Nuggets from the Gita (An Old and Rare Book)

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Varadaraja V. Raman, Professor of Physics and Humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, holds a doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris. Author of several articles and papers on the history and foundations of science, both in scholarly journals and in the popular press, he has also devoted many years to the study and elucidation of Indian thought and culture to Western audiences, including children of Indian heritage growing up in North America. He is the author of Glimpses of Indian Heritage and Satanama: Hundred Great Names from India's past. He is an Associate Editor of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism Project. Dr. Raman has studied dozen languages, including Sanskrit, Greek and Latin, and speaks Tamil, Bengali, Hindi, French, German and Spanish. He combines mastery over science with deep sensitivity to religious traditions.

Great truths are portions of the soul of man;

Great souls are portions of eternity.

-J. R. Lowell

My first introduction to the Bhagavad Gita was from my father who was a deeply religious person. Then, I happened to read Radhakrishnan's work with a friend who was preparing for a degree in philosophy at Calcutta University, while I myself was studying for my Physics Honors at St. Xavier's College in Calcutta. I was charmed by the eloquence and erudition of the Introductory Essay in this book. Earlier, at St. Lawrence High School, Father MacDonald had initiated me into the wealth of Latin literature which too has always held a fascination for me.

Over the years, like many Hindus, I have read the Gita several times and participated in discussion groups on the work. My own collection of great thoughts from writers in various languages who had come my way proved to me beyond any doubt that many profound insights are common to thinkers all over the world. Indeed, that while the Bible and some pre-Christian thinkers articulated ideas similar to what we find in the Gita, later writers were also echoing some of its thoughts.

I discovered through interactions and talks I have given at various places that though every Hindu has heard of the Gita and a great many are familiar with some key ideas in it pertaining to the imperishability of the soul and transmigration, not as many are familiar with the many other insights strewn all over this great work.

This prompted me to select some precious lines and present them with references to similar and related ideas expressed by other thinkers over the ages. It is hoped that aside from recalling to the reader the commonality in the profound experiences and insights of the human spirit, my presentation will also inspire readers to delve deeper into the Bhagavad Gita which is one of the great treasure-chests in human culture and civilization.

Among the many sacred books of Hinduism in the Sanskrit language the Bhagavad Gita is the most revered and the best known. Though it is generally known by this name, and more often simply as the Gita, its more complete title is Bhagavad Gita Upanisad, which may be translated as The Upanisad (spiritual teaching) recited by Divinity. The name has been variously rendered, into English as The Divine Song, The Song Divine, The Lords Song, etc. The Bhagavad Gita is generally regarded as a basic scriptural work of Hinduism. In the position it holds in the Hindu heart today, the work is somewhat like the Bible in the Christian world and the Holy Quran in the Islamic.

Hindu sacred works are generally put under two categories: sruti and smrti. The first is regarded as revealed and infallible spiritual truths. Such are the four principal Vedas. The second is described as remembered knowledge, and consists of works that have acquired spiritual pre eminence as a result of tradition. The Gita is considered to be smrti.

The bulk of the Gita consists of expositions by Lord Krsna who, in the Hindu religious framework, is God incarnate. The Gita is, from this perspective, divine utterance, revealed wisdom. More importantly for the reader today, it embodies the quintessence of Hindu doctrines and world views. That is to say, many basic concepts and tenets of Hinduism are stated and expounded in this work.

However, there is one important difference between the Bhagavad Gita as scripture and the scriptures of other religions.