for severe depression and anxiety of about two months duration.

She complained of sleeplessness, crying spells, mood swings, anguish, loss of interest, tension, loss of appetite and a host of other symptoms indicative of high level of stress. Obviously Mary was suffering from Grief and severe Dwandwa (stress). The question is: Fear of what bad Karmaphala caused his woman to suffer from Grief and Dwandwa?

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On further inquiry, she admitted to feeling trapped in a real-life stressful situation for several months, which went as follows: Being the only child of her parents who were in their nineties, the lady went to their house a mile away daily to make sure that they had their meals, taken their medications and had their daily bath. Whenever she went to their house to check on them she found the house a big mess.

However, every time she tried to help, her parents became irate, hostile and hateful toward her. They told her to get out of their home.

They cursed her and called her bad names. They threw various objects at her to force her out of their house. Being their only child, she had been raised by her parents very lovingly. She had never been abused verbally or physically by them like this. Even though her parents' doctor told her that they were both fairly senile, she was terribly hurt by their persistently hostile behavior. It became clear that her fear of rejection by them -bad Karmaphala- made it impossible for her to do the right thing. In other words, she worried about bad Karmaphala of her action, namely loss of love of her parents. She did not want to do anything that would upset them even if that action was the right thing to do.

As the situation got worse, she dreaded visiting her parents though she worried about them all the time. After each visit with her parents, she suffered panic attacks. Toxic emotions such as hurt, sadness, helplessness, frustration, and hopelessness kept building up in her mind. Soon she reached her breaking point and came down with severe depression and anxiety.

As this lady ventilated her painful emotions with me I listened to her empathically. Finding in me an empathetic listener, she broke down and cried profusely expressing her helplessness and frustration. This ventilation reduced the tension in her mind somewhat. I decided to give this lady a whole new perception of the situation.

After listening to her sorry plight patiently, I asked her, "Who are these people you are trying to help?"

She looked at me as though she wanted to ask me if I was deaf. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I told you! They are my parents!"

"No!!!" I chided her. "They are not your parents!"

She was baffled even more. She said forcefully, "I told you, they are my parents!"

"They were your parents," I said laconically. "Now they are your children."

This entirely new perception must have struck her like a bolt of lightening. The patient appeared stunned for a minute. "They are my

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children?"

"Yes. Now they are both senile to boot! They don't know what they are saying or doing. They are now acting like two children who obviously need someone to take care of them. If your five year old son acted like this, you would not hesitate to impose your authority on him, would you?"

"But I just can't stand them scold and curse me like they do! It upsets me. I just can't take it anymore!"

"Their scolding should not upset you if you do not think of them as your parents, and you realize that they don't know what they are doing, right? Besides, you are now a grown up, no longer their little princess!"

The lady was now smiling. The change of perception of her parents as helpless children seemed to have made some sense to her. She now recognized the reversal of roles.

Now I decided to tell her about the need to perform her daughterly duty without regards to personal consequences.

I went on, "As their only child, you are motivated only by your love for them and your sense of duty, right? You have no other motive, right?"

"That is right."

"None of their scolding and cursing should concern you as you are merely doing your duty as a daughter. You should just take their admonitions smiling, or even laughing. So, quit feeling hurt, sad, helpless, hopeless, and frustrated. If you do the right thing with a sense of duty and without any selfish motive, your parent's curse will not affect you."

"I see your point, doctor!"

"In fact, you would be derelict in your duty to your parents if you now backed off from taking care of them because of their childish behavior.

This is when they need you the most!"

"You are absolutely right, doctor!"

"Furthermore, if, in the course of time, you are unable to care for them due to your own limitations, you may not have a choice but to put them in a decent nursing home."

"Oh! No! No! I can't do that! I would feel very guilty to do that!"

"Well. Your guilt then would be quite irrational. If you are not able to take proper care of them, they might fall down, break their hip, become ill and starve to death. You would then feel even guiltier!

Admitting them to a nice nursing home might be lesser of two evils. At least, someone would make sure that they ate their food, took their medications and had their bath daily. If and when you do it, you have no reason to feel guilty since you are doing it in their best interest and without any ulterior design or motive."

