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Hinduisn: Lord Krishna:
Singing
gThe Song Of Godh, The Bhagavad-Gita
1.
Name&Date:
Hinduism:
Historically, Lord Krishna appeared on the midnight of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravana. This corresponds to July 19th 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a little over 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalguna. (His departure marks the beginning of the current age of corruption known as Kali.)
2.
Family name of the prophet: Unknown:
Psossibly Arjuna the son of Kunti. It is not uncommon for authentic
Divine Messengers to have discourse beetween the Word of God and themselves.
3. Holy
Name: Lord Krishna:
4. Name for God: Vishnu
5. Name
for the Promised One: Vishnu Yasha (Sanskrit for)
Glory of God. In the Bhagavad-Gita it says: Chapter 4, Verse 6-8
hAlthough I am
unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the
Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original
transcendental form. Whenever
and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata,
and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to
annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of
religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.h
6.
Birth Legends & Life: Lord Krishna appeared in
Mathura, India to Devaki and Vasudeva in the jail cell of the tyrant Kamsa. The
place of His birth is known as Sri Krishna Janmasthana. He appeared with His brother Balarama in
response to the demigods' prayers for protection from the widespread influence
of demonic administration on earth.
7.
Manner of Revelation: Unknown: Considering the
wealth of legends available this knowledge may well exist.
8.
Revealed Book: Bhagavad-Gita: (The Song Of God)
The Bhagavad-gita is the famous
philosophical discourse that took place between Lord Krishna and the warrior
Arjuna, just before the onset of the great Bharata War (c. 3138 BC).
Although widely published and read by
itself, the Bhagavad-gita originally appears as an episode in the Sixth Book of
the Mahabharata (Bhismaparvan, 23-40). (See Mahabharata Home Page ) In this
treatise of 700 verses, Lord Krishna systematically surveys the major Vedic
dharmas and shows how each directs a person toward the ultimate conclusion, the
"most confidential of all knowledge." He analyzes the performance of
sacrifices and the worship of demigods; He discusses the yogas of work,
meditation, and knowledge.
In each case, Krishna shows how it
leads to the "most secrets of all secrets, " pure loving devotional
service to God. "Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and
offer you homage unto Me." This, Krishna says is "the most
confidential part of knowledge."
9.
Basic Teachings: Major themes taught by Lord Krishna
include:
renunciation, devotion to God through
prayer, meditation, and work done in service to others.
Along with this is the necessary
discipline in which the believer or seeker of truth strives, with utmost
patience and forbearance, to liberate himself from the vices, desires and lures
of the material temporal existence and open his inner being to the transcendent
reality from which comes true peace and supreme knowledge.
Note: Chapter 3: verse 3 below describe Arjuna as gsinlessh
Each verse of the Bhagavad-Gita should be meditated on- It is indeed a gSong of Godh full of universal truths and a deep wisdom we all can benefit from.
The Blessed Lord is addressing the sinless Arjuna on the two
primary ways of thinking about God. Abstinance from work or renunciation are
insufficient in themselves. Works of devotion, without attachment, is far
superior.
3:3 gThe Blessed Lord said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that
there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to
understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined
to know Him by devotional work.
3:4 Not by merely
abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation
alone can one attain perfection.
3:5 All men are
forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of
material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even
for a moment.
3:6 One who
restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose mind dwells on sense
objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
3;7 On the other
hand, he who controls the senses by the mind and engages his active organs in
works of devotion, without attachment, is by far superior.
3:8 Perform your prescribed duty, for action is
better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without
work.
3:9 Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be
performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of
Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you
will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
3:10 In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all
creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for
Vishnu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajna
[sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you all desirable
things."
3:11 The
demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you; thus nourishing
one another, there will reign general prosperity for all.
Chap 18:4 O best of the Bharatas, hear from Me now
about renunciation. O tiger among men, there are three kinds of renunciation
declared in the scriptures.
18:5 Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are
not to be given up but should be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and
penance purify even the great souls.
18:6 All these activities should be performed
without any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of
duty, O son of Prtha. That is My final opinion.
18:7 Prescribed duties should never be renounced. If, by illusion, one gives up his prescribed duties, such renunciation is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
18:8 Anyone who gives up prescribed duties as
troublesome, or out of fear, is said to be in the mode of passion. Such action
never leads to the elevation of renunciation.
18:9 But he who performs his prescribed duty only because it ought to be done, and renounces all attachment to the fruit--his renunciation is of the nature of goodness, O Arjuna.
18:10 Those who are situated in the mode of
goodness, who neither hate inauspicious work nor are attached to auspicious
work, have no doubts about work.
18:11 It is indeed impossible for an embodied being
to give up all activities. Therefore it is said that he who renounces the
fruits of action is one who has truly renounced.
18:12 For one who is not renounced, the threefold
fruits of action--desirable, undesirable and mixed--accrue after death. But
those who are in the renounced order of life have no such results to suffer or
enjoy.
18:13-14 O mighty-armed Arjuna, learn from Me of the
five factors which bring about the accomplishment of all action. These are declared
in sankhya philosophy to be the place of action, the performer, the senses, the
endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul.
action in the
mode of ignorance.
