विवेचन सारांश

Bhagavān rescues those devotees who surrender to HIM, from the cycle of life and death

The 12th chapter of Bhagavad Gītā is Bhakti Yoga – Yoga of Devotion.

The session started with the customary deepa prajwalan, lighting of the divine lamp, and prayers to the divine and gurus.

We are fortunate and blessed to be learning Gītā, because we are becoming dear to Bhagavān. HE HIMSELF has declared that those people who learn and apply Gītā in their lives are the most dearest to HIM.

ya imaṃ parāmaṃ guhyaṃ, madbhakteṣvabhidhāsyati,
bhaktiṃ mayi parāṃ kṛtvā, māmevaiṣyatyasaṃśayaḥ. 18.68

na ca tasmānmanuṣyeṣu, kaścinme priyakṛttamaḥ,
bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi. 18.69

In Geeta Pariwar, one embarks on the Gītā journey from the 12th chapter, for two reasons:

Bhagavadgītā is a part of the Bhīṣma Parva of The Mahabharata written by Veda Vyas ji. It is a divine conversation between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, and is the voice of Bhagavān HIMSELF. Through 700 shlokas, the Gītā teaches us how to get closer and become one with Paramātmā. The text is widely studied and has about 1800 authentic commentaries. Renowned personalities like Gandhi ji, Lokamanya Tilak ji, and Einstein have derived inspiration from it.

In order to capture the essence of Gītā, one must understand it's three main components :

Arjuna: He is one of the Pāṇḍavas, and a dear friend of Sri Krishna. It is often misunderstood that he was a dynamic young man all set to wage the war against his cousins, but then desired to back off at the last minute. On the contrary, he was 84 years old when the Kuruksetra war took place. He was famous for his righteousness, courage and skill. He was so mighty that he wrestled with Shiv ji HIMSELF. He was so righteous that even the beautiful apsara Urvasi could not lure him by her beauty. Infact, she got so enraged that she cursed him to live a life of a transgender for a year. He gracefully accepted and fulfilled the curse by living as the dancer Brihannala, during the Pāṇḍavas' incognito exile.

Arjuna is described as Gudakesha - one who conquered sleep, after six months of severe penance on top of a branch that extended over a river. Each time he lost control over his sleep, he would fall into the river. After six months of relentless practice, he finally had total control over sleep. He was also the only person who could enter swarga loka with his physical body. Such was his might and control over his senses. Yet, he became weak when he saw his own kith and kin standing against him in the battle field.

sīdanti mama gātrāṇi, mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati,
vepathuśca śarīre me, romaharṣaśca jāyate. 1.29

gāṇḍīvaṃ sraṃsate hastāt, tVākcaiva paridahyate,
na ca śaknomyavasthātuṃ, bhRāmatīva ca me manaḥ. 1.30
He confides to Sri Krishna that his body has gone limb, he was losing his strength, and his bow Gāṇḍīva was slipping from his hands.

Gītā:
pārthāya pratibodhitāḿ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaḿ
vyāsena grathitāḿ purāṇa-muninā madhye mahābhārate
advaitāmṛta-varṣiṇīḿ bhagavatīm aṣṭādaśādhyāyinīḿ
amba tvām anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gīte bhava-dveṣiṇīm
It is the song recited by Sri Narayana HIMSELF. Its verses are mantras. Their recitation creates vibrations. It carries the gist of all scriptures, and advocates total surrender (saranagati).

Gītā is a divine conversation that took place between Bhagavān Sri Krishna and Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It was inked onto paper by Maharshi Vedavyas ji, for the benefit of the mankind in large.One may wonder as to why Gītā was professed to Arjuna, and not to others, say Duryodhana or Yudhishtara? The 5th shloka of 16th chapter holds the key to the answer, where Sri Krishna acknowledges that Arjuna possesses all of the required 26 divine qualities.

daivī sampadvimokṣāya, nibandhāyāsurī matā,
mā śucaḥ saṃpadaṃ daivīm, abhijāto'si pāṇḍava 16.5

In Sankara bhasyam, Sankaracharya ji has said that knowledge should be provided only to those who are eligible to receive it; else it will not serve its purpose.

Sri Krishna: Arjuna's dearest friend and charioteer in the Kuruksetra war. HE used Arjuna as a tool to deliver the Gītā upadesha for the entire mankind. When Arjuna requested Sri Krishna to place his chariot between the two armies so that he could see the warriors of either side, Sri Krishna chose to place the chariot right in front of the respected elders, Bhīṣma Pitāmaha and Dronacharya. As expected, Arjuna's emotions were stirred on seeing his favourite elders standing on the opposite side. He too was their favourite. Bhīṣma Pitāmaha adored him so much that he wouldn’t mind getting his white robes soiled when little Arjuna would hug him with dirty hands. Dronacharya also had special feelings for him, so that he taught him special archery skills that he didn’t teach his own son. Naturally, Arjuna lost his hunger for revenge. On the contrary, dilemma sets in and he seeks Sri Krishna's advice, leading to the birth of Gītā.

Gītā is comprised of 18 chapters; Sri Krishna explains the concept of nirguna nirakara bhakti (devotion to the unmanifest form) as the path to reach the Supreme, in the first ten chapters; and in the 11th chapter he explains saguna sakara bhakti (devotion to the manifested form). Arjuna is confused as to which of the two was best for him to follow.

He raises the doubt to Sri Krishna, who proceeds to explain that a devotee can reach HIM through any of the multiple paths. HE can be attained by anyone who offers true devotion to HIM, be it through manifested or un-manifested worship.