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The lady who left my office was very different from the one who had walked in. Her painful emotions decreased dramatically in her mind.

Ventilation of emotions, change of perception of her parents as childlike, and the understanding the liberating affects of selfless action performed with a sense of duty immediately relieved her of Grief, Dwandwa and fear of bad Karmaphala which she had suffered from for two months. This is the wisdom of the Brahmanic Gita in action, pure and simple. Some might say this is common sense. Well, common sense is the first casualty when our mind becomes confused by our fear of bad Karmaphala even when we know that the best thing to do is to do our duty.

Application of the wisdom of the Upanishadic Gita: Action in the spirit of Buddhiyoga Wisdom: All actions performed in the spirit of Buddhiyoga free one from Grief, Dwandwa and bad Karmaphala.

A case study: Linda is a sixty year old white married woman who is very depressed over a painful life-situation. An elderly single man in his eighties, who had been a father-figure, mentor and friend for over forty years, had suddenly broken-up his friendship with her. She suffered from much Grief over this loss. In addition, she suffered from Dwandwa -self doubt and guilt. She feared that the breakup of this relationship was as a result of her actions. In other words, she believed that what she was going through was due to bad Karmaphala.

She described the circumstances as follows: Over the past few years, her old friend's health had deteriorated steadily. One day when she went to visit him she found him on the floor in a coma. She had him hospitalized immediately. The doctors diagnosed diabetic coma. When he came to, he expressed much gratitude to Linda for saving his life. After he checked into a nursing home permanently, he asked Linda if she would help him organize his finances. She agreed. While going through the old man's files, Linda discovered two un-cashed checks for big amounts. Thinking that the old man had forgotten to deposit them in the bank, Linda deposited both checks in his account in the bank. Believing that the old man might be senile, she did not consult with him. To her surprise both these checks bounced. When the old man came to know about this, he became furious. Apparently, he had some private arrangement with the issuers of these checks that they would not be deposited in the account for some time.

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Losing faith in Linda's judgment in managing his finances, the old man now began to suspect evil motive in her actions. He abruptly cut off his relationship with Linda and told her not to contact him again. Linda was devastated by the loss of forty-year-long relationship with the father-figure and friend all because of an innocent mistake she made.

Linda's emotional pain was heightened by the fact that she had no relationship with her own father while growing up. Her relationship with her own mother was tenuous at best. When she met this old man in her early twenties, she filled the vacuum in her heart by making him the father she never had. When the old man rejected her, buried pain related to her own father resurfaced, the emotional pain doubled and became unbearable. She collapsed into depression.

After listening to her plight empathically, I asked her if she knew beforehand that the two checks she deposited were not meant to be deposited. She denied ever knowing this. The old man had not told her about these checks either. So what she did was done out of goodness of heart and not out of any evil design. I asked her if she had personally benefited from the old man's estate. She admitted that the old man had once given her a good amount of money out of appreciation for her devoted care of him over the years. She had neither asked for it nor expected it. She said she was willing to return his money if that would heal the rift between them. I asked her if she had any ulterior motive in taking care of his finances. She swore she did not. She said she had served the old man purely out of her respect and non-possessive love for him, and without any financial motive.

"In that case," I said to Linda, "you should not feel guilty or hurt about this rift at all. Your motives were pure. You had no ulterior designs (Sankalpa) of any kind when you did what you did. If the old man suspects your motives in spite of this, you can not help it. It is now his problem. If your love for him was truly non-possessive in nature; you were not hankering for his money, and your actions were without any desire for fruit, you should not grieve over this loss. You should face this loss with evenness, equilibrium and equanimity of mind, (characterized by Buddhiyukta mind). Write a letter to him explaining your position on this matter. Offer to meet with him personally to explain to him what happened. If he still refuses to meet with you, consider it as his loss, accept the loss as unavoidable, and move on with your life. Things like this happen in life."

Linda asked, "Why did he choose to break up his relationship with me even though I had not knowingly done anything wrong?"

