Myth Related to Bhagvad-Geet

Myths related to Bhagavada Gita

By Prashant Saxena

Bhagvada Gita, in brief, is not just a conversation between Arjun and Lord Krishna. It is a spiritual knowledge imparted by Krishna to Arjun, who in despair seeing his relatives, teachers and friends as his enemy, was confused and shattered. Gita, imparts the knowledge of karma yoga, importance of gyana yoga, consciousness and the truth about the ultimate reality.

Myth 1 :

a) Krishna is the only god

b) Lord Krishna is suppose to be supreme and all other gods including Shiva demi gods.

(Usually advocated by the people who identify the ultimate reality with a human form and a name 'Krishna')

The ancient Indians only believed in the concept of ultimate reality which is called by various names and symbology. They never used words like monotheism or polytheism. They believed that the different aspects of the nature like fire, wind, sun etc are all parts of the nature. Hence in Vedic hymns one can find reveration to the individual elements of the nature in a metaphorically personified form. E.g fire, personfied as agni-dev and sun as surya-dev. The Upanisadic texts proclaim that the Brahman is the one and only Godhead, in the Kathopanisad it is called Visnu and in the Mandukyopanisad it is called Sivam. So it is said in the Vedas: "Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti", which means that the truth is called by different names.

The chapter 10 of Bhagvada-Gita alone teaches of the various conceptions about the ultimate reality idenitifed by different names.

BG 10.20: I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

BG 10.21: Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marīci, and among the stars I am the moon.

BG 10.22: Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].

BG 10.23: Of all the Rudras I am Lord Śiva, of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru.

BG 10.24: Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Bṛhaspati. Of generals I am Kārtikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean.

BG 10.25: Of the great sages I am Bhṛgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental oḿ. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himālayas.

BG 10.26: Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Nārada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.

BG 10.27: Of horses know Me to be Uccaiḥśravā, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airāvata, and among men I am the monarch.

BG 10.28: Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki.

BG 10.29: Of the many-hooded Nāgas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuṇa. Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death.

BG 10.30: Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa.

BG 10.31: Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.

BG 10.32: Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.

BG 10.33: Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahmā.

BG 10.34: I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience.

BG 10.35: Of the hymns in the Sāma Veda I am the Bṛhat-sāma, and of poetry I am the Gāyatrī. Of months I am Mārgaśīrṣa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.

BG 10.36: I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.

BG 10.37: Of the descendants of Vṛṣṇi I am Vāsudeva, and of the Pāṇḍavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyāsa, and among great thinkers I am Uśanā.

BG 10.38: Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.

BG 10.39: Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being — moving or nonmoving — that can exist without Me.

If we anlayze the statement (b), then it flaws as it is again based on the western definition of “god” or theism. For example, Science is a subject which has different categorizations like Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc. These names like ‘Phyisics, chemistry etc’ are given by the humans. How will a science student select his area of study if their is no name given to that particular specialization or field? Similarly, we must understand that names like Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu etc are the names to the individual conceptualizations related to the ultimate reality. The other names to the conceptualizations are Indra, SuryaDev etc. Feminine names include Laxmi (Goddess of wealth, again a personfication).

The misconception like statement (b) refers essentially to the following verses of GITA from chapter 9.
BG 9.22: But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form — to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.
BG 9.23: Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunt?, but they do so in a wrong way.
BG 9.24: I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature fall down.
The demigods are nothing but the physical or mental manifestations of the ultimate reality which are divine. Material manifestations include Sun, Earth, Water etc. Whereas, mental manifestations include knowledge, consciousness, thought etc. If we treat a human body as a whole, then how can a whole body be complete without a hand, leg or a brain? If, for analogy, these individual components of a human body are treated separately and compared to demigods, then it is only natural that the whole body ( analogous to ultimate reality here) should take a bath. Does it make any sense to clean the individal parts of the body (analogous to worshipping or revering the demi-gods individually)? If a business man worships Laxmi (wealth) and cuts the trees for generation of wealth, then it means that for the generation of wealth, he is abusing the nature. Thus, according to BG-9.23, this is inappropriate.
This could be understood from the verses BG.12.3-7. Nowhere in GITA, Krishna tells Arjun to identify the ultimate reality which is unmanifested, unborn with a name “Krishna”. He doesn’t say to worship someone called “Krishna”. Krishna had other names like ‘Kanhaiya, Devki nandan, janardan, Keshav etc’. In chapter 9,10 he tells his other names which are identified with the manifestions for other roles just like science has physics to serve a different category and biology to serve another.
BG 9.23 tells that no matter what demi-god one worships, he is worshipping the ultimate reality only or the definition of “I or Me” that Bhagvad GITA expounds.
If we swap the names like Physics and chemistry, would it really change the explanation and the meaning of that branch? Would hydrogen fuse differently with oxygen if we start calling that field as XYZ? The science of detachment with the knowledge is what really needed as a final hammer to that understanding and to be able to see the truth. If a person is reducing that ultimate reality to a human form and a name and cannot realize the higher nature of that ultimate reality, then according to GITA he is of lesser intellect.
BG 9.11: Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

Myth 2 : Krishna was egotistical as he asked to worship him (Usually propogated by the anti-hindus)

This kind of criticism is usually done by the anti-hindus. In Gita, there are several places where Lord Krishna articulates with pronouns like "I am, Me". The most critical part in that understanding is as to what that "I, Me" actually refers to? This is the explanation given in the whole of Bhagvada-Gita. It is the explanation of ultimate reality which consists of spiritual energies, knowledge, material manifestations etc, every thing that emanates out of that ultimate reality or that definition behind "I, Me" (BG 12.3-4, 12.5-7, 10.2-3, 10.12-13, 9.4, 9.10-11, 10.8). This further explains the concept of avatar in Hinduism. An avatar is simply a divine and living manifestation of the supreme reality according to hinduism.

Gita is a divine knowledge and nowhere Lord Krishna force Arjun to acknowledge his words. He only says, it his opinion.

BG 6.36: For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion.

BG 18.63: Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

It was only Arjun who asked Krishna to help him as he was depressed and disturbed to see his relatives, teachers and friends in the battlefield (as explained in chapter 1 and 2). Krishna was only trying to help him.