Bhagavad-gītā – Preface and Introduction

Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā Hidden Treasure of the Sweet Absolute by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj

Maṅgalācharaṇam

oṁ pārthāya pratibodhitāṁ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaṁ
vyāsena grathitāṁ purāṇa-muninā madhye mahā-bhārate
advaitāmṛta-varṣiṇīṁ bhagavatīm aṣṭādaśādhyāyiṇīm
amba tvām anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gīte bhavad-veṣiṇīm [1]

namo ’stu te vyāsa-viśāla-buddhe
phullāravindāyata-patra-netra
yena tvayā bhārata-taila-pūrṇaḥ
prajvālito jṅāna-mayaḥ pradīpaḥ [2]

prapanna-pārijātāya, totra-vetraika-pāṇaye
jṅāna-mudrāya kṛṣṇāya, gītāmṛta-duhe namaḥ [3]

sarvopaniṣado gāvo, dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīr bhoktā, dugdhaṁ gītāmṛtaṁ mahat [4]

vasudeva-sutaṁ devaṁ, kaṁsa-chāṇūra-mardanam
devakī-paramānandaṁ, kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagad-gurum [5]

bhīṣma-droṇa-taṭā jayadratha-jalā gāndhāra-nīlotpalā
śalya-grāhavatī kṛpeṇa vahanī karṇena velā-kulā
aśvatthāma-vikarṇa-ghora-makarā duryodhanāvartinī
sottīrṇā khalu pāṇḍavai raṇa-nadī kaivartakaḥ keśavaḥ [6]

pārāśarya-vachaḥ sarojam-amalaṁ gītārtha-gandhotkaṭaṁ
nānākhyānaka-kesaraṁ hari-kathā-sambodhanābodhitam
loke sajjana-ṣaṭ-padair ahar-ahaḥ pepīyamānaṁ mudā
bhūyād bhārata-paṅkajaṁ kali-mala-pradhvaṁsi naḥ śreyase [7]

yaṁ brahmā varuṇendra-rudra-maruta-stunvanti divyaiḥ stavair
vedaiḥ sāṅga-pada-kramopaniṣadair gāyanti yaḥ sāmagāḥ
dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino
yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇā devāya tasmai namaḥ [8]

nārāyaṇaṁ namskṛtya, naraṁ chaiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ, tato jayam udīrayet [9]

Auspicious Invocation

Meditation on Śrī Gītā—

O Bhagavad-Gītā, song of the Supreme Lord Himself, You are the bestower of Arjuna’s enlightenment. You have been woven into the scripture Mahābhārata by the ancient sage Śrīla Vedavyāsa. In eighteen chapters, You are the rain of ever-flowing nectar, non-different from the Lord. O Mother, I meditate upon You; may You graciously enter my heart.

Obeisances unto Śrīla Vyāsadeva—

O Śrīla Vyāsadeva of formidable intelligence, whose eyes resemble the long petals of the blooming lotus flower, and who ignited the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahābhārata—I offer my obeisances unto you.

Obeisances unto the Lord as the chariot-driver of Arjuna—

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who fulfills the wishes of His surrendered devotees. He holds a driving-rod in one hand while the other is poised in the expression of instruction, and He is the milker of the nectar of the Gītā.

The Glories of the Gītā—

The crest-jewels of the Vedas, all the Upaniṣads, are as the cow, and the milker of the cow is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārājñ Arjuna is the calf, the nectar of the Gītā is the milk, and the fortunate devotees are the enjoyers of that milk.

Obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa—

I bow unto the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, the vanquisher of the demons Kaṁsa and Chāṇūra, the joy of mother Devakī, and the universal teacher.

The river of the battle of Kurukṣetra—

One bank is Bhīṣma, the other Droṇāchārya; Jayadratha is the water; the sons of Gāndhārī, the blue lotus flower; Śalya, the crocodile; Kṛpa, the waves; Karṇa, the shore; Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa and company, the fearful sharks; Duryodhana, the whirlpool; and Keśava is the boatman of this river of the battle that was crossed by the Pāṇḍavas.