"Well," I said, "even at this advanced age, his attachment for money

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seemed to be greater than his love for you, sad as it might seem to you. His wisdom was clouded by his entanglement with money. It blinded him to the fact that he was losing a longstanding devoted friend during the last phase of his life. Money comes and money goes, but good friends like you come along only rarely. He could have simply forgiven you for your innocent mistake, and still had you in his life.

Alas, it was not to be."

The new perspective of the situation seemed to give Linda the needed insight to calm herself down. Her Grief, Dwandwa and guilt over bad Karmaphala disappeared. She accepted the loss as one of those realities of life and moved on with her life.

Application of the wisdom of the Bhagavatha Gita: Absolute Faith Wisdom: Absolute Faith in the Lord counters fear. Higher the level of one's faith, the greater is the freedom from Grief, Dwandwa and fear of bad Karmaphala.

A case study: Jo Anne, a 53 year old white married woman came to see me for complaints of severe anxiety, sleeplessness, loss of appetite ever since she was told a week earlier that her breast cancer had recurred. The doctor told her that her cancer had spread to her brain and lungs, and that she had only weeks to live. Jo Anne was shocked by this bit of bad news. Her mind flooded with terror, she developed severe panic attacks.

After listening to her empathically, I gave her some minor tranquilizer to calm her down. Within a day she calmed down somewhat. But the reality of imminent death weighed heavily on her mind. I saw her in counseling. Aside from listening to her grief over imminent death, there was little I could do to help. But wait! It occurred to me that maybe, just maybe I could work to strengthen her faith to counter her terror.

I asked Jo Anne, "Do you have Faith in God?" With tears in her eyes she said, "Of course, I do." I then challenged her, "How strong is your faith?" Jo Anne replied, "I guess not as strong as it should be." I handed over to her a small article I had written on the topic of Absolute Faith. She wiped her tears, put on her eye glasses and began to read it:

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God's Cab The other day I hailed a cab for a ride to Jackson. As I got into the cab I noticed that God was the cab driver. I told God, "I must be in Jackson in thirty minutes. Can you make it?"

God looked at me earnestly and asked, "Do you have Faith in my driving?" I replied, "Of course, absolutely!"

God smiled and said, "OK. Then just relax and take a nap. I will wake you up when we reach Jackson." I slumped in the seat and fell asleep expecting a smooth thirty minute ride to Jackson. Little did I know what was coming.

It must have been a few minutes since I fell asleep when I was woken up by loud honks of several cars. When I looked up I saw God driving the cab one hundred fifty miles per hour through every red traffic light on Kingshighway. "Oh, well, He must know what he is doing," I said to myself. I fell back into my sleep again.

Next thing I know, I was woken up by tremendous noise of something beating loudly against the windshield. All I could see was that the cab was going through a field of ten foot tall lush green corn stalks. "Oh, well," I said, "God must have His own crazy reason why He is driving through this cornfield." I fell asleep again right away.

Within a few minutes I was woken up by a big thud of the cab diving into a ditch. God had just made a U-turn in the median ditch of Interstate 55. Now He was driving the cab north in the southbound lanes. Southbound cars were buzzing past us eighty miles per hour on both sides honking loudly. "Well," I said to myself. "There must be a darned good reason why God seems to have gone out of His mind!" I just closed my eyes to catch my nap again.

Then suddenly, the cab came to a screeching halt. "Here you are!" said God. I woke up to see that I was at my destination. I got out of the cab and said, "Thanks for the exciting ride! What is the fare?"

As I reached into my pocket for my wallet I heard God say, "You have already paid it in full with your Faith!" Before I could say thanks again, He had driven away in his cab. THE END Jo Anne took a deep breath and held the paper close to her chest.

Then, with tears rolling down her pale cheeks, she said, "No. I don't have Absolute Faith. I need to work on that. I must have more faith in the Lord than I have. I must take whatever I get as His wish." I saw a visible change in Jo Anne's gait when she left my office.

