The Hindu : Twenty instructions in the Gita

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 25, 2002

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Twenty instructions in the Gita

CHENNAI SEPT. 25 . Repeated emphasis has been made in all our scriptural works about the mistake entertained by many about the identity of the human body and the soul that occupies it. They forget that while the former will perish, the latter is indestructible. While vain worship is usually offered to the human frame, little attention is paid to the joys of the soul. A person who does not make a distinction between the body and the soul seated within, cannot improve himself and cannot be free from imperfections. The body is a tool with which the field of the Lord is to be cultivated. Desire and hatred, pleasure and pain arise out of the body. How a man should conduct himself, having the goal before him to reach the Divine Kingdom, adopting certain remedial measures has been clearly spelt out by the Lord in His glorious song, the Gita. Twenty kinds of instructions have been rendered for vitiating the body and soul as follows: a person should not covet honour, avoid arrogance, cause no harm to anyone, forgive others, be simple, do service, maintain inward and external purity, show rectitude, practise self-restraint, be dispassionate to sense objects, avoid ego, contemplate on the misery arising out of worldly enjoyment, cultivate non-attachment, have lesser affinity towards family members, maintain equanimity, demonstrate deep faith in God, resort to a sequestered place, be away from tumultuous place, acquire spiritual knowledge and search for Bliss. Unflinching devotion to the Lord stands supreme among them.

Elaborating some of these characteristics, Sri Adoor R. Madhavachariar, in a discourse, referred to the distressing consequences of indulging in ephemeral pleasures and how they will lead to indescribable grief. Instead of getting involved in purely temporary joy, a man should devote his entire attention to reach Moksha. Can he be without a body so long as he is required to be here, a question may be asked. He can be without any problem even here provided he cultivates detachment and displays desirelessness. The famous work of Bhartruhari, "Neeti Satakam", describes how as a man grows old he cannot listen properly, may lose his vision, his voice may become feeble and he will reach a stage when those around him may despise him. Others cannot share his grief and so he should maintain his balance of mind and engage himself in doing service to God. Humility and equanimity will make a person tread on the path of purity.

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