The Mahābhārata as a lotus flower—

These words of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva, the son of Parāśara Muni, are a perfect lotus flower. The meaning of the Gītā is the beautiful fragrance of this lotus, the various episodes are its stamens, and the enlightening narrations about the Supreme Lord are its nectar. In this world, the pure devotees are the bees who day after day delight in drinking the nectar of the lotus flower. May this Mahābhārata lotus, the vanquisher of all evils in this age of Kali, graciously bestow auspiciousness upon us.

Obeisances unto the Supreme Lord—

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord whose glories are sung with celestial prayers by the gods Brahmā, Varuṇa, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts; whose glories are sung by the verses of the Vedas along with their six auxiliary books and the Upaniṣads; whose glories are sung by the brāhmaṇas that sing the Sāma-Veda; who the yogīs see within their hearts absorbed in meditation; and whose infinite glories are inconceivable to all beings, whether gods or demons.

Before reciting the scriptures that can conquer material existence, we offer obeisances unto the Supreme Lord who is known as Nārāyaṇa, Nara and Narottama; the goddess of learning Saraswatī; and the great sage empowered by the Lord to reveal the scriptures, Śrīla Vyāsadeva.

All Glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga

Preface

[Publisher’s Note, first Bengali Edition, Appearance Day of Lord Kṛṣṇa, 1961]

Unique in its wide publication and extensive circulation, the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gita appears in various languages, both in India and other countries, along with the commentaries of former great saints as well as modern scholars. The commentaries of the prominent Vaiṣṇava Āchāryas such as Śrī Rāmānuja, Śrīmat Madhvamuni, and Śrī Śrīdhar Swāmīpād are most noteable, whilst among the proponents of jṅāna-mārga, or the monistic path, the commentaries of Śrīmat Śaṅkarāchārya and Śrī Madhusū dan Saraswatī are well-known. The commentaries of Śrīyuta Bāla Gaṅgādhar Tilak and Śrī Aurobindo favour the school of karma-yoga, or the path of action, and are also familiar to modern scholars. Great thinkers of both East and West have ardently sung the glories of Śrī Gītā, being inspired by the ideals of its teachings.

However, the achintya-bhedābheda-siddhānta, theology of ‘inconceivable oneness and difference’ as revealed by the proponents of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu—Gauḍīya Āchāryas Śrīla Viśvanāth Chakravartī and Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇa, is concluded by the learned devotees to be most favorable to exclusive devotion. The devotees also embrace Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur’s Bengali commentary of Śrī Gītā as a harmonious, spiritual mine of the treasure of divine love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa {Kṛṣṇa-prema}, the fifth and transcendental goal of life, beyond the four general human objectives of religion, wealth, sense enjoyment and liberation.

In his introduction my worshipful Divine Master, Śrī Gurupādapadma Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj, has revealed to the readers glimpses of his own deep devotional realizations. Although numerous editions of Śrī Gītā are presently available, few commentaries can be said to nurture pure devotion according to the teachings of bona fide divine succession, which has given us the opportunity of service in producing this edition. We shall consider ourselves blessed if the fortunate readers take the all-auspicious essence of this sincere attempt to heart.

Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip

All Glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga

Introduction

[of the first Bengali Edition]

vande śrī-guru-gaurāṅgau, rādhā-govinda-sundarau
sa-guṇau gīyate chātha, gītā-gūḍhārtha-gauravam

Bowing down to the holy feet of Śrī Guru, Śrī Gaurāṅga, and Śrī Śrī Rādhā Govindasundara, all accompanied by Their associates, I sing the glories of the hidden treasure of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.

Since Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā is very familiar to the learned society, an acquaintance of the conceptions of this edition may be given here. We are followers of the school of thought descending from Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, so this edition is based on the Śrī Gītā commentaries of the pre-eminent, exalted Śrī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Āchāryas—Śrī Viśvanāth, Śrī Baladev and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur. By the grace of our worshipful spiritual master, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Goswāmī Prabhupāda, and from indications in the commentaries given by the aforementioned great pure devotees, in places some new light has been shed, revealing deeper meanings. The devoted reader will appreciate this particularly with regard to the four verses {10.8–11} which were described by Śrī Viśvanāthpāda as the four essential verses {chatuḥ-ślokī} of the book.