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A week later, I saw her picture in the Obituary columns of the local newspaper. Her husband called me to inform me that her last few days were very peaceful. She had found peace in Absolute Faith. In this case, her renewed faith helped her to get over the Grief over her imminent death and Dwandwa (stress) of facing it. Knowing that she would attain His Abode after her death gave her freedom from fear of dying.

Treating Dwandwa Disorder (Pseudo Bipolar Disorder) Over the past twenty five years, the number of people being diagnosed as suffering from Bipolar Disorder (formerly known as Manicdepressive illness) has increased dramatically all over the world. This is a mood disorder in which one suffers from significant mood swings.

During the "high spells" the patient suffers from elation, high energy, grandiosity, impulsiveness, restlessness, agitation, preoccupation with making and spending a lot of money, sleeplessness, excessive desire for sex and the like. Then the patient switches to "low spells" in which the patient feels exactly the opposite symptoms, such as depressed mood, low energy level, despair, loss of interest in sex and other usual activities, and the like.

Such mood swings, though of lesser degree, can also be seen in people who have become obsessed with money and materials. The Bhagavad Gita calls this Dwandwa Disorder. When the mind comes into contact with a sense object, it experiences Dwandwa: I like this, I don't like this; I feel good about this, I feel bad about it; I gained it, I lost it (2:14). Excessive desire for, attachment to and possessiveness of money, power, title, and other sense objects disconnect the mind from its inner wisdom leading to unsteadiness of mind. The Bhagavad Gita variously describes Dwandwa as instability, unsteadiness, fickleness, doubt, obsession, restlessness, preoccupation with gaining and losing, mental fever and the like. Thus destabilized, the mind loses the benefit of its inner wisdom leading to one's ruin (2:62-63) and evil acts (3:37-40). The picture below illustrates how the mind entangled with materials becomes disconnected from its wisdom and suffers severe Dwandwa.

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In the picture above, the large oval represents the Mind. The ziz-zag line inside it represents severe Dwandwa. The swollen udder-like projections from below the Mind represent the hyperactive Senses which desire sense objects (the five circles below). The sense objects have become very important. The lines connecting the Senses to the circles represent excessive attachments. The Mind is completely disconnected from its inner wisdom (Buddhi). Such a Mind, deprived of its inner wisdom (knowledge of right from wrong) commits selfdestructive (2:62-63) and evil acts (3:37-40).

As the world is becoming more and more materialistic, incidents of such mood swings have also increased. Severe Dwandwa induced by materialism can easily be mistaken for the more serious form of mood swings, namely, Bipolar Disorder. Doctors not aware of the Dwandwa Disorder often mistakenly diagnose people as suffering from Bipolar Disorder and treat them with potentially dangerous drugs. The increase in the diagnosis of people with Bipolar Disorder is so great that it seems like we are on the verge of becoming a Bipolar Nation!

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Most likely, this is due to drug companies brain-washing doctors into diagnosing Bipolar disorders to sell their expensive drugs.

In my own psychiatric practice, I have seen Bipolar-like syndrome in people who are entangled with money, people, power, and the like.

Since more and more people are becoming obsessed with materialism, more and more people are suffering from Dwandwa Disorder. The Dwandwa Disorder could also be called Money Disorder. Below I have described two cases of Dwandwa Disorder, mistakenly diagnosed a Bipolar Disorder, each with completely opposite outcome.

Case study of John: A 39 year old white married man, father of two cute little girls was referred to me by his personal doctor for complaints of "Bipolar Disorder." He complained of bouts of depression alternating with bouts of elation; panic attacks; racing mind; indecision; poor concentration and sleeplessness. These symptoms started two years earlier, but had been getting steadily worse for the past three months. By the time I saw him, he was completely dysfunctional.

Detailed interview revealed the following: John owned a lucrative factory which earned him over one half million of dollars a year. He lived in a house worth two million dollars. To make even more money, he bought a choice piece of land and developed it. His parents, being in the real estate business, guided him. He built fine houses and sold them for huge prices. Then suddenly two events surprised him. One, the housing market suddenly collapsed. Two, some of the people who bought houses from him sued him for building an apartment complex on the development. Suddenly he found himself owing banks a huge amount of money. To clear his loans, he would have to sell everything he owned, except for his factory. He could even lose his house.

