Meeting Rivers Series - 8
A Culture of Competition or Compassion?
On the Relevance of the Bhagavad Gita
*Dr. S.
Painadath SJ
Competition has become the dynamic
factor of today's value system. Greed is the propelling force within it.
Natural resources, human
beings and even religions are being exploited for the
gratification of greed. With this, humanity is facing the threat of total
destruction. Is a counterculture possible based on compassion? In this paper I
am exploring the universal message of the Bhagavad Gita in this regard.
1. Bhagavad Gita is the most widely
known and deeply influential holy scripture of the Indian heritage. As a
literary work it is a mystical poem that articulates in a highly symbolic
language the dialogue that is taking place between the divine master and the
human seeker in the heart of every person. Gita describes the dynamics of the spiritual
transformation from a life motivated by greed (kama) to a
life guided by integrity (dharma): the change of consciousness from ahamkara
to atmabodha.
2. Gita opens out a world-view that
integrates well the Divine, the human and the cosmic: "See the Self in all
and all in the Self." (6, 29). With this integral vision (samadarsana),
one is brought in harmony with a cosmo-the-andric unity of reality. Everything
is part of everything else, and the entire reality is ultimately the body of
the Divine ( ch.ll). The divine presence vibrates at the heart of matter and in
every living cell (7, 8-11). Spirituality is the liberative realisation that
we are living in a divine ambience.
3. There is a tremendous divine
dynamism permeating the entire universe. This is the wheel of yajna. It
is being turned by the energy of 'the Brahman that permeates everything'
(3,15). Humans participate in this movement through sacred rituals and much
more through actions free of greed (nishkama karma). "Work done in
the spirit of yajna leads to integration' (4, 23). Work done with greed
is actually bondage (3,9).
4. The ethical component of this cosmic
process is expressed in the term dharma, which means holistic
integration. Dharma is basically the divine work in the world, for 'the
Divine is the ultimate base of dharma' (14,27), and the Divine is at work
bringing about 'peace and welfare' (yogakshemam, 9,22) and
're-establishing the dharma' ( 4,8). Humans participate in this divine
work through the perusal of their swadharma (18,45) and much more
through actions performed in view of the welfare of the world (lokasamgraha)
(3,25).
5. It on this basis that Gita
presents the spirituality of karmayoga: work done in union with the
divine Subject within and all around. Human labour gets a liberative quality
and integrative power when it evolves in union (yoga) with the divine agent: yogastah
kuru karmani (2,48). What we do is then divine work. There is a no chasm
between the sacred and the secular. The secular becomes the transparent medium
of the sacred, the world is the divine abode, the kurukshetra is dharmakshetra,
the human is the channel of the Divine.
6. This dynamic divine presence is
not an amorphous force, but the energy of divine love. This is a specific
insight of the Gita. The divine Self (atma) vibrating in the universe is
the divine Master who loves us. Every human person can hear from within the
divine depth of his/her being: "You are dear to me, I long for you, you
are my beloved and my friend" (18:64,65; 4:3). It is not a God speaking
from outside, but from within the heart of reality. The relation with this God
is not just at the mental level of I-thou structure, but within a mystical
consciousness of mutual indwelling: "I am in you, you are in me"
(9,29). This is he deepest mystery of divine-human relationship (18, 64). The
true bhakta experiences the Lord as the inner subject (lO,8), the true jnani
perceives the Divine as one's deeper self (7,18).
7. Human life then becomes a response
to the divine love permeating the entire universe and filling one's heart.
Every bit of reality communicates the vibration of the endemic power of divine kama
(7,11). One finds oneself and all beings on this eternal stream of divine love.
One feels called to a life of compassion towards all beings, human and cosmic,
animate and inanimate. "My true devotee does not feel hatred for any
being, but is friendly and compassionate towards all, without the thoughts of
I-and-mine" (12,13). The hallmark of a liberated person is compassion.