Generally, Śrī Gītā is known as an excellent study of the science of religion. The language of Śrī Gītā is simple and sweet; its mood is grave, extensive and radical; its thought is succinct, lucid and impartial; and its logic is sound and natural. The eloquence of the prologue, epilogue, exposition, review, analysis, synthesis and delivery of Śrī Gītā is unprecedented and charming in the extreme. Śrī Gītā is activation for the lazy, courage for the fearful, hope for the hopeless, and new life for the dying. Śrī Gītā unifies and sustains all ranks, whether revolutionary, occultist, optimist, renunciationist, liberationist, or full-fledged theist. From the atheist of grossly crude vision to the most elevated saint, the essential conceptions of all classes of philosopher are illustrated with clear and powerful logic. The devotees of the Lord {bhagavad-bhaktas} and persons on the paths of action, knowledge and yoga {karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs} will each find the essence of their paths dealt with in a comprehensive and illuminating manner, and thus the book is highly esteemed by all.

The essential and inner purport of the Vedas and Upaniṣads of the Āryans is directly explained, and the essence of various non-Āryan doctrines can also be found. Śrī Gītā teaches us enlightenment through the selfless execution of scripturally ordained actions. When the consciousness is thus purified, self-realization or spiritual realization is attained. In its maturity, this pure realization blossoms into loving service in the joyful, divine plane.

From the standpoint of sambandha-jñāna or ‘knowledge of relationship’, Śrī Gītā gives us the conception that the Absolute Reality is a transcendental personality; from the standpoint of prayojana or ‘the objective’, spiritual love for the Absolute Reality is given as the highest attainment; and from the standpoint of abhidheya or ‘the means’, we are taught that one must initially offer all his actions to the Supreme Lord, followed by the cultivation of self-realization favourable to realization of the Lord, and finally surrender to the Lord, to the exclusion of all other endeavours. Ultimately, the means will culminate in the objective when, in one’s perfected spiritual form, one whole-heartedly engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Śrī Gītā has clearly shown the distinctions between the various paths, such as the path of action, including worship of the gods for worldly fulfillment, and the path of knowledge, for the attainment of liberation. The thoughtful reader can note that Śrī Gītā, by its comparative study, refutes the misconception that the many paths and goals are ‘all one’. Rather, it is stated, yo yach chhradhaḥ sa eva saḥ, “A man is known by his faith.”

These verses would warrant deep consideration in this respect:

“The yogī is superior to persons engaged in austerities, superior to the person of knowledge, and superior to the person of action… Therefore, O Arjuna, be a yogī. And best of all yogīs is My faithful devotee for whom I am the only goal, and who serves Me whole-heartedly. This is My opinion.” {6.46,47}

Showing the inferiority and meaninglessness of dry renunciation, the gift of Śrī Gītā is most substantial and positive. Rather then merely renouncing action, one should selflessly offer one’s actions to the Supreme Lord {karma-yoga}. Ultimately, based on one’s surrender, one will be inspired to act in devotion {bhakti} for the Lord alone. This is the conclusive and sublime teaching of Śrī Gītā. In the finest conception, the overall excellence of Śrī Gītā is found in its gift of devotion. In its full manifestation, such devotion is prema-bhakti, loving devotion to the all-attractive Supreme Personality—Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Reality the Beautiful.

Secret, more secret, and the most secret of all teachings have been given, as the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord {saṅkīrtana}, and service in spontaneity {bhāva-sevā}, with exclusive surrender and dedication to the transcendental pleasure of Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate goal of life, as sung by the vibrant clarion call of Śrī Gītā— sarva-dharmān parityajya, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, and as deeply contemplated by the followers of the lotus footsteps of the Supreme Lord who mercifully appears as the saviour in this age of Kali—Śrī Chaitanyachandra, and as corroborated by the divine succession of saintly teachers.

May Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa accept the offering of this edition.

Swami B.R. Sridhar
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math
Nabadwip

Janmāṣṭamī
Bengali year 1368