John revealed that over the past two years he drank alcohol on daily basis to calm his nerves. By the time he came home, he was a nervous wreck. He rarely talked with his two little daughters. He had no time for his devoted wife.

I told John that he suffers from Dwandwa Disorder, which resembles a text book case of rapid-cycling Bipolar disorder. I put him on several different medications -mood stabilizer, antidepressant and antianxiety- to give him relief from his distressing symptoms. I then gave him a choice: Either he takes steps to change his lifestyle or he becomes dependent on numerous medications the rest of his life. I promised him that if he made changes in his lifestyle, I will take him

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off of his medications one by one. John readily agreed to follow my advice.

1. I met with John and his accountant and advised them that John should focus on one business -his factory. He had no business to get into a business he had no business to get into.

2. I told John to sell off his entire property one buy one even if the profit margin is low, and clear his loans as soon as possible. In the mean time, he should meet with his bankers and rearrange his loans so his immediate liability is reduced.

3. John agreed to quit drinking.

4. He agreed to sell his two million dollar home and move into a much smaller house, which cost much less to maintain.

5. John agreed to find time for his children and wife; go out to eat with them; find time to travel places with his family once his life returned to normal.

6. John agreed to work on reducing attachment to money, property, land, etc. and work on improving quality of his life, meaning, finding time for fun, travel, reading, and other activities.

7. He agreed to cultivate some hobbies, which gave him time away from his business.

Over the next six months, John accomplished almost all the above goals. He succeeded in clearing all his loans. He settled the lawsuit amicably. Decreasing his attachment to various sense objects (alcohol, money, property, etc.) seems to have reconnected his Mind to his Wisdom and thus stabilized it. I began to withdraw from him one medication at a time. Within one year, I took him off of his mood stabilizer as well, as now his Wisdom was acting as his mood stabilizer.

The picture below shows how the Mind is constantly caught between the Senses (desire for sense objects such as money, power, food, title, etc.) and Wisdom. When the Mind succumbs to the Senses and their allies (the Guna-rooted human weaknesses) self-destructive and evil acts follow. When the Mind acts under the influence of the Wisdom, selfless and pure acts follow.

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All over America today, thousands upon thousands of people like John are given diagnosis of Bipolar disorder and put on potentially dangerous drugs. Thus deluded by their psychiatrists, they stay on medications the rest of their lives. Few psychiatrists take time to examine these people's lifestyle, which is at the root of their Dwandwa Disorder.

Uncontrolled Dwandwa and ruin of life Here is a case study with exactly the opposite outcome. The following case study illustrates the truth in the shlokas 2:62-63: Brooding on the sense objects man develops attachment to them; from attachment comes desire; from desire sprouts forth anger; from anger proceeds delusion; from delusion confused memory; from confused memory the ruin of reason; due to the ruin of reason he perishes.

Case study of K.R: A young Indian doctor, married and father of two, in training as a surgeon, became very jealous of the wealth of his privately practicing physician friends. He could not wait till he

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completed his training three years down the road. So he quit his training and took up the job of emergency room physician in a local hospital. However, his salary was not enough for him to compete with his richer, self-employed friends. He began to brood over his misfortune. He began to experience mood swings and anxiety. He began to smoke and drink heavily to calm his disturbed mind.

Soon he was in trouble with his superior at the hospital emergency room. The nurses working with him complained that he could not be awakened whenever the emergency room needed him. His boss could not reason with him that emergencies cases must be attended to right away and could not be postponed. Because I was the other Indian doctor in town, his boss asked me how he could handle this situation. I told him he should deal with his directly and warn him. He ignored the warnings and so he was fired from his job.

