continued from previous post
Truth behind Philosophical Dogma and Religious Creed in Gita
▀ ▄ ▀ True Meaning of Shastra and Universal Applicability of Gita
▀ True meaning of Shastra and Chaturvarna (fourfold order of the Society)
Let us have a relook at the true meaning of Shastra and fourfold order of the Society according to the Gita :
Shastra :
The true and underlying meaning of Shastra according to Gita is then perceived as the ‘law imposed on itself ’ by humanity as a substitute for the purely egoistic action of the natural unregenerate man.
Its purpose is to control man’s natural and inborn tendency to seek in his life the uncontrolled satisfaction of his desire.
Fourfold Order of the Society is merely the concrete form of a spiritual truth. This truth is itself independent of the form. This truth rests on the conception of :
Right works as a rightly ordered expression of the nature of the individual being. This individual being is the doer of the works.
Nature assigning him his line and scope in life. This is based on his inborn quality and his self-expressive function.
To Summarise
We have seen from above as to how even in its otherwise most local, temporal and specific details there is behind it a universal and eternal spirit.
We are therefore justified in extending this principle to all the other instances of local and temporal concepts and arrive at a deeper general truth. Then we are sure to observe that this deeper truth and principle is implied in the grain of the thought even when it is not so expressly stated in its language.
▀ ▄ ▀ Truth behind Philosophical Dogma and Religious Creed in Gita
On the similar lines, we will interpret the element of philosophical dogma or religious creed which enters into the Gita or is indirectly indicated in it.
They are heavily influenced by the use of philosophical terms and religious symbols which prevailed in the historical context of Mahabharata when Gita originated. Let us leave aside the temporal interpretations of these terms.
We will not get into the aspect of religious symbols or the philosophy as was understood at that time. It is only of academic interest and not of any practical value today. Instead, we will find out the core of the Truth which is eternal and therefore, applicable even to current age.
▀ ▄ ▀ Limiting the scope of our enquiry
When Gita speaks of Sankhya and Yoga, we shall restrict ourselves only to the bare minimum discussion essential for our interpretation.
In the case of philosophy of Sankhya, we will NOT dwell on the comparative analysis, merit and demerits, inter-relationships etc of :
Theory of Sankhya of the Gita which speaks of ONE Purusha and ONE Prakriti
Vs
MANY Purushas and ONE Prakriti as reflected in the strong Vedantic thought of atheistic Sankhya that has come down to us
We have only to note, without getting into the detailed discussion, that
the Sankhya philosophy as reflected in the Gita is somewhat different from the conventional Sankhya philosophy as per the Vedantic thought.
Similarly, in the case of Yoga we will NOT concern ourselves with the comparative analysis of :
Yoga of Gita which is many-sided, subtle, rich and accommodative to the theistic (related to God) doctrine
Vs
Yoga of Patanjali which is a fixed, scientific, rigorously defined and graded system but without bringing in the God.
.......... to continue
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