What is the relevance of Bhagavad Gita today? Gita is the discourse between Lord Krishna and his relative, Arjun. The Lord goaded him to ‘reason’: why must he pick up arms against those who committed ills, against own kith and kin. Numerous interpretations have been attempted on Gita, since time immemorial down to what Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and AC Bhaktivedant Swami Pabhupada of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCON) had rendered. Has Krishna been understood into? Let’s see what Harsh Vardhan, a renowned environmentalist, has to speak in this context with reference to renowned journalist, Dr Gulab Kothari…
Dr Kothari learning Sanskrit daily from a tutor
As though to answer the above question, an experienced journalist, Dr. Gulab Kothari is treading on a new path: learning Sanskrit daily from a reasoned tutor so that he is better versed to decipher the couplets of Bhagwat Gita. It has 18 Chapters. Propounded by Swami Prabhupad, they run into some 800 pages.
Gulab attained Phd and DLit. He is editor-in-chief of Rajasthan Patrika, a daily published from numerous places in India. He scripts a front-page edit-piece to hammer out ancestral morality vs contemporary hybrid trends. He reasons the loss of values and urges readers to be conscious of their roots in the country once called Bharatvarsh. His father, Karpur Chandra Kulish had established the daily during the 50s, and grew penchant for Vedic studies, hailing them as Science.
Calling spade a spade
Through studies and practice, Gulab has crossed the Vedic limits by eulogizing the ancient oral-truth as Science. He calls a spade a spade: all that had been outlined in those knowledge-banks, is still true. One only needs to practice. He has written more than a dozen books. The latest to hit the stands is “Samvaad Upnishad“. It runs into 760 pages. Its glossary is spread over 30 pages, references forming a separate part. Spread-knowledge — his mantra.
Only Gita can bring the curtain down on knowledge, he adds wistfully. So learning afresh:
“Gyaban te ham sa-vijnaman idam vaksyamy asesatahyaj jnatva nhabhiyo ‘nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate” (Gita: 7.2).
It means: I (Lord Krishna) shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge (“vigyan” ie science), both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know…. When the cause of all causes becomes known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains unknown. The Vedas (Mandooka Upanishad 1.3) says: kasminn u bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati.
Be cited Gita’s 4th couplet in the same 7th chapter: “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together, these eight constitute me separated material energies.” It is Lord Krishna encompassing more than the 5-Elements of the Universe to teach a lesson to Arjun, nay to all of us.
Not easy to understand or practice.
Best wishes to Gulab Kothari for this Himalayan journey.