Outraged for being fired, K. R. opened his own emergency medical practice in the town in competition with the hospital. He advertised his business heavily and piled up huge debts. He started admitting people to the hospital for frivolous reasons, ordering tests solely to make money, performing unnecessary surgery and the like. To make even more money, he worked 20 hours a day. He made his hospital rounds after midnight. He bragged that he will drive all the leading doctors out of town. He got little rest. He did not have time to eat his meals. He smoked five packs of cigarettes a day. He did not have time to brush his teeth. He neglected his wife and young children.

Soon his health began to deteriorate. He developed stomach pain due to ulcers. He began to ingest narcotics to control his stomach pain.

Alcohol consumption made his stomach ulcers worse. He felt sleepy all the time because of lack of sleep and also due to drugs he took round the clock. His teeth turned yellowish brown due to accumulated stain from coffee and cigarettes. His body became weak and emaciated.

To show off his wealth, he leased two very expensive luxury cars. He threw lavish parties to his rich friends to proclaim to them that he was in no way inferior to them. He deducted the expenses of these parties as business expense. He drew a plan to build a ten-bedroom, tenbathroom palatial house. He flew only by first class. When he traveled he stayed in expensive hotels. He borrowed heavily from local banks to support his expensive habits. His friends suspected that he was suffering from Bipolar disorder.

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In no time at all it all began to catch up with him. He fell asleep while driving his car and ran it into a ditch. He narrowly escaped getting killed. He fell asleep on a patient he was operating on in the hospital operating room. He was carried out of the operating room by orderlies suspended by his limbs, and then he was suspended from the hospital staff. The hospital administrator suspected the K. R. was suffering from Bipolar disorder. He requested me to evaluate and treat him. I excused myself from this task as I knew K. R. well as an arrogant man who thought little of psychiatrists. However, I told the administrator that even though K. R. displayed symptoms of Bipolar disorder, he was, in fact, suffering from Dwandwa Disorder. The administrator was mystified by my statement. I simplified the matter by telling him the K. R. suffered from Money Disorder.

K. R. was asked to submit a certificate from a psychiatrist declaring him as fit to operate. He saw a psychiatrist in St. Louis, baffled him with his bullshit and obtained the needed certificate of clean bill of mental health. Not learning his lesson from this mishap, he went on with his self-destructive behavior. Now that he had beaten the hospital in this game, he became blatantly arrogant.

As his stomach pain got worse, he began to inject himself with powerful narcotics. Once this came to the attention of licensing authorities, his license to practice medicine was suspended and he was ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation. He went through the motion of rehabilitation. Once again he bullshitted everyone, and got back his license to practice. After his drug habit relapsed, he went to the drug rehabilitation the second time. Each time he came out with the delusion that he had beaten the system.

One day he noticed that the skin over his left forearm was dying. That was the site where he had repeatedly injected himself narcotics. He needed skin graft over the dead skin. He saw a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon attached his forearm to his chest to transfer the skin graft. With his left forearm attached to his chest, the doctor went on with his bad behavior. No one could reason with him. Since his income disappeared, the banks began to press him for the repayment of loans.

When he could not payoff his loans, they came to get whatever money he had. He filed for bankruptcy. He lost his house, cars and everything else. With his health and finances in complete ruin, he left town and moved into a small apartment. He lived on the disability income from insurance and the state. In the mean time, his wife and children went through hell. Nevertheless, he kept talking about making millions of dollars.

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One day he showed up at my office saying he wanted my help. He was so emaciated that he was just skin and bones. He threw his health insurance card on my table and said feebly, "You will be paid for your services. I guarantee you that with this card!" Then he explained that he had made the appointment to get some painkiller drugs from me.

By now, he was beyond my reach. I had to tell him politely that it was beyond my power to help him.

After several years of such misery, penury and poor health, he finally died at age fifty seven, a completely broken man in every sense. His mind was so strongly attached to money and he was so bogged down by human weaknesses that his Mind seemed completely disconnected from his inner wisdom. He had no memory of the lessons learned, knowledge, judgment, reasoning, insight, moral values and noble virtues. His arrogance kept him from getting help from anyone as he thought he was smarter than everyone else. No one could reason with him. No one could save him. THE END

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