18:26 The worker who
is free from all material attachments and false ego, who is enthusiastic and
resolute and who is indifferent to success or failure, is a worker in the mode
of goodness.
18:27 But that worker who is attached to the fruits
of his labor and who passionately wants to enjoy them, who is greedy, envious
and impure and moved by happiness and distress, is a worker in the mode of
passion.
18:28 And that worker who is always engaged in work against the injunction of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating, is a worker in the mode of ignorance.
18:29 Now, O winner of wealth, please listen as I
tell you in detail of the three kinds of understanding and determination
according to the three modes of nature.
18:30 O son of Prtha, that understanding by which
one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be
feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating,
that understanding is established in the mode of goodness.
18:31 And that understanding which cannot
distinguish between the religious way of life and the irreligious, between
action that should be done and action that should not be done, that imperfect
understanding, O son of Prtha, is in the mode of passion.
18:32 That understanding which considers irreligion
to be religion and religion to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and
darkness, and strives always in the wrong direction, O Partha, is in the mode
of ignorance.
18:33 O son of Prtha, that determination which is
unbreakable, which is sustained with steadfastness by yoga practice, and thus
controls the mind, life, and the acts of the senses, is in the mode of
goodness.
18:34 And that determination by which one holds
fast to fruitive result in religion, economic development and sense
gratification is of the nature of passion, O Arjuna.
18:35 And that determination which cannot go beyond
dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness, and illusion--such unintelligent
determination is in the mode of darkness.
18:36-37 O best of the Bharatas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress. That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.
18:38 That happiness which is derived from contact
of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but
poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.
18:39 And that happiness which is blind to
self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from
sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.
18:40 There is no being existing, either here or
among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from the
three modes of material nature.
Note: I feel the next few verses deal with the quality of work. Addressed here is the levels of service to God- not the formation of some literal rigid caste system. Individuals have different capacities and skills and their God given talents should be utilized for the full benefit of all. (See Verses 18:45-48.)
Once again, if read in context, deeper lessons are revealed than what may appear on the surface.
18:41 Brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are
distinguished by their qualities of work, O chastiser of the enemy, in
accordance with the modes of nature.
18:42 Peacefulness, self-control, austerity,
purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness--these are the
qualities by which the brahmanas work.
18:43 Heroism, power, determination,
resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the
qualities of work for the ksatriyas.
18:44 Farming, cow protection and business are the qualities of work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there is labor and service to others.
18:45 By following his qualities of work, every man
can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done.
18:46 By worship of the Lord, who is the source of
all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own
duty, attain perfection.
18:47 It is better to engage in one's own
occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept
another's occupation and perform it perfectly. Prescribed duties, according to
one's nature, are never affected by sinful reactions.
18:48 Every endeavor is covered by some sort of
fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the
work which is born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of
fault.
Here Lord Krishna reveals the need to become unattached to material things, to be gborn againh in the Spirit of Truth.
18:49 One can obtain the results of renunciation simply by self-control and by becoming unattached to material things and disregarding material enjoyments. That is the highest perfectional stage of renunciation.
18:50 O son of Kunti, learn from Me in brief how
one can attain to the supreme perfectional stage, Brahman, by acting in the way
I shall now summarize.
18:51-53 Being purified by his intelligence and
controlling the mind with determination, giving up the objects of sense
gratification, being freed from attachment and hatred, one who lives in a
secluded place, who eats little and who controls the body and the tongue, and
is always in trance and is detached, who is without false ego, false strength,
false pride, lust, anger, and who does not accept material things, such a
person is certainly elevated to the position of self-realization.
18:54 One who is thus transcendentally situated at
once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything;
he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure
devotional service unto Me.
18:55 One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.
10. Civilizing influence:
establishes kingdom in Dvaraka. "The discovery of the legendary city of Dvaraka which
is said to have been founded by Sri Krishna, is an important landmark in the
history of India. It has set at rest the doubts expressed by historians about
the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dvaraka city. It has
greatly narrowed the gap of Indian history by establishing the continuity of
the Indian civilization from the Vedic age to the present day.
The eternal
abode
in which Krishna fully displays the opulence
of God.
While descended on earth, Krishna
resettled the entire population of Mathura
in the city of Dvaraka, which He manifested by constructing
it on the coast of the western Anarta province.
Sometime after Krishna's death
(3102 BC), a catastrophe occurred at Dvaraka
in which the city and all its inhabitants were engulfed by
the ocean.
Only a few members of the race who were absent from the city
were saved. The present rajas of Vijaya-nagara
maintain that they are living descendants of the Yadavas.
The teachings of Lord Krishna and the
Bhagavad-Gita teach much the same lessons as other authentic revelatory faiths.
Namely: the knowledge and worship of God (Vishnu) through prayer, meditation
and service. The Supreme melody of the gSong of Godh is clear. When combined
with the counterpoint of other faiths it becomes a symphony of utmost granduer!
ghome siteh http://onenessbecomesus.com
Referenced sites: http://krishna.avatara.org/ Bhagavad-Gita source http://www.asitis.com