8. Compassion presupposes inner
freedom: freedom from the possessive feeling of I-and-mine (nirmamo
nirahamkarah). Inner freedom makes a person equanimous in all vicissitudes
of life: in success and failure, in gain and loss, in honour and disgrace,
towards friend and enemy, saints and sinners, relatives and strangers (2,38;
6,9; 12,18; 13,10). A person of inner peace is not easily tossed by conflicting
emotions of fear and fascination, anger and attachment, joy and suffering
(2,56;5,20).
9. A compassionate person is not a
dispassionate being. Sharing one's life and possessions with the needy is the
basis of compassion. "The one who cooks food only for oneself, eats
poison." (3,13). A passionate concern (rati, 5,25) to bring about
welfare to all beings characterises the life of liberated person. Intense
attraction (chikeershu, 3,25) to the work of the integration of the world
is the motivation of his/her commitment. Compassion is the total surrender of a
person to the cause of the other within the ambience of the divine creativity.
10. Compassion demands an effective
critique of the dehumanising behaviour patterns and oppressive structures of
society. Gita raises a severe protest against discriminative social traditions,
exploitative economic systems, aggressive political structures and dehumanising
religious practices (5,18; 16, 13-19; 2,42-44). These belong to the evil (asureeya)
forces which block the divine work of dharma, for they are motivated by
greed (kama), which can take structural and communal forms. A
compassionate person is a courageous person for his being is firmly established
in the consciousness of the Divine(2,56; 6,14).
11. Compassion makes a person realise
his creativity. The one who acts from the motivation of the ego (ahamkara)
has to compete with others in a compulsive way, because his actions are
controlled by greed, anger, lust and hate (2,62-63; 3,25). The one who acts out
of rootedness in the divine ground of being realises that the Divine Master is
the real subject of one's actions (13,3). "Ascribing all works to
the Divine, one acts with inner freedom." (5,10). The sadhaka
remains constantly alert to the inner movements of the divine Spirit. In such a
spiritual realisation one becomes more creative, more courageous and more
compassionate.
12. Compassion is not just a virtue
to practise, but the holistic attitude that binds a person with everything with
the bond of divine love. One sees 'reflections of the Self everywhere' (6,32)
because 'one realises that one's Self is the Self of all' (sarvabhutatma
bhutatma, 5,7). All things are bound together on the divine chord of life
and love (7,7). No being can be alien and no one a stranger to a realised
person. With the things of nature we humans live in the one family of the
Divine. There is no room for competition, but only the scope for compassion.
"Mutually nourishing one another we all attain real prosperity"
(3,11). Such an integral world-view can be very salutary today, when humanity
cuts itself asunder through competitiveness, and destroys the cosmic matrix of
life.
*After his doctoral
studies in Germany, S. Painadath SJ founded in 1986 Smeeksha-Ashram at Kalady, South India. He
is engaged in spiritual ministries and inter-religious dialogue in India and Europe as
well as in the East Asian countries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meeting Rivers is a
global platform of religious, spiritual and secular actors who bring fresh
understandings, experiences and solutions to the inter-related challenges
of personal change, social transformation and ecological engagement.
We are hopeful that
the Meeting Rivers bulletins will help contribute to the growing search for
sustainable solutions. You can access the previous dispatches of Meeting Rivers
in http://pipaltree.org.in/index.php?page=meeting-rivers
If you have material
which you would like to diffuse in this series please do not hesitate to send
it to us. Your contribution should be between 500 and 1000 words. You can
address the email to: Siddhartha
(coordinator, Meeting Rivers) at the following email ID:
meetingrivers.fireflies@gmail.com
Meeting Rivers Editorial
Team
Trent Schroyer (
John Clammer (United
Siddhartha (Fireflies
Intercultural Centre,
--
Meeting Rivers
Fireflies Inter-Cultural Centre
Dinnepalya, Kaggalipura Post
Bangalore - 560 082
Phone: 080-28432725
Email: meetingrivers.fireflies@gmail.com
URL: http://pipaltree.org.in/index.php?page=meeting-rivers